Magic of the Heart

by Pegasus Rescue Brigade

Chapter 6

"Runes, Honeydew!" Dinky yelled, causing her meek friend to recoil slightly. "I can't believe I've been so enamored with enchantments for all this time and yet have hardly given a second thought to runes! I've gotta make up for lost time this term, that's for sure."

"I'm glad you're so excited," Honeydew giggled as she carefully spread some of her notes out on her bedspread to view them all at once. "If you find out about any that might help me with the spell I'm designing, could you let me know?"

"Of course!" Dinky promised.

"Dinky, since you seem pretty into it, you wanna help me out?" Clarity asked as she packed several quills and notepads into her bags. "I promised I'd teach Inkwell and her friends about some basics of runes tonight. I'm heading over to the student lounge now if you wanna come."

Dinky shrugged. She was almost caught up on her homework anyway.

"Sure, why not?"

"Have fun," Honeydew said absently as she examined an oddly-shaped leaf with a magnifying glass.

Dinky followed Clarity out of their dormitory and across the ground level of the fillies' tower to the coed student lounge. Inkwell's pinto coat was easy to pick out. The moment the older fillies walked through the door, she leapt off one of the couches and cantered over.

"Hi Clarity!" she greeted. "Can we learn about runes now?"

"We can," Clarity answered, smiling as Inkwell trotted giddily in place. "Dinky's gonna hang out with us too. And you had a friend or two you wanted to bring, right?"

"Right! One sec," Inkwell said quickly, sprinting over to the door. She yanked it open with magic and called out into the night air.

"Bella! Top! Clarity's waiting!"

Two unicorns that looked about Inkwell's age entered the building a moment later. The first was a blank-flanked, somewhat chubby filly with a tan coat and a voluminous, bouncy mane that was white at the ends but brownish closer to the roots. Her sapphire-blue eyes stood out against her more muted fur colors. She bounded up to Inkwell and grinned broadly.

Trailing behind her at a much more controlled pace was a rather scrawny colt. His coat that was a citrus yellow-green, with a short, neatly trimmed, dull purple mane. He wore a pair of glasses so comically thick, Dinky couldn't even harbor a guess what color his eyes were. Equally bizarre was his cutie mark, which appeared to be no more than a complex cluster of tiny black lines. Only after several seconds of staring did she finally realize the entire Ponish alphabet was printed on his flank.

Inkwell and the other filly charged back over to Dinky and Clarity, leaving the colt trailing slowly behind again. "Clarity, this is my roommate, Portabella," Inkwell introduced. "We met last week, and we're already best friends."

"Oh, wow!" Portabella cried, giving Clarity the once-over. "You really did make friends with the Overseer, huh? And another fifth-term pony too, looks like."

Inkwell gestured again to the other colt that had joined them. "And this is Top... uh..."

She turned to the colt and smiled sheepishly. "Top, how d'you say your full name again?"

"Top Percentile," the colt replied, sounding rather unimpressed.

"Right," Inkwell said, turning back to Clarity. "Top Percentile is Portabella's new coltfriend."

"He's got that mysterious, foreign vibe going on," Portabella declared, much to Dinky's confusion. "He mostly speaks in his native language, so I hardly ever understand him, but it sounds so romantic!"

Top Percentile sighed. "Lamentably, Portabella has erroneously misconstrued my exceptionally vast lexicon for an adventitious vernacular," he said, giving the two older fillies a deadpan look.

Portabella squealed. "I dunno what he just said, but it sure was sexy!" she crooned.

Dinky blinked and opted not to comment.

"...Anyway," Clarity said finally, glancing at Inkwell's two unusual friends, "Dinky and I learned a little about runes today. Would you like to know some of the basics?"

Inkwell replied by levitating her sketchpad into a position, a quill hovering at the ready as she looked at Clarity expectantly. Portabella peeked over her friend's shoulder to watch, rather forcefully clutching Top Percentile against herself with a foreleg as she did so.

"Inkwell, you showed me a lot of runes that you drew before," Clarity continued. "Do you know what any of them are for?"

The pinto filly flipped to one of the pages full of her sketches. "Not really," she admitted. "I found most of them in books, and wanted to try writing them myself. I don't know how to use them for magic yet, though."

"Well, the runes you have here actually can be used for a variety of things," Clarity admitted, examining the neatly-written symbols closely.

"I conjecture that's due to the geometrical attributes of the characters' polygonal constituents?" Top asked.

Inkwell blinked. "What?" she asked, as Portabella grinned and nuzzled the colt she was still holding captive against her side.

"He's asking if the shapes that are combined to make the runes are what controls their effect," Dinky chimed in. "And he's right. They do."

"See, different types of angles and curves allow magic to flow in different ways, or to be amplified or suppressed," Clarity explained, pointing to one of Inkwell's drawings. "See this one here? It's similar to one Dean Script showed us in class. All the sharp angles make it perfect for restricting magic. If you empowered this rune with magic, you could probably use it to prevent whatever it was drawn on from being enchanted, or maybe even from more direct spells cast on it like transformation."

"Oh, so do they put runes like that on those horn-ring thingies that they put on unicorns in sporting events where magic isn't allowed?" Portabella inquired.

"Right!" Clarity confirmed, smiling.

Portabella grinned proudly. "Hear that, Top? I was right! I'm almost as smart as you!"

Top Percentile's head moved ever so slightly. Dinky was convinced he'd rolled his eyes behind those impenetrable glasses.

"Now, while sharp angles are used to suppress magic or direct it in very specific ways, runes with a lot of smooth curves do the opposite," Clarity continued, pointing now to a simple rune made of a few interconnected circles. "They amplify magic and help increase its flow. You've got to be cautious with using them though; the price for more power is less control, so spells can end up having unplanned effects if you use powerful runes carelessly. I probably wouldn't use a rune like that for one of my illusions, for example, because illusions must be very precise to be convincing. But it would be perfect for amplifying the effect of an enchantment, or something like that."

"Faultless utilization is paramount when implementing such supplementary facets to any manner of ensorcellment, it seems," Top observed.

"Seems like it's really important you use runes right, too," Portabella added.

Inkwell stared at all her drawings for a few moment, and Dinky smiled as she watched comprehension creep over the filly's features. "I can... I can do all sorts of stuff with these if I learn to use them right, huh?" she asked, twirling one of her braids thoughtfully. "I only started learning about them cause they were pretty to look at and fun to draw, but they're so much more than that!"

For the better part of the next hour, Clarity (and occasionally Dinky) helped Inkwell determine some possible applications for a hoofful of the filly's favorite runes. Portabella chimed in frequently with questions of her own, and even Top Percentile seemed to be beginning to enjoy himself, although he continued to hang limply in his fillyfriend's iron grip. By the end of the session, the three foals were formulating all sorts of wild ideas involving runic enhancements.

"So, I guess our options are a little limited right now, since we're brand new students," Inkwell admitted as she scribbled another rune into her book. "Runes will become more useful once we know more magic to pair them with."

"That's why Runic Syllabary is for older students," Clarity pointed out, "but Inkwell, please, don't let that stop you. There is nothing wrong with researching magic above and beyond what's expected for you classes. When I was your age, I practiced illusions until I figured out how to turn myself completely invisible, a spell we didn't cover in class until years later. The library has all sorts of books about runes, even ones that you can use with the limited magic you have now, so if this is something you want to pursue, that should be your next stop."

"We can go tomorrow, right after Practical Magic class!" Portabella cried, finally dropping Top Percentile in order to throw her forehooves in the air joyfully.

"Though I must recommend we retire expeditiously to our respective accommodations," Top urged. "Our lessons commence shortly succeeding daybreak, and I require sufficient nocturnal repose."

Portabella smiled dreamily. "Top, as much as I'd love to listen to your exotic language all night, I'm getting really sleepy," she admitted disappointedly. "But you should come with Inkwell and me to the library tomorrow, alright?"

Top nodded before turning to Dinky and Clarity. "My uttermost gratitude for your counsel, Overseer Clarity," he said, before trotting back to the colts' tower. Portabella gave a friendly wave as she disappeared in the other direction, towards the fillies' dorms.

Dinky glanced down at Inkwell, who appeared to be thinking hard. "Shouldn't you be going too?" she older filly asked.

"In a sec," Inkwell said. "I just..."

The filly turned to Clarity, shuffling a hoof shyly. "Um, Clarity, I know you're a whole lot older than me, and you've got a lot of important Overseer stuff you probably need to do," she started, "so I just want you to know how much I appreciate you making time for me. We just met last week, but I feel like... well, like you're somepony I can trust to guide me, like my big sisters back home. Bella and Top are great, but they don't know any more about magic or this academy than I do. So it's such a relief to have an older, wiser pony that cares about me."

The filly stepped forward and reared up a bit to give Clarity a hug. Surprised, and clearly moved judging by her expression, the Overseer embraced her back.

"See you later," Inkwell said once the hug was broken. "When I try out some of those runes, I'll show you what I come up with!"

She cantered off, leaving the two fifth-term ponies alone. Clarity sniffled a little and glanced at Dinky, her eyes watery.

"She's really sweet," she chuckled, wiping a tear away. "All my life, I've been in her horseshoes; I was that little pony, turning to my brilliant, talented, experienced older sister for advice. And now... I've sorta become the big sister, huh?"

"That's certainly how Inkwell sees it," Dinky replied, smiling. "And lucky for you, your honorary little sister is just as lovable and enthusiastic as you were at her age."

The two of them stood in silence for a moment longer.

"...her friends are kinda weird, though."

"Oh, totally."

"When I try out some of those runes, I'll show you what I come up with!"

---

Finally, after all the ups and downs of the last few weeks, the lives of both Ditzy and Dinky began to settle back into something resembling a routine. Winter gave way to Spring, and soon, it was April.

Ditzy Doo trotted down one of Ponyville's narrower side streets as she made her way to work. Things there were stable, if nothing else. But with Candyfloss gone, assignments had become a bit more challenging. Although Wishing Star was trying her best, she lacked the inherent shipping magic Candyfloss has always used to select the right shipper for each job. Unfortunately, this meant each assignment was little more than a shot in the dark, with one of the four matchmakers being selected completely at random for each assignment. Even Ditzy's shipping success rate, which was nothing short of stellar, had suffered during the past month.

If anything was keeping morale high at Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, it was the dedication of Wishing Star herself. The newest employee was at least as efficient as Dr. Candyfloss had been in dealing with paperwork, and she also insisted on hearing an account of each assignment once it was complete, regardless of the outcome. She was determined to learn everything she could about the shipping styles of each of the matchmakers, so she could make at least somewhat educated decisions when selecting the pony for the job, and Ditzy admired that.

The grey mare was so engrossed in her thoughts of work that she hardly noticed a pony fall into step beside her as she continued to trot along.

"Still trying to save that pathetic shipping service, eh Ditzy?"

Ditzy bristled. Shaken from her daydreams, she turned her head to the blue unicorn smirking at her.

"Glow! What do you want?"

Glow laughed harshly. "Nothing, really," she taunted. "I'm just here to revel in watching your perfect little life finally start to fall apart."

"My life is fine, thank you very much," Ditzy snapped. "Your little stunt at our wedding only put things on hold for a bit."

"Oh, I'm not talking about that," Glow snickered. "I'm talking about the inevitable fate of Equestria Speedy Shipping Services. Though old Dr. Candyfloss was full of hot air, he did know how to keep a business afloat, it seems. But without him, well, it's only a matter of time now, isn't it?"

"We've already hired somepony to help with that," Ditzy said tersely.

"And do you really think it will be enough?" Glow cooed, still slinking along beside the pegasus. "Or is the legendary success of that place beginning to fade?"

"Why do you care?" Ditzy growled, stamping a forehoof. "This isn't some kind of battle, Glow. I'm not trying to retaliate against you. I just want you out of my life. Why do you find such pleasure in showing up over and over again to gloat about some perceived victory you didn't have anything to do with!?"

"You didn't answer the question," Glow replied levelly.

Ditzy facehoofed. "Yes, Glow, things have been a little shaky for the last month or so," she said through gritted teeth. "Mainly because Dr. Candyfloss was a brilliant pony, one we were lucky to have as a boss and a mentor. But we'll fight on without him, like he wanted. Each day we get a little better at doing our job without his help. So if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work to do to keep his legacy alive. I'm all out of time for conversation with a unicorn who spends all her time highlighting the low points in the lives of the ponies around her."

She half expected Glow to launch into a series of insults or threats as usual. Instead, her bitter rival just chuckled.

"Very well," she said simply. "Get to it, Ditzy. I already know how this is going to end, but it seems you don't. Not yet, anyway. So try your best, really. I can't wait to see where it gets you."

The pegasus opened her mouth to reply, but Glow vanished in a flash of purple light.

---

"Celestia's fetlocks, that mare's never going to give up, is she?" Breeze grumbled.

"She's trying to put you on edge, Ditzy my dear," Cloudcover comforted, between sips of coffee. "At this point, she's nothing but mind games. You have to remind yourself that she poses no real threat. Nothing she does will affect Equestria Speedy Shipping Services."

"And her unicorn magic's never been, well... good," Watt deadpanned as she shoveled the remains of breakfast into the trash. "So it's not like she's gonna threaten you physically. Your daughter's about a hundred times as dangerous as Glow, even without her dark magic."

"Just ignore her, Ditzy," Breeze advised, putting a wing over his shaken marefriend's back. "One day she'll get tired of this pathetic attempt at revenge and slink away to somewhere where she's not our problem anymore."

The lounge door opened. Wishing Star's head cautiously poked inside. "I'm not interrupting something important, am I?" she asked.

"Nope," Ditzy answered. "What's up? Did an assignment come in?"

Wishing Star stepped fully into the room, quickly smoothing out her mane with magic and tucking a few stray hairs under her bejeweled headband. "Um, kind of," she admitted, her eyes flicking nervously between the matchmakers. "It's a little strange though. Do, um... do any of you have a friend who is a changeling?"

The three stallions in the room immediately looked at Ditzy, who giggled. "If you mean Ocellus, then yes," she replied. "I met her on an assignment a month ago."

Relief filled Wishing Star's expression immediately. "Okay, well this assignment might be a tad less shocking than I thought, then," she said, glancing at the note she'd brought along. "It seems your friend Ocellus recently made a trip home to the changeling kingdom, and while she was there, she mentioned her little adventure with Equestria Speedy Shipping Services. Word got around and, well... we just received a shipping request from somepony at the changeling hive."

Breeze gave a low whistle. "Phew, that's a new one," he observed. "Which of us will be tackling that tall order?"

Wishing Star glanced between the matchmakers again, thinking hard. "Well, Cloudcover seems to have the highest rate of success on assignments of a more traditional nature, and this one is anything but a standard assignment, she reasoned. "Breeze doesn't seem right for the job either. His style, from what I've seen so far, might not be nuanced enough to work well with the challenges that might come with shipping an non-pony species. Watt's probably the best in dealing with the more outlandish assignments, but Ditzy usually comes up with the most creative solutions, and both of those things would really come in handy in a situation like this one..."

"So send us both!" Watt declared, bounding over to stand beside Ditzy.

"Do... do we do that?" Wishing Star asked, tilting her head. "Sending two matchmakers to tackle one job?"

"Candyfloss was known for doing so on occasion," Cloudcover admitted. "Mainly for jobs that were expected to be especially challenging and require the expertise of multiple ponies."

"This does kind of sound like it might be one of those," Ditzy admitted. "I guess you're right, Wishing Star. Maybe Watt and I should tackle this one together, since we don't really know what we're getting into."

"Road Trip!" Watt squawked, darting to the door so quickly the rush of air made Ditzy's mane flutter. "Meet ya outside, Ditzy! Time for an adventure!"

Ditzy exchanged a glance with her other coworkers. "Uh... wish us luck," she said, flicking her tail nervously.

"If anypony can pull it off, it's you two," Breeze reassured her. "Besides, if this is a success, it could be just the boost the company needs. We might be able to make a name for ourselves in the other allied kingdoms of Equestria!"

"Um, well that's fine I guess," Wishing Star added worriedly, "but I should warn you guys that tomorrow might be... tricky. Ditzy and Watt will probably be gone more than one day on this one, and I have to leave a little early tomorrow myself. I have an interview."

"An interview?" Ditzy asked, furrowing her brow. "Are you... are you planning to change jobs already?"

"No, no, nothing like that!" Wishing Star gasped, holding up her forehooves defensively. "Our day here ends in late afternoon, and I need a bit of extra income, so I'm applying for an evening position somewhere else. Even if they hire me, there'll be no change to my schedule at Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, I promise."

Ditzy breathed a long sigh. "That's a relief," she said softly. "Let us know if this job is wearing on you for any reason, though. We don't want you to leave; you've been a huge help so far, and we really need that help right now."

Wishing Star beamed. "Well I'm glad I can be useful," she giggled. "But focus on your own work for today, Ditzy. You've got some changelings waiting for their matchmakers. Get going!"

---

"So, uh, I kinda figured we were gonna run into some hurdles," Watt admitted, "but I wasn't expecting things to go south quite this fast."

Ditzy said nothing. She was focusing on not getting attacked by the big, angry changeling in front of her.

The trip to the changeling kingdom, while long, had proven uneventful. Sadly, the same couldn't be said for the two matchmakers approach to the towering changeling hive.

The changeling currently sizing Ditzy up didn't look anything like delicate little Ocellus. He had clearly undergone the same metamorphosis as his brethren, but his stature was much more imposing than any individual Ditzy had encountered before. His shell was a very dark shade of blue green, and his violet elytra concealed red wings, making him a far cry from the bright, cheery colors of his kin. A pair of red projections, a bit like antlers, were atop his head.

"Now, I want answers," the frightening changeling demanded. "What business do two ponies have all the way out here? And if you don't want any trouble, you better be up front about it."

"Sir, we received word that somepo— err, somechangeling here contacted Equestria Speedy Shipping Services," Ditzy explained, eyeing the glaring creature nervously. "We're just responding to the summons."

"And what the hay is a speedy shipping service?" the changeling barked.

"Only the ultimate opportunity for lovestruck ponies— and changelings— everywhere!" Watt announced, throwing his forehooves in the air, which unfortunately seemed to put the grumpy changeling even more on edge. "We take assignments from our clients to help them meet, befriend, or even date the object of their affection. So clearly, even changelings need matchmakers once in a while!"

"Except they don't," the changeling growled, stamping a forehoof and ending Watt's enthusiastic explanation. "Changelings used to feed on love; even though things are different now, we can still detect the emotions of creatures around us, so relationships should be easy since we can already tell if somechangeling is interested. The only reason a changeling would ever need a matchmaker would be if they were so meek that they couldn't find the strength to reach out to somechangeling whose feelings are already apparent. And there can't possibly be anychangeling that—"

He stopped mid-sentence. Scowling, he placed a forehoof against his head and groaned.

"Nevermind. I actually think I know exactly who contacted you," he grumbled. "Follow me."

The big changeling whirled around, the tip of his red, gossamer tail brushing against Ditzy briefly as he led the way. Following his lead, the two ponies stepped into the twisting halls of the changeling hive.

While certainly foreign, the hive wasn't nearly as frightening as Ditzy had braced for. It was, as she'd heard, a strange and twisting labyrinth of halls, but there were plenty of holes in the outer face of the structure to let sunlight in, and the passages were decorated with green, flowering plants. Plenty of other colorful changelings wandered about, pausing to glance at the visitors curiously. Not one of them was anywhere near as sinister as the surly individual guiding them, though.

Eventually, Ditzy and Watt arrived at the very top of the towering hive, emerging into a large, circular courtyard with just the open sky above. Changelings took off and landed from all directions, but Ditzy's attention was quickly commanded by one in particular; at the far end of the space was a throne fashioned out of what was left of the hollowed out base of a tree, and sitting upon it was a yellow-green changeling whose size put even the one that had led them there to shame. In comparison to the other changelings, he was much like Princess Celestia would've looked in comparison to Ditzy.

"Thorax!" the darkly colored changeling snapped. "Why do I have a feeling it was you who called some prissy little pony matchmaking service?"

Thorax chuckled sheepishly. "Cause you're my brother and you know I'm the kind of changeling who does that sort of thing?" he offered, speaking in a much higher voice than Ditzy had expected a creature of that size to have.

Thorax's brother looked disgusted. "Well, look, these two ponies I found wandering around outside are your problem now," he grumbled as he turned and stormed back into the passageway. "The king of the changelings needs damned matchmakers, I swear..."

"Thank you, Pharynx!" Thorax called cheerfully as his brother's mumbling receded into the darkness with him.

"Err, is everything... alright between you and him?" Ditzy questioned, glancing uncomfortably down the passage.

"Don't mind Pharynx," Thorax chuckled. "He's a good guy! You know, once you know him well enough to see past... a lot of things about him. He's just a... very, very firm believer in the concept of tough love."

"Coulda' fooled me," Ditzy muttered, just barely loud enough for Watt to hear.

"Anyway, welcome to our kingdom!" Thorax greeted cordially, rising from his throne and striding up to his visitors. "I'm Thorax, the current king of the changelings ever since the exile of Queen Chrysalis. Are you two really from Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, like Pharynx said?"

"That's us!" Watt declared, darting forward and clutching one of the king's forehooves between his own, shaking it rather forcefully. "I'm Kilowatt Hour, and my partner here is Ditzy Doo."

"Ditzy Doo!" Thorax gasped, gently freeing his hoof from Watt's grip and trotting over to her. "You're the pony Ocellus told me about! She had an amazing time working with you at the school of friendship last month."

Ditzy smiled. "Well, we don't usually have help like that, but I'm glad Ocellus enjoyed the experience," she told him. "But, to address the topic at hoof, why did you want to see us, Thorax?"

"Oh, right! Sorry, I, uh, almost got sidetracked there," Thorax stuttered. "I was hoping you two could help me, um, improve on the groundwork with one of my friends. It's not really a romantic thing. That might be kinda hard actually, since she's not even a changeling. But you guys help strengthen friendships too, right? That's still shipping."

"We can absolutely help with that," Ditzy assured him, nodding eagerly. "You seem easy to get along with, Thorax, so I'm sure it'll be no problem."

Thorax winced. "Well, there's one teeny tiny extra detail that might make it a bit more challenging," he admitted, scraping a hoof on the stone nervously. "See, this is both a friendship booster and an... um... inter-kingdom alliance fostering operation?"

"Oh man, did you wind up with the perfect two ponies for the job then!" Watt declared before Ditzy could even open her mouth. "Ditzy and I once united two warring kingdoms in a parallel universe inhabited entirely by inanimate objects, simply by teaming up with my marefriend and some mercenary who owed her a favor and defeating the tyrant ruler of one kingdom and his army of ninjas so that his benevolent daughter could take over and ally with the brave knight of the other kingdom. We're practically experts!"

Ditzy groaned. Thorax looked puzzled.

"Well, we're not at war with the other kingdom in this particular case..." the changeling said finally, though it was clear in his expression that he really wasn't sure what was being discussed anymore. "So I guess this'll be... easier?"

"I hope to Celestia this is easier than that assignment," Ditzy grumbled, flapping her wings nervously. "Thorax, we almost never turn down a job, but understand that we'll probably have to charge a lot for this one."

Thorax nodded. "But you'll do it? You'll help?"

Ditzy glanced between Thorax's hopeful expression and Watt's manic, eager grin. She sighed, knowing exactly what Dr. Candyfloss would've wanted her to do.

"Yes, Thorax, we'll help."

"Oh, good," the changeling replied, relieved. "Let's get going right away, then."

"Going where, exactly?" Ditzy asked.

Thorax blushed. "Silly me, I forgot to mention," he said sheepishly. "You two aren't afraid of meeting some dragons, right?"

Ditzy's wings drooped. This is going to be a long day...

---

At least so far, a dragon had never contacted Equestria Speedy Shipping Services (with the sole exception of Twilight Sparkle's assistant, Spike, but he was a special case), so everything Ditzy knew about the dragon lands was merely hearsay. Unfortunately, most of it turned out to be correct. The reek of sulfur in the air made her scrunch up her nose. Watt, of course, seemed oblivious to the unpleasant scent, and Thorax... well, Ditzy wasn't sure if changelings even had a sense of smell.

"So, what's the end goal here?" the mare asked. "What do you want to happen when we find the Dragon Lord?"

"Well, Dragon Lord Ember and I helped each other out in the past," Thorax explained. "We're both relatively new rulers, so she was teaching me how to be a little more about earning my subjects respect, and I ended up helping her learn how to tune in to her subjects needs and feelings. Now I just want a chance to prove to her that I've been taking her advice and I'm not such a, um, pansy anymore, I guess."

"So..." Watt questioned, trotting in place to avoid burning his hooves on the hot stone, "if you've got that already figured out, why do you need us exactly?"

"Cause I am still a pansy!" Thorax cried suddenly. "I mean, I've been improving. The changelings have been listening to me, but they're mostly a gentle, easygoing bunch. But to Ember, I probably won't seem much different. I need help impressing her if I want to win her respect, and if I can manage that, I'm sure she'll be more inclined to set up some trade and cooperation between the dragons and the changelings."

"I see," Ditzy said slowly, glancing nervously at the massive silhouettes of dragons resting on a distant ridge. "So... which one is the Dragon Lord?"

A blur of bright blue suddenly jetted out from a rocky outcrop high above. Ditzy leapt back in shock as it slammed down just inches from her. The dust of the impact began to clear, revealing a slender dragoness, with blue scales and piercing red eyes. Clutched in her claw was a scepter bearing an enormous red gem. She rose from her crouched position, folding her wings as she did so.

"Thorax?" she asked, surprised.

"Ember!" Thorax gasped, a smile quickly growing on his face. "How nice to see you!"

"That's Dragon Lord Ember?" Ditzy asked.

Ember frowned. "Is there a problem, little pony?" she questioned.

"N-no," Ditzy stuttered. "I guess I just expected the leader of all dragons to be... really big."

Ember crossed her arms and looked back to the changeling king. "Thorax, it's nice to see you, but... what's with the pony entourage?"

"Oh, them?" Thorax asked nervously. "They're just... uh..."

"Changelings!" Watt yelped, garnering stunned looks from Ditzy and Thorax. "The dragons aren't really used to seeing changelings yet, right? Seeing our king here is already going to turn some heads, so we figured we'd better disguise ourselves as harmless ponies. We don't want the king's visit to stir up trouble for you!"

Ember tapped a claw to her chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, it's pretty obvious," she chuckled, watching Watt vibrate nervously. "I mean, ponies don't move like that. Those sharp, jarring motions seem more natural for insects like you. The other mare's a little more convincing, but she messed up the eyes a bit when she made her disguise."

"Yeah, my bad," Ditzy admitted, playing along with the lie. "Still, it should be convincing enough to fool the other dragons, right?"

"Pssh, easily," Ember replied. "A lot of my subjects aren't exactly the brightest gems in the geode."

She returned her attention to Thorax. "So what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Oh, just checking up on my friend and fellow ruler!" Thorax announced with a little too much gusto. "I figured I'd come and see if my advice from that time we hung out in Ponyville helped at all."

"Oh, it did," Ember said, giving Thorax the first real smile since she'd arrived. "In fact, you came at a great time; I can show you all the progress I've made! It turns out today we're holding the monthly Dragon Games, a little event I started to foster friendly competition and good sportsmanship. It appeals to the dragons' natural desire to compete, while teaching them to use it to build each other's talents up, instead of oppressing and belittling each other."

Thorax beamed. "Ember, that's so amazing! I can't wait to see it."

Ember smirked. "You know, most of the events are designed for teams of three. You and your changelings can compete in some of them, if you want."

"Oh, n-no thanks!" Thorax said, shaking his head with a nervous, diffident smile. "I think it would be best if I just wa—"

"My king!" Ditzy interrupted loudly. "Not to question your judgement, but I think you should reconsider. The Dragon Games might be just what you need."

Thorax blinked. Ditzy made sure Ember wasn't looking directly at her before giving a small nod and a wink.

"Um, right you are," Thorax admitted. "Ember, I think we'll compete after all."

"Great!" Ember shouted, pumping a fist in the air triumphantly. "Meet me up by the lava pool atop the mountain in a few minutes for the first event."

The Dragon Lord leapt into the air and quickly vanished. Thorax looked at the two ponies uncertainly.

"So, why—"

"Dragons admire and respect competition," Ditzy reminded him. "If you want to prove you've gotten more gutsy since Ember last saw you, participating in her games seems like the most straightforward way."

"But I'm not... terribly athletic," Thorax admitted, rubbing one forehoof against the back of the other.

"Don't worry! We got your back!" Watt encouraged. "All three of us will work together, and it's just a couple of games. How hard could it be?"

---

"You had to say 'how hard could it be', didn't you, Watt?"

"Ok, so the games are a teeny bit higher-stakes than we thought," Watt admitted. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"And, well, you are the one who suggested we compete..." Thorax reminded her.

Ditzy stood shakily on the thin slab of rock, the only thing separating her from the lake of boiling, molten lava just inches beneath her hooves. Watt and Thorax balanced carefully on similar ones next to her, and nearby, a dozen dragons stood on their own slabs as well.

"Hey, don't worry!" Ember called. "You changelings are mostly fireproof. Not as much as dragons, but enough that you'll be fine if you fall in, as long as you're only in there for a few moments."

"It's true," Thorax mumbled so Ember couldn't hear. "Ember's sneezed fire on me more than once, but changeling chitin is pretty fire-resistant."

"That would be fine if we were actually changelings," Ditzy hissed back.

"The first event is a classic among dragons!" Ember announced, flying above the competitors. "Just some good old fashioned lava surfing! The difference here is that your whole team has to reach the goal at the bottom of the mountain in order to finish the event. So speed is important, but coordinating with the rest of your trio is also essential; reaching the end by yourself doesn't count for anything."

She floated down to Ditzy and her friends. "And you three, I know you probably don't have any experience, but don't worry, it's easy. Just have fun with it."

Ditzy glanced at Watt. "Are we really doing this?" she mouthed.

"Well, sure," Watt whispered back. "We can't back out without blowing our cover anyway, so let's go for it!"

Watt had a worrying habit of overlooking small details like the possibility of incineration. Ditzy simply sighed and nodded.

"Competitors, on your marks!" Ember bellowed as she returned to a higher position in the sky. "Get set, and..."

The dragoness threw back her head and loosed a pillar of purple flame into the air. All the other dragons pushed off from the shore, most giving shouts or roars of enthusiasm as they drifted toward the top of the falls.

After a final moment of hesitation, Ditzy spread her wings and carefully began to flap, generating some forward motion. Her thin slab of rock began to drift forward across the fiery lake.

The things I do for this job sometimes... she mused as lava surrounded her small, safe haven on all sides.

A buzzing started up behind her, and soon Thorax was at her side, looking almost as nervous as she felt as he beat his lacy wings too fast for her to see. Watt sailed past on his own slab a moment later, evidently having kicked off from the shore with some considerable force.

"Not too fast!" Thorax warned. "We need to try to stay together, remember?"

"And also not die," Ditzy deadpanned.

Watt shrugged. "I mean, this isn't any worse than the trouble Pinkie Pie and I get into on like, a weekly basis, and that always turns out fine."

Ditzy had made a point over the years of not asking Watt about his life outside of work unless absolutely necessary, so to avoid the resulting headache, she simply nodded.

The roar of the lava plunging down the steep slope grew louder. The trio's floating slabs had almost reached the lava falls. Ditzy watched the last of the competing dragons disappear over the edge.

"Remember," Ember cheerfully reminded them as she drifted lazily by a few pony lengths above, "bend your knees and distribute your weight as evenly as possible."

"Got it!" Watt chirped, widening his stance. Ditzy swallowed hard and did the same as her thing piece of rock began to slip over the edge of the falls. For a tense second, both ponies and their changeling companion dangled at the top of the molten torrent.

And then gravity took over.

For a few moments, Ditzy forgot about her assignment. She forgot about her client, and her eager coworker, and the dragons all around them. Looking back on that day, she supposed that was exactly what was supposed to happen when the survival instinct kicked in. Her rock pitched forward, as it started down the incline, and quickly began to accelerate. Searing air rushed past her, blowing back her mane and making her eyes water. Though her vision was a bit bleary, she got her first good look at the course in front of her.

The lava flow was much longer than she'd originally realized. It proceeded down the steepest part of the mountain in a relatively straight line, and then began to snake through the canyons carved through the rock a bit further down, before disappearing into a cave. Far in the distance, she could make out the faint red glow of its endpoint, where it gathered in a huge basin at the mountain's foot.

With each unexpected jolt of her rocky surfboard, Ditzy tensed, her wings held aloft in case she needed to spring into the air at a moment's notice to avoid being jostled into the lava below. She refused to take her eyes off the course, but she could hear the nervous exclamations of Thorax and, predictably, a delighted whoop from Watt.

"O-okay," Thorax finally stuttered. "I think I've g-got my balance. Now let's just focus on getting t-to the end in one piece."

The three racers hurtled down the falls in a straight line, watching the carefree dragons up ahead weave around each other. The first part of the course was free of obstructions after all.

So, as long as I keep my balance... Ditzy began to realize. Maybe there's not really that much to fear.

Slowly, very slowly, the pegasus began to relax her tense muscles. To her surprise, it became even easier to keep a comfortable, balanced stance once she wasn't so rigid. Experimentally, she angled her wings a bit off-center, and her board began to drift slowly to the right as it continued to plunge down the slope.

"How are you doing that?" Thorax asked.

"I'm using my wings as rudders," Ditzy explained, though she sounded nearly as surprised as her client. "It's not nearly as hard to control as I thought it would be."

Thorax carefully opened his wings again, and soon was able to alter his course as well. "Oh, I see!" he gasped. "Easy enough I guess, but how will Watt⁠—"

Watt suddenly cut almost horizontally across the course, kicking up a small swell of lava with his rock as he weaved back and forth. "Don't worry about me!" he chuckled, leaning way past what Ditzy would've assumed was his center of gravity. "I don't have built in rudders like you two, but I figured it out!"

"Good," Ditzy called nervously, "because we're almost at the bottom of the falls. The course has some turns in it up ahead."

Watt winked at her. "Ditzy, I've seen you manage to keep your balance while drunk and riding on the back of a giant alligator. I think you can handle a little surfing."

"Shut up, Watt," the mare mumbled, flattening her ears.

The lava river entered the first canyon. Towering walls of crumbling orange rock surrounded Ditzy on both sides. With all the momentum she'd built up on her way down the falls, she approached the first turn with a lot of speed.

Well, here goes nothing...

Readying herself to fly again if necessary, the mare leaned to the left and adjusted the angle of her wings. The entire board tipped a bit as her weight was redistributed, but centrifugal force held her hooves in place as she banked around the curve. She chanced a glance over her shoulder and watched Watt and Thorax perform the same maneuver.

"This is... actually a lot easier than I thought it would be," Thorax called out.

"I don't really understand it either..." Ditzy commented. "I thought for sure we'd have met with some sort of disaster by now."

Watt laughed. "Guys, I'm rarely the voice of reason, but can't you see what's going on?" he chuckled. "If we were doing this on water, it would be much harder. But this is lava!"

"What's that got to do with it?" Thorax asked as he hunkered down a bit and flitted his wings to sail around another turn.

Watt rolled his eyes playfully. "Think about it!" he insisted. "Lava is way thicker than water, so it offers a lot more resistance. On water, if you mess up your balance even a little bit, your board will tip and you'll wipe out, but on something this thick, you'd have to put your weight really far off center to have any chance of accidentally flipping that stone under your hooves!"

Watt demonstrated by taking the next curve quite sharply. He tipped dangerously to one side, but rather than flip over, his slab of rock simply pushed up a swell of lava from underneath it that supported him until he could level out again. Speechless, Ditzy realized her manic friend's understanding of the physics of the situation was actually right on target. She rounded the next bend, and the one after that, with ease. Encouraged, she even gave her wings a few flaps to pick up a little more speed.

Ponyfeathers, this is... actually kinda fun.

"I see that smile!" Watt sang, grinning teasingly as Ditzy quickly tried to deny it. "Admit it Ditzy, you act like you hate how crazy our duo assignments always seem to get, but somewhere deep inside you, there's an adventurer who's just loving this!"

"Can we just focus on the task as hoof, please?" Ditzy replied, scowling.

"Well, originally I just wanted to finish the course," Thorax cut in, "but since this isn't as scary as any of us were expecting... maybe we should actually try to outrace some of the dragons?"

"I guess actually competing would impress Ember..." Ditzy acknowledged. "Just don't get complacent, alright? This race is still really dangerous."

Beating her wings, Ditzy began to surge forward, with a determined Thorax and positively thrilled Watt trailing close behind.

---

"Oy Fizzle, Spear, look sharp! Those two ponies and that weird bug thing are gaining!"

"Don't worry, Ballista, they won't get past us!"

Ditzy and her companions finally began to converge on one of the dragon trios. A white dragon with a row of pink spines, the one that had just been addressed as Fizzle, stared over his shoulder, glowering at them.

"Listen, Dragon Lord Ember wants us to respect you ponies or changelings or whatever," he growled, "but this is a race. Try to get past and things are gonna get ugly."

Ballista, the pink dragoness racing alongside him, simply made an obscene gesture with her claws to emphasize the threat.

"Alright guys, remember the plan?" Watt asked, undeterred by the rivals in front of him.

"The horribly dangerous one you came up with about thirty seconds ago?" Ditzy answered dryly. "Yes. I remember."

"Let's just do it and get it over with," Thorax whined.

Ditzy sucked in her breath and surged forward, adjusting her wings repeatedly to try to wrap around the left side of the team of dragons. As Ember had implied earlier, they weren't the best at teamwork, and all three of them veered left to try to block her advance. Watt leaned sharply to the right and sailed around them through the wide opening they'd left unguarded.

"Hey! No fair!" Spear, a dark purple dragon with a messy clump of hair that covered his eyes, snarled.

Grinning, Watt raced sharply back to the left, kicking up a swell of lava with his board that nearly threw the other dragons off balance. Thorax whizzed past in the confusion. "Ditzy, now!" the changeling called.

Ditzy swooped to the right to try to get around the distracted dragons before they could regain their footing. Unfortunately, Fizzle corrected his stance much faster than she could've expected.

"Oh no you don't!" the white dragon snapped, swerving with alarming speed. Caught off guard, Ditzy flapped desperately to try to propel herself out of his reach, but it was no use; he crashed into her, knocking her from her board toward the sheer canyon wall, with nothing below her but bubbling, molten rock.

"Ditzy!" her teammates gasped.

With no time to even begin to fly, the pegasus did the only thing she could. With all the midair agility pegasi develop over the years, she spun her body in midair so her hooves met the steep rock wall, and catapulted herself off of it with a leap before gravity could pull her to her doom a pony-length below. With little chance to change course, she threw herself right back toward the dragon that had shoved her aside. Fizzle howled in shock and fury as her body weight sent him pitching sideways, right into the path of his teammates. There was a collision, a tangle of limbs, and a cacophony of angry yells as all three dragons tumbled into the lava river.

Ditzy landed on Fizzle's rock slab, staggering sideways and flapping rapidly to try to keep her footing. "Go!" she cried as soon as she was stable.

Thorax and Watt didn't need to be told twice. Leaving the angry trio of dragons struggling to get back on their boards, the three racers sped around the next bend in the course and out of sight.

---

By the time the river of lava entered the cave, Ditzy and her team were in the middle of the pack, with two teams of dragons ahead of them, and two teams trailing behind. She glanced around nervously as the cascade of lava grew narrower, flowing faster through the tunnel. Darkness quickly surrounded her; the cave would've been totally black if not for the red glow given off by the sheer heat of the magma beneath them.

"Alright, hopefully we're past the worst of it," Thorax piped up. "The lava should prevent there from being any stalagmites for us to run into, so we just have to follow the lava flow through the cave to the finish line."

Ditzy was about to reply when she felt something warm and wet drop onto her lower back. Careful not to lose her balance on the stone, she turned her head curiously.

Perched just above the base of the mare's tail was what appeared to be an orange lizard, freckled with red and black so that it didn't look too different from the lava just below. It blinked at Ditzy with glowing orange eyes.

"Aww, whatcha' got there, Ditzy?" Watt asked, carefully surfing a bit closer to her. "Where'd that little guy come from? He's so cute!"

Thorax turned his head. "What are you—"

He went silent as soon as he got a good look at the curious creature on Ditzy's back. His expression grew horrified.

"Ditzy, that's a fang-toothed salamander!" he whimpered. "They live in hot places like deserts and volcanoes, and can withstand extreme heat. They're also vicious little carnivores! Get it off now!"

Panicking, Ditzy gave her hips a jerk and the strange little amphibian was flicked against the wall. It gave a squeak of dissent as it tumbled down the rocks.

Immediately, hundreds more glowing orange eyes lit up, all along the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. The air became full of angry squeaking.

"Sweet Luna's horseshoes, they're everywhere!" Watt cried, his pupils contracting even more than usual.

The salamanders cries grew louder, and soon, they began to drop from the ceiling or leap from the walls, falling unharmed into the lava below. Ditzy ducked, narrowly dodging one as it jumped at her.

"We're gonna have to fight them off!" Thorax decided, swatting one of the creatures out of the air as it tried to dive bomb him from above. "The lava won't hurt them; it's us we need to worry about!"

"But they're everywhere!" Ditzy argued, flapping her wings to try to shake off two more salamanders that had already landed on her and cringing as one managed to nip at her skin, drawing a few drops of blood. "How can we fight them off when we're so outnumbered?"

"Don't worry, Ditzy!" Watt called, astoundingly still grinning in spite of their peril as he delivered a series of kicks that bucked three more of the creatures out of midair. "It's just like fighting the ninjas in King Turnip's castle! We were outnumbered and surrounded, but we still won!"

"Will you stop bringing up that assignment!?" Ditzy screamed. "One field trip directly into Pinkie Pie's imagination made manifest was more than enough for one lifetime!"

"M-my bad," Watt stuttered, actually appearing a bit rattled by her outburst. "But just kick em out of the air, Ditzy! We gotta beat 'em back somehow."

As the squealing of the salamanders continued to intensify, Ditzy focused on trying to knock them aside as they got close. They were small and fast though, and her visual difficulties led most of her kicks and swipes to miss. She fended many of them off, but a number of sharp pains were more than enough indication that several of them were finding their target.

And then suddenly, Watt was right at her side, his stone slab bumping gently against hers. "Hunker down, Ditzy, I got 'em!" he instructed.

Ditzy bent as low as she dared without compromising her balance, watching as Watt moved with his usual supernatural speed, punting away the offending creatures as fast as they were coming.

"T-thanks Watt..."

"No sweat!" Watt chirped, giving her a wink. "Sorry for getting on your nerves today. You know I got your back though, no matter how crazy our assignments get, right?"

The mare managed a smile. "Of course I do," she reassured him as she batted a salamander that had slipped by undetected off of his tail. "Come on, let's finish this thing."

---

Dragon Lord Ember floated above the lava lake, knowing the first team would emerge any moment and be declared the winner. With a victorious roar, three teenage dragons sailed across the finish line, throwing their arms in the air.

"In first place, we have Garble, Baff, and Prominence!" Ember called. "Great teamwork, you three. You've really improved since the first time we held the dragon games."

She returned her attention to the mouth of the cave. "And our second place team is..."

Her eyes widened as the next trio to come sailing out of the cave wasn't a group of dragons at all, but a changeling and two thoroughly exhausted-looking little ponies.

"...Thorax's changeling team!" she cried, causing the other dragons to ogle the newcomers in surprise. "Second place on your first time lava surfing? That's outstanding! You changelings are made of tougher stuff than I ever expected."

Ditzy leapt into the open air and bolted toward solid ground. She hugged the nearest boulder the instant her hooves touched down, unconcerned about the ash that was getting on her coat.

Ember flapped a few times as she dropped to ground level, smiling as Thorax and Watt stepped off their stones and onto dry land as well. In typical draconic fashion, she gave her changeling friend a congratulatory smack on the back.

"Y'know, I wasn't sure if you changelings would really be into the kind of games dragons play," she said. "Looks like you proved me wrong. I bet you're gonna love the next event."

"Oh! S-sorry, I'm afraid I'm all out of time for that," Thorax replied, hiding the panic in his voice rather poorly. "I should get back to the changeling kingdom before the work piles up, you know?"

Ember pouted. "I suppose I can't keep you, but come back and visit soon, yeah?" she asked. "We see ponies in the dragon lands sometimes, but those soft little things can't really go toe-to-toe with us like you changelings clearly can. Having you and your subjects around sometimes would really spice things up around here."

"Y-you think?" Thorax asked hopefully. "Then, um, maybe we should, you know, work out some trade deals, maybe encourage some inter-kingdom travel... with a little work, I think you could be seeing more changelings in the dragon lands real soon!"

Ember smiled. "I'd like that. Drop by next week and we'll work it out."

"Great!" Thorax cheered, prancing in place for a moment. "Then I'll see you real soon, Ember!"

Ember raised her claw for a fist bump. Thorax playfully knocked his hoof against it, and then the Dragon Lord took to the air again to supervise the other competitors. The changeling turned to his two pony companions, beaming.

"Thank you!" he gushed. "I know I put you through a lot, but I could never have done it without you."

"Happy to help," Ditzy replied a little wearily. "But hopefully it'll be a while before we have another assignment this... hectic."

Thorax smiled sheepishly and quickly passed Ditzy a sizable bag of bits. "Hopefully that makes up for it," he chuckled. "Good luck with all your matchmaking!"

Ditzy looked at Watt as the changeling took to the air. The earth pony was eyeing up the bits with a big smile on his face. He noticed her staring and looked up.

"Uh, hey Watt," Ditzy mumbled, looking away. "Sorry for snapping at you before. You're really the reason Equestria Speedy Shipping Services manages to succeed at crazy assignments like this one. Dr. Candyfloss could see that, and just because I like a little less excitement in my life doesn't mean your solutions to shipping problems are wrong. You're an amazing matchmaker... and friend."

Watt blushed. "N'aww, c'mon Ditzy, I'm just doing my job!"

There was a short pause. "Thanks, though," he added, more quietly.

The two ponies began to trot, wandering toward the setting sun as they began their long trip home.

"...Hey Ditzy, we should come back here some weekend and go surfing again."

"Not in a million years, Watt."

---

"That's right, everypony is gathering in the main hall. Hurry on down to the castle. Don't be late."

Dinky waited patiently as Clarity checked each filly off the list tacked to her clipboard. The group of gathered ponies in the tower's lobby was growing much smaller, so most of them were probably already on their way to the assembly.

"So what exactly is this big meeting about?" she asked.

"Dunno for sure," Clarity replied, checking a trio of third-term fillies off the list as they hurried out the door. "The dean said Princess Celestia is visiting to deliver an announcement, though. That's not something we can miss."

The Overseer waited as the final few stragglers made their way out of the tower. With a satisfied smile, she tucked the clipboard away in her bag. "That's everypony," she said with a nod. "Come on, Honeydew and Scuffle are saving us seats."

She teleported down to the castle's front gates, and Dinky followed suit, smiling slightly at the brief sensation of weightlessness before her hooves touched down again at her destination.

Princess Celestia was already standing on stage when the pair arrived, so they hurried to their seats. As promised, two chairs had been saved for them; Scuffle greeted them with a casual wave, and Honeydew with a warm smile, as they seated themselves. The clamor around the large hall gradually quieted.

"Good afternoon, students," Princess Celestia greeted, waving to the assemblage of unicorns. "We're now about a month into the new term, and I'm sure that even in that short time, you've all learned a great deal of wonderful new magic. However, today we aren't here to talk about magic, but about a different aspect of your lives at the academy."

Dinky glanced at her friends, but none of their expressions seemed to indicate that they knew any more than she did. She returned her attention to the princess.

"This academy is not just a place for you all to study and practice your skills," Celestia continued. "It's also the place where you're all growing up together. I'm sure even most of our newest students have already formed strong friendships here. But growing up also comes with its share of hardships, and its extremely important to have somepony impartial to talk to when you find yourselves in those moments of emotional distress. Usually, that pony has been our wonderful guidance counselor. But as the older students will remember, our beloved counselor retired at the end of last term, and we hadn't quite found the right pony to replace her just yet. I'm pleased to announce that the wait is over; starting today, the newest member of the academy's staff will be taking over the position."

Celestia paused as a dull murmur of interest spread through the crowd. When it was clear she had everypony's attention again, she continued.

"Because our newest staff member is juggling this role along with another job, she'll only be available for part of the day," the princess informed them. "However, we think it will work out very well; you all will have your morning and afternoon classes, where your schedules will probably keep you busy anyway. Later in the day, once most classes have ended, the counselor will be available in her office here from late afternoon until around curfew, which should be more than enough time for her to speak with any students who wish to see her."

Princess Celestia paused, and then chuckled a bit self-consciously. "I suppose I should hurry up and introduce the pony I'm talking about," she realized. "Please, if our newest staff member would join me onstage.

A new unicorn standing at the front of the crowd stepped up. She wasn't a pony Dinky had ever seen before, but she exuded a welcoming aura. She was quite colorful, with her pale orange coat and two-toned, blue and yellow mane, but the most eye-catching thing about her was the afternoon sunlight reflecting from her gem-studded headband.

"Hello everypony!" the mare called with a hopeful smile. "I'm so excited to meet each and every one of you. My name is Wishing Star, new student counselor of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns!"

---

"She seems friendly," Honeydew commented. "I think she'll be able to put the students at ease."

"Yeah, probably," Dinky replied with a shrug. "But the four of us have got it pretty good these days. We're all living comfortable lives and have each other for support whenever times get tough. We've never really needed the guidance counselor before, so I doubt it'll affect us directly all that much."

Honeydew nodded as she arrived at her destination: a big, gnarled old tree in the middle of the forest on the Academy's campus. With a gentle touch of her magic, the tree shifted a few of its biggest roots aside, revealing a concealed tunnel underneath.

In their first year, Dinky and her friends had stumbled across this hidden subterranean hollow, and had quickly converted it into something of a clubhouse. "The hideout," as they affectionately called it, was their own private space, protected by the roots of a tree that only Dinky and Honeydew could manipulate with any sort of ease. The four of them used the spot to work on homework or projects, practice spells, or even just relax between classes. As they'd grown older and more experienced with magic, Dinky had enlisted Clarity's help in surrounding the area with a series of wards and enchantments that gently, imperceptibly directed unsuspecting ponies away from its entrance, further concealing the secret space.

Dinky ducked her head as she followed Honeydew down the steep tunnel into the hollow, listening to Clarity and Scuffle's hoofsteps behind her. She looked around in satisfaction as she arrived at the bottom. The hideout had certainly seen its share of upgrades over the years; it was originally quite a bit smaller, but as its occupants grew up, it had begun to become a bit cramped. Scuffle, of course, had been more than happy to help Dinky blast the earthy walls and floor with battle magic, creating ample room even for four young adults. Two illumination orbs that Clarity had "borrowed" from the residence tower years ago lit the interior. Posters for the students' favorite bands decorated the walls, a small shelf of books (kept clean and dry by a simple enchantment) sat near the entrance, and a slightly overstuffed beanbag chair belonging to Honeydew sat sagging slightly in one corner, a permanent impression of the pink filly's dainty backside pressed into its seat.

"Man, I'm gonna miss this place once we graduate," Scuffle lamented as he tossed his saddlebags onto a dusty blanket before flopping down next to them.

"We all will," Clarity agreed, "but we're only a month into the term. We're still going to get plenty of use out of it this year, so let's enjoy it while it lasts."

Scuffle nodded slowly. "I know he's been gone for years, but I still miss having Trouble around," he admitted. "He livened up the place... and it was always funny watching him steal Dinks' stuff."

Trouble was a fox the four friends had met during their first year. He was a mischievous sort who had taken a liking to Dinky in particular, but his nasty habit of stealing her homework and other possessions had earned him his dubious nickname. The four unicorns remembered him only with fondness, though; on that terrible night when the dark mage Scorpio had come within a hair's breadth of destroying Dinky and her friends for good, it was Trouble's actions that turned the tide, if only for a few seconds. Tragically, when Scorpio was cast back into the Realm of Stars she had emerged from, Trouble was pulled in along with her.

There was a glimmer of a happy ending to the sad story, though. As Princess Luna had quickly pointed out to Dinky the following night, a constellation of a fox now trailed behind Scorpio in the night sky. Trouble lived on beyond the boundaries of space, and every Autumn, the four friends needed only to look to the stars to catch a glimpse of their old friend.

"Trouble's doing something more important than keeping us company," Clarity said, smirking. "He's busy chasing Scorpio around the heavens for eternity.

"Serves her right," Honeydew mumbled as she sank into her beanbag and began lifting books and notes up in her aura. "Scorpio could've killed both of you, and Dinky will be dealing with the effects of her magic for the rest of her life. Seems only fair that Trouble can get back at her for us in his own small way."

Scuffle chuckled. "Yeah, you tell 'em, Dewey."

Dinky watched as more and more notebooks formed a cloud around her friend. "So, on another topic, how's your Lifesense research going, Honeydew?"

The wall of floating notebooks slowly parted so Honeydew could look at her friend. "Well, I ran into a major hurdle almost immediately," she confessed, anxiously twirling the ends of a few of her wavy locks between her forehooves. "When a unicorn connects with another living thing, they usually have to enter a deep state of concentration. You've done it, so you know what I mean, right? You stand very still, close your eyes, and try to block out any other senses so your mind can tap into the life energy of the plant or animal you're connecting with."

"Right," Dinky replied, nodding. "And the more complex the thoughts and feelings of your target, the harder it is. It took me weeks of trying to magically connect with Trouble for long enough to heal his illness, remember?"

"Exactly, and that's really the problem," Honeydew continued, pouting. "Unicorns have the unique ability to split their attention many ways, so we can do things like carry lots of objects at once with levitation, or maintain a whole series of illusions at once. But we do those spells while still in tune with ourselves and the sensory information around us. Unfortunately, the mental state we enter to tune in to the essence of another living thing is... well, incompatible with that attention splitting. If I want to have any chance of connecting with all the living things in an area at once, first I need to find a way to use the single-target connection spell, or at least a weaker version of it, without blocking out the world around me in the process."

Clarity gave a low whistle. "This is some heavy stuff, Honeydew," she admitted. "Have you made any progress accomplishing that?"

"I have a number of theories," Honeydew answered, paging quickly through at least a dozen pages completely filled with her neat hornwriting. "It's going to take me a while to narrow down which ones are really viable, though. Luckily, Tango Trot will be along any minute to take a second look at them for me."

Scuffle sat upright rather suddenly. "Tango's coming here? To the hideout?" he asked, scrunching his muzzle up a bit.

Honeydew blinked. "Um, yes?"

"But Dewey, this is our secret place!" the colt argued. "Nopony except our little group of friends has known about this hollow for the last five years."

"But... Tango Trot is our friend now, too," Honeydew squeaked. "It should be okay to let our friends in, shouldn't it?"

Scuffle looked torn, but seeing the small frown on Honeydew's face seemed to be enough to help him make his decision. "It... it should, yeah," he relented, trotting over and seating himself beside the pink filly. "I didn't mean to get so defensive. Guess I was just surprised."

Honeydew's frown faded away. "I guess I should've asked you three beforehand, though," she put in, turning her head a bit to partially hide her face behind the long curtain of her mane.

Scuffle, in a rare moment of bravery, nuzzled the top of her head for a moment. He smiled when he heard her quiet giggle. "It's cool, Dewey. No harm done."

Honeydew opened her mouth to say more, but a loud voice called down from above the hideout, echoing through the chamber.

"Are you down there, Honeydew my friend? May I move these roots aside?"

Honeydew grinned and leapt up from her beanbag. "I'm here," she called. "Come on down, Tango."

With the usual instrumental fanfare, Tango Trot stepped into the hideout, glancing around wide-eyed for a moment. "My word, you four have been spending your free periods down here all these years?" he said, impressed. "What a delightful little spot. And Dinky, Clarity, I must commend you on the defensive wards; I never would've found the place if Honeydew hadn't explained how to bypass them."

"Thanks!" Dinky replied. "They're cool, aren't they?"

"Aw, they're nothing too special," Clarity said humbly. "They really only work 'cause nopony really even thinks there's anything secret out here to look for."

Tango smiled. "Ah, Clarity, you must learn to give yourself some more credit sometimes," he chuckled. "But I digress. It's Honeydew, I believe, who has something to show me here today."

The blue colt sank to his haunches beside Honeydew, pausing momentarily to glance to the other side of her and flash a brief smile at Scuffle before turning his attention to the notes floating in her aura. Honeydew repeated the explanation she'd given her friends a moment earlier, and the male Overseer listened quietly, politely nodding at each point she made.

"So I need a workaround to the properties of the original spell before I can start building the new one," Honeydew finished a few moments later. "Any suggestions?"

Tango Trot rubbed a forehoof along his chin thoughtfully. "One thought does come to mind..." he said hesitantly. "Though perhaps you've already considered it; between the two of us, you're truly the expert here, after all."

"I want to know anyway!" Honeydew urged. "Please, Tango, any input you have would be valuable."

"Well, the logic of starting by retooling the original spell is quite sound," Tango admitted, "but yet I wonder if perhaps, even there, you're starting too far along in the process. Have you considered that the way to solving this riddle might first involve breaking the basic life connection spell down into even simpler components?"

Honeydew flattened her ears. "What do you mean?"

"Well, when casting the spell to connect your mind with another living thing, you tune into its whole being. You feel what it feels physically and, if applicable, emotionally, and this is an intense state that commands your full attention. Is there any possibility that spell could be... broken up? That you could cast only part of it and tune into only certain aspects of your target's state of being? That might allow you to figure out which elements of the spell take the most concentration, and perhaps even which ones you could discard when designing the final product."

In the years Dinky had known Honeydew, only a small hoofful of times had she ever seen such an enthusiastic smile spread across her friend's muzzle. "Tango, that's... that's brilliant," the pink filly breathed. "How in Equestria did I not consider that? This could be just the thing to get this project back on track!"

"My, my," Tango Trot replied with a playful smile, "it seems I might be a bit of help to you after all."

Honeydew leapt up and threw her forelegs around the Tango's shoulders gleefully, clearly surprising the colt. Scuffle's quiet snort went unacknowledged.

"Come on, we have to do some test runs on that right away!" she trilled as she broke the embrace. "Dinky, Clarity, Scuffle, I'll see you at dinner, okay?"

"I'll be along in just a moment," Tango Trot called as the eager filly bolted up the tunnel. A moment later, he was alone with his other three classmates.

"You know, when we met Honeydew, she didn't get that excited about anything," Dinky admitted. "I'm glad you're able to help her pursue what she loves."

"Why, it's no trouble at all!" Tango insisted. "I'm happy to do what I can for a pony like her."

He turned and took a few paces toward the exit. Just before stepping into the tunnel to return to the surface, he stopped.

"You know..." he said slowly, facing away from the room's other three occupants, "It's really quite easy to see why you three value our dear Honeydew's company so much. Once you get beneath that outer layer of reservation, she really is just the sweetest young mare. And she's marvelously intelligent, unfailingly polite, and frankly, rather pretty. I've grown quite fond of her. Quite fond."

There was a moment of silence. Dinky chanced a glance at Scuffle, who did not appear to even be breathing. His gaze was locked on the other colt, who was still facing the exit.

Very slowly, Tango turned his head a bit, stopping when he was able to stare back at the ponies behind him from the corner of his eye. He still wore the same welcoming smile as always, but there was something just slightly different in his expression, though Dinky couldn't quite place what. Slowly, smoothly, he continued to speak.

"...How lucky for me, then, that she's single. I have to wonder if she's in the market for a coltfriend..."

Tango Trot's backward glance came to rest on Scuffle. For one tiny fraction of a second, so quickly that Dinky wasn't sure if she'd imagined it, his inviting smile seemed to curl into just a bit of a smirk. But just an instant later, he turned away and trotted up the passage and out of sight.

---

"That miserable, two-faced bast—"

Dinky forced Scuffle's muzzle shut with her magic. The brown colt shook his head in protest, glaring at her.

"Are you trying to get detention?" she hissed at him. "Professor Flux is basically the strictest teacher here. I know class hasn't technically started yet, but that doesn't mean he's gonna let foul language slide."

In this term's Transformation and Conjuring class, Scuffle was the only one of Dinky's friends who shared the class period with her. She and Scuffle sat at the back of the room, waiting for the last few students to arrive so class could begin.

"I can't believe that guy!" Scuffle snarled once he was freed from his friend's magic. "Right from the beginning, I knew, oh, I knew something was fishy about that attitude of his. But I held my tongue. I was polite and respected the dude 'cause it's so rare for Honeydew to open up to anypony new. I thought anything that could help her come out of her shell a little more would be good for her in the long run."

He slammed his forehoof on the desk as he continued his tirade. "But that slimeball has been playing us this whole time!" he insisted. "All that flowery language and welcoming attitude, it was just so he could pacify us long enough to discreetly start buttering up Honeydew!"

"We don't know that," Dinky replied levelly. "I mean, yes, clearly he's interested in Honeydew, but that doesn't prove everything else was just an act."

"Dinks, open your eyes," the colt shot back. "I'm not the only one who saw him right before he left the hideout. He knows I'm into Honeydew, and nothing's gonna make him happier than trying to take her from me."

There was a short pause. Dinky cleared her throat nervously.

"Except... he's, um, not technically taking her from you," she reminded him. "Because unless I missed something important, Honeydew is not currently your fillyfriend, is she?"

Scuffle said nothing, but the look he gave Dinky was akin to a criminal watching his partner testify against him.

"Scuffle, Clarity and I tried to tell you," she said softly. "We told you to tell her how to feel before somepony else caught her attention. You grew up with her, so I'm not sure if you noticed, but puberty was really nice to Honeydew as far as attractiveness goes. She's too innocent to really notice it, but she's been turning young stallions' heads recently, and not just Tango Trot's. She's a slender filly with a cute face, perfect mane, and demure little voice. Even based on looks alone, it was only a matter of time until somepony took notice."

Scuffle's frown deepened. "Fair enough, but come on, Tango Trot? He's like the most popular colt in school; half the fillies in the senior class wanna get together with him. Why's he gotta come after Honeydew when he's got his own private buffet of mares?"

"First of all, 'buffet of mares' is an incredibly unnerving phrase that you should never use again," Dinky replied, sticking out her tongue. "And second, maybe Tango just, I don't know, is interested in a filly with a lot of smarts and a good personality, instead of the ones just fawning over his good looks?"

Scuffle's face fell. "Dinks, you're doing this really annoying thing right now where every time you speak, you make me feel worse," he grumbled.

Dinky rolled her eyes. "Listen, Scuffle, this isn't a lost cause yet," she pointed out. "Sure, Honeydew really likes Tango Trot, but don't sell yourself short; she really likes you too. Just tell her—"

"Tell her now?" Scuffle asked, cutting her off. "No Dinks, Tango's already got her hooked, he's just gotta reel her in. If I wanna get her back, I gotta find a way to cut the line, if you know what I'm saying."

Dinky raised an eyebrow. "What are you planning to do?" she asked suspiciously. "Sabotage Tango Trot or something?"

Scuffle blinked. "Um, Dinks," he mumbled, looking at her disappointedly, "I'm not stupid. This isn't some kinda soap opera. Can you imagine the fallout if I tried some plot to make ol' pretty boy look bad and Honeydew found out? After all the trust she's put in me? She'd be crushed. Totally inconsolable. I'd never do that to her."

Dinky sighed, relieved. "Good. Even in a situation like this, I never took you for the treacherous type."

Scuffle nodded fiercely. "That's what separates me from my brothers," he said proudly. "I actually care about how other ponies feel and doing the right thing. I'm not a Celestia-damned neanderthal like they are."

A detention slip appeared on Scuffle's desk in a flash of teleportation magic, with "swearing" written in on the comment line. He scowled.

"Anywho," he grumbled as he stuffed the slip into his bags, "what I need to do is prove, fair and square, that I'm more desirable than Tango Trot. He knows as well as I do that if he makes a move too soon, Honeydew's gonna be caught too off-guard, and that means I've still got time to turn this around. Before I can win Honeydew's heart, I need to make sure I'm clearly the better choice."

Dinky rested her chin on her forehoof. "And how do you plan to that?"

Scuffle thought about it for a moment. His eyes slowly widened.

"I know exactly how to show that colt who's boss..." he muttered. "I can prove I'm the best and get pretty boy to back off. All I have to do is give him a good old Scuffle-style beat down in the battle magic tournament!"

Dinky opened her mouth to inform Scuffle that there were some obvious holes in this plan, but Professor Flux loudly cleared his throat, and the whole room quieted at once. As arguably the school's most no-nonsense teacher, the students knew better than to ignore him once class began.

"Good afternoon," the white stallion greeted. "Before we begin with the lesson, I have some news. For the first month of term, I have been teaching this class alone, and it was no secret that you all were a bit disappointed about that. However, our assistant professor has returned from his short sabbatical to his home kingdom, and will be joining us for again for the rest of the term. If you'll look to the door, you'll see he's just arrived."

The professor pointed to the classroom's entrance where, curiously, an exact replica of Professor Flux was standing. Had Dinky been a first-term student, she'd probably have been quite confused, but she'd been here more than long enough to know what was going on. She grinned.

Professor Flux frowned. "The imitation professor again?" he asked tiredly. "You've been doing that bit for five years."

"It's a classic!" the impostor announced in a voice far higher than that of the actual professor. "But fine, if you're gonna be a spoilsport like always..."

In a flash of fiery blue, the doppelganger vanished, replaced with a bright orange changeling with teal eyes and elytra.

"Howdy, kids!" he greeted. "Great to see you!"

"Nester!" almost half the class cried in delight.

Nester, the only non-unicorn teaching at the Academy, was a changeling that had defected from the changeling army after the famous royal wedding incident. After seeking mercy from Princess Celestia, he had been assigned to the Academy as assistant professor of Transformation and Conjuring. When Dinky had first met him, he'd been a frightening black creature, with hole-filled legs and tattered wings, but now, like all changelings since the exile of Chrysalis, he'd metamorphosed into a colorful, less intimidating form.

Nester flitted to the front of the room and threw a foreleg over Flux's shoulders. "Don't worry guys, class won't be so boring anymore!" he announced with a grin. "Your favorite assistant professor is back to offset ol' Fluxy's dryness."

Professor Flux rolled his eyes. "How lucky for them," he grumbled. "Now that you're back, help me give the lesson. We're working on particle stabilization for faster, more efficient conjuring."

"Whew, you're lucky I'm here," the changeling chirped, turning his head to conspicuously wink at the class. "There's a lotta number crunching to that topic."

Professor Flux raised an eyebrow. "And since when are you a math expert?"

"I'm not!" Nester proudly declared, flicking up his elytra to flit his wings playfully. "I'm a making-boring-math-lessons-interesting expert!"

Flux sighed. "Of course. My mistake," he muttered as he began jotting equations on the chalkboard.

Nester grinned. "Alrighty then!" he announced, turning back to the class. "You lot are the fifth-term ponies, yeah? So let's get started on some advanced conjuring!"

---

With Nester around, Transformation and Conjuring class was a lot more fun. The class period seemed to race by. As soon as class was over, Scuffle skulked off somewhere by himself, so Dinky chose to walk back to her dormitory on her own. As she emerged from the bottom of the stairwell leading from the Transformation classroom, she spotted Nester, casually plodding along the ceiling as he often did to avoid the bustle of unicorns moving from class to class.

"Hey Nester!"

The changeling glanced down at the lilac unicorn below him. "Well, hey there Dinky Doo!" he greeted, trotting down the wall until he was standing even with her on the carpet. "How's your term been so far?"

"Pretty exciting," Dinky chuckled. "Did you know Clarity's an Overseer this year?"

Nester chirped delightedly. "She seems like the perfect pony for that," he admitted. "I'll have to congratulate her when she has T&C in a couple days."

"Between that, and new classes like Magical Combat and Runic Syllabary, we've been busy," Dinky told him. "So much has happened in a short time."

"Wanna come by my pod for a minute and catch up?" the changeling asked. "I could use some updates on what I've missed while I was visiting the changeling kingdom."

"Sure."

Dinky followed Nester to the basement of the tower that housed the classroom, where his pod, a makeshift construction made of substances that changelings produced (though Dinky never cared to know exactly how), hung from the ceiling, with its entrance just a few inches off the ground. The inside of the space was sparsely furnished but warm and dry, and Dinky seated herself on a simple stool once she entered.

"Sure is funny, huh?" Nester asked casually as he quickly repaired a tiny hole in the skin of the pod. "When you were a new student— the same time I was a new teacher— we ended up kind of at odds for a while. Now look as us; we're catching up after class like the best of friends."

Dinky nodded. "That misunderstanding was totally my fault though," she reminded him. "Your influence on the Transformation and Conjuring students these last few years has been nothing but positive."

"Aw, thanks!" Nester cooed. "It was honestly pretty scary the first year or two, but it's much more comfortable now."

Dinky giggled. "I mean, that whole thing where the changelings became trusted political allies of ponykind probably helped with that," he pointed out.

Nester gave a chittering laugh. "That's for sure," he agreed. "I came here seeking asylum from my fellow changelings, but now that King Thorax is in charge, I'm not an outcast anymore, among ponies or my own kind!"

The changeling stopped resurfacing the interior of the pod for a moment and sat down in front of Dinky, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"You alright?"

"I just had a thought," Nester confessed. "Sorry if this is a little heavy but... in a way, Dinky, we're kinda similar. We're actually kind of walking in each other's horseshoes now."

Dinky tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, life is great now!" Nester said, smiling. "My exile is over. I've been accepted again. But as an outcast changeling, I was hated by the others in my hive, and before the changelings metamorphosed, I was hated by most ponies, too. If I wanted to go out in public, I had to be really careful about hiding what I was, and could only be myself in a very specific place with very specific company."

He paused, working his lower jaw uncertainly. "And, well... it's you who's in a spot like that now, isn't it?"

Dinky blinked. "O-oh," she stuttered, thinking about it. "I mean.... I guess so."

"Not that that's a terrible thing!" Nester added quickly, lifting his forehooves defensively. "It's easy for you to continue to flawlessly blend in with ponies, and the ponies that do know your secret haven't shunned you or anything. The similarity is really just that..." he paused, glancing outside the pod to make sure nopony was around to overhear, "...that wraiths are generally feared and hated, much like changelings once were."

Dinky shrugged. "Nopony knows what I really am though except for my closest friends and family, the princesses, and the professors at this school," she explained. "So far, it's actually been a very easy secret to keep."

"I figured," Nester said, flashing a quick, fanged grin. "And that's great! I guess all I'm trying to say is if you ever find yourself struggling with any part of living as a... less-than-popular creature living in disguise... I know what it's like, and I'd always be happy to talk, y'know?"

Dinky beamed. "You're sweet, Nester. Are all changelings like you?"

"More than most ponies think," he snickered. "We never meant to be a confrontational race. We were just starving, and Chrysalis, the only one who found any way to feed us, was a tyrant. Any creature would behave badly in the situation we were in."

Dinky got to her hooves and pulled Nester into a hug, making his orange cheeks flush a bit more red. "Thank you for always giving us your best, even when ponies were suspicious of you," she said sincerely. "I'll come by if I ever need to talk about that sort of thing, okay?"

"Sounds good to me!" the changeling chirped. "Have a terrific day, Dinky! Seeya in T&C next week."

Dinky hopped out of the pod, humming to herself as she trotted back up the tower. Great friends, it seemed, could come from anywhere, and she certainly had one in Nester.

---

About a week later, on a typical sunny day in the middle of April, Dinky and Clarity trotted through the castle together, discussing an assignment on the way to class.

"So the assignment is a combination of a transformation spell and an enchantment," Clarity realized. "That weird putty Professor Luster wants us to enchant has such an unstable structure that it's almost completely ineffective at holding any magic. I guess we have to make the molecular structure more uniform, like a gem's is, before we're going to be able to get it to hold a spell."

"I guess that make sense..." Dinky responded. "So, how about we⁠—"

There was a flash of green fire, and a scroll dropped from the air in front of Dinky. "Dragon mail?" she asked curiously.

She picked it up and was stunned to discover the royal seal stamped upon it, but before she could even undo the clasp, there was another flash, and an identical note dropped in front of Clarity. And then the halls were lit with green, as scroll after scroll appeared by the dozens, until one had been delivered to every last student. Shocked, Dinky quickly unrolled the parchment and read its contents.

Critical notice to all ponies present at Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns:

All students and staff are to report immediately to the main hall. This is a royal decree and thus supersedes all existing class schedules or any other prior engagement. Further explanation will be given upon your arrival.

Regards,
Princess Luna
Co-ruler of the Kingdom of Equestria

---

Looking back, that pleasant spring evening was widely considered to be the day the crisis began.

Dinky and her friends quickly crammed into a row of seats in the rapidly-filling main hall. Three ponies stood on stage, waiting to address the gathering crowd. The first two were Princess Luna and Dean Spiral Script, who wore matching stone-serious expressions. Both ponies stood still and silent, waiting.

The third pony, counselor Wishing Star, looked a lot more agitated than her companions. The brightly-colored mare shifted her weight over and over from her left hooves to her right. He chewed her lower lip anxiously as her bright eyes darted around the room, observing all the arriving unicorns.

After several minutes, the hall was filled to capacity; it seemed everypony had arrived, but nopony, not even the professors, wore an expression that indicated they knew what the sudden meeting was to be about. Princess Luna lit her horn, and slowly shut the doors with her deep blue magic.

"Thank you all for arriving promptly," the princess announced, causing the whispering crowd to instantly silence as she spoke. "I apologize for the abrupt summons, but I'm afraid the situation is urgent. Today, something has occurred that must be considered a national emergency. As we speak, the news I am about to relay is being forwarded by dragon mail to every mayor or similar authority figure of every major city and settlement in Equestria, though I believe it is best that here at the Academy, I deliver the news in person."

Nervous glances were exchanged throughout the crowd. Luna glanced toward Dean Script, who gave a single, solemn nod, before turning back to ponies before her.

"Students. Professors. Citizens of our fair land of Equestria," she began. "My sister, your beloved Princess Celestia... has disappeared."

Comments

[Mangafanatic22]

Well, crap.

[Emotion Nexus]

At least so far, a dragon had never contacted Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, so everything Ditzy knew about the dragon lands was merely hearsay.

This is a mistake. Spike contacted SSS once. Although this is definitely different, you should still mention Spike.

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

9978202
You're right!
I added a brief mention of him to that line. Thank you for pointing it out!

[Emotion Nexus]

Well now I have even more reason to suspect Wishing is up to no good. Considering that Glow's "Benefactor" is currently unnamed, there is a chance that Wishing is the pony who wrote the letters.

Inkwell is adorable. Her design is really cute and overall she just seems very innocent and youthful.

Glasses? Check.
Deadpan Tone? Check!
Stupidly Overcomplicated Vocabulary? CHECK!
This guy is literally me in a nutshell! How does this character remind me of myself so much! How did you literally perfect my personality despite never meeting me! I swear this character is like an early Hearths Warming gift.

I like how Ditzy essentially has PTSD because of that one assignment, but more importantly I love how much more irritable she is in this compared to other stores. Both shown through Glow, and Watt's Shenanigans.

Keep up the good work.

(I wonder if there were any other big events in this chapter I forgot about... Oh well! Not important!)

[DreadedCandiru2]

Oh, poo. Chryssie is being a silly beggar again, isn't she?

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

9978242
I'm glad you like Top Percentile!
He and Portabella aren't quite as critical to the story as Inkwell, but they'll still be making several appearances as time goes on.

[ShadowLDrago]

Only after several seconds of staring did she finally realize the entire Ponish alphabet was printed on his flank.

This is a story I need to hear.

"Top Percentile," the colt replied, sounding rather unimpressed.

You got a Rattata?

Top Percentile sighed. "Lamentably, Portabella has erroneously misconstrued my exceptionally vast lexicon for an adventitious vernacular," he said, giving the two older fillies a deadpan look.

Portabella squealed. "I dunno what he just said, but it sure was sexy!" she crooned.

... Oh this is gonna be fun.

"Faultless utilization is paramount when implementing such supplementary facets to any manner of ensorcellment, it seems," Top observed.

And here I thought Sweetie Belle was the thesaurus.

The filly stepped forward and reared up a bit to give Clarity a hug. Surprised, and clearly moved judging by her expression, the Overseer embraced her back.

Aaaw.

"...her friends are kinda weird, though."

"Oh, totally."

Absolutely.

If anything was keeping morale high at Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, it was the dedication of Wishing Star herself.

I REALLY hope she doesn't turn out to be secretly evil.

Glow laughed harshly. "Nothing, really," she taunted. "I'm just here to revel in watching your perfect little life finally start to fall apart."

Oh you. Fuck off and die, will you? Do the world a favor.

"Celestia's fetlocks, that mare's never going to give up, is she?" Breeze grumbled.

She just wants to see you miserable.

"So it's not like she's gonna threaten you physically.

I hope not.

Ditzy said nothing. She was focusing on not getting attacked by the big, angry changeling in front of her.

Pharynx.

"Nevermind. I actually think I know exactly who contacted you," he grumbled. "Follow me."

Thorax.

Thorax chuckled sheepishly. "Cause you're my brother and you know I'm the kind of changeling who does that sort of thing?" he offered, speaking in a much higher voice than Ditzy had expected a creature of that size to have.

Called it.

"Oh man, did you wind up with the perfect two ponies for the job then!" Watt declared before Ditzy could even open her mouth. "Ditzy and I once united two warring kingdoms in a parallel universe inhabited entirely by inanimate objects, simply by teaming up with my marefriend and some mercenary who owed her a favor and defeating the tyrant ruler of one kingdom and his army of ninjas so that his benevolent daughter could take over and ally with the brave knight of the other kingdom. We're practically experts!"

... What?

Thorax blushed. "Silly me, I forgot to mention," he said sheepishly. "You two aren't afraid of meeting some dragons, right?"

Ember. This should be interesting.

"Cause I am still a pansy!"

Boy are you.

Ember tapped a claw to her chin thoughtfully. "Now that you mention it, it's pretty obvious," she chuckled, watching Watt vibrate nervously. "I mean, ponies don't move like that. Those sharp, jarring motions seem more natural for insects like you. The other mare's a little more convincing, but she messed up the eyes a bit when she made her disguise."

I have no clue if you're serious or not.

"Great!" Ember shouted, pumping a fist in the air triumphantly. "Meet me up by the lava pool atop the mountain in a few minutes for the first event."

You, realize Changelings and Dragons can't just shrug off lava, right?

"Don't worry! We got your back!" Watt encouraged. "All three of us will work together, and it's just a couple of games. How hard could it be?"

Well now that you said that...

"It's true," Thorax mumbled so Ember couldn't hear. "Ember's sneezed fire on me more than once, but changeling chitin is pretty fire-resistant."

That's, useful.

Watt shrugged. "I mean, this isn't any worse than the trouble Pinkie Pie and I get into on like, a weekly basis, and that always turns out fine."

... You terrify me.

Watt winked at her. "Ditzy, I've seen you manage to keep your balance while drunk and riding on the back of a giant alligator. I think you can handle a little surfing."

Pardon?

Watt rolled his eyes playfully. "Think about it!" he insisted. "Lava is way thicker than water, so it offers a lot more resistance. On water, if you mess up your balance even a little bit, your board will tip and you'll wipe out, but on something this thick, you'd have to put your weight really far off center to have any chance of accidentally flipping that stone under your hooves!"

... Huh. That's, actually a good point.

"Ditzy, that's a fang-toothed salamander!" he whimpered. "They live in hot places like deserts and volcanoes, and can withstand extreme heat. They're also vicious little carnivores! Get it off now!"

Oh hell.

Ember smiled. "I'd like that. Drop by next week and we'll work it out."

I like Ember. She's not a raging thundercunt.

I'm pleased to announce that the wait is over; starting today, the newest member of the academy's staff will be taking over the position."

This should be fun.

"Hello everypony!" the mare called with a hopeful smile. "I'm so excited to meet each and every one of you. My name is Wishing Star, new student counselor of Celestia's Academy for Gifted Unicorns!"

"Serves her right," Honeydew mumbled as she sank into her beanbag and began lifting books and notes up in her aura. "Scorpio could've killed both of you, and Dinky will be dealing with the effects of her magic for the rest of her life. Seems only fair that Trouble can get back at her for us in his own small way."

Karma's a bitch.

"Aw, they're nothing too special," Clarity said humbly. "They really only work 'cause nopony really even thinks there's anything secret out here to look for."

Eh, you'd be surprised how well that works.

"Why, it's no trouble at all!" Tango insisted. "I'm happy to do what I can for a pony like her."

I like you.

"...How lucky for me, then, that she's single. I have to wonder if she's in the market for a coltfriend..."

Hm...

Scuffle blinked. "Um, Dinks," he mumbled, looking at her disappointedly, "I'm not stupid. This isn't some kinda soap opera. Can you imagine the fallout if I tried some plot to make ol' pretty boy look bad and Honeydew found out? After all the trust she's put in me? She'd be crushed. Totally inconsolable. I'd never do that to her."

Good, he's not a moron.

Scuffle nodded fiercely. "That's what separates me from my brothers," he said proudly. "I actually care about how other ponies feel and doing the right thing. I'm not a Celestia-damned neanderthal like they are."

I DO like my protagonists smart.

"I know exactly how to show that colt who's boss..." he muttered. "I can prove I'm the best and get pretty boy to back off. All I have to do is give him a good old Scuffle-style beat down in the battle magic tournament!"

Never mind, this is a terrible plan.

"I'm not!" Nester proudly declared, flicking up his elytra to flit his wings playfully. "I'm a making-boring-math-lessons-interesting expert!"

I like you.

"More than most ponies think," he snickered. "We never meant to be a confrontational race. We were just starving, and Chrysalis, the only one who found any way to feed us, was a tyrant. Any creature would behave badly in the situation we were in."

Makes sense.

All students and staff are to report immediately to the main hall. This is a royal decree and thus supersedes all existing class schedules or any other prior engagement. Further explanation will be given upon your arrival.

That is probably bad.

"Students. Professors. Citizens of our fair land of Equestria," she began. "My sister, your beloved Princess Celestia... has disappeared."

[Pegasus Rescue Brigade]

9980557
Thanks for all the comments, I love when people do stream of consciousness comments like that.
I can't tell though if you if you were being serious when you were confused about Watt's references to a particularly insane past assignment, so if you don't remember, take a glance at chapter 7 of Shipping and Handling for context.

[Zaveryn]

Once again, I don't know how to feel about the new characters. I'm convinced now Tango is 'harmless' in the grand scheme of things. He like Honeydew but he certainly isn't tied to what else is going on. He might not be the nice colt everyone things he is, though. Especially considering how he KNOWS Scuffle likes Honeydew and yet acted like that when leaving the hideout.

Honestly, as much as I like Scuffle, what I would really enjoy is if Honeydew turned out to only like girls and she actually had a crush on Clarity or another filly, haha.

Inkwell and her odd friends seem fine, but since she did tease/bully a colt in the previous chapter, I still have my eye on her.

As for Wishing Star, she seems extremely suspicious. But she could be a red herring. Also, how come Speedy Services works for Ditzy and the crew as a full-time job but Wishing needs two jobs, one that requires like an hour's train ride to Canterlot every single day? Odd.

[KMCA]

9978202
This is what I get for not getting a chance to pre-read.

[Ri2]

"Students. Professors. Citizens of our fair land of Equestria," she began. "My sister, your beloved Princess Celestia... has disappeared."

Wait, this is an emergency? She gets kidnapped or incapacitated like a couple times a year.

And yeah, Wishing Star's probably evil.

[SommeOne]

Scuffle blinked. "Um, Dinks," he mumbled, looking at her disappointedly, "I'm not stupid. This isn't some kinda soap opera. Can you imagine the fallout if I tried some plot to make ol' pretty boy look bad and Honeydew found out? After all the trust she's put in me? She'd be crushed. Totally inconsolable. I'd never do that to her."

Oh thank god I was actually panicking at the conversation leading up to this

[SommeOne]

10123065

"I know exactly how to show that colt who's boss..." he muttered. "I can prove I'm the best and get pretty boy to back off. All I have to do is give him a good old Scuffle-style beat down in the battle magic tournament!"

Welp, I spoke too soon. I regret everything.

[Thought Prism]

Looks like my theory may hold water after all. Even discounting Wishing Star's nervousness, who would bother commuting from Ponyville all the way to the Academy on a daily basis otherwise?

On a more light note, why didn't Dinky just recommend her mom's services to Scuttle? He could probably have used the help way earlier, lol.