How to say Goodbye

by Piemaster128

Chapter 2: ...But every end is merely a new beginning.

Two years and three months after Flash’s death…

An old earth pony mare with golden eyes, a light pink coat, a sky blue mane, and a cutie mark of a six-leafed pink flower looked at the world outside the window. The bustling city of Manehattan continued about its day, the warm noon sunlight flowing pleasantly across the mare’s fur.

A yellow mail pony flew through the air, fluttering by different windows of the apartment building across the street and munching on a small sandwich. Cabs and the ponies pulling them raced down the street in all directions, stopping at the occasional red light or to let a pony off. A few foals played across the street in the nearby park, jumping on top of one another as their game of tag grew more intense. Nearby, ponies sat enjoying their lunch break in the calming shade of the park’s trees.

It was just a normal day in the big city. Ponies worked, walked, bought some food from the local stands – perhaps something they’d regret eating later, the old mare thought with a chuckle. She never managed to develop a taste for city food.

Yes, today was a normal day, but not for the adopted daughter of Tempest Fizzlepop.

For today would be the day she became a grandmother.

“Flower Petal?” a voice called, prompting the old mare to turn and see a doctor standing there, dressed in a surgical gown with a breathing mask hanging loose around his neck.

“Yes, Doctor Helping Hoof? All’s well, I assume?” she asked, waiting for the good news with bated breath.

“Indeed it is,” the doc said with a smile that made Flower Petal’s heart soar with excitement. “There were no issues, and Crimson has given birth to a perfectly healthy baby colt. Would you like to—"

She sprung out of her chair before he even finished, a smile spreading across her face as she bounced across the floor.

“YES!”

“—come see?” the doctor finished, smiling in unsurprised understanding.

Whoops.

“Er, yes, yes I would,” she said, trying to sound calm and likely failing miserably. “I’d love to see my little grandfoal! Oh, I am going to spoil them rotten!” she exclaimed, giggling in excitement. The doctor chuckled before turning and leading her back through the double doors.

Flower Petal followed close behind, trying not to squeal and race ahead as they moved deeper into the hospital. She had wanted a grandchild for so LONG, and walking so slowly was torture! It was bad enough the doctors hadn’t allowed her into the delivery room when she first arrived, seeing as Crimson had already started giving birth. Curse her train for being three minutes late! Now if only her husband wasn’t still stuck in Ponyville with the feather flu. He would love this just as much as she did!

After what seemed like WAY too long, they arrived at the delivery room. The doctor softly pushed the doors open, allowing Flower Petal to enter. Her son, Wild Gale, stood over the bed, his blue wings twitching excitedly and sending little puffs of wind around the room that made his wild white mane and the fur surrounding cutie mark, a gust of wind blowing a few leaves, move ever so slightly. An expression of pure joy to rival that of Flower’s aunt Pinkie was plastered across his face, along with a few drops of ‘Liquid Pride’ leaking from his eyes. He was gently stroking his wife’s hoof, his eyes locked on the bundle of blue cloth cuddled in her foreleg.

When he saw her, he gave a happy wave and gently gestured her over before softly nudging his wife. Crimson looked up from the bundle of blankets and gave a welcoming yet tired smile, waving her leg loosely to gesture Flower Petal over.

Compared to Wild Gale, Crimson looked like she had just run a marathon, with sweat matting her red fur, while her normally smooth golden mane was sticking out in every possible direction. But despite the heavy exhaustion in her eyes, she was smiling the biggest smile Flower Petal had ever seen on her face.

And there, sitting in her forelegs, was the newest member of the family. Approaching the bed on the opposite side of her son, Flower Petal got the first look at her new grandfoal.

He was a pegasus colt, and his new wings, settled through the wing slits in the blanket, were already flapping as he squirmed excitedly. His coat was a light silver color, his mane a vibrant orange, and his eyes a deep blue. Upon catching sight of the new pony, the little colt burbled happily as he tried to squirm his way over to meet her. Flower Petal chuckled and bent down, nuzzling her new grandcolt happily.

“So…?” Flower Petal said with barely contained excitement. “Don’t keep me in suspense, you two! What’s his name?!” She brought a hoof up to boop the small colt’s nose. The foal looked at the hoof in fascination before immediately trying to put it in his mouth.

“Storm Breaker,” Crimson said, letting out an exhausted but happy sigh as she nuzzled her foal and kissed his forehead. “His name is Storm Breaker.”

Four years later…

“Daaaaad! Stop moving!” Storm Breaker whined, struggling to see around his father’s big head.

“You mean like this?” Daddy said playfully, moving his head so it was blocking Storm Breaker’s view of the stage! AGAIN!

“DAAAD!”

“Honey, stop tormenting him,” Mommy chided playfully, giving the big meanie dad a good bonk on the head. Take that, evil head blocker!

“Ok, ok, I’ll be good. Just like you will, right, Stormy?”

“Right!” Storm agreed with an innocent smile. If he was good, then he would get ice cream! Ice cream was the best!

Now if only the Sumr—the Summer Sume—the big event thingy with the princesses would start soon! He wanted to see them! He’d only ever seen their pictures, but never the actual princesses!

And now they were here! In Canterlomt!

They came actually in yesterday, and Storm had wanted to see them RIGHT AWAY, but his parents said that they would be extra super busy getting ready for the Big Summer Thingy and wouldn’t have any time to say hi. Storm had almost cried at that – almost! Because he was four now and Grandma said four-year-olds were super-awesome-big-boys – but his dad had scooped him up in his wings and said that if Storm was a good boy and went to bed early, then he could stay up ALL NIGHT to see the princesses at the festival! AND then his mom said that if he behaved, he would get to go to Cold Stone Creamery!

That place had the most incredible ice cream back home! But in this city it had to be good enough for the princesses, so it must be EVEN BETTER! Storm almost started drooling at the thought of all that hot fudge.

So Storm promised his parents that he’d be on his bestest behavior, sat extra still during bath time, and even went to sleep with only ONE bedtime story! It was hard, but he did it, and he was super proud of himself! And it was worth it, because tonight he had no bedtime and he could enjoy the whole entire festival!

There were games, food, colorful lights, and a bunch of ponies he could play with! It was the first time he had ever played tag with a hundred other foals all at the same time! There were even some royal guards out tonight too!

They were the coolest! They had cool weapons, cool armor, and these really cool salutes and sword fights. Just a little bit ago, he got to watch two of them spar using swords, spears, and even some wing blades in a small fancy arena! One of them even gave him a hoof-bump after she was done! It was AMAZING!

But what made them even MORE cool was that they got to protect the princesses and be with them all day long! That must be the best thing ever…

But now it was time for the big super event! The time when he would get to see the princesses raise the sun and lower the moon! It was gonna be SO COOL! Princess Celsta and Princess Luma would be here, and so would Princess Twilight!

Storm had asked Mommy why the other princesses weren’t there, like the super-cool guard princess Soothing Night, and Mommy had told him that while they might be somewhere in Canterlomt, this event was just for Princess Celsta, Princess Luma, and Princess Twilight. She said that Princess Luma once had gotten a time-out on the moon for a REAAAAAALLY long time when she became Nightmare Moon, which made Princess Celsta sad. But then Princess Twilight, back before she even WAS a princess, had come to the rescue and save Princess Luma with her friends and the Elements of Harmony!

Now, every year they had this big part to celebrate that day and how Princess Luma and Princess Celsta were back together, and Princess Twilight was always there to help because she was a big hero!

Princess Twilight was the best princess of them all! Sure, he had never MET her, but she was the Princess of Being Friends! Mommy and Daddy talked about her all the time, and every night they would read him a story from a big book she and her friends had written a loooooooong time ago. It had so many awesome stories, like how they defeated Discord, or that once time Rainbow Crash had to fly with Fluttershy and Bulk Biceps to enter the Equestria Games! And the best part was that each story came with a lesson on friendship that Storm had worked super hard to memorize!

Maybe if he learned enough of them, Princess Twilight would even be his friend if he ever got a chance to meet her!

If only he had a chance to meet her today. But she was probably really busy with the big festival and other cool princess things. Maybe she would come and play games in the festival later and he could meet her then?

“Sweetie, it’s starting,” Mommy said.

Storm’s eyes snapped to the stage.

First came Princess Celstia and Princess Luma, each looking really REALLY big and important.

But then came Princess Twilight. She wasn’t as tall as the other two princesses, but she was so…Storm didn’t actually know. But the way her coat shone in the moonlight, the way her crown sparkled against her mane, the way her eyes and smile wandered the crowd…there was just something MAGICAL about her! No picture he had ever seen could do her justice!

“She’s more beautiful than the northern lights!” Storm whispered excitedly, bouncing up and down on his father’s back. “She’s so captivating and magical and her smile is picturesque and—”

“Storm, honey, where did you learn such big words?” Mommy asked, sounding confused.

“A story involving Lady Rarity, I think,” Storm said. “She said a lot of really big words to describe pretty things, like mesmerizing! And allure! And—”

The other two princesses were speaking, but Storm didn’t even listen to what they said. He just stared at Princess Twilight in awe and glee as he kept bouncing in place.

And then the moon began to move.

Storm’s wings fluttered excitedly as he hopped up and down in glee. Luma was flying now, the moon falling slowly behind her. Then the sun began to rise, Celstia following it into the air.

So. AWESOME!

But then it got EVEN BETTER!

As soon as the sun and moon crossed right next to one another, Princess Twilight shot upward, creating a spectacular six-pointed star explosion just as the sun and moon passed one another. It looked exactly like her cutie mark, expanding across the sky so fast Storm nearly fell backwards as he tried to watch it pass overhead.

Then everypony cheered, and Storm quickly looked back at the stage. All the princesses had landed, and were standing happily in the light of the new day. And yet all Storm could see was Princess Twilight, watching her smile happily as she waved to the cheering crowd. The remains of her explosion rained on her, causing her fur to sparkle. It was amazing. None of his bedtime stories anywhere near as cool as that had been, not even the one where Rainbow Crash got fired out of the weather factory in a giant snowball! It was better than that time his mom took him to see a Buckball game!

And at that moment, for a reason Storm couldn’t quite explain, he knew he HAD to meet her! Right now! Not later in the festival, not next week, but right now this very minute! She was the Princess of Friends, so even if he hadn't learned all her friends’ lessons yet, he knew that if he could just talk to her, he could become her friend!

And he had to go NOW! Before she had to go back to doing princess things again!

But the only way he could do that was if he was bad...The sacrifice of his ice cream would be worth it!

Storm leapt onto his dad’s big head and crouched down. His wings began sparking with small bursts of lightning as he flapped them faster and faster. Then, before his mom or dad could stop him, he leapt forward into the air, his wings fluttering as hard as they could.

He soared through the air, sparks flying in every direction. With a burst of sparks, he landed on another pony’s head, causing them to let out a startled yelp before he leapt again, and again, and again! Land, jump, soar, repeat, on and on as he began to close the distance to the stage. He wouldn’t stop, not until he met the princess! His wings sparking gave him the energy he needed to make his daring dash for Princess Twilight.

“STORM BREAKER! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!” he heard his mom call out over the noise of the crowd. But he couldn’t stop. Not until he met Princess Twilight and became her friend! Princesses needed friends too, right? Especially the Princess of Friends! And everypony knows you can never have too many friends! His ice cream reward would understand.

He was getting close now. The stage only a few ponies away! His wings were starting to hurt, but he refused to stop! He pushed whatever magic he had into his wings, causing them to spark with even more lightning that just made him fly even faster. The eyes of the princesses were on him now, all of them wide in surprise. But he wouldn’t stop! He made one final leap at the stage aimed right at Princess Twilight.

This is it!

Then, suddenly, a pegasus in purple armor appeared right before him! But Storm couldn’t stop!

“WAAAAAAAAAaaaa…” he cried in surprise as he flailed and squeezed his eyes shut and…didn’t collide with the guard?

Peeling his eyes open, he looked around to realize he was now floating in midair. But his wings weren’t flapping. And he was covered in purple?

“Why hello there, little one,” Princess Twilight said, stepping forward and giving him a smile. “Can I help you?”

“Gaaa…” Storm Breaker could only gape. Princess Twilight had caught him with her gentle magic. And she was TALKING to him! And SMILING at him too! Her voice was so warm and pretty, like a lullaby. He could only stare up at her as she giggled.

“Oh really?” the princess said playfully. “Well, I certainly hope hopping off so many ponies heads was worth coming to tell me such an important message. Especially given what you did to their manes.”

Storm blinked, then turned around. Behind him, at least thirty ponies had incredibly poofy manes that they were furiously trying to get back under control.

“Oops…” Storm said, blushing in guilt. He knew that his lightning could do that, especially given how often he accidentally did that to his dad, but he maaaaayyy have used a bit too much while he was head-hopping. He was DEFINITELY not getting his ice cream now…

“Big oops,” Princess Twilight said, nodding in agreement. “But I’m sure everypony’s manes will be ok in a few minutes. That was quite the good prank though.”

“Wait, no, that’s not, I mean, I just wanted to meet you! And see if you would be my friend!” Storm exclaimed, blushing as he realized just how much trouble he was going to be in.

Mommy’s gonna ground me forever!

“Your friend?” Princess Twilight asked, blinking at him with wide eyes.

“Uh huh! You’re the Princess of Friends! And you were so cool when you did the magic flying thing and your magic went BOOM and then there was the star and I know I didn’t learn all your friends’ friendship lessons but I still want to be your friend! Can I? Canicanicanicanican—”

“Ok, ok!” The princess laughed behind a hoof. “How could I say no to such a cute little colt?”

“Hey! I’m not cute!” Storm said, his cheeks burning as he pouted. The princess just giggled all the more.

“I don’t know, you look pretty cute to me,” she said, giving him a quick boop on the nose. “Even if your mane is all silly.”

My mane is not silly! Even if it does get a little frizzy when I use lightning.

“Although,” the princess continued, “I can’t help but think that you look familiar. Have we met somewhere before, my little pony?”

What? She thinks she knows me!? Oh, that would be so awesome if she did! But I don’t remember ever meeting her. Or is she like Princess Luma and can visit me in my dreams? Oh that would be so cooool—

“STORM BREAKER!” his mom yelled, causing Storm to squeal and flail in Princess Twilight’s magic grip, only succeeding in making himself flip upside down.

“HIDEMEHIDEMEHIDEME!” Storm Breaker squealed as his angry mommy and nervous daddy came charging up to the stage, the crowd parting around them. He flailed some more, trying to work his way forward so he could hide in Princess Twilight’s magic flowing mane. Mommy would never find him in there!

“Crimson, Wild Gale! What a pleasant surprise. I thought I recognized this little cutie. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you. Two years, I think it was,” Princess Twilight said with a smile.

Storm’s mouth dropped open in shock, his train of thought coming to a crashing halt.

HUH!? Princess Twilight might ACTUALLY KNOW ME!?

“I think it was three, actually. I remember because Storm had just turned one at the time,” Daddy said, smiling back. “I’m just sorry we haven’t been able to make time to come and see you again since then. We’ve all been so busy in the last few years…”

“You’re talking to a princess, remember?” Princess Twilight said with a wink. “I know what it's like to be busy. It is nice to see how much Storm has grown, though, even if the method of seeing him was a bit dramatic.”

Storm gaped and looked between his parents and the princess as his mind furiously worked to comprehend what he just heard.

“YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! WE’VE ACTUALLY MET BEFORE!?!?” he cried before he could stop himself.

“Storm Breaker! Don’t yell in other ponies faces!” Mommy scolded, her own magic taking over from the princess’s and gently tugging Storm back towards her despite his struggles. “Especially not Twi—Princess Twilight’s!”

“It’s ok, Crimson,” Princess Twilight said, gently stepping off the stage and moving over to the three ponies. “I can understand he’s just excited to see me and surprised that I know who he is. I seem to recall you and Wild Gale were just as rambunctious when you were foals. Like that time you tried to sneak into my castle and steal my crown on a dare.”

Mommy spluttered while Daddy tried to hide his laughter.

“I remember that!” Daddy said between chuckles. “My mom even tried to help us by distracting my grandma!”

“Don’t give Storm Breaker any ideas,” Mommy said, shaking her head in a way that made her look really silly before glaring. “That was a stupid dare and he’s already going to be grounded for three months with that little stunt he just pulled!”

“But that’s, like, foooorrrrrreeeevvvveeeerrrrrr!” Storm whined, still floating up above Mommy's head. “And I wanna know how you met Princess Twilight! And why no pony told me that she knows who I am!”

“How I met them is very simple,” Princess Twilight said, nodding down at him. “Tell me, did your mother or father ever tell you about a pony named Tempest Fizzlepop?”

"Yeah!" Storm exclaimed, flapping his wings and making himself spin midair. “Daddy said she was my great-grandma, and a super important royal guard that got to protect you all the time! He even said she once saved you from a Hydra!”

“That she did,” Princess Twilight said with a smile. “But it was more that that. She was actually second in command of my entire guard for a long time, and one of my best friends.”

“Really!?” Storm squealed, lightning sparking as his wings flapped even more excitedly!

My great grandma was best friends with a princess!

“Yes, really,” Princess Twilight said with a nod. “She was one of the most important ponies in my life, and when she wasn’t guarding me, we often spent time together as friends. In fact, I was with her the day she decided to adopted your grandmother, Flower Petal…”

“Grandma Flower!?”

“Mm-hm. I even helped her fill out the adoption forms. Then, years later, your grandma got married and had your dad, Wild Gale. And because Flower Petal still lived in Ponyville, I got to meet him when he was only a few days old, and even became his friend back when he was your age. Oh, the stories I could tell you about the trouble he got into as a colt, especially once he met your mother. Like this time she convinced him to try baking a—”

“N-Now, now, no need for that story,” Daddy spluttered, waving his forelegs around wildly.

Princess Twilight giggled and smiled at Storm. “You are right, Wild. Unfortunately, I don’t have much time right now. But I’m sure your Grandma Flower would be willing to tell you the story, Storm,” she added with a wink.

That’s a great idea! I bet she knows all these stories about Mommy, Daddy, and the princess! I need to ask her ALL about Princess Twilight.

“And as for how I know YOU,” the princess continued, reaching out and giving Storm a little boop on the nose. “I met you shortly after you turned one year old. By this point, your mom and dad had moved to Manehattan and had been living here for a few years, but they would still come back to visit me from time to time. And this time, they brought their cute little foal to Ponyville too.”

“I’m not cute!” Storm protested, earning a laugh from the adults around him.

“Well I think you are, and I’m a princess. Now, I do have to get back,” Princess Twilight said, nodding towards the back of the stage where Princess Celstia and Princess Luma gave them a small wave. “And you should probably go enjoy the rest of the festival.” She pointed at the crowd of ponies that were still watching the entire exchange with confusion. “But thank you all for making this year’s Summer Sun Celebration just a little bit more exciting, little one.”

Then, suddenly, the most amazing thing happened! Princess Twilight extended her wings, sweeping all three of them into a massive hug! “Do say hi to Flower Petal for me.”

Her wings were incredible! So soft, so FLUFFY! It was like being trapped in a cloud that refused to let you go, but in a good way. Like being rolled up in your blanket on a cold night as you watched the stars through an open window. He reached out and grabbed the part of the wing wrapped around him as the princess pulled it back, giggling at her look of surprise when she saw him still hanging on. Princess Twilight smiled, shook her head, and gave him a quick INDIVIDUAL HUG with her foreleg.

SO AWESOME! AND FLUFFY!

“Thank you, Princess Twilight!” Storm squealed, burying his face in her fluffy chest.

“Just call me Twilight, Storm. After all, we are friends now.”

===***===

Shortly after Flash’s death…

Is this what it’s like to be dead? Flash thought, taking in the black void that surrounded him. He couldn’t move, couldn't feel anything, heck, he wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing. Did he even have a body? He couldn't tell.

Where’s the Holy Valley?
Or, well, anything?
Is this seriously what it’s like to be dead?
Just…nothingness forever more?

“…”

“Hmm?” Flash…spoke? He didn’t FEEL like he was speaking, but it wasn’t like he was thinking either. It was…weird. And did he just…

“…”
===***===

Two years later…

This will be fun, Twilight thought, giggling to herself as she knocked on the door in front of her. She was standing in one of the suburbs just outside of Manehattan, waiting patiently in front of an ordinary-looking house. The sun was shining pleasantly, the birds were singing, and nearby ponies moved about their day without a care in the world. Well, without a care except when they stopped to gawk in shock at the sight of her before the nearby guards ushered them on.

What made this day, and this house, slightly more special though was that it was currently the home of one of her friends, and today was his birthday. Something made rather obvious given the bunch of colorful balloons attached to the mailbox, each saying ‘Happy Birthday!’ and the happy chatter of foals playing inside the house, just audible to Twilight’s ears.

“Princess, are you sure you don’t want us to come in?” Spear Head asked from her left. “It never hurts to be prepared.”

“I will be fine, Spear,” Twilight said, smiling patiently. “You and Polaris don’t need to come in, and I can assure you that I won’t run into any real threats inside the house. I promise. And I guarantee that I can bring you some cake when I’m done.”

“Mmmm, thank you!” Spear said, licking her lips.

“No threats…That’s also what you said when you nearly got kidnapped three years ago by a Minotaur working with a banished Saddle Arabian prince who was trying to reclaim his lost wealth,” Polaris said, his tone light and joking.

“Excuse you, I had everything under control. Their horn restraint wasn’t nearly strong enough to block my magic, their chair-trap broke without even a third of my strength, and I seem to remember I had captured all of the attackers within the first two minutes before you even showed up,” Twilight defended, sticking her nose into the air with a fake, overdramatized huff. But she couldn’t hide her smile either.

“Before passing out for two hours due to exertion and the sleep potion they put in your food,” Polaris said. “I’d rather not have to carry you to a bed again, Twilight. No offense, but you are pretty heavy, being an alicorn and all.”

Twilight blew him a raspberry.

You almost get kidnapped ONE TIME and you never hear the end of it, she thought as she rolled her eyes and giggled. Still, I really don’t think that will happen this time. Otherwise I can just imagine Tempest coming back to haunt her grandson for letting that happen to me.

If anypony would be overprotective enough to come back from the dead, it would be her.

With a click, the door in front of them finally opened to reveal Wild Gale, his greeting dying on his lips as he laid eyes on her.

“Hello, Wild. Am I too late?” Twilight asked, levitating the green present with a red ribbon off her back.

Poor Wild Gale looked so confused.

“Twilight! I…no, no, they just brought out the cake. But—what—how—why?”

“I received an invitation,” Twilight said, teleporting out a small, hoof-drawn card. It was a personal invitation from Storm Breaker to attend his sixth birthday party, complete with her name written on the front in big, colorful, slightly misshapen letters. Twilight had found the whole thing beyond adorable when it came in the mail. “I was in Manehattan this week on business, so I thought I might stop by. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen any of you.”

She had actually delayed her trip by two weeks to make sure she was here on the right day, but he didn’t need to know that.

“I—wow, really?” Wild Gale asked in surprise as he read the card. “I knew he sent it to you, but when we didn't get a reply, we just assumed you were sending another card. Storm’s actually been really excited at the idea of you sending him another card. He mentions it at least once a day.”

“Then just wait until he sees me in person,” Twilight said with a sly wink. “Shall we go surprise him?"

“Who am I to say no to such an official invitation?” Wild Gale smiled as he stepped to the side.

Twilight nodded to her guards before stepping inside. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it last year. But that dragon treaty couldn’t wait, even for a few days,” she said as she looked around. There were streamers hung all around the entranceway, balloons attached to nearly every surface, and confetti sprinkling the floor. It looked to have been quite the party so far. “And I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to keep up with you and Crimson either. I know we saw each other a few months ago when Storm came to visit Ponyville, but we didn't get to catch up then. It’s good to see you both again.”

“It was no problem,” Wild said, chuckling. “And it’s great to see you too, Twilight. Though, I wish you could have seen Storm when he got your card. He spent nearly a month showing off his card to anyone who would listen. He still has it in his room too.”

Twilight smiled at that. I’m glad I could make him so happy. It still amazes me how something so small can go such a long way…

As she walked down the hall, Twilight began to pick up on the conversation happening in the next room.

“Come on, tell us what you wished for,” a filly’s high-pitched voice whined.

“No way!” Storm’s voice called out. “I’f I to, ten it wot com tru.”

“Storm, don’t talk with your mouth full,” Crimson’s voice scolded.

“Sory mom,” Storm said before making a loud, exaggerated swallow. “But my wish is for me to know, and youuuuuuuu…”

Twilight rounded the corned and entered the dining room, and Storm’s eyes instantly locked onto her. She barely stopped herself from laughing at the little colt’s stunned expression as his eyes went wide and his mouth gaped in pure shock, his fork and cake falling to the plate.

It. Was. Adorable.

What made it better was that only HE had noticed her, as everyone else was still watching him or demolishing their slices of cake.

“I’m not too late for the cake, am I?” Twilight asked playfully.

Every single little pony in the dining room whipped their head around and dropped their mouths open.

“P-Princess Twilight!?” Crimson and several of the foals cried in surprise.

“Yes?” Twilight asked, smiling.

“You came,” Storm whispered, electricity sparking down his wings. Then his face split into an enormous smile and he squealed “YOUCAMEYOUCAMEYOUCAMEYOUCAME!!” so loudly his voice actually cracked. And then he was off his chair and sailing through the air, lightning sparking in all directions.

Having been ambushed by her own over-excited daughters more times than she could count, Twilight reflexively locked her hind-legs and extended her wings as she reared up slightly, thankful for the tall ceiling in the dining room. Storm hit her chest with a sold ‘thump’ and lightning trailed down her body and made her fur stand on end. It felt quite tingly, maybe even a bit ticklish.

I’ve never been so grateful to have a magically flowing mane, Twilight thought, letting out a small sigh as the lightning passed and Storm clutched at her chest like she was the world’s largest teddy bear. If I didn’t, I don’t even want to imagine how poofy it would be right now.

“YOU ACTUALLY CAME!” Storm squealed looking up at her, his face split in a huge happy smile. Twilight could swear there were stars sparkling in his eyes as he hung off her chest.

“Well, I WAS in Manehattan for some princessly duties, so I thought to myself: ‘How could I miss my cute little friend’s birthday party?’” Twilight asked, giggling as Storm immediately puffed his cheeks up in indignation.

“I’m not cute!” he exclaimed, glaring in such a way that only served to make him more cute.

“Fine, you’re adorable then,” Twilight said, wrapping a leg around him in a hug as she moved out of the entrance way and sat down next to the table. Storm grumbled and squirmed, but didn’t try to escape her grasp. “Now, I don’t suppose you might have an extra party hat?”

“Got one right here,” Wild Gale said, popping up next to her with a bright blue hat and a little noisemaker.

“Thank you,” Twilight said as she lit her horn and casted a small spell to make both of the items just her size. As she put them on, she looked over to the rest of the still-stunned foals, all still in shock. All except for one little filly who was still mesmerized by her cake, Twilight noted with a small smile. “You are allowed to come join us, you know,” she said, winking and giving her little noisemaker a spin. “Just because I’m a princess doesn’t mean I don’t know how to have fun.”

That seemed to break the spell over the foals as all of them immediately grabbed their plates and raced around the table. Twilight quickly laid down on her side, keeping Storm Breaker in her legs as the rest of the foals quickly formed a half circle facing her.

Then came the barrage of questions.

“You really know Storm, princess?” a green filly asked. “That letter of his was REAL!?”

“Did he really bounce on ponies’ heads to come see you!?”

“Did he get grounded, or did you use your powers to parpon, parson—”

“Pardon, dear,” Crimson called from across the room.

“Yeah, did you pardon him, princess?”

“Can you pardon me next time I get in trouble for climbing that big tree in Central Park?”

“Or when I don’t want to eat asparagus!?” a colt called, making in icky face.

“How did Storm get past the guards? Was he that good at flying?”

“Have you ever moved the sun?”

“Can you get Princess Luna to visit my dreams? Pleeeeeeease?”

Nice try; puppy dog eyes don’t work on me anymore, Twilight thought as the young red filly gave her the most pleading look she could. Thankfully her daughters had made her immune to such looks after so many years. That didn’t stop the two of them from trying every now and again though.

“Yes, the letter was real, and please call me Twilight,” Twilight said, lighting her horn again to levitate Storm’s half-eaten cake over to him before cutting herself a small piece from the main cake. “I couldn’t make it last year due to my duties, but I made sure to let him know that I still wished him a happy birthday. Yes, he DID bounce on ponies’ heads, and he made all their manes get really poofy, sort of like his right now.” She gave Storm’s wild mane a small ruffle, much to his muffled protests. “And I’m sorry, but I couldn’t pardon him from getting in trouble. Everypony knows moms are the most powerful ponies in Equestria.”

That got her a few groans, and a proud ‘You know it, Twilight!’ from Crimson, much to Wild’s amusement.

And so the questions continued. What it was like to be a princess, how cool her guards were, if she had a bedtime, what her friends had been like. So many questions, and Twilight loved every second of it. The way their little faces would light up, the curiosity they had about her, the feeling of being a teacher for such young children all over again. It was her element, and she had so needed this after the boring meetings and difficult politicians that had plagued the rest of her trip.

Yet she made sure not to hog all the attention. She in turn asked about them and how they were enjoying Storm’s party, asked what Storm had been up to and if he had been a good colt, asked if everypony was paying attention in school, then joking that she might just given them math homework before Storm heroically talked her down.

He had saved his friends from the evil Princess of HOMEWORK!

They eventually moved to the family room and continued the party. Twilight carefully danced with the rest of them (having maaayyybe a bit too much fun with the Pony-Pokey), played a few board games with them (always making sure to lose if she could), and cheered Storm on as he tried to win a game of Twister and pin-the-tail-on-the-pony. It was like she was a foal again, and she loved it.

When it came time for presents, Twilight made sure to save hers for last, mainly so Storm would pay proper attention to his friends’ gifts. When the time for her present finally came, Storm’s reaction did not disappoint.

“No way…” he whispered, his eyes going wide as he pulled off the last of the wrapping paper. It was a book, specifically one covering the history and founding of Buckball. It had photos of every champion team from the last seventy-five years, an explanation of the rules and how to set up your own arena, tips from past champions, and much more. There was even a section talking about Fluttershy and Pinkie, since they had been the first ever ‘Champions’ back when only Ponyville and Appleoosa had teams.

Though what made this book special was the Twilight had gotten her old friend Snails to sign the book specifically for Storm. Since Snails had won ten championships during his career, a record that had still not been broken, that was no small deal to a fan as big as Storm. Especially given how Snails had won most of those titles while playing for the Manehattan team.

“EEEEE! THANKKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU!” Storm squealed, bouncing up and down excitedly as lightning sparked harmlessly across his body. He bounded forward, gave her a quick sparky hug, then bounded back to his book to start showing it off to his friends.

So adorable.

Twilight could still remember the day she had learned that Storm was a Buckball fan. It had been the first time they had seen each other since the Summer Sun Celebration, and had also been completely on accident at a Buckball game in Manehattan. She had been in the city to meet with the mayor and discuss some ongoing problems with the police force. Specifically, them being underfunded despite repeated increases in funding from the crown.

The mayor had thought that sending her off to a Buckball game in his own private suite in the arena would be enough to distract her, but she had already done her research before-hoof and had enough evidence to open up an embezzlement investigation. The cost and size of the private suite was just more evidence against him. However, while Twilight had been expecting the mayor to try and distract her from her investigation, she hadn’t been expecting Storm to crash into her when she left the suite to buy a few hayburgers.

Literally. He had gone with his dad to get some food, but when the game had started up again, Storm had raced off ahead of his dad to try and get back to his seat. On the way he had crashed into her face-first, covering her chest and legs in nachos and cheese.

Poor Storm had been mortified, not helped by the fact that everypony nearby had gasped in shock and stared at them. Twilight, however, had found the entire thing hilarious, and immediately started laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation, reducing the tension that filled the air. She even dabbed a bit of cheese on his nose as payback, making him smile excitedly. Once Wild Gale had caught up with them, she had invited Storm and his father back to her mostly empty suite, something that Storm had eagerly agreed to.

Over the next two hours, Twilight had learned that Storm was a huge fan of the sport, with his favorite team being the Manehattan Mane-iacs. Given how he had spent the whole game talking about the team and how cool they were, Twilight knew a book all about the game signed by its best player might just be the perfect gift.

About an hour later, the party began to wind its way down. However, just as Twilight thought it might be time to leave, she was given one more question to answer.

“Can I come to your birthday party?” she repeated, looking at the young filly named Cocoa Bean.

“Yeah! You came to Storm’s party, so maybe you can come to mine too, right?” she asked, her eyes glistening with barely contained joy.

“Umm…” Twilight began, trying to think of her schedule for the next few months before another voice chimed in.

“That would be AWESOME! Me too, me too!”

“What about mine? It’s right near Hearth’s Warming!”

“Mine’s in the summer! We can have a pool party!”

And on and on they went. So many voices, all trying to speak over one another in an attempt to convince her to spent time with them.

Twilight had really enjoyed her time with them all, and she would love nothing more than go to every single one of their parties and play with them more. But there were nearly twenty foals here, not counting Storm. Her schedule has some flexibility, but not THAT much! She would never be able to make all the parties without completely slacking in her duties!

You would think that with so many alicorns that the workload wouldn’t be so bad anymore. Curse you bureaucracy!

*FWEEEEEEEE*

A sharp whistle split the air, making every foal go silent and look over to the doorway. Twilight turned to see that it had been Crimson who had come to the rescue.

“Everypony, let’s give Twilight time to speak, ok? It’s rather hard for her to hear you when you’re all speaking at once anyway,” Crimson said. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as a chorus of ‘sorry’ rang out.

Ok, think, Twilight. There must be a way you can explain this to them without disappointing them all. Hmmmmm…Oh, I got it.

“Everypony,” Twilight said gently, “as much as I would love to attend all of your birthday parties, I believe me, I would REALLY love to attend them all, I’m afraid that I have too many other ponies depending on me as a princess to be able to attend them all. I’m sorry.

“BUT,” she added before the disappointed ‘Awwwww’s’ could begin. “I can promise that I will do what I can to attend your parties. And just in case…” Twilight smiled playfully. “Happy early birthday to you,” she said, reaching out and booping a young filly on the nose, earning her a startled squeak.

“Happy early birthday to you,” she said again, booping a young colt on the nose as well. “And happy early birthday to you, and happy early birthday to you, and…”

Around she went, giving each filly and colt an early-birthday boop, quickly restoring the festive atmosphere and earning many happy giggles. She saved Storm for last.

“And a super-special happy birthday to you,” she said, booping Storm as he grinned as widely as he could.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Storm squeaked, jumping forwards to wrap her leg in a hug. Then, before Twilight could react, all the other foals joined in, nearly toppling her as they all ran forward to hug her legs until it looked like she was wearing four large, living socks. Twilight giggled and bent down to nuzzle Storm.

“You’re welcome, Storm. I’m glad I could be here to celebrate your special day.”

Even if she couldn’t make everypony’s birthday as special as his, she knew that at the very least she had given all the foals a party they would never forget…

Five years later…

“She’s coming!” Princess Dawn’s panicked whisper yelled out through the mostly quiet room.

It’s almost time! Oh, I hope that cake is ready soon! It smells soooooo goooooooood. Storm thought giddily as he leapt behind one of the many fancy couches that had been brought into the dining room just for this occasion. No, bad Storm. Focus on the surprise first, then the cake. Its got to be ready soon.

A few seconds later, the lights clicked off and Princess Dawn jumped down beside him.

“You ready, Stormy? Remember, you have the most important role,” she said, her voice holding barely constrained excitement. Storm’s wings sparked as he nodded excitedly.

“You bet!” he whispered, before his right ear perked. He could hear Twilight’s voice! He stood on his hind legs, balancing himself so that only his eyes and the top of his head was showing over the couch, and locked his eyes on the exit door as the voices drew closer. His timing had to be perfect!

“Spike, I’m telling you, I’m fine! Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused?” Twilight’s voice exclaimed in exasperation.

“Twilight, you barely had dinner last night and you skipped breakfast this morning!” Spike’s loud voice rumbled. “I don’t care how many meetings those stupid nobles want or how badly they’ll complain about you delaying them. They’ve been harassing you for the past two weeks about this stupid plan to demolish Ponyville Park and replace it with a shopping mall, and they need to learn to take NO for an answer. Especially when it comes from a princess directly. You’re taking the rest of the day off, and they can deal with it.”

Those meanies, Storm thought. No pony should be mean to a princess, especially Princess Twilight. Good thing Mister Spike was even bigger than Twilight, because that way he could protect her from those mean nobles, whoever they were. No pony would mess with a big dragon protecting his sister!

“That does NOT excuse the fact that you set Duke Sly Fox’s tail on fire AND threatened to throw Duchess Golden Bit out a third story window!”

“First, Fox shouldn’t have brought up Rarity and implied that she would be willing to support such a greedy scheme before insulting her integrity—” Storm could HEAR the fire in the dragon’s voice, as well as a loud THUMP as his tail smacked the floor —“even IF he was just trying to get under my scales. And second, I was threatening to throw Golden into the POOL, which is also on the third floor.”

“You shouldn’t have done either of those things regardless. I could have easily kicked both of them out of the castle, and now because of these incidents I have MORE paperwork to do on top of all the work that these ridiculous request are giving me! It’s even worse than that time Duke Quill was trying to get me to demolish White Tail Woods thirty years ago!”

“And as your assistant I will take care of all of that paperwork as an apology, because I am sorry about that. I lost my temper, but somedragon had to tell them off. They’ve been trying to make your life miserable and I won’t stand for it. And…wait. Hold on a second. I remember that incident! Weren’t you able to stop that by declaring the woods a protected public space due to its role in the yearly Running of the Leaves? Can’t you do the same thing for the park?”

Two shadows stopped just outside the door, and Storm could swear he heard the sound of a metal shoe meeting somepony’s face.

It's almost time… Storm thought, lifting his wings in excitement as lightning sparked down them. Focus Storm. Ignore the distractions, especially the smell of the wonderfully massive cake…no, FOCUS!

“…You can actually do that, can’t you?” Spike said with a deadpan tone.

“YES, I can, AND it will solve the funding issue that has plagued the park for the last three years. And I had COMPLETELY forgotten that I could because it’s been nearly two decades since I last made use of that ability and because I haven’t been able to do enough research to remember that I could do that in the first place because of all this NONSENSE DISTRACTING ME FOR FOURTEEN HOURS A DAY!” The doorknob turned. “Ugh…I need some food—why are all the lights off?”

NOW!

Storm leapt up onto the back of the couch, his wings sparking madly as he fired a bolt of lighting into the massive crystal ball hanging in the dinning room while posing as epically as he could. The lightning struck with a thunderous BOOM and BZZZZZZZZ, the orb sparked madly with all colors of the rainbow, sending rainbow sparks sailing down the various wires that had been strung up around the ceiling, making a perfect imitation of Twilight’s cutie mark.

Magical nonflammable fireworks exploded in bursts of rainbow color. Small enchanted boxes fired out bursts of confetti. The lights snapped on and streamers were fired from four different party cannons scattered around the circular room. And everypony inside the room jumped up from their hiding places and screamed at one.

“SURPRISE!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TWILIGHT!”

Twilight’s face was priceless. She stood there, her mouth was wide in shock and her eyes were wide, rapidly flickering all around the room. Spike smirked in happy satisfaction.

“And this is why you’re taking the rest of the day off,” he said, giving Twilight a friendly nudge.

“Huh? But-lightning-how-Storm-that-buh?” she stuttered, looking at the dragon, then the room, then back to Spike, then back to the room.

“You didn’t think we’d let you forget your birthday, did you, Mom?” Princess Soothing Night asked, winking at Twilight playfully as the ponies around them began to party in earnest.

“Yeah!” Princess Dawn agreed, bouncing up and scooping Storm out of his epic pose.

“Yipe!” he squeaked as his wings involuntarily sparked, but had no time to truly protest as he was dragged through the air by the excitable alicorn. What’s worse, he was being dragged in the exact opposite direction of the kitchen!

No fair! The party started, so that means it’s time for cake! The cake’s in the other direction, princess!

“And we even made sure your cute little friend could make it!”

“I’m not cute!” Storm protested, his wings sparking even more and causing Princess Dawn’s mane to stand on end…more so that it already was. By the looks of it, some of his lightning had hit her mane when he had set off the decorations.

Oops.

“Based on my professional scientific observation, you most certainly are,” Princess Soothing said, smiling at him.

“Am not!”

“Denying it just makes you look cuter.”

Storm angrily puffed up his cheeks as he glared at her with his best ‘angry stare.’

“Yes, just like that,” Princess Soothing said, clearly not intimidated.

Darn it, why does everyone think I’m cute!? I’M NOT CUTE!!! And why does my angry look never work!?

“I did forget,” Twilight said, thankfully drawing the attention back to her as she sat down in the doorway. “I DID forget my own birthday. How could I have possibly forgotten that?”

“To be fair,” Princess Dawn said, still holding Storm with one leg despite his struggles. “We DID avoid reminding you so we would have a chance to surprise you. And with the nobles taking up so much of your time, it probably just slipped your mind.” She gently patted Twilight’s shoulder with her free hoof.

“And I MAY have erased it from your schedules, too,” Spike said, smiling guiltily as Twilight turned to glare at him with the fury that Storm thought only his mother could possess.

“You WHAT!?”

“It was Soothing’s idea!” Spike said hastily, holding up his claws in defense.

“Gee, thanks, Uncle Spike,” Princess Soothing said, rolling her eyes playfully. “But remember that YOU were the one who messed with her schedules directly. All five of them.”

“You messed with my schedules?” Twilight growled, her eyes narrowing dangerously at the dragon.

“Just a little…” Spike said, gulping. At this point, Storm stopped paying attention and began focusing on actually escaping Princess Dawn, especially when he caught another whiff of Twilight’s birthday cake!

Head-Chef/Princess Ginger had called it the ‘Super Chocolate Strawberry Deluxe,’ a name that made Storm’s teeth hurt, but in a good way. The smell had slowly filled the dinning room as they had been setting up, and from the moment Storm could smell it clearly, it had begun driving him crazy. When he had actually peeked into the kitchen to look at it…Oh good Luna…

So. Much. CHOCOLATE!

The cake had been seven layers tall, making it taller than even Twilight. It had been a chocolate and strawberry swirl cake with chocolate frosting and had strawberries and strawberry icing on top, all curved in elegant and delicious designs. He had frozen in place at the sight of it, drooling at the mere thought of how it might taste as the full smell blasted him from a recently opened oven.

Ginger, upon seeing him, had given him a grand view of the cake as she was finishing the final touches to the seventh layer. Unfortunately, the cake was actually going to be NINE layers by the time she was done, so it wasn’t quite ready yet and had to stay in the kitchen. Ginger had given him a small brownie before shooing him out of the kitchen, but the image of that super cake refused to leave his mind.

“Can we eat now? I want to see if the cake is ready!” Storm said as his wings sparked in excitement. Princess Dawn giggled before ruffling his mane with her other hoof. “ACK! HEY!”

“I thought you wanted cake, not hay,” Princess Dawn said teasingly, right before a purple aura surrounded Storm and plucked him out of her grip!

FREEDOM—OH COME ON! Storm thought as he was freed from Princess Dawn’s vice-like grip, only to immediately be grabbed by Twilight and pulled to her fluffy chest.

“Storm, as much as I love to see you,” Twilight began, giving him a quick hug and nuzzle, “I need to ask: how did you get here? I seem to recall your last letter saying you were at flight camp in Cloudsdale. Did you sneak away on your own? Do your parents know where you are? I don’t see them here.”

Twilight’s curious yet firm don’t-you-lie-to-me-young-stallion look made Storm gulp slightly. She was even better at it then his mom.

But luckily, Storm had the perfect answer.

“Don’t worry, Princess Dawn made me sign a permission slip first!” he said, pointing at the smaller alicorn, who, right on cue, pulled out a scroll and passed it to Twilight.

“It was my idea, Mom,” Princess Dawn explained as Twilight levitated the scroll up to her face, her eyes scrolling across the document almost faster than Storm could track. “While Storm is still going to flight camp, he usually goes home on the weekends. So when I contacted Wild Gale and Crimson about having him come for your birthday and learned that he would be up in Cloudsdale the day before, I thought it would be a good idea to have him just come here instead of head home.”

“So,” Princess Soothing added, “I went to see him last weekend and sent him home with a permission slip, and then went up to Cloudsdale to pick him up last night while Princess Dawn was helping you with your paperwork. He stayed with Green Leaf and I, and then spent the rest of the day helping us set up the decorations. It did take quite a bit of effort to stop him from running into the kitchen though,” she added playfully.

“It’s not my fault the cake smells so good,” Storm grumbled as he squirmed in Twilight's grip. “Besides, you wouldn’t let me eat any of the party snacks and I was hungry! All you gave me was that tiny sandwich. ”

“What kind of snacks?” Spike asked, lifting his head to look over the crowd of ponies. “Ooooo, is that Ginger’s spinach dip?” The golden band around his right claw lit up and shrank him so he could get past the three princesses without too much trouble.

“Don’t eat too much of it, Spike!” Princess Soothing called. “I want some of it too!”

“No promises!” Spike called back, grinning back at his niece. Princess Soothing just glared, before turning back to Twilight.

“I’ll be back, Mom. Happy birthday.” She quickly hugged the larger alicorn, squishing Storm between them before dashing off after the dragon. “SPIKE! If you eat all the spinach dip, I won’t be responsible for what Snowflake does to you!”

“WHAT? I can’t hear you over the sound of my chewing!” Spike yelled back. Storm giggled and Princess Dawn rolled her eyes.

“I should probably go stop them before they cover the room in frost,” Princess Dawn said, giving her mom a hug too before ruffling Storm’s main again.

“Stop it!” he protested, flailing his hooves above his head. Princess Dawn just giggled.

“Nope! Have fun, Mom! Oh, and sorry the cake's not out yet. Ginger said it’s nearly done, but it will still take her a few minutes to bring it out of the kitchen due to its size. She should be wheeling it out really soon. So just have fun until then!”

And with that, she was off, heading into what Storm could see was quickly becoming a wrestling/eating contest between Spike and Princess Soothing, both of them trying to pin the other one to the floor while simultaneously trying to scoop some food onto their plates. Though why Princess Soothing wasn't using her magic, Storm would never know…

Maybe they just thought it was more fun to wrestle?

“Twilight, why is Princess Soothing acting so silly? I thought Princess Dawn was the silly one.” Storm asked, looking up at the alicorn.

“Dawn is usually the silly one,” Twilight said, smiling down at him. “But when it comes to Ginger’s cooking, Soothing will normally do anything to try and get some for herself, usually going above and beyond what is needed. The last time Spike ended up eating all the spinach dip, Soothing ended up burying him under a snowball twice his size, despite the fact that it was summer at the time.”

“That sounds so awesome!” Storm exclaimed, his wings sparking in excitement as Twilight rolled her eyes.

I wish I could make snow in the summer. Maybe they’ll teach me how to do it when I start taking weather-making lessons after flight camp. That would be so cool! Literally!

GURGLE!

“Still hungry?” Twilight asked, grinning down at Storm with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes!”

“Good, because I am too,” she said with a wink, just as her own stomach grumbled so loudly that Storm could feel the vibration from his place on her chest. “Let’s go see if we can find something to eat that isn’t being wrestled over while we wait for the cake!”

“YEAH—oh wait! I have something for you first!” Storm cried, squirming and wriggling until finally he escaped Twilight’s iron grip. With a burst of sparks, he took off across the room, dodging castle staff and guards and townsponies, all here to help celebrate the birthday of the best princess ever!

In no time at all, he was swooping over the table piled high with presents. He curved his wings, flying in a long swooping motion and grabbing the small red bag from the corner of the table. His gift secured, he turned and flew across the room, avoiding a startled maid with more food from the kitchen and a large pony-sized snowball that Princess Soothing had thrown at Spike.

I hope I can convince Twilight, Spike, Princess Dawn, and Princess Soothing to come visit me next Hearth’s Warming. Princess Soothing would dominate the yearly neighborhood snowball war!

As he approached Twilight, Storm bled off speed just like his flight instructor taught him and came to a halt right in front of the amused looking alicorn.

“TADA!” Storm said, boldly presenting his gift. “I’m sorry it’s not bigger, but I worked really hard to get it for you! And since it’s your birthday and you’re a princess, you don’t even need to wait to open it!”

“Size doesn’t matter when it comes to gifts,” Twilight said, smiling down at him as she took the small bag from his hooves. “It’s the thought that counts.”

She slowly opened the bag and removed the wrapping paper.

Please like it please like it please like it please like it ple—

“Storm, this is beautiful. Where did you get this?” Twilight said in wonder, her eyes going wide as she pulled out his gift. It was a golden leg band with six gemstones set around its length. The gems were an orange apple, a red lightning bolt, a dark purple diamond, a pink butterfly, a blue balloon, and a purple star.

“It was in a antique store back home! They have all kind of cool things there, and I saw this before I started flight camp!” Storm said, lightning whizzing around him as his wings flapped excitedly. “I knew the gems are your friends’ cutie marks, so I thought it would be a good way to show you how much your friendship means to me, just like it did to them! I saved up my allowance for three months too. Do you lik—YIPE!”

Storm was cut off as Twilight once again yanked him into her forelegs.

“It’s wonderful, Storm!” Twilight squealed, squishing him to the point that he was sure he actually squeaked. “Thank you, thank you so much!”

She likes it! She actually likes it!

Also, air!

“Air, I need air!” Storm cried. Twilight threw him happily into the air before catching him and squeezing him in another hug. “More air!”

“Thank you, Storm! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Your friendship is important to me too. I promise I won’t ever lose this bracelet.” She extended her right foreleg from her chest so that she could attach the band to it. She also loosened her grip, allowing Storm to catch his breath.

And I thought my mom had a strong grip after I got her that fancy bracelet for Mother’s Day.

GRUMBLE!

“Can we get food now?” Storm asked, wincing as his stomach protested once again.

“Yes, yes we can,” Twilight giggled. Still holding him to her chest, she began to walk towards the food. As she did, Storm chuckled at Spike and Princess Soothing as the two of them continued with what was rapidly becoming an indoor snowball fight. Already a bunch of other ponies were starting to join in as well, all of them choosing a side and laughing as snow began to fly everywhere. Even Princess Dawn had joined her sister in the epic fight.

Already, this had been a party that Storm would never forget.

Three years later…

There were many things that Storm had never expected to see in his life.

Flying pigs, a green sea serpent big enough to eat a boat whole, a spaceship fighting off aliens as they explored the universe... All those were things only found in books or movies.

But never in all his life had Storm expected to accidentally have front row seats to watch a thirty-foot-tall ice-wolf named Snowflake do battle against five equally large timberwolves only a few dozen feet from Harmony Castle. If it weren’t for Twilight and Princess Dawn’s combined magic shield protecting the castle and town, Storm would have been terrified, especially as every colossal blow to the shield made the balcony under his hooves shake, sometimes even making him bounce an inch or two off the ground.

But here, he was safe and protected by Twilight and Princess Dawn as Princess Soothing rode her pet Snowflake into battle. And it was the most amazing thing ever! The way she flung spell after spell and held back the wolves to give Snowflake the perfect openings to attack, the way she summoned more, smaller ice wolves to attack and distract the larger timberwolves, the way she dove forward and smashed that one timberwolf with her bare hooves, smashing its head to splinters.

So. Awesome.

And that wasn’t even counting the rest of the royal guards! Storm had always known they were cool, but now he was completely captivated by them.

The way they had evacuated everyone as soon as the rumbling had started, rushing around to make sure everypony was safe before charging off towards the Everfree Forest once the first timberwolf appeared, all without a moment’s hesitation. The way they distracted the Timberwolves that were at least ten times their size while waiting for backup. The way that they were continuing, even now, to attack and fight the Timberwolves right alongside Princess Soothing, some even riding the smaller ice wolves for greater mobility.

Tying up their legs with ropes, pelting them with fire spells, blocking their retreat into the Everfree Forest with shields and horn blasts to prevent them from recovering or going to gather more wood to get bigger…they were putting their lives on the line to fight monsters Storm could have only dreamed about, all without the incredible power of an alicorn to back them up.

It was incredible to see such teamwork, such skill and endurance, to see ponies willing to risk so much to keep others safe. To see them fight and protect the town and each other, to cover one another as the wounded were brought back into the shield, to watch no pony give up no matter how impossible the odds might be.

It was so much cooler than Buckball, and that was saying a lot!

And to make it even COOLER, some of the normal guards had their own special abilities, just like him! Besides Princess Soothing and her ice powers, there was an earth pony that could make vines sprout from the ground and tangle up the wolves, a bat pony who could screech so loudly that it actually made the air in front of her ripple from the pure force, and a small kirin whose teammates launched her directly at one of the wolves like a Buckball so she could burst into flames just before impact and smash a hole straight through the wolf’s chest!

Did all of Twilight’s guards have special abilities like this!? Did the first captain of the Twilight Guard Flash Sentry have his own special abilities that Storm had never read about? Or his great-grandma Tempest? What kind of awesome maneuvers did they develop together to protect Princess Twilight?

And it was at that moment that Storm realized just what he wanted to be when he grew up.

He wanted to protect ponies, to make sure that they could live peacefully without fear of giant wolves or bandits or whatever threat came next. To put his lightning magic to good use for everyone in Equestria. To make sure his special ability could be used for an incredible purpose, just like the other creatures in the Twilight Guard.

To be a guard—no, a guard captain! To lead brave ponies into battle in such a way that, together, they could take on anything, even threats worthy of an alicorn!

And what better pony to protect than his lifelong friend, Princess Twilight?

===***===

Shortly after Flash’s death…

“The ‘in-between?’” Flash blinked. Something was speaking to him, yet…

===***===

Four years later…

Twilight looked down at the paper in front of her, her chest welling with a mixture of worry and pride that she hadn’t felt in many, many years.

Storm Breaker, the adorable little colt who had jumped across ponies’ heads in a streak of lightning nearly fourteen years ago, was now applying to join the Twilight Guard.

He had just turned eighteen last month, and given how long it normally took for applications to reach her desk, chances were he applied the same week he became old enough to apply at all. Maybe he even applied on his birthday.

It really shouldn’t be that surprising, though, Twilight thought as she continued to read over the document in front of her. Storm has been interested in the guard ever since those oversized timberwolves attacked Ponyville. It might be the only think he’s talked about more than Buckball.

Twilight snorted as she remembered that one time she had found Storm chasing poor Polaris through the castle, asking an endless barrage of questions despite the guard’s poor begging to ask somepony else. That had been adorable and a good dose of karma after Polaris had told Storm about her many misadventures as a princess during once of his spring breaks. Including the time she had gotten stuck in a twenty-foot-tall cupcake because of Discord.

Then there had been the time Twilight had found Storm passed out in the library. Shortly after the timberwolf attack, Storm had spent almost three days in the castle library, reading everything he could about not only the guard as a whole, but also his great grandmother Tempest. Finding him asleep with his face resting on an open book on the second night, his face covered in the imprints of crumpled pages and small splotches of ink on his fur had brought back so many memories that Twilight couldn’t help but smile at the mere thought of it.

Actually, now that Twilight thought about it, Storm had been coming to Ponyville more often ever since that timberwolf attack. Before, he’d spend a weekend in Ponyville once every month or two, usually with his parents. But since the attack, Storm had been visiting almost every other weekend, and he had even spent his entire spring break in Ponyville the last two years. Even if she, Dawn, and Soothing were all busy at the time, he would still come and either just hang out in town with some of the other friends he had made or help out with the Ponyville weather team.

There had also been numerous times that Storm spent hours on end watching her guards train. One time, he had even tried to hide in a cloud to watch their training against Soothing’s ice wolves, something made all the more funny given how anypony was allowed to watch the training, and the fact that he hadn’t realized that his tail was sticking out of the cloud the entire time. And if that wasn’t a dead giveaway already, his excited bursts of lightning turned the normal cloud into a dark storm cloud, making his hiding place even more obvious. He had even zapped himself accidentally when the guard had won the battle and he had jumped on the cloud in excitement.

As such, it was not surprising at all that Storm would want to join her guard.

Yet despite all that, it still worried Twilight to see this on her desk. Storm had become one of her dear friends and had been responsible for some of the best memories she’d had over the past few years. The parties, the way he could talk for hours and listen to her no matter how complicated the subject, the way they could both confide in each other about anything that was bothering them. The idea of someone so close to her putting his life on the line for her was…scary.

Even now, looking at the small burn marks on the edges of the paper (from Storm getting a bit too excited with the application, she guessed), Twilight could remember one of the first times Storm had come to confide in her.

It was still such a vivid memory. Storm and his parents had come to Ponyville for a long holiday weekend. Storm had first appeared happy and bubbly as always, yet it hadn’t taken Twilight long to notice that every time Storm’s lightning sparked, he would flinch, and he was actively working to try and not get too excited. If he did, and the lightning followed, Storm would apologize profusely, even if nothing happened.

This was a far cry from a happy Storm hugging her in a burst of sparks that pleasantly tickled her. It was almost as if Storm was afraid of his own magic.

And so, when they were alone, Twilight had gently confronted Storm, asking him what was wrong and how she could help. Storm had been reluctant for a while, insisting that everything was fine, but a soft wing over his back and a knowing look finally convinced him to speak up.

Storm, who was only ten at the time, had been starting to have more severe magic surges. Ones that caused him to occasionally lose control of his magic and accidentally fire lightning bolts from his wings, something far more powerful than his usually bursts of harmless static. One had even been strong enough to set a tree branch on fire.

Storm had said this hadn’t been too much of a problem, that his mom was helping him learn to keep calm and keep his magic inside, but a unicorn filly name Upper Crust had recently joined his school and she was, in Storm’s own words, a “poopy head.” She was mean, spoiled, and acted like she was the boss of everypony despite getting in trouble multiple times. And, for some reason, she had an especially big problem with Storm. He was the pony she would most frequently target, and she always tried to pin the blame on him whenever she did something wrong and he was nearby. None of these punishments ever stuck, since everypony else would support Storm when the teachers intervened, but it still annoyed Storm.

But then, one day, she went too far. They had gotten too close in lunch line and his lightning had poofed up her mane, and she went off on him, yelling about how careless he was and saying that he was the reason only unicorns should use magic. Storm had apologized for her mane, but said everypony had the right to use magic, not just spoiled fillies like her. That had sent her into a rage, and she had grabbed Storm’s lunch in her magic and smashed it into his face.

Storm didn’t even remember what had happened next. He had just been so hurt from the hot sauce in his eyes, so angry at that little filly for everything she had done in the last month, that his magic had almost acted on its own. But according to his friends, he had shot her with a lightning bolt, sending her sailing across the lunchroom until she crashed into the wall.

Storm had broken down at that point, saying how he didn't mean to hit her like that, how it was an accident. Twilight had pulled him to her chest, gently hugging him as he let the emotions pour out. She had whispered soft reassurances to him, letting him know that it wasn’t his fault, and that everything was ok. That she was still his friend.

After he calmed down, Storm said that Crust had actually been fine, aside from a minor burn and some bumps and bruises, nothing the nurse couldn’t patch up. Both their parents had been called, but thankfully Crust’s father was actually very nice and was appalled at his daughter’s actions. He had been very understanding, saying that he himself had experienced plenty of magic surges as a foal.

Storm had not been punished for losing control, but he started meeting with the school’s magic teacher once a week for extra help on preventing more surges. It was helping, and his parents were helping him practice, but Storm was still afraid it would happen again. Or that he would never get his magic under control. And that scared him.

Twilight had simply smiled reassuringly before she told him of her entrance exam at the School for Gifted Unicorns, and how she had lost control so badly that she had made the teachers float, turned her parents into potted plants, and had turned the baby Spike, whom she had just hatched, into a full grown dragon. It wasn’t until Princess Celestia had calmed her down that she had been able to regain control, and how she too had been afraid of her own potential for a few weeks after that.

That had blown Storm’s mind. The idea of someone like her losing control and needing help to calm her down was almost unthinkable for him. Twilight had used the pause to say how she knew Storm could get his magic under control, just like she did, and that his magic would one day help do great things.

Storm had cried again, but this time happily as he hugged her and thanked her for listening to him. How he would get his surges under control and would make her proud. Twilight had said she already was.

Twilight realized that this was another reason she was so nervous about Storm joining the guard. She was friends with all of her guards, certainly, but most of them didn’t have nearly as deep a connection as she and Storm did, baring a few exceptions. Flash and Tempest immediately came to mind, of course, and the mere thought of them brought back memories of all the times they had gotten hurt trying to protect her. It seemed like Flash got banged up every other week, and while Tempest got hurt less often, she landed in the hospital almost every time she did. Twilight honestly didn’t know which case was more stressful.

But those same memories also made Twilight proud, in a way. Neither of them had ever let their injuries dissuade him from protecting her, and regardless of all her worry, she truly loved the fact that they had been so willing to put the safety of others, sometime ponies they had never even met, above their own. The idea that Storm was willing to do the same thing, that he was willing to dedicate at least three years of his life to defending the peace in Equestria made her so proud of that cute little pegasus.

“I’m not cute!” a little imaginary Storm yelled, which only made Twilight giggle. He WAS cute, whether he wanted to admit it or not, and it was one of the many parts she loved about him. She cast a quick glance at the golden bracelet he had gotten her seven years ago. She still made sure to wear it as often as she could.

Twilight shook her head as she focused back on the papers before her. Before Storm could be offered a position in the guard, somepony had to check all of the data and records that had been pulled on the applicant. Medical records, school records, criminal records, job information. It was a lot, and once it was all checked and verified, it was sent to her for review.

Once she had gone over it all and signed the approval on the final page, the document would go back to her guard captain, Magic Burst, who would then work out where Storm would go in the guard and whether he needed any special training. She would then interview him, before offering him a position in the guard and one final chance to back out. If he signed on, he would be obligated to serve for at least three years barring a discharge from the guard.

I best get started, Twilight thought, levitating the forms off her desk. No reason to keep Storm waiting longer than necessary.

Thankfully, decades of practice meant that Twilight was able to read through and analyze the entire set of documents in just under an hour. Not her best time to be sure, but still pretty good. And, thankfully, it didn’t appear that there were any issues that might delay the application. Magic Burst would certainly need to look into getting Storm a special teacher for his lightning magic, but that would be worked when he accepted the job.

It looks like everything checks out, Twilight thought with a final nod. Everything was in order, and if Storm so chose, he would be training to join her guard by the end of the month.

With a flick of her quill, Twilight signed the final approval form, paused, then flipped back to the ‘external recommendations’ page and added a quick note.

Kind, caring, loyal, and a personal friend of Princess Twilight Sparkle, she added, giggling to herself.

She only wished she could see the look on Storm’s face when he learned about that.

Later that same week…

Captain Magic Burst looked at the pony in front of her with a firm and unreadable look. Said pony’s deep blue eyes stared back into her green ones with only the slightest bit of nervousness. His cutie mark was that of a shield with a storm cloud on the front, and the entire thing was sparking with bits of yellow lightning.

It was a symbol of his unique affinity for anything related to lightning, something the young stallion clearly demonstrated a few months ago when he helped redirect a dangerous wild storm that had blown in from the Everfree Forest. Pegesi naturally had a high resistance to lightning, but he had taken ten direct lightning bolts during that job. That was something that most pegasi wouldn’t be able to withstand without injury, especially over such a short period of time.

Yet Storm Breaker hadn’t even been fazed.

Magic Burst’s eyes drifted back down to the file in front of her.

Given his lightning resistance, Magic Burst was actually surprised that he hadn’t stuck with the weather business. There was always a need for ponies like him, and according to his record he had spent at least three years working part-time as part of the Manehattan weather team, had assisted the Ponyville weather team at least once a month for the same amount of time, and had joined the Ponyville weather team for a full month while waiting for his application to finish. His lightning abilities combined with his experience in the industry would likely ensure that he would start with higher-level weather tasks right off the bat.

Heck, the salary he would receive for weather working would probably be far above what the guard paid, especially if he took on more dangerous tasks. Not to mention how much more exciting that job would be compared to guarding hallways and big rooms ninety-five percent of the time.

But he hadn’t pursued that path, at least not yet. Instead, he had immediately come to Ponyville to enlist in the Twilight Guard, and had patiently waited this last month as the various background checks, medical checks, and annoying bureaucracy that made up the less glamorous side of the guard was taken care of. And now he was now sitting across from the current guard captain, looking a bit nervous, but incredibly determined even as the minutes of silence wore on.

According to his record, Storm Breaker was perfectly healthy. No ailments to disqualify him, no crippling injuries despite the higher-than-average number of lightning-related accidents, and no criminal records that would disqualify him from applying. Magic Burst’s contact pony with the weather unit where he currently worked said Storm Breaker was a hard and dedicated worker who would go above and beyond, frequently protecting his wingmates from lightning strikes when he was working in the Storm Wrangler’s division.

Her contact had also said that he was little impulsive maybe, rather energetic, and definitely a bit of workaholic.

But all that she could work with.

The only real issue was that he still had very little control of his magic. He could fly perfectly fine, and his records indicated that he had received enough training to avoid surges and keep the more dangerous aspects of his magic under control, but his ability to create lighting within and along his body clearly needed some serious refinement. Even now, bits of lightning were running up his wild orange mane, which told her that his control was less than ideal. Magic Burst couldn’t tell if he was actually more nervous than his stoic expression was letting on, or if she was just reading too much into it.

It was a rather rare ability, with fewer than one in a thousand pegesi having such an affinity for lightning. Or at least that was what Princess/Captain Soothing had concluded in the research she had conducted. Magic Burst was very grateful that Soothing had actually written the paper on Storm specifically, as it gave her a unique opportunity to learn more about her potential recruit than almost any recruit who had come before.

Thankfully, despite how rare this type of magic was, Magic Burst happened to know just the pony to help Storm Breaker get his power under control. Sergeant Sky Splitter. She was a good friend of Magic Burst, and while she could be a bit tough at times, Magic Burst knew she would be the perfect teacher for Storm. Sky would use Storm’s determination to help him improve a step at a time, helping him fix his mistakes, build his confidence, and never ever quit, no matter how frustrated he may become.

Magic Burst could almost hear it, Sky giving Storm a super military pep-talk about how far he had come and how great he could be just as he was about to give up, galvanizing him back into action and keeping that fire that drove every guard alive and roaring. She had to bite her cheek to keep from smiling

Yes, they’d be a good pair. If Storm did as Sky Splitter said, he would be a force to be reckoned with in no time.

Overall, Storm Breaker was young, hardworking, and had a rare ability that could prove to be an amazing asset when he learned to control it. With a bit of time and a lot of training, he would be just the kind of pony the guard wanted.

What’s more, he was currently listed as a friend of Princess Twilight in his file. Magic Burst had nearly burst out laughing when she had first read that, only just managing to keep a straight face in front of her new recruit. She was certain the princess had actually added that herself, which was as close to a royal recommendation as Storm Breaker would ever likely get.

“Upon intense review,” Magic Burst said, looking up from the file, “and upon having the princess give her final look at your file, you have been cleared to join the Twilight Guard.”

Storm’s face took on a look of relief before splitting into a massive grin, looking just like her son on Hearth’s Warming for a moment. Magic Burst almost chuckled at that, allowing a small smile to shine through at seeing someone so young showing such excitement at joining the guard for the first time. It reminded her of when she had signed up nearly twenty years ago.

Given his unique ability and his hard-working personality, if he played his cards right, maybe one day he would be sitting here in this chair.

“Furthermore,” she continued, focusing back on the present. “You will be assigned to a specialized lightning trainer from the Wonderbolts, Sergeant Sky Splitter, to help you get your lightning magic under control and up to a combat-ready standard. I refuse to see such a talent wasted or ignored.

“However, this specialized training will be on top of your normal training and duties as a guard, and, I won’t lie, will take up almost all of your free time for the next year or two until both Sky Splitter and I deem you ready enough to become a full guard. This is your last chance to back out.” She lit her horn and pulled out a contract from below the file and floated it to him along with a quill and inkwell.

“The guard contract is for a minimum of three years, after which you can resign or retire whenever you so choose. You’ll receive standard housing and a pay of twenty-five bits every working hour. You will start off with standard Twilight Guard armor that we will modify to ensure there are no accidents with your lightning magic. However, once your magic is under control, we’ll see about upgrading your armor to better utilize your talents. Any questions or concerns?”

“When do I start? And where do I sign?” Storm Breaker asked, a giddy grin on his face as his wings twitched, sending harmless sparks flying around him.

I wonder if he’ll be this excitable once he gets through basic training, Magic Burst thought as she tried to hide a smile. Hopefully some of his energy would rub off on the other recruits.

“Sign on the dotted line," Magic Burst said, tapping the document with a hoof. Storm immediately signed without a second thought, the quill sparking slightly. “You will start tomorrow, o-eight-hundred hours. You are to report to the training field to the left of Harmony Castle for basic training, orientation, fitting, more training, and bunk assignment, in that order. Understood?”

“Yes ma’am!” Storm Breaker replied with a salute.

“Good. Dismissed,” she said with a firm nod. Storm returned it before dashing out the door in a burst of lightning and wind. If Magic Burst’s reflexes were any slower, everything in her office would have been scattered by the burst of wind.

Oh yeah, he definitely had the potential to sit in this desk if he put the work in. Though he would need to rein in that energy should he ever hoped to become captain.

“If he’s that bad when he’s excited, I’m adding more time to his training with Sky,” Magic Burst chuckled before sliding Storm’s file away and pulling out the next one in a small pile she had.

“NEXT!”

Four years later…

Owwwwww…

Storm Breaker groaned as the darkness around him slowly began to recede. His mind felt like it was slowly thawing after a long winter, the gears of his mind turning at a snail’s pace.

What happened? Why can’t I move?

Faint voices slowly fading into his awareness. Yet he couldn't make out what they were saying. Why is my body not responding?

He searched him mind, trying to find something, anything to remember how he got her. There was a train, and he was guarding Princess Twilight, that much he knew. But then something happened. What though?

“—he’s doing well,” a garbled voice muttered. Storm could just barely able to decipher the words. It was like his ears were stuffed with cotton. “Once the antitherum—”

That was all Storm heard before the memories came crashing back with a surge of panic and adrenaline.

Antitherum!

Princess Twilight had almost been shot by a bolt made of ANTITHERUM! He could still see the bolt as it smashed through the princess’s shield like it had been paper, heading directly for her throat! He had already been leaping through the air to shield her, before his world became pain and—

Oh sweet Celestia, what happened to Twilight!? Was she ok!?

Any lasting numbness vanished as Storm Breaker sat up with a jolt, the world coming back into perfect clarity and exploding in red-hot PAIN! He barely managed let out a strangled scream as his side and wing screeched in agony, his vision blurring into in incomprehensible mess. His entire body felt like it was on FIRE! He could barely hear the sound of lightning sparking madly as he collapsed.

“He’s awake! Call the—”

“Shit! Check his wing! The morphine’s not working! Bring the coo—!”

“The grounding battery is working, you’re safe to approach. I’ll hold hi—”

Storm couldn’t tell what was happening. His wing felt like it had torn in half, his side felt like a volcano, and his veins felt like they were on fire. Voices screamed as an alarm began blaring. He felt nauseous, he couldn’t tell what way was up or down, every little twitch bringing more pain as his nerves screamed—

A sharp prick stabbed directly into his wing joint, and suddenly, everything felt calmer. It was like a soothing wave of a cold lake was washing through his veins, smothering the burning fire in a calming blanket. His body stopped spasming, stilling until he was unable to move all but his head. He could breath normally again as the heat receded until he almost felt a little cold. He wanted to just lie there, to wait until he fell back into unconsciousness, but he couldn’t.

He needed to find out what happened to Twilight. He needed to know if she was hurt.

“P-Princess…” he muttered in a scratchy voice, becoming painfully aware of just how sore his throat was.

Water…

“At ease, Private,” a voice spoke from to his left. Storm turned his head an opened his eyes, blinking to clear the image of Guard Captain Magic Burst sitting beside him. “The princess is safe.”

Oh, thank Celestia…Storm thought as he closed his eyes again. I stopped the crossbow bolt. If I had been any slower…

“Drink,” Magic Burst’s voice came again, just as he felt something touch his mouth. Opening his eyes again, Storm saw it was a glass of water. He gave the captain a small smile as he put his lips at the edge of the glass, relishing in the cool water as it soothed his aching throat.

As he drank, Storm took a look around. Given the heart monitor and other medical equipment, the ponies in white lab coats running around, and the sterile decor, if was clear that Storm was in the hospital. However, the small window to his side showed skyscrapers rather than the large yet still charming town of Ponyville. Where was he?

He rattled his brain, trying to remember. He looked closer at the city outside and realized that it was covered in snow. Ponyville wasn’t scheduled for winter yet, and Cloudsdale wouldn’t be delivering its first batch of snow for another two weeks, so he had to be somewhere further north.

Vanhoover.

That had to be it. He had been traveling to Vanhoover on the train with Twilight and roughly thirty other guards. But then the train had been forced to stop, cut off by a massive snowdrift covering the tracks. Then there had been cries of alarm as Diamond Dogs had exploded out of the ground when Captain Magic Burst had gone up front to melt the snow.

The Dogs up front never stood a chance against the captain, but there were so many that she had been cut off from the princess and rest of the guard detail. Thankfully, the Dogs were wearing metal armor, none of which had lightning protection, so Storm was more than able to pick up the slack. He had lost count of how many Dogs he had taken down after twenty enemies had been zapped into submission. All the while, the princess had assisted him with her shield while the rest of his squad had worked to cover the doors and windows, covering his blind spots and reducing the incoming flow of enemies to make sure they didn’t all become overwhelmed. But then, as he was turning to find another target, he had seen a Diamond Dog pop out a good distance away from the train with a crossbow.

He wasn’t even sure how he had noticed this at such a distance, but he had seen the bolt glimmer with a greenish-silver light right before it had been fired. Only antitherum had such a unique color – he knew that from his training.

He had reacted purely on instinct, jumping up to shield Princess Twilight before…pain.

That was it. All he’d felt was pain.

“What happened?” Storm asked. "How did I get here?"

“You, Private, took an antitherium bolt directly to your wing and side. If it weren't for the fact that your wing got in the way, the doctor predicted that the bolt would have gone straight into your right lung. And given the bolt’s anti-magic properties, you would have likely bled out had that happened, as not even Princess Twilight would have been able to seal such a wound. As it was, your wing and armor were enough to stop the bolt just before the lung, though it did still crack two ribs and leave quite the flesh wound.

“What’s more, as I’m sure you remember from basic training, antitherium is virtually poisonous if left untreated, especially at higher doses. As such, the Princess was forced to make an emergency long-rage teleport to Canterlot for a cure.”

She did that…for me? Wait a minute, of course she did. She always cares about everypony, especially those who protect her.

“Cure?” Storm asked weakly. He didn’t know there was a cure for antitherium. Did he? Had his training covered that? He wracked his brain again as he tried to remember.

He did remember that in the event of antitherum poisoning, the pony should be brought to the nearest hospital immediately, and that a message should be sent to Canterlot without delay if a treatment was not available. Oh, and that whoever was in possession of it should be questioned and arrested if need be, as it was currently illegal to possess the mineral in any form without direct permission from the crown.

But he didn't remember if the actual treatment itself was covered.

“A potion nicknamed ‘Phoenix Fire.’ It’s a combination of phoenix tears, phoenix feathers, and other uncommon alchemy ingredients. Unfortunately, from what I have heard, the potion feels like fire being poured into your veins. This is necessary, however, as it burns any antitherium that’s still inside you into simple base elements, such as carbon or oxygen, that are either harmlessly absorbed or disposed of by your body. Furthermore, because the Phoenix Fire uses phoenix magic, any internal damage caused by the metal and the potion is healed. It won’t fully heal your more severe injuries, such as the ones on your wing and side, but they should recover more quickly due to the potion.

“However, as you can imagine, regardless of the healing properties, this can be quite the painful cure, even if any damage is repaired by the phoenix magic. As such, we also needed a supply of cooling potions to keep the effects from being felt as it works its way through your system. However, your body seems to burn through them faster than the doctors anticipated, which is why you woke up in so much pain. I’m sorry about that,” she finished, looking down at the floor.

“You couldn’t have known, Captain,” Storm replied. “Unless you got your medical degree while I was unconscious.”

The Captain looked up at him, surprised, and rolled her eyes. “At least your sense of humor survived,” she deadpanned. She even smiled, a little, before her face became serious once again. “The potion should take another twelve hours to complete its course, at which point the only thing left to recover from will be your physical injuries. But even with the healing boost, you’re looking at two months’ bed rest, minimum.”

Well, that sucks…

“In happier news, you are hereby promoted to rank of Sergeant, effective immediately.”

Storm’s eyes widened in surprise as his mouth fell open. Had he just been promoted three ranks at the same time!? What about Private Second Class and First Class? He had never heard of someone skipping so many ranks at once.

“Furthermore, once you have recovered, you will be transferred out of the standard Twilight Guard Unit and into Princess Twilight’s House Guard once you receive some minor additional training. Both changes will roughly double your monthly paycheck, and I cleared a request that will grant you a bonus equal to six months pay at your new pay level.”

Storm was completely dumbfounded. That was a LOT of bits, a promotion, AND a chance to guard Princess Twilight personally!

Was he dreaming? Ever since seeing the guard and Princess Soothing in action all those years ago, he had been determined to join the Twilight Guard so he could protect the princesses. Sure, he technically WAS a part of Twilight’s guard, but up until now he had been far more likely to guard her castle or patrol Ponyville and the border of the Everfree Forest than to be assigned to guard Twilight herself. And guarding her on trips was usually a task that was rotated between the different squads of the guard to ensure everypony had experience. Her House Guards spent far more time with her and were usually higher ranked, whereas he had still been a private up until about a minute ago.

Seriously, was he dreaming?

No, there was too much pain for him to be dreaming.

“Why…” he muttered.

“Because you earned it,” Magic Burst said, giving him a soft smile. “You did your job better than anypony could have hoped and saved the princess from taking an antitherium bolt right to the neck. That bolt wasn’t even something Diamond Dogs should have access to in the first place. Yet you didn’t hesitate, and nearly paid the ultimate price in service of the princess.” She stood up and gave him a crisp salute.

“You’ve done well, Sergeant. Take a break, you’ve earned it.”

Storm could only smile, giving her a nod as best as his numb body would allow. If Twilight was ok, then everything else was just a bonus…

Two days later…

“I swear to drunk I’m not Twilight!” Mountain called, trying to get back to his hooves only to topple over again. As much as Storm found it funny that his first friend in the guard was drunker than Storm had ever seen him, he was also a bit worried about the nearby doctors trying to corral the large brown stallion towards the nearest open bed, given how Mountain was roughly twice Storm’s size.

At least the rest of his squad was currently out of harm’s way around the border of the room, though only about two of them were still conscious (and only one of them wasn’t drunker than a sailor).

“What the hay happened in here?” Magic Burst called out as she walked into the room. Storm didn’t get a chance to reply before Mountain once again began to topple, only to be caught by Magic Burst’s magic and unceremoniously dumped on the nearby bed the doctors had been rolling over. “They are so lucky the princess gave them the week off for all their hard work.”

“That probably encouraged them to come and throw me a party,” Storm said, shrugging softly to avoid aggravating his side and wing. “You know how it’s tradition for them to throw their ‘little brother’ a party when he’s hurt. Though, I think this is the first time they’ve ever brought alcohol, which is extra weird seeing how I can’t even drink it right now.”

Magic Burst just facehoofed.

Storm, despite being a full member of the guard for a few years now and his promotion, was still the youngest member of the Twilight Guard by far. As such, he had been assigned to a squad full of more experienced members that had been in the guard for at least five years. Because of his lack of experience, and his age, the other members of his personal squad had come to treat him almost as the little brother of the group, but in a good way.

They would help him train, offer advice learned from their years of experience, and were a jolly group of jokesters whenever they didn’t need to act professionally, something that always made Storm feel better no matter how badly the day was going. Many of them were loud, boisterous, and pretty sassy at times, but all-around fun to be with. In their off time, the group would play darts together, go to the arcade, team up for Buckball or soccer, and they had even helped introduce Storm to the best bars in Ponyville once he was old enough.

It was always fun, and it was a great way to relax after a hard day. Storm was just glad that he would still be able to work with them despite his promotion. Sure, he was now a part of the House Guard, or would be once he healed, but most of his training hours would still be conducted with his squad. The only thing that was likely to change was that he would be assigned to Twilight’s personal guard detail now rather than standard patrols or guard duty, so he might not see them as much when on duty.

Still, even if he did need to work on different tasks, he would always do what he could to hang out with them, because they were some of the best ponies Storm had ever met in his life.

There was Mountain, the loud cheerful earth pony capable of disabling Storm (or anypony else in the guard, for that matter), with a single headlock and who loved tussling his mane. Shadow Strike, the bat pony stallion who would not stop with the knock-knock jokes. Simple Stitch, the unicorn medic who would fuss over his every scrape and sometimes playfully teased him as if he were a foal, and who make the best candy for the squad (maaaaybbbbeeee a little better than Ginger’s, but Storm would never say that out loud or he was pretty sure Soothing would sic Snowflake on him). Cloudy Day, the cheerful pegasus stallion that always seemed to love playing pranks on Mountain, much to the latter’s protest. Ying and Yang, the unicorn mares with opposite color schemes yet nearly identical thirsts for knowledge. Hunter, the team’s pegasus tracker for rescue missions and all-around calming presence. Grind Stone, the earth pony stallion and self-appointed armor fanatic who would inspect every new piece of equipment with the enthusiasm of a foal receiving a new toy. Whisper, the female Kirin who was silent most of the time unless she wanted to pointed out something obvious.

And, of course, him. The little brother that loved to play with lightning.

“Yes, yes, I still remember how Simple Stitch reacted when you nearly broke your leg in training,” Magic Burst said, pulling Storm back to the present. “She somehow lifted Mountain with her bare hooves to get him off you. But you’re right; there was no alcohol involved when they insisted Surprise to help throw you a party in the castle infirmary. I don’t suppose you have any idea as to why they brought alcohol, do you?” Magic Burst said, tilting her head towards the large bag of bottles sitting near the edge of the room. “And where did all this food came from?” She gestured towards the nearby table stacked high with popcorn, soda, chips, cupcakes, and various empty plates that had once been covered in food.

Some of which Storm was pretty sure had been used to calm/bribe the doctors given how even now a few of them were sneaking a chip or two when they thought no pony was looking.

“Do I know why they brought alcohol? Not really, no. Though, if I had to make a guess based on their behavior, maybe they took my injuries a bit harder than you expected? And maybe seeing me here injured in bed might have been a reminder of just how badly I was hurt?” Storm said helplessly, looking down at his bed sadly. “As soon as the doctor said I was allowed to take visitors and I sent him to let somepony in, all of them just charged in here with as much food as they could carry. Whisper even cried-slash-lectured me about how I should never ever do that again. She said more words to me in those fifteen minutes than she has in the past four years. I was even afraid she might go Nirik on me.”

And that was saying something given how calm and controlled Whisper was most of the time. The idea of that kind Kirin being engulfed in blue and pink flames was a scary thought.

“That bad huh?” Magic Burst said with a sigh. “I thought they might be ok given how focused they all were on keeping you stable while Princess Twilight went to get the medicine you needed, but I suppose it’s not surprised that they weren’t once the adrenaline wore off. Repressed feelings do have a habit of coming back with a vengeance. Heck, I had quite the nightmare when we got here. It’s not easy to nearly lose a teammate, especially once so young and cute as you.”

"I'm not cute,” Storm deadpanned, only to glare as Magic Burst stuck her tongue out playfully.

“You are, and given your injuries I will forgive your insubordination this time,” she said, her tone clearly indicating that she was joking with him. “Still, all of you will be receiving a mental-health check-up when we return to Ponyville and therapy will be available for free should you need it, just in case.”

“Wait, will all of us be returning?” Storm asked, tilting his head in confusion. “I’m not a doctor, but am I allowed to go on a train with my injuries? Just moving my wing too much causes it pain, and as I recall the trip here was pretty bumpy.”

“No, your right. It isn’t a good idea for you to go on a train right now. A smooth short trip would likely be ok, but an overnight trip across one of the bumpiest routes in Equestria, no. Which is why you won’t be taking the train,” Magic Burst said with a small smile. “Princess Twilight has been writing to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and they have devised a way to get you back to Ponyville without aggravating your injuries.

“It works like this: Princess Twilight will infuse a small piece of her magic into a gemstone that will be left here with you and Princess Captain Soothing Night, who will be arriving tomorrow to assist with the investigation into the attack. When Princess Twilight gets back to Ponyville, she will use her magic to connect with the gemstone, creating what is essentially a portal between this room and Ponyville General Hospital. Soothing will be here to provide the magic on this side, helping to stabilize the portal. Once it is ready, you will be wheeled across the threshold and into Ponyville, which to you will feel no different than being moved across the room.”

“That’s amazing!” Storm blurted, his eyes wide. That was the kind of magical spell that he had only ever read about in science fiction stories! “But, wait. If that kind of spell exists, why isn’t it used more often?”

"From what the princess told me, the spell requires exponentially more power the further you want to travel, and far more than a standard teleportation spell,” Magic Burst said. “It’s so taxing that I wouldn’t be able to maintain a spell between Ponyville and Canterlot for more than a few seconds, at least according to Twilight’s prediction. Heck, she said she and Soothing will likely need a day or so of minimal spell casting to recover.”

“What? But then don’t let them do it!” Storm cried. “I’ll be fine here until I can take the train. There’s no need for them to exert so much energy just for me! Especially if it’s going to be that bad for both of them! I can cope with being away from Ponyville for a month or two. It’s fine, real—gah!”

His hooves had gotten more and more animated as he spoke, to the point where his wings had instinctively started trying to move, jostling his injured wing a bit too much and making a sharp pain cut through his side.

“Easy there,” Magic Burst exclaimed, quickly holding him still in her magic. The pain receded as quickly as it came. “The spell is not nearly as bad as you think, Sergeant. It will be a large drain of their magic, but it won’t interfere with their daily routine so long as they don’t need to perform any high-level spells. They’ll be back up to full strength in less than a day, and they’ve already made the decision to do it.”

“But…” Storm said, opening his mouth before closing it again. If Magic Burst said things would be ok, then maybe he was overreacting? Maybe his fear was overestimating the effect it would have on the princesses? But still, they didn’t need to do this for him, did they?
“I…ok. But I still don’t think they need to do this for me. Seriously, I’ll be ok here.”

Magic Burst shot him a teasing smile. “Glad to see your injury hasn't dampened your willingness to take one for the team, Storm. However, Princess Twilight was very insistent on getting you back to Ponyville, and this is the only way to get you home given how teleportation is currently too risky in your condition. She thinks having you in a more familiar setting and closer to your friends and family will help in your recovery.” Her smile faded. “Though, if I’m being honest, I think she’s also still feeling a bit guilty as well.”

“Guilty? But it’s my job to protect her!” Storm protested, being sure not to move too much this time. “Why would she feel guilty?”

“Because that’s the way she is,” Magic Burst said with a sad frown. “She sees all of us as her friends from the very first moment we meet her, and that connections only grows as time goes on. So anytime any of us gets injured protecting her, she feels like it's her fault. She has gotten better at not blaming herself over the years I’ve served her, but in really bad cases like this one, those feeling can still sprout back up.” She took a deep breath and smiled, and this time it looked a lot softer. “But the fact that she cares so much about us just makes her more amazing in my eyes.”

“Is there anything I can do to help? With the guilt I mean?” Storm asked.

“Just be sure to let her know that you don’t blame her, and that you would do the same thing even if you were just normal friends. And be sure to hug her as much as you can without aggravating your injuries. She’s a sucker for a good hug.”

“True, she really is,” Whisper’s voice called out, the Kirin (and only non-drunk squad member save for Storm) smiling softly at Storm. “Just do that, and she’ll be fine…”

Four months later…

Storm Breaker took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. Four months. It had been four months since he saved Princess Twilight, something she, Princess Breaking Dawn, and Princess/Captain Soothing Night had all thanked him for almost weekly.

Princesses Dawn and Captain Soothing had gone even further. Dawn had gifted him a small yet beautiful statue of himself boldly protecting Twilight made out of pure silver, something she had crafted personally in her free time. Storm had no idea how she found enough time outside of all her duties to make something so intricate. The sheer detail in was incredible, virtually lifelike.

Soothing, on the other hoof, had granted him with a new set of armor. It was still in the standard purple color of the Twilight Guard, but now the chest piece had been decorated with a silver replica of Twilight’s cutie mark, designating him as one of Twilight’s House Guards. Unlike the rest of her House Guards, however, it also came with silver shoes rather than purple, a silver trim around the edges, and an illusion spell that would show his cutie mark whenever it was covered.

A little bit flashy perhaps, but Storm could understand that Soothing had just wanted to show her appreciation for what he did to save her mom. And it was a very, VERY nice gift, even if he had actually been too weak to wear it for a while.

Soothing has also added a number of advanced protective charms to the armor, ones that were far more powerful than that of the standard guard armor. There was a lightweight charm to make it lighter, an electrical conduction charm to increase his lightning magic’s potency without making him lose control, a cooling charm to keep him from overheating in the summer, and many more. It could even form a barrier of ice around his armor to help slow incoming projectiles or resist fire magic.

From what Soothing had told Storm, all of these enhancements were going to be added to all House Guard armor over the next few months, followed by a mass update of the standard guard armor within the next two years, with the only constraint being how long it took to make such complicated enchantments. But given his injuries and bravery, she had decided to update his armor first.

Storm was pretty sure there was somepony more deserving of it than him, like Magic Burst, but he didn’t dare refuse a gift from the princess. And, if he was being honest, the armor WAS really cool. The magic was far beyond his comprehension, and the ice shield was a pretty impressive feature to somepony who could only ever make and withstand lightning.

Truth be told, to this day Storm STILL had trouble with any kind of weather work related to snow. Anytime Storm tried to make snow as part of his weather team back in Manehattan, the cloud just exploded for some reason. In fact, back when he had been taking classes on weather control, a mandatory set of lessons for all pegesi, he had failed literally every weather test he had taken related to winter. His last failure was so bad that he had actually buried half the testing room in snow, delaying the test for the rest of the students. Sure, he HAD been twelve at the time, but he had NEVER managed to figure out why he was so bad at snow, even now that his magic was under control.

Even Sky Splitter had been completely baffled about that bit of mystery magic.

Storm shook his head. He was getting distracted. He needed to try and figure out why he was here, waiting outside the throne room in the Harmony Castle despite not starting his new post until tomorrow. And the only way he could do that was to try and go back over what had happened these last few months.

After his injury and promotion, he had spent the first month almost exclusively in bed, with the only exception being physical therapy sessions to keep his body in shape and to get his wing back in working order.

If it weren’t for his squad’s and Twilight’s frequent visits to see him in the hospital, he may just have gone insane.

He had actually been shocked when she had first showed up after helping teleport him back to Ponyville, nearly trying to stand and salute out of pure habit. Bad idea, by the way, given his stitches. After plunking him back in bed and thanking him, Twilight had given him a gentle hug that made him stammer and blush like an idiot.

It seems she wasn’t the only one that was weak to a good hug.

After that, she had immediately asked him to call her Twilight whenever they were not in public from now on, even if he was still on duty.

Storm was a little reluctant at first. Ever since joining the guard, he had always called her Princess Twilight as a sign of respect, even when off duty. He only called her Twilight in his head. She had insisted, however, saying that someone who had been so badly injured deserved to be on a first-name basis with her regardless of the rank she held.

Storm had asked if that was the only reason, to which she had admitted that she missed the days when he would just call her Twilight. Apparently being called ‘princess’ all the time got a little old, and while she understood why he only called her ‘princess’ now, she would much rather him go back to the way things were, regardless of his position in her guard.

Storm could understand how always being called by a title could get annoying, especially given how many times he had been referred to only as ‘recruit’ or ‘private,’ so he agreed to call her Twilight again when they weren’t in public. This had earned him another happy hug. At least he had only blushed during this one.

Still, she had been perhaps the only thing keeping him sane in that hospital. His friends tried to drop by whenever they could, but given the incident in Vanhoover, the doctors were understandably a little bit reluctant to let more than two of them in at a time. That, and they were still working most of the day, leaving Storm’s room boringly empty almost ninety percent of the time.

But that first month, Twilight had done all she could to come visit him at least once every few days, meaning he was seeing her far more frequently than he normally did. Sure, she would always try to get to know her guards, but usually he would only have a personal, one-on-one interaction with her once a month at most. Maybe a bit more if it was his birthday or he wanted to request some extra time off to go visit his family, but those interactions were usually short. How did she even have so much time to visit him?

Still, he really couldn’t complain. Sometimes she would bring him a new book she thought he might like, others they would just talk a bit, either about his life or hers. Other times she would bring movies for them to watch. She had some so old he had never even heard of them, but they were all so awesome! Especially those about ancient battles.

Though Storm’s favorite had to be the recreation of the Battle of Ponyville, where she and her friends took down Tirek and Chrysalis while her daughters had managed to take down Cozy Glow and destroy Grogar’s Bell. Twilight was actually a little embarrassed about that one, especially the scene where a rage-shifted version of her tackled Chrysalis through a wall screaming ‘DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTERS!’ in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Storm still thought she was awesome.

She had even gone back to his room at the castle for him and brought his NES (Neigho Entertainment System) Game Console to the hospital! He had never been so happy to play Super Pony Bros again, though the best part had been getting Twilight to play Pony Cart with him. She was sooooooo bad at it, but the way her face would twist into the most ridiculous faces as she tried to get into third place, her startled squeals every time she hit a banana peal, the way she would cheer and prance in place excitedly every time she won a race…It was beyond adorable and dorky and Storm loved it.

It only got better when Storm taught her an altered game of ‘Go Fish’ that he called ‘Cheep Cheep,’ a silly parody game invented by him and Yang one lazy weekend after they had played a bit too much Super Pony Bros. The only real difference was that instead of saying ‘go fish’ or ‘fished my wish,’ you would say ‘Cheep Cheep’ and ‘Chomped the Plumber!’ in reference to the game. It had immediately become popular with the rest of the squad, so Storm thought it would be fun to show Twilight too.

The way he and Twilight would break down in laughter every time the other pony boldly proclaimed ‘Chomped the Plumber!’ made the game entertaining beyond belief.

It was…rather strange, actually. How often she came to see him, and how her visits were just so different from what he had expected.

Even after becoming her friend all those years ago, he had still viewed her as above everyone else. She had insisted that wasn’t the case, but there was just something about her that made her seem more special than anypony else.

But talking with her, just getting to know her, playing games with her and reading with her…

It made her seem far more relatable than he would have ever guessed. How had he never discovered this over all these years? Was he wearing blinders? Or did he think she was just humoring him because of how young he was? He didn’t know, but he was glad that he could finally get to know the pony she really was below the crown.

It was amazing just how passionate, smart, caring, and just downright lovable she was, even when she was cheering after successfully hitting his cart with a red shell. He wished he had been able to see this side of her sooner.

He also would have never guessed that she was afraid of ladybugs. That, as much as he hated to admit it, actually made him laugh when he first learned that. Though Twilight had laughed a bit too, so he didn’t feel that bad.

The second month had seen him free to finally leave the hospital, but he was still restricted in what he could do. No running or flying, no sparing, no training of any kind. Just low-stress activities that wouldn’t reopen any of his still-healing wounds. He could read, walk, chat with friends or fellow guard members, play more video games, and relax, but not much else.

He couldn’t even play buckyball or darts with his squad! Though thankfully the Element of Laughter, Surprise, knew this when she threw him a surprise party the day he was released, and made up for it by bringing a massive pile of boardgames for them all to play. Storm still smiled when her remembered Mountain having to go down a chute in Chutes and Ladders because his character colored on the walls. Surprise had even created a whole table filled with unique fruity mocktail drinks for him to enjoy. They were actually probably better than any kind of alcoholic drink Storm had ever tried, even the Bahama Mama from Canterlot.

I wonder if Surprise ever considered selling some of those mocktails. They were so good, and the frozen ones would be perfect to help cool down in the summer. I’m sure all of them would knock anypony’s socks off. No, focus Storm.

Despite being unable to restart his true guard duties, he was able to assist with all the paperwork generated by the Twilight Guard. It was boooorrrrrrrriiiinnnnnggggggg, sure, but it least it meant somepony else had more time to train or guard or what-have-you. He knew Ying was eternally grateful.

And Twilight had still made sure to make time for him at least twice a week, which while not as often as before, still made Storm question how exactly she had the to time to visit him so frequently. Especially since, rather than the encounters being short like they were before he ended up in the hospital, these new interactions could sometimes last for almost three hours at a time. Storm couldn’t help but feel that she was giving him more attention for some reason, but he was too nervous to ask about it.

But, once again, he couldn’t complain. The way she smiled at him, her beautiful laughter whenever he told her jokes, the way she would sometime just hum quietly to herself as they just enjoyed the moment of peace…there was just something about her that made his heart flutter.

Then, at last, halfway through his third month of recovery, he was cleared by the doctor to resume his duties and training so long as he didn’t overexert himself. He would have jumped for joy if the doctor hadn’t glared at him the moment he tried…Ok, he did anyway, at least until the doctor stopped him with magic and scolded him for a good five minutes before finally releasing him.

But at least he was finally ready to get back to work…nearly.

The last month and a half had been devoted to physical training to help him make up for any muscle or skill that may have dulled over the previous two and a half months, and to take the final certification test to make sure he was truly ready to be a House Guard. He…actually hadn’t gotten his scores back for the written portion of the test, but he knew that he had passed the physical portion three days ago with no issues.

Twilight sure does love her tests.

But then there was today. Rather than finally start his new duties, something that made Storm’s wings spark excitedly just thinking about it, he had been called to the throne room and had been waiting outside it for nearly twenty minutes. And he had never even been told why, only that the princess would explain.

As if waiting for him to finish that last thought, the doors in front of him choose that specific moment to open, revealing the face of Captain Magic Burst. Storm Breaker saluted.

“At ease,” Magic Burst said. She wasn’t wearing her helmet at the moment, and her face betrayed nothing of what he could expect inside. “The princesses will see you now.”

Princesses? I thought this was just Twilight?

Storm didn’t let his surprise show as he entered the room. Up above, the Golden Oak’s Chandelier hung as it always did, its crystalized memories sparking in the light. The Crystal Map sat in the center of the six thrones, five of whose cutie marks had changed years ago to suit the new bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Of course, Twilight’s was the only one unchanged, still displaying her beautiful purple star for all to see.

Storm actually felt himself blush slightly when he saw Twilight. Her long mane was billowing in a nonexistent wind as always, yet it appeared sparkling far more brilliantly than normal. Her fur was perfectly brushed, her wings expertly preened, and she was sitting on her throne with a calm smile and warm look that made his chest flutter. In truth, she didn’t look any different than usual, yet something about her right now at this very moment that just seemed to…sparkle. And not just because that was part of her name.

Princess Breaking Dawn stood to her left, while Captain Soothing Night stood to her right. Both looked at him happily as he approached. Storm returned their smiles before bowing to them.

“Princesses,” Storm said calmly as he rose.

“Sergeant Storm Breaker,” Twilight said. “Thank you for coming so quickly. I apologize for the wait, but there were a few last minute tasks that we had to take care of before we could see you. Now, there are a few things I would like to discuss with you. Magic Burst?”

The captain nodded before taking a step forward. “Sergeant, congratulations. I can confirm that you did indeed pass the final certification exam with flying colors. As such, you are now considered to be a full member of Princess Twilight’s elite House Guard. Starting tomorrow, you will officially be one of an elite group of ponies responsible for personally protecting her at all times.”

“And I personally look forward to working with you more closely,” Twilight said with a wide smile.

Storm couldn’t help but feel his cheeks warm at the comment.

Stop blushing. She probably says the same thing to every guard that joins her House Guard.

“Thank you, Princess,” Storm said, bowing his head to her again.

“Second,” Twilight said, “due to your injury in the line of duty, you are hereby awarded a Purple Heart, and for exemplary dedication to your duty, you are also awarded a Loyalty Pendant.”

She levitated two small boxes off the table in front of her and opened them.

The first box had a heart medallion made of a pure amethyst, surrounded by a gold casing and attached to a gold ribbon. The second contained a ruby in the shape of a lightning bolt, attached to a rainbow-colored ribbon.

“I-thank you, Princess,” Storm stammered as both medals were levitated out of their boxes and pinned to his armor via magic. Purple Hearts weren’t uncommon, but Loyalty Pendants, named after the late Rainbow Dash, former Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, were VERY rare. Anypony who got one had either been in the guard for more than twenty years, or had done something incredible in their service.

He could kinda see why he was awarded such a prestigious medal – taking an antitherium bolt to the chest and wing was no small feat – but still. He basically reacted on panicked instinct, after all.

I panicked, and got two medals for it. Isn’t somepony else more deserving of this?

“Is something wrong?” Twilight asked, pulling Storm out of his thoughts.

“I, no, well, it’s just…” Storm shook his head and took a deep breath. “I can understand the Purple Heart, but, I’m not so sure I deserve the Loyalty Pendant.” He tried not to wince as Twilight’s eyes went wide. “I mean, my squad were the ones that kept me alive when I went down, and I…really just reacted on instinct when I saw the arrow. Panicked instinct at that. Wouldn’t Simple Stitch be more deserving? Or, well, any of them, really?”

I really hope I don’t offend her by saying that I disagree with her choice of medal recipient.

But Twilight smiled instead. “The fact that you are willing to put their contributions above your own makes me wonder if I should have chosen the Generosity Pendant,” she said with a light giggle. “And while I do certainly see your point, you must remember that you were the one willing to throw yourself in harm’s way to save me, and were horribly injured as a result. Even if it was a panicked reaction, you didn’t hesitate to put your life on the line, and you most certainly still deserve this reward.

“Plus,” she added, “the truth is that your squad mates will be awarded Loyalty Pendants as well, in recognition of their effort to save your life and keep me safe after you were hurt. It’s just that, given how you acted first and galvanized them into action, I thought you should be awarded the medal first. We plan to hold a small public ceremony for you and them later this week.”

"I, wow, really?!” Storm exclaimed, his wings sparking in excitement.

"Really. Just don’t tell them. I want it to be a surprise.” Twilight winked.

“You and your surprises,” Magic Burst said with smirk. “Sometimes I think you enjoy seeing your guards stammer helplessly when they realize that the ceremony they are protecting is actually a recognition of their abilities. I still remember when you did that to me during my promotion to captain.”

“Maybe a little,” Twilight giggled.

“I won’t tell them. Thank you, Twilight,” Storm said, smiling in relief. It was only fair that his team members should be recognized as well. If not for them, who knows if he would be here right now.

“You are most welcome,” she said, before her face became a bit hard. “Now, for the third item on our agenda today, I think that it is important that you know why you were injured in such a way, and why the Diamond Dogs had access to such a dangerous weapon, especially considering that we will require your help regarding that incident in a few days. Soothing?”

Captain Soothing took a step forward. “Based on our investigation, Duke Crystal Gem was responsible for the attack and for supplying the Diamond Dogs with the antitherum bolts. He has frequently tried to circumvent safety regulations at his various gem mines across Equestria to increase his profit margins, and we even learned that he had opened several unauthorized mines without crown consent before the investigation began, two of which were run by the Diamond Dogs that attacked you.”

Another noble? That’s the third one since I’ve joined! Jeez, do the bad ones respawn or something?

“Ten of these mines were shut down by our mother over the last year, which we believe caused the Duke’s company to go into the red and put his fortune and power at risk. Or at least that’s what we can make of his financial records and his enraged ramblings when we arrested him,” Soothing continued, rolling her eyes.

“Enraged ramblings, or insane ramblings?” Dawn asked jokingly. “I heard the recordings of his arrest, and I’m not even sure half of what he said was Equish. Seriously, what the heck is a covfefe anyway?”

“Dawn, focus please,” Twilight scolded.

Soothing gave a wry half-smile. “Anyway,” she continued, “based on correspondence we found in his home and the Diamond Dogs’ den, we determined that he provided them with the antitherium bolt and offered them roughly two trains’ worth of gems in exchange for either capturing or killing my mother.”

Her last words came out as more of growl, her good mood vanishing almost instantly. Storm winced as the temperature around them rapidly dropped a few degrees, making him shiver slightly. Given how calm and collected Captain Soothing was most of the time, Storm was surprised that she let her magic bleed into the air around them like that. She almost never lost control like he used to.

Then again, I’d probably have the same reaction if someone tried to hurt my mom, he thought with a rush of sympathy. Though probably with more lightning.

Not missing a beat, Twilight extended a wing and gently curled it around Soothing while Dawn teleported to her side and wrapped her in a big hug.

“It’s all right, sis,” Dawn said, squeezing her sister. “Mom’s fine. Everything is fine.”

The air slowly regained its normal temperature as Soothing took a deep breath, held it, and let it out. “I know, I know, it’s just…ugh. I hate thinking that something like that almost happened and that there was nothing I could do to stop it. I know I wasn’t even there, but still! I feel like I SHOULD have been, even if it’s not exactly my job. I hate it when these things happen and I’m not around to help.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, my little snowflake,” Twilight said gently, bending over to nuzzle her daughters. “As a mom, it’s my job to protect you and your sister. And because I won’t always be there in pony, I’ve made sure to give you the best training our guard could offer and have made it your job to protect your sister, even if it’s just making sure she doesn’t try to eat five pounds of popcorn again.”

"That was ONE TIME!” Dawn exclaimed, blushing. Soothing laughed, and even Magic Burst could help but snicker at the younger princess.

Storm had kept silent throughout this conversation, not wanting to intrude on such a strong family moment. But now he saw an opening to talk, and he figured that given what had almost happened to Twilight, he could take this moment to try and reassure Captain Soothing that she would be safe.

“If it makes you feel any better,” Storm said quickly, “I promise to do everything I can to help keep her safe. I might not be able to do as much as you can, since I’m only a pegasus, but I certainly won’t let that stop me from trying. Even if I need to get shot all over again.”

Storm knew that his words had an impact when Captain Soothing gave him a wide smile.

“You’ve already done more than enough,” Soothing said. “But thank you for affirming your commitment to your duty. I feel better knowing my mom has ponies as dedicated as you to look after her.”

Storm really REALLY wanted to bounce a little bit like Surprise at the praise, but some part of his mind insisted that he remember his training and maintain at least a bit of professionalism, no matter how informal the meeting had become. So instead, he just gave a slightly-larger-than-normal smile and nodded in response.

There would be time for happy bouncing later.

Giving her sister one last squeeze, Dawn vanished back over to the other side of the throne. Twilight kissed Soothing’s head and retracted her wing before sending a happy praising smile directly at Storm. The way her eyes sparkled, the way Storm could practically feel the happiness and approval radiating off her, was enough to make him blush again.

“My apologies for the interruption,” Soothing said, wiping her face and taking one more deep breath. “As I was saying, he provided the Diamond Dogs ten antitherium bolts and orders. We also believe that he provided them info regarding my mother’s arrival plan, allowing the Dogs to set a trap for her. As it is, we have currently arrested all of the attackers and any other Dimond Dogs remaining in their den, as well as Duke Crystal Gem. His trial should be happening in a few days. Sergeant Storm Breaker, given your direct participation and injury caused by this insane plan, your testimony has been requested in Canterlot by Judge Fair Rule, who will be overseeing the trial.”

“I will gladly give it should it help justice be served,” Storm Breaker agreed, and he had to suppress a sudden urge to facehoof. Sweet Celestia, that sounded SO cliché.

“Excellent,” Soothing said. “My mother will be going to Canterlot tomorrow in preparation for the trial, so we can consider this your first true assignment as part of her House Guard. I have confidence you will not let her down.” She smiled at Storm.

“As do I,” Twilight said, nodding confidently. “And finally, Storm Breaker, in thanks for your service in protecting me, I have decided to grant you a boon.”

Storm blinked.

Then blinked again.

“I…have no idea what that is,” he confessed, his head tilting to the side in confusion. The term sounded vaguely familiar, and he was sure he had heard the word ‘boon’ before, but he couldn’t place when or where he had heard it or what it meant in this context.

Twilight let out a small giggle. “That’s ok. It is a rather old tradition, and to be honest, I have only granted very few of them over the years. In short,” she continued, her voice shifting over to what Storm recognized as her ‘it’s-time-for-a-lecture’ voice, “it means that I officially and legally recognize that you have done a great service to Equestria, and as such I now owe you a favor. Should you want something, anything within reason, I am now bound by law to grant it to you, and am authorized to use both my power as an Equestrian Princess and the funds of the Equestrian Treasury to help fulfill your request.

“It could be money, property, a title, help starting a business, or just a rare stone or weapon that would normally be outside of your power to obtain normally. You can use it now, or at a later date, but should you call it in, I will do my best to grant you’re wish so long as it is not outrageous.”

Her face broke into a warm sunny smile.

Storm just stood there, his mind currently rebooting.

A favor.

He had a PERSONAL FAVOR from the princess!

He could ask for almost anything he wanted!

That new set of wing blades that he had seen in a Cloudsdale armory. Those rare books on lightning manipulation that he couldn’t afford. All the latest new video games or game consoles. A new set of armor!

Wait, he just got a new set of armor.

So probably not that.

But should he use it now? Or later? And on what? He only had one use of it, so he would need to make it count. So then he needed to think: what, out of everything, did he want the most? More than anything else in the entire world?

Not video games, those I can get on my own, especially with my new salary. Not armor. I think Twilight could probably get me a copy of those books, so long as she gets to read them first. Maybe she’s even read them in the royal Canterlot library. Soothing could possibly make me better wing blades if I wanted them, but would that count as a favor since Twilight wouldn’t be the one making it for me? Would it even be fair to ask her to do that given how much she has on her plate? I’ll need to think on that a bit more.

But then what else could I possibly want? “A date.”

“What?” Twilight asked, her eyebrows and the eyebrows of everypony else shooting up all at once.

Who said—Storm began, only to stop as his mind finally registered what had just happened.

HE had said that.

He was so distracted thinking about what he wanted he didn’t even realize he had spoken.

And he just asked Twilight on a DATE!

Ohbuckohbuckohbuck— Storm thought as his mind raced, his panicked eyes unable to look away from the shocked purple orbs of Twilight’s eyes.

Why did he say that!? He wasn't even thinking and it just…CAME OUT!

It’s ok, it’s OK! Just tell her it was a joke! Or that you misspoke! There’s no way you can date a princess, especially not one so smart and beautiful and who has been keeping you company these last four months or that has shown how she is like everypony else or—

“A-A-A d-date. I-I’d like t-to ask your p-p-permission, P-Princess T-Twilight, for a d-d-d-d-d-date!”

The silence was deafening.

NONONONOWHYDIDIJUSTSAYTHATI’MSUPPOSEDTOFILLTHEHOLENOTMAKEITDEEPER!!!

No answer was forthcoming as Twilight, Soothing, and Magic Burst all just stood there with their mouths open, gaping at him in pure dumbfounded shock.

Only one pony was not so flabbergasted.

“EEEEEEEEEEE!” Dawn squealed. “Oh my gosh that is PERFECT!”

“Buh?” Storm muttered, his brain still trying to reboot.

“YOU!” Dawn said, vanishing with a flash of light before appearing inches from Storm’s nose. He would have leapt back in surprise if Dawn hadn’t grabbed his face in her hooves. “You join the guard, save my mom from an antitherium bolt, spend four months in recovery, and then use your one wish from her to ask her on a date! Oh, it’s so romantic! I’ve had writer’s block for WEEKS, but you’ve inspired me to get right back into it!

“Oh, and I totally approve of you dating my mom too! Just be sure to treat her like you have been all along and you'll be just fine. She loves a stallion in armor!”

The reboot was aborted as something else broke in Storm’s brain. Or was it three somethings? Did his logic center just catch fire too?

“Uhhhh…” he muttered, his cheeks still squished between the alicorn’s hooves.

“Dawn—” Twilight began with a glower, only for Dawn to cut her off.

“Don’t you ‘Dawn’ me, Mom. I KNOW you like the idea. Don’t think I haven’t seen you skipping out on your work so you could go see this little cutie.”

“I’m not cute,” Storm said on instinct, before his brain managed to process what she just said. “Wait, WHAT!?”

“It’s true,” Dawn said with a sly playful smirk. Twilight sputtered and blushed helplessly while Magic Burst turned to look at her in shock. “My mom has been slacking off on her royal duties, all so she could go spend more time with you in the hospital and around the castle. I know, because she’s been secretly passing some of the work off to me, thinking I’d be so distracted helping prepare for the Ponyville Friendship Festival that I wouldn’t notice. She even nearly missed a deadline to submit our annual budget to Canterlot!”

Princess Twilight, almost missed a deadline, because of ME!? She’s the most studious pony I know! She NEVER misses deadlines! I’ve heard stories of her working all night to meet tight deadlines!

Why—how—duh???

“Not to mention, she’s has been talking about you almost every day for the last four months,” Dawn continued, winking. “She really likes youuuummph!”

A zipper magically manifested over her lips and quickly slid closed over her mouth.

“T-That’s enough Dawn!” Twilight spluttered, trying to look anywhere but at Storm Breaker. Storm was sure he’d be doing the same if his brain was anywhere near functioning capacity. But it wasn’t, so he could only continue to stare in helplessly confused shock at the beautiful angel that was Twilight. “I-I just wanted to get to know h-him better since he would be joining my House Guard.”

“Is that why Aunty Luna said you had a dream about him saving your life?” Soothing asked almost casually as Dawn fumbled at the zipper on her mouth. Twilight’s wings sprung up in panic and shock as she turned to look at her daughter in horror. “Not unusual given that he saved your life, mind you, but Luna also mentioned the dream ending with you bending down to kiss him.”

Storm wasn't sure who was blushing harder. Him, Twilight, or Magic Burst. The mere thought of that image of the princess kissing him was enough to somehow make his brain break even further. Yet he just couldn't stop thinking about it!

“And being completely honest, I’m with my sister on this. You should honor his request,” Soothing continued, completely serious.

“B-B-But that’s an abuse of a boon!” Magic Burst cried, having finally recovered enough to speak again and stop gaping like a fish. “Not to mention that if the media found out that Storm used a royal boon to date the princess that gave him said boon, they would turn the entire thing into a circus!”

“No, abuse would be if he asked my mom to marry him,” Soothing said, leaving her flustered mother’s side. “Dating her, however, implies that he wants to get to know her more, and given his history with my mother and his selfless actions so far, I think we are safe to assume that he’s not doing this for some other, more nefarious reason. And I think your overblowing the panic with the media. Given the personal nature of boons and the laws surrounding them, as well as the Princess Privacy Laws, it's not something the media can request access to.

“Yes, they will likely see the two of them together eventually and start reporting that they are dating, but there would be no way for them to legally learn that it all started because Storm requested a date through his boon. And given how rare boons are, I doubt many, if any, ponies would even consider that, and those that do would likely be the tabloids and such that are pretty much wholly inaccurate anyway. Besides, we have more than enough experience dealing with on a regular basis regardless. Plus, even if the info about the boon did get out, Dawn and I could easily find a way to deal with it.” She came to a stop next to Storm and Dawn, the latter of who was now jumping up and down trying to get the zipper to open.

Dawn paused long enough to give an enthusiastic nod before resuming hopping.

“Plus, if it doesn’t go well, there's nothing saying they need to go out again,” Soothing continued. “Mom can just turn him down for future dates if he asks, and everything goes back to normal. No harm, no foul, and no more boons left to try again. But seeing as he did save Mom’s life, I do feel that she at least owes him a chance to prove himself worthy of her affection.

“And either way, I think it’s time she kept her promise to Dad.”

The room fell utterly silent.

Dawn stopped hopping and stared at her sister in surprise. Magic Burst suddenly became very interested in the chandelier above their heads. But Twilight, on the other hoof, seemed to…deflate. It was the best word Storm could think of. Her vibrant eyes got a little dimmer, her mane seemed to sparkle less, and her posture slumped over slightly.

“Captain Flash?” Storm asked before he could help himself. He had heard many tales about the late captain and his exploits, and his armor was still in display in the castle entranceway as a symbol of his lifelong devotion to his duty.

“Yes,” Soothing said, nodding. “When he passed on, he had Mom promise that she would one day open up her heart to try and find love again. It’s been twenty-four years since she made that promise, yet she still hasn’t fulfilled it. I’m not even sure she’s tried.”

“Sis—” Dawn said as she finally removed the zipper with a quick tug, but Soothing cut her off.

“No, Dawn. It’s been too long,” Soothing said firmly, her eyes hardening. “I know Mom still loves Dad, but she needs to start at least TRYING to fulfill her promise to him. I’m not going to just let her spend the next one thousand years alone like Celestia did.” She passed, took a deep breath, then continued in a much calmer voice. “She needs to at least give love a chance again.

“I know it was hard for her to watch so many of our friends pass on all within three years of each other, but she’s done so well to move on! She mourned them, missed them, and will always keep them in her heart, but she didn’t let their loss stop her from making more friends. Heck, she even managed to befriend five new Element Bearers to help us defeat Grogar when he returned! She’s amazing like that. But despite all this time, she has never, not once, sought out somepony to form a closer bond with. She’s never even TRIED to find love again, despite you and Cadence trying to set her up on at least three dates,” Soothing added, winking at Dawn.

“Soothing!” Dawn squeaked. Actually squeaked.

I wasn't aware that princesses even could squeak, Storm thought randomly. This entire situation was becoming more and more surreal by the moment. Wait, no, Twilight squeaks whenever she hits banana peels in Pony Cart. I think my brain in still in meltdown mode. Somepony please send help.

“YOU’RE the one who tried to set me up with Fancy Pants the Third!?” Twilight cried in shock, her expression aghast.

Magic Burst just face-hooved.

“Yes! He’s such a gentle stallion! And he was a scholar just like you! It was almost a perfect match!” Dawn protested as Twilight buried her face in her hooves.

I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to respond to any of this, Storm thought. I’m not even sure I should be in the room for this conversation.

“The point is,” Soothing said, giggling. “Mom has been waiting for long enough. She’s recovered from the loss of our friends and husband and has moved on in every way except for trying to find love again. And don’t even think about using the ‘I’m just too busy’ excuse!” she added, cutting Twilight off as she raised a hoof in protest. “There are currently eight princesses and one prince. You don’t have nearly the workload you used to, and even then you still always made time for Dad.”

Twilight swallowed hard. “But what if I’m not ready?” she said asked quietly as she looked down at the crystal map in front of her. “What if I screw things up, or ruin my friendship with Storm?”

For a moment, she almost sounded younger. REALLY younger. Like someone what was about to go out on their first date but was getting cold hooves at the last moment.

She almost sounds like my friend Cocoa Bean the night before senior prom, Storm thought. Is Twilight really that afraid that she’ll mess this up? She’s the Princess of Friendship, and Mom always said that your special somepony is essentially your best friend in the entire world! She’d be perfectly fine! If anypony is going to mess this up it's going to be me. Heck, maybe I already HAVE if I'm making her this upset.

“That could never happen,” he said, finally finding his voice.

His stomach was flopping in every direction, he was pretty sure his back leg was twitching sporadically, and his mouth was as dry as a desert. He wasn’t quite sure where his words were coming from, but the confused and slightly hopeful expression on Twilight’s face gave him the strength to push on.

“Prin—Twilight, we’ve been friends since I was four years old. In that time, you and I have had so many amazing experiences. Whether it was a sports game, a party, or just us spending time together as friends, every time I got to see you or be with you, even if only for an hour or two, was wonderful. You’re kind, funny, smart, beautiful, and so many more positive traits that I can’t even list them all.

“Even if we do go on a date and it does somehow go horribly, tremendously wrong…something I’m not even sure CAN happen given how well we already know each other, I’d still have all those good memories to fall back on. To think of and remember just how great of a pony you are. I promise you that, no matter what happens and even if we decide not to date again, I will always be your friend. No matter what.

“And, um, sorry about all the problems I’m causing with this,” he added, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “I…kinda just said the first thing that came to mind…without even really realizing that I was saying it.”

To his immense relief, Twilight actually giggled.

“I could have guessed given how panicked you looked. And I’m sure Flash would have been happy to hear you say that you will always be my friend,” Twilight said, smiling at him. “He did tell me to find someone who, and I quote, ‘sees you as the angel you are.’”

“I thought he told you to find someone who treats you like a princess,” Dawn said, frowning. “Or am I remembering that wrong?”

“Well, she IS a princess, isn’t she?” Storm asked, raising an eyebrow. “That’s why I get paid to stand in a hallway for six hours at a time, right? So I guess I already have that part of my special somepony application covered!”

That made everypony laugh. Even Magic Burst couldn’t help but chuckle.

“True enough,” Twilight said. “And sorry Dawn, but he definitely said ‘angel.’”

“Ah, yes, the patented ‘Perfect-Mom-Memory,’ how could I have forgotten?” Dawn said, smiling for a moment before her eyes became a bit misty. “I just wanted to be sure,” she continued, looking down at the floor. Just like with Twilight, Storm immediately thought Dawn looked much younger for a moment, as thought a large weight had settled upon her solders. He was actually worried for a moment that she might cry.

Twilight never let it get that far though as she quickly teleported next to her daughter and used her wings to pull Dawn into a hug. “I know you did, my little artist,” Twilight whispered soothingly, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. Dawn took a deep breath, quickly wiped her eyes, and nodded, regaining her composure almost instantly. Twilight just smiled before releasing her and teleporting back to her throne. Once she was seated, she turned back to Storm.

“Furthermore, I believe Soothing is right,” Twilight continued. “I have been putting off my promise to Flash for far too long.”

She paused, took a deep breath, and continued.

“Storm, you’ve been an amazing friend these last twenty years, more so than I had ever thought you would be when we first met. You’ve been a happy bit of light in my life and a pony that I could always count on to make my days brighter. I’ve loved spending time with you these last few years, and I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. And I will admit that these last few months have been…extra special,” she said, blushing very faintly. “And so I would be more than willing to go on a date with you. Even if nothing significant comes out of it, even if it’s a one-time thing, I would love to spend more time with you on a date.

“But…I do think that this will still need to legally count as your boon. Are you sure you don't want to use it on something else?”

Am I sure? Storm thought. Since this was still all tied to his boon, it meant that he had a way out. A way to take back his accidental stumble and ask for something else. But did he want to take it back?

These last four months had been wonderful. Watching movies and playing games with Twilight, listening to her tell stories about her friends or the legendary captan Flash Sentry, learning her subtle little quirks (which is how he learned she had an ‘it’s-time-for-a-lecture’ voice in the first place).

He had always had a bit of hero worship for Twilight, Storm wouldn’t deny that, but these last few months had seemed to…circumvent that, maybe?

He had seen her without the rose-tinted glasses, looked at her and her behavior not as a princess or a savior of Equestria, but as a friend seeking to help another recover. She had brought him books and games, helped the doctors recast pain-relieving spells, and just been somepony he could talk with to pass the time. She had made time in her busy schedule just for him, and that entire time those glasses just…hadn’t been there. He had seen her as more of a normal pony that day then he ever had before, and all her actions after that had just expanded that sense of normalcy.

She was a princess and incredibly special, no doubt about that, but she no longer seemed so far out of reach.

And now he had a chance to go on a date with her. A chance to, just maybe, bring their relationship to the next level, to expand his connection with her. The thought of becoming her coltfriend, of being there for her as more than just a friend, of helping her when she needed a shoulder to cry on or a pony to confide in (at least more so than he already did), it was a pretty appealing image. He didn’t know if their relationship would get there, or if the two of them might ever actually fall in love (because he highly doubted that would happen on the first date), but he couldn’t deny that a chance to become closer to somepony like Twilight was just what he wanted.

And even if it was only one date, he was sure it would be something they would talk about and remember fondly for years to come.

“I’m sure,” Storm said, nodding. “There is nothing I would like more than to get to know you better than I already do. And even if our relationship remains the same once the date is over, any time I can spend getting to know you more is time well spent.

“That, and I really want to keep playing Pony Cart with you,” he finished, grinning. “Even if you can only ever beat me on Rainbow Road.”

That earned him a raspberry from Twilight and gales of laughter from Dawn and Soothing.

“Is this a good time to mention that I just received the letter containing the tickets for the Grand Galloping Gala this morning?” Magic Burst asked.

All three princesses and Storm snapped their eyes to the guard captain. In her magic hung nine golden tickets.

THE GALA!?!?!

“T-T-T-T-“ Storm stuttered, his eyes widening. He couldn’t go to the GALA! He just wanted a normal date! Like a movie or a nice dinner, not the fanciest party of the entire year! Maybe he could—

“Oh my HARMONY, THAT’S PERFECT!” Dawn squealed, exploding into the air and grabbing Storms face again before he could duck away. “It’ll be just like Mom and Dad’s first date all over again! IT’S PERFECT!”

“B-B-B-But I just wanted a simple date! T-There no reason to use such a fancy and e-expensive ticket on me! I’m just a sergeant! And I can’t dance! I-I don’t even own a suit!” Storm cried, trying to pry his face free from Dawn’s to no avail.

Worse, her eyes were becoming even more manic with each excuse he tried to make.

“EEEE! EVEN BETTER! I can teach you to dance, how to annoy the snobby nobles, AND I can make you and Mom complimentary outfits! DIBS ON MAKING THE SUIT AND DRESS!!!” Dawn cried before Storm felt himself being dragged through the air against his will. “TO THE FORTRESS OF ART!!!” she screamed dramatically before dashing through the entrance to the throne room, sending the other guards tumbling.

“HELP! THE PRINCESS IS KIDNAPPING ME!” Storm cried as he was whisked away, unable to escape the clutches of the excited alicorn…

Twilight’s POV…

“Oh dear,” Twilight sighed as she watched her oldest daughter drag Storm Breaker out the door and down the hall. She knew that look Dawn had given him just before they disappeared. “Soothing—”

“Yeah, yeah. Make sure Dawn doesn’t go crazy and flood the castle with paint or half-finished outfits and make sure she doesn’t go overboard working with her latest victim of art,” Soothing said, snickering and shaking her head at her sister’s antics. “Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll keep her in line.

“Thank you, sweetie,” Twilight said, giving her daughter a happy nuzzle. Soothing returned it before popping off a quick salute and taking wing, only to stop at the doorway.

“Thanks for taking this step mom,” Soothing said with a gentle smile. “Even if Storm isn’t the one, I’m glad to see you taking the chance.”

And with that, she disappeared down the hallway after her excited sister.

Hopefully she gets there before Dawn starts trying to dye Storm’s coat. I know I removed all the coat and mane dye from her studio after that incident with Firefly, but one can never be too careful.

“Well, that was…something,” Magic Burst said as Twilight closed the throne room doors with a flick of her horn.

“Something?” Twilight asked, looking over her guard captain carefully. She looked as though she was trying to remain calm and reserved, but Twilight could tell that she was struggling to maintain that image. Her breathing was quicker and a bit shallow, her hooves were twitching ever so slightly, and her horn was letting off small, invisible bursts of magic that Twilight could detect with her own magical senses.

In short, she was panicking.

“It’s just—I don’t even—how could he—ugh,” she groaned, grabbing her head with her hooves as she sat down on the floor.

“It was quite the unexpected turn of events, I agree,” Twilight said, walking over and sitting next to her captain, wrapping a wing softly around her. Magic Burst stiffened for a moment, but then relaxed.

“That’s putting it mildly,” Magic Burst groaned. “Seriously, you offer him virtually anything he could think of, and he choses a DATE of all things! He could have asked to be set for life, or for a mansion made of gold, but he didn’t!”

“Is that’s what’s really bothering you?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “The fact that he didn’t try to bankrupt the crown to fund some ridiculous mansion or ask us to fill his house with candy?”

“Ye—NO, that’s not, ugh. No. It’s just—”

“You’re worried about me and my safety, and despite the fact that you and Sky Splitter trained him personally and Soothing would have Snowflake scare him into submission if he ever tried to hurt me, there’s just some little nagging part of your guard training that says you need to be cautious? Even though you are in charge of Storm and know logically that you have no reason to worry?”

Magic Burst actually laughed a bit at that before shaking her head. “Read me like a book, as always. I DO trust Storm and I know he would never do anything to intentionally hurt you, but this little voice of worry just won’t be quiet!”

“It is your job to look out for me, both physically and emotionally,” Twilight said with a giggle. “Especially when I let somepony so close. Though I’m guessing that it’s more that just your guard training that it making you wary?”

“Yes. To be blunt, I’m worried about you, Twilight. I was there when…Flash passed on, just barely a recruit at the time. Yet I could see just how much pain it caused you. You almost didn’t leave the castle for a week at the time. Just seeing you so heartbroken, so sad, it…well, it kinda motivated me to try and shoot for being the next Guard Captain. That way I could be there to help keep you safe, and so I could help comfort you when you needed me.

“I had originally joined the guard to follow in my mother’s hoofsteps, but I really learned to love it when I saw how you interacted with the rest of your guard. You made sure to learn all the new recruits’ names, you would occasionally bring us hoof-made food when you, Spike, and Ginger would have a cook-off, and you just seemed to liven up the world around you wherever you went.

“So when I saw you so depressed, I had never wanted anything more than to find some way to cheer you up, to be there for you as a friend. And I knew that if I became guard captain, I could do that far better than I could as a fresh-faced recruit because I would actually get a chance to spend more time with you. But now, seeing you let somepony else have a chance at getting so close to your heart, even closer that myself and your family and the Element Bearers, it…well, it worries me.”

“You’re worried that he might hurt me?” Twilight asked.

“Yes. Even unintentionally, whether by accident or because he brings up too many painful memories. And as Dawn mentioned, this Gala will be just like your first date with Flash, so chances are Storm will bring up a lot of memories for you. Granted, most of them will probably be positive memories of your first date with Flash, but…well, what if they hurt too? I just…I don’t want to see you like you were after you lost Flash. Ponyville was far less lively without you, and I just don’t want to see that sadness consume you again.”

“The sadness won’t get that bad,” Twilight said, smiling softly. “To be honest, when I lost Flash, I hadn’t really accepted my immortality yet, mentally at least. The idea that I would need to spend the rest of my life without him, after having been in love with him for so long, the idea that life would move on without him. Confronting that reality, seeing him pass away in my forelegs and feeling his pulse disappear, it was overwhelming for me…I just, couldn’t fathom being alone like that. Couldn’t comprehend the idea of being without him.

“But over time, and thanks in part to everyone in my life, those feelings have softened. I came to realize that, yes, life can move on, and while it won’t be the same as before, I’ll still have the memories of all the time Flash and I shared. And it is because of this experience that I have confidence everything with Storm will be ok. Even if things don’t work out as planned, life will move on, and we will still share a connection with one another. And, to be honest, I have no doubt Storm would do something truly sweet and ridiculously adorable if he ever thought that he made me sad. And either way, I don’t think it will come to that.

“Storm…well, I will admit that I do like him. Ever since he came bounding across ponies heads during the Summer Sun Celebration, I’ve thought of him as a friend, but when he saved me on the train…”

“You developed a little crush,” Magic Burst teased, smirking up at Twilight before being buried in the alicorn’s wing.

“Yes. Yes, I did,” Twilight said, trying not to blush as Magic Burst attempted to free her face from Twilight’s feathers. “And while I don’t know if it will become something more, I owe it to Flash and Storm to try. To at least see what happens and stop putting off finding love again. Besides, it’s just one date. Worse comes to worse, everything will be back to normal in a few months.”

“Normal? In Ponyville?” Magic Burst asked as she finally escaped Twilight’s wing, raining an eyebrow.

“As normal as things can get in this town at least,” Twilight giggled, standing up and stretching. “Now, I do need to ask, why exactly did you wait until just now to bring out the Gala tickets?”

“To be honest, I received them in a Dragon Fire letter earlier today, but I wanted to wait until after Storm’s meeting to let you know they had arrived. But then things took a turn into crazyville and I just went along as best I could.”

Twilight grinned. “You should have seen what my first Gala was like if you want crazy.”

“Given the stories I’ve heard about that debacle, I’d rather not,” Magic Burst said with a matching smile. “I have enough craziness just trying to keep you safe. Especially when the nobles get involved.”

“Just be happy there are less crazy ones now,” Twilight said. “There were at least three times as many bad ones back when I was your age…”

===***===

Shortly after Flash’s death…

“…”

“…”

“…”

“What do you mean ‘not confined?’” Flash asked, his confusion only growing.

“…”

“…”
===***===

Three month’s later, at the Gala…

Mmmmm…Twilight thought as she dug into the piece of chocolate and strawberry cake in front of her, enjoying the pink frosting flower on top as it disappeared into her mouth. The Gala always had good food, but this year’s food was especially good.

Or maybe that was just her positive outlook making everything better.

It all started when she had finally seen Dawn’s outfits. Hers was a graceful purple, orange, and red dress that looked as though it was draped in the calm light of twilight (her daughter had definitely inherited Flash’s sense on humor). When she paired it with some sunset-colored crystal shoes and her crown, she had become, as Dawn put it, stunningly spectacular.

Storm Breaker had certainly thought so, judging by the way he had gaped up at her in surprise before muttering to himself ‘she really is an angel.’

Twilight could help but laugh at that, remembering how Flash had been similarly stunned at their first date.

Storm outfit looked incredible as well. He wore a suit with deep blue and white highlights that made him look like a small thundercloud sending lightning in every direction. What’s more, the lightning design would actual move and spark if he put a little bit of his own magic into it, either intentionally or unintentionally. He could use it for flare if he wanted to show off, and it would actively hide any unintentional sparking caused by his understandable nervousness at attending such a large event. It would certainly help him appear calmer should a high-ranking pony try to give him trouble

Twilight was seriously impressed. The combination of enchantments needed to pull off such an effect was delicate and incredibly intricate. She could only imagine how long it must have taken Dawn to get her spells to respond to Storm’s natural magic, but she also knew that Dawn had made it her mission to help Storm feel as confident as possible for tonight and would consider the work completely worth it. And it was. The lightning effect looked amazing, and Twilight couldn’t deny that Storm looked very, very handsome.

Though how Dawn managed to get his mane under control, Twilight would never know.

Not only that, but her eldest had found time to design the rest of her family’s clothes as well. In a slight twist on her normal themes, Dawn’s dress had a beautiful moonlit night theme while Soothing’s had been representative of a bright sunny day and was equally as impressive. Green Leaf and Thrilling Tale wore suits that matched their spouses, and both loved very handsome as well.

Dawn truly had out done herself this time.

Once the ‘ooohing’ and ‘aaahing’ over everypony’s outfits finally subsided and Storm had finished complimenting Dawn’s creations, Twilight and Storm climbed into a chariot to fly to Canterlot, with Dawn and Soothing following behind with their husbands. By the time they touched down in the city, the new Element Bearers were already at the main gate, ready to greet them.

And from there, things had gotten even better. Storm, just like Flash, had complimented Twilight’s friends appropriately just like he had Twilight’s family and had quickly begun to talk with them all about their lives. That lasted for approximately five minutes before the conversation evolved into everypony sharing funny stories. This included the time Gumdrop had been chased by a pack of angry chickens and the time that Surprise had accidentally flooded Twilight’s castle with cake batter while working with Ginger.

Storm especially had some good stories. Like when he was ten, he had tried to create a secret cloud base in the backyard, only to turn it into a storm cloud with his lightning and accidentally set his own tail on fire. Then when he was fifteen, he had to tackle a category four lightning storm without help. He came out unscathed despite being zapped by nearly twenty lightning bolts. Firefly had been really impressed with that little feat.

Then, of course, he had gotten into a playful argument with Firefly about which Buckball players were currently the best and why the Manehattan team was the best team of all time. THAT silly little argument could have gone on for hours if Soothing hadn’t used the zipper spell on both their mouths. The way they continued to glare at each other even without being able to talk was adorable.

And through it all, Twilight couldn’t help but focus on Storm.

Just the way he spoke, the way he got into his stories and listened to all of the others’ tales with genuine interest and care made Twilight smile. There was just something about his energy that was infectious. Exhilarating. Heartwarming. She just…

There was something magical about him. It was like she was young again. Like all that love and energy that she had first experienced with Flash on that first date was coming back to her all over again. Her new friends and her daughters and her family had certainly helped give her back most of that energy over the years, but Storm…

He felt almost like a piece of life she had been missing. His movements, his speech, or his mere presence that just seemed to make everything more colorful, more lively, more REAL.

Falling in love with him later down the line didn’t seem like such an impossibility anymore. Not if this…crush, if that was really what this was, was already this developed. It wasn’t the same as her crush on Flash had been, but it felt just as special.

I’m getting distracted again, Twilight thought, realizing that she had been holding the last piece of cake in her magic for nearly three minutes now. Focus, Twilight.

As she finally finished her dessert, she could help but smile as she looked around the ballroom. She was currently sitting at one of the tables bordering the dance floor, taking a moment to relax amid the exciting chaos. The Gala itself was as beautiful as ever, but even more so this year. The gold, blue, silver, and red decorations just made everything pop and gave the entire hall a festive atmosphere. Though Twilight had a feeling that her good mood might be influencing her view of the décor a little.

Celestia was clearly having a great time over at the far corner, regaling some ponies about some story or another and gesturing dramatically for the foals of the group. Spike was over at the concessions table, stacking three plates high with food, much to the amusement of his son. Even Luna was getting very into the exuberant mood of the party, dancing through the air with a bat pony stallion by her side.

Though maybe less dancing and more dragging the poor yet blissfully happy-looking bat pony along for the ride.

Soothing and Green Leaf were nowhere to be seen, though Twilight expected they might be outside enjoying a break from the noise. Dawn and Thrilling Tale, on the other hoof, were dancing in the center of the dance floor and had been doing so for the last half an hour. Where did those two find the energy? Twilight wondered. Still, it was nice to know they were all having fun, and that Thrilling still refused to let his age slow him down.

Then there were her new friends.

Lightning Bug, or Firefly as she preferred to be called, was the new Element of Loyalty. She was a pink pegasus mare with a bright blue mane, purple eyes, and a cutie mark of two bright blue lightning bolts. Like Rainbow Dash, she was fiercely loyal and quite the sports fanatic, though her goal was to become a professional Buckball player rather than a Wonderbolt. She could be a little brash at times, but she was a great friend who wouldn’t hesitate to help someone in need. She was currently showing off to some Buckball fans, posing dramatically in mid-air.

As usual.

Next, Twilight spotted Razzle Dazzle, the new Element of Generosity. She was a silver earth pony mare with a golden mane and a cutie mark of a large diamond. Despite her clean and sparkling appearance, she was actually a miner who spent most of her time digging up gems down in Maud’s old mine and wasn’t afraid of getting dirty. Most of those gems were used to fund her homeless shelter and her hobby of creating comfortable, stylish clothes for ponies in need. She was currently berating Prince Blue Blood’s grandson Blue Blood the Twelfth for his refusal to contribute to her latest charity auction.

Let him have it, Razzle. He needs to spend more of those bits he earns on good causes anyway.

It took Twilight a moment to find the next of her friends, but she eventually spotted her friend Gumdrop. He was the new Element of Kindness, a pale blue earth pony with a pink mane, green eyes, and a cutie mark of three multi-colored gumdrops. He was a talented baker, and specialized in making food and candies for animals, especially those that were sick or malnourished. He was a bit shy and quiet, but hurt or scare an animal on purpose, and you better be prepared to deal with him. He was currently out in the garden, no doubt feeding a few of the birds that called it home if the one on his head was anything to go by.

Hopefully they don't rip his suit trying to get at his candy again. That was pretty bad last year, especially when he accidentally led some of the animals into the castle kitchen…

Over by the buffet, Twilight could just barely make out Ariane Apple, the current Element of Honesty. She was a bright red unicorn with a brown mane, green eyes, and a cutie mark of a sturdy apple tree. It was rare to see a unicorn born in the Apple Clan, but Ariane had never let that keep her from helping the family business. She was just as strong as most earth ponies, and her magic was almost entirely plant-based. She could make things grow faster, heal sick trees, and even work with dangerous plants without fear of them hurting her. She was currently sampling all the desserts over at the buffet, and had apparently stopped to shove a slice of pie in somepony’s mouth for some reason.

Maybe they tried to tell her she wasn’t using her manners. That never goes over well when she’s going after desserts. Especially if they have apples in them. I still remember when she actually shoved an apple fritter into my mouth during the celebration feast after we defeated Grogar. The look of shock and surprise on everypony’s face before I started laughing was definitely memorable to say the least.

Then, finally, Twilight found Surprise, the current bearer of the Element of Laughter. Surprise was a pure white pegasus with a blond poofy mane, purple eyes, and a cutie mark of three purple balloons. She was, basically, what Twilight imagined Pinkie might have been like if she had been born a pegasus. As the Element of Laughter, Surprise was just as happy, bubbly, reality-breaking, and as willing to be the life of the party as Pinkie Pie had been, with the only difference being that she could fly and Pinkie could not.

Not that Pinkie would let that stop her half of the time.

Surprise was currently spinning across the dance floor, dragging a helpless and likely very dizzy Storm Breaker along for the ride.

She hadn’t explained to Twilight WHY she had stolen her date just as Twilight started eating her slice of cake, but Twilight knew better than to question it. Poor Storm had given her a pleading look as he was swept off the floor and out above the dance floor, but Twilight could only helplessly shrug.

Don’t question Surprise…

And now she had come full circle, watching as Surprise threw her date into the air, Storm’s eyes turning in opposite directions before Surprise caught him again and continued her swirling dance across the floor. Twilight couldn't help but shake her head at the pegasus’ antics, smiling as she remembered the first time Surprise had dragged her onto the dance floor at one of her parties.

Something that had been rather surprising at the time given their size difference.

Focus, Twilight. You'll need to go rescue Storm pretty soon before he gets sick. Especially since you want to dance with him.

Our first dance.

Just like with Flash, it’ll be here at the Gala.

And there it was.

No matter how her mind tried to fight it, that one train of thought always seemed to find its way back to the front of her mind.

She still missed Flash.

Which should be fine. She had spent seventy-seven years with him, and he had passed on. Of course she would still miss him. But why did she still fell like that was holding her back? Why couldn’t she just move on, even for a single night?

Storm was great! He was a great friend on his own, got along with all her friends, and had been doing his best to make this night fun while still being a gentlepony. He had told her jokes as they flew up to Canterlot, opened the chariot door for her, displayed an almost foal-like glee when they entered the main ballroom that was infectious, pulled her seat out when she wanted to sit down…just the simple things made this night so much better.

Truth be told, the last few Galas had been rather boring. She meant no offense to the planners and decorators, but after attending so many, they just didn’t seem all that unique from one year to the next.

But now Storm had made the Gala far more fun then it had been these last few years just by BEING here with her! It had only been about an hour since they arrived and yet everything was still far better than it had been the last five years at least! This despite the fact that the only thing they had done so far was walk around, get some food, and have some normal conversations! He somehow managed to make complete normalcy be so much more enjoyable!

His stories were entertaining, the way he still sometimes got shy around her was adorable and endearing, and he never seemed to let his nerves hold him back from trying to enjoy the night with her. She felt as though some small hole in her chest that she had never even noticed was finally starting to fill again, that her heart was beginning to feel the fires of love again, no matter how far away she might be from actually loving Storm as more than a friend.

Yet she just couldn’t stop thinking about Flash…

Everything Storm did seemed to remind her of Flash. Being here reminded her about how her first date at the Gala went all those years ago. Storm's infectious happy attitude reminded her of how Flash would always try to make her smile. The small scar on Storm’s wing reminded her of how Flash had been willing to put his life at risk for her, and how this would sometimes get him into trouble…Ok, Flash would get into trouble more than sometimes and Storm had only been hurt once so far, but still.

It felt like every good memory with Storm had a good counterpart with Flash, no matter how much she tried to distract herself.

“Avocado for your thoughts?” a voice rang, pulling Twilight back to the present, only to see that there was currently an avocado balanced perfectly on her muzzle. A green and red striped avocado. “Or in normal speech: “What’s on your mind, my dear Twilight?”

“Hello, Discord,” Twilight said, shifting her eyes to her left where the Draconequus, dressed in a surprisingly sharp suit and tie, was sitting as though he had been there the entire time. In front of him was a slice of cake and a piece of pie, both of which appeared to be holding a battle to the death with forks in an admittedly entertaining way. “Are you enjoying the Gala?” she asked as she levitated the avocado off of her muzzle.

“Oh, certainly,” Discord said with a grin. “It’s always so fun to see the fancy-smansy nobles get soooo dressed up, only for some unfortunate piece of tablecloth or clumsy waiter to completely ruin it.” As if on cue, a nearby noble tripped over a piece of Discord’s tail and flung the plate of salad he had been holding right onto Prince Blue Blood the Twelfth’s head. The ensuing laughter from the ponies nearby, including Razzle, made Twilight smile, even as she rolled her eyes at Discord’s antics.

“Must you do that?”

“What? I’m just keeping things interesting. And you, my dear, never answered my question. What’s on your mind?”

“Just…thinking,” Twilight said evasively. Discord was a good friend, and most of the Galas he attended were actually less chaotic than she would normally expect. Usually. She still hadn’t gotten over that time he had invited the half-pony, half-snake Lamia Tribe to the Gala.

There was nothing wrong with the Lamia in question, per say, and it had started a great movement to reopen diplomatic relations with a long-lost race from the distant jungles of Zebrica, the Zebra Homeland, but…Twilight REALLY didn’t like snakes.

AT ALL.

It was why Dawn had to be the one to actually engage in the diplomatic meetings. Granted, their arrival HAD helped her overcome her fear…a bit, and had given Dawn some much needed diplomatic experience, but still. That was NOT a fun night.

I should probably go rescue Storm Breaker, Twilight thought, trying to distract herself from the thought of SNAKES, and of Flash. But before she could move, she heard a snap.

Suddenly, everything froze.

No, not froze. Slowed down. All around her, everything was moving at a snail’s pace. Surprise was still spinning Storm Breaker, but they were moving so slowly it would likely take a few minutes for them to make a single rotation. Celestia currently had an incredibly ridiculous expression on her face, and Dawn and Thrilling Tale were slowly rising up off the ground as they jumped as part of their dance.

“Twilight,” Discord said, his voice sounding genuinely concerned. “I know you. That pained, conflicted expression on your face before I came over tells me that you are doing far more than just ‘thinking.’ I know your many, many thinking faces, and that, my dear, was not one of the happy ones.” His fighting pie and cake disappeared and two cups of tea appeared on the table.

“I won’t pry too much if it’s that sore of a spot for you, but as a friend I do ask you to at least consider confiding in me. We’re alone in our own little bubble of silence and super-slow-time, so I can guarantee no one will interrupt us.”

“And if I say no?” Twilight asked, looking around at the nearly-frozen room. In truth, she was split about talking to Discord right now. He was the God of Chaos after all, but at the same time, he was literally messing with time at the moment to ensure that they wouldn’t be disturbed and that she wouldn’t miss much of the party. But at the same time, this was also a very delicate and sensitive topic for her. Did she really want to talk about this right now?

When she turned to look at him, Twilight realized that she could see genuine concern showing through that chaotic gleam in his eyes. He was worried. Quite worried.

Given his immortality, maybe he had gone through a similar loss as her? He never really did talk about his life before his reign of chaos over Equestria, or why he had even felt the need to take over Equestria in the first place.

“If you say no, then I’ll leave it at that, and things continue on as normal,” Discord said, shrugging helplessly as he took a sip from his teacup. “Mmmm, chocolate and peach, how wonderfully chaotically delicious.”

Twilight snorted. Only Discord would invent chocolate and peach flavored tea, she thought, shaking her head to hide a smile. Maybe it was his respectful attitude, or how he actually appeared to be taking things seriously, but Twilight decided that if he was here, she may as well talk with him. After all, it didn’t look like she would be getting Celestia and Luna’s attention anytime soon.

Even IF time were moving at a normal pace, she didn’t want to interrupt their fun. They worked so hard, and they deserved this night off at the least. Plus, Luna was currently flying out the window and into the night sky, her love-struck date still hugged to her chest, so there was that.
Well, here goes nothing.

“Discord, have you ever…lost some one important to you?” Twilight asked softly. “Before Fluttershy, I mean.”

There was almost half a minute of silence before Discord finally spoke. “…Yes. Yes I did.” His face became a bit sad. “Before my little stint in stone, I did, in fact, lose a good friend of mine. We were never anything more than friends, but I do know what it’s like to lose somepony you treasure more than anything in the world…”

“How did you move on?” Twilight asked softly.

“Wellllllllll…” Discord said, scratching the back of his head in…embarrassment?

“Truth be told, yes, I did have a friend before I met Fluttershy. She was wonderful pony I met a long long time ago, and to this day I can still remember her face perfectly. She was the first pony that didn’t run away at my appearance, and she absolutely adored my little, more harmless pranks. She always found them funny and a bit of a spark in her life, or so she told me. And for me, they were always a way to make her laugh and smile, no matter how badly her day was going. Comforting her with a little fake spider or a tap-dancing frog jumping out of her night stand always made the both of us smile.

Now my friend, she was very old when I lost her and had thankfully gotten to live a full life, but unfortunately, her death was not due to natural causes. This good friend was actually taken from me in a…less-than-pleasant manner, by another pony in fact. So when I lost her, I did what any young, foolish being might do and got revenge for my friend through a similarly less-than-pleasant prank. And after getting my revenge, I decided I would go out into the world and spread my less malicious pranks to everyone, sort of like a memorial in a sense.

Only, my pranks weren’t as innocent as they used to be. They weren't nearly as bad as my revenge prank, but they weren't exactly harmless either. I was hurting, and as time went on, I began to draw on more and more of my power, making the pranks bigger and bigger while simultaneously caring less about how much terror or disruption they might be causing to other ponies’ lives. I saw anyone who didn’t like my pranks as boring or a bad sport, and that just encouraged me to make the pranks even more grandiose. It became almost a cyclical cycle of larger and larger disruptions and pranks, right up until I found my self under statue-arrest for a thousand years, give or take.”

Twilight blinked. Then blinked again. “Wait. You became the chaos ruler of Equestria all because you lost your friend?”

“She gave her life protecting me,” Discord said, letting out a long sigh. “She was old, and I was simply there to bring her some flowers, but the ponies back then weren’t exactly as tolerant and filled with fluffy rainbows as you are these days.” He pulled out a small plush pony that burped out a small rainbow. “And seeing how she was the first pony that I could have called my friend – had I understood what friendship was back then, of course – I think my anger was justified. Though I will admit that my reaction after avenging them was…probably overkill.”

“Did you get over it?” Twilight asked gently. “Did you ever find a way to move on and recover?”

“Well, first, time passed, obviously,” Discord said, a clock appearing by his head, the hands spinning so fast that eventually the clock face broke off with a comical ‘boing’ sound. “And second, I found a new friend. As cheesy as it is, finding friendship again after losing it the first time is quite a good way to heal a broken heart. I’m sure it works for love too, but I think little miss Cadence would be better able to explain that.”

“But then why can’t I stop thinking about Flash?” Twilight asked, looking out at Storm Breaker. “The moment this data started, I began to feel as thought some weight was being lifted, a weight I didn’t even realize was there. I feel so young again, and I'm open the the idea of developing a brand new romance with Storm. But then I start comparing him to Flash, and that weight just comes back again. I know I miss Flash, and I accept that, but I just can’t stop myself from comparing the two of them.

“And it’s almost…frustrating, in a sense. My friendship with Storm is very different from my friendship with Flash, and while I don’t know how things will be when it comes to romance, I know that it will be different because Storm is a different pony. And that’s perfectly ok. It will be a new adventure for the both of us, assuming we get that far, but I am actually looking forward to it. But it’s so hard to do that when this stupid weight keeps holding me back, even though my mind is telling me I am ready to move on.

“Why can’t I just think of Storm on his own right now? Why does my mind constantly insist on comparing him to Flash and adding this weight to my chest? I like Storm for being Storm, not because everything he does make me think of Flash. But my mind keeps comparing them, all the time, and that’s just not a healthy way to form a relationship…”

“I can’t give you an answer,” Discord said with a small shrug. “Maybe it’s because you’re over here all by your lonesome rather than over there with your wonderfully chaotic little pegasuhmmm?”

He had started to gesture at Storm Breaker, but suddenly stopped halfway, his eyebrows raising in confusion.

Why would he be confused?

“Hold the phone…” Discord said, a red phone appearing on the table for no real reason.

“Discord?” Twilight asked in concern. “Is there som—”

Discord thrust the phone into her hooves.

“Hold. The. Phone,” he said, his eyes narrowing and never leaving Storm Breaker’s slowly moving form. He stroked his goatee as if deep in thought, before…

Twilight felt something strange.

Something changed around her, a subtle change in the magic in the air that made her horn almost itch. In a single blink, Discord’s eyes went from their normal mix-matched yellow and red to a solid gold. He looked back at Twilight, then at Storm Breaker again, then back at her. He then looked in the direction of each of her new friends, each time turning to look back at Twilight in contemplation.

Every time, Twilight felt as though Discord was looking THROUGH her. Yet she didn’t know why.

“Now that IS unexpected,” Discord muttered to himself, looking back at Storm Breaker one last time. “Very unexpected indeed.”

“Discord, what are you doing?” Twilight asked, her horn sparking, ready for a spell as Discord turned to look at her again with those creepy golden eyes. She didn’t know if she would need to cast a spell, but if something was wrong, then she wanted to be ready to act.

“Looking,” he said cryptically. “And I dare say you will certainly want to see this.”

Holding up his griffon claw, a golden orb popped into existence. The entire thing made Twilight’s horn and wings burn, but not in a bad way. It was…strangely pleasant.

Right up until Discord threw the orb in her face!

Twilight gasped as raw information flooded her mind. She had spent decades studying magic. Learning the complex ways in which hundreds of spells needed to be formed and maintained, each with their own unique structure and process of construction.

But now, this knowledge was flowing directly into her mind, telling her everything she needed to know in order to cast Discord’s spell. It was like reading a book and committing it to memory in mere seconds!

The structure, the power requirements, the part of her body that the spell would affect and how to ensure it wouldn’t damage her eyes, everything she needed to know and more was coming into clarity just barely slow enough for her to handle. But then it changed.

Once she knew the technical aspects of the spell inside and out, then came the actual skill and experience. The feeling of power flowing through her horn, the feel of the spell as it took shape, the finished result coming to fruition. A spell this complex would have taken years to master, yet she now felt as thought she had cast the spell one hundred and twenty seven times exactly, each time improving until she could cast it without a second thought!

How this is possible???

“Close your eyes,” Discord’s voice rang out through the golden haze, and Twilight obeyed. Almost instantly, she found her horn charging its magic without her input and, before she could react, all of the knowledge she had just gained was instantly put to use as her horn cast the spell against her will. The gold vanished, only to be replaced with a burning sphere of pure violet.

It was…beautiful.

A ball of pure energy, rainbow light swirling and weaving around the central violet sun that made up its core. It was like a small star, burning in the darkness and throbbing with pure magical energy. The energy flowed around it, slowly thinning out into strands that moved out into the darkness. Some were large, almost as big as her leg. Others were small, no bigger than a spider’s thread. All of them moved and twirled as they traveled…through her veins!?

The shadow receded, and yet even with her eyes closed Twilight could just barely see the outline of her own body. And that small sun was right in its center, pulsing in time with her heartbeat and constantly shifting as her chest moved up and down. The largest strand was connected directly to her horn, and for the first time in her life Twilight was able to SEE exactly where her magic was coming from! What the source of all her spells was!

“Discord,” Twilight breathed, her voice sounding far away, yet all around her all at once. “What. Is. That?!”

“That, my dear, is your soul.” Discord said, his voice far to calm for what he just said.

“My SOUL!?” Twilight practically screamed, the small sun flaring as she moved to try and get a better look. From out of the darkness around her, Discord’s own silhouetted outline appeared just inside her field of vision.

Unlike her…soul, if that’s what it really was, which was just a single entity, Discord’s soul was more comparable to seven suns orbiting each other. In the center sat one large red orb, and around it spun six other, smaller ones. They were all different colors, each one changing at random. Their paths would sometimes reverse, or suddenly go a new direction, or even teleport to a new part of the soul.

Yet they always remained close to the sun in the center, never straying too far no matter what.

“How!?” Twilight gasped in amazement. This was incredible!

“When I was in stone, I couldn’t see.” Discord said, his voice calm and patient. “I could hear, sure, but seeing as my eyes were closed when I was petrified, sight was beyond my capabilities. Given how boring being trapped in stone can be, I eventually began testing my prison to see if I could find a way out. I couldn’t, but upon messing with my internal magic, I discovered this little spell some…two hundred and thirty nine years into my imprisonment.

“With it, I can not only see my own soul, but those of other as well. It’s not a great way to see the ponies who come to gawk at me, and the range was rather limited with my eyes closed, but it lets me do something no pony else can.”

“What?” Twilight asked, genuinely curious. Discord’s method of teaching her the spell may have been, well, very Discord, but she was now very interested in what was happening.

“It lets me follow the strings that bind us,” Discord said, his talon reaching down to his side as he gently…plucked a string? “Open your eyes, Twilight. I’m sure your friends have waited long enough.”

Twilight did. Around her, the ballroom was now completely overflowing with a myriad of rainbows and colors, all centered around the creatures that surrounded her. Every creature, no matter the species or gender or what have you was unique. No two souls were the same. And yet, her eyes quickly returned to the strand Discord had plucked.

Like those in her chest, it was gently flowing and twirling through the air, but UNLIKE those inside her, this one changed colors part way down. It went from a fierce purple to a happy neon pink and white, the two colors connecting seamlessly as the same rainbow light from her soul flowed across the link.

Wait, no.

The light was flowing, but in both directions down the strand. It was coming from her soul, but also from wherever it led.

Twilight wasn’t sure how, but she could feel her soul reacting as she reached out her hoof, gently tracing the strand with her magic, feeling the place where the colors changed. She didn't know why, but she KNEW this wasn’t just a part of her soul. The magic was too different, too unique. This feeling of joy and laughter that permeated the pink and white of the strand. It was…

Was…

“Pinkie?” Twilight whispered, her eyes widening in shock.

No. That was impossible. Pinkie was DEAD!

Twilight eyes quickly traced the thread, following it across the room until it connected perfectly with Surprise’s chest. As if realizing it was being looked at, Surprise’s soul pulsed, sending a wave of rainbow light down the strand so fast Twilight nearly didn’t see it until it collided with her own soul.

Any doubt was erased in an instant. That WAS Pinkie.

“H-H-How…” Twilight whispered. Her mind was at a loss, completely silent for the first time in a very long time. She couldn’t even begin to comprehend what this all meant.

“Soul bonds” Discord said gently. “They are extraordinary links that exist between a very, VERY select number of creatures. Most ponies have none at all, allowing their souls to move on once they pass.”

“Allow!? Are you saying I’m FORCING Pinkie to be here!?” Twilight cried, turning to face Discord. The thought of preventing her friend from being able to peacefully pass on was not a pleasant one in the slightest!

“Bad choice of words,” Discord said, holding his hands up in surrender. “What I MEAN is, that bond you have, or should I say those BONDS you have, mean that you and your friends were, and still ARE, linked in the most intimate way possible. Your souls, the very fiber of who you are, are linked together. This means that, even should one partner of this link ever die, that lost soul can be reborn so long as its partner remains alive.

“That’s not so say things won’t change. A soul does not remain completely constant, and the body and mind, well, those are disposable so long as the soul survives. So while it’s true that little miss Surprise USED to be Pinkie in a past life, she is now, and will still be, Surprise until the day she dies. And then the she’ll become someone else. There will be similarities given how the soul will remain mostly the same, but the soul will never create the same pony twice…”

Despite sitting down, Twilight had to stabilize herself on the table, the world fading ever so slightly. If not for her years of coping with stress, she very well might have fainted on the spot.

This was just too much.

“How do you know this?” Twilight whispered. “How on Equis did you even manage to figure this all out!?”

Discord didn’t say anything. He merely floated out of his chair and closer to her before pointing to thin air. Twilight took a deep breath to stabilize herself, then squinted. It was harder to see than her bond with Pinkie, but Twilight noticed that Discord’s soul had a single strand right near where he was pointing. A small spot of pink located on his soul’s central red star, an island of stability in the chaotic nonsense that made up his being.

As if responding to her examination, the bond became clearer, flashing with a gentle yellow-pink light that reflected on her own soul. No, not on her soul. On another link connected to her soul. She had more than one soul link, just like Discord had said.

This one was a gentle blue mixed with streams of very light pink, and upon closer inspection, matched Discord’s link almost perfectly. Following both links, Twilight’s eyes widened as they pointed to the same source.

Gumdrop.

Twilight felt the bond with her soul, her mind already piecing together who he used to be.

“Fluttershy. You – WE – have a bond with Fluttershy,” Twilight whispered, looking up at Discord in shock. “And she’s a stallion now?”

“Yes, we do, and yes, she is now a he,” Discord said with a sad nod. “Like I said, the body and mind are disposable so far as I can tell, and a soul had no gender. So of course it would be mostly random as to whether or not they change from stallion to mare. It’s why the cute and adorable Fluttershy is now the cute and fluffy Gumdrop.”

That…makes some sense I suppose. Twilight thought.

“As for why we share a link to their soul, it’s because Fluttershy was the reincarnation of my first friend, the only pony willing to see me as a living, breathing, feeling creature rather than some horrible monster. I was young at the time, and I mean YOUNG. Like, only TEN years old when I first met her old self. She went by Posey back then, named after the flower.” He sighed, pouring himself more tea as he sat down again.
This entire situation is so surreal, Twilight thought. This was definitely not how she expected her night to go.

“I had spent my entire life alone in the Everfree Forest. Anytime I tried to journey out, ponies would scream and drive me away, calling me some monster of the forest or some other such nonsense. Yet she never did,” Discord said, wiping a tear from his eye.

“She was just picking some flowers at the forest boarder when a timberwolf attacked, chasing her into the forest and towards its waiting pack. I was lucky enough to be nearby, and despite not having much control over my magic at the time, I was strong enough to fly down from the tree I was sleeping in to save her. The timberwolves knew better than to mess with me.

“Rather than run, or scream, or faint, she just hugged me and cried into my chest, thanking me over and over again. I was, to be honest, at a complete loss of what to do. I mean, how does one comfort a fluffy little earth pony crying on one’s chest? I had no idea. I barely even knew what a hug was.

“But, eventually, I just wrapped my arms around her, and we sat under that tree until the sun began to set. It was…perfect, in its own way.” Discord said, smiling gently at the memory. Twilight couldn’t help but smile herself at the image of a small Discord holding a small Fluttershy in his arms. She wasn’t sure if that was what Posey had looked like, but the image was still adorable either way.

“Very long story short, we became friends, and she came to see me at least once a week for the next seventy years. We would talk, she would try to get me to sing despite the fact that I have a horrible singing voice, we once made each other flower crowns, and so on. I even got to meet her children, both of whom swore to keep me a secret. She even helped me master my magic, sitting there for hours on end, watching me practice. She would encourage me whenever I failed, would praise and hug me every time I learned a new trick, and, as I mentioned earlier, loved all of my fun little pranks. Even the time I turned her mane into pizza.

“But…”

“She was killed,” Twilight whispered, gently resting a hoof on his shoulder. It was one thing to lose someone to old age. But to die because of somepony else…

Twilight could scarcely imagine it.

“Yes. She was old, going for a nice walk near the forest for her weekly visit. But unbeknownst to her, the captain of the town’s guard had followed her. I still don’t know the reason why, but I do know that he had quite the ego, and not in the charming way Rainbow Dash did. He was a jerk, and always took credit for anything that entire guard did. Maybe he was looking to save her from a monster and get more praise, or maybe he was just patrolling as normal. Despite looking through his office and interrogating the rest of his guards, I was never able to find out why he was there in the first place.

“So when he saw me appear and hand Posey a bouquet of posies, he leapt into the air and rushed to stab me with his sword. I was so shocked that…I couldn’t react in time. Not until Posey used all her strength to shove me out of the way…”

“No…” Twilight whispered, her eyes beginning to water.

“Yes. We both knew that I aged slower that she did, or that I would maybe never grow old, but neither of us knew just how durable I was. She was willing to use her last act to try and save my life, even though it cost her everything she had left.

“And I wasn’t powerful enough to save her…”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Twilight said firmly.

“I know. Posey said that too as she passed on, and I believed her, and still do. It’s why my grief was so quickly replaced with rage. Let’s just say you don’t want to know what kind of prank I pulled on that guard. I didn’t KILL him, seeing as Posey wouldn’t have wanted that, but he definitely didn’t get away without some proper punishment.”

Twilight didn’t want to imagine what that might have been. If the growl in his voice was any indication, then he was right – she really didn’t want to know.

“But how does this relate to the soul links?” she asked, trying to steer them back on topic. It was fascinating to learn about Discord’s past, no matter how depressing it was, but her curiosity of these soul links was still nagging at the very front of her mind.

“Yes, yes, sorry,” Discord said, taking a deep breath to calm himself. "Shortly after I discovered this little ability while imprisoned, I received a visitor at my statue-self.” He looked back at Gumdrop outside the window. “This pony had come before, many times in fact, to see me in all my glory. Only now, with this new handy little ability, I could see him for the first time. It was quite interesting indeed, yet I couldn’t help but notice the strand connecting us.

“But why would that be? There were other ponies nearby, but none of them had strands, either to me or each other, but me and this random stallion did? Celestia had a strand pointed towards the moon when she walked past one night, but she was the only other one I saw. Why? So, being the naturally curious God of Chaos that I am, I used my magic to feel the link. And what did I find?”

“Posey…” Twilight breathed.

“Yes. This pony was my long gone friend, only with a new body and new personality. Yet from the moment I touched the link that bound us, I knew it was her. Our link wasn’t, and still isn’t, quite as strong as yours is with Gumdrop, but it was enough that we were still drawn to each other, just like we will always be so long as we are linked.”

“What do you mean ‘drawn to each other’? And if that’s true, why did you turn Fluttershy into the opposite of herself and then later betray her to Tirek?

“Regarding the first bit…” Discord said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “The truth is that, since Fluttershy never visited me before I broke out the first time, I didn’t actually know that she was Posey when I escaped. And when I did escape, all of that harmonic energy that had kept me imprisoned fought with my chaotic magic and kinda…messed with my mind a little bit. It was a lot of magic being thrown everywhere, and I was too busy making plans to stop you and your friends that I actually…forgot to check.”

“You forgot?” Twilight asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow.

"How about you try being in stone for a thousand years with an itchy nose and then tell me that your first thought when you break out wouldn’t be to make sure, no matter what, that you wouldn’t have to go through that again? Even without that magic messing with me, my first thought was always going to be ‘How can I not be made a statue again?’ I could have always looked for Posey later anyway.”

“Ok, that’s a fair point,” Twilight conceded. “But Tirek?”

“I…look, I’ll admit that was a huge moment of weakness for me, and I was, actually a little afraid to check to see if Fluttershy was Posey. I got turned into a statue almost immediately after getting free, and Fluttershy was one of the ponies that helped do that to me. So even after getting out and seeing her promise not to blast me again, the idea that the reincarnation of my first friend would have turned to me to stone was…hard to swallow. So, I just…didn't look.

“Though I probably should have. It was that little nagging doubt in my mind that made me really question if you all were my friends when Tirek made his offer, and well, we know what happened after that.

“Yet when you refused to surrender your magic unless I was freed, I realized that it didn’t matter if Posey's reincarnation helped to turn me to stone. Friends forgive each other and don’t let one mistake tear them apart for good. You showed me that, though I don’t think I’ve ever actually admitted just how much of an effect your decision had on me.

“So once that little event was done and everything was back to normal, minus the new castle, I decided to check my bond, thought I will admit part of me was curious to see if you were actually Posey’s newest reincarnation given your choice. But no, it was Fluttershy, which really wasn’t that surprising, all things considered.”

Twilight didn’t know why, but it was actually a little sweet that Discord had actually thought she might be Posey’s latest reincarnation. She hadn’t realized just how much of an impression her willingness to save him had made.

“And finally,” Discord continued, “the ‘drawn to each other’ portion. These links are powerful, so much so that even at my best, I was not able to sever the links between you and your friends. Weaken them, possibly, but never destroy. As a side effect of these links, those connected to each other will continually seek each other out, even if they do not know they are doing so. As an example, Posey’s reincarnations always found their way to my statued-self. One even came from Prance just to see me, saying that I was the inspiration for her next work of art.

“Not to mention that Rainbow Dash’s reincarnation moved to Ponyville all the way from Stalliongrad,” Discord added.

Twilight’s eyes widened. Firefly was originally from Stalliongrad!

“Rainbow came back too!?” she practically screamed.

“Of course she did,” Discord said with a wink. “You didn’t really think Pinkie and Fluttershy would come alone, did you?” He gestured around the room with a playful smile. “You really should learn to look more closely at your soul. You never know who you might find.”

Twilight gave him a quick laugh before focusing all her attention on her soul. Taking another brief glance at Pinkie and Fluttershy’s links, both of which filled her with joy, she looked beyond them. Almost immediately, she found four more links stretching out from her soul into the room around her. Three of them appeared to be just as strong as her links to Pinkie and Fluttershy, while the fourth one looked to actually be a bit stronger.

Focusing on the ones similar to Pinkie and Fluttershy’s, Twilight saw that the first link led to Firefly, the burning, energetic link clearly belonging to Rainbow just as Discord had said. A pony who had left her home on the other side of the world to pursue her dream, and who had inadvertently followed her link right to Twilight’s front door. She still remembered the day the half-starved and delirious pegasus had crashed into her castle after saving a young colt from a manticore.

The second link let to Razzle Dazzle, the calm, refined feel of the link indicating that this was definitely Rarity. Twilight wondered how Rarity would have reacted if she could meet the pony she had become. Especially since said new pony was willing to dig through the dirt all to support her business and help others while the old pony hatred of dirt with a passion.

What an interesting conversation that would be.

Ariane Apple was at the end of the third link, the strong, steady presence telling Twilight that this was Applejack without a doubt. From an earth pony to a unicorn, yet still the most dependable pony she knew.

All of them had changed, yet she could feel their connections more than ever before.

As her eyes scanned the five of her friends, Twilight realized that they weren’t just linked to HER. Each Bearer had five links as well, binding them all in a wonderfully colorful web of friendship that could transcend anything.

Even death, it seemed.

Tearing her eyes away from the beautiful web that bound them, Twilight followed the last, much more powerful link, which lead directly to…Spike?

“I’m linked to Spike too?” Twilight asked, surprised. Knowing that her number-one assistant was bound to her too was something that just made her smile. He would come back too when his time came.

“You did hatch him,” Discord said. “And if I recall a little conversation we had a few decades ago, his egg was actually a dead egg, correct?”

“Yes, it was.” Twilight said, nodding as she watched Spike dump a full plate of food into his mouth in slow motion. Celestia had told her years after the fact that she was never supposed to hatch Spike at all. The egg exam was just a way to gauge a student’s personality so that teachers could work to determine what was the best way to teach them and what aspects of their personality might need work. If the student was proud or boastful, the teachers would try teach them humility. If the student was nervous or afraid of failure, they would work on boosting the student’s confidence.

When Twilight’s magic had surged, she had taken the dead egg she had thought was alive and infused it with so much magic that it had created life using the remains of the baby dragon inside, a feat that not even Celestia was able to accurately explain.

Maybe that’s why my bond is stronger with him than with the girls. I actually gave him life! And, I guess as long as we are linked, I will keep giving him life so long as I’m alive.

“How rare are these links again?” Twilight asked, looking back at Discord. “How rare is it for me to have six of them.”

“Almost no creature has them. Even Celestia and Luna only have one, though I have noticed that these links are more common among alicorns. Still, you, my dear Twilight, have the most soul links that I have ever seen. You are truly a special pony indeed,” Discord said genuinely as he took another sip of his tea, right before that chaotic gleam returned to his eyes. “But you may want to check your math.”

What? Why would I need to check my math? There’s only si—

Then she saw it. A small flicker of orange and light blue, nearly obscured by her link with Pinkie.

I have SEVEN links!? But who else would I have a link to?

Twilight reached out with her soul once again. Rather than be filled with rainbow light, which Twilight assumed was from the Elements of Harmony, this link was coated with a light pink light. It was just as strong as the links with the rainbow light, but there was something…different about it. Something more akin to a warm fire rather than a gentle all-encompassing hug. Twilight could feel it even as she reached the point where the light changed colors.

The strand responded, and Twilight felt her heart nearly stop.

===***===

Shortly after Flash’s death…

Flash felt pure shock run through his…spirit, he guessed. If what the voice said was true…

“I…I can go back?” he whispered.

“…”

===***===

I-It can’t be…

But just like with Pinkie, Twilight could not deny what she felt when she tapped into that link.

“F-F-Flash?” she barely whispered, standing from her chair even as she felt her legs wobble unsteadily. That last link. There was no mistaking the identity of the pony on the other side.

Flash had come back too, and he was currently being spun wildly around by Surprise!

Storm Breaker was Flash’s reincarnation!!!!

SHE WAS DATING HER ONCE DEAD HUSBAND!?!?!?

How!? How was he here!? He wasn’t linked to her by the Elements or some spell or…ANYTHING! Shouldn’t he have passed on?! Gone to join his parents and friends and Tempest?! How had he come back!?!?!?

Memories flooded Twilight’s mind. Her holding Flash in her forelegs as he passed away, practically feeling his life end and imagining his soul moving on to somewhere better, her carrying him back to the morgue, burying him in his coffin with her own magic. As a final goodbye, she had cast a preservation spell on Flash's body and coffin, one so strong that he should still look exactly the same way he did when she had buried him.

She had thought he had moved onto a better place.

But now he was HERE!

Twilight couldn’t understand what she was feeling. She was ecstatic, anxious, confused, shocked, happier than Pinkie on her birthday, and just…she didn’t know how to react. All the pain of Flash’s death and the three years it took to grieve him was coming back, but it was butting heads with the revelation that he WASN’T dead, not fully, but that he also was no longer HER HUSBAND and didn’t remember her and was a new pony but was still amazing in his own way anddidn’tlikebeingcutebutwasitoktodateyourdeadreincarnatedhusbandandshouldshelovehimbecausehe’sflashorbecause—

“Twilight, deep breaths. Hyperventilating isn’t healthy,” Discord’s voice whispered, just before a brown paper bag was held up to her mouth. Twilight grabbed in on instinct and began to breath into it forcefully.

In and out.

In and out.

It took her nearly five minutes to get her breathing under control as she sat back down. She had so many questions, so many thoughts swirling around in her head. But one question came to mind more than the others.

“Did you know he was Flash’s reincarnation?” she asked shakily, her eyes never leaving Storm Breaker.

“No, I did not.” Discord said, his voice serious and genuine. “I did know about your links to the rest of the Elements and to little old Spike, but the last time I checked on that was roughly forty years ago, and I didn’t see a link to Mr. Cheeseball at the time.”

Twilight snorted at the use of Flash’s old nickname. “So then how are we linked now? How did he come back? And why didn’t you check until now?” she asked, trying to think if there had been anything that happened between thirty years ago and now that might have signified the link being formed.

“I didn’t check because, in most circumstances, it IS a rather large violation of privacy to look at another’s soul without permission, even for someone like me. And seeing as you and your new friends used the Elements of Harmony to defeat Grogar before I even had a chance to meet them, it was a pretty safe bet to assume they were the new versions of your friends. Also, given how close you are to them, I figured it would be ok to show you the links this time around.

“As for the link itself, I would say to look at the color surrounding the link,” Discord added, floating into view and gently poking both Flash’s link and Pinkie’s. “The girls have a rainbow-colored link because you are bound by the Elements of Harmony, though I don’t know if your links predate your use of the Elements, or if you were linked to Posey years before I was.”

Now there’s an interesting thought. Are me and the girls reincarnations of some other ponies further in the past, or is Fluttershy the only one who was reincarnated previously? If only there was a way to test and see if that was the case…

“My link, on the other paw,” Discord continued, gesturing to his own link, “is only ever one color at a time, though it cycles between all the colors of the rainbow over time.” As he spoke, a flash of blue like passed down his own link, just barely noticeable to Twilight’s eyes.

“I believe this is because my link is for normal friendship. A VERY strong friendship surely, but still a normal friendship. Yours, on the other claw, is friendship that has been enhanced with the power of harmony, which is likely why you can see an overlay of rainbow color if you look at your link hard enough.” Twilight squinted, and sure enough, another pulse of rainbow flashed across her link with Pinkie. It didn’t overpower the other colors, but instead seemed to make them clearer.

“Getting back to my link, I am fairly certain that mine is related to friendship as I’ve never really had any kind of romantic relationship with Posey, and the same was true of Fluttershy. And the link appears to reflect this, as every time I touch it, I feel like how I did whenever Posey would come visit me. A gentle calm, and a feeling that all is right with the world.

“You probably can’t see it from here, but Celestia and Luna’s link is a bit gold and silver. It USED to be rainbow colored when they had the Elements, but as time went on it slowly changed to become the way it is now. Yet their bond, as sisters, still remains strong.”

“And mine is pink,” Twilight said, gently touching the link to Flash again. Looking past the fact that it told her Storm was Flash, she tried to examine what emotions the link made her feel. What the bond awakened deep within her. She also reached out to Pinkie’s again for reference.

The difference was clear. With Pinkie, she felt just like she did that first night when her and the girls had wielded the Elements to stop Nightmare Moon. Calm, happy, accepted, like there was nothing she and her couldn’t accomplish with enough effort. It also gave her a faint tingling in her chest, the same tingling that made up the spark she needed to use the Element of Magic.

Flash, on the other hoof, was much more…warm. He made her feel loved, cherished, like she was the most important pony in the world, despite her flaws. It was the same feel she had every night when they would curl up together in bed, him gently kissing her as he spoke of just how much she meant to him.

It was like a warm fire in her soul…

Fire…

Cadence always said that love could be like a fire, burning bright and warm and that no matter what, you would know it when you found it.

“Love,” Twilight said softly, smiling as she watched Surprise slowly release Storm Breaker’s hooves, starting to toss him into the air again. “I think that’s what binds us.”

“Not to be rude or insensitive, but that sounds a liiiiittle bit cheesy,” Discord said in a playfully testing tone, poofing in a plate of cheesy nachos so large it covered half the table. Twilight just rolled her eyes, but smiled. It WAS a bit cheesy, but Flash had been a pretty cheesy pony when he wanted to be, no matter how much he insisted he was just being romantic and not both.

Though that was all just a part of his charm.

“Cheesy or not, I think that’s what it is,” Twilight said, smiling softly.

“It’s your link, and seeing as how even friendship is based on a very different kind of love, I don’t doubt you in the slightest,” Discord said, helping himself to the nachos happily. “But now here’s one last question for you, Twilight: now that you know that Storm Breaker is now good-old Cheeseball, or used to be in a past life, what are you going to do?”

That is a good question, Twilight thought, her brow creasing in thought. If we’re linked, does that mean we’re destined to end up together? I do like him quite a bit, and while I don’t know if that will grow enough to become love like it did with Flash, I’m more than willing to try at this point. But what if he only loves me because of a link he can’t see?

No, no, that’s…I don’t know, but it doesn’t really sound right…

“I…don’t know actually. But I guess that depends. Discord, how much do these links dictate our destiny? Or our behaviors?” Twilight asked curiously, looking at all her links again.

“It’s hard to say?” Discord said with a shrug. “Given my time as a statue, it’s my understanding that these links, at the very least, mean that we will meet with the being on the other end at least once in our lives. Every iteration of Posey that existed during that stretch of time came to see me as a statue, and even Gumdrop once sought me out all on his own to see if I had met any unique animals in all my years alive.

“Beyond that…I honestly think it’s up to you and what you do with the knowledge,” he said. “All of Posey’s iterations came to see me, but nothing came out of it seeing as I was still rather stoned at the time. Even when I first met Fluttershy, we were enemies and she turned me back to stone along with the rest of you. And despite their link, Luna still fell to darkness and Celestia still banished her to the moon.”

“So while these links can play a role, it doesn’t necessarily make anything certain,” Twilight said, tapping her chin with her hoof. “Like, if I had my link from a past life, I was always likely to meet the girls, but nothing was forcing us to become friends. I could have left for the Everfree Forest without them, or just not been willing to extend our friendship once Celestia and Luna were saved. I didn’t HAVE to stay in Ponyville, even if my bonds were suggesting that I did.”

“Strongly suggesting, given the number of links, most likely,” Discord said with a nod. “But that sounds about right. I always viewed destiny as more of a guide than a singular path, and this bond as a helpful hint to find Posey again. It certainly will never force me to be her friend again every time. After all, what kind of God of Chaos would I be if I was FORCED to have a set destiny? That’s just so…orderly!” He shivered in disgust.

“I’m sure you would have found a way to mix things up regardless,” Twilight giggled.

“I suppose I would,” Discord said with a smirk, before snapping his fingers.

All at once, the soul vision vanished, and Twilight blinked as her eyes readjusted to the normal world. Yet time still remained slow, and the knowledge and skill to use the spell at a moment’s notice remained in Twilight’s mind. She had no doubt that she could cast the spell perfectly in the future, all on her own, if she ever wanted to.

“Well, that’s all that time I have,” Discord said, grinning playfully. “I’ve got quite a few more snobby snobs to prank tonight, so I best be off. This little time sphere with vanish when you leave, so good luck, and go make some chaos!”

With one last grin, he vanished, leaving her alone in the silence of her time bubble.

I never really did answer Discord’s question, Twilight thought look back out at Surprise and Storm Breaker, both still in the middle of their crazy dance. But he’s right. What AM I going to do now?

It’s actually a relief that my link with Flash won’t force us to be together, but will it still influence us, even if it just nudges us towards one another? Was our meeting all those years ago just luck, or did our links pull us together for that first meeting?

And would that really be a bad thing? Just knowing that Flash came back, it…I almost can’t describe it.

But what if this knowledge taints my perspective of Storm? What if I only fall in love with him because I know he’s Flash reincarnated? And how much would this break Storm Breaker’s heart if I told him that? How much would he cast our relationship into doubt if he ever found out?

Twilight could feel her panic starting to rise. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as she focused on the silence around her. Any problem could be solved with the right plan. She had spent decades teaching herself that lesson, and she wasn’t going to let herself forget it now.

There had to be a way to maintain her relationship with Storm despite this knowledge she now had. All she had to do was think.

Ok, first, I know Storm isn’t Flash. Flash was never as into sports as Storm, Buckball especially. He also loved old legends, while Storm seems to prefer history about ancient empires. Flash was terrified of spiders, while Storm can’t handle bees. Flash never really liked video games when they were developed, but Storm prefers them over the table-top games Flash used to love. Flash was also much more blunt when it came to dealing with the nobles, on or off duty, or at least the bad ones, but Storm seems more…intimidated by them when not on duty, and less antagonistic when on duty.

And Storm was also rather diplomatic with Blue Blood earlier this month in Ponyville when he had tried to convince me that he would have been a better date than Storm. Or at least he tried to be before Razzle saw him and started to chew him out over nearly ruining her last charity auction. Though I think she was also standing up for Storm, given how she started to compare Blue Blood to him, which was really sweet of her.

They are different ponies, and I don’t love Storm just yet.

YET being the big thing. But that doesn’t mean I CAN’T love him, and it doesn’t mean that our love will need to be the same as mine and Flash’s. In fact, that’s might actually be a good thing. I can fall in love with him all over again, maybe even for different reasons this time and that’s perfectly ok.

Assuming we do fall in love, of course.

But the link…

I need to tell Storm. Maybe not today, maybe not this week, but soon. By the end of the year at the latest. He needs to know. He has a right to know. And I need to convince him that I like him because of who he is, not who he used to be. The longer I put that off, the harder it will be for me to convince him of that. Because I do like him, even if we only ever remain friends.

Ok, new rule. When Storm…dies, hopefully sometime in the VERY far future and regardless of whether we end up together or not, I need to wait until I have dated someone for two years until I check to see if they are Flash reincarnated. That way I won’t be biased, and I can tell whoever he becomes that I love them because of who they are, not because of some link that I didn’t even bother to check.

Yes, that will work.

I hope.

Twilight had a plan. It was a basic plan, and didn’t really cover everything, but there would be time to expand it later. Right now, she just wanted to enjoy the Gala with her date, regardless of her link to him.

Taking a breath, Twilight opened her eyes, stood up, and walked out of the little time bubble.

===***===

Shortly after Flash’s death…

“Of course I love her, but…won’t I just be prolonging her pain?”

“…”

“I won’t be ‘me?’”

“… …. …. ..”

Flash sat there for a while, trying to comprehend what he had heard.

He could go back.

He could have a chance to see Twilight again…

But he wouldn’t remember her.

He wouldn’t remember any of this, any of his life or what he used to be. Not until his death came again and the memories of both lives returned.

But he would have a chance to see her again, to give her another life’s worth of memories with a pony who really cared for her. It would be up to chance if he ever got to be with her again, but…

They would, at the least, find each other again.

“Ok. I’ll do it,” Flash said, his voice determined.

“…”

“Yes, I’m sure. She needs me, even if I’m someone else.”

“…”

“…”

“Really!? I-I can see everyone else again before I head back?”

“…”

“I…thank you. I’ll let you know when I'm ready to go back.”

Twilight, please just be patient. I promise I’ll find my way back to you. No matter how many times I need to try.

===***===

The music and noise hit her like a wall, but Twilight didn’t let it dissuade her.

She had a date to save.

As if sensing her approach, Surprise spun, landed on the ground, and sent Storm Breaker spinning across the dance floor on his hind-hooves like a top right at Twilight.

Oh, Surprise…

Twilight reached out and deftly caught Storm in one leg, silently thanking Rarity for all those dance lessons so many years ago.

“Why are there seven chandeliers?” Storm asked drunkenly, looking up at the single chandelier of the ballroom.

“Maybe Discord got bored?” Twilight suggested jokingly. A very dizzy Storm groaned, then blinked in confusion.

“Wait…you’re not Surprise,” he muttered before squinting his eyes.

“Not quite,” Twilight said with a smile as she gently placed him back on his hooves, making sure to keep him steady. “I thought you might like a less hectic dance.”

“T-Twilight?” Storm said, surprised, shaking his head to likely try and clear it. “When…how…why?”

“Just now. I took a little walk, and I thought a calm dance might be a nice way to continue our night,” Twilight said, giggling at Storm’s adorably flustered expression. “You are my date, after all, and I do admit I want to see what Dawn was able to teach you.”

“Not much,” Storm said, looking away guiltily. “I just…couldn’t keep up with her. Or learn how to dance on my own. I tried, I really did, but…I still can barely do anything close to a real dance.”

“I used to be the same way,” Twilight said, gently directing his face back to hers. His eyes were filled with surprise and confusion, wide and frantic as he searched for some hint of deception. They were completely different from the way Flash’s had looked when he felt the same emotions. Storm is definitely his own pony, she thought, and that made her feel better than anything else had so far. “I couldn’t dance to save my life. But sometimes, all you need is the right partner. And, being honest, Dawn can be a little overenthusiastic when it comes to dancing.”

“I heard that!” Dawn’s voice yelled from the crowd, prompting both Twilight and Storm to snicker.

“You know she’s riiiiiight,” Thrilling Tale sang, receiving what sounded like an angry-blushing wing-smack from Dawn.

“So how about it?” Twilight said, turning back to Storm and offering her hoof. As if on cue, a calming song began to play from the stage. The tempo was perfect for a warm-up dance. “May I have this dance?”

Storm still looked unsure, but he took a deep breath, nodded, and gently took her hoof.

“It would be an honor, Twilight.”

Author's Note:

At long last, IT. IS. DONE! (proceeds to hit submit then fall asleep for three days).

It took almost six months to finally finish, but given how it is twice as long the longest chapter I have ever written and the number of edits I put into it, I think that is to be expected. A super special thanks to my editor/fiancee for all her hard work in helping me edit and expand this chapter into the best chapter it could possibly be! And looking back, I really can't think of a place that I could have split this behemoth up into multiple chapters.

Ok, I probably could have, but I think that doing so would ruin the pacing and would take away from some of the impact delivered by having the entire thing shown at once.

But yes, here it is. Please let me know what you think, both about Storm breaker as a character and the story as a whole. I eagerly await any feedback

Also, fun fact. The game 'Cheep Cheep' mentioned was actually created by my fiancee/editor, and is really far more entertaining to play than it has any right to be.

And just in case you are worried, I will still be writing more stories to fill in the time between this story and the last story I had written for the 'How to' universe. I may revisit Storm one day, but it likely won't be for quite a while.

Comments

[Gboyd]

I just... Wow. There are no words...

Once again, you sent me off into a crazy adventure with ease! I laughed, I rolled my eyes, I cried, gritted my teeth in anger, and my heart clenched in sadness. But most importantly, I LOVED it. I often find that words are a crucial way to describe the way we feel, or what something looks like, but sometimes, whether its a story, a sight, a feeling, or a discovery, words simply can't give the situation justice! And I proud to say that this story goes into that category--at least in my book (I may sound biased here.... and I don't care ).

Of course, I could go on and on and on---heck, I've got a thesaurus right here. There's so many words I could use, so many ways to say thank you for sharing this wonderful part of your brain with the rest of us.... Yet, I can't. Because it simply won't do it justice. So, with that being said, along with the hope that I haven't bored you yet, I only have two words to say...

Thank you.

[Piemaster128]

10193457
Glad to see that my goal in writing a moving and incredible story was successful. Here’s hoping all my future work can be just as good (if a bit shorter because if only to have a more constant release schedule)

[Night Spinner]

Honestly, everything taken as a whole... The world building, the mythology of souls and the character of Storm breaker himself... I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

You write cute really well, and if there is a criticism over your storytelling it's that you sometimes fall back upon the 'tell' rather than 'show' when trying to get to the more important moments. Storm's rise through the guard, his meeting with twilight's friends and their first impressions, more than a passing presence of Storm's parents... You have entire scenes, if not novels, in these fleeting moments that could help flesh out the story and balance some of the moments that fly by too quickly. You do leave a reader wanting more in a good way.

[Gboyd]

10193514
I have no doubts. No pressure, of course!

[Godslittleprincess]

Oh my gosh! Wait. Flash did have a choice to pass on or go back, right? I'm assuming Twilight's friends did as well. So, what would have happened if Flash had chosen to pass on? Would the bond have been broken? I have so many questions!

[Piemaster128]

10193560
I will keep that in mind for future stories. Thank you for the feedback

[Piemaster128]

10193812
My idea, thought I actually couldn't find a way to really explain this in story since there is no way for even Discord to know this, is that it is a choice, but no matter what the link will remain. If the pony choses not to go back, they can change their mind so long as the pony at the other end is still alive. If they don't choose to go back and the pony still alive dies, they that pony will be guided to the pony at the other end and they can move on together. So even if Flash or the girls didn't go back immediately, they would still have the option to whenever they wanted. Make sense?

[Sunny_and_Auri_23]

You really captured the emotions with this one. My heart was racing throughout the whole thing and now that I've read it, I'm starting to tear up. You really made it work with Storm and Twilight, and it was so heart-wrenchingly adorable that- I just have no more words to describe this everything just ties up together so perfectly well and the message that even though they're not physically with you anymore, you'll always have a special connection with them and the flashbacks and references to all the special moments that Flash and Twilight had together and the Bahama Mama thing which made me laugh so hard with nostalgia. And now I'm officially rambling with emotion. This made my day and gave me this bright light of hope during these dark times. Seriously, I can't thank you enough for that <3

Now, I'm officially giving you the title of "My Favourite Fanfiction Author in the Whole Wide Universe"! You deserve it, and I can't wait to read new stories from you!
-Sunny

[Piemaster128]

10194636
Thank you for the wonderful feedback. I’m glad it made your day

[Late_Night]

jesus h christo, 40,000 plus words
one day i may fully read this, but for now i'll be content with merely skimming it

[Piemaster128]

10524124
It is by far my longest chapter to date, though I did once see a chapter from another author that was 100,000 words

[RambleGaze]

I put off reading this one because I knew it would make me cry. I can't decide whether I love or hate you for this.

[Piemaster128]

10642506
Both? Hate how sad it is at times but love the writing?

[RambleGaze]

10642700
Yes, that's it. People probably tell you this a lot, but you're an amazing writer.

[Piemaster128]

10642790
Thank you, but I do owe at least part of it to my editor. She’s great at helping me expand and improve my stories and has been editing my work for a good 8 years at least. I’d never have fitting this good without her helping me along the way.

[JSAR1562]

That whole second chapter wow. Just speechless at the amount of love and dedication and flushing out that was.

[Piemaster128]

11098257
It was definitely worth the effort

[Serene_Nixly]

I have no words for how this made me feel… it was just so much in only one! The cute moments, the bittersweet ones, and the heart clenching ones! I will definitely reread this in the near future when I need some angst in my life! Thank you and your editor for making this wonderfull and spectacular piece!

…

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll probably reread another story to alleviate my soul. 🥹

[Piemaster128]

11622302
I still view it as one of my best stories.