> The Midnight Dance
>  by CartoonNerd12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the great kingdom of Canterlot, a wise queen by the name of Celestia ruled her kingdom with wisdom and compassion. As much as she could rule a kingdom, she had a hard time raising her six darling daughters, who were each special in their own way.
Princess Fluttershy was her eldest and was a beauty. She was kind to others, but she was also shy in her demeanor and spent most of her days in the gardens playing with the animals and growing flowers.
Princess Rarity was her second born and was also a great beauty, having a generous spirit to match. She was refined and proper as well as outgoing and would create fashions for herself and to impress the noble society at any important event.
Princess Applejack was her next child and she was hardworking in her duties, being honest to herself and the staff. She refused to let the maids to do anything on their own and insisted on helping them.
Princess Rainbow Dash was her fourth and she loved hanging out with the Wonderbolts and the royal guards as she had a sense of excitement and wanted to do something about it. She was loyal to her mother and country.
Princess Pinkie Pie was her second-to-last child and she was always fun-loving. She threw the best parties in the kingdom, spreading joy and laughter to their subjects.
And Princess Twilight Sparkle, her youngest and secretly her favorite daughter, was constantly by her mother’s side, understanding the kingdom and the situations around her. She would spend her days in the library studying more on magic and what use it could have for the kingdom.
But even when the girls had their own thing, they did just about everything else together. It made Celestia feel proud that her daughters were true sisters. They would go the spa for their own personal use or go on a picnic in the countryside. As happy as she was for her sweet girls, she worried for them. 
All of them were now of marriageable age and would need suitors soon to pick from. But they couldn’t be just any suitor; they had to be noble stallions that can care for them. With five lovely daughters, that wouldn’t be so hard. She planned on keeping Twilight with her since she figured that she’d be the best choice to rule the kingdom after she would be gone. She thought how each daughter would make some prince or lord happy. Rarity would certainly be able to catch a few. A couple regents would be honored to have Rainbow and Applejack. And any noble colt would be lucky to have Fluttershy and Pinkie.
She called for Spike, their page dragon, “Spike!”
Spike bobbled in and asked with a fearful look on his face, “Uh, yes, Your Majesty?” he gulped.
“Calm yourself, Spike. You know I could never harm you.” she smiled genuinely at him, “Since you were brought to our doorsteps as an egg, I gave you to Twilight so she could help hatch you. Ever since you’ve been employed in our services and helped Twilight with her duties, you are a noble servant and friend.”
“Of course,” he bowed, “Anything for Twilight and the royal family.”
“Now I request of you to deliver this proclamation far and wide.” She unrolled the scroll and read it off to him, “Dear nobles, royals, and regents all over Equestria: I offer you a great opportunity as my six beautiful daughters, the princesses of Canterlot, are now ready to marry. I hope you will take this offer and come and win their hooves in marriage.”
“Marriage?!” Spike spoke out loud and she gave him a raised eyebrow, “Ah, I mean… great! Really great!” he lied through his small fangs. Secretly, he had a crush on Rarity while growing up in the castle and was hoping he could express his feelings to her. But if she was about to be married off to some pony else, then there would go his chances.
“Yes, it would be good to see my daughters married to be well-provided for and taken care of.” she magically handed the scroll to him.
“Oh… right…” he took hold of the scroll and rushed out, not watching where he was going and bumped into some pony and fell over.
“Ah, careful there now.” a British accent spoke.
Spike didn’t need to bother looking up on who said that and merely said, “Sorry, Fancy Pants, but I have to deliver this scroll out for the queen.”
“Yes, right-o! Duty calls.” He offered his hoof, which Spike took, and helped him up.
“Thanks.” 
“Well, when one is in service of the Queen, everything must be run with precise timing.”
“Is that why you’re Head Butler?”
“Quite right.” he put a hoof to his chest, feeling proud, “Though, I am quite curious as to why the urgency?”
He sighed and stated, “The Queen wants the princesses to marry now…”
“What?! Um, I mean,” he cleared his throat, “That’s um… very good… for them…”
“Tell me about it…” Spike muttered, “Well, see you tonight in the kitchens!” he resumed his running as he waved off.
“Yes! See you, there…” Fancy returned the small wave. He felt very low now than a few moments ago when he was in good spirits. He couldn’t tell anyone, for it was a rather shameful secret and a wish that could never happen. He was in love with the Princess Rarity with all his heart. Everything about her set his mood pouring with happiness. She and he have spent a great deal together, but he never once admitted that he loved her and he was unsure she felt the same about him. After all, he was just their butler and she was a princess; it could never be. He slowly returned to his duties.
Spike ran out of the castle. Above him, Soarin’ of the Wonderbolts was on a cloud and spotted him. “Yo, Spike!” he yelled to get the dragon’s attention, “I going to catch some z’s on my break. Want to join me when you’re done with whatever it is you’re doing?”
“Wish I can, Soarin’, but I have to release this proclamation! The princesses are going to get married!”
“Say what?!” Soarin’ yelled and stood on the cloud, nearly falling over, “I mean… That’s… awesome…!” He put on a fake grin.
“I have to go! See you later!” he ran on.
While Soarin’ slumped down on the cloud, not feeling in the mood to sleep now, his thoughts went to Rainbow Dash. She was always the most awesome princess to hang around whenever she came to visit them at the derby. He couldn’t tell Spitfire and Fleetfoot this for they would think he was crazy, but he loved the princess. He didn’t care if it was stupid or not to fall for her; she was, after all, amazing.
Spike was almost to the middle of the city when he went past a joke shop and a voice said, “Whoa! Where’s the fire, Spike?”
Spike turned back to face Cheese Sandwich, “No time, Cheese! I have to deliver this important message from the queen!”
“Really? What’s it say?”
The dragon gave out another heartfelt sigh, “The princesses are to marry…”
“WHAT?!” Cheese jumped in surprise, “Uh, I mean… how… fantastic…” he said in a sad tone, moving his hoof in a circle.
“Sure… fantastic… Well, see you around.” Spike resumed his run.
Cheese sat in despair. For the past few years, Princess Pinkie always came to his shop to pick out party favors she needed. He couldn’t say anything, but he grew to love her and wished there was some way he could tell her. But now that she was about to be married off, he didn’t know what to do.
Spike finally made it to the middle of the entire city and announced the queen’s proclamation. Right away, a swarm of reporters took pictures and wrote down the queen’s request. It was likely the news would be spread all across Equestria by later that evening.
The Queen sat in her spot at the dining table for lunch and saw her daughters coming in one by one.
“Hello, Mother.” greeted Fluttershy, wearing a long simple green dress as she took a seat next to the queen.
“Hello to you as well, my darling.”
Rarity walked in gracefully, wearing a stylist blue dress she made, and said, “Good afternoon, Mother.” She sat next to Fluttershy.
“Good afternoon, my sweet.”
Rainbow Dash flew in, wearing a light red dress, and took her place, leaving an empty spot between her and Rarity.
“Greetings to you, my wayward daughter.”
“Hi, Mom.” Rainbow waved.
“Really, Rainbow Dash, is that any way greet the queen?” motioned Rarity.
“So what? This is our home; we can say anything we like.”
Rarity wearily shook her head.
Celestia just smiled and continued greeting as Pinkie bounced in, wearing a magenta gown. She sat next to her sister Rainbow, giving her a big hug and almost choking her.
“Salutations, daughter.” 
“Salutations to you too, Mom!”
“See…?” Rainbow whispered to Rarity, “I’m not the only one.”
The prim and proper unicorn rolled her eyes.
Celestia saw the next daughter who walked in, “Dearest Twilight…”
“My dearest mother…” Twilight, wearing a lilac dress, bowed her head in respect before taking her seat after Pinkie.
The Queen smiled at her and then looked at the empty spot. The other sisters did so as well, “Now all we’re missing is…”
“I’m here! I’m here!” Applejack rushed in, wearing a light brown dress, and took her place between Rarity and Rainbow. “Sorry, Mother, but the laundry took longer than expected.”
“Honestly, Applejack! You are a princess!” shouted Rarity, “You shouldn’t have to get your hooves dirty like that!”
AJ scowled at her until their mother spoke, “I think what Applejack is doing a wonderful thing for the staff. She wants to prove that she is capable of doing things on her own.”
“Yeah, exactly that.” Applejack pointed, “Thank you, Mother.”
“You’re welcome. Now, I have a couple of announcements to make, my darlings.”
“Yes?” they all said.
“First of all, Aunt Luna will be coming by the end of the week.”
“Aunt Luna?!” they excitedly declared.
“Alright! We get to hang out with Auntie L!” Rainbow cheered and started taking a sip from her drink.
Celestia giggled, “Yes, it has been a while, but I’m going to need her help for when the suitors arrive.”
Rainbow spat out her liquid out of shock and Pinkie did the same. However, she drunk hers first after Dash’s spit and then she spit hers out, too. All the girls had stunned faces and silence fell over the hall.
“What’s wrong?” the Queen asked, breaking the quiet, “I thought you would be pleased.”
Finally, Rarity was the first one to get out of her shock and sputtered, “Well… well, yes… it’s just, I thought- we thought we would choose when to marry…”
“Um, yes…?” Fluttershy whispered in agreement.
“I thought so, too.” AJ nodded, followed by Rainbow and Pinkie.
“Twilight?” Celestia looked to her youngest daughter, seeing if her answer was the same.
Twilight avoided her gaze and nervously said, “I… I was sure we could… choose…?”
“Girls…” the Queen straightened her body to look taller and had a serious look to her face, “You know I have to make sure you are taken care of. Each and every one of you is of royal birth. You must have suitable husbands of equal status. I cannot bear the thought of seeing any of you hurt, which is why you must take these suitors to consideration, even if you hold no interest to them…”
“But, Mother!” Rarity yelled with near tears in her eyes.
“I am sorry, but that’s how it is…”
“It’s not fair!” Rainbow smashed her hoof to the table and pouted to almost on the verge of crying.
“Very unfair!” Pinkie bawled.
Fluttershy was sniffling and looking down. AJ hung her head low, too, but no tears came out.
“Perhaps you all need some time to think about this…”
They solemnly nodded and quickly, one at a time, they left the room. Twilight was stopped by the call of her name and turned back to face her mother with a sad look.
“Yes, Mother?”
“I want you to reason with your sisters…”
“But-“ she started, but was silenced by her mother’s raised hoof.
“You need to have them understand that they would be doing the right thing…”
“Why…?”
“You have to trust me…”
She lowered her head, “Yes, Mother…” She went back towards the door.
Once she was gone, Celestia lowered her head in sadness. She hated to cause this pain on her children, but she knew if she didn’t, something terrible would happen to them. She looked over to a large portrait hanging on the wall of a grey unicorn stallion wearing a regal purple robe and having emerald eyes. 
“What would you have done?” she asked the painting, “I love them, but at times, I don’t understand them… If only you were here… But you’re not…” she released a single tear, “Sombra…”

> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy lied in the flower bed of the gardens crying with the animals around her, consulting her. One white bunny she named Angel was stroking her mane to help her calm down.
Meanwhile, inside her suite of the castle, Rarity lied on her red sofa, bawling her eyes out with her cat, Opal, giving off a look of concern on the bed. In another part of the castle, the gymnasium, Rainbow was blowing off steam by punching dummies with her pet tortoise, Tank, looking on with fear. Pinkie was also in her room with her hair straightened out and was coated in bit of grey and she started using a sack of flour she called Madame Leflour, a bunch of rocks she named Rocky, a bucket of turnips named Mister Turnip, and a piece of lint named Sir Lints-a-lot. She imitated them of how life can so unfair, while her pet alligator, Gummy, watched on with no expression. 
Applejack lied on her bed staring at the ceiling, feeling miserable to the core. Her dog, Winona, had her head to the bedside, looking sad for her mistress and whimpered. Twilight had her head on an open book in the library, not feeling in the mood to read anything. Her companion, an owl she had named Owlowiscious, nudged his head to her in sympathy.
Fluttershy slowly got up as her tears ran dry from sobbing too much. She wiped them away. A couple of birds then circled around her.
“You want me to sing?”
The animals chattered and nodded their heads.
“I suppose… You think it might make me feel better?” 
They nodded again.
“Okay…” she closed her eyes and started humming and twirling around, “…There’s music in the tree-tops and music in the air… All around us music fills the sky!” she vocalized. As she did, a long figure moved from shrub and bush watching her sing. “There’s music by the river and there’s music in the grass! Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah!”
Just then, an off-key voice sang while something held her arms, “There’s music in the tree-tops and music in the air!”
The animals complained and covered their ears while Angel threw an acorn at the bad voice.
“Ow! Hey!”
She gasped and turned to face a creature with mismatched animal body parts, having horns and red and yellow eyes, but her face soon softened and smiled, “Discord!” She ran into his arms for a hug.
“My dear Fluttershy…” he had her look up to him.
“Oh, I’m so glad you dropped by!”
“Indeed,” he put her down, “I came not a moment too soon when I found out about this!” he snapped his tail and it held out a newspaper, having a picture of Spike showing off the proclamation. “When did this happen?!” he demanded.
“Just today! My mother told me and my sisters that we would have suitors!”
“What?! Well, that’s a new low even for Tia.” he crossed his arms.
“What am I do? I don’t want to marry someone I don’t know, but I don’t want to disobey my mother…”
“Well, you should!”
“What?!”
“Come on, Fluttershy. This isn’t fair to you or your sisters. I say you and I…” he coiled around her, “we run away and never look back.”
“Discord… as much as I want to get away, I cannot leave my family in worry.” she firmly said.
“Fluttershy! I refuse for you to be submitted like this!” he yelled and floated in anger.
She arched her eyebrow, “Why does it bother you so much if I do? You’re my dearest friend, ever since I knew you in the maze. I thought you were just a statue, but when Mother told you were real and alive in stone, I wanted to free you and help you be better so you didn’t have live in that awful prison anymore.”
“And I’m very grateful you did…” he floated back and landed on all fours, looking at her in happiness.
“Mother warned me, however, of your past crimes and that I had to be careful. But I knew I was making the right choice and I know it wasn’t a pleasant first meeting… you did scare me…”
His ears drooped back in sorrow.
She smiled back at him and touched his paw, “But I went past it and tried so hard to befriend you.” 
He, too, smiled and said, “I must admit, I thought it was all a game to you, but when your sisters were upset and disgusted with me, you stood up for me and I was very touched. For the first time in my life, I had a friend…”
“And you still do and more…”
“Well, only because I stay on your mother’s good side and as long as I’m still in your favor.”
“Granted, my sisters still don’t trust you as much as I do, but I don’t care.”
“Oh, darling, I could care less of what others think of me. Your opinion is all that matters to me. Which is why I am upset you’re allowing yourself to be a prize to some no good colt who doesn’t deserve you.”
“How…” she blushed, “How sweet of you to say…”
“Well…” his eyes met with hers. To Fluttershy, they were gold with rubies in them, glimmering away. And to him, hers was like a sea green ocean with the sun reflecting off, shining bright. “It’s the truth… You deserve so much better then be submitted to this outrage.” he growled.
“Please, Discord…” she begged, “I need to do what is right…” she slowly turned away from him and walked away, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders once more. When Discord came by, she wasn’t sure why she felt her spirits lifted. With him around, she felt happy and less scared, but now by leaving him, she was sad again. But if there was one thing he did right for her, it was that he set her thoughts straight. She reminded herself that family came first and if it was her mother’s wish to marry a noble, then that’s what she would do.
Discord watched her go in silence. He wanted to stop her, but he knew that once she set her mind to something, she’d see through it to the end. He wanted to tell her he loved her since he was upset to learn she about to be married off to some pathic regent or other, but why make a fool of himself if she didn’t return those feelings? Fluttershy had never once gave him a clue of her liking him like that. It pained him to see her so unhappy and it pained him more that he would never see her again. With his head down, he snapped to teleport back to his living area.
Rarity wiped her eyes with a lace handkerchief as she slowly got up to move to her vanity to reapply her make-up. A knock came at the door, “Enter.” she said, keeping it together before having another breakdown.
Fancy Pants entered the room, “I just came by to offer congratulations on your… soon-be engagement… Your Highness.” He tried to say it without voicing the hurt.
“Fancy Pants!” she practically shrieked in his face, “How dare you say such a thing! I refuse to go through with this! Tradition is one thing, but this is downright ridiculous! I cannot marry a colt I never knew about! It simply isn’t done!”
“Beg pardon, Your Majesty-“
“And that’s another thing! You never used formalities when we’re alone! Why have you stopped calling me by my name?!”
“Well, I… I figured in a time like now, you would want me to…”
“Never! Never in a million years! I want you to use my name, because I feel I can be myself around you… and you can be yourself around me…” she had big sapphire eyes when telling him this.
“Rarity…” he whispered.
“That’s better. Now back to the issue at hoof. I will simply tell my mother that I will not be part of an arranged marriage.”
“But isn’t this about her taking care of you? I’m sure she only wants your best interests…”
“Well, my best interest is that she calls this whole thing off!” she stomped out of the room. She felt upset that Fancy Pants would take her mother’s side in this mess when she herself rather have him fighting for her and to declare his undying love for her. She could hardly care he was a servant of the castle; he would always be of high class in her eyes. He also listened to her and her opinions and in turn respected his. But not this time; this was a personal matter she intended to settle it right here right now.
Fancy sighed as he watched her go. She was extraordinary to be willing to fight for her right to marry whoever she wanted. He wished right then he told her how he felt about her, but then resorted to cowardice. He feared the Queen would find out that he loved her daughter and fire him. As much as he loved Rarity, he needed to keep his job. 
Applejack lifted herself off the bed; she was done with her moping. By then, a knock came at her door, “Come in.”
Spike walked in, “Hey, Apple Bloom was starting to get worried that you haven’t come by the kitchen yet to make pies for tonight.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there. I’m not going to let some suitors get in the way of my duties of helping every pony.” she grabbed on an apron in her closet.
“AJ… do you know how the rest of your sisters are taking it? Especially Rarity?”
“Well, sugar cube, Rarity was the one who took it the hardest along with Dash and Pinkie. Twilight, Fluttershy, and I did get upset, but I think we’ll be over it soon…”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because I’ve gotten over it. I still don’t like it, but I might as well keep on moving. And… I didn’t want to say nothin’ for I didn’t you to get hurt, but maybe… you should move on from Rarity. You know she was always out of your league anyway.”
“How can you say that?! We belong together! I just know it!”
“Spike, you do her favors, but she hardly returns it! What does that say to ya?”
He went deep in thought and said, “That she’s waiting for the right moment?” He had hope in his eyes.
She sighed, thinking, What’s it going to take to make that dragon see the light? She knew for a fact that her sister had a thing for Fancy Pants. Of course, she hadn’t told them that, but it was kind of obvious just like Spike with his little crush on her. Then again, why did she care so much about him getting over his crush? Could it be… she liked him herself? No. It couldn’t be. It couldn’t… and yet… maybe?
“You okay, Applejack?”
She found herself staring at him with those cute big green eyes, the same color that matched his fire. Something inside her stirred, seeing how adorable he really was. “What? Oh, yeah I am, I… I have to go!” she galloped out of her room with Spike looking back at her with confusion.
Rainbow had eventually gone outside to do some cloud busting to keep her distracted from her thoughts of suitors and marriage. She was so into it that she didn’t noticed a light blue pegasus stallion heading her way and kicked her hind legs to the clouds, nearly hitting him.
“Whoa!” he dodged.
She heard him and turned to see her favorite Wonderbolt, “Oops… sorry Soarin’…” she gave a cheesy grin.
“Had I known you were angry, I would have just come back the next day or next month.” he joked.
“Heh, you goof-ball… but a very wise decision, nevertheless… If you were one of those pompous princes or a snobby regent, they would be flying though the air even they didn’t have wings!”
He gave a slight laugh, “I believe it…” he grinned.
Suddenly, she let out all of the emotions that she bottled inside her, “Just why?! Why did this have to happen now?! We were happy! I was happy! Then she had to go and ruin it by saying we have to get married!” she crossed her arms.
“You… You weren’t planning on getting married, at all?” he questioned.
“I didn’t say that. I would like to get married someday… but not right now, and not with some pony I don’t even know!”
“I hear ya. Just… why is the Queen enforcing the marriage law on you guys?”
“She claims she’s doing this for our benefit and making sure we’re taken care of… What bunch of baloney!”
“Yeah… right…” he hesitantly said. It never occurred to Soarin’ that he might not be able to support a princess. As a Wonderbolt, sure he had enough to get himself by, but for a princess who had everything in her life, how could he fulfill that? He couldn’t ask her to give that all up for him, being the awesome princess she was. 
“Yoo-hoo.” she waved her hoof in front of him, “Earth to Soarin!”
“Huh? Oh, sorry…” he rubbed his neck, “Listen Dash, uh, I mean, Princess…”
“Princess? But you never-“
“Perhaps it’s time I do… Seeing how we won’t be able to see each other again…” he solemnly bowed his head and started flying away.
Rainbow was flabbergasted to what she just witnessed, “What…? Soarin’! Soarin’!” she called out to him, but he just flew out of sight, leaving a trail of dark smoke, his signature Wonderbolt mark.
She couldn’t believe it. Her head was overwhelming with more bad news by the minute. Now, she just lost the only colt she had ever really liked and her lips trembled from fighting back tears.
Soarin’ lagged in flight, his heart was in pain with what he had to do. He had no choice but to let her go. He kept telling himself that she would be better off without him, but his heart said otherwise.
Cheese had a basket of goodies in his mouth. He thought the stuff inside would help Pinkie with the latest development that’s happened. Luckily, because he had to deliver party things to her from his shop before, the guards knew who he was and let him pass. Occasionally, he would do something funny for them, but not today, not when news reached that the princesses were to marry anytime and he knew Pinkie wasn’t going to take it lightly.
Once he reached her room, he knocked and heard a gruff voice saying, “Who is it?”
“Pinkie? It’s me, Cheese Sandwich!”
“Cheese?” a small voice replied followed by a Prench accent, “By all means, let ze colt come in!”
He opened the door and was shocked to see her hair down and her coat having a bit of grey to her normal, beautiful, and lively pink color and saw the objects before her.
“Oh, no!” he yelled, “I’m too late!” he knew that when she was upset, Pinkie would act more crazy than usual, “Pinkie! Snap out of it!” he grabbed hold of her and shook her.
“Oh, Cheese!” she sobbed to embrace him, blowing into his shirt, “It’s awful! Just awful!”
“I know…” he whispered over her shoulder and patted her back.
“I don’t want to get married!”
His eyes widened, “You don’t… want…”
“I want to marry the colt I love!”
Relief washed over him, “For a second there, I thought you didn’t want to get married at all.”
“No way, silly! When I do marry, it’ll be for love!”
“I thought so…” he smiled, and then reached into the basket he had, “Hey, look who I brought?” he held out a rubber chicken.
Her hair immediately poofed up at the sight of him, “Boneless!” She took the chicken and squeezed it into a hug.
Boneless was Cheese’s companion in the shop and whenever Pinkie came by to pick up supplies, she and him would always play with the chicken.
“And he’s yours to keep in a time like this…”
“Oh, Cheese… really?” he questioned him with her big blue eyes, knowing he would rarely part with Boneless.
“Really… You need him… You need…” he wanted to say ‘me’, but quickly went through the basket and took out a rubber duck, frog, ball, and a few other things that were made of rubber, “his pals!”
“Cheesy, you are the best!” She hugged him again.
“Just promise me you won’t go off the deep end like what I saw just now? Not that I love Rocky, Madame Leflour, Mister Turnip, and Sir Lints-a-lot; they’re a lot of fun to hang around.”
She went behind each object imitating each voice, “We love you too, Cheese!” using Madame Leflour, “Yeah, you’re alright, for a pony…” being Rocky, “You’re a good one!” moving Mister Turnip, and finally, Lints-a-lot, “Just make sure you don’t stay away too long!”
He chuckled, “I won’t. Just make sure Pinkie doesn’t shut away from her family…”
“Of course not! But it might take some time to go near my mom again…”
“I understand…” He himself was upset at the queen for doing this to her, “I have to get back, but if you ever need me…”
“I will…” She touched his cheek.
He slowly moved away, “Well… goodbye…” he left the room.
“Goodbye…” she clutched onto Boneless, silently thinking to herself how she was falling for Cheese Sandwich, but didn’t feel full scale love until now. He managed to cheer her up in her darkest hour and gave her his most valuable companion. She wished with all her heart that she could marry him instead.
Cheese sadly walked out the castle, looking back up to it. He hoped that Pinkie would be alright. As much he wanted to tell her he cared about her, it was impossible now that she was about to marry someone else and he couldn’t get his or her hopes up and make things worse in the end. He wanted every pony to be happy, even if it would make him miserable for the rest of his days.
Twilight walked around the library, putting books away. She sighed, for she knew what she had to do as her mother requested of her. It was time to gather her sisters and talk about this marriage business, whether or not they wanted to be part of it. She herself wasn’t sure if she wanted to, but as long as she didn’t know some stallions like some of her sisters did, it would be easier for her to get married as it was expected of her. Before she left the enormous collection for another day, she wished as she did all of her life that she met that one very special some pony she was destined to be with just like in her storybooks since she was younger. With another sigh, she went to retrieve her sisters.
An orange pegasus in golden armor roamed the streets of the small village called Pony-Ville; he stopped to look down at his map he bought. “Okay… I’m in Pony-Ville now, so Canterlot should be north of here… And the fastest way to get there… is though the Everfree Forest…” He looked up to see the dark green forest ahead of him. He stared at the spooky sight before him, but he took a deep breath and proclaimed, “Well, no use gawking over it. I’ve got a commission to fill.” He put back his map and started walking along the forest path when he heard howling in the distance and stopped in his tracks.
“Alright… maybe this wasn’t the best place to get to Canterlot…” he was about to turn around when he heard yelling.
On instinct, he ran towards the yells and came across a clearing where a cloaked figure was standing in front of a Timberwolf! He noticed the figure was yelling in a strange dialect he was unfamiliar with.
The timberwolf was getting closer to the figure. He knew then he had to do something and soon. Then, he felt a small rock to his hoof and grabbed hold of it before throwing it at the wolf’s head and shouting out, “Hey! Over here!” He flapped up for the wolf to see him and gave a chase. He kept flying for some time until he saw what was up ahead. There was a rocky cliff and a loose boulder above, giving him an idea. He landed at the edge to face the wolf as it bared its teeth and growled at him. At the very last moment, he caught the wolf off guard and pulled a vine attached to the boulder. With a rumble, the huge stone fell over and crushed the timberwolf to pieces.
With a sigh of relief, he went back to the figure that was in trouble with the wolf to begin with, “Are you alright?” he asked.
“Fine, fine, dear equine.” the figure spoke and removed her hood and he was surprised to see a zebra before him, “By the use of the vine, you defeated that enemy of mine.”
The pegasus wasn’t sure what to say since he wasn’t sure if zebras were good or bad. Stories were that they were strange and used magic for curses, but some said they were good and could heal by using remedies.
“From the look you give to me, you are surprised by what you see?”
He slack-jawed at her statement of being able to read his mind like that.
She let out an easy chuckle, “I assure you, I am not all that bad… For I would like to gift you for being a brave lad.” she took off her cloak and offered her gift to him, but he was uncertain to take it, “Have no fright, it will not bite.”
He released a stifled laugh and took the cloth, “Tha… Thanks…”
“Bear in mind, for it is a cloak of special kind.”
He wore it and the next thing he knew, he turned invisible! The colt was amazed and took off the cloak, turning back to being seen. He smiled back at the zebra.
“Yes, that will be needed for when things get heated…”
“What do you mean?”
“That I cannot say now, but for you to discover when you know how…” she started to turn to go.
“Wait! Do you know a way to get to Canterlot?”
“The path that you see shall take you to where you need to be.”
“Thank you, what’s your name?”
“Zecora is my name. Do you have one to claim?”
He bowed his head, “Flash. Flash Sentry.”

> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“No! Absolutely not!” Rarity tromped around the ballroom that the sisters were in.
“But, Rarity-“ Twilight tried to reasoned with her.
“But no! I will not… I repeat, will not be put on display like this! I will not be some prince’s prize!”
“Same here!” Rainbow flew above them.
“I’m with them!” pointed Pinkie.
“You guys… we have to do what Mother says…” gestured Twilight.
“It is… after all, our duty…” Fluttershy said in a near whisper.
“Look, I know it’s hard…” said Applejack, “But… Twilight’s right. Our mother only wants what’s best for us, and I say we obey her and do as she wishes…”
“Since when do you back off from a fight?!” Rainbow demanded to her face.
“I don’t! But this is one fight that we’re not up for! Mother is the ruler of all! To defy her is risky business!”
Realization hit Rarity, “You… you don’t think she would disinherited us?!”
“I don’t know…” Twilight thought, “I don’t think she would, but I rather not take that chance…”
“Agreed…” motioned Fluttershy.
“Oh…” tears welled in Rarity’s eyes. If she had a true love at this point, she would gladly give up her crown for the sake of love, but since she didn’t… All she had was her role as a princess, “Oh… Very well! I will submit to this… this arranged marriage! But I won’t have to like it one bit!”
“Of course not,” AJ wrapped her hoof around her, “we all won’t…”
Rainbow looked out in the distance of the window and remembered her and Soarin’s chat from that afternoon. She would never get him back now, so might as well agree to this so-called marriage. There was no hope of getting out of it.
“I guess…” Pinkie stated, “Unless the suitors want to leave before one of us gets chosen to be a bride, then we are stuck on where we are…”
“Wait…” Rainbow looked to her energetic sister, “Go back. What did you say, Pinks?”
“Then we’re stuck on where-“
“No! Before that!”
“I guess?”
“In the middle!”
“Unless the suitors want to leave before one of us-“
“That’s it!” she twirled in the air.
“What’s it?” all of them asked.
“We make the suitors leave before one of us gets chosen!”
“Why, that’s…” Twilight pondered, then she suddenly shouted out, “A brilliant plan! Rainbow, you’re a genius!”
“I know…” she looked smug.
“Wait a minute!” AJ waved her hoof, “How exactly are we going to make these suitors leave?”
“Oh, we’ll think of something…” Rarity batted her eyelashes, “We always have…”
“We sure do…” said Fluttershy.
“Then it is agreed,” Twilight held out her hoof, “We make sure that the suitors never have a chance to pick one of us…”
“You got it!” Dash put her hoof on top of Twilight’s.
“Absolutely!” Rarity put hers next.
“Yay…” Fluttershy did next.
“Okie-dokie!” Pinkie pressed hers on.
“You know…” Applejack put her hoof down last, “This might actually work!”
“All together now!” Twilight declared as they raised their hooves in unity. 
“Sisters forever!” they all said and went in a group hug.
“All right, y’all. I have to get back to the kitchen to finish those pies for dessert at dinner tonight.” 
“Ooh! Does that mean…?” Pinkie leaned.
“Yes, that means gooseberry pie, as well…” She said as she left.
“Yippee!” Pinkie jumped out of the room.
“Yes, and I must find the right attire to wear to dinner. I’ll have to get Sweetie Belle to help me…” Rarity went as well.
“So, in the meantime,” Rainbow asked Twilight, “we pretend we’re past the problem?”
“Precisely. Mother can never find out we’re behind the suitors leaving… So absolute secrecy must be kept.” They both turned towards Fluttershy, who was shaking.
“Oh, dear…” she squeaked.
“Oh, relax, Flutters! You can do this! Just remember what we’re doing this for… our freedom to marry whoever we want!”
“Yes…” she stood firm, “I will. For freedom!” She gave out a small war cry when leaving the area. She’d have to remind herself to thank Discord for teaching her to give out her inner self more and for trying to convince her to have freedom in the first place. But then, she remembered what she said that afternoon. She would have to apologize to him for pushing away, but would he forgive her? She would have to find out as soon as dinner was over with for tonight.
Applejack was humming along while using the rolling pin on the dough to flatten it. The little kitchen maid, Apple Bloom, was right beside her, getting ready with apple pie fillings and she noticed the princess’s mood had improved since that afternoon.
“Everything okay, Applejack?”
“’Everything okay’? It’s better than okay!” she smiled, then put the flattened dough in the pie tin.
“That’s great! I noticed you were feeling down, but for you to be so happy now…”
“There’s nothing to feel down about not when you have a couple of good sisters by your side. It feels like you can get though anything.”
“Awesome!” Apple Bloom said as she poured the mashed apples in.
AJ folded over the next flattened piece of dough. She kept humming until a voice said.
“Now what’s going on here?” Spike was by the door, “I thought you would still be upset?”
“There’s no reason for me to be upset anymore…” Then, she moved him closer so Apple Bloom wouldn’t hear them or the rest of the kitchen staff, “Not when we got a plan to getting those suitors to leave on their own before one of us is chosen.”
“Really?!” he nearly shouted out until she shushed him. He noticed a very interesting thing as he was standing close to her. He could smell apples off of her and how her emerald eyes were shining and her soft blond mane was touching his scales; it felt good. He had the urge to run his claws through that soft mane. But why would he think that when he was interested in Rarity? 
AJ was having troubles with her own feelings of Spike being so close to her. She had to fight off the fact she wanted to wrap her hooves around him and give a great big hug just to see how he would feel against her body. His green eyes looked like they were staring straight into her soul. His scales looked smooth and rough, but she bet that with one touch, they would be soft and even.
When Fancy Pants walked in, both of them were brought back to reality and they heard what he was saying to the staff, “I trust the main course is ready?”
“Yes, Sir.” replied a cook named Golden Harvest.
“Good. We have an important guest coming: Princess Luna, the Queen’s sister, so everything must be perfect.”
“It shall be ze finest meal in all the land!” The Head Chef, a griffin named Gustave Le Grand, pronounced.
“Uh, yes…” Fancy Pants turned to see Applejack, “You best get ready, Your Majesty. It’s almost time.”
“Shoot, I’ve got plenty of time. Don’t worry about me, and it’s Applejack, Fancy. No need to get fancy about it…” she sniggered.
“Very amusing, Princess.” he smirked, “Pray tell, how are you and your sisters holding up in all this… this recent predicament?”
The cooks stopped what they were doing as they wanted to hear the answer to that, too.
AJ, knowing she couldn’t have the staff spread rumors around for her mother to pick up anything that can give her a clue in the future, answered truthfully without giving away too much information.
“We had a talk and we decided to accept the fact we would have to meet suitors.”
This surprised Fancy. He was so sure that they would put up more of a fight than that; especially Rarity after their chat in her suite. “You… you have?”
“Yup, we knew then that we couldn’t go against our mother and went with it.”
“Uh…” he cleared his throat, “Yes, quite right. One certainly can’t disobey the Queen. You’re making the right choice.”
“Oh, we are…” she said under her breath, and then felt a touch on her shoulder, surprised to see Spike’s claw there.
“Maybe you should get going now. We’ve got everything covered here and you need to be there for the arrival of your aunt.”
“I suppose so… I’ll… see you around.” she slowly moved away from him and gave a quick wave goodbye to him and the staff before going.
Spike gave a small smile and waved her off.
“I saw that.” said Apple Bloom.
“Saw what?” he turned to her, facing her at eye level.
“You like her, don’t you?” she gave him a sly grin.
“What?! That’s insane! She’s a princess! I’m a dragon!”
“That never stopped you from crushing on Rarity.”
He blushed furiously, “How… how did you know?”
“It was obvious, and Applejack has told me at one point.”
“Oh, she did, did she?” he crossed his arms and frowned.
“Yeah, and it’s weird, but the way she kept talking about it, it was almost as if she was jealous…”
This intrigued him, “Jealous? Do you think she… she…?”
“I’m not sure, but it seems like it. Of course, I could be wrong.”
“Sure, maybe…”
“Well, it’s best I get back to finishing those desserts. You know how Princess Pinkie loves her cupcakes.”
“Totally,” he nodded and saw her going back to the counter while he pondered on what Apple Bloom told him of Applejack possibly being jealous of Rarity having his attention. Well, in order to see if the theory was right, he might as well start doing favors for her. He went back to dinner preparations while figuring out his plan.
The girls gathered in front of the dining hall’s great doors.
Twilight instructed to them in hushed whispers, “Remember, act like we’re still upset, but cool enough to understand the importance of what must be done.”
They nodded and faced the doors and two guards swung open the doors for them. Celestia could see the girls from her seat that was next to her sister, Luna, who she had come over sooner since the girls gave out their reactions. Now, they noticed that girls were unusually calm.
She softly greeted them, knowing perfectly well she was not going to the same happy response she had from lunch, “Hello… my daughters…”
“Hello, Mother…” they said, bowing their heads to her, much to her surprise.
“Am I to understand that you are willing to go through with it?”
“Yes, Mother…” they repeated, keeping their heads down.
“I know I do not deserve your forgiveness, but I hope that you’ll see I’m doing this out of love… for your safety and welfare…”
“We may not understand completely, but we are willing to learn…” Twilight spoke on their behalf.
“Thank you… Have a seat and I promise to find suitable matches for all of you…”
They lifted their heads and took their usual spots at the table.
“You mean we will find suitable matches. I won’t so easily be swayed by a pompous prince or uptight regent.” Luna winked to the girls, to which they gave reassuring smiles to her.
“Before we have dinner, and I am sorry if this will spoil your appetites, but we must discuss this since we didn’t have a chance at lunch time. When the suitors do arrive, I would feel more at ease knowing you were sleeping in the same  bedchamber you all slept in when you were younger.”
“But we haven’t been in that room in a long time!” gestured Twilight.
“I always thought it got remodeled after we moved out.” said Pinkie.
“Just please tell me that it’s been kept clean after all these years,” pointed Rarity, “because I refuse to move back in if there’s… ugh, dirt… and what if my allergies start kicking up?!”
“It is alright. I inspected the room just this morning and had the maids look into it if there’s anything that needed cleaning, so you’ll be fine, my darling Rarity.”
The unicorn sighed in ease.
“When do you want us to move back in, Mother?” Fluttershy asked.
“When the first of the suitors arrives. So, in the meantime, it would be best to look for things in your rooms to bring with you.”
They gave random agreements. Then, Fancy Pants trotted in, carrying a silver tray and giving a quick glance to Rarity, who turned her head away from him since she was still upset at him. He frowned and then turned his attention back to the queen, saying, “Dinner is ready whenever you are, Your Majesty.”
“Very good, Fancy Pants. You may serve it in.”
He put his hoof to his chest and bowed, “At once, Your Highness.” He did another glance towards Rarity, but she didn’t notice. However, a dark blue alicorn did.
After the meal was done and the desserts demolished by Pinkie, the girls bowed their heads once more to their mother and walked out the hall. Once the royal sisters were out of sight and earshot, Applejack asked Twilight.
“Think we did good?”
“I think so. She was grateful we were going along with it, but she also saw the pain in our eyes all the same.”
“Does us moving back into our old room change anything?” Rainbow questioned.
“No. In fact, I think Mother just made it easier for us to get together to concoct plans to get rid of the suitors. So, does anyone want to come with me to see the room again?”
The other sisters gave yeses, but Fluttershy said, “I’ll meet you there. I have to do something first.” She turned to go.
“Do what?” Dash eyed her.
“Just… something…”
“Fluttershy, since we’re going to be swarmed with suitors,” motioned Twilight, “we can’t keep secrets from each other since it’s going to take all of us to get these colts out of here. Now, please tell us of what you’re going to do…”
She sighed and explained, “I need to go talk to Discord…”
“What?!” Dash flapped, “Not that troublemaker!”
“You know he’s my friend…”
“We know…” Rarity admitted, “It’s just we can’t help but worry for you when you’re around him. He is, after all, a past criminal.”
“Exactly; it was in the past. Now, he is doing much better by helping with problems that would be too big for Mother to handle. I am very proud of him.” Her eyes sparkled when she said that last part and the sisters gave her a look, “What? Do I have something stuck in my teeth?”
“No, it’s just…” Twilight shook her head, “never mind…”
Rainbow whispered to AJ, “Sheesh, for a second there, I thought she was crushing on the guy…”
“Me, too…”
Something within Fluttershy struck then, and said, “Wait… he can help us!”
The girls gave her confused looks and said, “Huh?”
“With his magic, we should be able to shoo off those suitors before you know it!”
“That’s…” Rainbow was about object until she said, “…actually not a bad idea…”
“Yes…” Rarity agreed, “As uncouth as he is, he could serve a purpose for us, wouldn’t you think so, Twilight?”
“I hate to admit it… but yes. Fluttershy, can you convince him to help us out?”
“I’m sure he will…” Then she said under her breath, “That is, if he’s still talking to me…” She went back to telling her sisters, “I’ll be right back. Just go on ahead. And I’ll see you there.” She opened her wings to flutter off to the outside.
Celestia and Luna were in the throne room going over today’s events and the girls’ earlier reactions of having suitors.
“Make no mistake, sister. They are planning something behind your back.” said Luna.
“I am aware that they are. After all, they wouldn’t be my daughters if they didn’t. They were very good at hiding it using pain and acceptance, but they have a plan and I intend to help them out with my own plan.”
“Is that the real reason why you wanted them back in their old room together?”
“It is. And that’s where you’ll come in…”
“I knew it had to be more than just choosing phony husbands for my clever nieces. Which, of course, I was upset at first that you would do that to your daughters, but then remembering…” She went to a glass stain window of Celestia and Sombra with their horns touching in love, with six fillies resembling the princesses below them being happy. “I feel so bad for them… They could’ve had everything you and your husband had…”
“I agree. We made a vow one night long ago that our daughters would find love just as we had… But now, I must break that vow before it is too late…”
“Indeed, time grows short… And already, one of your daughters has fallen in love…”
“I would like to say that is wonderful, but that means danger will soon be upon us…” She lowered her head in somber.

> Chapter 4
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Discord?” Fluttershy went around the gardens, knowing he wouldn’t be here, but it was worth a try, “Discord?! Oh, please… I am sorry about what I said before! So if you can hear me, I really need you now!” When no answer came, she deeply sighed and starting going back into the castle with her head held low until she felt a bump. She looked up and saw him.
He smiled at her, “My dear, that was all you had to say, but you know I’ll always come when you call.” He moved his paw though her soft pink mane, causing her to slightly blush. Luckily, since it was nighttime now, he didn’t see it.
“Listen, the girls and I agree. We want our right to marry whoever we wish. So, thank you for trying to make me see that sooner. Somehow, you must have put the idea in my head.”
“Guilty as charged.” he chuckled.
“And we could use your help!”
His eyes widened in surprise, “You mean… you girls need my help?”
“Yes… With your magic, I’m sure we can get rid of these suitors out of our lives.”
His heart started pounding with joy. Already, he was thinking up mischievous schemes for the colts to take a hike and to stay away from his Fluttershy. It seemed he had a chance with her after all, so he picked her up and began twirling her around.
She said between giggles, “Discord… Discord… wha… what are you doing?” She was laughing away now with that adorable laugh he loved so much.
He declared, “That you are the sweetest mare there is for thinking about me! I will gladly help out with this little suitor problem you’re all having.” he gently set her back down.
“Really? Oh, thank you!” she wrapped her arms around him, giving him a hug.
Feeling touched by it, he wrapped his arms around her too, not wanting to let go.
Her face snuggled against his furry chest; to her, it felt so warm and soft. He also felt a softness coming from her coat and smelled the fragrance coming from her hair. 
Her best friend…
His best friend…
But why did it feel she wanted more from him? 
He wanted more than anything for her to love him. But he had business to attend to do.
“Fluttershy?”
“Hmm?”
“When do you need me to scare off suitors?”
“Oh! Um, I’m not sure yet. I guess it depends on how many suitors we get and how long my sisters and I can handle it.”
“Say no more. I will be on high alert if you need me. Just holler away and I’ll be there.”
“Thank you. That means so much to us… so much to me…” she covered her mouth and immediately wished to take that line back. She didn’t mean to say it out loud.
Discord noticed and decided to play with her, making her think he didn’t hear that last bit, “Uh, what was that? I didn’t get that.”
She felt relief and answered, “Nothing, just nothing…”
He laughed quietly and made a bow, “Until then…” He took her hoof close to his mouth and kissed it, causing her to blush further, “My lady…” He was gone in a flash, leaving her speechless.
The five mares stopped in front of the pink two-way doors and Twilight asked them, “Ready?”
They nodded and she opened both doors, revealing a large colorful room that, on each side, had three canopy beds. The first bed closest to them had pink pillows and green sheets. The second had white pillows and red sheets. The third bed, which was close to a balcony window, had light orange sheets. On the right side, the next bed close to the window had light blue sheets. Then, the next bed over was all pink. And the last bed, close to the door as well, was dark purple.
“Oh…” Rarity went to her old bed, laying her head down, “It’s just as I remember it…”
Twilight smiled as each sister looked on their old beds. She herself did as well and remembered their mother being in the middle of the room and telling them stories before going to sleep. She went to the middle and saw the floor, which had a large circle tile with little circles inside it. The little circles had their cutie marks on them. The day the sisters received their cutie marks was the day their father commissioned the tile to have them made into the floor.
Their father… these cutie mark tiles were all they had to remember to him by… King Sombra was just and equally as wise as his queen. He loved his wife and family. Since Twilight was the youngest, she had very few memories of her father, but she did remembering loving him. Her favorite memory of him was when he would always help her understand magic more and teach her words she didn’t get from her books. She would always see his emerald eyes in her thoughts. Even though he was gone, she could always see those eyes from Applejack. 
Of the six sisters, Applejack was the only one who inherited his green eyes. The rest of them had either their mother’s or Aunt Luna’s eyes. In fact, it was strange to Twilight that Applejack looked so different from her sisters. Rarity had Mother’s beautiful snowy white coat and both Fluttershy and Pinkie had Mother’s pink hair from her younger years. Twilight had a dark coat and dark mane like Father’s and Rainbow had a rainbow mane that Mother had now. If it weren’t for the eyes, Applejack wouldn’t probably be considered a relative, let alone a sister.
The doors opened again and they turned to see Fluttershy walking in with a huge smile on her face.
Rainbow flapped to her, “So? What did he say?”
“Hm?” she was in a daze, but then snapped out of it, “Oh! Yes. Yes, he will help us… He said to call him when we needed him.”
“Great!” Dash twirled, “But he’ll be used as a last resort if Pinkie and I can’t get rid of one of the suitors. Right, Pinks?”
“Right!” the pink ball of energy jumped and showed off a box of things for pranks, “Got the sneezing powder, the joy buzzers, invisible ink, squirting flowers, the works!”
“Aw, yeah! This is going to be so much fun!” Rainbow twirled again.
“Yes, but you must be discrete. No pony can suspect a thing.” Twilight gestured.
“Plea-zee! We’re the masters of discrete! Uh… what’s discrete?”
The purple unicorn signed and slapped her face.
Flash walked up and down the corridors. He finally made it to Canterlot and the castle that late afternoon. Once he reported in as a new recruit for the royal guard, he was instructed to settle into the servant quarters, but once more, he felt lost as he tried to find the servant’s quarters. Suddenly, he heard talking up ahead and ducked into a corner. He saw a group of pretty mares wearing casual gowns coming out of a room. He heard one of them say:
“Good night, dear sisters! See you in the morning!” a white unicorn waved.
“Night, y’all. I got to get up early to help with breakfast.” said an orange earth pony.
“Nighty-night!” a pink earth pony jumped away.
“Oh, good night.” a yellow pegasus walked off.
“Yeah, night, everyone!” a blue pegasus flew out.
When they were gone, Flash went on, but he didn’t notice the purple unicorn coming at him.
Twilight had looked back quickly to the old room and the floor tiles and recalled fond memories she had in the room with her sisters before agreeing to having separate bedrooms. She started heading out and the next thing she knew, she bumped into some pony!
She and the pony had both fallen over and she regained herself by saying, “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there! I was…” she stopped and looked at the pony. He was a pegasus in golden armor and she could see from his helmet opening on top that he had a blue mane to match his beautiful blue eyes. She ended up staring at them distractedly.
He, in turn, was apologizing before getting a clearer view of her, “No, no, it was my fault, I should have…” He saw the most beautiful mare in his life; the highlights in her hair, the violet in her eyes… He, too, ended up staring at her, “…watched where… I was… going…”
“I… I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before…”
“That’s because… I’m new. And… a bit lost. You see, I’m trying to find the servant’s quarters.”
“Servant’s quarters? It’s downstairs. Here, let me show you.” she began to lead him.
“Thank you very much. I am most grateful for your help.”
“You’re quite welcome.” she told him as they descended down the steps.
“So… have you been in the palace long?”
“All of my life.”
“Whoa, really?!”
“Uh-huh, ever since I was a baby.”
“Oh, does that mean your parents worked here?”
She realized then that he didn’t know she was the princess! She was amazed, yet found it refreshing that no colt would refer her as her highness. She decided to go along with it so she could know him better and that he could know her better, “You… could say that. And, you, have you always been a guard?”
“I went into training last year and have been hired on to protect the royal family this year. Say, have you… ever met the princesses or the queen?”
“Oh, yes, in fact… I happen to be very close to the youngest princess.”
“Really? What’s she like?”
“She’s a bookworm. She spends her days in the library learning important things like spells and magics.”
“Does she know anything on zebras?”
“Well, yes, but why do you ask?”
“I met one today on my way here. I wasn’t sure if she was good or bad, given of the stories I’ve heard during my training session.”
“And… was she bad?”
“No! In fact, she was good to me and was grateful I saved her life from a Timberwolf.”
“You saved her from a Timberwolf?! What was that like?! Are they as vicious as the books say from my- uh, the princess’s collection?”
“Very vicious… I was lucky to figure out a way to stop it.”
“Goodness… that was a good thing…” Then, she noticed they made it to their destination, “Oh, we’re here already.”
“Great…” he suddenly took off his helmet, which made Twilight’s knees buckle at the sight of seeing his face completely. She thought to herself of how better he looked without it, “I was getting hot in this thing and it’s been a long day…”
“I bet. After saving someone’s life from a Timberwolf.” she smiled at him.
He slightly blushed, “It was nothing, really…”
“Well, I think it’s something… By the way, what’s your name?”
“Flash Sentry. But you can call me Flash for short.”
It was her turn to blush, “Okay… Flash…”
“What’s your name?”
“My name? Oh! My name…” she panicked, for she didn’t want Flash to know her real identity and to feel he had to keep his distance like every other guard in the castle. She liked him and wanted him to not be afraid of her, so she said the first thing that popped into her head, “It’s… Twily!” Then, dread came over her. That name was only used by her father when he called for her when she was little. She felt like she could die from embarrassment.
He raised his eyebrow, “Twily?”
“Uh, yes! It’s not a very good name, but it is my name…” It was partly the truth and she slightly chuckled.
“Huh… Well, I like it.”
“You do?! Seriously?”
He laughed, “Seriously… It’s kind of interesting.”
“Well…” she was still blushing, “Yours is interesting, too…”
“May I…” he rubbed his neck, “May I see you again, Twily?” he blushed again.
She gasped and grinned widely, saying, “Yes! Yes, of course you may!”
“Really?!” he caught himself, “I mean… I am most happy you’ve accepted…”
“Shall I meet you here tomorrow night?”
“If you think that’s best.”
She started to go, “Until then…” She gave him a small wave and he returned it.
“Until then…” he repeated when she was out of sights. Then, he started grinning like an idiot. This had got to be the luckiest day of his life! First, he defeated a Timberwolf, was blessed by a good zebra, and now, he just met the mare of his dreams! Flash could have not been happier that night.
Twilight had gotten into her room and changed into a nightgown. She got into bed and just lied there. She could not stop thinking about Flash. He was everything she had ever dreamed of since she had read fairy tales as a filly. He was the knight in shining armor she had waited for, but at what cost? Only to lie to him? Well, maybe not lying, but she was still hiding the truth. It would, after all, be a matter of time before he realized she’s one of the princesses. Then what…? Would he accept her either way? Would he understand why she did it? Would he… still talk to her? So many questions and she just didn’t have the answers and she couldn’t get them from a book.

> Chapter 5
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Queen Celestia was sitting on her throne and as usual, she would always glance at the empty throne next to her, remembering a unicorn stallion sitting there by her side. She sighed and turned back to her advisor, Kibitz, who was reading off the long list of the day’s activities she had to do. Suddenly, the door burst open and they saw a guard running in.
He said in a deep voice, “Pardon my interruption, Your Highness… but…”
“Yes?” she softly said.
“There is a prince outside, who has come to answer the proclamation for the princesses…”
“In that case… Send him in.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” With a bow, he ran out again.
“But… But, my queen! You have a full day ahead!” Kibitz pointed out.
“I’m afraid that will have to wait for another day. My girls need me more for this…” She gracefully walked out.
“Ugh! I can’t believe some up-stuck royal actually came after all!” Rainbow flapped above them as the princesses made their way down to meet the prince that came to call.   	
“Well, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise,” said Rarity, “We are after all the fairest princesses in all the land!” She primped her hair for emphasis.
“Only you can see the upside to all this!” Applejack complained.
“Yes, but I still hate the idea of being married off to a stranger!”
“Just remember the plan,” said Twilight, “and we will get past this…”
“Right.” they all said.
They finally made it to the parlor where their mother was and that there was some pony behind her.
“Girls, hello… you remember your fourth cousin Prince Blueblood, don’t you?” she moved away to reveal the white unicorn stallion with a sleek blond mane and dreamy eyes. However, none of the princesses were impressed, since they had a history with him and it wasn’t a good one.
Rainbow groaned and whispered to the rest of them, “Oh, no… not Cousin Blueblood…”
“Indeed…” Rarity muttered with an icy tone, “And here I was, hoping for a colt who was a real gentle-colt…”
“Maybe he’s grown up…” Fluttershy suggested.
“Oh, please…” AJ rolled her eyes, “We last saw him a couple of years ago and he did not change one bit…” she hissed.
“I guess we’re about to find out…” Twilight motioned and moved forward to bow her head to the prince, “It’s nice to see you again, Blueblood.”
Blueblood replied, “How charming of you to say, Princess Twilight. And may I say what an honor it is marry any one of you.”
Rainbow nearly gagged at the thought while Rarity and Applejack were taken aback that he would assume so much that one of them would actually want to marry him. Pinkie and Fluttershy gave each other troubled glances.
Although she was perturbed at Blueblood’s comment, Twilight merely gave off a fake smile and replied, “How very… impetuous of you to say…”
“Why, thank you!” he struck an arrogant pose.
She winked back to her confused sisters, indicating to them that she just, in fact, insulted him and they had to stifle their laughter.
Since Celestia knew what Twilight had done, she couldn’t help but feel proud of her daughter. Prince Blueblood may have been their fourth cousin twice removed, but he was hardly what she wanted for a husband to any of her daughters. She was sure that the girls didn’t want him either. Sure, she would let him stay, but only for her girls to carry out their plans and for her to take notes of when the other suitors would arrive. She went between them and announced, “Since Prince Blueblood will staying for some time, all of you will be spending time with him. I ask who would like to go first?” But of course, she knew what was coming: all of her girls would have an excuse.
And she was right, because she heard Applejack say, “Oh, would you look at the time! I have to go meet with Cheerliee! It is, after all, cleaning day! See ya!” she galloped on out.
Rainbow quickly said, “Uh, yeah! I have to… get in fencing practice! I’ve gotten sloppy in my stance!” she zoomed away.
Even Twilight had a good reason to leave, “I have… studying to do! Lots and lots of studies! Bye!” she teleported out.
“Oh! And I need to feed the animals!” Fluttershy flapped and left.
All that left was Pinkie and Rarity and they all stood silent until Pinkie pulled a fast one saying, “Hey! What’s that?” She pointed her hoof in a direction.
They looked there, only to see Pinkie had gone and Rarity stammered, “Wha…? Pinkie! Don’t leave me here!” Then, she sighed, knowing she had no choice now. She composed herself to be lady-like and faced Blueblood, “I shall be…” she gritted her teeth, “…more than happy to… spend time with you…”
He stuck his nose in the air, looking smug, “I knew you would be…”
She let out a small groan, “Shall we have… tea?”
“That…would be most acceptable.”
Celestia watched on as the two left the room and once more felt guilt. She never wanted this to happen.
Rarity and Blueblood sat out on a balcony with a table in front of them. It had a platter of finger sandwiches and tea cups on it. Fancy Pants magically came out with a tea pot and poured the tea. 
“Not too much, Butler!” Blueblood spouted.
“Of course, Your Majesty.” Fancy kept his head high to not let the comment get to him.
Rarity had scowled at Blueblood for being rude to Fancy and gave him a smile. Her anger at him had finally passed and said, “Thank you, Fancy. You are most efficient…”
He smiled back at her, feeling better at how she was speaking to him again, “It’s my duty and pleasure, Your… Highness…” He bowed his head.
She did a small blush and was about to whisper when the prince next to her spoke up.
“Butler, get us some more sandwiches, would you?” Blueblood waved off.
“At once, Your… Grace…” he clenched his teeth.
Once Fancy had gone, Blueblood made an unexpected move as he wrapped his arm around her, “Now, that we’re alone…”
“Blueblood, what are you doing?!” she demanded, moving away from him.
“Oh, come on, Rarity. We all know you fancied me back when we were little.” he twitched his eyebrow at her.
Her cheeks grew red. It was true; she had a crush on him when they were young kids, but that was before she realized what a horror he was to be around. All interest in him had died from that day on.
“Look, I haven’t noticed it before, but you are the most beautiful princess that I know of, so… what do you say, Rarity? Will you marry me?”
She pushed him away in fury, “Blueblood! This is going a bit fast, isn’t it?! First of all, as much as we know each other, we absolutely don’t have anything in common! And second, you need my mother’s blessing before an engagement is remotely possible! And third… I simply refuse! I could never marry someone as pig-headed, rude, and uncharming as you are!”
“Well, if that’s how you want to play it,” he snorted, “You are unfashionable, unattractive, nasty-“ Suddenly, out of nowhere, a plate of sandwiches landed on him, getting his coat dirty. He wailed out, “But I had myself groomed just this morning!”
“Oh, I am so terribly sorry, Your Lordship!” Fancy Pants walked up to him coolly, pretending to be sincere, “How utterly clumsy of me…” He winked to Rarity, who grinned at him in return for what he did for her.
She saw the whole thing while Blueblood was being so mean to her. She didn’t know whether to yell in fury or cry because those words were so hurtful to her, but then Fancy came back in and dumped the sandwiches all over the obnoxious prince.
“Allow me to help you,” Fancy magically got a napkin and wiped Blueblood’s face hardly.
“Enough!” Blueblood ordered, getting the thing out of his face, “Now if you would excuse us, Butler… We have some important business to take care of…”
“Oh, at once, Your Magnificence. Just let me take the tea pot and I’ll… Whoops!” He made it seem like he tripped and magically turned the pot over to pour out the rest of the tea on Blueblood’s head.
“UGGH! Now look what you’ve done?! I need a bath! Two baths! No, three baths! I’ll see you pay for this!” He ran off.
“Don’t worry,” Rarity wrapped her arm around Fancy, “I won’t let him touch a hair on your head, cousin or no. That was such a wonderful thing you have done… I don’t know how to thank you…”
“You don’t have to thank me. I can take other ponies’ insults about me, but that was downright disgraceful of what he tried to say to you. You are, in fact, quite the opposite of what he said. You are very fashionable and you’re certainly not attractive, but very beautiful…”
She put her hoof to her heart, going in awe.
“And you are anything but nasty… you have a generous soul that does you well…”
“Fancy… I…”
Knowing what she was about to say, he raised his hoof to stop her, “We are what we are…”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
“What I mean is… We can’t be together…”
Tears welled in her eyes, “But… but…”
“It hurts me as well… but we just… can’t… I’m sorry…” he moved on in sadness, not looking back. He couldn’t look back to see the pain in her eyes. The pain he caused.
Rarity mustered every ounce of her being to not cry, but she couldn’t help but tremble. She was so close to tell him how she felt and she was so sure he would return it. Her feelings for him would never change despite the outcome.
That night, the girls had moved their stuff back into the huge bedchamber. As they sat on their beds, Applejack asked Rarity.
“So, how did it go with Blueblood?”
“Grrr, don’t get me started!” her face fumed, “He’s just as bad as he always was! Maybe even worse!”
“Seriously?” questioned Rainbow.
“Seriously! He even proposed to me!”
“WHAT?!” they all shouted.
“Yes! He was so aggressive about it! And then when I refused and told him what I thought of him, he was being so mean to me. Why, if Fancy Pants hadn’t stepped in when he did, I would have-“ She stopped herself, knowing she almost gave away about her feelings about him.
“Fancy Pants?” AJ raised her eyebrow, “What’s he got anything to do with Blueblood?”
“Well, um… he was serving us tea, and when… Blueblood said those awful things to me, he was such a gentle-colt to handle it like it was an accident.” she giggled, “He dumped the sandwiches all over him and poured the tea on him, as well…” Then, she burst out laughing, remembering Blueblood’s reaction, “You should have seen it! It was most amusing!”
Pinkie joined in the laughing as she could picture the scene. Then, the other sisters slowly joined in, laughing away.
“Okay, okay…” Twilight calmed down and cleared her throat, “As fun as it is seeing Blueblood get what he deserves…”
“He sure does!” Rainbow declared, “After the way he treated Rarity, he’s got a black eye coming to him!” she clomped her hooves together.
“Still, we can’t stoop to his level of insensitivity. We must be better than that.”
Rarity agreed, “Twilight, you’re right. We are still ladies and it is not our nature to be cruel like others.”
“One thing’s for sure, we know what to watch out for when the rest of us has be with him for the rest of the week.” said AJ.
“Indeed,” nodded Rarity, “no doubt he’ll pull the same thing to you like he tried to pull on me.”
“Right, and that he wants to more closely related to the crown. His best shot is to married any one of us.” Applejack pointed out.
“Do you think that’s his real reason?” Fluttershy asked.
“I think Applejack is right,” said Twilight, “Blueblood has never cared for us when we were young, so why should he now? And with this marriage law out, he feels like he can use that to his advantage.”
“Well, I’ll be giving him the what-for tomorrow afternoon,” Dash pumped her fists, “But who wants him in the morning?”
“Might as well be me.” Applejack volunteered, “Just to get it over with and to teach him a lesson for messing around with my sister.” she winked at Rarity.
“Oh, how sweet.” she smiled back.
“Don’t worry, Rare,” said Pinkie, “I’ve got a feeling we’re all going to get back at him for what he did to you.”
“Yes.” said Fluttershy.
“Thank you,” She had near tears of joy in her eyes, “that means so much to me, my wonderful, thoughtful sisters…”
“You’re welcome.” they said in unison before giggling. Then, Pinkie threw a pillow at Rainbow.
“Oh, you are so going down, Pinks!” she grabbed her own pillow and threw it back to her.
AJ then threw a pillow at Rarity, which she returned, and Twilight threw one at Fluttershy. Before long, a whole pillow fight was happening in the middle of the room. Just as Twilight was being overwhelmed with pillows, her hoof stepped on Fluttershy’s cutie mark tile. The tile gave out a chime and glowed. Immediately, they stopped with what they were doing and stared at the tile in wonder.
“How… how did it…?” Fluttershy questioned, but the other girls could only shake in their heads, not knowing what to say.
“Maybe the rest of ours does it?” Pinkie shrugged.
“It’s worth looking in to…” Twilight stepped on her own tile, but nothing happened. The others did the same with theirs, but again, nothing happen. Then, Twilight looked back and forth between the tiles, realizing they were in the birth order of when they were each born. Since Fluttershy was the oldest… “Girls, take your hooves off for one second, I got to try it this way.” She stepped on Rarity’s gem tile and sure enough, the tile glowed.
“Well, I’ll be…” AJ gasped.
“Next is you, so…” she stepped on the three apples and they shimmered, “Rainbow…” She moved to the rainbow lightning mark and it shined away, “Pinkie…” She touched the three balloons as they glistened. “And finally, me…” she stepped on the light purple star, but nothing seemed to happen. Then, it sparkled and a white celestial glow surrounded on the entire tile and an opening appeared, showing a circular stairway with their each of their cutie marks on a circle. 
They gasped in amazement as Twilight took a step towards the stairs, “Does… any pony want to come with me?”
They each gave other glances and nodded, but Fluttershy whimpered, “Oh, are you sure it’s safe?”
“Only one way to find out…” Twilight started going down the steps with Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie right behind her. Fluttershy gulped and quickly followed after them as the opening closed behind them.

> Chapter 6
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They finally made it down to the bottom and saw a cave entrance. Twilight went out and there, before her eyes, was a lake and on that lake was a castle, made of silver and gold with a starry sky above it.
“Wow!” Pinkie gaped.
“Oh, it is glorious!” Rarity squealed, “Just glorious!”
“I guess it’s cool… by 20 percent!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash.
“Shinier than a million bits put together!” Applejack proclaimed.
“It is lovely…” Fluttershy admired.
“Still…” Twilight tipped her head as if thinking, “There’s… There’s something… familiar about it…” But then, she shook the thought out of her head, “Anyway…” She looked down below them to see a large jeweled boat with seats in it, enough room for the six of them to fit in. She turned back to them, “Well, shall we- hey, where’s Pinkie?” But her question was soon answered when she heard a whistle, turning back to see her older sister in the boat already.
“What are we waiting? Let’s go!” she jumped up, almost tipping the vessel.
“How… how did she…?” Twilight kept pointing.
Rainbow and the others just shrugged as they went to the boat.
By making it across the water, they reached their destination and the silver doors swung open for them, revealing a large golden ballroom inside.
“Oohh…” they awed in astonishment as they got in to look around.
“Some pony, make sure I don’t  wake up from this dream come true!” Rarity started going around the room in excitement.
“You’re not dreaming.” said Applejack, touching a nearby vase, “It’s really real.”
“In that case, I may never want to leave this place!” the white unicorn grinned widely.
“The flowers are so pretty here.” Fluttershy looked at the plants in gold or silver planters. The flowers and leaves on the plants were also silver or gold, shining bright. 
“You know what this place needs?!” Pinkie twirled, “Music! I wish for music to dance to!”
Suddenly, the flowers opened up, releasing glowing dust and swirled to the dance floor creating instruments that played all on their own!
“Whoa!” Rainbow lingered on what she just saw and the others did too, “That… is… so awesome!” she flew up in exhilaration. 
“My goodness!” Rarity sat in bewilderment.
Twilight decided to study the flowers more closely, “This is incredible! I’ve never heard or read anything about magical flowers!”
“Just as long as we can party, I like them!” Pinkie started dancing to the music and Rainbow and Applejack joined her.
“You know, I believe she is right!” motioned Rarity, “I wish for a stunning dress to wear while I dance!” The flowers obeyed her command and she wore a sparkling yellow dress. She squealed in delight, seeing her wish came true and she started dancing as well.
Twilight shrugged to Fluttershy, “Well, if you can’t reason with them, might as well join them.” She went on the floor to do her own style of dance moves.
Fluttershy moved gracefully along with her sisters as they kept dancing away.
After what seemed like hours, Twilight stopped dancing and started to yawn, which started a chain reaction to her sisters and they yawned, too.
When Applejack finished her yawn, she asked, “How long do you think we’ve been here?” 
“I’m not sure…” Twilight went to the flowers, saying, “I wish to know the time.”
The flower’s magical pollen came out and made a grandfather clock on the other side the room. When Twilight saw where the little hand was pointing, she freaked out, “Three o’clock in the morning?!”
“Oh, my,” Rarity gestured, “we must get back so I can have my beauty sleep.”
Rainbow flapped, “But we’ll come back tomorrow night, right?”
“Of course we will!” jumped Pinkie. Even when sleep deprived, she still had enough energy to be hyper, “This is the most fun I’ve had since before Mother told us we had to have suitors!”
Twilight gasped in realization, “You’re right… being down here has made me forget what we have to face in the above world.”
“It does!” AJ agreed.
“Oh, it really does!” Fluttershy smiled.
“We have to come back! We must!” declared Rarity.
“And we will.” said Twilight, “But right now, we need to get some sleep.”
They nodded their heads before they headed back to the boat and reached the shore to the cave and the stairs.
The next morning, Applejack had made it down to the kitchens to help with breakfast; she gave out a yawn before going in. As tired as she was, that didn’t stop her from doing her morning chores. But when she entered the room, she was surprised to see Spike standing on a foot stool and mixing pancake mix in a bowl.
“Spike?”
He turned his head towards her and smiled, “Oh, hey, Applejack.” He turned back to the bowl and started singing to himself.
“What are you doing up so early?” She knew perfectly well that the dragon would be still sleeping in his own room of the castle.
“Well, what are you doing up so late? I know for a fact that you always wake up at the crack of dawn.”
“Apple Bloom?” she slit her eyes.
“Well, um, yes… So, why were you sleeping in late?”
Slight panic came over her. The girls agreed before they went to sleep for the rest of the night that no one would know of their special place, for fear it might be taken away from them of the happiness they were given. However, she had to be truthful all the same. 
“I was… that is, we were catching up with each other and Pinkie started this crazy pillow fight. We stayed up late afterwards.”
“Huh, well, that’s Pinkie for you.”
She giggled, “Yup.” She ended up staring at him, but then quickly shook her head, “So anyway, why are you here and not with Twilight at this time?”
“I put a note in the library telling her that I was helping you out today.”
“Oh…” Then, her eyes widened as she realized, “Hey… Wait a minute! I don’t need help! I can handle things myself!”
“I never said you couldn’t. I just… rather be with you today.” He looked up to her.
Her cheeks started flushing.
He caught himself of what he just said, “I mean, that I want to see what other work is like in the castle! Yeah, that’s it…” he mumbled.
“Oh! Sure! Right!” She did a steady laugh and turned her head away, scolding to herself for hoping he was hanging out with her just because he wanted to.
That was close! Spike thought, I can’t give myself away if I’m ever to find out if Applejack has feelings for me! Maybe, if she does, I can… shower her with gifts instead, since Rarity hasn’t shown to have feelings for me. Maybe, all this time, I’ve been crushing on the wrong princess… Applejack is just as beautiful as her sister maybe even more. She looks out for every servant that lives here. She did take in Apple Bloom to live and work here since the poor filly was an orphan from the streets. Now, she is friends with Sweetie Belle, one of Rarity’s younger maids, and Scootaloo, Rainbow’s assistant when she does her outdoor activities. Speaking of which, where are those fillies? They always report to me in the morning for their list of duties to do.
Applejack must have read his thoughts because the next thing she asked was, “Say, where is Apple Bloom? She’s usually here when I’m here.”
No sooner had she said that they heard a crash coming from the other room that was used for storage for the food. They rushed in to see three fillies covered in flour.
“What in the hay is going on here?!” Applejack shouted.
Sweetie Belle spoke on their behalf, “Well, we were trying to see if we can do more for the castle and see if we can get our cutie marks into doing something important…”
Scootaloo took over, “And we thought that inventory would be the best way to do it.”
“But I guess it didn’t work. Sorry, Applejack…” Apple Bloom lowered her head.
AJ frowned, but then her face softened, “Well, you can make it up by cleaning up this mess you made.” She threw a mop to them and then told Spike, “Think you can help them out?”
“Sure! I can do that!” He grabbed another mop and started cleaning with them. Pretty soon, the floor started to shine.
She chuckled, seeing how the girls started getting more dirty, “And make sure you get baths, as well.” 
“Bath?! No!” Scootaloo screamed in horror.
“Oh, yes.” Applejack replied and then said with a smile, “And then you three can take the rest of the day off.”
“Really?!” the three fillies’ eyes widened in disbelief.
“Really?” Spike found it hard to believe, either.
“Really. You ponies are still young and when you said you wanted to find out about your cutie marks, I reckon you’re right. You can’t find your special talents in the castle if you’re working. Go have some fun!”
“Yeah!” the trio cheered.
“But wait,” said Sweetie, “What about Rarity?”
“And Rainbow Dash?” Scoots questioned.
“Don’t you worry about them; I’ll take care of it as soon as I finish making breakfast.”
“Yay!” they cheered again and went to go to get cleaned up.
AJ was about to return to the kitchen counter until Spike stopped her by pointing out, “Wait, Applejack, let me tell them. It is, after all, my job to deliver messages between the royal family.” 
“That’s sweet, but I don’t want you to overwork…”
“Overwork? Overwork?!” he practically shouted, “I’m anything but overworked! I haven’t even started on my duties for today because you haven’t given me anything to do yet!”
“Spike, please, it’s not ness-“
“No! I’m going to do it and you will not stop me!” He was about to stomp out.
AJ was flabbergasted until she had a look of anger and shouted, “Oh, yes, I can! I order you to stay put!” Then she gasped and covered her mouth while Spike stopped dead in his tracks. Realizing what she done, she had never used her royal status on any servant before, but to use it on a servant that was more of a dear friend to her and her sisters since they were little was alarming.
He slowly turned back to her and she saw the shock in his eyes as if thinking the same thing she was.
“Spike… I… I… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”
“Just why…?” he nearly whispered with his green eyes growing big.
“I…” she slumped down, daring not to look at him, “I don’t want to see you working so hard when you hardly get anything in return… All those years I’ve seen you do things for Rarity for you not to get anything in return… I don’t want you thinking you have to do stuff for me if I can’t return anything to you…”
“AJ…”
“And that’s why I can’t let you work for me. It’ll be much more work than what you’re used to and I don’t want you to get hurt-“
“AJ.” he lifted her chin, which surprised her to see him so close to her and smiling at her, “You don’t have to return anything… I did that stuff for Rarity because I wanted to. And I want to do stuff for you now for that same reason… and honestly, I don’t care how hard it’ll be. Just as long as we do it together, I’m sure we’ll make it much easier…”
“You’re… you’re sure about that…?”
“Positive.” he smirked.
A smile grew on her face and then, with a determined look, AJ said, “Then move your tail. We got pancakes to make!”
He saluted and exclaimed, “Aye-aye!” That caused both of them to laugh.
Although the pancakes were delicious, thanks to Spike’s way of cooking them with his fire, hardly any pony at the table could enjoy them because of Blueblood’s attitude of wanting a better-quality meal. Rainbow then mentioned to the queen that she would spend time with Blueblood that morning. Once their mother approved and looked away for a second, the rainbow-haired princess gave the pampered prince the stink eye.

> Chapter 7
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow paced back and forth outside on the castle jousting grounds. She was waiting for Scootaloo to get there before Blueblood made his appearance, which he was taking his sweet time about. No doubt he was afraid of getting his hooves muddy when he’d be walking out, but she didn’t care. In fact, she was glad for the extra time, since her personal assistant wasn’t here yet. Then, she heard the running of footsteps and thought it might have been Scootaloo, but was surprised to see Spike instead, panting.
“Spike? What the heck? Where’s Scootaloo?”
“Uh-oh… Did-did you needed her today?” he cringed in fear.
“Yeah! Of course I needed her today to help out with getting back at Blueblood for what he did to Rarity!” 
“What?! What did he do?!”
“I’ll tell you later. Right now, I really need Scoots. Where is she?”
“Um… that’s the thing…” he started sweating.
“What?”
He quickly said while having his hands shield him from the impact, “Applejack gave her the day off!”
“WHAT?! Without asking my permission first?! Why did she do that?!”
He gulped, answering, “She… that is, we were in the kitchen…” As he unfolded the events from earlier that morning, Rainbow’s face softened and she sighed, forgetting foremost that Scootaloo was still a kid and needed her free-time. 
Remembering when she was Scoots’ age, she would always need to get out of the castle and her father was always right there to play with her. She loved how her dad would throw her into the air so she could fly on her own. He was the one who taught her how to fence, joust, and all sorts of things that normally a stallion would be doing, but by being a headstrong girl, she never was into frou-frou stuff like most of her sisters, mainly Rarity and Fluttershy. She missed her father. In fact, King Sombra was the one who introduced her to the Wonderbolts and she met a younger Soarin’ at the time. 
Soarin’… She thought sadly, remembering their talk about a few days ago, but then her face lit up with an idea. She turned back to Spike, “Thanks for telling me this, Spike, and tell AJ she did me a favor!” she flapped up.
“Wha…?” Spike scratched his head in confusion.
“Now you better go before Blueblood gets here.”
“Okay…” he was still confused, but left just as Blueblood made his grand entrance. 
Blueblood stopped to look at his hoof as if checking to see if his pedi was still intact, “There had better be a good reason why we’re… ugh, meeting in a dirty arena…”
“Well… I was going to show off my great jousting skills to you, but there’s been a slight change in plans. Instead, we’re going to the Wonderbolt derby.”
“Oh, very well… if we must.” he lifted his head high and kept it up.
She rolled her eyes and led the way.
“Soarin’!” Spitfire called out when she was at a dressing room door of the derby, “Move your tail on out of there! We have a race to be in!”
“What’s the point!” his voice muffled from inside, “You know I won’t be able to win!”
“Quit with the moping, already! Look, I know she was your inspiration to fly at the speed of light, but you did the right thing when you had to move on! She is a princess, after all!”
“She was more than that! She was… amazing…” Inside the room, he was laying on his back on a sofa and held his hooves to his face.
Fleetfoot walked up to the captain, “Still not coming out?”
Spitfire nodded and pulled down her shades, “He’s lost the will to fly… Without Princess Rainbow Dash, he doesn’t have motivation to take wing into the sky anymore.”
“Well, this should cheer the both of you up…” she knocked on the door, “Soarin’? It’s Fleetfoot! I just want to let you know that I was checking out the bleachers and guess who I saw in the box?! Princess Rainbow Dash!” There was a pause and the two Wonderbolt mares didn’t hear anything. Then, out of the nowhere, a blue blur zipped out of the room.
The mares were spinning around until they stopped and were dizzy.
“Well, that certainly… got him back up.” said Spitfire before she passed out.
Soarin’ couldn’t believe it; she was here! He flew at a fast pace, but then stop in midair to see who she was with: the ever-known and elusive Prince Blueblood. No doubt he was a suitor for the princesses. Dash had told him all about growing up with Blueblood and that he was unpleasant and annoying, but why would Rainbow be hanging out with him if that was the case? Maybe she had to? If he was a suitor and Rainbow had no choice… but then, a horrible thought occurred to him: what she’s here with him because she wanted to? He had to find out for sure as he flew up to the side of the box and hid from view, making a psst sound.
Blueblood gestured to Rainbow Dash, saying out of boredom, “The Wonderbolt derby is hardly what I call a sporting event.”
“Oh, well, I guess if you don’t like it, then I’m sure could find some other prince to marry who would like to come with me.” She knew that would get under Blueblood’s coat by leading him to think that it would be the best way to get married to her.
Sure enough, that sparked his interest and he pointed out, “What I meant was, that it’s not to be a sporting event, but a way of life.” he gave a smug grin, as if congratulating himself for saying the right thing.
She could only roll her eyes, thinking, Sheesh, he’s really going all out on this just to get closer to the throne… By then, her ears perked up to hear a psst sound and turned to see Soarin’s head popping up to the open window. Just the colt I wanted to see. She turned back to Blueblood and told him, “I’m going to get us some snacks before the race starts.”
“Don’t bother. I never need eat, ugh, commoner food…”
“If you say so.” She flew down the steps while grumbling, “I swear, one more complaint and I won’t act so sweet anymore…”
She found Soarin’ waiting for her and they went below the stands. They stood silent for a moment until he rubbed his neck and said.
“It’s… great seeing you again…”
“Is it? Because I recall… That you broke up with me!” She yelled into his face, causing him to wince.
“Broke… broke up? But we weren’t dating!”
“Yeah, well, we might as well have been! You broke my heart!” She turned away from him.
“Dash…” he reached out his hoof.
“Oh, so now it’s Dash? Not Princess or Your Highness?!”
“Do-do you want me to-“
“No! I rather you call me by my name, like you always did!”
“But then why-“
“Because the last time we were talking, you said we wouldn’t be able to see each other again! Well, I proved you wrong, didn’t I?!”
“Not really!” he finally had the chance to yell back, “You came here with other guy! How is that seeing each other?!”
“Blueblood was an excuse for me to get out of the palace while I was…” She made air quotes with her hooves, “hanging out with him. My original plan was for me and Scootaloo to show off our jousting skills to him and then try to convince him to joust with him to see if he was made of hard stuff.”
“I don’t think he is, so why…?”
“For two reasons. One is to get him out of the castle so none of us becomes his bride and two. He hurt Rarity by being a… grrgh, he’s got me so mad I can’t even say it.”
“So this is also payback… whoa… Sure am glad I stay on your good side. Uh, I am still on your good side, after what happened…?”
“I’ve gotten over it, but I’m still pretty ticked you would leave me like that. I suppose you’ve been flying hard to keep your mind off that day.”
“Actually… I haven’t been flying, not since I told you we shouldn’t see each other again… I couldn’t fly until Fleetfoot told me she saw you here, and I lifted myself off the ground just to see you…” he did a bashful blush and turned away so she wouldn’t see his cheeks.
Her mouth was wide open from bafflement until she scowled and scolded at him, “Let me get this straight: you couldn’t fly because of me? Of the all… Soarin’! I refuse to be held responsible for a Wonderbolt not being able to do their job of being the greatest flyers in Equestria! If you cared that much about me, then you should have say so! Or better yet, to never say those words to me about us never seeing each other again!” her face softened, “Now, you tell me that you care and I will say the same thing…”
He lifted his head in surprise, his eyes filled with hope, “You… you do?”
“Nah-ah. You won’t get anything out of me until you say what you have to say.”
“Alright… since you really want to know…” he smiled, “You’re awesome. You’re this amazing flyer that I don’t think I could ever keep up to… You may be a princess, but you sure don’t act like it and I don’t have a problem with that… And, I’m afraid to tell you this, for fear you might give me a black eye, but here it goes…you’re the most beautiful mare I’ve ever laid eyes on… I know that’s cheesy, but that’s the way I see you…” he lowered his head to avoid her gaze of how she’ll react. 
Suddenly, he felt his head being quickly lifted and could see his lips touching with hers. He slowly closed his eyes to the bliss. After what seemed like a while, they finally broke away and gave each other loving glances.
“Now it’s my turn…” she told him while smiling, “Soarin’, you’re the first colt friend I have ever made… I never liked any boys until I met you… You may think you can’t keep up with me, but you’re wrong. You’re the only guy who can keep up with me… and that’s what I like about you… by the way, as cheesy as that was about me being beautiful, you’re not so bad yourself…”  she swished her tail on his face.
He started grinning like an idiot until he remembered why he had to let her go in the first place, “But Dash… I can’t give you what a prince can… Isn’t that why your mother…”
“Phooey on any princes! My sisters and I have a plan on getting rid of any suitors that come to us. And who says you can’t give me what a prince can? You’ll be giving me something better than princes could even hope to have!”
“You… you think so?”
“Of course you would! Listen, I need your help to finally give Blueblood the hoof.”
“Name it.”
She whispered the plan in his ear.


Pinkie bounced up and down the streets of Canterlot, being happy as she remembered the previous night of dancing in the underground kingdom. She couldn’t wait to see Cheese and to tell him of how happy she was again without revealing the secret castle. She wanted to tell him so badly, but she and the sisters made the Pinkie Promise she created in the first place not to say a word about it. After all, one couldn’t break a Pinkie Promise. In fact, it was their father who helped her create the Pinkie Promise. 
He taught her that ponies should always be honor-bound to keep their promises no matter what. She remembered his hearty laugh and in turn, she laughed, thus the start of her wanting to spread joy just as he did with his playful side. She hummed until she stopped to look at the shop before her, “That’s strange…” she pondered, “Cheese’s Joke Shop is always here…” Above her was a new sign saying, Bank Loans and Accounting. She pushed the door open to go in and saw empty shelves that once held pranks and fun party games. Below them were boxes all taped shut. Then, she got to the front counter and saw papers stacked up in a neat pile.
By then, Cheese walked out from the back room, but there was something different about him. He was wearing glasses and a plain shirt with a red tie. He didn’t see her until she said something to him, “Cheese? Wha… What’s going on?”
“Pinkie?” he moved his glasses and a small smile spread across his face, being happy to see her, “I…I didn’t think I would see you again! I thought you’d be so busy at the palace meeting suitors…”
“Well, Prince Blueblood did answer the call, but we got a plan of getting rid of him and other suitors because we agreed to never get chosen as a bride!”
“Wow! Really?”
“Uh-huh, and I wanted to let you know that so I can tell you something…”
“What?”
“But first, take off those silly glasses and second… Tell me what in the pink is going on here?! Why is the joke shop so grey and boring?!”
“Oh, Pinkie…” he sighed and took off the glasses as she had asked, “I figured with you having to get married, I didn’t have the heart to have fun anymore… So I thought it would be a good idea for me to move onto a new business to keep my mind off of you…”
“What?!” her hair slightly deflated, “But… don’t you like me anymore?”
“Yes! No! Of course I do like you! I just… don’t have any fun without you… You always brighten up any pony’s day. You brighten… my day… Knowing I was going to lose you, I didn’t know what else to do…” he stared at her with pleading eyes.
“Cheese…” she had near tears of joy as she got closer to him and nuzzled his head, surprising him as she kissed his cheek, “You know what I feel about you?”
“No… what do you feel about me?” he asked curiously.
She gave him a one moment gesture and zipped out, only to bring back a pony named Octavia who had a cello. She whispered a request and Octavia started playing just as Pinkie started singing.
“Once a lass met a lad… You’re a gentle one said she… In my heart I’d be glad if you loved me for me… You say your love is true and I hope that it will be…”
He gave a wide grin and took her by the hoof to join her in song, “I’d be sure, if I knew that you loved me for me…”
They started going around Canterlot with her singing, “Could I be the one you’re seeking? Will I be the one you choose? Can you tell my heart is speaking? My eyes will give clues…”
“What you see may be deceiving… Truth lies underneath the skin…”
“Hope will be blossom by believing…”
Both sang, “The heart that lies within!”
He sang, “I’ll be yours… Together we shall be always be as one… If you love me for me…”
“Who can say where we’ll go…”
“I’ll be yours…”
“Who can promise what will be…”
“Together we shall always be…”
“But I’ll stay by your side…”
“Be as one…”
They finished up the song while staring at each other lovingly, “If love me for me… If you love me… for me…” They slowly kissed, then had their noses keep touching while being hopelessly in love.
Twilight was aimlessly looking for books and out of frustration, she grunted, “Ugh! Spike! Of all the days had to leave me to go help Applejack instead! I was hoping to find way to prove to Mother that having an arranged marriage for us isn’t a good idea!” She set down another book that wasn’t going to help her and decided to take a break.
She set a hoof out of the library, but soon bumped into some pony. But it wasn’t just any pony: it was the pony she been seeing every night before she went bed, or in the case of last night that she met with him before going into the magical underground kingdom. “Flash!” she gasped.
“Twily!” he beamed, “Didn’t think I would see you on this side of the castle.”
“That’s because… I’m…” She quickly thought of a good excuse, “I’m with the princess!”
“The youngest one? The one you’re friends with?”
“That’s right!” she nervously chuckled while blushing.
“Wow, think maybe I can see her?” he leaned his head over her to look inside the library seeing if the princess was there.
She blocked his view, “Oh no, you can’t! She’s… she’s much too busy, preparing to get married you know.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve heard about that… I feel so sorry for the princesses… to never have the chance to find a very special some pony…”
“Tell me about it…” she mumbled.
“Well, at least you’re lucky, being the princess’s lady’s maid and all, such laws don’t apply to you.”
“Oh! Right… of course…” she did a forced smile and thought to herself, I wish that was true… If I was actually a lady’s maid, then I could be free to myself around you instead of always hiding the truth… She sighed loudly and that got his attention.
“Is… everything alright?” he asked with concern.
She gave him a solemn face and finally blurted out, “No, no everything’s not alright! In fact, everything’s all wrong!” she sniffled and started running away.
“Wha… Twily!” he called out to her, but she did not respond or come back.
By early afternoon, Applejack cheered while finishing putting clean sheets on a bed, “Hee-haw! That’s the fastest I’ve ever gotten anything done!”
Spike took hold of an empty basket and said, “I told you we would make things easier if we worked together.”
“Land sakes! I can’t believe I didn’t listen to you sooner. You are so good at finishing the job so quickly…” she beamed at him, causing him to slightly blush.
“Aw, it’s nothing; you did most of the heavy work anyway.”
“Still, I never could get with my cleaning duties done so early. Do… do you want to do something before preparing for dinner?”
His face lit up and asked, “Sure! What is it you want to do?”
“Well, um… I’m not sure. Do you have any ideas?”
“Hmm…” he deeply thought, then got a glimpse of Applejack’s cutie mark and then it struck him, “I know!”
“What?”
“Just follow me.” he waved his claw and went in front of her.
She glanced in confusion, but followed him nevertheless.
Pretty soon, they went into a part of the castle gardens and saw the apple orchards. Memories instantly came to her as she remembered playing hide and seek here with her sisters when they were fillies and their father, the king, was playing with them. She tried her best to hide up in the tree, but she fell out and her father caught her in his strong arms. He told her to be more careful and taught her how important it was watch out for family. Sombra never did want to lose any of his girls or his wife.
“You okay?” a voice next to her said, bringing her back to the present.
“Sorry, I just, I haven’t been here in a long time… I’ve wanted to visit, but never had the chance to… Thank you for bringing me here…” She gave him a small smile.
He returned it and replied, “You’re welcome…” 
“Why don’t we rest under one of the trees? We could use it after all the hard work we did today.”
“Alright!” he took to the nearest tree that had lots of shade and started relaxing.
She chuckled and joined by his side, crouching down to lay her head down. Once she had shut her eyes, Spike made sure she was fast asleep before moving over to her and set his head down on her side. He gave out a sigh and slowly fell asleep.
The derby was over with and because of his newfound love with Rainbow Dash, Soarin’ had won! But as happy as she was that her colt friend won, they couldn’t quite celebrate his win until Blueblood was out of her hair. So the plan was that Soarin’ would follow them around with a single dark cloud he made until she would give him the signal to use it.
They were going down the main street when Rainbow said loudly, “Well, I sure had a good time!”
“You did?” Blueblood was astonished to hear that, but was quite pleased all the same, “Must have been my charms, wouldn’t you agree?” he smirked.
“Yeah… sure… let’s go with that.” she winked back to Soarin’ and he took the hint to get ready.
“Yes, quite. I do have that effect on mares, though I was surprised it was you I ended up with. I was sure I could’ve had Rarity. Actually, I was hoping for your sister, Fluttershy.”
“Fluttershy?” she questioned and then asked in a skeptical tone, “Why would you want Fluttershy?”
“Well, rumor is she is the most beautiful creature in all the land, and with me being the handsome stallion that I am, we would have made a perfect pair. But of course since you’re so willing to be my wife, I’ll take what I can get.” he held her hoof.
Yeah right… Like that’s ever going to happen! She thought with a grimace as he shut his eyes and started to lean in for a kiss. She frantically waved her hoof while thinking, Now, Soarin’! Now!
In a split second, the lightning bolt came down and startled Blueblood from behind, causing him to scream like a girl and run away, leaving a cloud of dust.
The dark cloud came down with Soarin’ as he said, “Whew, one more second and I would have just done it, since he was that close to kissing you…” he frowned.
“Luckily, I already had my first kiss with you.”
“That was your first?! Whoa!”
“And what’s wrong with that?!”
“Nothing, in fact… that was my first kiss, too!”
“No way! A good-lookin’ Wonderbolt like you has never been kissed until now?”
“Well,” he rubbed his neck, “I never found the right girl before to share it with…”
“Heh, same here…” she wrapped her hoof around him, “Say, we got some time before I have to get back to the castle for dinner. Wanna go hang out?”
“You bet!” They took off to the sky, flying away.

> Chapter 8
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity was walking along the hallway, looking over the exquisite tapestries her mother and father had collected before she or any of her sisters were born. She sighed as she remembered King Sombra being a true gentle-colt and was proud of the fact she inherited most of his refined traits from him. She yearned for her dear father at a time like this. Suddenly, she heard a piano playing a haunting melody and noticed it was coming from the next room over. 
She peeked her head in and was surprised to see Fancy Pants playing on the grand piano. The notes he was playing were both beautiful and sad at the same time. As if it was calling to her, she slowly moved towards the sound without Fancy taking notice. He was too caught up in his music to see her coming to him. When he finished his last piece of the music, he gave out a sigh, but he stiffed when he heard her voice.
“You play beautifully…”
He turned to face her, “Rarity! How… how long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough… You never told me you play the piano.”
“Oh, this? It’s just something I do when I get time off from my duties.”
“Have you ever considered performing in front of an adoring crowd?”
“Sometimes, but not really… I’m not good enough.”
“Nonsense! I can tell you are very good! You should pursue this talent!”
“That’s very kind of you,” he smiled, “but I like serving the royal family, mainly… to serve…” he stopped and turned his head away.
“To serve… who?” she raised her eyebrow.
He turned back and whispered, “You…”
Her eyes widened, “Really?”
“Yes… he sighed as he couldn’t hide it anymore, “Rarity, seeing you every day always makes me happy… You always treat me as I was equal, even if you’re a princess and I’m…a lowly butler.”
“You are nothing of the sort!” she protested.
“Let me finish. I know you have feelings for me as I have feelings for you…”
She gasped, “You… you do?” her eyes filled with tears of joy.
“Yes… It pained me to tell you we couldn’t be together. How could we? You are to marry any day. At this point, what hope do I have of being with you…?” he lowered his head after he had finished.
“Oh, Fancy…” she lifted his chin, “If there’s any pony I’m going to marry, it’ll be you…”
“What…?”
“Let me explain: my sisters and I have a secret plan of making sure suitors leave us alone so we can marry whoever we want… So… Fancy Pants, if you’ll have me, will you be my very special some pony?”
He smirked, “I think this will answer that…” he started playing a different song on the piano and started singing, “Do I love you because you’re beautiful? Or are you beautiful because I love you? Am I making believe I see in you? A mare too lovely to be really true… Do I want you because you’re wonderful? Or are you wonderful because I want you? Are you the sweet invention of a lover’s dream? Or are you really as beautiful as you seem?”
She smiled brightly, singing this time, “Am I making believe I see in you? A stallion too perfect to be really true? Do I want you because you’re wonderful? Or are you wonderful because I want you?”
Both of them sang together, “Are you the sweet invention of a lover’s dream? Or are you really as wonderful as you seem?” Then he played for a while, with her joining him on the piano and finally, they finished the song, “Are you the sweet invention of a lover’s dream? Or are you really as wonderful as you seem!”
They leaned into a kiss until the chimes on a nearby clock made them realize what time it was.
“Uh-oh, time to get down there to prepare for dinner.” said Fancy Pants, getting up.
“You do that and I shall see you there.” she gave a wink.
He beamed at her gesture and kissed her hoof, causing her to blush before parting ways.
The clock tower outside the castle starting bonging and that woke Applejack up from her nap underneath the apple tree. She was surprised to see a purple dragon sleeping on her. She felt her cheeks redden at the sight and it turned out her theory was right about his scales being soft and even. He was still soundly sleeping, and though she hated to wake him up, she knew that they would have to get to the kitchen soon to help make dinner for the entire castle.
She used her tail to brush against his nose that made him slightly twitch. She kept it up until he woke up with a sneeze that spouted fire at the same time. She giggled, “Rise and shine, sleepyhead! We have to get back now.”
“Aw, already? Feels like we just got here and frankly, I could stay here forever.” he rested his head back on her.
“Nice try.” she got up and caused him to fall back, “But I am not a pillow.”
“You might as well be. You’re so soft and warm…” he gazed at her.
Her cheeks went on flushing again and replied, “Well, you’re soft, too, ya know.”
“Oh, these scales may be soft, but they’re also tough as nails!” he found a pin on her work dress he wanted to use as an example.
She realized what he was going to do and dread came over her, “Spike don’t-“ It was too late, for he already put the pin on his back. “Are you alright?!”
He gave a smug look and waved off her question, “Oh, I’m fine. It doesn’t even hurt at all because I can’t feel it. These are thick scales, after all.”
“How… how did you know you could do that?”
“When you been Rarity’s pincushion as long as I have, you get used to it.”
She chuckled, “Maybe, but I don’t exactly have protective scales like you do.”
“So you don’t, but you don’t need them. You’re already tough as it is. Why would you need the protection?”
“How noble of you to say…” she smiled at him and they ended up staring at each other until another bong on the clock tower reminded them of the time. “We better go.”
“Right!”  He started running, but was suddenly lifted off the ground and the next thing he knew, he was on Applejack’s back.
“I figured this would be quicker!” she told him.
He beamed and said, “It is! Thanks!”
“Yer welcome! Now, hold on tight!” She started galloping faster with him holding on to her neck and he liked it.
Rainbow and Soarin’ sat on top of a white puffy cloud while watching her mother setting down the sun and her Aunt Luna slowly raising the moon. 
“Have you ever thought about…” started Soarin’ as he stared at the night sky.
“Thought about what?” Rainbow asked him.
“Have you ever thought about flying up to the stars and trying to grab one of them?”
“Oh sure, that thought crossed my mind a long time ago. I even asked Aunt Luna if it was possible.”
“And is it?”
“’Only if you’re fast enough to catch one’, she told me.”
“Whoa, so it is possible.”
“Do you want to try to find out?”
“Yeah!” he started flying again and they went high up into the starry sky. Then he smirked and began to sing, “Look at the sky, tell me what do you see? Just close your eyes and describe to me… The heavens are sparkling with starlight tonight… That’s what I see through your eyes…”
She rolled her eyes and smirked back, “I see the heavens each time you smile… I hear your heartbeat just go on for miles… And suddenly I know why life is worthwhile… That’s what I see through your eyes…”
The both of them sang as they started chasing shooting stars, “That’s what I see your eyes… Here in the night, I see the sun… Here in the dark, our two hearts are one! It’s out of our hooves we can’t stop what we have begun! And love just took me by surprise… Looking through your eyes… I see a night I wish could last forever… I see a world we’re meant to see together! And it is so much more then I remember!”
Soarin’ sang while gesturing to a star they could grab, “More than I remember…”
Rainbow sang while grabbing for it, “More than I have known!”
Both failed when reaching for it, but ended up catching each other in a lovingly embrace, “Here in the night, I see the sun… Here in the dark, our two hearts are one! It’s out of our hooves… We can’t stop what we have begun… And love just took me by surprise… Looking through your eyes… Looking through your eyes…” They slowly moved into a kiss.
The family sat at the dinner table as they were looking around to see if Blueblood would show up. The girls were hoping that Rainbow finally did the job of getting rid of him as she said that she would. She even winked to tell them that she was sure she did. When Blueblood didn’t show, they gave out silent relieved sighs.
“Well, my darlings, it would appear that Cousin Blueblood has decided to no longer court any of you, so now we must wait until the next suitor arrives.”
“And if there isn’t?” Rarity calmly asked without giving away her joy inside.
“We shall wait and see.”
The family resumed with dinner while the princesses were silently praying that no more suitors come.
When the girls retired to their quarters and once they knew the rest of the castle was asleep, Twilight stepped on the tiles and the portal opened up. 
Instead of dancing like they did the other night, they decided to sit in a circle of the golden ballroom of the magical castle.
“Since no suitors have been coming, maybe that’ll convince Mother to give up on this notation of marrying us off.” said Twilight.
“I certainly hope so, darling…” said Rarity, “now that Fancy Pants and I-“ she covered her mouth and blushed.
Her sisters gave her sly grins, with Applejack saying as she smirked, “Are… what?”
“Oh… sisters… It’s just so wonderful! He finally told me he loved me!”
They practically shrieked at the news giving her a huge hug, and then Pinkie said, “Cheese and I are together, too!”
They shrieked again and hugged Pinkie this time.
“Oh, I might as well say it!” declared RD, “But Soarin’ and I are going out, as well!”
Another huge shriek as they tightly hugged their hardcore sister.
“I’m so happy for all three of you!” Fluttershy said.
“Yeah, when did this happen, exactly?” AJ questioned.
“Today.” all three said and were surprised by the other’s answer.
“Whoa…” Twilight gaped.
“That is weird.” Applejack agreed.
“Well, what about you three?” Rarity pointed to the other three sisters, “Surely, you have a colt of sorts you admire.”
All three of them blushed. AJ rubbed her hoof while Twilight and Fluttershy turned their heads away.
“Oh. My. Gosh!” Pinkie jumped up in excitement, “They do!”
“Come on, AJ,” Dash nudged the tough princess, “Who’s the colt you have a crush on?”
Applejack started blushing furiously, “Well, um… he’s not… exactly a colt…”
The rest give her confused looks until she admitted, “He’s… a dragon…” she turned her head away to avoid their gaze.
All at once, they shouted out, “SPIKE?!”
She nodded in embarrassment.
“Whoa!” Rainbow flew up in shock.
“Who knew?!” Pinkie motioned.
“You and Spike?” Rarity gasped, “Oh, my…”
Fluttershy smiled, telling them, “You have to admit; they would make a cute couple.”
Twilight mumbled, “Now I know why he wanted to help her out… He must’ve known…” Then, she sighed deeply and that got her sisters’ attention away from AJ and on to her.
“Twilight?” Rarity asked, “Is everything all right?”
She slightly chuckled, “You know, he asked me that same question…”
They gave each other puzzled expressions while trying to figure what she meant by that.
She went on explaining, “Do you know that new guard, Flash Sentry?” They nodded as she kept talking, “Well… I met him the first night he came to the castle… and I managed to hide my real identity from him because I wanted to know him more. Thing is, I’m tired of hiding it from him any longer, but at the same time, I don’t want to lose him…” she was almost on the verge of tears.
Rarity did a small smile and put her hoof around her and Pinkie and Rainbow did the same thing.
“I think we can relate… we’ve been there…” Rarity said and the other two nodded their heads.
“You can?” Their little sister asked.
“Yes… When I first knew Fancy, we were on a professional relationship at first, but then one day, we were able to talk to one another and now, we finally get to be with each other.”
“Soarin’ and I, well, we weren’t exactly tight either when we met. It was kind of the same thing like it was with Rarity and Fancy, but once we hung loose, we totally got along.”
“And I was just one of Cheese’s best customers before we both showed our fun side more and did just about every party afterwards.”
Twilight smiled for a bit, but then frowned, “But… what if he hates me for hiding the truth?”
“Sweetie, you’re going to have to tell him, because he is going to find out eventually.” Rarity gestured.
“Hm-mm.” they solemnly nodded their heads.
“But will he still like me? Would he understand?”
“That’s just something you’re going to have to find out, Twi…” pointed AJ.
“And if he’s not the colt of your dreams, then that’s his loss, not yours…” comforted Rarity.
“Thanks, girls… I don’t know what I would have done without you…”
“Do you want to go to him now while you have the chance?” Pinkie questioned.
“You know… that’s a good idea! I’ll be right back!” she ran out to the boat.
“Good luck!” Rarity waved her off.
“And if he does break your heart, you let your big sis know!” Rainbow put her hooves together and rubbed them.
Twilight did a giggle, “Well, I hope it won’t come to that…” She set course back to the cave.
“Now,” Rarity turned back to the rest of the sisters, “While Twilight comes clean with a potential love interest, we’re going to figure out a way to get our loves to be our husbands instead of, ugh, other royals. We certainly don’t want another Blueblood to be here.”
“Wait!” Pinkie jumped while waving, “Fluttershy hasn’t told us about her crush, yet!”
Fluttershy immediately went pink, “Oh, it’s nothing… I’m not even sure if it is a real crush…”
“Liar, liar, pants on fire!!” Pinkie went into her face.
“But we’re not wearing any pants…” Fluttershy whispered as she winced.
“Come on! Who do you have a burning sensation to?!” Pinkie pleaded.
“No… no pony…” she gulped.
“Oh, Fluttershy, I don’t believe that for one second,” said Rarity as she pointed out, “You have all the symptoms… Blushing cheeks, knees buckling, a pounding heart, perspiring at the mention of a crush. You are and foremost in love with some pony, so… who is it?”
She gulped again, “I… I… I can’t say!” she yelled and crouched down to weep.
They were surprised at this reaction. They didn’t mean to put on so much pressure on her.
“Oh, sugar cube…” Applejack went to her to stroke her head, “We didn’t mean to force it on you like that… We were just curious, after all, but you don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to do. The only reason I told you all about Spike was because I needed help figuring out how I feel about him. But if you don’t think you need to tell us, then don’t.”
She slowly lifted her head, “Really?” Every one of her sisters gave her nods and warm smiles. “Thank you…”
“How’s this?” suggested Rarity, “Let’s have a dance to take our mind off of things.”
Fluttershy gave a final sniffle and nodded.
Pinkie bounced and shouted in joy, “Then let’s party! Bring out the music! I wish for it!”
The flowers heard her and the instruments from last night appeared again as they started moving to the sound.
As much as Fluttershy was able to dance, she felt guilty for not telling her sisters about her true feelings. They had been so open about their love lives that she was forced to hide hers. All because she knew how they would feel about the pony or draconequus she deeply cared about. They would not be able to understand and would tell her to pursue a colt she could like better. But she did not want that; she wanted Discord.
Twilight quietly moved down to the servant’s quarters. Once she had reached the room, she opened the door and spotted Flash in a bed. She tip-toed towards him as to make sure she didn’t wake up the other servants sleeping there. She had reached him and slightly shook him awake.
He moaned out of his sleep as he was facing her. Once he saw her face more clearly, he nearly yelled out, “Twily-“ But she covered his mouth to shush him and gestured for him to follow her.
They slowly walked out the room and once they got out, she took him to her library, making sure they were all alone.
“Twily, what happened this afternoon? Did I offend you in some way? Cause when you didn’t come back, I was afraid I would never see you again.”
“Oh, Flash, no… Nothing’s your fault. I was just upset at myself.”
“But why?”
She gave a deep sigh and said, “Because I haven’t been very honest with you…”
“What do you mean?”
“For starters, my name isn’t Twily. Well, it is, but that’s more a nickname since I go by another name.”
“So… what is your real name?”
She took a deep breath and said without hesitation, “Twilight Sparkle.” she waited for a moment to see how he would react.
Flash stood still and was processing what he just heard. She had just said one of the princesses’ names. That was her name. She was the princess. He thought, “Oh no… I must’ve sounded so stupid to her!”
“Flash?” she questioned as he was not moving, “Well, say something! Anything!”
“I… I… I can’t believe it! The princess! You were the princess! This whole time!”
“You would have found out, anyway…” she lowered her head.
“But why? Why not tell me sooner?”
“For the very reason you were just standing around when I told you the news. I wanted you to know me for who I was… And I wanted you to know me…”
“Oh, Twily… Uh, Twilight…” he did a chuckle, “Personally, I like Twily better….”
“Strangely enough, so did I…” she smiled at him, to which he returned it, and they both began to laugh.
Once they finished with their amusement, all they could do was stare at each other.
“I… I should be getting back…” she blushed while starting to turn to go, “And you should go back to sleep. You have important guard duties to do tomorrow after all.”
“Not as important as it is to guard the princess right now.” he smirked.
“Oh, you… Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”
“Sure you don’t want me to escort you back to your room? It would be my privilege if I did so.” he bowed.
“Well… Alright…” she gave in.
They walked side by side as they finally made it to the large bedchamber. They gave each other a quick “good night” and she went in to go back into the portal. Shortly after, she joined her sisters in a dance, feeling more than happy to.

> Chapter 9
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they had gone back to the room to sleep for the rest of night, Fluttershy found out she couldn’t sleep like the rest of her sisters. No doubt they were able to sleep peacefully knowing they had found love in their life. But she hadn’t, or rather she hadn’t been able to express it. Maybe once more suitors come, she would be able to call him and tell him then. Then a horrible thought occurred to her. What if he got caught? Would Mother put him back in that dark, cold, stone prison? She would never see him again! That was it; she couldn’t put it off any longer. She had to see him now.
She quietly slipped out of her bed and fluttered over to the balcony window. She did a quick glance back making sure her sisters wouldn’t wake up. She unlocked it and heard a snort coming from Rainbow Dash. She slowly opened the window door, went out on the balcony, and closed the door behind her. The gardens were just below the balcony. She started flying into the trees and finding a safe area to meet with him.
“Discord…” she started whispering, “Discord…”  When he still hadn’t come, Fluttershy knew then she was forced to call out, maybe even louder if he was asleep, but this couldn’t wait. She needed to talk to him, “Discord!” Her whispers started growing, “Discord!” And then, she took a deep breath and finally shouted out, “DISCORD!” She covered her mouth and looked around to make sure that no pony heard that, but luckily, the creature she had called for came.
He was wearing a nightshirt with a matching cap and had a sleep mask over his eyes; he took it off, revealing his tired eyes, “Fluttershy? What in the world?! Do you know what time it is?!” he summoned up an alarm clock to show her the time before he made it disappear.
“I know, and I’m sorry, but I couldn’t sleep…”
“Why not?” he took off his cap and nightshirt as he sat next to her in concern, “Did you have a bad dream?”
“No… I couldn’t sleep at all…”
“How come?”
“Well I…” she was almost in tears and she wrapped herself around him tightly, not wanting to let go, and cried into his neck.
Discord was surprised by this strange development and asked in panic, “Fluttershy? Sweetheart? Did someone hurt you?! Because if they did, they will pay dearly!” he snarled.
“No… no…” she said between sobs, “Just hold on tight to me…”
“Well… alright… if you say so… not sure what good it will do, though…” he said as he rubbed her back, touching strands of her pink hair.
“Plenty…” she softly answered as she felt herself calming down in his strong arms. They reminded her of another pair of strong arms that held on to her when she was little and vulnerable. She remembered a thunderstorm happening one night that was so intense she got so scared and ran, but she was stopped by some pony. She looked up to see a pair of gentle green eyes looking at her. She heard the thunder again, but she was safe knowing she had her father there the whole time, protecting her from harm. King Sombra would always do that for his ponies and family. But now that he was gone, she needed someone else who could keep her safe and loved.
She knew then that Discord could do just for her and didn’t want to risk losing him when she had already lost her father. 
“Discord?”
“Yes, my dear Fluttershy?” he had her facing him.
“I can’t ask you to put your life on the line for us.”
“What?”
“I was inconsiderate to forget what would happen if you got caught…”
“Oh,” he scoffed, “Like anyone could catch me. You have nothing to worry about…” he patted her head.
“I’m serious!” she moved away from him, “My parents caught you once, didn’t they?! So it could happen again!”
“That was a fluke, I assure you!” he mumbled, “How Celestia did it, I don’t know…”
“I was selfish to think about myself when I should have been thinking about you! I don’t want to lose you!”
His eyes widened to her statement, “What…?”
“I can’t lose you… not now… not ever…” she nuzzled her head under his chin.
He was agape of how this was happening. He finally has her… His one true love. He had her facing him once more, “Now you listen to me, Fluttershy, I rather be stone again than to lose you… Without you, I would be in stone still… but if something were to happen to you, I would gladly give up my life to be a statue… For I cannot live without you… If I never knew you… If I never felt this love… I would have no inkling of how precious life can be… If I never held you… I would never have a clue… How at last I’d find in you… The missing part of me… In this world so full of fear, full of rage and lies… I can see the truth so clear… In your eyes… So dry your eyes… And I’m so grateful to you… I’d have lived my whole life through… Lost forever… If I never knew you…
She wiped away tears and sang, “I thought our love would be so beautiful… Somehow we’d make the whole world bright… I never knew that fear and hate could be so strong… All they’d leave us were these whispers in the night… But still my heart is saying we were right… For if I never knew you…”
“There’s no moment I regret…”
“If I never knew this love…”
“Since the moment that we met…”
“I would have no inkling of…”
“If our time has gone too fast…”
“How precious life can be…”
“I’ve lived at last…” he kissed her head and in turn, she kissed his cheek, “And I’m so grateful to you… I’d have lived my whole life through… Empty as the sky…”
“Never knowing why…”
Both sang, “Lost forever… If I never knew you…” they went into a tight embrace as they passionately kissed.
Once they broke away, he said, “Oh, Fluttershy… you don’t know how happy this makes me…”
“Me, too…” then she slightly frowned, “But what am I going to tell my sisters?”
“Well, you don’t have to tell them anything. It’ll be our secret and ours alone…”
“But they had admitted to me about their own loves. I feel I should do the same, since we made a pact not to keep secrets from each other in a time like this.”
“But you know they’re just going to say I put a spell on you making you think you fell in love with me.”
“I know… I want to tell them, but at the same time, they might force me away from you…”
“They wouldn’t dare! I’ll show them a thing or two if they pull something like that!”
She took hold of his paw and held it to her face, “I don’t want either one of you getting hurt…”
“I don’t know what else to say, Fluttershy. Either you tell them or don’t tell them. It’s as simple as that…”
“And yet, why does it feel it isn’t…” she took a deep breath, “I’m going to do it.”
His raised his eyebrow in surprise, “You are going to tell them?”
“Yes… And I won’t care what they’ll say… You and I were meant to be…”
A smile spread across his face when she said that and took her chin to kiss her sweet lips.
She did a small giggle before pressing her lips to his as they felt so wonderful.
“Who would have ever thought a beast like me could have a beauty like you…?”
“You are not a beast… I know stallions who act more of a beast than you do… They look handsome, but they are unfeeling to those who need kindness.”
“Talking about your Cousin Blueblood?”
“Quite. Luckily, I won’t have to worry about him as a suitor anymore.” Then, she gave out a yawn.
“Tired?”
“Very…” her eyes started drooping.
“Well, you did summon me at three o’ clock in the morning!” he chuckled, “But I’m glad you did, so let me help you get back to your room.” 
“How?”
“By teleporting you, of course.”
“Then we best say our goodbyes until we see each other again.”
He nodded and took her hoof to kiss it, but instead, she wrapped her hooves around his neck and fully kissed him. He was surprised, but gave in.
She slowly moved away him, smiling and saying, “Good night…”
He returned her smile and whispered, “Good night…” He snapped his fingers and she was gone in a flash.
She found herself back in her own bed of her and her sisters’ room. She felt content knowing she could finally sleep like the rest of her sisters. She closed her eyes and all thoughts went to her very special some-draconequus.
While her daughters slept, Celestia walked to a long forgotten room of the castle that she once shared with her husband. She kept it locked so the servants wouldn’t go in to clean it. She didn’t want it clean, as she wanted to leave it as it was to keep the memory of her love fresh.
Using her magic, she unlocked the door and saw before her a room she loved so much with the love of her life. But after years of neglect, it was dusty and full of cobwebs. She went to a nightstand close to the bed, opened a hidden drawer, and magically took out a small jeweled box. She opened the lid of the box and it played a lovely tune while two golden figures that resembled her and King Sombra were moving in a circle. She hummed to the tune as memories came to her of when she first met her beloved.
Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were sitting side by side on their thrones of the castle they resided in. Luna suddenly gave out a yawn asking, “Really, Sister, must we both go this royal summit? Surely, you could go by yourself to represent the both of us?”
Celestia just smiled and replied, “Star Swirl thinks it’s best we both attend to show we both take Equestrian matters seriously and I believe it would be good for the both of us to find allies within other members of royalty. We could help each other out if something were to happen to any one of our kingdoms.”
The dark blue alicorn sighed in defeat, “Yes… I suppose you’re right… I shall find a common ally if it is necessary.”
“Thank you, Luna… and frankly, I don’t think it would be much fun without you, anyway.”
“Quite right!” she cheered. The sisters giggled as they descended from their thrones and moved out of the castle where two golden chariots awaited to escort them to Canterlot.
King Sombra sat on top of his throne as the visiting royalty came in to greet him, as it was protocol for when a royal summit was to take place and a royal was hosting the meeting, the other royals would be respectful of them and their kingdom.
Princess Platinum of the Unicorns had finished giving her bows and so did Princess Amore of the Crystal Empire. Then, once the Sultan of Saddle Arabia had done his greeting, the herald then announced in the next visiting royalty.
“Presenting their highnesses, Princesses Celestia and Luna!”
Sombra smiled as he saw the regal sisters walking in with their flowing manes.  He heard the legends of the two sisters as protectors of Equestria. Now he could see why: they were alicorns, the most powerful of Equestria’s ponies, including him. He bet the young dark haired one was Princess Luna while the tall, beautiful one was Princess Celestia. Their cutie marks also helped him figure out who was who.
Celestia and Luna bowed before him while he bowed in return.
Celestia said, “Your Highness.”
“Princesses.” he said.
“May I be first thank you for hosting this important summit.”
“It was my pleasure and honor, my lady.”
Celestia could feel her cheeks going pink when he called her that. He was indeed very handsome with those dazzling emerald-colored eyes of his.
He saw the spark in her sweet light violet eyes. She was the most gorgeous creature he had ever seen. Then, he cleared his throat, knowing he had to be getting back to the business at hoof and to not be distracted by such beauty.
“Well, since now that we’re all here, we should begin at once.”
“Agreed.” said Celestia.
In mere moments, the delegates of nobility were sitting around a large conference table were already delivering progress reports of how their kingdoms are doing. Celestia was especially interested in King Sombra taking care of the capital. He did such a fine job taking care of his ponies and keeping everything in order.
When it was time to deliver her report, Sombra was amazed of how she and her sister could live in the Everfree Forest with little or no danger, keep the surrounding areas safe from harm, and raise and lower the sun and moon, which never gave them trouble.
Once she had finished, Sombra then proclaimed, “Well, it is great hearing that every one of Equestira’s neighboring kingdoms are peaceful and prosperous, so this summit is hereby within adjo-“
“Pardon me, my king,” Celestia interrupted, “but there are some issues that need addressing before we go.”
“Oh?” he raised his brow and then he smirked, “Would you care to share with us what’s missing?” He was practically challenging her.
She smirked back, “It would be my pleasure.” She started compiling a list.
“Well, that’s all well said and done, but have you considered…” he kept on talking to her while the other royals looked back and forth between the banter.
Celestia and Sombra were going one on one with each other, forgetting all about every other pony in the room. It wasn’t until Luna flew above them and raised her voice, echoing out, “Enough! Since you two cannot agree on the meeting ending, I recommend that we spend an extra day to make sure everything is settled!”
The royals nodded while still shaken by Luna’s booming voice.
Both Sombra and Celestia felt embarrassed at that point and quickly composed themselves with Sombra saying, “Very well. I shall have my guards escort each of you to your rooms for the night.” He nodded to some guards nearby and they started leading the way. Celestia and Luna were about to the follow until Sombra stopped them with his hoof and said.
“If the princesses will allow it, I shall be more than happy to escort you myself to the room.”
Celestia’s eyes gleamed at the offer and calmly responsed, “We are most gracious, Your Grace.”
“Most gracious.” Luna repeated.
“I can tell we are going get along just fine…” he smiled, “And let me apologize for my inconsideration of missing something in the meeting.”
“It is I who should apologize… I had interrupted you at the last second just when you were about to end it. That was poor conduct on my part.”
“No kidding…” scoffed Luna for only her sister to hear.
“But you had a right to,” he insisted. “You are the guest, so it is my duty to serve you.”
“But one should not take advantage of the host, especially if that host is a king…”
Luna rolled her eyes, thinking, They’re doing it again…
Then he suggested, “Shall we call it even? I think we were both at fault where our fellow royals are concerned, since we never gave them a chance to speak.”
“I agree…” she smiled brightly at him.
He returned her smile before turning to the other sister, “You know, I must thank you, Princess Luna.”
“Thank me? How?”
“You reminded us what was really important right now and actually, by staying an extra day, you’ll get to be part of the Grand Galloping Gala. That is, of course, if you would like to come. And that invitation is offered to you as well, Princess…” He faced the beautiful Celestia before him.
Celestia asked her, “Well, Luna? Shall we? It would be a wonderful way to end the royal summit.”
“Hmm…” the night princess was deep in thought and finally said, “Eh, why not? It could be fun!”
“Excellent! Once the others have gone, you shall be my guests of honor!”
“Thank you, Sombra…” Celestia had said and then caught herself, “I mean, Your Majesty…”
“Please, you can call me Sombra.” he took hold of her hoof and she found herself feeling at ease. He said to Luna, “That is offered to you as well, Princess Luna.”
“I shall call you by your name as long as you call me by my name Luna, as my sister does.” She figured that would make him happy.
It did as he asked the white alicorn, “So I take it you are Celestia to Luna?”
“I am… and you can use it, too…”
He kept smiling until he stopped at a two way door and opened them, “This shall be your room.” He revealed a large bedchamber with just two beds and the floor was shining with a large circle tile with little plain circles inside it. “I must take my leave, but I will see you both for dinner tonight?”
“We will. Thank you again…” Celestia told him, giving off a loving stare.
He returned the stare and quickly found a vase in the hallway full of roses. He magically took one and gave it to her.
She was surprised, but overjoyed at the same time.
“Until then…” he kissed her hoof and slowly turned to go. She slowly closed the door and faced a taunting sister.
“Why don’t you two just get married already?! Ooh! I could even perform the ceremony!”
“Luna! We’ve only known each other for a day!”
“But you obviously got it bad and from the way you two were acting, you two might as well be married!”
“Oh, Luna!” But nevertheless, her sister was right. She had fallen in love in with Sombra from the moment she first saw him.
When dinnertime came around, Celestia and Luna were seated next to Sombra. As she drank from her cup, she heard Luna and him talking about her and when he complimented her, it caused her to spit out her drink on him. The other royals that were close to them were agape, as was Luna. Celestia stood frozen in horror and was about to apologize when he started laughing. She laughed along with him, leaving the others speechless.
The next day, they managed to finish the meeting much sooner than they thought, probably because Sombra and Celestia wanted it over with so they could finally speak to each other again. When their fellow royals said their farewells, Sombra went to go finish preparations for the Gala that night. When Celestia and Luna retired to their guest room, Luna helped her sister to look good for the unicorn king she was interested in.
The night went better than Sombra could imagine. First, he saw the mare of his dreams on top the stairs looking more beautiful than she had in the last couple of days and he escorted her into the ballroom. Then, in the midst of the Gala, while they were watching his subjects dancing, he bowed to her as to gesture to ask for her to dance with him. She accepted as they moved to the middle of the floor, took each other’s hoof, and moved in a circle, dancing beautifully while keeping their eyes only on each other. Much later, they were in the gardens over by the roses. They touched horns and in mere seconds, they had their first kiss…
When she had to raise the sun the next morning, it was hard for them to say goodbye, but they promised they would write to each other. As the months had passed, they longed to see each other again. That day finally came when Star Swirl needed help keeping the changelings at bay because they were trying to get into Equestria’s borders. Luna thought it was best she’d stay behind in case the changelings were to overwhelm them. Since Sombra was their closest ally to help them, Celestia set off with him to keep the changelings out of Equestria.
It was no surprise that during the mission, they had a chance to bond more and fell more in love with each other. In fact, just the day before facing the Changeling Queen to win the battle, Sombra had told her he loved her and would do anything to keep her safe.
Celestia admitted to him that she also loved him and hoped that once they would win against the changelings, they would be together forever. After a long hard battle against the queen, they had triumphed. Sombra knew then he had to ask the question while peace was still standing. Celestia had happily accepted his proposal and within a few months, they wedded with Luna performing the ceremony.
Then on a joyful day, while Celestia was raising the dawn, they had a daughter. They called her Fluttershy. As time went on, they had more daughters to love and to cherish: Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and finally, their last born, Twilight Sparkle. They were the happiest royal family that ponies knew of. But that was all going to change one day…
Celestia and Sombra went between their castle homes every other month with their fillies. That month, they were staying over at the Castle of the Two Sisters. The family was outside in the courtyard. Luna was playing with Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow. Sombra was playing with Pinkie and Twilight, while Celestia was comforting Fluttershy.
Twilight was being tackled by Sombra and giggled as she was thrown into the air by him, but from the view, she saw a huge dark cloud coming and gasped. Sombra caught her as he saw the same thing and gave a scowl. A loud cackle filled the air as shadowy figures, which Celestia and Luna had recognized as Nightmare Forces, shrouded over the castle.
Sombra shouted to the girls, “GO!”
The girls screamed and ran to their aunt and mother as Sombra blasted a protective shield, but it was no use because the Forces were still coming. He yelled back to them, “I’ll hold them off while you run!” He ran into the castle.
“Sombra! NO!” Celestia screamed and she turned to Luna, “Get the girls out of here!”
“But what about you?!”
“I’ll be fine! Just get the girls to safety!” She flew into the castle.
Sombra kept blasting away, but he was growing weak. He was cornered by the Nightmares until a blast came out of nowhere and the dark forces moved away from him. He looked up to see his beloved wife.
“Are you alright?!” she landed to his side.
“I am now…” he smirked.
“You…” she gave him a playful smile as she touched his cheek and then they touched horns, but their sweet moment was short-lived when they heard the cackle again and turned to see the Nightmare Forces revealing an old enemy.
“Chrysalis!” Celestia cried.
The Changeling Queen did a chuckle, “Oh, did you really think I would forget that you kept me from conquering Equestria? Hardly… Shortly after my defeat, I was on the verge of another plan to take the country when the Nightmares approached me, telling me we had a common enemy. Apparently, it seems that you stopped them long before they could corrupt your sister to the dark side…”
Celestia shot a blast of light, which Chrysalis countered. Her magic was now stronger because of the Nightmares. Celestia’s magic was moved back to her horn and it overwhelmed her as she fell to the ground.
“Celestia!!” Sombra rushed to her aid, holding on to her.
“And now, Celestia…” Chrysalis said, “By the powers given to me by the Nightmare Forces… I shall place a curse on you!” Her horn glowed, performing the spell and was ready to zap.
“NOOOO!!” Sombra jumped in front of his love and fully took the curse placed upon him.
“Sombra!!” his wife hollered out as she saw the transformation occurring to him.
His horn started to get curved and turned to a red color. His coat was black to his usual grey and his mane a jet black and was flowing like a fire. He even grew fangs and when he opened his eyes, they were no longer the soft emeralds she always saw, but red with a glowing green in place of his whites.
“No…” she whispered in despair.
“ARRGH!” Chrysalis screeched, “That curse was meant to be for you! Well, at least you get to suffer now that your husband is a monster!”
The word echoed through his head and he turned to face Celestia. Seeing the terror in her eyes, he knew then he had to go. With a release of purple smoke, he disappeared and Celestia screamed out, “No! Sombra! Come back!” she started crying.
“You may have won this round, Celestia, but rest assured, we will be back! At least we have a consolation prize!”
“What do you mean?!” the alicorn queen demanded.
The Changeling Queen gave out another chuckle, “Since your husband got struck, I now have a signature on your daughters… They carry part of his blood, so… when they fall in love, I’ll be able to track them down and can place the same curse on them as your husband has… Now, isn’t that swell…?” she grinned evilly.
Celestia bared her teeth and released a mighty sunray. It managed to hit a couple of Nightmares, but not all of them as the rest started to knock down the castle to make their escape. Chrysalis shouted, “We’ll be back! And when we do, everything you have ever loved will be gone!” she cackled and was gone with the Forces right as the castle rumbled and crumbled. Celestia teleported herself to where her daughters and sister were at.
The girls were whimpering and Luna wished she could consult them, but she worried also. Her sister and Sombra should’ve been here by now. Suddenly, her sister came in a bright light and immediately, questions were raised. But she saw the pain in her sister’s eyes and Celestia finally said that Sombra was gone. Tears came pouring out from the little ones as they sobbed. Luna found that she was also shedding tears. It wasn’t until they got back to Canterlot and the girls were sleeping that Celestia told her the whole story. 
They knew then that the girls would be traumatized by this experience and it would be wise if they altered the girls’ memories, having them only remembering the good memories of their father and that they would forget all about Celestia and Luna’s old castle, as it would only cause pain for them…
Celestia looked around the room again as she kept holding onto the music box, silently crying. She kept muttering, “I’m so sorry, Sombra… I’m so sorry… And I’m so sorry to you, my darlings… We wanted you to find love just as we did… but now, it can never be… To force you into a loveless marriage has been the hardest thing since I had to let your father go… But if that is the only way to protect you, then I’m afraid so… Oh, I wish you were here…” she looked at the golden figure of Sombra.
Meanwhile in the ruins of the Sisters’ castle, a figure with red and green glowing eyes took out a similar music box and looked at the golden figure of Celestia. He said as he shed a single tear, “I miss you… My sweet Celestia…”

> Chapter 10
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're in what?!" The five mares shouted at the edge of Fluttershy's bed the very next morning.

"In love." Fluttershy repeated, "With Discord…"

"But-how-why?!" Rainbow went in her face.

"It just happened, and honestly, girls, I think I've been in love with him ever since I helped him get out that prison. I've just only realized it until now."

"But, sweetie…" motioned Rarity, "He's not even the same species as you!"

"Spike's a dragon, and Applejack fell for him and neither of you are telling her to move on."

There was silence until Pinkie said, "Ooh, she's got a point."

AJ suddenly chuckled, "That she does, Pinkie… That she does…" She went to sit next to Fluttershy, "I don't care, just as long as he doesn't hurt ya…"

"He won't… He cares about me too much that he'll make sure that no pony ever hurts me."

"You're sure?" Twilight asked.

"Very sure." she answered back.

"Well… we may not entirely approve, but we will trust your judgment and if he's willing to protect you, then that's all that matters to us…"

"But if he screws up…" Rainbow rubbed her hooves, "You know who to call."

"I'm sure it won't come to that…" She reminisced of the previous night when she kissed him quite a few times.

"Alright, now that we all have admitted we have special someponies in our lives, we need a way to convince Mother to let us chose when to marry at our own time." stated Twilight.

"Absolutely," said Rarity, "but can it wait? I have to meet with Fancy Pants after breakfast."

"And I promise to go see Cheese so we can get his joke shop back to being fun."

"Soarin' and I were going to do some cloud busting before he has to go back to Cloudsdale in a couple of days."

"And I've got to feed my animals."

"I'm already late for making breakfast."

"Alright, you guys go on ahead. I'm going to keep looking up a book that might help us out of this mess."

They nodded and headed out the door.

When breakfast was done with, Twilight was taking out books with Spike, who was making a list for them to remember where the books should go back. As much as she was keeping to her objective, she wanted to find out if Spike did have feelings for her sister Applejack now that she had feelings for him. But since he went all out the other day to help Applejack, it seemed possible. She carefully approached the subject by asking a question.

"So, did you have a hard day yesterday?"

"Somewhat," he answered, "but AJ and I got through it…" he said that in almost dreamy way.

She smirked, thinking, AJ, uh… and said out loud, "Well, that's good to hear. At least you won't be too exhausted to help me out."

"No, siree! Although, I'm really going to miss laundry duty…" he sighed.

"O-kay…" She said slowly, obviously missing something, but she decided to let it go and continued with her book findings.

Back in the kitchens, Applejack was helping cleaning up the kitchen from the breakfast rush in order to get ready for the lunch hour. Apple Bloom was helping her out by using a damp cloth for scrubbing the floor.

Apple Bloom then asked, "So, how did things go with Spike?"

AJ stopped with what she was doing, "What do you mean?" her cheeks started flushing, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Give it up, Applejack! I know you got a crush on that dragon and yesterday, you got to spend the whole day with him! So tell me everything!" she jumped up and down.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh, you're just as bad as my sister Pinkie."

"I wish I could be your sister…"

"Well, actually, in a way you are…" she pulled the filly into a hug, "For as long as I have known you, you've always been like another sister to me to take care of…"

Apple Bloom's eyes widened, "You mean that…?"

She smiled at her, "I do…" She hugged her tightly, "And since I can trust you, I might as well tell you…"

A grin ran across Apple Bloom's face, "I'm all ears."

Once she had finished the whole tale, Apple Bloom was hopping all around the place and yelling out, "Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh! At this rate, he's bound to say 'I love you' to ya!"

"Whoa there, Nelly!" she grabbed hold of her, "Now let's not get ahead of ourselves…"

"But, Applejack, what if it's true? How would you feel, then?"

"Well, I… I'd feel pretty good, I guess… in fact… If I could know for certain, I'd run to him today! And somehow I know he's on his way to me… Spike, you and I were meant to be… Far longer than forever… I'll hold you in my heart… It's almost like you're here with me… Although we're far apart…"

While in the library, as Twilight was on the other side, Spike sang, "Far longer than forever… As constant as a star… I close my eyes and I am where you are…"

"Sure as the dawn brings the sunrise, we've an unshakeable bond!"

"Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond! Far longer than forever!"

"Far longer than forever!"

"I swear that I'll be true!"

"I swear that I'll be true!"

Both of them ended up singing, "I've made an everlasting vow, to find a way to you… Far longer than forever! Like no love ever known!"

AJ sang, "And with your love…"

They sang together, "I'll never be… alone…"

She sang, "Far longer than forever…"

He sang, "Much stronger than forever…"

She finished, "And with your love, I'll never be… alone…" She turned back to face Apple Bloom.

The filly stood there gawking, blinking in bewilderment.

Applejack cleared her throat and blushed, "That's… that's what I would feel if he told me."

"He has to know!" Apple Bloom jumped.

"No! I will not embarrass myself if he still has feelings for Rarity! I need to know that he loves me and only me…" she sighed, "Come on… we have to help finish cleaning up…" she said as she set off to the counter with the filly right behind her.

Owlowiscious sat on his perch while his owner was skimming through books by using her magic.

"Oh, Owlowiscious, you don't know how lucky you are…" Twilight told him.

"Who…?" hooted the owl.

"You, that's who. Oh… right…" she blushed in embarrassment, forgetting owls always say that.

Spike came up then, holding more books, "I found these on the top shelf."

Performing a spell, she looked through them and said, "Oh, I found those yesterday when you weren't here."

"Twilight, think maybe you should give up this search? Obviously, a book isn't going to help with what the queen has already decided."

"But I have to try, Spike! Not when I finally found-" she covered her mouth before she could say anything else.

"Found what?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

"Come on, Twi. You know you can tell me anything…"

"Not this time, Spike… Too much is at stake here." Seeing the disappointment on his face, she quickly said, "Why don't you go see if Applejack needs help with lunch?" She turned away for a second, "I'm sure she could use a claw…" She saw that he was already gone and thought, Yup, looks like he's fallen head over hooves… She giggled before resuming with her research, even if it was hopeless. Suddenly, she heard a voice that made her quiver with excitement.

"More reading to do, I presume?"

She turned around to see Flash by the door and smiled at him, "Research, actually, but reading is involved."

"Who…" a voice hooted.

"Who's this feathery guy?" Flash asked, seeing the owl on the perch.

She chuckled, "This is Owlowiscious," She held out her hoof for him to get on and had him face the guard, "Owlowiscious, this is Flash."

"Who?"

"Flash, that's who," he told the owl.

"Who…"

"Don't worry. He says that a lot."

"So I see."

They both started laughing. Then, Owlowiscious flapped onto Flash's back.

"Aww, he likes you." said Twilight.

"That's good to know," he turned his head back to the owl, "I like you, too."

"Who…" Owlowiscious hooted as if to say "likewise".

They laughed again.

Winona barked as she watched her mistress bake apple fritters.

"Winona, shush!" Applejack told her under her breath, "Chef Gustave is in the other room and he'll complain if you're in here!"

"Looks like I arrived just in time." said a familiar voice.

She turned to see her favorite dragon, "Spike! I was… just thinking about you…" she turned to blush.

"You were?!" His eyes filled with hearts, but then remembered to play it cool, "That's awesome. I was just thinking about you, too…" It was his turn to blush.

"You… you were?" She felt hope swell in her heart.

"Sure, so what's the problem here?"

"Winona came up to me. Normally around this time, I play with her, but one of the cooks has gotten sick, so they need an extra hoof to get done in time. Chef Gustave doesn't like pets in his kitchen. I hate to ask this, but can you maybe…"

He lifted his claw, "Say no more! I'll play with Winona while you keep working." Suddenly, he felt her arms wrapped around him.

"Thank you…" she said in his ear, "You don't know how much this means to me…"

He sputtered, "You're… you're welcome…" It felt so right to be in her arms that he never wanted to leave them. But she broke away from him and gave him the leash he needed for Winona. He said to the dog, "Come here, girl."

Winona barked and landed on top of him, licking his face, "Ah! Okay! Okay! Heel!"

AJ giggled at the sight, "Have fun, you two."

Spike sat up saying while putting the leash on, "I'll be back with her in a hour." He walked her out or rather, Winona walked him out.

Fancy Pants clopped to the suite that Rarity owned. They agreed to meet in that room for now since their confession of their newfound feelings for each other. He was about to knock on the door when he heard from the other side of the door his love shouting.

"Opal, no!"

He rushed in to see the white feline up high on a shelf, licking her paw.

"Opal, please come down from there!" Rarity begged.

"What seems to be the trouble?" he asked.

"Oh, Fancy, darling! It's Opal! She refuses to come down!"

"Um, have you tried…" he pointed to his own horn.

"I dare not! The last time I did that, she wouldn't come near me for a whole month!"

"That is problematic…" he pondered.

"Yes, so I'm trying to get her down without the use of force."

"Hmm…" Fancy analyzed the situation, therefore coming up with a solution, "I'll be right back…" He left the room for a while, and then came back magically carrying a bowl and a glass bottle full of cream. He set them down, poured the cream in, and called up to the cat, "For you, Miss Opalescence…" He gave a bow.

Opal was intrigued by the pony's manners and slowly came down to begin drinking the cream. Fancy smiled to a completely baffled Princess Rarity.

"Oh… my…"

"It was nothing to it, really. Just had to appeal to her nature, since I do know for a fact she loves being pampered."

"That she does…"

"Just like her owner."

"Right again!" She batted her eyelashes at him, "And do you know what would make me feel pampered now?"

"Hm, no, I'm afraid not." he played along.

She wrapped her hooves around him, "This would…" She pulled him into a kiss.

Pinkie and Cheese were unpacking boxes at a fast pace, putting things back to the way they were. Gummy was biting on Pinkie's tail while she was bouncing around.

"Cheesy, can you walk Gummy around now?" she asked her coltfriend.

"Sure! I can do that!" he took hold of Gummy and put him on his tail.

"Aw, he's wagging his own tail! That's means he likes it!" she giggled and resumed the redecorating.

Rainbow flopped down on a cloud, saying, "Whew! I'm beat!"

"Yeah!" Soarin' flopped beside her, "Me, too!"

A whirling sound filled the air and a tortoise in propeller gear came up to join them.

"Tank! Perfect timing, buddy!" Dash seized him.

Soarin' chuckled while rubbing his shell, "He always was one tough dude."

She smirked, "Tank loves you, too, and I'll prove it." She moved him to face the colt and in a second, the tortoise licked Soarin's cheek.

"Agh!" he wiped the kiss away, "Gross, Tank! Gross!"

Rainbow was guffawing away.

Fluttershy was humming around the gardens, feeding all the animals that lived in the Canterlot gardens. Then, she came across her favorite of the lot: her precious Angel Bunny. She was trying to feed him his carrots, but he was being difficult, "Oh, please, Angel… just three bites?" He would not budge, "Two bites…?" She drew out, "One bite at least?" But he just pushed the carrot away.

"Stubborn fellow, isn't he?" a voice behind her said.

She turned around happily to see the creature she deeply loved and ran into his arms as he twirled her for a bit before putting her down. Then, she went back to her problem.

"I don't know what else to do! He won't eat! And he needs his nutrients!"

Discord cracked his knuckles, "No biggie. Let me handle this so-called angel…" he went on all fours and stared down at the rabbit, who in turned stared hard at him. "Now you listen to me, Angel Bunny…" he growled, "You got this mare who practically serves you paw and foot… You know how many rabbits or creatures would give to be in your place…? So… You start treating your owner with respect! You got that?!" he eyeballed him with a large eyeball and that scared Angel to grab the carrot and started eating it whole.

Discord faced back to his mare and gave off a proud pose, "And that should take care of that."

"Thank you…" she whispered.

"So, tell me, my dear. Did you actually tell them?"

"This morning."

"And…?"

"They don't completely approve…"

He scoffed, "As was expected…"

"But… they trust my judgment that you will not harm me."

"Of course I won't!" he took her into his arms, "I could never harm a single hair on this pretty mane… but you finally feel better that they know?"

"Very, but it'll still take some time for them to get used to it. But all that matters is that I'm free to be with you…" she nuzzled under his chin.

"I as well, Fluttershy… I as well…" He rubbed his chin to her head.

When the family had finished with lunch, Celestia said, "Girls, it's best you don't go anywhere this afternoon."

"But why?" Twilight questioned.

"You'll have to meet with Ms. Harshwinny for your… betrothal standards…"

"What in the hay is that supposed to mean?!" Rainbow stipulated.

"Yes, Mother, please clarify as to what you are talking about?" Rarity asked.

By then, Ms. Harshwinny walked in when she overheard them, "It means, Your Highnesses, that you must look your best when being presented to your future husbands." She looked at Rainbow Dash and Applejack, who were wearing their simple gowns, "And it seems I have my work cut out for me…"

Twilight gulped, "Ah, Mother… is this really necessary?"

"Quite necessary, Your Majesty." Harshwinny answered for the queen.

The girls gave each other glances.

Rainbow gritted her teeth while the seamstresses fitted her in a frou-frou dress and the hairdressers put her hair up. Next to her was AJ, who was having the same trouble as a seamstress tightened her corset, making it hard for her to breath. Rarity was complaining that she couldn't have her mane the way she wanted it done or choose a dress she made. Fluttershy was being fitted in a big ruffled green dress and her hair was up in three bumps. The makeup ponies were deciding how much blush to put on her.

Pinkie was having a hard time standing still and her dress wasn't making it any easier while her poofy mane was up. Twilight had her hair in a bun and her dress was big and puffy. They all had to wear their ceremonial tiaras. Once the fittings and manes were done, Ms. Harshwinny had them line up in their birth order.

She looked them over one at a time, going, "Hm-mm… Yes… Properly attired… Much better… Suitable… Acceptable…"

Rainbow whispered to Applejack, "What is this? Bridal inspections or bridle inspections?" Both ended up giggling.

That caught Harshwinny's attention, "Who's snickering?!"

They both started laughing away.

"What is so funny?!" she demanded.

Rainbow said between laughs, "Sorry… I thought you said who's nickering?!"

That caused the rest of the princesses to release a laugh and with Pinkie laughing so hard, her hair came undone and the buttons on her dress popped off.

"Now look what you've done! We'll have to redo the whole thing!"

The jokes ended when Pinkie was forced back to fit in a new dress and Ms. Harshwinny began inspections on each of them. She touched Fluttershy's chin and stated, "You have a pretty face and know when to not to talk. You will make an excellent wife to a duke or regent."

She moved on to Rarity, "Hmm… you are too beautiful. That could send the wrong message to any noble."

As she moved on, Rarity sent her an appalling look and said under her breath, fuming, "Why, I never!"

Harshwinny moved around Applejack, "You are a hard worker. No doubt that you will keep on your hooves to serve your husband well. But you must keep up your appearances to prove you are a lady of noble birth." With that said, she went to Rainbow, saying, "Same goes for you. You are a young mare born into royalty. Leave the fighting and expeditions to your husband as it'll be your duty to greet him whenever he comes home."

"You mean I just have to sit on the sidelines?!"

"As it will be expected of you." She went to Pinkie, "As for you, princess, you need to stay in one place and not think of having a party every day."

"No parties?! But… but… no parties means no happiness! And no happiness means every pony becomes sad and gloomy!"

"I'm sure every pony can do without a party every single day."

"Have you ever been to one?!"

She lifted her head high to not answer that and moved on to Twilight, "And for you, Your Highness, you are the prime example of how a wife should be to a royal. It's a shame you have to marry a lesser noble since your sisters need to marry in higher status."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, as the heir to your mother's throne, you need a regent that's not in line for his own throne." She turned back to face all of them, "As for the rest of you, you will need to be by your husbands as their queens or any title bearing their own."

Suddenly, it occurred to the girls that by marrying far from Canterlot, they would probably never see each other again! This marriage business just became more real for them than ever…

> Chapter 11
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All six of them sat on their beds the minute they got out of their monkey suits and fixed their manes back to normal. They laid around in despair and anger.

"What a bunch of hooey!" Rainbow yelled, "Telling me to just sit around like a good little wife! Yuck! With my luck, I probably would have ended up with a husband that's too boring! At least Soarin' likes to have fun and doesn't care I do things!"

Rarity shouted out, "And how dare she tell me I'm too beautiful that it might send the wrong message! The very thought! Fancy Pants knows I'm more than that!"

"I can speak up if I wanted to… Discord seems to like it when I talk…" Fluttershy pointed out.

"I can have parties as much as I want to! Cheese and I both know a party makes every pony happy! I bet you a thousand bits that a party can make her happy and not be a grouchy pants anymore!" Pinkie declared.

"Keeping up appearances…" Applejack muttered, "So what if I don't dress up fancy or put on makeup that much? I like how I look! Spike likes it when I dress simple…"

"Can a guard count as a lesser noble?" Twilight questioned.

The girls gave her confused looks until Rarity said, "I'm not sure, darling… Maybe, but it's hard to say. Why do you ask?"

"Because if I am going to stay here and have to marry a noble who isn't in line for a throne, then could it be possible I can… marry Flash?" her cheeks went pink.

Immediately, her sisters gave her sly grins and Rainbow said, "Oh, you so got it bad for the guy!"

"No! Uh, maybe! Ugh, I don't know! I was just curious!"

"Right…" AJ smirked.

Rarity cleared her throat, "Infatuation aside… I have to say… What are we going to do?! We have just been looked over to make sure we're proper brides! And it is most likely we'll be separated!"

Fluttershy whimpered, "She's right… We'll never see each other again!"

"We already lost Papa! I don't want to lose my sisters, too!" wailed Pinkie.

At the mention of their father, the room became quiet. Twilight lowered her head and looked down at the tiles that led them to the magical world for the past few days. It was their sanctuary and now she knew why the place felt familiar to her, because it was like their father was with them again… Twilight thought of Flash and of how he reminded her of Sombra. The other girls, too, thought that the colts they loved were like a piece of the unicorn king they knew as their father.

Twilight then proclaimed, "You know…" She moved on top of the cutie mark tiles, "This place came to us right when we are forced to marry some pony else. At the same time… we all came to love a colt…" She turned to Fluttershy and Applejack and added, "or creature… and to me, I think it's a sign that we need to bring them to this place so we can love them out in the open… What do you think?"

They were speechless for a moment until Rainbow drew out, "That... is… totally… awesome!" she twirled in the air.

"Oh, my gosh!" Pinkie jumped, "She's right!"

Rarity's eyes twinkled, "She is… Oh! It's brilliant!"

Fluttershy gasped, "Twilight, you really think so?"

"You bet she does!" AJ cheered, "It's the best idea I ever heard!"

Twilight motioned, "But you do realize that once we show this world, it won't be a secret anymore."

"True," said Fluttershy and she decided to quote the same words Discord used on her, "But it'll be our secret with them and ours alone…"

The others nodded towards her.

"Alright, then… We'll bring them here, tonight."

Flash walked up the steps without wearing his armor since it was late at night. He had received a note from Twilight telling him to meet her in front of her room. He found it odd, but he'd take any chance to meet with the mare he really liked, especially since she was the princess. When reaching the top, he was surprised to see Fancy Pants, the Head Butler, there along with the page-dragon, Spike.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said, "I must be in the wrong place."

"Say, Flash," said Spike, "You won't have happened to have gotten a note too, did you?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." He showed him the small piece of parchment and it was magically taken by Fancy.

"No doubt about it; it's the same message."

"Same… message?" Flash questioned.

Spike said, "I got one from Applejack."

"And I got one from Rarity."

"Twilight gave me that one."

"Twilight?!" That surprised Spike, "Wow, I didn't take her as the knight in shining armor type… and why couldn't she tell me she was seeing you?!"

"I take it you've known her for a long time?"

"More than you know. She practically raised me!"

"It's true," gestured Fancy, "Spike has been here as long as the princesses have been young fillies. I didn't know that until I was hired on when the last Head Butler retired."

"Whoa, I've got a lot to learn around here."

"Ah, well, now what I like to know is…" Spike turned back to Fancy, "How long have you and Rarity been going on?!"

Fancy raised his eyebrow, "And what does it matter to you?"

"Well… I was… just wondering." He tried to hide the fact he had a thing for Rarity first before moving on to Applejack, luckily before he knew about this. It made him realize more that Applejack really was better for him.

"It did take a while, but we have only discovered our feelings for each other as of late."

"That's good to know," he went back to Flash, "And how do you know Twilight, anyway?"

"We met when I first arrived to fill my commission. Since then, we've been seeing each other every night before we go to sleep."

"I just can't believe she wouldn't tell me…" Spike slumped.

"I'm sure she never meant to hurt you… She had a good reason, I'm sure of it. Why, when we met, she didn't even tell me she was the princess!"

That got the two servants' interests as he recapped that night.

Meanwhile, just outside the castle close to the princesses' balcony window, Cheese was going all spy-mode, ducking around and hiding in shrubs. When Pinkie came back to him that afternoon, she told him to meet her by the balcony later that night. He figured with Pinkie, she was throwing a surprise party of sorts and kept on ducking to get there. Soarin' was flying through the air, confused on what Rainbow had told him to do, but he knew it had to be important if she wanted him to meet her in the dead of the night.

Discord was the first to reach the balcony as he conjured up a grappling hook and threw it to hang on to the rail. He climbed up and reached over the window, opening it.

A sweet voice greeted him, saying, "I thought you were going to teleport in."

"Now where's the fun in that?"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Princess Rainbow Dash flew to his face.

He lowered her down, stating, "Now what's the fun in making sense?"

Twilight whispered to Fluttershy, "Are you sure we can trust him to keep the secret?"

"I'm sure." Fluttershy replied, knowing all too well that Discord liked secrets. Since this secret would benefit him and her by being together more, it was most certain that he would keep it.

"Alright…" Twilight breathed.

Soarin' arrived next through the window with Rainbow escorting him in.

"Wow, so this is what a princess's room is like." Then, he waved to the other girls, who returned the wave.

"Hi-ya, Soarin'!" Discord did a wave, also.

"Discord? I didn't even see you there!"

He chuckled and patted the Wonderbolt's head, "Don't worry. I'm used to it."

Rainbow looked back and forth between the two and asked, "How is that you two know each other?"

"When you travel around Equestria," started Discord, "you tend to watch a few Wonderbolt shows."

"Plus, he offers us free pie!" Soarin' licked his lips.

Fluttershy swooned, "Aw, that's so sweet…"

Suddenly, they heard a grunting coming from the balcony and saw a hoof reaching over. Cheese Sandwich lifted his whole body over, panting.

"Cheesy!" Pinkie rushed over to help him in.

"You didn't tell me it would be that high!" He turned to the rest of the princesses, "Hi, girls!"

"Hi, Cheese!" they responded.

"Soarin'." he nodded his head to the Wonderbolt.

"Cheese." he returned the nod.

"Cheese, my main colt!" Discord hoof-bumped with him and then, they both did a secret hoof-shake.

The girls were pretty surprised at this and Pinkie said, "How do you have a secret hoof-shake with Discord?"

"Well, next to you, Discord is my best customer!"

"I order some things from his joke shop about every Friday, which reminds me, did you get my request for…" he whispered the rest in his ear.

"I did, but we're still waiting for a few more parts."

That led confusion throughout the rest of room until Twilight decided it was best they moved on, "Well, it's great you already know each other. We thought we would have to do introductions."

"But what about Spike?" said Applejack.

"And Fancy Pants?" pointed Rarity.

"If my hunch is right, they should be outside the door along with Flash." the purple unicorn magically opened the doors wide open, seeing the three of them laughing away with Spike saying something.

"…And one time Twilight had her muzzle stuck in the…" he stopped as he saw a fuming Twilight glaring at him. He nervously chuckled, "Oh, hi, Twilight…"

Twilight cooled down, remembering her crush was present and used a calming method to ease herself. She used a low tone to the dragon and said, "I'll deal with you later…" she composed herself and addressed all three of them, "Glad you guys could come."

"I wouldn't have missed it for the world." Flash told her.

She gave a slight blush and escorted them in. She talked to Fancy and Spike, "You guys already know Soarin' and Cheese and-"

"Discord?!" Spike shouted, "What are you doing here?!"

"For your information, I was invited, believe it or not!"

"You're right, I don't believe it." he crossed his arms.

"It's true, Spike," said Fluttershy, "I asked him over here."

"Just like I invited you over." said Applejack.

"But why?" questioned Fancy, "Why bring the being that causes chaos in his wake?"

"Still upset about last time, I see…" Discord countered.

"I am not one to hold a grudge, but it is strange that the princesses would welcome you back inside the castle."

"Not to worry, Fancy," reassured Rarity, "It's just for tonight. I mainly agreed at Fluttershy's expense."

Twilight went back to introductions, "Now I would like for you to meet," She saw he was hiding behind Fancy and Spike, "Flash Sentry."

Flash wasn't typically shy, but he was a bit intimidated by Discord and the fact he was meeting other colts with the princesses.

"Ooh! We have a new guy!" Discord motioned.

"Sweet!" Cheese went to him and violently shook his hoof, "Howdy, the name's Cheese Sandwich!"

Flash vibrated, "Ni-nice to-to meet you!"

Soarin' flew above him, "Name's Soarin', but I'm sure you recognize my awesomeness as a Wonderbolt!"

"I thought you looked familiar."

Then Discord popped to his side, which caused him to jump a little, "And I am Discord, Spirit of Chaos, Disharmony, Confusion, yada-yada, you get the gist…"

"Wait… didn't I see you as a statue in the Canterlot Gardens when I was a colt?"

"You might have, but…" He teleported to Fluttershy's side and grabbed hold of her, "Were it not for this cutie, I would still be one!"

Her cheeks started blushed, "Oh, you don't need to go into that…"

"But it's such a good story!"

"Yeah…" Spike whispered to Flash, "One that nearly ends in disaster."

"Well," Twilight spoke up, "I like a good story as much as any pony else, but we are on a tight schedule, so let me start by saying why you were all brought here."

"I was so hoping you would…" Discord rolled his eyes.

"Uh-huh. Anyway, we're about to show you something we've discovered about a couple days ago, but you all have to Pinkie Promise not to breath a word of it."

"Whoa!" all the colts said except Flash, who was confused by the reaction.

"What's… the Pinkie Promise?" he asked.

"Oh, right, almost forgot. Pinkie, would you like to explain?"

"You betcha!" Pinkie went to Flash, making the promise gesture while saying it, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! And you can never, never, never, never break a Pinkie Promise!" She slit her eyes and got into his face, "or else…" She hummed back to her spot.

"Why? What happens if you break it?"

"You don't want to know." they all told him.

"The point is, do you Pinkie Promise to keep this a secret?" Twilight asked the guys.

There was brief silence until Spike started them off, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

When Flash was the last to do his, Twilight smiled and went, "Girls…?"

On cue, the boys got blind-folded by their mares. There were shouts of puzzlement.

"And no peeking!" Pinkie said, "Okay, Twi, go!"

Twilight stepped on the tiles with Cheese saying, "Does any pony else hear chiming?"

The girls had to contain their giggling as the portal opened.

"Alright, now," Twilight grabbed Flash's hoof, "We'll have to go slowly because we're walking down the stairs."

"Stairs?!" the boys shouted out.

"Yup." Applejack said as she got Spike on her back.

When the princesses had helped them down, they were at the cave entrance and Twilight said, "On the count of three, you can remove your blind-folds. One…"

"Oh, for goodness sakes!" Discord ripped his off, "I'm supposed to be the one playing mind games! And…" His jaw dropped at what he saw.

The others had taken theirs off and saw the same thing, matching the expression he gave off.

"Isn't it the trendiest, niftiest place you've ever seen, Cheese?!" Pinkie jumped to him.

"It is…" he gapped.

"But what's it doing inside a castle?!" Spike pointed out.

"Yeah, it's a castle within a castle!" Discord used his clever word play, "How ingenious is that?!"

Fluttershy wrapped her arms around his neck, "I knew you would like it."

Flash was still gawking when Twilight approached him, "Isn't it incredible?"

"It's amazing… I can see now why you don't want any of us to say anything."

"You got that right!" Rainbow flew between them.

"Come on!" Pinkie bounced, "Let's get to the other side already!" She jumped into the boat.

"Ah, Pinkie?" said Applejack, "There's only room for six."

"Then allow me to make it bigger!" Discord was about to snap when Fluttershy stopped him.

"Actually, we got this one…" She went to some nearby golden flowers and said, "I wish for the boat to be bigger, please."

The guys gave her confused looks while the girls just smirked at them. In an instant, the flowers gave off their magical dust and surrounded the boat, making it huger. The colts' jaws dropped once again.

Pinkie, wearing a sea captain's hat, said, "All aboard!"

When the shock wore off, Fancy Pants, remembering he was a gentle-colt, said to his lady love while offering his hoof, "Shall we?"

"Let's…" she took it as he helped her into the boat and he sat by her.

Cheese jumped into the front row where Pinkie was sitting. Rainbow and Soarin' flew down behind them. AJ and Spike climbed in next, and then Twilight and Flash while Fluttershy and Discord sat in the back. The boat began moving as they took in the sights surrounding the gold and silver castle. Once they reached the castle doors, they opened and the guys were astounded by the bright golden ballroom much like when the girls first came to the place.

Rarity had thought out loud, "You know for such a formal occasion like this, we should all be properly attired!" she squealed as she said, "I wish for all the guys to wear black tuxedos!"

"Excuse me?!" Discord exclaimed and the next thing he knew, he was wearing a tux. He was about to snap it off when Fluttershy's sweet voice said.

"Oh… Discord… you look so handsome…"

He looked at her in surprise, "You… you think so?"

"You do…" her cheeks went pink.

He then conjured up a hand mirror, "Yes, I suppose I do look good, don't I?"

She giggled.

Fancy told Rarity, "I say, Rarity, this is quite nice."

"I was hoping you would like it and you do look so good in it!"

Rainbow told her coltfriend, "I hope you don't mind my sister's need to fashion everything…"

"That's okay. When you're a Wonderbolt, you get used to dressing up when making an appearance at someplace important."

Pinkie kept bouncing up and down, "Oh, Cheesy! You look so great!"

"I do my best." he smiled at her.

"Now, don't you look all gussied up?" Applejack told Spike.

"Think I look okay?"

"More than okay… you're fine-looking…"

"Aw, thanks…" he rubbed his neck.

Twilight nearly gawked at the sight of Flash, "Flash… wow, I almost didn't recognize you…"

He slightly blushed, "You're just saying that…"

"No… I'm not…" she stared at him and he returned the stare until Rarity announced out.

"Now it is our turn, girls! I wish that we would all wear gowns that make us look gorgeous and that they match our personalities!"

The flowers obeyed and in a magical dust storm, all six of them began glowing so bright that the guys had to avert their eyes. When the glow had died down, Spike shouted out, "Whoa! You all look…"

"Amazing…" all the guys said.

The princesses looked at each other's gowns in awe.

"Rarity, you look so lovely…" Fluttershy said, admiring her sister's magenta jeweled dress.

"So do you!" She looked at Fluttershy's simple nature-designed gown.

"I can get used to this!" Applejack looked at the saddle green dress she was wearing.

"I guess this is pretty cool." Rainbow noticed the cloud-like gown that had rainbows on it.

"Mine looks good enough to eat!" Pinkie jumped in her pink dress with candy corn and lollipop designs on it.

"It is pretty…" Twilight twirled in the blue gown with white stars she was wearing.

"Why, they could be our gowns for the Grand Galloping Gala that's coming up!" declared Rarity.

"That would be nice, but I don't think they're going to stay like this all night." pointed Twilight.

"So let's make use of them and part-ay!" Pinkie grabbed Cheese as her dancing partner and shouted out, "I wish for all the music that you got!"

Once again, the instruments showed up and created the music for them to dance to.

"Shall we, my lady?" Discord bowed to Fluttershy and offered his arm.

She tittered and accepted as he moved her to a nice waltz.

One by one, the princesses were asked by the boys they liked to dance with them and the ballroom was filled with dancing ponies.

> Chapter 12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the music stopped for them to have a break, it gave a chance for the girls to take their dates around the castle. Fluttershy and Discord went out to a nearby balcony. Rarity and Fancy Pants went into a room attached to the ballroom. Rainbow and Soarin' went up to the castle roof. Applejack and Spike went to the front steps of the castle. Pinkie and Cheese stayed in the ballroom. Twilight and Flash found a pavilion outside the castle.

"Twilight, this has got to be the most magical place I have ever been to."

"I know… I felt that way, too, when my sisters and I found this place."

"Speaking of your sisters, it's truly amazing how none of you ended up an alicorn like your mother, the queen."

"It is strange. Even I can't figure out why that out of six daughters, Mother and Father never had an alicorn."

"I think it should have been you."

"Me?"

"Why not? You would have looked great with a pair of wings." he opened his own wings for emphasis.

She giggled, "I don't know about that… but if I did have wings, it would be easier for us to get around."

"Well, then… looks like I'll just have to be your wings in the meantime."

"What do you mean?"

He smirked and started singing, "Let me be your wings, let be your only love… Let me take you far beyond the stars… Let me be your wings, let me lift you high above… Everything we're dreaming of will soon be ours… Anything that you desire, anything at all… Everyday I'll take you higher and I'll never let you fall! Let me be your wings… Leave behind the world you know, for another world of wondrous things… We'll see the universe and dance on Saturn's rings! Fly with me and I will be your wings…" he took hold of her and lifted her up, "Anything that you desire! Anything at all…"

She sang to him in harmony, "Anything at all…"

"Everyday I'll take you higher and I'll never let you fall!"

"You will be my wings…"

"Let me be your wings…"

"You will be my only love…"

"Get ready for another world full of wondrous things…"

"Wondrous things are sure to happen…"

They sang together, "We'll see the universe and dance on Saturn's rings!"

He sang, "Heaven isn't too far…"

"Heaven is where you are…"

They finished, "Stay with me and let (me/you) be (your/my) wings!"

He gently flew her down with her hooves still wrapped around his neck, enjoying the embrace they were sharing from their flight.

Applejack and Spike looked up to the sky of the magical kingdom.

"It sure is quiet…" she said.

"It is…" Then he frowned, "But one thing still bugs me… Why didn't you or Twilight or the rest of you tell me about this place at first?"

A look of guilt came over her and she finally said, "I guess we didn't know how. It felt like it was our place and we wanted to keep it to ourselves… It wasn't until today we realized it could be used for good by bringing…" she stopped short, not sure how to tell him.

But he got the idea and said, "Bringing over colts you like?"

She simply nodded.

"AJ… Why did you bring me here?"

Her cheeks went pink, "Um… I…"

"Was I just a pity date since the rest of your sisters had a special some pony?"

"What? No! No, it's not like that!"

He took her arm, having her keep facing him, emerald eyes meeting one another, "Then tell me…"

"Well…" they found themselves leaning over to kiss, "I…"

Right as their lips were about to touch, the doors burst open by a hyper pink pony, saying, "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing!" both the dragon and orange Earth pony said quickly looking away from each other, cheeks flushing red.

"Oh, okay." then she turned back into the ballroom going, "La-la-la!"

"We should," AJ cleared her throat, "get back."

"Right! Totally! That's what I was going to say!" he nervously chuckled.

She gave a glance back at him before going inside thinking, So close!

Behind her, Spike was pounding his head with his claw, Stupid, stupid! Now you scared her off! I'll never get the chance to kiss her again!

Soarin' lied back on the castle roof, saying, "This place is so awesome, Dashie."

"It's even more awesome now that you're here, although I'm still not sure about Discord being here. It's still weird to me how my sister has fallen for the guy and since Fluttershy wasn't spellbound by him, I have to let her be free to see whoever she wants. Though, I do hope he slips up and that tips off Fluttershy to get away from him."

"You want to check on her?"

"It wouldn't hurt." she flapped her wings to the overhead of the balcony where Fluttershy and Discord were sitting together, holding hooves with love shining in their eyes. Rainbow could not see it from her view; however, she could still hear them.

"Fluttershy…" he said.

"Yes?"

"I can't thank you enough for bringing me here…"

"Oh, you're welcome…"

"It's nice to get away from a world that detests you…"

"Is that what happens when you travel around Equestria?"

"Something like that… When I was kid, I didn't fit in anywhere… I still don't… but when I am with you, I don't feel… so alone…"

"Oh… me, too…" she leaned her head on his shoulder.

This surprised both Discord and Rainbow.

"Why do you say that? Don't you have your sisters and animals to keep you company?" he asked.

"Yes, but there are some things I can't talk to them about and the animals aren't much of a conversationalists, but whenever you come, I can tell you the things I never say to my sisters… You've helped me in more than one… To this day, I feel happy knowing I made the right choice of setting you free. I gained a friend, companion, and… lover…" she smiled brightly.

He smiled at her and moved his fingers through her hair. He moved her closer to his face and before Rainbow had a chance to look away, their lips pressed against each other.

Rainbow nearly felt like gagging and quickly went back to her colt.

He saw the look on her face and asked, "What happened?"

She groaned, "I caught them kissing…"

"That's um, very…" he tried picturing it, but found it too weird to do so, "You need a distraction."

"How?"

He lunged forward to press his lips to hers. Her eyes were wide from the impact, but she eventually gave in.

When they all finally came back into the ballroom, Twilight noticed Fancy's bow tie being crooked. Even his blue hair and mustache were a bit messy. She saw a little bit of red lipstick still smeared on his lips. When she looked at her sister next to him, her mane was messed over, her dress mostly wrinkled, not to mention half of her make-up was gone. The both of them had intensity in their eyes while staring at the other.

Twilight could see the love from all of her sisters and knew then they did the best thing they have ever done to bring happiness back in their lives. She addressed the guys.

"I speak on behalf of me and my sisters when I say we are grateful you came tonight and we hope we can have more nights like this."

"We should be the ones thanking you!" Cheese pointed out, "This place is too mind-blowing to keep away from! If only there was something we can do for you!"

Discord had suddenly thought of something as a light bulb appeared above his head and he said to the girls, "Excuse us for one moment…" he grabbed up the guys into a huddle and there was intense whispering from the girls' perspective.

They finally turned back to them with grins on their faces.

"What?" all the princesses said.

Discord spoke for the colts, "Since you were sweet enough to share this place with us, we feel it's only fair we take you ladies out to the town tomorrow!"

"In Canterlot?" Rarity questioned.

"No, in Ponyville!" Cheese jumped.

"Ponyville?!" they all said again.

"Oh, my gosh! I've never been there before!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Neither have I!" motioned Rarity, "But the idea of someplace new sounds so inviting!"

"I'm so in!" Rainbow twirled in the air.

"What the hay, sign me up!" cheered Applejack.

"Do you think there'd be new creatures there?" Fluttershy asked.

"Only one way to find out…" Twilight gestured back towards the stallions, "Alright, we accept your invitation."

"Excellent!" Discord put his hands together, "We'll be around to pick you up at two o' clock. That should give us enough time to get out of castle and be back before your mother knows you're gone."

The others nodded in agreement. Then Pinkie asked, "One last dance before we all go?"

"What time is it?" Rarity asked Twilight.

Twilight was about to answer when Discord took out a pocket watch, "About two AM, Your Highness."

Both Pinkie and Cheese both had grins stretched across their faces practically begging Twilight to let them have that final dance.

Twilight gave out an exasperated sigh and said, "Fine, we can stay, but only for an hour! Then we have to get back!"

"Whoo-yoo!" both party ponies whooped with Pinkie saying, "I wish for the music to start up again!"

The instruments came back and played a sweet melody. One by one, the dates got on the dance floor and moved gracefully with their dancing partners.

When the hour had ended, they all got back into the boat as it moved back to the cave. Once they got inside the cave and disappeared from sight, Luna flapped in a blue glow from the night sky she created for the underground kingdom.

She said to herself, "This is a problem…" and then she thought, It is wonderful that my nieces have found love, but now… I'm afraid I will have no choice but to tell Celestia…

> Chapter 13
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

By the next day, the afternoon came much quicker for the princesses then they thought. They agreed to wait for the guys in their room when they would come to meet them. It was almost two and they started to wonder where they were at. Then out of nowhere, Discord popped in with the colts and dragon each wearing a prince's get-up (From Disney).

Flash was wearing a dark blue suit with a white collar. Discord was wearing a black and gray outfit, brown pants, black boots, red cape, and a red hunting hat. Fancy Pants was wearing a white royal-like jacket, red pants with a yellow stripe, golden belt, and black boots. Soarin' wore a white turban and clothing with brown Arab style shoes. Cheese was wearing a dark gray blouse and pants, brown sweater, red belt, dark brown gloves and boots. And Spike wore on a light green outfit with a lily-pad design.

"What are you guys wearing?!" Rainbow pointed out.

"Wasn't my idea." said Spike as he and the stallions looked over to Discord.

"Oh, look!" Discord snapped his fingers, "Now, you're dress up, too!"

Sure enough, Twilight was wearing a golden yellow off-the-shoulder ball gown, long golden yellow opera gloves with matching pumps. Fluttershy was wearing a gold tiara and gold necklace to a pink off-the-shoulder dress. Rarity wore a sparkling light blue petticoat-dress with rounded sleeves on the corpet, hair in an up-do style with a light blue headband, light blue opera gloves, black choker and glass slippers. Rainbow had on a bedlah outfit that had a bandeau-style off-shoulder top and billowed pants of light blue. Pinkie wore a winter dress with a pink cloak and hat and Applejack was wearing a green ball gown with lily-pad designs.

"Discord! Change us back!" Twilight commanded.

"Oh, very well…" he snapped and their attire was gone. Fluttershy went up to him and kissed his cheek.

"I liked it." she whispers in his ear.

He gave her a grin, "I knew you would."

"So, what are we waiting for?" Pinkie jumped, "Let's go!"

"As you wish." Discord snapped again and they were blinded by a white flash and the next they knew they were in a small town of ponies going in and out of wooden houses or moving around in the marketplace and the vendors selling stuff.

The girls looked in awe of the quaint village and each quickly took a different way leaving a trail of dust. The boys each other call out their mares name and took after them.

Cheese finally caught up to the bouncing pink princess as she made it to a cake-like building he heard other ponies call Sugar Cube Corner, she went to the counter countlessly ringing the bell.

A blue mare with pink icing like hair came to take the bell away and faced the princess even if she didn't know who she was, "May I help you?"

"Oh, right, sorry, I just really liked your bell."

"That's nice… My name is Cupcake or Mrs. Cake if you like. Now what can I getcha?"

"Hmm… Um…" Pinkie looked over the glass and pressed her face to it, "Everything looks so super yummy that I can't chose!"

"What about the chocolate cupcake? That looks good enough to eat." Cheese pointed out.

"Hm, that would go well with a chocolate chip cookie!"

"Or chocolate cake?!"

"Chocolate pudding!"

"Chocolate fudge!"

"Chocolate shake!"

"Chocolate truffles!"

"Chocolate muffins!"

"Chocolate sticks!"

They kept blathering on different chocolate combos and that eventually they just got all of them.

Discord was portraying as a grey unicorn stallion as he was searching relentlessly for the butter-colored pegasus that was way ahead of him.

"How hard is it find a beautiful princess in a town this size?!" he asked to himself. Suddenly he heard a haunting voice he recognized all too well, he follow the enchanting voice as it got louder to where she was at.

Fluttershy was in a meadow near the Everfree Forest and was surrounded by all sorts of animals ranging from birds, mice, squirrels, and even a bear! She was singing to them.

He couldn't help but smile and went towards her. When she saw him however she gave out a gasp and said, "Oh, hello, can I help you with something?"

She didn't even recognize him! Of course he was in disguise after all, but still, it amused him that she would think of him as a stranger. So he decided to play along.

"Um, yes," he used a regular stallion's voice making sure there wasn't a hint of the spirit's original voice, "I could not but help admire from afar as you are quite beautiful, perhaps you would like to go out sometime?"

She was taken aback for a moment then she frowned, saying, "I'm sorry, but I'm seeing someone at the moment, and I don't think he'll take it kindly if he saw you asking me out so it be best if you go."

"But… am I not handsome? Surely some pony like you would like a handsome stallion go with that beauty of yours…"

"Sorry, even if you are good-looking, you can never be as handsome as him…"

This intrigued him so he kept on asking her, "Oh, is he a pegasus?"

"No, but he does have wings."

"Is he a unicorn?"

"No, but he does have magic."

"Is he an earth pony?"

"Far from it, he's a very special creature."

"He sounds hideous."

She gasps and shouted in anger, "How dare you! I'll have you know he's the sweetest, most charming being I have ever known! Why if he was here right now he would give you a piece of his mind! Now please go or you'll have to face my wrath!"

He started laughing in his normal voice which she took to noticed right away.

"Wait… That laugh…"

"That was priceless! 'Now please go or you'll have to face my wrath!' Now I know why I fell for you all this time! You're every bit as chaotic as I am!"

"Discord…? It was you along?"

"Sorry for the deception, sweetie, but when you didn't figure it was me at first I wanted to see how you would react to an attractive stallion asking you out."

"You were testing me?"

"Somewhat, although I'm not going to lie I would have been more than upset if you had accepted the offer but I just knew you would pull through. I have to thank you…"

"Thank me?"

"You could've had your pick of any colt and yet you choose me… Fluttershy… why is that?"

She began blushing, "Oh, well… I never could talk to any colt mainly because I was afraid to… but when you were released, you helped me feel braver and I can talk to you without fear getting in the way… Now I have to ask you something, do you really think of yourself as hideous?"

"Most days… Especially the days I look in a mirror that cracks on me."

"Is that why you still have the disguise on?"

"Well we are close to the town and we can't risk ponies seeing me or else they might run away in fear. And that's one of the things I find fanactaing about you, you never ran away from me when I got out, you're all I have in this world…" he turned his head away, but felt a hoof under his chin moving him to face her with those teal eyes that were filled with tears of joy.

"I need you just as you need me… I will always pledge me heart to you because I know you'll keep it safe."

He had his own tears welling up by her words, "And I pledge my heart to you knowing you'll keep it safe…"

They sealed that oath with a kiss.

Rarity and Fancy walked around taking in the sights of the village.

"It is quite simple isn't it?" she said.

"Charmingly rustic from what I see." he told her.

"All this place needs is a fashion bouquetue and it would be perfect. The townsfolk are really so lucky… Having freedom wherever they go…"

"I'm sure their life isn't easy either…" the moment he said that, they saw a family of a stallion, mare and filly having to board up a house and put up a 'For Sale' sign. They picked up what things they could carry and gone.

Rarity felt her heart breaking and was feeling sorry for the family.

"Oh…" she put her hoof to her heart as she thought how as a princess, she had it all and because of the dilemma of having to marry a prince she had almost forgotten there were some ponies that had it far worst then she did.

"Are you alright?" Fancy look on with concern.

"Yes… I just… I've been only thinking of myself for the past couple of weeks, forgetting that some of my subjects have to deal with worst problems than an arranged marriage."

"Are you going to do something about it?"

"Indeed I am! When I get back I'm starting a fund for foreclosure houses! No pony deserves to be homeless or be force to move away! Perhaps I was wrong about the freedom… While it's true my ponies have the right to marry whoever they like where unlike me at the moment but they are force to work hard just to make sure they have enough bits for food and shelter."

"Rarity… you must know… there's another reason why I told you we couldn't be together at first… Was because I needed the job as Head Butler or else if your mother had found out I would have gotten fired and I wouldn't have been able to see you again…"

"Oh darling… I wish you had told me that a lot sooner, because than I would have made sure that Mother couldn't do that to you."

"But that's just it; I didn't want you to help me when you had your own problems as it was. I couldn't burden you with the fact that it's my job as the royal family's servant to look after you."

"You know you can be too chivalrous you know, and I can be too proper as well. I think it's about time we both loosed up a little." she smiled.

He returned the smile as they kept walking.

Twilight and Flash took in the sights until something caught Twilight's eye that made her hyped up. Before her was a tree house that had a sign saying it was the Golden Oak Library. She rushed into the place with Flash tailing right behind her. When walking in she saw all sorts of books in a pile on the floor. Some were just laying there and others were in a messy order on the bookshelves. Even some of the shelves were bare.

Twilight could not believe the condition of this fine library and started to wonder who was responsible for it, she called out, "Hello? Any pony here?"

Suddenly there was a bump on the upper floor with a voice saying, "Coming!" A grey pegasus with bubbles for a cutie mark and yellow lop-sided eyes started wobbly flying down to them as she did she kept bumping into things and knocked more books down. She crash landed at their feet and gave out a friendly greeting, "Hi! Name's Derpy Hooves!"

"Uh…" Twilight reached out her hoof to help her up, "Nice to meet you, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is…"

"Flash Sentry." Flash said as he took Derpy's hoof to shake.

"Please to meet ya!"

Twilight questioned, "Are you the one in charge of the library?"

"Yup! Just me and me alone."

"Well, um, it seems this place could use some help."

"That would be great! It's kind-of hard on where these books should go on the shelf."

"Oh, well, I'm sure I can figure something out."

"You sure you won't mind?" Derpy asks.

"I'm sure." the princess smirked knowing too well she loved organizing just about anything.

"Great! I have to go to the market so feel free to do whatever's nessarcy to get this place cleaned up."

"You can count on me!" saluted Twilight.

"And me!" Flash also saluted.

"I'll be back soon! See ya!" she left out the door.

Twilight turned to Flash, "You don't have to stick around if you don't want to."

"But I do want to, besides there's so many books you're going need all the extra hooves you can get."

She smiled sweetly at him then kissed his cheek much to his surprise, "Thank you… Let's get to work."

They started looking over books to shelve.

Rainbow and Soarin' were up high in the sky looking at Pony-Ville from an above angle. The blue pegasi saw so much activity going on that Rainbow even caught a few of her sisters going about with their colts. They saw the schoolyard full of fillies and young colts, one of the colts was small and white having brown hair and a brown spot over his eye. He spotted them and gave a wave, the couple returned it.

"Hey Dash?"

"Yeah, Soar?"

"Do you find this strangely relaxing?"

"Actually… I do. The winds are so calm here and the sky is so clear. Makes you want to take a nap."

"You know, we should! The last few days were pretty hectic for us."

"You got that right! Hey! I see a puffy cloud up ahead, that would be perfect to lounge on!" she sped up to land on it, sighing in relief, "Just right…"

"Got room for one room?"

"Sure do." she scoots over for him to sit next to her, "First pony to wake up has to wake the other."

"Deal." they shook on it before going to sleep.

Applejack and Spike found themselves walking on a road leading to an area full of apple orchards.

AJ exclaimed, "Hoo-wee, this is a lot more then what's in our garden back home."

"It goes on for miles and miles!" proclaimed Spike, and then he notices she has something in her eye, "Uh, Applejack? Are you okay?"

"Sorry…" she wiped her eye, "It's just, so beautiful…"

He gave her a small smile and patted her back.

That one touch made her body heat up and started clenching her teeth holding back the words she wanted to say to him and scolded herself, Not yet! Not until I know for sure he loves me!

Spike's own thoughts were preventing him to speak from the heart, She seems so distant from me… I want to tell her but what if she doesn't feel that way to me? And our friendship could be ruined!

Suddenly they heard a thump and went to go see what it was. Nearby was a big red stallion using his hind legs to buck apples into buckets his face was sweating from the hardship but he didn't care.

"Hi there!" Applejack came up to him, "What's your name?"

The stallion answered, "Big Mac."

"Well howdy, Big Mac, I'm Applejack and this is Spike."

Spike gave him a friendly grin and wave.

"Do you need help?" Big Mac asks.

"No, but it looks like you could use the help, how about it?"

"Hmm…" Big Mac look over to the rest of trees that needed backing he turn back to them and replied, "Eeyup."

"Alrightly then, tell us what we have to do and we'll get it done!"

"Eeyup." he said before telling them their instructions.

Luna paced back and fore outside of her sister's throne room. Figuring out how she was to tell Celestia that she seen her nieces being with other stallions then princes without giving away the fact that they were already deeply in love. By then the door open of Kibitz going out with a stack of papers. Luna peeked her head in seeing her sister was still magically signing a few more scrolls.

Looks like she's still busy, I'll come back later… she turned to go but was stop when a wise voice said.

"Luna?"

Drat! She thought with a grimace and slowly turned to face her towering sister.

"I didn't expect you to be up this early before going to your night duties."

"I couldn't sleep." Luna quickly replied.

"Well, then, come in."

"But if you're still busy, I can just-"

"On the contrary," she said as she signed the last scroll, "I had just finished."

Luna gulped, "So you have…"

"Luna, you seem troubled, are you… keeping something from me?"

"Keeping… something? Why, whatever do you mean?" she batted her eyes innocently.

"Okay, something is clearly up…" Celestia's eyes slatted at her sister and spoke in a low tone, "What is going on…?"

The Princess of the Night gulped again and sweat rolled down her brow. She couched down and covers her eyes with hooves, shouting out, "Your daughters are in love! All of them!"

There was silence before Celestia yelled, "What?! No!"

"It's true… I saw them last night in the underground kingdom we created for them… They brought along the ones that hold their hearts with them…"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" she demanded.

"I wanted to… but they deserve to live in happiness… I just couldn't take that away from them…"

"As noble as your intentions were, but that doesn't change the fact that they're in greater danger now than they were before…"

"I know… I'm sorry…"

"Which is why we must hurry to get them away from here, once they are separated that should stop the changeling queen from tracking them down and won't be able to reach any of them."

"Understood, Sister…" she lowered her head in sadness.

Celestia called for a nearby guard, saying, "Have my daughters brought to me at once."

The guard bowed, "Yes, Your Highness." and he rushed out of there. But when he came back ten minutes later and with a couple of other guards, they bow before their majesties while he gave a bad news, "We can't find the princesses, my Queen…"

Celestia gasped in terror and immediately said, "Then find them! Find them at once! Search everywhere if you must!"

"Yes, Your Majesty." they responded and galloped on out to alert the other royal guards to begin a search for the princesses.


> Chapter 14
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Applejack finished bucking the last tree and Spike caught the apples in a bucket, they headed over to the farmhouse, where an elderly mare was rocking in her chair.

"Where do you want these, ma'am?" Applejack asked.

"Just set them inside the barn." she pointed over to the red barn.

Once AJ and Spike finished the job, they went back to her. Spike asked, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Granny Smith, young feller. And I can't thank you enough for what you two youngsters did for my grandson there."

"Aw, don't mention it." said AJ, "Is it just you and Big Mac?"

"Sure is, but if I had a granddaughter like you, why I would never have to worry about Applebucking season ever again."

"I wish there was more we could do."

"You've done enough as it is. Here," She went back into the house for one second and came back wearing a Stetson hat, "For everything that you've done today." she handed over the hat over to Applejack.

"Why, thank you… but I couldn't accept this…"

"Oh…" Granny scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous! It's the least we could do!"

Spike took the hat and put it on her head. He pondered, "You know… you actually look better with it on."

Her cheeks went pink, "You… you really think so?"

"I really do…" they found themselves staring at each other.

"Aw… young love…" sighed an elderly voice.

That brought them back to reality and both quickly said to her, "Oh, we're not-"

"That is-"

Granny said, "Oh, I get it." she winked.

They sighed in defeat, then AJ quickly changed the subject, "Well, thanks again for the hat and we were happy to help out. If you ever see us in Pony-Ville again, please let us know if you need anything."

"We'll do that."

Big Mac came over by then and said, "Eeyup."

They waved goodbye and set back on the road leading into town.

Pinkie and Cheese moved slowly to the middle of town as their bellies were huge and they had chocolate-covered faces. They were soon met up by Rarity and Fancy.

"Goodness! What happen to you two?" Rarity asked.

Pinkie groaned, "Too much… chocolate…" she fell to the ground.

"Couldn't… resist…" Cheese fell down as well.

"Ha!" Discord, still in his pony form, came up with Fluttershy, "Serves you right, eating all that creamy richness of a substance…"

That almost caused the couple to throw up.

"Discord?" Rarity looked on in confusion while Fancy had to wipe his monocle to make sure he was seeing things right, "Is that you?"

"Of course it's me! Why? You like the new me?" he struck a pose.

"It's… certainly… a new you…" she slightly blushed, not wanting to admit he was rather dashing now.

"But he was funnier-looking with his old self!" complained Pinkie.

"Pinkie Pie!" Fluttershy scolded.

But Discord merely chuckled, "Not to worry, my darling. I know what Pinkie was really getting at. I tend to be more funny by looking funny." He turned to Pinkie, "Don't worry. Once we're out of town, I'll turn back to what I was."

"Aww…" they heard a whine and every pony looked in Rarity's direction with puzzlement.

"I mean," she composed herself and said, "it's getting late. Where are the others?"

"Hmm, now that you mention it," said Fancy, "that's a good question."

Suddenly, Discord's ears picked up whinny-snoring above them. He looked up to see a single cloud and thought, I wonder… He turned to his beloved, "Fluttershy, love, do me a favor by going up there." He pointed up to the cloud.

"But why?"

"Just trust me."

"Okay…" she flapped her wings and saw Soarin' and Rainbow sleeping side by side.

"What's up there?!" Cheese bellowed below her.

"It's Rainbow and Soarin'," she came down, "they're sleeping."

"Together?" Rarity questioned.

"You should see them they're so cute, cuddling…"

Pinkie giggled.

Discord suggested with a sly grin, "Then perhaps it's time we wake them up… Pinkie, Cheese, want to help me out with this?"

By then, their sugar high kicked in and leaped up saying together, "You bet!"

"Excellent!" He was about to use his horn until a soft voice said.

"Um, you will be gentle, right?"

He held her chin, "But of course, my sweet… It'll be… more or less just a wake-up call…" Then, he recast the spell to levitate himself and the party ponies as they surrounded the pair. Then with a flash, Pinkie had a drum, Cheese a whistle, and Discord a cowbell. "On the count of three… one… two…"

"Three!" they yelled and began playing their noisemakers, startling the pegasi awake.

"What the…?!" they both screamed.

The trio laughed hysterically; even the ponies below them laughed.

RD ranted with her face going red, "Pinkie Pie! Cheese! Discord! You ruined our nap!"

"And I was having the most awesome dream, too! Dash and I were this close to-" but was the rest was muffled by her hoof.

"Like they need to know that…"

"So up and at em, lazies!" Pinkie pointed, "We've got to get going!"

"Indeed," said Rarity when the others came down, "But we can't go anywhere without Twilight and Flash and Applejack and Spikey. Now where are they?"

"Hold your horses, we're here!" AJ showed up with Spike.

"Ooh! Applejack! You look different!" Pinkie bounced around her sister, "Did you get a haircut?"

"Heh, no…"

"Got your hooves shiny?!"

"Eh, no…"

"Ooh! Then it must be…"

"She's got a hat!" they all ended up saying.

"Oh, yeah… That's it! Nice hat…" she patted it.

"Oh, Pinkie…" AJ shook her head and turned back to the group, "Hey, where's Twilight?"

"And Flash?" said Spike.

"That's what we would like to know…" said Rainbow.

Suddenly, there was heavy panting as a purple unicorn and an orange pegasus ran to them.

Twilight said between breaths, "Sorry… we're… late! The library took a lot more time reshelving than I thought!"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Rainbow said, "While the rest of us were going around town, you spent the afternoon in a library?! Can we say 'egg-head' much, little sis?"

Twilight grumbled before responding, "You know I hate that nick-name… but anyway, the library was in a terrible state. I had to do something!"

"She's right. It was a real mess. If Twilight hadn't stepped in when she did, who knows how long it would have stayed that way." said Flash.

"Say, Flash, I almost forgot, but where did you save that zebra?"

"Not here, per se. It was…" he pointed to the Everfree Forest, "there…"

"Can you show me?"

"Me, too!" Pinkie popped up to his face.

"I… don't know… It could get dangerous… The last time I was there, I had to save Zecora from a Timberwolf!"

"Timberwolf?!" Fluttershy gulped in fear.

"Oh," Discord scoffed, "please. I'll be the scariest thing you'll find in there, and if a Timberwolf does show up, I'll simply snap my fingers and viola! No more Timberwolves!"

"Well…" Flash pondered while Twilight stared at him. It was hard thinking straight when a beautiful mare was looking right at him. He sighed, "Fine… but stay close to me."

"Right." she agreed.

"And that goes for all of you."

The others nodded.

When walking through the endless evergreen, the mares and colts hung close to each other. Spike was clinging to AJ's side, Cheese and Pinkie had their hooves around each other, and Discord was back to his original form staying close to Fluttershy by having his tail wrapped around her for comfort.

Flash stopped at the clearing, "Here it is. This is where Zecora was facing the wolf before I took over to stop it."

"Great, we've seen it! Now we go back!" Spike nervously chuckled.

AJ chuckled, "Okay, sugar cube, if it makes you feel better." she turned to go back, but suddenly, as if a chilly wind passed her, she shivered, "Hoo, did you all feel that?"

The girls nodded while the boys were confused.

"I didn't feel anything." said Spike.

"Ooh, it was a weird tingly feeling!" Pinkie mentioned.

"That was strange…" Rarity pronounced.

"It was so creepy!" whimpered Fluttershy.

Rainbow said, "Gotta admit, that was eerie…"

"It felt like it was coming from over there…" Twilight pointed in a direction that made the forest look darker and scary.

"You're not thinking of going in there, are you?" Flash questioned in concern.

The chilly wind picked up again and once again, the girls felt it, but the guys couldn't feel anything.

"Did you feel that now?" she asked him.

"Feel what?" Discord shrugged his shoulders.

"How could you not feel that?!" Rarity declared with her sisters' agreeing with her.

The other colts shrugged their shoulders, more perplexed by the girls' statement than ever.

"We have to find out where that's coming from…" Twilight galloped down the dark path and Flash galloped after her. Pretty soon, the other mares did the same with the guys following them.

In a secret room of the library in the castle ruins, the once unicorn king of Canterlot had to live in exile due to his curse. He spent most of his days in the library finding ways for the curse to be lifted so he could return home to his wife and daughters. How he hated so much that he had to miss out on the most important days with them or to watch his daughters grow into young mares. After years of searching, he was starting to lose hope that he would never be able to face them again. Then, a sudden chill touched him.

"Wait… what was that?" he moved out of the room and went to a nearby window that showed the rope bridge leading to the forest. In the distance, he could see a group of ponies coming towards the ruins. Once they came into view, he was shocked to see six mares that resembled his daughters!

Suddenly, he realized that they were his daughters. Even if it was a curse, he had super vision to see closer and noticed their cutie marks. He was overjoyed to see how beautiful they all grew, just like their mother. But then he worried that they shouldn't be here, not when there were dangers in the forest and the fact they could find him. Knowing how dangerous his cursed powers were, he had to keep away from them and to not hurt them. He kept his head down and thanks to the drafty walls, he was able to hear them.

"Whoa…" Twilight stopped at the bridge and stared up at the castle ruins.

"Yeah…" Rainbow gawked.

"But, but how is this possible?" Rarity questioned, "A castle in the middle of nowhere?"

"It must be very old…" said Fluttershy.

"But why would it bring us here?" inquired Twilight, and then she looked closer to the ruins and noticed something, "Hey… wait a minute… Girls, look from this angle…"

They did, but couldn't see what Twilight was seeing.

"So?" pointed Rainbow, "Looks like an old castle to me."

"But doesn't it look familiar?"

They shook their heads until Flash came up and said, "I think you're right… it does look like something I've just seen…"

Discord snapped his fingers in realization, "By Jove, you are correct, sir!"

"I see it! I see it!" Cheese jumped up and down.

"Oh, my gosh…" Spike said under his breath.

"Can some pony please tell me what is going on?!" Rarity demanded.

"It's the castle from the underground kingdom!" Twilight motioned.

The girls gasped in awareness.

Rainbow stammered, "But… how…?"

"I don't know, but I want to get closer to find out." Twilight started to set hoof on the bridge until Flash stopped her.

"Don't you find this suspicious?"

"And that is why I want to investigate further to figure out this mystery."

Sombra started filling with anxiety. He could not let Twilight or any of his girls come any nearer if they found him… Who knew what might happen… In his mind he quickly devised a plan. It's going to take all the light magic I have left within me, but it's important… He shut his eyes in concentration on all good things and feeling the need to protect his girls, he cast the spell.

Twilight set hoof on the suspension bridge, but once she did, she felt dizzy and started wobbling. Then she fell.

"Twilight!" Flash took hold of her.

Rainbow then started feeling like she was woozy, "Hey does any pony see… the castle moving?" Then, she started falling from the air.

"Dash!" Soarin' sped in to catch her.

Then one by one, the girls fell.

"Pinkie!" Cheese caught her.

"Fluttershy!" Discord cradled her in his arms, "No-no-no!"

"Rarity!" Fancy caught her before she fell over.

"Applejack!" Spike gasped as the tough princess fell last and grabbed her holding on tight, tears filling his eyes, "Discord! Get us out of here!"

"You got that right!" he snapped and they were all gone from Sombra's sight. The unicorn gave a sigh from both relief and heartbreak.

When they made it back to the princesses' room, they had laid them in their own beds, hoping for the best that the sisters would wake up soon. Luckily, they did in mere seconds.

Discord wrapped his arms around the eldest princess in happiness, "Oh, thank goodness!"

Fluttershy spoke, "What… what happen?"

"That's what we would like to know." said Spike.

"I… I don't know…" said Twilight, "I just remembering going towards the castle and the next thing I knew, I blacked out."

"I can totally see you guys blacking out," pointed Rainbow, "but how could I black out?! I'm no damsel in distress!"

"Well, me neither!" retorted AJ.

"And I resent that remark, Rainbow Dash!" yelled Rarity, "Just because I am a lady doesn't mean I'm a damsel in distress!"

"Well, you are a drama queen. It's only natural." RD responded.

"Enough, you guys!" Twilight came between them, "We'll worry about that later. Right now, we should figure out why that castle was a near copy of the castle that we've been going to every night in the last three days!"

"Sure you don't want to rest first?" questioned Flash, "Before getting to the bottom of this?"

"I can't rest, not when there's something strange going here…" she started going out of the room when a voice said.

"There you are!" Luna rushed to her.

"Aunt Luna? What is it?"

She lowered her head, "You'd best go to the throne room… Your mother is worried sick about all of you, and I'm afraid there's something she would like to discuss…"

The princesses all look at each other in bewilderment.

"You best come, too." she said to the guys, who in turn also gave puzzled expressions.

Once they made it to the doors of the room, she told the girls, "Go in." She saw the girls walk in with the boys starting to follow, but she stopped them, "Wait here." She went in with her nieces. Discord conjured up a huge empty glass to the closed door for all of them to overhear.

"Mother?" Twilight said.

Celestia turned from her grief and gave out a cry of joy, "Girls? Oh, thank heavens!" She ran up to them and gave each a precious hug and kiss on the forehead. Suddenly, her expression soured and she demanded, "Where have you been?!"

"Um…" Twilight rubbed her hoof, "About that… we were… we were…"

"You were what?"

The girls had cringed faces, not sure how to answer.

"You were what?!" she repeated, "Girls, tell me!"

Pinkie gulped, blurting out, "We were in Pony-Ville!" She quickly covered her mouth and hid behind Rainbow who glared at her.

"Pony-Ville? Pony-Ville?! Girls, do you realize how dangerous that could have been?!"

"But Mother, that place was simply divine!" protested Rarity.

"Yeah, nothin' happened there!" proclaimed Applejack.

Pinkie babbled on, "Yeah, it wasn't until we went into the Everfree Forest that we found a scary-looking castle and fainted at the sight of it!"

"PINKIE!" her sisters screamed at her.

"Oopsie…" she shrunk down.

"Everfree Forest? Castle?! Fainting?! No!"

"It-it was just a one-time deal!" Twilight quickly pointed out.

"Girls! This is serious! You could have been hurt or lost! And this is why you have to stay in the castle under my protection!"

"But we're not fillies anymore!" shouted Rainbow.

"But you are princesses! It is your duty to stay within the castle walls!"

"And what if we don't want to be princesses anymore?!" hollered Applejack.

"That… is… not… your… choice…"

"Of course it is our choice!" cried Rarity, "Like it is our choice to marry whoever we want!"

"About that… Luna, could you explain to the girls about the kingdom that lives underneath their bedroom."

Luna faced them with a solemn face, "I created that kingdom…"

"What?" Twilight inquired.

"I created the kingdom so you live in the last moments of spending time with each other before all of you had to get married to a prince. It was never intended that you brought others with you…"

"You… you know about?" Fluttershy was almost afraid to ask.

"Yes… for I had been watching you since the first night you went down there. It was a dream kingdom for your most inner thoughts."

"Then… you must know something about that castle in the Everfree Forest!" pointed Twilight.

"That castle is not your concern." Celestia motioned, "Your concern is getting married and living up to your royal title."

Twilight pondered on this until her eyes slit and said out a firm, "No."

Celestia's eyes widened, "What…?" She was surprised that this was coming from Twilight, the daughter that never questioned her authority up till now.

"No." she repeated, "This is not right, and you know it! How can we marry strangers when we already have loves that care about us and we care about them?!"

The sisters did random agreements, siding with her on that fact.

Outside, the boys were feeling touched by that statement, but then frowned when they heard Celestia.

"This is for your own good! I'm trying to protect you!"

"From what?!" Rainbow demanded.

"You cannot possibly understand…" she turned away from them to make sure they didn't see the tears glistening in her eyes.

"What wouldn't we understand?!" Rarity pleaded.

"Mother, if you would just tell us, we'll find some way to make this work!" suggested Twilight.

That did it, Celestia turned back to them with glowing eyes and her color was a blazing orange as she rose into the air using the royal Canterlot voice, "It cannot work! Nothing ever will! This is the only way! You wear the crowns upon your heads as it is your right and royal duty! You are to marry and that is that! Nothing will ever change that!" Her eyes stopped glowing as she saw the look in her daughters' eyes, which were etched with fear and despair.

Fluttershy was the first to break down as she ran towards the door, followed by her sisters, all who had tears running down their faces. The guys moved away from the door as it burst open with the girls running down the hall back to upstairs. They were about to go after them until the queen said.

"Gentlemen, a word, if you please…"

The colts and Spike gave worried glances, but Discord was scowling and crossing his arms as he floated to her, "Now look, here, Tia, you may have control over these guys, but I am my own being."

She scowled in return, "I'm more concerned for my daughter, Discord… Are you just using her to get to the throne or are you using her for something else…?"

"Oh, puh-leez! If I wanted Equestria, I would have done that by now! Why, would I stoop so low as to marry just a princess even if it's the princess you didn't choose as your heir. Now that would have be more of my game plan there if I was cruel enough to do that! No, because of the love from your daughter. Fluttershy has made me a better creature than before, which is why I am furious that you would do something like this to her!"

"I had no choice!"

"There's always a choice!"

"Discord!" Luna came between them, "Leave her alone!"

"You stay out of this, Lulu! This is just as much your fault as it is hers!"

As the powerful beings quarreled, the princesses were up in the bedroom crying their eyes out. As they wept, a black figure with glowing green eyes moved in the shadows of the room and casted a spell to have a green glowing orb appear in the middle of space. The girls stopped crying and slowly lifted their heads, each having a strange look on their face as if they were being mesmerized by the orb. The orb beckoned them to follow it and they slowly rose from their beds.

Spike was upset as he watched Discord fight with the queen and Princess Luna. The colts could only look on while being nervous. They were secretly hoping that Discord would win from them and the girls. Spike suddenly felt something was wrong. He couldn't put a claw on it, but something was up.

"Does any pony feel something's not right?"

Unexpectedly, Cheese's cheesy sense was acting up, "Wow-wee!" he vibrated, "T-That's-a-a-new-one!"

"Now that you mention it…" Soarin' scratched his head, "Something's bugging me. I can't place it…"

Flash looked around the room, using the instincts that he was taught to use in training. He said, "Something… is wrong here…"

"I say, that is strange…" Fancy said, "It feels like we're missing something…"

Discord was still in his heated battle of words when his body twitched uncontrollably. When it stopped, his face went white, literally.

Celestia's own face was paler if possible, recognizing his magical imbalance twitch, "Discord, what is-"

He raised his paw at her as he concentrated on where the imbalance was coming from. He whispered, "No…" He then shouted out in fright, "Fluttershy!" he levitated on out of there.

Spike said, "But… that means…"

The boys gave a look of dread and rushed out right behind the spirit. They all burst through the door calling each of the princesses' names, but when taking a good look around, it was… too late…

> Chapter 15
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No… no…" Discord kept saying as he got down on his knees. He held his hands to his eyes and moved his head over Fluttershy's bed, sobbing, "Fluttershy… Fluttershy…" He took her blankets to drench them with his tears.

Spike saw the hat by Applejack's empty bed which she was given just this afternoon. He kneeled down to grab it and embraced it in his arms, silently weeping.

Fancy moved over to Rarity's bed and stroke the covers, releasing a single tear. His fair lady, the Princess Rarity, had vanished from view.

Soarin' was holding back tears, but it was no use. He kept staring at the bed. Her bed. She was gone, his tough, funny, beautiful Rainbow Dash.

Cheese couldn't help but feel anguish. He blamed himself for not seeing it sooner. His cheesy sense was telling him something was going to happen, but he couldn't figure it out until it was too late. Now, his sweet and fun Pinkie Pie was gone because of his cluelessness.

Flash was feeling pain all over. He lost his princess, the mare he fell in love with from the minute he saw her. He wasn't completely sure then, but now he was more than certain he loved Twilight with all his heart. His eyes glistened from tears filling inside. Oh, Twilight… I wish I could have told you… I love you… He laid his head on her bed.

Celestia carefully walked into the room, her own eyes were filling with tears, and she said in a broken voice, "I knew… I knew this would happen…"

They slowly looked towards her.

"Come with me, and I will explain all…" she trotted out and gradually, they followed her.

She took them to the room she was in a couple of nights ago. She went up to a tapestry with sun patterns on it, and using her magic, she tore it down. There behind the tapestry was a portrait of Celestia and King Sombra standing side by side and touching horns. She began the tale.

"My husband and I kept peace and harmony across the land. It was we who stopped the changelings from invading Equestria and kept the Diamond Dogs and Griffins at bay. When our daughters were born, there was nothing but happiness and joy in our lives. But the Changeling Queen returned one day and with a foe more treacherous than any we had ever faced. Luna and I managed to stop the Nightmare Forces before, but with Chrysalis at their side, they were more lethal than ever.

"Our castle was being attacked by them and Chrysalis was set to give me a curse. Sombra had virtuously taken the curse for me. That day, I lost my husband and my daughters would be in danger if they had fallen in love. In truth, I am content that they found their equals, but the fact still remains that Chrysalis would been able to track them down and give them the same curse as my husband had. And that was the one and only reason why I was hard on them: to keep them safe from what has happened now."

They were speechless for a moment, until Discord started feeling anger boiling inside him.

He blew his top, "Chrysalis is going to pay for this! But you should have also have told me about this! I could have done a protection barrier or something! Then Fluttershy would still be here!"

Celestia calmly responded, "I had no idea that you care that much about my daughter then, Discord. And any protection barrier could have caused suspicion to both my subjects and daughters. The girls have no memory about that day because Luna and I made sure they wouldn't be frightened for the rest of their lives. So even if I did ask for your help, could you have kept a secret like that from her?"

Discord clenched his fist and then released it as his face softened and he looked down to the floor.

"I thought so… And… I want to thank all of you…"

"Thank… us…?" Spike questioned.

She gave him a small smile, answering, "You are the type of colts or creatures that my daughters should love. Although, you and Applejack did surprise me, Spike."

He slightly blushed, not sure how to reply to that.

Her face grew serious again, "But we have more pressing matters now… The Queen has taken my darling daughters to put the curse on them to share the same fate as their father… There's very little time before that happens."

Discord floated up and put his hands together, "Then we haven't a moment to lose!" He was about to go out until Luna called out to him, making him stop.

"While you are powerful in your state, you must not take this journey alone."

"Right," Spike came up to him, "We're coming with you!"

"Aw," Discord batted his eyes, "how sweet of you, but sorry, boys. You'll just slow me down. Plus, I can handle things on my own."

Celestia warned, "Discord, even your powers has its limits… Do not underestimate of what you're about to face. You'll need all the help you can get, that includes all of you."

The rest of the guys nodded.

Luna spoke, "It cannot be a coincidence that all of you would fall in love with the six princesses at the same time. Fate must be guiding along the way, for if this is true, then perhaps this is the time that we can defeat Chrysalis and the Nightmares, once and for all…"

"I hope you are right, sister. For nothing would bring me greater joy than seeing my daughters free to love…"

Discord shook his hands, "Okay, okay, fine." he sighed, "They can come with me, but," he held out his finger, "they have to go into training first…" he gave an evil grin towards them as some of them gave him worried or annoyed looks.

Twilight moaned out of her sleep and saw her vision was clearing as she noticed she and her sisters were in a dungeon and had chains around their necks.

"Twilight…" Fluttershy's voice said.

"Fluttershy? Where… where are we?"

"I… don't know… I just woke up seeing I was here."

Rainbow was the next one to get up, groaning while rubbing her head, "Ugh, feels like some pony hit me with something."

The other three sisters stirred out of their dreamless sleep.

"What in the hay… where are we?" AJ looked around.

"Ewww, who ever owns this place should seriously get a decorator!" Rarity complained.

"And it's so dark and gloomy!" Pinkie frowned, "No bright colors at all!"

Suddenly, the door to the dungeon creaked open and in entered a black pony, but she hardly seemed to be a pony as her horn was crooked, her legs had holes in them, her mane was like cobwebs, she had insect-like wings, and her eyes were glowing green with evil.

Most of her sisters were trembling in fear, but Twilight had the courage to demand, "Who are you?! And why did you bring us here?!"

The strange pony begin to chuckle evilly and went to the princess, holding her chin, "Who am I?" she chuckled again, "Who am I? I'm Queen Chrysalis, the ruler of the Changelings! Soon-to-be the ruler of all of Equestria!"

"Yeah, right!" Rainbow spouted off.

She turned towards the doubting princess, "Oh, but of course… with your help…" she gave off a menacing look.

"We would never help with the likes of you!" AJ yelled.

"You shall…" she replied coolly, "…when I place the curse on each and every one of you."

"Curse? There's no such thing as a curse!" sneered Twilight.

"Ah, but there is…" she went back and forth between the girls, "A fair time ago, you were just little fillies, playing, laughing, doing whatever it is fillies do… I came to your home in the Everfree Forest with my comrades to place a dark curse on your mother, but alas, your dear papa got in the way… But it wasn't a total loss… oh, no, I could use this at an advantage. Since you share your bloodline with your daddy, I could track down all of you of when you would fall in love. But your mother was clever by making sure you would be safe in a loveless marriage. How ingenious, yet so unfair at the same time… Couldn't have done it better myself! But of course, being your mother's daughters, you had to mess it up! And I was so hoping you would!" she started laughing, causing Rarity and Fluttershy to flinch while AJ, Rainbow, Pinkie, and Twilight had fury in their eyes.

"You liar!" Dash tried to pounce, but the chain around her neck prevented her to do so.

"Oh, am I? Why would you say that?"

Twilight answered that, "Because we never lived in the Everfree Forest in our entire lives!"

She chuckled again, "Oh, you think so? Well, I happen to know for a fact your dear mother and aunt altered your memories, making you forget all about that castle you saw just this afternoon." she smirked as she let them fill in the blanks.

"Wait…" Twilight thought it over, "That castle… the castle in the dream kingdom… they were the same… which means… we really did live there!"

"Give the princess a prize! So, my dears, are ready to accept your fate?"

"No way!" Applejack protested.

"Never!" Rarity shouted.

Pinkie blew a raspberry.

Fluttershy whimpered.

Rainbow was still trying to get free to punch the queenie.

"We'll never join you!" Twilight declared.

"Ah, then perhaps you would like your other option, then… Oh, Blueblood!"

"Blueblood?!" they all said in confusion.

Chrysalis stepped aside for the prince that came in, wearing a smirk on his face.

"What the heck is going on here?!" AJ demanded.

"Oh, cousin, all you had to do was ask."

"Prince Blueblood had the right idea when he tried to court each of you. Making his way to the throne was sheer genius, but when he was frightened off by your little prank, Princess Rainbow, I decided to offer him a second chance at all of you. So, here's the deal: accept the curse or marry your cousin to escape it. Your choice."

"Not much of a choice, if you ask me…" Rarity gritted her teeth.

"And if you do not choose," said Blueblood, "Her Highness is kind enough to let me make the choice, instead…"

"You're really sick, cuz!" Rainbow spitted.

Chrysalis took her leave, "I shall leave you alone, and girls, you have three days to decide, if not… well, Blueblood, you may have your pick." she laughed maliciously as she closed the door behind her.

Blueblood turned back to them with a grin as they gave him looks of hatred.

Rarity roared, "Don't get any ideas, Blueblood!"

"You know, you should be thanking me. I'm saving you from a horrible fate, and all you have to do is… marry me."

"AS IF!" all six of them shouted out.

"Oh, but, girls… think about it…" he started getting into a song cue, "You've been dreaming just one dream, nearly all your life! Hoping, scheming, just one theme, will you be a wife? Will you be some he-colt's property? Good news! That he-colt's me! This equation, girl plus stallion, doesn't help just you? On occasion, mares can have their uses too. Mainly to extend the family tree!" he touched Rarity's chin, "Pumpkin, extend with me!" 

Rarity nearly gagged.

He kept on singing, "We'll be raising sons galore!"

Rarity sung under her breath, "Inconceivable!"

"Each built six-foot-four!"

Rainbow sang, "Unbelievable!"

"Each one stuffed with every Blueblood gene!"

Applejack sang, "I'm not hearing this!"

"You'll be keeping house with pride!"

Twilight sang, "Just incredible!"

"Each day gratified!"

Pinkie sang, "So unweddable!"

"That you are part of this idyllic scene! Picture this! A tall shining castle, the servants keeping it neat and pristine! My little wife, massaging my hooves, while the little ones play on the floor with the dogs. We'll have six or seven."

"Dogs?" Fluttershy questioned.

"No! Strapping boys like me!"

"Imagine that…" she nervously chuckled.

"I can see that we will share all that love implies. We shall be the perfect pair, rather like my thighs! You are face to face with destiny! All roads lead to the best things in life are all's well that ends with me! Escape me, there's no way! Certain as do re, girls, when you marry… So, what do you say?"

There was silence as they glanced at each other and gave out a big, "NO!"

"Oh, give it a couple days, and you'll see. You'll be begging… for…" and finishes off his song, "Me!" he took for the door and shut it, leaving the girls to wallow in pity.

Twilight started to sing sadly, "Yes, we've made the mistake, of Mama trying to keep us safe… But we don't deserve to lose our freedom in this way! You monster… If you think that what you've done is right, well then, you're a fool, think again…" she lowered her head until she felt her shoulder being touched by her sister Fluttershy as the latter took over, singing.

"Is this home? Is this where we should learn to be happy? Never dreamed, that a home could be dark and cold! I was told every day in my childhood, even when we grow old… Home will be where the heart is… Never were words so true… My heart's far, far away… Home is too…"

Rarity picked it up, "Is this home? Is this what I must learn to believe in? Try to find something good in this tragic place!"

Applejack sang in, "Just in case, I should stay here forever! Held in this empty space! Oh, but that won't be easy, I know the reason why…"

Both of them sang, "My heart's far, far away… Home's a lie…"

Pinkie sang, "What I'd give to return to the life that I knew lately!"

Twilight sang again, "But I know that I can't solve my problems going back!"

All of them sang, "Is this home?! Am I here for a day or forever? Shut away, from the world until who knows when! Oh, but then as my life has been altered once it can change again!"

Rainbow sang in, "Build higher walls around me! Change every lock and key!"

Twilight returned to singing sadly, "Nothing lasts… nothing holds… all of me… My heart's far, far away… Home… and…"

All of them sang the last word, "Free…" They began shedding tears.

> Chapter 16
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Here we are!" Discord motioned to the guys, "Our very own training facility!"

The boys looked around the grounds of the Canterlot castle. It looked like the same jousting arena, but things were added to it. They could see targets with ice arrows next to them, dumbbells lying on the ground, chopping blocks, jumping ropes, a pool, balance beams, and other acrobatic stuff.

They heard a whistle and turned to see Discord in coach attire, "Alright, show me what you've got!" he snapped and they found themselves wearing gym wear with sweat bands and leg warmers, "Give me ten laps around the track!" he barked and they didn't waste a moment to do so.

Both Soarin' and Flash had proven themselves to be the fastest, Cheese came in second, Fancy Pants next to last, and Spike was the last one. He was panting and collapsed to the grass.

Discord stopped his stopwatch, yelling out, "Twenty minutes! Twenty minutes! That has got to be a record for the lowest score in history!"

"I'll be faster next time!" Spike objected.

"There isn't going to be a next time if a changeling or a Nightmare catches you! Get to a station and show me what you can do!"

"Hey, who made you in charge of this mission?!" Soarin' protested.

Discord popped on Sherlock attire, blowing from a bubble pipe, "It's elementary, my dear Soarin'. One, I have the power. Two, I'm the most experience compared to all of you. And three, I did!" He snapped back on his coach wear, "Now, get going!"

Once they rotated from station to station, it showed Discord all of the boys' strengths and weaknesses, but it seemed Spike was showing a lot of weakness.

He said under his breath, "We've got a long way to go… Hmm, maybe there's some other way to make things go faster…" Then with a snap, he had Vinyl Scratch with her DJ player. He whispered a request and she started playing the music. That got the guys to stop with what they were doing and looked over in bewilderment.

Discord started singing, "Let's get down to business, to defeat the Nightmares! Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons? You're the saddest bunch I ever met, but you can bet before we're through…" He grabbed Spike by the tail, facing him at eye level, "Mister, I'll make a colt, out of you…" He threw him down as he placed the guys into the stations that were their weaker areas, "Tranquil as a forest, but on fire within…" He used a torch to light an Equestrian Games ring, "Once you find your center, you are sure to win… You're a spineless, pale, pathetic lot… and you haven't got a clue… Somehow, I'll make a colt, out of you!"

Flash worked on his balance on the beam, "I'm never gonna catch my breath!"

Soarin' tried the jump rope, but he kept getting tangled in it, "Say goodbye to those who knew me!"

Cheese was at the chopping block, but he got a black eye, "Boy, was I fool in school for cutting gym!"

Luna was nearby watching the whole thing, "He's got them scared to death…"

Spike was working on his running, "Hope he doesn't fail me!"

Fancy was staring at the pool, looking frightened, "Now I really wish that I knew how to swim!"

The royal guard sang out, "Be a colt!"

"We must be swift as a coursing river…"

"Be a colt!"

"With the force of a great typhoon!"

"Be a colt!"

"With all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon! Time is racing toward us 'til the Nightmares arrive! Heed my every order and you might survive…" He saw Spike slipping up and went to him, "You're unsuited for the rage of war, so pack up, go home, you're through… How could I make a colt out of you?!"

Spike slowly walked away, but then took out AJ's hat. With a determined look, he set out to every station with a smarter way of passing them. The stallions cheered him on.

"Be a colt!"

"We must be swift as a coursing river… Be a colt! With all the force of a great typhoon… Be a colt! With all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon!"

Discord was impressed by Spike's performance and shook his claw.

All of the guys sang as they got better in their stations, "Be a colt! We must be swift as a coursing river! Be a colt! With all the force of a great typhoon! Be a colt! With all the strength of a raging fire! Mysterious as the dark side of the moon!"

"And time!" Discord stopped the stopwatch, "Well done! It is more than certain that you're ready to face battle now!"

"Hate to admit it," indicated Flash, "but if you hadn't shown us what could happen and strengthened our low points, who knows what might've happen when we're trying to save the girls?"

"But of course, and as for you, Mr. The Dragon, you've got guts and smarts. What made you come back after I was being so hard on you?"

"AJ." he took out her hat to show them, "I knew she wouldn't want me to give up, and I have to save her so I can tell her-" He covered his mouth and vaguely blushed, but the guys were giving him sly grins, knowing exactly what he was going to say.

"My boy, you have earned my respect. All of you have, for so willing to keep going for what's at stake here. So here," he snapped as glasses of chocolate milk appeared before them, "Enjoy. You deserve it."

Fancy magically lifted his glass and said, "A toast, then, to the princesses who made us each a better colt. Now we can return the favor by rescuing them from a terrible misfortune."

"To the girls…" Spike lifted his glass.

"To the girls." they all repeated and tapped their glasses together.

Cheese didn't waste a second and slurped all his down at fast pace, "Hmm, could've used some whip cream."

"Noted. I'll give a new glass when we rescue the girls."

"By the way, where do we have to go in order to save them?" asked Soarin'.

"If I'm right, which I'm pretty sure I am," Discord summoned up a tent for them to be in and had on a general uniform with the others wearing either a trooper uniform or a cadet uniform. He pulled down a huge map showing the borders of Equestria. "The princesses are on the outskirts of Equestria near Changeling Terrority. Here's the plan: pack your saddle bags! We're moving out first thing in the morning! Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" they saluted.

He saluted back, "Dismissed! And I want you all bright eye and bushy tailed. We've got a long journey ahead of us."

They nodded as he got rid of the tent and their uniforms.

All throughout the night, the guys could hardly sleep a wink, not sure what they were going to face on this mission. They felt it was partly of their fault for where the girls were at. But it was safe to say that none of them, even the princesses, saw this coming.

The next day, they woke up preparing themselves. Cheese grabbed a football helmet and a baseball bat and took out a box full of pranks, putting it in his bag. Fancy wore a hunting outfit and packed the essentials, as well as bringing some more luggage. Soarin' wore his goggles and brought along a bag he used when going between Canterlot and Cloudsdale. When telling Spitfire in absolute secrecy of what happened to the princesses, he was given the time off to go help rescue them.

Spike got a bag together on a stick with food and other odds and ends. Lastly, he put on Applejack's hat to give him the confidence and motivation he would need out in the world when traveling hundreds of miles to get to the princesses. He looked over to the wall of his room and saw a picture hanging there of him and the princesses when they were little. He was just a cute baby dragon in filly Twilight's arms as the other sisters crowded around them. Looking closely now, he could see a young Applejack reaching her arm out to him and he in turn was reaching out to her in playfulness.

He couldn't help but smile, Even then… we had an attraction… Feeling more bold than he ever been, he put the picture in his bag and ran out. Flash was packing his bag he brought with him to the castle, and then, he felt something from below the bag and took it out. He had almost forgotten he had the invisibility cloak that Zecora gave him. Then, looking back to the day he saved her, her words came back to him, "Yes, that will be needed for when things get heated…" 

He said to himself, "So that's what she meant… She knew this was going to happen! I have to bring this…" he stuffed the cloak back into the bag and set off.

They all met in the throne room where Celestia and Luna were waiting for them. Discord popped in wearing camping gear and a huge camping backpack.

"Well, what is it you wanted, Celestia? We've got a long day ahead."

"This will be quick. I offer my thanks for all of you to be doing this… But the dangers will be great. It is not too late to turn back."

They looked over to Discord and shook their heads, telling him their minds were made up.

"Sorry, Tia, but I speak for these guys when I say we will stop at nothing until your daughters are back at home."

"Thank you…" she started releasing tears, "Someday… I hope to repay you for this… It's the least I can do after trying to keep you and my girls apart… This is all their father and I could have ever wanted. Our daughters have found their true loves…"

Luna took over, "I wish we could accompany on your quest, but we cannot abandon our ponies without causing worry of a possible threat upon them and the sun and moon can't rise and set by themselves in Equestria. But we can offer you this," She took out a vessel filled with water inside and gave it to Discord, "It's from the lake of the underground kingdom. It has healing properties. Use it wisely."

"Not to fret, Lulu. We have the gift of chaos on our side and a first aid kit. We'll be fine." Discord put the small bottle in his pack.

Celestia said, "Discord, I know this will be a strange request to ask for, but when you see my darlings, tell them I'm sorry and I love them so much that I wish I never caused pain to them. I am also proud of them, despite everything's that happened… Can you do that?"

"Oh… wow…" he rubbed his neck, "Um… I'll try, but I don't think it'll be the same coming from me."

"We'll help you out." nudged Spike.

"You better." he smirked.

"Now go. There isn't any time."

They bowed before the royals and went out the door.

Luna told her sister, "I hope there'll be a happy ending…"

"As do I…" Celestia silently prayed that it would be so.

Back in Chrysalis's dungeon, Rainbow was still trying to break off her chain.

"Give it up, Rainbow!" AJ told her.

"Yes, please stop," said Rarity. "That clanging is giving me a headache!"

"Well, why hasn't Twi used her magic to get us out of this?!"

"I have been trying, but this chain is preventing me from teleporting! Watch." Her horn glowed as she tried to get out, but then the chain starting to glow green, stopping her, "See?"

Rarity slumped, "I'm afraid we're stuck here until help comes."

"I thought you said you weren't a damsel in distress?!" Rainbow pointed out.

"I'm not! But I know a hopeless situation when I see one!"

"Hopeless?!" Pinkie's mane slightly deflated.

AJ quickly said, "It's only hopeless if we make it seem that way!"

"But…" Fluttershy slowly said, "Isn't it, kind of?"

Pinkie dramatically shrieked, "We're doomed! Doomed!"

"We're not doomed yet!" Rainbow yelled out, "We're doomed when the curse is placed on us or if one of us is chosen as Blueblood's wife!" she stuttered at the thought, "Any takers?"

"Abousluty not!" cried Rarity, "I already turned down his proposal back in Canterlot, and I will gladly refuse it again."

"But what happens if he chooses you?" asked Twilight.

"He wouldn't dare!" She had fury in her eyes.

"It is possible…" said Applejack.

She gritted her teeth, fuming of the probable chance that Cousin Blueblood would choose her just to get back at her.

As they made it outside the castle and onto Canterlot's streets, Spike realized something.

"Hey, wait a second. Can't you just teleport us to the Changeling Kingdom? That would make things a lot easier!"

"I would, except teleporting takes a lot of magical energy and I would have to teleport all of you and the girls, so I rather keep that as an emergency getaway for when we get there."

"That is a good idea." agreed Flash.

"Plus, no doubt Chrissy will have some type of magical barrier detecting any magic within a block radius. And I would like to keep the element of surprise by our side."

"A most capital plan!" Fancy complimented.

"Thank you," Discord looked smug, "I try, you know."

"So we're walking?" Cheese questioned.

"You'll have to walk, but I get to fly!" Soarin' flew above them.

"Yeah, until your wings wear out, then you'll have to join us on the ground…" motioned Flash.

"Says the pegasus who can fly too, you know."

"I've been taught to only use your wings if necessary. And I would like to use my wings for when we rescue the girls. I suggest you do the same."

"Sure, whatever. Anyway, where do we go from here?"

"Hmm," Discord thought, "I would like to get a closer look at that castle in the Everfree Forest. This all started when we went there…"

"Back there?" Spike gulped.

"Yes, that castle has to do something with the princesses and I want to know why they suddenly fainted to it. There's a link we're missing."

"Follow me," spoke Flash, "I know a way we get there faster." he took the lead.

When making it to the castle ruins minutes later, they stared at it from the rope bridge. Flash took a deep breath and walked across. Luckily, he did not faint like Twilight did and crossed through. He signaled for the others to come over. Spike nervously touched the bridge with his foot and quickly ran over, bumping into the guard. Soarin' just flew straight ahead. Fancy took his time as he made it in a gentle-colt's strut. Cheese bounced up and down to them. They looked over to see that Discord was still at the other side.

"What are you waiting for?!" Soarin' called out.

"Yeah, you're the one who wanted to be here!" shouted Spike.

"Oh, relax! I'm getting there!" he started mumbling, but it was loud enough for Spike to hear, "You youngsters are so impatient these days…" Spike had to roll his eyes. Discord straightened his pack and was humming while taking his sweet time.

Soarin' slapped his face, "Just pick up the pace, would ya?!"

The spirit paid no heed as he was still humming when he made it to the edge of the bridge, "There now, see? Nothing to get you knickers in a knot!" he shouted that last word as the bridge broke and he was falling into the foggy crevice.

"Discord!" They shouted as they looked over the edge of where he fell. All of them had shocked expressions on their faces, trying to figure out what just happened.

"He's… He's… not…" Soarin' stammered.

"I… don't know…" Spike couldn't get the words out.

"But he was our only hope of saving them!" Cheese wailed.

"True, he was unsavory, but he did have a certain savoir faire to him…" said Fancy.

"It's just… so hard to believe…" Flash gawked, still looking down from where Discord fell, "…that he's gone…"

They kept their heads down until they heard snickering. They turned around to see a floating Discord laughing his head off.

"Oh, you should have seen your faces! Priceless!"

"Discord!" they yelled in anger.

"You were faking it?!" Spike stipulated.

"Well, duh! You know you can't get rid of me that easily! Although… I was quite touched that you care like that… I thought… only Fluttershy could do that…"

"Just don't let it happen again," pointed Fancy, "We are on a tight schedule, after all."

"You're so right. Enough games. We have pressing business inside." He used his magic to open the doors that were still standing. "Gentlecolts first."

The stallions gave exasperated looks and went ahead.

Inside, the castle was old and crumbling. There were different hallways going all over the place, and above the stairway were two tapestries ripped and torn.

Cheese shuttered, "Ooh, pretty creepy and eerie."

"You said it." Soarin' nodded.

Then out of nowhere, a thunderous voice filled the place, "What are you doing here?! Get out!"

The rest of the guys were intimidated and got in a huge huddle, but Discord was unfaltered and demanded, "Who are you?! Show yourselves!"

"No! It is you who must go! Leave this place and never return!"

"Not until you tell us who you are! Or we won't leave otherwise!"

"R-right!" The guys quaked.

"So, again I ask, who are you?!"

As a dark shadow, the figure moved to the top of the stairs and faced them with only his head. They stood before him with his red crooked horn and green and red glowing eyes. The boys were looking scared, but Discord just smirked and said.

"Hello… Sombra…"

> Chapter 17
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sombra?!" the guys all shouted out.

"As in King Sombra?!" Flash questioned.

"The Lost King of Equestria?!" Fancy Pants gasped.

"But… I thought… you were dead…" said a confused Spike.

"You assumed incorrect…" the king hissed.

Discord pointed out, "Besides, remember what Celestia said, Spike? He was placed with a curse. She never did say that he died."

"Wait, that's the curse?!" Cheese cried out, "That's what's going to happen to our girls if we don't stop it in time?!"

Discord bared his teeth, "That won't happen! I won't let it!"

"Girls? You mean… something has happened to my daughters?!"

"Unfortunately, yes, Sombra, ol' boy. Chrysalis has taken your daughters and we are determatied to bring them back."

"But why…? Why do you care and for that matter… how did you escape your stone prison?!"

"I'm so glad you asked that. You see, it was your daughter, Fluttershy, who had set me free. She gave me the kindness that your wife and you never gave me in the first place."

"And now… you are good because of this?" Sombra found it hard to believe.

"On my oath! For the safety of your daughter is all that matters to me now."

He was skeptical at first until he started to softly chuckle, "Fluttershy always could see the good in others, even if that being was bad…"

"Yes, she does seem to have that effect…" Discord sighed dreamily.

Then the king's face turned back to serious, "But this is distressing news. My daughters are at risk and I intend to find them…"

"So do we, Your Majesty," Flash took a step forward and bowed before him, "Your daughters mean everything to us, sire."

"And who are you, young colt?"

"Flash Sentry, my lord. I was a new guard in Canterlot when I met your daughter, Princess Twilight."

Fancy took a bow and properly introduced himself, "I am Fancy Pants, my king, and I was under the service of the Canterlot castle when I met your daughter, Princess Rarity."

"Cheese Sandwich, and I met Princess Pinkie not too long ago and made my joke shop in Canterlot just to see her."

"I'm Soarin'. I was a lowly water boy for the Wonderbolts when I first met Princess Rainbow Dash. Now, I'm one of them."

Spike finished it up with his bowing, "And I am Spike the Dragon. I was actually taken into your family as an egg by the queen and Twilight raised me. While it's true I had a thing for Rarity first, it is your daughter, Princess Applejack, who has caught my eye now and who I want to be with."

Sombra was amazed by these statements and was quite impressed with these colts, who obviously held his daughters in their hearts. It showed him that they cared for them and would stop at nothing to be with them.

"You are brave to go after them, and I thank you for that. My daughters deserve colts who are willing to do so much for them. You have my upmost respect."

"Whoa…" Spike gawked.

"Yeah, whoa…" Discord was gawking too, then shook out of the shock and asked, "So, Sombra, would you like to come with us?"

"I will go, but on my own."

"Why?" Cheese raised his brow.

"This curse is unpredictable. It takes all of my energy just to keep it under control. You could get seriously hurt if I lost that. No, it'd be best if I went ahead and meet you there."

"Whatever you thinks best." said Discord, being secretly glad he would get to keep his role as leader.

"Just tell me, how…"

"How what?" questioned Soarin'.

"How did my daughters get captured by that changeling queen? When I casted that fainting spell, I was sure they would be safe…"

"So you were the reason they fainted when they did!" Spike motioned.

"I regret to say, yes. I couldn't risk them seeing me… To see their father being a monster."

"Ugh, you and Celestia both! You push away your daughters instead of facing them with the truth! It's no wonder that you two are perfect for each other!" growled Discord, "Did you know your wife tried to get your girls in an arranged marriage?"

"She did? Well… knowing my sweet Celestia, she only did that as a last resort since I could not be freed from the curse. If our daughters were at risk to have the same thing happen to them, then she had no choice but to… If our sititutions had been reversed, I would have done the same… But anyway, what matters is getting there and stopping this…" he moved in his shadowy form, "…from happening to them! Have courage, lads, for this is one battle we cannot afford to lose…"

They nodded as his shadowy form had turned to a regular unicorn body, but his facial features remained the same. "Be gone with you and we shall rendezvous at the gateway of the changeling kingdom." he trotted off to a section of the castle while the guys headed out the door.

When the dungeon door creaked open, a couple of changelings gave prison rations to the princesses. Upon seeing the bread and water, Rarity was appalled and complained:

"Is this any way to treat royalty?!" she pushed the tray away.

"News flash! We are their prisoners!" Rainbow implied.

"Ah, but you don't have to be…"

They turned their heads in annoyance to see the royal pain, Prince Blueblood, at the door.

"So, which one of you is my lucky bride? Because if you are, you can get out of here and enjoy a feast matching our royal status… Any acceptances?"

There was nothing but dead silence with a few death glares.

"No pony? Oh, well, there's only one more day before I make the final decision and I certainly have an idea of whom I want… so think about it before it comes to that. Cheerio!" he walked out with the changelings.

Rainbow grunted, "Cheerio my-"

"Rainbow Dash! Language!" Rarity warned.

"Well, I'm sorry! But for him to- Arrgh!" she used her hind legs to punch the wall.

"What I like to know is why he's being a nasty, mean, meanie pants?!" said Pinkie, "He wasn't like this when we were little!"

"Maybe," said AJ, "But we don't know that. For all we know, he could be showing his true colors at last…"

"He must be pretty unhappy…" said Fluttershy.

"That may be true, but he's going about it all wrong." said Twilight, "He made a deal with Chrysalis that he can choose either one of us even if we refuse. Secondly, he's only using us to get closer to the throne and possibly for…" she couldn't say that last part and grimaced.

They didn't need to ask what she was getting at. The sisters also did a grimace and that made them wish they had their colts right then and there for comfort.

"Oh, Cheese… Where can you be…?" Pinkie whispered.

As a matter of fact, he and the other guys were on a road leading out of Pony-Ville. Cheese opened his mouth and said, "Are we there yet?"

"No." replied Discord.

"Are we there yet?" he asked again.

"No." responded Fancy Pants.

"Are we there yet?" he repeated.

"No." countered Spike.

"Are we there yet?"

"NO!" they all ended up saying.

"Sheesh, Cheese! Any pony can see we're not there yet!" retorted Soarin'.

"Sorry… but it's just so boring! No talking, no travel games, no sing-alongs!" Suddenly, his face lit up, "Oh, but I can fix that!" he took out a banjo and started playing it.

Flash gaped, "Tell me he's not…"

"Sing a song, yes, a travel song…"

Spike heaved a sigh, "He is…"

"When you gotta go somewhere… 'Cause the fun is getting there! Yeah! Oh, what the hay, I must confess, I love a road trip! Sing a song! Hit the trail! Forget the maps, forget the guides! Before ya know it, you've made strides with me! And I know- all I need- all along, is a path-and a pal-and a song! So I'm singin' and I'm pallin' with you! See? Makes the time go by faster!"

Fancy sang out, "Why me…? Why me…?"

Cheese said while taking in the scenery, "This is nice."

"Tell me what was my crime…" Soarin' sang.

"We are strolling!"

Discord sang in a near whisper, "As chatty as a parrot, more annoying than a mime…"

"Hey, look! A cat who's wearing boots! You don't see that every day!"

Spike sang out, "Why me? Why me? A simple answer would be fine…"

Cheese jumped around them, "This is good cardio!"

"Won't someone please send me a sign?" sang Flash.

"Hey, a sign! Yunita Pal Avenue straight ahead!"

Discord resumed singing, "What did I do to deserve this? Honestly… This pony here is imprudent!"

All of them, minus Cheese, sang, "Why me?!"

"Oh, man, what could be better than this?!"

"Why me? Why me? A simple answer would be fine! Won't somebody please send me a sign?!"

"Sing a song! Hit the road! It's the way to get around! Before ya know it, you've gained ground with me!"

"What did I do to deserve this? Honestly…"

"And I know all I need all along is a path and a pal and a song!"

"This pony here is imprudent…"

"So, I'm singin' and I'm pallin' with youuuuuu!" he finished the cord and took a show bow.

"You done now?" Discord asked impatiently.

"Yup! Unless you wanted me to sing another song. Ooh! I could!" he took a gulp of air, but was suddenly tackled by Soarin'.

"That…won't be necessary…" the Wonderbolt slowly got off of him.

He pouted, "Aw, you guys are no fun!"

"Oh, don't talk to me about fun!" Discord went in his face, "I invented fun! What you're doing is plain annoying!"

"Easy…" Flash said, being the voice of reason, "We don't want to lose our heads. Remember why we're doing this… for the princesses…"

"He's right," nodded Fancy, "This whole trip is to find them and save them from a most awful curse… After seeing it on the king, I feared the worst for my poor Rarity…"

Both Discord and Cheese had a look of sorrow, knowing they were right.

I certainly can't let Fluttershy feel like she'd be a monster… I know how that feels, after all… I can't let that happen to her!

I know Pinkie would want me to keep smiles up since she's not here to do it… I swear on camaberry that I will keep on smiling even if I'm not in a cheery mood after all and that I'm traveling with these grumpy gussies…

Spike moved forward, "Come on, then. Let's keep going!"

They just kept on moving.

After some time later, they took a break near Froggy Bottom Bog for a picnic lunch. Spike was passing a garden salad and looked up to Discord, saying, "Would you like some?"

"That's generous of you, Spike, but I'm good." he snapped as a bowl of parchment appeared in his hand and he took a fork and began smacking.

The steeds looked up in bewilderment and Soarin' asked with a raised eyebrow, "Is that… paper?"

"What?" Discord said with his mouth full, "It's good." he gulped it down.

They could only shake their heads and continued to eat their packed lunches, though Fancy Pants had a tea set before him and magically poured another cup of tea to sip. When they were done eating, Discord yawned and stretched out, "I'm going to take a quick nap before we head out. I'm not used to all this walking around, after all."

He floated between two trees and stretched himself out like a hammock by using his arms to hold on to one tree and holding the other tree's branch with his tail. He yawned again and fell asleep.

"Well, I suppose some pony has to clean all this up…" Fancy pointed out and began to magically throw away empty wrappers, pack the dishes in the basket, and fold the blanket.

"Sure you don't want help?" Flash questioned.

"I've got this." he kept using his magic to concentrate on the mess.

"Okay… The rest of us will go get some supplies."

"Why?" Soarin' motioned, "We all know that Discord could do that."

"Yes, but remember what he said about teleporting? It takes a lot of his magical energy, and frankly, I rather he was rested up for when we get there on what we'll have to face. Even Queen Celestia and King Sombra couldn't stop this curse from happening or get rid of it! We're going to need every bit of Discord's magic to get through this… so in the meantime, it'd be best we fend for ourselves so he can use his magic when the time comes."

"I guess you're right." said Spike.

"This way." Flash took to a sector of woods, with Spike, Soarin', and Cheese following close behind.

The bog bubbled in its brown sticky substance. Cheese was hopping from stone to stone while the bubbles popped. He found himself wishing that Pinkie was there with him so they could have fun together with the bubbles.

Soarin' was flying from tree to tree before declaring, "I'm not seeing anything we can use for eats or anything useful that might help us."

Flash bit his lip in thought, "Hmm… Spike? Find anything?"

"Nothing so far…" the dragon pointed out.

"Looks like this was a waste of time!" Soarin' came down, unaware that something was moving in the bog… "I say we head back and keep on going until nightfall."

"I vote for that." Spike nodded.

"Me, too." agreed Cheese.

"Alright… at least it was worth a try," Flash said as a stench filled the air, "That we…" he coughed, "…we were looking!" he started coughing more, "What is that smell?!" But he saw the three of them gripping with fear, "What? What is it?"

"L-look, b-behind you-u…" Spike was quivering.

Flash did a quick turn around and saw above him a four headed fifty-foot hydra! He slowly backed away while asking, "Cheese, what would you call that thing?!"

"Two words… AMSCRAY!" he screamed and made a run for it, with the others yelling and running right behind him.

Soarin' realized something and screeched to a halt, "Wait… why am I running? I got wings!" he flapped up and zipped through the air.

Flash took notice and thought, Oh, what the hay… he opened his own wings and began to fly.

Cheese and Spike were still running until the brown sticky stuff caught hold of them and they got stuck. The hydra was coming closer to them and the guys shouted out, "HELP!"

The pegasi heard them and grabbed them up just in time as one of the hydra's heads tried to eat them. Soarin' had grabbed Cheese Sandwich by the fore arms and Flash had Spike on his back. The hydra reached its necks out to get them into their mouths.

"Incoming!" Cheese pointed to an open mouth and Soarin' dodged it.

"Nice save!" the Wonderbolt praised the party pony.

"No problem!" grinned Cheese.

"There's got to be some way to stop this thing!" Flash yelled out, "Spike! See if you can find something that can help us!"

"On it!" Spike saluted and used his claws like binoculars and scouted out the terrain from above. By then, he saw tree branches full of vines. "There! Those vines!"

"Good work!" He turned to the light blue pegasus in midair, "Soarin'! We need to fly down there and grab those vines! Then we can wrap it around the creature!"

"We got it!" Soarin' swooped down with Cheese for him to grab one half of the vines as Flash did the same with Spike, grabbing the other half of vines.

With vines in hoof, the pegasi, with their flying partners, wrapped the vines from top to bottom of the hydra. The hydra started to lose its balance and began falling.

> Chapter 18
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a huge thump from where the hydra landed and from that thump, Fancy Pants felt it and so did Discord as he got knocked out from his comfort spot.

"What in the…?!" he looked over to Fancy, who could only shrug at him. Then, they heard cheering in the distance and it became louder as two pegasi landed down with a dragon and earth pony.

"Did you see the way it just…boom!" Soarin' laughed.

"And that it waggled after it couldn't get up!" chuckled Cheese.

"I still can't believe we did that!" Spike jumped off Flash, "The way we wrapped those vines around him! It was just… Wow!"

"Believe it, we beat a giant monster from eating us!"

Discord cleared his throat to get their attention, "And pray tell, what was this monster that tried to eat you?"

After a bit of heroic storytelling, Discord concluded, "Well, from the sound of it, you boys just encountered a hydra."

"Hydra?!" all four said.

"But those things aren't supposed to exist!" pointed Flash.

"Oh, they're very real and I'm sure your marefriend has read several on the subject, but you did alright on your own."

"Well… I couldn't have done it without Spike."

"Aw, gee… I just did what you told me to do and besides, you saved my life! So, things might have worked out differently if you didn't…"

"By the way," Cheese faced Soarin', "Thanks for saving my life!"

"Hey, it's no biggie. That's what Wonderbolts and…" he rubbed his neck, "…friends do…"

Cheese's grin widened and asked, "We're… friends?"

"Sure, I mean, our girls are sisters, after all. So if anything's going to happen, we might as well be."

"Oh, my gosh! That didn't occur to me! We're going to be related if we marry the princesses!" his grin spread further at the thought.

"Whoa, there!" Flash came up to him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. I've only known Twilight for a couple of weeks! Just because I have strong feelings for her doesn't mean she feels the same way about me!"

"I beg to differ!" Discord put his hands on the stallion's shoulders, "But I've seen the way she looks at you! She like, likes you!"

He blushes, "You… you really think so?"

The other guys nodded their heads.

With a determined look across his face, Flash trotted ahead, "We better go or else we'll never get there!"

Fancy whispered, "Or most likely, he wants to get there to see if it was true…"

"Nevertheless," gestured Discord, "we need to go, now…"

They traveled the rest of afternoon. From a distance, they saw the queen's sun lowering. The guys were slowly losing their energy. Spike's eyes were drooping and Soarin' was lowering to the ground as his wings were not able to carry him much longer. Fancy and Cheese's hooves were hurting and Discord and Flash, while still having a look of earnest, were getting bags under their eyes.

Spike couldn't keep up much longer and eventually fell from exhaustion.

Cheese looked back to see Spike's condition, "Uh oh. Dragon down…" he picked him up to put him on his back.

"Maybe…" Soarin' yawned, "We should stop here for the night. We gotta be close by now, aren't we?"

"I'm going to have to agree. We must be almost there." said Fancy.

"Yeah, almost, but not enough…" Discord grumbled.

"Come on, Discord. You know we can't keep this up…" Flash said, "We need to rest. Even you…"

Discord looked down at his tired company. He couldn't deny it: Flash spoke the truth, and even he needed his beauty sleep to keep his magical energy up. He thought, Just hang in there, Fluttershy… I promise I'll be there as soon as I can… One more day; that's all it's going to take and you'll be back in my arms before you know it… He turned back to them, "Alright… we'll stop, but I want to be back on the road first thing in the morning! We'll just eat breakfast on the go."

"Deal…" the colts said while Spike snored away.

They had finished up setting up camp right as Luna was raising the moon and the night sky had set in. Spike had woken up just in time for Discord to be cooking dinner on a campfire. After a delicious meal, Cheese took out a flashlight and put the light over his face looking creepy.

"You know what this needs…?" he asked in an eerie tone.

"No, Cheese," Discord said in an exasperated voice, knowing exactly what he was getting at, "What does this dull camp site need?"

Doing a whooshing sound, he jumped on the log, "Ghost stories!"

Spike yelped, ducking for cover, "Ther-there won't be any zombies in it, will there?"

"Nah-ah, you're thinking zombie stories! These are true-to-form, honest-to-truth, full ghost stories! So help me, Celestia!"

"Ooh!" Soarin' motioned, "Tell the one about the Olden Pony! That one's my favorite!" Then, he used a hag's voice, "'Who's got my rusty horseshoe?!'" he made a poor evil laugh.

"Wonderful," Discord started crawling into his tent, "you guys go do that and have your little fun, but I'm going to catch some shut-eye, so keep it down or else!"

"Aw, come on, Discord!" Cheese complained, "Join us!"

"No…" he stretched it out, "Thank you…"

"Ah, it's one of those onion things, isn't it?"

The rest of guys looked at him as if he was crazy. They had no idea what he just said.

"What? No! It's one of those 'drop it and leave it alone' things!"

"I know! Let's play a game instead! Everyone, if you want to be something else, what would you pick?"

"What kind of stupid game is that?!" Discord asked in irritation.

"I'll go first to give an example," he cleared his throat, "I would be a superstar like Colt Eastwood!" He put on sunglasses for emphasis.

Discord smacked the pony's face and pulled the glasses away from him, "That's nice… now let's move on to other things, like getting some sleep!"

"What is your deal, dude?" Soarin' signified.

"Yeah, you're not being your usual cheery, bothersome self!" Spike pointed out, "What gives?"

"Nothing! So let's just leave it at that!"

"I think… he's hiding something." Fancy motioned.

That tore it for Discord as he shouted out, "Hiding? Hiding?! Hiding something?! Oh ho, that's an understatement! Of course Discord, the spirit of disharmony and deception, would be hiding something! That's what he is! That's all he'll ever be!" his face was red as he was panting from his rant.

The others looked on in shock and surprise.

He turned away from them, "But why am I telling you this…? You wouldn't understand… no pony ever does… except… for her…" his eyes were big and welling with tears.

They didn't need to ask who 'her' was. Spike went up to him and touched his claw, "That's where you're wrong. I should know…"

Discord did a small scoff, saying under his breath, "Sure, you do…"

"But I do. I'm an orphan. I never knew who my real parents were. I was raised by ponies with no one of my kind to play with… I was different from them. Then, when I learned about the species that I was, I found out I was a midget compared to my dragon brethren. A noble race, and I was nothing like those giants… Sure, I had the girls to keep me happy, but… Still, I wish I could be more than what I was… an outsider…"

Fancy spoke up then, "I grew up in the lower parts of Canterlot, and my family was always looked down by snobs who thought they were better than us… Just because we didn't have power like them didn't mean they were superior to us… I set out to prove them wrong and earned my spot in the royal castle. But even there, I was still looked down upon…"

Soarin' took his turn, "I was teased in school whenever I pretended to be something I was not. I knew then I wanted to be a Wonderbolt for real and set out to work as a water boy. Sure it stank, but at least I got my chance and became what I wanted to be. But remembering the low part of life, I have to make sure I stay on top to never go back…"

Cheese lowered his head, "As a young colt, I was always shy, never got around much and to fitting in not like today. But when I came to Canterlot one fateful day, I saw Pinkie hosting a party. That day, I knew who I was and what I wanted to do. I hoped to impress her, which eventually, I did. But when that proclamation came out, I knew I wouldn't be able to be more than a joke to a princess like her…"

Flash sighed, "I had to work all my life… My father and mother were barely making ends as it was… I wanted to get out of that and showed I could do more. I enrolled into the royal guard and set into training. When I met Twilight, I finally felt my dreams were coming true, only for it to be taken away when I found out she was the princess, knowing I didn't stand a chance with her…" he took a deep breath and proclaimed, "But she proved me wrong… She saw me as more than a guard… Just like Pinkie saw more than a joke, Cheese. Or how Rainbow saw more than a Wonderbolt, Soarin'. And I don't think Rarity ever saw you as a butler, Fancy. Applejack would never see you as an outsider, Spike, but as a companion and loyal friend. As for you, Discord… Fluttershy really knew what she was doing when she set you free from stone… She must've somehow known that by setting you free, she would gain a future with you…"

There was a calm among them until Discord did a soft chuckle, "You, Sir Sentry, are wise beyond your years. What you say makes sense… So… I guess now, you'll want my backstory since you all told yours."

"You don't have to." said Spike.

"Oh, but I better or else we wouldn't," He made air quotes, "…'properly bond'. And the funny thing is, it's similar to all your stories. I knew my parents, but only for a short time as huge blizzard came and I lost them… I traveled to the ends of Equestria and found out I wasn't like any of the other creatures that lived there and was treated differently. That's all they ever saw in me: a threat, a monster, a fiend… since no pony appreciated my gifts for chaos. So if ponies were going to think I was a villain, might as well be one… Sombra and Celestia were married by the time I was causing trouble and knew a spell to imprison me. Without a second thought, I was nothing more than a statue being put on display…" he did a small laugh, "So, which one of us has the more tragic story?"

"I say it's a six-way tie." gestured Cheese.

"For once, you're making sense." smiled Soarin'.

Flash said, "You can go sleep now. We won't disturb you."

"Are you kidding?! You can't go to sleep without smores in your belly!" he popped a bag of marshmallows, chocolate bars, and crackers.

"Now you're talking!" Cheese jumped, grabbing a lot of the s'more ingredients and took out a stick for the marshmallows, putting it over the fire.

Spike put his marshmallow on a stick and blew fire to make the mallow all mushy. After a while of eating the treats, he took out the picture he brought with him and said to them, "Think they're okay?"

They looked over to see his picture.

"I'm sure they are…" said Fancy, "Rarity is tougher than she lets on…"

"So is Pinkie…" motioned Cheese.

"Hey, Rainbow doesn't let anything get to her, not even being kidnapped by some creepy crawlies!"

"Twilight is smart and brave. She's fine, I'm sure of it…"

"Fluttershy may look scared, but deep down, she's the bravest pony in Equestria…"

"And Applejack won't be pushed around by some evil queen… She always puts her family's safety before her own…" he embraced the picture frame.

Flash yawned, "Maybe we better get to sleep now, so we can get there at last to see them."

"My thoughts exactly." Fancy moved to his tent.

The others had gone into their tents, saying their good nights, but Cheese stood by the dying fire.

"Pinkie… please be okay…" He looked up to the night sky and found a bright star.

In the dark dungeon, Pinkie stood close to a wall that had a small barred window above her and the girls. She could see her Aunt Luna's clear night sky and saw a star shining brighter than the others. She began singing.

"Somewhere out there… beneath the pale moonlight… Someone's thinking of me and loving me tonight…"

Cheese sang out, "Somewhere out there… Someone's saying a prayer… That we'll find one another… in that big somewhere out there…"

In their tents, the guys couldn't sleep and felt restless as they thought of their girls.

Fancy sang, "And even though I know how very far apart we are… It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star…"

At the same time, the girls were thinking about them, as well. Rarity vocalized, "And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby… It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!"

All of them sang out, "Somewhere out there!"

Fluttershy sang, "If love can see us through!"

Discord sang, "Love can see us through!"

Rainbow took to singing, "Then we'll be together…"

Soarin' sang, "Together…"

Both pegasi sang, "Somewhere out there… out where dreams come… true…

Flash walked out of his tent and found a lake, seeing the moon's reflection on it, "And even I know how very far apart we are… It helps to think we might be wishing on the same bright star…"

Twilight looked up to the dungeon window, "And when the night wind starts to sing a lonesome lullaby… It helps to think we're sleeping underneath the same big sky!"

They all sang again, "Somewhere out there!"

Applejack sang out, "If love can see us through!"

Spike sang, "Love can see us through!"

All of them finished, "Then we'll be together! Somewhere out there… Out where dreams come… true…"

> Chapter 19
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chrysalis and Blueblood were in her throne room of the dark castle that was at the center of the Changeling Kingdom. The day was just about to arrive for the princesses to make their choice.

"It makes sense to marry the heir!" Chrysalis argued.

"If Twilight is the one who volunteers, then yes. But if not, then I shall take the bride that holds my interest and won't give me a hard time."

"But if you marry the Princess Twilight, then that guarantees your spot for the throne and I'll be free to take all of Equestria!"

"Tempting to be sure, but Twilight never did appeal to me. She's alright looking, but a few of her sisters are knock-outs!"

"Ugh. Stallions… But it goes to show that I'm right when it comes to taking places of other mares; the colt just cares about a pretty face and doesn't bother to check to make sure it's really their marefriend! So, are you going to go to them this morning?"

"I shall give them until sunset to make the decision, being the gentlecolt that I am. It doesn't matter to me; I get a bride either way. Although, I hope none of them take up the offer unless, of course, the one I want volunteers, then I'll be satisfied anyway!"

"Just out of curiousey… who did you choose?"

He smirked before answering the question.

From the little dungeon window, the princesses could see their mother's sun raising. It was officially the last day, the day that the curse would be fulfilled and Blueblood would get his wife willingly or not.

"This is it, girls," said Twilight, "Today is the day they give us our ultimatum. If any of you want to escape the curse and marry Blueblood, I wouldn't hold it against you. None of us would…"

The sisters nodded at each other.

"So… does any pony want to?"

They exchanged glances, not saying anything.

"I take it then we're waiting until he actually gets here and then you'll be more voluntarily to say…?"

"I think you're right, Twi," said Applejack. "None of us want to admit that we're going to marry Blueblood without the rest of us thinking otherwise…"

"Until he does show up, let's talk about something else…" Rarity suggested.

"About what?" questioned Rainbow, "The curse? And what that's like?"

"Oh…" Fluttershy crouched down, "I wish Discord was here…"

"I wish Cheese was here!" Pinkie crouched, too.

"I wish Soarin' would get here already! Why haven't they come get us yet?!"

"Maybe Mother told them it would be too dangerous for them to come…" Twilight thought out loud.

"What?!" Fluttershy shouted, "I don't believe that for one second! Discord won't stop at nothing to bring me back! Doesn't it strike you girls as odd that he or any of them aren't here yet? Because he has a plan! And he's using Spike and the others to help out!"

"You know…" AJ pondered, "She's right! That being full of chaos has the power to appear and disappear at will! He could have been here days ago, but he must know something that's preventing him from doing so! And knowing Spike, he wanted to come along and so did the rest of them. They're doing a sneak attack on Queenie to set us free!"

"Oh, I do hope so!" Rarity rejoiced.

"Sweet! No curse and no Blueblood for us!" Rainbow flapped up.

"Well, that's assuming they get here in time…" Twilight informed them.

"Aw, don't be such a downer, Twilight!" said Pinkie, "I know they'll be here today just before the sun sets!"

"I hope you're right… I really hope you're right…" she looked up to the window, praying with all her heart that this dawn would be a new beginning for them and a sign to her that she would be able to see Flash again very soon.

The guys had finally made it to the kingdom of changelings and found a secluded area overlooking the place and the scary-looking castle.

"What do you see?" Flash asked Discord as he was looking into a pair of binoculars.

"Changeling guards. Lots and lots of changeling guards…"

"Then, how we going to get inside?" Spike questioned with worry.

"Wait, I know!" Flash scurried through his bag and took out the cloak, showing it to them.

They were confused and Soarin' asked, "A blanket? Your way in is though a blanket?"

"Ugh, it's not a blanket! It's a cloak."

"So…?" Fancy said, "What does it do?"

He smirked, "I'll show you." He put it over his head and instantly became invisible, causing the rest of the guys to gawk.

"Hey, where did he go?!" motioned Cheese.

Flash took it off to show himself, explaining, "Zecora gave this to me when I saved her from the Timberwolf. She told me I was going to need this when things got heated and this is as heated as they come."

Discord extended his hand out, asking, "May I?"

He handed the cloak over to him as Discord examined it, "Hmm, tightly stitched fabric… holding a magical portion of invisibility when in contact of the wearer… machine washable…" he put it around his neck, "And quite comfortable, too." He gives it back to Flash and remarked, "You certainly got a good deal out of saving lives, didn't you?"

"So, do you think it could work?" He looked over to the castle and its many posted guards around it.

"It'll more than work! We now have a way to get them out before lunchtime! So, here's how we're going to do this…" Discord put them into a huddle, whispering his plan.

Flash, wearing the cloak, quietly made his way up to the guards in front of the doors. He made sure he knocked them out and gave out the bird whistle signal for Spike and Soarin' to come to him.

Flash whispered from under his cloak, "Remember, we meet back here in half an hour to see if either one of us find the princesses…"

"Right." both dragon and pegasus said as they opened the front doors and each took a separate hallway in the strange castle.

Cheese looked over to Discord, "While they're inside, what do we do?"

"Just hold your horses. Oh, get it? Hold your horses? Eh?"

"I fail to see how this is the time for, ugh, puns…" pointed Fancy.

"Ah, yes, right… Must keep to the mission at hand! Anyway, Cheese, we wait to make sure they know where the girls are, and once they do… They'll come back here and tell us. From there, we grab the princesses and get the heck out of here! Now, is that more clear to you in that puny pony brain of yours?"

"Okie-dokie!" he went back to watch the castle as lookout.

Discord could only sigh in displeasure.

Spike tip-toed around the dark corners of the creepy hallways. He always made sure the coast was clear before continuing on. He looked back to make sure he didn't get spotted and he faced the front again, only to be startled by a stone gargoyle. Once he took a closer look, relief washed over him and he pressed forward on his assignment.

Soarin' was flying in the rafters of the castle ceiling. Suddenly, he heard voices coming from a room and took a peek to listen in.

"…The day is almost over, Blueblood."

Soarin' whispered, "Blueblood?" He kept listening.

"Soon, you shall have your bride and I shall have Equestria!"

"I must admit, Your Highness, at first I wasn't so keen to join you, but you when you offered that chance for me to have one of my cousins. After all, how could I refuse?"

"Indeed… You are an excellent traitor to your country."

"Traitor is such a strong word. I like to think of myself as gaining what I want as always."

"But of course you do; you are a prince. As am I a queen, we deserve the things that we can possess!"

"As is fitting."

They laughed evilly.

"That turncoat!" Soarin' said under his breath, "We've got to find the girls and fast!" He flapped away, unaware of what Chrysalis said next.

"Perfect…"

"What's perfect?"

"Your competition is here, but don't worry. They'll soon be taken care of and you'll be free to have your wife…" She gave off a menacing look, "And I will be able to put the curse on all of them!" She laughed more evilly, making Blueblood scared.

Flash got to the lower parts of the castle and trotted down the steps. He found a single door down there and thought, I hope this is it… He opened the door as it creaked. He heard a voice he recognized all too well.

"Hello? Is anybody there?"

He walked in with the cloak still on him, and through the fabric, he could see them. They were all there. He smiled at the sight that set his heart to soar.

"That's weird. The door just opened by itself." said Applejack.

"Ooh, do you think there are ghosts in this castle?" Pinkie used an eerie tone.

"Ghosts?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Of course there aren't any ghosts!" Rainbow said, "It was just the wind."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Flash spoke up.

The girls stiffed at the sound until Twilight stammered, "Wha… What or who are you?"

He took off the cloak and all of them shouted with joy, "Flash!"

"Oh, my gosh!" Twilight had near tears in her eyes, "Is it really you?!"

Flash moved to her, smiling, "It is…" He took her hoof, but then she wrapped both of her hooves around him, embracing him in a tight hug.

"I missed you so much…" she told him.

"I missed you, too…" he confessed.

"Flash," said Rarity, "if you're here, does this mean…" Hope then swelled in her heart.

He turned to them, grinning widely, "Yes, we're all here: Discord, Cheese, Soarin', Fancy, and Spike. We've come to get you out of here and bring you home!"

There were cheers before Flash had to shush them.

"Sorry…" Pinkie whispered.

"Well, it was about time!" Rainbow mentioned, "What took you guys so long?"

"We… had a few obstacles to encounter, but that doesn't matter. We're here now and not a moment too soon…" he looked at the shackles around their necks and reached out for Twilight's, "Here, let me get you out of those." he touched it, but an electrical shock went through him, causing him to be flung back.

"Flash!" Twilight cried out, "Are you okay?!"

He grunted as he got up, slightly smoking, "I'm a little burnt like toast, but otherwise okay."

"Burnt like toast?" Fluttershy questioned, "That's something Discord would say."

"He must be rubbing off of me, then. He has a tendency of doing that, you know…"

She blushed, "Do I ever…" Then, a thought crossed her mind, "Is he okay? Where is he?"

"Yeah, and where's Soarin'?"

"And Cheese?"

"And Fancy Pants?"

"And Spike? Is he okay?"

"Don't worry, they're all okay. Discord, Cheese and Fancy are waiting outside for me, Spike, and Soarin' to give our report about finding you guys."

"Then go to them. Maybe Discord can do something about these chains." Twilight motioned.

"Right…" he stared at her before turning to go, but stopped when she asked.

"Quick question, though: where did you get the invisibility cloak? I've read about them, but I didn't think I would be able to see one!"

"Zecora gave it to me when I saved her from the Timberwolf. She even told me that I was going to need it later and boy, was she ever right."

"That's great! Oh, Flash, I'm so proud of you…"

"Anything… for you…"

"Awww…" the girls awed.

With a look of fortitude, he went to the door and told them, "I'll be back, and with the others. It won't be long now."

"I certainly hope not." said Rarity, "I want to see my Fancy…"

"And I want my Cheesy…"

He chuckled, "Believe me, they'll want to see you, too…" he looked back to Twilight, "And I will always come back to you…" he blew a kiss and put on the cloak before quickly going out the door.

Twilight could only swoon while her sisters smirked at her.

Spike and Soarin' were already at the front doors with Spike asking, "Did you find them?"

"No, but I do have bad news…"

"What?"

"I'll tell you when we're all together."

Spike looked around, "Where's Flash?"

"Right here." said a voice.

Spike jumped when Flash pulled off the cloak, "Geez! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry about that, but I have great news: I found them!"

"You did?!" Both of them said and started asking random questions.

"Easy! I'll tell you everything as soon as we meet back with the others."

They nodded and rushed back to the area where the other guys were waiting impatiently.

"Well…?" Fancy gestured.

"They're in the dungeon." spoke Flash.

"What?!" the rest gasped.

"And they have chains that keeps them from escaping. I tried getting one off, but I was electrocuted!"

"That explains your hair being more frizzy than usual." Cheese pointed out.

"And that's not all," said Soarin', "Blueblood's here working for the queen!"

"Blueblood?!" all of them said again.

"And he's trying to marry one of them!"

"SAY WHAT?!" they all growled.

"Not if I can help it!" Fancy started charging towards the castle, but was grabbed by the tail by Discord.

"Whoa there! Since when are you usually the stallion that barges in without a plan?"

"Where Blueblood is concerned, I have to help my Rarity before it's too late!"

"And we will! Flash, show us the way." Discord said.

The pegasus nodded and galloped ahead.

The girls were getting anxious in their cell, waiting for the moment they would be reunited with their special someponies.

"Shouldn't he been back by now?" questioned Rainbow.

"Oh, I hope they weren't captured!" said Fluttershy.

"It's going to be okay, you'll see…" Applejack said.

"These last few days have been awful for all of us. Oh, I can't wait to be back in Fancy's arms!"

"I'm going to hug and squeeze my Cheesy! Because that's how much I missed him!"

"Wait…" Twilight ears perked up, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Rarity asked.

"That!" This time, there was a huge clank outside the door.

Rainbow got in defense mode, "I heard it…"

Fluttershy whimpered as the sound got louder, and the other girls were on guard bracing for the impact.

The door clicked open and showed no pony was there. Suddenly, their chains were taken off, but then, out of the corner of the door, a pony popped up.

"Cheese!" Pinkie squealed with delight.

"Pinkie!" Cheese rushed to her and the two squeezed the life out of each other.

"But where's…" Rarity started, but she felt a tap on her shoulder. She saw him smiling at her and embraced him as he kissed her forehead, having their horns touch in love.

Rainbow was happy for her sisters, but she began to wonder about her own colt. Suddenly, her eyes were covered by hooves while a voice said, "Guess who?"

"Heh, cut the act. I know it's you, Soarin'…" she grabbed hold of him and kissed him full on the lips.

Fluttershy was starting to worry, but the next thing she knew, she was grabbed up by a pair of familiar strong arms holding on to her. She, in turn, held his neck very strongly while crying tears of elation in his fur.

She whispered, "I knew you would come…"

He, too, was crying in her mane, "Nothing could stop from being with you…"

Applejack was suddenly tackled by a purple blur. She looked at her back to see who it was. She smiled happily, "I figured you weren't far behind…"

"And I believe this belongs to you…" He took out her hat and when she sat up, he put it on her.

"You… you kept it? All this time?"

"It was the only thing that helped me through so I could see you again…"

She took hold of him and hugged him closely. He, in turn, hugged her tightly.

Twilight was getting confused. Already, her sisters had their beloveds, but hers was nowhere to be seen. Then it struck her and she smirked, "You can take off the cloak, Flash…"

On command, he revealed himself to her, smirking back, "I was wondering if you were going to notice…"

"Just get over here."

He walked over to her and the next thing he knew, he got a kiss on the cheek! He went red in the face.

After a few sweet moments of the lovers reuniting, Discord said, "As much as I love to stay here in enjoy this moment some more, we've got to get you girls out of here!"

"No kidding!" Rainbow flew to the door, "I don't plan on sticking around anymore!" Soarin' flew after her.

"Wait for us!" both Cheese and Pinkie said as they dashed out of there.

The others didn't waste a minute as they followed after the leaders.

The large group of twelve was careful as they made it into the hallways. The boys showed the girls the way to the entrance and it was within their sights. They were almost there; freedom was within their grasps. But as they made it to the opened doors, it shut on them just as they were about to get out.

A loud cackle filled the air as they turned back in terror to see the Changeling Queen floating above them with a majority of changelings by her side. She said to them with an evil grin, "Did you honestly think it would be that easy…?"

> Chapter 20
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The princesses and the guys were caught between a rock and a hard place. The queen had just stopped them from escaping her castle walls.

Chrysalis laughed evilly again, "Now where are you all going? The party is just beginning!"

"What party?!" both party ponies said.

"I don't remember being asked to do a party at the evil queen's dark castle, did you?" Pinkie said to Cheese.

"Nope. I was never given a request to make one here."

"Silence!" the queen shouted at them, and then cleared her throat, "Since you have forced yourselves into this mess, I have no choice but to cast the curse on each and every one of you…"

"I don't think so, Chrissy!" Discord yelled, "You have forgotten me in the mix!"

"Oh, Discord, darling. I know very well for a fact that you're a threat to my plans. The others are nuisances, but you are the very being that could cause my downfall!" she chuckled, "But luckily… I know your weakness…" she pointed straight at Fluttershy, "Her!"

Fluttershy yelped as she kept behind Discord, and he made sure she stayed closed to him while threatening in a low tone to the queen, "If you harm her in anyway… so help me… I will make your life so miserable that you'll wish you were nothing more than a tiny insect!"

"Oh, I'm not worried… in fact, this all works out for the best. I am made sure that one of my greatest enemies is out of the way and your sweet princess will not be a victim of my curse…"

"What?" Discord said in confusion.

"Yeah, what?" Rainbow questioned.

"I know someone who can explain this better. Oh, Blueblood!"

Blueblood walked in and flipped his mane to strike a handsome pose, which actually caused the girls to nearly gag and the guys to give hate glances. "Indeed. You see, dear cousins, as much as I would have been touched by a volunteer, I did have my eye on a couple of you… Most of you are rare beauties, but too tough for my taste. Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack would have been too strong-willed for me. Pinkie would have been too wild to control. And as for Twilight, as much as she is the heir, she isn't all that beautiful…"

"You take that back!" Flash cried out, "She is a beautiful mare! Just because you can't see it-"

"Quiet!" Chrysalis ordered, "He wasn't finished…"

"Thank you. As I was saying, the only one who can take direction and is the most gorgeous pony next to me… is you, dear Fluttershy…" he moved towards her, but quickly moved back when Discord made a lion's growl and showed a fearsome face while protecting his love.

"Now, now, Discord. This is the best offer you and she can get! In order for her to be free from the curse and for you to be out of the way, she would marry Blueblood. So… what's it going to be…?"

The couple looked at each other in uncertainty, and then Fluttershy whispered, "I'll take the curse…"

"What? No! Fluttershy!" he objected.

"I can't marry him!"

"I know that… but you'll be safe…"

"No, I won't! He's a monster!"

"You got that right!" Rainbow whispered in.

"Why, compared to you, Discord," pointed out Rarity, "you're the handsome prince!"

"Rarity… that's so sweet of you…" he truly felt touched by the comment.

"Well, it's the truth. I see now what my sister saw in you all along…"

"Ditto." Rainbow agreed.

"Same goes for me." said Applejack.

"I must concur." said Twilight.

"Uh-ah!" Pinkie cheered.

Fluttershy nearly cried in happiness; they accepted him. They finally accepted him… Discord found himself nearly crying as well, but kept it in knowing there was still a villain watching them.

"We're waiting!" Chrysalis spouted out.

They turned back to face her, with the both of them saying, "No…"

"Aw, well, so much for diplomacy… Nightmares! Come forth!"

On cue, the shadowy figures appeared all over the place and even ambushed the ponies from behind, grabbing them or overwhelming them. One Nightmare managed to grab Fluttershy and she gave out a shriek as she was taken to Blueblood.

"NOOO!" Discord screamed in rage as he tried to reach out for her, but he was overwhelmed by more Nightmares.

Rainbow and Soarin' fought them off and so did Applejack and Twilight and Flash. Fancy and Rarity were blasting their horns, but was making little impact. Cheese and Pinkie were wiggling in the Nightmares' grasp, trying to tickle them to loosen their grip.

A changeling asked the queen, "Shall we join in?"

"No, let the Nightmares handle it. They'll see to it that the prisoners are kept captured. As for you, Princey, you best take your bride and get out of here!"

"Naturally, I don't want to be around when the beast comes to…" he moved a tied-up and gagged Fluttershy onto his back.

She screamed in her gag, but it was useless as the screams were muffled and no pony could hear them except…

Discord may have been piled on by second rate magical beings, but his super hearing picked up the muffled screams and recognized whose they were. His pupils shrank as his heart was pounding furiously. He bared his teeth and felt a strange sensation he never felt before. Anger swelled as something in him broke. In a huge burst of light, the Nightmares were overtaken by the heat and intensity of the light. Discord, in fury, looked around the room as his ears could pick up the sound of her distorted screams. He found where they were coming from and flew off at the speed of a bullet towards it.

Meanwhile, the ponies and Nightmares were still fighting out to win. The unicorns were blasting as much as they could. The earth ponies were using their hind legs to kick away the figures. The pegasi were flying above to use an aerial strike. Spike was trying his best from kicking to using other items to keep them away. Suddenly, something caught his eye when he saw a Nightmare about to hurt Applejack!

"AJ! LOOK OUT!" he moved between the Nightmare and Applejack and with all his might, he pushed her away. However, he was struck with the heavy blow instead and crashed up to the ceiling, causing a piece of it to crack and fall down with him before landing on top of him.

Applejack saw the whole thing and screamed, "SPIKE! NO!"

Her cries were heard throughout the hall as the fight stopped and their friends looked on in horror.

Applejack kicked the rubble away and took hold of the dragon in her arms, spilling tears while blubbering, "Spike… of all the noble things to do… Why did you go and do a stupid thing like that?!"

"Because…" he coughed, "Ponies… do… crazy things, for the ones they… love…" he smiled weakly at her.

She started breathing heavily as she couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You… you love me?"

"I do… I think… I always have…" he coughed severely.

"Spike!" the rest of the girls bellowed to see the condition he was in.

"Hey, guys… we… sure had some good times, didn't we?" he chuckled weakly.

"Shh…" Twilight shushed him, "You need to conserve your energy…"

"Is he going to be alright?" Applejack released a single tear.

The girls looked at Twilight, hoping she knew the answer, but her face grew solemn as she quietly said, "I… don't know…"

The group gave each other nervous glances.

Discord looked around the dark hallway while outside a window, a storm was brewing and it began to lightning and thunder. In a dark corner, Blueblood had Fluttershy in his grip, having her mouth covered to keep her from shouting. He magically picked up a sword and was waiting for Discord to come around for him to strike.

With Discord's back turned, Fluttershy fought out the prince's hold and screamed out, "Discord! Watch out!"

Blueblood yelled out as he swung the sword, but it clashed with another sword Discord was holding.

"Now really, Your Highness, that's playing dirty. Striking an unarmed pony? For shame, for shame… This is more of a fair fight!" he started fencing his sword.

The duel began as swords clanged and clashed. This went on for a bit as they dueled out to a balcony while it was still raining and lighting. Finally, Discord had gained the upper-hand and pressed the sword tip to Blueblood's chin.

"Okay! Okay! You win!" Blueblood sputtered, "Just don't hurt me! I'll do anything! Anything!"

Discord still had a fearsome look, but it lessened as he moved his face to him, whispering in a threatening tone, "Then run. Run away… and never return…" He threw down his own sword and snapped his fingers. With that, Blueblood was gone.

"Discord!" a gentle voice called out to him.

He turned around and embraced the pegasus who ran into his arms. They held on to each other for the longest time.

"You were wonderful! But… where did he…?"

"I sent him to the outskirts where he can run for his life and to never bother you again…" he ran his fingers through her hair.

She, in turn, stroked his dark mane, "I was so scared… that I wasn't going to see you or my sisters again…" she released a few small tears that fell down from her cheek.

"It's alright… it's over… it's over…"

A horrible thought occurred to her, "The girls! They're still fighting off those cruel things! We have to get back!"

He nodded and they rushed back.

Twilight felt that Spike's heart was barely beating. She was trying to hold back her tears, but it was impossible, "Spike, no… You've got to fight this! You've got to!"

He wheezed, "I… don't think I can…"

Applejack was crying harder and moaned, "No, Spike… No…"

He took hold of her hoof, "I'm sorry… Applejack… I… tried… I love you…" He took a final breath before closing his eyes, becoming lifeless in her arms.

"Spike… No… Spike…" Her heart was breaking in half and her voice had broken from sobbing. "No! No!" she kept bawling onto him.

Everyone else was crying as well and standing in mourning as lovers clung onto each other.

Discord and Fluttershy finally made it back, only to see the heartbreaking scene before them.

"Oh, no… Spike!" Fluttershy cried out.

"No…" Discord whispered.

The others turned back to them with glistening eyes, unable to say anything. They lost a friend today: a noble creature who was always willing to help others out and who was always there for them…

"He's not… he can't be…" Discord couldn't believe it.

Twilight could only solemnly nod her head to give the answer.

His eyes grew big as he looked at the dragon, "Oh, Spike… if only there were some way-" Then he realized, "The bottle…"

Applejack looked up to him, "What?"

"The bottle!" he took out the vial that Luna gave him, "Applejack! Give this to him, quick!" He handed it over to her.

"But why? What does it-"

"Just give it to him now!"

She quickly opened the cork and poured the water into his mouth. Once it was all gone, she was silently praying, "Please… Please… come back to me… I never had the chance to tell you… that… I love you, too…"

There was silence for the longest time, and just when they thought it didn't work after all, there was a huge gasp for air and he coughed out his fire.

"Spike!" they all cheered.

"You're alive!" Rarity shouted in joy.

"You really had us scared there, buddy!" Cheese jumped.

"You sure did…" agreed both Flash and Twilight.

"Whoa… it was so dark… but then… I heard a voice…" he looked to Applejack, "Your voice. Was it true?"

She beamed at him and said, "Yes… I do love you… I always have…" She pressed her lips to his and they kissed for a long period of time while the others applauded to them.

"It was about time…" Discord whispered to Fluttershy and she giggled in response.

"Ew, gag!" an evil voice said.

They looked up, forgetting that Chrysalis was there the whole time.

"All this lovey-dovey stuff, it's so sickening! Friendship, love…Oh, it's all so precious! It makes me want to hurl!"

"You don't know what love is!" Twilight shouted in defense.

"Believe me, Chrissy, I once thought the same way you did, but you couldn't be more wrong!" Discord looked at Fluttershy while still explaining to the queen, "It's everything you could ever want… That is, if only you are willing to have it!"

"Whatever! We have some unfinished business to attend to! It is time for the curse to be complete!"

"You'll have to go through us first!" proclaimed Flash as the boys moved in front of their girls.

"All right, I'm flexible. It doesn't matter anyway who gets to go first!" she laughed.

"No!" the girls moved in front of the boys.

"Wha… Rarity?"

"I'm tired of running! I'm going to face this monster if I have to!"

"We, too!" the other princesses pointed out.

Chrysalis laughed, "So be it, aur revoir, my dears!" She started casting the spell.

"No!" came a shrill deep voice, and out of ground in a shadowy form, Sombra made his appearance, "You will not take them!" He then turned into his unicorn body.

The girls were shocked while the boys were happy that their back-up had finally come.

"Sombra! Such a surprise to see you here! But how foolish of you to reveal yourself to your daughters. No doubt they're appalled by your state… Isn't that right, ladies?"

Sombra felt ashamed as he looked back to them and could see the shock in their faces. He felt no doubt about what Chrysalis had just said.

"Wrong!" Twilight shouted.

"Hmm?" Chrysalis was stunned by this answer, "What…?"

Even Sombra was surprised by the answer and hope began to rise in him when he heard all of his girls responding.

"We don't care what our father looks like!" Rarity yelled.

"He'll always be our dad, no matter what!" Rainbow spouted.

Fluttershy cried out, "He's the same kind-hearted father and king he always will be!"

"No matter what you give to him, he will fight it!" Applejack bellowed.

"He's our Papa and we love him!" Pinkie hollered.

"And we will never stop loving him…" Twilight declared to both Chrysalis and Sombra, "…no matter the change…"

Sombra was smiling to his girls' declaration of love as they smiled back at him. The next thing he knew, a rainbow of colors surrounded him and he was being lifted off the ground, twirling.

Chrysalis was agape to this sudden magic happening while the girls and boys were looking in awe. A huge glow filled the room and in a burst, Sombra was transformed back to normal. His hair was back to its sleek style and his horn returned to its original form. His eyeballs were white again and his eyes were emeralds once more. The dark aura that surrounded him was officially gone as he was just the unicorn king like he was before.

"Father!" the princesses cheered as they ran to embrace him, crying tears of joy.

"My girls… my daughters… how I missed you so much…" he told them while taking turns holding on to each of them.

"We missed you too, Father!" Rarity said.

"We missed you forever and ever!" Pinkie motioned.

Behind them, the guys were getting teary to the heartwarming reunion. Cheese even had a hankie and started blowing. But the reunion was short-lived when Chrysalis screeched, "No! Impossible! No pony can ever break that curse! How did you… Never mind! I will deal with all of you after this!" she set her horn to cast the spell, but tiny sparks flew out instead, "What?! No!"

Sombra spoke, "It's over, queen… The curse is broken, which means you are powerless. Look…" he pointed at the Nightmares, whose dark shadows were no more and instead, they were regular looking magical creatures.

Discord snapped his fingers and the queen found herself and the other changelings crowded with her in a steel cage. He wiped his hands proclaiming, "She won't be getting out of there for a while."

"Thank you…" a creature named Jerome said, "You have set us all free…"

"You're welcome." Twilight bowed her head as did her sisters and father.

The creatures that were once Nightmares nodded and went out the doors, freed at last.

Once the large of ponies made out of the castle themselves, they rejoiced how they had won and gained so much.

Rainbow nudged Soarin' on the way out, "Those were some slick moves you had back there."

"You weren't so bad yourself…" he said as they kept staring at the other.

"You were so brave!" Rarity told Fancy.

"Well, you were the reason…" he winked.

"Ohh…" she touched her heart.

Fluttershy kissed Discord's cheek, "I especially loved the part at the end, when you gave that nasty queen what she deserved."

"All in a day's work, my love…" he took her hoof to hold as they kept going.

"You were amazing!" Pinkie jumped with Cheese.

"You were amazing-er!" he pointed out.

"No, you were!"

Applejack and Spike walked side by side in silence until he said, "AJ?"

"Yeah?" she questioned.

"Will you… um…" he rubbed his neck.

"Yes?"

"Would you be my very special some pony?!" he said quickly.

She gasped and shouted, "Yes! A thousand times yes!" She grabbed him up to kiss him on the lips again.

Twilight, Flash, and Sombra were the last ones out with Twilight telling her dad, "Oh, Papa, there's so much we have to catch up on and there are so many things we want to know…"

"And we will, as soon as we're back in at the castle." he kissed her forehead and moved towards the others talking with them.

Flash and Twilight took a brief stop to face each other.

She said, "None of this would have been possible without you or the others… I can't thank you enough of coming after us and finding our father…"

"It was nothing…" he blushed, "Really…"

"It was something… and I am… so happy to have you here…"

"You are?" his hopes rose.

"I do… I love you…"

"And… I love you, too…"

They stared into each other's eyes as they leaned in slowly before kissing fully on the lips. They broke apart and before they knew it, Twilight had a dark pink glow coming from within her and it surrounded her. She didn't know what was happening and neither did Flash as he stepped back. The gang looked back in surprise of what was going on with Twilight, but Sombra seemed to be grinning.

In a burst of light, Twilight was gently taken back to the ground.

"Twilight? Are you alright?" Applejack asked.

Twilight lifted herself up and suddenly, she spread out wings!

The crowd gasped in astonishment.

"Oh, my goodness!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"Twilight's got wings!" Rainbow gestured, "Awesome!"

"Darling, you're an alicorn! Like Mother!" motioned Rarity.

"Do you know what this means, Cheesy?" Pinkie led him on.

"I sure do!"

Both of them said together, "Alicorn party!" They blew noisemakers.

Discord found himself sputtering, "But-but-but how is that even remotely possible?! Even I can't do something like that! How did you do that?!"

Twilight found her voice after getting over the shock of having a pair of wings, "I… I don't know! All I did was kiss Flash and now I'm like this!"

Flash apologized, "Twilight! I'm so sorry! I didn't… I didn't mean…"

Sombra came up to them and chuckled, "You have nothing to apologize for, Flash Sentry. This was to be expected for the chosen heir of Equestria…"

"Father?" Twilight raised her eyebrow.

"You see, Twilight, when you were the last born of your sisters, your mother and I knew you would be the one to take our place someday. You may have looked like a unicorn, but you had a power within that could only be revealed when the time would come for to have true love's kiss and earn your wings… Love is the emotion that can reveal one's true potential…"

Discord pointed out, "Well, that's certain a little cheesy!"

"Hey!" Cheese whined.

The group couldn't help but laugh.

Twilight stared back at Flash, "I just can't believe… we're true loves… destiny to be forever…"

"Forever and ever!" Pinkie jumped in excitement.

"But we've only known each other for such a short time… and yet, it's seems longer than that…" he took her hoof as he moved her closer to him and they shared another kiss.

"Aww…" part of the crowd gushed.

Rainbow came between them, "Alright, enough of the mushy stuff! Let's get home!"

"Your wish is my command." Discord bowed and he snapped his fingers as they were all gone in a flash.

> Chapter 21
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Celestia sighed on her throne with her sister looking at her in sympathy.

"I'm sure it won't be long now…" Luna said in comfort, "Your daughters will return with their champions and everything will return to normal. Except, perhaps, your daughters will be free to marry whoever they want now."

The elder sister gave her a small smile, "Yes… it's the least I can do for them after everything they've been through…"

Luna nodded in agreement. Suddenly, a guard rushed in, "Your Highnesses!"

"Yes?" both sisters said in concern.

He bowed before them saying, "They're back…"

Celestia gasped and got up from her throne, going to the middle of the room, "Send them in at once!"

The guard nodded and ran out.

The royal sisters exchanged glances, hoping that what the guard said was true. A few moments later, they saw the doors opening and there they were, all six of them…

The girls slowly walked in as they approached their mother. There was an awkward silence until both the queen and princesses found themselves bursting with tears and embracing each other in a family hug.

"Oh, my darlings… can you ever forgive me…?"

"There's nothing to forgive…" Twilight spoke.

"We understand why you did it…" Rarity said.

"And to be honest, we're quite grateful, even if we didn't know it at the time…" said Fluttershy.

"Still, I should've told you the truth…"

"Yeah, then we wouldn't have believed you what with our forgotten memories." Rainbow pointed out.

"And the fact we would have lived in fear knowing something was to come for us." Applejack gestured.

"But is it over? She's gone?"

"Yup, we totally defeated her!" Pinkie gleefully said.

"Oh, girls, this is the most wonderful news I've heard in a long time!" Then, she saw the guys hanging near the doorway, "You can come in, gentlemen. I would after all like to reward you for restoring my daughters to me."

"Oh, for goodness sakes, Celestia! We don't need a reward!" Discord motioned.

The other guys did random agreements.

"Just knowing the girls are home is reward enough for us…" said Spike.

"Courageous and honorable; you girls certainly chose well." Luna smirked.

The princesses couldn't help but giggle to their aunt's comment.

And then, Luna noticed what was on Twilight's back, "What's this? Can it be that you have wings now?!" she said in a tone that was a cross of happiness and shock.

Twilight opened them to show, "Yes, it would seem so." she beamed.

"Oh, Twilight, I had hoped that one day you would be given wings to rule. But when the threat was made, I knew I would have had to give up on the idea… But it does please me to see that you had true love's kiss, after all…" Celestia looked between her and Flash, which caused both of them to blush a deep crimson.

"We must celebrate your return and the defeat of the evil queen!" Luna said spontaneously.

"Actually, you might want to hold off celebrating just yet…" said Applejack.

"Aw, but I had the cake and the balloons already to go!" Pinkie whined.

"Just wait, Pinkie." said Twilight as she asked their mother, "Are you ready for a surprise?" she smiled with everyone else smiling with her.

"Surprise?" Celestia questioned, "What do you mean? I am already surprised of all of you returning home and you have gained your wings. What else could there be?"

"You'll see." Rainbow grinned as they looked towards the opened doors.

Celestia and Luna both were confused as they looked to the entrance and suddenly, their eyes widened to the sight that came into view. Sombra had appeared before them and was gradually walking in.

"Sombra…?" Celestia could barely speak.

He smiled straight at her, replying, "Hello… my dear sweet Celestia…"

She gasped, "It is you!" She rushed to him as they enjoyed a long warm embrace. With tears streaming down their faces, she whispered, "I missed you so much…"

"I thought about you every day…"

"But… how? How did you get rid of the curse?"

He pointed at the girls, "Our daughters… By saying that they took me as I was, they freed me from the darkness that held me prisoner."

"An act of true love…" Celestia breathed.

"I thought it wasn't possible, but they proved me wrong…"

"And we meant every word, Daddy…" said Fluttershy.

"I know… and that's what made it even more special…" he held out his arms as they embraced him and had Celestia join in, even Luna. Then, the royal family looked over to the guys standing there.

Pinkie waved her hoof, "Well, what are you waiting for?! Join in!"

They exchange glances before giving in and it was all one big group pile, hugging and embracing loved ones.

When the hugging was done, Luna declared, "Now this calls for a real celebration!"

"Almost, sister. There's something I would like to do first… Spike, a letter, if you please."

Spike had out a paper and quill at the ready.

"I, Queen Celestia of Equestria, hereby revoke the marriage law of the princesses as they may wed whoever they choose."

The girls' eyes widened as their mother had changed the proclamation before them and ran into the arms of their beloveds. Some of them actually tackled them and started kissing them.

Sombra sighed; he was happy, but sad at the same time. He had to miss so much while he was under the curse and saw that his daughters were already grown up and were ready to move on into a new life. He wished he could have been there to see it all.

Celestia noticed this and said, "I find it unfair myself that you couldn't have been there for them… but I had made sure to keep track of everything you had missed while you were gone…"

"I figured you did, but still, I wished I could have been there myself to see before my very eyes." they touched horns in comfort.

Applejack had actually overheard their conversation and beckoned two of her sisters, "Dash, Rarity."

"Yes, Applejack?" Rarity went to her.

"What's up?" Rainbow questioned.

"I just overheard Mom and Dad, and he hates the fact that he had to miss out on us growing up. So, I figure that we could give them a second chance of raising daughters together."

"How do you suggest that?" pointed Rainbow, "Twilight doing an aging spell on us? No offense, AJ, but I don't want to relive a second childhood."

"I quite agree. For too long, we've been young mares as tragic as it is that we couldn't have Father. The sad truth is we must let things be…"

"Sheesh, you two, I know that and they know that… What I'm saying is, we give them girls that are our age when the curse happened… get it?"

"Oh…" the both realized.

"And think: who do we know who is our age during that time?"

They pondered for a bit until it struck them and had smiles spread across their faces.

The fillies clung on to the princesses with whom they each worked for as they moved in the hallway to get to the throne room. Soarin', Spike, and Fancy Pants were with them for moral support.

"But… what if they don't like us…?" Sweetie Belle whimpered.

"And banish us to the Everfree Forest?!" Scootaloo gestured.

"And we'll never see any pony again!" Apple Bloom panicked.

"Would you three calm down?!" Applejack said, "They're not like that, okay?"

"Right, so you can just chillax." Rainbow said coolly.

"You have nothing to afraid of, darlings. They will like you…" Rarity said in a soothing voice.

"Besides," Spike went to the yellow filly with red hair, "We have you to thank, Apple Bloom."

"Thank… me? For what?"

"For getting me and AJ together. If you hadn't told me that she had a crush on me, I don't know where our relationship would be at now. I probably would still be going after Rarity, only to discover my heart would have been broken."

"Spike, I…" Rarity started to say, but he just raised his claw to stop her.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter anymore. I'm just glad how things did turn out…" He stared at his very special pony and she returned the glance.

"You can say that again." Soarin' put his hoof around Rainbow.

"I most certainly agree." Fancy did the same to Rarity.

They stopped at their destination and the fillies gulped in fear. The doors opened for them as the bigger ponies went in first, with the fillies cowering right behind.

Celestia and Sombra sat in their thrones with the other princesses and their mates standing by to watch of how this was going to go.

"Come here, little ones…" Celestia spoke in a soft, gentle tone.

The trio slowly gained confidence when they heard the queen's voice, but they were given an extra nudge by Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow. They were shaking as they made their way up to the royals.

Celestia spoke again, "I understand from my daughters that you are young servants of the castle and that you have no family to go to for support?"

The fillies still shaking nodded their heads.

Sombra and Celestia gave each other looks and faced the girls again.

He spoke up this time, "Not anymore, you do… Because we're your family now…" he smiled brightly at them.

The girls stopped shaking and glanced at them in shock. They couldn't be saying what they were saying, could they?

Both the king and queen held out their arms, with the queen saying, "Welcome… daughters…"

Joy ran through the fillies and all three jumped to the closest parent they were near to.

The entire room was now shedding liquid pride of this touching moment.

When it was over, Pinkie asked, "Now can we party?!"

Twilight said, "Yes, Pinkie, now we can party…"

"Whoo-hoo! Cheese! Bring out the party cannon, cause we're going to be celebrating all night long!"

"You got it!" he jumped.

Before they knew it, the whole place was decorated for revelry. The party ponies even had Vinyl Scratch doing the music. Every pony in that room started dancing away, as there was nothing but great joy and happiness surrounding them…

*Two months later*

The moment was at hoof. The girls were getting ready for the biggest wedding that Equestria has ever seen, considering it was a six-way wedding. They knew it would have taken them too long and too much work if they married one at a time. They figured since they all found love around the same time, they might as well get married at the same time.

The grooms stood on a long platform with Luna, Sombra, and Celestia presiding over the ceremony. Each of them would take two couples to wed. The girls were outside the room in their birth order, with their younger sisters being the flower girls to go in first.

"This is it, girls," said Twilight, "The day that changes everything…"

"No matter what, we'll always be sisters." said Applejack, holding out her hoof.

"Sisters forever!" Rarity put her hoof on AJ's hoof.

"Sisters for always!" Rainbow was next.

"Best sisters for life!" Pinkie put her hoof in.

"Sisters together!" Fluttershy did hers next.

"Sisters and best friends everlasting…" Twilight did the final hoof.

Then, they looked over to the little fillies, gesturing them to join the circle, which they were happy to do.

The wedding march sounded off inside and the girls got back into their positions. The doors swung open and the trio bounced up and down, throwing the flowers. Fluttershy gracefully walked in, with Discord gawking at the sight and Fancy having to nudge him to snap out of it. Once she made it up to the altar to her groom, they beamed at each other before turning back to see Rarity elegantly making her entrance.

When she made it to the altar, she and her groom also smiled to each other. Spike looked back and saw his lovely bride making it down. She beamed at him just as he beamed to her when she came by his side. Rainbow was strutting her stuff when getting to her stud-muffin. They looked into the audience, seeing Spitfire and Fleetfoot giving looks of approval. Pinkie found herself bouncing up and down the aisle and making it to her groom. She playfully nudged his top hat. Everyone turned to see the last bride coming down. Flash could see she was glowing in his eyes just he was glowing in hers.

Once she came at his side, the march came to a halt and Celestia addressed the guests.

"Mares and gentlecolts! Today, we're not only celebrating one union, but six! My daughters, the princesses, have chosen their future husbands out of love, not by some trick of politics. Even when they knew shouldn't have, they persisted to fight their way for love and in turn… the love they shared saved them… It was because of this I was reunited with my own true love, King Sombra…" She gave him a loving glance. He gave one in return as she continued, "To make the ceremony easier, my husband, my sister, and I shall take turns uniting the princesses with their true loves… My darlings, are you ready?"

"Ready." they all replied.

"Then let us begin…" She turned towards Luna.

Luna was next to Discord and Fluttershy and Rarity and Fancy Pants; she started with the oldest, "Do you, Fluttershy take Discord to be your husband?"

Fluttershy held on to him, looking straight at him, "I do…"

"Do you, Discord, take Fluttershy to be your wife?"

"I do…" he looked straight back at her.

"I now pronounce you mare and draconequus. You may kiss the bride…"

Discord didn't waste a second as he snatched her up to kiss her. When they were done, Luna turned towards the next couple.

"Do you, Rarity, take Fancy Pants to be your husband?"

"I do!"

"And do you, Fancy Pants, take Rarity to be your wife?"

"I do."

"I pronounce this couple mare and colt. You may kiss."

Fancy magically lifted her veil up and they moved into a passionate kiss.

Sombra took over and looked at Applejack and Spike.

"Applejack, do you take Spike as your husband?"

"I do."

"Spike, do you take Applejack as your wife?"

"I do!"

"I pronounce you mare and dragon. You may now kiss."

They didn't waste a minute as she grabbed him in her arms, kissing away.

He smiled as he went to the next one.

"Rainbow Dash, do you take Soarin' as your husband?"

"Do I ever!"

"And do you, Soarin', take Rainbow Dash as your wife?"

"Do I ever!"

"I pronounce you mare and Wonderbolt. Go ahead and kiss."

They did so and with pleasure.

Celestia beamed at her daughters and their new husbands, turning back to the ones that still needed to be wed.

"Pinkie Pie, do you take Cheese Sandwich to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do!"

"Cheese Sandwich, do you take Pinkie Pie as your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do!"

"No, I do!"

"No, I do more!"

Celestia giggled, "Then I pronounce you mare and colt. You may kiss your bride."

But instead, it was Pinkie who grabbed him up to kiss first.

It all came down to the last couple. Celestia spoke loudly and clearly for all to hear.

"Twilight, repeat after me… I, Twilight Sparkle…"

"I, Twilight Sparkle…"

"Take Flash Sentry…"

"Take Flash Sentry…"

"To be my husband and future king…"

"To be my husband and future king…" she beamed at him.

"Now, for you, Flash… I, Flash Sentry…"

"I, Flash Sentry…"

"Take Twilight Sparkle…"

"Take Twilight Sparkle…"

"To be my wife and future queen…"

"To be my wife and…" he added the word, "beautiful future queen…"

"Now the both of you will say, 'To have and to hold until the rest of our days…'"

They looked at each other and said, "To have and to hold until the rest of our days…"

"I now pronounce you mare and colt… You may all kiss the bride." She told the other couples.

They all didn't need her to repeat that as they were already kissing away. The crowd cheered out and threw rice into the air. As it was tradition, royal newlyweds would go out to the balcony to wave down to the citizens of Equestria. One can imagine the excitement when six newlyweds came out. Rainbow pulled a fast one by performing a sonic rainboom!

The night air filled in the reception at the gardens as each newlywed took a slow dance for their first dance as husbands and wives. When the music stopped, the couples clapped and a microphone sounded off as Sweetie Belle's voice filled the area.

"Heh…hi, every pony! I just wanted to tell you how lucky I am to have such amazing sisters, even if we weren't sisters at first… but Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and I are happy that we are and we just want to thank the princesses and wish them luck in their new lives with their cool new husbands." That got a couple laughs and awes from the crowd, "And to do that, we've been working on a song just for them as a wedding present… Here it goes…" She gave a signal to Vinyl and the latter started the music up.

"Love is in bloom! A beautiful bride, a handsome groom! Two hearts becoming one! A bond that cannot be undone!"

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo joined her, "Because love is in bloom! A beautiful bride, a handsome groom! I said love is in bloom! You're starting a life and making room for us!"

A montage happened of everyone enjoying the party.

Sweetie sang solo, "Your special day, we celebrate now, the pony way! Your friends are all right here, won't let these moments disappear because…"

They sang together, "Love is in bloom! A beautiful bride, a handsome groom, I said love is in bloom! You're starting a life and making room for us… for us… for us…"

The newlyweds each got in a carriage-for Rainbow and Soarin', a chariot-to go on their own honeymoons. Each carriage was going to take a separate direction and as they waved off their fellow couples and they waved up to a balcony that Celestia, Sombra, Luna, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were on waving goodbye.

Through it all, the magical underground kingdom was still in the room the girls shared for so long. Without it, the girls felt they never would have gotten their happy ending after all and would never forget it and the memories they made with it…