> Cutie Mark Crusaders Royale
>  by Bluecatcinema
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A New Crusade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miracle Morningstar Paladin, the ten year old daughter of princess Celestia and prince Shine Paladin... was bored. Her parents were off at some 'important royal meeting', and the young Alicorn filly had found herself with nothing to do.

It was a problem that seemed to recur often. Ever since the royal dignitaries' visit three years ago, where her aunt Mist met her now coltfriend Blue Blazes, nothing seemed to happen at Canterlot Castle anymore. There were a few good days, of course, but they were so few in-between.

Nowadays, she found her days to become 'routine'. She got up, had breakfast, attended her lessons on royal etiquette (provided by her mother), had lunch, played with her friends, had dinner, then read in the library until bed. Today was even more boring: Luna, Gothic and Constell were visiting the Crystal Empire, Mist was out on a date with Blue Blazes, and Blueblood and Dusty were visiting Dusty's family in Bitaly, so she had nopony to hang out with.

Unwilling to just sit in her room until her parents returned (or at least until something exciting happened), she decided to explore the castle.

As she came near the library, she heard a small commotion.

"You're sure you can do it?"

"Sure I'm sure!"

"So do it already!"

"I would if you let me concentrate!"

Miracle peeked into the library.

In there, she saw Pureblood and Vito Crest, the twin sons of Blueblood and Dusty, both a year younger than her. Miracle got along well with the easy-going Pureblood, but she was often annoyed by Vito's egocentric boasting. The latter was trying to use his magic to lift down a book.

"Trying" being the operative word; His inexperience led to his horn glowing on-and-off, and the book jerking out bit by bit.

"Need a little help?" Miracle offered.

"No thanks." Vito shook his head "Almost... got it..."

The book moved out of the case, then dropped as Vito's magic failed. Miracle used her wings to flutter up and catch it.

"Got it!" She smiled.

"Thanks, Mir." Pureblood sighed, "I keep telling Vito that he needs to learn how to use his magic properly."

"Whatever." Vito snorted. "I had the situation well in hoof."

"What is this, anyway?" Miracle checked the book's cover. "'A history of Cutie Marks'? What do you want to read this for?"

"Because we're tired of waiting for our special talents." Pureblood declared. "We were hoping this book could give us some pointers."

"Do you really want your Cutie Marks that badly?" Miracle asked.

"Don't you?" Vito pointed out her own blank flank. "You don't want to wind up like your dad, do you? Waiting twenty-five years to find out what your special talent is? Heck, if he hadn't met Auntie Celestia, it could had taken longer!"

"Well... I guess not." Miracle frowned, looking at her flank.

"Then let's get reading!" Pureblood declared.

The book was opened, and they started reading. An hour later, they finished the book.

"Well, that was no help at all!" Vito scowled. "It was just a lot a' guff about 'waiting for your talent to shine through'. How does that help us get our Cutie Marks?"

"Guess it's back to the drawing board." Pureblood sighed.

"Maybe we should go out into the gardens." Miracle suggested. "The fresh air might help us think."

As the trio walked through the corridors, they bumped into Caboose and Hurricane. From a young age, Hurricane had loved coming with her father to the castle, and joined Miracle, Pureblood and Vito as they played together. They had become the best of friends. She was arguably closest to Miracle, admiring her for her "smarts", while Miracle admired her honesty. Hurricane and Pureblood shared the same pleasant demeanor, and she could always make him laugh. Although Vito was often annoyed by her wacky antics, he enjoyed having her around (though he would never admit it), and Hurricane found his bemused reactions to said wacky antics very amusing, thinking he was "being silly".

"Good morning, royal kiddos!" Caboose smiled.

"Hi, guys!" Hurricane beamed.

"Hey, Hurri." Pureblood smiled.

"Where ya goin'?" Hurricane asked.

"The gardens." Vito answered.

"Why?" Hurricane queried.

"To get some fresh air." Vito frowned.

"Why?" Hurricane repeated.

"To help us think." Vito growled.

"Why?" Hurricane smiled.

"Because!" Vito snarled.

"Why?" Hurricane repeated.

Seeing his brother about to blow a fuse, Pureblood covered Vito's mouth.

"Wanna come with us?" He asked.

"Can I, dad?" Hurricane asked. "Can I? Huh?"

"Sure thing, sweetie." Caboose ruffled her mane. "Just be back by dinner, kay? And don't talk to strange ponies... other than Vito."

"Thanks, dad!" Hurricane beamed.

The quartet moved on, muffled rantings coming out of Vito.

Out in the garden, they explained things to Hurricane.

"Wanna get your Cutie Marks, huh?" She mused. "I know the feelin'. I'm sick of seeing this blank flank staring me in the face every time I look in the mirror."

"You look at- Never mind." Miracle sighed. "I really don't want to know."

"So, what now?" Pureblood asked. "How can we get our Cutie Marks?"

"I know!" Hurricane raised her hoof. "We put on hula skirts, and dance around, chanting 'Ooga chaka, ooga chaka!"

"What?" Vito gaped, flabbergasted. "How's that going to help us get our Cutie Marks?"

"Cutie Marks, you say?"

The four look to see Dusk Glow, visiting for the day, walked over to them.

"Oh, hi, Dusk." Miracle waved. "We were just talking about how to get our Cutie Marks."

"We want 'em sooo bad!" Hurricane groaned.

"I just want to know what my special talent is." Pureblood added.

"Me, too." Vito agreed. "I'm great at everything, but it'd be nice to know what I'm really great at!"

"Y'know, this reminds of a story my mom once told me." Dusk reminisced. "A while before I was born, there were these three fillies who wanted their Cutie Marks more than anything. One day, they decided to form a club, one dedicated to helping each other find their special talents, and have fun along the way. They called themselves 'the Cutie Mark Crusaders'. They eventually did find their talents, but inbetween, they inspired other 'blank flanks' to band together. First, there was a chapter formed in Manehatten, then, as word spread, all over Equestria, all of them filled with fillies and colts banding together as friends, and helping each other find their talents."

"Whoa." Vito gaped.

"That's amazing!" Pureblood grinned.

"Encore! Encore!" Hurricane cheered.

"Incredible." Miracle beamed.

"Sure is." Dusk nodded. "I gotta go. Things to do, ponies to see. You kids have fun."

As Dusk left, the four young ponies turned to each other.

"Are you all thinking what I'm thinking?" Miracle asked.

"Oh, yeah." Pureblood smiled.

"Definitely." Vito agreed.

"I think so." Hurricane nodded. "But if our hoofs were made out of jello, how could we walk?"

"She means we should form our own Cutie Mark Crusaders chapter." Vito said irritably.

"Oh." Hurricane smiled. "That makes way more sense."

"Working together, we should be able to find our special talents much faster." Pureblood declared.

"For sure." Vito agreed. "I'll probably find mine first, though."

Rolling her eyes, Miracle held out her hoof.

"So we're agreed, then." She declared. "From this point on, we are a team. We will help each other to find our special talents, and get our Cutie Marks. We are... the Cutie Mark Crusaders Royale!"

"Nice name." Pureblood placed his hoof against Miracle's.

"Well, we are all royalty." Vito joined in. "Except for Hurricane... unless you count her being a royal pain in the neck."

"Real funny." Hurricane huffed, as she joined her hoof. "Keep that up, and I'll give you a royal pain somewhere else."

"Meaning?" Vito growled.

"Let's just say your flank will have a mark. A horseshoe shaped one..." Hurricane glared at him.

"Try and play nice, bro." Pureblood sighed. "We're supposed to be a team now."

"Yeah, yeah..." Vito grunted.

"All together now." Miracle grinned.

As one, the quartet raised their hooves to the air and cried out "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS ROYALE!"

Elsewhere, Caboose, while doing his royal guard duties, gave a shudder.

"Why do I get a feeling that I'm about to get dragged into a couple of misadventures?" Caboose mused.
> Athletic Pursuits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Minutes after deciding to form their own chapter of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Pureblood brought up an important question.

"So, what should we try first?" Pureblood asked. "I mean, our special talents could be anything..."

"Ooh, I know!" Hurricane smiled. "Sports!"

"Sports?" Miracle asked.

"Why not?" Hurricane shrugged. "A lot of ponies have their Cutie Marks in athleticisms! If we find one we're good at, it might be our special talent!"

"Oh, I already do a lot of sports!" Vito boasted. "And I'm great at all of them."

"That's news to me..." Pureblood snorted.

"But what sport should we start with first?" Miracle wondered, "There's so many of them…"

"How about golf?" Hurricane suggested. "My dad plays it all the time. He could give us some pointers!"

"A golfing Cutie Mark?" Vito frowned. "Hardly seems worthy of a prince..."

"Stay behind then." Pureblood smirked. "But don't blame us if we all have Cutie Marks and you don't."

"Alright, fine, I'll give it a try." Vito growled.

"Great." Miracle nodded. "Let's go find Caboose."

They didn't have to look far. Caboose was patrolling the north corridors.

"Dad, dad!" Hurricane called.

"What's the matter, my little whirlwind?" Caboose asked.

"We're trying to get our Cutie Marks, Mr Napoleon." Miracle explained. "We figured we'd try sports. And Hurricane says you could teach us how to play golf."

"Please, daddy?" Hurricane put on the puppy dog eyes.

"Oh, I can't say no to that face." Caboose chuckled. "Follow me, kids."

A few minutes later, they were all stood outside, on the castle's private golf course.

"I just realised, when did we get a golf course?" Pureblood asked.

"I dunno, plot element?" Hurricane shrugged.

"Definitely plot element." Caboose chuckled.

"So, tell us, uncle 'Boose, what's your secret for golf?" Vito asked.

"Yeah, and leave out no details." Miracle suggested.

"Well, kids, if you want to be good at golf, you have to remember three things..." Caboose took his position next to a golf ball. "First, analyse your target and adjust your body as such to line up your shot." He looked at the hole, and then adjusted his body. "Second, take account for wind patterns." He licked his hoof and put it in the air. "And last, and you all must remember this: before each swing, you must call out a word so powerful, so that all ponies knows that a force unlike any other is coming, and if they don't get the buck out of the way, then..." He pointed 'out there'. "You, are already dead."

"And what if we don't?" Vito asked.

"You'll tear a hole in the universe and kill everypony you love." Caboose declared.

Vito winced in shock.

"Now, allow me to demonstrate the perfect delivery..." He prepared his swing, and with a bellow, shouted, "FORE!"

Caboose swung, hitting the golf ball with vicious velocity... but it missed the hole and bounced off a tree and into the castle. What ensued was a golf ball ricocheting pass several servants and guards…

Iron Hooves was doing his patrol when the golf ball was flying right at him.

"Lauren F-" Iron gasped, as he quickly jumped, the golf ball flying right under him. As soon as Iron landed, he glanced under him, and gave a sigh of relief as his 'stallion parts' still remained intact.

The golf ball eventually shot back out and landed in the hole.

"YAHOO! HOLE IN ONE!" Caboose cheered, as he turned to the kids. "Okay, now it's your turn!"

The kids lined up next to the already set-up balls, and started swinging. Hurricane missed her's.

"Dang it!" She groaned.

Miracle hit hers, but it only bounced off the tree.

"I need to work on my power swing..." She sighed.

Pureblood hit his, but far too hard, sending the ball flying into the horizon.

"Oops." He winced. "Sure hope that doesn't hit anypony..."

"Step aside." Vito smirked. "Let a pro show you how it's done."

Vito swung his club... and tore a big chunk of earth out of the ground near the tee.

The others snickered and snorted.

"Way to go, 'pro'." Pureblood teased.

"Obviously, I've been given a defective club!" Vito claimed.

"I guess golf isn't our special talent." Miracle shrugged. "What next?"

"Leave that to me, kids." Caboose declared. "I'll go fetch some sports supplies, and you can try all that stuff out."

"Thanks, dad." Hurricane beamed.

Caboose departed, and returned a short time later with all sorts of sporting gear.

"Where did you get all this?" Miracle asked.

"I know a guy." Caboose smiled. "Who knows another guy, who knows a gal, whose cousin knows a guy... Anyway, I have to get back to guard duties. You kids have fun!"

"Okay, let's get to work!" Hurricane rubbed her hooves together.

And so, it began. All manner of sports were tried by the new Crusaders. First, there was the hurdles.

After a few hurdles had been set up, they started their run, one at a time.

"Ladies first." Vito offered to Miracle.

Miracle took her place and began running… however, as soon as she approached the first hurdle and jumped, she ended up getting her bottom half caught on it.

"Nice one." Vito smirked. "Bring on the gold medal."

"Lay off, V." Pureblood nudged his brother. "It was good for a first try, Mir."

"Yeah." Hurricane agreed. "You got halfway there!"

Pureblood was up next, and he ran towards the first hurdle. He almost cleared it when he jumped, but his back leg got caught and knocked the hurdle down.

"That should not count." Vito frowned.

"Why not?" Hurricane asked. "That was neat! PB should get extra points for knocking it over!"

"He was better than me." Miracle admitted. "At least he made it to the other side."

Hurricane soon followed after, making her way to the first hurdle (put back up by Miracle)… and went under it.

"Ha-ah! How you like that? I don't get why ponies jump over these when they can slip right under them!" Hurricane smirked.

"Um, Hurricane, the point of hurdles is to go over them." Miracle pointed out.

"Really? Since when?!" Hurricane protested.

"Since forever, Hurri!" Vito rolled his eyes.

"Well, if you're so smart, Vito, why don't you try it?" Hurricane challenged.

"With pleasure." Vito scoffed, as he took his place.

He eyed the first hurdle, and with a burst of speed, charged right at it. And as soon as he was ready, he jumped… but not high enough, as he crashed into it.

"Ow…" Vito sniffled.

"You okay, V?" Pureblood asked.

"I'm fine." Vito wiped his eyes.

"You sure?" Hurricane inquired. "It looked like you were crying."

"I was not!" Vito growled. "I just... got something in my eye."

"Both of them?" Miracle pointed out.

"Yes!" Vito insisted.

"Whatever you say, bro." Pureblood sighed.

"Maybe hurdles aren't our cup of tea as well." Miracle frowned, "What do we have next?"

"Well, there's volleyball…" Hurricane suggested, "But I think that's more of a filly sport…"

"No biggie." Pureblood shrugged, "You two can try that, me and Vito will try…" He scans the pile of sport equipment, "Weight lifting?"

"Yeah, maybe that will hurt less than hurdles…" Vito groaned.

Within minutes of setting up the net, the girls were trying their hooves at volleyball, while Pureblood and Vito tried lifting weights.

Vito went first, but could barely get them to budge.

"This is impossible!" He growled through clenched teeth, trying to lift the weights. "Nopony can lift these!"

"Let me try." Pureblood offered.

"Yeah, right." Vito snorted.

Pureblood grabbed the weights, braced himself... and easily lifted them. After a few reps, he set them down.

"That wasn't so hard." Pureblood shrugged.

"I softened them up for you." Vito pouted.

"That doesn't make any sense." Pureblood pointed out.

"You don't make any sense!" Vito shot back.

The volleyball suddenly flew between them.

"Sorry!" Hurricane called, somehow tangled up in the net. "Hit it a little too hard there!"

Next, they tried field hockey with Vito and Hurricane playing goalie, and Pureblood and Miracle on the offense. It seemed to be going well for a time, until…

"Okay, Hurricane, get ready for this!" Pureblood warned Hurricane, as he lift his stick and hit the ball hard with a gnarly slapshot. It bounces off Hurricane's mask with such force…that it split it in two, and smashed through a castle window…pelting a unfortunate guard in the head, knocking him out.

"Hurricane, are you alright?!" Miracle rushed over to Hurricane, who was knocked down by the shot.

"Yeah… just had my life flashed before my eyes… and for some reason, 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing' by Aeroshire was playing…it was weird." Hurricane said in a daze.

"Maybe we should try something less aggressive…" Vito gulped, noting the now split mask.

"I concur." Pureblood nodded.

After that, they attempted the shotput, with limited results.

That being, neither Miracle, Vito, nor Hurricane could lift the heavy ball.

"Grr…" Vito groaned, as he tried to lift it, but to no avail. "If only… I could… use my… magic…"

"No can do, V, it says clearly in the rulebook that magic is prohibited in all sorts of sports." Hurricane explained.

"Well, that's just great!" Vito pouted, as he stopped trying. "Stupid ball…"

"Let me try…" Pureblood offered, as he stretched his front hooves and cricked his neck. He lifted the ball with ease, much to the other foals' shock, and threw it… only to break another window in the castle.

"OWWWWWWWW!" A voice cried out, as a guard now had his hoof squashed by a random shot put pall.

Next, they tried horseshoe throwing…  which resulted in more windows being broken, courtesy of Pureblood's strong throwing hoof, and more guards suffered head injuries.

"You know, I think we shouldn't do any more sports that requires throwing things." Miracle frowned.

"Yeah, I don't think our royal guard regiment can take any more abuse…" Vito winced.

"Nor can the castle…" Hurricane noted the broken windows.

"I'm sorry, guys. I guess I don't know my own strength." Pureblood shrugged, rubbing the back of his head.

Unfortunately, they spent the rest of the afternoon running through all the supplies Caboose brought, and ran out of options, even resorting to hoof-wrestling at one point…

Vito was currently trying to beat Pureblood… but as displayed earlier, Pureblood had the upper hoof, quickly beating him in seconds.

"Gah!" Vito gasped.

"I win… again…" Pureblood sighed.

"Only because you cheated." Vito growled.

"Don't be a sore loser, V. It's unbecoming of you." Pureblood sighed, as he glanced back. "Anything, girls?"

Hurricane and Miracle glanced at Pureblood's flank, seeing nothing.

"Nothing." Miracle sighed.

"Na-da." Hurricane groaned.

After that, at the end of the day, they were all exhausted, and still blank flanked.

"No Cutie Marks today..." Miracle sighed. "Whatever our special talents are, they definitely have nothing to do with sports."

"There's always tomorrow." Hurricane said hopefully.

Pureblood's stomach started growling.

"I'm hungry." He realized. "Wanna get some snacks?"

"Sure, I could eat." Vito nodded. "Besides, I got some more ideas to run by you guys…"

The new Cutie Mark Crusaders headed inside, already discussing other ways to get their Cutie Marks.
> Fashion Showoffs
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple of days later, Miracle, Vito and Pureblood were sitting in the garden again, trying to think up new ways to get their Cutie Marks, when Hurricane raced over.

"I got it!" She squealed. "I got it, I got it, I got it!"

"It's not contagious, is it?" Vito snarked.

"Very funny." Hurricane sneered.

"I thought so, too." Vito smirked, as Pureblood nudged him.

"What's up, Hurri?" Miracle asked.

"There's this big charity fashion show going on in Canterlot, and they're looking for volunteers." Hurricane smiled. "This could be it. Our special talents could have something to do with fashion!"

"What do you mean 'our'?" Pureblood asked. "This really seems like a 'filly' thing."

"Yeah, who cares about some prissy girls strutting down a catwalk?" Vito agreed.

"You know, they have male models, too." Miracle pointed out.

"Really?!" Vito lighted up, eager for any opportunity to show off, "In that case, I'm in!"

"I'm not." Pureblood declared. "Unlike you, V, I'm not interested in showing off."

"Come on, PB." Hurricane urged. "We're a team, remember?"

"I'm sure there'll be something for you to do backstage." Miracle offered. "Wouldn't hurt to try, at least."

"Sorry, but no." Pureblood declared, "I just don't see the appeal of the whole thing."

"Then you leave us no choice." Miracle smirked.

"...What do you mean?" Pureblood gulped.

Miracle and Hurricane each pulled a feather from their wings.

"No..." Pureblood stepped back in realization. "You can't..."

"Wanna bet?" Hurricane grinned, "My mom does this to my dad all the time."

"Now, now, let's be reasonable…" Pureblood stammered.

"Get him!" Miracle shouted.

The girls tackled Pureblood, and started tickling him with the feathers.

"AHAHAHAHAH!" Pureblood laughed. "Vito, help!"

"Sorry, bro." Vito chuckled. "Not getting between you and the girls…"

"HAHAHA! ...Fine, I'm in, too!" Pureblood guffawed, prompting Miracle and Hurricane to stop. "But just so you know, I don't do sewing."

The kids raced to Canterlot's town center, where the fashion show was being put together.

"Are you sure we can just waltz on in and get a place in the show?" Pureblood asked.

"How soon you forget, dear brother." Vito smirked. "We're royalty. The common folk will have to let us in."

"Not how I would've put it." Miracle frowned. "Besides, I don't think it'll be a problem."

Miracle pointed to the judge's table; Alongside the famous supermodel Fleur De Lis and fashion photographer Photo Finish was Prince Blueblood. He had offered his services by virtue of being 'the most handsome prince in Equestria.'

"Dad?" Pureblood and Vito chorused.

"Great!" Hurricane smiled. "We can go ask him!"

The Crusader quartet dashed over to Blueblood.

"Boys?" He gaped. "What are you doing here?"

"Can we be in the show, dad?" Vito asked.

"It might be our special talent!" Miracle added.

"Pretty please with chimicherrychangas on top?" Hurricane begged.

"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." Blueblood shrugged. "Just give me a moment to inform the ponies in back."

"Oh, I'm not modelling, by the way." Pureblood raised his hoof. "Can you see if they have a job for me backstage?"

"I certainly will, Pureblood." Blueblood smiled.

Blueblood went backstage and pulled some strings, arranging for Miracle, Vito and Hurricane to come out last, and for Pureblood to help dress them.

"This is gonna be so much fun!" Hurricane squealed.

"Fun?" A voice rang out. "You rookies have a lot to learn about the catwalk."

The speaker was a Pegasus filly of about their age, with a pale pink coat and a purple mane. Her eyes were gold, and her Cutie Mark was a high-heeled shoe.

"And you are?" Miracle asked.

"Strut Step." The filly introduced herself. "Professional child model. Best there is, in fact. And let me tell you: This ain't fun and games. It's serious business. You don't wanna mess up, trust me."

"What makes you think we're going to mess up?" Vito preened.

"Gee, maybe the fact that you have no experience, and the only reason you're even here is because your royal daddy got you in?" Strut smirked. "You should've left this to the professionals, like me."

"Just wait and see." Hurricane boasted. "We're gonna leave the crowd speechless."

"That'll be the day." Strut rolled her eyes, before turning to Pureblood. "You're not part of this madness, are you?"

"I'm not really the modelling type... no offense." Pureblood admitted.

"None taken." Strut smiled. "Nice to know one of you has some sense..."

"Oh… thank you…" Pureblood nodded, blushing a bit.

"Too bad your friends aren't as smart." Strut declared.

"We'll just see who's smart, prissy!" Hurricane growled.

"Easy, Hurri." Miracle calmed her. "Don't let her get to you."

"Yeah." Vito added. "We'll soon see who the real models are around here."

"Yeah." Strut nodded. "We will."

The show soon started. With the Crusaders being last, that gave them plenty of time to work on their look. As they worked, they heard the judges giving their opinions of the models: Fleur was nice, Photo was mean, and Blueblood was perfectly honest (which was both good and bad, depending on the model).

"Such a lovely ensemble." Fleur smiled at the current model. "And what wonderful poise."

"Bah." Photo Finish snorted. "I haff seen greater balance on a one-legged buffalo! And that dress would look better on one, too!"

"Well, you do have good poise." Blueblood told the model. "But I'm afraid that dress doesn't really work on you... Did I mention you have good poise?"

The model returned backstage, downtrodden.

"You know, I think I actually have a knack for this." Pureblood admitted, as he added a bow to Miracle's mane. "A stylist Cutie Mark wouldn't be so bad... I mean, our dad spends at least an hour every morning styling his mane, and he's considered the most handsome prince of Equestria! It's must be in the genes!"

"I think this dress really brings out my eyes." Miracle declared of her hot pink frilled outfit with gold ribbons. "What do you think, Hurri?"

"I think this make-up makes me look incredible!" Hurricane boasted, having applied a liberal coating of blusher and eyeshadow.

"Like it matters." Vito smirked as he styled his mane, a tuxedo and evening jacket adorning his midsection. "Who in their right mind would even glance at you two, when there's a vision like me on the runway?"

"Careful, V." Pureblood snorted. "If your head were any bigger, there wouldn't be room in here for the rest of us."

"Jealous much?" Vito sneered. "Maybe if you ask me nicely, I'll share my beauty secrets with you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Pureblood rolled his eyes. "By the way, our grandpa and the entire Napoleon mafia family called… they want their suit back."

"Hmph, at least I spent a little time listening to uncle Murray." Vito huffed.

A clamor of clapping was heard, as Strut Step just finished her walk down the runway, showing off a silvery gown.

"Magnificent!" Fleur declared. "A triumph."

"Hmph." Photo Finish sniffed. "Not ze worst example of modelling I haff seen today..."

"Young filly, you are a marvel." Blueblood declared. "The perfect blend of style and grace."

Strut returned backstage, pretty proud of herself.

"You're up, rookies." She called, not even glancing in their direction.

"Showtime." Miracle smiled.

"Let's wow them!" Hurricane beamed.

"My adoring subjects awaits." Vito beamed.

As they headed for the catwalk, Strut finally looked at them, and stared.

"How'd'ya like us now, little miss 'professional'?" Hurricane smirked.

As they moved past the curtain, Strut trotted over to Pureblood.

"Do you know what they look like?!" She whispered.

"Yep." Pureblood nodded. "And I helped."

"…Oh, dear…" Strut shook her head.

"What?" Pureblood asked.

"...Nothing." Strut sighed. "Nice job on the... bows."

"Thanks." Pureblood said proudly. "It seems I have an eye for color."

"Can't argue with that." Strut shrugged.

The Crusaders strutted down the catwalk. The crowd gasped, watching silently as the trio went by. Despite what they thought, their clothing, hairstyle and makeup had turned out an utter mess. They looked more like clowns than models. Vito wasn't helping matters, with his exaggerated poses and facial expressions.

"You were right, Hurri." Miracle whispered. "They're speechless."

They stopped at the end of the runway, eager to hear the judge's reactions.

"Well, that is really... creative." Fleur said awkwardly.

"I haff no wordz." Photo Finish said simply, but in her head, she added 'Zhat are any gut, at leazt.'

"I can honestly say I've never seen anything like this before." Blueblood declared, trying his best to not damper his god-daughter, his cousin, and his own son's spirit. "You've given this show an ending none of us will soon forget."

Smiling proudly, the trio went back down the catwalk, to more stunned silence. As soon as they went back-stage…

"Vow…" Photo Finish gaped. "And one of them iz your child?!"

"Yes, he is." Blueblood said solemnly. "My boy..."

Backstage, the trio were celebrating their 'success'.

"That was awesome!" Hurricane cheered. "Did you see their faces?"

"Well, obviously, they know beauty when they see it." Vito grinned.

"Hey, maybe...!" Miracle gasped.

They all took off their outfits, revealing... still blank flanks.

"Oh, well." Miracle sighed. "Let's get cleaned up.

"You guys struck out, too?" Pureblood walked over, his flank also blank.

"Sure did." Vito sighed. "Still, it wasn't a total disaster. We were pretty good out there."

"Maybe we can even give this model stuff another try someday." Hurricane suggested, as she removed her makeup.

"I think once was enough." Strut remarked.

"Maybe she's right." Miracle smiled. "As fun as it was, I don't think it's really my thing."

"Speak for yourself." Vito chuckled.

And so, another quest had failed. But the Crusaders were far from discouraged. The fun they had that day was compensation enough.
> Foalsitting Follies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One morning, Hurricane prepared to go to the castle to resume her and the others' quests to earn their cutie mark.

"Mom, I'm going to hang out with Miracle and the others today." Hurricane walked to the door.

"Hold on, dear." Her mother, Daring Do, stopped her. She was carrying a young three year old Unicorn foal.

He was Hurricane's little brother, Michael 'Wait For It' Napoleon. He had his father's brown coat and black mane, though he had a bit of Daring's grayscale mane color as well. He had green eyes, albeit lighter ones than Caboose.

"Hurri, I need you to look after Michael today." Daring declared. "I have to go into town to discuss the publishing of my memoirs."

"But mom, me and my friends have a full day's crusading planned!" Hurricane protested. "Can't dad look after Mikey?"

"Your father has to stand guard over some important royal meeting today." Daring told her.

"Aww..." Hurricane groaned.

"You can take Michael to the castle with you, if you want." Daring smiled. "Just don't let him out of your sight."

"Really?" Hurricane brightened. "Okay, mom! You can count on me!"

"I know I can." Daring gave Michael to Hurricane. "Your big sister's going to be looking after you today, okay, honey?"

"Yay!" Michael wrapped his hooves around Hurricane's neck. "Hurri! Hurri!"

"Easy there, Mikey." Hurricane gagged. "Can't... breathe..."

Hurricane took Michael with her to the castle, carrying the rambunctious youngster in a side pouch. Once she arrived in the royal lounge, she explained the situation to the others.

"...So, I have to look after him today." She finished.

"Great." Vito scowled. "We're stuck with a snot-nosed brat all day."

"V!" Pureblood elbowed him. "That's our cousin you badmouthing there!"

"Oh, like we weren't all thinking it!" Vito said defensively.

"I wasn't." Miracle tickled Michael under the chin. "Hi, Michael. Remember me? I'm Miracle."

"Hi!" Michael giggled.

"You won't be any trouble, will you?" Miracle cooed.

"Nuh-uh!" Michael shook his head.

"We'll need to keep a close eye on him, though." Hurricane declared. "He's a real little explorer. Takes after mom..."

"I think we can handle it." Pureblood smiled. "Now, onto our Cutie Marks..."

As the Crusaders talked about possible quests, Michael grew bored, and wandered off when Hurricane's back was turned.

"I don't know." Hurricane shrugged. "Ziplining seems so... yesterday."

"You may be right." Miracle agreed. "We- hey, where's Michael"?

"Oh, no!" Hurricane cringed. "He must have wandered off!"

"Well, he can't have gone too far." Vito shrugged. "Let's go find the little rugrat."

For once, Vito was right. Michael was in the library.

"There you are!" Hurricane sighed with relief. "I was so worried!"

"What those?" Michael pointed to the books.

"Those are books, Michael." Miracle smiled. "I can read you one, if you like!"

"Yay!" Michael cheered, his horn beginning to glow.

"Uh-oh." Hurricane gulped.

"Uh-oh?" Pureblood grimaced. "Why uh-oh?"

Suddenly, all the books in the case were lifted out by Michael's magic, and rained down on the Crusaders, Michael giggling happily.

"Did I forget to mention Michael has really powerful magic surges?" Hurricane said sheepishly.

"No, I think I'd remember you mentioning something so important." Vito glared at her.

"How does a little foal possess so much magic?" Miracle asked, stupefied. "I mean, not even Alicorn foals have this powerful a surge!"

"Well, according to dad, he has inherited his strong innate magic." Hurricane explained.

"Meaning?" Vito growled.

"I have no idea." Hurricane frowned.

"Wait, where's he gone now?" Pureblood asked.

A giggling sound emanated from the doorway on the left.

"That way!" Miracle pointed. "Follow the laughter!"

As they raced towards the source, they all realized with horror where it was coming from: the kitchen. As they entered, they saw that Michael had entered into another magic surge, and was flinging all the foodstuffs and utensils around, much to the terror of the kitchen staff.

"Make it stop!" One yelped. "Make it stop!"

"Michael!" Hurricane gasped. "What are you doing?"

"Me hungee!" Michael yelled. "Want snack!"

"I'll make you one!" Hurricane offered. "Just put everything down!"

"...Okay." Michael nodded. His horn stopped glowing, and everything dropped down.

"Okay, trouble." Hurricane sighed. "C'mere. We'll get you a nice oat and daisy sandwich. Your favorite."

"Yay!" Michael cheered.

"So sorry, everypony, go about your business as usual!" Miracle bowed in apology.

While the entire kitchen staff worked to clean the kitchen, Hurricane made Michael his sandwich, and he happily devoured it.

"Finally, the situation's under control." Vito declared. "We should've thought of food in the first place."

"Now, while Michael's safely occupied, we can get back to work." Pureblood declared.

"Right." Miracle smiled. "What quest should we try next?"

"Well, maybe we should-" Hurricane stopped in mid-sentence to glance at Michael... only to find he had vanished. "Michael's gone!"

"Again?" Vito groaned. "Somepony needs to put a bell on that kid!"

As they raced outside the room, Pureblood spotted Michael on the stairs.

"That way!" He pointed.

The Crusaders chased after Michael all over the castle, eventually finding themselves in the rafters of the meeting room.

"Where is he?" Hurricane asked.

"Shh!" Miracle pointed below, where there was a meeting ongoing. Shine and Celestia were talking things over with Twilight about royal matters. Caboose was in the room with them, standing guard... or rather sleeping.

"There he is!" Vito pointed to the other end of the rafters, where Michael resided.

"Michael, get over here!" Hurricane hissed.

Michael wasn't listening, having just spotted his father.

"Daddy!" He cheered, using magic to levitate his father.

"Michael, no!" Hurricane yelped.

As Shine, Celestia, and Twilight were talking, Caboose's body began to levitate, still snoring.

"And as for this year's horseshoe appreciation event-what in Equestria?!" Twilight stopped mid-sentence.

Shine and Celestia glanced behind them, and see Caboose was now floating.

"Caboose?!" Shine gasped.

Caboose woke up instantly.

"I ain't wearing hockey pads!" He yelped, before realizing where he was. "I mean... I'm awake!"

"H-how... what..." Twilight stuttered.

"Why is everypony staring at me like that?" Caboose asked. "And how did you all get to be smaller?"

"Um, Mr. Napoleon..." Celestia gestured below him.

Caboose looked down, and saw that he was floating.

"What the-am I having that dream again where I'm Psycho Mantis?" He gasped.

"Who?!" Twilight asked.

"Psycho Mantis." Caboose repeated. "You know, that creepy dude with the gas mask who can read your mind, make your controller rumble, and demolish the fourth wall... like me!"

"Caboose, I don't think-" Shine started.

"Wait, let me try..." Caboose waved his fore hooves, strike a few poses. "Hmm... you seem to like cherry pies, don't you?"

"Um, yeah... but you already knew that." Shine shrugged.

"Oh... in that case..." Caboose started freaking out. "Why am I floating?!"

Meanwhile, up in the rafters...

"Come on, Michael, put daddy down..." Hurricane urged.

Michael giggled as he waved his head.

"There's must be a magical disturbance in the air..." Twilight mused.

"Or maybe a disturbance in the Force-" Caboose was thrown into a wall. "OW!"

"Caboose!" Celestia yelped.

"Michael, put him down!" Hurricane demanded.

Michael giggled more as he began waving his horn constantly. Caboose was then thrown back and forth across the room.

"OW! EEE! OW! EEE!" Caboose groaned.

The four went to grab Michael, but he moved out of the way, leaning over the edge, and laughing at his daddy.

"Look ma, I'm a metronome!" Caboose chortled, a little dizzy.

He hit the wall again.

"Don't take me out, coach, I can still fight!" Caboose moaned in a daze.

He hit the opposite wall.

"Wise guy, eh? Nyuck, nyuck, nuck!" Caboose said woozily.

He hit the first wall again.

"You didn't get me down now." He mumbled. "You didn't get me down!" 

Then the opposite wall once more.

"I came in like a wrecking ball!" Caboose sang dizzily.

Michael's horn began to flicker, as Caboose's smacks began to slow down. After one last smack against the wall, he was above the table, and then he fell on it.

"Oh... so this what agony feels like…" Caboose groaned and looked up, his vision a bit dazed. However, as his vision cleared up, he saw the shape of his little boy Michael, just before he was pulled in by Hurricane. Caboose then made a knowing grin. "Ah..."

"Are you alright, Caboose?" Shine gasped.

"Anything broken?" Celestia asked.

"What was that?" Twilight asked.

"Ah, it was nothing." Caboose shrugged, as he slowly got up, wincing a bit in pain. "Probably just some magic feedback. Happens when so much magic is in one room.

"It does?!" Twilight asked, horrified.

"Oh, totally. I'll be careful, princess. Being an Element of Magic could have very extreme consequences." Caboose explained, trying not to laugh at Twilight's frightened face.

"Oh, dear Faust…" Twilight gasped.

Meanwhile, Hurricane glared at Michael.

"What do you have to say for yourself, little mister?" Hurricane asked.

"Tired." Michael yawned. "Sleepy..."

Michael fell asleep in her hooves.

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about him wandering off..." Pureblood declared.

"Finally." Vito huffed, "A whole day wasted because of this kid."

"It's not so bad, V." Miracle shrugged, as she then cooed over Michael, "Aw, he's so cute when he's sleeping."

"Yeah, he is." Hurricane gave a small smile, finding it impossible to be mad at such a cute sight. "It's getting late. I'd better go meet up with dad, so we can go home."

"See you tomorrow, Hurri." Miracle told her.

"Have a good night." Pureblood added.

"Yeah, bye." Vito muttered.

As usual, Caboose was waiting for Hurricane by the main doors.

"So, how'd your first foalsitting gig go?" He asked.

"As good as could be expected, I guess." Hurricane shrugged.

"There's my little guy." Caboose took the sleeping Michael. "Come on, sweetie. Let's go home."

"Right behind you, dad." Hurricane nodded.

As Caboose and Hurricane were walking home…

"By the way, sweetie, your secret is safe with me." Caboose declared.

"What secret?" Hurricane asked.

"You losing Michael, and him using me as a wrecking ball in the meeting room." Caboose smiled. "I saw him up there..."

"Oh..." Hurricane sighed. "I'm so sorry, dad, he just got away from-"

"It's alright, Hurri." Caboose said warmly. "Mikey does take after your mom in exploring stuff. Doesn't help that he has my endless curiosity." He gives a small chuckle.

"But I should had been paying more attention." Hurricane admitted.

"Hey, it was your first time foalsitting." Caboose shrugged. "Besides, when you were little, I lost you all the time."

" ...What?" Hurricane gaped.

"You were always disappearing on me." Caboose admitted. "I turn away for one second, and you are off exploring somewhere. One time, I lost you in the maze in the garden. I was so scared, that I was this close to calling upon the Expendables and the A-Team to find you... but in the end, all things turned out okay…though it took a while for all the hedges to grow back."

"Okay..." Hurricane said awkwardly. "I don't know whether to be glad, or disturbed..."

"Why not inbetween?" Caboose smiled, "That's what my bros always went with."

Later, after dinner, Hurricane checked in on Michael, who had just been put to sleep right after his meal.

"You really caused me a lot of trouble today, you know that." Hurricane whispered. "But you know something? A little trouble is worth having a little brother as sweet as you."

Hurricane lightly stroked Michael's mane. The little colt smiled in his sleep.
> Quibbling Siblings
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One morning, Miracle had just finished breakfast when she heard the sounds of argument nearby.

"I can't believe you'd do that to me!" Pureblood's voice roared.

"You're making a big deal out of nothing!" Vito's voice shot back.

"Nothing?!" Pureblood gasped, as Miracle reached them. "Why, you self-absorbed..."

"What's going on here?" Miracle asked.

"Mr. 'only thinks of himself' here promised he'd help with my pony scouts test today." Pureblood growled. "But he bailed."

"I had a mane emergency!" Vito protested. "And you know full well I was to join father in meeting the duke of Hoofistan and his lovely daughter later on. I couldn't face her- them- looking like a mess! I wasn't thinking only of myself. I was thinking of our guests, and of their opinion of Canterlot royalty!"

"Yeah, right!" Pureblood snorted. "You expect me to believe that garbage?"

"Are you calling me a liar?" Vito snarled.

"Guys..." Miracle tried to calm them down.

"Yes, I am." Pureblood growled. "And an egocentric narcissist, to boot!"

"My own brother!" Vito huffed.

"Guys..." Miracle tried again.

"As if you ever acted like a brother to me." Pureblood declared.

"Guys!" Miracle yelled, finally getting their attention. "This has to stop! You're brothers, remember?"

"Like he cares!" Vito pointed at Pureblood.

"You're the one who doesn't care!" Pureblood shot back. "I'm never speaking to you again!"

"Well, neither am I!" Vito huffed.

"Come on, guys, don't do this." Miracle pleaded. "We're supposed to be a team, remember? Cutie Mark Crusaders Royale?"

"I'm not Crusading with him until I get an apology." Pureblood declared.

"Oh, was somepony talking just then?" Vito said in mock wonder.

"Hmph!" Pureblood walked down the corridor.

"Hmph!" Vito retorted, walking the opposite way.

"Glad we had this chat." Miracle sighed.

A few moments later, Hurricane walked over to her.

"What's up, Mir?" She asked. "Why the long-even-for-a-pony face?"

"Pureblood and Vito had a fight." Miracle explained. "They both swore never to speak each other again."

"Heavy." Hurricane whistled. "Then again, this was bound to happen sooner or later. They're the most complete opposite twins I've ever met."

"They're the only complete opposite twins you've ever met." Miracle pointed out.

"My point still stands." Hurricane shrugged. "Guess it'll be just you and me until they make up."

"If only that were the worst of it." Miracle sighed.

At dinner that evening, Pureblood and Vito sat at opposite ends of the table, Miracle inbetween them.

"Miracle, could you please ask Mr. Ego to pass the salt?" Pureblood asked.

"Miracle, could you please ask the whiny jerk next to you to pass the ketchup?" Vito countered.

The back and forth indirect insults lasted throughout the meal. That incident set a precedent for the next couple of days; The brothers used Miracle as a mouthpiece for insulting each other. Even the adults took notice of the two's cold shoulders…

"Boy, the twins are really mad at each other." Gothic noted.

"I'm sorry to say I know what it's like, being so angry at a sibling." Luna nodded. "On the bright side, at least this argument won't end in banishment..."

Pureblood and Vito's parents soon took notice themselves.

"Boys, is there anything you'd like to tell us?" Dusty asked, as she and Blueblood confronted them.

"Nothing I went to say with him nearby." Pureblood huffed.

"Ditto." Vito snarled.

"Now, now." Blueblood told them. "You've obviously had some kind of fight. But you need to make up. You're family, after all."

"Your father's right, boys." Dusty agreed. "Look at your uncles. They fight all the time, but they always make up, because they love each other. Now it's your turn."

"Hmph!" The twins snorted, turning and leaving.

"...Or not." Dusty sighed.

"What now?" Blueblood sighed. "We could tell them to say they're sorry, but they wouldn't mean it."

"I have no idea." Dusty groaned. "Times like these make me wish this parenting thing came with a manual."

"You and I both, my love." Blueblood agreed.

Even Caboose took notice, when one day, the brothers' paths crossed in the hall. The two only paused to cast a vicious glare at each other, only for Pureblood to storm off in the opposite direction.

"What's with him?" Caboose turned to Vito.

Vito only gave a scoff as he stormed off in another direction.

"And him?" Caboose wondered, only to frown in confusion. "Who am I talking to?"

Miracle was soon at her wit's end.

"I can't take any more!" She griped to Hurricane as they sat in the royal lounge. "We need to get those two to make up!"

"I agree." Hurricane nodded. "I mean, the story description says that Miracle, Hurricane, Pureblood and Vito embark on a mission to gain their Cutie Marks. Not just Miracle and Hurricane."

"What are you… you know what, I can't deal with this right now." Miracle sighed. "Right now, we have to find a way to fix this before it gets worse."

"What do you suggest?" Hurricane asked. "It's not like we can force them into one place where they'll have no choice but to talk it out."

"Hurri, you're a genius!" Miracle gasped.

"Who, me?" Hurricane shrugged. "Nah..."

"I think I've got a plan." Miracle declared. "Here's what we'll do..."

A short while later, they were talking to Caboose.

"Let me get this straight... you want my help in getting Vito and Pureblood back together?" Caboose asked.

"Yes." Miracle nodded.

"You don't want them to hate each other forever, do you, dad?" Hurricane urged.

"Of course I don't want that... but I fail to see how burying me alive is going to fix things!" Caboose groaned.

Caboose was lying in an open box inside a hole, deep in the castle hedge maze.

"Well, Mr. Napoleon, the way I see it, Pureblood and Vito hold the most respect for own father... but since we can't bother him to get himself dirty, we went with the pony that they both respected most just after him... namely, you." Miracle clarified. "The plan is simple: we bury you in this box in the maze. Tell them where you are and give them these maps..." Miracle held up maps of the maze. "And when they find you, they will have to interact with each other."

"But how will I breathe?" Caboose inquired worriedly.

"Also simple." Miracle shut the lid of the box and pulled out a long pipe, using her magic to poke a hole in the box, and leaving it there. "That should keep you alive 'till Vito and Pure find you."

"Okay!" Caboose's muffled voice came out of the pipe.

"Deep breaths, dad!" Hurricane instructed him, as she started shovelling dirt over the box.

"Don't worry dear. My crazy aunt Grave Digger buried me and my bros alive all the time! I'll be okay." Caboose reassured.

"…I am not touching that with a forty-foot pole." Miracle said, disturbed.

After the burial was done, the girls went to find the boys.

Miracle went to find Pureblood…

"Pureblood, Pureblood!" Miracle cried, as she ran into the kitchen where Pureblood was eating a sandwich.

"What?" Pureblood said, mouth full.

"It's your uncle Caboose!" Miracle gasped. "He was trying to pull off this Hoof-dini trick and is now buried alive in the middle of the maze!"

"What?!" Pureblood gasped, a bit of sandwich falling from his mouth. "Oh my gosh! I gotta save him!"

"Don't worry, I already made up a map-" Miracle pulled out her map… only for Pureblood to run past her.

"Hold on, Uncle 'Boose, your favorite nephew's coming!" Pureblood declared, running off.

"Pure, wait!" Miracle called after him. "You need… this map… aw crud…"

Meanwhile, with Vito and Hurricane…

Vito was reading a book in the study… when Hurricane burst in.

"Vito!" Hurricane yelled, "It's bad, it's real bad!"

"Tell me about it." Vito said drily, "Here I was, enjoying a book, and then somepony comes in yelling for no good reason."

"Mydadburiedinmaze!" Hurricane blurted out quickly.

"What?" Vito frowned.

"Dadburiedinmaze!" Hurricane blabbed just as fast.

"Timmy's fallen down a well?!" Vito gasped. "Wait, who's Timmy?"

"My dad... buried... in maze!" Hurricane declared, slowing down a little. "Needs... help!"

"And help he shall have!" Vito declared, dashing off towards the maze.

"Wait, you're gonna need..." Hurricane held up the map, only to realise Vito had already left. "The map. ...Aw, geez."

The two brothers entered the maze through opposite ends, running through it without any idea of where they were going. Soon enough, they ended up bumping into each other.

"YOU!" Vito and Pureblood growled.

"What are you doing here?!" Vito snorted.

"Saving uncle Caboose!" Pureblood declared.

"No, that would be me!" Vito snorted.

"We'll see." Pureblood sneered.

"Yeah, my bum!" Vito spat.

The two took different paths, but soon after bumped into each other again.

"You again?" Vito snarled. "What are you, lost?"

"If I'm lost, then you must be lost, too." Pureblood declared. "Because I already remember passing that hedge with the branch growing out of it."

"Oh, no." Vito gasped. "We're lost!"

"Surely, you must have brought a map-" Pureblood blurted out.

"No. But I think that's what Hurricane was trying to give me before I… oh man…" Vito sighed.

"So we're lost in a maze, without a map." Pureblood groaned.

"Seems like it." Vito agreed. "But for how long?"

"Who knows?" Pureblood shrugged.

"Terrific." Vito said sarcastically. "Stuck here with you. What could be worse?"

"It's not exactly a picnic for me, either." Pureblood frowned. "Let's just keep going. We'll find our way eventually."

As they continued their trek through the maze, Pureblood started to give in to hopelessness.

"We're never going to get out of here." He muttered. "Never..."

"Are you okay, bro?" Vito asked.

"Like you care." Pureblood huffed.

"I... guess I deserve that." Vito admitted. "But don't go giving up. You've always been the positive one, you know."

"You really think that?" Pureblood asked, surprised.

"Of course." Vito nodded. "I know it can't be easy, having a bigheaded jerk like me for a brother..."

"Not all the time." Pureblood agreed. "But you do look out for me. Remember when we were were four, and I scraped my knee? You stood by me while mom and dad bandaged me up."

"Oh, yeah." Vito mused. "I nearly forgot about that. ...Look, I am sorry about standing you up about that scout thing. Truth is, I kinda like the duke's daughter, and I thought I might impress her."

"She is pretty cute." Pureblood admitted.

"Truth is, I didn't even think you needed my help." Vito continued. "You're so good at all that outdoorsy stuff. All I'm good at is looking good."

"Don't sell yourself short, V." Pureblood replied. "When you put your mind to it, you're pretty smart."

"Really?" Vito smiled.

"Really." Pureblood nodded. "Just try using your head for more than just preening."

"Funny guy." Vito sniggered.

As they rounded a corner, they found a way out.

"There it is!" Pureblood smiled.

"Let's go!" Vito cheered.

As they finally made it, they started whooping and hugging each other.

"We did it!" They chorused. "We did it!"

"Well, lookie there." Hurricane smirked, she and Miracle having been waiting outside the maze.

"Our plan worked." Miracle nodded.

"Your plan?" Pureblood asked.

"You tricked us into going in there!" Vito growled.

"We had to do something to get you to make up." Miracle told them. "You were both driving me nuts!"

"Plus, being Crusaders just isn't the same without you guys." Hurricane smiled.

"Well, when you put it like that... thanks." Pureblood smiled.

"All that fighting was starting to give me worry lines." Vito agreed. "Glad it's over."

"So, you two up for some crusading?" Miracle asked.

"Oh, yeah!" The twins cheered.

"Uh, hold on, guys." Hurricane said suddenly. "We forgot something."

"What?" Miracle asked.

"My dad!" Hurricane yelped.

Back at the center of the maze, Caboose was still buried.

"Hello?!" His voice echoed through the pipe. "Anypony up there? I'm ready to be rescued now!" Nopony answered him. "I'm getting hungry…" More silence. "Mr writer? Can you please write me out of this?"
> Nightmare In Dodge Junction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Cutie Mark Crusaders Royale were currently in Dodge Junction, visiting Miracle's grandparents, Big Red and Cherry Jubilee, alongside their parents. Big Red had just picked them up from the train station, and brought them to the homestead in his cherry farm.

"Hi, grandma!" Miracle smiled at Cherry.

"Hello, darling!" Cherry beamed, hugging her. "Shine, Celestia, always good to see you."

"And you as well, Cherry." Celestia smiled.

"Ditto." Shine agreed.

"Hello, miss Cherry." Vito bowed respectfully.

"Ah, little Vito." Cherry smiled. "You get more handsome every time I see you."

"Guilty as charged." Vito smirked.

"Like father, like son." Blueblood declared. "Right, honey?"

"Right." Dusty nuzzled him.

"Thank you for having us, miss Cherry." Pureblood smiled.

"Such a gentlestallion." Cherry cooed. "It's our pleasure, sugar. We are family after all, no matter how distantly related."

"I'm just glad to be here!" Hurricane cheered. "It's nice and warm out here. And smell that country air!"

"Yep." Big Red chuckled. "Ain't nuthin' like it in all Equestria."

"I should hope not." Vito cringed. "It's quite pungent..."

"V!" Pureblood nudged him.

"Well, it is." Vito scowled.

"It's too bad Mist couldn't come along." Miracle frowned.

"She said she wasn't feeling up for it." Shine shrugged. "Something about a stomach bug..."

"Yew kids jest settle right in." Big Red announced. "Our home is yer home. Feel free ta play in the orchard. Jest don't damage any a' the cherry trees. Them's the lifeblood of our business."

"Don't worry, grampa." Miracle smiled. "We'll be good."

"You kids have fun." Caboose smiled. "As for me, I'm gonna have some cherry wine..."

"Cuttin' right ta the chase, huh, Caboose?" Big Red smiled. "Right this way..."

"Wait for me!" Daring chuckled, carrying the giggling Michael.

As Big Red led Caboose to the wine cellar, the Crusaders went outside. Once outside, they to play and explore the orchards. At one point, Miracle charged up a new spell she had read about in one of her mother's books, that would 'transform' fruit.

It was a complicated spell, but as an Alicorn, Miracle was sure she could handle it (And besides, it could turn out to be her special talent). She took careful aim at a bunch of cherries. Just as she was about to release the magic, Hurricane popped up beside her.

"Whatchya doin'?" She asked.

"Yah!" Miracle yelped, her aim thrown off.

The magic missed the cherries and bounced off trees at a high rate of speed.

"HIT THE DECK!" Pureblood bellowed.

The four ducked as the magic continued to bounce tree to tree.

"Man, I bet this would look real cool from above." Hurricane chuckled.

Big Red then walked by.

"Hey, little 'uns, how's it-" Big Red was cut off when the beam of magic struck him.

"Grampa!" Miracle yelped.

Big Red's body crackled with energy for a moment, which then subsided.

"Are you okay?" Miracle asked.

"Ah reckon so." Big Red looked himself over.

"Sorry about that." Miracle cringed.

Ah, it ain't nuthin'." Big Red smiled. "Ah got inta way worse scrapes with mah old gang, The Cherry Cavalry. Ah'll tell ya about them later."

As Big Red walked away, he felt an odd fuzziness in his head, then shook it off.

Later that night, they all had their supper. All but one, that is.

"Where's grampa?" Miracle asked.

"I don't know." Cherry frowned. "It's not like him to miss dinner. Where did you kids last see him?"

"In the cherry orchard." Pureblood declared.

"He must've taken another stroll through his precious cherry trees." Cherry rolled her eyes. "Somepony better fetch him."

"We'll do it!" Hurricane smiled.

"We will?" Vito asked, getting another nudge from Pureblood. "I mean, we will!"

"Be careful out there." Shine declared. "It's getting dark."

"We'll be fine, dad." Miracle sighed.

The four kids investigated the orchard, finding it to be far less inviting at night.

"Right now, this place is kinda creepy." Hurricane shivered.

"Sure is." Miracle agreed.

They found some of the trees had their cherries eaten... in fact, some branches were ripped cleaned off.

"What did this?" Pureblood asked.

"And more importantly, is it still here?" Vito trembled.

"I've never heard of an animal that can do something like this." Hurricane declared. "And thanks to mom, I know a lot of animals."

The orchard turned out to be bigger than they thought. It seemed like hours had passed since their search began. As they kept moving, Miracle soon saw Big Red's silhouette.

"Grampa!" Miracle walked toward him. "Grampa, you had us worried for a bit! What are you doing out this late?"

Big Red didn't answer. This disturbed Vito and the others.

"Um, Miracle?" Vito nudged his cousin.

"Not now, V." Miracle moved closer to Big Red. "Grampa, I-"

A loud growl cut her off. All the kids were horrified.

"G-Grampa?" Miracle trembled.

The silhouette turned towards Miracle... with bright glowing pale green eyes. He stepped out of the shadow, and the four kids were even more horrified. It was Big Red, except his coat was a dull red, his mane was also dull. But what was also different was his already big muscles were more bulky, but not grotesquely, and Big Red's jaw was more profound, with sharp fangs jutting from his upper mandible... and two big canines for his underbite. His chin was stained brighter red with what looked like blood.

"Good Faust..." Pureblood gasped.

"W-what is that?!" Vito quivered.

"He's a... a... vampony!" Hurricane gasped. "But how..."

"My spell." Miracle gulped. "It did this to him."

"I thought it only worked on fruit." Vito pointed out.

"It's supposed to be used on fruit." Miracle recalled. "The effects on ponies are said to be totally different."

Big Red let out a loud hiss, causing everypony to scream... and Pureblood to faint.

"Gah! Pure!" Vito went to help his brother.

Miracle was stupefied.

"Holy hay... I turned my grampa into a vampony!" She started tearing up. "I turned my grampa into a monster!"

"Hey, look on the bright side... " Hurricane suggested, causing Miracle to glare at her. "At least you didn't turn him into a sparkling colt-cuddler vampony."

"Kids!" Caboose called out as he approached. "Need a little help?"

"More than you think, dad!" Hurricane trembled. "Miracle turned Big Red into a vampony!"

"Accidentally!" Miracle added.

Big Red hissed at Caboose.

"Uh... hi there, big guy." Caboose smiled nervously. "Remember me? I just enjoyed your cherry wine a few hours ago."

Big Red hissed again.

"Guess not..." Caboose cringed. 

Big Red menacingly approached the four Crusaders and Caboose... then a golf ball pelted him.

"Rah!" He rubbed his head.

"Is that the golf ball Pureblood hit from chapter two?" Hurricane asked.

"Huh?" Pureblood suddenly revived. "I was wondering where that went..."

Suddenly, a velvet box hit Caboose on the head, and landed in his hoof.

"Ow!" He winced. Glancing at the box, he opened it, revealing earrings. "Hey, aren't these the earrings Blueblood tried to give Dusty back in chapter two of 'The Prince and the Pauperess'?"

The Crusaders shrugged.

"Well, I'm sure Blueblood won't miss it. Daring will love these." Caboose chuckled to himself.

Big Red shook his head, then hissed again.

"When I give the word, you kids run for it." Cabose declared.

"What about you?" Vito asked.

"I'll handle Big Red." Caboose smiled, pulling a necklace of garlic out of his pocket.

"Uhh, why do you have garlic in your pocket?" Pureblood asked.

"Plot convenience." Caboose shrugged. "Now run!"

The kids made a break for it. Big Red made to follow, but Caboose blocked his path.

"Back!" He waved the garlic at him. "Back, unholy demon of the night!"

Big Red looked at the garlic, gave Caboose a floundering look, then knocked the garlic away.

"Huh." Caboose frowned. "That usually works..."

Big Red tackled Caboose, knocking him to the ground. He then went to go after the kids, but Caboose grabbed his hoof.

"Where do you think you're going?" Caboose smirked.

With a scoff, Big Red shook him off, sending the poor Unicorn against a tree, as he began charging his way through the orchard.

"You're not getting away that easily!" Caboose followed, shaking off the pain in his shoulder.

Up ahead, the kids were racing towards the homestead, when Big Red suddenly leapt in front of them.

"Oh, no!" Pureblood gulped.

"Grampa, no!" Miracle squealed.

As Big Red stepped forward, Caboose tackled him.

"Run, kids!" He yelled. "I got this!"

"Go get him, dad!" Hurricane yelled, as they resumed running. "No offense, Mir!"

They continued their mad dash, Caboose and Big Red following/wrestling across the orchard with them. By the time they reached the homestead, it was sunrise. Celestia came out of the house to meet them.

"There you are." She said with relief. "What took you so long?"

"Mom, I turned grampa into a vampony!" Miracle sobbed.

"It's true." Hurricane added. "My dad's wrestling him right now!"

"What are we going to do?" Vito asked. "We can't have a vampony in the family! Think of the scandal!"

"Not really the point right now!" Pureblood admonished him.

Celestia frowned. Their story seemed unbelievable. But just then, Caboose and Big Red tumbled past the last trees of the orchard.

"Hi, Cel!" Caboose waved, hanging off of Big Red like a cowboy on a bucking bull.

"I know what to do." Celestia declared. "Exactly what spell did you use, Miracle?"

"The one from the big book in your study." Miracle declared. "The fruitus flavus spell."

"I see." Celestia nodded. Racing over to the combatants, she yelled "Hold him down, Caboose!"

"You got it!" Caboose rammed Big Red, knocking him over. He then pinned him.

"RAH!" Big Red roared.

Cherry, Shine, Blueblood, Dusty and Daring came out of the house.

"Is that...?" Cherry gasped.

"It is." Shine nodded.

"Is he...?" Blueblood gaped.

"Looks like it." Dusty agreed.

"Get him, baby!" Daring cheered for her husband. "Show 'im what's what!"

As Big Red struggled, Celestia charged her horn, and unleashed the counterspell. There was a giant flash of light, and Caboose was thrown clear by the sheer force of her magic. When the light dimmed, Big Red was back to normal.

"Oh…" Big Red moaned, rubbing his head, "Why does my head hurt…" He wiped his muzzle, "And why do I have cherry jam all over my maw?"

"Grampa!" Miracle rushed over and hugged him, weeping unashamedly. "I'm so sorry I did that to you. I didn't mean to-"

"Shoot, that's okay." Big Red hugged her back. "Ah've been hit by worse things. Why, this one time, with the Cherry Cavalry..."

"We're just glad to have you back, Red." Shine sighed in relief. "Even if we just found out you'd left..."

"I certainly am." Cherry nuzzled against her husband.

"Well, looks like all's well as it ends w-" Pureblood started, before being cut off by a loud hiss.

Everypony glanced up at one of the trees... and saw Caboose, his mane pale black and slicked back, eyes pale green and coat pale brown, with vampony fangs. He hissed prolongedly.

"I'm moody..." He growled.

"Oh you've got to be kiddin' me." Vito groaned.

"But how-?" Miracle gasped.

"Wait, wasn't Caboose on me when Celestia hit me with that there magic?" Big Red realised.

"Oh no!" Hurricane yelped. "Miracle! Your mom turned my dad into a vampony!"

"Well, we all make mistakes..." Celestia cringed.

Caboose let out another hiss... then the sun hit him, and he was sparkling.

"And you turned him into the worst kind of vampony!" Hurricane said angrily. "Moody, sparkly, and possibly male-loving!"

"Do you dream of being a vampony?" Caboose asked seductively.

"Oh boy…" Daring frowned.

"I don't suppose you've got a spell to fix this, mom?" Miracle asked.

"I'll get right on it..." Celestia sighed.

"You will never take me and this bodacious body alive!" Caboose declared, and laughed maniacally as he jumped tree to tree into the orchard.

"Well, might as well get after him…" Big Red shrugged as he got up.

"I hope you've learned something from all this, Miracle." Shine declared.

"Oh, yeah." Miracle nodded. "Never try using a spell you're not ready for."

"I was thinking more along the lines of 'don't turn grampa into a vampony', but that works too." Shine shrugged.

Their trip to Dodge Junction had proven more memorable than the Crusaders had imagined...
> Mist's Big Surprise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Cutie Mark Crusaders quartet entered the Blazin' Blues tavern. In the daytime, it was a typical malt-shop of sorts, not as popular as it's night-time counterpart, but it was a good business. The Crusaders were covered in dirt stains.

"Hey, kiddos." Blue smiled from behind the bar. He hadn't changed much over the three years since he started dating Mist, except he had a small beard growing on his chin.

"Hello, Blue." Mist sighed dejectedly.

"Hey, Mr. Blazes." Hurricane, Pureblood and Vito chorused in a depressed tone.

"Another failed attempt at finding your Cutie Marks?" Blue asked sagely.

"Yup." The Crusaders nodded.

"Let me guess... Archaeology?" Blue guessed.

"Gardening." Vito glared at Miracle. "Sunspot here thought that weeding the gardens would get us our Cutie Marks."

"Hey, it was better than your idea of Cutie Mark Chess Players... honestly, chess is so dull." Miracle shot back.

"How has it come to this?" Vito despaired. "We've been at this for three months, and already, we're grasping at straws."

"I'm with my brother here." Pureblood agreed. "I mean, we tried a lot of things..."

"Yeah, like baking, lacrosse, mountain climbing..." Hurricane listed. "Deep sea diving, macrame, pole vaulting..."

" I'm starting to get a bit desperate here." Vito sighed. "Just yesterday, three of my classmates at school got their Cutie Marks."

"...Yodelling, ziplining, parkour..." Hurricane continued.

"Could you stop please? You're not helping." Vito growled.

"Oh cheer up, V-man." Blue smiled. "A Cutie Mark will come when it's good and ready. How about a couple of drinks all around, on me?"

Blue passed out shakes to them.

"Gee, thanks, Mr. Blazes." Pureblood said gratefully.

"Yeah." Vito took a sip. "It's a good thing that Aunt Misty is dating you. You know how to cheer a kid up."

"I can attest to that." Pureblood agreed.

"Me, too." Miracle added.

"Mmm!" Hurricane nodded while sipping her shake.

"Thanks, guys." Blue chuckled.

As the four enjoyed their drinks, Miracle noticed Blue acting a bit nervous.

"Is everything alright, Blue?" She asked.

"Huh?" Blue glanced at Miracle. "Oh, yes. Everything's fine."

"You're sure?" Miracle pressed. "You looked a little pale."

"Just a little stressed." Blue shrugged. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"Stressed, huh? Maybe we could help you." Vito suggested. "Cutie Mark Barhoppers, anyone?"

"Oh no. I don't think your parents would be ecstatic about the idea." Blue declined. "Besides, it's a different kind of stress..."

"Like what?" Hurricane asked.

"Well..." Blue muttered.

The door opened, and the four and Blue looked to see Mist coming in. She looked a bit out of it.

"Hey, aunt Mist!" Miracle waved.

"Huh?" Mist snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, hey, kids..."

"Are you okay?" Miracle asked, confused.

"Yeah, you're lookin' a little green..." Vito noted.

"You're sure?" Pureblood squinted. "Because she's still light blue to me..."

"Maybe turquoise?" Hurricane offered.

"Everything's fine." Mist insisted, before turning to Blue. "Blue, can we talk for a bit... alone?"

"Of course, babe." Blue left the counter. "I'll be back, kids. Make sure to not burn anything while I'm gone."

Blue entered the back room with Mist. Miracle looked on with concern.

"So... what do we do next?" Vito asked.

"Well, maybe we could do something less tasking." Pureblood suggested. "How about yoga?"

"Hmm, yogurt actually sounds good." Hurricane smiled.

"Not yogurt, yoga... and that sounds rather boring." Vito frowned.

"I wonder what's going on with Blue and Mist today..." Miracle mused.

"Oh, I'm sure they're just antsy to be together and do all that lovey-dovey mush." Vito shrugged.

"Yeah, just the other day, I found Aunt Constell and Mr. Luxury in a broom closet making out. I'm sure that's what they're doing right now." Pureblood agreed.

"Heh, remember when we walked in on those two making out three years ago?" Hurricane snorted.

"Do I ever." Vito grimaced. "We all thought it was gross and stuff... in fact, it's still gross."

"Well, they're acting weird... even by their standards." Miracle declared, getting off her stool. "And I'm going to find out what's going on..."

Miracle approached the door to the backroom, putting her ear to the door. Pureblood and Hurricane soon joined her, as Vito remained at the bar, sipping his shake. On the other side, Mist turned to face Blue.

"So, did you do it?" Blue asked.

"Yes, I checked with the doctor..." Mist said.

"And?" Blue asked nervously.

Mist pulled out a piece of paper and shows it to Blue.

"It's official..." She glanced at Blue with worry. "...I'm pregnant."

Miracle, Pureblood, and Hurricane gaped in shock.

"Pregnant?!" Hurricane gasped.

Vito perked up.

"Wait, did I hear that right?" he quickly trotted over. "She said 'pregnant'?"

"Apparently so." Pureblood nodded.

"My aunt is pregnant..." Miracle said quietly.

"Let me listen in!" Vito pushed Miracle aside.

Back in the room, Blue was slack-jawed, falling limp against a shelf.

"P-pregnant?" He stuttered. "You're pregnant?"

"Yes... I had the doctor ran the test three times to make sure..." Mist glanced at her belly. "I have an actual living foal growing in here..."

"Oh Faust... this is... this is not good... this is not good..." Blue started to panic.

"How do you think I feel?" Mist growled. "I'm studying under Twilight Sparkle in the art of magic. I'm too young to be having a foal!"

"What about me?!" Blue retorted. "This bar has already taken up all my assets and time, I can't support a baby!"

"Wow, this is better than those soap dramas mom and dad love to watch." Vito declared.

"Vito, this is not TV, this is our aunt and this is a real problem!" Pureblood admonished him.

"My aunt is pregnant..." Mist repeated.

"Yeah, you already said that, Miracle." Hurricane pointed out.

"Still doesn't make this any less unbelievable." Miracle stated.

"You're worried about your bar?!" Mist glared at Blue. "You're the one who did this to me!"

"Me?! You told me that spell you always cast before each time we..." Blue groaned. "...You know... would prevent this!"

During her studies with Twilight, Mist had learned of ancient spells, ones that could be cast by anypony, simply by reading out an incantation.

"It should have... oh, that spell must not be as effective when cast by Pegasi..." Mist sighed.

"Well that would had been nice to know before I..." Blue groaned again.

"Mated, Blue, we mated!" Mist blurted out. "And I didn't see you complaining at all the mornings after..."

"Hello, I'm a stallion!" Blue pointed out. "Stallions all have a thing for liking..." He blushed heavily. "...To mate...

"Well, now, because of your liking to mate, the next eleven months are going to be a living nightmare!" Mist clutched her mane. "I don't even know how I'm going to explain this to my brother!"

"Your brother?!" Blue gasped. "Your brother is going to kill me! If not him, then your sister-in-law, princess Celestia, is going to send me to the moon!"

"Well, it serves you right for getting me knocked up!" Mist sneered.

"Hey, for your information, it was always you that initiated all the times we did the sideway hokey-pokey!" Blue pointed out.

"Naw-huh, you were the one who was too friendly when cuddling!" Mist accused.

"No way, it was totally you... the way you have your mane hanging over your shoulder..." Blue pointed.

"The way you wrap your hooves around me and pull me close to your very warm body..." Mist recalled.

"You and your mane smelling like grass after a rainy day..." Blue said, his anger beginning to dissipate.

"Your tail resting on my backside, and giving me that grin..." Mist smiled, her anger dissipating as well.

"Your gorgeous wings and viciously hot pair of flanks..." Blue grinned.

"Your hunky build and the way you exert dominance like a dragon protecting his hoard... you magnificent beast..." Mist shuddered and blushed.

The two's snouts were inches from each other, then they began to make out.

"Aw, sick!" All the Crusaders save for Miracle gagged.

"Hey, that's my aunt you're talking about!" Miracle growled.

Back in the room, the couple realized what they were doing, and they quickly parted.

"Oh man, that's what got us into this mess in the first place!" Blue frowned.

"I'll admit, we have problems keeping hooves off each others, especially in the throes of love." Mist confessed.

"I'll say... but I still blame your hot flanks." Blue purred.

"Get serious, Blue... what are we going to do?" Mist pressed on. "I mean, I already swore the doctor to not tell anypony... but in a few months time, the others are going to notice that I have a bump on my belly!" She sat down, tears coming to her eyes. "I'm scared, Blue... I don't know what they'll think of me or if I am even ready to be a mother..."

"Oh, Mist, babe..." Blue wrapped his hooves and wings around her. "I'm scared too... but I'm sure we can figure this out."

"How, Blue?" Mist wept. "What can we do?!"

"Well, for starters, we're going to calm down... and secondly, we are going to keep this between us." Blue declared. "Then we'll figure out the rest from there..."

"Okay..." Mist wiped her tears. "If you think it'll work..."

"I'm sure... besides, what could happen?" Blue shrugged. He then heard something on the other side of the door.

"It went quiet again..." Pureblood noted.

"Ew, are they making out again?!" Vito grimaced.

"Man, they must really love doing that..." Hurricane cringed.

"Guys... how thick is this door?" Miracle asked.

Quickly, Blue opened the door, and the four foals fell to the ground.

"Kids?!" Mist gasped.

"Um, hey again, auntie..." Miracle said awkwardly.

"How much did you four hear?" Blue demanded.

"Um, nothing, Mr. Blazes." Vito lied.

"Absolutely nothing." Pureblood added nervously.

"Yeah, we definitely didn't hear Mist call you hunky and a magnificent beast!" Hurricane smiled.

The two brothers face-hooved.

"So in other words, you heard anything." Mist realized. "This can't be happening..."

"We won't tell anypony, I promise!" Miracle declared. "Right, guys?"

"Right!" The other three promised.

"Do you swear never to tell?" Blue eyed them.

"We swear." The Crusaders chorused.

"We can do a Pinkie Promise if you want." Hurricane added.

"I dunno, I don't want to stick a cupcake in my eye." Vito shuddered.

"And I most certainly don't want Pinkie Pie popping out of nowhere." Pureblood said, "That mare scares me a bit."

"Well, at least you swore." Blue smiled. "Now, let's get you kids home before any pony starts missing you."

Mist and Blue brought the Crusaders back up to the castle. The six were just out the entrance.

"I'm not so sure about this, auntie... I mean, how long do you expect to keep this a secret?" Miracle inquired. "Dad is going to notice you having a bump..."

"Look, I'll tell them eventually, Miracle... I just have to find the right way to break it to them without freaking everypony out." Mist declared. "Till then, not a word, please...

"Okay..." Miracle said uneasily.

"You can count on us." Pureblood smiled.

"I wouldn't tell if I wanted to." Vito declared. "The whole thing disgusts me, to be honest..."

"And me." Hurricane agreed. "Besides, I always keep my promises."

"Good to know." Blue nodded.

They entered the castle, only to be greeted by Shine.

"Hey, everypony, where have the lot of you been all afternoon?" He asked.

"Oh, I was just treating the kids to shakes." Blue turned to the kids. "Right?"

"Yep!" Miracle nodded.

"Sure have." Pureblood grinned.

"What they said." Vito agreed.

"Cinnamon toast!" Hurricane blurted out.

"How nice of you, Blue... oh, Mist, there's somepony here to see you." Shine declared.

"Who?" Mist asked.

Big Red came in.

"Hee-hee, howdy y'all!" He chuckled.

Mist gaped in shock, as did Blue.

"B-Big Red?" Mist stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Ah heard from Shine that you had a bit of stomach flu and couldn't make it to the ranch, so Ah decided to pay mah daughter a home visit!" Big Red smiled.

"D-daughter?" Blue gasped. "You mean... you're her dad?"

"And who might you be?" Big Red glared.

"He's my coltfriend." Mist smiled.

"Coltfriend?" Big Red gaped.

"Blue Blazes." Blue reached out his hoof. "Pleased to meet you, sir."

"When did you get a coltfriend?" Big Red ignored Blue.

"Blue and I met three years back." Mist explained, "I meant to tell you, but it kept slipping my mind."

"Wait, ya mean ya had a coltfriend for three years?!" Big Red gasped.

"Yes, Red. I'm not a little filly anymore, you know." Mist said testily.

"Ah know, Ah know." Big Red nodded. "Ah jest... can't believe it. Seems like jest yesterday you were this sweet little filly, playin' with her dollies..."

"Red..." Mist groaned.

"I should get going." Blue said awkwardly.

"Oh, no ya don't." Big Red grabbed Blue Blazes. "Ah wanna know jest what kinda stallion you are. You'll be joinin' us for dinner."

"O-okay." Blue gulped.

Half an hour later, everypony was sat at the dinner table. Big Red had made sure to sit opposite Blue, and was glaring at him.

"So, what exactly do ya do fer a livin'?" Big Red asked.

"Come on, Red, this is dinner, not an interrogation." Shine frowned. "I never saw you get like this when I was engaged to Celestia."

"Three things, Shine... one, Blue ain't a mare. Two, he ain't a princess. Three, he's dating mah daughter." Big Red said succinctly, before turning back to Blue. "Now, Ah repeat, whattya do fer a livin'?"

"I run a small tavern, sir." Blue said nervously, "Blazin' Blue's is the name."

"Own yer own business, huh?" Big Red mused. "Self-made stallion, is ya? Ah like that."

"Maybe Blue would be interested in stocking some of your cherry wine?" Mist offered, having been to sit next to Big Red.

"Mebbe..." Big Red shrugged. "Now then, on ta the big stuff... Have you bin treatin' Mist right?"

"Of course I have." Blue nodded.

"He's a perfect gentlestallion." Mist assured him. "Really sweet and caring."

"Good ta know." Big Red nodded. "Jest keep it that way, y'hear?"

"Y-yes, sir." Blue gulped.

"Relax, Red." Shine smiled. "Blue's a good guy."

"Sure is." Mist nodded.

"Yeah!" Pureblood and Vito agreed.

"Purple!" Hurricane blurted out.

"If ya say so..." Big Red shrugged. 

After dinner, Mist walked Blue out.

"I think that went well." Mist smiled.

"I think it was the most terrifying experience of my life." Blue declared. "And I used to be a professional stunt flyer!"

"I think Big Red really likes you." Mist declared. "Besides, it's just a short visit."

"Oh, by the way, Mist!" Big Red's voice called. "Ah'll be stayin' fer a couple a' weeks, to make up fer you not bein' able ta come ta the ranch!"

"Or not." Mist sighed.

"...No offense, Mist, but I think I'll be staying away from the castle for a while." Blue declared.

"A wise choice." Mist deadpanned.

Over the coming days, Mist and the Crusaders found keeping Mist's pregnancy a secret increasingly difficult.

Mist began getting cravings. One morning, Mist was eating cherries covered in molasses, when Shine entered the kitchen.

"Mist." Shine stared, nonplussed by her dining choice.

"Shine." Mist said nonchalantly.

And then there was the mood swings. One day, as she returned from throwing up in the bathroom, she ran into Caboose.

"You okay, Mist?" Caboose asked. "You look terrible."

"What?!" Mist started crying. "How could you say that, you... jerk!"

She punched Caboose right in the face.

"OW!" Caboose groaned as he grabbed his snout. "What did you do that for?!"

"Because you're annoying!" Mist yelled. "And what is this 'fourth wall' you keep talking about?"

"Um, the wall that separates us and the readers?" Caboose whimpered.

"Well, stop it! It's getting old!" Mist snarled.

Mist stomped away, leaving Caboose confused as he rubbed his snout.

"What's with her?" He asked, as Hurricane arrived on the scene.

"Mood swings, duh." Hurricane shrugged. "What'd'ya expect, with her being preg- Uh-oh."

"Preg? What you mean by 'preg'?" Caboose questioned.

"Um…nothing?" Hurricane nervously answered.

"Hmm…preg…the only words I know that starts with preg is 'pregnenolone' (courtesy of Lars, of course) and…"

Caboose's eyes widened in shock.

"Pregnant!" Caboose gasped. "Mist is pregnant?!"

"Please don't tell anyone, dad." Hurricane begged. "It's a secret!"

"My lips are sealed." Caboose declared, "I'll have you know, I'm the best at keeping secrets."

"Thanks, dad." Hurricane beamed.

That evening, Caboose and Daring were getting ready for bed…

"By the way, Mist's pregnant." He declared.

"Whoa, really?" Daring gasped.

"Yep." Caboose nodded. "And there's something else, something important... eh, it'll come to me."

The next morning, Daring was enjoying coffee with Dusty…

"Your uncle told me some news last night…" Daring explained.

"About what? Did my dad and uncles rob the Bitalian national treasury again?" Dusty deadpanned.

"No…apparently, Mist is pregnant." Daring explained.

"…Say what?" Dusty gaped.

Later, Dusty ran into her husband walking down a hall.

"Hello, dear. How's my lovely wife this fine morning?" Blueblood smiled.

"Fine…but Daring told me something Caboose told her last night." Dusty explained.

"What? Did Grimm and the brothers rob the Bitalian national treasury again?" Blueblood deadpanned.

"No… Mist is pregnant." Dusty revealed.

"Wait. Mist… Shine's young sister Mist?" Blueblood gasped.

Even later, Blueblood walked out onto a balcony where Gothic was looking through a telescope…pointing downward.

"Hello, Gothic… what are you doing?" Blueblood asked.

"Keepin' a eye on my daughter and Luxury." Gothic explained, pointing down to the garden, where Constell and Luxury were cuddling. "I don't like being the paranoid father… but I do not want my daughter doing anything sordid."

"I understand that, Goth… but speaking of daughter doing sordid things, I heard from my wife that Mist is… pregnant." Blueblood explained.

"Whoa, are you serious?" Gothic said, shocked. "And here I was, worrying about my daughter-" He quickly glanced down to the garden, "HEY! KEEP HOOVES WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!"

"Okay…" Blueblood slowly backed away.

By noon, Gothic was having a small lunch on the terrace with his wife, Luna.

"Say, you'll never believe what Blueblood told me…" Gothic brought up.

"You weren't spying on our daughter again, were you?" Luna groaned, "She's an adult, Gothic."

"And I'm her father." Gothic rolled his eyes, "That's beside the point. Luna, Mist is pregnant."

"...Goodness." Luna gaped.

Shortly after, Luna joined her sister Celestia in the throne room, whom was answering letters.

"Trollestia?" Celestia frowned at the letter. "As if Molestia wasn't bad enough." She simply burnt the letter with her magic.

"Sister, my husband had told me very big news…it seems our sister-in-law is now with foal." Luna explained.

"Really?" Celestia gasped. "That's almost as surprising as Discord making ice-skating mongooses dance the bolero last year."

"I know, right?" Luna nodded

Soon, Celestia entered the sparring hall, where Shine was overseeing the training regime of the guards.

"Oh, hi, cherryblossom. Come to see a bunch of us finest stallions work out?" Shine smirked.

"Um, not exactly, dear." Celestia explained. "My sister told me something regarding your sister…"

"So you noticed too?" Shine frowned. "I swear, Mist has been acting all sorts of weird lately. That stomach flu of hers is still around, sherazed through a tenth of our cherry stash, and she punched poor Caboose in the face…"

"Well, dear, I believe there is a reason for that…" Celestia mused.

"Like what?" Shine raised a brow.

"Well…" Celestia began, then whispered into Shine's ear.

Shine's face immediately went pale, and that was saying a lot, since Shine's coat was white.

"My sister is what?!" Shine gasped.

Clearing of throats ensued, as the guards were all now staring at Shine due to his outburst.

"Um, proceed with your business as usual, men." Shine ordered nervously, trying to save face.

The guards went back to their training as Shine and Celestia left the hall.

"My sister… is pregnant?" Shine gaped. "Is the father-"

"Blue Blazes?" Celestia finished for him, "I would assume so. You aren't going to freak out like Shining did when Twilight was pregnant, are you?"

"No, of course not!" Shine stammered. "I mean…I know my sis and Blue are grown ponies… but… I really didn't expect this…"

"Well, expected or not, dear, you should confront Mist about this…" Celestia urged.

"I suppose so..." Shine sighed.

The news also flowed through the servants, who had overheard the conversation between Shine and Celestia initially. By late afternoon, almost everypony in the castle knew that Mist was with foal.

Iron Hooves was standing guard when Big Red walked by.

"Congrats on the second grandkid, sir." Iron Hooves smiled.

"Second grandkid?" Big Red repeated. "Celestia's pregnant again?"

"No." Iron Hooves shook his head. "Miss Mist. I overheard from the princess that Mist is with foal."

Big Red was speechless for a moment.

"...Come again?" He asked quietly.

"Mist is pregnant." Iron Hooves confirmed. "If I had to hinder a guess, it belongs to that Blue Blazes she's dating."

"Blue Blazes?" Big Red asked, completely passive.

"Yup." Iron smiled. "Though I find it weird... I haven't seen hide or tail of him since the dinner a few weeks back... I hope things have been going well between them."

"...Uh-huh... Mr. Hooves, where can Ah find that feller's bar again?" Big Red asked pleasantly.

"Go into turn, take a left at Goldstable avenue, right at Horseshoe boulevard, you can't miss it." Iron instructed.

"Good... say, Iron, think you could hook me up with one of them high-powered crossbows you guards get to use?" Big Red asked.

"Um, sorry, Mr. Red, it's royal guard-issued only... why?" Iron frowned.

"No reason... now if'n you'll excuse me, Ah am going for a drink..." Big Red walked out.

"Okay..." Iron said, confused.

Meanwhile, Miracle was walking by a few maids when she overheard them talking.

"Did you hear?" 

"Oh yes. I can't believe the prince's young sister is pregnant!"

Miracle gaped in horror, as she quickly ran to the study. As she did so, she was joined by Pureblood and Vito.

"I take it you overheard the same thing we did?" Pureblood asked.

"Yes. How did they figure it out?" Miracle stammered.

"I think one of us spilled the beans… and I think I know who…" Vito growled.

They soon arrived at the study, where they ran into Mist.

"Lemme guess…Hurricane told somepony, didn't she?" Mist frowned.

The three nodded.

"Oh, dang it all…" Mist groaned.

The four entered the study, where they found Hurricane currently reading her mother's first book, "The Sapphire Stone".

"Geez, my mom got beat up a lot in the past…" Hurricane mused, as she looked up to see Mist and her friends glaring at her. "Um… why are you guys lookin' at me like that?"

"Hurricane, one of the maids just congratulated me on my foal." Mist glared, "Now tell me, how did she know I was with foal?"

"What?!" Hurricane gasped, before groaning, "Oh…dangit, dad!"

"You told Uncle 'Boose?!" Pureblood gaped.

"How could you, Hurri?!" Miracle growled.

"Sorry!" Hurricane apologized. "It just slipped. But it's dad's fault, too! He promised not to tell!"

"Like father, like daughter." Vito snorted. "You knew full well that Caboose can't keep a secret to save his life!"

"Lay off my dad!" Hurricane yelled.

"Make me!" Vito growled.

"V, quit it!" Pureblood declared.

"This isn't helping!" Miracle groaned.

"Look, guys, there's no point in blaming each other now..." Mist sighed. "The secret isn't a secret anymore."

Shine suddenly entered the room.

"Celestia told me everything… is it true, Mist?" He asked. "Are you...?"

Mist nodded sadly.

"Sorry..." She whispered.

"Don't be." Shine smiled. "Having a foal is a wonderful thing. I couldn't be happier for you."

"Really?" Mist smiled.

"Yeah." Shine grinned. "I'll admit, I was shocked, but now… my baby sister is having a baby of her own… and I get to be an uncle…"

"You think Big Red knows by now?" Pureblood wondered.

"Well, I bet once he finds out, he'll be overjoyed." Shine chuckled.

"Where is grampa, anyway?" Miracle wondered.

"Oh, I saw him leave a while ago." Iron declared from the open doorway. "He said he was going to see that coltfriend of yours, Mist."

Silence ensued…

"Um, Mist, you don't think our dad thinks that Blue is…" Shine asked nervously.

"...Oh, no." Mist gulped.

Meanwhile...

Blue was busy wiping a mug in his bar... when suddenly, an angry Big Red stepped in. Blue dropped the mug in shock.

"Gah! Oh, it's you, Big Red… can I help you?" He said awkwardly.

"You... you..." Big Red growled, pointing his hoof at him.

"Um, is everything alright, big guy?" Blue asked.

"You... got... my... baby girl... PREGNANT!" Big Red roared.

Blue's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh... so you heard about that…look, I don't know who told you-" Blue started.

"QUIET!" Big Red bellowed. "It's bad enough that ya..." He shuddered. "...Popped her cherry... but if you think that you can get my baby knocked up and not take responsibility, you got another thing coming!"

"Not take-hold on, I didn't say-" Blue spluttered.

"Shut up!" Big Red advanced on him. "I am going to throttle you!"

"Whoa, wait, can we find a peaceful resolution to this argument?" Blue quivered.

"BIG WORDS ANGER ME!" Big Red let out a battle cry.

Blue screamed in horror as Big Red charged at him.

Mist and the others rushed to the bar as fast as they could. Once there, they saw Blue running around the bar, while Big Red smashed through everything.

"Whoa, what is going here?!" Shine gasped.

"Blue, what in Faust's name-" Mist started.

Blue ran in a circle as Big Red continued to chase him, saying a word with each pass.

"Mist! Your! Dad! Is! Mental!"

"I! Show! You! Mental! You! Son! Of! A!" Big Red countered.

"Grampa, stop this!" Miracle begged.

"No! Can! Do! Little! One! Got! To! Skin! Pegasus!" Big Red yelled.

"Okay, enough is enough..." Shine stepped between Blue and Red, putting up a hoof to push Red back. "Now... tell me why you are trying to kill Blue here, Red."

"Shine!" Big Red snarled. "This no good varmint mated with mah daughter and put a bun in her oven!"

"I know that! Celestia told me everything she heard from Luna, who then heard it from Gothic, who heard from Blueblood, then Dusty, then Daring… and finally Caboose." Shine listed.

"Oh my gosh, can't anypony keep a secret in this town?!" Blue groaned.

"Shaddup, you mare-chasing dirtbag!" Big Red spat, struggling against Shine's hoof. "Let me at him, Shine! He's need to pay!"

"Red, calm down." Shine declared. "I do not want to have to prosecute my foster dad because he lost it and killed an innocent bartender."

"But... this guy was going to 'dine and dash' on her-" Big Red countered.

"What?!" Miracle spluttered. "Said who?!"

"Well, Ah only figgered-" Big Red shrugged.

"How can you say that, man?!" Blue said, appalled. " When Mist told me she was pregnant, I was scared, yeah, but I wasn't going to up and leave her! "

"You're not?" Big Red asked. "...Oh."

"Oh? Oh? OH?!" Mist tackled Big Red and began wailing on him. "You giant rock-for-brains doofus! How could you try and do this to my coltfriend?!"

"Ah was only trying to help you-" Big Red muttered.

"Help me?" Mist snorted. "What? By killing the father of my unborn foal?! And not even asking if he was going to stick around or not?!"

"Okay, Ah guess Ah might have over-reacted a little." Big Red said quietly.

"A little?!" Blue growled, regaining his courage. "My bar is wrecked!"

"And Ah'm sorry." Big Red apologized. "Ah was just scared for mah kid, is all."

"Oh, Red... I'm sorry..." Mist started getting teary again. "Me and Blue didn't meant for this to happen... it just... well, happened."

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for." Big Red smiled. "Ah mean, you are carrying mah second grandfoal. I couldn't be happier."

"And my niece or nephew." Shine added. "Look, you had nothing to be afraid or ashamed of."

"Well, I thought you guys might think less of me..." Mist admitted.

"Mist, we're your family!" Shine explained. "Sure, these are odd circumstances, but we won't stop loving you."

"Yer darn right!" Big Red agreed. "And we'll be there to help ya, if need be."

"Don't forget me, aunt Mist!" Miracle added.

"Oh, you guys..." Mist hugged them all.

"Aww…" Hurricane cooed, "I love these family moments."

"And now this just became another soap drama our parents watch." Vito deadpanned.

"Oh come off it, V." Pureblood elbowed him.

Soon after the four broke from their hug, Blue Blazes spoke up.

"Now that's all settled, there's something I gotta ask you. Mist." Blue declared. "And I want to do it before something even crazier happens..."

Reaching behind the bar, Blue pulled out a small black box.

"Is that what I think it is?" Big Red gaped.

"Blue?" Mist whispered.

"Now, Mist… I don't want you to think that I am doing this out of obligation for you and our child, but I love you… I can never tell you how grateful I am that you chose me that day that Changeling tried to take you away…" Blue Blazes explained.

"What Changeling?!" Big Red stammered. "Did I miss something?"

"You should probably read 'Growing Pains', Mr. Red." Hurricane suggested.

"The past few weeks since you told me I was going to be a father, I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I realized that now, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, raising our foal together."

He then kneeled and open the box, revealing a simple ring with a beautiful diamond on it.

"Mist Monsoon Paladin… will you marry me?" He asked.

"Oh, Blue…" Mist teared up, covering her mouth, "Yes! Yes, I will!"

Everypony in the building cheered as they embraced each other in a long kiss.

Everypony except Vito and Pureblood.

"Ugh, more sissy stuff." Vito groaned.

"Even I find this in distaste." Pureblood grimaced.

"I dunno… I think I find it romantic…" Hurricane sighed.

"At least everything turned out okay." Miracle smiled with relief.

"I'll say." Shine nodded in agreement, "Congrats, Mist."

"Thanks, bro…" Mist nodded, wiping her tears as she broke away from Blue, slipping the ring onto her wing.

"I hope you don't mind, Red." Blue said. "I really do care for her…"

"Mind? Of course not! Any pony willin' to stallion up and marry a girl he knocked up is a winner in mah book." Big Red smiled. "In fact…"

In one fell swoop, Big Red gave Blue a bear hug for the ages,

"Lemme be the first ta say, 'Welcome to the family', Blue! " Big Red declared, almost crushing the poor Pegasus.

"Gah, thanks..." Blue groaned.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and Spitfire and Soarin' flew in.

"We came as soon as we heard." Spitfire declared. "What is this about our son getting Mist preg..." She stopped when she saw Big Red apparently hurting Blue in a crushing grip. "Blue! Get your hooves off my baby boy!"

"What she said!" Soarin' added as they lunged at Big Red.

"Uh-oh." Big Red and Blue both gulped.

(Scenes missing due to graphic violence)

Inside Canterlot hospital, Mist and Blue were in the midst of an apology.

"I am so sorry about this." Mist sighed. "We didn't mean for anypony to get hurt."

"Yeah." Blue nodded. "But if it's any consolation, I'm going to be there for Mist. Mood swings, food cravings, the works, I will be there for her and my kid. I can promise you that."

Big Red suddenly popped up next to them.

"And Ah am really sorry about me breaking both yer backs." He declared. "Ah was still calming down from almost killing your son for getting mah girl pregnant that Ah kinda reacted very... violently."

Spitfire and Soarin' were in hospital beds, in full body casts.

"Oh, it's fine, Mr. Red." Spitfire declared. "I must admit, you put up a good fight for a farmer pony. And I should be sorry for reacting the way I did."

"Yeah, I was only following Spitfire's lead." Soarin' added.

"Gee, thanks, dear." Spitfire rolled her eyes.

"So... you guys aren't mad about this whole thing?" Blue asked.

"Mad?" Spitfire smiled. "Oh no. We're thrilled that we're going to be grandparents."

"We figured it would happen sooner or later... I mean, I did have that 'surprise package' back at the Nimbus a while back..." Soarin' smirked.

"What does a drink have to do with this?" Blue frowned.

"Long story." Soarin' shrugged.

Afterwards, they returned to the castle, where Mist's pregnancy was properly celebrate. Twilight was also in attendance, having been informed by Celestia.

"Congratulations!" Dusty smiled.

"Well done, Mist." Twilight congratulated Mist.

"I guess I won't be able to study much with you after I've had the baby." Mist declared.

"That's okay." Twilight smiled. "I daresay you'll learn a lot more from being a mother than you can from me."

"Way to go, pal!" Luxury slapped Blue on the back.

"Didn't know you had it in you." Constell smiled.

"Speaking of which..." Gothic glanced at his daughter. "You and Luxury haven't been doing anything questionable, right?"

"What?!" Constell blushed. "No! Of course not!"

"Yeah..." Luxury said with shifty eyes. "Of course not..."

Blue leaned in.

"Word of advice, don't rely on incantations." He whispered to Gothic. "They don't work all the time."

Meanwhile, the Crusaders were reflecting on events.

"Another new foal in the castle." Miracle smiled.

"In other words, lots of crying and dirty diapers." Vito remarked sourly.

"It won't be that bad." Pureblood declared.

"And besides, when the kid's old enough, we can help him or her get their Cutie Mark!" Hurricane smiled.

"We sure can." Miracle agreed.

"Unless we still haven't got ours by then." Vito frowned.

"Try and be positive, V." Pureblood tutted.

"Yeah." Miracle smiled. "After all, you never know what tomorrow will bring."

"Words to live by." Hurricane chuckled. "Well, that and 'ooga-booga'!"

The other Crusaders rolled their eyes at Hurricane's oddness.
> My Dad Vs. Your Dad
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Royal Guards were having their annual marksmanship test. As always, Hurricane had come to cheer on her dad.

"Go, dad!" She cheered.

"Your dad's in the Royal Guard, too?" An older, light-gray Pegasus colt with an armored hoof Cutie Mark approached her.

"Yep." Hurricane pointed to Caboose. "That's him, there."

"Well, my dad's over there." The colt pointed to Iron Hooves.

"Your dad's Iron Hooves?!" Hurricane gasped, noticing for the first time the resemblance. "For reals?"

"Sure is." The colt nodded. "I'm Gauntlet."

"Hurricane." Hurricane smiled. "And my dad's gonna own this test."

"I don't know about that." Gauntlet smirked. "My dad is the captain, after all, which makes him the best Royal Guard around..."

"Not necessarily." Hurricane declared. "Besides, my dad's the lieutenant."

"Which is a fancy way of saying 'second place'." Gauntlet sneered.

"Oh, yeah." Hurricane glared. "I bet my dad could take yours in a real contest any day of the week! Except for Sundays; He likes to sleep in."

"I'll take that bet." Gauntlet growled.

Some of the Royal Guards' wives had come to watch also. Not only was Daring among them, but also Gusty, the wife of Iron Hooves. She was a white mare with a blue mane, green eyes and a wind swirl Cutie Mark.

"I love watching Iron at work." Gusty sighed. "Who knew he could make wielding a crossbow so attractive?"

"Yeah, there's just something about a stallion in armor..." Daring chuckled.

After the test ended, Hurricane and Gauntlet rushed to meet their dads.

"Nice work out, lieutenant." Iron Hooves told Caboose. "Nice to see becoming a family stallion hasn't dulled your aim."

"Thanks, cap." Caboose smiled.

"Dad, dad!" Hurricane called.

"What is it, dear?" Caboose asked.

"Gauntlet said his dad is better than you!" Hurricane glared at Gauntlet.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Iron frowned.

"It's true, though." Gauntlet shrugged. "You're the best there is, dad."

"That's not what being a Royal Guard is all about, son." Iron declared. "It's about being part of a regiment."

"Yeah, but you're the best part!" Gauntlet insisted.

"No, my dad is!" Hurricane declared. "And to prove it, we're going to have a little contest."

"Now, kids..." Iron sighed.

"Eh, why not?" Caboose shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Very well..." Iron rolled his eyes. "But let's make it fast."

"Great!" Hurricane and Gauntlet cheered.

The four gathered at the shooting range, as Iron and Caboose took their positions.

"Okay, let's see who scores the most bullseyes!" Gauntlet declared.

"Knock him dead, dad!" Hurricane cheered.

Caboose and Iron took aim and fired a volley of bolts at the targets. After both crossbows were emptied, the two children inspected the target… only to see that they both scored the same amount of bullseyes.

"Whoa… they're the same!" Hurricane gasped.

"That can't be…" Gauntlet muttered. "Your dad can't be that good with a crossbow."

"Have you seen my dad's collection of crossbow catalogs?" Hurricane smirked. "He has more than my uncle Murray, and he's the ultimate markspony in all of Bitaly!"

"Well, guess that settles it!" Iron smiled, "Me and Caboose are evenly matched."

"Not so fast!" Hurricane held up a hoof. "It's obvious that this is way too easy. Anypony can hit a stationary target… but can they do it… blindfolded?"

"Blindfolded?" Caboose asked. "Isn't that kinda dangerous?"

"Course not." Gauntlet shrugged. "But if you're scared, feel free to forfeit."

"My dad's not scared of anything!" Hurricane yelled.

"Then why doesn't he prove it?" Gauntlet taunted.

"He will!" Hurricane scowled. "Right, dad?"

"Well... Caboose mumbled.

"Great!" Hurricane smiled. "Let's go!"

A short while later, another challenge was set; Both Caboose and Iron were tasked with using their crossbows to hit the bullseye of a target... while blindfolded (unable to find blindfolds, the kids covered their fathers' eyes with their hooves).

"And... shoot!" Hurricane declared.

Caboose fired his crossbow, hitting the bullseye.

"Yes!" Hurricane cheered.

"Your turn, dad." Gauntlet declared.

Iron fired his own crossbow, also hitting the bullseye.

"It's a tie again." He smiled. "Can we go back to work now?"

"Not yet." Hurricane frowned.

"Okay, we need more duress." Gauntlet declared. "Shooting at the target with noises..."

"Huh?" Caboose asked.

"It's like this..." Gauntlet started to explain.

Another short while later, Hurricane had brought her fellow Crusaders over.

"So... you want us to yell while your dads try to hit a target?" Miracle asked.

"Yep." Hurricane nodded.

"Mind if I ask why?" Vito scowled.

"So we know who's dad is best!" Hurricane declared.

"What does it matter who's 'best'?" Pureblood asked. "And why are you trying to prove something to somepony you just met?"

"Because, that's why!" Hurricane yelled. "Now get into position!"

Sighing, the other Crusaders got into place. Pureblood and Vito yelled at Caboose, and Miracle and Hurricane at Iron.

"What you gonna do?!" Vito taunted. "You're a filthy little stallion, aren't ya?!"

"Yeah, you suck!" Pureblood called. He then frowned. "Too much?!"

"No!" Caboose fired. "You're good!"

"Your coat is perfect!" Hurricane told Iron. "Your mane looks like it was spun by Rumpelstiltskin! Why are you so under-paid?!"

"Yeah-huh?" Miracle did a double-take.

"Huh?" Iron lowered his bow.

The score ended up the same.

"Gosh dang it!" Gauntlet griped. "Tied again?!"

"Time for a tie-breaker-breaker!" Hurricane declared. "...But what?"

"Okay, I got it." Gauntlet smiled. "Both of you, leapfrog Vito and Pureblood, barrel roll, then pop up and shoot. How's that sound?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Blueblood walked onto the shooting range.

"That sounds like a safety code violation." He declared.

"Come on, Blueblood, we're trying to settle something here." Hurricane groaned.

"I'm sorry, but as prince, I will require you all to vacate the shooting range... sorry." Blueblood apologized.

"Killjoy..." Gauntlet said under his breath.

"What was that?" Blueblood frowned.

"Nothing, sir." Gauntlet said. As Blueblood left, he added "Stick in the mud..."

"Looks like we'll never know who's number one..." Caboose sighed.

"Oh, no, dad, we are going to settle this... we just need to try something else..." Hurricane smiled. "Ooh, I know! One lap around the gardens! First one to cross the finish line wins!"

"But Sweetie, we have to get back to work." Caboose groaned.

"Pleaaase, daddy?" Hurricane put on her best puppy dog face.

"Oh, fine." Caboose groaned.

"Your daughter has a killer sad face." Iron whispered to her.

"Tell me about it. And I thought my ex Peaches Cream had me wrapped around her hoof…" Caboose shook his head.

They set up a starting point, and the race began. Unbelievably, Caboose and Iron crossed the finish line at the same time.

"No way!" Gauntlet groaned, "My dad is way more athletic than yours! That can't be!"

"Well, Gauntlet, when you accidentally put an animal attraction spell on yourself, you learn to try and outrun everything you can." Caboose explained, while panting profusely. "Either way, it's still a tie."

"Oh, come on!" Hurricane yelped. "Next challenge!"

They came up with the challenge of fixing two broken down carriages. Once again, they finished at the same time.

"…And done!" Caboose and Iron said, setting their wrenches down at the same time.

"Tie." Pureblood announced.

"Dammit!" Caboose and Iron cursed.

"This is so unreal..." Gauntlet cringed.

"Another tie." Hurricane groaned.

"Good thing my cousin Armando owns a scrap shop in Mexicolt..." Caboose muttered.

"Wait... what?" Iron asked.

"Nothing." Caboose said quickly.

"I don't know about you guys, but I've got better things to do then watch the world's longest stalemate." Vito said sourly. "I'm outta here."

"For once, Vito's right." Pureblood agreed.

"Sorry, Hurri." Miracle sighed. "I've got stuff to do."

"Fine, traitors!" Hurricane yelled. "We can win without you! Next challenge!"

"How about keeping afloat in water while holding soldier gears and a crossbow overhead?" Gauntlet suggested.

"Yeah, sure." Hurricane shrugged. "But what kind of water?"

Shine and Celestia were on their way to their royal bathchamber.

"Ready for a... thorough scrubbing, my dear?" Shine chuckled.

"I certainly am." Celestia giggled.

They entered the room... only to find Caboose and Iron standing in the middle of the bath, with Hurricane and Gauntlet watching.

"What the... what the heck?!" Shine gasped. "Why are you two in our giant royal bath?"

"Sorry, Mr. Shine, but we had to prove which of our dads is the best." Hurricane explained.

"We couldn't use the shooting range, so we had to find another skill for them to do." Gauntlet added.

"Don't worry, your majesties, we will be out of your way in no time!" Iron assured them. "I think Lieutenant Caboose is about to quit!"

"Ha! My trophies in synchronized swimming say you don't know what you are talking about!" Caboose boasted.

"The suspense is killing me." Celestia deadpanned.

"Get out!" Shine yelled. "This is my and cherryblossom's private time!"

"But sir, we're still tied!" Gauntlet begged.

"I don't care." Shine frowned. "You'll just have to settle this elsewhere!"

"But Shine-" Caboose pleaded.

"Celestia, would you please…" Shine urged.

"Gladly." Celestia used her magic to heat up the water. Both Caboose and Iron were gritting their teeth in pain from the heat.

"Holy... why aren't you getting out?!" Shine spluttered. "The water is scorching hot!"

"What... this?" Iron said through gritted teeth, trying not to scream. "This... is... nothing. I get singed by dragons all the time..."

"Ha..." Caboose seethed. "I'm so hot, coals walk on me!"

"What does that even mean?!" Iron gasped in pain.

"I don't know!" Caboose screeched, as they both hopped out of the water, their butts steaming and them screaming.

"Tie again..." Hurricane sighed. "Ooh, wait, I've got a good one!"

Hurricane's idea turned out to be a cooking contest. A pregnant Mist, along with Blue Blazes and Constell, were judging, as Caboose and Iron made two meals. Iron had made a stir-fried rice and dandelion dish with radish sauce, while Caboose had settled for hayburgers. The judges tasted the food.

In the dining room, Mist, now sporting a two-month baby bump on her belly, was at the table, alongside with her fiancée Blue Blazes, and Constell.

"Thank you three for helping us with this." Gauntlet nodded.

"No problem." Mist shrugged. "I've been hankering for a snack."

"Anything for one of my best customers." Blue winked at Hurricane.

"As for me, I was just bored." Constell admitted.

"Yeah, I want to see your dad try and beat my dad in cooking." Hurricane bragged. "He was taught by one of the greatest cooks in Bitaly… my uncle Sonny!"

"We'll see about that!" Gauntlet growled.

Caboose and Iron came in, holding silver trays, as they set them down in front of the three.

"Okay, we have prepared two dishes for you, you three decide which is better." Iron explained.

"What are the dishes exactly?" Blue Blazes asked.

"Well, I don't know about Caboose, but I have prepared rice, stir-fried to perfection, topped with dandelion flowers and sweet radish sauce. Old family recipe." Iron smiled, as he unveiled his tray to be as such.

"Ooh…" The three judges expressed interest.

"As for me, I went with a simple yet classic recipe." Caboose smirked as he revealed his dish… to be a simple hayburger. "Two buns, a hay patty cooked thoroughly, topped with lettuce, tomato, two pickles, and to add personal flavor, ketchup exported from Bitaly."

"Bon appetit." Iron declared, as both bowed away.

The three judges took a bite from both dishes, and after a few minutes of deliberation…

"Caboose." Blue declared, prompting him to seize up. "I have to hand it to you. I've had a lot of hayburgers growing up and traveling with my parents, and admittedly, I'd gotten sick of them…" Caboose cringed. "And you somehow restored my faith in them. Never before had I seen a burger so well done. I don't know how Bitaly did it, but the ketchup was amazing! I vote for you, man."

Caboose smirked with pride.

"Iron." Constell smiled, catching the captain's attention. "I admired the dedication you had put into this dish, and it showed. The radish sauce was a risky play, but it paid out in the end, and with dandelions to sweeten the deal, this dish is to die for. I vote for you, captain."

Iron did a little hoof bump. Then everypony turned to Mist.

"Well, Caboose and Iron... both dishes were obviously done well, and there was something unique that I loved in both of them…so I vote for… both of you." Mist announced. The others looked at her in shock. "What? I'm pregnant... and hungry!"

"Well, that's over with. I have to go, I promised I'd meet Luxury for coffee." Constell got up.

"And I need to read up on all the books on raising foals." Mist declared, getting up as well. "Though I could use a handsome stud to give me a back rub…" She winked at Blue.

"Right with you, hon." Blue chuckled.

The judges left, as Iron and Caboose, as well as Hurricane and Gauntlet were stupefied.

"Did they seriously tie again?" Gauntlet groaned.

"Can't be!" Hurricane shook her head. "Nopony can beat my dad in cooking!"

"That's ridiculous!" Gauntlet snorted. "Taste my dad's cooking!"

"Not unless you taste mine!" Hurricane demanded.

The two take a bite out of each others' father's meal.

"Mmm..." Hurricane smiled.

"Mmm..." Gauntlet savored the taste.

"Okay..." Iron said.

"This is gettin' awkward." Caboose admitted.

The next day, Daring and Gusty saw Caboose and Iron walking slowly through the corridors of the castle, both looking tired.

"Wow, you both look awful." Daring declared.

"Hurricane and Gauntlet proposed a constellation counting contest to see who's the better navigator." Caboose explained.

"Yeah, and we tied... although Caboose cheated." Iron added.

"I'm telling you, left-hooved corkscrew is a thing!" Caboose said hotly.

"No, it's not." Iron countered.

"Yeah, it's not." Daring agreed.

"Ugh..." Caboose groaned.

"That's why you didn't come in last night?" Gusty asked. "Because of some ridiculous contest the kids cooked up?"

"We had no choice." Iron sighed. "They just won't stop."

"They're waiting for us right now." Caboose groaned.

"Why don't one of you just take a dive?" Daring asked.

"I can't disappoint Hurricane like that!" Caboose declared.

"Me neither." Iron nodded. "If I'm going to lose, I'll lose fair and square."

Out in the courtyard, they were playing the latest challenge: Rock, paper, scissors.

"One, two, three, shoot." Iron and Caboose chanted, both producing 'rock'. "Dammit."

"We even have flawless roshambo strategies." Caboose declared.

"We've been at this for thirty hours straight." Iron yawned.

"Yeah... this is getting boring." Hurricane sat down. "I'm tired."

"Wait, that's it!" Gauntlet exclaimed. "Whoever falls asleep first loses and gets something written on their forehead."

"Sleep deprivation, I like your way of thinking, son." Iron smiled.

"The only question is where?" Caboose muttered.

"How about here?" Hurricane gestured to the bench, "You two can sit here, while we watch."

"Good. It's high time we settle this." Iron sighed.

"My thoughts exactly." Caboose yawned.

Caboose and Iron sat on a nearby bench, trying their best to fight the tiredness creeping over them. Hurricane and Gauntlet sat on another bench, watching them. After a while, it started to get boring, and the two drifted into idle conversation.

"I had no idea your dad could fix a carriage." Hurricane declared.

"Me neither." Gauntlet smiled. "Your dad's pretty awesome."

"Yours, too." Hurricane smiled back.

"I've always been so proud of my dad for being captain." Gauntlet declared.

"I'm proud of my dad, too." Hurricane agreed. "Guess that's something we've got in common."

"Sure is." Gauntlet agreed. "That, and comin' up with contest ideas. Good call on the cooking contest, by the way."

"Thanks." Hurricane grinned. "And that water contest was a stroke of genius."

"I try." Gauntlet nodded.

They continued talking as the contest wore on, gradually losing interest in their conflict. At one point, the exhausted Caboose glanced over to see Gauntlet and Hurricane sleeping close to each other.

"Aw... my baby girl's first boy crush." Caboose smiled. "Look, Iron-" He noticed Iron was asleep, leaning on him. "Huh... I win..." He smiled... then took out a marker and drew "Caboose Rulez" on Iron's face, "Sorry, captain, but rules are rules."

Caboose slowly got up, and walked over and took his sleeping daughter onto his back as the tired father walked home. Back at the bench, with nothing holding him up, Iron fell over.

"Ow." Iron said drowsily.
> The Legion Of Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nightmare Night had come again. The CMCR had all travelled to Ponyville for the festivities. Caboose had offered to chaperone their antics, as Shine, Celestia, Blueblood, and Dusty were busy with royal matters, and Daring opted to stay home for trick-or-treaters with Michael.

The parents were a bit hesitant at first, but Caboose promised that his brother Grimoire would be there, as well as Zecora.

Miracle was wearing a phoenix costume, Hurricane had donned a combination explorer/Royal Guard armor (emulating both her parents), Pureblood was dressed like a dragon, and Vito wore a sea serpent costume.

"So this is Ponyville?" Vito looked around. "How quaint."

"It's a pretty nice place." Pureblood agreed. "Doesn't have all the hustle and bustle of Canterlot."

"The crystal castle kinda throws off the small town vibe, though." Hurricane declared.

"Yeah, not to mention it's a bit hard on the eyes." Caboose agreed. His outfit was surely something odd. He was wearing some sort of blue armored suit, covering his entire body, and he had a peculiar helmet with yellow-tinted visor.

"Again, Uncle Caboose, who are you supposed to be?" Vito asked.

"A space marine." Caboose answered, "My cousins Church and Tucker gave it to me when I visited them in Blood Gulch… before I accidentally shot Church with a cannon."

"Well, I think it fits you well, dad." Hurricane smiled.

"Thanks, sweetie." Caboose nodded. "It's as if the guy who made me was inspired by this costume."

"Hey, Caboose!"

The five were approached by Grimoire and Zecora. Zecora was donning her traditional Nightmare Night outfit, while Grimm…was just wearing his normal mafia tuxedo.

"Hiya, Grim!" Caboose greeted, "How ya know it was me?"

"Let's be serious, 'Boose, you're the only pony I know who would go as a 'space marine' in Equestria." Grimoire smiled.

"Hush now, Grim." Zecora declared. "I think it's a perfect costume for him."

"Thanks, new sis." Caboose smiled.

"Grandpa!" Vito and Pureblood hugged Grimoire.

"Hi, boys." Grimoire smiled. "Having fun?"

"You bet!" Vito nodded.

"Hi, grandma." Pureblood said to Zecora.

"And hi to you, grandson true." Zecora smiled.

"Happy Nightmare Night, uncle Grim!" Hurricane declared.

"You too, Hurri." Grimoire chuckled.

"Nice to see you again, sir." Miracle nodded, having met Grimoire once or twice over the years.

"I'm sure it is, little lady." Grimoire smiled. 

"So, you didn't dress up this year, Grim?" Caboose asked.

"Of course I did, Caboose… I'm the mafia don of a very successful crime family." Grimm declared with fervor.

"But Uncle Grim, aren't you already a maf-" Hurricane began before getting her mouth covered by Caboose.

"That'll do, sweetie, that'll do." Caboose chuckled nervously.

"Funny, I'd have thought everypony knew by now." Vito shrugged.

"Me too." Pureblood agreed.

"First rule of the business, boys: 'Don't ask, don't tell'." Grimoire declared.

"Enough talk, guys." Miracle smiled. "Time to get us some candy!"

"Just don't stray too far, kids!" Caboose called.

"We won't, dad!" Hurricane yelled back.

The Crusaders made their to the nearest house, and knocked on the door. When it opened, they sang "Nightmare Night, what a fright, give us something sweet to bite!"

"Oh, aren't you adorable?" The grey, wonky-eyed Pegasus mare cooed. "I have something sweet for you!"

The mare gave each of them a miniature muffin.

"Enjoy!" She beamed.

"I was expecting candy, but this'll do." Vito shrugged. "Now, onto the next house."

It turned out to be quite a lucrative evening; Their candy bags were soon overflowing.

"Wow, what a turnout." Vito smirked. "For being a middle-of-nowhere kind of place, they really don't skimp on the treats."

"And everypony's so friendly." Pureblood added.

"And they know good costumes when they see them." Hurricane declared. "Nopony can take their eyes off mine!"

"I'm not sure that's the reason, Hurri..." Miracle pointed out.

"Hey, kids!" Caboose called. "Come on! Grim and Zecora need to take you to the statue!"

"Coming, dad!" Hurricane yelled.

Grimoire and Zecora led the Crusaders and a group of other trick-or-treaters to the statue of Nightmare Moon.

"Hmm, seems like the perfect night for Nightmare Moon to gallivant and strike fear into the hearts of many... I sure hope all you kids have a good enough offering for her statue when we get there..." Grimoire said spookily.

The assembled foals muttered nervously.

"Oh my... this Nightmare Moon lady sounds very scary..." Hurricane trembled.

"No kiddin'... I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it." Pureblood agreed.

"Oh, please, Pure, we all know Nightmare Moon isn't real." Vito snorted.

"Vito..." Miracle said sternly.

"Come on, Miracle." Vito smirked. "We all know that Nightmare Moon is actually Auntie Luna. That gimmick of hers has gotten old."

"Hey, just because we know who she is doesn't make it any less scary." Pureblood pointed out. "Luna is real good with scaring ponies."

"Not me." Vito boasted. "I don't see why we're even giving our candy to her. What would she do with them?"

"Maybe she gives them to the less fortunate?" Miracle suggested.

"Look, I don't know about you, but I'm not going to give my candy away because 'Nightmare Moon' tells me to." Vito declared. "I'm not afraid of her..."

Grimoire suddenly appeared in front of him.

"I wouldn't recommend that, grandson... it is never a good idea to stiff the goddess of nightmares." He announced.

"Come on, grandpa, even you should know that Nightmare Moon is Luna." Vito rolled his eyes. "I think everypony here knows that."

"I didn't." Hurricane shrugged.

"Trust me, Vito, you do not want to anger Nightmare Moon." Grimoire warned.

"Really?" Vito snorted. "I don't think Auntie Luna is going to care whether or not I give her my candy."

"Maybe not Luna... but her minions will..." Grimoire smirked.

"What?" Vito asked.

"Come again?" Pureblood gulped.

"Minions?" Miracle whispered.

"Whatcha talking about, uncle Grim?" Hurricane asked.

"Dear, will you kindly take the rest of the kids to the statue, while I see to it that these four get there shortly?" Grimoire asked Zecora.

"Of course, my dear." Zecora nodded. "To the statue, I will steer."

"You too, Caboose." Grimm pointed to Caboose.

"Okay!" Caboose nodded happily, as he trotted off after the group as Zecora led the other kids away, leaving the five of them in the forest.

Grimoire simply sat down on a nearby stump, and cleared his throat.

"You see, children, I have heard many stories in my lifetime... stories that send shivers down the bravest spines, baffles the most brilliant minds, and quite honestly, makes most ponies wet themselves." He declared. "'Story of the Blanks', 'Cupcakes', 'Sweet Apple Massacre', 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent', 'Resident Evil'... these are only a hoof-full of stories I heard that disturbed many, yours truly included. But none of them compares to a legend that my father told me and my brothers, that is not only true, but is easily the most horrifying tale I had ever heard told... 'Legione di Incubo'..."

The four kids frowned in confusion.

"Come again?" Vito asked.

"Oh, right..." Grimoire chuckled softly. "Or in Equestrian's tongue, 'The Legion of Nightmare'."

"Legion of Nightmare?" Hurricane shivered.

"Should I stop, Hurricane?" Grimoire asked worriedly, "Wouldn't want to give you nightmares."

"No, I'm fine." Hurricane insisted.

"Tell us more, grandpa!" Pureblood urged.

"Gladly." Grimoire smiled. "You see, in Equestria, you kids were only told of Nightmare Moon, and how she tried to cast Equestria into endless night and spread fear throughout the lands, right?"

"That's what my mother told me." Miracle confirmed, as the others nodded in agreement.

"Well, here's a twist... you see, before Nightmare went and become one with Princess Luna, she wanted to try and plant her roots all over the world, for she would be too busy with Equestria to spread night and fear everywhere else... so, in the form of a dark blue mist, Nightmare scoured the world, looking for souls black as hers to join her in shrouding the world in complete darkness... in the end... she found seven..." Grimoire narrated.

"Seven?" Vito asked.

"Seven?" Hurricane also asked, fear in her voice.

"Seven." Grimoire nodded. Seven ponies, each one of them more demented than the last. The first Nightmare found was at the bottom of a lake known as 'Crystal Lake', a pony whose disfigured face is hidden to the world by a hockey mask, who seeks vengeance upon anypony who happened upon his lake... Jason Voorhooves was his name. The second was a pony, burned alive beyond recognition, once doomed to stalk ponies in their dreams with clawed hooves, Elm Street being his domain... Freddy Kanter. The third, from the heart of Buxas, a cannibal who wears a mask, made of the skins of the ponies he killed, who knows his way around a chainsaw... Jed Saddler... or Leathermuzzle..."

"...Those three sound like monsters from very bad horror movies." Vito said derisively.

"Do not interrupt, Vito." Grimoire admonished his grandson. "The fourth pony came from a small town named Silent Haystacks, having been born from a stallion's need for penance, donning a big red pyramid for a head...earning his namesake as Pyramid Head. The fifth was found on an island of Shadow Mareses, a psychotic pony gifted with telekinetic abilities and the ability to disregard the fourth wall, being one known as Screwball Mantis. And the sixth... well, came from an unlikely place, as this pony... wasn't a pony... but rather an animatronic bear of a pretty cruddy pizzeria."

"Then why-" Pureblood started.

"He's a suit possessed by the vengeful spirit of a murdered child." Grimoire stated, silencing Pureblood. "Fetlock Fazbear was his name..."

"And the last?" Miracle asked.

"Well, Miracle... once Nightmare had gathered six of the minions in one place, she was approached by a spirit... a spirit more malevolent than the first six combined... a spirit whose name forever be known as... Slendermane." Grimoire stated.

The four, even Vito, were beginning to look perturbed.

"Now Slendermane was a complete mystery." Grimoire continued. "Nopony knew who he was, where he came from, or how he came to be... but it is said that he hunts the woods of the world, lurking around for beings who would dare take the notes he had posted on trees to call forth his fellow spirits. It isn't said what he did to those poor ponies... but one can say for sure... he is a pale white pony, wearing a black suit and tie... and he had no face. Needless to say, Nightmare found her seventh champion of darkness and leader of the 'Legione di Incubo'."

"What became of them after Nightmare Moon disappeared?" Miracle asked.

"Well, after Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, her seven followers were left to their own devices, spreading terror and darkness throughout the land, as Nightmare had intended. To this day, if anypony were to defy Nightmare Moon her tribute, the seven would gather and hunt down those foolish enough and..."

Miracle, Pureblood, and Hurricane were terrified, while Vito gave a scoff.

"Oh, please." He smirked. "Laid it on a little too thick with that last one, grandpa."

"Oh, would you look at the time?" Grimoire checked his watch. "We'd better get off to that statue before it gets late."

They soon arrived at the statue. One by one, the kids produced some offerings... except for Vito.

"I'm not giving any of my candy away." He declared, holding his bag protectively. "Because there is no Nightmare Moon, or Legion of the Nightmare, for that matter."

"But V..." Pureblood urged.

"There's nothing to worry about." Vito declared. "Trust me."

"Well, we'll be playing it safe." Miracle dumped some candy.

"You kids head back to Ponyville." Grimoire instructed. "We'll be right behind you."

"You heard the stallion." Caboose smiled. "Come on, kids."

As they headed back, Vito was still proclaiming his disbelief.

"The whole thing's just crazy, if you ask me." He snorted. "Legion of Nightmare... There's no such thing!"

"Don't be so sure." Caboose chided him. "I thought there was no such thing as sock monkeys, but I was wrong!" His expression darkened. "Dead wrong."

"Sock monkeys are one thing, uncle Caboose, but Slendermane? Jason Voorhooves? Fetlock Fazbear? That's just stupid." Vito insisted.

Soon, they came across a tree with a note on it…

"Huh? A note on a tree in the middle of a forest? That's weird." Caboose mused.

"Let me see." Vito approached the note.

"Wait, don't, Vito!" Hurricane jumped on Vito.

"Gah, Hurri, what's with you?!" Vito pushed her off.

"Don't you remember what Uncle Grimm said about Slendermane? He goes after ponies who takes his notes off the trees!" Hurricane reminded him.

"For Pete's sake, Hurri, grandpa only made that up to scare us. Besides, it's just a piece of paper, nothing for 'Slendermane' to cry about." Vito snorted.

"Think about what you're doing, Vito…" Pureblood warned.

Vito just scoffed as he ripped the note off the tree with his magic and looked at it.

"Don't look… or it takes you." Vito read, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know, and I don't care… let's get out of here!" Hurricane whimpers.

"Yeah, this place is starting to give me the willies." Miracle shuddered.

Just then, there was sounds of twigs snapping, echoing all around them.

"What was that?" Hurricane quivered.

"Maybe it's the Legion of Nightmare." Vito joked.

"Not funny, V!" Pureblood said through chattering teeth.

"Hello?" Miracle called.

Suddenly, eerie music began to play as what sounded like demented laughter were heard, along with the sound of steel scraping against the ground.

Even Caboose was getting frightened.

"Okay, show yourself!" Caboose nervously declared, "If this is some sort of prank to scare us…it's sorta working!"

Then, as if coming out of nowhere, a figure approached… a pony wearing a hockey mask and a tattered, waterlogged coat. Levitating aside him was a machete with dried blood.

"Oh my gosh… it's him… Jason Voorhooves." Hurricane quivered more.

More demented laughter echoed, as coming from the side came a stallion with burned skin, a red-and-green striped sweater and a fedora, and claws on one hoof, being dragged along a tree.

"Freddy Kanter…" Pureblood gaped.

A guttural growl ensued, as coming from another direction was a rather big pony wearing a messed up suit, and a mask that looked like it was made out of numerous ponies' faces. But that scary feature lacked in comparison to the big chainsaw it was lugging.

"No... it's Leathermuzzle." Miracle whispered.

The sound of steel dragging along the ground grew louder as coming aside Jason was a pony, wearing some sort of a dirtied butcher's smock, with a big red pyramid for a head, dragging a big rusty knife along the ground.

"Holy… it's big 3-D Triangle Head!" Caboose jumped in horror.

The pony slung it's knife overhead, slamming it in front of him.

"Alright, Pyramid Head." Caboose rolled his eyes.

The kids had no time to question how Caboose interpreted that, as materializing between Jason and Freddy was a pony wearing a jumpsuit and a face-concealing gas mask, somehow floating in mid-air.

"No way, it's Screwball Mantis!" Pureblood stammered.

"This can't be right… these guys can't be…" Vito tried to reason, but then a dark chuckle echoed.

The five finally glanced over between Leathermuzzle and Pyramid Head, as a robot-like bear with a bowler hat and a bowtie showed up, being the one who was laughing.

"No… Fetlock Fazbear…" Vito gasped in horrification, "If that thing is here, then…"

A strong gust of wind blew through them, sending shivers down their spines, when the CMCR and Caboose sensed something behind them. They looked behind and their jaws dropped…

As standing behind him was a stallion in a black suit with a blank face…

"No way..." Vito gasped.

"So, holdin' out on us, huh?" Freddy Kanter sneered. "Naughty boy..."

"You're not real..." Vito stuttered. "You can't be real!"

"Th-they look pretty real to m-me." Pureblood stuttered.

"You know what we're here for." Freddy snarled. "Give up the candy!"

"Or else I'll make you have to switch to the second control pad port!" Screwball Mantis added.

"Huh, that sounds like something I'd say." Caboose noted.

"Oh, really?" Screwball challenged, as he then waved his hooves. "You seem to like making movie and game references, don't you?"

"Gah! How did you know that?!" Caboose jumped.

"Uh, duh, silly…" Fetlock Fazbear said in a kiddy voice, fitting of a mascot. "He's Screwball Buckin' Mantis."

Leathermuzzle let out another growl.

"Uh-oh, we better speed this along, Leathermuzzle said he left a poor filly hanging on a meathook back in Buxas." Freddy noted. "And he prefers his meals livin'"

The Pyramid Head made a few head gestures.

"Aw, sick, Pyramid! We don't need to know about the mannequins!" Fetlock groaned.

Jason stomped his hooves.

"Quite right, Jason, we're getting' off topic here." Screwball agreed, as he then turned to Vito. "Now give us the candy, boy, or things are goin' to get messy."

"Vito, you heard the creepy flying pony, the candy!" Caboose gestured.

"N-never!" Vito clutched his bag.

"Vito, give them the candy!" Hurricane yelled.

"No way!" Vito shook his head.

"Eh, your funeral." Freddy shrugged.

"Man, I really hoped I didn't have to do this." Fetlock sighed. "At least stuffing you into a robotic suit will be easier than it was stuffing poor Schmidt. Lot less messy too."

The Legion advanced on them; Jason waved his machete, while Leathermuzzle readied his chainsaw, as well as Pyramid Head with his giant knife. Freddie waved his claw fingers and Fetlock simply cracked his fists… as well as his jaws.

The quartet and Caboose turned to run, but they were blocked by Slendermane, looking at them with a literal blank expression.

"Come on, Mr. Slendermane, we gave Nightmare Moon the candy, at least let us go!" Hurricane pleaded.

"Hey!" Vito growled.

Slendermane remained expressionless, as he then turned to the note on the ground, and then to Vito.

"Oh, the note?" Vito enquired nervously, "It… it fell off. You know, because of the wind." He chuckled nervously.

Unfortunately, Slendermane seemed to have not taken kindly to the excuse, as shadowy tendrils began to materialize from his shadows…

"Oh, just give them the candy, V!" Pureblood pleaded.

"Yeah, what's more important: Your candy, or your life?" Miracle urged.

"Can I think about it?" Vito asked.

"No!" The others yelled, as the Legion grew closer.

"Somepony needs to work on his priorities..." Fetlock Fazbear taunted. "And fast!"

"Yeah, even the kids I stalked in their dreams were smarter… and they were hormonal teenagers." Freddy joked.

"Okay, fine!" Vito emptied the bag of most of its contents. "Take it! Just leave us alone!"

"Time to make like a tree, and get outta here!" Caboose declared.

With that done, Caboose and the Crusaders turned tail and galloped back to Ponyville, rushing past Slendermane (who oddly stepped aside), trying to ignore the laughter of the demonic legion. As they reached the town square, they found that Princess Luna herself had arrived.

"Children. Caboose. What are you do-" Luna was about to enquire.

"I'm sorry, aunt Luna!" Vito threw himself at her hooves. "I'll never be stingy with my candy again! Just promise to call off your Legion!"

"My... what?" Luna asked.

"The Legion of Nightmare!" Pureblood yelped. "We just saw them in the forest!"

"You must be mistaken." Luna frowned. "I did a lot of bad things as Nightmare Moon, but forming a 'Legion' wasn't one of them."

"Really?" Hurricane gasped.

"Then who were they?" Miracle asked.

"And we cut to..." Caboose declared.

Meanwhile, back in the forest…

Zecora was traveling through the woods, when she was suddenly surrounded by the Legion...all but one.

"SKREEEE!" Fetlock screamed, jumping in front of the zebra... only for Zecora to punch him.

"Oww!" Fetlock whined, pulling off his head to reveal Vinny underneath, "What was that for?"

"You thought you could give me a fright?" Zecora growled. "I do not fear monsters, on this, or any other night!"

"Oh, you're no fun, Zecora." Pyramid Head suddenly spoke, as the pyramid was lifted off his head, revealing Slot, as he rubbed his neck. "Man, that pyramid is a killer on the neck."

"At least you didn't have to concentrate 24-7 to stay floating." Screwball deadpanned, as he dropped to the ground, and pulled off the gas mask to reveal himself as Lars.

"I must say, Salt, you pulled Leathermuzzle off to the T." Jason complimented, peeling off his hockey mask to show a smiling Murray beneath.

"Thanks." Salt nodded, slinging the chainsaw on his back and lifting his mask. "But the 'leaving a poor filly on a meat-hook' bit was killer, Sonny."

"You supplied, I delivered." Freddie Kanter chuckled, rubbing the scars off to show Sonny's face.

Zecora shook her head with a smile as suddenly, she came face to face with Slendermane.

"Oh, and whom might you be, mister faceless pony?" Zecora asked with a knowing smile.

Slendermane then gave what seemed to be a muted chuckle, as it then pulled it's blank face back, revealing Grimm.

"Haha, surprise, Zecora, love." Grimm laughed.

"And just what is this?" Zecora asked. "Some manner of diss?"

"Just thought we'd have a little Nightmare Night fun." Murray smiled. "And added a little more candy to the offering."

"Nice costumes, huh?" Salt chuckled. "Real convincing."

"A little too convincing, in my case." Vinny nursed his bruised muzzle.

"'Or else I'll make you have to switch to the second control pad port'?" Sonny asked Lars. "What was that about?"

"Just something I heard Caboose say once." Lars shrugged, "Figured it would perfect the illusion that is Screwball Mantis."

"Who says Nightmare Night is just for kids?" Slot smirked. "Speaking of which, did you see the looks on their faces?"

"Yeah, and when Grimm saw that note, I swear poor little V wet himself." Vinny chortled.

"Too bad we couldn't have brought Caboose in on it." Salt sighed.

"He probably would have messed it up, somehow." Slot said sceptically. "Y'know, given the whole prank away."

"You may have a point there." Lars agreed. "Remember that prank we played on the Bitalian prime minister back in the day?"

"Don't remind me." Sonny shuddered. "Caboose really messed up that time. Good thing the trauma made the minister forget the whole thing, or we'd've gotten life for that one."

"Well, I think that's enough fun for tonight, boys." Grimoire declared. "Let's head back."

The brothers complied. Meanwhile, Grimoire sidled up to Zecora.

"Ever spent a night with a demon before?" He grinned. "I hear that Slendermane has a likin' for zebra mares…"

"I cannot say so." Zecora purred, nuzzling against him. "Lead the way, my handsome beau."

While Grimm and Zecora headed home to Zecora's hut, the other brothers were still celebrating their prank as they head back to town…

Vinny sniffed his suit and grimaced. "Eeh, this suit really does smell like a 'reanimated carcass'."

"Well, that Phone Guy was selling it cheap." Lars reasoned.

"Yeah, but I still think we should had gotten that fox robot instead. He looked and sounded way scarier." Slot shrugged.

"Naw, Vinny would had never fitted in Foxy." Salt snarked.

"Oh, up yours, Salt." Vinny pouted, "At least I-"

Suddenly a rustling sound caught their attention.

"What was that?" Murray gasped.

"P-probably just the wind." Slot gulped.

There was the sound of a twig snapping.

"The wind can't do that." Lars trembled.

"Grim?" Sonny called.

A shadowy, winged figure suddenly flew past them, its leathery wings flapping hard.

"What was that?!" Salt yelped, holding his chainsaw up in defense.

"I don't know." Vinny quivered. "And I'm not sure I want to."

"Let's get out of this creepy forest." Murray suggested.

A vicious hiss echoed.

"And step on it!" Sonny yelled in horror.

The brothers rushed out in fear, all the while being watched by the shadowy figure perched on a tree branch, its golden eyes glinting in the moonlight.
> A Miracle Of Love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Crusaders were working on another Cutie Mark finding project when a familiar carriage landed in the courtyard.

"Hey, aunt Twilight's here!" Miracle smiled.

The Crusaders raced to greet her.

"Hi, aunt Twilight." Pureblood smiled.

"Hi, kids." Twilight beamed.

"What brings you here?" Vito asked.

"Just some talks over this year's Hearth's Warming Eve celebrations." Twilight shrugged.

"Sounds boring." Hurricane frowned.

"It is." Twilight sighed. "But nopony said being a princess was all fun and games."

Just then, Spike came out of the carriage. No longer the little baby dragon he was once, he had grown to be as tall as Twilight, his body becoming broader and more shapely.

"D-dragon!" Vito yelped, hiding between Pureblood.

"What's your problem?" Hurricane asked.

"I d-don't like dragons!" Vito trembled.

"There's nothing to worry about, Vito." Twilight chuckled. "Spike wouldn't hurt a fly."

"That's not what those teeth are saying!" Vito gulped.

"Easy, kiddo-" Spike, his voice deeper than it once was, stepped forward.

"He's attacking!" Vito ran away. "Aaah!"

"...Well, that wasn't very friendly." Spike shrugged. "So, what are you kids up to today?"

"We're trying to find our special talents." Miracle smiled.

"We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders Royale!" Hurricane cheered.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, huh?" Spike grinned. "That takes me back. It just so happens, I knew the original Crusaders, way back when."

"Really?" Pureblood gasped.

"Really." Spike nodded. "I remember all those crazy schemes of theirs..."

"Could you help us with ours?" Miracle asked. "Please?"

"If it's okay with Twilight, sure." Spike smiled.

"It's okay with me." Twilight smiled. "Go and have some fun. I'll handle things from here."

"Yes!" The Crusaders cheered.

"Thanks, Twi." Spike chuckled.

As Twilight went indoors, Spike joined the CMCR (minus Vito) for their latest endeavor.

"So, what are you trying for today?" Spike asked.

"Gymnastics." Hurricane smiled. "We've got some balance beams and pull-up beams waiting all set up."

"Sounds like fun." Spike declared.

The Crusaders went to work. Hurricane tried the balance beam, while Pureblood and Miracle tried their hooves at pull-ups. Pureblood's strength made it easy, but Miracle was having a harder time.

"Hrrr..." She groaned, lifting herself up with her hooves (having promised not to use her wings). "Hrr..."

Miracle suddenly felt herself being lifted. Spike had grabbed her by the sides and hoisted her up.

"There you go." He smiled. "That's one!"

"Thanks, Spike." Miracle chuckled. "But I don't think that counts."

"Whoa!" Hurricane slipped off the beam. Opening her wings, she saved herself from the fall. "I don't think this is our thing."

"I don't know, I think I might have a knack for it." Pureblood smiled. The bar then snapped, and he fell on the grass below. "Never mind..."

"So... Gotta plan 'B'?" Spike asked, setting Miracle down.

"Sure do." Miracle smiled. "Art."

The Crusaders went into the empty ballroom, and set up canvases, with plenty of paint.

"This should be interesting." Spike mused.

"And... go!" Hurricane declared.

After thirty minutes or so, the paintings were complete.

"Voila!" Hurricane smiled. "The masterpiece!"

Spike took a look. It was an orangey-green mess.

"Well, that's very... what is it?" He asked.

"It's my mom, exploring a jungle." Hurricane declared. "I based it on one of her book covers."

"Oh, er, not bad." Spike cringed.

Pureblood had made a landscape picture, of a field. It looked better, but the trees looked like lit matchsticks with green flames.

"Love a good landscape." Spike nodded, trying to be charitable.

Spike then moved on to Miracle's. It was a sea of blue, white and purple.

"Oh, wow..." Spike struggled to find the words.

"It's terrible, isn't it?" Miracle sighed. "It's meant to be the night sky, but I got all the colors mixed up."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up." Spike put a claw on her shoulder. "It's still pretty good for a first try. It's better than my first painting. What a mess that was."

"Thanks, Spike." Miracle beamed, feeling an odd sensation within her.

"No problem." Spike smiled. "Whattaya we get some food?"

"Sure!" Hurricane yipped.

"I could eat." Pureblood nodded.

"Great," Spike grinned. "Wait right here."

Spike left the room, then came back a short while later, carrying small bags.

"Popcorn for all!" He announced.

"But this popcorn isn't popped." Pureblood pointed.

"Isn't it?" Spike grinned. Letting loose gouts of green flame, Spike made all the bags explode with popcorn. He handed the first one to Miracle. "Here you go."

"Thank you." Miracle slowly took the bag.

"Oops, I forgot the butter!" Spike realized. "Be right back!"

As the dragon dashed, the Crusader started enjoying their popcorn.

"Isn't Spike great?" Miracle smiled. "He's so helpful, and funny, and kind, and handsome..."

"Uh-oh." Hurricane smirked. "Looks like somepony's got a crush!"

"What? I-I do not!" Miracle blushed.

"Then why are you blushing, Miracle?" Hurricane teased.

"Come on, Hurri." Pureblood interjected. "Leave her alone. She can't help if she has a crush."

"But I don't!" Miracle insisted, before groaning. "Well, maybe I do..."

"Well, tell him how you feel!" Hurricane urged.

"What?!" Miracle spluttered. "I can't just come right out and say it!"

"Maybe what you need is the right moment." Pureblood suggested. "Like a picnic, or something. We can help."

"'We'?" Hurricane snorted. "Why are you so pro-love all of a sudden?"

"No reason." Pureblood blushed lightly. "Miracle's our friend, right? And friends help each other."

Spike returned to the room.

"Here's the butter!" He smiled.

As Spike poured the butter on the popcorn, Hurricane nudged Miracle.

"Ask him!" She hissed.

"Um, Spike?" Miracle asked. "Would you like to go on a picnic?"

"Picnic?" Spike asked. "But we're having popcorn."

"I know, but it's been a busy day." Miracle lied. "Please?"

"Ohh... sure." Spike smiled. "Sounds like fun."

"Great!" Miracle beamed. "We can have it outside, right by the fountain!"

"I'll be there." Spike grinned.

A little while later, Spike arrived at the fountain, finding only Miracle waiting for him. Hurricane and Pureblood had set up the picnic, then made themselves scarce.

"Miracle?" He frowned. "Where are Hurricane and Pureblood?"

"Oh, they had... stuff to do." Miracle fibbed. "So I guess it's just and me."

"Okay." Spike sat down.

"I got you some nice emeralds." Miracle smiled. "Aunt Twilight says they're your favourite."

"They sure are." Spike chuckled, taking a bite out of one. "Mm-mm."

"I can get you more if we run out." Miracle purred. "Anything for you."

"Uhh, thanks." Spike said, mildly perturbed. "This really is very nice of you."

"It's the least I could do, after all the help you gave me today." Miracle blushed. "You're so nice, and helpful."

"I do what I can." Spike smiled.

"And you do it so well." Miracle fluttered her eyes.

For the entirety of the picnic, Miracle made goo-goo eyes at Spike, and complimented him endlessly, but to no avail. Afterwards, Spike went inside, confused at what had just happened. He ran into Blueblood.

"Oh, hey." He declared. Not too long ago, Spike had despised Blueblood (chiefly because of the way he treated Rarity and Twilight). But after Blueblood's change in personality, Spike had come to at tolerate his presence.

"What's up?" Blueblood asked. "You're looking a little... preoccupied."

"I think something's up with Miracle." Spike declared. "We just had a picnic, and she spent most of it just staring at me, and smiling a really goofy smile."

"You don't say?" Blueblood raised a brow.

"Yeah, and she was complimenting me endlessly. Not that I didn't like it, but it was weird…" Spike shook his head.

"Hmm, Spike, doesn't Miracle's behavior remind you of somepony?" Blueblood asked all of the sudden.

"Uh… no." Spike answered, a bit confused.

"Hmm, you're sure? Because she seems to be fawning over you… as if she has a crush on you." Blueblood suggested.

"What, really?" Spike asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Blueblood pointed out. "I suppose not, since the roles are reversed in this case…"

"Reversed?" Spike was more confused.

"Yes. You, the oblivious good-looking one, and Miracle, the lovesick one pining for the other's affection… does any of that ring a bell?" Blueblood asked.

Spike thought for a moment… it did bring to mind a certain somebody who once had a crush on a beautiful mare… Then it hit him.

"Oh my gosh… she's me from thirty years ago!" Spike gaped.

"Yes, ironic, isn't it?" Blueblood smiled. "My blessed god-daughter has fallen for a much older pony, or dragon, in your case, just as you had fallen for Rarity all those years ago."

"Oh, you heard about that?" Spike cringed.

"Indeed. To be honest, I found it quite… perturbing, to put it nicely." Blueblood shrugged. "But lately, I've gained a new perspective on things…"

"Huh, guess I never knew what it looked like from the outside." Spike shook his head. "...So, what do I do? I mean, she's a little young for me... and I know how much it hurts when somepony you like doesn't like you that way..." He let out a sigh, recalling his heartbreak with Rarity. "Rarity really left a mark..."

"Ah, yes, Twilight had brought that up a while back. Truly tragic." Blueblood nodded. "But you're not Rarity."

"Yeah, but in this case, I am. I mean, I don't want to hurt her, but I don't want her to face the same heartbreak that I did…" Spike frowned.

"She won't have to." Blueblood declared.

"Say what?" Spike looked at him in confusion.

"Spike, you seem to forget that Miracle is an immortal Alicorn. She may be a small filly now, but give it ten or twenty years time, and she will be a beautiful young mare…"

"But that doesn't change the fact that I'll be about thirty years older than her still." Spike stammered. "I mean, that would make me out to be one of those weirdos…"

"So? Celestia and Luna are thousands of years older than Shine and Gothic, and yet you don't see anypony calling them out on the age differences." Bluebood explained.

"Yeah, but a dragon and a pony?" Spike asked.

"Hey, it could work." Blueblood smirked. "My uncle Lars had told me of several instances of successful dragon-pony relationships… heck, some of them even had offspring. Kirins, I think is the proper term for them."

"I… I don't know…" Spike shook his head.

"Look, Spike, if Dusty has taught me anything, it's that love comes when you least expect it." Blueblood smiled. "I mean, you do like Miracle, don't you?"

"Well, yes… but not that-" Spike muttered.

"Not now, maybe… but I have a feeling that one day, you might look at her, not as a child, but as an adult, and possible love interest." Blueblood declared. "Besides, it's not like there's some other female dragon, is there?"

"Well, no…" Spike replied.

"I'm not asking you to imprint her or something." Blueblood declared. "But who knows, she might be the one for you."

Spike considered the possibility. Over the years, he had watched his friends find love, settle down, and raise families, He couldn't help but feel left out. As a dragon raised by ponies, Spike was so unlike the rest of his kind, he had secretly doubted he could ever find love with a lady dragon. He'd also known (though he hadn't dwelled on it much) that he would outlive most ponies, meaning that even if Rarity reciprocated his feelings, she would eventually pass away, leaving him alone. The same could be said of almost any pony he could have feelings for. Spike had carried these lonely thoughts within him for so long. Perhaps one day, Miracle could help him exorcise those thoughts, once and for all.

"You know, Blueblood, you're right." Spike noted. "Maybe someday, it could work. Still, I'll have to let her down gently."

"That's the ticket." Blueblood nodded. "Now if you'll excuse, I have to go back to looking for Vito. Where is that boy?"

"You got me. He ran off at the first sight of me." Spike deadpanned.

"Oh, that's right." Blueblood sighed. "He's always had a problem with dragons. Ever since I took him to that puppet show with a 'mean dragon' puppet  when he was four..."

"So it's not just me." Spike acknowledged. "Good to know..."

"He's bound to be around here somewhere." Blueblood walked away. "Good luck out there."

Spike found Miracle quickly in the gardens.

"Hi, Spike." She smiled.

"Miracle, we need to talk." Spike declared.

"About what?" Miracle asked. "Do you want to go on another picnic?"

"I know you like me, Miracle." Spike revealed. "And to be honest, I'm quite flattered."

"Oh, really?" Miracle got giddy. "I was afraid that I might had went overboard with the compliments. But now that you know, I can be more straightforward."

"Let me finish, Miracle." Spike sighed. "I am flattered... but you gotta understand, you're a little young for me right now…"

"…What?" Miracle frowned.

"Look, I was like you once. Young, happy, and hopelessly in love with a mare… but there were differences between us that prevented us from ever being together. She even said so herself… and I'm afraid I have to say that we can't be…" Spike sadly stated.

"Oh..." Miracle sighed, on the verge of tears.

Then Spike smiled. "For now at least. Maybe when you're older, we could give it a shot." 

"Really?" Miracle gasped. "But you said-"

"There may be differences between us, but to me, they are just minor bumps that can easily be overlooked. Besides, I'm a dragon, remember?" Spike smiled. "You and I can live for hundreds of years, thousands even. If we do get together by then, we'll have plenty of years to enjoy it."

"Well, I guess I can wait..." Miracle smiled.

"And until then, we can always be friends." Spike grinned.

"We sure can!" Miracle hugged him. "You're the best, Spike!"

"So I've been told." Spike chuckled.

As the day came to an end, Spike departed with Twilight. Miracle and the others waved them off. That night, Miracle could barely sleep, giddy at the prospects the future could bring.

Blueblood looked in the room with a smile, as Shine passed by.

"Hmm, my little sunbeam seemed really happy today." Shine smiled. "I wondered why."

"I'm sure she had a good reason." Blueblood smirked. "Say, Shine… what you would think if you had a dragon for an in-law?"

"Well, that would actually be awesome." Shine chuckled. "How many ponies could say that they are married to a princess and have a dragon for an in-law in a lifetime?"

"Only a few, probably." Blueblood smiled.

"Yeah…" Shine smiled back, before pausing. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, just a thought for the near future…" Blueblood shrugged.
> A Heart-Warming Hearth's Warming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hearth's Warming Eve was once more near. The city of Canterlot was abuzz with excitement, the citizenry dashing across the snow-strewn streets, rushing to buy gifts for their loved ones.

At Canterlot Castle, the Crusader's family members had come to visit, ranging from Big Red and Cherry Jubilee to the Napoleon Brothers and a few of their wives (the rest of which were too busy back in Ponyville). Also visiting was Luxury, who had opted out of joining his parents on a trip to the Buckhamas to spend time with Constell. Even Mist, who had spent most of her time since her pregnancy staying with Blue Blazes "mostly because he was over-protective over their unborn foal), was among them.

"I see the foal's coming along nicely." Constell noted.

"Yeah, my girl's gettin' so big." Blue nodded. Following a glare from Mist, he added "I meant the foal's gettin' big. I wasn't calling you fat. Definitely not fat!"

"I know." Mist chuckled, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I wonder what the foal'll be?" Miracle wondered.

"I hope it's a filly!" Hurricane smiled.

"Not me." Vito huffed. "There's enough fillies around here as it is..."

"Real nice, V." Pureblood rolled his eyes.

"What?" Vito asked. "I'm just saying, it'd be nice to get a few more colts in this castle!"

"Hey, don't knock the fillies, kiddo." Vinny grinned. "They do grow into mares, after all... Most of 'em pretty hot."

"Oh, Vinny." Berry nudged him playfully.

"You know I'm talkin' about you, babe." Vinny nuzzled her.

"Ick." Vito grimaced. "Am I right, PB?"

"Uh... yeah." Pureblood said awkwardly. "Ick."

"I'm so glad you and grandma could come, grampa." Miracle told Big Red.

"No biggie, kiddo." Big Red chuckled. "'Sides, ain't like this time a' year is prime cherry-growing time."

"Red's right." Cherry agreed. "We'd've been bored out of our minds back home. And anyway, Hearth's Warming Eve is a time for family."

"Hear, hear." Big Red nuzzled her.

"Is that why you're here too, gramps?" Hurricane asked Grimoire. "Are you and my great-uncles out of work back home?"

"We don't really have an 'off-season'." Grimoire confessed. "But we're not about to let Hearth's Warming pass by without seeing you and your cousins."

"Straight up." Murray smiled. "It's been too long since we last saw you kids."

"Wasn't it just a month or so ago?" Lars asked.

"Like I said, too long." Murray nodded.

"Look at all that snow." Sonny glanced out the windows. "Reminds me of that heist we pulled at Knackertomi Plaza ten years ago."

"Oh, yeah." Slot mused. "Talk about a white out."

"Not to mention the whole caper nearly went to port when Caboose drank my 'special' egg nog, and crashed that blimp into the top of the tower." Vinny recalled.

"Hey, anypony could have made that mistake." Caboose shrugged.

"Anypony named 'Caboose'." Daring teased her husband.

"Silly daddy!" Michael giggled.

"If I may ask, honey, what did you do with all that money?" Zecora inquired of Grimoire.

"We donated 576 million of the bits we pulled off to numerous charities." Grimoire recalled. "We kept 10% of it to cover all the expenses for the heist."

"Can we not talk about work?" Bon-Bon asked. "It's the holidays! Hey Salt, where's Redheart? Couldn't she make it?"

"Oh, she's kickin' back." Salt declared. "The foal's gonna be due soon, so she didn't think it'd be a good idea for her to travel. She says 'hi', by the way."

"Yeah, May couldn't make it either." Murray sighed. "To much mayoring work back home. She sends her best, though."

"Lyra, too." Lars added. "She's visiting her own family, over in Baltimare."

"And Vinyl's on her big Hearth's Warming tour." Slot added. "She promised to dedicate a song to me, though."

"Good for you, little bro." Murray nodded.

"I love this time of year, don't you, dear?" Gothic asked Luna.

"Indeed. It's good to see this old castle so full of life, and love, and friendship." Luna declared.

"I'll say." Blueblood agreed. "Back in the day, we barely had any visitors. It wasn't until I met Dusty and her family that I realised what I'd been missing all those years..."

"Oh, Blue." Dusty kissed him on the cheek. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

"It's a gift, my darling." Blueblood kissed her back.

Most of the visitors soon diverted attention to more adult discussion, and more private locales. However, Blue and Mist stayed with the Crusaders, alongside Constell and Luxury.

"So, what's going on in downtown Canterlot?" Pureblood asked.

"There's this big donation going on." Blue declared. "Ponies are giving some of their old stuff to the local orphanage. Charity, y'know?"

"Canterlot has an orphanage?" Hurricane asked.

"Charity..." Miracle mused. "Hey, maybe we should try that."

"Say what?" Vito asked.

"We can donate some of our old stuff to the orphans." Miracle declared.

"What a splendid idea!" Luxury grinned. "And I should know: I gave them all my old toys a few a years back."

"Well, aren't you the sweetest giving stallion around?" Constell smiled.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Vito declared. "Why would I just give away some of my stuff?"

"Because it's nice?" Hurricane smiled. "Duh."

"And Hearth's Warming is the time for giving." Pureblood added. "You do know what 'giving' means, don't you?"

"Very funny." Vito huffed.

"Come on, V." Miracle urged. "It's Hearth's Warming Eve. The time when we think of those less fortunate. Besides, if we're lucky, we might just walk out of this with our Cutie Marks."

"Ohh, fine." Vito sighed. "I'll check my room, see if there's anything I don't need any more."

"That's the spirit." Pureblood smiled.

As the crusaders raced to their rooms, the adults looked.

"What great kids." Mist rubbed her bump. "I hope you'll be just as good."

The Crusaders searched their rooms for any toys, games, or clothes they didn't need anymore. Afterwards, they all met up in the main hall, wearing scarves, hats and boots for the cold weather, and carrying bags full of their intended donations. Pureblood had the most items he wanted to donate, while Vito had the least (most of which was clothes he had outgrown).

"Well, aren't you the generous one?" Pureblood told Vito sarcastically.

"It's not my fault most of my stuff is too important to part with." Vito said indignantly.

As they opened the main doors, they were greeted by a veritable blizzard of snow.

"It's really coming down." Hurricane noted. "I don't think walking there's an option."

"No problem." Miracle declared. "We can just ask to have the carriage take us out."

The Crusaders rushed into the study, where Celestia and Shine were.

"Mom, can you have the carriage made ready for us?" Miracle asked.

"The carriage?" Celestia asked. "Where would you want to go in this weather?"

"We have some old stuff we'd like to donate to the orphanage, aunt Celly." Pureblood declared.

"Oh, isn't that nice?" Shine smiled. "Giving stuff to the orphans? It'll really make their day."

"I'm so proud of you, Miracle." Celestia smiled. "I'll have the carriage prepared right away."

"Thanks, mom." Miracle grinned.

Moments later, they were on their way to Canterlot orphanage. Knocking on the door, they were answered by a matronly Unicorn mare.

"Oh, my." She gasped, bowing deeply. "Royalty. It is such an honor."

"What am I, chopped broccoli?" Hurricane grumbled.

"We're here to donate some things to the orphans." Miracle declared.

"Right this way, young majesties." The mare lead them. "I'm Miss Softhooves, by the way."

They walked into the orphanage's indoor play area.

"Children, we have some very special guests." Miss Softhooves smiled. "Princess Miracle, and princes Pureblood and Vito!"

"And Hurricane, daughter of Lt. Caboose and Daring Do!" Hurricane added.

The children gasped in amazement.

"They're here to make some donations." Miss Softhooves added. "Form an orderly line, and they'll start giving."

The children lined up, and, one by one, each was given something by one of the Crusaders.

"Thank you, princess Miracle!" A Pegasus filly smiled as Miracle gave her a doll.

"You're very welcome." Miracle grinned.

"Thanks, prince Pureblood!" An Earth Pony colt cheered as Pureblood gave him a toy train.

"No problem, pal." Pureblood nodded.

"This is great!" A Unicorn played with the paddleball Hurricane gave her. "Thanks! And tell your mom I love her books!"

"Will do." Hurricane grinned.

Vito reluctantly handed over a board game to a Unicorn colt.

"Ooh, 'Hungry, Hungry Hippogriffs'!" The colt smiled. "I love this game! Thanks, your highness."

"No problem." Vito declared.

As the donations continued, Vito started to feel good about what he was doing, in spite of himself. Seeing the happiness on the kids' faces as he gave them what he had privately denounced as "useless junk" give him a warm feeling inside.

All too soon, the donations came to a close.

"Looks like that's everything." Miracle studied her empty bag.

"But... I didn't get anything!" The last orphan, a Unicorn filly of five, sniffed.

"Sorry, little lady." Pureblood sighed. "We're all out."

"Maybe next year, 'kay?" Hurricane offered.

"'Kay..." The filly said quietly.

As the other Crusaders made to leave, Vito stayed where he was.

"Wait." He said firmly.

Everypony stopped and looked at him.

"Here." Vito took off his scarf. "It's not much, but it'll keep you warm."

The filly took the scarf in her hooves.

"I love it!" She hugged Vito. "Thank you!"

"N-no problem." Vito blushed.

"Thank you all so much." Miss Softhooves smiled. "You've made the children so happy."

"We were happy to do it, miss." Miracle smiled.

As they made their way to the carriage, Vito smiled widely.

"That wasn't so bad, was it, V?" Pureblood grinned knowingly.

"Yeah, you were all right." Vito admitted. "It feels good to give, even if we didn't get our Cutie Marks for it. I might just give more often."

"That's the spirit." Miracle smiled.

"Happy Hearth's Warming Eve to all, and to all, a good night." Hurricane declared.

"What do you mean, 'night'?" Pureblood asked. "It's late afternoon, at best."

"Just giving the readers my own special gift." Hurricane smiled.

"I hope they kept the receipt." Vito rolled his eyes.
> Pen Pal Problems
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another morning in the castle. Miracle got out of bed and went to breakfast. She couldn't help noticing that neither Vito nor Pureblood were present. Vito's absence wasn't too odd (he liked to sleep in), but Pureblood was always so punctual.

After breakfast, she ran into Hurricane (who had just arrived) and Vito (who had just come down from his and Pureblood's room).

"Hey, guys!" Hurricane smiled. "Good morning!"

"Morning." Vito yawned.

"Have you seen Pureblood today?" Miracle asked. "He wasn't at breakfast."

"All I saw was the back of my eyelids." Vito declared.

"I think that's him outside." Hurricane pointed at a window, where Pureblood could be seen moving shiftily, carrying something in his mouth.

"What's he sneaking around for?" Vito narrowed his eyes.

"Let's find out." Miracle declared.

The trio rushed outside, catching Pureblood as he walked down the courtyard.

"Hey V, whatchya doin'?" Hurricane asked.

"Uhh, nothing." Pureblood claimed, hastily trying to hide the paper.

"What's that you've got there?" Miracle asked.

"What?" Pureblood shrugged.

"That piece of paper you're trying to hide from us." Vito answered.

"Oh, it's nothing." Pureblood smiled weakly. "Just writing to a pen pal."

"Who?" Hurricane asked, trying to sneak a peek.

"Nopony." Pureblood said anxiously. "Just some filly."

"We'll see about that." Vito smirked, pulling the letter out of Pureblood's grasp with his magic.

"No, don't!" Pureblood yelped, as Vito started reading.

"'Dear Strut Step, I'- Wait, Strut Step?!" Vito grimaced. "The filly you've been writing to is Strut Step?"

"That know-it-all hoity-toity filly from chapter three?" Hurricane added.

"Don't you mean the fashion show, Hurricane?" Miracle asked.

"Um yeah, chapter three, just like I said." Hurricane nodded.

"One question: How?!" Vito snarled.

"Well, while you guys were on stage, Strut and me started talking." Pureblood explained. "It turns out we have a lot in common. Since she travels around Equestria a lot, we decided to be pen pals."

"Why would you want to be pen pals with that stuck-up prima donna?" Miracle asked.

"She's not so bad, once you get to know her." Pureblood smiled.

"I'm not sure I want to be around her that long." Hurricane quipped.

"You may not have choice." Vito declared, skimming the rest of Pureblood's letter. "'I'm really looking forward to your visit on Saturday'."

"Saturday?" Miracle frowned. "Isn't that the day we were going down to the lake to try for Cutie Marks in diving?"

"Lemme guess: You were going to pretend to be sick, so we'd go without you, and not even know Strut was there." Vito glared at Pureblood. "Pretty sneaky, bro."

"I'm not happy, PB was planning on tricking us, but I wouldn't mind an excuse to not see her here." Hurricane declared.

"Come on, guys." Pureblood groaned. "Strut's not so bad. She's just a little... larger than life."

"More like 'completely full of herself'." Vito snorted.

"So?" Pureblood asked. "You're completely full of yourself."

"Exactly." Vito nodded. "We don't need two big egos around there."

"For once, Vito's right." Miracle nodded. "I have no interest in seeing Strut, or hearing her snarky comments again."

"Well, she's coming, whether you like it or not." Pureblood declared. "And it'd mean a lot to me if you'd at least try to get along with her."

The others shared looks.

"Okay, we'll try." Miracle nodded.

"For you, bro." Vito sighed.

"But if she makes a crack about my mane..." Hurricane growled.

"Um, why would she do that?" Pureblood asked, "She never said anything before."

"I dunno. I just pictured it in my head." Hurricane frowned. "She does fit the character archetype, doesn't she?"

"The point is, you can count on us to be friendly." Miracle nodded. "Right, guys?"

"Right." Vito agreed.

"Left!" Hurricane pumped a hoof.

"Thanks, guys." Pureblood smiled.

Saturday soon arrived as the four Crusaders awaited their guest's arrival. And soon enough, Strut Step, dropped off by her mother, burst into the main hall.

"Hello, Canterlot Castle!" She announced. "Strut Step has arrrrived!"

"Just a little larger than life, right?" Vito whispered to Pureblood.

Choosing to ignore Vito's comment, Pureblood moved to greet Strut.

"Hey, Strut." He smiled.

"Hi, Pure." Strut nudged him playfully. "Good to see you in pony again."

"You too." Pureblood chuckled. "You remember the others, right?"

"Sure." Strut nodded. "Miracle, Vito, and... Horace?"

"That's 'Hurricane'!" Hurricane growled. "I'm the daughter of Daring Do!"

"Who?" Strut asked.

"Daring Do." Hurricane repeated, as Strut looked at her blankly. "What, have you never read the Daring Do books?"

"Can't say I have." Strut shrugged. "I'm not really much of a reader, and besides, those books are so passé."

"Passé?!" Hurricane growled. "Why, you..."

"Welcome to the castle." Miracle stepped in front of Hurricane. "Hope you enjoy your visit."

"Thanks, princess." Strut tossed Miracle a hair clip. "You oughta try something new with that mane, BTW. The braided look is out."

"Thanks, but I happen to like the braided look." Miracle said defensively.

"Why am I not surprised?" Strut rolled her eyes.

"So, Strut, I hear you and my bro have gotten pretty close." Vito smirked.

"You could say that." Strut winked at Pureblood, making him blush.

"Nice. Didn't know he had it in him." Vito smiled. "I'm usually the ladies' colt around here."

"Really?" Strut smirked. "Never would've guessed."

"Thank y- Wait, what?" Vito spluttered.

"Come on, Pure, what say you take me on the grand tour?" Strut wrapped her wing around Pureblood.

"S-sure." Pureblood said nervously. "Right this way."

As the two walked away, Hurricane finally let out her frustration.

"Oooooh!" She growled. "Who do she think she is? Calling my mom's books 'passé'..."

"And implying I've got a bad manestyle..." Miracle added.

"And I'm not sure, but I think she just insulted me." Vito finished.

"Still, we promised Pureblood we'd try to get along with her." Miracle sighed. "Let's just tough it out until she leaves."

"If we can." Hurricane sighed.

Meanwhile, Pureblood was showing Strut the castle, when they ran into Blueblood.

"Hello, son." Blueblood smiled.

"Hi, dad." Pureblood smiled back.

"And who's this?" Blueblood turned to Strut. "Hold on, you're-"

"Strut Step." Strut nodded. "Nice to see you again, your highness."

"Well, well." Blueblood chuckled. "You sly dog, Pureblood. Looks like you inherited your old dad's way with the ladies!"

"It's not like that, dad!" Pureblood blushed. "We're just... pen pals."

"Sure you are." Blueblood smirked as he walked away. "Well, you 'pals' have fun."

"Smooth, Pure." Strut giggled. "The red cheeks really sold it."

"Funny." Pureblood deadpanned, as his blush started to fade. "Let's go the kitchen next. I could use a snack."

"Me too." Strut nodded.

After helping themselves to some food, Pureblood and Strut continued the tour of the castle. They soon found Caboose at his usual post.

"Hi, Pureblood." Caboose smiled. 

"Hi." Pureblood grinned. "Whatchya doin?"

"Oh, just making a brief cameo appearance." Caboose shrugged. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Strut Step." Pureblood declared. "Strut, this Caboose, lieutenant of the Royal Guard, and Hurricane's father."

"I had a feeling those two were related." Strut smirked. "You gotta admit, there is a certain resemblance..."

"No doubt about that." Pureblood chuckled.

As they walked around the gardens, Pureblood and Strut came across Miracle, Vito and Hurricane, who were playing croquet.

"Hey, guys." Pureblood waved.

"You about done with your little tour yet?" Vito asked. "If diving really is our special talent, I'd like to find out sometime this year."

"Seriously?" Strut asked. "Trying something you have no idea how to do? Didn't you amateurs learn your lesson the last time?"

"We won't know if we don't try." Miracle declared.

"Well, I sure know what'll happen." Strut snorted. "And I bet it won't be pretty. I'm surprised Pure lets you drag him along on these crazy schemes."

"Who are you callin' crazy, crazy?" Hurricane glared. "I've half a mind to talk to the reader about how mean you are!"

"I rest my case." Strut smirked.

"Easy there, Strut." Pureblood tried to smooth the tensions.

"Why do you even hang out with these guys?" Strut asked. "I know they're family, but still: One's nuts, one's in love with himself, and the other has terrible taste in manestyles."

"Okay, that's it!" Miracle shot forward. "Who do you think you are, talking down to us? You think just because you're famous-"

"You mean famous for something other than being born?" Strut glared. "I had to work hard to get where I am! I knew what I wanted to be, and I went for it!"

"Again with the 'me'." Hurricane seethed. "It's all you ever talk about."

"And she says I'm in love with myself." Vito snarked. "Look who's talking!"

"They're right." Miracle agreed. "You're nothing but an egotistical show-off!"

"Why you-" Strut glared.

"ENOUGH!!" Pureblood yelled. "All of you, just stop it!"

"Pure..." Strut gulped.

"Strut, I can't say I approve of what you're saying to the others." Pureblood declared. "Vito, Miracle, Hurricane, you didn't have to take it that far. This is not how I expected you all to get along."

"I... I'm sorry, Pure." Strut sighed. "It's just... with all the travelling around and shows that I do, I don't really spend much time with ponies my age. And the fashion world is pretty cutthroat. There are criticisms everywhere you go. Guess I soaked up some of that."

"More like a lot." Vito muttered, earning a glare from Pureblood.

"That's still no excuse." Miracle added.

"They're right." Pureblood nodded. "I know you're a nice filly, Strut. You just need to let that side of you out more often."

"I'll try." Strut agreed.

"An apology wouldn't hurt." Hurricane huffed.

"Yeah, I guess I'm sorry." Strut shrugged. "I didn't mean to take it that far. Nopony's nuts, in love with himself, or has terrible tastes in manestyles, okay?"

"I guess that'll do." Hurricane sighed.

"And we kinda did overreact a little." Miracle admitted. "We should have known better then to let an old grudge get to us."

"Besides, if PB likes you, then I guess you can't be all bad." Vito sighed.

"Ditto." Strut smiled.

"How about we start over?" Miracle offered. "Want to join us in croquet?"

"I've never actually played croquet before..." Strut admitted.

"No problem." Pureblood smiled. "I'll show you the basics."

"You and Pureblood can be on Hurricane's side." Vito pointed. "That way, we'll be about even."

"Works for me." Hurricane nodded. "Let's play!"

The kids enjoyed quite a rousing game of croquet.

"Nice swing for a model." Miracle complimented Strut.

"Not so bad yourself, princess." Strut grinned.

Afterwards, while waiting for Strut's mother to pick her up, the group saw Dusty come by.

"Oh, so this is Strut Step." She smiled. "A pleasure, truly. Ooh, I can't believe my little guy finally has a marefriend!"

"Mooom!" Pureblood cringed, while the others snickered.

"Come by any time." Dusty told Strut.

"Oh, I will." Strut giggled.

Strut's mom arrived soon after.

"There's my ride." Strut noted. "Thanks for the fun day. You Crusaders aren't so bad after."

"Likewise." Vito nodded.

Strut planted a quick kiss on Pureblood's cheek.

"See ya soon." She purred.

Pureblood stroked his cheek, gazing into space as Strut departed. Hurricane waved her hoof in front of his face.

"I think he's broken." She declared.
> More Cutie Mark Chronicles
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After nearly five months of adventures and mishaps, the Crusaders had finally stumbled onto a dead end in their talent search.

"So, now what?" Vito frowned. "We're all out of ideas."

"What about my idea?" Hurricane asked.

"I'm pretty sure nopony ever got their Cutie Mark for diving into a pool of chocolate sauce." Miracle pointed out.

"Maybe, but it'd sure be tasty!" Hurricane licked her lips.

"Meanwhile, back in Equestria..." Vito snarked.

"There must be something we can do to get out of this funk." Pureblood declared.

"Plot device?" Hurricane suggested.

"Maybe, maybe..." Miracle mused. "Maybe we can ask some of the grownups how they got their Cutie Marks!"

"That's... not such a bad idea." Vito declared.

"Let's ask my dad!" Miracle suggested. "I bet he has some words of advice for us!"

"Um, no offense, Mir, but we all know how uncle Shine got his Cutie Mark." Vito deadpanned.

"Yeah, a story's already been done on it." Hurricane stated.

"'Story'?" Miracle frowned. "Never mind. Who else should we ask?"

"Maybe we can ask grandpa." Pureblood smiled, speaking of the visiting Grimoire, who came alone to discuss trade matters with Celestia. "He probably knows how all our great-uncles got their Marks!

"Let's go." Miracle nodded.

"Mmm, that's good plot device." Hurricane smiled.

The Crusader dashed over to the castle garden, where Grimoire was sunning himself on a deckchair, with a pair of old sunglasses.

"Hey, grandpa!" Vito yelled.

"Hmm?" Grimoire glanced up, lifting up his glasses, and smiled, "Oh, hi, kids."

"Mr. Napoleon, can you tell us how you and your brothers got your Cutie Marks?" Miracle asked.

"All of us?" Grimoire asked. "Whatever for?"

"We've hit a dead end on our crusading." Pureblood sighed. "Maybe if we hear stories about how other ponies got their Cutie Marks, it'd help inspire us."

"And you came to me first?" Grimoire smiled. "I'm honoured."

"Can you tell us?" Hurricane asked. "Pretty-please with a cherrychimichanga on top?"

"Well, let's see... Murray Revolver-Ocelot Napoleon, got his cutie mark for shooting down a bird from five miles away, realized his talent was marksponyship. Sonny Blaze Napoleon, got his for burning down a warehouse..." Grimoire recited.

"Wait, for burning down a warehouse?" Vito asked.

"Yup, the day he realized he could conjure up fire magic from his horn." Grimoire nodded. "It was dang impressive. His talent was his expertise in fire-wielding... made him one of the best cooks I know. Then you got Salt Statham Napoleon, had his cutie mark from single-handily takin' on a group of bullies, made him realize that he was a brawler."

"Um, Mr. Napoleon... is the rest of the brothers' stories going to have something to do with hurting somepony?" Miracle asked nervously.

"Yeah, we aren't the violent type..." Pureblood agreed.

"You want the stories?" Grimoire deadpanned.

The four sighed.

"Continue." Miracle said flatly.

"Gladly." Grimoire smirked. "Lars Atticus Napoleon, got his mark for ripping off a trader, didn't leave a trace, realized he was a pro in stealing and pulling off heists. Works well with that brain of his. Vinny Cartman Napoleon got Cutie Marked for trashing this one street single-hoofedly..."

"Um, what does that have to do with that shot-glass cutie mark?" Hurricane asked.

"Simple. He got into Pops' cellar and downed a bottle of mead. Was drunker than a sailor. That when he realized... he liked booze and everything about it, and he had a knack for smashing stuff." Grimoire declared. "As for Slot Lucky Napoleon..."

"Lucky?" Vito snorted. "Uncle Slot's middle name is Lucky?"

"Well, his name was Slot, Vito." Grimoire pointed out.

"Oh, boy, what did he do to get his cutie mark?" Miracle asked.

"Simple." Grimoire smiled. "He cornered poor Ms. Crane while she was in the showers and stabbed her to death while screeching violins played in the background."

"Really?!" Hurricane gasped.

"Naw, Slot got into a knife-throwing competition with this Hoofistan pony, and got his mark for expert use of knives... I don't know how the music loving part fits in, but it's there." Grimoire chuckled.

"What about you, grandpa?" Pureblood asked. "What's your talent?"

"Well..." Grimoire showed off his grim-book cutie mark. "It was a dark stormy night, about forty to fifty years ago. I always had a thing for books, and quoted them often... it wasn't before long that I made up a quote of my own, on that night..."

"Which is?" Miracle inquired.

Grimoire smiled, and cleared his throat.

"The path of the righteous stallion is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil ponies." He recited. "Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee..."

"Wow... what does that even mean?" Vito gaped.

"Who cares... that's... that's beautiful." Pureblood declared.

"Yeah... Mr. Bombay thought the same thing too... right before I shot him." Grimoire remarked, causing the kids to look on in shock. "That was when I realized... I had a thing for words and stories... and it goes pretty dang well with my line of work."

"Um, thanks..." Miracle gaped.

"I hope that 'inspired' you." Grimoire smiled.

"It did something, alright." Vito cringed.

"We're gonna go... ask somepony else now." Pureblood declared.

"Bye!" Hurricane waved, as the Crusader beat a hasty retreat.

As they went into the castle, they saw Blueblood and Dusty in the study.

"Hi, mom!" Pureblood smiled.

"Hi, dad." Vito smiled.

"Hi, kids." Blueblood grinned.

"Can you tell us how you got your Cutie Marks?" Miracle asked.

"We're stuck for ideas." Hurricane declared. "Maybe hearing how you found your special talents will inspire us."

"Very well." Blueblood nodded. "Back when I was around your age, auntie Celestia made me on a hike with local pony scouts troop. Somewhere along the way, I took a wrong turn, and found myself separated from the troop. After... ahem, calmly and coolly assessing the situation, I picked a direction at random, and starting walking. Before I knew it, I had found the starting point. It was then that I realized my special talent was a remarkable sense of direction, and this little fella appeared." He pointed at his compass Cutie Mark.

"Wow." Hurricane smiled. "My mom got her Cutie Mark in a similar way. And when I say 'similar', I mean 'making her way out of a nasty jungle'."

"How'd you get your Mark, mom?" Vito asked.

"Well, it happened back when I was a little filly." Dusty recalled. "I was alone at the mansion, while my dad and uncles were out, when I noticed that the dining room was a complete and utter mess… so I decided to clean it all up. By the time I'd finished, dad came back, and he was really impressed by how clean it was. That was when I realized my special talent was cleaning, and my Cutie Mark appeared."

"Okay, we've got some good ones so far." Miracle smiled. "Let's keep going!"

The Crusaders left the room.

"Complete and utter mess, hmm?" Blueblood asked Dusty.

"Okay, fine." Dusty sighed. "My father and uncles had just finished killing off another criminal family that was doing slave trading in that room, and I inadvertently cleaned up their messes. Ever since then, other mafia families wanted me to be their 'cleaner'."

"I'm starting to understand why you left Bitaly." Blueblood nodded sagely.

The Crusaders soon ran into Constell and Luxury, lounging in the gardens, posing them the same question.

"Well, I got my Cutie Mark when I found out I could control the placement of the stars in the sky." Constell smiled. "One night, I was just looking up, and I thought how much better one star would look over to the side. Then it happened. I shifted more stars, and my Cutie Mark came."

"Whoa." Pureblood gasped.

"I didn't get my Cutie Mark in such amazing circumstances." Luxury added. "I got it for a near-instinctive ability to determine the worth and purity of gems, jewels, pearls, what have you... It cropped up when mother took me on a shopping spree, and a salespony was trying to rip her off."

"I'd love a talent like that." Vito declared.

"Why am I not surprised?" Miracle rolled her eyes.

"Well, it kinda got old fast." Luxury shrugged. "That's why I decided to become a lawyer instead, so I could help ponies."

"So, a ponies' special talent isn't always their dream job?" Pureblood asked. "Never thought of it that way..."

Their next stop was Blue Blazes and Mist, as the two were in the parlour, the three-months-pregnant Mist was reading a book on ancient Equestrian history, and Blue was merely cuddling with her. The four asked them the same question.

"How did I get my Cutie Mark?" Blue chuckled. "Well, I was flying with other Wonderbolts trainees, trying to make my mark. I'd been practicing this new move for days. As I dived downwards, I decided to give it another try. I started spinning as I dove, faster and faster, until FWOOM! I turned into a flying blue fireball! I sped down, hugged the ground then shut back up. To finish, I opened my wings, and the flames spread out like a firework."

"Wow..." The Crusaders gasped.

"Yeah, it was pretty cool." Blue chuckled. "However, it is important to remember that even though you may have the natural-born talents for one thing, it doesn't mean you can't find another calling… like I did with bartending."

"What a waste..." Vito frowned. "Bartending isn't exactly the most exciting or profitable job around."

"Maybe, but it makes me happy." Blue shrugged.

"How about you, Mist?" Miracle asked.

"I got my Cutie Mark during a really dry season." Mist recalled. "So dry, the cherries were in danger of shrivelling. I wanted to help so badly, I focused with all my might on the clouds, trying to make it rain. But something else happened; The clouds came down, becoming a mist that kept the cherries hydrated. That's when my Cutie Mark appeared."

"Amazing." Miracle smiled.

"It just goes to show, you don't know what you can do, until you do it." Mist smiled.

Soon after, the Crusaders crossed paths with Gothic.

"My special talent is a simple one." He declared. "When I was a kid, I was scared of bats. Terrified. One night, a bat flew into my room. I was so scared, I knocked over my lamp, and it clipped the bat's wing. I saw how hurt he was, and, in spite of my fear, I picked him up, and bandaged his wing with some old fabric. He looked at me, with gratitude in hiss eyes, and my fear just vanished. I kept him safe and fed until it's wing healed. I tried to let him go, but it wouldn't leave. It wanted to stay with me. So I kept him. It was then that I realised I had a way with nocturnal animals. My Cutie Mark appeared, and I was never afraid of bats again."

"Thanks for the story, Gothic." Miracle nodded.

As they kept moving, the Crusaders bumped into Caboose.

"Hey, kids." He smiled. "What's up?"

"We're asking everypony about how they got their Cutie Marks, dad." Hurricane declared. "How'd you get yours?"

"Ooh, that's a good one." Caboose declared. "Back when I was younger, I always knew I was different from my brothers. I started to
question my identity as a member of the Napoleon family, and actually tried to run away when I was fourteen. However, my brothers all came to find me and bring me home... but then, we were ambushed by the Clopranos, a rival family. I wasn't much of a fighter back then, but I didn't need to be. My brothers made a circle around, and protected me while they killed those jerks!"

The Crusaders gasped with horror.

"It was then that I realized my talent was bringing ponies together in the worst of times." Caboose recalled. "My Cutie Mark appeared right then and there. I even joined them in finishing the Clopranos off. Ah, memories..." He started to sing. "Just a perfect day, drink sangria in the park. And then later, when it gets dark, we go home..."

The Crusaders backed away slowly

"Who do you think was worst, uncle Caboose or grandpa?" Vito joked.

"Slot." Hurricane declared.

The Crusaders' last stop was Celestia and Luna.

"Ah, what a tale it was." Celestia remembered fondly. "Centuries ago, the sun and moon were moved by the collective magic of Unicorns. Unfortunately, an ancient and terrible sickness began to claim many of them. Knowing that the sun had to move, I attempted what I thought was impossible; I moved the sun. So amazed were the Unicorns that they asked that I take over moving the sun, believing that my powers were far more reliable. It was then that my Cutie Mark appeared."

"That was a great story." Hurricane smiled.

"What about you, aunt Luna?" Miracle asked.

"Well, it wasn't long after that I grew a little jealous over my sister's new-found ability and Cutie Mark." Luna recalled. "One night, as I sulked, I realized that, through some oversight, the moon was still where it was. With a supreme effort, I unlocked my own ability, and the moon moved. It was a glorious day for me, made all the better by my brand new Cutie Mark."

"So many stories about getting Cutie Marks." Pureblood smiled.

"I do believe I'm inspired." Vito grinned.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Miracle chuckled. "Let's get crusading!"

"And once again, Status Quo Is good!" Hurricane cheered.

"Good luck, Crusaders." Celestia beamed.

"May your Cutie Marks come soon." Luna added.

Meanwhile, Caboose was still singing his song, oblivious to the fact the Crusaders were long gone.

"Oh, it's such a perfect day, I'm glad I spent it with you." He crooned. "Oh, such a perfect day, you just keep me hanging on, you just keep me hanging on..."

That night, Miracle was being tucked in by Shine.

"Hey, dad?" Miracle asked.

"Yes, sunbeam?" Shine smiled.

"How did you get your Cutie Mark?" Miracle inquired.

"Well, it all began years ago." Shine declared. "I was on my way to Canterlot, flying through a terrible storm, seeking the help of the princesses..."

Miracle listened raptly, and considered her father's story the best of all those she had heard that day.
> Those Who Can, Teach
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was report card time for Vito and Pureblood. The twins did a lot together, but going to school wasn't one of them. While Vito attended Canterlot's School For Gifted Unicorns, Pureblood attended the local public school. Though Pureblood's marks were nothing to sneeze at, Vito had once again gotten straight 'A's.

"That's my boys." Blueblood smiled.

"We're so proud of you both!" Dusty agreed.

"You should be proud of me more." Vito boasted. "When it comes to magic, I'm the best in the whole school. The other students are all lining up, begging me to tutor them. Not to mention the big Unicorn exam is coming up. That's when I'll really get to show my stuff."

"Magic isn't everything, V." Pureblood declared.

"No, but it's a pretty big something." Vito grinned.

"You're brother's right, sweetie." Dusty told Vito. "A pony can get by just fine without magic. Just look at me."

"I know, mom." Vito nodded. "I'm not saying anything against non-magic ponies. I'm just saying: If you've got it, flaunt it. And I have got it."

"We all know where he gets that from." Dusty whispered to Blueblood.

"Sorry." Blueblood cringed.

Over the next few days, Vito continued his boasting unabated. Pureblood tried his best to ignore, but it soon became too much for him.

"Okay, enough!" He yelled. "You say you're the best magic user in the school? Then prove it."

"How?" Vito asked, relishing the idea of a challenge.

"Simple." Pureblood smirked. "You know that upcoming Unicorn exam? Well, I bet you can't teach the most magically-challenged Unicorn in your class how to use magic flawlessly and pass that exam!"

"But... the worst student in class is that filly, Glenda." Vito's face fell. "She can barely do basic spells!"

"Well, if you don't think you can do it..." Pureblood baited him.

"I never said that." Vito declared. "You just wait and see. I'll whip that filly into shape. She'll pass the Unicorn exam with flying colors!"

"We'll see, bro." Pureblood chuckled. "We'll see."

"Those guys." Miracle sighed, as she and Hurricane watched them make their bet. "As different as they are, it's hard to believe they're really brothers sometimes..."

"I get the feeling we're gonna be out of focus in this chapter, don't you?" Hurricane mused.

The next day at school, Vito found Glenda at recess. She was a gray-coated, light green-maned filly with strangely blue eyes, and a red slipper Cutie Mark.

"Hey, Glenda." Vito smiled pleasantly. "Want some help with your magic?"

"Well, uh..." Glenda said timidly. Her lack of magical prowess had singled her out amongst the class. "If-if it's not too much trouble."

"Fat chance." Vito smirked. "You just wait. A couple of tutoring sessions with me, and you'll be casting spells like a pro."

"Why are you offering to teach me?" Glenda asked suspiciously. "You barely even noticed me before today."

"Let's just say I'm feeling charitable." Vito smiled. "And no offense, but you're the biggest charity case around."

"Gee, thanks." Glenda frowned.

"Hey, you wanna pass the Unicorn exam, right?" Vito urged. "Well, I'm the colt to help you do it. Meet me back here after you've had lunch, and we can get started."

"Okay, I guess..." Glenda sighed.

Pretty soon, the first lesson began.

"Okay, let's try something simple." Vito declared. "Color changing." He pointed to a pebble by his hooves. "Change the color of this here pebble."

"Simple?" Glenda gulped. "That's like, intermediate level."

"There's nothing to it." Vito smirked. "Trust me."

Glenda scrunched up her face in concentration. The pebble flashed.

"Come on, keep going." Vito urged. "Concentrate!"

"I... am!" Glenda groaned.

"Just keep focusing on the pebble." Vito instructed. "Think of it changing color. Think!"

With a grunt of effort, Glenda started changing the pebble's color.

"Yes, that's it!" Vito smiled.

The pebble suddenly flashed several colors, and exploded.

"Yeow!" He yelped, as a fragment hit his nose.

"Sorry!" Glenda winced. "I just did what you told me to!"

"Maybe we should come back to that one." Vito sighed, pulling a tomato out of his lunchbag. "Let's try a little teleportation. Send this tomato to that table over there."

"Okay..." Glenda nodded.

"Just focus hard on what you want to do, and it'll happen." Vito urged.

Glenda grit her teeth, and the tomato started to glow. It suddenly vanished... only to appear over Vito's head, splattering over him.

"Yuck!" Vito cringed.

"Sorry." Glenda gulped. "Maybe we should try something else."

Vito tried several more lessons; Turning a bush into topiary art, bringing a toy cart to life, and even generating a light show with the horn. They all failed miserably, with Vito  usually receiving the brunt of the failure. The bush had turned into a nettle patch, stinging him, the cart had slammed into his hoof, and the light show nearly blinded him. By the end of lunch, he was at his limit.

"I think that'll do for today." Vito growled.

"Thanks for the help, though." Glenda shrugged. "Same time tomorrow?"

Vito walked away silently without answering.

"Okay…" Glenda frowned.

After the school day ended, the frustrated Unicorn was stomping through the castle halls, looking for his brother, so he could admit defeat. He was so annoyed over his failure that he didn't notice the visiting Twilight until he bumped into her.

"Whoa there, little guy." Twilight declared. "Where's the fire?"

"Oh, hi, aunt Twilight." Vito sighed.

"Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. "I know that look on your face. I've had it myself a few times."

"Well..." Vito mumbled. "I bet Pureblood I could teach the worst student in my school, but she's a total disaster! She can't cast a spell to save her life! So I'm giving up. PB wins."

"Oh come now, is she really that bad?" Twilight asked.

"That bad?" Vito snorted. "An Earth Pony could do better magic then her!"

"You know, that filly you're talking about reminds me of somepony." Twilight smiled.

"Really, who? Vito asked.

"Me." Twilight grinned.

"You?!" Vito gasped. "But you're great at magic! You are the princess of magic for crying out loud!"

"I wasn't always." Twilight declared. "Celestia taught me, by starting small, and having patience. We started with simple spells, then gradually moved up to the more difficult ones. We all start at the beginning, you know."

"Huh, I guess I haven't been the best teacher." Vito mused.

"Even teaching takes time to truly master." Twilight pointed out. "You need to learn to use kindness, and a firm, yet helping hoof."

"I didn't really show Glenda any of that..." Vito sighed.

"There's still time to change that." Twilight smiled.

"You're right." Vito nodded. "Thanks, aunt Twilight."

"Any time." Twilight grinned.

The next morning at recess, Vito approached Glenda.

"Oh, hey." Glenda glared. "Are you talking to me again?"

"Sorry I ran out on you yesterday." Vito apologized. "I got a little frustrated. I'll be better from now. That is, if you're still up for lessons?"

"Why not?" Glenda shrugged. "I can't get any worse, can I?"

"Look, I won't lie…you are pretty bad at this." Vito admitted.

"Wow, thanks for your honesty." Glenda scoffed.

"Let me finish." Vito held up a hoof, "But I haven't been a good teacher to you. I was looking to make myself look good by teaching you. I never thought about how hard it'd be for you. Well, I am now. I promise, I'll start small, and be a little more patient."

"Well... I guess it couldn't hurt to try again." Glenda smiled. "You're on."

"Great." Vito beamed.

The ensuing tutoring sessions went much better than the first. Vito started small, teaching Glenda the easiest spells first, starting with levitation.

"That's it." He encouraged her, as she slowly raised the pebble. "Take your time. No need to rush."

"Wow." Glenda gazed at her hoofiwork. "I'm really doing it!"

"You sure are." Vito grinned.

The tutoring went apace. Glenda started coming by the castle in the afternoons.

"Now, here's a fun one." Vito declared. "A moustache spell. I'll be your test subject."

"Are you sure?" Glenda asked. "We don't know what might happen if I mess up..."

"I trust you." Vito smiled. "Go for it."

Glenda grit her teeth, and focused hard.

"That's it." Vito encouraged her. "Think about what you want to do, and do it."

Glenda zapped Vito's upper lip, and a second later, he had a bushy handlebar moustache.

"Hey, not bad!" Vito admired his newly-acquired facial hair.

"Very dapper." Glenda giggled.

"Okay, now we'll be learning the counter spell." Vito declared. "As snazzy as this is, I don't think my mom would like me keeping it..."

The day before the exam, the two finished a lesson on creating protective shields, and were having a friendly chat over cups of cherry juice.

"Well, Glenda, this is it... tomorrow is the big day." Vito declared.

"Yeah…I just hope I can pass that exam." Glenda fretted. "If I fail..."

"You won't." Vito reassured. "You've really improved over the weeks. I'm sure you'll ace that exam, no problem."

"Thanks, Vito." Glenda blushed. "I couldn't have done any of this without you."

"No problem." Vito smiled. "And call me 'V'."

"Okay... V." Glenda gushed.

"Just out of curiosity, though, doesn't your mother or father ever helped you with your magic?" Vito asked, "I mean, you obviously had connections if you managed to get into the School For Gifted Unicorns…"

"Oh… mum and dad are always so busy…" Glenda shook her head. "Not that I blame them. It's hard work, looking after thousands of kids..."

"Wait, what?" Vito raised a brow.

"Nothing." Glenda said swiftly, all shifty-eyed.

The next day, at the exam, the students went one at a time, each one expected to complete a random, yet difficult spell. Vito's test was combining pages with a cover in a single spell to form a book (with all the pages in the right order), which he passed It soon came to be Glenda's turn.

The proceedings were being observed by a trio of stuffy-looking Unicorns, consisting of one mare and two stallions.

"Okay, Ms. Glenda, please transform this potted daisy into a miniature orange tree." The female Unicorn instructed.

Glenda rubbed her hoof a bit nervously, as she heard some of the students whispering in the crowd, obviously expecting her to fail miserably. Then she looked to Vito (who had went earlier and passed successfully), who gave her a wink and a nod.

Focusing hard, Glenda repeated the spell as Vito as taught her. One flash of light later, and a tiny, perfectly formed tree with a full crop of miniscule oranges replaced the daisy in the pot.

Everypony in the room gape in shock, including the overseers. It took them a second or so to recover as they quickly discussed among themselves and then they turned to Glenda.

"You've passed, Ms. Glenda." One of the male Unicorn stallions smiled. "Congratulations."

"Yes!" Glenda hopped up in joy, before quickly regaining her composure and bowing her head. "I mean, thank you."

"Way to go, Glenda!" Vito cheered, as the other students muttered about how she could have gotten so good.

"It's all thanks to you, V!" Glenda hugged him.

"Hey, I just showed you the way." Vito blushed. "You did the real legwork yourself."

"I still couldn't have done it without you." Glenda hugged him again.

Later on that day, Vito was strutting down the halls, bragging to Pureblood and the others about his victory.

"I told you, didn't I?" He smirked.

"Yeah, you did." Pureblood admitted. "Good job, V. You certainly proved me wrong."

"Indeed, I did." Vito grinned. "I'm not only the best magic user at school, I'm the best teacher, too."

"If only you could teach your students that humble attitude of yours..." Pureblood snarked.

"Funny." Vito frowned.

"Well, at least you can put it behind you now." Miracle declared.

"Ooh, it's good to be relevant again." Hurricane smiled. "Even if it is just for a small scene."

The door to Blueblood's study opened.

"Vito, may I have a word with you?" Blueblood stuck his head.

"Sure, dad." Vito nodded, as he came into the study. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, son, it has been brought to my attention that you had been spending quite a bit of time with a young filly lately." Blueblood explained.

"Oh, that? I was just helping her with magic, dad." Vito smiled. "Levitation, moustaches, no big deal."

"In that case, may I be the first to say that I'm proud of you, son." Blueblood smiled. "Teaching a filly of lesser skills how to use magic properly is indeed a noble cause."

"Thanks, dad." Vito grinned. "It was nothing really…"

"Oh, I wouldn't say so…"

Vito glanced towards the direction of the voice, and was surprised to see none other than Sleight Gambit, lounging against the fireplace. He hadn't changed much, aside from his mane and beard being well more groomed and his jacket clean and well-stitched. His mane had faded a little, but not enough to be noticeable.

"Vito, you remember King Sleight, don't you?" Blueblood asked.

"Um, yeah…" Vito recovered slightly from his shock. He always found the magician-turned-ruler to be eccentric at times, but also to be fun, especially when he showed off his card magic, "What brings you here, Mr. Gambit?"

"Well, Vito, your father told me about you been teaching a certain filly by the name of 'Glenda' and how she had passed today's exam." Sleight explained.

"Yeah…so? I was just trying to be helpful." Vito said, though a bit confused.

"I believed further explanations are in order." Sleight stepped forth, "You see, ever since the treaty between the Changelings and ponies years back, my wife had been sending young changelings to numerous schools across Equestria as an attempt to integrate them into pony life good and early. When I came around, I decided to send a few Changelings here to be taught by Canterlot's finest teachers. However, I never thought that one of them would be taught by such a young colt."

"Huh?" Vito frowned, "What do you mean?"

Suddenly, the doors opened, as Glenda walked in.

"You summoned me, your majesty?" Glenda asked.

"Glenda?" Vito asked, "What are you doing here? Better yet, why would Sleight call you here?"

"Glenda, dear, I think it is time you tell our young prince here the truth." Sleight declared.

"Truth? What truth?" Vito asked, more confused.

Glenda only glanced nervously at Vito as her body soon erupted in green flames, revealing herself to be a young female Changeling. She had a smell web-like crop of hair on the back of head, which resembled the manestyle of her pony self.

"Whoa." Vito gasped.

"Vito, allow me to introduce you to Glinda, #32425761." Sleight declared, placing a hoof on her shoulder, "One of our more inquisitive young ones. She and I go way back, actually. I knew her when she was just a larva. She's like the daughter I never had, actually."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Glinda muttered nervously. "King Sleight thought it best to be incognito and not draw attention to myself."

"Yeah. With all the high, snobby nobles that run the joint, school life would had been miserable for the young filly." Sleight shook his head, before turning to Blueblood. "No offense."

"None taken." Blueblood shrugged.

"So I've been teaching a Changeling all this time?" Vito asked, dumbfounded.

"Indeed you were." Sleight smiled, "And you did a good job of it. It is one thing to simply teach another Unicorn how to use magic, but to teach a Changeling is whole 'nother ballpark. But you did it, and you have my thanks."

"Thank you..." Vito smiled. "I never really thought about it… but I really did enjoy teaching. It felt good, showing somepony else how to be better at magic, helping their skill grow, feeling more and more proud as they learn..."

Vito's flank began to shine. A Cutie Mark of an encyclopedia with a magician's hat on it materialized.

"My Cutie Mark..." Vito stared. "YES!"

"Well done, son." Blueblood smiled.

"Extraordinary." Sleight mused, "You don't see that everyday."

"You really deserve it, V." Glinda added.

"I'll say." Vito nodded. "Since you're here, how about a celebratory round of smoothies at Blazin' Blue's?"

"So you... don't mind me being a Changeling?" Glinda asked.

"Of course not." Vito smiled. "In fact, I think you're kinda cute... in both forms, actually"

"In that case, I'm in!" Glinda wrapped her hooves around one of his.

"Have fun, you two." Sleight chuckled, as the pair departed.

"Ah, young love." Blueblood sighed. "They grow up so fast..."

"They sure do." Sleight agreed. "And what more proof do we need of how far ponies and Changelings have come together?"
> Culinary Conquest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pureblood was in the Canterlot Castle kitchen, making his favorite sandwich.

"Ok, radish, aubergine, elderflower..." He recited, putting the said items on the bread. "Some honey mustard on top..." He set down the knife and licked his lips. "Hmm, my favorite..."

He was about to take a bite out of the sandwich when...

"Prince Pureblood!" Iron Hooves called. "The carriage is ready to depart!"

"Coming!" Pureblood sighed, taking the sandwich with him as he rushed out.

He, Hurricane, and Vito were going with their parents to attend a family get-together at the Napoleon estate.

"Took you long enough." Vito frowned. "Delaying us for a sandwich?"

"Not just a sandwich." Pureblood said, affronted. "My favorite sandwich."

"Whoop-dee-do." Vito rolled his eyes. "Seriously, why must you take so long to make something like that?" He gestured to the sandwich.

"Hey, when it comes to my sandwich, it has to be done right." Pureblood explained. "Add a smidge too much of something, and it all goes to port."

"Yeah, whatever…" Vito scoffed.

"Have fun out there, guys." Miracle smiled, having come to see them off.

"Will do, Mir." Hurricane nodded. "Let's just hope you get more focus in the next chapter."

"Remember, everypony: best behaviour." Daring declared as she held the giggling Michael in her hooves.

"Yeah." Caboose nodded. "We don't want a repeat of what happened last time, do we, Hurri?"

"Dad, I told you, that gopher had it coming!" Hurricane groaned. "He gave me a funny look!"

"Been there." Daring frowned. "This aye-aye down in South Amareica kept giving me the stinkeye."

"But I'll bet you didn't try to blow it up." Caboose added.

"It was just one stick of dynamite!" Hurricane protested. "The gopher was barely singed!"

"I can't wait to show grandpa my Cutie Mark." Vito declared. "And tell everypony about my new marefriend."

"Now, now, son." Blueblood chided him. "No need to brag."

"Your father's right, Vito." Dusty declared. "You can tell them about those things, but don't show off."

"That'll be a challenge." Pureblood snarked.

"Can we just go now?" Vito frowned.

The Pegasi pulling the carriage took off, taking them into the sky. They arrived at Bitaly before long, landing in the courtyard of the Napoleon estate.

"Hello, everypony!" Grimoire greeted them. "Glad you could make it!"

"We're happy you came to our door." Zecora added. "Your being here makes my heart soar."

"Hi, grandma, hi grandpa!" Pureblood and Vito hugged.

"Hi, everypony!" Hurricane joined the hug.

The rest of the Napoleon and their significant others were already there. Most of them had gotten married, save for Vinny and Slot (though Vinny and Berry Punch had gotten engaged a couple of months back). They all started greeting the new arrivals.

"Hey, kiddo!" Vinyl rubbed the top of Vito's head. "You're getting so big!"

"Thanks, Vinyl." Vito blushed.

"You too, Pureblood." Lyra added. "Look how handsome you're becoming."

"Aw, thanks..." Pureblood said bashfully.

"Hi, Hurricane." Berry Punch smiled. "Still wild and whacky?"

"You know it!" Hurricane said proudly.

"Just like her father." Daring chuckled.

"Check it out, guys!" Vito showed off his new Cutie Mark to his great-uncles. "Got it for teaching!"

"Nice!" Salt smiled.

"You go, V!" Slot nodded.

"That's our great-nephew." Lars chuckled. "I knew that at least one of our nieces or nephew would have smarts!" He placed a hoof on his shoulder, "You and I are going to have a lot to talk about in the nearby future."

"Thanks, Lars. And that's not all that happened." Vito grinned. "I got myself a marefriend, too!"

"Get out!" Vinny gasped.

"No joke." Vito nodded. "She's a Changeling. Neat, huh?"

"Your marefriend's a bug?" Slot asked.

"No, she's not!" Vito said defensively.

"He's right." Hurricane agreed. "If there was an insect that size, her exoskeleton would collapse under it's own weight."

Everypony stared at Hurricane.

"At least, that's what my mom said once." She shrugged.

"Hey, a Changeling's not that bad. Once she's older, she can take the shape of all the hottest mares you can think of." Vinny smirked.

"Like Fleur de Lis?" Slot asked, earning a jab from Vinyl. "Just kiddin', babe."

Meanwhile, Mayor Mare was adoring Michael.

"Oh, isn't he gorgeous?" She squealed, pinching his cheek. "Makes me want to have one of my own..."

Murray coughed nervously.

"Everything's alright, bro?" Caboose asked.

"Yeah, it's fine." Murray said nervously. "I must've had an allergic reaction, or something..."

"Kids can be a handful sometimes, but I never regret having them." Daring admitted.

"I can see why." Mayor Mare cuddled Michael. "I'd love to hear the clip-clop of tiny hooves..."

Murray coughed again.

"Whoa, I think you're coming down with something there, bro." Caboose declared.

"Oh come now, don't be so stiff, Murray. Me and Salt are going to have a foal of our own soon." Redheart smiled, pointing out her bump.

Salt and Redheart had gotten married not too long after Sonny and Bon-Bon did (who got married after Lars and Lyra), and right after the honeymoon, Redheart was pregnant.

"Hard to believe that in a couple of months that we're going to be parents." Salt smiled.

"Not that any of us are surprised." Vinny smirked. "We Napoleons are naturally virile."

"Well, that's true." Salt said smugly.

"And let me be the first to say welcome to the club, bro." Caboose grinned. "Want me to teach you the secret hoofshake?"

"I think I'll pass." Salt rolled his eyes.

As the family members continued talking amongst themselves, Pureblood came to realize there was somepony missing.

"Hey, where's great-uncle Sonny?" He asked.

"Oh, he's in the kitchen." Bon-Bon answered. "Been there since we arrived, actually."

"Really?" Pureblood mused. "What's he doing?"

"He's trying to recreate our father, Clyde Napoleon's, famous aquilegia soup." Grimoire revealed. "It was dad's best dish. He passed away without ever sharing the recipe with us. Sonny has been trying to recreate it these last few years."

"And failing." Murray added. "Every time, the soup ends up tasting like raw sewage."

"That reminds me, could you go to the kitchen and fetch a plate of mini raviolis?" Grimoire asked Pureblood. "We could use a snack before the big meal."

"Will do, grandpa." Pureblood nodded, secretly grateful for the opportunity to escape Vito's bragging (Dusty and Blueblood were too busy chatting with Lyra and Lars to notice).

Pureblood made his way to the kitchen, only to be stopped by a mafia griffin.

"Whoa, hold it right there, kiddo." The griffin said gruffly. "No one is allowed into the kitchen."

"It's fine, sir." Pureblood declared. "Grandpa asked me to grab some ravioli from in there."

"I don't think that's a good idea." The griffin retorted. "Mr. Arson was very clear that he wants no one to disturb him when trying to make the aquilegia soup. He gets very hostile."

"How hostile?" Pureblood asked.

Suddenly, commotion was heard inside, after which Sonny pushed one of the kitchen staff out.

"Get out of the kitchen, you culinary klutz!" He yelled. "There's no room in Tartarus's Kitchen for greenhorns like you, you filthy f-"

"Ahem." Pureblood cleared his throat.

"Oh." Sonny stopped mid-curse. "Pureblood, what brings you here?"

"Um... Grandpa wanted some raviolis." Pureblood said awkwardly. "But it seems like you're very busy, so I'll just grab 'em and-"

"Sure, come on in... but don't touch any of the food." Sonny gestures inside.

Withinn the kitchen, several pony staff members were rushing back and forth, working on the meal. Pureblood spotted a tureen on the far side of the room.

"Is that it?" He asked. "The aquilegia soup?"

"Indeed it is." Sonny nodded. "I've been trying to perfect this recipe for a while now. Every year, I change it up, hoping to get it it right."

Picking up a ladle, he took a sip and grimaced. Sonny then set the ladle in the soup.

"Pureblood, make sure nopony touches this soup." He instructed. "I gotta go extract sap from a timberwolf out back."

"Without hurting the poor thing, right?" Pureblood asked.

"...Yeah, let's go with that." Sonny shrugged.

Sonny walked out the back door... and the sound of a timberwolf howling in pain ensued. Wincing, Pureblood trotted over to the soup, and sniffed it.

"Hmm, smells okay." He murmured, "Maybe a little taste wouldn't hurt..."

Pureblood lifted out the ladle, and lapped the spoon within. He instantly shuddered.

"Ugh, great-uncle Murray wasn't kidding." He grimaced. "Great-uncle Sonny's going to be humiliated if everypony hates his soup again..." Looking around, Pureblood spotted some condiments and spices on a nearby shelf.

"Hmm…" Pureblood pondered, "Maybe I should…" He shook his head. "No. Sonny wants no pony to mess with it…" But then the bad taste came back into his mouth. "Ick…" He glanced back up at the spices, "Maybe it wouldn't hurt to add something to make it a bit better."

He grabbed a stool and perused the shelves, and grabbed the ingredients.

"Ah, here we go." Pureblood smiled, as he began adding them, "A little saffron, a little basil, and a pinch of oregano…" He then sniff the soup, being greeted with a more pleasant smell, "Hmm, now we're cookin'. All we need is…" He then saw some rosemary. "Bingo!"

He added the rosemary to the soup and dipped the ladle into the soup, preparing to taste-test the soup once more, when he heard the back door opening. He quickly released the ladle and stood to one side.

"Got it!" Sonny smiled, holding a small cup of sap. "Any problems, kiddo?"

"N-no, none at all." Pureblood said nervously.

"Good, good." Sonny nodded. "Now, grab those raviolis and run along. This master chef needs to get to work on the other courses."

Pureblood grabbed the plate of raviolis and left the kitchen. He nervously glanced back at Sonny, as he put the sap into the soup and gave a small nod as he went on to his other courses. Without taste-testing his creation, Pureblood couldn't be sure of it's final flavor.

A short while later, everypony were sitting at the dinner table, awaiting the main course, with Pureblood acting a bit nervous.

"Something up, bro?" Vito asked. "You're looking a little... out here."

"Everything's fine." Pureblood smiled weakly. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Now, everypony, when Sonny brings in the aquilegia soup, we need you to try and act like you really enjoy it." Murray declared.

"I don't see what the big deal is." Vinyl frowned. "Was Sonny's last aquilegia soup that bad?"

"Hmm, let's see, there was that one time when it ate through all our spoons, another time where it blew up the entire room, and the time before that, it gave us the meadow mumps, and who can forget the time when it came alive..." Slot ran down.

"Took us so many bolts to put it down…" Murray shuddered.

"And Caboose kept making puns about it the weeks after." Vinny glared at Caboose.

"What's the big deal?" Caboose asked. "Everypony laughed, didn't they?"

"Sonny's been trying his hardest to perfect this recipe ever since our father died, and he's not going to stop till he does... it's safe to say it's been tearing him to shreds in recent years." Grimoire declared.

"No kidding." Lars snorted. "The first time he messed it up, he spent two hours showering, trying to scrub away the 'stink of failure'."

"And there was the breakdown a couple of  years back. Nearly burned down the kitchen, blaming it for his failure." Slot mused.

"Last night, I woke up to find him going over his recipe for the hundred time." Bon-Bon revealed. "And he kept muttering possible recipe combinations all day."

"If the soup winds up terrible yet again, I don't want to think about Sonny's reaction." Salt remarked.

"I-I'm sure it won't be so bad." Pureblood said nervously.

"Good evenin', everypony." Sonny announced as he entered, pushing the cart with the soup tureen on it. "I have prepared for you my father's very famous aquilegia soup, made to perfection, and is guaranteed to not leap to life."

"Yeah, I still can't get the taste of face-hugging soup out of my mouth." Salt grimaced.

"Let's get this dished out." Sonny brought out bowls and served the meal out to all of them. Everypony glanced at it, unsure. "Well, dig in..."

Grimoire and everypony shared uncertain glances, then Bon-Bon sighed.

"Oh, for Pete's sake..." She took a sip out of the soup, much to Pureblood's fear. "Mmm... oh my gosh..."

Everypony glanced at her in shock.

"Whoa, Bon-Bon, I get it that Sonny is your husband, but you are over-playing it on the pretending to like it." Vinny snorted.

"Who's pretending?" Bon-Bon took another sip. "This is most delicious thing I have ever eaten in my life."

Curious, the others glanced at their bowls. Everypony began to take sips, except Redheart, who was stopped by Salt.

"Just to be safe..." He took a sip, much to Redheart's dismay. Immediately, he lighted up.

"Whoa." Salt gasped. "This is... incredible! You guys gotta try this!"

Everypony tried the soup, and groaned at the deliciousness.

"Amazing..." Lyra sighed.

"Outstanding..." Vinyl agreed.

"You've outdone yourself, bro." Lars declared.

"What a wonderful soup." Zecora announced. "My tastebuds have been thrown for a loop."

"Yummy!" Michael beamed.

"Extra-yummy!" Hurricane agreed.

"Best soup ever!" Vito grinned.

"Wow." Redheart said, finally allowed some.

"Just like pop used to make!" Caboose nodded. "Or close enough."

"My tongue feels like it's on an adventure." Daring smiled.

"It's delicious." Blueblood declared. "Right, darling?"

"Mm-hmm." Dusty nodded.

"Fantastic!" Berry grinned.

"Dang straight!" Vinny chuckled. "It's like my mouth died and went to heaven."

Pureblood took a spoonful. The soup was perfect. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"I must say, Sonny, I don't know what it is you did, but you've outdone yourself... this is just as good as when father made it." Grimoire smiled.

"Wow, that good, huh?" Sonny chuckled. "I knew that adding Timberwolf sap would make it better. Hard to believe that after all these years, I finally perfected this soup…"

Sonny took a sip... and frowned.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Bon-Bon asked.

"Yeah, this stuff is delicious." Slot smiled.

"I know... it is delicious." Sonny agreed. "In fact, it's too delicious... somepony mess with the soup."

Everypony stopped eating.

"Mess with the soup?" Salt gasped. "Mess with it how?"

"It's not poisoned, is it?!" Slot gaped.

"No, oh no!" Sonny said soothingly, "I mean, somepony added things to it." He took a sip again, "And from the taste, it seems to be saffron, basil, oregano… and…" He sips again, "I can't seem to put a name to the last one…"

"Rosemary."

Everypony glanced at Pureblood.

"What was that?" Sonny asked.

"Rosemary." Pureblood muttered. "It was me, great-uncle Sonny."

"You?!" Sonny gasped.

"Yes. I took a sip of it while you were out doing who knows what to the timberwolf, and it tasted... well, terrible." Pureblood exclaimed. "I couldn't let you fail again, so I added some things. I was about to taste-test it when you came back in."

"You did this to the soup?" Sonny asked. "And never even tasted the finished product yourself?"

"Sorry." Pureblood hung his head. "I didn't mean-"

"Don't be sorry." Sonny smiled. "Be proud! You did what I never could; You replicated your great-grandfather's finest recipe! You did in a night what I couldn't do in twenty years."

"Congratulations, son." Blueblood nodded.

"Who knew we had another chef in the family?" Dusty smiled.

"A chef, me?" Pureblood gaped.

"Not only a chef, my dear niece, an connoisseur!" Sonny declared proudly. "A vituoso, an artiste, a maestro!"

"Well, I always did have a knack in the kitchen." Pureblood mused. "I never imagined it could be an actual skill..."

Suddenly, Pureblood's flank flashed, and an image of a ladle in a bowl of soup appeared.

"My Cutie Mark..." Pureblood gasped.

"Welcome to the club, bro!" Vito smiled, pulling his brother into a one-legged hug.

"Well done, Pureblood." Grimoire smiled. "Now, let's all get back to enjoying this wonderful soup."

"And maybe later, you and I can do a bit of culinary bonding time." Sonny offered. "Right, kiddo?"

"Right." Pureblood winked.
> Separate Vocations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Pureblood and Vito, getting their Cutie Marks was just the beginning. Before they knew it, Lars had offered to provide Vito with a teaching course, further refining his tutorial talents, and Sonny had offered to help Pureblood further hone his culinary skills. Of course, taking them up on those offers meant staying in Bitaly for an extended period of time. The twins felt it was a small price to pay.

"Isn't it great?" Vito smiled. "As good as we already are, with our great-uncles' help, we'll be even better!"

"That's the plan, at least." Pureblood declared. "And it'll all be happening in a week's time. I can't wait!"

"I can't believe you guys are really going." Miracle sighed.

"Yeah, it's bad enough you got your Cutie Marks before us." Hurricane huffed.

"It's not a contest, Hurri." Miracle admonished. "Being Crusaders together really was fun. And now, you're both leaving... We'll miss you guys."

"We'll miss you too." Pureblood smiled. "And all the fun we have together."

"I'll even miss Hurricane's wackiness." Vito admitted. "It'll be weird, not getting confused on a regular basis."

"Thanks, guys." Miracle smiled.

"Aw, get in here!" Hurricane pulled the others into a tight group hug, using both her legs and her wings.

"Can't... breathe..." Pureblood gasped.

"I know!" Hurricane smiled. "I'm breathless with excitement too!"

The next day, Vito was walking through School of the Gifted Unicorns with Glinda (who was using her Glenda guise).

"You're really leaving?" Glinda sighed.

"It won't be forever." Vito declared. "It'll just be for a couple of months, so I can really hone my newfound teaching skills."

"I'm gonna miss you, you know." Glinda nuzzled her head under her chin.

"And I'll miss you." Vito retorted, lovingly stroking her mane. "What say we go to Blazin' Blues for smoothies after school? My treat, from now until the day I leave."

"You don't have to do that." Glinda smiled.

"I know." Vito nodded. "But I want to."

As they continued walking through the corridors, they bumped into a very familiar (yet unexpected) face.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was- Great-uncle Lars?" Vito gasped.

"Oh, hi, kiddo." Lars smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Vito asked.

"Well, believe or not, I'm your new professor of metamorphosis!" Lars smiled.

"You are?" Vito gasped. "But professor Droner-"

"Just retired." Lars smirked. "After suddenly coming in to a large sum of money he won from a lottery." He finished with a quiet "wink-wink."

"I see." Vito said quietly.

"You know what this means?" Lars asked. "It means you won't have to go Bitaly for me to teach you. Lyra and me are moving into a new house that'll be practically round the corner!"

"Wow, that's great!" Vito cheered.

"It sure is." Glinda beamed. "Means I won't be separated from my coltfriend anytime soon."

"Oh, so you're Glinda?" Lars smiled. "V's told me a lot about you, but this is the first time we've met face-to-face. One of your faces, at least..."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Napoleon." Glinda smiled.

"Call me Lars." Lars chuckled. "We're practically family, after all, what with all the sweet talk V's been making about you."

"Oh, really?" Glinda nuzzled Vito again. "Good to know."

"We'd... better get to class." Vito blushed. "Don't want to be late."

"Of course not." Lars smiled. "Just because we're family doesn't mean I'll be going easy on you."

Vito and Glinda hurried to class.

"You're still treating me to smoothies after school, right?" Glinda asked.

"I sure am." Vito grinned. "Think of it as a celebration."

"Gladly." Glinda pecked him on the cheek, prompting another blush.

Back at the castle, Vito informed the others of the news.

"...So, I won't need to go to Bitaly after all!" He smiled. "Isn't that great?"

"Unbelievable." Miracle chuckled.

"What's unbelievable is how he got that job so easily." Caboose pouted as he passed by. "I had to come up with a whole backstory to become a Royal Guard!"

"Let it go, dad." Hurricane sighed. "Never bothered me anyway..."

"Wait." Pureblood froze. "You may not be going to Bitaly, but I still am."

"Ah, jeez, I didn't think of that." Vito frowned. "We've never been apart for that long before."

"We've barely spent more than a day away from each other." Pureblood added. "But a couple of months..."

"Ooh, dramatic plot shift!" Hurricane gasped.

"Not helping, Hurri." Miracle sighed.

"You don't have to go, you know." Vito told Pureblood. "I'm sure there are ponies right here in Canterlot who can teach you how to be a chef."

"But would they be willing?" Pureblood asked. "Besides, great-uncle Sonny's the best there is."

"Fine, then." Vito huffed. "Go. Abandon me!"

"Hey, don't make it like I'm the bad guy here!" Pureblood yelled.

"I'm just trying to help, you jerk!" Vito growled.

"You're the jerk!" Pureblood shot back.

"No, you!" Vito spat.

"Okay, calm down, you two." Miracle stepped between them. "Let's not get carried away."

"Maybe not having you around won't be so bad after all." Vito huffed.

"And being away from you might actually be a treat." Pureblood snarled.

"Do we have to trick you guys into the maze again?" Hurricane asked.

"Come on, guys." Miracle urged. "Do you really want to be angry at each other when you split up?"

"...No, I guess not." Vito sighed.

"Me neither." Pureblood agreed.

"Good." Miracle smiled. "Now, let's go to dinner."

"Good idea." Hurricane grinned. "I'm starved!"

Vito and Pureblood ate their dinner in silence. Though their anger had abated, their apprehension at being parted lingered. For the rest of the week, they were quiet and doleful, neither one wanting to bring up the sensitive subject, for fear of another disagreement.

The night before Pureblood was set to leave, they sat up in their beds, unable to sleep.

"Hey, V?" Pureblood asked. "You awake?"

"Yeah." Vito replied. "Can't sleep."

"Me neither." Pureblood agreed. "I can't stop worrying about tomorrow."

"So what else is new?" Vito snarked.

"I mean it." Pureblood sighed. "Once I go to Bitaly with great-uncle Sonny, I'll be sleeping alone, nopony sharing the room with me."

"Me too." Vito frowned. "What's your point?"

"It's just... we've always been together, our whole lives." Pureblood declared. "We may be different, but we're still twins. I can't imagine life without you, V."

"I know what you're getting at." Vito nodded. "But it is a pretty big opportunity you've got here. You should go."

"Really?" Pureblood smiled. "You mean that?"

"Sure I do." Vito grinned. "You're my brother. I want you to be the best you can be... even if I'm not there to see it."

"Thanks, V." Pureblood beamed.

"We may not always get along, but we'll always be brothers." Vito declared. "No amount of distance between us can change that."

"You're right." Pureblood nodded. "I'm gonna do it. I'll be the best chef ever!"

"You sure will, bro." Vito chuckled.

The brothers found it much easier to get to sleep after that.

The next morning, after breakfast, the familiar Bitalian carriage descended on the castle. Vito and Pureblood stepped into the courtyard, their parents, Miracle and Hurricane ready to see Pureblood off.

"You hold down the fort while I'm gone, V." Pureblood smiled.

"Sure will." Vito nodded. "And you be the best chef around, bro."

"Be good, son." Dusty hugged Pureblood.

"And do your best." Blueblood smiled.

"Have fun, Pureblood." Miracle declared.

"Bring me back a souvenir!" Hurricane urged.

"...You go to Bitaly all the time." Pureblood pointed out.

"So?" Hurricane shrugged.

As Sonny disembarked from the carriage and headed towards them, Pureblood took a deep breath, and stepped forward to meet him.

"Okay, I'm ready to go." He declared.

"Come on, then." Sonny smiled. "We'll have a lot to talk about when we get to where we're going."

Pureblood climbed into the carriage, and they took off. They had only been flying for a brief time when they landed again, beside a medium-sized building on the edge of Canterlot.

"What's going on?" Pureblood asked. "I thought we were going to Bitaly."

"Yeah... about that." Sonny smiled. "There's been a change of plan."

"A change?" Pureblood asked.

"Yep." Sonny nodded. "You see, when Lars told me and the others that he was going to take a sabbatical to teach in Canterlot, it gave me a bright idea of my own. Instead of teaching you up at the manor in Bitaly, I decided to take a break from being a mafia pony and bought a restaurant here. So I figured it'd be best for everypony if I could teach you right here, closer to your home, your friends and your family."

"Seriously?" Pureblood gasped. "No joke?"

"No joke." Sonny nodded.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Pureblood beamed.

"No prob." Sonny chuckled. "Now, let's get started on your first lesson."

"With pleasure." Pureblood grinned.

After spending most of the day under Sonny's tutelage, Pureblood returned to the castle.

"Hey, guys." He smiled at all the surprised faces. "I'm back."

"Pureblood?" Miracle gasped. "But I thought..."

"Are you a ghost?" Hurricane asked. "Or Pureblood's evil twin? Or a ghost of his evil twin? That's even worse!"

"Nope." Pureblood chuckled. "Great-uncle Sonny's opened a restaurant right here in Canterlot. I won't have to go to Bitaly to learn after all."

"Oh, wonderful!" Dusty smiled.

"It's good to have you back, son." Blueblood declared.

"Did you hear that, V?" Pureblood turned to the still-stunned Vito. "I'm staying here!"

"YES!"" Vito rushed over and tackled his brother with a bear hug. A moment later, he let go, sheepish. "Uh... I'm glad you're staying, bro."

"So am I, V." Pureblood chuckled. "Things just wouldn't be the same without you."

"Right back at ya, PB." Vito smiled.
> Medal Madness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Equestria Games had come once again. This time, the venue chosen was Dodge Junction. An old bullfighting stadium had been refurbished for the occasion. The entire royal family, from Twilight and her husband and children to Shining, Cadance and their son, Anthem, were among the audience, along with delegates from their neighboring countries, including Head Strong Jr., and Tawny, who had come to cheer the minotaur and griffin teams on.

In a first for the games, the Changelings had entered their own team for the various events; Sleight, Chrysalis and Glinda cheering from the stands (Glinda having shed her "Glenda" guise for the occasion)

"Ooh, this is so exciting!" Glinda cheered.

"Sure is, Glin." Sleight nodded. "I've always wanted to watch the Equestria Games. Never thought it'd be from a royal box."

"There's so much joy in the air." Chrysalis smiled. "National pride, patriotism, and a lot of love. Let's hope our subjects can control themselves."

"I'm sure they will." Sleight chuckled. "They'll be too busy cheering our team on to feed."

Down on the field, Shine and Celestia were making some last-minute inspections, joined by his wife, Big Red and Cherry Jubilee. Big Red was the leader of the Dodge Junction team, having coached them ever since shortly after the last game twenty years or so back.

"Whoo, dawgies, what a sight!" Big Red smiled. "Ah ain't never been this place so good!"

"Yeah…I didn't think we even have a bull-fighting stadium before." Shine glanced around.

"It was amazing, how quickly this old place was spruced up." Cherry declared. "I suppose when you have the right incentive..."

"And what greater incentive is there, then the greatest sporting event in our nation's history?"

Ms. Harshwhinny walked over. Her mane was going gray fast, and her face had several more lines, but she had the same stern, no-nonsense air that she had always displayed.

"Ah, Ms. Harshwhinny." Celestia smiled. "Good to see you again."

"Always an honor, your majesty." Ms. Harshwhinny bowed.

"So, Ms. Harshwhinny, what made you decide to have the games hosted here in Dodge Junction?" Shine asked.

"Well, your highness, I figured that the past few games have always been held in big cities and capitals... I just thought it would be nice to have it in a more rural setting for a change." Ms. Harshwhinny explained.

"Are ya sure?" Big Red smirked. "Because Ah heard from somepony that yew were caught having relations with some-"

"No, I wasn't." Ms. Harshwhinny said curtly.

"Really?" Big Red asked. "He went into very vivid details-OW!" Ms. Harshwhinny had just kicked his hoof.

"So sorry." Ms. Harshwhinny deadpanned. "I must have slipped."

Up in the royal box, Vito was getting cozy with Glinda.

"This is nice, isn't it?" Glinda smiled. "I'm free to be myself in public without anypony staring."

"If I were you, I wouldn't mind the stares." Vito declared. "You're gorgeous either way."

"Oh, you..." Glinda nuzzled against him.

Strut Step had found time in her busy schedule to attend, and was currently catching up with Pureblood.

"Great to see you in pony again, Pure." She smiled. "Have you gotten taller?"

"I guess." Pureblood shrugged.

"Have you done something different with your mane?" Strut asked, stroking t lightly.

"N-not that I know of." Pureblood stuttered, blushing.

"Well, whatever you're doing, keep it up." Strut tousled his mane. "It looks good on you."

"Thanks, Strut." Pureblood smiled goofily. "You look good, too. You always look good."

"Just 'good'?" Strut frowned. "Not 'great'?"

"I, er..." Pureblood gaped.

"Relax." Strut snickered. "I'm just ribbin' ya. Thanks for the compliment."

"Anytime." Pureblood beamed.

At the same time, Dusk Glow and Starlight Twinkle were chatting with their old friends Tawny and Junior.

"It's been too long since we last saw each other." Dusk smiled. "How are things?"

"As well as you'd expect." Tawny shrugged.

"Let's not talk politics." Junior snorted. "Let's enjoy the Games."

"Yeah." Starlight agreed. "Best of luck to your teams!"

"And yours." Tawny nodded.

Elsewhere, in box seats not far below the royals, none other than Grimiore, alongside with the wives/marefriends of his brothers, as well as his own wife, and Daring Do (carrying a giggling Michael) and Caboose (who was currently serving as a royal guard), were taking their seats in a reserved area of their own.

"My, these are amazing seats." Mayor mused.

"Tell me about it." Vinyl lounged in her seat. "How do you guys get seats so close to the royal dudes?"

"Connections." Grimoire smiled. "The Napoleon family is well-known all over. Of course, being an acquaintance/in-law to Princess Celestia certainly helps."

"I'll bet." Bon-Bon smirked.

"Who cares how we got the seats?" Berry Punch shrugged. "We got 'em, that's the important thing!"

The sounds of fanfare echoed.

"Ooh, the teams are coming in." Lyra leaned forward.

Down below, the teams were gathering; the minotaurs, griffins, Changelings, and ponies from all across Equestria and beyond. 

One notable team was the one that hailed from Bitaly. The Bitalian team almost never made it to the games, because the team mostly consisted of none other than the Napoleon Brothers. Due to their "business", the brothers were almost always whisked away on some 'business' trip and the team had to forfeit, but this year, they caught a lucky break.

The team was led by Salt, and all the brothers except Grimoire and Caboose were his teammates. Bringing up the rear was a unknown charcoal-colored Earth pony of powerful stature, his Cutie Mark being a hammer with a sickle on the end of the handle.

"Okay, bros, this is it, the big league, let's win us some medals!" Salt yelled. "In fact, let's win the most medals of the entire games!"

"We'll do our best." Murray nodded, surveying the other competitors. "But that's some stiff competition."

"Hah, they don't stand a chance against Bitalian stallions!" Vinny smirked.

"Got that right." Slot chuckled. "We're gonna mop the floor with 'em!"

"Don't be so sure." Lars frowned. "These are the best athletes around. We'll be hard-pressed to beat them."

"Don't even think that!" Salt rounded on Lars. "No talk of losing, either. We're gonna win this, got that?"

"Competitive, much?" Sonny cringed.

"Less talking, more walking!" Salt yelled. "We're falling behind the others."

"Dude, we're just gathering for the opening ceremony." Vinny frowned.

"Hey, there's no slouching at all today! As of now, we are to give it a 130% all the way!" Salt bellowed.

"Don't you mean 110%?" Lars muttered.

"You heard me right." Salt glared darkly at him.

Grimoire observed the scene from his seat with a frown.

"What's Salt's deal?" Grimoire frowned. "Never before had I seen him so worked up over a couple of medals…"

"It's for our foal." Redheart declared, rubbing her pregnant belly. "Salt wants to show off the medals to 'our boy', after it's born."

"Wait, it's a colt?" Bon-Bon asked.

"I don't know. Salt seems to insist that it will be." Redheart rolled her eyes, "And he wants to get a head-start on becoming the 'inspirational' father figure."

"I see." Grimoire smiled. "While it's nice to see him thinking of his kid, he might be going a little overboard."

"That much is plain to see." Zecora agreed. "Will he take it too far? Maybe."

"Salt just wants the best for our child. He would literally move mountains just for this little guy." Redheart sighed blissfully, glancing down at her belly.

"Why aren't you on the team, Caboose?" Daring asked. "I mean, your brothers are all there."

"Salt said there wasn't any room for me." Caboose shrugged half-heartedly. "He hired this Russiaddlan strongpony for the final spot."

"What?! Unbelievable!" Daring growled. "Putting winning over his own brother. He's not even Bitalian!"

"Um, actually, according to Lars, he have been a Bitalian citizen for a year now." Lyra raised a hoof. Daring glared at her. "But yeah, it's not cool what he did to your husband."

"Look, It's okay." Caboose sighed. "I guess I'm just not athletic enough for him, I can live with that... Hey, where's Hurri?"

"Down below." Daring smiled. "She wanted to get some snacks."

Meanwhile, Hurricane was rushing to the concessions stand when she bumped into Gauntlet.

"Oh, hi." She blushed.

"Hi, yourself." Gauntlet smiled.

Ever since the contest they held against their fathers, Hurricane and Gauntlet had taken a liking to each other, though neither one was ready to admit it.

"Come to cheer the Canterlot team on, huh?" Hurricane asked.

"Yep." Gauntlet nodded awkwardly. "My dad guarding the royal box. Maybe I could come and join you..."

"That'd be nice." Hurricane gushed. "Right now, I'm just getting some snacks. I could get you something, if you want..."

"That's okay." Gauntlet turned her down. "I had a big breakfast. Thanks for asking, though."

"No problem." Hurricane almost slipped as she walked away backwards "See ya soon!"

"I'll be in the box when you get back!" Gauntlet called, more enthusiastically then he intended.

Up in the royal box, everypony was talking excitedly.

"Ah, this brings back memories." Twilight smiled. "Remember the Games held in the Crystal Empire, Spike?"

"Like I could ever forget." Spike snorted.

"Me, too." Flash nodded. "I was just a regular guard at the time, but I still had a pretty good view."

"What was it like, mom?" Anthem asked.

"Outstanding." Cadance smiled. "There were a few bumps in the road, but in the end, it turned out great."

"I wish I could have been there." Anthem sighed. "Couldn't you and dad have had me a few years earlier?"

"Not without you being born out of wedlock." Shining shrugged.

"Excuses, excuses..." Anthem joked.

"Hi, Spike." Miracle waved.

"Hey, Mir." Spike smiled.

"I heard you're going to light the torch." Miracle declared.

"Sure am." Spike nodded.

"Can't wait to see it." Miracle smiled.

Down below, Blue Blazes and Mist were talking with Spitfire and Soarin', who were coaching the Cloudsdale team.

"Good luck today." Blue smiled.

"Thanks, son." Soarin' nodded.

"And how's our little grandkid doing?" Spitfire asked.

"It's doing fine." Mist smiled. "Which is more then I can say. It's getting hard to walk with all this extra weight."

"I know the feeling." Spitfire recalled. "Blue was one big baby..."

"Mom!" Blue cringed.

"Well, you were!" Spitfire shrugged. "I could barely even move near the end."

Mist giggled loudly.

"Nice." Blue sighed. "Way to support your fiance."

"Relax, mr. pouty." Mist teased. "Let's go find our seats."

"Okay." Blue smiled.

Not long after, when everypony was in their seat, the opening ceremony began. Spike, succeeding at where he failed so many years ago, lit the torch.

"Yeah, Spike!" Miracle cheered. "That's my dragon!"

"'Your' dragon?" Starlight frowned. "What are you, his marefriend or something?"

"Or something." Miracle blushed.

A megaphone was set up in the middle of the stadium, as Big Red approached it, being chosen by the town to announce the opening of the games.

"Howdy, everypony!" He declared. "First of all, Ah'd like ta thank the Equestria Games commitee once again for decidin' to hold the Games in mah home. It's such an honor. Boy, Ah tell ya, Ah never dreamed we'd see such an honor. This li'l town, with it's dusty plains, friendly folks, and terrific cherry trees, that Ah use ta make the best cherry wine in Equestria... Ya'll oughta try some-"

"Get on with it!' Salt yelled.

"Right." Big Red straightened his hat, "Let the Equestria Games begin!"

All manner of sports, rather than simply Equestrian ones, were played, such as the minotaurs' log toss…

"Let's git 'er done!" Big Red hefted his log with no more effort then a regular pony would give a broom, and flung it clear into the horizon.

The crowd stared, nonplussed, for a moment, then broke into cheers.

"YEAH!!" Cherry whooped. "That's my darling Big Red down there!"

"Don't hold back on our account, Cherry." Twilight joked. "Really let it out."

Then there was the griffins' claw carving, the goal of which was to carve a statue out of wood in a certain time (the other teams were provided with prosthetic claws for that event).

Slot, clutching his claws, stood on one leg and spun until he became a whirling dervish. The dervish spun around the wood, quickly reducing it to a giant heart. Coming to a stop,Slot finished it by carving "S.N. + V.S" in the center.

"WHOO!" Vinyl cheered. "Yeah, baby!"

Then there was the Changeling game "slime dive", where the competitors jumped into a vat of slime to retrieve a flag.

Vinny burst out of the vat, flag in hoof, trying to catch his breath.

"Ha... no problem..." He gasped.

"Didn't you have a watch?'" Murray pointed.

"...Be right back." Vinny groaned, diving back into the slime.

"I don't know why they're so repulsed." Chrysalis frowned. "The slime isn't that bad."

"Yeah, it's even good for the skin." Sleight added.

"I'll take your word for it..." Blueblood cringed.

To Salt's delight, the Bitalian team began racking up the medals as they won events after events.

"That's it, guys!" He cheered. "I can't wait for my little colt to see all the medals we got!"

"It might be a filly, y'know." Vinny pointed out.

"Or it could be a colt." Salt countered. "And one of these days, he'll be in for a treat!"

"You're only setting yourself up for disappointment." Murray mused sagely.

"Well, at least I'm not chicken-curd when it comes to planning parenthood." Salt spat.

"Why must you be such a culo-brain at these times?" Murray glared.

The next event was the shotput. The Russiaddlian pony, Hammer N. Sickle stepped forward.

"This is vat I was born for." He declared.

With one good throw, he sent the ball flying out of the stadium.

"Whoo-hoo!" Salt whooped. "Another gold medal for junior to feast his eyes on!"

As the Games progressed, Bitaly and Dodge Junction were neck and neck, each gaining sizable amounts of medal.

"Shoot, we might just win this whole shebang!" Big Red told his team.

"Not if I have anything to say about it..." Salt seethed.

The hurdles came, and once again, Hammer stepped up.

"Go, Hammer!" Salt cheered, "Throttle those back-water hill-billies into the ground!"

The race began. Hammer cleared the first couple of hurdles easily, then started to falter.

"What... the..." He groaned, clutching his chest.

"Whoa, something's up with Hammer…" Murray noticed.

Hammer tried to shake off the pain… but it soon became too much, and he collapsed.

"No, no, no!" Salt yelled, "Hammer!"

As the Bitalian team raced over, the medics examined Hammer.

"What's wrong?" Lars asked.

"It's a mild coronary." One medic declared.

"A heart attack?" Sonny gasped.

"Yes, but a small one." Another medic said. "Given time, he'll recover completely."

"But we don't have time!" Salt growled. "We need him!" He turned to Hammer, "Come on, man, you have to get up!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Napoleon. Looks like those butter-caked blinis came and bit me on the flank." Hammer muttered.

"Oh come on! Can't you guys give him a pill or something?" Salt pleaded.

"Give it up, Salt." Slot frowned. "Hammer's out of commission. Accept it."

"But... the Games..." Salt muttered.

"We're allowed a sub, but we gotta make it fast." Lars declared.

"Then let's get crackin'!" Salt dashed off, being followed by his brothers.

They rushed over to Grimoire's seat in the stands.

"Grim, ya gotta take Hammer's place!" Salt begged.

"Afraid not, brother." Grimoire shook his head, "I'm not as young as I used to be. Sports isn't my thing, anyways."

"Oh, that's a lot of bull!" Salt snarled, "You and Zecora go at it like-"

"Assault, if you don't want to end up like Hammer, I would suggest you not finish that thought." Grimoire glared.

"Or else your health would go south for the sins of your mouth." Zecora glared.

Salt let out a growl as he ran further up, to the royal box, the brothers following.

As he did so, Iron stepped in front of the entrance.

"Do you have authorization to see the royals-" Iron stated professionally, but was cut off unceremoniously as Salt shoved him aside.

"Out of my way, Dwayne Jockeyson, I need to talk with Prince Blueblood!" Salt growled with the ferocity of a stallion on a mission.

"What?" Anthem gasped.

"Me?!" Blueblood frowned.

"Salt, you can't be serious..." Dusty sighed, aware of what her uncle had in mind.

"Blueblood, time to step up as son-in-law of the Napoleon Family!" He yelled.

"I can't participate." Blueblood shook his head. "I'm royalty. It's against regulations."

"Besides, Blueblood isn't really the athletic type." Shining explained.

"Unless, of course, he has a mane emergency." Flash snickered. "Then he runs like a champ."

"Hmph, very funny." Blueblood pouted.

Salt stifled a curse, as he turned to Pureblood. "How about Pureblood? He's strong!"

"Oh for Faust's sake, Salt, he's only a young boy." Dusty gasped.

"Hey, we can pass him off as a midget." Salt shrugged.

"I think that would be illegal." Pureblood frowned.

"Only if we get caught." Slot said matter-of-factly.

"What about Caboose?" Daring asked, her and Caboose stepping into the royals' box shortly after them. Tailing them was Redheart, concerned about her husband's well-being.

"Oh come on, Daring, I'm fine, really." Caboose shrugged.

"Seriously, he'd be great." Daring told Salt.

"Great?" Hurricane snorted. "He'd be awesome!"

"Yeah, let daddy play!" Michael added.

"Sorry, Dare, but I don't think that would be the best idea…" Salt shook his head.

"And why not?" Daring challenged.

"Well..." Salt cringed.

"He's not very..." Lars waffled.

"He's kind of..." Sonny mumbled.

"Sports isn't really his..." Murray started.

"He blows." Slot stated bluntly.

"He does not, Slot." Murray countered.

"Yes, he does." Slot insisted. "He blows. He blows hard, harder than any mare, including Vinny's."

"HEY!" Vinny yelled.

"I'd like to let Caboose in." Salt declared. "But it's just not-"

"Salt, that's enough." Redheart walked over. "You have to take Caboose. There's no other choice."

"But..." Salt gulped.

"Of course, if you forfeit, our son won't get to see any medals." Redheart announced sing-songy.

That certainly hit a spot for Salt.

"Oh, alright!" Salt groaned, "Caboose, you're in." Salt sighed.

"OKAY!" In the time it took for everypony to glance in his direction, he somehow quickly changed from his armor to a games' uniform, smiling brightly. "I thought you'd never ask! You won't regret this, guys!"

Caboose barreled down to the field.

"I already am…" Salt groaned to himself.

The games continued, starting with the pole vault. Caboose excitedly got ready for the event.

"Here we go!" He giggled. "Top athlete Caboose, ready to go!"

Salt turned to a nearby Earth Pony, who was a undercover member of the mafia.

"Hey, you." He called.

"Me?" The pony perked up.

"Yeah. What's your name?" Salt asked.

"Um, Linus, sir." The pony answered.

"Okay, Linus, here's the deal." Salt declared. "I have a feeling that I'm going to lose it several times in the next hour or so, so if you see me without something to break, I want you to give me something to break."

"Oh... so the Anger Management package, I'm guessing?" Linus inquired.

"Yeah." Salt nodded. "And make sure that the object gets bigger and bigger each time. Don't care if it is living or not, I just want something to break. If you fail to comply, I will break your back."

"Um... okay..." Linus gulped.

"Glad we had this chat." Salt smiled, patting his shoulder.

When the time came for the Bitalian team to vault, Caboose charged forward.

"Leeroy Wingkins!" He yelled.

All seemed to be going to plan, at first. Caboose stuck his pole into the ground, rose up... then fell back down as the pole snapped.

"YA-HA-HA-HOOEY!" Caboose yelped as he hit the ground.

"Linus!" Salt yelled.

"Here, sir." Linus brought over a clipboard.

"Thank you, Linus." Salt nodded, as he promptly snapped the clipboard in half.

Things got worse from there. At the horseshoe relay…

Caboose held up a horseshoe and aimed it at the waiting Slot.

"Keep your eyes open… and focus on your goal!" Caboose declared, as he wound up and after a small 360, flung the horseshoe… only for it to come back like a boomerang, "Oh, crud, not again!" He ducked under it, and it flew towards Murray.

"Oh, no." Murray gulped.

*BAM*

The horseshoe conked Murray out instantly.

"Ouch, Murray is going to feel that in the morning." Lars winced.

"Linus." Salt said coldly.

Linus set down a chair for him.

"Thank you, Linus." Salt nodded, as he then proceeds to kick it into so many pieces.

When the ice archery event came, Caboose was busy practicing for his turn.

"Okay, Caboose, a bow is no big deal. It's just like a crossbow… except harder." Caboose tried to rally himself.

He tried to pull the arrow back… only for it to slip out of his hoof and hit the ground near his feet.

"Uh-oh." Caboose gulped, as ice instantly froze him to the ground, "Um, guys?"

"Ah, Caboose!" Vinny groaned.

"Talk about getting cold hooves." Lars deadpanned.

"Linus!" Salt groaned.

Linus then gave him a TV.

"Thank you, Linus." Salt muttered, as he then smashed it down on the ground, as he let out a peeved sigh. "Guess I have to step in for him…"

After Salt narrowly won the ice archery event (and Caboose had defrosted), it was soon time for the long jump… and it was Caboose's turn again.

"Okay, here comes the BOOM!" Caboose bellowed as he ran for his jump… only for him to trip at the start. "Boom." He mumbled, his face in the sand.

"Linus!" Salt cringed.

Linus brought over an entire cabinet.

"Thank you, Linus." Salt nodded, proceeding to tear it apart with his bare hooves.

After more and more of Caboose's mishaps and many events later, Salt was at his wit's end, running himself ragged through frantic pacing.

"Linus... be frank with me... how badly are we losing?" He asked, clutching his mane.

Linus checked the score.

"Well, it seems like we are tied still." He declared. "We made a good comeback with the other events."

"Well, that's better than nothing." Salt turned to a portable pool with a whale in it. "You got lucky, Flippy."

The whale moaned.

The final event came: an obstacle course consisting of pitfalls, pools, and angled slopes with ropes to climb up with, devised by the ponies of Dodge Junction themselves. The home team chose Big Red as their runner.

"Okay, I'm ready to win." Salt stepped forward, composing himself, "I'm going to win this thing, and get my boy that medal!"

"Again, what if it's a filly?" Vinny asked.

"It's going to be a colt, Faust dang it!" Salt barked. "Now let's do this!"

"Not so fast." Ms. Harshwhinny declared, coming onto the field. "Since you substituted for your brother in ice archery, you used up your last turn."

"Wait, what?!" Salt gasped, "If I can't do it, then who else is there?"

"The only pony with a turn left." Ms. Harshwhinny declared. "Caboose."

"Oh, Faust no." Salt cringed.

"Well, we're boned." Slot sighed.

"Come on, guys." Caboose smiled. "I can do this!"

"He is our only shot, you know." Murray admitted.

"Alright, fine." Salt groaned, his eye somewhat twitching. "It's up to you, Caboose."

"Yes!" Caboose smiled.

"But if you mess up and lose the medal for me and my son, I swear I will gut you like a fish." Salt declared, glaring viciously at Caboose, before giving a sickly smile. "No pressure or anything."

"Oookay." Caboose gulped.

Big Red, Caboose and the other competitors took their places at the starting line.

"May the best stallion win." Big Red smiled at Caboose.

"You too." Caboose smiled back, before whispering to himself, "And may the loser not be filleted..."

With a burst of magic from the referee's horn, they were off. Big Red got an early lead, criss-crossing the pitfalls.

"Jest like dodgin' gopher holes!" Big Red declared.

Caboose managed to get back some distance during the pool portion, his smaller frame enabling him to swim faster.

"Go Caboose!" Daring cheered.

"Yeah, dad!" Hurricane and Michael yelled.

"You can do it, Red!" Cherry urged.

Then came the slope. Caboose grabbed the rope, and started to pull himself up. Big Red started to overtake him, while Caboose lost steam with each passing pull.

"Can't... do... it..." He huffed and puffed. "Must... talk... like... this!"

As he struggled to hold on, he thought of his loved ones; his brothers, his wife, his daughter. He had to keep going. For them.

"Can't stop now." He gritted his teeth. "Gotta keep going!"

With renewed zeal, Caboose doubled his efforts, catching up to Big Red just as he leapt off the slope to the trampoline below. Caboose followed, bouncing off the trampoline and landing in perfect form. The final part of the course was a 100 meter dash to the finish. Willing all his strength into his legs, Caboose charged toward the finish line.

"Still in this, pardner?" Big Red smiled. "That's the spirit!"

As they charged towards the finish line, the crowd know it would be close.

"Come on, Caboose!" Salt yelled.

"You can do it!" Murray added.

"Just a little more!" Vinny cheered.

Flippy the whale gave a moan of encouragement.

"Go for it, Big Red!" Shine smiled.

"Almost there!" Cherry grinned.

"you can do it!" Mist yelled.

"Win this, grampa!" Miracle added.

As they finished the race, a photo was taken... revealing them to have tied, with Caboose's horn having touched the line at the same time as Red. The crowd cheered for both sides, impressed by their skills.

"That's my 'Boosey!" Daring cheered.

"That's my dad!" Hurricane added.

"Daddy!" Michael squealed.

"Whoo, dawgies, what a race!" Big Red mopped his brow. "Nice moves out there, Caboose!"

"Thanks." Caboose wheezed. "You weren't…so bad… yourself."

"Way to go, Caboose!" Murray smiled.

"Nicely done." Lars agreed.

"Didn't know you had it in you." Sonny declared.

"Yeah, no kiddin'." Slot snorted.

"Great job, bro!" Vinny added.

Salt approached Caboose, his face impassive.

"Sorry I didn't win, Salt." Caboose sighed.

"Why?" Salt asked. "You were amazing out there!"

"Really?" Caboose smiled.

"Really." Salt nodded. "What's one less medal? We still won enough to really impress my future son."

"Or daught-" Vinny tried to correct, only to be back-hoofed by Salt.

"It's a boy." Salt said with the same sickly smile.

At the medal-giving ceremony, the referees were at a loss as to what to do with the medal the Bitaly and Dodge Junctions teams had tied for.

"You can have it." Salt told Big Red. "With my compliments."

"Naw, yew take it." Big Red smiled.

"No, you." Salt countered. "I insist."

"So do Ah." Big Red growled.

"But I insisted first." Salt frowned.

"I know how to solve this." Caboose grinned. Taking the medal, he grabbed it in both front hooves, and, with a great deal of effort, broke the medal in two. "There! Now we each get a half!"

Salt gaped at the broken medal, his eye twitching.

"What?" Caboose asked.

It was an Equestria Games to remember, and not just for the sporting events...

"No, Salt, don't hurt the whale!" Murray yelped.
> Brain Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Late one afternoon, Caboose and Daring entered the office of Mr. Curriculum, a teacher at Hurricane's school, having been called in for a parent-teacher conference. Mr. Curriculum was a grey-coated middle-aged Earth Pony with a short, beige mane, brown eyes, and a chalkboard Cutie Mark.

"Look, Mr. Curriculum, if this is about what Hurricane said last week, I swear, I didn't think there would be ponies outside Bitaly who understands Bitalian-" Caboose rambled.

"Mr. Napoleon, I assure you, that is not what I call you here for." Mr. Curriculum declared.

"Then why did you call us?" Daring asked. "Is Hurricane in some kind of trouble?"

"Quite the opposite actually, Mrs. Napoleon." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "We have been looking over your daughter's most recent test scores, and we discovered something... very shocking."

"Is she falling behind her classmates?" Caboose asked.

"No." Curriculum declared. "In fact, she's at the top of her class... in every subject."

"She is?" Daring gasped.

"Even algebra?" Caboose asked incredulously.

"Indeed. Moreover, her grades are actually putting some of our older students to shame." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "Your daughter is a bona fide genius, Mr. and Mrs. Napoleon."

"My Hurri, a genius?" Caboose gasped. "…How?"

"Well, it's hard to say for sure." Mr. Curriculum shrugged. "Sometimes, it's a product of genes and upbringing, not to mention environment... possibly even a latent hereditary potential..."

"…Uh, could you repeat that again, starting at 'product'?" Caboose glanced oddly.

Curriculum frowned.

"Of course, there's a strong possibility that Hurricane had inherited her intelligence from her mother's side of the family…" Curriculum supposed.

"Well, us Dos were always known for our resourcefulness and quick-thinking…" Daring supposed.

"Then that must be it then." Mr. Curriculum nodded.

So, what now?" Daring asked.

"Well, I might suggest looking for more advanced forms of education." Mr. Curriculum declared. "Though she has shown no signs so far, I fear Hurricane may become bored and unchallenged by her current lessons. I know the name of a good private school that will help in that regard."

"We'll have to think about it." Daring declared. "Hurri does have quite a few friends here."

"Of course, of course." Mr. Curriculum nodded. "I am only suggesting the possibility." He took some papers from his desk. "Feel free to peruse this information pack."

"Well, thanks for telling us this." Daring smiled.

"My pleasure." Mr. Curriculum grinned. "Grades aside, Hurricane is one of our nicest students. We're quite proud of her."

"So are we." Daring chuckled. "Come on, Caboose."

Caboose had been sitting stalk still, staring off into space.

"Caboose?" Daring asked.

"Oh." Caboose snapped out of it. "Coming!"

As they left the school, Daring noticed the worried look on Caboose's face.

"What's wrong, dear?" She asked.

"Nothing." Caboose declared. "I just can't believe my little girl's a genius."

"Me neither." Daring smiled, "I'm so proud!"

"Yeah, proud..." Caboose said quietly.

Meanwhile, Hurricane and Miracle were continuing their crusading (Pureblood and Vito were off training with their uncles). They had just tried (and failed) to attain crocheting Cutie Marks.

"Who knew wool could be such trouble?" Hurricane shrugged.

"And it took forever to get untangled..." Miracle groaned.

They came across Iron Hooves.

"Morning, Captain Hooves." Miracle smiled.

"Morning, young princess." Iron bowed. "Miss Hurricane."

"Morning." Hurricane smiled. "Hey, did you have raisin oats for breakfast."

"I- Yes, yes, I did." Iron nodded. "How could you tell?"

"Well, for starters, you've got raisin breath." Hurricane declared. "And you've got a little bit of oat on the corner of your mouth. After you had breakfast, you shaved, went for a jog, polished your spear, then tripped on something. A rock, I'll bet."

"That's right." Iron gaped. "How'd you-"

"In that order: most of your chin is smooth, though you missed a spot there." Hurricane pointed at the hairy spot on his chin. "There's some sweat stains on your coat, some leftover polish on your spear... oh, and a rough-looking scuff mark on one of your boots."

"Wow, Hurri." Miracle smiled, impressed. "How'd you do that?"

"I dunno." Hurricane shrugged. "I just... do."

"Very impressive." Iron nodded.

"Hurricane!" Caboose called, as he and Daring walked across the castle grounds.

"Hi, dad!" Hurricane waved. "What's up, mom?"

"We've just been talking with one of your teachers." Daring declared.

"I didn't do anything!" Hurricane yelped.

"It wasn't anything like that." Daring smiled. "You, my dear, are gifted."

"I'm what?" Hurricane asked.

"You're a genius." Caboose declared. "You got the best marks in the whole school. Even algebra…"

"Genius?" Miracle gasped. "Really?"

"Yeah, really?" Hurricane asked.

"Really." Daring smiled. "In fact, Mr. Curriculum suggested that we transfer you to a private school, where you can really put those brains to the test."

"Wow." Hurricane said quietly. "That's... that's really something."

"You don't have to decide right away." Daring assured her. "Have a good, long think about it, just to be sure."

"Congratulations, lieutenant." Iron slapped Caboose on the back. "You must be so proud."

"Oh, yeah." Caboose smiled awkwardly. "Couldn't be prouder..."

"This is incredible, Hurri." Miracle chuckled. "I knew you had some smarts, but I never guessed you'd be a full-blown genius! Isn't it great?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Hurricane shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Miracle asked.

"I guess I... don't really know what to do with this." Hurricane sighed. "Being 'gifted', I mean. It's all happening so fast."

"I'm sure you'll make the right decision, Hurri." Miracle smiled.

"Thanks, Mir." Hurricane said gratefully.

That evening, Hurricane's family had one of their quietest dinners. Neither Caboose nor Hurricane spoke a word, too busy thinking about the recent revelation.

"Pretty quiet tonight, isn't it, Michael?" Daring sighed.

"Too quiet." Michael nodded. "Me like it loud!"

Michael banged his spoon against his high chair.

"That's the spirit, Mikey." Daring smiled.

That night, Caboose was just laying in bed, as Daring was reading one of her books, when....

"Daring, dear?" Caboose asked.

"Yes, Caboose?" Daring smiled.

"Do you think I'm dumb?" Caboose said bluntly.

Daring paused for a moment...

"No, of course not..." She said finally.

"Whew, that's a relief..." Caboose smiled, as he made to lay down... then he got back up. "Hey, wait a minute, you hesitated!"

"What? No... no..." Daring insisted, though trailing off.

"You're doing it again!" Caboose frowned.

Daring let out a sigh.

"Caboose, you know I love you very much... but you have to admit, you had a lot of... dare I say it, 'derpy' moments." Daring explained.

"Such as?" Caboose asked. Just as Daring was about to speak, he cut her off. "And not counting the Church incident. That dead human has been whipped enough already."

"Well... there's that time you tried taking a cannon to a fly like you would a sledgehammer to a walnut..." Daring recalled.

"There were no fly-swatters nearby!" Caboose declared, "I tell ya, that fly was hopped up on something!"

"How about when you thought Ahuizotl had come back to life at one of my book signings, and proceed to beat up a husky cosplayer?" Daring asked.

"Hey, take it up with the bloody writers pairing you with that cat-gorilla!" Caboose growled. "I swear, if the Phoenix didn't kill him, I would have!"

"And how about the time you tried started a salmon farm... on an actual farm, with no water in sight?" Daring pointed out.

"Okay, granted, that was a bit of a snafu on my part…" Caboose admitted.

"And what about when you thought 'seed money' meant it had to be planted, and you buried some of Murray's own reserves?" Daring chuckled.

"Yeah, that was pretty dumb." Caboose admitted.

"Sure was." Daring smirked.

"Oh, so you think I'm dumb too, is that it?!" Caboose asked angrily.

"No, Caboose, that's not-" Daring asked.

"My own wife thinks I'm an idiot!" Caboose growled.

"No I don't." Daring said firmly. "What's this all about, anyway?"

"I just... I just can't believe my own daughter is smarter than me." Caboose sighed.

"That's it?" Daring asked, "That's what you are upset about?"

"What do you mean 'that's it'?" Caboose groaned. "I'm her father. Somepony to look up to, to respect... How can she do that when her brain's bigger than mine?"

"Hurricane does respect you." Daring smiled. "And it's not because of your brain. It's because you're a kind and caring father."

"Yeah, I guess." Caboose sighed. "I really do want her to be the best she can be. To use her brains to go places. It's just... yesterday, she was just like any other filly, and now I feel like she's a different pony altogether."

"She's not." Daring assured him. "She's the same Hurricane she's always been, and the same filly you held in your arms on the day she was born."
"Maybe I should just sleep on it." Caboose sighed, as he snuggled back under the covers. "Night, honey."

"Night, dear." Daring kissed him.

Unfortunately, sleeping on it didn't help. Caboose still held feelings of inadequacy, barely saying goodbye to Hurricane as he went to work. Hurricane was too busy thinking about her "gifts" to notice.

A short while after breakfast, Hurricane headed to the castle, bumping into Gauntlet on the way in.

"Dad told me about what happened." Gauntlet whispered.

"Oh, he did, did he?" Hurricane groaned.

"I think it's cool that you're so smart." Gauntlet smiled. "Now you've got brains and beauty."

"Oh, thanks." Hurricane blushed.

"Besides, you're the same Hurricane you've always been." Gauntlet added. "And I wouldn't want you any other way. Not that I'm saying I 'want' you, that is." He added nervously.

"Yeah, I know." Hurricane beamed. "But still, brains aren't really that important for my dream job. I wanna be a Royal Guard, just like dad. You don't need brains for that!"

"No, but I'm pretty sure it helps." Gauntlet shrugged.

"Not by much." Hurricane snorted. "But that's not the worst part. Mom and dad told me about this private school I could go to."

"Private school?" Gauntlet asked, suddenly worried. "Is it far away from here?"

"Sure is." Hurricane nodded. "They say it's my choice, but it feels like I'd let everypony down if I said 'no'."

"Well, I'd hate for you to be so far away." Gauntlet admitted. "Because I really like... hanging out with you."

"I like hanging out with you, too." Hurricane smiled. "Which only makes the decision harder. When did being smart get so difficult?"

Meanwhile, Caboose was still reflecting on things as he patrolled the castle corridors.

"I am not dumb." He told himself. "I am not dumb. I'm smart. I figured out the Deer Vinci code, for cryin' out loud...""

He bumped into Iron Hooves.

"Oops!" He gulped. "Sorry, captain. Didn't see you there."

"That's alright, lieutenant." Iron smiled. "I'm used to it."

"Wait... do you think I'm dumb?" Caboose accused.

"What, of course not." Iron replied. "You may have your... less lucid moments, yes, but you're a valued member of the Guard."

"'Lucid' means 'smart' in fancy talk, doesn't it?" Caboose growled. "You do think I'm dumb!"

"Now lieutenant, let's not get carried away." Iron tried to calm him, "Look, you're not dumb, sure…but there were times that you really dropped the ball…"

"Name three." Caboose glared.

"Well, there was that time that you destroyed a portion of the castle trying to kill that fly with the cannon…" Iron suggested.

"Oh for Pete's sake, that chapter was an entire story ago!" Caboose groaned. "Why must everypony bring that up?!"

"And then there was the time you thought your reflection was a doppelganger, and you destroyed an antique mirror." Iron recalled.

"Let that live forever!" Caboose cringed.

"And of course, there was the time when you though the Maretonian ambassador's headdress was alive, and you tackled the ambassador." Iron sighed.

"And the hits just keep on coming..." Caboose groaned.

"Look, I'm sorry..." Iron declared. "But all that doesn't mean you're not one of the best Royal Guards around..."

"No, no, I see where I stand here! Good day!" Caboose huffed, walking through a nearby door… "I walked into the broom closet, did I?"

"Afraid so." Iron nodded.

Caboose let out a sigh.

After exiting the closet, Caboose found Blueblood and Dusty, and told them his troubles.

"Of course you're not dumb, Caboose." Dusty smiled.

"And even if you were, what does it matter?" Blueblood asked. "Some ponies would call me dumb, but I'm getting along just fine."

"Yeah, but... you don't have a daughter who's smarter then you." Caboose frowned.

"True." Blueblood admitted. "On that matter, I'm afraid I'm of little help to you."

"Cheer up, Caboose." Dusty urged. "It's not all bad."

"Sure doesn't feel like it." Caboose sighed.

Meanwhile, Hurricane met with Miracle, Pureblood and Vito.

"Is it true?" Pureblood asked. "Are you really 'gifted'?"

"Sure am." Hurricane nodded.

"Seriously?" Vito frowned. "You? No offense, but you always spout this totally weird stuff all the time."

"Like when?" Hurricane asked.

"Like when you said trolls can disguise themselves as boxes and boulders." Pureblood recalled.

"You see?" Vito said.

"Geniuses do tend to be eccentric." Miracle smiled. "I can't believe we didn't notice it earlier."

"But now, they're talking about sending me to this big-time smart school, and I don't know if I should go or not." Hurricane sighed.

"That's all up to you." Pureblood declared. "Do what you think is right."

"Yeah, put that big brain to yours to work on finding the right choice." Vito smiled.

"And whatever it is, we'll support you." Miracle added.

"Thanks, guys." Hurricane hugged all of them. "You don't have to be a genius to know when you've got good friends."

During his lunch break, Caboose travelled to Sonny's new restaurant, and shared his woes with Sonny and Lars, the latter who often ate there.

"...Tell me the truth, guys, am I dumb?" Caboose asked.

"Well...." Lars and Sonny chorused.

"Not this again." Caboose groaned, "Is it really that bad?"

"Caboose, do you recall the time when we were buffing up our security, and you suggested laser-shooting sharks?" Lars asked.

"It seemed like a good idea at the time." Caboose shrugged.

"That has to be the only instance in which we were held up by sharks... with lasers." Sonny sighed.

"How was I supposed to know sharks were smart?" Caboose asked.

"Fair point." Lars nodded, "But it didn't stop all the other families from laughing at us for the next couple of years."

"Look, 'Boose, you're our brother, and we love you." Sonny declared. "But the truth is, you're no genius."

"Yeah." Lars added. "Besides, we all know I'm the brains of this family."

"Thanks a lot, guys." Caboose sighed.

"But you do have the strongest innate magic out of all of us." Sonny pointed out. "And when it comes to lovin' the ladies, you're second only to Salt, if you know what I mean."

"None of that matters when it comes to being smart." Caboose groaned.

"I think Daring might disagree with you on that last part." Lars smirked.

"Yeah, not really helping." Caboose frowned.

"Hey, You asked a question, and we answered." Sonny shrugged. "Don't blame us if you don't like the answer."

"Take it from me, smarts is something to be treasured." Lars smiled. "That little filly of yours is real lucky, if you ask me."

"Then what does that make me?" Caboose wondered.

"Chopped hay?" Sonny smirked.

"If I'm chopped hay, then you're a wet noodle." Caboose joked.

"Funny." Sonnny pouted.

"And actually, pretty clever." Lars smirked.

"Not clever enough." Caboose sighed.

That night, neither Caboose nor Hurricane could sleep. At the exact same time, they got out of bed and wandered onto the balcony.

"Oh." Hurricane stopped. "Hi, dad."

"Hi, Hurri." Caboose sighed. "Can't sleep, huh?"

"No." Hurricane groaned. "I can't stop thinking about all this 'gifted' stuff."

"Me too." Caboose nodded.

"You?" Hurricane asked. "But why?"

"Ever since I heard you were gifted, I've been worrying about how you'd feel about me." Caboose confessed. "A smart filly like you, with a doofus for a dad."

"Dad..." Hurricane whispered.

"I just... couldn't stand the thought of you losing respect for me." Caboose added. "I mean, I know that I was never the brightest among my brothers, but to you, I felt like the smartest pony in the world… next to your mom, of course. But now…I just don't want to be an embarrassment to you."

"That'll never happen." Hurricane declared. "How can I not respect the best dad ever?"

"Really?" Caboose smiled.

"Really." Hurricane nodded. "I'll always love you with all my heart... even when you screw up."

"Thanks, Hurri." Caboose smiled. "But enough about me, what's your beef with the 'gifted stuff'?"

"Well... I'm just worried about what'll happen to me." Hurricane sighed. "Once everypony knows about me being gifted, are they just gonna see me for my brains, and not who I am underneath? Will they think I'm just some brainiac know-it-all? Will I end up an outcast among the regular ponies? Maybe it'd be better if I never had this gift in the first place."

"Now you listen to me, Hurricane." Caboose declared. "Your gift is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, you should embrace it. And don't worry about only being a know-it-all. Your gift can only define you if you let it. Be Hurricane, that's all you need to do."

"Thanks, dad." Hurricane hugged. "Y'know, you're pretty smart yourself sometimes."

"I am, aren't I?" Caboose chuckled.

"Yeah… in fact, I think I know what I want to do now." Hurricane nodded.

"Atta girl." Caboose smiled. "Now, let's get you back to bed."

"That sounds good." Hurricane yawned. "All of a sudden, I'm really tired."

"me too." Caboose yawned.

The next morning, Caboose and Hurricane invited Mr. Curriculum over to Canterlot Park.

"Good morning." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I've come to a decision, sir." Hurricane revealed.

"Oh, really?" Mr. Curriculum smiled. "What is it?"

"Well, Mr. Curriculum, I had thought about it and I had decided that-" Hurricane explained, but was interrupted when a thuggish Earth Pony stallion suddenly appeared, wielding a large crossbow.

"Alright, nopony move!" He yelled, waving the crossbow. "Get on the floor and fork over all your valuables. Do as I say, and I'll leave with no trouble."

"AH!" Mr. Curriculum hopped behind Caboose.

"Whoa, pal, let's not do anything rash!" Caboose held up his hooves.

"Shut it, nark !" The thug roared, "Just get on the ground, and give me all you got!"

"Seriously?" Hurricane smirked. "That's your whole plan?"

"Well, yeah." The thug growled. "Why, what's wrong with it?"

"Lots of things." Hurricane smirked. "First, that model of crossbow is notoriously difficult to wield, due to it's weight and lack of proper balance. And from the way your left hoof is shaking, I'd say you have a weak left hoof, making it hard for you to aim properly. Even more, if we're on the floor when we fork over our valuables, you'll have to bend down and get them, leaving yourself vulnerable, especially since crossbows aren't much use at low angles."

"Well… uh…" The thug stammered.

"And let's face facts: you're just a random villain that the two guys writing this pulled out of nowhere and we're two established original characters and since this is a 'Everyone' fic, Mr. Curriculum won't get hurt. I think we'll be fine no matter what you do." Hurricane finished.

"Really?" The thug lapsed into thought. "Maybe I should-"

Caboose suddenly tackled the thug, disarming and knocking him out.

"Amazing, Hurricane!" Mr. Curriculum smiled.

"Hey, give me some credit!" Caboose frowned.

"Yes, good work, Mr. Napoleon." Mr. Curriculum smiled. "But still, that was very clever, Hurricane. I can only imagine how you can put such cleverness to use at your new school."

"Yeah, about that." Hurricane frowned. "I'm not going."

"You're not?!" Mr. Curriculum said, flabbergasted.

"That's what we called you here for." Hurricane explained, "Look, I'm grateful that you want me to be the very best I can be…but it's not how I want to best at…"

"But… but… all that potential… what will you do with it?" Mr. Curriculum asked.

"Well, I was thinking of joining the Junior Royal Guard program." Hurricane revealed. "It's a terrific training regiment, and it will teach me to become a great Royal Guard, just like my dad."

"That's my girl." Caboose nodded proudly.

"Well, if that's what you really want, I suppose that's all there is to it." Mr. Curriculum sighed. "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful Royal Guard, Hurricane."

"Oh, yeah." Caboose smiled. "Like father, like daughter."

As Hurricane beamed, her flank glowed, revealing a radar Cutie Mark.

"No way." She gasped. "But... why now?"

"I think I know." Caboose declared. "I think it has something to do with you being both smart and quick-witted, not to mention agile. That's everything you need to be a Royal Guard… and a well-fledged Mafioso if I ever seen one."

"…Wait, what was that last part?" Mr. Curriculum gasped.

"Nothing." Caboose said quickly. "Just a slip of the tongue."

When they returned to the castle, Hurricane told the tale of the morning's events to the others, and showed off her Cutie Mark.

"Way to go, Hurri!" Pureblood smiled.

"Nice... even I don't know what that's supposed to be..." Vito admitted.

"Congratulations!" Miracle added.

Gauntlet walked over to them.

"Hey Hurricane, can we talk?" He asked. "In private?"

"Sure." Hurricane nodded.

"I wonder what he wants to talk about..." Miracle grinned knowingly.

Rounding a corner, Gauntlet turned to Hurricane.

"Congrats on the Cutie Mark." He smiled.

"Thanks." Hurricane grinned.

"I'm glad you're staying, and not going to some private school." Gauntlet admitted.

"Me too." Hurricane agreed.

"So... I was wondering." Gauntlet gulped nervously. "With you not leaving anymore... I figured I should ask... You wanna go... grab a smoothie sometime? Y'know... together?"

"Like... on a date?" Hurricane blushed.

"Yeah..." Gauntlet nodded, his own face bright red.

"I don't know, I'll have to think about it." Hurricane turned away.

"Oh, okay." Gauntlet sighed.

"Psych!" Hurricane turned back. "Like I'd even need to think about it. I don't need to be a genius to say 'yes' to a date with you. Had you going though, didn't I?"

"You sure did." Gauntlet put his wing around her. "Never change, Hurri. Never change."

"No worries there." Hurricane chuckled, as they walked off together.

That night, after a celebratory dinner, Caboose put Hurricane to bed.

"Goodnight, my little brainbox." He smiled.

"Night, dad." Hurricane smiled.

Caboose exited Hurricane's room and entered Michael's.

"Good night, my little dervish." Caboose smirked, as he tucked his son in for the night. He gave the sleeping tyke a kiss on the head and made to pull away… when he spotted something. Right next to him, there was a completed Rubik Cube in his crib.

"What the…" Caboose pondered, as he picked up the cube, "Is this…" He turned to Michael. "Did he…?"

He shook his head.

"Nah, can't be." Caboose shrugged, as he made his way to his bedroom, before stopping at the balcony. "But just in case…"

Caboose chucked the Rubik Cube out the balcony. The Cube struck something in the shadows. The creature hissed, and flew into the night sky over Canterlot. It let out a loud screech as it soared over the city.
> Darkness and Light
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One night in Canterlot, Lars had just finished up the last of his work at the School for Gifted Unicorns, and joined Lyra in a walk home.

"A little cold tonight." Lyra leaned against him.

"You don't hear me complaining." Lars chuckled.

"So, how are Vito's studies going?" Lyra asked.

"Pretty good." Lars smiled. "The kids a real fast learner."

"Of course, he does have a great teacher." Lyra nuzzled him.

"True..." Lars nuzzled her back. 

Suddenly, a screeching sound filled the air.

"What was that?" Lyra gasped.

"...Probably just a bird, or something." Lars said nervously.

Suddenly, a black shadow flew over them…

"Gah! That's no bird!" Lyra whimpered.

"Stay close to me, Lyra!" Lars ordered, as he pulled out what looked like a mini-crossbow. "Good thing I keep a teacher service crossbow for such an occasion."

"Wait, teachers are granted service crossbows?" Lyra looked at Lars incredulously.

"No. But I have been writing angry letters to them that they should." Lars pouted.

The black shadow doubled back, and Lars was about to shoot at it, but the beast came too fast and nabbed up Lyra.

"AH! LARS!" Lyra cried.

"Lyra!" Lars roared, as he began shooting at the black blur. "Give me back my wife you buckin' freak of nature!"

The beast did not respond kindly to the insult as he then came back.

"Oh sh-NEVER MIND, NEVER MIND!" Lars lost his courage as he tried running, but the black shadow descended upon him and Lars screamed.

The next day, Miracle was in a serious funk. She was the only member of the Crusaders not to get her Cutie Mark, and was frustrated by it. She couldn't understand why she was the only one who hadn't found her special talent.

"I just don't know what to do, guys." She told her former fellow Crusaders.

"Relax, Mir." Hurricane smiled. "You'll find your special talent soon enough."

"But what if I don't?" Miracle groaned. "Can you imagine how this looks to everypony? A princess who doesn't have her Cutie Mark? Who doesn't know what her special talent is?"

"Who cares what other ponies think?" Pureblood asked. "What matters is what you think."

"Right now, I think I'm a pretty sorry filly." Miracle sighed.

"Come on." Vito declared. "Cheer up. You never know, your special talent might be right around the corner."

Just then, there was a commotion at the gates. A crowd of panicked ponies had gathered there.

"We demand an audience with the princesses immediately!" Jet Set declared.

"They must do something about these disappearances!" Upper Crust added.

"Disappearances?" Miracle gasped.

"I heard dad talking about this yesterday." Hurricane said worriedly. "A lot of Canterlot citizens have vanishing without a trace during the night. The Royal Guard thinks it's some kind of mass kidnapping."

"Sounds pretty nasty." Pureblood cringed.

"Come to think of it, great-uncle Lars was supposed to pick me up for today's lesson." Vito realised. "Do you think he could have been taken too?"

"I hope not." Miracle frowned. "But who would even do such a thing?"

"That's what the Royal Guard are trying to find out." Hurricane declared.

Celestia approached the gate.

"Dear citizens, I know you are frightened, but please remain calm." She announced. "The Royal Guard is doing everything they can to get to the bottom of this. Until then, be sure to stay indoors during the night, with all doors and windows firmly locked."

Unable to argue with Celestia's answer, the crowd slowly dispersed.

"That goes for you all, too." Celestia told the kids. "Stay indoors at night, and stay alert. Understand?"

"Yes, mom." Miracle nodded.

"Good thing Constell and Luxury are vacationing at one of Lux's parents' ski chalets..." Pureblood mused.

"Yah, lucky for them..." Vito said darkly.

That night, Jet Set and Upper Crust were getting ready for bed, still sore about the day's events.

"Unbelievable." Jet Set snorted. "The uselessness of royalty today..."

"I blame it on all those commoners they've let into their family." Upper Crust prattled. "The weirdo, the farm pony, the maid... and let's not forget the one with the out-of-wedlock pregnancy."

"So true, darling." Jet Set sighed, as they climbed into bed. "Such a mess. Though if that vile beast knows what's good for it, it won't tangle with ponies of our calibre."

As Jet Set made to turn off their bedside lamp, he heard a hissing noise from above. He and his wife looked up to see the creature hanging from the ceiling above them.

"I-I meant 'vile' in the best possible way, of course..." Jet Set trembled.

The creature descended upon them.

"Ahhhh!" Upper Crust screamed.

It did not stop with these two. Over the next few days, more and more ponies were being reported missing. Jet Set and Upper Crust, even the likes of Hoity Toity and Sapphire Shores. Nopony was safe.

And it didn't even matter if they heeded Celestia's warning, as Sonny and Bon-Bon learned. The two were in their kitchen.

"This 'best' thing is really starting to worry me, Sonny." Bon-Bon admitted.

"Hey, it's okay." Sonny comforted her. "As long as we stay indoors, and lock up tight, no mindless beast is gonna get us."

"Thanks, Sonny." Bon-Bon nuzzled him. "I needed that."

"Happy to help." Sonny grinned.

They continued their cuddlefest, throwing in some kissing. Then there was a knock at the restaurant's front door.

"Sorry, we're not open!" Sonny said between kisses.

The knocking continued.

"Go away! We're closed!" Sonny insisted. He laid Bon-Bon down on the counter, then leaned in...

A loud crash suddenly ensued.

"Oh, bloody 'ell." Sonny groaned. "I'll be back, Bon, my sweet." He kissed his wife on the nose.

"Don't be long..." Bon-Bon purred.

Sonny walks out to the dining area.

"Look, pal, we're closed right now, so get out before I call the-" He then saw a big black blur. "Oh, sweet mother of Faust..."

Sonny's scream brought Bon-Bon running. She arrived to see Sonny wrestling the beast.

"Sonny!" Bon-Bon gasped.

"Bonnie! RUN!" Sonny urged.

Bon-Bon tried to run through the kitchen area, heart racing, but then the beast suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Arhhh!" Bon-Bon screamed.

Panic was spreading throughout Canterlot. For Pureblood and Vito, this was compounded by the confirmation of Lars and Sonny being among the missing. Then things got even worse, as a tear-ridden Hurricane arrived at the castle one day.

"What's wrong, Hurri?" Miracle asked.

"It's Michael." Hurricane sniffed. "He and mom were... taken last night!"

"Taken?!" Pureblood gasped. "But didn't you say your parents locked your house up tight at night?"

"They did." Hurricane nodded, still sobbing. "But whoever took mom and Michael was able to break the locks."

"What about your father? How he's taking things?" Pureblood asked.

Meanwhile, Caboose was extremely agitated.

"You!" He stopped a random pony. "Stop loitering around. Find that son-of-a-mule beast, ASAP!"

"But sir, I'm just the pony who peels potatoes." The stallion cringed.

"No excuses!" Caboose yelled.

"Not well…" Hurricane whimpered.

"Aw, geez." Vito trembled. "That means none of us are safe!"

"Poor Michael." Miracle comforted Hurricane. "I hate to think what could be happening to him..."

"Him and Mist." Blue Blazes suddenly descended on them, also upset. "She was taken, too."

"No!" Miracle gasped.

"Yes." Blue nodded, shaking a bit, "That monster came and snatched her up when she was getting more cherries…he got both my girl and my kid…"

"Oh dear… this is bad…" Miracle muttered.

Inside, the royal family were discussing what to do.

"We need to find and neutralize this threat immediately!" Blueblood declared.

"Find it how?" Dusty asked.

"From what we've been able to ascertain from the reports, we may have found the kidnappers' pattern." Gothic declared. "Shine believes he may have able to locate his base of operations."

"Not only that, but Gothic's called in one of Luna's former guards, Nightwing." Shine declared, as the old Thestral entered. "Since the kidnappings happen at night, he may be able to give us some insight."

"That's provided my old skills haven't gotten too rusty with retirement..." Nightwing declared.

"I have faith you'll be able to help." Luna smiled. "You always were one of my best Guards."

"Thank you, your highness." Nightwing bowed. "Always happy to serve."

"That settles it, then." Iron Hooves declared. "I'll have my best guards join you on the rescue mission."

"And me!" Caboose added. "This time, it's personal!"

"Sorry, Caboose, but you should stay here." Shine declared.

"What?!" Caboose gasped. "Why?! This monster got my wife and baby boy! Not to mention two of my bros and their wives!"

"Somepony needs to look after the others." Gothic pointed out. "With Iron Hooves joining us, you're next in the chain of command."

"But… Daring… Michael… Sonny… Lars…" Caboose shuddered.

"Don't worry, Lieutenant, we'll find your family." Nightwing comforted, "As well as everypony else. Just keep a cool head, okay?"

"Ohh, fine." Caboose pouted. "Stupid logic..."

"Be careful, dear." Celestia urged.

"You too, Gothic." Luna added.

"We will, cherry blossom." Shine smiled.

"Count on it." Gothic grinned.

It took only moments for the rescue squad to depart. Following the path discovered by Gothic, they entered a nearby forest.

"Night raids, forests..." Nightwing mused. "This all seems so familiar for some reason..."

"What I don't get is how this guy is managing to kidnap so many ponies… evidence suggested this was a work of one pony… yet this looks like it could only be done by three ponies if not more…" Iron rambled on.

"What happens if we do catch the kidnapper?" Gothic wondered. "Would we even be able to find out where he's keeping everypony?"

"Oh, we will." Shine said grimly. "He took my little sister. I'll make him tell us where his victims are. I swear, if he's hurt any of them..."

There was a rustling sound in the trees above.

"What was that?" Iron turned.

"You don't the kidnapper could... fly, do you?" Gothic suddenly wondered.

"I do now." Shine gulped.

A dark shadow descended upon them.

"Oh sh-" Shine, Gothic, Iron, and Nightwing shouted at once before being cut off.

A short while later, the disheveled Nightwing tumbled into the castle's entrance hall.

"Nightwing?" Luna gasped. "Where are the others?"

"It got them." Nightwing gasped. "I just barely managed to escape."

"The kidnapper?" Celestia asked. "You saw it?"

"Yes." Nightwing nodded. "It was a Thestral."

"A Thestral?" Luna frowned. "A lone Thestral captured them all?"

"It was like no Thestral I've ever seen." Nightwing declared. "It was monstrous, feral... yet fast enough to evade our every attack. I-"

A loud screech issued from nearby. A dark shadow flitted across the night sky.

"Oh, buck." Nightwing gulped. "It followed me!"

"Close the doors!" Caboose yelled.

Two of the remaining Royal Guard slammed the door shut. The feral Thestral rammed against the doors fiercely, over and other again.

"Those doors aren't going to hold for long." Dusty declared.

"We need to protect everypony." Celestia said firmly. "We must gather everypony together, and hide until morning."

"Yes, your majesty!" The guards saluted, before rushing off to gather all the castle denizens.

"Can't you just raise the sun now, aunt Celestia?" Vito asked.

"I'm afraid I can't." Celestia declared. "That would upset the balance of Equestria, bringing dire consequences."

"Direr than this?!" Vito groaned.

"Well, we can't have a deus ex machina, now can we?" Hurricane growled.

"What does that even mean?!" Vito asked.

"I dunno!" Hurricane shrugged.

"We can't be sure it would even work, anyway." Luna admitted. "Thestrals may prefer to work at night, but I doubt a sudden shift to daytime would repel our attacker at this point in time."

Just as everypony was gathered together, the doors started to give.

"Let's move!" Luna declared.

"You go on ahead." Caboose stated. "I'll hold it off. Buy you some time."

"But, dad-!" Hurricane yelped.

"I have to do this." Caboose told her. "For mom and Michael and the fact that I am really ticked off right now and I need to let out my aggression. See you soon, sweetie."

Hurricane reluctantly nodded.

As the group ran down the corridor, they heard the doors splintering.

The Thestral was in the castle. It's massive frame, large intimidating (even dragon-like) wings, and bloodshot eyes with wisps coming out of it were all the more terrifying against the moonlight, having a charcoal grey coat, a long, messy, pale-white mane, and a dark star with blood red eyes for a Cutie Mark. Caboose stared the Thestral down.

"I've been lookin' forward to this." Caboose growled, "You better return my wife and my son right now! Or at least a mare and baby colt of equal value!"

"Bring it, mate." The Thestral hissed in a distorted…yet British-like accent.

"Wait, you can talk?" Caboose gasped. "And you're British?"

"So I am." The Thestral smirked. "And you're a ruddy Bitalian. Never did like you pasta-munchers..."

"Okay, I don't care where you are from, but I am going to bring you down!" Caboose roared as he pulled out a heavily-modified crossbow, "Eat bolts!" He began rapidly firing at the Thestral.

However, the bolts only seemed to bounce off his hide… and he ate the bolts that were aimed at his mouth.

"Okay, apparently you can eat bolts… and you enjoy it…" Caboose gulped.

The Thestral charged at Caboose.

As the others ran, they heard a cry of pain from Caboose.

"Dad..." Hurricane gulped.

"Don't look back!" Pureblood yelled.

The ponies split up and each found their own hiding place.

"In here, everypony!" Celestia pointed to the study.

The royals rushed into the study, and barricaded the door with bookcases.

"Now what?" Blueblood wheezed. "We can't keep that thing out forever!"

"Maybe we should talk to it?" Miracle suggested.

"Do what?!" Vito gasped.

"Maybe it's just... y'know, misunderstood." Miracle shrugged.

"'Misunderstood'?" Hurricane repeated. "It's kidnapping ponies!!"

"There has to be a reason why it's doing what it's doing." Miracle insisted.

"Miracle, I admire your optimism." Celestia declared. "But you heard what Nightwing said. The Thestral is feral. It won't listen to reason."

"All we can do is keep you safe from it." Luna agreed.

Miracle frowned.

"Sorry, Mir." Pureblood sighed. "You're outvoted."

"Aunt Celestia, why can't you and aunt Luna just blast it?" Vito asked.

"We can't risk a battle, not with you all to protect." Luna told him. "Besides, from what Nightwing told us about what happened to Gothic and Shine, even we may not be able to stop it."

"Well, that's encouraging." Blueblood frowned.

Before long, the Thestral returned. Like a bloodhound, it seemed to know exactly where it's victims were hiding.

It found the guards in the kitchen…

"Back away, you monster!" One guard shrieked, as he uselessly fired magic bolts at it.

The Thestral rammed one guard into a wall, then grabbed another, and threw it at the remainder, knocking them out.

And found Nightwing in the observatory…

"Come now." Nightwing tried to talk it down. "We're both Thestrals. Doesn't that count for something?"

"Nope." The feral Thestral smirked, before charging his elder.

Even Blue Blazes couldn't get away… not that he wanted to.

"Y'know, I'm actually glad you found me." Blue declared. "Give me my girl back, slimeball!"

"No chance, feathers." The Thestral snarled, flapping in midair. "Besides, your fat mate's better off where she is."

"She's pregnant, you jerk!" Blue flew up and collided with the Thestral in mid-air. A struggle ensued, and the Thestral quickly gained the upper hoof, grabbing Blue by his wings.

"Ahh!" Blue yelled. "Let me go, you overgrown bat!"

Only the royals were left. The Thestral started banging against the study door. The bookcases started shifting backwards from the force.

"What's this guy been eating?" Blueblood gasped. "Even Big Red isn't that strong."

The bookcases tumbled as the door was thrust open.

"There you are..." The Thestral hissed.

Having no other choice, Celestia and Luna unleashed a volley of horn beams at the Thestral. The blasts seemed to stagger it, but then it straightened up, smirking.

"That all you got?" It taunted.

"Now what?" Dusty asked.

"The balcony!" Celestia pointed.

As they rushed over, the Thestral grabbed two bookcases and tossed them across the room. They landed in front of Miracle and Hurricane, blocking the archway that led to the balcony.

"No!" Celestia yelled. "Miracle!" She was about to blast the barricade apart.

"Sister, no! You'll hurt the children if you blast it open!" Luna stopped her.

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" Celestia yelled, on the verge of hysteria.

"We go around." Luna pointed to another balcony. "It may be a longer route, but it's our best shot."

"Very well." Celestia nodded.

Picking up Blueblood, Dusty, and the twins, they flew to the other balcony.  Once they set hoof upon, they started running.

"Hurry, hurry!" Pureblood urged.

"Who knows what that thing could be doing to them!" Vito declared.

Meanwhile, the Thestral advanced on the kids.

"Y-you don't have to do this." Miracle tried to reason with it. "Just tell us what you want."

"What I want is you." The Thestral sneered.

"But why?!" Miracle cried.

Maybe I suffered some tragedy that caused me into into an insane cannibal" The thestral chuckled darkly.

Hurricane stayed stalk-still, frozen with terror.

"There must be a peaceful solution to all this." Miracle urged, "You don't have to do this!"

"But I want to… you can prat about peace and all that crud all you want." The Thestral smirked. "As for me, I think I'll take the Pegasus first."

As the Thestral reached for the still-frozen Hurricane, Miracle snapped. The need to save her best friend and everypony else induced a massive surge of power. Her horn glowed brighter than ever before.

"What the..." The Thestral stared.

"No... more!" Miracle yelled, as a beam of pure light erupted from her horn, striking the Thestral dead center.

There was a massive flash. When it faded, the Thestral was lying on the floor... but his appearance had changed to that of a normal one: his charcoal grey coat was lighter, his white mane was short and partially groomed (yet still a bit messed up), smaller leather wings, and his dark star cutie mark no longer had red eyes. Speaking of eyes, when he was waking up, his eyes were revealed to be a bright gold color, the pupil slitted as per usual of every Thestral. He was actually quite handsome.

"Ooooh." He groaned, coming to, speaking in a quiet, yet still British tone, "What happened? Where am I? What's going on?"

"You tried to kidnap us is what's going on!" Hurricane yelled.

"Wait, what?!" The Thestral gasped, horrified, "What do you mean by that?!"

Celestia and Luna rushed into teh room.

"Are you alright?" Celestia embraced Miracle. "I saw a flash, and..."

"That was me." Miracle declared. "I... turned him back to normal."

"You did?!" Vito gaped.

"Amazing..." Pureblood gasped.

As the Thestral tried to get up, Blueblood got in his face.

"Okay, you, who are you, and what have you done with Shine and the others?!" Blueblood demanded.

"Shine? Who's Shine?" The thestral asked, a bit confused.

"Don't play dumb, you son of-" Blueblood threatened.

"Dear, let me handle this." Dusty stopped him, before glaring harder at the Thestral. "Okay, bub, where's my uncles, my aunts, and my nephew?!"

"Look, I really don't know what is going on here!" The bat-pony insisted. "Everything is a complete blur…"

"If that is the case, then that means the others are still missing…" Celestia shook her head. "And we may never find them..."

"You come with us." Luna glared at the Thestral. "We need to straighten this out."

"Yes, ma'am." The Thestral said sheepishly.

As they made their way back to the entrance hall, the sun was rising and they were greeted by a surprising sight; all the missing ponies the Thestral had captured resurfaced.

"Dad!" Hurricane rushed to hug him. "Mom! Michael!"

"Are you okay?" Daring hugged her daughter.

"I was about to ask you the same thing!" Hurricane smiled. "Mikey?"

"M'okay." Michael nodded, still a little shell-shocked.

"Where did the Thestral take you?" Dusty asked.

"To the old dungeons in the mountain." Nightwing answered.

"Who knew we had dungeons in such a faraway place." Shine shrugged.

"Remarkably well-built dungeons at that." Gothic added.

"Cold, draughty... a real classic." Iron grimaced.

"How did you all escape?" Blueblood asked.

"Simple." Caboose smirked. "The big fella accidentally left my cell unlocked. Took me a while to figure it out, though..."

"Yeah, till Caboose had to use the bathroom." Sonny groaned. "We were locked up for two days, Caboose!"

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that he would leave the door unlocked, he was British! British ponies are often smart!" Caboose reasoned.

"Unlike certain Bitalian ponies..." Lars mumbled.

"Where is the Thestral, anywho?" Gothic asked.

"Um…hello."

Everypony glanced at the quiet voice, as the Thestral walked out from behind the princesses.

"Wait, that's the guy who took us?" Blue asked.

"He looks a lot smaller than I remember." Caboose raised an eyebrow.

"And less... scary." Lyra added.

"And a lot more handsome." Bon-Bon admitted.

"Say what?!" Sonny gaped. "He kidnapped us!"

"I know." Bon-Bon shrugged. "Just saying..."

"I think we'd all like to know why you did this." Mist glared at the Thestral.

"I suppose I owe you that much." The Thestral sighed. "My name is Echo Alchemy. I'm a scientist. I was studying the power of dark magic, seeking a way to harness it for good. But it seems all that exposure drove me mad and turned me into that monster everypony said I was, and in my compromised state, I must had started kidnapping all of you. I'm ever so sorry."

"Well, I guess that's have to do." Lars grimaced, "It's not the first time a pony lost it when he was trying to find better use for stuff."

"What I don't understand though is how I was restored to normal." Echo frowned, "I was in a really bad way…"

"It was Miracle." Celestia smiled. "The dark magic had corrupted your soul, and Miracle's light cleared all the evil from your heart, bringing you back to normal."

"I did all that?" Miracle gasped.

"You sure did." Shine smiled. "It seems you have the ability to see through a pony's heart and bring out the goodness in them, purifying their heart."

"Wow..." Miracle gasped. He flank suddenly light up, revealing a ten-pointed star Cutie Mark. "My Cutie Mark... It's really here!"

"Well done, darling." Celestia smiled.

"Congratulations." Shine added.

"Way to go, Mir!" Pureblood smiled.

"Welcome to the club." Vito grinned.

"You really earned it." Hurricane hugged her.

"Now, as for you, Mr. Echo." Luna turned.

Echo gulped.

"Since you were clearly not in your right mind for most of this escapade, I believe we can forego the kidnapping charges." Luna smiled.

"What?!" Jet Set said indignantly.

"Outrageous!" Upper Crust gasped.

"Are you sure about this, dear?" Gothic asked.

"Of course." Luna declared. "I know the look of guilt on a pony's face all too well. And Echo is truly sorry for what he has done. In truth, he has suffered more than any of us."

The crowd muttered, not all of them agreeing.

"Have you lost your mind?! That Thestral is an endangerment to our society!" Upper Crust roared.

"That leather-winged abomination should be locked up!" Jet Set agreed.

"And what's wrong with having leather wings?" Nightwing glared.

"They have a point." Iron agreed. "Whether he was in his right mind or not, he still committed several crimes."

"Yeah!" Blue agreed. "We can't just let him get away with it!"

"Our decision is final, everypony. However, we'll have to send him to the Crystal Empire for examinations, just to be sure..." Luna added.

"Anything you say, your highness." Echo bowed. "I deserve far worst."

"We'll be the judge of that, young one." Nightwing smiled.

"I owe you my thanks, young lady." Echo told Miracle. "You saved  me from myself. I can never thank you enough for your deed."

"No problem." Miracle smiled. "Just doing what comes naturally. I had a feeling you weren't just some monster, anyway..."

"Time to go, I think." Nightwing told Echo.

"Of course." Echo nodded. "Thank you again, young lady."

Miracle smiled as Echo was led away. Other ponies weren't so happy; Some were still muttering about Echo being let off easy, but most were happy the nightmare was over.

After catching a few hours' sleep, the former Crusaders met up in the gardens, celebrating Miracle finally getting her Cutie Mark..

"So much for the Cutie Mark Crusaders Royale, huh?" Miracle chuckled.

"I'll say." Hurricane nodded. "Looks like it's mission accomplished."

"It was fun while it lasted, though." Pureblood noted.

"And besides, who knows what's coming next?" Vito declared. "Like great-uncle Salt says: Life's one sweet ride'!"

"Got that right." Miracle nodded. "And besides, we may not be Crusaders anymore, but we'll always be four of a kind."

"True dat." Hurricane nodded. "Hope you enjoyed the story, readers!"

"Huh?" Pureblood frowned.

"Just smile and nod." Vito muttered. "Just smile and nod."

The End.