> 30 Days/ 30 Stories
>  by Fenton
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Solar Flare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“You requested my presence, your Highness?”

“Indeed, give me a moment,” said Celestia from her throne.

Spearhead stood at ease, waiting for the beloved ruler of Equestria to finish her letter. Though it wasn’t the first time he’d seen her dealing with government business, Celestia seemed worried — and not the kind of worry he was used to see on her face. Quill and parchment hung in her magical grasp, unmoving, whilst Celestia fidgeted. Spearhead knew what that meant: the letter she was trying to write was intended for Miss Twilight Sparkle.

“No, that won’t do,” she said after a moment, crossing out something with the quill.

“Your Highness?” asked Spearhead in an attempt to break her from her visible anxiety.

He was pretty sure that half of Canterlot’s nobility would have demanded his resignation for having dared interrupt the Goddess. These snobs didn’t know her like he did, though. Spearhead was proud to belong to a small circle of guards who spent countless hours with the princess and, therefore, truly knew who the real Celestia was, whilst the nobility only saw her during official events. Fortunately for his position, he and Celestia were the only ones in the room.

“Lieutenant Spearhead, I need your help.” Okay, that was something new. “The time has come for my student to spread her wings. I must send her away to Ponyville for two very important tasks, but I don’t want her to think I’m leaving her. I need to find the best way to tell her.”

“By sending her a letter, huh?” More than his resignation, the nobility would have wanted his head for that comment.

“Touché, but I have my reasons. She isn’t ready to hear it bluntly from me and, well, I’m not really ready to tell her too.”

“And thus, you chose an indirect path.” Celestia gave him a disapproving look, but remained silent. “Have you thought about making it into some kind of game?”

“I have, but she isn’t a filly anymore.”

“I see…  Why not using her sense of responsibility, then? From what my friend Shining Armor told me about his sister, she takes great pride in performing her duties. I’m sure you can trust Miss Sparkle to do more than what you asked her.”

Celestia stayed quiet for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face.

“Right,” she said at last, with a weak smile. “Even if it sometimes tends to drive her crazy, she would never turn her back on a task. Thank you very much, Spearhead.”

“Anytime, your Highness.”





The following day, whilst on patrol, Spearhead heard laughter from the throne room. Intrigued, he entered to find Celestia in a position rather unsuited for a divine ruler. She was slouched on her throne, chuckling from something only known to her.

“Princess?” he asked.

“Spearhead!” she exclaimed. She jumped from her throne and ran to him, grabbing him in a hug and spinning in place. “Spearhead, that’s wonderful! You were right all along.”

“Hmm… you’re welcome?” he managed to say as he was crushed between her forelegs.

“She has even exceeded my expectations!” Celestia added jumps to their hectic round dance.

“Your Highness... please, put me down. I’m... starting to get dizzy.”

She released him. “I forgot you were a wimp,” she jested, laying a wing on his back.

“I’m an artist,” he replied, raising his head in a parody of these aristocrats he despised so much. “A very sensitive heart; not a thousands years old lady with a heart of ice.” She only chuckled in response. “So, from your behaviour I’m guessing,  that everything turned out alright?”

“Better than alright! Twilight has friends now, and they even managed to bring me back my sister!”

“You… had a sister?”

“Haven’t I talked about her before? Silly me!” Celestia giggled. “Follow me, I’ll introduce you. She’s an artist too, so I’m expecting you to both get along. Remember she has missed one thousand year of arts, so don’t be surprised if she seems a little out of date.”

“You’re telling me she’s as old as you?”

“Pretty much.”

“Great, now I have another crazy old lady to handle,” Spearhead groaned. “Can we talk about a raise after that?”
> One-way Ticket
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I don’t want to go there!”

The shout echoed inside the dinner room, and some of the candles flickered with the wind a small filly could blow when she was angry.

“I don’t see why I should leave when all my friends are here!”

“Diamond, sweetie,” tried her father. “We’ve already talked about this. You—”

“You dare call them your friends?” interrupted her mother. “They are commoners, and you deserve better than that. I thought you took the right path when you befriend that little grey filly. After all, her father is an important pony. But it seems—”

“Her name is Silver Spoon!”

Spoiled Milk rolled her eyes. “Whatever. This school is the best, and only the best can enter. You’re fated to be one of them, Diamond, it’s written all over your flank.”

“M-my flank?” Diamond Tiara slammed both her hooves on the table, her face redden by anger. “If you had actually paid attention to your daughter, mother, you would have learned what my cutie mark actually means. But I guess you were too caught up attending cocktail parties to notice it.”

Shock colored Spoiled’s face while her husband was looking back and forth between the two loves of his life.

“Watch your language, Diamond. You’re talking to your mother!”

“As if!”

Diamond jumped from her chair and ran for the exit, slamming all the doors from the dinner room to her own room. After the sixth one, calm came back inside the house.

“Filthy, take your role of father upon yourself and go bring her back to her senses.” Spoiled left him with a last humph, muttering about foals behaviour.

Filthy sighed and reluctantly headed to his daughter’s room.





“Diamond, my little gem, can I enter?”

No answer came, and Filthy pushed the door. Her daughter was on her bed, the head plunged into one of the pillows.

“What do you want?” she asked, turning to him.

He saw that redness and wetness had made their work on his daughter’s face. His heart sank, but he was also proud to see his little ray of sunshine was still able to stay dignified.

“Can we talk a bit?” He took her groan as a yes and sat next to her. “Come here,” he said, opening his legs. Diamond threw herself in.

“I don’t want to leave!” she said in his shoulder. “Why is Mother so mean?”

“We thought you would be happy, honey. You were always telling us how much you despised this small town and its inhabitants. We don’t understand why you don’t want to leave anymore.” At his words, she broke into tears. “Shhh, it’s okay, sweetie,” he said, caressing her neck. “It’s okay, don’t cry.”

After a minute, Diamond Tiara looked at her father. “I-I changed,” she sniffed. “Thanks to the Crusaders. I was an a-awful pony, and they made me realise who I am, and how-how wrong I was, and how wrong mother is.”

“You have to understand this is very sudden, for both of us. It’s even harder for your mother since she isn’t much around.”

“I don’t care anymore. I won’t go.”

“Honey, you know that’s not possible.” Filthy moved a strand of hair from his daughter’s face.
“Plus, I’m sure you’ll have fun once you’ve seen your new school and your new classmates. Look, I promise if you’re still want to come back after six months, I’ll come to get you myself.”

She looked at him, the beginning of a smile starting to creep on her face. “You promise?”

“Pinkie Promise,” he said, adding the motions to his vow.

She tightened her grip on his back. “I’ll miss you, Dad.”

“I’ll miss you too honey.”
> Setting The Rules
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponyville: such a quiet little town. You could ask anypony, and they would tell you that, aside from a monster ravaging the town or a bad guy trying to take over all Equestria about every year, Ponyville is a great town to live in.

Except that this morning, a shout broke the usual peace, coming from the Castle of Friendship.

“DISCOOOOORD!!!”

The spirit of chaos popped inside the castle’s library.  “What can I do for you, oh my dear Twilight?”

The alicorn glared at him. “Release me from this,” she said, pointing her hoof at her tail, clenched in a closed book.

“Oh, I see you met Tomey,” replied Discord, scratching the bottom cover of the book with his eagle talon. “Isn’t he lovable?” Tomey purred and released Twilight’s tail, flying to the desk, a paper tongue hanging out from between the covers.

“Hardly, he kept on trying to bite me.””

“Probably because you forgot to feed him with Chineighz ink.”

By the look Twilight was giving Discord, he would had been a small pile of ashes if her eyes could set things on fire. “And how was I supposed to know that?”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “By looking at the little note I tagged him with, maybe?”

“There wasn’t any note when he came.”

“Oh silly me,” he said with a grin. “I must have forgotten it at Fluttershy’s home. I apologise, Princess.”

Discord bowed, and Twilight fumed. “Let’s pretend you’re sincere right now. Why in Equestria did you send this messy creature to me?”

“Oh, Twilight, my dear, you’ve just earned your crown and you already think the world revolves around you,” he lectured. “I’m sure Princess Celestia would be glad to see you follow in her hoofsteps so carefully, but I can assure you that you don’t have to be exactly like her. No, I sent this adorable creature for your little friend right there.” He pointed at the owl on his perch, who hooted back. “You’re welcome. You see, Fluttershy told me the last time she talked to him, he was feeling a little bit… neglected. So I thought a little company would lift his mood, and Fluttershy approved.”

“If it’s true, that’s actually very thoughtful of you, but allow me to doubt that.”

“Whatever suits you, your Highness. You’re the one wearing the crown after all.” With a snap of his paw, Discord teleported said crown from Twilight’s head to his. “Wait. Where it is?” He looked up. “I’m a Princess now! Thank you, thank you everypony!” he chanted, along with the cheers of an invisible crowd.

“Discord, give that back to me.”

The draconequus frowned. “You’re really no fun today, Twilight.” With another snap, the crown returned to its place.

“That’s probably because somepony sent a flying book monster to ruin the morning I carefully planned for myself,” she growled between her teeth. “Besides, I can hardly picture my friend agreeing with this madness.”

“That’s because, unlike you, Fluttershy has accepted chaos. You should try it sometimes, it would do you some good.”

“I see you enough, I don’t need any more chaos. That’s already too much!”

Discord burst into laughter. “Ahaha, oh, you ponies and the little lies you tell yourselves are so entertaining.” He started hovering, putting his hands on his cheeks. “I could watch it all day.”

Twilight zoned out for a second then shook her head. “Stop that!”

Discord hovered closer, pinching her cheek. “Tell me, Twilight,” he whispered. “Do you still rearrange your bookshelves as often as you used to? Or have your little harmonizing sessions dropped in frequency lately?”

“I…”

“Very entertaining.” With one last snap, Discord disappeared in a flash, the last remnant of his laugh echoing throughout the library.

“I’ve been busy lately,” she said to the void. “I have responsibilities now that I am a princess,” she yelled.

With a groan, Twilight went to her desk, covered with disorganised piles of books. “Tssk, accepting chaos,” she whispered. “As if.”
> The Price Of A Dream
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Trixie, you got mail.” The magician recognised the voice coming from outside,  jumped from her bed, and ran for the door.

“Starlight,” she beamed. “What a pleasure! What can your great and powerful friend can do for you?”

“I hope I didn’t wake you up.”

“You should know that Trixie never really sleeps, she’s always thinking about her next amazing, prodigious act.”

Starlight giggled. “Anyway, there is this letter for you.”

Trixie took it with her magic, and noticed that the top was torn up. She gasped. “Who did dare to open Trixie’s mail?”

Starlight’s ears folded. “Oh, probably Twilight or Spike. Since your address is the Castle of Friendship at the moment, everything is checked for security purpose. I’m sure they didn’t read it,” she added, seeing Trixie’s frown.

“Well, it’s highly time I go back on the road. This way, I won’t have anypony prying on my business.” She took the letter inside, and read.



From: Ringer Barnum
To: The Great and Powerful Trixie

Dear Great and Powerful Trixie,

I am a famous show director, and I heard about the wonderful tricks you are able to do. I am actually creating a show with artists from all around Equestria, and I would be ever so honored if you were willing to be a part of it. We will be touring for at least two months, but it could be extended if success comes.
Be assured that you will have all liberty to create your own act, as long as it fits our budget and the show’s theme.
You’ll find all the details about our schedule in the addendum.
And while I can understand this is the sort of decision which needs time, you’ll see (once again in the addendum) that we are on a tight schedule. A fast reply would be very much appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Ringer Barnum



Trixie’s eyes were wide open.

“What does it say?” asked Starlight.

Without any response from her friend, she took the letter, and read it too. “That’s good,” she simply said.

“Good? Starlight, that’s more than good.” She put a leg on Starlight’s neck while moving the other in front of her “It’s great! It’s fantastic! Somepony has finally recognized Trixie’s talent! This will make me known in all of Equestria!”

“And you’ll be gone for at least two months…”

Trixie stopped her motions and let Starlight go. “Yes… Yes, of course, but that’s an opportunity that won’t happen again. I can’t let it slip.”

Starlight looked away. “It’s just… I’m gonna miss you.”

“I’m gonna miss you too, Starlight,” said Trixie, raising her friend’s chin with her hoof. “Why don’t you come with me? The Great and Powerful assistant place is still available.”

“I-I can’t. I’m still Twilight’s pupil.”

“That’s sad.”

“Yeah, but at least we still have two weeks to enjoy together before you leave, right?”

“Yes. Yes, we do,” whispered Trixie.





Twilight sighed with satisfaction while trotting back to her castle. It had been six years, and Pinkie Pie’s parties still impressed her.

She stopped close to Trixie’s wagon, where Trixie was packing up, and sniffing?

“Trixie?”

The magician turned around to face Twilight, putting herself in front of her trunk . “Oh, princess, good evening, hehe.”

“You’re already leaving?”

“What? No, of course not. I’m just… reorganising my stuff.”

Twilight noticed her eyes seemed a bit wet. “Trixie, are you okay?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t the Great and Powerful Trixie be okay? She is just gonna leave her best friend for two months, maybe more. So, she couldn’t feel better.”

“So why are you packing so early?” Twilight frowned. “I thought you were supposed to leave only in a week.”

“That’s none of your business. Prying on my mail isn’t enough for you? And why do you care?”

Twilight sighed. “Trixie, please. We may never be friends, but Starlight is our friend. I won’t stop you if you really want to leave, but Starlight deserves a proper goodbye. And I’m pretty sure you will regret it if you go now.” 

Trixie watched the princess leave. Once she was out of view, she kicked her trunk, which opened and spread its content all around. “Damn,” she sobbed.
> Laugh So You Don't Cry
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A cloud was drifting half-heartedly above Ponyville, like a leaf in the mid autumn wind. Rainbow Dash was sleeping, but a loud snore woke her up. 

She couldn’t remember what she was dreaming of, but when she felt a too familiar itch in her wings, she knew. She was craving flight.

She stretched her whole body, and then laid on her back, gazing at the sky. She sighed.

When was the last time she had really challenged herself?

Her heart was tying her down, close to her friends, close to Ponyville, while her mind was soaring beyond the endless horizon, where adventure was waiting for her.

What lies beyond the sky? How high could I fly if I tried? Does all this blue ever end?

“Rainbow!”

The shout broke her reverie, as she floated between two irreconcilable worlds. She looked down to see Scootaloo waving.

“Pinkie’s gonna find out how many cupcakes fit in her mouth!” Scootaloo called, smiling brightly. “Wanna watch?”

With a pang of regret, Rainbow mimicked the filly’s expression. “I’m coming.” She was down in two flaps right beside Scootaloo, and they trotted to Sugarcube Corner together.

She could always fly tomorrow.
> Hell Is Other Ponies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There were more animals than ponies. It couldn’t have been otherwise.

Everyone was holding the hoof, the claw, or the paw of one of his neighbor. Surrounded by her sister and her niece, Celestia watched the coffin of the kindest pony she had ever known slowly disappear in the ground. Once the eagles were done, Celestia took a step forward and cleared her throat.

“My little ponies and friends.” Her voice quavered. “It is a tragic day where we have to bid our farewells to such an amazing pony. Equestria is suffering a great loss today. Our dear country will never be the same without a certain pegasus wandering its lands, taking care of all the animals without any distinction of race, size or diet. If infinity could be contained, it would have been in Fluttershy’s heart. There was always a free place ready to welcome anyone.”

She stopped and looked at the crowd of sad faces. Her heart tightened, and when she spoke again, her voice lost its firmness.

“I am not the only one saying her goodbye today. Many had the chance to know her, and it’s their memories they will now share with you. We will remember and celebrate the pony who was Fluttershy.”

Celestia stepped down from the rostrum and went back to her place between Luna and Cadance.

A queue quickly formed, with Zephyr Breeze leading it.

“I—I…” he tried. He sighed, then pointed at his impeccable mane. “You see this? This is possible thanks to my dear sister. Without her, I wouldn’t have become a mane artist. With—without her, I wouldn’t have finished my studies.” He sobbed before speaking again. “Without her, I would have stayed a failure. She gave me a chance when everyone had lost faith in me, myself included. Wherever you are, sister, thank you…”

Zephyr left, and Celestia watched Rainbow Dash taking his place. Although time had left its mark on her, especially on her mane where colors had long gone, only leaving shades of grey, Rainbow Dash seemed to be still filled with the same energy and the same liveliness.

“Hi everyone,” she said with a sad smile. “You probably already know me. For those who don’t, well, I’m Rainbow Dash, the former captain of the Wonderbolts, the former Element of Loyalty, and the only known performer of the Sonic Rainboom.” She shook her head and faced the crowd. “And you know what? As awesome as those titles sound to some of you, they don't mean much to me. To be honest, even if I enjoy the attention and the praise coming with them, nothing could compare to Fluttershy’s approval for me. I could have flown to the Moon and back, I could have touched the stars, but if it wasn't something she could be proud of, then it would have meant nothing. If I couldn’t see that spark when she was looking at me, it meant I had failed her and myself.”

She giggled. “It’s funny because the first time I remember this happening, I was just a little filly. I had met Fluttershy at the flight camp. One day —”

Celestia’s attention dropped when she noticed a conspicuous absence among the crowd. Someone who should have stood out even here among the variety of species from every corner of Equestria.

“Sister,” she whispered to Luna. “I need to leave for a moment.”

“It better be a serious matter,” she scolded. “Equestria on the verge of its destruction serious.”

“I’m not sure, but it could be. It won’t be for long.”

Luna nodded and Celestia disappeared among the crowd, looking for the one among all who should have been there.





It didn’t take her long to find him. His chaotic magic was pretty easy to follow. He was standing before one of the big ponds of the royal garden, looking at the fish choir singing a melancholic requiem.

“Discord.”

“Princess.” He kept watching the pond.

His voice was flat. Celestia couldn’t remember a moment where his voice had ever been flat. Joyful, angry, mocking and a thousand other adjectives, but never flat.

“Why aren’t you with the others?”

Discord snapped his fingers, and a pebble jumped from the ground to the pool, making a few ricochets before landing on his paw. He clenched his fist around the stone.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I don’t intend to go back to my old ways. Because that’s why you came, right?”

“Yes,” she bluntly said. She heard a crack, and this fishes dove back into the pond. Discord opened his paw, dropping stone shards. “But that’s not the only reason.”

He turned around, wearing a rictus-like smile . Red eyes stared at her. “So, why did you come?” he sneered.

“I came because you’re facing a terrible loss. I can only imagine what you are living right now. What I know, on the other hoof, is that you shouldn’t face it alone.”

“Alone? Alone?” he shouted. “I’ve been alone my whole existence, and I was happy. But because of you and Fluttershy, I discovered that happiness was a lie I was telling myself. You know why I’m not staring at the coffin right now? Because at this very moment, I want to laugh. My situation is so dramatically ironic it makes me laugh.”

“I don’t see you laughing.”

Discord crossed his arms and presented his back to her. “That’s because I'm laughing on the inside.”

He sat down, keeping his arms around his waist, and Celestia noticed he was tightening his grip.

“I know you’re not laughing, Discord. Right now, you are sad for the first time in your existence. And that’s because you cared. You cared about her, and you still care. Mourning is harrowing, that’s why we don’t face it alone. Come with me, and let’s join the others.”

“Please, Celestia,” he whispered. “Don’t tell me you’re believing in this nonsense. That won’t bring her back. If I couldn’t, and that is not for a lack of trying, then I doubt a bunch of memories can do anything at all.”

“You’re right, no one can bring someone back from the dead. But what we can bring back is who she was.”

“What’s the point? I’ve lost my friend. Now leave me, please.”

“Discord…” she tried.

Seeing no response from him, she turned around and started leaving. She had only taken a few steps when she heard his trembling voice.

“I was there you know. I was there at the very end.”

Celestia came closer to him and put a wing on his shoulder.

“I was there, holding her hoof the entire time while she was dying in her bed. And she was smiling the whole time.” He faced her, tears now running on his cheeks. “She was smiling and I don’t know why. Why would she be happy to die? It—it doesn’t make sense. Why was she smiling?”

Celestia didn’t reply. She sat down next to him, and gazed at the beautiful garden surrounding them, while the draconequus was crying, probably for the first time.
> The Best Dealer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponyville, what a great place to start again, thought a young, greedy stallion.

He watched the bucolic roofs appearing and disappearing between the trees. They were very different from the ones he was used to see in Canterlot. He had had to flee the place and its police, simply because dealing butterfly powder wasn’t legal.

He couldn’t understand why it wasn’t allowed, since it wasn’t that dangerous. Granted, some ponies had been found dead after taking a massive dose, but the customers were the only one responsible for taking a massive dose.

So he had decided his presence was requested somewhere else, preferably in a small town, far from any law enforcement official.

That’s why when he had chosen the little Ponyville. If the rumors were right, anyone could start a new life. Whatever it be, the town was far enough from the capital and its police. They wouldn’t chase him here, and it wasn’t like he had anything to fear from the locals.





Once arrived, he started doing what he did best; establishing contacts with the locals to see who would be interested in his stuff. Surprisingly, there weren’t any pony interested. In fact, each time he mentioned ‘butterfly powder’, every pony was looking at him like if he was a ghost.

“These ponies have never heard about having a good time?” he wondered after the twelfth pony.

As he meandered through the marketplace, he saw a young mare running an apple stand. After a good look, he noticed by her muscles she was probably a farmer, something not really appealing for most pony, but the stallion wasn’t really picky. Moreover, his business required some flirting skills, a thing he had mastered through the years of practise.

“Maybe I will have a chance to plow her field,” he thought with a smirk.

So he did his routine, but the longer he spoke, the higher the mare’s eyebrow was, and she cut him short in the middle of a sentence. “For your own sake, I will tell you this only once. Leave now, or face the consequences.”

Getting knocked back that hard surprised him. Who was this mare? Was she gay or something?

He left her here and resumed his meandering, still hoping to find at least one pony to sell some powder.

He had only taken a few steps when another mare came to him. She was a yellow pegasus.

“Hmm, excuse me, sir?” she told him. He turned his head. “I heard that, hmm, you were selling something?”

The stallion giggled. If the former mare was bulky, this one was her complete opposite. Tall, skinny, with one of the softest voice he had ever heard. An easy prey.

“It depends, young lady. What do you want to buy?” he asked with a devious grin.

“Oh, hmm, that special thing. I mean, if you still have some.”

That was way too easy. “I’m running a bit low but that’s your lucky day. I still have some left, but it will cost you an extra. You know how it works.”

“Oh, yes, of course, I understand.”

He put a leg around her neck. “That’s great, we are made to get along you and I.”

“However, I’m afraid I’m too running a bit low on bits,” said the pegasus sheepishly. “You see, I just finished my groceries. But I have what’s needed at home if you follow me. I mean, if you want to,” she added, hiding herself behind her mane.

“Of course, of course,” he jubilated, thinking about how easy this mare was to fleece. “Lead the way.”

He followed the pegasus, named Fluttershy as he learned while chit-chatting, enjoying the good view during the short walk.

The mare was probably still living with her parents, and needed something to get away from her boring life. He still couldn’t believe how naive she seemed to be.

When they arrived, the mare opened the door and pointed inside. “Please, make yourself at home.”

He entered, his smile still plastered on his face. It dropped when he saw that inside was a little bunny looking at him, with a disturbing smile. He had only seen this smile once or two, on ponies’ face, when a rival dealer wanted to ‘take care of him’.

“Sit down, please,” said the mare. “I’ll make some tea.”

The stallion complied and, while he waited for her to come back, the bunny kept staring at him.

Half of his senses was screaming that something was wrong, very wrong, and the other half was focused on the big profit he would make out of this dupe. He listened to the latter and waited.

Soon enough, the mare came back and served the tea. She took a sip and stared at him.

“So, do we have a deal?” he asked, his voice quavering.

“Oh, yes, hmm, about that. I’m sorry but I’m afraid there is a problem.”

“Wh-what?”

“You see, hmm, what you do is not very nice. So I’ll ask you to stop. I mean, if you want.”

“You’re serious?” He couldn’t prevent himself from laughing. “Do you really think a kind request could do it?”

“Well, hmm, I hoped. Because, you see, you’ve stepped where you shouldn’t have. There is no place for you here.”

The stallion gulped. “That’s it, I’m leaving,” he managed to say.

He stood from the couch and went from the door. He put his hoof on the knob and tried to turn it. It was locked.

“I don’t think so,” he heard from behind.

He turned his head and the last thing he saw was the face of a red-eyed bear.





“Good morning, Fluttershy.”

“Oh, good morning, Berry,” greeted the pegasus. “You’ve come for your order?”

“Yes indeed.” Berry grabbed the small bag from Fluttershy’s wing and put another small bag. She then took a look at her garden.

“Oh my, what beautiful flower bed you have here, Fluttershy. How do you manage to make them grow like this?”

Fluttershy smiled. “I have a little secret ingredient.”
> Words That We Couldn't Say
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A knock on the door. My heart skips a bit. It’s you.

“Howdy, Twi.”

I wasn’t expecting you, but I’m overjoyed by your impromptu visit. So I smile and say hi.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” you say.

Even if I was on the verge of proving ‘there is no positive integer solution for an + bn = cn with n greater than 2’ I couldn’t care less.

“Don’t worry,” I say. “What can I do for you?”

“Well, I’ve seen something very strange on several of my trees this mornin’, and I’m wondering if they could have gotten an illness or somethin’. Do you have any books on this?”

Of course it’s about your trees. You’ve worked too hard, lately. So hard we’ve barely had time to see each other. It has been more than a week, and you keep declining all of our invitations, from me or our friends.

I know, you said you’d be busy by apples bucking for at least a month, but that doesn’t make it easier.

“Let me think…”

I know perfectly well where the book you need is placed. Third shelf on your left, The Complete Guide to Any Tree Illness. I curse my eidetic memory and my obsession for order. Without them, we would have rummaged through the shelves. We would have talked. We would have spent time together.

I know that, as soon as you have put your hoof on it, you’ll go back to your farm. For how long, it’s anypony guess. I don’t want that. It has been too long since we just sat back and relaxed together.

But I can’t stall any longer. After all, I share my life with the Element of Honesty. You taught me better than that.

“You see the big green book there?” I say, smiling and pointing at the shelf with my hoof. “You should find what you’re looking for in it.” I’m almost hoping you don’t find the answer inside. “If you don’t, feel free to come back, I’d be happy to help.”

“Thank you, Twi, but I should be fine.”

Don’t leave now, you’ve just arrived. Is this really an emergency? You could simply stay a little longer. I would make tea, we would eat some delicious cookies Spike would have prepared, and we’d talk about everything and nothing. We could even invite our friends to join us.

“Do you need anything else?” I ask.

You smile, and warmness fills me. “Nah, I should be fine.”

You put the book in your saddlebag and the saddlebags on your back, and I feel a lump in my throat.

“Thank you again, Twi.”

I would do anything for a friend. “No problem.”

“Have a nice day.”

It could be great if you stayed here. “You too,”

“See you later.”

Later is too long. “See you later.”

You’ve already opened the door and I can’t help myself. “Applejack?”

You turn your head. “Yes, sugarcube?”

I miss you, please don’t go. We all miss you. Don’t leave me now. “G-good luck with your trees.”

You simply smile. “Thank you.” And then you leave, carefully closing the door behind you.
> Famous Last Words
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Thanks again for coming on such a short notice, Scootaloo.”

“No problem, Apple Bloom.”

Scootaloo checked her harness one last time, slightly tugging at the ropes. Satisfied, she looked down from the catwalk at the stage below.

“I would have felt bad to let Tender Taps down,” she added.

Apple Bloom frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No no no,” Scootaloo quickly replied , seeing her friend’s face. “Don’t get me wrong, Taps is a cool guy, that’s all.” Apple Bloom’s frown deepened and Scootaloo started sweating. “Well, maybe not cool, just… nice, hehe. A nice guy I’m glad to help, just like anypony else.”

Apple Bloom took a step forward, and Scootaloo gulped hard. Since she was hooked to the catwalk, she had nowhere to flee. “You know, now that I think about it, you’re the one I’m helping,” said Scootaloo. “If you hadn’t told me about this, I probably wouldn’t have come.”

“I much prefer that,” said Apple Bloom with a smile.

Scootaloo sighed with relief, wiping her head with her hoof. “Are you two still going to Sugarcube Corner after the show?” she asked.

“Sure thing. And maybe we’ll finally go to the third base,” replied Apple Bloom, lost in her fantasy.

“Ewww.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “You have somethin’ to say, Scootaloo?”

“No,” she gasped. She then noticed the music was ending. “Well, that’s my cue, be right back.”

She jumped from the catwalk, ready to grab the cardboard panel used as a background. However, while she had carefully checked her harness, she had forgotten to tie one of the ropes with a clove hitch. Too late did she notice that her fall was too fast. She crashed into Tender Taps, and everything went dark.

When she regained consciousness a few seconds later, she felt something wet and awkward on her lips. She opened her eyes and found herself mouth to mouth with a blushing Tender Taps. Her eyes widened. She tried to immediately back up, but, because of the rope, they were both entangled in a body mess.

Scootaloo flailed, and after two minutes of intense struggle, she finally managed to get her mouth away from Tender’s. She took a huge breath of fresh air.

“Ugh! Gross!” she spat.

Then she heard a threatening growl above her. She took a look at the catwalk. Apple Bloom was drooling, her eyes filled with hatred.

“Eeeep”





“SCOOTALOOOOOOO!”

The scream echoed throughout Ponyville while a young pegasus was running for her dear life.

Why didn’t I bring my scooter?, she cursed herself. There is no chance I can outrun her!

She turned right after the Toy Shop but came to a dead end. She turned back and started to run but stopped when she saw a figure looming in the shadows of the small alley.

“Scootaloo!”

Scootaloo stepped backwards until she felt the coldness of bricks on her back. She was cornered.

“It was an accident!” she shouted. “I promise!”

Apple Bloom was slowly walking towards her, releasing murder wish from all of her body.

“I never meant for this to happen, I swear! Please, Apple Bloom, we’re friends, remember? Cutie Mark Crusaders forever,” she said, pointing at her flank.

Apple Bloom kept walking, ignoring her pleading.

“Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks. Now he will have some experience when you two will kiss.”

Apple Bloom only grunted in response.

“I’m too young to die! I never had the chance to fly yet. Please, spare me!”

She hid her head between her hooves, pointlessly hoping it would make her disappear.

“Any last words?” asked Apple Bloom.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered.

She braced herself for the fatal blow. Maybe it would be painless, maybe Apple Bloom would be quick, in honor of all the things they had shared as friends.

When she didn’t feel anything after a minute, she carefully opened her eyes. There was another figure next to Apple Bloom.

“... looking for you. Weren’t we supposed to meet at Sugarcube Corner?”

Scootaloo didn’t hear Apple Bloom’s reply but she saw Tender Taps smiling. He then leaned forward and kissed her.

Still too shocked to react, Scootaloo watched them leaving the alley. She couldn’t believe  in her luck and did the only thing she could do after all the emotion. She fainted.
> Behind Closed Doors
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Being a royal guard was easy. All Spearhead had to do was to stand still. It was so easy that it sometimes became even boring. Aside from escorting an angry pony from the Royal Court to the exit — yes, the princess has clearly heard you the first time, and no, she won’t be convinced because you raised your voice — there wasn’t really much action. Moreover, the angry ponies just had to take a look at the spear to immediately become cooperative.

If only they knew the spears were made of plastic. After the twentieth guard hurting himself by falling asleep on the real ones, Celestia had to intervene. Spearhead had wondered for a long time how they managed to hurt themselves with their weapon. It wasn’t like they didn’t get basic training to learn which way they were supposed to hold a spear, and the dangerous part was at the end of a long stick, theoretically far away from the wielder. But then, one fateful day, he saw it. Nightmares plagued him for weeks afterward.

In the end, the real weapons had been hidden all around the castle, their locations known only to a selected elite of the more capable soldiers, ready for an emergency that would never come.

Spearhead sighed and turned his head to watch the other side of the corridor.

After the princess’ sister return, the castle had been a lot more animated for a while. Not only Princess Luna had to adjust to a world she had missed for one thousand years, but the guards had also been enrolled to move back all of her furniture. Spearhead had enjoyed this change of pace, but unfortunately there were only so many nightstands one could move. Moreover, Princess Luna had revealed to be a quick learner and, soon enough, she had grasped the main ins and outs.

He missed the days when Luna was coming to him with so many questions. He had never understood why the Princess had chosen him. She seemed to like him, and Spearhead was more than happy to fulfill any of Luna’s requests, or to answer any of her questions.

Spearhead sighed again and turned his head back when a moan came from behind the door he was guarding. A door leading to Luna’s appartements.

He shook his head, unsure if he had really heard that. A second moan, followed by an audible “yes”, confirmed his suspicion and made him blush.

He had heard a lot of things from behind the doors but this one was new. He tried to distract himself by staring at the carpet. It was a really beautiful carpet, probably a gift from Saddle Arabia. The frame was stitched with golden threads, the center piece representing the first agreement between the two countries. Celestia had her wings stretched to show —

Another moan.

Where was he? Right, the carpet. Celestia had her wings stretched to show that her love reached ponies from all around the world, no matter where they came from —

A moan, a yes and a moan.

— no matter where they came from: Equestria, Saddle Arabia or even a still undiscovered land beyond the seas. It made him think that he would like to be a part of an expedition someday. Discovering new lands, meeting new species, that would surely be an amazing experience, without taking account it would mean he wouldn’t be guarding doors behind which a Princess was likely to have a good time.

Come on, he scolded himself. You’ve seen worst. It’s just a normal thing grown ponies do. And Princess Luna probably missed this thing during her long banishment.

The sound of a door opening behind startled him.

“Spearhead?” said Princess Celestia.

Spearhead turned around and quickly bowed, both to observe the etiquette and to hide his deep blush.

“Be a dear and go fetch us a ten liters bucket, a box of nails and a tube of lubricant.”

Spearhead didn’t waste time and ran away in search for the items.

With her sister? he thought. I know that one thousand years alone is probably a very long time but —.

He stopped his train of thought, too scared to follow it and see where it could lead to. He had a task and he focused on it, not on Celestia’s frazzled mane.

It took him only five minutes to gather everything and to go back in front of the door. He was about to knock when he heard moaning once again.

His hoof froze a few centimeters away. Should he wait? Should he simply put the items in front of the door and leave, no matter what would be the consequences for abandoning his post?

He gathered all the courage he could muster, gulped, and finally knocked.

This time Luna’s face appeared. “Thou hast been hasty. We shall reward thee later.”

The princess grabbed the items and slammed the doors.

Spearhead went back to his place, and the moans kept on.





One hour and a half later, after Spearhead had counted the tiles on the floor — he wouldn’t have thought there would be more than four thousands — and tried to guess how many threads there were in the carpet, the doors reopened, and the two sisters walked past him, oblivious to his terrified expression.

“So, didn’t I tell you you would love it?” asked Celestia.

“Thou were right, sister. We’ve never felt so great for a very long time,” replied her sister. “We must admit, it was a bit hard at the beginning, and a bit painful, but once the first gap crossed, it came without much effort.”

That’s it. I quit tomorrow and become an artist. Less stable but becoming insane is actually a bonus.

“And how do you call it?” asked Luna.

“It’s called yoga,” said Celestia. “You usually don’t need a machine to do it, but I thought it would help you, considering you lack training.”

Spearhead let out a very loud sigh, and the two princesses glanced at him with curious eyes.

“What is it, Spearhead?” asked Celestia.

“N-nothing, your Highness.”

“You seem very tense today, Spearhead. Have you considered trying yoga?”
> Closing Time Part1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Here, we shall be fine.” Steel Grip pointed at a small clearing, a small river flowing between the trees. The Moon was already high in the sky and was lighting what would soon be their camp for the night.

The other pony made a few steps with noise of shackles, and sat down on a trunk.

Steel Grip tied the lead rope to a branch. “I’ll collect some woods for the fire,” he told him. “It won’t be long. In the meantime, don’t try anything.”

He had warned him more by habit than anything else. His prisoner wasn’t the most hyperactive pony he had traveled with. He had barely spoken the whole time, just nodding at Steel’s orders, though Steel Grip was pretty sure he shouldn’t trust his calm. His eyes were burning with determination. He didn’t know where it was aimed at, but he hoped it wasn’t at ending his life. After all, the stallion had become famous for taking a pony’s life, and there was nothing that said he wouldn’t do it again. Moreover, Steel Grip had heard he had broken the neck with his bare hooves. “*CRACK*, just like a nut,” had told him the sheriff.

Once he had collected enough wood, he came back to the clearing and started preparing the campfire. It didn’t take him long with his tinder lighter.

“By the way, we should arrive at Canterlot tomorrow,” he said.

No reaction. That wasn’t much of a surprise, Steel Grip was usually the only one talking.

Once the fire was warm enough, he rummaged through his saddlebag and took out several boxes.

“What do you want for dinner?” he asked presenting the boxes. “We have barley, oats and bran.”

“Whatever,” replied the prisoner.

Steel Grip rolled his eyes and gave him the box of oats.

They both ate in silence, only broken by the sound of metal chain each time the prisoner was moving his bowl.

The fire flickered, the dancing flames shedding a new light on the prisoner’s figure. Steel Grip had already seen the same figure. It was in Ponyville.

“You’re an Apple, right?” he asked.

Even though the stallion kept his composure, Steel Grip saw his eyebrow twitched.

“Yeah, you’re an Apple. What were you doing in Manehattan? You Apples are usually farmers. Big cities aren’t your thing.”

“It’s a long story,” the stallion replied, keeping his eyes on the fire.

“It’s a good thing we have all night.”

He gave him a look, and Steel Grip felt his poise staggering. His eyes were two cracks, opened on a bleeding and burning wound, each one feeding the other.

Steel Grip winced. “You could start by giving me your name,” he said, trying to escape the unease he had just felt.

“... I’m Sturdy Core.”
> Closing Time Part2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m Sturdy Core and yes, I’m an Apple. And no, we aren’t all farmers, but I was one.”

Steel Grip nodded and waited for the stallion to continue his story. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem very eager to keep on.

“And?” asked Steel Grip.

“And what? I gave you my name.”

“Well, that’s only a beginning, not an ending.”

Sturdy Core raised an eyebrow. “Why do you care? You’re just a bounty hunter.”

“I may be a bounty hunter, but I got standards,” said Steel, a fake shocked expression on his face.

His prisoner burst into laughter, his voice echoing through the forest like a deep drum. While thunderous, his laugh sounded genuine. “Standards, like never catching innocent ponies?” he asked with a smile.

“Are you implying that you’re innocent?”

He better not. According to the sheriff, he had been caught red-hoofed.

The stallion tensed up. “No, I didn’t say that.”

For a moment, there was only the sound of the fire cracking, with Sturdy Core gazing at the fire and Steel Grip gazing at him. He had to feel Steel’s gaze because he was the first to speak.

“Do you know who paid you for escorting me?” he asked.

“Somepony called Castellana, if I recall correctly.”

“You’re not from Manehattan, are you?”

“No, I’m from Vanhoover.”

The stallion sighed. “That’s why you couldn’t know.”

“Know what?”

“He is the son of the pony I killed.”

Steel Grip almost gasped. He had said that like he was stating a fact, without any trace of emotion.

“And I guess he is also the new boss of the local mafia, now his father is no more.”

“Well,” said Steel Grip, clearing his throat. “I’m usually the one tracking my prey, and I must admit you are an exception. That’s why I wanted to learn more about you. This job sounded a bit too easy for the amount of bits offered.”

“Then you aren’t as stupid as I thought you were.”

“Thank you?”

“You’re welcome.”

Silence came back. A wolf howled in the distance.

“So, what’s your story?” asked Steel Grip, poking at the fire with a branch.

Sturdy Core grunted. “From an earth pony to another earth pony, you’re as annoying as a unicorn. Fine. What if I told you I brought justice to Equestria?”

“By killing a pony? And here I thought I had heard everything. You brought more disharmony to this world.”

“I brought harmony to myself. And I care for the world as much as he cared for me.”

“Bad things happened to you?”

“Not at first.”
> Closing Time Part3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At first, life was simple.

I lived in Appleloosa with my folks. I got up early, I grew apples, I sold them, baked them, and I went to sleep late. The rest of my time was spent with my two cousins, McCug and Muleway. I was nothing more and nothing less than a simple farmer.

Then life became wonderful.

Her name was Mary, Mary O’ Neighfee.

You said that the Apples are farmers. You need to know that for most of the Apples, there comes a time in life where you want something else. It usually happens between foalhood and stallionhood: you dream about big cities, wild parties and all the bustle you’ve only heard about.

So me and my cousins, we took some days off and went to Manehattan to celebrate Hearth’s Warming Eve with a distant relative. My half, or quarter uncle — I’ve honestly never been able to figure that out — was hosting the party in his restaurant.

That’s where I met her.

We had just entered the room our eyes locked. She smiled, and suddenly, the rest of Equestria didn’t matter anymore.

Have you ever fell in love? I wish you to.

Anyway, I had to look very stupid because my cousins were laughing out loud. So I left them here and went straight to her.

Thanks Celestia she didn’t stop at the first impression, because I swear all the courage I had gathered to go talk to her vanished the moment I opened my mouth.

“You don’t seem to be a really good speaker,” she teased. “ But are you a better dancer?”

So we danced.

With each dance step, I was feeling lighter and lighter I thought I was sprouting wings. And every time the dance put us nuzzle to nuzzle, she batted her eyelashes, and she had this cute little smile at the corner of her mouth. Heh, she later told me she was doing that on purpose because of all the funny faces I was making.

“And what and handsome stallion like you is doing here, Mr Core?” she asked once the dance had ended.

I introduced my two cousins and told her we were dreaming of living the city’s life.

“You should go see my dad tomorrow. He may have something for you.”

We met her dad the next morning, Trinket “Daddy” O’ Neighfee. He was the owner of a small hardware store on Celestia Avenue downtown. His business was running smoothly, and he was thinking about opening new stores.

The moment he heard our names, he immediately hired the three of us. When he saw my surprise, he said something I was about to hear plenty of times.

“You Apples are as reliable as an underground shelter during a storm,” he said with a laugh.





“Wait a minute,” said Steel Grip. “You said you were an Apple, but your names is Core, right?”

“Yes,” sighed Sturdy Core. “Apple’s members aren’t all named Apple. There are the Cores, the Pies, the Oranges, and many more.”

“That’s odd. I thought most of the Apples lived in Ponyville.”

“That’s true for the main branch of the family, but we are historically pioneers. In fact, the newer a city is, the higher are the chances to find some Apples having taken part in the foundation.”

“I see… Sorry, I interrupted your story.”

“No problem. Where was I?” Sturdy scratched his chin before speaking again. “So, each of us had a store to run. And it seemed “Daddy” had made the right choice, because his business thrived.  It also turned out “Daddy” didn’t have only jobs and stores to offer. He had two other daughters he cherished as much as their elder.”

Sturdy gazed at the night sky. “Two years later, what had to happen happened: we celebrated our three weddings.”

“The three knights marrying the three daughters of their suzerain,” said Steel with a smile. “It sounds like a fairy tale.”

“Maybe. Except fairy tales ends well.”





One year and a half later, another wonder came into my life. Mary brought our little filly into the world.

I was leaving a dream. I had a job, I had a wife, I had a daughter. Every sunday, we met around “Mom”’s famous stew.

But then life became a tragedy.

One day, an old stallion came to “Daddy”’s office with two bodyguards.

“I am Don Gallop. Surely you’ve heard of me?” he said.

Of course “Daddy” had heard of him. You don’t live in Manehattan for years without knowing the name of the local mafia’s boss. And he knew why he came. Don Gallop was here to offer protection to his stores in exchange of a “small fee”.

“Daddy” refused, and the answer came quickly: shattered shop windows, beaten employees, and burned warehouses.

We didn’t let ourselves be pushed around. We gathered a little “task force” and gave them a good hiding.

It was escalating and could only come to a tragic conclusion.

One night, they burnt “Mom” and “Daddy”’s main store. Their home was upstairs. We couldn’t do anything. My-my daughter and my wife were sleeping upstairs that night too.

It took me a month to eat. Two to walk again.

After three months, I finally woke up and went to Don Gallop’s restaurant. The place was full of ponies, but I didn’t care. I went straight to his table.

He looked up from his plate and dared look at me in the eyes. I couldn’t see anything but disdain. It quickly switched to fear when I took his head between my hooves. I gave him one last glance before breaking his neck.





Steel Grip looked at his prisoner for the first time. “I-I don’t know what to say.”

“Because there is nothing to say,” replied Sturdy Core. “I’ll be in a Canterlot cell by tomorrow. I heard the place isn’t that bad and they treat their prisoners well.”

“I’m sorry for you… I’m not sure about this job anymore. Maybe —”

Steel Grip stopped when he felt his senses screaming danger. He tried to go for his spear but it was too late, a spearhead was already poking at his back.

“I would stay where I am if were you,” said a deep voice from behind.

A mare with a brown hat came into the light. “Where are the keys?”

Steel Grip pointed to his saddlebag with his eyes. The mare grabbed the key and freed the stallion.

“You guys came,” said Sturdy Core.

“Of course, there is no way we would let an Apple rot in a cell, right?” said the mare.

“Eeeyup.”

Still paralyzed, Steel grip saw the mare coming closer. “I’m sorry but you can’t live,” she said. “I’ll make this as quick as possible.”

He closed his eyes.

“Wait!”

When he reopened them, Sturdy Core was between the mare and him.

“He’s just a tool paid by the Gallops. He has nothing to do with them.”

The mare frowned. “ Alright, I’ll trust you on this one.” She then put her face two inches from his. “Got it, pal? You’ve never seen us and you might be able to see your family again.”

“Y-yes.”

They quickly disappeared in the shadows, but before leaving, Sturdy Core glanced at him. “Her name was Eachna.”
> I Regret Nothing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Brother, I have some good news.”

Scorpan raised his head from the Disneigh Magazine he was reading. “You bought ice cream?” he asked, the eyes filled with hope.

“No, brother. I have discovered a new land for us to conquer,” said Tirek. “A land filled with magic.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, Equestria, a land full of magical and powerful ponies.”

“Ponies?”

Tirek sighed. “You know, ponies, like the one we captured a week ago, quadruped, with bright colors and singing all the time?”

Scorpan’s face lit up. “Ah, I see! Though, I prefered him with his colours. Now he’s just all grey, and he doesn’t sing anymore.”

“Scorpan, I’m talking about conquest, power” Tirek groaned. “A whole country to enslave. The ponies will be at our command!”

“Yes?”

“Yes! They will bow before us and beg for our mercy!” Tirek burst into evil laughter.

“Yeah!” added Scorpan. “And we’ll make them bake us cake. And we won’t even pay!”

Scorpan joined his brother in his laughter, but Tirek stopped. “Scorpan. Scorpan!”

“What?”

“Nevermind.”





“Scorpan! What. Are. You. Doing?”

Said Scorpan, lying on the ground, was swarmed by dozens of ponies dedicated to not let any single part of his body without a hug.

“I’m having the time of my life!” he said, before gulping another cake from the big tray on his right.

“B-but, what about the conquest? And power?”

“Meh, I got friendship now. And cakes.”

Tirek’s face was deadpan, only his eyes twitched. “Friendship?”

“Yes, let me explain with a trick these ponies taught me.” He cleared his throat.

Wheeeeeen, you are on the ground
And feeling down, down, down
You can trust in your friends
To make you zen, zen, zen

If you are a sad little boy
They will bring you joy, joy, joy
If you feel a little sick
They will heal with a —

“ENOUGH!”

The ponies gasped. “He dared interrupt the song!” said one of them.

Tirek looked with fired-eyes at the crowd. “Who said that?”

“It’s me, Surprise,” said a white pegasus.

“How is this even a surprise?”

“No, silly,” giggled the pegasus. “My name is Surprise.”

Tirek turned to Scorpan. “What is she talking about?”

“It’s her name, brother. They all have funny names. Like this one.” Scorpan lifted a pony in his hand.

“Hi, I’m Silky Bristle,” said the pony.

“Or this one,” said Scorpan, putting  down and lifting another pony.

“And I’m Twinkly Dingly.”

“See?”

Tirek was fuming. “Scorpan, you will stop this nonsense now and help me enslave these ponies!”

“... No,” said Scorpan, his head low.

“NO?”

“Yes no, I mean, no I won’t. You’re always yelling at me. You-You’re just a meanie pants.”





Pinkie closed the book. “And that’s how Tirek gave up on his conquest, and how Scorpan became friend with ponies. So, Pound, Pumpkin, what do we learn from this story?”

The twins babbled.

“Exactly, be kind with your brother and your sister.” She kissed them on their forehead. “ That and always brush your teeth.”
> A Matter Of Perspective
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paper Filler was lost.

At least, he thought he was, because the rather decrepit building in front him wasn’t looking like a boutique.

He checked the address once more and saw he was at the right place.

“I hope this isn’t another one of your ‘jokes’, Pen,” he mumbled to himself. “Or you’re gonna hear what I think of your humour.”

He knocked on the door, expecting the worst. He was quite surprised when he heard a crystalline voice from the inside. “You can come in, it’s open.”

The goodwill he could hear in it was welcoming, so Paper Filler entered. The room was dark, and it took him a minute for his eyes to become accustomed to the lack of light.

He couldn’t prevent himself from wincing. Dust covered the few shelves disseminated here and there, and light didn’t quite manage to go through the thick layer of dirt on the windows.

“Make yourself comfortable,” said the voice. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

Paper acknowledged the surprisingly immaculate table and chairs on his right. A small island of cleanliness among this filth, it was providential, so he didn’t was any more time and sat. He took his notebook and a pen with his magic from his saddlebag, and soon enough, a white coated mare came from upstairs.

“I’ll be right back, I’ll make us some tea,” she said.

Paper took a moment to gaze at her. She somehow managed to repel the darkness by her sheer presence. It was like finding a gem among dull rocks. Once you had laid an eye on it, you couldn’t see anything else.

Even more surprising was how she could manage to keep her coat clean. If he hadn’t seen her horn, he would have guessed she was casting a spell to keep the dirt away, but it seemed the grime didn’t dare to tarnish such a pretty gem.

The mare got back from the kitchen and he cut himself from his reverie.

“I apologise for the mess,” she said while serving the tea. “I’ve just arrived and I didn’t find the time to clean up a bit. So, Mr Scribbler, I presume?”

“I’m afraid Pen Scribbler is ill, Mrs Rarity,” he replied. “I’m Paper Filler.”

The mare frowned. “Oh my, I hope it's nothing too serious.”

“You have nothing to worry. It’s probably just the flu.”

“Still, he must be feeling awful. Would you kindly give me his address? I shall send him a card later.”

Paper Filler wrote the address on his notebook and tore the page.

“Thank you. Now I guess it means the interview is postponed.”

“Actually, Mrs Rarity, Pen Scribbler sent me here in his stead, unless you specifically wanted him.”

She bit her lower lip. “Well, far from me to sound rude, but are you well versed in fashion?”

“Not really,” he replied. “I’ve just browsed through the file they gave me. My domain is literary criticism.”

Rarity seemed to ponder the thought, her eyes on the ceiling, likely weighing the pros and the cons of being reviewed by a complete stranger to the fashion world. Pen Scribbler waited patiently for her judgement, trying to silence the little voice saying he actually cared about the verdict. He succeeded, maybe a bit too much.

“To be completely honest, I despise the fashion world and all those superficial ponies,” he added. “I’m simply here because I owe my friend a favor.”

He immediately regretted his words. Not wanting to be here was a thing, but spitting on what was probably the life-career of a pony who had been nothing but welcoming was something else.

He was about to mutter an apology when he was stopped by her reaction. To his surprise, there wasn’t any single trace of anger or disdain on her face. In fact, her eyes lit with sparkles.

“Mmmh, postponing the interview would force me to come back another day,” she said flatly, though Paper Filler was sure to hear a spark of excitement in her voice. “My schedule is quite tight. Okay, it’s settled, we’ll do the interview right now.

“And maybe I’ll be able to change your mind in the process,” she added with a wink.

“Sure, you can try,” he replied, smiling despite himself, relieved he hadn’t crossed her.

Paper Filler retrieved his friend’s notes and cleared his throat. “Mrs. Rarity, you’re a month away from opening your fourth boutique. With the success of the others, you could have chosen any other city. Why Vanhoover?”

“It’s mainly a matter of geography.”

He raised his eyebrow. “I beg your pardon? Geography?”

“Why, yes, geography. You see, with my boutique in my hometown and in Canterlot, I already occupy the center of Equestria. And since I’m also established on the West coast, I thought I should aim for the East.”

“Okay,” said Paper Filler, taking notes. “Hearing you, we could think you were talking about some military campaign. Do you plan to impose your designs in all of Equestria? What about the other designers? Do you intend to trample down the competition?”

He bit his tongue and scolded himself once again. Even if fashion was far from something he cherished, that wasn’t reason enough for being rude to her. From the little time he had spent with Rarity, he got the impression she wasn’t like those snooty ponies he had met once or twice.

“I apologise, Mrs Rarity. That was —”

He was cut short by her giggles. “Oh dear, you’re not going easy on me, are you?” She took a sip of her tea. “Don’t worry, even if I have a reputation of overreacting, I won’t be upset by some rough phrasing, or else I wouldn’t have been able to survive in this world.

“To answer your question, it’s less about imposing my designs and more about sharing my vision. I consider myself as an artist, and, as such, it’s my duty to spread my vision as far as I can.”

She leaned towards him and gave him a disturbing smile. “And if you hadn’t simply browsed through your file, you would have probably seen I regularly put new designers under the spotlights. So, no, trampling the competition is out of question.”

She leaned back against her chair, keeping her eyes locked with him.

“R-right,” he stammered while scribbling. He opted for an easier question. “What about that vision you’ve talked about? Could you tell me more?”

Her smile became genuine again when she spoke, but instead of answering him, she asked, “Tell me, have you ever seen ugly ponies?”

Paper Filler looked at her, incredulous. “W-what?”

“Have you ever seen ugly ponies?”

He pondered the thought. “Well, I guess you could say that I have, yes.”

“And why do you think they are ugly?” she said right after.

“I… maybe Nature wasn’t feeling generous at the moment — well, not really, because I guess it also depends on who looks at these ponies. They don’t fit in the beauty standards? ”

“Yes, we have standards and beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but that’s only the first half of the answer. They are ugly because they believe they are.”

“What do you mean?”

She put both of her hooves on the table. “Ponies believe in standards, and the result for those who don’t fit in, as you said, is that they also believe they are ugly, no matter what you could tell them. My job, no my inspiration, what drives me to create, is to make them see,” she said while hammering her hoof on the table. “ Even if, without false modesty, I’m well-known for my complicated and sumptuous dresses, it’s all about that small garment, a scarf, a tie, or even a simple hair slide you put on them, before putting the whole in front of the mirror.”

“And then, they see. They see a beautiful pony. They see somepony worthy of being looked at. They don’t see that little clumsy foal or filly anymore, the ones who were too embarrassed to show themselves in public.”

Paper felt a bit lost by her claims. He hadn’t expected to find the same burning passion he had sometimes witnessed when listening to some authors.

“You aren’t clearly talking about everypony,” he argued. “Granted, the standards can sometimes be a little oppressive, but they are standards because they are suitable for the majority.”

Rarity burst into laughter. “Oh, you can trust me when I say everypony is affected. From my experience, even ponies who claim or act like they don’t care about fashion and beauty can have complexes.” Her eyes were looking at a very far away place. “You know, a very good friend is a bit overweight, which is a complete mystery considering her diet. Knowing her, I wouldn’t have bet she would care about the look of others, but the first time I put a dress on her, she almost broke into tears. Another one is a bit bulky, which isn’t a surprise considering her work, but one day I — but look at me, rambling like an old mare. Maybe you had other questions.”

“Y-yes,” said Paper, disappointed she had stopped.

He had completely forgotten to take notes, completely enthralled by her vision. Scolding himself, he scribbled a few words before jumping to the next questions his friend had prepared.

Once he had wasted them all, he realised with regrets the interview was over.

“I, hum, I would like to ask you one last question, Mrs Rarity. C-could I have a demonstration of your talent?”

“Of course, darling. Follow me upstairs.”

One hour later, Paper Filler exited the building with a beret on his head and a bright smile on his face.
> Illusion Of Choice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Come back anytime,” sing-sang Bon Bon to her customer. “Have a nice day!”

A now happy pegasus left the candy shop, to be replaced by an already happy pink pony.

“Hi, Pinkie,” she greeted.

“Hi, Bon Bon,” replied Pinkie Pie.

“What do you want, today?”

Pinkie Pie looked to her right, then to her left. “Hmm, I’m not sure. Do you have any glowing-exploding sprinkles?”

“For the fifth time, no I haven’t,” giggled Bon Bon. “If I could make sprinkles at least glowing, I would be crawling with orders. I don’t know where you got this idea.”

“Aww, that’s too bad. And now I don’t know what to choose.”

“Well, I could recommend you the —”

“Did somepony say ‘choose’?”

A pony wearing a deep black coat and a pair of sunglasses came from upstairs.

BonBon groaned. “No, not this again,”

“You’re the one named Pinkie Pie, is that correct?” asked the pony, pointing a hoof at Pinkie.

“Yes, Lyra. You don’t remember my name, silly? Also, why is your voice so deep?”

Lyra turned her head on the right. “I’m not Lyra, I’m Marepheus.”

“Lyra, I told you to stop this. You’re gonna scare the foals,” scolded Bon Bon.

She didn’t pay attention to the baker and instead came closer to Pinkie.

“I’ve come to you because you already know something is not right.”

Pinkie gasped. “Did I forget to turn off the oven?”

“No, Pinkie. I’m talking about that awkward feeling you have when you go to work, when you open the newspaper, or when you pay your taxes.”

“Hmm, usually my Pinkie Sense doesn’t happen during these moments.”

“Pinkie,” interrupted Bon Bon. “Don’t feel obliged to deal with her antics.” She put several candies in a paper bag, which she then offered to Pinkie. “Here, it’s on the house.”

Lyra slapped the bag down. “Don’t get in the way of fate. You’ve chosen the path of a slave, but don’t prevent other ponies from seeing the light.”

“Lyra, I’m tired of your — mphmhphm”

“Hush now,” said Lyra, her horn glowing. “Pinkie, we’re running out of time, they’re gonna find us if we don’t make this quick. This whole world is a lie, made to enslave us. For which purpose, it’s still to be determined. Now —” she extended a hoof “—  take this blue candy I enchanted, and you can go back to dream whatever you want. But if you want to see the world how it really is, take this red —”

*CRASH*

Lyra fell down, and the two candies rolled on the floor, stopping at Pinkie’s hooves.

“Meh, I’ll take both.”

In a blink of an eye, the two candies disappeared in the abyss of Pinkie’s stomach.

“Pinkie! No!”

Pinkie started hovering, engulfed in a bright green aura, her eyes as white as snow. A powerful magic was swirling around her, dragging candies in a colorful and sugary tornado.

Bon Bon, freed from Lyra’s magic yelled, “Lyra, what have you done?”

“She wasn’t supposed to take them both!”

The two mares went behind the counter, holding hooves and bracing for the upcoming impact.

“I’m sorry, Bonnie. I’m so sorry.”

Bon Bon hugged her tightly. “It’s okay,” she said, sniffing. “I forgive you.”

But no magic explosion came to end their life. So after a minute, Bon Bon took a risk and a look at her pink friend. Pinkie was coughing small rainbow clouds.

“Woohoo, those candies are really strong,” said Pinkie. “You should probably not sell them. Well, gotta go, bye!”

She bounced her way out, leaving Lyra and Bon Bon dumbfounded.

“I need to rest,” said the latter after a moment. “You are gonna clean up your mess.”

Lyra pouted, but didn’t argue.

“And that’s the last time I let you play with my candies!”
> Eye Of The Storm
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One last wingbeat, and I’ll be there. Just one more wingbeat. I push as hard as I can, and finally, I can get through.

Everything is so calm. There is no sounds, no birds chirping, no wind blowing through the leaves. It feels like death itself. Or at least, what I imagine death to be like.

All of my body aches, and I need to be functioning at one hundred and twenty percent for this. I won’t have a second chance.

I take a short moment to rest my tired muscles, and to think about my last conversation with Twilight.





“Rainbow Dash, reporting in.”

“Dash, you’re here,” says Twilight.

I can feel her relief at seeing me safe and sound.

“What’s the news?” she asks.

I look away for a moment. I don’t want to reveal my failure, so I try to sound as professional as possible. Fortunately, my years in the Wonderbolts have trained me for that.

“We have managed to deviate the storm two degrees to the West. It should avoid Baltimare.”

“Thank Harmony,” she exclaims, before her expression freezes.

I know this face.

She quickly runs to her desk, full of papers, reports, and calculations I couldn’t even start to understand in one thousand years.

“No, no, no…” she whispers loud enough for us to hear.

Anypony can see she is anxious. It’s not that hard, with her ears folded and her wings tightly closed to her sides. But only her closest friends can see how deep her anxiety runs. This is her panic face.

I prepare myself for the worst.

“The storm is about to hit Canterlot in six hours!”

The room was already quiet before she spoke, but somehow, the silence sounds thicker now. No one dares to look at the others. Their eyes flee the terrible facts. Canterlot is about to be hit by the biggest storm that even Celestia and Luna have ever recorded, and we won’t have time to evacuate the city.

This is going to be ugly.

Twilight is the fastest to recover. “Rainbow, can you do anything more?”

She looks deeply  at me. She wants to believe. She hopes the Wonderbolts still have a trump card up their sleeve.

We don’t.

“Twilight, I… I’m sorry, but this storm is nothing like what we know. Half of the team has been injured trying to stop it, and we only managed to slightly alter its course.” I lower my head. “I’m sorry.” I grab a jar in my saddlebag and give it to Twilight. “At least I’ve got a sample.”

I wish it could make up  for my powerlessness.

Twilight doesn’t waste any time. She practically snatches the jar from my hoof and goes back to her desk. She probably hopes to find a way out of this madness. I hope so, too.

Meanwhile, my mind wanders to the princesses.. Even if the capital city can’t be completely evacuated, I know they will still try to save some ponies. It will be up to them to decide which ones.

I don’t envy their position.

Five minutes go by. Ten. After fifteen minutes, Twilight faces me, and she looks relieved. She’s probably found a solution.

She also looks terrified. Even more than before.





My wings feel less tired now. I should be ready.

I gain as much altitude as I can, still in the eye. Going higher would put me at the mercy of the winds again.

It’s funny. I never thought I would end like this, performing a trick that’s only ever been for ponies’ entertainment. This time, all of Equestria is the crowd, although I won’t be able to hear them cheering.

I take one last breath, then I dive.

I expected it to be hard, but it’s easy breezy. There is nothing to hinder me. The air is so thin I even have to slow down a bit if I don’t want to trigger it too early.

As I plummet towards the ground, I think about my friends, about my family, about all the ponies I’ve met. I hope they’ll remember me. Not the pony I was, but the pony I tried to be.

I feel the air resistance strengthen, and I know that’s my cue.

I shift my body, bracing for the strong impact. I’ll probably break multiple bones here, but I could care less.

A wingbeat, and I bounce against the air, the exploding sound of the biggest Sonic Rainboom I’ve ever done ringing in my ears.

I barely have time to look back at my best work before I’m in the storm again.

I’m pulled in every direction, drawn and quartered by the winds, torn roughly apart like a toy between careless fillies’ hooves.

Something hits my head, and everything becomes dark.





Darkness surrounds me. I can’t even see my own body. I just... feel it.

I’m exhausted. A good nap sounds about right, but there are little sparkles flashing here and there, blinding me. Somehow, closing my eyes doesn’t do anything.

I don’t know how long I try to avoid the sparkles. Wherever I turn my head, they keep reappearing.

I want to cover my eyes with my wings, but when I try to move them, I feel tremendous pain running up my whole body.

I scream, but no sound comes out.

I hear a sound.

The sparkles turn purple. Or have they always been purple?

I don’t know.

I don’t care.

I just want to sleep.

The sparkles become bigger. They melt. I see a blurry purple shape. It comes closer and it engulfs me.

It feels… nice. And warm. It also feels familiar.

I grasp the purple form, and I feel my back getting wet.

I hear a voice in the distant, calling my name.

I tighten my grip on the purple form. I see it clearer now. It’s a face, a face I’ve already seen.

It was a Sparkle after all.
> The First Step
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trixie almost choked when the curtains went up. The whole school was here. A sea of pony faces was looking at her.

“W-welcome ev-everypony, to a show of ill — of grand illusions.”

She tried to smile, and a cough echoed in the room.

“I’m now g-gonna make this cupcake disappear.”

She put her hat on the sweet to hide it to the audience, and lit her horn, trying to remember the complex spell her father had taught her.

Soon enough, she heard a *poof* from within the hat.

“Now, the cupcake is —” she lift the hat, “— still here.”

Instead of disappearing, the cupcake had now two little wings on its side. It took off and landed on her back, purring.

“Tadaa,” she said weakly.

Another cough.

“Now, I’m gonna turn the water in this glass into… wine!”

Once again, Trixie lit her horn and closed her eyes.

Please work, please, please, please.

When she opened them, the glass was gone, but not the water, still levitating in her magic.

In a moment of panic, she lost control of her magic, and threw the water on her face, which brought some laughter in the audience.

“The only thing you’re making disappear is my joy of life,” shouted a voice.

She felt the tears coming. “B-but…”

That was too much. She had worked so hard for her first performance to be perfect, and everything went wrong.

She ran offstage, trying to quiet down her sobs. Once out of sight, she curled in a ball and let her tears fall freely.

Her father came a minute later, and hugged the crying ball that was her daughter.

“Hey sweetie.”

“Dad,” she sobbed, hugging him. “It’s a disaster! I’ll never be able to show my face at school again!”

“It’s okay sweetie.”

“How will I become the best magic performer if I just can’t impress a bunch of foals?”

Her dad took her chin in his hoof and raised her head. “You need to be the best.”

“But I’m not! How could I be? I’ve just performed once, and it was terrible!”

“No, no, you don’t get it. You need to pretend you are the best performer in all of Equestria. Ponies come to see magic shows because they want to believe something greater exists, something magical, something they can’t understand. So pretend you are the best. Pretend, and they’ll believe it. Pretend, and you’ll believe it too.”

“H-how?”

“To begin, you need a title, one that shows how great you are.”

“W-what about the Best Trickster Trixie?”

“Heh, I’ll let you work on that. You don’t need me, It’s your title after all.”
> One Little Mistake
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Pinkie?”

Pinkie Pie turned her head from the baking cakes she was watching. “Yes, Mrs Cake?”

“I don’t want to sound like I don’t trust you or anything — Celestia knows how organised you can be — but would there be a teeny tiny little chance you’d got sugar and salt mixed up when you refilled the pots?”

Pinkie scratched her chin, deep in thought.

“Because, you see,” added Mrs Cake, “There is a small possibility all the cakes we’ve baked today have been made with salt.”

“For realsies?”

“Yes, Pinkie, I’m afraid so. Every pot I checked was filled with salt, not sugar. Do you know anything about that?”

“Well, when the delivery came this morning, I’ve tasted a sample from both the bags — because you know, quality and freshness — and they were so goooood! Oh, and correctly labelled. Then, I went to give his bath to Gummy — he can become grouchy if I miss his bath time. When I came back, I took the bags and refilled the pots.”

“Nothing amiss?”

“Hmm, now that you mention it, I was surprised to see Pound and Pumpkin were already up and —” Pinkie glanced at the twins playing in a corner of the room. “You little rascals,” she said while coming closer to them. “You’ve decided to play a little prank on us, haven’t you?”

The two babies babbled with joy, and Pinkie grabbed each one with a leg.

“I know you want to mimic your auntie Pinkie,” she said, nuzzling them. “But you still have a lot to learn, my apprentices. First, a good prank has to never be mean spirited. Second, you —”

“Pinkie?”

“Yes?”

“Do you think we should warn our customers about the salt?”

Pinkie gasped. “And ruin your children’s first prank? We can’t do that! Besides, it’s not like if anything could go seriously wrong. At worst, ponies will just spit it out.”





Not so far away, inside the Castle of Friendship, a loud flashing metallic sound echoed through the rooms. A glowing portal appeared above the cutie map, delivering a light purple unicorn and a darker purple alicorn.

“Thanks Celestia, it’s over,” said Twilight.

Starlight nodded. “I still can’t believe the size of these Xmrphtlarg — or Xmrphtralg, I don’t quite remember their name.”

“I was more concerned when we met the Zorglubs. They had such long teeth! Who would have known it was only an organ for communication!”

“Anyway, now that we have finally fixed everything,” she added. “What would you say we celebrate with muffins I bought this morning? Well the morning in this timeline, obviously.”

“Sounds great to me,” said Starlight.

Twilight grabbed the box of cupcakes with her magic, and gave one to Starlight. They had both barely taken a bite they instantly spat it out.

“Oh no! This is bad news!” exclaimed Twilight.

“What is it?” asked a surprised Starlight.

“The cakes here are salty! We haven’t fixed anything! We need to go back!”
> Long Way Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trixie sighed as she approached a familiar sight. How long had it been? Ten Years? Eleven?

She climbed the few stairs leading to the door. She noticed it still had the gold decorations she used to hate. They were yelling how unworthy the passing ponies were to enter the house.

She stared at the knob. Unlike the decorations, it had been recently replaced, but it was still as pretentious as the former, so it merged well in the whole picture.

This was a bad idea. She had run away from her parents. What was she expecting? That they would welcome her with open-legs, crying how much they had missed their daughter?

She was still staring at the abyss that was her fears when she felt a nudge.

“Come on, Trixie, you can do it. I’m here.”

Starlight, her first and very best friend, her only beacon in this ocean of expected disillusionments. She, the Great and Powerful Trixie, master of illusions, had one audience she couldn’t fool besides herself.

“Starlight, I…”

The words were escaping her, only leaving a tear gently running on her cheek.

“You’ve come all the way here. You will regret it if you don’t finish it.”

Starlight was right, as always. She had to do it. No magic trick, no bargain. She had asked her friend to come mainly so she couldn’t bail out.

Trixie lifted her hoof. It was heavy. She still managed to lift it high enough, and let it fall back against the door.

Once, twice, thrice.

The sound of hooves echoed inside. The closer they came, the faster Trixie’s heart was beating.

The door opened, letting appeared a familiar face.

“Yes?” said Mr Lulamoon, before his eyes recognised who had knocked. A smile graced his usual scornful face. He had more wrinkles than she remembered. “T-Trixie?”

He grabbed her in a gentle hug. The next words he said were the most painful and the most comforting Trixie had expected.

“I’ve missed you, sweetie.”
> Written In The Stars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Starswirl stared at the stars. It had been two hours, and he still could not believe what lay in the sky. He had checked and rechecked, but nothing changed. That was the point of studying stars after all. They barely moved. What they could set in motion, however…

He looked at them once again, and tried to get the full picture. The Light and The Shadow, singing and dancing together. The Rock, the Wind, and the Aether, joining the dance after centuries of discordance. The music was perfect, the dancers united.

He already knew this. Anypony simply needed to open a history book to learn it. What came next was far more interesting, and also terrifying.

The Void rose, threatening to consume the quintet, but Light and Shadow contained it. Then Darkness emerged, enslaving and forcing the dancers to sing its own twisted melody. Once again, Light and Shadow stood up and banished the Darkness to the pit from which it had emerged, and brought back everyone into the song.

But the Shadow had witnessed what the Darkness had been capable of. Its intent might had been wrong, but he still had altered the song. So the Shadow tried to alter it too. It couldn’t see its perfection anymore, so changing it was the only way, but it had to face the Light.

Starswirl felt a tear on his cheek. In the Shadow’s rise, he saw countless of deaths, broken ponies, and wrecked harmony. The Rock shattered, the Wind raged, and the Aether dissolved.

The Light tried to sing to its sibling, but the Shadow was deaf to its pleas. So the Light banished the Shadow. It gathered the Rock’s shard, appeased the Wind, and reunited the Aether’s shape.

They sang and they danced for countless years. The Light wanted the song as perfect as it used to be, and even if the Rock, the Wind, and the Aether forgot about the Shadow, the Light remembered. The song was missing one of its members, it could not be perfect. But the song kept going on for eons, as flawed as it was, and the Light kept the dancers united, for better or for worse, waiting for its sibling’s return.

Starswirl moved the telescope two degrees North. There, the Shadow emerged once again. He was expecting to see the same chaos and destruction than the first time, but instead, there was nothing. The Shadow simply took back its place in the formation. What had changed?

He lit his horn and activated several levers on his telescope. The magnifying lenses aligned, and he could look closer at the empty space.

A flicker, a sparkle of hope had brought back the Shadow into the dance. Starswirl could not see how, but it had done it. Happiness filled him as he saw the song return to its original melody. However, it seemed the Sparkle had still a role to play.

It would bring the Void into the song, it would banish the Darkness forever, and it would complete the song. Brighter days would rise from the ashes, the harmony would fill the sky, and no one would be able to silence the melody anymore.

The Shadow was right, the song was not perfect, but the Shadow was not the one fated to perfect it. It was the Sparkle.

Starswirl rejoiced at seeing this hope. The promise of Equestria’s golden age shone in the night sky.

Then, his heart sank when he understood what was asked of him, what toll the ponies would have to pay before seeing this new era. If he intervened, he could deprive Equestria of this future. Who was he to prevent the song from being even more perfect?

He kept gazing at the stars, the sight becoming blurrier as more and more tears filled his eyes. He didn’t hear the alicorn coming from behind.

“Starswirl, my dear friend, I was looking for you,” said Celestia.

He turned his head to her, and she gasped at his red eyes.

“Starswirl,” she said coming closer and putting a wing on his back in a gentle hug. “Are you crying?”

“I am, Celestia. I am crying for what I have to do, or instead, what I mustn’t do. I am crying for the ponies not even born and already doomed to a terrible fate. I am crying for a wonderful future I won’t even see.”

“You seem to have a lot on your heart, my friend. Is there something I can do?”

“Unfortunately, no,” he said gravely. “We can only place our hopes in a Sparkle.”
> Forbidden Knowledge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lumbercraft jumped at an owl’s hoot. He put a hoof on his chest to calm his heartbeat.

An owl! It’s... just an owl.

The thick night was filled with worrying sounds. The trees creaked, the wind whistled, and all kind of scary creatures with long claws and sharp teeth were making their presence known. Probably to frighten their prey and tenderise it. He tried to cast a light spell, but he was too scared to even channel the smallest amount of magic in his horn. He had to rely on his memories of the path to the treehouse.

“What did he want us to do at this hour?” he mumbled, trying to cover the night sounds with his voice.

A twig snapped behind him, and he froze. He had heard most predators had vision based on movement. If he was lucky, the beast that had made the sound was one of them and —

“Hey, Lumby.”

If he was competing in the high jump, Lumbercraft would have probably earned a place on the podium. Unfortunately, he was alone in the middle of an orchard, late in the night, and an unknown monster had touched his side.

“Please, monster, don’t eat me!” he whined, hiding his head between his hooves. “I’m too slim to make a decent meal!”

“It’s just me, silly.”

The foal opened his eyes and recognised his friend Puffy Gust, hovering above him.

“Puffy, you scared me!”

“I can see that,” he giggled. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but don’t sneak behind me like that again!”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

They went back on the way to their destination. Now that he had his friend as company, Lumbercraft felt a bit safer.

“We’re cool,” he said. “But please, don’t tell Mapple.“

“Promise.”

“By the way, do you know why he asked for us to come?”

“He didn’t tell me. You?”

“No.”

Mac Apple, or Mapple as they called him, often came up with the most unexpected ideas. Lumberjack was happy to follow him in his antics, even if it sometimes earned them some hours of detention. Whatever it was, they were about to find out soon enough; the treehouse was in sight. They knocked, and their friend’s voice replied to come in.

They entered a dark room, only lit by two candles on a table where a young earth pony was waiting for them.

“What took you so long, guys?”  asked Mapple.

“Heh, we took the scenic route,” said Puffy Gust, winking at Lumbercraft.

“Urgh, guys, this is important. Haven’t I harped enough on that?”

“You have,” said LumberCraft. “But you still haven’t told us what this is all about.”

“This,” he said, taking on a deep, serious voice and presenting a worn book, “This decoctions book contains knowledge banned by the Princess of Friendship eons ago. And we’re gonna craft one of the recipes. I found the book in my attic yesterday.”

Lumbercraft took a look at the cover. Some letters were missing. He could only read, ‘..a..k....mag..c’.

“Uh, Mapple? Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Of course,” he replied. “We’re gonna make history by bringing back ancient knowledge.”

“You know,” said Puffy. “I’m pretty sure there’s a reason Princess Twilight declared this book forbidden.”

“C’mon, I got this. We’ll only make one of the last recipes.”

“Why one of the last?” asked Lumbercraft.

Mapple rolled his eyes. “Duh, because it’s common knowledge all the dangerous things in dark magic books are at the beginning, just to catch the ponies thirsty for power. The harmless ones are at the end.”

Lumbercraft raised an eyebrow. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Besides, do you even know what we’re gonna make?”

“We’re gonna make a keezatila.”

They both stared at him. “A what now?” said Lumbercraft.

“A keezatila. I’m pretty sure it’s some kind of familiar for wizards. I could have my own and it would help me harvest the apples. I’ll name it Keeza.”

“Hey, why should you be the one to keep it?” retorted Puffy.

“Don’t worry. If this works, we’ll all have one. Did you bring what I asked?”

They both retrieved the items in their saddlebags: pastry, tomatoes, cheese, butter, and spices. The three of them got to work, following Mapple’s instructions.

“Feels like we’re cooking a meal rather than crafting magic,” said Puffy after a moment. “And I’m kinda hungry.”

“You’ll eat later. Less talking, more working,” snapped Mapple.

After several minutes, they ended with an appetizing mix.

“Now, Lumby, I need you to heat it for ten minutes.”

Lumbercraft complied, and the mix soon took a delicious brown tint.

“Now the book said we had to add a spark of magic.”

“There is nothing else?” asked Lumbercraft.

“Well, you’re a unicorn, you should know what it means.”

“I may be a unicorn, but you should know magic is a science, you don’t simply throw magic at things and expect results.”

“Can’t you just channel yours into it?”

“I can, but that won’t do anything.” Lumberjack lit his horn and sent some of his magic in the mix. He had expected to feel some magic feedback, but the thing seemed to be as inert as it looked.

“See?” he said after a moment. “Nothing.”

“Maybe because you did it wrong. Try again,” said Mapple.

“I told you, it’s useless.”

“Your magic is useless. If you spent more time studying and less time playing with wood, I would have a pet right now.”

“My magic is useless? And what do you know about magic, you who—” Lumberjack stopped when he noticed Puffy’s hunger had won the fight against his common sense. He was hovering above them, a half-keezatila in his hoof, the other in his mouth. “Puffy! What have you done?”

“What?” he said. “I told you I was hungry.”

“Are you out of your mind? This could be dangerous! We don’t know what it could to do you and — gimme the book!”

Lumbercraft read the recipe carefully, looking for any hint of what terrible consequences could suffer his friend. He didn’t find anything relevant, but something was amiss. The whole text was typed, except for a short note at the bottom, ‘banned … Twilight Sparkle’.

That was odd. If this was a book of dark magic, it should have been hoof or hornwritten, not typed. He looked at the other pages, and at the cover, then glared at Mapple.

“Mapple, you idiot! That’s not a dark magic book, that’s a cooking book! ‘Baking is magic’! And it’s not a ‘keezatila’, it’s a quesadilla!”

“So I’m safe?” asked Puffy, chewing the last bits of the quesadilla.

“Unless you’re allergic to anything we brought, I think you’re good,” groaned Lumbercraft. “Thank Sparkle it was only a cooking book.”

“And a good one with that,” added Puffy. “This thing is delicious.”

Mapple whined. “Aw, now I want one.”

“Well, we still have some ingredients left,” said Puffy.

Lumbercraft facehoofed.
> Look, I Can Explain...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Big Mac? What’s this?”

The young stallion looked at his little sister, and felt his heart sank in his chest. Why did he have to forget to hide it before asking Apple Bloom to help him cleaning up his room?

“It’s hmm, just a plushie,” he said, averting her gaze.

“It’s not just a plushie, it’s that plushie. Care to explain why you still have it?”

Big Mac looked on his right, then on his left, looking for a way out. The window was closed, and Apple Bloom was in front of the door. He switched for a different tactic, and faked a gasp.

“Holy cider! Look at your flank, you got your cutie mark!”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “It’s been a year we got our cutie mark. I won’t fall for that trick anymore.”

He cursed his brain that had managed to forget his little sister was becoming a grown up mare. In fact, the more she frowned, the more she looked his other sister Applejack. And these eyes were saying she was too old and too smart to buy any half-truth he could think of.

“Fine,” he sighed. “I  decided to keep it after the... incident.”

“Are you sure you really decided, and not still under the influence of that cursed spell?”

Big Mac lowered his head. “I wish.”

His sister didn’t say anything, and he stayed like this for a moment. It’s only after a minute, and after he heard himself sniffing, that he felt a poke on his shoulder.

“Big brother? Are you okay?”

“Eeyup,” he whispered. “It’s just — I don’t know…”

“Tough topic?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Eeyup.”

“And what cousin Orchard Blossom would say about that?”

Big Mac smiled despite himself, and took his high pitched voice. “She’d say stallions shouldn’t be afraid to talk about their feelings.” He heard his sister giggling. At least, that was something he could still do. The idea cheered him up, and when he spoke again, his voice almost didn’t quaver. “I guess I just wanted to feel young again in a way.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

Big Mac went to the window. He opened it and gazed at their orchard. “Do you know that feeling of innocence? The feeling that, no matter what happens, there is always an adult to take care of everything?”

“Kinda, yeah,” replied Apple Bloom from behind. “I always thought you or Applejack would catch me, no matter what.”

“Exactly. I… miss that feeling.,” he said. “When Ma and Pa left us, I had to take care of Applejack, and then, of you. Sure, Granny Smith was here too, but that wasn’t the same. It couldn’t be.”

Big Mac put his head on his hooves. He should have ditched this plushie long ago. Why dwelling on the past when the present was right here, right now? He knew his true place, and it was being the trunk on which the rest of the family could lean on. But still, he missed those days.

The nostalgia was about to overwhelm him when a warm head came to rest on his.

“I know we don’t have much time together, with the farm and all,” said Apple Bloom. “But maybe you could come see us during a cutie mark intervention?  I know that seeing ponies happy makes me happy too. What do you say?”

Big Mac faced his sister. He was so proud of her. She had really grown up so fast; she was already wiser and more mature he could never be, but she had managed to keep the innocence and the ingenuity which always made him feel like a foal.

“Eeyup,” he said with a smile. “I’d like that.”
> The First Time
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Musicians despised wrong notes, and Octavia wasn’t an exception.

She heard the front door slamming, and she winced, both for the damage this poor thing had probably suffered under the violence of her roommate, and for the wrong note the unexpected noise had made her play. And also for Vinyl cursing from the entrance.

“Buck, buck, buck! Buck that weather, and buck these slackers!”

The DJ came into view, and Octavia had to stifle a giggle. Her poor unicorn friend was completely drenched, her usual spiky mane now completely flat and falling on both sides of her head. She also looked quite irked.

“Please, don’t laugh at me,” she groaned. “This day is already shitty as it is.”

“I wouldn’t even think of it,” said Octavia.

“My flank. I know you well, Tavi. Your eyes can’t lie to me,  and they are telling me you’re enjoying the sight of my misery. Can’t you show some compassion for your old buddy?”

Octavia didn’t try to hide her smile this time. “I sympathise, Vinyl, I sympathise, even though I told you to pack an umbrella when you left. If I recall correctly, you told me, and I quote ‘gimme a break, mom’.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Vinyl, rolling her eyes. “You’ve warned me and I didn’t listen. Jokes on me and all that. Can you at least tell me where did you hide our supply of dry towels?”

“In their usual place, dear. Inside the closet of the hallway.”

Vinyl left the living room, and Octavia got back to her practice, closing her eyes.

“You know, Vanhoover’s weather team could learn a thing or two from ours,” said Vinyl from the hall.

Another wrong note. Octavia opened her eyes, and put her cello on its stand. It seemed because her roommate’s plan for today had been ruined, she would have to put hers aside too.

“I guess your show didn’t go as planned?” she asked.

“Not really,” replied Vinyl, coming back in the living room. “They had to cancel it because — what is it?”

If she had easily managed to not laugh the first time, it was harder now. Vinyl had likely dried her coat by hoof, without taking the time to comb it. The result was that her fur had doubled in volume, making her look like a big, cute furry ball. Octavia was fighting her laughter, her cheek blown up by the laughs trying to escape her mouth, and a tear running down her cheek.

“What?” repeated Vinyl.

Vinyl frowning was too much for her. She finally burst, rolling on the floor.

“You should see your face!” she managed to say.

Vinyl left the room once again and came back once she had her coat and her mane in their usual state. While her roommate was away, Octavia had recovered and prepared some tea to make up for her teasing. They both sat on the couch, and Vinyl resumed her story. Her show had been cancelled because they hadn’t enough pegasi to take care of the clouds.

“I swear they don’t care about anything a pony could have planned,” she said. “I mean, come on, we live next to the Everfree Forest, and we only have unexpected weather once or twice a year.”

Octavia smiled. “You’re talking about Rainbow Dash, here. You’re setting the bar a bit high.”

“Probably,” sighed Vinyl. “Just thinking about all the ponies who came to see me, some probably from far away, and knowing that they are probably disappointed right now, it just makes me angry.”

“I understand the feeling, Vinyl, but sometimes, life happens, and you can’t really do anything.”

“Buck it, I’m DJ-PON3. I’ll make up for it, one way or another.” She grabbed her phone. “Hello, Neon? Yeah, I’m fine. Well, I’ll be good if you can warn everypony in Vanhoover that I’ll be there tomorrow for a big outside free performance.”

“Uh, Vinyl?” tried Octavia.

“What? I don’t care, just pick the money from my bank account.”

“Vinyl?”

“Okay, good. Love you, buddy. See you tomorrow.” Vinyl ended the call. “What’s it, Octy?”

“Vinyl, I’m afraid to tell you we have dinner with Princess Twilight tomorrow.”

Vinyl only raised her eyebrow. “And so what? I’m sure she’ll understand. You can even invite her. But tomorrow, I’ll be in Vanhoover.”

Vinyl stood from the couch and hastily went in her room, and came out with a lot of her stuff.

Octavia watched as her friend packed her things, throwing away what she wouldn’t need, completely lost in her world. Once she was done, Vinyl grabbed her luggage and ran for the door, slamming it behind her.

Octavia smiled. Musicians despised wrong notes, and Vinyl wasn’t an exception.
> A Single Moment
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lyra hated waiting. Tapping her hoof on the table, she checked her phone once more. Aside from the twenty-five unanswered call to BonBon, nothing indicated why she was late. The unicorn made another call.

C’mon, you’ve never been that late.

“Hi, you’ve reached Bon Bon’s phone, but unfortunately, I can’t answer now. Leave a message, and I’ll call you back!”

“Bon Bon, for the twenty sixth time, it’s Lyra. And still for the twenty sixth time, I’m waiting for you at the Shining Star. I really do hope you didn’t forget. Please call me back.”

She put her phone back on the table and her head between her hooves.

Bon Bon would never forget their anniversary; she couldn’t, Lyra knew her too well. Usually, she was the one waiting for Lyra, who often missed the time, ending in a wild gallop throughout Ponyville. But this time, Lyra had decided to be there on time, and of course, Bon Bon had to be late.

If she didn’t forget, then it can be because —

Lyra gasped. Bon Bon could be late because she had found somepony else! After all, working again for the Agency probably made her works with other agents, adventurous, strong, brave and beautiful mares, everything Lyra wasn’t. She could clearly picture them, Bon Bon saving her colleague from a pit full of crocodiles, sharp metal spike, and lava, catching her at the last second.

“I got your back,” she would say, with that snarky smirk, for which Lyra always fell.

“You can have the rest,” the other would reply, mirroring her expression.

Then they would find some place safe, they would set a campfire, and because of the near death experience they had lived, her colleague would slowly leaned towards Bon Bon and —

No, her sweetie would never do that to her. Never. Lyra was her one and only special mint, and nothing could change that.

Then what if she couldn’t come because she had been injured? Maybe she fought a venomous beast, and she hadn’t been careful enough. She had been too slow dodging its attack, and the monster had managed to wound her with its sting, or whatever disgusting appendage it had.

She was probably trying to make an antidote with herbs and leaves, using the last remnants of her strength to fight the venom.

But what if she couldn’t find the right ingredients? Maybe it wasn’t the right season, and Bon Bon was living her last moment, too weak to be able to call her. She would have just the will to listen to her voicemail, hoping to at least hear one last word of love from Lyra, but the last thing she would hear would be her angry voice scolding her.

What had she done?

She started to sob on the table when a poke on her shoulder made her raise her head to see a cream-colored star.

“Bonnie?” she choked.

“Sorry, I’m a bit late, I had to — hurrk — Lyra. Can’t. Breath!”

Lyra released her from the bear hug, weeping her tears. “Where were you?”

“Sorry, I had to go get your gift. Wait. Are you crying?”

“Yeah,” Lyra sniffed. “I thought I lost your for good.”

“Lyra, I’m only ten minutes late,” said Bon Bon, rolling her eyes. “What did you imagine this time?”

“Hmm, pretty much everything.”

“I swear your imagination is too vivid for your own good,” said Bon Bon with a smile.

She leaned forward and kissed Lyra on her nuzzle, and with that, Lyra became the happiest mare in Equestria again.
> Look, I Just Want My Sandwich Part1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another Monday, another day of school in Ponyville.

Cheerilee waited for her students to sit before speaking.

“Good Morning, everypony,” she greeted. “I hope you had a good weekend, and you’re all well rest for the week to come. Now, before we start —”

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” she said.

Flurry Heart entered the classroom under the kids’ questioning eyes, trying to smile and look confident as she was told to.

“Good morning, Mrs Cheerilee,” she stuttered.

“Good morning, Flurry,” replied Cheerilee, before turning her to the students. “Class, this is Flurry Heart. She’ll study with us for a few months.” She turned back to the newcomer. “Flurry, could you introduce yourself to the class?”

Flurry Heart nodded, and gulped. She went in front of the teacher’s desk, and she recognised Pound and Pumpkin sitting at the back. They waved, and when Flurry spoke, her voice was more confident, and not because she knew her speech by heart, thanks to her Auntie Twilight.

“Hi, I’m Flurry Heart, and I came to study here in Ponyville for a few months. Mommy and Auntie Twily said it would be better for me to spend some time here with you, far from the Crystal Empire. I hope we can soon be friends.” She tried to smile as bright as she could.

“Very good, Flurry, thank you,” said Cheerilee.

There were whispers among the foals and the fillies before one of them dared to make his voice heard.

“Are you a princess?” he asked.

“N-no, I’m not.”

“But you’re an alicorn,” said another one. “Alicorns are princesses, or maybe it’s the other way around.”

“Wait,” said another another one. “If you’re an alicorn, that means you have powerful magic, right?”

“Maybe?” said Flurry Heart sheepishly.

“Can you show us?”

There were several shouts of approbations, asking for Flurry to do a demonstration of what she was capable of.

“Alright class,” said Cheerilee. “Let’s calm down a bit and let your classmate have some space. I’m sure she simply wants to be treated like anypony else.” At that, Flurry Heart vigorously nodded. “Right. Flurry, go take your sit so that we can start the lessons.”

The young alicorn didn’t waste any time and sat down on the free chair on the second row, between a grey pegasus and a light blue unicorn. The two fillies were giving her odd looks, but she didn’t really pay attention to them, too eager to listen to the lesson.

She took her notebook and a quill from her saddlebag, ready to write down everything Cheerilee would say.

“Today, we will continue our lesson on how to divide numbers, but before we start, can someone tell me how I can tell if a number is divisible by three?”

Flurry Heart immediately raised her hoof.

“Yes, Flurry?”

“A number is divisible by three if the sum of its numbers is also divisible by three,” she recited. “For example, one thousand nine hundred and forty one is divisible by three, because one plus nine plus four plus one equals fifteen, and five plus one equals six.”

“That’s correct, very good,” warmly said Cheerilee. “And what’s the rule for the numbers divisible by five?”

This time, Flurry Heart didn’t raise her hoof.

“A number divisible by five always ends with a zero or a five.”

“Excellent, Flurry. I’m glad to see you so enthusiastic. Now, let’s see together what’s the rule with numbers divisible by eleven.”

Flurry Heart took her quill with her magic and started writing the lesson, oblivious to the death glares her two neighbors were shooting at her.
> Look, I Just Want My Sandwich Part2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell rang, and almost every foal and filly rushed out for the door, the anticipated break finally coming. Flurry Heart put back her stuff carefully into her saddlebag before going to Pound and Pumpkin, still sitting at the back of the classroom.

“Hey, Pumpkin, hey Pound,” she said to the twins.

“Flurry!” they both greeted before exchanging a quick hug with their friend.

“That’s so cool we’re in the same class,” said Pound.

“Totally,” added Pumpkin. “We’re gonna have the best time, and —”

“Flurry,” interrupted Cheerilee. “I know you want to spend some time with your friends, but I’m afraid to tell you these two are in detentions.”

Flurry Heart looked back and forth between her friends and her new teacher.

“Why don’t you go meet your other classmates outside, hmm? You’ll can see them after class.”

With a pang of regret, she left the twins and went outside, grabbing her lunchbox on the way.

Once outside, she looked at all the groups of kids. Some were playing the skipping rope, some with a ball, and several groups were simply chatting. She was wondering which one she should go first, each one promised to be a lot of fun, without taking account meeting her new classmates and befriending them.

However, a deep growl came from her little tummy, and she knew what she needed to do first. She sat on one of the bench, and grabbed from her lunchbox the sandwich Twilight had prepared. She sniffed it: potato bread with mashed peas, her favorite.

She was almost drooling from the delicious lunch she was about to have, when she felt somepony poking at her shoulder. She had barely the time to turn her head and recognised the grey pegasus from earlier, that her sandwich was snatched from her hooves. The snatcher was her other class neighbor.

“So,” said the unicorn, holding Flurry’s sandwich. “You’re the new teacher’s pet.”

Flurry Heart knew exactly what it meant, Auntie Dashie had warned her about this. She had to stay strong if she didn’t want to be their ‘doormat’, as Auntie Dashie had said.

“Give me back my lunch.” She had gathered all the assertiveness she could, but it didn’t prevent her voice from quavering.

“Or what?” said the pegasus. “You’re gonna tell Mommy? I thought princesses were strong and independent mares, but I bet you still wet your bed.”

“I don’t wet my bed,” shouted Flurry Heart, standing from the bench.

“As if,” giggled the unicorn, pushing her back on the bench. “You’re just a cry filly, and you wet your bed at night.” The two fillies singsonged.

Despite all the lectures about violence and its pointlessness, Flurry Heart was thinking more and more about giving these two bullies a first experience of what her magic was capable of. She lit her horn, but before she could cast any spell, two blurry points came from the school at a very high speed. One jumped on the unicorn, and the other on the pegasus behind Flurry Heart, resulting into two messes of screams, kicks, and bites. The alicorn saw her sandwich falling and barely caught it with the magic she had channeled. She then recognised the twins and heard them threatening the two fillies.

“Do that again and I’ll break your horn,” said Pound to the unicorn, his hoof slowly pushing on it.

“Try to lay a hoof on our friend and you won’t fly for a month,” growled Pumpkin to the pegasus, showing all of her teeth.

“Guys! Stop!”

The twins released their prey, who immediately ran away to a safer place.

“What?” asked Pumpkin.

Still frantic, Flurry Heart’s voice was coloured with both relief and anger. “I appreciate what you’ve done! But violence isn’t the solution! What were you thinking, threatening these poor fillies?”

“Poor fillies?” Pound rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right! Said the alicorn who was ready to blast them with whatever powerful spell she could come up with.”

“Yeah,” added Pumpkin. “I said we did them a favor by not letting you turning them into a pile of ashes. We saved their flank and yours.”

The twins hoofbumped,  and Flurry blushed a bit, her heart having finally slowed down. “I swear I've got this, but… thank you.”

The Cakes went to each side of their friend, each one putting a leg on her neck.

“No problem, Flurry” said Pumpkin. “We’ve got your back.”

“With us by your side, nopony will cause you any trouble,” added Pound. “Pinkie Promise.”

Flurry Heart looked at them. “Speaking of troubles, weren’t you supposed to be in detention?”

Suddenly, Cheerilee’s angry voice echoed around the schoolyard. “POUND! PUMPKIN!”

The twins shuddered. “Uh oh.”
> A Matter Of Perspective Part1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie Pie checked one more time that everything was perfect. Cakes? Checked. Music? Checked. Games? Checked. Those three carefully selected to match Twilight’s taste? Checked, checked, and rechecked.

Now it was only a matter of minutes for the guest of honor to arrive, but Pinkie couldn’t hold still, and was bouncing in circle. She was so excited to finally see Twilight again. Three months, three whole months. Every second had felt like an eternity.

Everything needed to be absolutely perfect,

She tried to sit to calm herself, but all she managed to do was shaking. A hoof touched her shoulder. She heard Applejack telling her to not get so worked up.

“Applejack,” she said, taking her friend’s head between her hooves. “How can you not be excited? She is finally back from her honeymoon!”





Applejack put the last barrel of cider on the table when she noticed how Pinkie Pie was almost exploding from excitement. It was time to calm her friend for the sake of everypony’s mental health.

“Alright sugarcube,” she said, putting a hoof on Pinkie to stop her shakes. “There’s no need to get so worked up. Twi is our friend, she won’t get mad if everything isn’t perfect.”

Pinkie babbled a reply, and Applejack giggled. Whatever was the reason for her to go over the top, you pretty soon found that her goal was yours too now.






Rarity heard Applejack calling her. She turned her head to see Twilight had finally arrived.

She was beautiful. Her dress was highlighting her eyes and her tan complexion. Truly these vacations with Flash had did her good.

“Darling, you look absolutely ravishing,” Rarity told her as she greeted her friend with a hug.

Twilight smiled and mumbled some thanks.

Though, something felt a bit off. While Twilight walked to get a drink, Rarity saw that her dress was larger than what she was used to see and sew for her. Twilight was also taking more careful steps, like if she was injured or trying to not get injured. Maybe —

Rarity gasped and almost let out a squeak. Somepony had a big surprise for them.





“Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are deeply sorry they couldn’t come,” said Applejack. “They should come back in two days.”

Twilight said it wasn’t a problem, and Applejack knew she was sincere. Twilight could never hold a grudge against anypony, and that made Applejack glad to be her friend.

However, something felt a bit off. “Speaking of absent ponies, where is Flash?” asked Applejack. “I thought he would be with you.”

“He had… business to take care.”
> A Matter of Perspective Part2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“He had… business to take care.”

Rarity felt her heart sank in her chest. That pause, that small pause could mean many things, but none of them was a good one. Poor thing.

Applejack hadn’t noticed it. Oblivious to her friend’s silent distress, Rarity heard her saying it wasn’t so bad since they would have Twilight only for them.

“Twilight, dear, is everything alright?”

Twilight raised her head, and her smile looked genuine, surprisingly.

“Yes, yes it is. In fact, I have a big surprise for you.”

Since she was sure she had guessed what this was about, Rarity faked surprise.

“What is it?” she asked.

Instead of replying, Twilight lifted her dress to show her round belly.





Pinkie gasped. Her friend Twilight is having a baby. A baby!

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Twilight, that’s like the best thing ever! You, a mother! Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh!”

Overjoyed, she fired her party cannon. She had to, otherwise she would have literally exploded.

A baby, a new baby was about to come in their life. Even though she was still caring for the twin Cakes, they were older now, and Pinkie missed a bit the days when they were just two cute little balls of fur.

She joyfully bounced for a moment, oblivious to the rest of the world, before Applejack and Rarity’s voices deflated what should have been a moment of bliss.

“What I’m hearing is a rotten bale of hay. A father’s place is right next to his kin, not somewhere far away where he can hide like a coward.”

“Applejack! Flash Sentry is our friend! If he needs some time to clear his head, we have to respect that.”

“That doesn’t make a lick of sense. And as long as he acts like that, he can cross my name from his friend list.”

“Girls,” tried Twilight.

Pinkie was watching the argument, too astonished to dare intervene.

“Do you hear yourself here?”

“I can hear myself clearly. Flash is going to be a father, no matter what he believes. And he better be ready to be one sooner than later, before I find him to put some sense into his featherbrain.”

“GIRLS!”

This time, Twilight’s shout was able to stop them. She looked angry, and she kept shouting at them. All of this because Applejack and Rarity couldn’t simply celebrate the happy event.

Pinkie felt some tears coming down her cheeks as she watched everypony else leaving the party. The silence that followed was weighing on her heart.

A baby, Twilight was having a baby. She was about to live one of the greatest joy in a pony’s life, and it had brought so much hardship.

Without anything else to do, Pinkie started tidying the room, keeping her mind busy from that tragic paradox she didn’t want to understand.
> Like The World Is Ending
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

People often hated Mondays in general, but Sunset Shimmer hated mornings specifically.

She groaned as she turned in her bed. She wanted to go back to sleep. It was Sunday, no one needed her, and she needed nobody and nothing, except to have a lie-in. She hid her head below her pillow, but the half-past-eleven Sun was too bright for the little piece of bedding to protect her from the light.

Accepting defeat, Sunset rose from the bed and resigned herself to getting prepared for the day to come. Or what was left of it.

First thing first, she needed music if she wanted to accomplish any of her routine task. An angry finger pushed the power button of the radio set, but it refused to turn on. Even a whole fist didn’t convince it.

Curse you, you damn cheap piece of garbage!

That old thing was still battery operated. Sunset tried to look for some in her drawers, but found none.

She resigned once again, and went to the store to buy new ones, but not before having loudly cursed and kicked several pieces of furniture. She put a jacket, not caring for the probable horrid smell the customers and the cashier would have to endure.

Inside the supermarket, she quickly found a batch of four batteries. She checked that they were the ones her radio set needed, and went for the checkout. And she groaned again. There were five people before her, and of course, only one checkout was open. She clenched her fists, ready to literally tore out  anyone’s throat reckless enough to even open their mouth.

She calmed herself by humming her favorite songs, the ones she should have been listening to right now. It worked well enough that Sunset closed her eyes, forgetting the rest of the world.

After the twelfth song, she opened them and almost gasped. Only one customer had successfully passed the checkout.

It was a nightmare, a horrible, painful nightmare. She would wake up any second now.

Any second now.

But she didn’t. She pinched herself, but the pain was real, even though it was nothing compared to the existential dread she was living through.

She glanced at the other waiting customers, looking for something in their eyes that would tell her she wasn’t alone in this, some empathy or acknowledgement, a small flicker of hope that would say “It’s okay, it will be tough, but in the end, we’ll get out of here”. There was nothing. Their eyes were dark, bottomless wells, opened on emptiness. She understood she couldn’t expect anything from these servile sheeps, completely devoted to the almighty god of consumerism. It was too late for them, even the two children in front of her had already been corrupted.

She wanted to scream, to warn any empathic being about the situation, warn them to flee before —

“Miss, I’m opening.”

Sunset looked on her right and thanked every god of this world, Equestria, and any other universe for their mercy. She ran for the newly opened checkout and gave the batch of batteries to the old lady.

“I’d like to buy only two batteries, please,” Sunset told her.

“Can’t you see they are sold in four?” replied the lady, exasperated. “It will be four dollars.”

Sunset’s eye twitched. “I’m sorry, but I know my rights. And there isn’t any single law forcing me to buy four batteries when I only need two.” She put two dollars in front of her, and repeated her request.

“Well, if you take it like that, I’m calling my boss.”

“Mister Richard,” she yelled on the cheap microphone in front of her, her voice filled with all of her dull life’s dissatisfaction. “Mister Richard, there’s a problem with a customer!”

Sunset wanted to punch the lady, and she almost wished she was an evil creature from Equestria so she could blast her with some Harmony. She remembered the guidelines of that same Harmony and patiently waited for her boss. After a minute, Sunset saw a plump man coming to them, an unctuous smile on his lips.

“What’s the problem?” he asked.

Sunset explained him she wanted to buy only two batteries, that she was in her right, and that his employee had refused to acknowledge her yet simple request.

The little man, who had probably dealt with many angry customers before, simply took two batteries from the batch, and gave them to Sunset in exchange of two dollars. At the sight of the dumbfounded cashier, Sunset felt her heart getting filled with joy and satisfaction. She still forgave the old lady. After all, that's what Friendship was about, right?

She left the store with the other customers’ cheers, probably woken up by Sunset’s grand gesture. They could have hope, they weren’t powerless.

When she got back home, Sunset, satisfied, open the small hatch behind her radio set, in order to insert the two batteries inside.

She stared at four slots!
> End Of An Era
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The atmosphere was dry, and Neigh Digger’s throat was burning.

One hoofstep at a time. Put one hoof in front of the other, and don’t think further.

He had repeated these sentences to himself for a week now. The desert seemed endless, no sign of any living creatures nor plant. Only rocks, dust and the wind biting his skin, scorching during the day and freezing at night.

The Sun had set for a couple of hours, and the stars were clearly visible in the sky. They were the only landmarks Neigh Digger could rely on. He glanced at them now and then, just to check he was walking in the right direction, before looking back to the ground, the only sight he had for the past week, his hooves sometimes coming into the picture.

At some point, he stopped to take a sip of water from his flask. Too exhausted to trust his magic, he grabbed it from his saddlebag, and let it drop when he saw a pony shaped shadow coming to him.

It had to be an illusion, a mirage. Nopony was stupid enough to wander the desert alone, unless they had a very good reason, like vital intelligence about the enemy force. The pony couldn’t be real, and yet, mirages didn’t make clop sounds.

Neigh Digger watched the pony coming closer. The pony was a mare, and she was... mesmerizing. Her dark mane was gently flowing in the freezing wind, her green eyes deeply looking at him, like if she was judging him, unraveling his soul. Surprisingly, she didn’t look like the cold was bothering her. And she had both a horn and wings.

That’s it, I’m going crazy.

She couldn’t be real, alicorns were only a myth, goddesses of the old tales. The thirst and the exhaustion were tricking his mind. Soon enough, he would be lying down, waiting for the Sun to roast his old carcass.

“Who’s your foes, and why do you fight them?” she asked once she was close.

Neigh Digger stared at her. “What?” he stuttered.

The mare smiled. “Do you have some water to spare? I’m a bit thirsty.”

Neigh Digger looked at his flask on the ground. If he wanted to cross this unwelcoming land, he couldn’t waste his supply. And yet, he still took it and gave it to her.

“Thank you,” she said, gulping the whole content to the last drop.

She threw the flask away and repeated her first question. “Who are you fighting? And why?”

“I… fight for my kind, and because I can.”

“Do you think it’s a right cause?”

“I don’t think so,” he said after a moment. “But it’s mine. It may not be the same for other ponies, but it’s mine. And it’s not like ponies needed a reason to fight and kill their brothers.”

The mare tilted her head, looking confused by his response. She then looked at the sky.

“Look, I really need to deliver these informations, it’s crucial. It could save thousands lives.”

“By taking hundred’s’?” she snapped, scolding. “Choosing the lesser evil?”

Neigh Digger rolled his eyes. “As appealing this conversation sounds, I won’t delve into that field, especially with somepony who’s probably not even real.”

He started walking, but before he could pass her, she suddenly stopped him, putting her hoof on his chest.

“Have faith and trust in me,” she said.

Her horn glowed, soon followed by her hoof. Neigh Digger watched as light and warm were filling his heart. Deep inside his soul, he felt the happiest and the most tragic revelation his simple mind couldn’t understand.

“There is no strength in numbers. Have no such misconceptions,” she added.

Tears were running down his cheek. She was sadly smiling, like if she was bearing all the pain in Equestria, without any hope for a brighter future. Neigh Digger wished he could reassure her, tell her something greater was to come, but it would have been a lie. What did he know, him, a simple soldier?

He didn’t know how long they stayed like this, with him crying for all the evils that had been, that were, and that would be, and with her, still able to found pity and forgiveness for an unworthy race. At some point, the light vanished, and the mare disappeared into the darkness.

Neigh Digger watched her leaving with a heavy heart, his mind now clear for the first time in his life. He couldn’t resign himself to finish his mission now, nor to die for a greater good. He felt he had to act, but he didn’t know how.

“You’re not alone,” echoed her voice in the night.

The ground shook and the earth cracked under his hooves. He fell, screaming for his life unfolding before his eyes.

Neigh Digger suddenly woke up, sweat dripping his head. He was alive, it was just a dream. He had probably closed his eyes for a second and fell asleep without noticing.

It was still dark, and even though his sleep shouldn’t have lasted long, he was feeling well-rested. Shaking his head, he grabbed his saddlebag and put on his back, when he noticed his flask was open on the ground. He took it. It was empty.

You dumbass, he scolded himself. Stupid oblivious pony. How are you gonna finish the mission now?

At this thought, he felt his heart sinking in his chest. It didn’t sound right. He still resumed his walk, determined to at least get out of this hell. If he was on the right way, he would find a small town tomorrow.


Unicornia’s military high command waited a month for Neigh Digger to come back with the intelligence. When they didn’t see him reappear, he was simply declared ‘missing in action’.