> My Little Colossi > by HolyCross9 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter One > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Twas a bright, sunny afternoon as Fluttershy cautiously strolled through the Everfree Forest, with filled saddlebags placed over her back. She had already left Zecora's hut a few minutes ago after venturing there to retrieve some special medicinal herbs and ingredients for Cooper, one of her raccoon friends, who was sick with a severe fever. That alone took great courage, especially since she dreaded going through the Everfree Forest. Now the pale yellow pegasus mare had to trek through the seemingly scary Everfree Forest again to reach her cottage safe and sound. "Oh, I should have asked Zecora to go with me," she said to herself softly, trembling slightly as she walked."Now, Fluttershy, you can do this. Just take a few deep breathes and you'll be fine." Fluttershy deeply inhaled and exhaled a few times before hearing the sounds of some twigs snapping nearby. "AHH!" She immediately retreated behind a nearby tree for a moment before peeking out her head, sweeping it in both directions to check if the coast was clear. Fluttershy then moved out from the tree's cover and resumed walking back to her cottage while feeling more cautious than before. A minute later, Fluttershy gasped as she heard the sound of twigs snapping underhoof again, causing her to immediately turn around in the opposite direction. "H-hello? A-a-anypony there? Hello?” Fluttershy waited for half a minute before turning back in the direction of her home, but just as she set one hoof forward, a huge creature twice her size instantly emerged several feet ahead of her, barring her path. The pale yellow pegasus mare gasped softly in recognizing the huge creature. “Oh, no! It’s…it’s a wi-wyvern!” And indeed it was; for this wyvern was covered in grey-green scales, stood up on two legs with both wings folded in and one deadly, venomous stinger at the end of its long tail. Worse still, to the mare’s horror, the vicious wyvern had already spotted her and began charging at her really fast. Likewise, Fluttershy screamed, immediately turned around and sprinted off from the pursuing predator, but alas, the wyvern ran faster than her. Just as the beast was about close in on the poor defenseless mare (who now had tears streaming from her beautiful eyes), Fluttershy heard a loud, young voice from behind her right shouting. “Oh no you don't, scalie!” Within an instant, two things happened at once: while running, Fluttershy barely noticed a dark shape whizzing past on her right and colliding into the wyvern behind her. A second later, Fluttershy immediately skidded to a halt before turning around to gaze a sight to behold: a small, stone-armored, feline looking creature was currently standing defiantly before the larger wyvern, who now had been knocked over on it's side, but was quickly getting back up. As she witnessed this, Fluttershy yelped softly as another small, stone-armored figure rushed past her right side, shouting: "Quickly, hide! We'll take care of this creep!" Without hesitation, Fluttershy quickly went behind a thick tree trunk, while the second stone-like figure joined his companion in confronting the wyvern. As she stood there behind the tree, she heard the loud sounds of three separate snarls with the loudest coming from the wyvern, followed by loud snarling and roaring, indicating the beginning of an epic two-on-one fight. For Fluttershy, she found the sounds of that raging conflict most unbearable, on account that she never liked violence one single bit. The only thing from it that she found a little comforting were the young voices of the two stone-creatures shouting taunts at the larger wyvern, such as 'Is that all you got?!' or 'Heh! You gotta do better than that!' or 'Oh yeah?! Well take this, ugly!' or 'You think attacks like that can hurt us, lizard breath?!' and so on. This unseen battle continued for a minute or two until finally Fluttershy heard the wyvern give a wailing roar before hearing it moving swiftly away from both her and the two stone-like creatures. "Yeah, you better run, ya big meany!" shouted one of them. Seconds later, his companion spoke up: "Phew! That winged lizard sure was tough." The second stone-creature chuckled lightly. "Tell me about it. I'm surprised we didn't even die from all the times it stabbed us with it's sharp tail." "Yeah. Oh, I forgot! What about the pegasus we just saved?" "Don't worry, bro, I'm sure she's somewhere nearby. Hey, miss! Can you hear me? It's safe to come out now!" No sooner had those words been spoken when Fluttershy immediately emerged from behind the large tree and quickly trotted over to her two rescuers, both positioned side-by-side. When she halted a few inches from them, Fluttershy could finally observe what the two stone-like creatures looked like up close. She noticed that both of them were similar in size and almost entirely covered in ornately decorated stone armor, since some small areas of their bodies had patches of skin exposed. Fluttershy also noticed that the pair were taller than school-aged foals and yet shorter than full grown adult mares. Yet despite those common traits, each of the stone-armored beings differed from each other in physical appearance. The first one had some resemblance to a tiger, which included his robust body featuring strong shoulders and back legs. Both of his fore paws were armed with sets of sharp-looking claws, both of which were stained with blood from his scuffle with the wyvern. The stone feline's face also possessed a few distinct features, like his mouth, which were lined with what appeared to be exposed teeth while on the corners of his mouth were two large, curved fangs protruding outward. Finally, there were his light blue eyes, which were quite small in size and had a distinct unibrow fixated above them. The second being resembled a lion on account how of the swept-back ridges encircling his head and a few of the armor plates on his back had similitude to a lion's flowing mane. In contrast to his companion, this stone-armored feline had a bit more slender build, with his tail being thinner in width, and yet he still looked strong enough to put up a fight. Both his shoulders and thighs had unique stone protrusions on them that resembled pauldrons while his feet had three digits each instead of five, all of which were dull compared to his companion's sharp claws. The stone feline's face not only featured larger light blue eyes, but below his mouth were a quartet of large curved fangs that curved upward. It took only a second or two for Fluttershy to notice all these features from the two statuesque felines, some of which would have frightened any other pony. But that didn't matter to her, for she just smiled big and wrapped her front limbs around each of their necks in a warm embrace. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you so much for saving me," she said excitedly, as she sequentially released her grip on them. "No problem, ma'mm," replied the first stone feline, his lower jaw moving as he spoke. "We were happy to do it." "Say, do you mind if I asked what your name is?" asked the second. "Oh sure. My name is Fluttershy. What are your names?" Both felines looked at each other for a moment before speaking. "Well, my name's Celosia," said the first one. "And I'm his twin brother, Cenobia," added the other. For a moment, Fluttershy's eyes grew wide in hearing those names as she found herself feeling utterly fascinated and enthralled with both Celosia and Cenobia, especially since they were creatures she'd never seen or heard of before. "Well, it's very nice to meet you two," she kindly replied. "So where do you live? Because I've never seen you around the Everfree Forest before." She immediately regretted asking this when she observed the now sorrowful looks on Celosia and Cenobia's faces. "Oh, I'm sorry. If it's something that you don't wish to talk about, I won't pressure you." "Oh, no, it's alright, Fluttershy," replied Cenobia sadly. "You didn't mean any harm. You see, this forest isn't our home. And..." Cenobia looked down dolefully as he stalled for several seconds before his brother spoke for him. "I'm afraid it's a hard thing we're goin' through, Fluttershy. But to put it simply, we have no home to go back to right now." Celosia lifted one of his arms and sympathetically placed it over his brother's back. Fluttershy was deeply torn on the inside from what she heard. That both Celosia and Cenobia, the two young strangers who saved her life, had no home in which to return. She immediately felt an urge within herself to show compassion toward them and thus acted on it. "Um, if you'd like, you two are more than welcome to come and stay at my cottage," she offered. Within an instant, both stone-armored felines looked at her with expressions of both surprise and utter joy before Cenobia excitedly replied. "Wow, really? Gee, thanks, Fluttershy!" "Yeah!" added Celosia. "We'd love to come and stay at your cottage!" "Hey, wait a minute. Where is your cottage anyway?" "Oh, it's just down that way," said Fluttershy, pointing one hoof down in the direction of where the two felines were standing. Both Celosia and Cenobia moved away from each other and looked down at the direction that the pegasus mare indicated. They looked back toward a smiling Fluttershy. "Just follow me and we'll be there in no time." With that, she proceed to trot confidently in the direction of her cottage, with both Celosia and Cenobia eagerly following close behind her to their new home. Within a few minutes, Fluttershy and her two new friends emerged from the edge Everfree Forest and went right for the backyard of the pegasus mare's cottage, which was teeming with many various critters, both land and airborne. Yet, as soon as the trio entered Fluttershy's backyard, many of the animals within the vicinity immediately retreated into hiding, with some heading into the cottage, others went for bird houses, trees, even into the chicken coop. The few of those that didn't go into hiding, such as the eagle and hawk, remained there staring at Celosia and Cenobia nervously. Fluttershy instantly recognized how her animal friends reacted toward her two saviors. "Hey, wait!" she shouted. The pegasus mare immediately began fluttering all over her backyard near the places where most of her animal friends were hiding as she softly pleaded with them. "Please, don't be frightened. I assure you, there's nothing to fear. I only brought these two here to give them a new home. I mean, they just saved my life today and you should be thankful for that. So please, come on out now and meet them. I promise they won't hurt you." All the while, both Celosia and Cenobia watched in awe as Fluttershy gently reassured her animal friends, to which all of them began poking their heads out of their hiding spots as she spoke. Seconds after that, many of Fluttershy's animal friends, one by one, emerged from their hiding spots and slowly approached the two newcomers, while the beautiful mare continued gently encouraging them on. Within a minute, all of the animals were visible within the backyard and some of them curiously came within a few inches of two new arrivals as Fluttershy settled down next to them. Wow, thought Celosia. That's amazing. You know, these little guys are quite adorable, thought Cenobia. "My friends," said Fluttershy. "I'd like all of you to meet Celosia," she placed one hoof on the said feline's bulging shoulder before walking over to Cenobia, placing a hoof on his pauldron-like shoulder. "And Cenobia." She looked out to her animal friends. "I'd like for you all to please treat them with respect and don't be too rough with them, okay?" All of Fluttershy's animal friends nodded happily as they now felt at ease with the two feline brothers' presence. Fluttershy refocused her gaze at the two felines. "And I'm so sorry for how my animal friends reacted toward you two." "Hey, it's alright, Fluttershy," replied Celosia politely, observing some rabbits sniffing him up close. "I'm just glad that you were able to calm them down." "Yeah," added his brother, watching a few birds flew down to perch atop his leonine crown. "I mean the way you spoke to them like that was amazing! I've never seen anyone do that before." "Oh, why thank you," replied Fluttershy, giving a small smile. "You see, I've always had this special connection with animals ever since I was filly. Why that's how—" she stopped mid-sentence as she felt someone lightly tapping the bottom of her hind leg. She looked down behind her to see her pet bunny, Angel, looking at her with desperate and fearful expression on his face pointing one arm inside the house before giving a few raspy sounding breathes. Fluttershy gasped in realization. "Oh my! I almost forgot." "What's wrong?" asked Celosia, who had a concerned expression from his unibrow. "There's a very sick raccoon, Cooper, who's bedridden with a fever inside my cottage and I still have to make a special treatment for him from those ingredients I got from Zecora. So could you and Cenobia please wait here with my animal friends while Angel and I go inside to help him?" "Sure thing, Fluttershy," replied Celosia happily. "We'll keep our eyes on them." "Okay. Thank you. I'll be right back." The two brothers watched as Fluttershy and Angel hurried back into the cottage. A few seconds later, Celosia broke out laughing hysterically as he rolled over on his back to reveal a few squirrels clinging to his underbelly sniffing it with their noses. Cenobia watched for a moment before he approached his fitfully giggling brother with a wicked look in his eyes. "Why, Cel," he spoke playfully. "I had no idea you were ticklish." Some of the other animals took hint of this and followed Cenobia's example, fully intent on giving his brother a tickle torture he wouldn't forget. Inside the cottage, Fluttershy was hard at work mixing up a treatment from the ingredients she attained from Zecora with Angel helping her as best as he could. One of the living room sofas laid Cooper, covered in small bed sheets while his black-masked face was flushed red from the fever he'd contracted. Within several minutes though, Fluttershy and Angel managed to finish preparing the treatment and they brought it over to Cooper in the living room. "Here you go, Cooper," said Fluttershy sweetly. "Just take a gulp of this and you'll feel all better soon." She gently administered a spoonful of the medical concoction into the raccoon's mouth before taking the spoon out as he reluctantly swallowed, gagging slightly at the bad taste of it. "Oh, I'm sure that it tastes awful, but it will make you fit as a fiddle in no time. But for now, just continue resting while the treatment kicks in." Cooper nodded as Fluttershy and Angel moved a few feet from him. "Phew. Thank goodness. Now we better go check on how Celosia and Cenobia are—" she was cut off mid-sentence when she heard the sounds of a bear snarling outside in the back yard. Fluttershy instantly rushed pasted Angel, slammed the back door shouting: "Celosia! Cenobia are you...o...kay?" She slowed to a complete stop when she saw something unexpected. There sitting on his stomach was the bear that visited her cottage sometimes with a blissful expression on his face. Standing on the bear's back was Celosia, scratching it tenderly with his sharp claws in up-down motions. Sitting close by was his brother, Cenobia, and some critters and birds who watched the spectacle with great interest. "So how's that?" asked Celosia. "You like that, big guy?" The bear simply growled with glee and euphoria, implying that as a 'yes.' Fluttershy simply watched the scene with awe while Cenobia looked at her before he stood up and walked toward her. "Hey, Fluttershy. Did you get your sick raccoon friend fixed?" Cenobia asked. Fluttershy broke out of her dumbfounded gaze and looked at Cenobia as he stopped and sat down next to her. "Oh, yes we did," she gently replied. "But what happened? I heard a loud snarl and I thought you were in trouble." "Nah. It wasn't anything to worry about. When this bear here came in from the forest, Cel and I were almost ready to fight him. Thankfully, your animal friends told both of us that he was friendly. The bear obviously came in wanting something and that's when Cel offered to scratch his back and well...you can tell how he feels about it." While listening to Cenobia's explanation, Fluttershy carefully observed both the bear and Celosia, smiling at how the latter was doing wonderfully in giving the former an excellent back scratch. "I agree," she replied. "Your brother's done a wonderful job at it so far." She then approached the two before stopping a few feet from the prostrate bear. "Um, excuse me, Celosia. If you don't mind, you can stop now, please." Celosia ceased his back-scratching and looked at Fluttershy with a perplexed expression, with the bear staring at her as well. "You sure?" he asked the pale yellow pegasus mare. "Because your bear buddy really seemed to enjoy it." The bear nodded hard in agreement with Celosia. "Oh, I am sure that he did. You did that wonderfully. But I'm also pretty certain that he came for more than just a good back scratch." The bear grunted in agreement as he nodded in Flutterhy's direction. Thus, Celosia shrugged his shoulders, jumped down off the bear's back and padded over to his brother's side while the bear stood back up, opened his mouth and pointed at it with one claw. Fluttershy instantly understood this and flew into her cottage for a few seconds before rushing back out carrying some fresh nuts and berries in her forelegs. "Here you go, some nice goodies for you." She dropped the nuts and berries into the bear's fore paw while he joyfully scarfed them down into his mouth. The bear grunted happily and turned around heading back toward the Everfree Forest. Everyone present watched him melt into the forest. "So what now, Fluttershy?" Cenobia asked. "Well," she replied. "There's still so much for me to do for my animal friends. They still need to be fed and some of them still need to be given baths and so on." "You mind if Cen and I help you with that?" asked Celosia. "Why sure. I'd be more happy to let you two help me, Celosia." "Well then," said Cenobia excitedly. "Just tell us what to do and we'll do our best." With that, the two brothers followed the mare into the cottage, ready to take on the duties she had for her animal friends. The trio spent the rest of the afternoon and all evening tending and caring for all of the animals living within and near the cottage outside. This included tasks such as feeding the animals, bathing them, treating/checking them over for possible injuries or illnesses, even playing a few games with them. Fluttershy thoroughly gave specific instructions to Celosia and Cenobia for each task that need to be done around the cottage, which the two brothers followed as best as they could. Surprisingly they did very well at their tasks too. Throughout the duration of these tasks, all of the animals quickly came to accepting Celosia and Cenobia, even Angel, who felt suspicious about them at first. At one point, Cooper, the raccoon began showing signs of feeling healthy again to where he could walk and wander around the cottage freely, something that utterly elated Fluttershy, Cel, Cen, and the rest of the residing animals. All in all, the whole rest of that day was an enjoyable and thrilling experience for both Celosia and Cenobia, knowing that this would be their new home. Later that night, when all of the animals were finally asleep within and outside the cottage, both Celosia and Cenobia were currently residing in Fluttershy's bedroom. It had been a minute since Fluttershy showed them in before she left, promising that she'd be right back, and the two brothers had been waiting patiently for her return. Fluttershy came trotting back in carrying two thick rolls of cloth on her back, to which she sequentially set down on the ground. "Could you help me with these?" she asked the two brothers. "Sure thing, Fluttershy," replied Cenobia. And within less than a minute, the three friends managed to carefully unroll the thick rolls of cloth and flatten them out in front of Fluttershy's bed, both laid out parallel to each other. Each sheet was about six hooves wide, fourteen hoofs long, and about half-a-hoof thick. The feline brothers looked at them with perplexed expressions. "So what are these sheets of cloth, any way?" asked Celosia. "Why these are your beds, Celosia," the pegasus mare. "I brought them up here so that you and Cenobia could sleep on them instead of the floor." "That sure is nice of you, Fluttershy," said Cenobia as he and Celosia positioned themselves on their respective new beds. "Thanks." "Yeah," agreed Celosia. "I appreciate it." "Oh, it's no problem really," replied Fluttershy. The mare flex her graceful facial features into a deep-thinking expression. "Say, Fluttershy, are there any others like you? You know, more pony-like pegasus?" Cenobia questioned, breaking Fluttershy's train of thought "Oh why yes there are," she answered. "In fact, some ways from my cottage is a town called Ponyville, which not only have pegasus ponies living there, but also unicorn ponies and earth ponies that live there too." Celosia and Cenobia's light blue eyes grew wide with fascination upon listening to this new information as Fluttershy continued. "In fact, some of my best friends live there in Ponyville." "Wow, that's neat," replied an awed Cenobia. "So who are your best friends?" asked Celosia. "Could you tell us about them?" "Why sure," replied Fluttershy delightfully, as proceeded to tell them about her best friends: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. She spoke passionately about them for about half an hour while Celosia and Cenobia eagerly listened to her. Finally, Fluttershy got a certain point where she wanted to ask the two brothers something that she'd been thinking about long and hard since she brought them to live in her cottage. "...So, um, would you mind if I brought them over to my cottage tomorrow and introduced you to them?" "Sure that'd be great!" replied Cenobia enthusiastically. "I'd really like to meet your best friends." "Yeah, me too," added Celosia. "But don't you think they'll react the same way your animal friends did when you first brought us here?" "Yes, I realize that," said Fluttershy. "But don't worry. I think they'll warm up to you once I mentioned that you both saved my life today." "You know, that's a good point," replied Celosia joyfully, agreeing with the mare's words. "Your friends would be very grateful for us doing that." "Yeah," added Cenobia. "That would be really great." Fluttershy smiled joyfully in seeing the two brothers acting positive about the prospect of them meeting her best friends for the first time before she opened her muzzle widely with a big yawn. "Goodness," she said sleepily. "It sure is getting late, which means that its time for some much needed sleep." Fluttershy turned around and jumped onto her bed, but just before she could pull down the covers, Celosia's voice rang out. "Um, Fluttershy." The frail pegasus mare turned around on her bed and looked to see both felines still sitting on their bed mats without any signs of sleepiness in their eyes. "For some reason, I don't feel very sleepy." "Yeah, same here," agreed Cenobia. "Could you maybe help us out?" Fluttershy placed one front hoof on the bottom of her muzzle for a few seconds before her eyes brightened up. "I have just the thing," she said gently. "Do you mind if I sung you a lullaby?" Both brothers looked at each other for a moment before giving Fluttershy a nod of approval. Fluttershy cleared her throat and began singing: Hush now, quiet now It's to lay your sleepy head Hush now quiet now It's time to go to bed Drifting off to sleep Exciting day behind you Drifting off to sleep Let the joy of dreamland find you At the very moment Fluttershy began singing her lullaby, Celosia and Cenobia began succumbing to somnolence as the song's soothing rhythm, nodding their heads. After a few more minutes into the song, the two felines eventually went prostrate on their makeshift beds, closed their stony eyelids and fell blissfully to sleep. In observing this, Fluttershy yawned once more and undid the covers of her bed in getting herself to sleep. She failed to notice that while asleep, a teardrop prodded out from one of Cenobia's closed eyes, streaming down his face. The very next morning after providing herself and her animal friends some breakfast, Fluttershy left the cottage, promising both Celosia and Cenobia that she would return, and flew straight toward Ponyville, where her first stop would be Sugarcube Corner, aka, the home of one of her best friends, Pinkie Pie. Upon entering Sugarcube Corner, Fluttershy immediately informed Pinkie Pie that she needed her help over something. When the pink party-going earth pony asked what it was, Fluttershy requested Pinkie to tell Twilight, Applejack and Rarity to come on over to her cottage some time before noon for an urgent meeting on account that the pegasus mare has something important to announce to them (Pinkie Pie also needs to attend), while she would personally inform Rainbow Dash about this matter. Pinkie Pie promised Fluttershy that she'd get on it right away, to which the pegasus mare was thankful for and hugged Pinkie before flying off to find Rainbow Dash. Seconds later, Pinkie dashed out of Sugarcube Corner and right for Rarity's Boutique when she suddenly stopped in her tracks before her entire body shuddered for a moment. After recovering herself, Pinkie resumed her mad dash towards Rarity's, knowing that that she and her friends were in for a doozy today. Hours later around noon, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack who was dragging a shuddering Pinkie Pie by the tail had just rushed across the small creek bridge before arriving at the front door of Fluttershy's cottage, where Rainbow Dash was waiting for them impatiently. "It's about time you gals got here," she complained. "I've been waiting here for almost half an hour!" "Chill out now, Rainbow," said Applejack. "We got here as fast as we could." "Yes," agreed Rarity. "Despite Pinkie's Pinkie Sense slowing us down a notch. After all, the poor dear is shaking as if she caught a cold." "I-i-i-it's n-n-n-not a cold," corrected a trembling Pinkie Pie. "It's a do-o-o-o-zy." "Which reminds me," said Applejack. "What do ya'll suppose Fluttershy's wantin' to tell us that's urgent?" "Well," answered Twilight. "I suppose we're going to find out, aren't we?" The scholarly mare reached out her hoof and knocked on the cottage door. Seconds later, the door creaked open leaving it ajar as Fluttershy's beautiful moderate cyan eyes peaked out for a moment. "Oh good, you're here," she said before fully opening her front door. "Come right in." She stood to one side as all her friends strolled right inside, except for Pinkie Pie who was dragged in by Applejack holding her by the tail. All five mares managed find some good spots in the living room, with Rarity, lounging upon the love seat, Twilight and Applejack taking the couch, Rainbow Dash hovering on one side of it, while Pinkie Pie stood on the opposite end shuddering, which had now intensified significantly. Fluttershy stood in front of her friends, doing her best to hide her utter nervosity from them as she spoke. "I thank you all for coming on such short notice. Um, I hope you don't mind if I interrupted you with anything." "Oh, don't be ridiculous, Fluttershy," said Rarity. "You're our dear friend and we'll always be here for you no matter what." "So, what it is you wanted to speak with us so urgently about, Fluttershy?" asked Twilight Sparkle. Fluttershy, then looked from side to side before gazing back at her friends. "Well," she began. "Yesterday, I made two friends who are now living with me at my cottage. I invited you all here so that I could introduce them to you." "Well, that's mighty fine of ya, sugarcube," declared Applejack pleasantly. "Why don't ya bring 'em on down and we'll mingle with 'em." "Um, okay. But first, I strongly ask you all to promise—no, no—Pinkie Pie swear to not react aggressively or violently toward them when you meet them. Please?" For a moment, Fluttershy's friends gave each other queer looks at each other before they proceeded in verbally doing the Pinkie Pie Swear (including the trembling Pinkie) for Fluttershy, making her smile joyfully. "Thank you. Now just wait right here and I'll be right back." The five mares watched as the pale yellow pegasus mare quickly retreated upstairs before hearing hushed voices, including hers. Rainbow Dash was tempted in hovering over to the stairs to eavesdrop on the unheard conversation, but a surge of Twilight's magic grasping her tail discouraged her from doing so. Half a minute later, the sounds of three sets of hoof steps were heard descending the stairs and the quintet of friends watched as Fluttershy first emerged, followed by the slightly smaller stone felines, Celosia and Cenobia. And when the trio sat down on the edge of the pink circular rug in front of them, Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and even the vibrating Pinkie Pie all had looks of shock and bewilderment in their eyes with their maws slightly agape. In contrast, Celosia and Cenobia had pleasant and friendly expressions plastered on their mask-like faces as Fluttershy introduced them: "Everypony, I'd like you to meet Celosia and Cenobia." She reapplied her gaze toward the feline siblings. "Boys, these are my best friends, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie...who seems to be having a doozy." "Hi there," said Celosia politely. "Hello, ladies," added his brother. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's body instantly stopped shuddering and shifted into several different contortions and expansions simultaneously before reverting back into her normal, cotton-candy maned self. She gasped softly with delight, thinking: Ah-ha! So that's what this doozy was about...oh right, she thought. She resumed gazing at the two feline siblings with awe and shock. > Chapter Two > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- For a few moments, there was a palpable silence within the living room of Fluttershy's cottage, as she, Celosia, Cenobia and her five best friends seemed to be locked in a brief staring contest with each other. Thankfully, the shock-filled reticence was broken by Fluttershy as she cleared her throat softly and gently: "Okay, um, before any you ask or say anything, I want to tell all of you how I met these two. So if you would please, um, listen?" She cleared her throat again before she began her narrative, starting with her brief and careful trot from Zecora's hut in the Everfree Forest for medical herbs. Then Fluttershy literally shivered with fright in recalling her encounter with a vicious wyvern on her way back to her cottage, how she tried in vain to flee from the beast and... But she stopped. Knowing how dreadful that experience felt, she cast a quick glance at Celosia and Cenobia. Invigorated with renewed confidence, Fluttershy resumed with how the two feline brothers rushed in, saving her when she was in danger, and confronted the terrifying wyvern. Fluttershy paused once more, remembering that she remained hidden during the two-on-one battle, allowing both Celosia and Cenobia to step in and resume where she left off. The other five mares present listened with awe as the two brothers recounted their heroic struggle against the wyvern in great detail. While recounting the two-prong brawl against the savage beast, Celosia and Cenobia sometimes reenacted some of their attack maneuvers, which made it look like a fight against an invisible opponent, yet also doing their best to not damage any furniture or breakables in Fluttershy's house in the process. Throughout this display of combat prowess, some of Fluttershy's animal friends peeked out of their holes and in-built homes to watch, some even chirped excitedly as if they were cheering the two brothers on. In the end though, the two brothers concluded that they didn't actually defeat the wyvern. Instead, the creature was meerly frustrated enough to flee from them with a few minor wounds and scraps. With that, they allowed Fluttershy to personally finish the rest of the story. The pegasus mare resumed at the part where she emerged from her hiding place to warmly thank her saviors for saving her from the wyvern before she brought them home to her cottage. "...So as can you see," she continued. "If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be standing here before you right now." Thus, Fluttershy finished the narrative of how Celosia and Cenobia rescued and saved her life yesterday. The pegasus mare's best friends all had expressions of great interest as their facial expressions shifted from their initial astoundment and shock to awe and relief. They were in awe with how Celosia and Cenobia selflessly risked their lives saving Fluttershy and were also relieved in knowing that their dear pegasus friend was safe because of them. Half a minute after Fluttershy concluded her tale, the airborne Rainbow Dash was the first to approach the two lithic brothers, landing right in front of them. "You know," she said. "There's only one thing I have to say to you two." Celosia and Cenobia internally braced themselves for Rainbow Dash's next comment. "That...was...AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash ascended into a hover, slowly circling the two brothers while speaking. "I mean listenin' to the way you two went up head-on against a wyvern without even flinching was just so amazing. And those moves you both did on him, like..." The athletic mare, using her wings, swiftly imitated some of the moves demonstrated by Celosia and Cenobia for a few seconds while rapidly shouting words like 'Wham!' or 'Pow!' or 'Slash!' or 'Bham!' or 'Zonk!' and the like. When she finished, she descended back to the floor in front of the two brothers. "But you know what’s even more awesome? You saved our friend too!" As she spoke, Rainbow Dash turned her eyes toward Fluttershy. "You see, Fluttershy and I have been best friends since we were fillies and there were times when I had stand up for her whenever she was harassed by bullies." She pauses to return her gaze back toward the two brothers, both of whom were smiling. "But now, I'm just glad somepony was there to help her out yesterday when I wasn't able to." The rainbow-maned mare embraces the two felines with a strong hug. "Thank you, thank you both." "Hey, don't mention it," replied Celosia, as Rainbow released both him and his brother. "We were happy to do it." His brother nodded in agreement. An evidently happy Rainbow Dash smiled and hovered back over to the couch. Applejack, who was sitting on the couch, slid off and instead approached the two brothers. "Well, I gotta say," said the cowpony. "That was mighty fine and brave of y'all to go head-to-head in a tussle against a varmint like that to save Fluttershy. It's not something that regular ponies can do since those critters are so gosh-darn dangerous, even for unicorns. But ya'll managed to do that and prevent him from maulin' our friend, Fluttershy." "So," she patted both brothers separately on their backs. "Great job with that and thank y'all for savin' for her." "Ah, it was nothing, really," replied Cenobia modestly. He watched as the strong pony mare retreated back toward her seat on the couch before Pinkie Pie suddenly zipped up to them until her smiling face a mere inch from theirs. "Oh, you two were so super-duper-awesome-fantast-erful in saving our best friend, Fluttershy," she said really fast while holding both brothers in a super tight hug. After releasing them from her embrace, Pinkie Pie suddenly gasps with excitement. "I'VE GOT IT!" Both Celosia and Cenobia stumbled back two paces upon hearing the pink earth pony's shout of excitement. "I've got a super-duper-ultra idea of throwing a mega-awesome 'Welcome - To - Ponyville - Celosia - And - Cenobia/Thank - You - For - Saving - Our - Friend - Fluttershy' party at Sugercube Corner this afternoon. It's the perfect way of thanking you for saving my friend and it's gonna be so much fun! With party blowers, games, balloons, drinks, presents, pinatas, prizes, confetti, several flavorful deserts and treats, and some utterly awesome friends you'll want to meet there too!" As she continued speaking without taking a breathe, Pinkie Pie hopped and flipped around the two brothers in a circle while they did their best in watching her movements. She stopped right in front of them again. "So what do you say, Celosia and Cenobia?" she asked. "Would like to come to your party this afternoon?" The two lithic felines, though puzzled by this question, thought about the pink party mare's proposal for a few seconds. "Um...sure," said Celosia at last. "We'll be glad to attend." His brother, Cenobia, nodded in agreement. "Great!" replied Pinkie with excitement. "Of course, I've still got to get the party set up, send out invites to everypony, get a cake ready—" She was abruptly cut off when she became ensnared by a field of magic. "Wait one moment, Pinkie Pie," she said while levitating her friend back over close to the couch. "How about we get to know Celosia and Cenobia a bit more first before we start throwing a party for them." "She's right, darling," added Rarity, who got off the love seat and walked toward Celosia and Cenobia. "You can always wait until later this afternoon to start with the celebrations." "Okie-dokie-lokie!" exclaimed Pinkie Pie as her porcelain white unicorn friend stopped in front of Celosia and Cenobia, looking right down at them with a smile before daintily clearing her throat. "Celosia, Cenobia," began Rarity cordially. "It is with great pleasure that you have my most profound gratitude for saving Fluttershy. She's one of my dearest friends whom I've ever had the distinct pleasure of knowing. Believe me, several of my friends and I would have certainly been most utterly devastated had she not survived from that encounter." The beautiful white unicorn mare sighed daintily. "But thankfully, you both came along; rushing gallantly to her rescue, thus preventing such a disastrous outcome. For that, I am forever grateful to you both and I vow to somehow repay the two of you for such a kind and heroic act." Both Celosia and Cenobia smiled as they felt deeply touched by Rarity's decorous words of gratitude for saving Fluttershy. "Thanks, Rarity," said Cenobia. "But you don't really have to—" "No, no," Rarity refused polite, shaking her head. "Please, I insist. I feel most compelled to do something special for the both of you in return for what you've done for my friend, Fluttershy. It would be most improper if I didn't." The two brothers look into each others eyes for a moment, as if they were having a silent conversation. They looked back at Rarity and nodded in approval. The white unicorn mare smiled, nodded back, and proceeded back to the love seat before Twilight Sparkle dismounted from her spot on the couch and approached Celosia and Cenobia. Racing through the purple mare's mind was thoughts of awed fascination over the two stony felines while her purple eyes remained fixated on them. Within seconds, Twilight finally stopped a foot from the twin brothers. "Well, I have to admit," she said to them. "When our friend, Fluttershy, first called us over here for an emergency meeting, all five of us weren't at all expecting to meet either one of you when she introduced us. I can safely say that I speak for all of us in that we all felt both shocked and even a little bit frightened over your - if you'll excuse my terminology - unusual appearances after you both emerged from the stairs." All four mares behind Twilight shared awkward expressions as she spoke those words, while Fluttershy felt slightly saddened, knowing that's how they'd initial react. All five mares were jostled out of their unease when Celosia and Cenobia burst out giggling for a few seconds. "It's alright, Twilight," said Celosia affably. "All three of us were kind of expected that to happen." "He's right," added a smiling Cenobia. "I mean, that's kind of how many of Fluttershy's animal friends reacted when we first met them yesterday." He and his brother sent up youthful chuckles again for a few seconds, with a few of the cottage-dwelling animals laughing with them in their own way. All the while, Twilight looked over to Fluttershy, who just smiled at her while giving her an expression that seemed to say, "it's quite alright." The scholarly alicorn, who now had a joyful look on her feminine visage, turned back toward Celosia and Cenobia. Meanwhile her other four friends smiled gleefully, relieved that the two brothers weren't offended with how they previously felt. "Well, regardless," said Twilight, resuming where she left off. "After listening to Fluttershy explain how you two saved from a wyvern yesterday, I also admit that I too am amazed. Because from what I've read about them, wyverns are well known to be quite aggressive and dangerous creatures and not very many ponies who have ever encountered them would have escaped unscathed. And even those accounts are often scarce and hard to come by. But you two actually had the selfless courage to confront such a mythical creature." Twilight glanced at her pale yellow friend for a brief moment. "And its for that reason I am grateful to you both for saving her life yesterday. Fluttershy is one the most kindest and gentlest friends I've ever known and, I know Rarity already said it, but I don't know what I'd do is something dangerous like that happened to her. Thus, I'll say it again: thank you so very much for saving her yesterday." "Of course, Miss Sparkle," said a smiling Cenobia. "You're very welcome." Twilight smiled back before turning around and returning to her spot on the couch. "Um, Miss Twilight," said Celosia. "Could you please tell us what Ponyville is like?" Twilight's face brightened up in hearing about this. "Why sure," she replied delightfully, as Fluttershy and the two brothers stepped closer to her and the other four mares. "Ponyville happens to be quite a fairly small, yet moderately populated town. The ponies living there happen to be quite friendly with each other and are very welcoming to anyone new who comes into to town." "And for each one," added Pinkie Pie jubilantly. "We always throw them a 'Welcome-to-Ponyville' Party!" Both brothers felt relieved about this new information, since now they can visit it later with Fluttershy without being seen as something scary. "Ah hope ya'll don't mind me pryin'," said Applejack out of the blue. "But how old are ya'll boys?" Celosia and Cenobia looked at each other for a moment before returning their gaze at Applejack. "About twelve years old," replied Celosia. "Same here," added Cenobia. "Why do you ask, Applejack?" The orange earth mare smiled pleasantly. "Well," she replied. "You see, I have a younger sister who's around the same age as ya'll and her name's Applebloom." "Not to mention," said Rarity. "That my younger sister, Sweetie Belle, happens that same age as well." "Let's not forget, Scootaloo," added Rainbow Dash. "While she's not actually my sister, she and I are really close like sisters. Oh, and she shares the same age as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle." Both Celosia and Cenobia found themselves tingling with excitement on the inside along with a mysterious urge to meet these three young fillies. "So they're all best friends?" asked Cenobia. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash nodded their heads simultaneously before Celosia and Cenobia joyfully looked at each other for a moment. "Good," said Celosia. "Because I think both my brother and I would really like to meet with them sometime." All three mares smiled at this. "How about meeting them at your party this afternoon?" suggested Pinkie Pie. "Sounds good to me," replied Rainbow Dash as everyone else nodded in agreement. "So," said Twilight Sparkle. "Anything else you'd like to know?" Both brothers had deep-thinking expressions on their lithic faces until Cenobia's lit up enthusiastically. "If you don't mind, Twilight Sparkle," he said. "Could you explain why you all have those strange-looking tattoos on your rears?" While asking this, Cenobia pointed on forepaw at one of the rainbow-colored lightning bolts on one side of Rainbow Dash's butt. "You know," said Celosia. "That's what I'd like to know too since both Cen and I saw those butterflies marked on Fluttershy's rear. Um, no offense meant." "Oh, none taken at all," replied Fluttershy. "And we've now noticed that you all had ones that look different from hers." Twilight Sparkle smiled enthusiastically as she stepped off the couch. "Well, to properly answer your question, Cenobia," said she as she rotated her body. "These are not tattoos, but they're called cutie marks." She motioned to her starry cutie mark on her flank while speaking. "And as to why we have them, its because in Eqeustria, a pony's cutie mark usually represents something very unique about each of them, such as a specific talent or what their personality's like. For example, my cutie mark here represents my unique abilities with using magic." Twilight's horn lit up as she proceeded to levitate several pieces of furniture off the ground to demonstrate her strong magic. Both Celosia and Cenobia found themselves amazed with the purple alicorn's abilities as she gently levitated all the furniture back down on the floor. "Applejack's cutie mark indicates that she works on Sweet Apple Acres and that she spends most of her days harvesting apples from the orchards there - as well as being part of the Apple family. And if you haven't already guessed it, Pinkie Pie's cutie mark shows how she likes to throw parties for other ponies, while Rarity's cutie mark represents her affinity to sparkly and shining things in her clothing design. She might say that they were… fabulous." The two brothers beheld confused expressions on their faces for a moment, before turning to Rarity, who gave a silvery chuckle. "Don't worry about it, darlings," said the white unicorn mare. "I'm sure you'll get the idea soon enough. Carry on, Twilight." The two brothers shifted their focus on Twilight. "So anyway," resumed the purple alicorn. "I'm sure you two have already noticed, but Rainbow Dash's cutie mark signifies her amazing flying skills." "Yeah," said Celosia. "She was pretty fast from how I saw it." "That's nothing," bragged Rainbow Dash. "If you want, I could easily show you some of my really awesome aerial moves outside later." "Sure thing. We'd like that." Celosia's brother nodded in agreement with, causing Rainbow Dash to smile gleefully. When Twilight was about to resume where she left off, Cenobia beat her to it. "Oh, wait. Is Fluttershy's cutie mark of three butterflies involved with her ability to communicate with other animals?" Twilight and her friends were greatly surprised with what Cenobia just stated, while his brother didn't seem to react at all. "H-how did you know that?" asked Twilight incredulously. "Because," Celosia immediately answered. "Both Cen and I watched Fluttershy calm down her animal friends when the both of us accidentally frightened 'em yesterday." Fluttershy smiled at Celosia and Cenobia, as she felt touched by how they correctly guessed what her cutie mark signified. As for her friends, they were now amazed with how smart the two brothers were. "Um, very good in observing that, you two," said Twilight rather awkwardly before clearing her throat. "So, anway, that's pretty much how cutie marks work for us ponies." "Do Apple Bloom and her two friends have their Cutie Marks, yet?" immediately asked Cenobia, before he and Celosia observed that Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash had brief expressions of downcast. "Ah'm afraid not, Cenobia," answered Applejack. "You see, ponies aren't exactly born with cutie marks, they have to actually discover their special talents first before those cutie marks permanently appear on their flanks." She paused and let out a doleful sigh. "So far, Apple Bloom and her friends haven't earned their cutie marks." The two brothers felt downcast in hearing this from Applejack. "But don't fret," added Rarity. "I'm still positive that they'll discover their cutie marks soon." Celosia and Cenobia smiled upon hearing the unicorn mare's optimistic words. They both shifted their stares directly at Twilight. "Excuse me, Twilight Sparkle," said Celosia. "Fluttershy told my brother and I last night that you're known as an alicorn. So, could you please explain to us what an alicorn is? Because neither of us have never heard of them before." It was indeed quite true that last night when Fluttershy told the two brothers about her best friends, she mentioned that Twilight Sparkle was once a unicorn before she became an alicorn. Neither brother gave much thought into that until they observed Twilight's folded wings. For a moment, Twilight had an awkward expression on her face before she took a deep breath. "Well," she began. "An alicorn is a special and unique kind of pony that possesses the immensely strong magic of unicorns, the flight capabilities of pegasi, and the strength of regular earth ponies. At the moment, there are only three alicorns in existence in Equestria besides myself. Two of them, who live in Canterlot, are Princess Celestia and her younger sister, Princess Luna, who just so happen to be co-rulers of Equestria. The other is my sister-in-law, Princess Cadence who currently resides with my brother, Prince Shining Armor, in the Crystal Empire." "So are you a princess too?" asked Cenobia. Twilight had an uncomfortable look on her face upon hearing that question and felt hesitant about answering it for a moment. Thankfully, Rarity stepped in for her. "Technically," she answered. "Cenobia, dear, she is a Princess. However, that doesn't necessarily mean she's a Princess born from high royalty or a ruler of a separate nation. The reason Twilight became a Princess is because she has many qualities that describe her as a leader of sorts." "It's just that," added in Applejack. "The change has been very recent for Twilight and she still isn't use to bein' a princess just yet. So for now, just be casual with her like anypony else you'd meet." Twilight sighed with relief from the response that Rarity and Applejack gave the two brothers. "Sure thing, Applejack," said Cenobia. "Thank you both for that," Twilight said to her friends, before looking back toward the two brothers. "So, you have anything else you'd like to know?" Celosia and Cenobia beheld thoughtful expressions for a few seconds before the former looked in Pinkie Pie's direction. "Excuse me, Pinkie Pie," he said to her. "Could you please describe what parties are like?" A wildly joyful smile appeared on the pink party mare's face as felt more than eager in answering Celosia's question. Twilight could tell that this will be a most interesting time for her and her friends. Meanwhile at the same time, two Royal Guard stallion unicorns, named North Star and Baker, from Canterlot were patrolling a forested area a few miles outside the city. While venturing through the area with some caution, the two stallions also couldn't help feeling jubilant at the same time. For it had been a few months since the official announcement of the next upcoming Equestria Games being held at the Crystal Empire up north and the two Royal Guards, being sports fans themselves, were utterly looking forward to it. Throughout the first hour of day's patrol, they both conversed and speculating about which teams they were rooting for, which events they liked best, and even joked about whether the their favorite teams would defeat one or the other. Presently both had finished laughing during this conversation when Baker immediately halted in his steps, quickly motioning North Star to do the same. "Hey, listen," said Baker quietly. Seconds later, both guards began hearing a series of soft, yet strong, thumps softly rumbling through the ground. After listening to them for a few seconds, the two patrol guards realized that the thumps were gradually growing louder, which also meant that whoever or whatever was making them was getting closer to their position. "So what now?" asked North Star. "I advise we go forward and investigate." North Star had a surprised look on his face upon hearing this suggestion. "Are you sure? I say we go back for a squadron. Whatever that is, it could be dangerous." "We can't know that for sure until we find out. If it tries to attack us, then we'll go back for squadron. Okay?" North Star sighed reluctantly before he replied: "Alright. Lead the way." The two Royal Guards ventured toward the source of the immense thumps. After several minutes, they eventually came across a small meadow, measuring in around roughly 100 feet in diameter, in which by that time they've gotten close enough to the series of thumps to observe that the vibrations they sent have grown strong enough to wobble the trees slightly. Ironically, upon reaching the edge of this meadow, the two patrolling stallion guards also discovered the source of the immense thumps---one that both surprised and amazed them. On the other side of the meadow was a tall, lean, and mysterious giant who was slowly walking in their direction. Physically, the colossal being appeared to be about twice as tall as Princess Celestia, covered in stone armor, and was apparently holding an immense sword in his right hand. The two stallions watched in awe for a minute as the giant slowly ventured toward them before Baker decided to calmly walk forward, much to the surprise of North Star. "Wait." he whispered. "What are you doing?" Baker didn't reply as he cautiously walked out into the meadow until he stopped at about a few feet from its edge. The unicorn guard fixed his gaze at the approaching giant and waved at him with one hoof. "Hello there, sir!" he shouted. Can we help you?!" The giant ahead immediately stopped before setting his teal eyes toward the smaller pony stallion and lifted up his left arm toward Baker for a moment in a friendly gesture. "Greetings, little horse knight." he shouted in a loud, baritone voice. "My name is Gaius and I would appreciate your help. Be still while I come closer to you and your companion to further elaborate." With that, Gaius resumed his walk toward the Royal Guard, this time at a little faster pace. North, who had chosen to step out while Gaius was speaking, looked next to his fellow Royal Guard and said: "I sure hope you know what you're doing, buddy. I mean this seems crazy." "I know, but this Gaius fella sounds friendly enough. Besides, the Princesses always emphasize the importance of extending one's hoof in friendship, so I thought I'd make an example with Gaius here." "Let's just hope it works," North Star replied reluctantly. Within a minute or two, the enormous figure of Gaius managed to stop a few feet from both of the Royal Guards, thus giving them a closer view of the titanic knight. Although Gaius was well covered in stone armor, some parts of his body, especially around his waist, were unprotected and covered with blueish-grey fur. His feet were unusual on account that not only were they shaped like spheroid stones, but that Gaius could easily stand up straight on them without any fear of leaning or toppling over. Surrounding the giant's neck was a ring of spikes jutting outward, a few of which were broken off, while his mouth looked quite small and on each side of his head were two pairs of straight stone protrusions---features that if seen from afar, would resemble a knight's helmet. When Baker observed Gaius' right arm, he was astounded to find that sword he was "carrying" happened to be literally attached on the end of it, while on his left arm in place of where hand's digits would have been are a few stubs of stone that protruded outward resembling very crude looking fingers. But what really awed and surprised both Royal Guards about Gaius, besides his great size and perplexing appearance, were his brilliant teal eyes, both pulsing with life. The two stallions observed how the lower part of Gaius' bizarre mouth moved as he spoke: "I thank you for waiting patiently, little horse knights." "Y-you're welcome, s-s-sir," replied North Star, feeling slightly nervous around the immense Gaius, who had now taken notice of the stallion's nervousness. "Please, sir," said Gaius gently. "You do not need to fear me." Gaius placed the end of his left arm over his armored chest for a moment. "For I swear unto you by my knight's honor that I will not harm you or your companion." Both North Star and Baker felt at ease and a little surprised in hearing Gaius' vow, especially since, as Royal Guards themselves, they usually take such vows quite seriously. "Thank you for your assurances, Gaius," said Baker. "Now, could please tell us what you need help with?" The immense knight nodded his head. "Of course. You see, I have no idea of where I am right now, for I'm suppose to be dead. Therefore, I must ask you: is this world by any chance the afterlife? And if it isn't, by what name is this world called?" For a moment, both unicorn stallions had puzzled looks as Gaius disclosed this information about himself, but they immediately composed themselves. "Um, sir," spoke up North Star. “While I don’t know what the afterlife is like, I can promise you that where you’re standing is not it. You’re standing within the world of Equestria.” Gaius nodded before raising the end of his left arm up to below his mouth for a few seconds. The giant knight sequentially asks: "May I ask who are the current monarchs over Equestria and where I can find them? For I'd like to have an audience with them as soon as possible." "They are both our Royal Highnesses, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," replied North. "Both of whom reside in Equestria's capitol, Canterlot, sir Gaius. May I ask why you want an audience with them?" "Because I feel that they alone could possibly help me with some questions that neither of you might not be able to answer." "He's got a point there," Baker noted to North Star before refocusing on Gaius. "Sir, if you'll please wait here with my comrade, I'll head right over to Canterlot and announce your arrival to the Princesses and your intentions of having an audience with them. Then I'll come back with a group of our strongest unicorns to teleport you over to the throne room in Canterlot." "That will be most appreciated, little knight," replied Gaius. "Please, go and do as you see fit. I'll wait here patiently with your companion until you and your squadron return." "Yes, sir," answer Baker before he turned around and walked toward the thickness of the forest before suddenly disappearing in quick flash of bright light. Gaius, amazed at the sight, stepped back with one spheroid foot before looking down at North Star for a moment. "Boy," thought North Star nervously. "Looks there nothing left to do but wait." Within the Royal Throne room at Canterlot, Princesses Celestia and Luna were seated on the throne itself, with the elder sister positioned on the main seat while the younger stood beside her to the right. Flanking the wide throne itself were two guards It had been a rather slow day for the two immortal biarchs so far on account that marginally few ponies had requested to see them. That is until a few minutes ago when a Royal Guard named Baker teleported into the room informing the Princesses that someone named Gaius wanted an immediate audience with them. Both princesses approved it, but upon asking where Gaius was, Baker replied that he's far outside of Canterlot before requesting a large group of unicorn guards to teleport him directly into the Royal Throne room. Though initially perplexed by such a request, the two sisters nonetheless granted it before a thankful Baker teleported to the Guard's main barracks. While they waited for the arrival Gaius and his unicorn escorts, the two sisters shared a brief conversation together. "You know, Luna," said Celestia. "For some strange reason, I have noticed that my pet bird hasn't been in my Royal Chambers since yesterday morning." "You mean Philomena?" asked Luna, in which her elder sister replied with a nod. "Where do you suppose she went, Tia." The elder sister sighed sadly. "I don't know, Luna and that's what worries me. I'm fearful that she might have run away and flown off to somewhere dangerous." "Did she leave you a note, by any chance?" "Indeed she did and it said that she'll be out for quite some time and that she would return by some time this afternoon." Celestia paused, letting out a weary sigh. "Sadly her note didn't say why she'd be out for so long nor did it say where she went. Good gracious, I'm so very worried about her, sister." "There, there, Tia," said Luna in a comforting voice, placing one hoof on her sister's shoulder. "Remember, Philomena is very faithful to you and would certainly never abandon you. Besides, she did say that she would return as she promised." Princess Celestia smiled in hearing her sister encouraging words. "I am sure that you are right. Thank you, Lulu." "Not to mention that I thankfully taught Philomena how to write," she thought to herself. "But of course, Tia." Luna's facial expression soon shifted into a concerned expression. "You know, I'm wondering exactly who this Gaius fellow could be. For quite frankly, I've never heard of somepony with that name before." "I'm certain we'll both find out soon enough, sister." Half a minute later, a bright flash of light erupts within the room several yards from where the Princesses sat on the throne. With a few milliseconds, it died down, revealing the giant stone-armored figure of Gaius with a eighteen nearly exhausted Royal Guard unicorns surrounding him in a circle. Baker panted as he stepped forward. "Here you are, your majesties. I've brought Gaius to you as promised. Now, if you'll kindly excuse me, North Star and I need to take a little rest before returning to our normal patrol duties." He turned around, following North Star and the remaining group of tired unicorn stallions toward the door while Gaius watched him go by. "I humbly thank you for your assistance, Baker." said Gaius kindly, whose loud voice echoed throughout the chamber. "No problem, Gaius," replied Baker. "I hope your audience with the Princesses goes well." "I'm certain that it will. Farewell to you, good sir." Gaius fixed his gaze back towards the Royal sisters and began slowly venturing toward them. To say that Celestia and Luna were surprised was an understatement; they were both amazed and shocked when Gaius first appeared before them in the throne room. In the same way, the two guards who stood vigil were also greatly surprised by this too. Despite that though, the Princesses did their best to maintain their composure as they watched Gaius slowly approaching them, with his teal-colored eyes focused directly on them. The two guards backed up to give Gaius some space as he stopped at about a foot or two from the bottom of the throne. At this close, the alicorn diarchs were able to get a closer look at the rock-armored knight and observed that he was a little over twice the height of Princess Celestia. Within seconds, Gaius raised his right arm, rotated the stone sword in a downward position and gently placed the tip of it on the floor before he extended his left foot forward and lowered himself until the knee of his right leg lightly touched the floor's surface, before bowing his head downward. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna of Equestria," declared the genuflecting Gaius. "It is with great honor to come before Your Highnesses' presence." Almost immediately, both immortal princesses smiled as they felt at ease and humbled upon witnessing Gaius' courteous act of deep respect toward them. In a way, the two royal sisters also felt a little flattered to receive such admiration from a biped as enormous as him. "Arise, please," said Princess Celestia politely. Within seconds, Gaius obeyed the solar Princess' command and shifted himself back up into a standing position, with his teal eyes fixed on the two alicorn diarchs. "Gaius, I have been informed of your desire to have audience with me and my sister, Luna. So if you please, could you tell us both the purpose of your request?" "Of course, Your Majesty," replied Gaius. "Before I do though, I must explain where I came from, for I am not a native of your lands, but originally from an entirely different world all together. But alas, I've already died there as result of being felled in battle. In my mere last moments, I had hoped to ascend straight for the afterlife and after an unknown amount of time, I found myself mysteriously waking up to the bright radiant sunlight of Equestria. I must confess, your majesties, that I had initially assumed that your world was the afterlife." Both Princesses found themselves smirking for a moment, as if that statement felt like a compliment, since they knew of the how the sheer beauty of Equestria looked quite ethereal. "Yet, something didn't feel right to me, because upon awakening I found myself standing within a world I wasn't familiar with. Thus, I left from the spot of where I awoke and wandered for a long while, hoping to find someone who could tell me where I truly was. When I managed to encounter two of your little horse knights a short while ago, I felt relieved in that they could help me. Yet, I found myself dismayed when they told me that I wasn't in the afterlife. Regardless, they obliged to help bring me to you two after I requested to speak with you personally. Thus, I am here before you, your majesties, because I have much to ask you both regarding this world. If you'll permit me." Both Princesses listened intently to Gaius' narration of how he mysteriously found himself on Equestria. Though it may have seemed far-fetched to most who would hear the knight's story, both co-rulers found, to their astoundment, that they actually believed him. They didn't how or why they found Gaius' tale to be true, but part of it had to do with how as he recounted those events, both immortal alicorn sisters had their eyes fixed to his. For it is often said that the eyes are the doorway into one's soul. Thus, Celestia and Luna glanced at each other for a moment before they stood up on all fours and looked back at Gaius. "Very well, Gaius," said Princess Celestia. "You may proceed with your questions while my sister and I will answer them to the best of our ability." For a brief moment, the small corners of Gaius' mouth curled up in a sort of smile. "Thank you, your highness," he replied politely. "First of all, how exactly did I physically arrive in your land of Equestria instead of the afterlife?" For a few seconds, both Princesses had contemplative expressions on their faces before both brightened with recognition and nodded to each other. "Gaius," said Princess Celestia. "I believe that what you may have gone through was a very complex form of transmigration." The giant knight bend his head sideways for a moment, indicating confusion over the answer. "If you must know, Gaius," added Princess Luna. "Transmigration is a process where one soul dies in his or her old body and is reborn in a new one, which explains how you came to be here in Equestria after you died in your home world." Gaius nodded his head, indicating that he now understood what "transmigration" meant. "Still," he said, looking himself over. "It seems that my new body looks precisely like my previous body, even though I feel and look smaller too." Both princesses had amazed and puzzled expressions for a moment before Gaius asked his next question. "Is Equestria populated with more sentient, talking unicorn horses?" "Not just unicorns," replied a smiling Princess Celestia. "But there are also pegasi and earth ponies that live all over Equestria." "And they're sentient as well," added Princess Luna. Gaius starred deeply at the two sisters for a moment. "If you kindly don't mind me inquiring, your highnesses, may I ask what kind of horses are you?" Touched by Gaius' polite tone in asking the question, neither sisters were offended by its subject. "Well, Gaius," answered Celestia. "Both Luna and I are known as alicorns. And alicorns are known to possess the magic of unicorns, the flight abilities of a pegasus, and the strength of earth ponies." "Alicorns are also quite rare in Equestria," added Luna. "As there are currently four in existence right now, including the both of us." Deep down, Gaius felt quite fascinated with this new information on alicorns. "Amazing," he commented aloud. "I have never even heard of alicorns in my world before." For a moment, Celestia and Luna felt disheartened in realizing that alicorns don't exist in Gaius' origin world. "Gaius," said Princess Luna suddenly. "There is something I want to request of you before you ask your next question." "What would your request be, Princess Luna?" "That you would please refer to us as ponies and not horses from now on." "Very well." Gaius paused for a brief moment before he commenced with his question. "Since both your royal highnesses are capable of using magic, would it be possible to use it in sending me back to my home world? I would want to make sure that it is currently safe." The giant knight observed the Princesses facial expressions instantly shifted from pleasant to dolorous. "I'm afraid it's not possible, Gaius," replied Celestia regretfully. "For as immensely powerful as our magic is, its not capable of sending anyone back to their own world, especially if they've already died there. And even if we could, there's still no way of deciphering where that individual's world is located within the boundaries of time and space. So I'm sorry, Gaius, if we're unable to do that for you." Upon listening to his given answer, Gaius felt slightly dismayed about it. At the same time though, he comprehended with the Princesses reasons for being unable of sending him back to his home world and thus didn't complain about it. "Very well," he said politely. "Thank you, your majesties." Both immortal sisters nodded in response. Gaius raised the end of his left arm up to his chin for a moment to think when he observed the two Royal Guards, both of whom remained positioned close to the throne. "Princess Celestia, are there any standards and qualifications in joining the ranks of the little h—pony knights?" For a moment, both alicorn sisters were initially surprised by this question before they immediately composed themselves. "Now, Gaius," spoke Princess Luna politely. "For future reference, the ones you call knights are actually known as members of the Canterlot Royal Guard, or guards if you'd prefer." Gaius immediately nodded to Luna in confirmation. "And as for your question," said Princess Celestia. "Yes, there are indeed many standards and qualifications required in joining the Canterlot Royal Guard, Gaius. But may I inquire why you would ask about that?" Before he answered, Gaius looked down at the two guards again to observe their facial reactions, which hadn't changed from their calm expressions, despite what he previously asked. "Because now that I know that I'll be staying in your world for a very long time to come, I'll need something to do in order to occupy my time here—something that involves benefiting and protecting all sentient life in Equestria, including your pony subjects. But in order for me to so, I feel that I will need join the ranks of your Royal Guards—if you'll permit it, Your Majesties." For both princesses and the two guards, even though they didn't show it, not only were they amazed with Gaius' reason for wanting to join the Canterlot Royal Guard, but they also felt deeply touched with his words in wanting to protect all living in Equestria. Both of the guards even smiled slightly at this thought while the two princesses looked at each other for a moment before returning their gaze upward at Gaius. "Rest assured, Gaius," said Princess Celestia. "Both Luna and I will put your request into much consideration." "But in the mean time," said Princess Luna. "Are there any other questions you'd like to ask us." Little did both she or her elder sister realize that Gaius indeed had so much more to ask them. Meanwhile, far away in Fluttershy's cottage, things had gone quite well for the pegasus mare, her best friends, and the two brothers, Celosia and Cenobia. It had only been twenty minutes since the pale yellow pegasus mare's friends first met them and both parties had learned a little bit more about each other since that time. For the two brothers, both had learned a few more things from Fluttershy and her five best friends, including where each lives in Ponyville, what they did for a living, some of Ponyville's citizens, Equestria itself, a few of the cities throughout the land (including Canterlot and Cloudsdale) and some of Princess Celestia and Luna's roles as Equestria's co-rulers. In turn, Fluttershy and her best friends learned a few things about Celosia and Cenobia, including that they identify themselves as Colossi (Twilight initially assumed them to be gargoyles) and that they're specifically two of only sixteen total in existence along with the fact that they themselves were the smallest. The two brothers also informed the six mares that they are not actually native to Equestria, but from another place beyond their reach (Twilight secretly assumes that they're from a different dimension from hers). Even though Celosia and Cenobia apologized to Fluttershy for not revealing that secret, the graceful pegasus mare still forgave them. At present, Fluttershy's five dear friends were standing at the front door ready to depart from the cottage and return to their respective daily tasks, while she and the two brothers were right behind them. "It's been great getting to meet you and your brother, Celosia," spoke Twilight vivaciously. "Gee, thanks," replied a smiling Celosia. "We're glad to have met you all too." "And don't forget, everypony," said Pinkie Pie excitedly. "That we will all meet back at Sugarcube Corner for the "Welcome-To-Ponyville-Celosia-and-Cenobia/Thank-You-For-Saving-Our-Friend-Fluttershy" party within an hour. You got it?" The five other mares and the two young Colossi gave the pink party mare their own verbal confirmations of approval to her. "Hey, wait a minute," said Cenobia. "What about the citizens of Ponyville? I don't want them to be terrified of Cel and I when we both enter Ponyville." "Don't you worry, Cenobia," Twilight replied. "I'll inform Mayor Mare about the two of you and let her know that neither of you are dangerous. She'll make sure that you'll be able to roam around Ponyville without any suspicion or hostility from the ponies living there." "And I'll make sure," added in Rainbow Dash. "To spread the word about you two and how you saved Fluttershy to every pony in Ponyville." Both brothers were deeply relieved to hear such encouraging words from both mares. Thus, Fluttershy's five pony friends gave their respective farewells to her and the two brothers before departing the cottage through the front door and heading off to their respective previous locations. Seconds later, after gently closing the door, Fluttershy sighed with content while Celosia and Cenobia smiled vivaciously. "Well," said she. "That most certainly went well, don't you think boys." "Yep," replied Celosia. "It sure did. I'm glad to have met your friends, Fluttershy." "Yeah, they're awesome," added Cenobia excitedly, using one of Rainbow Dash's favorite words. "I just hope that this party Pinkie Pie's doing for us will be as fun as she says it will be." "Oh, I promise you, Cenobia," said Fluttershy. "That it will be quite a fun party. You two will love it." She looked around the her the inside of her cottage for a moment. "Now, since we have plenty of time before it begins, would the two of you please help me with feeding my animal friends? Because I'm pretty sure that they're probably hungry by now." "Sure thing, Fluttershy," replied Celosia gladly. "Yeah, we'd love to help you," added Cenobia joyfully. "I'm so glad to hear that," said Fluttershy, smiling at the two boy's dedication. "And once we're done, I'll lead you both on nice little tour through Ponyville on our way to Sugarcube Corner." Upon hearing that, Celosia and Cenobia felt surges of excitement gradually building within their stone-armored bodies over the prospect of seeing Ponyville for the first time. Thus for the next half-hour, Fluttershy and the two young Colossi went around the cottage, both inside and out, feeding and tending to the many numerous resident animals until all of them were quite content with their fills. Once that was done, Fluttershy ensures that Angel takes charge in watching over her cottage before she, Celosia and Cenobia depart and begin their casual approach to Ponyville. "So, Fluttershy," said Cenobia as he, Celosia, and the pegasus mare cross over the creek bridge. "How long will take for us to reach Ponyville?" "In just a few minutes, Celosia," replied Fluttershy kindly. "Which won't be very long." Their casual stroll to the town remained silent for a minute or two before suddenly, out of nowhere, a blurry grey, airborne form rushed past very close to Cenobia before slamming into a nearby tree. When all three rushed over, they found that the thing—or rather somepony—that nearly collided into Cenobia was a grey pegasus mare with a pale yellow mane and tail and a septet of bubbles display on her hindquarters. "Oh, Derpy, it's you," exclaimed Fluttershy worriedly. "Are you alright?" She watched as Derpy Hooves got up on all fours and spun around to look at the trio. For a moment, Celosia and Cenobia felt perplexed in noticing the distinct cross-eyed expression in the mare's yellow eyes. "I think so, Fluttershy," she replied before noticing the two brothers. "Hey, sorry I almost rammed into one of you. I just don't know what went wrong there." "Hey, no worries," replied Cenobia casually. "I'm sure anyone can have an accident." Celosia nodded in agreement to his brother's forgiving statement. Derpy didn't say anything but nodded her head and ascended, heading crookedly for Ponyville. With that, the trio resumed their walk toward Ponyville and the long expected soon-to-be party at Sugar Cube Corner. "You think there's something the matter with Derpy, Fluttershy?" Celosia asked. "Oh, don't worry too much about it, Celosia," assured Fluttershy with a slightly awkward edge in her voice. "That's just who Derpy is...but you'll get use to it over time." "And now here's a look at a word from our sponsors, everypony!!" > Chapter Three > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back in the throne room in Canterlot, both Princess Celestia and Luna had spent a long time speaking with Gaius, answering all manner of questions to the best of their ability. And it was from these given answers that Gaius learned an immense amount of information about Equestria, including the existence and locations of other towns and cities, like Ponyville, other sentient beings living alongside ponies, such as griffons, minotaurs, thestrals, dragons, etc; the various kinds of magic used by unicorns and alicorns such as teleportation (Princess Luna even demonstrated that for him), and that most ponies in Equestria were often quite friendly with each other and other races. But one of the most interesting answers for Gaius came to him when he asked the Princesses about, in his own words, "the images adorning your graceful posteriors." For a moment, both princesses blushed brightly, feeling flattered and slightly embarrassed with how Gaius addressed the question. They both immediately composed themselves and answered him with a detailed explanation about cuties marks and how they affected ponies throughout Equestria. This prompted further questions from Gaius about the subject. When Gaius finished his lengthy inquiry, Celestia and Luna decided to ask him some questions of their own. Unfortunately, both alicorn diarchs found that they weren't able learn very much about Gaius or his home world. But from the few things they did learn was that in the world he originated from, Gaius lived in an expansive and mostly isolated area simply known as the Forbidden Lands and that within this same enclosure of land existed fifteen others like him known as Colossi. Each of the Colossi served as guardians whose purpose was to prevent a great evil sealed there long ago from being unleashed into the lands beyond. Gaius additionally noted that each Colossus within the Forbidden Lands differentiated from each other in both size and form, meaning that not all of them were bipedal like him. All in all, the verbal exchange between the three of them proceeded smoothly and peacefully. It was during this long discussion that both Celestia and Luna had given Gaius' request to join the Royal Guard some considerable thought. Once all three have finished asking each other questions, Princess Celestia and her sister looked into each other's faces for a moment before looking back toward Gaius. "Gaius," she said politely. "Could you please move back a couple of paces? I'd like to speak with my sister in private." "Of course, Your Highness," replied the Colossus obediently before he stepped back several paces, giving the two sisters enough space to ensure that he wouldn't hear them at whispering range. Likewise, the two guards also walked away from the throne and toward the door on the other end of the room. Thus, the two sisters shifted their bodies to where Celestia leaned her face down very close to Luna's. "So," whispered Luna. "What do you think?" "Well," replied Celestia softly. "I think Gaius certainly has a lot of potential: not only is he very strong and powerful, but he's also demonstrated traits of respectfulness, gentleness, loyalty and a willingness to protect others. All of which are qualities of character that are required of a Royal Guard." "I agree, Tia. But, I also feel a little uncertain about this, especially since we just met with Gaius and we don't know very much about him yet. I mean, don't you think that there has to be something questionably suspicious about that?" "Do not worry, Luna. I'm positive that Gaius has no intention of harming anypony." "How can you be sure, sister?" "Because I could sense that within him the moment he was teleported directly into the throne room. But it wasn't until after Gaius genuflected before us did I completely realize that his immense aura emanated with benevolence." While whispering, Princess Celestia briefly stole a glance at Gaius. "After all," she continued. "Both you and I are capable of looking into the aura of ponies and non-ponies alike to determine the goodness within them. In fact, didn't you sense that same goodness within Gaius like I did?" Princess Luna's eyes grew wide with astoundment over what her elder sister asked her before she swiveled her eyes in Gaius' direction, looking hard into him for a moment. She gasped softly and looked back into her sister's eyes with a remorseful expression. "You are right, Tia," she softly confessed. "I just peered into Gaius' being and I saw the goodness in him. In fact, I actually did recognize it the moment he bowed down to us, just as you have. But I now realize that I allowed my fear and doubt cloud my judgement of him up until now. I'm so sorry for not noticing that." "It's alright, little sister," replied Celestia softly, giving Luna's cheek a comforting nuzzle. "Not all of us are perfect. And since you've now recognized the goodness within Gaius, are you willing to give him a chance to join the Royal Guard?" Both alicorn sisters looked at the patiently awaiting Gaius for a moment before they refocused their eyes on each other. "Yes, Tia," whispered Luna. "I am willing to give Gaius a chance on this matter." "I'm glad to hear it," whispered Celestia joyfully. "However, I'd like to make suggestion." For a moment, Princess Celestia had a slightly puzzled expression on her chiseled features before she composed herself. "Very well. What is this suggestion?" Princess Luna quickly glanced at Gaius for a moment. "I propose that we give Gaius a test. A test not just to determine if he's worthy of joining the ranks of the Canterlot Guard, but also to make it easier to convince the rest of the Guards of giving him a chance as well." "That is an excellent idea, sister, one that greatly I approve." "Good to hear, Tia. Shall we now tell him?" "Indeed we shall, sister." Thus, both immortal sisters, with smiles adorning their faces and ready to announce their decision, readjusted themselves to where they both looked out at Gaius. "Gaius," said Princess Celestia aloud. "Would you please come forward?" The giant earthen biped silently obeyed and walked forward, stopping a few paces from the throne's first steps. "Gaius," said Celestia. "I would like to announce that me and my sister, Princess Luna, have come to a decision regarding your request to join the ranks of the Canterlot Royal Guard." Gaius' facial expression brightened with delight as he eagerly awaited to hear the co-rulers' answer to his request. "We've decided that—" "Princess Celestia! Princess Luna!" The shout came from a Royal Guard pegasus who ran into the throne room with an urgent expression on his facial features, before he stopped upon seeing Gaius' posterior. Princess Celestia quickly vanished from her seat on the throne in a flash of light before reappearing behind Gaius. When she looked at the pegasus stallion, she observed that he had a shocked and frightened expression on his features and was seated on his haunches, making her realize what had happened. "Do not be frightened," said Celestia gently to the guard. "This one here is known as Gaius and I assure you that he will not harm you." As she spoke, Princess Luna teleported right next to her while Gaius turned around carefully, so as not to damage anything with his sword arm. "A-are you sure, Your Highness?" asked the stallion, looking up into Gaius' eyes. "I'm positive, my little pony." He instantly felt relieved in hearing those words before rising back up on all fours. "Pray tell, sir," said Princess Luna. "What is it you wanted to see us so urgently about." "Oh, right," he replied as he remembered why he came. "A couple of guards and I were stationed near one of the observation platforms along the western edge of Canterlot when we suddenly caught sight of some kind of large flying creature in the distance coming from the same direction. And although we haven't determined whether or not its friendly, we could tell that its currently heading straight for Canterlot." "Have you or any of your comrades made any moves against it?" asked Celestia. "No, ma'mm. They remained at the landing platform to maintain watch over it while I went to seek you and Princess Luna for help." "How long ago was this?" asked Princess Luna. "Only recently, Your Highness." For a moment, both Princesses had hard, thinking looks on their faces before both of them looked each other in the eye and nodded. Princess Celestia looked over at the two guards near the door. "Guards, come forward, please," she said loudly. "Yes, Princess," replied the two guards simultaneously before they rushed on over. "Do you mind if I accompany you and your small group, Princess Celestia?" asked Gaius. "For if this creature is indeed a danger to your subjects in Canterlot, then you may need my assistance in combating it." "But of course, Gaius," replied Princess Celestia. "I'd appreciate it if you would accompany us." As she said this, the two approaching guards halted before her, Luna, the pegasus guard, and Gaius. "Do you intend to teleport all of us to where this observation platform will be?" "That is correct, Gaius," answered Princess Luna. "Now, could you please remain still for this?" "Of course, Princess Luna." Thus, all five ponies huddled up close to Gaius before both co-rulers' horns lit up with magic, followed by an enormous flash of light. In an instant, they all had vanished from the throne room. Out on a large, circular observation platform along the western edge of Canterlot, there was sparse crowd of ponies standing within the outer portion of it and close to the rim, including a small group of pegasi Royal Guards. Down below the platform, where half of it extended outward, was very long drop down to the bottom of the mountain itself. Everypony was looking out west, as if they were gazing at something coming from that direction. Suddenly, everypony's eyes shifted to the center of the platform when a immense flash of light emerged before immediately vanishing, revealing Princesses Celestia and Luna, a trio of guards, and the enormous figure of Gaius standing close together. Within an instant, most of the ponies on the platform immediately gasped loudly, while a few others yelped aloud with fright, and some others became paralyzed with trepidation. For a moment, the air was filled with a tense anxiety as everypony within the platform gaped at the sword-wielding Colossus fearfully. "It's alright, my little ponies," said Princess Celestia gently and reassuringly. "You have nothing to fear. For I promise that the one standing before us is named Gaius, and he is a very friendly and gentle individual." "My sister speaks the truth," added Princess Luna. "Gaius is not here to harm you, but to help you." Gaius himself nodded to the crowd a few times, silently affirming with what the two Princesses said about him. It was then that two things happened at once: first, everypony who heard the Princesses' reassuring words utterly felt mollified of their initial fear of Gaius and felt at ease with his presence before starring back toward the west. Secondly, the group of guards immediately trotted up to the two princesses and Gaius, not only because they heard about him wanting to help, but because they also recognized the pegasus who went to summon the two co-rulers a short while ago. "Thank you for coming so quickly, Your Highness," said one of them. "Has Aerial Lookout informed you of the situation?" "Indeed he has," replied Princess Celestia. "But what is the current status of this flying creature?" The lead guard beheld a worrisome expression on his features for a moment. "Well, perhaps it would be better if we showed you." The guard and his comrades turned and walked back to the edge of the platform with the two Princesses, their three guard escorts, and Gaius (who did his best not to accidentally bump into anypony with his sword) following close behind them. When they had all gathered near the edge of the platform, Aerial Lookout raised up one hoof and pointed westward. "Look, Your Highnesses," he declared strongly. "You can see it coming from over there." Sure enough, the two Princesses and Gaius looked out to where Aerial had indicated and, sure enough, they caught sight of the flying creature a few miles away from where they stood, which looked like a bit of a black speck against the vividly green country side of Equestria beyond Canterlot. The three of them also observed that not only was this creature approaching directly toward Canterlot, but that it was also ascending from a lower elevation. Suddenly, Princess Celestia's face and eyes brightened up for a moment. "Please excuse me, my ponies" she said politely. "I shall be right back." The solar Princess vanished in a flash of light before reappearing a few seconds later levitating her personal telescope in a field of golden magic close to her. Gaius refocused his eyes toward Celestia and her telescope. "What is that strange device you have there, Princess?" he asked, pointing at the telescope with his left arm. Princess Celestia looked back toward Gaius with a gentle smile. "It is called a telescope, Gaius," she replied. "Which is used to help other ponies in having closer look at something from far away." Gaius nodded to her in understandably. Princess Celestia looked back toward the oncoming speck of the flying creature before she raised her telescope up to her face and placed the eyepiece against her right eye, closing her left in the process. Celestia spent a few seconds readjusting the telescope's visual until she finally managed to get a fix on the flying creature with it. But when she did, her mouth opened with a soft gasp, drawing the attention of her sister and the guards. "What is it, sister?" asked Princess Luna. "The flying creature," replied Celestia with amazement. "It...it is a bird and a large one at that. But it is unlike any bird I have seen or heard of about." "What kind of bird is it, sire?" asked one of the guards. "It is a bird composed of both rock and earth." The other ponies gathered around on the platform had puzzled expressions upon hearing this from the Princess Celestia, especially since they've never heard about such a bird like that before. For Gaius, who also heard what the Princess said, he momentarily felt something stir within him that made him curious about this new, bizarre bird, as if there was almost something familiar about it. Suddenly, Princess Celestia made a sharp gasp, drawing everypony's attention to her. "What is it, my sister?" asked Princess Luna. "It's Philomena," replied Princess Celestia in a tone shock. "And she is flying alongside that other bird." Everypony around her began murmuring fearfully, including the guards themselves. "Who is Philomena, Your Majesty?" asked Gaius. "She is my sister's pet bird, Gaius," replied Princess Luna as she turned to look at Gaius. "And she has been missing since sometime yesterday." "I am truly sorry to hear about that, Princess Luna. What kind of bird is she, Your Highness?" "She is a phoenix, Gaius," replied Princess Celestia anxiously, still peering through her telescope. "Is she alright?" For a few moments, Princess Celestia didn't answer. But when she did, she spoke with a much calmer voice. "Yes. From what I can see, this earth-like bird has not laid a single talon on her. So far, I am grateful for that." "So why is Philomena leading her companion her to Canterlot?" asked Princess Luna. "I don't know, sister. But I am certain that we will find out why when they get here." And when they do, she thought to herself. I will make sure to scold Philomena for running away and bringing strangers home with her. The elder alicorn sister levitated the telescope from her face before looking at group of guards. "Have any of you sent word about this to the other guards within Canterlot?" she asked them. "No, ma'am," replied the lead guard. "For we felt it would cause widespread panic throughout the city if word of this ever got out." "Very well. Do not take any form of action against Philomena's companion until we know for certain if it is hostile or not." "Yes, Your Highness," replied the guards simultaneously. Princess Celestia smiled before she resumed gazing at the oncoming pair of birds through her telescope. All the while, the small crowd of ponies watched anxiously as the speck of the mysterious bird continued approaching the platform alongside Philomena, who was still invisible to them. But when that same dark speck gradually looked more bird like to many who were watching from the landing platform, an unexpected thing happened. The earthy bird suddenly diverted its flight path to the right before curving upward at a steep angle in the same direction. Most of the ponies and Gaius watched with both amazement and puzzlement as the small outline of the earth-like bird ascended up into the sky. When the bird flew high enough, it dipped down and curved up again in a half-circle before performing a small series of loop-de-loops and other fancy aerobatic maneuvers. The amazed crowd of ponies and Gaius were still watching all of this when they suddenly stared at Princess Celestia, who started giggling loudly while watching the spectacle through her telescope. "What is so funny, sister?" asked Princess Luna. It took a few moments for the solar Princess to compose herself. "Oh, I'm sorry," she replied with a giggle. "It's just that my pet bird is giving us all quite an airshow with how she has been making her companion chase her all over the sky." She erupted into another fit of giggles while the crowd looked at her with surprise. What the crowd didn't know was that Princess Celestia, through the visual of her telescope, had previously observed that it was Philomena who made the sudden shift in direction and began flying in random directions in the sky while her larger, earthen companion followed her as best as it could, even to the point of attempting to imitate the former's complex aerial maneuvers. As the crowd of ponies watched Philomena's little air show, their anxiety simmered down into a more relaxed state. That's when Gaius averted his gaze toward Princess Celestia, who was still smiling as she continued watching the two flyers from afar. "Princess Celestia," he said politely, prompting the elder co-ruler to levitate the telescope out of the way before she shifted her eyes at him. "Yes, Gaius?" she replied. "Would you mind if I have a look through your telescope?" Without hesitation, Princess Celestia, with her telescope in tow, flew up near Gaius' head and levitated the eyepiece over his right eye. It took a few moments for the Princess to help Gaius find and pinpoint a good visual of Philomena and her companion. "Can you seem them now, Gaius?" asked Celestia. "Indeed I can," he confirmed as he followed the two birds visual with Celestia's telescope. As he did so, the sensation of familiarity about Philomena's companion came back to him, only this time it felt much stronger than before. Suddenly, Gaius shifted his head away from the floating telescope and abruptly stumbled back two giant paces, making it seem that he would fall backwards. But thankfully, he didn't. Within that instant, two things happened: firstly the civilian ponies gathered on the platform became startled by Gaius' sudden shift in movement, but thankfully, the guards had managed help calm them down. At the same time, the two Princesses diverted their attention from the skies to Gaius during the moment of his stumbling and observed that he had an evidently shocked expression on his furry face that made it seem like he had seen a ghost. "Gaius!" exclaimed Princess Luna as she rushed up to Gaius while her sister, who hadn't dropped her telescope, fluttered over to him. "What happened, Gaius?" asked Princess Celestia concernedly as she hovered close to Gaius's head. The giant biped immediately composed himself and straightened his posture before peering at Princess Celestia and then down at Princess Luna for a moment "Your Highnesses," he gravely replied. "That mysterious bird who flying is with Philomena...somehow...I have the feeling that I now know who it is, or rather who he is." For a moment, both Princesses had confused expressions on their faces. "What do you mean?" asked Princess Celestia. While answering, Gaius raised his left arm and pointed it in the birds' direction. "That bird...is Avion...he is one of the Colossi I spoke of earlier." As Gaius slowly lowered his left arm, he observed that the crowd of civilian ponies and the guards immediately had puzzled and fearful expressions on their faces, several even whispered with each over the matter. "Please do not be frightened, little ponies. For I promise you that Avion is very peaceful and will not harm any of you." The crowd immediately relaxed themselves after listening to Gaius' calm, gentle words of assurance and resumed watching the little airshow ahead of them. All the while, Princess Celestia, with her telescope in tow, gently descended, settling down next to Princess Luna, whose eyes remained fixed on Gaius' head. Both of them had come to a dreadful realization: that Avion had been felled back in the Forbidden Lands and had somehow transmigrated into Equestria after death like Gaius, which also explains why the tall knight was so shocked in recognizing his fellow Colossus. "Luna," Celestia whispered, gaining the attention of her younger sibling. For a moment, the two co-rulers looked into each others eyes, as if having another one of their silent conversation with each other before they rotated their gaze out toward the sky beyond the platform, where Philomena and Avion still frolicked together in flight. "You're heading out there, aren't you?" asked Luna softly, as if knew what her sister was going to do. "That's right," murmured Celestia as she and her sister shifted their gazes at each other. "I trust you will handle things here until I return?" Luna's blank expression shifted to a gentle one as she smiled warmly. "Of course, Tia." "Thank you, sister." Celestia nuzzled Luna for a moment. "I won't be long." She proffered her telescope to Luna, who grasped it in a blue field of her magic. Celestia gently ascended until she was at eye level with Gaius. "Gaius." "Yes, Your Highness," replied the giant knight. "I am going to retrieve both Avion and Philomena. When we return, I am certain that Avion will delighted to see you again, Gaius." "As will I, Princess. For I now feel an immense warmth of joy coursing my entire being in knowing that Avion is alive in your land of Equestria." Princess Celestia smiled in hearing Gaius's words, which were laced with a tone of utter delight and joy, which matched the jubilant expression in his eyes and face. "Can you wait here while I retrieve them?" "Of course, Princess. For I swear by knight's oath to patiently wait until you, your pet bird, and Avion return." "Excellent. I will return shortly." Princess Celestia turned and flew away from Gaius before instantly vanishing in a burst of light. A few miles from Canterlot, Philomena was having a tremendous time. For she had been frolicking with her traveling companion, Avion, all across the beautiful skies of Equestria for a few minutes while performing various aerial maneuvers while he did his best imitating them while following her. But at one point after doing another series of loop-de-loops, Philomena leveled herself out on a straight path with Avion several yards behind her. However, at that same moment, Princess Celestia appears in a flash of light not far ahead of the airborne phoenix. Squawking joyfully, Philomena immediately accelerated over to her master while Princess Celestia stretched out a foreleg for her pet to perch on. "Philomena," said Princess Celestia warmly, nuzzling her pet phoenix for a moment before shifting to a more dolor expression. "You've been gone since yesterday afternoon, young lady, and I've been so worried you. Would you mind telling me where you've been?" Philomena slumped her head down shamefully upon her master's words. "Perhaps I could answer that for you." Princess Celestia immediately unfixed eyes from Philomena and looked toward the source of the deep, baritone voice. What she found hovering close by in front of her was Avion, the giant rock-like bird who had been accompanying Philomena to Canterlot. Celestia also observed that Avion was indeed both a large and mysterious bird to behold: with a wingspan a bit larger than hers and a banner-like tail long enough to make him look taller than Gaius at his standing height. But upon noticing Avion's eyes, Celestia was surprised to find that they looked very similar to Gaius', even to the point of having the same color. Yet these same eyes also had an expression of curiosity. "Are you by any chance Princess Celestia?" asked Avion. A smile formed on Princess Celestia's lips upon hearing Avion's polite inquiry. "Why, yes I am," she replied politely. "My name is Avion, and it is an honor to finally meet you, Your Highness." Avion briefly bowed his head reverently to the solar Princess. "It is an honor to meet you as well, Avion." "Thank you, Your Highness. Your bird has told me much about you on our long flight." "Oh, has she now?" asked Celestia, glancing at Philomena for a moment. "Indeed. Not only did Philomena describe you as a tall and beautiful white alicorn mare, but she has also mentioned that you are both powerful and a very wise and kindhearted ruler, one who deeply cares about your subjects. I admit that I found it hard to believe that alicorns, having both the wings of a pegasus and a unicorn's horn, actually exist and yet here I am speaking to one face-to-face." He's not the only one to assume that, thought Princess Celestia to herself as she took another quick glance at Philomena. "So what do you think of Philomena, Avion?" she asked. "She is a very magnificent and graceful phoenix, Your Highness," replied Avion, who noticed Philomena blushing from his kind compliment. "She is also very dexterous and athletic with her amazing flying abilities. For I can promise you that it was quite difficult in trying to catch up with her while performing some of her complex maneuvers, especially since she is smaller and faster than I am." Princess Celestia giggled merrily for a moment, much to Avion's dismay. "Yes, well she can be quite mischievous with others sometimes." She looked toward Philomena, who was covering her head with one wing. "Now go over and apologize to Avion, young lady!" The ashamed phoenix nodded to her master before she flew off her foreleg and hovered over to Avion, softly squawking at him apologetically. "It is alright, Philomena," replied Avion in a forgiving tone. "Though I will admit that it was quite also exhilarating flying with you and I am very thankful for your help in leading me to Princess Celestia." Philomena's expression brightened as she heard Avion's encouraging words. "So, Avion," said Princess Celestia, drawing his and Philomena's attention. "May I ask why you wanted to see me?" "Because your phoenix has informed me that you, being a ruler of great wisdom, could possibly help me understand how I came to be in this land of Equestria. For I should be dead and living in the afterlife." Once again, the airborne Colossus found himself perplexed as he observed Princess Celestia chuckling lightheartedly for a moment. "Oh, I apologize, Avion," said Celestia as she composed herself. "But you see, my sister, Princess Luna, and I recently encountered another who came to us in seeking the exact same thing." "Really?" asked Avion curiously. "May I ask who that would be?" Princess Celestia's muzzled formed into another great smile. "He is an old and dear friend of yours named Gaius." Within an instant, Avion had a shocked expression on his stoney face. "You...you mean Gaius is here too? W-where is he?" "He is currently in Canterlot, over there." While speaking, Princess Celestia rotated herself in the direction of Canterlot and looked down at where a certain observation platform was positioned miles from where she, Avion, and Philomena were hovering. She fixed one eye at the two birds who were now looking Canterlot's direction. "And right now, he, my sister, Princess Luna and several others are awaiting for our return." "Can you please take me to them, Princess?" asked Avion eagerly. "But of course, Avion," she replied with a smile. "Just follow me and we will be there shortly." With that, Princess Celestia flew down toward Canterlot with Philomena and Avion following right behind her. Back on the observation platform, the small crowd of Canterlot citizens were murmuring with one another while looking out at the horizon. After Princess Celestia vanished in a flash of light, all of them became worried about where she'd gone. Thankfully, Princess Luna quickly assured them that her sister went over to speak with Avion and that she'll return shortly, which calmed them down a bit. A few minutes had passed since and the crowd had been waiting impatiently. The only ones who waited patiently were Gaius, the guards, and Princess Luna, who had been watching her sister speaking with Avion and Phliomena from afar through the telescope. Suddenly, Princess Luna let out a loud gasp, prompting everypony nearby, including Gaius, to gaze at her. "What is it, Princess?" asked one of the guards. "They are coming back," she replied, levitating the telescope away from her face. "My sister is coming back here with Philomena and Avion." The reactions from everypony gathered on the platform were mixed; for although the citizens and all of the guards felt relieved that Princess Celestia and her pet phoenix would be returning safe and sound, a few of them still felt nervous with meeting Avion, despite what what Gaius had previously said about him earlier. For Gaius, he felt quite joyful and exuberant with meeting Avion again, even though he didn't seem to show or express it. The giant knight noticed Princess Luna giving him a warm, hopeful smile before turning her attention to the guards. "Guards," she said with a gentle but firm voice of authority. "Please ensure that the ponies gathered here remain calm and make sure to have a space cleared for my sister, her pet bird, and Avion." "Yes, ma'mm," replied the guards simultaneously before they set about with their tasks. "What shall I do, Princess Luna?" asked Gaius, prompting the dark blue alicorn to look back up at him. Princess Luna pondered that question for a moment until she eyed the giant knight's left arm, prompting her with an idea. "Gaius," she said. "I would like for you extend your left arm out when Avion arrives." While speaking, the lunar Princess demonstrated this to Gaius by raising her left foreleg and bending it at an angle. Thus, Gaius raised his left arm out and flexed the lower portion of it at a ninety-degree angle just as Princess Luna had done. "Will this be acceptable, Your Highness?" "That's perfect, Gaius." Knowing that Luna sounded pleased, Gaius lowered his left arm down while she turned and walked over to Gaius' right. "Now all we can do is wait." "As you wish, Princess." Thus as Gaius and Princess Luna waited, the guards managed divert the crowd of citizens over to an area on the platform on Gaius' right side. After that, everypony had their eyes fixed toward the sky and on the gradually enlarging speck that was Avion, waiting not only for him, but for Princess Celestia and Philomena to arrive as well. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait very long. When the trio finally arrived, Princess Celestia and her pet bird landed next to Luna, both sisters embracing each other with their wings, while Avion, went straight for Gaius who at that moment raised his left arm at a bent angle. "Hail, Gaius," proclaimed Avion happily as he perched himself on Gaius' left arm. "It is good to see you again." "It is good to see you as well, Avion" replied Gaius jovially. The tall bipedal knight slowly rotated himself and flexed his arm out enough to give everypony on the platform a better view of Avion. “Everyone, I present unto you my good friend and fellow Colossus: Avion.” “Greetings, little ponies," said Avion. "It is a pleasure to meet you” With the exception of the Princesses, everypony else beheld expressions of both amazement and nervousness with not just encountering Avion up close, but also with how he spoke in their language despite his animalistic form. Yet a moment after Avion introduced himself, Princess Luna flapped her wings and ascended until she was eye level with the large bird. "Greetings, Avion," she said courteously. "I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria, and I humbly welcome you to Canterlot." "Thank you, Your Highness," replied Avion, bowed his head respectfully. "It is also an honor to meet you. Philomena has told me much about you and your fair city of Canterlot." Princess Luna respond with a giggle. "Oh, I'm sure that she has." For a moment, Avion diverted his eyes down at the smaller ponies, who still bore expressions of awe on their faces, before fixing them back at Princess Luna. "If you will permit me, Princess, I would like to say something to the smaller ponies gathered here." Princess Luna took a quick glance down at said ponies behind her before giving Avion a smile of approval. "Of course, Avion." The younger Equestrian co-ruler maneuvered over to the side while Avion looked down at the crowd of ponies. "Little ponies, please hear me. On my way here, Princess Celestia has informed me that my presence may have frightened some of you and for that, I greatly apologize. I have no intention of ever bringing any harm to you in coming here for I only wish to speak with both of your Princesses peaceably." Though the citizens and guards were initially surprised by Avion's apology, they quickly relaxed themselves and smiled in knowing for certain that he is indeed quite peaceful as Gaius had promised them. Their attention shifted to Princess Celestia when she politely cleared her throat. "Alright, everypony," she declared. "I would like all ponies who are not of the Royal Guard to please vacate the observation platform, for my sister and I wish to speak with Gaius and Avion privately. And make sure not to tell any pony about what you witnessed today." Without hesitation, the crowd of Canterlot citizens obeyed her and trotted away from the observation platform before dispersing in different directions and going about their daily business. After watching them leave, Avion focused his eyes down at Princess Celestia. "Princess Celestia," he said, drawing her attention. "Could you please find me something else to perch upon?" Princess Celestia smiled and nodded in Avion's direction before she swiveled her head at Aerial Lookout. "Aerial, I want you and two other pegasi guards to find a long strand of cumulus for Avion to perch on as quickly as you can." "Yes , ma'mm," said Aerial Lookout, saluting the solar Princess before he and two pegasi guards swiftly ascended into the sky to find the requested cloud type while Princess Luna hovered down next to her sister. "Princess Celestia," said Avion, drawing the solar ruler's attention again. "Yes, Avion?" replied Celestia. "What exactly is a cumulus?" "A cumulus is a type of cloud, Avion, and here in Equestria, pegasi and other creatures capable of flight can easily stand or walk on clouds. I felt that a cumulus cloud would be perfect for you to perch on." While she spoke, Celestia watched as Avion's dumbfounded look in his eyes shifted to a mixture of both grateful and awkward ones. "Um, thank you for that, Princess." "You're most welcome, Avion." A very short time later Aerial Lookout and his two escorts to return with an elongated cumulus cloud before carefully positioning it a few feet from the edge of the platform. Everypony on the platform watched as Avion dismounted from Gaius' left arm and flew out past the platform's rim. Once he was out far enough, Avion turned around and made his way back until he finally settled down on his cumulus perch with his stone talons. Most of the guards feared that Avion would have slipped through his perch, despite what Princess Celestia told him, but they were now relieved that he didn't. Even Gaius initially found the idea hard to believe, yet here was his companion and friend, Avion, perched on a cloud and at eye level with the former. "Incredible," he said himself out loud. "Alright, Avion," said Celestia politely. "Would you be so kind as to tell us where you found yourself in Equestria?" "Of course, Your Highness," replied Avion happily as he watched Philomena dismount her master's back, fly up to Gaius, and perched herself upon his shoulder. After that, Avion began describing what happened when he first appeared in Equestria. It happened yesterday morning when Avion awoke to find himself in the tender care of two pegasi, Skywatcher and his pregnant wife Feather Fancy, both of whom are famous ornithologists in Equestria. Furthermore, he also discovered that he had awoken near the couple's summer residence, located within a forested area several miles west of Canterlot. Avion confessed that upon awakening, he felt confused, not only because he should be dead, but that he no idea of where he was. He also admits that the couple, though initially surprised with his capability of speech, immediately came to realize that he'd need their help. Skywatcher and his wife, while tending to Avion as best as they could, revealed to the giant bird that he wasn't dead, but he was present within the world Equestria. At this point, Avion began learning more about Equestria from the couple, including the fact that its sentient inhabitants consisted of a variety of ponies, which he found quite fascinating and surprising. Unfortunately, Avion found to his disappointment the couple had no idea how he came into Equestria. Thankfully, the couple also heartened Avion not to let that discourage him since there may be others within Equestria who could help find those kind of answers. It was during this discussion that Skywatcher and Feather Fancy diagnosed that Avion was in good shape and asked if he could stay at their home for a while, an offer he gratefully accepted, since he had no other place to go for the moment. While Skywatcher and Feather Fancy didn't learn very much about Avion himself (such as where he originally came from), the three of them quickly found common ground with each other when it came to the subject of birds. The couple admitted that they have never seen or even heard of any species of bird like Avion, especially not any made from both earth and stone, which they also found utterly fascinating. Feather even notes how Avion greatly resembles the phoenixes native to Equestria. Avion tells the pegasi couple of his past experiences of flying alongside eagles during his time in the Forbidden Lands. The young pegasi couple even shared with Avion what they have learned from the large variety of bird species they've seen and record over the years, how they have been enthralled and fascinated with birds since foalhood, and how that same passion eventually brought them together in holy matrimony. In turn, Avion joyfully divulges several aspects about what its like being a bird, including the sensation of flying like one and how it felt perching himself on two legs. At one point during this long and cordial discussion, Avion discovered—much to the surprise of him, Skywatcher, and Feather Fancy—that he could easily communicate with birds and understand what they saying to each other. He even shared a brief conversation with a several of the birds native within the area at one point. By the end of the day, Avion managed to become quite good friends with the two pegasi—friends who treated him with compassion and respect since first coming to Equestria. Later that evening, the trio of friends were visited by Philomena, Celestia's pet phoenix, who—to their surprise—traveled all the way from Canterlot to speak with Avion. When Avion asks the phoenix why she wished to speak with him, Philomena informs him that last night she had a dream, showing him lost and confused in Equestria, along with hearing a voice telling her to head west to find him. When she woke up the next morning, Philomena had a newfound urge to find Avion and help him in any way possible. Thus, after leaving a note for Celestia, she departed from Canterlot and headed out west in order to find him. While Philomena had no idea where Avion would be, she felt like something was nudging her in his direction (Skywatcher assumed this to be part of Philomena's sixth sense). Joyous over this prospect of Philomena's help, Avion immediately asks her if she could help him understand how he came to Equestria after he died. Although Philomena didn't know the answer to that, she tells Avion that her master, Princess Celestia, may be able to help him in that matter on account of her great wisdom. Thus, Philomena offers Avion to lead him over to Canterlot, where Princess Celestia resides. Although Avion felt overjoyed at the prospect of going with Philomena to meet her master in Canterlot, he sadly knew that it would mean leaving the company of Skywatcher, Feather Fancy, and all the birds he befriended near their residence. Thankfully, the couple gently asked Avion not to worry and encouraged him to go with Philomena and find the answers he seeks. Feather Fancy even promised Avion that he is more than welcome to come back for a visit. Touched by the couple's heartwarming words, Avion bid farewell to them, promising to return one day for another visit before he lifted himself into the air and followed Philomena east, which began their long flight to Canterlot. "…After the sky went dark, Philomena and I stopped to give her some time to rest, for I did not want her to overexert herself during the flight. Since I usually do not need any sleep, I watched over her for a little while until she awoke and felt ready to continue. The rest of the flight went on very peacefully between the both of us when we finally reached your fair city of Canterlot today. And one thing I will never forget is how Skywatcher and Feather Fancy treated me with great hospitality and kindness." Thus Avion finished his tale of what happened since he first appeared in Equestria. All the while, both Princesses, the guards, Philomena, and Gaius spent a very short duration of the afternoon listening to the giant bird's narration with great interest. Most of them were initially surprised with Avion appearing near Skywatcher and Feather Fancy's summer house, since it was located somewhere halfway between Canterlot and Vanhoover. Princess Celestia couldn't help but smile in hearing how Philomena, not only found Avion, but that she also led him back Canterlot knowing that her master could help him where she couldn't. "That is quite a account you have given, Avion," said Princess Luna. "Still, it was most fortunate that you wound up in the care of Skywatcher and Feather Fancy." "Indeed it is," replied Avion gratefully. "Quite so," added Princess Celestia. "And to answer your earlier question, Avion, both my sister and I believe you may have gone through a complex form of transmigration." She went to briefly explaining to Avion the process of how transmigration worked just as her sister did with Gaius. "Incredible," declared Avion dumbfoundedly. "I never imagined that such a thing was even possible." "I know it sounds hard to believe," replied Princess Luna comfortingly. "But it is the only way you would have possibly turned up in Equestria after dying in your world." Avion let out solemn sigh before shifting his glance toward Gaius. "Still, it warms my whole being knowing that I won't be the only Colossus here." "Agreed," said Gaius happily, before briefly glancing at the Princesses. "Avion, some time ago before your arrival, the Princesses were about disclose an important decision they have made regarding a request I made." Both Princesses' had terse shocked looks on their chiseled features when they realized and remembered what Gaius meant: their unanimous decision in allowing him to join the Canterlot Royal Guard. They quickly composed themselves into more formal expressions. "He is quite correct, Avion," confirmed Princess Celestia. "Very well, Your Highness," said Avion calmly. "Please proceed." It was at this moment, that Philomena dismounted from Gaius and perched right next to Avion. All the while both Princesses turned from Avion's direction and looked up at Gaius while the giant bird, Philomena, and the guards listened attentively. "Gaius," began Princess Celestia. "Both my sister and I would be delighted to announce that we have decided, that after thinking it over, to let you join the ranks of Canterlot's Royal Guard under one condition: that you must first go through a test. One that will not only determine if you are worthy of becoming part of the Royal Guard, but also prove to others of your potential and desire to protect my subjects both within Canterlot and throughout all of Equestria." There was a brief moment of silence throughout the platform as everypony present awaited Gaius' answer. "Very well, Princess," he finally replied, nodding respectfully. "If joining the Royal Guard involves proceeding with a test, then I will not object to it. I also thank you most humbly for giving me a chance to join, Your Highesses." Both Princesses smiled at Gaius' humble reply. "Gaurds," said Princess Luna. "Do any of you object with Gaius' intentions of joining your ranks?" All guards present smiled as they shook their heads. Although they initially felt nervous with the announcement of Gaius being allowing into their ranks, the guards present quickly remembered how impressed they felt in witnessing the giant biped calming down the ponies who felt frightened over Avion earlier along his expressed desire to protect other ponies. They also felt more comfortable with Gaius going through a test to become a Royal Guard, which is what both Princesses had been expecting. "Excellent," said Princess Celestia happily looking up at Gaius. "Now Gaius, would you mind if we gave you a tour of the Royal Guard's barracks? I'm certain that the captain, Cobalt Shield, would be happy to meet you and help show you around the place." "I would appreciate that, Your Highness," replied Gaius before looking at Avion. "Would you care to accompany us, old friend?" "Of course, Gaius," answered Avion. "I would be delighted to come." The giant bird immediately observed a ash-colored trail of smoke swiftly approaching Princess Celestia before it condensed and materialized into a scroll of paper in front of her. The solar princess picked it up with her magic, opened it up, and began skimming through the written contents of it while Luna and the guards huddled close around her. "A message from Twilight, sister?" asked Princess Luna. "Indeed it is," replied the elder alicorn sister who had just finished skimming through it. "Could you tell us what she wrote?" "Of course." Princess Celestia loudly cleared her throat while everypony else, with ears open, prepared to listen. "Dear Princess Celestia, You won't believe what happened in Ponyville today. Earlier at noon, my friend, Fluttershy invited me, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash over to her cottage, where she introduced us to two new friends: Celosia and Cenobia, both of whom are brothers. But here's the thing: neither of them are ponies, but are creatures that greatly resemble large felines covered in ancient stone armor and with brilliant teal eyes. I admit that some of my friends and I felt nervous when Fluttershy first introduced them to us just because of their frightening appearances but we quickly warmed up to them after she told us about how the two brothers saved her life from a viscous wyvern who nearly ambushed her yesterday. All of us were quite thankful for their heroic actions. Adding to that, Celosia and Cenobia were quite friendly and polite with all of us. We pretty much spent quite a bit of time with the two brothers and we learned a few things about them: both of them are quite young—around the same age as the Cutie Mark Crusaders—that they're not native to Equestria and are from somewhere different altogether, and they classify themselves as Colossi, two out of sixteen in existence. I found some of that information most perplexing, since firstly neither Celosia or his brother could not or would not even want to specify where they are from and only mentioned that they're from somewhere really far from Equestria called the Forbidden Lands. I decided not to question them any further on that topic because I presumed that it was a sensitive one for them. Secondly, when I returned to the library later, I skimmed through every single encyclopedia on shelf and couldn't even find a single trace of information on the term "Colossi." I'm seriously doubtful that there's even anything on record about the subject and I frankly find it utterly frustrating! Yet, despite all the mystery surrounding them, my friends and I quickly came to genuinely liking and befriending Celosia and Cenobia during our short visit at Fluttershy's cottage. This interesting experience has made it abundantly clear that you can easily befriend, not just ponies, but non-ponies too. You're also more than welcome to come over for a visit in case you feel like personally meeting Celosia and Cenobia. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle P.S.: If you ever need anything, Spike and I will be at Sugarcube Corner attending a party that Pinkie Pie's called the "Welcome-To-Ponyville-Celosia-and-Cenobia/Thank-You-For-Saving-Our-Friend-Fluttershy Party", which the two brothers are also attending since they're the guests of honor." After Princess Celestia finished reading the letter, there was a brief moment of silence throughout the observation platform. For Gaius and Avion, they felt surprised, overjoyed, and relieved in hearing that two more of their kind had mysteriously appeared in Equestria. Similarly, the Princesses and the guards reacted to this new information with astonishment since none of them expected to hear about. But those feelings shifted to a more pleasant tone when they smiled in remembering an important detail in Twilight's letter: that Celosia and Cenobia rescued and saved a Fluttershy—a pony well-liked by the Princesses—yesterday from a wyvern, which they all knew were quickly deadly to any ponies who encountered them. Even Philomena, who remembered Fluttershy from before, was deeply touched by this news. "What shall we do now, Tia?" asked Princess Luna softly. Princess Celestia smiled as she slowly rolled up her faithful student's letter back with her magic. "It looks like we'll have make some slight alterations for today," she replied with a whisper. She looked over to Philomena, who had herself against Avion's side at this point. "Philomena, would you please come here?" Squawking affirmatively, Philomena flew over to Celestia and perched upon on outstretched foreleg. The solar Princess rotated her eyes on Aerial Lookout. "Aerial Lookout, I would like for you and two other pegasi to escort Avion to the Royal Guards barracks please." "Yes, ma'mm," replied Aerial before he and two other pegasi flew over the bird-like Colossus. "Are you ready, Avion?" "Of course," replied Avion, who dismounted from his cloudy perch and followed his pegasi escorts as they lead him to their barracks within Canterlot. Princess Celestia shifted her focus to her younger sister. "Luna, could you please teleport Gaius and the other guards to the barracks for me?" she asked. "Of course," replied Princess Luna. "But where are you going?" "Over to my personal chambers, not only to drop off Philomena and to also write a response to Twilight. But rest assured that I will be joining you shortly when I'm done. Until then, I will see you there." With that Celestia, Philomena and the telescope vanished in a flash of light. Princess Luna quickly composed herself and cleared her throat. "Alright, is everypony ready?" Gaius and the guards nodded before they huddled close the younger co-ruler while she charged her horn with strong magic. Within an instant, an enormous burst of light engulfed them before it vanished, leaving the observation platform utterly vacant. > Chapter Four > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, after a moderate walk from the cottage, Fluttershy, Celosia and Cenobia had arrived in the downtown section of Ponyville and were making their way to Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie was currently hosting a party for the two brothers. Along the way, Fluttershy gave the two brothers a partial tour of the town itself, which the both of them found fascinating and enjoyable. The trio encounter several of the citizens who—already been informed by Twilight Sparkle and her friends—pleasantly greeted Celosia and Cenobia, including Cheerilee, Lyra and her coltfriend Note Worthy, Bon Bon and her coltfriend Chocolate Frosting, Doctor Whooves, and Berry Punch among several others. Each of them also told the two boys very pleasant things including "It's certainly nice to meet you" or "Hey, good job saving Fluttershy" or "Hope you enjoy your stay in Ponyville" or "Have fun at the party." All the pleasant reactions the two Colossi were getting from Ponyville's citizens slowly filled them with more excitement in looking forward to the party. In a short time the trio finally stopped just outside Sugarcube Corner's front entrance and the sight of structure itself amazed both Celosia and Cenobia. "So, that's Sugarcube Corner?" asked the flabbergasted Celosia, momentarily motioning one limb toward it. "Yep, it certainly is," replied Fluttershy casually, gently pushing their jaws up, closing them. "Now let's get in there and calmly enjoy the party with great big smiles." "Right," said the two brothers at once before they and Fluttershy approached the door. "Just one thing, Fluttershy," said Cenobia as he watched several ponies enter Sugarcube Corner. "Are you sure that this place can hold every pony in Ponyville? Because it looks a bit small for that, don't you think?" Much to his surprise, Fluttershy giggled softly. "Oh, don't you worry, Cenobia. Pinkie Pie's parties are quite popular but not everypony in Ponyville comes to them at the same time here at Sugarcube Corner. While some do stay the entire time of the party, others just come and go. Besides, I'm sure that the party has just started and not everypony in Ponyville has arrived just yet." As she finished, Fluttershy opened the door and strolled into Sugarcube Corner with the two brothers following suit. Both Colossi were utterly stunned with what they witnessed: the whole storefront was decorated with all manner of balloons, ribbons, party blowers, streamers, confetti and other assortments of colorful decorations scattered everywhere with a few tables featured with the most delectable snacks, treats, and drinks ever made. On top of that, the whole place was filled with about two dozen ponies of all ages, both mares and stallions, conversing with each other vividly and enjoying the party. "Wow, you weren't kidding, Fluttershy," said Celosia as he stared with awe. "There are more ponies here than I can count." "Yeah and just look at how much fun they're having," added Cenobia as he scanned the crowd over. "Hey, do either of you see Pinkie Pie anywhere?" Cenobia got his answer when a pink blur raced up to them and materialized into the widely grinning Pinkie Pie. "Fluttershy, Cel, Cen," she exclaimed. "Welcome to my super-tastic party at Sugarcube Corner!" "Gee, um, thanks, Pinkie Pie," replied Celosia awkwardly. "No problem!" Pinkie turned around, stepped forth, and inhaled real deeply. "Hey, everypony! I'd like you all to meet and welcome the guests of honor for today's ultra-citing "Welcome-to-Ponyville-Celosia-and-Cenobia/Thank-You-For-Saving-Our-Friend-Fluttershy" party: Celosia and Cenobia!" Everypony fixed their eyes on Pinkie Pie when she made the announcement and cheered joyfully upon catching sight of the two feline brothers, who both gave them awkward smiles while Fluttershy, not use to the attention, just withdrew her head back and gave a small wave. Once everypony quieted down, Pinkie Pie reverse direction back to the three new arrivals. "Now, if either of you boys need anything just give me a shout and I'll come runnin for ya in a split. 'Til then, enjoy the party!" Pinkie Pie immediately turned around and zipped over to another part of the storefront, leaving behind an astonished Celosia and Cenobia. "Wow, Pinkie sure can move fast for an earth pony," commented Cenobia as his brother slowly nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, boys," giggled Fluttershy. "That's just how Pinkie Pie is; you'll get use to it. But in the meantime, lets see if we can find the rest of our friends." "I'm all for that," said Celosia and Cenobia at the same time as they followed Fluttershy forward into the crowd. Thankfully, it didn't take very long for the trio to find and meet up with Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, who were all assembled at one end of the storefront. "Well, I'll be hogged tied at a rodeo," exclaimed Applejack happily. "Ya'll finally made it." "Yeah, we sure did," replied Celosia as he, his brother, and Fluttershy formed a semicircle with the three mares. "You'll also be happy to know that everypony we came across in Ponyville treated Celosia and Cenobia very kindly," said Fluttershy as she placed her wings on both brothers' backs. "That's most splendid to hear, darling," chimed in Rarity, who felt joyous in knowing that the efforts she and her friends made to help make the two brothers feel welcome in Ponyville paid off. The pristine white unicorn suddenly noticed the two felines glancing from side-to-side with concerned looks. "Something wrong, boys?" "Yeah, where's Twilight?" asked Cenobia. "Shouldn't she be here with you?" "Oh, yeah, I forgot," blurted out Rainbow Dash. "Twilight said that she had something to take care of back at the library before coming over to the party." "But don't you or your brother fret, Cenobia, dear," added Rarity. "For I can utterly assure you that Twilight will attend the party, for I know she would never forgo a chance to spend time with her friends." Both Celosia and Cenobia felt relieved in hearing Rarity's reassuring words, before the former suddenly glanced at Applejack. "Applejack, do you know if Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo will be coming to the party?" he asked her. "Oh, don't you worry 'bout that, sugarcube," replied the cowpony. "I'm sure that Apple Bloom and her friends should be gettin' here any minute now." No sooner had the orange cowpony said those words when Rainbow Dash, with a smile on her muzzle, hovered into the air and excitedly waved one forearm. This prompted a shout from within the crowd of ponies within the storefront. "Look, there's Rainbow Dash! C'mon!" As Rainbow Dash slowly hovered downward, her five friends shifted their gazes outward and saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo trotting toward the group with smiles etched on their adorable faces. Wow, that's really them, thought Celosia. Oh my gosh, I can't believe that we're about to meet them, thought Cenobia similarly as he and his brother watched the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally stop close the sextet. "Howdy, girls," said Applejack to the three fillies. "So glad ya'll could make it." "Same here, sis," replied Apple Bloom before she suddenly noticed Celosia and Cenobia. "Say, who are these fellers here?" The four adult mares gave her perplexed expressions before Fluttershy softly cleared her throat. "Girls," she began in a friendly tone. "I would like to introduce you to the heroes who saved my life yesterday: Celosia and his brother Cenobia." While speaking, Fluttershy motioned her head to each of the brothers, both of whom were still fixated on the three fillies before them. "Boys, I'd like for you to meet Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo." The two Colossi broke out of their trance and walked up to the three fillies. "Um, hi," said Celosia awkwardly with a smile. "Its very nice to meet you, girls." "Yeah, same here," said Cenobia. "Applejack and her friends told us a lot about you." For a few moments, the three fillies blankly stared at the brothers without uttering a word, which made the two Colossi and the four mares very nervous. Suddenly, all three fillies eyes and expressions brightened up with excitement and enthusiasm. "Wow, that's so cool!" exclaimed Scootaloo with a smile. "Yeah," added in Apple Bloom. "Who would've thunk that you boys would have gone up against a wyvern and lived." "Not only that," said Sweetie Belle excitedly. "You both did it to save our dear friend Fluttershy!" And before the they realized it, the two brothers found themselves pulled into a tight embrace from the three fillies. "Thank you so much," said the trio simultaneously. "You're welcome. We were happy to do it," said Cenobia as his brother nodded in affirmative. Apple Bloom and her friends immediately released the two brothers, allowing them to stand face-to-face with each other once more. "You know, Rainbow Dash wasn't kidding when she told us that neither of ya'll weren't exactly ponies," said Apple Bloom. The two brothers beheld puzzled expressions while Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash for moment as the sky blue pegasus gave them a nervous smile and scratched the back of her head nervously. "But that's okay though," said Sweetie Belle. "The three of us don't really mind; especially since Rainbow Dash also told us that you're both really nice." Celosia and Cenobia felt relieved in hearing these words from the unicorn filly. "Hey, I got an idea," said Scootaloo. "How about you boys come and share a table with us." "Sure, Celosia and I would be happy to do that," replied Cenobia happily as his brother nodded in agreement. "Assuming that Fluttershy doesn't mind." The two brothers looked back at Fluttershy, who had a warm smile on her muzzle. "It's alright, boys. I don't mind," She said kindly. "Go on right ahead." The two Colossi felt surges of joy flow through them upon hearing the pegasus mare's approval. "Great!" proclaimed Apple Bloom joyfully. "Now come on, ya'll, we'll lead the way." Thus, Apple Bloom and her two friends lead the two brothers to another part of the storefront while Fluttershy and her three friends watched them go, smiling warmly. A short time later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders led Celosia and Cenobia to a vacant table where the three fillies stood on their hind legs and placed their fore hooves on its edge. With some effort on their part, the two brothers managed to positioned themselves on the table in a similar fashion. For a moment, the five individuals observed themselves around the table: there was Scootaloo with Apple Bloom to her right and Sweetie Belle on her left; Celosia was seated next to Apple Bloom while Cenobia was situated between his brother and Sweetie Belle. "Apple Bloom," said Celosia nervously. "Your sister Applejack and her friends told Cen and me that you and your friends still haven't gotten your cutie marks yet." For a moment, both he and his brother braced themselves in assuming that the three fillies would be insulted by that remark. Instead, Apple Bloom and her three friends looked at the boys with surprised and puzzled expressions. "Wait, she told ya'll that?" she asked. "Yep, she sure did," replied Cenobia with a nod. "You see earlier today Twilight talked with me and Celosia about cutie marks, how important they are to ponies, and how ponies got them. We were sad and sorry to hear when Applejack told us that neither you or your friends have earned your cutie marks so far." Both brothers had sad and sympathetic looks on their faces when Cenobia finished his explanation, which made the three fillies in front of them smile for a moment. "Well, I guess its alright if you felt curious 'bout that," said Apple Bloom before her face turned gloomy. "Ya see, not too long ago, I felt really miserable with nearly every colt and filly at my school had managed to learn their special talent and earn their cutie mark while my flank remained blank. But then there came the moment when I met Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo here at Sugarcube Corner." She paused for a moment to glance at the two fillies with a smile. "Both who, like me, also haven't found out their special talent and were without their cutie marks." "And it was at a table just like this one," added in Sweetie Belle. "That we all became friends and founded the Cutie Mark Crusaders so that we'd work together in discovering our cutie marks and special talents." "And since that day," continued Scootaloo. "We've worked hard in trying many different things in order to earn our cutie marks." The pegasus filly gave a dolorous sigh. "But each time we ended up failing in getting our cutie marks, just like with yesterday when we tried tree climbing." All three fillies bowed their heads sadly and frowned in remembering that failure. Both Celosia and Cenobia, who had been listening to the three fillies' tale of how they came together, felt quite disheartened in seeing this. Wow, Applejack wasn't kidding when she told us about this earlier thought Celosia sadly. Those poor fillies thought Cenobia sympathetically. There's got to be something we can do for them. The two brothers looked into each other's eyes for a moment, as if sharing a silent conversation with each other, before staring back at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "You know, maybe we could help you find your cutie marks," said Celosia, prompting the three fillies to suddenly look at him with surprised and hopeful expressions. "Wow, really?!" asked Apple Bloom excitedly. "You'll really help us earn our cutie marks?!" "Certainly," replied Cenobia enthusiastically. "You could use all the help you can get." "So long as it doesn't involve learning how to fight wyverns," added in Celosia. There was a brief moment of silence between the five of them until they all exploded with giggles. When the laughter died down, the three fillies had big smiles on their muzzles. "Celosia, Cenobia," said Apple Bloom. "Ah speak for all of us in sayin' that the Cutie Mark Crusaders gladly accept your help in finding our cutie marks." Both her friends nodded in agreement to the two brothers. "Thanks, Apple Bloom," replied Celosia happily. That was when he noticed Sweetie Belle turning her gaze sideways and suddenly gasping fearfully. "Hey, what's wrong, Sweetie Belle?" "We got trouble coming," she replied pointing one hoof outward. And when her four friends looked out in the same direction, they saw two fillies, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, walking toward their table and leering at the group. "Oh, great," sulked Scootaloo softly. "It's Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon." "Well, well, well, if it isn't the Flank Blank trio," said Diamond Tiara contemptuously as she and Silver Spoon stopped a few hoof steps from the table. "And look: they've brought over a pair of unsightly pets," jeered Silver Spoon as both she and her friend giggled meanly. As both Celosia and Cenobia watched how Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were verbally harassing their new friends, they instantly recognized them as bullies. Especially since the two of them already had cutie marks on their flanks. That would explain why they've been so miserable in not getting their cutie marks thought Celosia as both he and his brother felt ire slowly building up within their stone bodies. At the same time, Apple Bloom quickly dismounted from her spot on the table and positioned her self right next to Sweetie Belle. "Hey, lay off, you two," she said defensively. "These two happen to be Celosia and Cenobia and they're the heroes who saved Fluttershy from a wyvern yesterday." "Not that either of you would care," said Sweetie Belle. "But today's party was set up for them too." "Tch! Yeah right," scoffed Diamond Tiara. "Like anyone would want to throw a party for those ugly beasts." Both she and Silver Spoon chortled arrogantly for a moment only to abruptly stop upon noticing that Celosia and Cenobia have dismounted the table and positioned themselves between the two bullies and the table. "Says the filly who thinks she's a princess," retorted Celosia as both he and Cenobia glared teal-colored daggers at the two shocked fillies. "Excuse me?" asked Diamond Tiara indignantly. "You heard him," replied Cenobia sharply. "You really think that wearing that fancy crown all day just makes you the most important pony in the world? Yet you also have the nerve to just walk up to anyone and treat him or her like dirt as if you were some high and mighty ruler?" "Yeah," said his brother. "You probably go around town saying 'Oh look at me, I'm so special and important that I should be made a princess over Ponyville, so I can trample and spite anyone I want just to show that I'm better and more special than any of them.' " While speaking, Celosia momentarily pitched his voice higher to mockingly mimic Diamond Tiara's and walked in place in a seemingly luxuriant manner. As a result, Diamond Tiara found herself seething with utter frustration over the two brothers mockery of her, the Cutie Mark Crusaders watched this display with awe. "Not very nice isn't it," asked Cenobia rhetorically. "Well let me tell you something, Diamond Tiara: Real princesses never act mean like that. 'Cause look at Twlilight Sparkle: she's a real Princess, one who's friends with everyone in Ponyville and cares about them very much." "Unlike you, Diamond Tiara. Because you're just a spoiled, jealous little filly who wants all the attention for herself no matter who she tramples on." For a few moments, a furiously frustrated Diamond Tiara sputtered in trying to unleashing retaliatory verbal insults at the two felines, but utterly couldn't. Her friend, Silver Spoon just stood there staring at the two brothers, stunned with what they just told her friend. "Ugh! I don't need this!" said Diamond Tiara at last with a furious expression. "Come on, Silver Spoon! We're leaving!" She turned to one direction and departed while Silver Spoon, shaken out of her stupor followed close behind her, casting a brief wary glance at the two brothers on the way out. Celosia and Cenobia turned around to find that the Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were gazing at them with gaping mouths and awed expressions, which instantly shifted into smiles. "Wow! That was incredible," declared Apple Bloom joyfully. "Yeah, that was totally awesome," added Scootaloo. "It certainly was," agreed Sweetie Belle. "Thanks for defending us from those two bullies." "Hey, you're welcome," replied Celosia. "We couldn't just stand there and let them verbally assault you like that." "Yeah, that's part of why we also saved Fluttershy yesterday," added Cenobia proudly. "So what should we do now?" Before any of the three fillies could answer, they and the two brothers instantly looked out to the center of the storefront upon hearing a recognizable voice. "Attention everypony! Its now time for some super-citing party games! Everypony come on over so we can get started!" The quintet of youngsters watched as Pinkie waved one forearm up high while shouting out her announcement to everypony within Sugarcube Corner. The five youngsters shifted their eyes at each other once more. "How 'bout we go play some fun with playing some party games?" suggested Apple Bloom. "Yeah, that will be a great way to celebrate in having you two joining in our Crusading efforts," said Sweetie Belle. "Yeah, not to mention that you'll definitely enjoy playing any games set up by Pinkie Pie," added Scootaloo. "They're a blast!" "Sure, I don't mind," said Celosia. "Yeah, I'm game if all of you are," bragged Cenobia before all five of them giggled merrily as they left the table and headed in Pinkie Pie's direction. The first party game that Pinkie Pie had set up was Pin-the-Tail-on-the-Pony, one that has always been here favorite party game. At first, neither Celosia or Cenobia had any idea how to play the game, thus allowing Bon Bon being the first one to participate to demonstrate how it works. The two brothers and the CMC watched as the blind-folded mare (who was holding a false tail with an attached pin in her teeth) wandered about in finding a picture of a pony missing its while Pinkie Pie hovered close telling Bon Bon whether she was getting warmer or colder with the crowd around them cheering her on. Because Bon Bon had played this game before, it didn't take very long for her to find the pony picture and pin its "tail" on. However upon removing the blindfold, Bon Bon was disheartened to find that she had only managed to pin the "tail" it on its stomach and went back to her coltfriend in defeat. When Pinkie Pie called on the next participant, Celosia was the one who stepped up to try out his luck, especially since he now knew how the game was played. In a trice, Pinkie had placed a blindfold over Celosia's eyes with the "tail" in his mouth and spun him around until he was nearly dizzy. Because he didn't want to accidentally puncture anypony, the blindfolded and dazed Celosia decided to move very carefully in his search for his target, even if he didn't know where it was. Thankfully, each time he wondered too close to any pony, they all scuttled back to avoid getting pricked by the pin on the "tail." But thanks to some coaxing from Pinkie Pie, Celosia managed to literally pin the "tail" right on its mark, or so he thought. When he lifted off his blindfold, he discovered that although the "tail" was on the rear end of the pony, it had unfortunately been pinned on the area where the cutie mark would have been indicated. But Celosia just shrugged it off and walked back to where his brother (who was excitedly wanting a turn next) and the CMC were waiting for him. "Well, here we are Spike and not a moment too soon," said Twilight Sparkle as she and her dragon assistant entered Sugarcube Corner and came into view of a moderate-sized crowd of ponies huddled together like a horseshoe formation against the wall, all of them chattering excitedly. "Are you kidding, Twilight?" asked Spike sarcastically as he dismounted Twilight. "I mean we could have gotten here sooner had you not held us up back at the library." Twilight glanced at him with annoyance and was about to rebuke him when Rainbow Dash suddenly zipped up to them. "Twilight! Spike!" she said excitedly. "I was wondering when you two would finally come down and join the party." "Why of course, I wouldn't want to miss it for all of Equestria, Rainbow," replied Twilight. "Same here," added Spike. "So where are these two brothers that Twilight's been talking about? 'Cause I'm rather curious about meeting them face-to-face." "You mean Celosia and Cenobia, right?" Spike nodded his head. "Hold tight and I'll bring 'em to you." Rainbow Dash zipped back into the crowd and quickly brought back the two feline Colossi to Twilight and Spike, with the latter of the two eyeing them with amazement for a moment. The cyan mare left their presence to inform the rest of her friends of Twilight and Spike's arrival. "Boys, this is Spike, my number one dragon assistant." said Twilight to Celosia and Cenobia before facing Spike. "Spike I'd like you to meet the brothers Celosia and Cenobia, the ones who saved our friend Fluttershy yesterday." "Hello, Spike, its nice meet you," said Celosia. "Yeah, same here," added Cenobia. "Thanks," replied Spike happily. "Its also an honor to finally meet the two of you. You have no idea of how grateful I feel over you two saving Fluttershy's life yesterday." "Of course," said Celosia before his eyes suddenly brightened up with curiosity. "Say, Twilight said that you're a dragon right? "Well, yeah, what about it?" "Well, shouldn't you be bigger in size?" "He's got a point," put in Cenobia. "Because we've heard about dragons before and that they're usually huge. You're the first small dragon Cel and I have ever met." Despite receiving an odd and disturbing look from Spike, the brothers looked at Twilight as she elicited a giggle. "Well, technically Spike's more of a baby dragon right now," she answered. "It will be quite a long time before he grows into a full grown adult dragon." Spike's face shifted into a sour pout and groaned with annoyance, while the Celosia and Cenobia had expressions of amusement. Spike was about make a comment when he, Twilight and the brothers turned toward the crowd of ponies, which had partly dispersed, after hearing a loud shout. "Okay, everypony! It's now time for some zinglicious cake!" The four of them instantly recognized the voice as Pinkie Pie's. They approached and moved through the crowd before they stopped and noticed that Pinkie was standing in the center with a large double-tiered cake on wheels that she had procured from the kitchen on a wheeled platform. On the cake were the words "Celosia" and "Cenobia" inscribed on the white surface with chocolate frosting on the first tier while the second had eight blue candles all lit in a circle on top. After taking in the image of the cake, the brothers looked over at Pinkie in confusion. "Um, Pinkie, what happened to Pin the Tail on the Pony?" asked Celosia. Upon hearing this, Spike groaned softly with a sulky look on his face in realizing that he had missed his own chance at playing a round of that game. "Well, you see, I was planning to bring out your cake the moment the two of arrived," answered Pinkie Pie. "But then I suddenly realized that since Twilight and Spike hadn't arrived yet, I would force them to miss out having some cake themselves and that wouldn't very fair. So, I decided to wait it out with a few party games until they arrived, but now that Twilight and Spike are here, we can finally get started with serving some cake!" The party mare's blue eyes brightened with more excitement. "But before we do, you two will have the pleasure of blowing the candles." Thus, the two feline Colossi walked up to the cake and gazed at the lit candles on top. In doing so, they both realized that neither of them were tall enough blow all of the candles out at once. Thankfully, Pinkie swiftly brought out two stools for them so that they mount onto them with their front legs, giving the brothers a clearer view of the candles. But at the moment of doing so, Celosia had a brief tingling sensation course through his stony belly, as if he had noticed something familiar about the tiny flames that dotted the candles. That sensation faded as he and Cenobia looked each other in the eye. "Hey, how 'bout we count to three before we start," suggested Celosia in a whisper. "Sure, I'm game," replied Celosia softly. The brothers nodded to each other three times before they gazed back at the candles, took deep breaths, and unleashed strong exhales, blowing them out instantly. Everypony gave a loud, joyful cheer for the two brothers as they stepped down from their stools. Pinkie Pie, who was standing up next to them, picked up the stools and raced out to put them away before zipping back over to the cake with a large knife and a tall stack of plates. For the next few minutes, everypony at the party spent some time eating their share of delicious cake, in which Celosia and Cenobia, being the guests of honor, were given the first slices by Pinkie Pie. The two brothers were eating their cake together with Twilight, her group of friends, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Because they were new with eating food, both Celosia and Cenobia decided to chomped up their slices of it down in one gulp and found them very delicious. Though it left huge messes on their mouths, Rarity managed to clean it up. It was during this moment in which Twilight mentions that before leaving the library she had sent a letter to Princess Celestia about Celosia and Cenobia, hoping that her mentor would be interested in personally meeting them sometime in the near future. While both brothers felt delighted over the prospect of meeting Princess Celestia, Twilight's friends felt a little nervous about the idea. "Um, are ya sure that's a good idea, Twi?" asked Applejack skeptically, causing Twilight to give her friend a puzzled look. "Oh, come on, Applejack," said Cenobia. "I think that's great idea. I mean Princess Celestia is a very kind and compassionate ruler, like Twilight said. What could possibly go wrong?" "Well, darling," said Rarity in a worried tone. "Its just that she might react the same way most of us did when we first met you earlier and might do something absolutely dreadful to you." "Not if we tell her about how we saved Fluttershy's life yesterday," said Celosia. "She'll definitely warm up to me and Cen after that." "He's definitely got a point there," agreed Fluttershy. "And luckily for you boys, I've already thought about that and included that important detail in the letter," said Twilight Sparkle confidentially. All of Twilight's friends instantly felt relieved after hearing this new information. The brothers excused themselves to get themselves some seconds on some cake but upon returning, they and their new friends noticed Spike suddenly holding his stomach with both hands and both his cheeks were inflated a bit. "Hey, what's wrong, Spike?" asked Celosia. "You got a tummy ache." Within an instant, Spike suddenly belched out a green flame that not only startled Celosia a bit, but also materialized into a scroll. Twilight and her friends instantly recognized what this meant. "It's a letter from Princess Celestia," said Twilight grabbing hold of the letter with her magic. "We better take this to somewhere more private." "Oh! Oh!" shouted Pinkie. "I know just the place!" She ran to and up the stairs to her bedroom with her friends and the two Colossi (who quickly told the CMC they'd be back shortly) following close behind her. When the group of friends made it to Pinkie Pie's bedroom, Twilight manages to open up the scroll only to find---to their shock---two of them instead. "Hold on a second: the Princess sent you two replies?" asked Rainbow Dash. "Well, if that's what the Princess Celestia sent," replied Twilight. "Then she must have a reason for it. Here, I'll take a look at what the first one says." She cleared her throat and gazed at the note. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, It is wonderful to hear from you again. On top of that, I am also not only glad about you and your friends befriending Celosia and Cenobia, but I'm also very thankful of them both for risking their lives in saving Fluttershy from a wyvern in the Everfree Forest yesterday. I'm so anxious to meet them! And I'm not the only one either. Because today, Luna and I also met two mysterious and friendly visitors in Canterlot who have also proclaimed themselves as Colossi. The first is a tall stone-armored bipedal giant named Gaius, who has a sword permanently fixed to his right arm and feet shaped like spheres. You should see how enormous Gaius is, Twilight, for he is a little more than twice my height, can you believe it? But all the same, Gaius is also a courteous and respectful individual who treats everyone he meets with chivalry. The second visitor is a large lithic bird with a huge wingspan named Avion. Just like Gaius, he's very polite and gentle with others especially with ponies; I would imagine that Fluttershy would really like him since he's very capable of communicating with other birds. The reason I'm telling you about this is because not only will I be coming to Ponyville sometime later today (possibly within half an hour) to personally meet Celosia and Cenobia, but I'm hoping that you won't mind Gaius and Avion accompanying me. For I would imagine that they would really want to reunite with them as soon as possible and I sincerely want to help them in that endeavor. Be ready when we arrive, Twilight. Yours truly, Princess Celestia P.S.: Avion might make it to Ponyville before Gaius and I do, especially since he can fly there easily. P.S. 2: I've added a second note for Mayor Mare to read so that she and the rest of Ponyville will be properly informed and be prepared when the three of us arrive. P.S. 3: My sister, Luna, will remain in Canterlot to maintain order." There was a brief moment of silence the moment Twilight finished reading aloud the letter with everypony in the room absorbing what they just heard from it. It was immediately broken when both brothers hopped up and let out a big cheer, startling all six mares and Spike. "What's got ya'll riled up?" asked Applejack. "Because my brother and I won't be the only Colossi in Equestria anymore," replied Celosia. "Yeah and just think," added Cenobia happily. "We'll be meeting up with not only Princess Celestia today, but Gaius and Avion as well. Isn't that great?" "Oh, I'm sure that it is," said Fluttershy warmly. Though both she and her friends found the news of Princess Celestia and Luna encountering two more Colossi very surprising, all of them smiled at seeing Celosia and Cenobia being happy about it. However, Twilight's smile shifted into a frown as she realized something. "What's wrong, Twilight?" asked Spike. "Well, I'd hate to say it," she replied. "But I'm now worried." Everypony in the room stared back at her upon hearing this. "What are ya talking about?" said Rainbow Dash. "I mean the Princess just said that Gaius and Avion are friendly so we shouldn't be too worried about them." "Yes, yes I know that Rainbow Dash," said Twilight who suddenly began pacing. "I absolutely trust Princess Celestia on that and have no problems with it. Its just that I'm worried about how the ponies in Ponyville will react to them when they get here. I mean, what if they get extremely terrified and zip into their houses to hide like they did with Zecora's first time in coming to Ponyville? What if everypony starts setting anti-Colossi rallies? Or what if everypony just gallops out of Ponyville in a full-blown panic and never come back?! What if---Eep!" She abruptly stopped upon feeling a tug at her tail. She immediately turned around to find Celosia staring up at her with a pleading expression. "Twilight, listen," said he calmly. "It doesn't have to come down to that." "What do you mean?" "What I mean is that if we can convince the ponies of Ponyville to give Gaius and Avion a chance it will go smoothly with them when they arrive." "Yeah, just like when you and your friends told everyone about the two of us," said Cenobia cheerfully as he strolled up next to his brother. "Not only that, but with Celestia coming with them, she'll make sure that nothing bad will happen during the visit." Twilight's tense expression softened as she listen to these words of encouragement while her friends, who also felt nervous, smiled in hearing Celosia's uplifting speech. "And besides that," added in Spike. "Aren't you forgetting the extra letter that Celestia wrote for Mayor Mare?" Twilight shifted her focus on the two letters still held in her magic and looked over the second note, which was indeed addressed to Mayor Mare at the top. The purple alicorn placed one hoof on her forehead chuckling awkwardly. "I can't believe that I forgot about that," she said with relief as she looked over at Spike. "Thanks for pointing that out, Spike." "Sure thing, Twilight," he replied. Twilight's purple eyes suddenly brightened before she turned to Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow, could you please deliver this copy over to Mayor Mare?" she asked motioning the now rolled-up second letter over to her friend. "Sure thing, Twilight," replied Rainbow Dash before gently taking hold of the letter in her mouth as she instantly darted out of an open window toward City Hall. The moment Rainbow Dash left, Fluttershy decided to walk up to Celosia and Cenobia. "Um, just so you'll know, boys, I am usually really nervous and bashful around others much larger than I am," she admitted to them. "But since the two you know Gaius and Avion so well, I can put on a brave face to personally meet them." "Thanks, Fluttershy," said Celosia. "We appreciate it." "And don't you remember?" asked Cenobia. "Avion's form is that a giant bird and we all know how you love animals, right?" Fluttershy instantly blushed with embarrassment in hearing the rhetoric question, but it also made her feel less anxious with meeting Avion and Gaius later. "Um, thank you for reminding me, Cenobia." "Sure thing Fluttershy." No sooner had he said this when Rainbow Dash flew back into Pinkie Pie's room with a satisfied smile on her face while all her friends stared at her. "Okay, I've managed to bring the letter straight over to Mayor Mare before coming right back," she said to them with a satisfied tone. "Did ya make sure to see if she was busy or somethin' Rainbow?" asked Applejack. "Yeah, she was in a meeting, but this was a letter straight from Princess Celestia and I had to get it over to her ASAP." Applejack gave an exasperated sigh in response. "Dagnabit, Rainbow. Ya'll should always remember to knock first." "Its okay, Applejack," said Twilight. "This is an urgent matter and I'm certain that the Mayor will understand that once she's read the letter. Besides, she's knows all of us pretty well." Applejack immediately relented after hearing Twilight's logic. "Besides," piped in Pinkie Pie. "We've still got tons of super-mega-some fun down at the party!" With that, the pink party mare rushed downstairs to the party below with her friends close in tow behind her. Upon returning to the party, Pinkie Pie decided to resume the party games, starting with a second game known as Pony Twister, another one that Celosia and Cenobia never heard about. They managed to understand the rules of the game when the Cutie Mark Crusaders explained it to them, including the fact that it was a two player game, involved stepping one colored spots with their legs and hoofs, and that who ever fell down loses the game. Celosia and Apple Bloom were the ones who decided to partake in the first round. While they did have fun playing the game together, there were awkward moments between the two of them, especially when their bodies nearly touch each other at some point. Unfortunately, when both of them were to make their next move, Celosia and Apple Bloom fell to the floor, ending the round in a stalemate and what's more, the former was laying on top of the latter. Thankfully, no one was hurt or injured, but both of them felt a little embarrassed about it. The next round had Cenobia and Sweetie Belle as contestants. Both of them started out pretty well, but resulted in Cenobia as the winner when Sweetie Belle accidentally slipped while making her move. This was followed by two more rounds of Pony Twister. By the time the fifth round of the game began, a loud commotion was heard outside of Sugarcube Corner by everypony at the party. Thus, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends including the brothers, and the CMC dropped what they were doing and galloped out through the store's front entrance. What Twilight and her friends witnessed when they got outside was a large crowd of ponies in an immense open area of Ponyville to the left of Sugarcube Corner and all of them were chatting loudly while gazing up at the direction of Canterlot. Within this same crowd was Mayor Mare who was doing her best to keep everypony calm. "What the hay is goin' on?" asked Applejack. "Oh! Oh! You think they're here for the party too?" asked Pinkie Pie excitedly. "I highly doubt it, darling," said Rarity, much to a dismayed Pinkie Pie. "For the record, they're clearly fixated on Canterlot and waiting for---Oh! Hello, what's this?" Rarity squinted her eyes like she had spotted something while gazing up at Canterlot from afar, which caused her friends to refocus their gaze in the same direction, including the Colossi brothers. They quickly managed to find what they were looking for. "Is...is that a bird?" asked Cenobia. "Yeah, it sure looks like a bird," said Celosia. "He's right, look at how it flapping its wings," added in Fluttershy. Sure enough against the distant city of Canterlot was the black figure of a bird, which looked small enough to sit atop a mare unicorn's horn. Hey wait a second. Is that...Avion? Celosia thought to himself. At the same moment, Twilight Sparkle suddenly disappeared in a bright flash before shortly reappearing with a long telescope levitating next to her. The Princess of Friendship placed the eyepiece over her left eye and focused it right on the bird while Celosia and Cenobia zipped right next to her. "Oh my gosh," said Twilight Sparkle with a gasp. "That bird is Avion, just as Princess Celestia described him." "Avion?!" shouted Celosia and Cenobia together, startling nearly everypony around them. "Here, take a look for yourself." She motioned the telescope over to Celosia allow him to look into it. But the moment he did, Celosia suddenly stepped back and jumped really high into the air. "Its him, brother! Its really Avion!" he shouted with excitement. "Yay! Avion is coming to Ponyville!" shouted Cenobia with glee as he too jumped up really high. The two brothers, unable to contain the joy within them, began running around Twilight and her friends with excitement declaring how glad they felt about Avion coming to Ponyville. The Cutie Mark Crusaders even joined in on the fun and began running with the two brothers happily before they eventually stopped and just jumped in place near Applejack. Although it initially felt very awkward to them, Twilight and her friends never the less found it very encouraging to see the two brothers being very jubilant in wanting to reunite with one of their fellow Colossi. That's when the six also noticed that the crowd of ponies had now fixed their eyes on them as well, including Mayor Mare, and they all had befuddled expressions. They watched as Mayor Mare quickly moved through the crowd in approaching them. "Twilight, do you mind if I asked what is going on?" she asked the scholarly alicorn. "Well, Mayor," said Twilight Sparkle. "My friends and I just found out that little bird in sky is actually Avion." "What? You mean the very same Avion that Celestia mentioned in her message?" Twilight simply nodded before Mayor Mare's puzzled expression shifted into a more serious one. "Then there's no time to lose. We've got to get ready for Avion's arrival." "Agreed." Twilight looked over at Rainbow Dash hovering behind her. "Rainbow Dash, can you assemble some of the local pegasi for a task?" "Sure thing, Twilight," replied Rainbow Dash. "What is it? "First we'll need two long lines of dotted clouds running side by side to form a runway to help guide Avion into Ponyville. Once that's done, we'll also need a elongated mass of cloud big enough for him perch on." Twilight paused for a moment to look around until her eyes stopped at Sugarcube Corner. "Okay, have the cloud perch placed next to Sugarcube Corner to the right of the main entrance." She looked back up at Rainbow Dash. "Can you do all that?" "You got it, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash hovered over to the crowd of ponies. "Okay, any of you who are pegasi come with me! We've got some work to do and little time to do it!" Without hesitation, a large number of pegasi flew up to Rainbow Dash as she led them high up into the sky to gather some clouds. "I'll make sure that the ponies remain calm during Avion's arrival," said Mayor Mare as she turned around and walked back into the ground. Twilight then looked back toward the two brothers, who have ceased jumping along with the CMC and were gazing in her direction. "So what now, Twilight?" asked Cenobia. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait until Avion arrives," Twilight replied. "Which probably won't take very long," added in Spike and sure enough Avion's small outline was slowly growing bigger, indicating that he was getting closer to Ponyville. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's blue eyes brightened in recognition. "Oh, wait!" she shouted frantically. "Don't go away, I'll be right back." Within a flash, the pink party mare zipped back inside Sugarcube Corner. "What in tarnation is she doin'?" asked Applejack in which all her friends just shrugged their shoulders. But no sooner did the answer came when they a loud shout from inside Sugarcube Corner. "Hey, Everypony! Come on out and see what's happening outside!" Then to the amazement of Twilight and her friends, Pinkie galloped back out followed by a large number of ponies, who happened to the attendants of Celosia and Cenobia's party. "Well, at least we now know what she was doing?" said Celosia as his brother nodded agreeably. Meanwhile high up in the air, Avion was continually making headway for Ponyville, with a pair of two Royal Guard pegasi accompanying him as his escorts and guides. He already departed Canterlot a short while ago and was nearly halfway to Ponyville, which looked very small from there but eventually grew visually larger over time. Before he left the Royal Guard's barracks, Celestia instructed him to give Twilight a message the moment he arrived in Ponyville, one that he would make sure to remember. Celestia also assured him that she had already forwarded a message to Twilight about him and Gaius coming to Ponyville, which Avion found comforting since he did not want to terrify any of Ponyville's populace. "Avion, look," shouted one of his escorts pointing forward with one hoof. From what Avion saw far ahead near Ponyville amazed him, for he noticed several white dots moving about until they soon formed two long lines---both of them running parallel with each other---directed somewhere in the middle of the town like a runway. "It looks like everypony in Ponyville is expecting us," shouted the other guard. "You mean with those two lines ahead of us?" asked Avion. "Yes," answered the first escort. "Its called a runway. Something that pegasi use when they getting ready to land." "And if they're expecting you, Avion, I'd imagine that they've possible erected a cloud perch for you to sit on," said the second escort. "If that's the case, then let us make haste," said Avion with a tone of determination. "For I am most eager to reunite with Celosia and Celosia." With that, he flapped his wings to increase velocity while his two escorts did their best to keep up with him. Back in Ponyville, the crowd of awaiting ponies gathered in front of Sugarcube Corner had enlarged in size as they watched Avion approaching them. By now, Rainbow Dash and all of the pegasi she had assembled managed to finish both of their cloud arranging tasks in record time. Yet while nearly everypony in the crowd waited anxiously, Celosia and Cenobia, (who were situated the crowd's edge with their friends) were waiting with excitement, which grew as they watched Avion closing in on Ponyville. Thus when Avion finally reached Ponyville, nearly everypony gasped with both awe and fright, some even thinking that he'd scoop them up in his talons. They were surprised and relieved to find that Avion did no such thing and instead flew right over the crowd with everyone in it quickly turning around to see where he went. They all found out when they noticed Avion flying over and past his cloud perch before he turned around in midflight, flew back, and planted himself atop his temporary roost. It was after this that two things happened at once: firstly both of Avion's escorts flew in and landed somewhere within the crowd of awestruck ponies to give themselves a breather after trying keep up with him. The next was that the moment Avion settled himself atop his cloud perch, both Celosia and Cenobia rushed over to him with utter haste and with their friends following in tow. "AVION!!!" shouted both brothers happily causing the enormous bird to focus his eyes on them and immediately recognized them at that same moment. "Celosia! Cenobia!" he replied as the two brothers stopped below him and looked up. "It is so good to see you again." "Same here, Avion," said Celosia. "Yeah, the feeling's mutual," added Cenobia whose eyes, along with his brothers, gave Avion the look that would say "I've missed you so very much," one that the giant bird understood too well. By now, their new friends had caught up to them and were now starring up at Avion with looks of awe and wonder. What's more the crowd of ponies from before have en mass walked over to Avion to get a closer look at him, with some of them a bit nervous of the giant's birds current posture. Avion like wise lifted his head and stared out at them. "Greetings, citizens of Ponyville," he said in a polite tone. "My name is Avion and I've come not only to meet with young Celosia and Cenobia, but also to seek out a pony named Princess Twilight Sparkle. May I ask where I can find her?" "Um, excuse me, Mr. Avion, sir?" said Twilight Sparkle modestly. Avion looked down at the source of the voice and found Twilight Sparkle slowing ascending up to him with the flap of her wings. "Are you looking for me?" Avion, having been informed by Celestia of Twilight's description, immediately recognized her as the same mare. "Indeed I am," he replied as Twilight slowed her ascent to where she was eye-level with Avion. "Um, alright. May I ask the exact purpose for why wanted to see me?" "Because I have a message straight from Princess Celestia herself." Twilight looked quite surprised in hearing this from Avion. "She would like to know of a decent area where she can teleport herself and Gaius in Ponyville." No sooner had Avion said these words when Spike burped up a letter from Princess Celestia herself. "Hey, Twilight, you get down here and look at this," shouted Spike from below. Twilight quickly descended to the ground and took up the unwrapped scroll in her magic. "Twilight Sparkle, I would like to inform you that Gaius and I will heading for Ponyville shortly. But before we go, there's one thing I need to know first: where would be a good place for us to teleport in Ponyville? Princess Celestia." Despite her surprise with the note's informality, Twilight smiled before looking around for a moment and then teleporting (with her telescope) somewhere before reappearing with a pen, an inkwell, and a piece of paper in her magic, which she gave to Spike. "Spike, please take this down," she said before clearing her throat. " 'Princess Celestia, I know the perfect place for you and Gaius to appear: which should be quite close to Sugarcube Corner's front entrance. It should be ready for you by the time you send back a reply. Twilight.' " By the time Twilight finished her dictation, Spike had also managed to deftly write the whole thing down on the parchment. "Okay, that should do it," said Spike. "Anything else, Twilight?" "Nope. That should be it." Thus Spike rolled up the parchment, ignited it with a small green flame, and watched as the ashes zipped up to Canterlot. Twilight turned around and looked at Mayor Mare, who had been standing with proximity of her and Spike when she gave the small dragon the dictation of her reply to Celestia's note. "Mayor Mare, could you please help with arranging a large open space within for Gaius and Princess Celestia." "Of course, Princess Twilight," said Mayor Mare. "I'd be happy to help contribute to it." "You mind if we helped too, Princess?" asked one of the Guard escorts as he and his comrade hovered over to Twilight Sparkle. "Of course, gentlemen. Now lets get to it!" With that, Twilight, Mayor Mare, and the two guards ushered the crowd over to the front of Sugarcube Corner with Applejack and Rainbow Dash coming forward to join the effort. The rest of their friends were about join them when their attention was suddenly drawn back to Avion, who had clear his throat. "Celosia, Cenobia," said he. "I want to say that you both did well in saving Fluttershy's life from a wyvern yesterday and that I'm very proud of you for it." "Thanks, Avion," said Celosia, who had a little crack in his voice. "That coming from you means a lot." "Most definitely," added Cenobia modestly with a nod. Their new friends suddenly observed the two brothers showing brief looks of sorrow, as if something was going through their minds. Within a very short time, the crowd of ponies had been repositioned in front of Sugarcube Corner and had rearranged into a large donut shape, with the circular space in the middle as big as City Hall and with the two pegasi guards positioned on both ends of it. Celosia, Cenobia, (who once again felted very excited) and their friends were standing within the section of the crowd that was huddled against Sugarcube Corner's front entrance. Once Twilight and her friends had finished with rearranging the crowd, she received one final message from Princess Celestia stating that she and Gaius will teleport in the spot suggested by the former and that the latter would be there shortly. Within the message was PS that requested Twilight to make sure that no one Ponyville overreacted to with Gaius' upon arrival, a request that the former would do her best to follow. A moment after that Pinkie Pie suddenly zipped inside Sugarcube Corner and came back out with a long strip of fabric, some nails, a hammer, paint and a paint brush. Then moving with lightning speed, she erected a banner above the store entrance that read "Welcome to Ponyville, Gaius!" on it. Pinkie quickly explained that since she didn't have time to set up a party for Gaius, she decided to set up a simple welcome message for him instead, an answer her friends accepted. Even Avion found the sight of it impressive. After that began the waiting period for Celestia and Gaius' arrival, which was indeed a brief one at that. For from the very center of the donut-shaped crowd came an immense flash of light and out from it appeared the towering form of Gaius and Princess Celestia who stood next to him on his left. Although there were gasps heard from many ponies throughout the crowd, all of them were immediately drowned out by the shouts of two familiar voices. "GAIUS!!!" Within an instant, the ecstatic Celosia and Cenobia burst out from the crowd and swiftly rushed up to Gaius who recognized them the moment he heard their shouts and saw them coming. When the two brothers skidded to a stop at the giant knight's spheric feet, Gaius had to literally bend down his neck in order to see them. "It's so good to see you, Gaius," said Celosia ecstatically with Cenobia nodding rapidly. "It is good to see you as well, Celosia...Cenobia," replied Gaius calmly whose eyes also had a joyful gleam. "I am also relieved to see that the ponies here in Ponyville have treated you very well." The three Colossi suddenly shifted their eyes at Princess Celestia when she politely cleared her throat to gain their attention. For Celosia and Cenobia, both of them felt overwhelmed with awe and wonder in standing before the regal and beautiful Princess Celestia, who was gazing down at the two brothers with a pleasant expression on her face. For them, it was one thing to be told and described what she looked like, but seeing her up close like this was a different experience altogether. Yet, when they turned their eyes upon her, they immediately knelt down on their bellies and bent down the faces reverently. "We're so sorry, Your Highness," said Cenobia apologetically. "My brother and I were so excited at seeing Gaius that we forgot to show our respects to you." "It is quite alright, boys," replied Celestia gently. "You may rise." The two brothers did so as Princess Celestia looked out over the crowd before her. "Citizens of Ponyville. Today I would like to introduce all of you to Gaius. I know some of you may find him intimidating but I assure you that despite his size, he is in fact quite gentle." "What your Princess has said is the truth, little ponies," said Gaius placing his left arm over his plated chest. "For I swear unto by my knight's honor that I shall not harm any one of you." Gaius immediately noticed many of the nervous and agitated ponies in the crowd appease themselves all thanks to both his and Celestia's words of reassurance. The giant biped noticed six ponies and a baby dragon emerge and approach him, looking up at him with awe and wonder. He suddenly remembers who they are based on what Princess Celestia told him back in Canterlot, such as Princess Twilight Sparkle, Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. "Gaius," said Twilight Sparkle. "I, Twilight Sparkle, hereby formally welcome you to Ponyville." The crowd of ponies gave a brief but heartfelt applause to Gaius as he felt a wave of warmth coursing through his body. "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle," replied Gaius. "Your words are deeply appreciated. I have even taken note of the message on that banner there." He indicated Pinkie Pie's erected sign with his right arm while he spoke while Twilight and her friends turned to look at it for a moment. Gaius shifted his gaze toward Avion who been patiently waiting on his cloud perch since his arrival. "Avion, my friend, have these good ponies of Ponyville treated you kindly since your arrival?" "Indeed they have, Gaius," replied Avion. "They have all been quite accepting of my arrival." The corners of Gaius' mouth flexed upward in a small smile in hearing this from Avion before the two Colossi shifted their eyes toward Celosia and Cenobia. "Um, Princess Celestia," said Cenobia prompting the Princess to look down at him. "My brother and I heard about what you mentioned in Twilight's letter some time ago in that you wanted to speak with the two of us. Is that true?" "Indeed, Cenobia, you are quite correct," said Celestia as she sat down on her posterior. Then she picked up both brothers in her magic, brought them both into her arms and embraced them in a warm, gentle bear hug. "Thank you. Thank you both for saving the life of Fluttershy from a wyvern yesterday. She is one of my subjects and more importantly one of Twilight Sparkle's best friends, which makes her mine too. Thus, I am forever grateful for what you did for her yesterday." "You're welcome, Princess Celestia," replied Celosia and Cenobia lazily. For due to the heavenly warmth of Princess Celestia's embrace, the two brothers felt quite blissful at that moment. Of course the moment Celestia released the brothers and set them back down on the ground with her magic, that same warmth left them, but they didn't mind. At this same moment, Fluttershy walked up to stand beside them. "Um, Princess Celestia," said she. "I'm also grateful for what Celosia and Cenobia did for saving me from that wyvern yesterday. So much so that I now consider them both heroes." Both brothers smiled in hearing that from Fluttershy as did all of her friends. "Well said, Fluttershy," replied Celestia warmly. "Indeed," said Gaius gently. "What they did for you yesterday was very noble, young Fluttershy and I am very proud of them for it." Everypony within the crowd felt deeply touched with Gaius' kind words about Celosia and Cenobia, especially the two brothers and their friends. As for Fluttershy, who normally felt scared around beings as large as Gaius, no longer felt that way toward him after hearing the way he spoke so kindly. After a brief moment of silence, Celosia's eyes shrank slightly in realizing something important. "Um, Gaius?" he asked awkwardly. "Yes, Celosia," replied Gaius. "How is it that both you and Avion managed to come into Equestria?" Cenobia focused his eyes on his brother when the question came up, as if he suddenly knew what Celosia was implying. "I mean...shouldn't...shouldn't the both of you...already...be..." "Dead?" Gaius spoke that word quite somberly. For when Celosia tried completely addressing his next question, he found himself unable to finish it, whether it be because of him being so young or something else. Thus it was Gaius who finished it for him. Of course once he uttered the word "dead," some in the crowd muttered to themselves in confusion while others gasped softly in horror. Among those who gasped included Fluttershy. Wait...what does he mean? she thought to herself fearfully. "You are correct, Celosia," Gaius continued dismally. "Both Avion and I had been dead as you suspected. But through some mysterious magic or unknown supernatural power, our souls found their way to this world of Equestria and thus we became reborn with new bodies." "He speaks the truth, boys," declared Avion, whose eyes had a sad tinge to them. "And while both Gaius and I are genuinely glad to be reunited with both of you, we were also shocked as well. For we greatly feared the worst in that you, Celosia and Cenobia, also had died just as we did." This drew more horrified gasps from the crowd which were louder than previously. But none were more saddened by this revelation than Fluttershy and her dearest friends. Fluttershy looked down at the two brothers who now had pained expressions on their faces. "Is...is this true?" she asked softly, her eyes now at the breaking point. "Did...did you...did you r-really...?" The poor mare never got to finish as Celosia and Cenobia positioned themselves in front of her, side-by-side, and looked up with morose looks. "Yeah, we did, Fluttershy," answered Celosia with a grievous tone. "We both did...die...in the Forbidden Lands." "We...we're so sorry we didn't tell you before," apologized Cenobia who along with his brother was on the verge on shedding tears. "It's...it was just too painful...a moment...for us to...to..." But instead of finishing, both he and Celosia reached up and embraced Fluttershy before they burst out crying with tears pouring out from their clinched eyes. Fluttershy, feeling that this would happen and being a compassionate mare herself willingly gave into the embrace and squeezed the two brothers comfortingly, despite the fact that she was now crying softly. Needless to say, the whole atmosphere was now dreadfully melancholy as everypony watched this heartbreaking scene. For Gaius and Avion, they deeply understood how both Celosia and Cenobia felt, especially knowing that they themselves experienced terrible and tragic deaths in their old home world. They looked at each other with sad eyes and bowed their heads with reverence. For Princess Celestia, she too felt sympathetic for the two brothers, especially with how as an immortal alicorn ruler she had known countless mortal friends over the millennia who had all died, some of whom she had watch pass away on their deathbeds. Thus as the solar watched the two boys sob uncontrollably, she silent shed a few tears herself. For Twilight Sparkle and her friends, they felt both shocked and despondent with this new revelation that Celosia and Cenobia had brought to light, yet what made it especially appalling for them was how they'd previously known that the two of them was that the two of them had died pretty young. Twilight Sparkle held Spike with one foreleg as they both cried softly together while Rainbow Dash stood on the ground with her head stooped and her wings open and hanging on her sides, where as Pinkie Pie spewed out geysers of tears from her eyes. Applejack just simply took off her hat, placed it on her chest and bowed her head somberly while Rarity cried daintily while wiping her tears with a piece of cloth. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, deeply upset with what they heard about their new friends, rushed up to their sisters (or sister-figure), embraced them around their legs and wept. Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash did their best to comfort the three fillies to the best of their ability. As for everypony else in the crowd, each individual had a different reaction to what they witnessed: many wept aloud, some bowed their heads respectfully, while a few more at the crowd's edge departed to give the two brothers some room. The morose scene between the two Colossi brothers lasted for several minutes, which by that time, their loud sobbing had softened significantly. At this moment, Gaius did something: he slowly rotated the sword on his right arm to a downward position, placing the tip lightly on the ground before he slowly knelt down on one knee looking down at the two brothers. "Celosia...Cenobia...," he said with firm but gentle voice, drawing their attention. "Please understand that both Avion and I know how you feel with this grave matter; for death is truly a traumatic and terrible thing for any who endure it. But please do not despair over that any longer. Instead, be joyful. Be joyful that in dying, the two of you have been brought and resurrected here in the beautiful world of Equestria where you can now live in the company of benevolent and gracious ponies such as these here in Ponyville. I have also observed that you both have recently made new friends here in Ponyville; friends will now have the chance to know you better just as you will do the same with them as time goes on. Therefore, I ask you of both to once more rejoice in that, despite us dying in our old home that we are now alive once more in Equestria---our new home. Please always remember that." As Gaius delivered his encouraging speech to the two brothers, the melancholy atmosphere around them and the crowd gradually shifted into a more vibrantly uplifting tone until everypony, including Celestia, Avion, Twilight Sparkle, her friends, and the CMC utterly forgot about how sad they felt as they looked at the giant biped admirably. Those who had been crying quickly wiped away their tears. As for Celosia and Cenobia, hearing Gaius' poignant words made them forget about their deaths in the Forbidden Lands and helped them remember all the good things that had happened to them in Equestria so far and the friends they have made too. Both of them and Fluttershy slowly disengaged from their embrace while keeping their now merry gaze focus up at Gaius' eyes. "Thank you, Gaius," said Celosia in a relieved tone. "We really needed that." "Yeah, it was very encouraging," added in Cenobia. "Thanks for that." "You are most welcome," replied Gaius. As he slowly stood back up, Fluttershy used her long pink mane to dry off Celosia and Cenobia's tears. That's when a now smiling Pinkie Pie decided to step forward. "Hey, Gaius," she shouted loudly while waving one foreleg at him rapidly, which prompted the giant to look in her direction. "Gaius, would you like to join in on the what's left of the party? Because there's still lots of good-tastic fun to get through before it ends!!!" To Pinkie's surprise, Gaius tipped his head sideways and scratched his head with his left arm for a moment. Every pony took this as a sign that Gaius was confused over what a party was. Before anypony could say anything else, Rarity clopped up next to Pinkie Pie and daintily cleared her throat. "If you'll beg pardon, Gaius," she said politely. "I do believe that what Pinkie was asking is if you be part of the festivities. That, of course, is another word for "party." You see, before you and Avion made that untimely arrival, we've having a celebration here in Ponyville in honor of Celosia and Cenobia's honorable act of saving our dear friend Fluttershy yesterday." Gaius straightened his head in when heard and understood the answer before his eyes gave a sad look followed by him giving an equally sad sigh. "I apologize, Miss Pinkie Pie," he replied. "But I will not able to attend your festivities." "How come, Gaius?" asked Celosia. "Because I need to return to Canterlot shortly. For I have intentions on becoming a member of the Royal Guard in order to properly protect all those who inhabit Equestria." The mixed reactions from the crowd were instantaneous. Of course, Celosia and Cenobia were very happy in hearing about this from Gaius. Some within the crowd were touched by Gaius' good intentions, including Twilight Sparkle and her friends while others had nervous looks on their faces. Some even whispered amongst themselves over Gaius' announcement, like it was the worst thing to happen in Equestria. "My little ponies, please hear me out," said Princess Celestia whose voice prompted the whole crowd to focus back on her. "I want you all to know that you have nothing to fear. For both Princess Luna and I personally approved Gaius' choice in joining the ranks of the Royal Guard in Canterlot under the condition that he passes a simple test. I can assure you, my little ponies, that both my sister and I have seen many admirable qualities in Gaius that make suitable in serving the Guard. All that I ask that you please give him a chance just as Princess Luna and I have." The solar ruler's words made the more skeptical ponies within the crowd think about what she said for a moment before they gave smiles of assurance, which Celestia interpreted as signs of approval from them. "Hey, Gaius," said Cenobia. "Will you please remember to come back to Ponyville for a visit?" "Of course I will, Cenobia," promised Gaius. He looked over at Avion, who had a thoughtful look in his eyes. "What about you, Avion? Would you like to come back to Canterlot with me?" "Forgive me, Gaius," replied Avion. "But I would like to stay in Ponyville for a while, if you do not mind of course." "Of course not, Avion. I do not mind that at all." The giant bird looked around the crowd and found that nopony else objected to this either. "Guards, to me please," said Princess Celestia to the two guards who stepped forward while the Princess looked over the crowd for a moment. "My little ponies, thank you so much giving Gaius and Avion a warm welcome in Ponyville. It has also been a joy seeing you all again as well. But Gaius and I must regretfully return to Canterlot at once. I hope that you all will enjoy the rest of your day, my little ponies. But until then, farewell." The crowd watched in awe as Princess Celestia charged her horn with magic before a massive light enveloped her, Gaius, and the two pegasus guards, vanishing in an instant. "Oh no," shouted Pinkie Pie suddenly. "I forgot to ask Gaius if he wanted a cupcake!" > Chapter Five > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Gaius and Princess Celestia had departed, Pinkie Pie decided to have the party expanded outside into the very courtyard that was next to Sugarcube Corner. She did this not only to accommodate the now enlarged crowd of ponies who were present, but to also include Avion into the fun because of how he was simply too big to fit inside Sugarcube Corner, much to his delight. Though they no longer felt sad about it, Celosia and Cenobia were initially worried that their previous deaths in the Forbidden Lands would alienate their new friends. Thankfully the two brothers quickly learned that this new revelation instead actually solidified their friendship — bringing them closer than before. Thus, the group of friends spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening having fun at the party together. By the time sunset came around, the party was coming to a close and everypony in attendance headed for home. “Wow, that party sure was fun, wasn’t it?” asked Cenobia as he, Celosia, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Apple Bloom traveled down the road from Ponyville. “It sure was, brother,” replied Celosia happily. “Ah’ll say,” added in Apple Bloom. “Ah can’t remember the last time Ah ‘ad so much fun at one Pinkie Pie’s parties.” “Too bad the same couldn’t be said for the giant pinata before I smashed him into ribbons,” said Celosia as they burst into gales of laughter. It shortly died down afterwards. “Hey, boys,” said Applejack, gaining Celosia and Cenobia’s attention. “Would ya’ll like to come over to mah orchard tomorrow mornin’?” “Sure thing, Applejack,” replied Cenobia as he turned to Fluttershy, who gave an approving nod. “Glad to hear. I’ll come on over tomorrow morning and bring ya’ll ovah to mah farm.” “And if ya’ll want to,” said Apple Bloom. “You boys can also hang out with me and mah friends when they come over tomorrow too.” “Sure, that would be great too,” said Celosia happily as his brother nodded in agreement. “Then Ah guess it’s all settled,” said Applejack. “See ya’ll tomorrow.” With that, the two Apple sisters, departed for Sweet Apple Acres while Fluttershy and the two brothers waved them off. That’s when Celosia’s eyes suddenly shrank to pupils in realization. “Oh no, I just realized something,” he exclaimed. “I don’t even know where Applejack’s orchard is from your cottage, Fluttershy.” That’s when Fluttershy let out a giggle. “Don’t you worry, Celosia,” she said with a comforting voice. “Applejack will help show you the way when she comes to get you and Cenobia tomorrow.” “That’s a relief," said Cenobia. “It certainly is, brother," replied Celosia. “Last one at the cottage is a rotten egg!" With that, the micro Colossus took off at a running pace to the cottage, with his brother and Fluttershy coming up behind him. Meanwhile, Avion had already arrived at Fluttershy’s cottage, thanks to Rainbow Dash who guided him there after the party had ended. Fluttershy offered to let Avion stay at her cottage with Celosia and Cenobia; an offer that he graciously accepted, much to the trio's delight. As he waited for Fluttershy and the two brothers to catch up, he reflected something that Rainbow Dash asked on their to the cottage. “Hey, Avion, would you like to join me in some flight practice tomorrow afternoon?” “Why of course," replied Avion. “I would be more than happy to join you on that tomorrow.” “Alright!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as she did a barrel roll. “I’ll be sure to meet you at Fluttershy's tomorrow so we can get started.” It was after this exchange of words when the two of them arrived at Avion’s destination. Rainbow bid farewell to Avion and departed while he perched himself atop the cottage roof and began waiting patiently. Avion honestly felt quite eager of doing some flight practice with the sky cyan pegasus mare, especially with how he’d done some maneuvers with Philomena earlier, which he very much enjoyed. He was suddenly shaken from his train of thought when heard shouts from down the path below. “I’m gonna win for sure!" “Not if I get ahead of you first, brother!” Avion instantly recognized the voices which belonged to Celosia and Cenobia. His lithic body was filled with joy as he watch the two micro Colossi running down the path--Cenobia in front--crossing over the little bridge before finally stopping at the front door. “Hurray!” shouted Cenobia triumphantly as hopped off the ground a couple of times. “I won!” “Ah, geez," pouted Celosia sadly. “Beaten by my own brother.” As he spoke, Fluttershy, who was panting heavily, had managed to catch up with the two brothers. Avion additionally observed that the exhausted pale yellow pegasus looked like she was close collapse. “Excuse me, boys," he said gaining the brothers attention. “It appears that miss Fluttershy looks quite taxed from all that running." The boys turned around and were surprised to find Fluttershy exhaling and trembling with fatigue. “Don’t...worry...I’ll be...fine…just…give me...a moment…” After a short wait, Fluttershy manage to compose herself and regain some of her stamina. “Gosh, we're sorry, Fluttershy," said Celosia apologetically. “Brother and I had no idea you would get so tired this quickly.” “Oh, don’t worry about it, Celosia," replied Fluttershy gently. “While I did feel a little winded, it felt good having a brisk trot with you both." She gazed up at Avion with a smile. “How are you feeling, Avion?” “I feel fine, Miss Fluttershy," answered Avion. “Your friend, Rainbow Dash, had no trouble in leading me here to your cottage.” “Glad to hear it.” “Indeed. Would you mind if I sleep on the roof? I will make certain that my talons will not damage it. I also do not think that any of the bird houses here are big enough for me." Both Fluttershy and the brothers responded with light chuckling for a moment. “That’s perfectly alright with me, Avion," Fluttershy replied. “I don't mind one bit. But could you excuse us for a bit? The boys and I have to go inside and check on my animal friends to make sure they’re alright.” “Of course, Miss Fluttershy. I am not going anywhere.” “Okay then. Also, just call me Fluttershy. I’ll also make sure to come out and tell you ‘good night’ when we’re done.” “That will do just fine with me, Fluttershy." Avion watched as the Celosia and Cenobia stepped aside, allowing Fluttershy to approach the door. “Goodnight, Avion," said the two brothers at once as they followed Fluttershy inside. “Goodnight,” replied Avion as he heard the door close shut. He lifted his head up to watch the orange glow of the sky ahead where the sun had already sank below the horizon. Fluttershy, Celosia, and Cenobia spent several moments making sure that the pegasus mare’s animal friends were alright along ensuring that each and every one of them was properly fed their evening meals. The trio even joined in and had some dinner themselves. By the time they were done, night had already fallen outside. While the brothers head upstairs for bed, Fluttershy went outside for a moment to bid Avion “goodnight" like she had promised. Avion was quite grateful of Fluttershy for giving such a gesture and told her the same thing before she flew back into the cottage. Upon entering the bedroom, Fluttershy observed that Celosia and Cenobia were already sitting on their sleeping mats before she quickly trotted over to her bed. “Fluttershy?" said Celosia. Fluttershy had just climbed onto her bed when she immediately turned and looked in Celosia’s direction. “Yes, Celosia?" she replied. “There's something I need to confess. In fact, I just recently remembered something.” “What did you remember?" There was a bit of long pause before Celosia spoke again. “Well...one of my greatest fears...is...f-fire.” For a moment, Fluttershy had her mouth agape with surprise from hearing this from Celosia for the first time. “Really? You're actually afraid of fire?” “That’s right, Fluttershy,” said Cenobia sympathetically. “Cel’s been deathly afraid of fire for as long as we can remember. But it wasn’t until we returned from the party that we fully realized it.” “He’s right," said Celosia sadly. “But earlier at the party, I felt slightly spooked each time Spike breathed fire whenever he was sending or receiving messages from Princess Celestia.” “What about the candles on the cake?" asked Fluttershy. “Are you kidding?" said Cenobia. “There’s no way my brother could be frightened by tiny flames like that. Right, Cel?” “Yeah," chuckled Celosia. “That is true." He paused for a moment to regain a more serious expression. “I’m sorry that we didn’t tell you about it sooner, Fluttershy.” Fluttershy stepped off her bed and gave Celosia a gentle embrace. “It's okay, Celosia," she said to him. “I’m just glad that you told me.” She released her grip on Celosia and softly gazed into his eyes. "I promise you, Celosia, that Spike would never use his fire breath on anypony, including you and your brother." Both brothers were deeply touched and relieved in hearing that. “Thanks, Fluttershy," said the two brothers at once. “Of course," she replied. “Now since we’re on the topic of fears, I have a fear that I would like to share with you both.” “What is it?" asked Cenobia. Fluttershy, who now had a nervous look on her face, looked between the two felines for a moment. “Dragons. I’m terribly afraid of dragons. Not baby dragons like Spike, but fully grown adult dragons who can easily swallow whole ponies in one bite." She shivered for a moment before resuming. “Believe me, I’m so terrified of them that I often become petrified if I ever come anywhere close to one.” As they listened to Fluttershy’s confession, Celosia and Cenobia felt immensely sympathetic for her. Thus they both came to instinctual decision. “Fluttershy,” said Celosia in a firm voice. “I promise that Cenobia and I will protect you from any and all dragons that try to harm or kill you." Fluttershy had a look of astonishment when she heard what Celosia told her. “You...you mean that?" she asked timidly. “Positively," said Cenobia optimistically. “Just like how we defended you from that wyvern some time ago." Fluttershy, now deeply touched with the two Colossi’s devotion, show a wide and joyous smile. “Thank you, boys," she said, giving the two brothers a hug. “I appreciate it." The mare turned around, hopped onto her bed, and tucked herself under the sheets. “Goodnight, boys.” “Goodnight, Fluttershy," replied both brothers. Within moments, all three individuals quickly fell asleep. Meanwhile, inside Golden Oaks Library, Spike was now heading for bed when en route he found Twilight Sparkle pacing within one of the library’s chambers. What's more, Spike observed that his friend had worried and anxious expressions on her feminine features, prompting him to suddenly stop his momentum. “Um, Twilight,” he said. “Would you mind telling me what’s on your mind?” For a moment, Twilight didn’t answer but continued pacing in a circle within the room. “I’m worried, Spike," she said while still pacing. “About what? What could you possibly be so worried ab---" Spike suddenly froze for an instant, as if he utterly realized something. “Wait a minute. Is it about Princess Celestia permitting Gaius to join the Royal Guard in Canterlot?" Twilight suddenly stopped pacing when her assistant addressed the question to her. She turned and directed her gaze toward Spike, her expression unchanged. “Yes, Spike...that’s what I’m worried about.” “But why? You seemed fine with her choice about him joining the Royal Guard earlier. So why are so worried it now? Do you not approve of the Princess's decision?” The expressions on Twilight’s softened before she approached her young dragon assistant. “Spike, it's not that I don't approve—in fact I do—I really do approve of Princess Celestia’s decision to let Gaius join the Royal Guard and I have her utmost trust on that as well. “I also don't have any problems with Gaius becoming a Royal Guard, far from it, I’m genuinely happy of him for wanting to join. I'd be a terrible friend to Celosia, Cenobia, and Avion if I wasn’t happy for him. Not to mention that he’s noble, just, kind, loyal, polite, compassionate, strong---those are all qualities that make perfect Royal Guard material. And I definitely do not doubt his intentions for joining either, after all the main duty of a Royal Guard is to protect and serve everypony, which is exactly what Gaius wants to do.” She sighed for a moment as her expression went grim again. “But at the same time, I’m still worried. I’m greatly worried about how everypony else in Canterlot will receive this, especially others within the Royal Guard. I mean some of them may not take very kindly to Gaius wanting to enroll in their ranks, especially since he’s technically not a pony. After all, only ponies or pony-like beings were usually permitted in becoming a Royal Guard, which causes some complications for Gaius. That could ultimately cause a huge uproar among so many ponies and who knows how they could react!" “Um, Twilight, don’t you think you’re overreacting with this issue?" Twilight’s eyes widened with surprise when Spike asked her this question, but didn’t say anything as he continued. “Look, as co-rulers of Equestria, both Celestia and Luna could easily bypass and overrule any so-called ‘complications’ with Gaius joining the ranks of the Royal Guard. Not to mention that they could easily persuade all of Canterlot---maybe even all of Equestria---into giving Gaius a chance if any ponies had any second thoughts about the matter. Why I’d imagine that your brother, Shining Armor, probably wouldn’t mind letting Gaius join the Royal Guard if he was still their captain." In an instant, Twilight, who had been listening to Spike’s suggestions thoughtfully, brightened up as if a light bulb lit up over her head. “Spike, that's it!" she proclaimed as she rushed over to a nearby desk. “What's it?" replied Spike puzzlingly. But instead of getting an answer, three items---some paper, an inkwell, and and a pen---were levitated over to him by Twilight’s magic. “Twilight, what’s all this for?” “Simple, Spike,” said Twilight as she approached her assistant once more. “I want you to write down a letter to my brother while I dictate it.” “But you’ve already sent him a letter earlier about Celosia and Cenobia.” “This is a different one: I want this next one to be about Gaius’ situation and I would like Shining Armor’s opinion about the matter.” “Well, okay.”          “And once you’re done with that, I’d also like you to write and send a letter to Princess Celestia regarding Gaius.” Spike gave an exasperated groan, even though Twilight didn’t seem to notice. “Oh! Lastly, I’d like you to send this letter to my secret pen pal in Manehatten.” She instantly hovered a rolled-up scroll right next to her in a field of her magic, prompting Spike groan once more. “Another one?” “Oh come on, Spike. Pleeease?” Twilight gave Spike a pleading look, which included sparkles in her lovely purple eyes, prompting the latter to give a defeated sigh. “Okay, I’ll do that too.” Twilight responded with a shout of sheer joy while Spike raised up his ink-dipped pen to write the first letter at the very moment she would start dictating. “Alright, Twilight, I’m ready when you are.” In Canterlot, Gaius was standing outside the entrance of the Royal Guard barracks as previously ordered by Cobalt Shield, the current Captain of the Guard within the city. As he waited under a black, starlit sky, Gaius had been recalling previous events such as when he first got a glimpse of the Royal Guard barracks when Princess Luna first teleported him there, which also started off a short tour of the location. It was at the beginning of said tour, that Gaius was introduced to Cobalt Shield, who started showing him around the place. Though the tour was paused for Gaius’ visit to Ponyville, it was immediately resumed when Celestia brought him back. Throughout the tour, Gaius had learned a great deal about Royal Guard’s training exercises, standards of operations, and even became amicably acquainted with a several of their numbers. All the while, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and Cobalt Shield had a long discussion on how to properly test Gaius for his initiation into the Guard. The three ponies eventually came up with a solution for the test: Gaius would go through a simple night time patrol through the streets of Canterlot while being accompanied by three Guards who work the night shift. Throughout this same patrol, Gaius will be permitted in assisting the three guards with any situation, which includes handling criminal activities they encounter. At the end of the tour, the three ponies presented the test to Gaius and he humbly and unquestionably accepted it. Thus both Princesses, feeling pleased with this, decided to bid farewell to Gaius (along with wishing him luck) and retired to their quarters while Cobalt Shield personally escorted him over to one of the barrack’s entrances. Along the way, Cobalt pinned attaches two large badges on Gaius’ stone chest plate: one white bearing Princess Celestia’s sun while the other had Princess Luna’s moon against a dark blue. Cobalt explained that with these badges, the citizens of Canterlot will recognize Gaius’ affiliation with both Princesses. Upon reaching the entrance, Cobalt ordered Gaius to wait on one side of it until the three Guards arrived, adding that he’ll recognize them when one of them asks for him and that they’ve been assigned to accompany him for his test. Cobalt sequentially returned to the barracks while Gaius proceeded to wait. Thus, Gaius had remained near the entrance waiting patiently for quite a long while, which was about to pay off. For at last, Gaius watched as three Royal Guards---two pegasi and a unicorn---exited the barracks through the entrance and stopped right in front of him. What’s more, all three stallions were holding their gazes upwards at Gaius’ teal eyes who was staring back at them silently. Gaius also managed to notice the color differences between the three stallions: one pegasus had a dark blue coat with a black tail, the second pegasus had a grey coat and two-shaded purple tail, and the unicorn had a dark purple coat and sapphire blue tail. “Um, hello up there, sir” said one of the pegasi, who had a dark blue coat under his armor. “Are you by any chance Gaius?” “Indeed I am, sir,” replied Gaius with a slight nod. “Very well. My name is Stormfire.” “The name’s Night Shadow,” said the second pegasus. “And I’m Moonlit Sapphire,” proclaimed the unicorn. “And I must say it's an unexpected pleasure to meet you.” “Likewise,” replied Gaius. “Are you the three Guards I am to accompany for a patrol route tonight?” he asked. “Indeed we are,” confirmed Stormfire. “And as part of this patrol, it is important for you to work together with the three of us. Understood?” “Understood, sir Stormfire.” “Um, please. Just call me Stormfire or Storm for short. Same with my comrades here.” “Of course. Do any of you know what direction our patrol route shall commence?” “It is down that way, Gaius,” said Night Shadow, who with one fore hoof pointed down the street to the right of the barracks entrance. Gaius looked over that way for a moment before he stared back at his three pony escorts. “Very well. Shall we be off?” The three stallions nodded to him before they proceeded down the street, to the right of the barracks entrance, as Gaius immediately walked up behind them. Yet when the giant bipedal positioned himself behind the trio, all three stallions suddenly looked to their right and noticed Gaius’ sword protruding forward alongside them. The three Guards instantly became nervous after noticing the short gap distance between them and it. “Hey, Gaius,” said Night Shadow as he immediately turned around and walked backwards for a moment. “Could you please be careful with that sword of yours?” “Of course, Night Shadow,” replied Gaius, who instantly understood what Night Shadow meant. “For I promise, by my knight’s honor, that I shall be most careful in not letting any of you come to harmed from my sword.” All three stallions felt relieved in hearing Gaius’ reassuring words. Thus began the group’s nightly patrol through Canterlot. Meanwhile, Celosia suddenly woken up with a sharp gasp. But instead of waking up in Fluttershy’s bedroom, he had instead found himself standing in a sea of black darkness. “H-hello?” he said aloud nervously as he looked around in all directions. “Fluttershy? Brother? Anyone there?! Hello?!” No one answered. Suddenly, without warning, a ball of orange flame, the size of a mare’s head, appeared out of nowhere. Celosia instantly became filled with terror as his now fearful eyes watched the fire ball moving around in the darkness in one direction, then another, sometimes even spinning around in circles, until it finally stopped in front of him. But the very moment, it stopped, the blackness around it and Celosia instantly shifted to where he was back inside Fluttershy’s bedroom, only without Fluttershy or his brother Cenobia. But Celosia had other things to worry about. For the moment the bedroom appeared, the fireball made contact with the bed and the entire thing, mattress and all, burst into flames. Celosia, horrified in noticing how the flames were quickly spreading outward and toward him, promptly dashed out of the room and ran down the stairs, screaming loudly. All the while, the flames from the bedroom pursuing him. Yet the moment he reached the bottom and entered the living room, Celosia was shocked to find the entire house was now engulfed in a raging inferno, filling the room with a blend of orange and yellow light. But to make matters worse, the back door was blocked off by pillars of fire. “No. NO!” shouted Celosia as swerved his body in every direction to find a way out of the burning building, but to no avail. He was trapped. Thus, Celosia went prostrate on the floor and covered his now clenched eyes with his paws. “Someone...anyone, please...HELP!!!!!” Screamed Celosia desperately in his mind, as the flames on the floor edged closer to his prone form threatening to engulf him. But thankfully, just as Celosia felt that he was doomed, help came to him instantly. “BEGONE, RAGING INFERNO!” The loud shout of a silvery voice instincting prompted Celosia to uncover his eyes. Upon doing so, he immediately observed the ferocious inferno had all vanished, leaving the cottage interior unscathed, unsinged, and untouched. What’s more, as Celosia stood up, he found that the cottage interior was now moderately shrouded in a faint cerulean blue mist. As Celosia turned around he suddenly stopped when he noticed some of the mist parting to reveal Princess Luna slowly approaching him. “Princess Luna?” he asked with amazement. “In the flesh, Celosia,” replied Princess Luna, stopping a few feet from where Celosia stood, who immediately bows down to her respectfully for a moment. “It’s an honor to meet you, your Highness.” The lines on Luna’s muzzle curved into a soft smile. “On the contrary, it is I who am honored to meet you, Celosia.” Princess Luna suddenly observed that Celosia’s joyful expression was mixed with confusion.          “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing in my dreams? I mean, Twilight already told me about how you could enter a pony’s dreams while they’re asleep. So why come into mine?” “Well, if you must know, earlier in the day, I wanted to accompany my sister and Gaius to personally meet you in Ponyville, but I regrettably couldn’t because I had to remain in Canterlot to help maintain order. That’s part of the responsibilities of a co-ruler after all. So, I decided to come meet you in your subconscious while you were asleep when I heard your screams and witnessed your nightmare. Thus I decided to quell it, as I do with all nightmares witnessed by our subjects.” “Gee, thanks for your help, Princess. You have no idea how terrifying fire can be for me.” “You are most welcome, Celosia. Anyway, the main reason I came to you in your dreamscape is because I also wanted inform you that you have my gratitude for saving Fluttershy from a wyvern, who has been quite a faithful subject to both me and my sister.” “Oh, you’re welcome, Princess,” said Celosia. “But I couldn’t have saved Fluttershy without the help of my brother, Cenobia.” “Oh, yes, I am indeed aware of that,” replied Princess Luna before she and Celosia diverted their gaze toward the sound of a door opening and closing before Cenobia emerged from the blue mists before them, much to the surprise of his brother. “Hey, Cel,” he said happily. “Fancy meeting you here.” “Cen,” said Celosia jubilantly as he and his brother embraced each other for a moment. “I...I don’t understand. How is it that you are here in my dream?” Before Cenobia could answer that, Princess Luna cleared her throat to gain their attention. “I believe I can explain that,” she said to them. “Simply put, I am able to merge the dreamscapes of two individuals together into one, whether they be a pony or Colossi.” “Wow, that’s incredible,” exclaimed Cenobia. “Indeed it is,” replied Princess Luna. “Now, while Twilight Sparkle has told me the about the both of you saving Fluttershy’s life through her letter, I would like to hear about it from your side, if you will.” The two brothers were very delighted to tell her. Back in Canterlot, things have been going smoothly with Gaius and his three companions, even though they’ve just gone through between one-eighth and one-fourth of their nighttime patrol. Yet during that time, Gaius had managed to learn a few things about each of the three stallions. Stormfire, for example, lived almost two hours away in the much larger city of Cloudsdale with his wife Blue Night and their daughter Skyfire. Despite being a highly respected member of the Zodiacs, for his family’s sake he almost exclusively patrolled within Cloudsdale’s city limits as part of the Cloudsdale Royal Guard, only finding himself in the hilly streets of Canterlot on certain occasions. In spite of this, he was great friends with Night Shadow and Moonlit Sapphire, and did enjoy his role in the Zodiacs, supervising new recruits trying to master the art of archery, a skill he had come to learn himself during the few years he served as part of the Marines. Night Shadow, though a pegasus, was born possessing strange fangs on account of him being part bat pony (Gaius had already been informed of those by the Princesses). What’s more, before coming to Canterlot, Night Shadow was raised by family of bat ponies living near Vanhoover. And like Stormfire, Night was also a member of the Zodiacs, except that the latter served as the second-in-command. Last of all, was Moonlit Sapphire, who born and raised by a family of jewel makers who are currently based and living in Canterlot. Moonlit had always wanted to protect his family’s business and thus became a nightwatch pony for said establishment by the time he grew into his late teens. After spending a few years of this occupation, he unexpectedly became noticed by Princess Celestia who having heard of his reputation in protecting his family’s jewelry business recruited him as a Royal Guard. Since that moment, Moonlit had been assigned as one of a select number of guards chosen to protect the Princesses’ crown jewels, both during the day and night. Moonlit had of course chosen the night shift. As for Gaius, he in turn told the three stallions a bit about himself, even though most was what he told the Princesses earlier in the day. He even included the fact that three of his fellow Colossi are currently situated in Ponyville. The three guards were quite amazed with the things that Gaius said. Currently, the four companions were engaging with some small talk as they continued patrolling through Canterlot’s lantern-lit streets. “I must admit, Gaius,” said Moonlit casually. “When the commanding officer of the Royal Guard's Lunar Division had assigned me and my two compadres here to accompany a new recruit tonight, I never expected you to be a giant, bipedal, stone armored soldier.” “Colossus,” corrected Night Shadow. “Right, Colossus.” “I apologize if you felt surprised over that, Moonlit,” said Gaius. “I also hope that neither of you three will have any objections to me joining your ranks in the Royal Guard.” He brings up his left arm over his stone-plated chest. “For I assure you, by my knight’s honor, that you have nothing to fear from me.” Gaius lowered his arm back down as he awaited a response from the three stallions, which came pretty swiftly. “Well, I must thank you for that assurance, Gaius,” said Moonlit. “Yeah, and don’t worry, Gaius,” said Stormfire. “If both Princess Celestia and Luna approve of you joining up with the Royal Guard, I won’t complain. Especially since you’re very polite and kind, exactly the kind of guard I like working with.” “Agreed,” said Night Shadow with a warm smile. “I’m rather glad to have you as an addition to our ranks, Gaius.” “Indeed,” said Moonlit. “Like Stormfire said: you have some qualities that would make you a fine Royal Guard, regardless if you are a pony or not.” Gaius’ mouth flexed into a smile in hearing these encouraging compliments from his companions, filling his being with warmth. He now felt more confident in serving as a Royal Guard. “Say, speaking of quality,” added Night Shadow. “Have you, Moonlit, made any progress with Emerald lately?” This made Gaius very curious as he immediately noticed Moonlit bowing his head slightly and give a doleful sigh. “No, Night, I haven’t,” he replied sadly. “Begging your pardon,” said Gaius. “But who, pray tell, is this Emerald that you speak of?” All three stallions glanced up at him for a moment. “Well, her full name is Emerald Soprano,” explained Stormfire. “And she is a emerald green unicorn mare who sings at a local nightclub in Canterlot known as the Sunset Horizon.” “And Sapphire here has the hots for her,” added Night cheekily, motioning to his comrade with one forehoof, who was blushing wildly underneath his helmet. Of course, Gaius felt confused with what Night Shadow just said. “He’s rather correct, Gaius,” Moonlit confessed a flustered. “I’m deeply in love with the lovely Emerald Soprano.” Gaius now fully understood the situation and nodded his head in confirmation. “How long have you been in love with her?” asked Gaius. “He’s been in love with her for a while, Gaius,” answered Stormfire. “Ever since the three of us started hanging out over at the Sunset Horizon a few months. And boy, you should have seen awestruck Moonlit felt when he first noticed Emerald Soprano on the stage.” “Yeah,” Night answered. “And he’s been ogling her, flank and all, every occasion we would venture over to Sunset Horizon. Haven’t you, Sapphy?” Moonlit, who was still flushing under his helmet, said nothing but nodded in confirmation. “Which now brings up an issue,” said Storm, before turning to Moonlit. “Why haven’t you spoken with Emerald since then?” “Yeah, or even asked her out?” added Night Shadow. “I tried several times, friends,” replied Moonlit sadly. “But every time, I end up getting tongue-tied.” This instantly earned loud, downcast groans from his two comrades. “At this rate, you’ll be hesitating with over this until you’re an old stallion,” said Stormfire. “He has struck a valid point,” said Gaius suddenly, surprising the three stallions as they abruptly stopped, turned around and noticed that the giant bipedal knight was standing motionless with his gaze on Moonlit. “Moonlit Sapphire...if you truly love Emerald Soprano then I highly suggest that you act quickly in gaining her affections, otherwise someone else will claim that chance before you. For this is your lifetime opportunity in finding out if Emerald is your soulmate and I highly advise that you take it.” All three stallions watched and listened to Gaius’ words with awe and amazement. Thankfully, their effects were immediate: for Moonlit’s eyes and facial features--which were previously forlorn and sad--instantly shifted into strong expressions of confidence and determination. “You’re absolutely right, Gaius,” he said boldly. “In fact, I swear that the next time I meet Emerald, I’ll ask her to go out with me without any hesitation!” Gaius, Stormfire, and Night Shadow all smiled in hearing Moonlit’s declaration and were filled with joy over his newfound devotion. Then suddenly without warning… BOOM! All four of individuals immediately shifted their attention down the cobblestone street to the sound of a tremendous explosion, which was instantly followed by an alarm going off a few miles down said street. “What in the name of the blue heavens made that loud noise?” asked a bewildered Gaius. “That is what’s called an explosion, Gaius,” replied Stormfire darkly. “And judging by the sound of that alarm, I’d say that’s most likely a bank robbery.” “Then let’s head on over!” ordered Night Shadow before he charged down the street at a gallop with Storm and Moonlit following right behind him. At the same moment the three stallions burst into a gallop, Gaius also proceeded to follow them at running speed, which surprised him since he had never ran before in his existence as a Colossus. But to his slight dismay, Gaius’ running speed was slower than that of his three comrades’. Nevertheless he was determined to follow them in hopes of helping them quell the bank robbery-in-progress. Meanwhile in one corner of the dreamscape, Celosia and Cenobia had just concluded regaling Princess Luna of how they saved Fluttershy from a wyvern. Princess Luna, who was reclining on her stomach, listened to their narrative with great interest and was most impressed with what they’ve told her. “Very impressive,” she said. “And once again, you have my sincere gratitude for saving Fluttershy’s life. Not only that, but are both very fortunate to have fought against the very wyvern who nearly slaughtered her and lived. For not very many ponies have ever done so before, as you’ve no doubt heard.” “You’re welcome, Princess Luna,” said both brothers in unison. “Um, Princess Luna,” said Celosia out of the blue. “We heard Princess Celestia saying that Gaius would be taking some kind of test tonight in order to join the Royal Guard. Do you know what that test is?” Princess Luna smiled when asked this question. “The test, young Celosia, involves Gaius taking a night patrol through Canterlot with three of our top Guards who usually work the night shift.” “Wow, that’s so cool,” said Cenobia delightfully. “Yeah, I hope he passes that test,” added Celosia jubilantly. Luna, touched by the brother’s optimism, smiled at them for a moment. “Um, Princess Luna?” asked Cenobia suddenly. “Do you suppose that the other Colossi could also be somewhere in Equestria?” For a moment, Luna’s face shifted into a thoughtful expression. “It’s quite possible,” she said at last. “Both Celestia and I have recently been thinking about that and I promise that we’ll be sure to look further into it in the future.” The boys were utterly delighted to hear about this, knowing that it would mean reuniting with more of their fellow Colossi. But their happy expressions fell when Princess Luna suddenly stood up on her hooves as if she was about to depart. “Wait,” said Cenobia suddenly. “Before you go, I have a request for you.” “A request?” asked Princess Luna curiously. “What, pray tell, is this request that you have, Cenobia?” “It’s this: I want you do whatever possible to help Fluttershy to overcome her fear of dragons.” For a moment, the lunar Princess’s eyes widened with surprise, especially since Cenobia’s request was a rather challenging one since she had sometimes saved Fluttershy from nightmares involving dragons. “Please, Princess,” pleaded Celosia. “I think it would be a good thing for Fluttershy if she were to get over her fear of dragons. I mean there might be other dragons in Equestria who are nice to ponies just like Spike.” “Perhaps you’re right, Celosia,” replied Princess Luna. “I promise you both that I’ll do everything possible to help Fluttershy overcome her fear of dragons.” She immediately noticed the joyful and thankful looks in both brothers’ eyes; no words were needed to know what the two boys meant. She smiled at them once more. “Now, I must be off. There are other ponies who need my help tonight. Farewell to you.” “Farewell, Princess Luna,” said both Celosia and Cenobia. With that, Princess Luna vanished from the dreamscape, which was followed by everything around the two Colossi slowly fading to blackness, which obviously meant that their conjoined dreamscapes were separating. As it did, Celosia and Cenobia smiled at each other confidently knowing that both of them would now be alright. “Holy moon craters, Storm,” exclaimed Night Shadow. “You were right: it is a bank robbery.” All three nightly guards had managed to reach their destination, which happened to be a bank or more specifically, the prestigious Canter One Bank. What’s more, thick black smoke was billowing out of the bank’s entrance from a fire of an explosion. The three guards, who were standing outside the bank’s entrance, were about to approach and investigate the terrible incident when they suddenly realized that something was out of place. “Hey, where’s Gaius?” asked Stormfire. They looked back to notice that Gaius was nowhere to be seen. “By Luna’s glimmering star-spangled mane,” exclaimed Moonlit. “We must have outran him on our way to the bank robbery.” “Moonlit, don’t swear by our boss’ name like that,” said Night Shadow. “Sorry,” said Moonlit who was blushing with embarrassment under his helmet. “Well, don’t worry, guys,” said Stormfire. “I’m sure that he’ll catch up with us pretty soon.” “But in the meantime, let’s go head inside and confront the bank robbers,” said Night Shadow. But just as the threesome were about to do so, they saw five ponies--two unicorns, two pegasi, and a midget earth pony--running out the front entrance of Canter One with one of the unicorns holding an enormous sack filled with money, bonds, and ingots. “Look, Bigtime, coppers,” exclaimed one the bank robbers, all of whom at that moment skidded to a halt a few hooves from the three Royal Guards, who were now poised for a confrontation. “Those ain’t cops, Lookout,” said Bigtime, who was the diminutive earth pony. “Them’s Royal Guards!” “Stop,” declared Night Shadow. “You are all under arrest! Surrender now and we won’t have any trouble.” “Fat chance,” said Bigtime defiantly. “Lookout, Boomer, Hack Pick, you guys handle these sluggers while Heavy Lift and I make a break for it.” No sooner had he said this when three of the bank robbers charged the three Royal Guards and engaged them in combat. The two pegasi, Lookout and Boomer, fought against Stormfire and Night Shadow respectively while the other unicorn, Hack Pick, struck out at Moonlit Sapphire. Though these three bank robbers were tough and strong stallions, the Royal Guards they were fighting were well trained in combat and sturdy in physical prowess. Yet, the moment three-on-three fight began, Bigtime and Heavy Lift (with their ill-gotten gains) immediately galloped around them and took off down the cobblestone street. Little did the two crooks realize that they were speeding along the same street Storm, Night, and Moonlit had transversed to reach the Canter One. The two of them soon managed to reach a point where they are away from the action and slowed down to a fast trot. “Hey, boss,” said Heavy Lift loudly. “You thinks the others will be okay?” “Course they will,” replied Bigtime. “They’re tough stallions. They can take handle a bunch of guards.” “But what happens if they fail, boss?” “You let me worry about that, Heavy Lift. First thing is to figure out where we’re gonna hide all our stolen loot once we’ve skipped town. Once we’ve done that, we’ll come back for the rest of our gang.” “I guess that sounds good to me--” “HALT!” Both stallions suddenly skid to a screeching halt, for there standing before them was the tall and imposing figure of Gaius, who was staring down at them with his teal eyes. The terrified stallions watched as Gaius pointed his sword directly at and in front of them. “In the names of the royal Princesses of Equestria, you are both under arrest for robbery and theft of Equestrian currency,” declared Gaius firmly. “Stand down and surrender peacefully or prepare to face the consequences.” The two mortified stallions said nothing but just stood there motionless with wide eyes, gaping mouths, and trembling legs before the enormity of Gaius. The giant was about to speak once more when the two crooks made an instinctive decision: they turned tail and bolted in opposite direction of Gaius (with their sack of loot enveloped in Heavy Lift’s magic). “Run for it,” shouted Bigtime as he and Heavy Lift strained every muscle in their legs to distance themselves from Gaius. “HALT!” shouted Gaius once more as he immediately went into a run to pursue them. But shortly after he began running, he soon skidded to a sudden stop on account what he saw next. For Bigtime and Heavy Lift had suddenly stopped after running into Gaius’ three escorts---Stormfire, Night Shadow, and Moonlit Sapphire---who were all a bit scuffed up and barring the two stallions from progressing any further. What’s more, the two robbers were practically shivering frightfully as the three guards gazed at them sternly with intentions on arresting them. Now realizing that they were trapped between the four guards, there was ultimately one option left for Bigtime and Heavy Lift. Thus after dropping their loot, the two of them fell prostrate onto the cobblestone street with their arms splayed out. “We surrender!" exclaimed the two thieves, much to the delight of Gaius and his escorts. Within a trice, the five bank robbers were all rounded up, bound and cuffed, near the site of the Canter One bank. After which, Moonlit Sapphire teleported them, the bag of loot, and himself to the nearest jail, while his three companions waited at the bank. By the time the four of them returned, a small force of night-time weather ponies had already arrived with several clouds to put out the fires inside Canter One, a spectacle that greatly interested Gaius. “You did pretty great with stopping the remaining bank robbers, Gaius," said Stormfire admirably, prompting Gaius to look down at him and Night Shadow. “That’s right," said Night Shadow. “Otherwise they would have easily escaped with all the money and jewelry they stole. You were a big help!” “Thank you, Night Shadow," replied Gaius. “I am glad that I helped in contributing to their capture.” He suddenly noticed that Stormfire had a curious look in his expression. “If you don’t mind me asking, Gaius,” said the dark blue pegasus. “How come you didn’t catch up with the three of us all the way to the bank?” Thus Gaius began explaining and recalling his actions to his two comrades. It happened sometime earlier when Gaius began following his escorts down the cobblestone street at his running speed toward Canter One. However shortly he started running, Gaius noticed that windows from passing buildings were suddenly lighting up meaning that the ponies living inside, who had been asleep, we're now awakened by the loudness and trembling of his footfalls. Gaius additionally observed that the few ponies who were out strolling nearby became startled with the slight tremors caused by his running. Thus Gaius quickly decreased his pace to a fast walk to ensure that no other ponies would be further disturbed from their sleep. Furthermore, he kindly apologizes to those still outside for any disturbances he caused them adding that he was trying to catch up with his comrades. Thankfully, they all accepted his apology and awkwardly continued with their evenings. Gaius eventually came to a stop when he heard Bigtime and Heavy Lift running (unwittingly) toward him further down the road before he saw them coming. For not only could Gaius see in the dark but he also had excellent hearing. Furthermore, Gaius heard the two bank robbers speaking about their three comrades left behind at the bank, making him immediately realize that they were involved with the robbery. All of these factors led up to the two crooks’ capture once they nearly ran into Gaius. “...and that is what transpired during that time,” said Gaius finishing his explanation. “I humbly apologize for not arriving at this defaced establishment sooner to help you and Moonlit.” But instead of being angry, Gaius found to his surprise that Storm and Night look rather pleased with what he told them. “Hey it's all good, Gaius,” said Stormfire. “In fact I think that was rather considerate of you to slow down like that. Otherwise, none of the populace in Canterlot be able to get any sound sleep from all of the loud stomping. That's part of a Royal Guard’s purpose in serving the ponies we’re sworn to protect.” “I agree, Storm,” said Night Shadow. “Besides if you hadn't slowed down, Gaius, we’d probably be searching all night for those two remaining bank robbers.” Gaius gave out a sigh of relief in knowing that two of his comrades weren’t displeased with his actions. Shortly afterward, Moonlit reappeared in a flash next to his three comrades. “Apologies for the wait, friends,” he said to them. “On the bright side, I’m happy to report that all five bank robbers are now under lock and key at a local police station and that the stolen money and jewelry has been deposited there for safekeeping.” “Well done, Moonlit,” complemented Night Shadow. “Yes, commendable job, my friend,” added Stormfire. “Indeed,” said Gaius in agreement before gazing around all three of his comrades. “Shall we resume our patrol?” “But of course, Gaius,” replied Moonlit. “There’s no need to worry about the Canter One anymore. I’ve already informed the police chief of situation and he said that a handful of officers would be sent to hold watch over the entrance.” “Good to hear,” said Night Shadow. Thus the tetrad departed from Canter One and resumed their nighttime patrol through Canterlot. However the moment they resumed their patrol, Moonlit Sapphire had a curious expression on his face. “So did I miss anything while I was away?” he asked his comrades. “Not much,” replied Night Shadow. “Except you missed out on the details of how Gaius managed to catch the remainder of the bank robbers.” “Wow, really?” Moonlit shifted his gaze up toward Gaius. “Could you please tell me all about it?” Gaius’ eyes glimmered with joy as he started repeating the details of how he caught Bigtime and Heavy Lift.