> Living Elements of Harmony: Neo Elements
>  by Intellect Stretcher
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The New Prodigy (Prologue)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Princess Celestia is taking a stroll through the Canterlot gardens thinking about the new student she is going to have today. Just yesterday Celestia had registered Twilight Sparkle to become her personal protege. 

Of course she had met young unicorns with a special talent with magic before, but only rarely and not at all like Twilight Sparkle. 

She stops at a bench in the middle of the garden aside a fountain. She thinks back to yesterday.

“What was that energy? That was no power of an ordinary unicorn.” She thinks quietly out loud to herself. A small purple bird has stopped to perch next to her on the bench. Celestia welcomes its presence.

As she looks at the peaceful bird she thinks, “I wonder if there’s more to Twilight Sparkle than just her magical abilities.” Celestia let out her hoof and the bird perched up on it, the princess goes back to her thoughts “Twilight’s power that she released when she went out of control…..  Maybe-” her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a voice and the bird flew away as it too was surprised.

“Princess Celestia, I ‘m sorry to have interrupt you but your new student is here,” a royal guard spoke as he bowed. Celestia seemed as though she wasn’t paying attention to him; she was looking at the bird as it flew away.

“Alright, then take me to her.” She didn’t turn her head to face him; she only moved her eyes to look at him.

They both strolled out of the gardens, the guard leading the way. Celestia was thinking to herself as they walked. “I guess we’ll have to see,” she thought.

----------

“You should really honor this moment of your life,” General Cyclone said. He was escorting Twilight to where she will begin her training along with two other guards. “Rarely has anyone gained the privilege of being the princess’s student.” 

Twilight, who was walking closely behind, said, “I know how much of a privilege this is. I‘m not gonna lie, I ‘am pretty nervous.” However she was also very excited.

“Ya, I remember when I first got the job as one of the princess’s generals,” General Cyclone looked back at the little filly when he continued to speak, “it feels exciting but also nervous, but believe me... you’re going to feel something else when you’re in her presence.”

Twilight wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, but she kept herself from giving a confused look. As they continue walking, she couldn’t help but imagine what it is she’ll be learning and doing here. After all this the Canterlot castle with Princess Celestia; not even the special prep school can match for what will be taught here. 

What was even more unbelievable is that they sent The General Cyclone to pick her up. She instantly recognized him when he knocked on the door of her home, his bright blue coat and solid blue spiky mane with red eyes. Not only that but also his white cutie mark of a cyclone with a black center. She wondered if she’ll meet anyone else. She was just glad that she made it her duty to read up on everything about the ruler of Equestria; that included her generals. If she hadn't then she would most likely have offended somepony by not recognizing their status.

A bit of walking later they reached the ‘training room’. The doors to it were made of pure silver and are several times bigger than even the general. In fact General Cyclone had to stand on his hind legs and push open the doors with his front hooves to open it. When the doors opened it revealed a white and very large empty stadium; a pink and red figure was visible in the distance.

Twilight had to narrow her eyes to just barely get a clear vision. “Is that… The Princess?” Twilight gasped as she just got a little more nervous. The princess stood at the far side of the room talking to an all red mare, and boy were they far away. Cyclone nodded in response to Twilight’s question, and with a smile he flew up ahead toward the princess. Twilight watched as the three talked.

“Why am I so nervous?” Twilight thought, “I’ve been in her presence before; even spoken to her.” Before she could come up with a way to calm herself, she saw that the three suddenly turned to look at her. Cyclone came back flying with the same smile.

“Good luck, kid,” he said as he was leaving the room and taking the two guards with him. Twilight was looking back at the door as it was closing; she didn’t want it to close. When she finally turned back to be ready to walk to the princess she was instantly surprised by a towering figure.

“Eeeep!” Twilight squealed in fright and fell back. The figure turned out to be the red mare that Cyclone was talking to not a moment ago. How could she have gotten this close this fast? She didn’t even here any hoof steps.  

“Oh, sorry if I scared you there,” the mare giggled. Her voice sounded young and tomboyish. “Don’t feel bad, that gets even Cyclone at times.” She continued her giggles with a nice smile.

Twilight started to slowly get back up, but was stalled with her sudden gasp of disbelief. She knew who this pony was but just couldn’t believe it. The bright cherry coat, red and pink mane, the blue eyes that oppose the rest of her and the dark red cutie mark of a red star were all unmistakable. 

“I know you; you’re the famous Maroon Mars, also known as Red Star!” The little lavender filly squealed like a crazed fan girl. 

“Oh, so you’ve heard of me?” Red Star leaned the front half of her body to be at eye level with the filly. 

“Heard of you? You’re my idol!” Twilight started to jump up and down. “Who else can achieve being the Arch Mage and one of Celestia’s generals and being The Best Magic User EVER?!”

“Well I’m not much for boasting.” The mare’s smile grew. “But it’s nice to know that Twilight Sparkle admires me.”

“Y-you know who I’ am!?” The ecstatic filly gasped an unbelievable amount of air.

“Well everyone knows who you are.” The mare got back to standing at her normal stance. “Very rarely does anyone get to become Celestia’s student, and never have they been as young as you.”

“Well I can see you two are getting along nicely.” The excitement sparked between the two suddenly stopped.

Both Twilight and Mars turned to face the new voice and were suddenly reminded that they weren’t alone. Twilight felt nervous again; she completely forgot about where she actually was.

“Yep, I like her already.” Mars spoke with the same tone as she did with Twilight and didn’t even bow, as if Celestia’s status as ‘princess’ doesn’t mean anything to her. Twilight found it disrespectful; however Celestia didn’t seem to mind the red mare.  

“Twilight Sparkle.” The echoes of the princess’s sudden address made Twilight shake. “It’s good to see you again.”

“I-it’s good to see you too, Princess.” She leaned herself to bow. “And I have to say, it’s an honor to be here as your student.” She even spoke in a formal tone. The immediate reaction to Twilight’s formality was Maroon Mars giggling and trying to suppress her laughter.

“There’s no need to be so formal with the princess, Twilight.” Mars spoke as Twilight rose from her pose. “It’s not like we’re hiring soldiers.”

Celestia spoke next. “Indeed, in fact I find it to be my honor to be teaching somepony with immense potential, such as yourself.”

“I agree.” 

Twilight suddenly didn’t feel as anxious as before. “Oh, well I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good, now that we got that out of the way, Mars mind taking the lead?”

“Gladly.” Mars gave a grin and walked in front of Twilight and Celestia stepped back. “Twilight Sparkle, welcome to your training area!”

“Training area?” Twilight was confused. “This is just a large empty stadium.”

“Incorrect. This is a simulation room.” Mars corrected.

“Simulation?” She seemed even more confused.

“Yes, this room is made of special matter that is of pure magic. I’ am able to use my own magic to manipulate that matter’s physical form and capabilities, thus making a virtual simulation room.”

“I’ve never heard of such a matter.”

“That’s because we keep its existence secret from the public. It is very dangerous when used incorrectly and is nearly impossible to find. Also I’m the only one who knows how to control it properly.”

Twilight seemed a bit skeptical. “Then why are you telling me all this? Aren’t you afraid I’ll reveal this or something?”

Mars giggled before speaking again. “Silly. If we didn’t trust you then you wouldn’t even be this close to the Princess or even the castle. Also no one would ever believe you if you were to tell.”

“Oh okay then…” Twilight wanted to try to change the subject. “So what is it I’ll do today?”

Celestia spoke next, “Today we’ll see what your magic strength and range is as well as see what level you are in magic. The way we will teach you magic is this: to see your actual ability in magic you will train in this simulation room with Maroon here; for studying, learning and to increase your knowledge, you will have private sessions with me. Understood?”

“Understood.” Twilight’s anxiety was now completely gone and left only excitement. 

“Good, now how about we start by seeing how much you know.” Mars said with a wide smile.

“Very well I’ll be seeing you in two hours for lunch; then we can move on to tutoring.”

As Celestia was about to leave out the door she looked back and smiled at the little filly. She had never had such a young student; her potential is also far beyond any expectation. The doors closed and she was gone.

“So what are we going to do first Ms. Mars?” Twilight looked up with the innocent look of a little filly.

“Please, no need to be so formal with the name. Call me Red or Red Star.” She couldn’t help but smile at the lavender filly. She wasn’t one for teaching but knew the basics and how to use kindness with the little ones. “Well let’s get started.”

----------  

The tutoring for the day is done. Right now Celestia and Mars are waving goodbye to Twilight as she walks out of the castle with her parents. Once she was out of sight and they both went back inside, they both looked at each other; Red was the first to speak.

“She is SO CUTE!” Red Star squealed while she cupped her cheeks to squeeze them. “And I almost died when she started to hop up and down! Simply ADORABLE!”

“Well, I’ve never seen you act like this before.” The princess started to walk toward her office; Red shortly following. 

“Aw, tell me you’re holding back, I mean did you see those eyes?!” 

“Yes she is very young and little, but you should learn to have more control.” She looked back and smiled at Red. “After all I’m sure you were just like that once.”

“Ya, but so were you.” Red said with a grin. 

“Anyway back to serious talk, what level in magic does Twilight score in?”

“She scores a level of 2.42! Talk about prodigy; no wonder her special talent is magic.”

“So do you think it’s possible if she is…. You know” Celestia hesitated to speak out in the open. Thankfully Red catches her meaning.”

“She could be, we’ll just have to keep going at this training thing.” They reach Celestia’s private study and went inside. “So how is she doing with her studies with you?”

“She learns and understands magic faster than I first expected.” She took a seat in her office chair. “I’ve never seen anything like it before.” 

Before anything else can be said there was a knock on the door.

“You can come in Cyclone.” Red said as she found a seat on the side of the room. Cyclone came in and sat down in the seat on the side opposite to Red.

“So how did it go?” he said with a smile.

“She has a magic level of 2.42, and she is excelling in her learning skills” Celestia answered.

“Is 2.42 good?” Cyclone seemed confused; he didn’t know much about magic and unicorns.

“Most students at our prep school don’t get into the 2’s until their second to third year in advanced courses.” Red answered to give the general some perspective. 

“So does that mean that she is…” before he could finish he was interrupted by Red.

“We’re not sure. We need to keep tutoring her to see if she is or isn’t or if something else is going on.” The room got quiet for a few seconds. But then Celestia spoke.

“Then we’ll wait for tomorrow then.” Celestia rose from her seat. “I didn’t expect results on the first day, but now I expect then any day now. I’m certain I don’t need to tell both of you why this is important.”

“Of course not, Princess.” The two generals spoke in unison.

“You two are dismissed.”

The two generals stood up and walked out of the room.

Celestia was now alone in the room and she turned to look at the moon. Something is weighing deep in her mind. “I really hope we’ve found them.” She whispered to herself as she continued her gaze on the moon.

She turned her chair back to her desk and levitated a blank scroll and an ink pot with a quill. She remained there writing down her notes and thoughts. “No matter what the time will come; in fact I even know when. But I worry if I’m prepared when it does.” She thought this as she wrote it down.
  







  
        

> An Entity (Prologue)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Yes, this is still part of the prologue. But don't worry; the prologue ends at this chapter and the rest of the story begins after.**


“Okay, now focus this time.” Red Star softly said to Twilight, who at the moment is concentrating on the open white field. 

“Okay I’m ready.” Twilight said without moving even her eyes off focus.

Without warning Red’s horn started to glow red and the room started to throw discs in rows of five from the floor and walls simultaneously. Twilight immediately reacted to the first disc and started to shoot at them to destroy them. They exploded when they were hit but when the debris got to the ground it was consumed into it. After several more rounds of discs, they stopped and Twilight felt slightly tired but didn’t care.

“Nice work, you barely missed a single one.” Red went to pat the filly’s head. 

“Thanks, so what do we do now?” 

“Hmm…” Red actually thought about this; they have been training with mostly the same routine for the past few days. And throughout it she noticed Twilight was urging for a challenge; she sore through what Red had to offer with ease. What’s more is that Red wanted some results as much as the princess, so she’ll make it happen.

“Mmm, we could try something a bit harder.” Red noticed the lavender filly’s eyes light up as soon as she finished speaking. She was more excited for things that will challenge her abilities. Red liked that about her. “That is if you’re up for it.”

“I’m up for it! Let’s do something harder!” She started to jump again.

“Well I’m glad you are.” Red tried her hardest to resist the cuteness of the little filly right there; luckily she was able to and simply smiled. “But before we start there are things that you must recognize about magic.”

“Recognize…?” Twilight seemed confused and stopped jumping. “What do you mean?”

“Most ponies even the ‘wisest’ of wizards assume that magic is something that is simple to assume power from; and that the power needed for every spell is the same for every magic user. That is an obscene theory.” She seemed to have put extra emphasis on ‘wise’. Twilight sat down to get comfortable; this was a valuable lesson that will change her view on magic for sure. “What most scholars and zealots can’t understand is that magic from ponies is not a given factor of life. It is something that varies very differently with everypony; magical power and capabilities depend on the pony’s personality, imagination, and other mental traits.” Red got closer to Twilight and placed her front hoof on the filly’s chest. “So basically it comes from within you, and not books and study.” She finished off with a wide smile. 

Twilight was in complete awe; eyes widened and jaw dropped. She had never heard such a wise stance on magic; such philosophy. She just gained several more reasons why Maroon Mars is her idol and hero. 

“So you think you’re up for it?” Red asked awaiting an answer from the small prodigy. She knew that she will be able to easily understand and recognize that simple fact of magic. She knew because Twilight was not like most of the unicorns she had met; she was a very young prodigy and sometimes children understand more than what even the wisest of ponies can’t.

“You bet I ‘am!” Twilight quickly switched her expression to a big grin, and so did Red.

“Good, now let’s get to work.”

“What are we going to do?” 

“Well since you think you’re ready for something a bit more difficult…” She suddenly used a teleport spell to get several meters away from Twilight. But there was something off with the teleport spell. Twilight thought that teleport spells made a noise; in fact they did. But this one didn’t. She figured it was because Red is just that good with spell that she can manipulate even their side effects. 

“Wait is that how she sneaked up behind me a few days ago when we met?” Twilight thought. “Probably.” She decided in her head.  

“You’re going to have to fight me in a magic duel!” Red looked excited for this. However Twilight didn’t find the situation as much.

“WHAT?!?!” Twilight was not only incredibly shocked but also terrified. No matter how much potential and a prodigy she may be, she was absolutely no possible match for The Maroon Mars. “What are you talking about?! I can’t possibly last fighting YOU!!”

“Relax, we aren’t gonna fight for reals.” Red assured. “We’re just gonna be playing a simple game.” 

“A game?” Now Twilight had no idea for what to expect.

“But before I can start to explain the rules, I have to know if you are able to use your magic as a Ray of Malice.”

“Y-yes… but I never use it.”

“I can see why; it is considered combat magic after all. And a dangerous one at that.” Red noticed that Twilight looked a bit unsure about this. “Don’t worry about it,” Red spoke in soft and caring voice, “if anything were to go wrong I’ll be sure we’re both safe.” Twilight looked back at the mare’s blue eyes; she knew she can trust her.

“Alright, so how does the game work?” Twilight quickly got her confidence back. Red grinned at her excitement

“At the same time we will both blast our magic ray so they both hit in the center of the space between us.” She started to do hoof jesters as she continued her explanation. “The object of the game for you is to see how long you can last and how much of my power it takes to overpower yours.” Twilight started to wince, but Red spoke again to assure her. “Don’t worry I’ll use only JUST enough to overpower you and you won’t be harmed. I’ll even put up force fields to protect you if something were to go wrong.”

“Wait is this meant to see how strong I’am in magic?” Twilight asked.

“Well you catch on quickly.”

“How is that more difficult than what we’ve already been doing?”

“Because, like I said, I’ll be slowly increasing my power to beat you and in return you do the same so I can see how strong you are when you use ALL of your power. Not only is it difficult because you’re trying to beat the best magic user in existence, but also because it is very dangerous if you refuse to use your focus and all your will into your attack.” 

“Then are you sure that I’ll….” She started to look unease.

“Don’t worry, everything will be fine. I will never let you get hurt.” Red spoke in the same gentle voice she did before, but it still got Twilight’s trust.

“Okay…. Let’s do this.” Her expression quickly turned into one of confidence and determination.

“Now remember my words: focus and use your imagination.” Both of them changed their stances for the attack they’ll both use. Both lowered the front half of their bodies to point their horns at the other. Without warning Red Star shouted, 

“NOW.” 

And they both blasted their magic at the same time. 

The two separate rays, one of purple and one of red, met at the center and were consistent to push the other to their source. Twilight had her eyes nearly shut as she focused her power to the maximum, whilst Red had them wide open and didn’t seem hindered by Twilight. Red was keeping track on how Twilight was doing and how much energy is being used by both of them. For a few moments the rays stayed in the middle, but then the red ray started to overcome the purple and moved forward towards its source. Twilight was thinking and bringing everything she can to this, she couldn’t believe the energy that was pushing against her; she wasn’t sure how long she’ll last. 

“Come on!” Twilight thought, “Y-you have to do this!!” The purple ray started to push the red ray further away and moved slowly toward Red Star. 

“She’s doing much better than I thought.” Red thought; she raised her eye brows slightly in response. “But let’s keep at this until one of us is overpowered.” Red’s magic started to move back in place in the middle.

“I have to give it my all.” Twilight continued to push herself past her limits. “Remember what she told you: magic comes from within the pony’s self and that it comes from a pony’s imagination!” Twilight was sweating profusely and had her eyes tight shut. “Come on! Inner self! Imagination!” 

The red magic was getting very close to Twilight, and Red was preparing to summon force fields to protect Twilight from her magic.

“Well I guess this is her limit.” She started to set up force fields around Twilight and was ready to close them as soon as her ray got too close to Twilight. “Well you are very strong; that I’am sure about.” Right when Red Star was going to close the shields on Twilight to protect her from her ray, there was a sudden disturbance.

Red Star gasped as she sensed an enormous amount of power and energy. The force fields shattered when she sensed the energy and suddenly Twilight’s magic ray moved at high speeds, pushing away Red’s ray and moving towards her. Red Star stopped it with her power just in time as it was inches away from touching her and she herself was pushed several inches away. “What the…. This power….. What in Celestia is going on!?” Until now, she hadn’t noticed that Twilight was glowing a circle of purple aura that surrounded her entire body. What was more shocking is that she didn’t even seem conscious. Her eyes were blank white and she had no expression on her face. It was just like when she first went out of control back in the school. “What’s happening?!” Red said out loud. “Twilight!”

The situation was growing dire and Red wasn’t sure of what to do. “I-I have to suppress her power! But this force is too great, how do I do it without accidentally hurting her?”

As both of them remained in a standstill, both of their powers were increasing to overcome the others. 

But then Red realized something: this power and energy coming from Twilight is not Twilight. 

This is a completely different entity that Red is dealing with. Once Red figured out that little fact, “I got it,” she knew exactly what to do. “I just hope I’m right…” almost knew what to do. 

Red Star stood up on her hind legs, still keeping the magic ray in place, and widened her arms and spread them out in opposite directions. From her arms glowed a faint red aura, much like a horn would, and then she summoned a red sphere surrounding both of them with an extra few meter radius. However she also placed a semi-sphere behind Twilight and from them came out long rope like chains that held Twilight’s front legs up and had her standing on her hind legs. However this didn’t seem to affect the purple magic ray that Twilight and Red were sparring with. 

Before anything else could happen, Celestia, Cyclone, and about a dozen guards came storming in from the training room’s doors. They all came to witness the intense scene for themselves; they seemed to be more than just surprised. In fact Celestia seemed to be the most disoriented; she was the only one able to sense the impossible amount of energy coming from both Red Star and Twilight Sparkle. 

“Maroon Mars!” Celestia shouted to try to get the red mare’s attention. “What is going on?! What happened here and what are you doing!?” Celestia made it clear in her voice that she wanted her answer now. 

“S-something went horribly wrong!” Red Star tried to not move her eyes away from Twilight. “Twilight is going out of control, and releasing an incredible amount of p-power; I have to suppress before something else goes wrong!” Red went to look into the princess’s eyes for just a moment. “In fact, don’t you feel it? This isn’t Twilight Sparkle at all! This is something else entirely; it just came from Twilight is all!!” Red quickly turned her attention back to the filly that the power came from.

Celestia gasped when she realized that what Red Star said was true. That power is a different entity all together. But the sense of it originates from Twilight herself. What is this? 

“What do you plan to do?” Celestia was worried of what the answer might be.

“I’m going to try to remove the entity and… possibly trap it!” Red then used her magic to summon a circle that looked like a rune or a seal. The circle lay vertically in between her and Twilight and where their rays of magic met became the center of the magic circle. Red started to increase her magic’s strength which caused her red ray to move closer to Twilight. Celestia knew what she was going to do and she went to prepare for it.

“Everyone get out!” Celestia shouted the direct order as she herself flew to the door. “General Cyclone I want you to assemble your troops all over the castle’s perimeter.”

“Yes princess.” He gave a hoof gesture to his troops to do what was ordered; then he turned his head back to Celestia. As soon as the soldiers left he spoke, “So what is going on exactly?” They both were standing in between the unclosed doors.

“A powerful entity has been born inside Twilight Sparkle; its energy is going out of control and Red Star is trying to suppress it and remove the entity.” It was obvious that she was very worried about what will happen to her pupil; she started to shake a little bit. Cyclone noticed this but wasn’t sure if he could be of any use in this situation.

“So… what do we do now?”

“I’m not sure.” She turned her head to face the scene again. “Right now we need to let Red Star do this; we’ll give support when it’s needed.” The two remained standing there and watch. They both hated being useless and standing there doing nothing; but they had no choice.

“Come on Now!” Red Star was struggling to be careful with her timing; she really didn’t want to discharge her ray before Twilight was secure. The red ray of magic carrying the seal was getting closer and closer to Twilight. “Alright come on!” The seal eventually got to the semi-sphere that surrounded Twilight and closed it. When it closed in it glowed red and chains came from it to wrap around her. The effects were immediate, for at that moment Twilight started to scream and resist. To the sudden screams, Celestia and Red winced; they couldn’t stand the thought of harming such a young filly.

“Come on, get it out!” Red was getting inpatient; she needed the entity removed from Twilight before it destroys her. As she continues the struggle, progress finale shows when the seal’s chains start to pull out something from Twilight’s body. “That’s it! That’s the powerful force!” As the chains pulled the force out more and more, Twilight’s screams lessened. Once the chains pulled out the entity completely, Twilight almost instantly passed out and collapse to the ground. What was left standing was a purple figure made of smog and visible energy. It quickly took the shape of a full grown stallion; it was even using its own ‘horn’ to keep at the magic ray battle. Red Star started to become horrified at its power.

“I have to get her out of here.” Red and Celestia gazed at the unconscious body of their student and planned to act fast. Celestia flew towards the scene and Red tried to think of a way to get Twilight out of there. She quickly came up with something as soon as she noticed her magic force fields and even the seal start to shatter. 

“Celestia!” Red nearly screamed; she was struggling and needed the princess’s attention. Celestia stopped at her place only a few meters away from the scene of power. “I’m going to put all my shields down for just a moment; you have to use that time to get Twilight out of here!”

“What do you plan to do?” Celestia was clearly worried for not just her new student, but also her old friend. 

“I’m going to try to seal this thing away! Or die trying!” 

Celestia eyes widened, “What? No you can’t!” 

“I have made my decision and you have to get out as well!” She turned to face Celestia; both their eyes watery. “Get ready…. Now!!” 

All at once the all the magic Red has summoned has vanished except for the magic ray. Immediately Celestia used a teleportation spell to take Twilight into her arms; once she was in the princess’s arms she used teleport to get back to the door of the room. As soon as they were away, Red went back to focus on the powerful entity in front of her. The entire time they both had their magic rays wrestling each other. “Dammit, I can’t re-summon my force fields; its power will just consume them.” But Red still felt that it was time to end it and so did the entity.

“Do something! Why don’t you end this?” Red wanted something to happen instead of just having to endlessly stand in the same position using the same magic. She got just what she wanted when the purple ray became twice as strong and started to get closer to her. “That’s it!” Suddenly using her right hoof Red Star summoned three red spears just above her and gave a wide grin. “I’m bored, let’s end this with a bang!” As she threw her arm down to point at the entity, it was revealed that those spears were meant for long distance bombing. A bright storm of energy came from the explosion. 

Celestia made it just in time to summon a force field to protect herself, Twilight, and General Cyclone. She was struggling a little bit; the force coming from the explosion radiated so much energy and power. It was even started to put cracks on the princess's magic. 

The explosion eventually stopped and after the dust started to clear, it was revealed that a hole was blown clear through the ceiling and debris continued to fall. There were guards immediately searching the area as they came through the hole in the roof.

“Take Twilight Sparkle to a medic, that’s an order General Cyclone.” Celestia seemed almost angry with her tone.

“Y-yes Princess.” Cyclone immediately took Twilight to where she needed to be taken. Meanwhile Celestia went inside the destroyed room to find her other general.

Not far from where she last saw her, Celestia found Red Star coughing and breathing heavily on the ground. “Red Star!” Celestia quickly ran toward her. “Are you alright?” 

Red Star started to get up as she spoke, “Y-yes, you know me; I felt worse during training with you.” She almost lost balance when she stood up. “But I guess I’am a bit bruised.”

“What happened? How are you still fine after that?” Celestia held on to Red to make sure she doesn’t loss balance and fall.
For the first few moments Red didn’t answer until she smiled and pointed at her horn. “Last minute force field.” Before Celestia could speak, she was interrupted by Red’s sudden change in mood. “I’m sorry, I failed you.… I let that thing escape!” Red turned to face the ground and tightened her eyes; she had never failed like that before and didn’t know how her old mentor would react. 

Celestia smiled and lifted Red’s head to look at her. “That doesn’t matter right now. The power of that entity surpassed all of us, even me. I’m just happy that it didn’t decide to do what it could have easily done.” Red looked into the purple eyes of the princess and saw the kindness you would only see from a mother. However the moment was ruined by Cyclone coming in from nowhere. 

“Princess, Twilight Sparkle is safe; she didn’t get seriously injured and should be fine.” The princess didn’t seem to mind the interruption; meanwhile no one seemed to notice Red glaring at Cyclone.  

“That’s excellent.” Said the princess.

----- 

It is midnight and the halls of the castle are dark and empty except for a red coated mare walking about them. Red is walking towards Princess Celestia’s private study. However she is feeling a little unrest since the incident and is thinking carefully about it.

“That thing… it was far stronger than any imaginable being… it could have very easily kill Twilight, me, and even the princess with a single move.” She stopped and leaned at a corner where two hallways cross. “And yet it didn’t… in fact…” She thinks back when set off her explosive magic.

-- 

Right when the light consumed the entire room Red Star was blown away by both the entity’s magic ray and the explosion. However as she was flying at high speeds toward the wall, she was suddenly stopped in mid-air. When she looked at her position it turned out that she was being levitated and surrounded by a magic shield. When she looked down to see what was doing this, she saw the entity clear as day even from all the bright light of the explosion. The sight was very daunting; the explosive magic isn’t even making it flinch. Red realized that even her magic can’t stand up to that powerful force. As the explosion ended and dust swept to replace the light, the entity suddenly vanished within the dust and so did the magic carrying Red (causing her to fall). It took a moment for her to process what just happened; it didn’t take long for her to realize…

--

“It saved me.” She whispered silently to herself. Not only that, but if that entity wasn’t so kind, her attempted sacrifice would have most definitely be in vain and Equestria would’ve fallen.

“What was that?”      

Red Star turned her head frantically to face the new voice. “Oh, hi Cyclone.”

The blue colt stood only a few feet away and smiled as he spoke, “Someday today right?”

“Ya, tell me about it.” She quickly got herself back together and went back to walking to Celestia’s study; Cyclone walking next to her.

“That was some move you did there with the explosive lances; I haven’t seen you do that kind of magic in a very long time. Unfortunately, the explosion was seen throughout the city and the smoke all the way to Las Pegasus; I had to come up with some explanation for the stupid media.” He gave a frown but Red wasn’t really looking at him.  

“Well what did you tell them?” She giggled before turning to face him.

“I told them that it was some dangerous experiment gone aria! I hope those vultures eat that up.” He whispered the last part to himself. “… So how is Twilight Sparkle doing?” 

Red’s expression switched to one of lament. “She woke up thinking she had passed out during the training. Apparently she doesn’t remember that whole incident and a few minutes before it. But she is doing fine and back at her home; thankfully her parents continued to let us teach her magic even with the explosion and all.” 

Cyclone wasn’t sure why Red seemed upset about that. He’d figured that it might have been that she gave Twilight valuable information on magic; information that you can’t just repeat a second time. He knew Red long enough to know that that was most likely the problem, and he knew how she would feel about that.

Once Red suddenly stopped, Cyclone realized that they got to where they both needed to be, the princess’s study. Cyclone opened the door and let Red go in first.

“After you.” He said. Red responded with a smile and went in. Once they went inside, closed the door behind them, and took their seats in front of Celestia’s desk, the meeting started.

“What’s the update on the damages and the media, General Cyclone?” She spoke with an almost empty tone as she looked at the general. 

“The damage is not as bad as we thought. All we need to deal with is expenses for a new roof for the training room, no pony was even injured, and the media is already taken care of.” He spoke with a serious tone.

“What’s the update on the research and development team, General Mars?” She spoke with the same emotionless tone and the same gaze.

“Well our scientists and wizards can’t figure out what the entity was, where it went, and why it didn’t just… do what it could’ve very easily done.” She spoke with the same seriousness that radiated the whole room. “However while they struggle for answers, to me there’s only one logical reason in my mind, Princess.” She was hoping the princess will get her meaning; Cyclone surely did.

“I agree.” Cyclone spoke with his head facing Red but eyes looking at the princess. “In fact, have you personally confirmed anything?” Celestia nodded in response. 

Red and Cyclone both scooted their seats closer to Celestia and slightly leaned; all in unison. They were very eager to hear what Celestia had to say, and she didn’t blame them for their excitement.

“As a matter of fact as soon as I realized that that powerful entity was created from Twilight and that Twilight is still perfectly fine, I immediately confirmed it.” She gave a quick pause that seemed to have tortured her two generals. “She is in fact one of the Elements of Harmony. The Element of Magic to be precise.” 

To the mere words, the two generals looked at each other and grinned tremendously. “That’s excellent!” They both said in unison.

“Now we know that the Elements have indeed continued their existence.” Red continued with a laugh.

“But this time, in fact for the first time, in the bodies of ponies.” Cyclone finished off.

As they continued their little celebration in their chairs, Celestia was giving them a serious look that they didn’t seem to notice. However they suddenly stop when they both realize something at the same time.

Red spoke first. “Wait… if that entity was created from within Twilight…”

Cyclone spoke next to finish the thought. “An Element of Harmony…”

Red spoke again. “Then that would mean that…”

They both frantically turned to the princess and spoke in unison. “Do you think there are going to be more?”

Celestia rolled her eyes and spoke again. “Maybe, but that is something we shouldn’t be worried about right now.” Her generals seem to think otherwise.

“Not something to worry about?! That thing is thousands of times stronger than me and you combined!”

“Exactly and now there are going to be five more of them…”

“Both of you calm down!” Celestia’s order was followed instinctively by the two generals. “Think this thoroughly; first of all we don’t even know what that thing was. Secondly, it obviously didn’t mean us any harm; after all it didn’t kill any pony. Thirdly, how are you so sure that there are going to be more of them, this could be the only one; the elements of magic is by far the strongest after all!” Red and Cyclone quickly looked at each other and sat back down in their seats. The princess sighed, “Right now we don’t need to worry about it; I can’t sense its power anymore so it’s gone for now.”

Red Star still looked a bit worried. “But… what do we do now, Princess?”

“We do everything we can to teach our new prodigy advanced magic, as we did before.” The princess gave a smile before she continued speaking. “For now we will tend to the Elements as we find them; we will deal with the entity when it surfaces again and only then… understood?” She made it clear that she was speaking to both of them by slightly raising her tone of voice.

“Yes, Princess.” They both spoke in unison.

“You’re both dismissed.”

By order, both the generals got from their seats to leave the room; Cyclone opened the door for Red again. Once they left and their hoofsteps gone with the darkness of the halls, Celestia turned her chair to face the window and the moon. She looked carefully at the moon. 

That’s the very same Moon that she had raised from a foal, now corrupt and waiting for a release. Before letting her tears fall to the ground Celestia looked away, and left the room to her sleeping quarters. 
  


 



> Just Another Day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The morning’s light breaks through the horizon and brings the day to Ponyville. The light eventually hits the closed eyes of a mare, who lives in the local library. She’s eventually woken up by the light of day, and the lavender pony sits up straight in her bed. Her eyes are half closed and she felt like falling asleep for just a bit longer, but she wasn’t the one for that. After a quick yawn and stretch, she gets off the bed to turn to wake the baby dragon asleep in a small bed of his own next to hers. 

“Wake up Spike,” she lightly nudged his shoulder, “today’s an important day.”

“Mmmphf…*snore*.” The dragon barely seemed effected by Twilight’s efforts to wake him.

“Well, I guess I can let you sleep just a bit longer.” She smiled at the baby dragon lying asleep before her. She was glad to have at least him as a close remnant of her past back when she lived in Canterlot. Nowadays she had to start a new in Ponyville, but now Ponyville is her only true home. After all, she has valuable relations to the ponies here.

The mare gasped in surprise as there was a sudden knock on the door. She turned to move down stairs; the knocking was going at a steady pace as she was trying to get to the door. “Who could that be this early in the day?” She thought. She was levitating a comb to brush her mane as she rushed to answer the knocking. 

When she answered the door, a gray mailmare was present with a clipboard and several large cardboard boxes.

“Hello Twilight,” she said, “I have several deliveries for you today.” She handed Twilight the clipboard. 

Twilight quickly skimmed through paper in the board, and then slowly became excited the more she read it. 

“Oh, this is the new order of books I placed in.” She took a glance at the large boxes behind the mailmare and then looked back at her. “Thank you for delivering these so quickly, Derpy.”

The mailmare gave a smile, “Well your welcome, Twilight.” She brought the attention back to business with what she said next, “But before I can give these to you, you have to sign these papers.” She pointed her hoof to the contents on the clipboard. 

“Oh, okay.” The lavender unicorn levitated a quill and ink-pot to be ready to give her signature. 

Sensing that Twilight was prepared, Derpy spoke again, “You sign here.” 

“Uh huh.” Twilight signed her name in whatever blank lines Derpy’s hoofs landed on.

“And here.”

“Uh huh.”

“And here.”

“Uh huh.”

“Aaand… here.”

“Okay.” 

As soon as Twilight finished writing, Derpy grabbed the clipboard back into her grasp. “Great, you’re all set.”

“Alright, thanks again.”

The gray pegasus walked a few meters away from the library before taking off flying with her wings. Twilight was left with several large boxes full of important books and a happy look on her face. She needed these books for her research and just for the fact that she has these books in her library. She teleported all the boxes inside her house; mainly because they probably couldn’t fit through the door. Then she turned to call her assistant. “Spike!” She went up into the bedroom, “Spike!” 

“Aaahh!” The baby dragon jolted and fell off his bed in surprise. “Jeez, Twilight what is it?”

“The new books I ordered came in the mail today.” It was obvious in her tone that she was excited.

“Then did you really need to wake me up like that over this?” Spike groaned in frustration; he was in the middle of a very erotic dream about a certain white coated unicorn.

“Well, I needed someone to help me unpack them and put them where they go. There are a lot of the after all.”

“*Groan*… you know I can’t today.” 

“Why not?” Twilight seemed skeptical.

“Because today I have to go over to Rarity’s to help her with one of her designs.” Spike seemed frustrated that Twilight forgot about that; he had been talking about it for the past few days after all.

“Oh right… sorry I forgot about that.” 

“Also, you have magic.” He pointed at her horn. “Why don’t you use that to shelve everything in an instant?”

“Well you know how I feel about new books.” She didn’t seem to notice that Spike rolled his eyes.

“Ya ya, you have a need to familiarize yourself with every book you have. Still I can’t stay here to help you,” he turns his head to look at the clock next to Twilight’s bed, “in fact I only have a few minutes before I have to go.”

“Oh well, at least I’ll have some alone time for my work and get to know my new books.” She started to walk back downstairs, Spike following. 

When they get downstairs into the library, the first thing that got Spikes attention was the dozen large boxes in the middle of the library.

“Wow… why so many books?” He asked as he walked towards the boxes to try to open one.

“What are you talking about? It’s not that many.” 

Spike uses his claws to tear the tape holding one of the boxes closed. When he does the box suddenly flings open and a bunch of styrofoam packing peanuts shoot out and hit his face. He barely had time to react and almost fell down. 

“What the… why are they so tightly packed?” He turned to Twilight, hoping she will provide an answer to his question. 

Twilight, looking a bit embarrassed to answer his question, gladly gave an explanation. “Eeeh, probably because of how much they’re putting into the boxes… hehe.”

“Oooh, I thought it wasn’t that many books.” Spike spoke in his typical sarcastic tone. He then looks inside the box he just opened to find that there were lines of books stacked atop one another to have the books on the top perfectly aligned to where the top of the box would be. Each book was wrapped in plastic and the margins of the whole scene were full of packing peanuts and bubble wrap. Twilight appeared right behind the baby dragon to look at her newest valuable books. Spike picks up one of the books laid on the top, only to be confused by its title. “Eeeeh… what are these books even about?”  

Twilight’s eyes lit up and her smile widened; she was happy her assistant took an interest in this. Either that or it’s because she gets to speak of her excitement. 

“They’re the newest updates in the fields of science and philosophy. They are about all of the most recent advancements and findings of all possible knowings!”   

“Huh, well then this sure must have been one busy year.” He looked at every one of the boxes full of books, and wonders if Twilight will be able to handle these all on her own. “Are you sure you can-” He stopped when he noticed Twilight’s expression on her face. She really didn’t seem to be paying attention to him; she seemed to be in a very giddy state of mind. She wore an extremely wide grin that even with her right hoof covering her mouth from laughing out was still very visible. She was even giggling as she looked at the books in the box in front of her and at the other boxes. That assured Spike that Twilight will actually enjoy having to go all these books. It might even be better for her if she did it alone anyway; she prefers the silence of nopony around her when she works.

Twilight quickly and suddenly got a hold of herself and started to acknowledge Spike’s presence next to her.

“Huh? Oh, sorry I was just… thinking. What was it you said Spike?”

“Oh, just that I should really get going to Rarity’s.” He walked to the door as he spoke and opened it to leave. He looked back at Twilight to speak. “I’ll see you sometime in the afternoon.” 

“Alright then, see you later.”

When Spike turned his head back and started to leave through the open door, he was stopped by the sudden presence of a pink pony.

“Hi Spike! Hi Twilight!” The mare hopped in while giving her greeting. Twilight and Spike didn’t really seem fazed by the mare’s sudden appearance; they were just already so used to the pink pony’s random actions.

“Oh, hello Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said, “What are you doing here so early?”

Pinkie stopped next to Twilight to speak. “WELL, I have nothing else to do, so I came to see what you were doing!” She quickly looked at the cardboard boxes lying in the middle of the living room. Pinkie seemed curious, and Twilight went in to explain.

“Today I had an order of books delivered to me today.”

“Ooooo,” She suddenly turned her whole body to face her new subject, “What about you, Spike?”

“I-I was just about to leave for Rarity’s boutique; today I have to help her make some cloth designs.” He clearly seemed to be in a rush. “And I really need to go; I’ll see you two later!” He was already running through the door when he said the last part.

“Bye Spike!” Both of the mares spoke in unison.  After Spike was completely gone, Pinkie turned to face Twilight and spoke to address her curiosity.

“Sooo, what are these books, did you already put ‘em away?” Pinkie started to do her usual hop in place thing.

“No, they’re all still there.” Twilight pointed at the large boxes. Pinkie immediately started to hop toward one of the unopened boxes. When she got to it she poked it and it immediately blew open and shot out a bunch of styrofoam peanuts; much like how it did before. 

“Oooooooh, confetti.” Pinkie said with a giggle. 

“Yeah, the boxes are pretty sensi-” but before Twilight could say anything else, Pinkie went ahead and poked the other box next to one she just busted. It burst the same way as the other did; that got Pinkie excited. 

“Hehehehehehehe!” She suddenly started to touch all the other boxes to make them burst with ‘confetti’. Twilight just stood there; she couldn’t really do anything to stop her pink friend. The whole time the room was being covered and raining with a hail of styrofoam.

“Eh, Pinkie-” That’s all she could get out before she was cut off by Pinkie’s shout.

“Woohoo!” She then finished off by actually kicking the last one and cause it to fall over, which in turn made Twilight cringe and wince. “Woo, I should get these things for my parties!” When everything finally stopped the entire floor was covered in the styrofoam and a bit of bubble wrapping. 

Pinkie spoke again, “So what was it you wanted, Twili?” 

“E-eh,” The librarian still had the stunted look on her face by the kick that was delivered to the last box containing many of her valuable books. “I-I was actually going to ask if you can help me put my new books away.”

“Well sure, I’ll help you with these books.” She then started to hop over to the box that she didn’t touch, the one that Spike already opened. She grabbed one of the books stacked at the top; the same one Spike picked up earlier. “Wow! Is this the metaphysical standpoint on the subject of moral absolutes addressed by the famous Intellect Stretch?!” 

“What the?” Twilight thought, “Uh yes.” She said out loud to answer the question.

Pinkie took out another book to examine it. “Oooh! And here are the newest developments on ponykind’s greatest discovery, the Celestia Particle!” She playfully hissed the last part out.

Twilight stood there with complete disbelief. Beside the fact that Pinkie used the incorrect term of ‘Celestia Particle’, the lavender unicorn was surprised by the pink earth pony’s sudden had an understanding of complex knowledge; she had never thought that there was that kind of side to Pinkie. However, she figured it could most likely be that it’s because she, like everypony else, doesn’t really understand the complexity that is Pinkie Pie. 

“Yes, all these books are all about the newest developments of all knowings.” Twilight spoke whilst she went to pick up the box that was knocked over and used magic to clean up the mess of packing peanuts. 

“Well aren’t you always updating yourself with everything?” Pinkie started to ask, “After all you’re always reading books. Like these.”

Twilight gave a smile before giving her reply. “Well actually, back when I was in Canterlot I always got the newest updates on everything as they came up, since Canterlot is where all the major research and development organizations are. But since I had to move to Ponyville, a place very far away from Canterlot, I made it so that every four years I get a delivery of all the new findings that happened in those years.”

“Oh, I get it.” Pinkie started to take the books out to get an idea of how many are in each box. Once she empties a box and finds one hundred and seventy-five books in that single container, she asks, “So how do you want to go about sorting all of these up?”

Twilight rubbed her chin, “We should look over all of these and then think of categories to place them in afterword.” Both mares took a look at the boxes that surrounded them. Twilight then said what they were both thinking. “But it could take a while…”

“Mmmm, is aright. I really don’t have anything else planned for today.”

“Oh really?” Twilight seemed surprised. Pinkie Pie has nothing to do? That just seems… impossible. 

“Yeah, I mean things are just so boring now,” Pinkie admitted. “I just wish something exciting would happen around here.” Her tone seemed nostalgic, but her smile seemed to oppose that emotion.

“Well, I know what you mean.” 
Pinkie felt like changing the subject. “But anyway, let’s get started with this!”   

“Alright then.” Twilight said in her happy tone while she picked out a random book and sat down to read over the back of it, Pinkie doing the same thing. And silence fell across the library throughout the morning.

-----

“That took longer than I expected.” Twilight said as Pinkie hopped next to her. They were both done with ordering the new books and put them in the shelves, and now they’re going to see how Rarity is doing with her dress designs.

“I know right, and you were planning to do all that on your own.” Pinkie said with her wide smile. “Good thing I came when I did to help.”

“I know thanks again.” She smiled back at her pink friend. “I’m just glad we were able to finish with seventeen minutes to spare before my scheduled spa get-together with Rarity.” 

The two continued to walk until they finally reached the boutique. Twilight was the one who knocked on the door. “Rarity! Are you ready to go to the spa?” The knock was met with a bunch of random noises coming from inside the boutique.

“*crash*… *glass break*…” 

“Sweetiebelle!!”

“Dumb fabric!”

The door was finally answered by Spike. 

“Oh, hey Twilight, hey Pinkie Pie.” The baby dragon spoke with a tone that seemed nonchalant, despite whatever was happening in the boutique that caused those noises.

“Hey Spike!” Said the usually happy Pinkie.

Twilight spoke next, “Hey Spike is this a good time?” Twilight seemed to be the only one concerned with the noises.

“Uuuh-” before Spike can answer he was interrupted by Rarity, who came up behind him and moved him aside. 

“Oh Twilight, Pinkie Pie, it’s good to see you two again.” The white unicorn spoke in her regular formal tone. “What can I do you girls for?”

“I came here to see if you’re prepared for our spa treatment.” Said Twilight.

“And I’m here because I have nothing else to do!” Announced Pinkie.

“Oh right that, l-let me just finish up here and I’ll be there on the dot.” She seemed to be a bit busy, and seems to have something on her mind. 

“Alright then, I’ll see you at the spa in fifteen minutes.” Twilight started to walk away with Pinkie. She understood how busy Rarity can be, so she doesn’t expect her to get there in time. 

“Alright, see you.” Rarity said before she quickly got back inside and closed the door.

As Twilight and Pinkie were walking, Twilight came up with a question for her pink friend.

“Wait, are you going to join me and Rarity at the spa?” 

“Mmmaybe, as long as I don’t have anything else to do.”  

“Oh I see.” Twilight said. “So it’s a yes.” She thought.
They both continued to walk for a few more silent minutes until Pinkie spoke again.

“What do you have planned after the spa treatment, Twili?” She turned her head to fully face Twilight, and Twilight in turn did the same.

“Well… I do have to go to Sweet Apple Acres to get some fresh apples for some of my experiments.” 

“Can I come too? Cause I REALLY don’t have anything else to do.” She almost wined.

“Well sure you can come with me but… I’m sure there can’t really be anything for you to do. After all you have four other good friends you can hang out with.” Pinkie’s head limped to the side.

“Well yeah but… Rarity is no fun, Fluttershy is always busy taking care of her animals, Applejack is in the middle of apple bucking season, and I haven’t seen Rainbow Dash all day!” 

“Oh. Well in that case I’m fine with you being with me for the rest of the day. In fact I’m happy; we haven’t really hang out that much since the royal wedding, and I think now is a great opportunity to do so.” Twilight revealed a smile to Pinkie that brought her head back up. Pinkie knew that Twilight definitely meant that, and she smiled back. However throughout the entire conversation, both of the mares were facing each other and weren’t really looking at where they were going. That became clear to both of them when they both suddenly bumped into something, or somepony. 

They both fell on their rumps due to the sudden collision. When they look up to see what they walked into, they saw a dark gray coated colt, one they never saw before. He was in the same state as they were: laying on the ground and hoof rubbing his head signifying where he was struck. Meanwhile both of the mares had their eyes widened in surprise. Not only was the fact that there’s a new pony in town surprising, but also the colt’s appearance is very daunting. Neither Pinkie nor Twilight have seen a pony with such an interesting color to them: his wild styled long mane and tale were bright blue with one or two black lines and his eyes were the color of the purest of gold. 

The three of them stayed there silent for a few quick moments before the colt broke the silence.

“Uh… hi.”

    

> The New Colt In Town
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Uh… hi,” the colt stood back up on his hoofs and used his magic to pick up the saddlebag and book he had with him. “Sorry, about that; I should’ve been watching where I was going,” he seemed to not have minded the collision made by the three ponies not moments ago. The two mares got back up. Pinkie Pie kept here wide eye surprise face, while Twilight seemed to have come to terms with the situation and wore a welcoming smile. 

Twilight was the first of the two mares to speak. “Actually it’s us who should apologize. At least one of us should have been looking at where we were going,” she gestured her hoof to address both her and Pinkie. But the gray colt begged to differ.

“Thank you for the kind gesture, but the fault falls upon me. I should have known better than to try to read while trying to walk,” he gave guilty expression as he looked back at his saddlebag containing the book he was just reading. Twilight raised her eyebrows and gave a look of interest.

“Reading huh?” she thought, “Well anyway, you must be new here, am I right?” of course she knew she was right; she knew everypony in town as much as Pinkie by now, and she had never seen this pony before.

The colt looks back up at the two ponies in front of him. “Yes, you are right. My name’s Midnight Shine, pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure’s all mine, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” The two exchange smiles before Midnight Shine turns to the pink earth pony next to them. The whole time she had the same surprised look on her face. Midnight wondered if she was alright.

“Uh, hi. What’s your name?” he spoke with a welcoming smile hoping for the best. However he wasn’t expecting the reaction he got next…

Immediately after the words leave the colt's mouth, Pinkie suddenly gasped an incredible amount of air as she jumped up and floated in midair for a few moments. Then after the long drawn out gasp she bolted at high speeds to the opposite direction that the colt was facing. Midnight quickly turned back to see where the mare went, but the only trace of her left were the leaves being blown to the general direction in which the sudden gust of air traveled. And of course, he was left very confused.

“Eh w-what the… was it something I said?” he turned back to Twilight hoping she could at least give a clue to what happen.

Twilight was giggled, “Don’t worry about her; she did the exact same thing when I first came here.” her giggling seemed to work on reassuring Midnight.

“Oh o-okay then,” he tried not to think much of that pink mare; he knew that they’ll eventually be introduced at some point. So for now he focuses on the purple mare standing in front of him. “Well since I’m new here and I have nothing else to do,” Twilight stopped her giggling to listen, “mind giving me a tour of the town?”

Twilight’s smile doubled in size. “Well I find it to be my sincere pleasure to do so,” in her head Twilight was patting herself on the back for doing such a good job being formal with the greeting. But then she noticed that Midnight started to giggle.

“No need to be so formal,” he said, “just cuz I’m from Canterlot doesn’t mean I’m like those nobles,” his muffled laughter was fully silenced when it was followed by a sudden gasp of surprise.

“You’re from Canterlot?” 

The colt started to smile, “Correct!”

“That’s such an unusual coincidence! So am I!”

The colt raised his eyebrows, “Really, well that is a surprising coincidence.”

They both exchanged a few giggles before Twilight felt like saving this for a later time. She started to walk toward where she was heading before bumping into this new pony, the spa. 

“Well anyway why don’t I start the tour of the town?” she gestured her head to tell Midnight to follow her.

“Alright; we can talk as we walk,” he started walk aside her, “so where do we start?”

“Well right now I’m supposed to meet one of my friends for a weekly get-together at the spa. I’m sure Rarity will like you,” Twilight spoke in a very exciting tone. She can only imagine everypony’s reaction to a new colt in town.

“A spa ay... hmm…” he looked like he was thinking thoroughly, and then came to a conclusion, “sure,” he shrugged, “why not?” he started to smile again. “After all I could use some time to relax.”

“Great!” Twilight said, her excitement still bearing on her smile.

“So tell me about your friend Rarity,” he seemed curious in his tone.

“Well, she’s a very generous pony and is well known throughout Equestria for being a great fashionista. But she can be a bit of a… drama queen at times,” she seemed to hesitate saying the last part, in fear of somepony overhearing. 

“Well, that’s really no big deal in my opinion.  Everypony has their weaknesses; in fact it’s a natural law. So I don’t really care for the bad; I’m only interested in the good.” 

Twilight slightly raised her eyebrow. “Huh, a reader and an intellectual?” she thought. She shifted her eyes to look at Midnight but kept her head facing forward. The colt, not noticing he was being stared at, kept walking next to Twilight and was facing forward. The further they walked the more Twilight’s mind started to think about something. “… I wonder if there’s anything else we have in common…” She turned her head slightly so that her eyes can be able to see more of the colt. “… what does his cutie mark look like…?” her eyes started to slowly travel down to the colt’s side leading to his flank. Just in time before Twilight can get a clear view of Midnight’s cutie mark, she was stopped.

“Eh, Twilight,” Midnight spoke to try to get Twilight’s attention and even stopped walking. Twilight in response almost frantically brought her sight back to the colt’s eyes and turned her head to face him as well. A feel of unease swept Twilight’s body; she was afraid that if Midnight did in fact notice her staring at him, would he take it the wrong way. Did he even notice? Midnight lifted his hoof up to point at something and then spoke. “Is this it?” 

Twilight turned her head forward to follow where the hoof was pointing. She realized that they were standing in front of the spa. She felt a sense of calming relief started to form in her chest and moved onward to the rest of her.

“Oh, yeah this is it,” trying to ignore what happened, she tried to put the smile she had before back on. She was glad that her possibly uncomfortable stares weren’t noticed.

“Well let’s go in then,” he walked forward to the door and opened it with his magic then went to the side of it and bowed his head and a bit of his upper-body before speaking. “After you.” 

Twilight’s first reaction was a giggle, “Who’s being formal now?” she said with a playful tone.   

Midnight didn’t look up to respond, but instead put up a smile that was visible even through his bangs while leaning like that.

“It’s more of a gesture of kindness and respect rather than one of formality, Twilight,” he kept his smile and stance in place, waiting for the mare to acknowledge his action. 

Twilight’s face started to form a light blush whilst she moved forward to the door. Of course she’d had the door opened for her before, but in no way close to this manner. In fact, she used to think of this as being a romantic gesture.

“Well either way, thank you,” she said as she went ahead inside. Midnight waited for Twilight to be all the way inside before going in as well and closing the door behind him. 

When they both were a few feet inside, they were welcomed by the attendants standing behind the counter. 

“Welcome Miss Sparkle,” she said.

“Hello Lotus. I’m here for the weekly appointment today.”

“Yes we know, Rarity came in and informed us,” Lotus looked at the clipboard she was holding before continuing to speak. “She also told us to escort you to her when you do arrive.” She put down the clipboard and went around coming out from the counter. “I’am not sure about your friend though.” She said as she finally acknowledged Midnight’s presence and even looked right at him. Twilight moved in to explain.

“Oh, this is Midnight Shine,” she said, meanwhile Midnight waved a hoof to Lotus, “he’s new here and I’m certain Rarity won’t mind having to pay for him.”

“Mmm, I suppose so; she was originally planning on having Miss Fluttershy too after all. Well then you’ll find Rarity at the end of that hall to the left.” She did a hoof gesture to give more detail on where to go.

“Thank you, Lotus.” Twilight said and then started to follow Lotus’s direction.

As they were going past each other, Lotus suddenly raised a hoof in front of Midnight’s path.

“I’m sorry but you can’t go with that saddlebag. However I can keep eye on it while you’re here.”

“Uh oh, okay.” He levitated the saddlebag off of him and into Lotus’s hoofs. 

“And don’t worry it’ll be in good hoofs.” She said while she started to walk back to the counter.

“Alright then, I’ll be back for it later.” And with that Midnight went to catch up to Twilight.


A little bit of walking later Twilight and Midnight reached the white mare they were looking for. She was lying on her back on top of a leaning chair. She was wearing a mud mask and cucumber slices on her face, while having Aloe work on massaging her shoulders.

Twilight quickly tried to inform Rarity that she arrived, “Rarity, I made it here.”

Rarity seemed slightly surprised by the sudden voice, but quickly got past that and continued the conversation.

“Twilight where have you been?” she spoke while still being blinded by the cucumbers on her eyes, not realizing there’s someone new present. “I’ve been waiting so long that I thought I was going to be alone here.” here tone seemed only half as whinny as usual for some reason.

“Well, you see…” she turned her head to face Midnight. Both of them seemed excited for this, especially Twilight. “… I got a little sidetracked.” she gently pushed Midnight forward, telling him to go in and introduce himself.

“Well what happened? What do you mean by sidetra-” Rarity took off one of the cucumbers on her eyes to be able to see her friend. But instead saw a stallion she never saw before in front of her. “… o-oh h-h-hello.” Rarity didn’t know what to say, her eyes were widened and her jaw dropped. She was in complete awe in the colt’s presence; his athletic form, the intricate coloration of his mane, and his eyes, were all very engrossing. 

“You must be Rarity, I’m I right?”

The colt’s smile and tone made it so Rarity slow involuntarily nods to his question.

He knelt down to do an almost bowing motion before continuing to speak. “My name is Midnight Shine; and may I say, it is a grand honor to meet the famous and beautiful Rarity.” He took Rarity’s right hoof and held it in his own hoof to lightly and gently kiss the top of it. "I've heard a lot about you," he added. At that point Twilight was trying her hardest to suppress herself from laughing out, Aloe doing the same thing behind Rarity. Meanwhile Rarity’s mud mask hid her very heavy blushing and she still remained speechless. The moment was so unanticipated for her that she was not sure of what to do. Luckily Twilight stepped in before there was an acquired silence.

“Alright Casanova, I think that’s enough.” she said between giggles. Midnight started to get back up to stand next to Twilight and facing Rarity.

“Alright, I guess so.” he too also started to break a few chuckles. 

“Was that also a gesture of kindness too?” she teased.

“Yes, but also one of formality as well.” he answered.

The two broke into another round of giggles. Meanwhile Rarity tried to get her composure back.

“S-so you’re new here, am I right?” she asked trying to forget what happened just a moment ago.
Midnight and Twilight stopped with their snickers, and Midnight went to answer the question. 

“Yes, I came here from Canterlot this very day.”

Rarity’s eyes widened triple in size and a smile grew on her that stretched across her face.

“C-canterlot!?” 

Twilight stepped back a little; she knew what will probably happen. “Here we go” she thought.

“Aloe!” said Rarity; the mareseuse instantly reacted and stood ready to follow Rarity’s orders. Meanwhile Rarity got up from her seat and went to the sink to try to remove her mud mask. “See if you can add Midnight Shine to my list of guest, and I’ll be responsible for payment.” 

“Yes, miss Rarity,” Aloe then left the room to get what was needed. 

“Oh you’re too kind,” announced Midnight, “but I’m willing to pay here.”

When Rarity removed her mask revealing her true face, she turned her head back to the stallion and gave a serious look.

“So that’s what she looks like...” Midnight thought.

“Oh, but I insist. You are new here and you deserve a free welcoming day at the spa. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“Well… since you insist, then I guess I have no choice but to except it.”

Rarity’s eyes lit, “Great then let’s get started!” 

Aloe came back with two spa robes and went toward Twilight and Midnight.         

“Put these on please,” she said as she handed them each their own robe.

“Thank you,” Twilight and Midnight spoke at the same time. They both start to put on their robes and Rarity stood there waiting for them to finish, so they can start.

-----

Midnight lets out sighs and groans of bliss as the maresuse worked on his tight back muscles. Rarity lay in the table next to him receiving the same treatment, and Twilight was in the hot bath on the other side of the room. The three have taken this moment to enjoy themselves while they can, staying in silence and let the moment sink in. However, Rarity felt like this would be the best time to be able to get to know the new stallion.

“So what made you decide to move here in Ponyville, Midnight Shine?” 

“Uh, basically just a change in scenery. I just felt like I wanted something different. And I heard a lot of good things about Ponyville, and here I’am.” 

“Do you have any friends back in Canterlot?”

“Well… not really,” he let his head hung and looked down, “the truth is... I was a very arrogant pony when I was young, I didn’t really feel like I needed anypony else. That’s actually why I came here; I wanted to start a new and make some good friends,” his sentimental tone seemed to have easily reached Rarity’s sensitive side. 

“Oh, well… I can ensure you that you have indeed made a friend already, and that you will continue doing so while in Ponyville.”

Midnight looked up with a smile of relief and gratitude, “Thank you, Rarity.”

While Rarity and Midnight talk about personal things, Twilight enjoys her time taking her hot bath. She’s normally so busy and hectic that she rarely ever gets time to relax. She lowers herself and gets herself deeper into the water. She stops with her nostrils and snout just above the water to be able to breathe. She closes her eyes to get the feel of calmness as she sat on the bottom of the pool and leaned her back against its wall. She steadily breathes to prepare herself for a smooth transition into calming and quite bliss. With her last exhale she found herself in the stage in synthetic delight, and she intended to stay like that for as long as she can… 

Unless of course if she was to somehow be interrupted…

“Pttttsss! Twilight!”

Twilight almost involuntary gasped and jolted in surprise to the sudden loud whisper that intruded her walls of pure silence and hitting directly outside her lobes. With involuntary inhale she forced in large amounts of warm water into both her mouth and nostrils, and started to choke on it. She frantically brought her upper body back up to the surface so she can cough out the water from her mouth and nose. When she was nearly done she turned her eyes to meet the new voice. From the large bowl that held many sponges came the full upper half of a certain pink mare.

“What the! Pinkie!? What are you doing here?” Twilight said between coughs and gags.

Pinkie, who became aware of her current action, explained.

“Oh, soo sorry if I scared you Twi, but I came here because I needed to get some insight on the new pony,” judging by the tone, Pinkie wanted to speak as loud as she usually does, but it trying her hardest to keep a lower whisper.  

“What for?”

“Well duh! For the party I’m going to throw him today, silly!”

“Oh right that.” Twilight started to lay down on the tub again.

“So what can you tell me about him?”

“His name is-” that was all Twilight can get out before Pinkie went ahead and covered her mouth with her right hoof.

“No! Don’t spoil his name for me, please. I want to find that out when I meet him.” The earth pony took her hoof from the unicorn’s mouth so that Twilight can restart what she was going to say. 

“Okay no name then,” Twilight reloaded her tone before speaking, “well, he’s very nice, funny, and smart. And he’s even from Canterlot; just like me!” While the information was interesting, that wasn’t what Pinkie wanted to hear.

“Mmkay, but I mean what does he like; what is he into. You know so I have an idea for what kind of party to throw!”

“Well why don’t you just do the same thing you did for me? You know with the regular surprise, decorations, and food.”
Pinkie felt that she needed to get her point across.

“That one was just a basic substitution party because I had no way of getting any information on you at the time. But this time I have a pony on the inside who can tell me about the new pony in town. And that way I’m able to know if I’m able to throw… ANY kind of party.” Her emphasis, hoof gestures, and facial expressions seemed to have brought the point to Twilight.

“O-oh… well uh…” Twilight didn’t want to disappoint her ecstatic friend, but she had nothing to say about that. She thought of something that was at least a decent response, but when she opened her mouth to speak, she was cut off.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

Twilight and Pinkie gain identical shocked looks on their faces. They both looked right to where the sudden voice came from. As it turns out the new subject was Midnight Shine who was standing right next to the bowl of sponges where Pinkie came from. Pinkie jolted frantically and almost fell off of the bowl, and Twilight’s jolts were followed by several large waves forming in the pool.

The thought that is racing through both Pinkie and Twilight’s heads is “How did I not notice him until now?” and despite that and their wild reaction, they both tried to come to terms with the situation.

Pinkie was the first to have gotten her usually happy composure back and the first to speak.

“Well hi there!” 

Her positive attitude seemed to have influenced the stallion greatly, for his countenance turned from solemn and emotionless to positive and jolly.

“Hello! You’re the same pony I didn’t really meet earlier this afternoon, so you want to try to introduce ourselves?” Midnight’s tone seemed in partnership with his facial expression.

“Alright! I’m Pinkie Pie, but you can call me Pinkie or Pinkie Pie!”

“Well it’s nice to meet you Pinkie Pie! I’m Midnight Shine, but you can call me Midnight or Shine.”

Twilight sat there and watched the greetings from the two ponies. She tried not to get involved unless she was asked to; she wanted to let them get to know each other while they were able to.

Midnight continued to speak. “So what exactly was it that you two were talking about?”

“I came here to ask Twilight what kind of welcome surprise party I should throw you; it was supposed to be secret.” Pinkie looked slightly disappointed. 

“Well I can still act surprised.”

Pinkie’s expression lit back up to her usual cheerfulness.

“Really? Do you Pinkie promise?” while she spoke, Pinkie crossed her left hoof over her chest and over her eye to represent the gesture of a Pinkie promise.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly stick a cupcake in my eye!” Midnight recited with ease and even had no problem with the hoof press into his opened eye. This pleased the pink pony very much.

“Goody! Then can you answer my questions?”

“Sure.”

“Hurray!”

At this point Twilight had stopped listening and tried to go back to trying to relax again.

-----    

“That was nice.” Midnight sighed as he and Twilight walk away from the Spa.      
“It sure was relaxing.” Twilight sighed back.
“And I’m glad that Lotus handed me my saddlebag while we were ready to leave, or else I would’ve forgotten it and left it there.” Midnight said as he sighed in relief and looked back at the bag hanging of his side.

“Well, I’m glad Rarity and Pinkie Pie have taken a liking to you.” Twilight said changing the subject.

“I agree, it’s always nice to make a friend when you get the chance. I just can’t wait to see what Pinkie has in store for my party. After all I did tell her that I’m fine with parties that can get a bit crazy.”           

Twilight tried to make sure Midnight didn’t notice her wince and blush in nervousness as she too was wondering the same thing he was. What Pinkie will do for her parties is inconceivable to even her.

Midnight continued to speak. “So where exactly are we going now?”

“Well right now I have to go to Sweet Apple Acres for some fresh apples…” 

Midnight noticed Twilight’s giddy expression, and went to address it.

“Will I meet anypony else there?” 

“Yup, Applejack will definitely give you a warm welcome to Ponyville.”

“Applejack ay… what’s she like?”

“She’s an honest hardworking farm pony, and she always shows respect to everypony. But while her sense of honor is strong, sometimes it can make her a bit stubborn at times.” 

“Hmm, well I can’t wait to see her for myself.”

“Sweet Apple acres is pretty close, we’ll be there in no time.” 

The two continue their walk to Sweet Apple acres in total silence coming from the both of them.
Before Sweet Apple Acres was visible in the distance, and also after they left town and into forest area, Midnight suddenly stopped…

“Wait…”

Twilight stopped when he spoke the word, but wasn’t sure why.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Do you hear that…?” he spoke quietly enough that his tone was almost at whisper level.

Twilight was confused, “Huh? What are you talking about? I don’t hear anything.”

For the first few moments Midnight didn’t respond. He just stood there blankly staring at the ground; carefully trying to hear. Meanwhile Twilight wasn’t sure what will happen next.

“Uh… Midni-” she stopped talking when she noticed Midnight’s left ear suddenly twitch. As if it just heard something in the distance.

Instantly he frantically turned his head to the left and bolted out running into the forest and toward the sound he heard. 

“H-hey where are you going?!” Twilight shouted. The lack of response from the stallion and the sight of him slowly becoming lost in the forest, gave Twilight no choice but to chase after him. “Uggh! I know I’m going to regret this!” she started to run after him.


While Twilight struggled to keep up and made sure not to run into anything, Midnight was doing it with ease as if he knew exactly where to go. As they both ran Twilight slowly started to fall behind, and the whole time she was wondering why she’s even doing this. However be that as it may, she still for some reason felt like she needed to follow him. She really couldn’t have even explained it to herself. Eventually Twilight was so far behind that she lost sight of him, but she still ran to try to catch up to him.

Midnight wasn’t really paying attention to the mare chasing after him; in fact he didn’t seem to have noticed her. He was focusing on trying to figure out where exactly the sound was coming from, so much so that he even didn’t notice that the strap on his saddlebag had torn and fell off. But that didn’t matter because he knew he was getting closer to the source of the sound. 

“It’s close… I can feel it…” He thought, “Ah, it’s right around…” he suddenly turned his whole body to face the right as he ran. “Here!” he leaped over a large bush that stood in front of him and his destination. But there was something else that happened…

At the same time as he did, some other pony leaped through a bush to get to the same place. It was a yellow pegasus who had an instant blush as soon as they both landed several feet away from each other. She seemed to be very shy and even stepped back a bit in slight fear, so it was obvious that Midnight had to be the first to speak. “U-uh, h-hello. Who might you be?” he tried speaking in the smoothest tone possible; the yellow pony seemed to be very timid.

“I-I’m u-uh F-flutter… shy...” the pegasus stepped back I bit more as she lowered her already hushed tone, and she looked as if she just wanted to crawl into a big ball.

“I-I’m sorry, but can you repeat that again?” Midnight said while still keeping his voice at a soft level.

“I-I’m… uh… *muffled squeal*,” she stepped back a bit more and tried to hide her face with her hair. It was clear she was too shy to speak, so Midnight moved on.

“Well, you don’t have to tell me your name yet. Why don’t we focus on the reason we came here?” his expression turned from welcoming and kind to serious and somewhat sad before he looked to his left at the ground, luring the mare in front of him to do the same. She looked through her curtain of hair at the ground that held the colt’s attention, and suddenly had her bashfulness replaced with active reactions to the situation.

Apparently, both Midnight and the yellow mare were lured in to the forest by the cries for help made by a baby bird that had fallen.   

“Oh dear! What happened?” she directed all her attention to the possibly wounded hatchling and went to try to tend to it.

“I’m not sure, but it’s most likely that this poor bird must’ve fallen from its nest.”

“Oh no, Oh no!” the mare held the bird on her hoofs and examined it; the whole time it was wheezing. “There there, everything will be okay,” she really wanted to believe that. After all, the little bird is still so young; its feathers haven’t even gained color yet. 

She investigates the bird’s condition further. She just noticed something that brought her almost to the edge of tears, as its sight also came with a realization.

She gasped, “I-its r-right wing… it’s… b-broken…” she laid it on the ground on a pile of leaves. 

“Oh, no! what do we do?”

“I-” that’s all she could let out before there was an interruption.

“Midnight!” 

The familiar voice surprised Midnight and the yellow pegasus as it was brought to their attention.

“Twilight?” they both said. They looked at each other being a bit surprised to hear the name came from each other, but then quickly went back to focusing on the pony that just came running from the bushes.

“Finally I caught up! There you are Midnight Shine,” Twilight said between breathes,“why did you… oh Fluttershy what are you doing here?”

Fluttershy’s eyes started to water and she turned away to face the ground behind her; she was in no condition to speak. Luckily Midnight noticed this.

“Well, the reason why I ran,” Midnight started explaining, “is because me and uh Fluttershy both heard a cry for help coming from an animal in the forest,” he directed Twilight to look at the ground where the wounded and gasping hatchling was rested.

“What happened?” Twilight gasped while she visually investigated the bird.

Fluttershy answered the question, “It fell from its nest atop one of these trees… and broke its wing…” she was obviously trying not to let out too many tears.

“Oh no, but you can fix it right? I’ve seen you fix up other limbs to so many different animals.”

“Yes, but I rarely ever see something this broken before, and never have I tended to an animal this young and fragile,” she started to cry a bit more. “There’s nothing I can do!” she was wiping her tears and then turned back to face her friend when she thought of something. “Wait, Twilight can’t you use magic to heal the bird’s broken wing!?”

Twilight suddenly had a shocked look on her face and then turned into one of sadness, embarrassment, and almost humiliation.

“W-well… actually… I’m almost no good in that kind of medical magic… I-I’m so sorry, but I can’t do anything.” The confession came as a strike to Fluttershy; the most magically talented pony in Equestria can’t do a healing spell that can save a baby bird. 

Midnight, who had been quiet for a bit, spoke up.

“I’m sorry to have to be the one to say this… but… there’s really only one thing we can do…” he seemed very uncomfortable and hesitant to speak.

“What is that?” Fluttershy gazed upon the colt with the glistening eyes shedding tears. This only made it harder for him to speak.

“Well… since we have no other method of helping this poor bird… we have no choice but to…” he seemed extremely guilty and uncomfortable to speak any further, “… put it out of its misery…” 

> The New Colt In Town (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What are you crazy?!” Twilight and Fluttershy were in horrified shock when they actually herd Midnight suggest such an action.

“I’m very sorry, but I’m sure you both know what happens to a wingless bird in the wild. Much worse it’s a recently hatched one that had fallen,” his voice volume lowered in sadness the further he spoke. 

The mares found it difficult to argue; they both knew he was right. But they couldn’t just sit there and let that happen.

“How can you say that?” Twilight spoke out, “you can’t just do that; there has to be some other way!”

Midnight looked too shamefaced and guilty to reply, and instead looked at the ground where the bird was laying in. Before Twilight could protest anymore, Fluttershy added her opinion into the mix…

“He’s right…” her sad tone expressed her obvious grief to whoever was able to hear her. Twilight was beyond shocked to have heard those words come from Fluttershy; so much so that she turned her head back just to make sure it was indeed Fluttershy who was behind her.

“F-Fluttershy…?” Twilight was nervous to say. 

Fluttershy looked up with her streams of tears flowing down from her eyes and off her chin. Her teeth were grinding as if trying to possibly stomach her sadness. 

“…He’s right! This poor bird won’t make it much longer it this much pain anyway; there’s nothing we can do other than to end its suffering.” 

Twilight couldn’t believe it. How did Fluttershy, the pony known for her care of all animals, agree to this? “Please… don’t make it harder than it needs to be, Twilight,” the pegasus tried not to cry as hard as she wanted to; she had to be strong for the baby bird. Twilight had no choice but to submit, after all Fluttershy, the element of kindness, always knew what the best for an animal is. Still trying to come to terms with the whole situation, Midnight spoke.

“I’ll do it… that way you’ll only have me to blame for this…”

Twilight and Fluttershy nodded, accepted the harsh but only outcome, and stepped back. While Midnight stepped closer to the injured hatchling, the two mares stood close to each other and looked away with only Twilight keeping one eye peeping. Once Midnight was close enough that he lowered himself down, Fluttershy turned her whole body to face away hand held on to Twilight. The unicorn didn’t mind the pegasus’s embrace and the river of tears currently falling down from her shoulder; she couldn’t blame her. Midnight looked up at Twilight letting her he’s about to do it, she in response looked away and forced her eyes shut to let the colt do what had to be done. 

“Here we go…” Midnight whispered to himself.

He lowered his head to have his horn hovering above the baby bird’s broken body. He closed his eyes and let out a bright blue light from his horn. The hatchling got surrounded in blue magic that swirled around it.

Twilight could see that there was a bright light shining on her closed eyes. The light started to dim and then it was completely gone; when it did fade Twilight opened on of her eyes. Afraid of what she might see she only opened just enough for her sight to peek through. She was didn’t believe what she saw…

“W-what the…” 

Midnight stood back up and held the bird in his hooves. “What?” he asked.

“I-I thought you said you were going to put it out of its misery…”

“I know… that’s what I did…” he looked down at the bird he held in his hooves, and it looked back at him in gratitude. “… Ya see? It’s not in pain anymore,” his tone seemed indifferent to the emotions that practically emitted throughout the whole area a moment ago.

“Y-you healed its wing and all its other wounds…” Twilight said the same awe in her voice; while she was talking the hatchling nestled itself in the stallion’s grasp.

“Well, you said you were no good in healing magic, but luckily I’am very skilled in that field,” Midnight tried not to brag too much.

“T-then w-why did you-” Twilight was attempting to understand the situation when she was cut off by the instant action Fluttershy made. The usually shy yellow pegasus bolted at the gray colt for a full on embrace.

“ThankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOU!” she wrapped her arms around him and was shedding tears of immense happiness and gratitude around his shoulder. “Thank you so much!”

The colt almost lost balance when Fluttershy forced an embrace and nearly dropped the bird he just saved. But he didn’t do anything about it; he knew it couldn’t have been helped.

“It was the least I could do really,” Midnight felt the mare’s grip tightening slightly as the moment progressed; she must really be happy. “Now now, we’re not done here yet; I still need you do something, Fluttershy.”

“Huh, what’s that?” she pulled her head back to look at the stallion’s bright golden eyes, lessoned her grip so that one of her hooves is just resting on his shoulders, and wiped her tears with her other hoof. 

“I want you to take this baby bird back to its nest for me,” Midnight handed the hatchling over to the yellow mare’s hooves. “Can you do that for me?”

The mare’s eyes lit up. “Yes! I can do that; I’ll bring it back to its nest!” The slightly excited pegasus extended her wings and stretched them out before she shot up in the air carrying the baby bird in her grasp.

Midnight and Twilight stood looking up at Fluttershy flying above the forest trying to find the nest. They stood in silence gazing above before Midnight said something.

“Hay, Twilight…”

“Erm…”

“… You didn’t really think I was going to kill that little bird did you…?”

Twilight felt a cold feeling run through her, and wasn’t sure how to respond.

“Uh… well y-your word choice was… well… y-you know…”

“Hmm… I understand, sorry about that.”

Fluttershy started to fly back down to earth.

“… I-it’s alright.” Twilight said.

-----  

Midnight Shine and Twilight Sparkle are currently getting closer to Sweet Apple Acres, their previous destination. As they walk side by side they still retained sentiment to the event in the woods.

“That was something wasn’t it?”  Twilight remarked.

“It sure was, not the ideal way to meet someone and give a first impression. But thankfully I still made it excellent,” Midnight proudly said. 

“This is going great; everyone you’ve met so far has taking quite a liking to you.”

“I know. Now let’s go meet this-” he suddenly stopped talking and turned to look at his side where his saddlebag should be. 
“Wait,” he said.

Twilight stopped and is worried of what the reason for the sudden halt would be this time. 

“What is it; you’re not hearing something again are you?” 

“No. It’s just my saddlebag… it must have fallen when I was running through the forest.” 

“Oh, well I can help you look for it later if you like,” Twilight said feeling a little relief.

“No, it’s long gone in the forest, and there’s really no point in trying to find it because I really wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings when I was running,” he was clearly disappointed. “My book was in that saddlebag, ugh. How did I not notice this until now?” 

Twilight suddenly gained a twinkle in her eye and a smile on her face.

“You know I am also the town’s librarian; maybe I can let you barrow a copy of the book you lost.” 

“Really? Then do you think you have a copy of the last book of the Daring Do series?”

“Yup, I own all of the books from that series. And you can certainly barrow it for as long as you need, Midnight.”

“Wow, thanks Twilight.”

“No problem.”

“Then I’ll come by the library later after the welcoming party to get that book.”

“Alright, but right now let’s keep going.” Midnight nodded in response and they both continued to their destination. 

They didn’t need to have walked very much before they got the Sweet Apple Acres. They stopped at the gate entrance when Twilight decided they should go their own ways for the day. “I’m not going to spend much time here. I’m only going to buy some apples and then go to finish a few things on my own, so how about we end the tour here and meet up again at Pinkie’s welcome party?”

“Alright; that seems fine. I’ll meet this Applejack on my own then, where can I find her?”

“I’m pretty certain she’s harvesting apples somewhere in this orchard.” 

Midnight looked around and winced at the sight of thousands of apple trees that extend far into the horizon on both.

“… Okay, I’m pretty sure I’ll find her… somehow…”  

Twilight giggled. “It’s actually not as hard as it might seem.” She started to walk toward the barn, “I’ll make sure to let the other owner know you’re wondering around the orchard; see you at the party.”

“You too.”

Once Twilight was gone Midnight sighed and tried to decide which way he should go. “ummm… let’s go left…”

-----

Inside the capital city of Canterlot’s castle laid a mare trying to sleep in far into the afternoon. Her curtains were perfectly sealed and backed up with magic to keep even the brightest day’s light from coming in; leaving her room in almost pitched darkness. When she woke up in the morning she set up her alarm clock to an eight hour snooze mode before going to sleep again. And it was about time it rang.

“ANNTANNTANNANNTANNTANNT!” the jarring sound forced the sleeping mare’s eyes to fling open as it followed with a feeling of frustrating annoyance. 

“… Uuuugh… Shut Up!” but it wouldn’t, and in the darkness she struggled to find the button that would silence the noise. She couldn’t take much more of it, so with a faint of red magic from her horn she teleported the clock just outside the window of her room. The loud noise was quickly gone as it fell from high up one of the castle’s towers. “… Now time to go back to bed,” she said as she went back to cuddling her pillow and tucking herself into her bed sheets. Her soft, warm, and silent bliss was forced to a stop when she came to a quick and very grim realization. “… Crap that was the alarm I set up in the morning… ugh now I have to wake up…” 

With mild frustration she got up from her bed and used magic to make her bed as she made her way to open the sealed curtains. 

She stopped suddenly staring into the black nothing that is her room as she just gained an irksome and uncomfortable feeling inside her. She thought, “wait… something feels… off somehow... did I forget something or… is something happening…?” she opens her curtains using her magic and accepts the burning light of the day with squinted eyes. She looks back at her room and moves to leave through the door, “… nah… I must just be jumpy today…” 

As she makes her way to the door she couldn’t help but take a glimpse at her dresser’s mirror. Her red flowing mane was messier than usual, so she levitated a brush and arranged her thick layers of hair. Before she stopped looking at her reflection to leave the room, she grinned and said to herself, “Let’s go make this a great day and show those colts whose boss, Red Star.”

-----

“Alright colts that’s enough training for the afternoon. Go back to the garrisons for your meals!” 

“Yes sir!” shouted the legion of pegasi soldiers before they fly in two single file lines back inside their barracks. While at the same time a certain red mare just came from there and started trotting in the opposite direction than the lines of soldiers. She looks around trying to find the pony she’s looking for until she spots him.

“Yo Cyclone!” she shouted to get his attention.

The stallion looked and turned around to face the familiar voice. But when he turned to face somepony who he expected to be many meters away, he turned to face somepony who was just a few inches away from his face.

“Gah!” he jolted enough to have stepped back a few feet and spread his wings before immediately just becoming annoyed, “dammit Red Star, don’t do that!”

“Hahaha! Why does it always get you whenever I teleport right behind you?” Red said as she kept up a symphony of hard and heavy laughs, “And why does it never get old?”

Cyclone sighed trying to get past Red Star’s almost premature behavior, “Stop laughing so hard; it’s not even that funny. Also what do you want?”

Red let out the last drawn out laugh before stopping, “aw you’re no fun. I just wanted to see how you were doing,” she looked around at the remaining troops doing their training sessions, “don’t you guys do anything else other than train? It’s kinda boring don't you think?”

“Better than doing nothing and sleeping all day,” said the stallion in a truculent manner. 

“Hey, not all day, and also I kinda have to because I have things to do in the night,” Red countered.

“By the way mind not throwing your clock out the window; that almost hit me in the head.”

“… How did you know that was me?”

“I didn’t,” he said with a growing smile, “I just figured you’re the only one who sleeps this far into the day.”

“… ugh fine whatever,” Red wore a disappointing look of defeat, but quickly adopted a new grin, “I’ll make sure not to let it warn you with its alarm next time.”

----- 

“Is there anything else you need, Princess Celestia?” said one of the castle servants whilst she bows to the present of her humble ruler.

“Not at all; you may go now,” said the princess with her always kind voice. The servant leaves the steel tray carrying the steaming tea set on the table, and then heads to the door leaving the princess alone in her room. She sits the chair looking out at the opened balcony window and at the beautiful view of her great kingdom. She takes a sip of her tea and uses this moment for some much needed peace and silence. 

However while she may seem in perfect tranquility, the situation is not as so in her thoughts. She thinks to herself, “… what is it that I’m feeling…? It feels like it’s nothing but… I can’t ignore this… it feels too… strong…” She took several more sips of tea before she got up and left her room. Her mind was clouded with the thought that, “I need someone to consult with.”

-----    

Back at the Apple family orchard in Ponyville, Midnight was wondering about; just hoping to stumble upon the mare named Applejack. 

“I wonder how big this orchard really is, but I have to stay close enough to see the barn so I don’t get lost.” He noticed that he started to get hungry but he couldn’t do anything about it. He felt tempted to eat one of the apples from the trees, but he would prefer to deal with the pain than to be so rude (even if nopony was around).

As he trots further in he turns his head on every direction hoping to find something. And then further in the distance, he notices a large hill with only one large tree in the middle of it. “Maybe I can have a good overview of the orchard from there,” he suggested to himself, “let’s go then.” 
Slowly getting closer to the hill he paces himself to try not to let his grey dark coat sweat too much in the sun. When he was nearly there he saw a sudden figure appear coming from the trees and going up the hill. Midnight stops and slowly gets closer trying to get a better look at the figure. 

It was an orange mare with a blond mane and a cowpony hat; she was hauling a cart full of apples up the hill and didn’t look like she was struggling. “Is that Applejack?” Midnight wondered; he stayed there watching and waiting for the right moment to show himself.

Meanwhile Applejack was lifting the cart up the hill until it was in a position where it most likely won’t roll down. She then took off the cart’s harness and let it drop to the ground, and went to the only tree standing on the hill.

“A little rest after a hard day’s work never hurt anypony,” she said convincing herself to lay down in the shade the tree provided. She tilted her hat over her eyes as she leaned her back against the tree. For a moment the only sound she heard was her breath going in and out tranquilly, but then there was a sudden sound of creaking wood. 

Applejack rapidly looked up and stood up to find that the cart of apples she hauled was starting to roll itself down the hill. “Oh no,” she tried to react fast enough to stop it, but it wasn’t fast enough, “Oh No!” and the cart went rolling down the steep hill. There was really no point in trying to catch up to it; it was already halfway and gaining more speed down the hill. Applejack was angry at herself for letting this happen and wore a scowl of frustration as she watched the wagon fall.

But all of a sudden for whatever reason, the cart of apples was suddenly forced to a stop before it was even at the bottom of the hill. Applejack adopted a look of confusion and galloped ahead to see what happened. When she got there she looked at the front of the cart and didn’t expect what she found. 

“Need some help with this?” said the grey colt who had his front hooves in the way of the cart.

Applejack took a moment to process before she noticed the colt struggling with the cart and then gave assistance.

“W-who are you?” she asks aiding in keeping the crate in place.

“I’m Midnight Shine, but mind if we skip the introduction for after we get this thing down the hill?” his tone was a bit rough, but who could blame him, he did just stop a runaway cart full apples with his bare hooves.

“Alrighty then,” they both started to slowly move back keeping their strength on the heavy wooden cart as they let it slowly go down the hill. At one point Applejack used her right shoulder to have her body pressed up against the cart of apples. As a result she had no choice but to look at the stallion next to her. His whole image was just fascinating. Applejack had never seen a pony with such a dark coloration to not just their coat but also their mane. She was so engrossed in the colt that she didn’t notice that they were already finished with getting the cart to the bottom of the hill.

“There, and only a few apples fell off,” Midnight happily proclaimed, “now let’s begin the introductions,” he continued with a smile.

“Well, my name is Applejack, and you must be the new pony everypony in town is talkin about, am I right?” said the mare leading in to support her expression of interest.

“Yes you’re right, so you’ve heard of me then?”

“Well when somethin like a ‘new pony’ happens in this small town here, word spreads like wildfire.”

“How much did they tell you?”

“Just your name, that there’s going to be a welcome party, and…” she seemed to have taken notice to the stallion’s horn, “that you’re from Canterlot.” She took a moment to gaze at the horn then looked back at the colt’s eyes. “Hey uh, can I ask you somethin?” 

“Uh, sure,” Midnight was a bit worried of what that question might be.

“Well you’re a unicorn, so couldn’t you have just used magic to stop the cart of apples or somethin? Instead of forcing to stop yourself,” she seemed cautious with her tone; she tried to say it in a manner that would be the least offensive. 
Midnight’s face went blank as he took a moment to think.

“Oh, well yes I could’ve very easily, but there’s really no fun or honor in using magic to accomplish things if you really don’t need it,” he lifted his right hoof and stared at the bottom of it, “I think there’s more of a sense of effort and accomplishment if you handle things manually instead of using magic to solve it so absently,” he seemed sincere in his tone. He put his hoof back down and then looked back at the earthpony with a smile, “but that’s just my opinion.”

Applejack stood there being astounded to what she just heard come from a unicorn. She simply assumed that all Canterlot folks are the same, and she felt kinda glad to have been proven wrong.

“You know something Midnight Shine,” she wore a welcoming smile and lifted her hat up, “I think we’re gonna get along nicely.”

Midnight smiled back, “So do I.”

-----

Midnight stood outside the gates to Sweet Apple Acres. He sighs looking back at the barn before turning around and heads back to Ponyville. “It’s about to be time for the party to start,” he thinks to himself as he starts to walk, “but first…” he, for whatever reason, took several more steps before stopping again. 

He switches his happy and joyful expression with a very solemn and serious one, and lifts his head to look blankly at the sky, “For how much longer are you going to be following me?” he shouted whilst scanning the sky, “Rainbow Dash!” 

The silence continued even after calling the name. Midnight continues to examine the skies before he stops and eyes a cloud in the middle of blank blue. “Alright then,” tired of waiting for a response his horn glowed blue as he lifts a random rock from the ground and fires it at the lonely cloud. 

The rock flew through the air at high speeds, but before it had a chance to hit its initial target, a cyan pony came out flying from the cloud. Dodging the flying rock the mare in the sky instantly adopted a look of shock while the colt on the ground gained a grin.

“H-h-how-did, how did you know I was here?” the mare floated back down to earth as she spoke in a confused manner.  

“I was aware when you first started following me, before I even got to Ponyville, Rainbow Dash,” he kept his grin wide across his face.

“And how do you know my name?” the rainbow pony started to get a suspicious look on her face.

“Oh, well who hasn’t heard about you; back in Canterlot you’re the pony everyone is talking about.” 

The mere words were like music that lit the mare’s face right back up. 

“Really! I-I mean, oh ya I know,” Rainbow Dash was obviously trying not to show much excitement for that, but that ‘trying to be cool’ thing wouldn’t work on this colt. 

“Yup, in fact you’re kinda a legend,” Midnight continued trying to get the proud pony to crack, “I even heard rumors of the Wonder Bolts trying to get you recruited sometime soon.”

That must have done it…

She suddenly flew sailing through the air and stopped to put her hooves on the gray colt’s shoulders. 

“REALLY! They actually are trying to get me in!?” her wide smile overwhelmed her face and she seemed like she could potentially lose control over her excitement.

Midnight’s grin instantly turned to a look of both confusion and interest.  

“Well I’am pretty certain they are, but then again that’s just a rumor you know.”

As suddenly as it came, Rainbow Dash instantly calmed herself back to her regular state. Being aware of how close she unexpectedly was to the colt, she blushed and took a few steps back. She looked down at the ground in an almost shameful manner.

“Uh, sorry if I over reacted a bit there…” she said in an almost disgraceful tone.

Midnight took a moment before realizing what the problem was. 

“It’s fine, I don’t blame you for being a bit excited about that,” Rainbow Dash looked up to see the colt’s smiling face. “After all, isn’t it your dream to become one of the Wonder Bolts? I can sympathize with that feeling of having a dream you know.”   

The sentiment brought up by the colt made Rainbow bring her expression back to a smirk.

“I can see why the others took a liking to you,” she remarked. 

Midnight in response slightly widened his smile and started to walk to where he was originally going. 

“It’s getting dark; I should really get going to the party Pinkie Pie is going to host for me,” he stopped next to Rainbow before continuing, “are you coming to it too?”

“You bet I’ll be there!”  

“Good, see you there,” as Midnight was walking further away from Rainbow, she realized she forgot something important.

“Wait!” Midnight did as was said and turned his head to the side. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Midnight Shine,” he said.

“That’s a pretty cool name,” and with that said the cyan pegasus shot up in the air and flew away.

Midnight turned his head back to face forward and said,

“Thank you,” before continuing to trot. 

-----  

The streets of Ponyville were deprived of any life; the only pony wondering them was the new colt trying to find his way to Sugar Cube Corner. “Everypony else must be waiting for me at that party,” Midnight continued to wonder trying to find the Sugar Cube Corner. Despite that he didn’t want to admitted to himself, he really didn’t know the town well enough yet to know where he is going. Luckily somepony appeared to help.

“So how did it go with Applejack?”

Midnight turned his head to where the voice came from to find a certain lavender mare leaning the side of one of the buildings.

“Oh it’s just you Twilight. Well you can say it went pretty well with Applejack; I helped her harvesting the last apple trees and we got to know each other… it also went well with Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight smirked, “Ya I heard, how did you know she was following you anyway?”

Midnight didn’t respond for the first few seconds; he simply gave a glaring stare before saying, 

“Does it matter?”

“I guess not,” Twilight said being a bit surprised that he didn’t answer the question. She walked to stand next to Midnight, “anyways, I’m here to escort you to the party,” she tilted her head to gesture going forward, “shall we?”

Midnight nodded. 

They didn’t walk far before they made it to the steps of Sugar Cube Corner. Anticipating an instant shouting surprise midnight went to the door first.

“Here we go,” he whispered as he used magic to gently turn the knob and slowly open the door. When the door was fully opened, all that could be seen was pitch black. Midnight took a moment to see if he can gaze further in the darkness. Then he took his right hoof and stepped it inside. Nothing so far. With a sudden confidence he forced himself to take several big steps inside the blackness. Still nothing. He looks back at Twilight who was also inside, and is closing the door behind her.
As soon as the door closed, the pitch darkness and silence were completely destroyed. Instantly all the lights were turned on, confetti was fired, dozens of ponies popped out from their hiding spots, and all of them screamed,

“SURPRISE!” 

Midnight might have known about this beforehoof, but the whole thing still made him jar in surprise. But then he quickly wore a wide smile back on his face. Everypony was there, of all ages and sizes, but that didn’t last long. 

“Let’s get this party started!” shouted Pinkie Pie as she jumped on top of a random table, “but before we do can I have everypony’s attention!” The party guest all quieted down and turned to face the host. “I need all young and underage fillies and colts to please leave the premises of Sugar Cube Corner, please,” she tried to speak as gentle and as nicely as she could.

But in response to the pink party pony’s announcement, a sizable portion of the crowd turned to a symphony of, “Aawwww” and a few said, “Not again.” Then all of the young fillies and colts started to head out the door as well as a few parents.

“But don’t worry; I’ll have a foals only party tomorrow!” Pinkie shouted as the last filly walked out. As soon as they were all fully gone and away, Pinkie grinned and signaled a few ponies to go into the kitchen.

Midnight was confused, “What’s happening?” he asked Twilight.

She grinned, “Well, what do you think happens when the wildest party pony in Equestria is given permission to have a slightly crazy party…?” 

Before Midnight can have a second to think, several ponies came out from the kitchen each one carrying packs of cider and other alcoholic drinks and placed them on the large table in the middle of the room.

“Now let’s get this party started!” shouted the party pony as she took a bottle of cider and chugged it. The crowd meanwhile cheered on and started to drink and play music in the background.

“Ooh, so we’re doing that kind of party,” said Midnight.

“Yup! And you’re the guest colt here,” said Rainbow Dash who came flying in holding a pack of alcoholic drinks. She gives one to Midnight and Twilight before coming down to the ground. “Can you guess which brand this is?” she asked Midnight.

“It smells like Applejack Daniels,” he said.

“Yup! How long do you think you can last?”

“Are you challenging me?”

“Yup,” they both gave wide grins.

“Challenge accepted,” Midnight hissed, “Twilight mind keeping track for us?”

“Actually I have to go see what everyone is doing, but I’m sure you can do it yourselves,” she said as she walked away.

“Fine, I’ll keep track,” said the proud Rainbow.

While Rainbow and Midnight have a drinking contest with other ponies cheering them on, Twilight goes to see her five other friends. They all sat on the round table at the corner of the large party room.

“Hi girls,” greeted Twilight.

“Hi Twilight,” they greeted back.

“I propose a toast to the new colt and new friend in Ponyville,” said the already drunk Pinkie Pie.

“Alright then,” said Twilight. She lifted her drink up and so did the others.

“Cheers!” they said in unison as they collided their beverages together.
      

> Suspicion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The dawn of the following morning came quickly to bring about a new day. The birds chirping outside were noisy and the sun extra bright to the lavender mare barely awake in her bed. She lay on her bed on top of her sheets, apparently she was just rested on her bed and the blanket was poorly placed over her, maybe that’s why she is so cold. She seriously regrets letting herself open her eyes to such blinding light with such a monstrous pain in her head. It was as if she was struck with a sledgehammer.

“Aaaah, my head,” she moans in pain as she tries to somehow sit up from her bed. She sat on her bed with her hooves over her eyes to block the sun’s horrible light. As she rubs her head to ease its pain she wonders, “What happened last night?” she tries to remember, but can’t really think of anything. She could only recall meeting up with her friends at the party; the rest is a blur. She’s worried to the fact she can't remember much, “I really hope nothing too wild happened last night.” 

She tries to look around her room, but then when she turned her head to the right at the window she stops before her eyes were burned any more than they already were by the stinging light. Then she suddenly had a smell waft past her snout. “What the,” she sniffs the air, “…muffins?”

Curios to investigate the smell and trying to get used to her morning lethargy, the lavender pony gets up from her bed and tries not to lose balance as she makes her way downstairs. 

When she got to the kitchen she expected Spike to be baking some breakfast, not Midnight Shine.

“Good morning, Twilight,” said Spike who was sitting at the table eating some muffins, “good to see that you’re okay.”

“Uh, what’s happening?” Twilight asked.

Turning his head to face the awakened mare, Midnight used his magic to levitate a new tray of muffins out of the oven and set it on the counter.

“Well I came to see if you were alright,” said the colt, “after all you were the drunkest one there, so I did have to bring you home myself,” he chuckled.

Twilight let her squinted eyes widen, “What! What happened last night?” she used magic to teleport herself in front of Midnight, surprisingly he didn’t even flinch to the sudden action made by the purple unicorn. Ignoring the pain from her sudden use of magic with her headache, Twilight continued, “Did I do anything crazy?” 

“Relax, Twilight,” he said softly, “you might have been wasted but nothing happened trust me.”

Twilight’s skeptical look on her face meant she wasn’t convinced.

Midnight continued, “You can even ask Spike,” he said pointing his hoof at the dragon.

Twilight turned her head to see if Spike did have anything to say.

“He’s telling the truth, Twilight. He didn’t do anything even though you were the one who wanted him,” said the normally innocent dragon, “and boy were you drunk…” he whispered silently before continuing to nibble on the muffin he’s eating.

“What do you mean I was the one who wanted him?” the mares tone almost angry.

“Ya see here’s what happened,” Midnight and Spike began to explain…

--

Spike is alone in the library cleaning up after the mess Twilight and Pinkie made with the delivery packages. Frustratingly sweeping the floor and picking up the boxes, he started to let talk to himself.
“Jeez,” he says to himself, “you think they would be able to clean up all these packing peanuts if they can put away all those books; I should be asleep by now!” 

Eventually he finishes cleaning up and heads to the bedroom to finally get some rest. When he gets there he could barely keep himself standing, “hello, old buddy,” he says as he lets himself fall on his pillow and blanket. He snuggles, rolls himself around in his blanket, and finds a good position before he finally laid still. He sighs thinking he’s done for the night and can finally rest…

Suddenly he heard the front door swing open and bang against the wall,

“Spikey!!” shouted a familiar voice. The unexpected noise frightened the baby dragon and was frustrated to have to go see what’s happening.

“Wow, w-what the, ugh! Twilight?” Spike rushes downstairs.

He gets to the top of the steps to find Twilight on the bottom of them bobbing as she walks with a silly look on her face. Next to her was a gray unicorn with a blue and black mane; he however seemed fine and carried a smirk on his face.

“Oh hi Shpikey! I’am home from the party!” Twilight shouted with a slurred voice trying to look up at Spike.

“So you’re the baby dragon I’ve been told so much about, nice to meet you,” stated the gray colt.
“Uh hi,” Spike said nervously as he slowly travels to the bottom of the stairs, “you must be the new colt everypony’s talking about, Midnight Shine, right?”

“Yup!”

“Well it’s nice to meet…” Spike notices Twilight’s wobbling her body from side to side, then she loses stability and would’ve fallen if Midnight didn’t catch her, “what’s up with Twilight?”

“Oh right, well Twilight is-” he stops for a few chuckles, “well she’s wasted.” He laughed a little more and hiccupped after speaking.

“… Are you drunk too?” asked the confused Spike. 

Midnight’s smile shrinks a bit, “Sort of, but don’t worry I can still kinda think straight,” he then lifts up Twilight’s right front leg and puts it over the back of his neck and she leans on him, “but right now let’s get this one to bed before she passes out and hits the floor or somthin.”

“Alright,” Spike goes to give support to the other half of Twilight’s body, “let’s go Twilight.”

Midnight and Spike take Twilight up stairs, but while going up the steps the mare couldn’t help but speak her immediate thoughts.

She looks to her left down at Spike. “Shpikey, y-you know you’ll always be my best frwend and number one ashistent; Owluispish sgot nothing on ya!”

Spike couldn’t help but smile at the comment, even if Twilight was drunk while saying it.

Twilight hiccupped and then turned to her right up at Midnight, “and you, are a very handshome colt! Take me to the bedroom!”

Instantly Spike bursted in a chain of laughs meanwhile Midnight’s face turned completely bright red.

“Sorry Twilight,” he said, “but I aint that kind of colt.”

“Aww, come on!” whined the mare.

“Sorry but I don’t think you’ll like that when you wake up tomorrow.”

“Your lose!”

Eventually they made it the bedroom a laid Twilight on the bed. She almost immediately passed out and went to sleep. Midnight levitated a blanket over the sleeping mare then he and Spike started walking back downstairs.

“Wow I haven’t seen her that drunk in a very long time, and rarely does she wobble like that,” remarked Spike.

“She does this often?”

“Very…”

--

“So that’s what happened,” Midnight announced, “still don’t believe me?”

Twilight, who was now sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, had the look of shocking embarrassment and her face became a tint of bright pink that would make even Pinkie Pie jealous.

“I did not really say that, did I?” she asked nervously letting her eyes wonder and head sink into her shoulders.

“Why would we lie to you, Twilight?” Spike responded as he took another bite of his muffin, “and besides you should be grateful Midnight isn’t like most colts.”

Twilight took a moment to think and look at the honorable colt sitting across the table from her.

“I suppose so…” she softly says, but after a quick stare she quickly turns her mood back to an interrogative tone. “But that can’t be the only reason why you’re here,” she smiled again before continuing, “or are you just that thoughtful?”

Midnight chuckled and gave smile. “Well I did come here for a copy of that book I lost,” he started, already Twilight’s question was answered as she remembered, “but then I looked around in the library and found a few more books I would like to check out too.”

“Oh… well that’s great,” Twilight understood that feeling completely, “is there any other reason?”

“Well I guess you can say I’am that thoughtful.”

Twilight’s smile grew and so did Midnight’s. They remained for a few moments looking at each other with dreamy eyes, and they didn’t even notice Spike doing a gaging motion with his claw and tongue.

----- 

Meanwhile at Sugar Cube Corner, the rest of the mane six are sitting together trying to get over their hangovers. All except for Pinkie Pie, who astonishingly was already past her headaches. 

“Wow, that was an awesome party!” she shouted as she suddenly popped out of her seat and leaned herself over the table, her friends in response all groaned in pain.

“Pinkie please not so loud,” Rarity whined while placing her hooves over her head and ears, “some of us are hungover.”

“Yay,” added Rainbow Dash, “how can you be such a light weight and yet we have never seen you with a headache, Pinkie?” 

“Oh don’t bother askin her that,” Applejack remarked as she kept her head laid on the table not moving and next to Fluttershy who was doing the same, “it’s already a mystery to us how she does what she already does…” 

“Ugh,” Rainbow sighed then leaned on the table to rest her head on her hoof.

Ignoring the reaction her friends made Pinkie continued to show her typical cheerfulness.

“Anyways I had fun, how about you?” she asked addressing the four of her friends, who now seemed excited to talk.

Applejack and Fluttershy lifted their heads up,

“You darn right we had fun,” Applejack eagerly announced. 

“I had fun,” said Fluttershy, voice like a soft loud whisper.

“I suppose I enjoyed it too,” Rarity absently remarked. 

“Heck yeah it was awesome,” proclaimed Rainbow, “and I have to say, never have I imagined anypony would ever beat me in a drinking contest!” admitted the usually proud cyan pony. 

“Neither did I, nopony here in Ponyville or Cloudsdale had ever gotten close,” added Fluttershy. 

Applejack chuckled, “Just goes to show you how great of a pony Midnight Shine turned out being,” she looked around at her friends who all nodded in agreement, “it’s always good to make a new friend,” everyone in the table smiled and nodded.

“Hey where is he anyway?” asked Pinkie.

Rainbow was willing to give an answer, “I haven’t seen him since he and…,” she came to a realization mid-sentence, “he and Twilight went to the library…”

Everypony in the table gained expressionless faces, even Pinkie Pie. It went silent for a moment, until Rainbow’s bravado gained momentum. “Well I’m proud of that egghead,” she admitted, “finally she got some.”

Rarity seemed disgusted by what the cyan mare said, “Rainbow Dash, I find it appalling that you would say such a thing, I can assure you Midnight is not that kind of colt.”

“I have to agree,” added Applejack, “Twilight might’ve been out of it, but Midnight was not that drunk.”

Rainbow seemed surprised that her friends would protest so truculently to her mostly joking remark, but she couldn’t help but to keep the conversation on the subject.

“Come on, think about it, they’re both so much alike: they are both unicorns, both from Canterlot,” she started.

“They’re good with magic,” added Fluttershy.

“They’re smart and like reading,” said Pinkie

“Exactly,” Rainbow finished, “and they both have…” the cyan mare had readied another point to her argument, but then when she realized it she started wondering about it, “…uh this might sound stupid and I mean really stupid but… what was Midnight’s cutiemark again…?”

Everyone sitting at the table went silent; they all started to wonder the same thing. They all looked to each other and gave either shrugs or remained quiet and moved to gaze at the next pony. They were all confused and disoriented to the fact that not a single one came up with an answer to the question. The silence became awkward until Applejack felt like speaking what she and all her friends were thinking,

“How is it that not one of us has taken time to see Midnight’s cutiemark?” her tone left no trace of sarcasm.

“Um…”

“I don’t…”

“Uh…”

“…”

Again it went quiet for a moment before Rarity decided to enter her thoughts to the mix,

“I suppose we just didn’t think about it at the time…”

Pinkie jumped in, “Well actually it’s not that we didn’t think about it; it’s more like something just came up and interrupted us from trying to see his mark…” she puts her chin in her hoof realizing that what she said might not have made sense and though of a way to rephrase it.   

“Exactly,” Fluttershy joined in the conversation, “but not quite like that exactly.”

Rainbow Dash was getting confused, “Whatever you guys are talking about it’s still no excuse; I mean you were with him all day!”

“You were spying on him before he even came to Ponyville, so you should’ve been the first to see it!” Pinkie quickly countered.

“Yeah,” Applejack added to the argument, “and I saw when he exposed you; you were on the ground with him when you met him, so you have no excuse either.”

Rainbow crossed her hooves and leaned back on her chair with a frown, “Shut up,” she whispered knowing her argument was invalid. What annoyed her most is that she still couldn’t figure out how Midnight knew she was following him the whole time, and what’s more is that he let her follow him the whole day yesterday. But why? The only reason she was following him was because it just seemed suspicious for somepony to come out of nowhere like Midnight did. Nothing special was happening and there wasn’t much to this town, well except for the…

“Wait a minute,” Rainbow ordered; everypony looked at her, “does anypony know why Midnight came to live in Ponyville?”

“He wanted a change in scenery I think,” answered Pinkie.

“Is that it,” the cyan mare made it clear in her voice that she wanted more than just that.

Rarity spoke up, “He said that he came here to start new. Since he didn’t make many friends and didn’t leave a good reputation with the ponies in Canterlot, he came here to make some friends and change his ways.”

Rainbow took a second to think before she realized something,

“Wait a minute, isn’t that the same reason why Twilight decided to stay here?”

For a moment it went silent as the others realized the same thing. Applejack, again, spoke what everypony was thinking and broke the new silence.

“What else do you think they have in common…? Y’all think their cutiemarks are similar too…?”

Everypony sitting at the table started pondering the same thing. Again for the third time it went silent. At some point Applejack’s and Rainbow’s wondering eyes met and they looked at each other for a few seconds as they had a silent agreement. Then the nodded and both suddenly got up from their seats and started heading out.

The other three ponies sitting down turned their heads to look at them. Curious of the unexpected movement, Fluttershy asked, 

“Where are you two going?”

The two trotting mares stopped.

“We’re going to see how Midnight’s doing this morning…” Rainbow gently said to the yellow pegasus. Oddly Rainbow didn’t really look back at Fluttershy when she spoke. But there was something wrong, her tone and voice is slightly off from the usually tomboyish raspy tone; almost like she were a few years older. 

“Yeah, we’ll be back later,” added Applejack, who also barely turned her head to respond, but there was something else. Strangely her voice was also a bit off; there was no sign of her southern accent. 

Both Applejack and Rainbow started trotting again. Before leaving through the door both said in unison, “Don’t wait up.”
Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie remained staring at each other being somewhat confused by the sudden difference in the other two pony’s voices. But they refuse to think much about it. Deciding it was nothing, they too got up from their seats and went their separate ways without saying another word.

-----      

Inside her private study with the window and curtains closed, Princess Celestia waits patiently in the darkened room for her general to arrive for an emergency meeting. In the meantime she gathers her thoughts by recording them on a piece of parchment. 

“I can sense it very clearly,” she writes, “… It’s the only logical reason, and that’s what it has to be.”

She writes more of her thoughts down. “I’ve been ignoring this feeling for far too long; it’s time to deal with-” she abruptly stops writing and lifts her head up to look across her desk. “Good, you’ve arrived, Maroon Mars.” 

“Well you did say it was an emergency meaning,” said the red unicorn nonchalantly while standing across the desk, “So… what is this about?”

Celestia’s expression turned into a serious one. She looked like she wanted to speak, but the next voice didn’t come from her. Out of the shadowy corner of the room, 

“We are sure you know why you are here, Ms. Mars” said the Princess of the night, Luna, as she comes from the darkness to stand next to Celestia’s desk.

“Oh, hey Luna, what an unexpected surprise,” said Mars in an excited tone. “But sorry, I actually don’t know what this is about.”

Red Star looks innocently at the two stern Princesses. Then out of nowhere a luminous green glow came from the other dark corner of the room and it sealed the window and the doors of the room with magic. Then another voice came out of that same corner,

“I sealed the windows and doors with a magical field, now this room is completely sealed off and nopony can hear us talk, Red Star.” The new voice turned out being the lustrous Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and she too stood next to Celestia’s desk opposite Luna.

Red Star stood there with her expression just as solemn as the princesses’, and understood that now wasn’t the time to mess around anymore.

“Well it’s nice to see you too, Cadence,” the red mare started off. “But anyways, does this meeting have to do with that little ‘feeling’ we’re all having?”    

“Yes but I’am sure you have realized by now what it is we’re sensing,” said Celestia. “After all, the three of us did.”

Red looked slightly nervous. “Yes, of course I know what it is, but the thing is that I don’t know what to do about it.” The look she wore on her face showed that she seeks guidance from her superiors.   

The three princesses looked at each other before Celestia continued.

“Maroon Mars, to be honest… we don’t know what to do either,” she seemed hesitant to admit it. 

Red Star was stunned in surprise. “W-what? What do you mean that you three don’t even know what to do?”

“We regrettably never planned for this, mainly because we didn’t, and still don’t, have any lead to go on.” Luna explained.

“Well do you at least have something to base our next moves?” Red wanted answers.

“Yes, we do have something we need established before anything more can be done,” Cadence started. “You see, we make up four out of the five of the most powerful force in Equestria; we are the only real defense against this threat now.”

“Since the fifth force, the strongest, is now become the liability…” Red hesitantly remarked. 

Luna continued the explanation. “Exactly, and now we’re not even sure if they can be trusted anymore.”

Celestia took off where Luna left off. “What we need to do is be able to keep a close eye on them; the only way we can do that is if we bring them over here in Canterlot.”

“Here, in the capital city?” Red abruptly said. “What if they…”

“When something does happen, we will deal with it to the best and safest of our ability. Besides, we have no other choice here; you know very well why else we need them here, Red Star.”

“… Yes, I understand, Princess.” 

“Right now we need to send over a group to pick them up, and I know just who to send.” Celestia said as she eyed Cadence who in turn is looking back at Celestia with an emotionless gaze. 

-----  

“Boy do they sell saddlebags cheap in this town,” Midnight exclaims to himself as he trots alone alongside the forest. “I’am so glad I was able to get all these books to fit,” he happily remarks.

A little while of trotting later he reaches a large grassy field. He gets to the middle of it and lays himself on the soft grass and his saddlebag next to him, and sighs as he looks up at the blue sky. After a few minutes of silently gazing at the clouds, Midnight pulls out one of the books from his bag. Getting familiar with the book, he flips through all the pages with a single stroke and then skims through the written summary on the back before turning to read the first page of the manuscript. However before he can finish reading the first paragraph, he had no choice but to stop, for he wasn’t alone.

He sighed before laying the book down, standing up, and saying, “You know if trying to be sneaky didn’t work the first time, it’s not gonna work the second time, Rainbow Dash!”

The immediately after Midnight finished, Rainbow Dash swooped down from one of the clouds and landed softly on her hooves in front of Midnight. She looked at the colt with an expressionless look on her face and didn’t say a word.

Midnight smiled, “But I guess you weren’t really trying to hide were you?” He kept the smile but the serious tone he used next was in conflict with his expression, “Also you are not really Rainbow Dash are you…”

The cyan pony didn’t respond and kept her expression serious.

Midnight’s smile vanished, “Who are you?”

“You know very damn well who I’am,” the mare bluntly said with a matured voice that obviously wasn’t hers.

“I know I was just joking; no need to be so harsh,” Midnight regained the smile and laid back down on the grass with his book. “But the real question I have is why have you come here and what are you doing using that body as if it was yours? You know how dangerous that is, right?”

“Before I get into that I’d like to ask you a few questions as well. What are you doing fraternizing with these ponies; do you know how dangerous that is?”

“Oh relax, I’am being careful, after all I didn’t let a single one see my mark,” he wafted his hoof over his flank at the cutiemark only he can see; his proud smile grows the longer he stared at it. 

Rainbow started to get annoyed at Midnight’s lack of seriousness. 

“You know that cheap magic trick won’t hide it forever, and those ponies are already started to become suspicious of you.”

“I won’t need to hide myself for long, so it doesn’t matter.”

“So you do know why I’am here?”

“You came here to inform me of something I already know.”

Out of nowhere from behind Midnight came a new voice, 

“So you know what to do then?”

Midnight turned around to find the unfamiliar tone comes from a certain orange farmpony. Being unsurprised by the sudden appearance, Midnight continued to speak.

“Yes I know what to do. Now on an irrelevant note, I can understand why she,” he pointed at Applejack, “still would need to use that body as is it was her own for now, but you,” he turned his hoof to point at Rainbow Dash, “you don’t need your host anymore. In fact it’s dangerous for you and your host to stay in there for long.”

“I know what I’am doing,” the cyan mare angrily said.

“Well you better,” he turned to face Applejack before continuing. “Anyways back on topic, do the others know what to do?”

“Yes.”

“Do they know when the right time to do so will be?”

“… They know when it’s appropriate…”

“Good!” Midnight went back to his happy attitude. “Now if you two would excuse me, I want to read this book in silence.”   

“Book?” asked Rainbow. “What use do you have for such things?”

“What don’t tell me you don’t enjoy a good book, after all doesn’t your host like to do that now?”

“She does; I don’t.”

“Pfft, typical,” he looked back at Applejack, “and you?”

“It’s okay way to pas time, but overall I feel indifferent about reading.”

“That does sound like something you’d say,” Midnight’s eyes started skimming through the pages of his book. “I personally think that reading…” his smile grew slightly, “… keeps the imagination fresh.”

The two mares next to him didn’t respond for the first few moments.

“That sounds like something that you would say,” declared the farmpony standing behind the gray colt.

“I know,” he said, not taking his eyes off the book for even a second. “Now would you two mind ending this conversation, and make sure you leave those bodies back where you found them?”

The two mares looked at each other and had a silent agreement. Midnight lifted his eyes above his book to see that he was alone now. He sighed and said, “Good…” before continuing to read.
 
> An Invitation To Canterlot Castle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At Ponyville’s library, Spike remained in the kitchen eating the last of the muffins Midnight baked along with some other snacks. He’s off duty from number one assistant since Twilight currently wants to work alone on another one of her dangerous experiments. 

With nothing else to do Spike has no choice but to happily stuff himself like he usually does. Not thinking much of anything other than the sweet taste of food in his mouth, he loses track of time. And at some point he hears a sudden knock, or more like a bang, on the front door of the library. 

“What the heck,” he exclaimed. “Who could that be?”  

The knocking was continuous and loud.
“Spike!” Twilight called from her bedroom. “Can you answer the door?!”

“Ugh…Yeah I got it!” Spike gets down from his seat in the table and walks to the door. The knocking didn’t stop as he kept getting closer, and halfway there he yelled, “I’m coming, I’m coming!”

When he gets to the door he opens it wide. His lazy and slightly annoyed countenance instantly turned into an almost gapping expression of surprise to the two standing at the other side of the door. “Wow! What are you two doing here?”

“Aren’t we entitled to visit?” one of them remarked.

“Also we need to speak with Twilight, is she here?” the other asked.

“Well yeah; right now she’s working on something in her room, but I guess I can get her here… Then in that case come on in.” Spike invites the two guests inside the library and asks them if they could wait for a moment. “I’ll go get Twilight down here for you.” He starts rushing up the stairs and ran down the hall to get to Twilight’s bedroom.

When Spike arrives just outside Twilight’s bedroom door, he wasn’t sure if he should knock. After all, he knew from experience how she could get if anypony interrupted her work. In fact Twilight’s rule is that: unless the world is ending or somepony is dead, don’t disturb. But Spike figured that the guests downstairs were of equal importance, or at least be an exception.

Taking a chance he carefully lifts his right claw and slowly reaches out to the door. He rapidly knocks three times then covers his head as if the door would explode. Forcing his eyes shut he waited a moment for something to happen, but it was just silence. “What the…” he seemed confused, and foolishly let his guard down.

All of a sudden, the door flew open and hit Spike causing him to hit the wall opposite the door.

“What-what-what!?” Twilight shouted as she looked around outside her door. “What is it? Who died!?” she frightfully asked the dragon who is groaning in pain and rubbing his head.

“Nopony died, Twilight!” the baby dragon angrily corrected. “It’s just that you need to see who is at the door and waiting for you downstairs!”

“Who is it?”

“You need to see for yourself, and trust me it is worth the interruption.”

“Well, for your sake, it better be worth it. Just who could be at the door; I mean everypony I know knows not to bother me while I’m working! Especially when I’am in the middle of…” she gasped suddenly and her eyes widened like saucers. “Oh no!” Twilight turned around to face her room. Spike could see that her horn was glowing and she was moving some things around. The last thing that caught his eye was a large flask carrying some blue liquid that's quickly turning purple and bubbling. Twilight then stepped back, shut the door with magic, and with feverish haste turned back around and levitated Spike and placed him on her back. “Come on Spike let’s go!” she frantically cried as she now started galloping down the hall and headed downstairs.

“W-what’s happening, Twilight?” 

“No time to explain!”

Twilight was running as fast as she could to try to make it downstairs and possibly escape out of her home. But after reaching to the bottom of the stairs, she stops and becomes nonplussed as she laid eyes on the two colts standing in the library. She wanted to speak, but all she got out was, “What the… Shining Armor… General Cyclone?”

“Yup it’s us,” Cyclone happily proclaimed.

“Hey little sis,” Shining Armor greeted with a cheerful attitude, but then his tone changed when he noticed how much in a hurry Twilight seemed to have been a second ago. “Are you alright? What’s gotten you in such a rush?” 

“W-well I was uh-” Twilight was instantly silenced by the sudden loud bang that came from upstairs in her bedroom. 

Everyone there staggered in place, Spike fell off of Twilight, and  every one of them, except for Twilight, shouted out, “What in Celestia was that!?”  

Twilight had to give an answer. “Uh, that was my um, failed experiment…” 

“You’re kidding?” Shining Armor gave a half entertained and half confused expression.

Twilight responded with a look of embarrassment.  

“What kind of experiment were you doing?” Cyclone rhetorically asked as he started trotting upstairs, Shining following closely behind. The two get to the hallway to find that the door to the bedroom was blown into the wall it was facing and where it was before became a simple large hole in the wall. 

“Wow…” they both said in unison. They cautiously started moving closer to be able to peak their heads inside the room. 

“Oh yeah, there’s too much debris in the air to see anything,” Cyclone decided. “Shining Armor, do you mind?”

“Not at all Cyclone,” Shining’s horn lit a faint purple light. Then from it came a small tornado shaped formation of wind. It swirled off of his horn and started heading toward the middle of the room, blowing away any smoke in its way. When it got to the middle it dissipated on all directions and stretched to reach the edges of the room and blew off all the dust and debris from the air.

“There, that’s much better,” said Cyclone before actually looking at the damage. “Wow, that’s gonna take a while to repair…” 

There are black smears of burnt debris all over the room’s floor and walls, most of the objects there were either burnt beyond recognition, blown to oblivion, or black with cinders. The window next to the pile of ash that used to be the bed is shattered and smoke still continued to flow out of it. 

“Oh no,” whined the purple mare who just came upstairs and joined the two colts standing outside her room. “Great, now everything is destroyed.” 

“You seem rather calm about this…” Spike, who stood closely behind Twilight, skeptically remarked.

“Well actually, the explosion did less damage than I thought it would… also you know I have a spare of everything in my room safe in the basement in case something like this happens.”

“What were you trying to do in here?” Cyclone hesitantly asked.

“Well uh, I was trying to uh,” 

Suddenly they heard a banging sound come from the library. And then instantly from nowhere came a cyan pegasus flying in with a panicky manner.

“What happen here?” she asked. “What the, Shining Armor, what are you doing here?” 

Then, following the pegasus’s sudden entrance, came four more ponies who looked like they were about to ask the exact same thing.

“We came here as fast as we could!” Rarity said between breathes. “What happen and…. What the, Shining Armor?” 

“Yup, it’s me,” said the rather composed stallion, waving his hoof at them.  

“But what are you doing here?” Rainbow insisted. Then she noticed Cyclone standing next to Twilight, “And who’s this other guy?”  

“Oh, this is General Cyclone,” Twilight started explaining. “He’s an old friend from when I was studying back in Canterlot with the Princess.” 

“Hello,” Cyclone happily greeted.

Out of the five mares, Pinkie Pie seemed to be the only one to have bothered to happily wave back at the general.

“Well it’s nice to meet you General Cyclone,” Applejack started. “But all that aside for now, what happened here; what was that explosion we heard?”

Spike, Shining, and Cyclone all together turned their heads to look at Twilight, which then brought the other ponies to do the same. The lavender unicorn seemed too embarrassed to answer. 

“Well, I was uh-it was uh, one of my experiments had gone wrong…” she finally admitted after a few hesitant stutters. But even with the stumbles, her friends already understood what happened.

“Ugh, were you bothered while you were doing your, um experiments?” Rarity asked, knowing that is most likely the case.
Spike was the only one to notice Twilight slightly turning her head to look halfway at the baby dragon’s general direction. He then heard her quietly sigh and she turned her head back to face her friends. 

“Actually no, I actually made a-an error, and then it just…”

“A mistake? How?” Applejack felt curious, but then decided that it be best if it wasn’t explained; she wouldn’t understand the fancy schmancy science talk anyway, “Actually don’t answer that. What matters is that nopony got hurt, right?”

“You’re right, we were all downstairs when it happened,” Shining Armor explained. “But anyways, let’s move this whole thing aside for now, and let’s talk about why General Cyclone and I came here to Ponyville.”        

“Oh okay then,” Twilight said. “Come; let’s go downstairs in the library to talk.”

As everypony started going back downstairs, Spike and Twilight made eye contact. For a moment Spike felt afraid; he wasn’t sure what Twilight was going to do. After all he is sort of responsible for Twilight messing up. However Twilight adopted a bright smile instead of looking angry. It was a caring smile that said soothingly “it’s all alright.” Spike was surprised by the unexpected compassion. But he assumed Twilight was just somehow in a good mood, despite her room being destroyed.

As Twilight and everypony else left down the stairs, Spike just came up with a grim realization.

“Wait a minute,” he said as he looked inside the destroyed bedroom. “Where am I going to sleep?” he complained to mostly himself. 

He turned around to see that he was alone, and then he rushed to meet up with the others. He stops when he gets midway up the staircase and sits to watch below. The six mares gather in front of the two stallions, eager to hear what they have to say. Once everypony was settled, 

Shining Armor spoke first, “Now for a while now, you all have faced many challenges as well as very formidable foes. Your friendships, willingness, and efforts have been put to heavy tests. All of it started a few years go with Nightmare Moon, and the last incident being just a few months ago in the royal wedding, my wedding.” 

The mane six each look at one other and relive their past adventures.

Shining continues, “Well, the Princesses want to somehow thank the six of you for your services to Equestria.”

Curiosity and confusion appeared on the faces of the six mares.    

Cyclone joined in on the explanation, “You see all of Equestria is eternally grateful for the things the six of you, the Elements of Harmony, have done to protect us. And the thing is we haven’t really thanked you for any of it, yet.”    

“So the princesses have invited you all to a full three week long vocational, celebratory get-together in the Royal Canterlot castle. There’s going to be a wide variety of activities, opportunities, and celebrations, all fit to each one of your likings. And best of all, it’s all being paid for by the Princesses, and even Spike gets to come!” Shining Armor finished off with the exciting announcement with his hoof pointing at the baby dragon sitting on the steps, who immediately couldn’t control his hyper movement and giggles of excitement.

Immediately jaws drop.

“A full three week stay at the Canterlot castle?!” the mane six shout simultaneously, drawing out excited cheers from them.

“Yes-yes I know how exciting it sounds; however there is a catch,” Cyclone’s voice didn’t seem to have hindered the fillies’ excitement in even the slightest, but at least they turned their attention to the general. Cyclone continued, “and that catch is: this trip is meant for only the six of you, the Elements of Harmony.  Nopony else is able to come; with the only exception being Spike, of course.” 

Immediately silence swept among the previously excited mares as they all thought about the ponies they wanted to invite. And a specific gray stallion just happens to be the first pony to appear in their minds.  

“Uh are you all okay?” Shining Armor asks noticing the awkward silence.

The mane six look at each other with empty expressions before Rarity calmly asks,

“Are you sure we can’t bring anypony else with use?”
“We’re sorry,” Cyclone replied. “But the Princesses request that this trip be only for the seven of you, and nopony else.” 

“Why is that?” Applejack insisted.
Shining Armor and Cyclone exchange quick looks.

“Is there something wrong?” Shining Armor asks, completely avoiding Applejack’s question.

“Actually-” Rainbow was ready to explain, but then,

“No, there isn’t a problem,” Twilight suddenly cut off the cyan pony. All surprised eyes turn to look at the purple unicorn as she speaks. “We just need some time to talk about this grand opportunity we have been given. After all this is so sudden, and we were never really given an opportunity like this to simply relax. So if you two wouldn’t mind, Shining Armor and Cyclone, can you give us all a moment?” Twilight shifted her eyes between her friends and the two stallions, giving them all emotionless looks throughout her explanation. In return everypony present gave Twilight confused and curious expressions for her sudden speech.

The captain and the general meet eyes for a second before making a silent agreement.

“Alright then,” Cyclone said. “When you need us we’ll be by town hall, waiting for your answer.”

“See ya Twili!” 

Shining Armor and Cyclone exit the library, leaving the six best friends to talk. Right when they shut the front door, the conversation started.

“What the heck did you do that for, Twilight?!” Rainbow angrily insisted.

“Indeed, why didn’t you let us inform them about Midnight Shine?” Rarity asked with a slightly annoyed tone.

Twilight didn’t seem alert to her friends’ voices at first. She looked like she was spacing out, staring at nothing, and thinking carefully about something. For a long pause she remained quiet before she looked back at her friends with a weak smile.

“I don’t think we should insist too much on them, after all we’re probably lucky they let Spike join us,” she says.

“But what about Midnight Shine, don’t you think we should invite him?” Applejack immediately shot back.

“Yes I do, but, we’re not really sure if he would even want to go. I mean he just came here from Canterlot to start new in Ponyville, do you think he would want to go back to Canterlot even if it’s just for a vacation?” Twilight held a good argument, and the others felt the same.

“Still we have to at least tell him about this, maybe you’re wrong,” Spike said, coming down the stairs and joining the group. 

“You’re right Spike,” Twilight admitted. “In that case will any of you like to help me find Midnight and explain this to him?”   

“Ooo-ooo I’ll go! Pick me!” Pinkie Pie excitingly offered. 

“Count me in too!” Rainbow Dash eagerly volunteered.  

“Very well,” Twilight said. “Let’s go find him.”

Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash trot out of the front door leaving Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike in the library.

“What do we do now?” Fluttershy softly asked. 

“Well I don’t know about you all,” Rarity said, “but I’m going to pack my things for this trip.” Rarity said as she started trotting out the door.

“Sounds like a good idea; I’m gonna go ahead and start getting ready too.” Applejack announced, following closely behind Rarity. “You coming too, Fluttershy?”

“Oh, uh okay…” Fluttershy agreed without hesitation. “What about you Spike?” 

“I’ll stay here and do the same, you guys go ahead.” Spike started going back up the stairs, then he stopped halfway when he remembered something. “Wait a minute, ugh! All my things were in the bedroom!” He started frustratingly walking down the stairs, “Can I come with you guys; I have nothing to pack, it was all blown up.”

“Sure Spike, let’s go.”    

-----

“Does anypony even know where Midnight is?” Twilight kindly asked the two mares following behind her as they wonder around Ponyville. 

“I actually haven’t seen him all day; not since last night,” said Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah me neither,” Rainbow said as she flew above the other two mares. “Twilight, this morning, didn’t he tell you where he was going?”

“Huh? How did you know that he and I met up in the morning?” Twilight curiously lifted one of her brows.

“Well he did walk you home last night; you were both somewhat drunk, so didn’t you and him... you know?” Rainbow’s hoof gestures and sudden emphasis at the end of her sentence made her point clear.

Twilight tried her hardest to keep a solemn look and instantly gave a grimace to the cyan mare’s question.  

“Rainbow Dash, I can see why you would think such a thing. But be aware that though I might’ve been intoxicated, I did not sleep with Midnight last night!”

“Aw come on, why not?” Pinkie pie whined. “You two make such a cute couple! You sure Midnight didn’t come on to you last night, or maybe you to him?” Pinkie’s questionable emphasis also seemed just as lustful as Rainbow’s

“H-how can you say that,” Twilight couldn’t control her face from turning a bright pink hue. “I just met him yesterday!” She also couldn’t control her nervous stuttering, “And he, uh I mean we, aren’t the kind of ponies to do that so early.” The lavender pony started getting more control of herself and her voice. “All he did last night was drop me off my house, he came to my house this morning just to check out a few books, and he didn’t tell me where he was going when he left, that’s all to it.”

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash turned to gaze at each other. Pinkie adopting a wide grin that said “I told you so”, while Rainbow bore a look of disappointment. Then they both decided to stop insisting on that topic.  

The three continued a silent search around town. Silent, until Pinkie just remembered something. She looked up at the cyan mare flying just above her, and recalled,

“Rainbow Dash, so you and Applejack never found him when you left to look for him? Where did you even look?”

“Huh, what are you talking about Pinkie?” Rainbow replied. 

“You know, this morning when we were all at the Sugar Cube Corner, we were uh… talking about Midnight; then you and AJ just got up and decided to look for him,” the pink pony’s voice was hesitant and was careful with her words, due to the certain purple mare’s presence.

Rainbow comes down from the air and walks alongside the pink mare. Not knowing what she’s talking about, Rainbow needed to continue the talk.

“Applejack and I never did that; are you sure you’re thinking of the right ponies?” Rainbow tried to keep her voice at a whisper, trying to be mindful of the lavender pony in front of her. However Twilight doesn’t really seem to be paying attention to them; she’s just continuously looking for the gray colt around town.

“Yeah of course I’m sure, I specifically remember when this morning at the Sugar Cube Corner we were talking about Midnight, then you and Applejack got up and talked in some strange voices. You were all like, ‘we’re going to see how Midnight’s doing this morning’ and Applejack was like, ‘Yeah we’ll be back later’.” The more Pinkie explained the less life there was in her enthusiastic voice as she slowly started noticing Rainbow’s confused appearance. Pinkie can see it in the cyan mare’s eyes; she truly did not know what Pinkie was talking about. But that didn’t make any sense… 

Before Pinkie could investigate this…

“Hey there he is!” Twilight exclaimed, immediately gaining the attention of the two ponies following her. The gray colt they were looking for was leaving the doors of the Boutique looking cheerful while levitating a new set of cloths and wearing a black hat with thin white stripes. “Midnight!” Twilight suddenly called out then started running after the colt. Pinkie and Rainbow weren’t sure how to respond but to do the same. 

Right away Midnight Shine noticed Twilight call his name, but he decided not to really react until she got was close enough to talk to. 

“Wow simmer down Twilight, what’s the rush?” He asked.

“T-there’s something that I have to tell you, and ask you…” The mare spoke between breathes.

“Is this about the vacation offer to Canterlot Castle?”

“H-how did you know?”

“Oh, well Rarity told me.”

“Why were you-”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie caught up and interrupted what Twilight was about to ask.

“Did ya tell him yet?” they both simultaneously ask the lavender pony.  

“Oh don’t worry; I already know, Rarity told me everything. And the thing is I don’t really want to go to back to Canterlot, even if it’s a vacation.” Midnight passively adjusted his hat while he spoke.

“What?” the mares call out in unison, except for Twilight who instantly gained a smug grin that said “I told you so”.

“Why not?” Pinkie asked  

“Well…” unexpectedly Midnight’s smile shrunk a bit. “You see I just got here, and I haven’t really gotten to meet everypony in town yet… There’s a reason why I left Canterlot, but I don’t want to get to that yet,” he took off his hat and started compulsively running his hoof through its rims. “But anyways, I don’t want to go to this trip. I just don’t. For personal reasons. My place now is here in Ponyville, so it won’t be very fruitful to go to Canterlot.” He looked at the mare’s standing in front of him and noticed from their sentimental looks they started to understand his reasons. He sighed and then put his hat back on before he brought back that smile of his, “And besides I’ve already been to the castle plenty of times, and even been well acquainted the Princess.”

A certain purple filly’s jaw dropped at the last statement,

“What? You have? When? You’re kidding me aren’t you!? How was it that you?”

“Now-now Twilight, that story is for a later, more personal time.” Midnight added with a tease.

Remarkably Twilight got over the unexpected statement and brought herself more under control.

“Well anyway, how much did Rarity tell you already?” she asks.

“She told me that you all leave today, that even Spike is going too, and uh,” Midnight tilted his hat to the bottom left to partially cover his eye, “She also said something about the vacation being a repayment to you all for something, or something like that; I didn’t really hear her when she started talking about that…”  

A certain rainbow colored mare’s eyes shifted and her ear flickered in response; nopony seemed to notice it. 

Twilight spoke next. “Well okay then, I’ll be seeing you later. Don’t worry we’ll all be back in a three weeks.” Ending the conversation she said, “Bye,” before trotting away.

Pinkie Pie hopped in front of Midnight with a wide smile “You think you’ll be fine with us gone for so long?”

“Oh I’m sure I’ll be fine Pinkie. It’ll be a little boring and quiet without you around, but I can handle it.”

“Oki-doki-loki! See ya later then; I got to go pack my things for the trip!” and with that the overjoyed pink pony started springing away.

“Well at any rate,” Rainbow began, “I got to go and pack my things too.”

“Alright; hope to see you come back wearing a Wonder Bolt’s uniform.”

“Hehe, you and I both. Well anyway, gotta dash; I’ll see you in a few weeks!” She flew up in the air and sailed away, leaving Midnight by himself.

He sighed and said to himself, “I wonder how the Princess and the others are doing nowadays… boy do I dislike having to go Canterlot…” then a glow came from his horn and he vanished in bright blue flash. 

   
  

> According to the reports...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We have received word that the Elements of Harmony are now on their way here, General Mars,” The silver legion soldier respectfully, calmly lowered her head and horn to address her superior. “And they should arrive in Canterlot within the next seven to eight hours.”

“Ah, that’s good to hear!” Red Star happily said, refusing any effort of being formal with her subordinate. 

“We also have the reports and developments you asked for.” The soldier uses a conjuration spell and summons a file full of papers, and gives it to Red.

“Good work, Lieutenant! I thought these would’ve been lost after all these years. Report back to me with anymore developments; you may go now.”

“Right,” the silver unicorn uses a teleport spell to leave the General’s personal study, making the obnoxious sound the red mare dislikes so much.

“Ugh that noise,” she openly complained, “If only other unicorns knew how to silence their teleport magic.” 

She sighs, tosses the file onto her desk, and then absently starts using magic to lock her door, sound proofing the whole room, and shutting the window with the curtains, making the room sealed off to anypony else. 

Finding peace in the pure privacy, she arrives at her office desk and sits down to look the folder. She opens the file and pulls out everything in it, which all happen to be about one previous event in particular…

Her mood completely changes as she skims through more and more. As she finishes reading a few of the pages, she settles all of them in a stack on the side of the desk.

She starts quietly talking to herself. “It’s been twelve years now since that thing, that power, came out of Twilight Sparkle during her training… twelve years…” She stands up from her seat and leans with her fore hooves on the desk. 

She takes a moment to think about what she has read, then she abruptly, angrily slams her right hoof onto her desk. 

She used so much force that several chips of wood around her target flew off haphazardly on impact, some of them hitting the mare’s face. 

Her sudden action was then followed by a yell, “AND IN ALL THAT TIME ALL WE EVER DID WAS SIT AROUND WAITING AND SLOWLY FORGETTING!” Her loud shout echoed in her throat as well as in the room, having no real place to go. 

Grinding her teeth she continues, “CELESTIA DAMN IT ALL! HOW COULD WE HAVE BEEN SO CARELESS? HOW COULD, I! HAVE BEEN SO CARELESS?!” She punches her desk again at the same spot, this time with enough force for her hoof to be buried deeper into the wood and for even more splinters and chips to fly off in all directions. “HOW IS IT THAT IT DIDN’T COME TO US TO THINK OF PREPARING FOR THIS? EVEN IF WE HAD NO LEADS WE STILL HAD TO HAVE SOMETHING! THAT THING! THAT GODDESS FORSAKEN THING! IT COULD’VE DESTROYED ALL OF EQUESTRIA WITH NOTHING TO STOP IT! IT WAS MORE POWERFUL THAN ANYTHING I COULD’VE EVER IMAGINE; IT WAS FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN EVEN THE PRINCESSES! AND MAYBE EVEN THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY!”

One more time, Red Star punches the desk, but this time she supports her hoof with magic to give herself some unusual strength. Her hoof blows through her desk and she knocks out one of the desk drawers from its place, spilling its contents everywhere. 

Out of all the papers that spilled out there was one that caught the red mare’s attention. 

Landing face up on the floor in front of her was a picture of herself with a certain lavender filly. The picture depicts the red mare giving her previous student a playful nuggy and the filly in return seemed to be having fun with her teacher as they both hardly fine a reason to not smile. 

Ignoring the growing, stinging pain in her bleeding arm, Red Star immediately stopped and calmed down in sight of the old photo. Then she sat back down on her chair and levitated the picture to get a better look at it. 

She can feel her cheeks being lifted by her smile and chuckles leave her lips the longer she stares at the photo. She remembers all the time she spent while teaching the little filly about magic; she even remembers when that picture was taken. Lost in memories, Red thought out loud, “…. Oh Twilight Sparkle, you were so small and adorable… what a great and eager student you turned out to be… and me hehe, you could say I was, and still am, pretty cute too…” 

As her mind wandered so did her head, and at some point she found herself staring at the destroyed desk.

Focusing back she leaves the picture levitating next to her head. Then she looks at the reports that still lay on the other, undamaged side of the desk. “It could’ve very easily killed everypony, and yet it didn’t,” she says, her jaw and hooves tremble as she thinks back to the event. Then she turned her head to look at the photo, “… Maybe, that entity meant no harm. I mean after all it did spare Twilight’s life, it didn’t seem to have been hostile… and it even stopped me from dying in the force of my own magic…” 

She sighs and then she continues the solitary conversation.  “Something must be up; there’s no way we couldn’t have at least develop something to protect ourselves with over these years.” She flips through the pages until she reaches a particular documented report. “Oh it’s a report from my little lieutenant herself… oh I see… according to whatever my team and I could figure out, the entity…” she abruptly stops when she senses some pony’s magical energy coming from the door of her office, despite her magic field. 

At first Red Star was far too surprised for words, but then she realized there are still three ponies that are strong enough to still be able to be sensed even through Red’s magic.

Before giving the pony behind the door a chance to knock, Red Star called out, “Give me a second!” Then she made her left hoof glow with a red aura before wafting it above the broken desk and over her injured right arm. The magic caused the propelled chunks of wood to re-attach to the desk and all the blown papers were put back inside the drawer. Not just that but Red’s wounded arm stopped bleeding and was rapidly restored back to health. While everything around her repaired itself, Red shut off the magic field she put around her office and dropped the photo in the drawer as it was closing back inside the desk. 

“The door is open!” she called as she used her red aura to lastly unhinge the locks on the door.

The door slowly creaked wide open. Out of it came in the radiant niece of the sun goddess. Princess Cadence. She carried a look of apprehension with her as she slowly made her way to the front of Red’s desk.

Red gave the first greeting, “Oh it’s you Princess, what an unexpected surprise. How’s it going?” 

“It could be better to be honest, Maroon Mars,” Cadence’s tone is as anxious as her expression. “How much information do we have on the entity?” 

“Huh? Oh right! Well, I just started looking over the reports, and there’s already something we know that is of use… in fact it’s just as I suspected…”

“Oh good, what do we know?”

“Eh well about that…” Red’s eyes were shifting from one direction to another. Something is worrying her.

Cadence noticed this and said, “It’s alright, I’ll know if somepony is close. You don’t have to worry about any eavesdroppers.”

“That’s not what’s bugging me,” Red immediately interjected, “It’s just that… I’am worried right now that… never mind. Just forget it…”

“If there’s something troubling you…”

“No, it’s nothing. Can we just move on?” 

Cadence noticed that Red seems ill at ease, but it be better to not get too caught up in that right now.

“Alright. Well anyways what is it that you’ve figured out?” Cadence moved the subject along.

“See for yourself,” Red Star levitated the folder over to the princess. Then she started looking and reading them. “You know when the entity vanished into nowhere on the day it revealed itself, I thought it simply died because it just couldn’t survive without a host, even with its immense power.” Red began to explain while Cadence followed along, reading the documents. “But now it’s clear that the entity, by an unknown means, went back inside the Element of Magic and kept itself dormant throughout this whole time, living silently within Twilight Sparkle. Being one with the Element of Harmony.”

“H-how could that be?” a dread feeling went down Cadence’s spine. 

“We don’t know. We think it’s because since it already had origins with the Element of Magic it was able to match its essence with it for a long time while hiding inside, keeping us from sensing it. How it did that is a complete mystery. However now it has grown so strong that it can’t do that anymore, so now we can sense its power.”

“What does that mean for Twilight?”

“… I don’t know… All I know for sure is that that entity won’t be able to stay inside Twilight for long. Its power will have unpredictable effect on not only Twilight but the rest of the Elements of Harmony if it does. It MUST be removed. There’s a chance it will voluntarily remove itself, but I’am prepared if we have to use force…”

“Now Mars," the princess called out in distress, "you know that is a last resort. You can't just do that. After all we brought them over here thinking they’re on a vacation as thanks for their services…” Cadence’s voice started losing life mid-sentence as she realizes what she was implying. 

A long dead pause lingered.

“I hate having to do this," Red resumed at last, "lying to them in such a gross manner. Even if we are offering them all these things like a real celebration, our intentions are insulting. And I know you feel the same way about this too. In fact I was surprised when Shining Armor, your husband, Twilight’s brother, agreed to such secrecy.”

For a second Cadence refused to make eye contact with Red Star, “… Is that what’s been upsetting you?” she finally asked. 

“N-no… I-it’s just that, well, I haven’t seen Twilight, an old dear friend and student, in so long. I wanted our reunion to be of our own free will and not for a mission to save Equestria!”

“I understand, believe me I do, but there was no other choice. We couldn’t risk anypony else finding out about this. Besides it’s still a vacation-”

“At least until something happens to her!” Red let out her words faster than she could catch them. Surprised by her own outburst Red didn’t know what else to say, and neither did the princess. 

Another awkward silence lingered. At least until Red broke it.

“I’m sorry…” her tone seemed unrecognizably apologetic.  

“It’s alright,” Cadence calmly responded, “if that is all you and your research team have come up with, then I thank you for informing me and I thank you for your time...” she slowly turned around and started walking to the door.

“Wait,” Red said timorously. Cadence stopped immediately as if she was barked at, but she kept her body facing the door. “There’s something else you need to know. You know that we are one of the few who are strong enough to sense such things like power or essence from a far distance whenever we want to, right? Well, we can both sense that entity right now as we speak… without even trying to…”

“What are you saying?” Compelled by sudden interest, Cadence turned her body to face the red mare once again.

“I’m saying that this entity radiates probably the most powerful energy that has ever been felt in Equestria. Anyone who is well versed in magic, whether it’s a pony or another sentient race, can sense this power…” Red noticed the Princess’s eyes becoming wide like saucers, but she continues, “… Twilight might just attract some… unwanted attention…”

“Are you saying that we should expect some sort of invasion!?” Fear and unease went through the pink alicorn’s manner of speaking.

“Oh no, not just anyone can feel this. That power can still only able to be sensed by a select few who are very strong or well-rounded with their magical surroundings… oh wait that’s still a lot…” Red didn’t realize until the end of her sentence that her attempt to calm the princess wasn’t really helping. 

“Are we going to have to fight for the Elements of Harmony?” The broadest question for the situation to handle just hesitantly rolled of the tongue of the very panicky princess. 

“Uh I-don’t, think, so… I-maybe, uh…” Red Star wasn’t sure how to put things lightly; she couldn’t just lie to Cadence either. Gaining confidence, Red continues, “look, you really shouldn’t worry about this. There haven’t been any sudden appearances of unknown ponies, well at least to my knowledge. Also I highly doubt those who even bother coming here to investigate this power would be much trouble for us to handle.”

“Well… I suppose you’re right,” the Princess’s tone is surprisingly brought back to normal, “I apologize if I seemed a little too worried for a second.”

“Aww, come on princess, you don’t have to apologize for something like this. To be honest you actually acted much less distressed than I did when this was brought to my attention, hehe.”

“Oh right. You know you didn’t have to punch your des-” Cadence covered her mouth at once and stopped herself from saying anymore.

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?”

The Princess didn’t answer. She just bore a goofy smile and made her eyes wander. 

“Wait! You mean you were listening to me when I-”

Before Red Star could finish, the Princess quickly, but gently placed her right hoof on Red’s lips to silence her. Then she said in a playful tone, “No need to discuss anything else. I should probably get going and leave you to your work. Don’t you think?”

Before the red mare could respond, Cadence went ahead and used a silent teleport and left.

Red Star simply stood there being surprised at the Princess’s sudden changes in mood. “Bah! Despite everything that’s happening you still find a reason to smile. I can’t ever understand how you do that, to be honest.” Her thoughts move on to another problem, “Oh damn, she heard everything I was saying! Great. Hope she doesn’t tell Celest and Luna. Ugh what am I saying, of course she won’t.”

Quickly getting past that, she drops herself on her chair and leans further down the chair. It wasn’t long until her eyes ventured to look at the desk drawer where the picture rests. “Hmm, I wonder what it is she’s been up to lately. Probably playing with some experiments… Ooh wait, I wonder what the other Elements of Harmony are like…!” Red’s face broke into a smile, “Haha! Now I can’t wait to meet all of Twilight’s friends!” her tone roared with goofy excitement as she jumped off her seat.

But then Red Star questioned her own sudden actions as fast as they happened. This is not at all like her to be acting so happy so quickly. “Ah! What the?” remaining still for the most part Red tries to quickly think of what is causing this to happen. It didn’t take her long to find the cause of this. “UGH! Tell me you didn’t, when did you- of course, when you touched my lips! Damn it Cadence! You didn’t have to drug me with a lethal dose of your lovey-dovey magic!”

With her annoyance and frustration stricken by sudden happiness, Red bolts out of her office and starts to gallop through the hallways. “This isn’t funny! I have important things to look into; I have no time for this!” It wasn’t long before she made it to her living quarters.

She gives one last yell before the effects of Cadence’s magic consumes her into a full ardent demeanor. “As soon as this happy curse wears off, I’ll get back at you, Cadence!!”  

> On Our Way There...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“This is gonna be great!”

“Oh my gosh-oh my gosh-oh my gosh!”

“Oh how I can’t wait to see Canterlot again!”

“Can’t this train go any faster?”

The mane six await for their arrival to Canterlot on the locomotive that leads there. On the front half of the train car, Applejack, Rainbow, Pinkie, and even Spike were excitingly telling tales of their preordained actions while in Canterlot. Meanwhile Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity sit together on the back of the train car, quietly expressing their own enthusiasm to each other.

“What do you think we’ll do first when we get there?” Fluttershy timidly asked.

“I’m not sure,” Rarity said, “But what I do know is that I can’t wait to be staying in the Canterlot Castle again. Do you think we’ll all get our own separate rooms?”

“Oh Rarity, I think it’s safe to assume we get the best kind of treatment,” Twilight commented.

“What are you looking forwards to on this trip?” Rarity opened the question to both her friends.

Fluttershy answered first, “Oh I don’t really know at the moment, but I’ll definitely want to try to start over with the animals in the Canterlot Gardens. What about you Twilight?”

“Well, actually I’am rather excited to see my old mentor.”

“Is that it? But don’t you already see Celestia often anyways?” Rarity asserted. 

“No, I didn’t mean Celestia,” Twilight started to explain, “You see there was another pony, a unicorn, who took just as much, if not more, of a role in teaching me about magic back when I first started being a student to the Princess. And I say it was an honor having her as one of my teachers…” 

“Who’s the unicorn you’re talking about?” Fluttershy brought enough confidence to ask.

“Her name is Maroon Mars, but everypony just calls her Red Star. She’s famous throughout the entire world for being the strongest and over all best magic user ever. She even achieved becoming Celestia’s Arch Mage and General! In fact, only the three Princesses and the power of the Elements of Harmony surpass her in magical strength.” Twilight’s voice lifted in astonishment the further she described her old teacher.

“Wow, that’s incredible,” Rarity and Fluttershy exclaimed simultaneously. 

“Then how is it that we’ve never met her before?” Rarity curiously asked, “After all we’ve been to Canterlot several times and you never before mentioned a ‘Red Star’ or that blue colt we met at the library, Cyclone was it?”

“Well, you see, like I said both Maroon Mars and Cyclone are generals. Which means that they both have a sworn duty to protect and serve Equestria; they simply are always kept busy because of that. The same goes for my brother as well. But right now I assume that they’re on leave, a break. Hehe, maybe they’re on a vacation themselves…”

“I dare say, Twilight,” Rarity commented, “Exactly how many friends in high places do you have?” 

In response Twilight gave a weak smile, she could tell that Rarity’s question was a rhetorical one. Discontinuing the conversation, Twilight turns her head to look at the landscape the train travels through. Fluttershy and Rarity talk amongst themselves.

The only real noise that remains is the loud, overjoyed conversations happening between the other three mares lounging in the other half of the train car.

“Well, I’ll see you girls later,” Twilight said as she got up from her seat, “I’m gonna go check on Cyclone and Shining Armor up at the front of the train.” 

“Alright, Twilight,” Rarity said.

“See you later,” Fluttershy added.

Twilight trotted away past the other group of friends and into the other train cars. 

-----

“Shining Armor, what are you doing?”

“Waiting for the coffee to be ready. What does it look like?”

“I didn’t know you drank coffee.”

“Well I didn’t start until shortly after I had to take on the responsibilities of being Captain.”

“Ah, I understand fully.”

“But beside that, there are plenty things we both don’t know about one another nowadays. After all, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen both you and Red Star.”

Cyclone and Shining Armor quietly spend their time starting miscellaneous conversations in the train’s front food car. The white coated captain is the only one who’s moving around and pacing back and forth, while the blue general is almost rooted to his seat. 

“Yeah I’m sorry about leaving everything to just you and Cadence,” Cyclone started, “And extra apologies for not being at your wedding. But you know, Maroon Mars and I were too busy dealing with a few things abroad in our neighboring empires.”

“It’s alright; I understand why you couldn’t make it. By the way, how did your little attempt at diplomacy go anyway?”

“Nothing worth mentioning… a handful of rebels and bandits, a few varied assignments… Oh and for a full three days and nights Maroon and I got lost in the Ice Crystal Mountains… sigh I find that all our little adventures are somewhat amusing to me.”

“Ha! I wonder how well Red did in those cold landscapes!” 

“Are you kidding, she can barely stand a little winter breeze!”

The two colts burst into a chain of laughs and playful teasing. Then without warning Twilight came in trotting through the hall of the train car and reached the two colts. Her presence was welcomed.

“Hey Twilight, it’s nice to see you again,” Cyclone greeted, “What are you doing here?”

“Yeah shouldn’t you be planning this trip out with your friends?” Shining Armor added.

“Actually I already did that,” Twilight eagerly replied, and then took a seat across from Cyclone, “I came here to kinda catch up with you guys with what’s going on.”

“Catch up?” Shining repeated, “I think Cyclone here has far more tales to tell than I do, Twili. After all, even I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

“I’ll say,” Cyclone concurred, “the last time I saw you, Twilight, you were just a young mare barely out of her teens. And now look at you, all grown up, highly skilled as usual, and an Element of Harmony.” 

Twilight strikes a prideful pose to show her ‘growth’ since the time Cyclone speaks of.

Cyclone sees her attempt on a stance, and says, “Though I remember you better as the small, cute little filly that runs around doing random shenanigans with Red Star all over the castle.” 

Twilight drops her jaw and looked jokily appalled. Meanwhile Shining Armor couldn’t help but snicker as he too recollects those memories of his little sister.

Cyclone immediately takes notice to Shining and turns to him, “And you, Shining Armor, what are you laughing at? Last time I saw you, you were just an adorable little recruit. Nothing but a whelp.” It was Twilight’s turn to lose control of her chuckles. Cyclone continues, “However, as I can see, you are now ranked Captain. In fact both you and Twilight are now practically related to goddesses of Night and Day- Sun and Moon… Ha! Yet I still outrank you both!” Cyclone starts laughing; Shining and Twilight amusingly roll their eyes. 

Shining sees that his coffee is ready and pours himself a cup. “Well anyways,” he says, barely taking his eyes off the cup he’s levitating, “I got to go to find the part of the train where they have all the rooms, I feel like I could use some rest and time to myself.”

“Alright, then, see you later, Captain.” Cyclone says.

“Bye, BBBFF!” Twilight enthusiastically called out. 

“Bye, Twili,” Shining replies.

Shining Armor leaves and Twilight is left with Cyclone.

“BBBFF?” Cyclone asks a few moments later.

Twilight explains, “Yeah, it means: big brother best friend forever.”

“… Hehe, I totally forgot that you called your older brother that. Anyways, what are you going to do now?”

“Well right now I want to just thank you for paying for the repairing of my home.”

“There’s no need, I’m glad to help. Accidents happen, after all.”

“Well actually things like that happen to my house… a lot… and I was always able to fix them on my own.”

“Well then consider this as just a gesture of kindness, I suppose. Your mess is being cleaned up for you, this time.”

The two take a moment to laugh. Then Cyclone changes the subject, “So… been seeing any colts lately?”

“Uh, what?”

“You know, did you meet a special somepony yet?” Cyclone teasingly insisted.

“I, uh, no!” Twilight couldn’t control her blushes and almost her whole face turns bright pink.

“Oh! Yes you did! I can see it in your eyes!” Cyclone couldn’t control his laughter. “Can I get a name? I bet he’s really smart like you. So exactly how long has the relationship been going?”

“W-we aren’t together, yet!” Twilight regretted the words as they came out of her mouth, her complexion only gets brighter.

“Oh, then is it a secret admirer thing? No, it’s probably that you’re not together, YET.”

“Ugh! I hate you for figuring that out so quickly!”

“It wasn’t that hard. Now mind answering my question?”

“Hmpf! Why should I?” Twilight gave an almost sassy attitude. 

“Hehe! It’s fine you don’t have to if you don’t want to. Though, it’s kinda interesting: seeing you in a relationship. Last time I saw you, you didn’t seem like the kind to do that.”

“For the last time I’m not in a relationship!”

“Yet.”

“Hmpf!”

Another pause lasts and the two let out sighs. Then the silence loiters before them as they both seem to have nothing left to talk about. The stillness becomes awkward when Cyclone notices Twilight blankly staring at him.

“Everything alright?” he finally asks.

“Sorry, it’s just that you talk about seeing such a big difference in both me and Shining Armor.”

“And?”

“You seem the exact same from the last time I saw you…”

Abruptly Cyclone’s expression turned from positive and happy, to indifferent and listless. “… What do you mean?” The blue pegasus offered an equally apathetic tone.

“Well, you don’t seem to have aged very much. Your voice, your body form, and even your face… they all still look as young as ever. The only difference I see is that your hair is slightly longer and darker and your coat is lighter.”

“Hahaha! I admire the complements, but to be honest I wasn’t as young as you thought I was even when we first met all those years ago.” 

“Y-you weren’t- I mean aren’t?” Twilight was confused. “Then how old are you exactly?”

“Oh, I’am much older than you could anticipate. In fact, don’t tell anypony I said this, but the same goes for Red Star! She only looks like a youthful frame! Want to know something else?  This hair of mine used to be white a long time ago, long before you!” Cyclone admitted between laughs. “It’s just that both Red and I know how to take care of ourselves. And we do whatever we can to try to stay in shape and healthy for as long as we can. I mean, after all, what would the Princess do without her two only generals?”

“Uh… well I suppose that’s as good an explanation as any. But that aside, it was nice to see you again, and I just can’t wait to meet Red Star again!” Twilight’s voice grew louder with exhilaration. 

“Ah, I see your still the excited little fan girl,” Cyclone humorously commented.

Twilight gets back control of her form, “Sorry, it’s just that I haven’t seen her in so long and well…”

“I understand.” Cyclone passively takes a peak at the watch hanging onto his wrist, “I’m sorry to say, but right now I have to go take care of some business. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll just go back to my friends, now. Again, it was nice seeing you again after so long, Cyclone.” The violet mare begins trotting away.

“It was a pleasure to see you too, Twilight Sparkle.” 

-----

Meanwhile in the other side of the train, the rest of the main six still remain in separate groups and discuss their next moves when they reach Canterlot. 

“Which maneuver do you think will impress the Wonder Blots more,” Rainbow Dash projects to Applejack and Pinkie Pie who sat across from her, “the Nova Shot or the Buccaneer Blaze?”  

It didn’t take long for Pinkie to respond. “Why don’t you just show them your Sonic Rainboom?”

“Yeah,” Applejack added, “you can almost immediately get in good with em if they see you do Rainboom first hoof! Why not show that off?”  

Rainbow gave a moment to ponder that herself. “Because! I don’t need the Sonic Rainboom to prove myself worthy. Using it would just be extreme overkill. Also I can’t just summon it on a whim; it only works if I really need it to work.” Her tone becomes expressive as she starts explaining, “You see the Sonic Rainboom to me is a very special and a rare thing. I mean no other pony has ever been able to do it. Ever! Except me. And that is why I will only use it when I need it. Otherwise it won’t be so cool.” The sincerity in Rainbow’s tone was nothing if not noticeable. 

“You know, I never thought of it like that before.” Pinkie admitted. “That sounds awesome!”

“Well if that’s the case, I think the nova shot would be more fascinating and original,” Applejack suggested. “By the way, I’m glad to see that you’ve taken an appreciation to your prized talent, Rainbow.”

“Well, you know me. Always modest.” Rainbow joked. The three mares take a moment to laugh.

Then Applejack thought it was time to move on to another topic altogether. She asks, “Hey why did Midnight decide to not come along on this here trip?”

Pinkie is first to respond, “He said it was because he didn’t want to go back to Canterlot so soon after he just left there.” 

“Yeah. Turns out Twilight had a lucky hunch with guessing what Midnight would think.” Rainbow added.

“Is that so?” Applejack held. 

Rainbow continued, “But what’s really a shocker is that he says that he’s been in the castle before and even met the Princess.”

“What? Are you serious?” Pinkie and Rainbow nod at the same time to Applejack’s surprise. “Well color me impressed!” the orange pony exclaims. 

“You’re telling me! Who would ever guess Midnight was important enough to know the Princess… I wonder what he was to Celestia and what he did in Canterlot… I mean Celestia never mentioned him before…”

“She probably just didn’t have the time to mention him to use.” Pinkie shared her thought, and then she immediately lost interest and was engrossed to the landscapes the train was passing through.

“Yeah, kinda like…” Rainbow stopped when she notice Twilight saunter back in the same train car. She came in just next to where Rainbow was seated. Then the cyan pegasus turned her attention to Twilight, “Kinda like how Twilight never told use that she was besties with generals!” Her tone was unnecessarily loud and sarcastic and obviously wanted the lavender mare’s attention. 

“Oh. You’re not gonna get upset over that, are you?” Twilight gave the same tone back to Rainbow.

“I’m just saying. You had the Princess as a teacher, got another one of the princesses as your babysitter, and your brother’s a captain! Now you’re trying to tell us you were good friends with THE generals?”

Twilight took a moment to think of a response. “The only reason why I didn’t tell you about them is because I didn’t even know when I would see them again. They’ve been away on missions for a long time and…” All of a sudden Twilight’s tone died down a little as well as her expression, “and they didn’t really say when they would be coming back… In fact I was starting to think I would never see them again.”

Rainbow and Applejack immediately sense a sudden shift in Twilight’s sensitivity. Without bothering to switch glances with each other, they immediately come to a consensus to try to uplift Twilight’s mood.

Applejack is the first to attempt saying some comforting words. “Aw don’t worry about that now, Twi. It’s alright if you didn’t feel like bringing them up to us.”

Rainbow joined in, “Yeah, cheer up. All that matters now is that you get to see them again, and the rest of us have the pleasure of meeting them.”

Twilight lifted her head and faced her friends. She was able to implement a weak smile. She sighed, “Thanks for the heartening approach, girls. Sorry if I was getting a little too cheesy there.” 

Rainbow immediately responds to that, “You don’t have to apologize. It’s okay to be a little sappy once in a while; it’s not like there’s anything wrong with it. And in this case you have a perfect reason for being little emotional!” The typically impassive pegasus supported her statement with a strong attitude, surprising not only Twilight and Applejack, but also the pink pony who’s silently sitting and listening as she pretends to stare out the window.

A moment’s past and nopony said a word. Then Twilight regained her posture and smile. “Thanks again,” she said, “that really helped.”

“No problem. What are friends for, right?”

“That’s right.” Twilight let out a final sigh before moving on. “Anyways, have any of you seen Spike around?”

“Oh that’s easy!” Pinkie called out, “he’s sleeping right behind you!”

Twilight looked behind her and saw that the baby dragon is laid faced down across the seat. Each of his appendages are spread in opposite directions and he lets out muffled snores.   

“How long has he been like that?” Twilight asks.

Applejack answered, “I’d say not long after you went to the other cars looking for Cyclone and your brother.”  

“Well I might as well let him sleep. It’s going to be a long day once we get to Canterlot, after all. I’ll just go back to Rarity and Fluttershy; see you girls later.” Twilight continued to her previous destination and trots down the hall to reach the other mares.

“See ya, Twi.” Applejack, Rainbow, and Pinkie call simultaneously.

Once the lavender pony is truly absent, Applejack doesn’t spare a moment to interview Rainbow Dash on what just happened. She jokingly said, “Well-well, you surprised us Rainbow. Mind telling us what brought up your sudden… strong words?” 

Rainbow’s eyes wander downward in thought, “Uh, to be honest, I’m actually not sure…”

“What do you mean?” Pinkie joined the conversation.

“I don’t know. It just sorta happened…”

“Well I just gotta say, me and Pinkie here haven’t really seen that side of you in that close proximity. Still that’s a good thing; it shows that there’s more to you than meets the eye.” 

“Hmm I guess so…” Rainbow concluded the conversation with a seemingly lacking in interest. 

Before a silence could linger, out of nowhere Pinkie Pie called out, “Ooh look, it’s snowing!” She made it obvious she was talking about the windows on the other side of the car; she didn’t even bother looking at the window that’s right next to her own seat. Without second thought, she dove onto the seat that held the snoozing dragon, causing Spike to bounce off and hit the floor.

“AH! What was that all about Pinkie?” he hollered out as he gets himself back up.

“Sorry Spike, but it’s snowing! And I don’t want to miss this.” After her poor explanation, she began to fog up the glass with her breath, “Hehe hehe!” Then she begins drawing smiley faces.

Meanwhile Applejack and Rainbow look out through their window and see that there’s a blizzard of snow running across their view of the mountains. 

“Huh, the climate sure changed pretty quickly.” Applejack stated.

“Well it’s about that time of year where the Appaloochian Mountains start getting blizzard weather.” Rainbow spends more time gazing at the scenery. “But if we’re here that means we’re half-way to Canterlot. Won’t take long now.”

“Well, anyways I feel bored and tired right now,” Applejack yawned, “I’m gonna just rest a little right here.” She doesn’t waste time to lay her head on the armrest and stretch the rest of her across the seat and then she puts her hat over her face. 

“You know the train has beds to sleep in.”

“Yeah I know, but I won’t sleep for long.”

“Suit yourself.” 

Rainbow goes back to staring out at the landscape. She starts thinking about her actual chances on joining the Wonder Bolts. “I shouldn’t be so optimistic…” she thinks in her head, “I bet they see a lot of people like me that just yearn to join just as much if not more than me… but I know I am the best flier…” Suddenly she loses train of thought when she could’ve sworn she saw something on the mountain.

She wipes the fog from the window to clear her sight. And she did see something… a pony. “What the…?” On the edge of the mountain there’s a silhouette standing at the very tip of a cliff. Rainbow Dash squint her eyes to get a better look. All she can see is that the pony has wings and is a pegasus, but the pony is too far away to see anything else. 

“Hey, Applejack.” Rainbow nudges her friend and tries to get her attention, keeping her eyes on the suspicious figure. “Check this out,” she keeps nudging Applejack, but the farm pony groans and kicks in resistance. 

Rainbow keeps observing. At first the figure was being still. But then… 

If Rainbow didn’t know any better…

She’d think the pony in the distance looked straight back at her…

Then she was urged to quickly look back at Applejack to say, “Dude, look at this, you won’t belie-” Mid-sentence she turns her head to look back out the window. But when she looked to see the pony standing in the distance, she was surprised by the figure as it suddenly flew right past her window at high speeds.

It was a split second moment, and Rainbow didn’t get a good look at the pony flying so close that it left a large shadow coming from the window. All Rainbow could manage to make out was the red eyes the figure bared. It was only inches away and in eye level with Rainbow, staring right back at her. The rest was a blur. And before Rainbow knew it, the mysterious pony had flown by and gone. 

Frazzled and surprised, the cyan mare jumped out of her seat with haste. She couldn’t believe what she saw, and she wonders if anypony else saw that. She quickly turned to look at the rest of her friends on the train. They all seem like they didn’t see or notice a thing.

“Everything alright, sugar cube?” a voice broke through Rainbow’s disorientation, and snapped her out of it. The voice came from Applejack, who is still laid down and had her hat moved just enough for her left eye to peak through.

Rainbow was still a little confused on what just happened. But she figured it would be best to not bother anypony else with something she herself wasn’t sure it ACTUALLY even happened. It just didn’t seem legit.

“Uh, yes, everything’s okay. Just got a little frazzled over… nothing, I guess…” 

“Alright then. Be sure to tell me when we get to Canterlot, okay?”

“Will do.”

Applejack pushes her hat back in place, covering her face.

Rainbow remains standing for a few more moments. When she finally sits back down, she doesn’t gives little thought into what just happen. Instead she decides to put it in the back of her mind and just tries to enjoy the rest of the trip.

In her mind, the whole situation with that shadow was too bizarre to be real anyway…

> Arrival 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I hate you,” Red Star begins the friendly conversation with a blunt voice.

“Aww, don’t tell me, you’re still mad at me?” Cadence gave a cheerful tone that ignored Red’s dread attitude.

“Of course I am! You drugged me with your happy magic and then took advantage of me!”

“Geez, why don’t you make it sound more dirty and weird?” Cadence laughs and then grows a grin, “All I did was cheer you up with a tad bit of my love magic and forced you into a nice tea party with me… and maybe I made you put on a few dresses.” 

“You took pictures of me wearing those girly, fru-fru dresses along with that damn smile. Then you passed the pictures around to everypony like they were free money!” 

“Oh it’s not like any real harm was done. By the way your fellow wizards didn’t seem to mind the funny pictures.”

“I’ll get you back once I find them all, both the pictures and everyone that has seen them!”

“Oh don’t be so over-dramatic!” Cadence sighed, “after all you certainly weren’t complaining, you actually looked like you were enjoying yourself.” 

“I will kill you.”

“It did make you take your mind off things... you have to at least thank me for that.”

“Hmph!”

“Don't be so mean, Red. Don’t you feel happier knowing you’ll see your old student again?”

“Ugh!” Red leans herself on the large balcony both the mares where standing on. She lets go of her blunt and aggressive tone, and then suddenly adopts a softer one, “I hate you when you find some way to justify your dumb pranks.” 

“Uhh… You're one to talk!” Cadence interjected. Immediately Red Star formed a grin on her face, for she knew what Cadence was going to bring up. “Surely you remember all that stuff you and Twilight pulled on everypony back in the days when you ‘wanted to test these new spells’ or ‘wanted to see if it would work on a real pony’!”

“Whatever are you talking about?” Red said jokingly, “I was merely showing my precious student how to have fun with combat spells in case she ever wants to play rough. And besides…” Red leaned in with a giggle, “I was always the funner babysitter.”

“Hmph! At least I was more responsible.”

“Aw come on, I was responsible! Remember I was 'responsible' enough to clean up after that one mess with the fluoroantimonic acid Twilight and I were experimenting with…” Red paused after she realized what she just said while Cadence gave her a mocking grimace. “Alright fine so I was a little bit careless. But you know I would never do anything to get Twilight hurt; she always came out of the lab unharmed.” Cadence gave a weak smile then nodded in agreement. Red continued, “But still, let’s not tell Twilight’s parents or Celestia about that shall we? I mean it's not like I got anypony hurt.”

“Don’t worry. If you get caught then I would be punished too, remember?”

The two mares join in a chain of laughs, but then the laughter dies out and a still silence lingers. Then they remained looking at the prominent view of Equestria for a while, both not having anything to talk about. Then from nowhere a silver coated royal guard teleports several feet behind the two mares.

“General Mars,” the guard addresses as Red Star turns to face her.

“Ah, lieutenant, it’s nice to see you again,” Red says, “what are you here for?”

“I’m here to advise you that the Elements of Harmony have arrived and will be at the train station any moment now.”

“Oh… this is good, very-very good! Thank you very much for informing me. Let’s get going then.”

“Actually there’s one more thing I need to show you, General.”

“What might that be?” 

The lieutenant pulled out several photos from her satchel. Immediately Red’s grin lit up. 

“I found those pictures you wanted-” Red wasted no time swapping the pictures from the soldiers hoof and then setting fire to them with her magic. 

“Excellent work, Blue Garnet, my favorite lieutenant!” Red then quickly turned her attention back to Cadence, “Hey Cadence! Now I have-” but when she looked back to face the princess, she was gone. She must have flown away as soon as she heard the news of the Elements of Harmony. Red continued in a heated tone, “grr, she left! No matter, at least now I have those damn pictures she took of me with those dresses on.” 

Red floats the crumbling pile of ash in front of her, and then used magic to freeze the powdered embers into a ball of ice. After which, she chucked the ice shard up over the balcony and launched a bolt of electricity from her horn to follow. Eventually the voltage current and the ice ball met high in the sky and then exploded together like a firework. “Hahaha! That takes care of that. I’ll get back at her soon enough, after all this is over.” Red Star spoke mostly to herself, unaware for a moment that she had her subordinate standing beside her. 

“Uh, sir?” Blue Garnet said, trying to get Red’s attention again. 

“Oh right, Elements of Harmony… and stuff…” Red regained her composure. “Come with me, Blue Garnet. I want you to meet the Elements of Harmony as well.”

“Uh me, sir? Why?”

“They’re going to be staying here for about a month, and we’ll be having parties and stuff planned for them. I don’t want my closes soldier to be in the shadows of such an event. Also you can be their tour guide or something if needed.”

“Alright…” the lieutenant adjusts her glasses, “understood, General.”

“And who knows, you might end up being the best of friends with one of them,” Red added with a smile, “oh that reminds me you don’t need to be formal with me while this is going on. I mean, you should only refer to me as ‘general’ or ‘sir’ when we are talking business. Call me ‘Red Star’ for a change, Blue Garnet.”

“Uh, alright sir-I mean… Red Star.”

“Aw you’ll get the hang of it. For now let’s just go and meet up with Cadence.” 

“Right.”

----- 
Princess Cadence stood several meters away from the platform with four armored guards on either side of her. She eagerly awaited an arrival as she also kept an ear out for a train’s whistle. They should be arriving any moment now. 

A few seconds pass before Red Star and Blue Garnet teleported just next to Cadence. 

“Are they here yet?!” Red frantically asked. Then suddenly a loud whistle gained everypony’s attention as a locomotive started coming in the railroad. As the train came closer and closer, Red and Cadence started to notice Twilight Sparkle shouting and waving from one of the windows. 

“Cadence!” the lavender pony called out.

“Twilight!?” Cadence’s expression turned one of great joy and she energetically started waving back.  

As the locomotive drew up in line with the platform, Twilight started to notice the light red coated mare standing next to Cadence. She tried focusing on who that mare was. Then she gasped when she noticed the unmistakable cutie-mark and the bright blue eyes of the mare. “Red Star!?” the lavender unicorn's eyes lighted up with pre-ecstasy as the locomotive pulled up and stopped to an enormous hiss. Red Star only smiled and waves in response to Twilight’s cries of delight, and instead waits for Twilight to bolt out before releasing any sentiments. 

And as expected when the train's doors slid open, a beamed Twilight Sparkle galloped out, “Red Star, is that really you!”

“Yup it’s me alright, Twilight Sparkle,” Red said, stepping forward to meet Twilight half-way. Red lowered herself and opened her fore-hooves wide, awaiting an embrace. The lavender mare then slammed into her old mentor, knocking the wind out of her in all good frames of mind. Red Star chocked a bit before going back to the tight hug.

“It’s so good to see you again!” Twilight squealed after a long moment of contact. “I've missed you so much!” she said, sniffing and with a shaky voice. 

“Aww, I missed you too, kiddo! It’s been long my dear friend and student, far too long.” The pink maned unicorn pulled back to make tender eye contact with the young filly she hadn’t seen in years. Both ponies gazed upon the other, tears welling in their eyes, and their smiles grew wider every second. “Look at how much you've grown! You’re a full grown mare now.” Red pulled Twilight into another brief embrace, burying her muzzle into the filly's soft mane. And when it broke, the two wiped their eyes from their tears, and Twilight wore the biggest grin that could only be described as pure joy. 

The lavender pony stepped back up and merged with her friends as they all moved forward to surround Red Star. Meanwhile Shining Armor and Cyclone trotted over to the other side, opposite the mane six. Shining went to reunite with his wife and exchange a kiss, whilst Cyclone went to join Red Star to exchange greetings.

“Hello, Maroon Mars. It’s nice seeing you again,” Cyclone said in a happy tone. 

“What's up Cyclone? Have fun getting these girls here?” Red cheerfully replied.

“Oh yes, it was fine. I caught up with getting to know Twilight and her friends on our way here.”

“Well then,” Red mused as she turned to look the six ponies standing in front of her, scanning the demure faces of each mare. Then her attention was drawn to a purple baby dragon who bashfully hid behind Twilight's foreleg. 

“Is that… Spike is that you?” Red asked in surprise.  

“Uh yeah…” the dragon cooed, as he exposed himself a just little. 

“Oh my goddess! I hardly recognize you!” Red lifts Spike up with her magic and spins him around, trying to see every angle of the baby dragon. “Dang, Spike! You've grown quit the bit since I last saw you.” The shrewd unicorn continued by opening Spike's mouth and noticing that the baby dragon is for the most part healthy, “Hmm, Twilight’s been feeding you plenty of gems, I trust.” Giggling in wonder, Red puts down Spike to give him the chance to answer.

“Uh, yeah, I guess...” Spike said with a strand of confusion to his tone.

“Yeah, I bet you don't suck your tail anymore, huh?” Red teased, “I'm just kidding with you. But anyways... I bet you don't even remember me, huh? Do you remember me, Spike?”

“Uh well... no, not really.”

“Well I'm not surprised. After all, you were just so small the last time we met face to face. I bet you see me as a total stranger. Am I right?” 

Spike attempts to keep a smile on his face, his wordless expression giving an answer to Red's question.

Red gives a wide smile before continuing, “... Well then, allow me to re-introduce myself. I am Maroon Mars, second general to Equestria's armies and Princess Celestia's personal Court Wizard.” She intended to speak to not only the baby dragon, but also to the other six ponies standing in front of her. “I find it a pleasure to get to meet you, and I hope you enjoy your stay. And please, you can just call me Red Star.”  

Spike gains some reassurance and gives his turn to speak, “... Hello. I am Spike, the dragon. It's nice to meet you, Red Star.”

“Hehe, it's nice to meet you too, Spike.” Spike then retreats back into the group of ponies behind him. Then Twilight steps forward.

“Red Star,” she says, “I’d like you to meet the rest of my friends.”

“Ah yes, the Elements of Harmony,” Red deduced, “I've heard many things about you all. I find it an honor to stand here with all of you.”

“I'd say it's an honor to meet you too, Red Star,” Applejack said, getting Red's attention and stepping forward as the first to introduce herself. “My name is Applejack.”

“Hello there,” Red responded, taking a moment to analyze the orange mare. “Element of Honesty, right?”

“Uh yes. How did you know?”

“Oh I've been hearing things about all of you from the Princesses for a while now; including descriptions.”

“Oh really-"”

Suddenly Applejack was cut off by a certain proud pegasus. 

“Hi! I'm Rainbow Dash! A pleasure to meet you, Red,” the cyan pony jumped in and announced.

“Rainbow Dash, huh? Spitfire's been chatting on to me about a certain pegasus by that same name. 'Best flier in all of Equestria', if I heard correctly...” Red finished off with a grin and watched the rainbow pony's expression light up like fireworks. 

“Y-y-you know Spitfire?” Rainbow managed to get out, her voice being stricken with surprise.

“Well of course I know her. We're good friends. In fact she and a few other senior members of the Wonderbolts will be staying at the castle for a few training exercises with Cyclone-”

“Wait, what?” Cyclone called out, cutting off Red's sentence. Red only gave a light laugh under her breath.
Red continues, “and I'm sure he won't mind if you hang out with the Wonderbolts.” Red and Rainbow put their attention to Cyclone standing next to them. “Won't you, Cyclone?” 

“I suppose...” Cyclone said, trying to keep his usual indifferent tone despite Red's taunting grin.

Before Rainbow Dash can give a hyper reaction, she was pushed to the side by an even more excited pink pony.

“Hi I'm Pinkie Pie! And I'm soooo happy to meet you!” Pinkie begins to introduce herself, hopping about as she does. 

“Hehe, I can tell,” Red giggles, “it's a pleasure to meet you too, Pinkie Pie. Let me guess, your the Element of Laughter, correct?”

“mm-hmm!” Pinkie nods excessively.

“Well then, I hope we become best of friends, Pinkie.”

“Oh boy-oh boy! I made a new friend today! I should make a party for that!”

“Oh I concur! In fact, I think you in particular will admire the big parties we'll be hosting throughout your stay here. And don't worry, they won't be the boring types like the ones at the Grand Galloping Gala...”

By her expression, Pinkie looked like she was going to explode with a feeling best described as pure animation. All her friends behind her noticeably stepped back a bit, expecting some random scene to come from Pinkie. Then the charged up pink pony shot up high into the air and flailed each of appendages in all directions, letting out a “Yohoo!”

“Hehe! I'd figure that's what would get you excited,” Red adds, then looks at the two mares who haven't introduced themselves yet. “Hello there,” she says, opening a conversation with Rarity and Fluttershy.

“Hello. I’m Rarity, Element of Generosity,” the white unicorn said while bowing slightly, “I must say: it is an honor to be a guest to this celebration.”

“The pleasure's all ours,” Red says, then she looks at the seemingly bashful yellow pony who she has yet to meet. Red notices the mare retreat slightly when all the attention went to her.

“This is Fluttershy,” Rarity says, talking in place of her friend. 

“Uh h-hello,” Fluttershy tried to speak in a loud whisper. 

“You'll have to forgive her,” Rarity adds, “she's rather shy when it comes to meeting new ponies.”

“Aw you don't need to apologize for that,” Red says to Rarity, then speaks directly to Fluttershy, “it's okay, sweetie. Though there's no need to be shy, I won't blame you for it. After all, you'll speak once you're comfortable enough with me, am I right?” Ending her caring tone with an equally carefully placed giggle, Red finalizes giving Fluttershy confidence with a welcoming smile. Fluttershy gains a strong posture and smiles back at Red. 

“Your right,” she says, her tone noticeably more confident, “my name is Fluttershy; I'm the Element of Kindness. It's nice to meet you, uh, Red Star.”

“Likewise.” 

Cadence, after being quiet for a while, finally stepped in. “Well I think it's time we show you girls where you'll be staying.” 

“Cadence!” a certain purple unicorn called out, leaping forward to land in front of the princess. Following that: a melodic tune that both Twilight and Cadence memorized, and sing in unison.

“Sunshine, sunshine! Lady bugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Then the two broke in a chain of laughs.

“Oh my goddess,” Red exclaimed, “I remember when you two used to do that all the time. That is so cute!”

“You think everything is cute,” Cyclone said.

“Shut up, Cyclone. I so do not.”

“Yes you do,” Blue Garnet got into the debate, “you even used to think I was cute when I first started working for you.”

“Used to...”

Before Lieutenant Garnet could toss Red Star a look, Cadence spoke to get everypony's attention. 

“As I was saying,” the Princess announces, moving from the greeting she performed with Twilight, “let's get all of you inside the castle, shall we.”

-----

“Will you look at that,” Celestia said softly, “isn't it so sweet that Twilight and Maroon Mars reunite after so long?” 

“Indeed, it is pleasant to behold such a scene: finally seeing somepony you love after so many years of waiting...” Luna speaks with an even more gentle tone, “does it not remind you of anypony, Tia?”

Celestia immediately recognized her sister's reference, “oh little sister,” she says, making eye contact with Luna and bringing up looks of content on both their faces. After a moment, they continue to look from a castle balcony at the ponies down below at the train station.

A long moment passes before Luna changes the mood completely by asking, “what are we to do now?”

Celestia pondered for a second. “For now, we do nothing, little sister,” she said in an unmoved tone, we have to wait for it to make the first move.”

“Are you willing to take such risk? After all, what if-”

“We have no choice,” Celestia interrupted, “we aren't strong enough or even confident enough to confront it, or even chase after it.”

“This won't be easy. Even with my help in the Magic Research and Development Team, it still seems risky. Do you trust our abilities, Tia?”

“I do...”

“Then why are you seeking help from-”

“I’m only requesting that everyone get involved, for this does concerns all of us and our allies,” Celestia looked at her sister with a reassuring look, “it never hurts to have additional protection.”

A moment of silence lingers among the two alicorns as they see the group of ponies start to come back inside the castle.

“Tia,” Luna says to get Celestia's attention.

“Yes?”

“That entity you faced all those years ago... exactly what was its power like... can you describe it to me?”

Celestia didn't respond immediately, instead she gave the question some thought.

“I kept my distance from the entity, but even so, it felt like my whole body was immensely laden, my legs and wings felt heavy to move and I felt a vast amount of pressure on my chest...” Celestia inhaled heavily before giving an attempt to continue.

“It's alright, you don't have to keep talking,” Luna assured her sister.

“No, it's fine. It's just... I think General Mars would be more appropriate to answer your question, she did confront the entity head-to-head after all.” 

“Of course...”

“Anyways, we should start heading downstairs and welcome our guests.” 

Luna nodded in agreement.

-----

“Can I have everypony's attention, please?” Celestia announces, clanging a champagne glass with her spoon over the long dinning table. She sat at the end of the table while everypony else sat at the seats on the side. The mane six sat furthest from the princess whilst the high ranking generals and the other princesses sat closest to Celestia. Once she acquired the attention of everypony present, Celestia continues, “now that we are all gathered here in the dinning hall, I would like to officially welcome you, Elements of Harmony, to Canterlot. We are all very delighted to have you here and we are proud to host this series of festivities. As promised, you will all be granted your own quarters and reserved access to nearly every part of the castle. May this feast begin a month of celebration, rejoice, reunion, and gratitude for our Elements of Harmony, defenders of Equestria.” Everypony claps their hooves following Celestia's declaration. Then the princess looks to her two generals sitting next to her and asks, “do any of you have anything to add?”

“I do,” Red Star says, "first, I'd like to introduce you all to my lieutenant, Blue Garnet." The lieutenant, in response to the sudden attention being put to her, stands up from her seat next to her commander. "She will be joining us in this celebration, and she will be one of the guides that will show you around the castle."

The mane six simultaneously greet Blue Garnet with hello's and hi's.

"Thank you, gen-... i mean Red Star," she speaks to Red first then to the other mares. "It's nice to meet you al, and i hope we can be good friends."

"That's right," Red adds, "so you all might as well get to know to just her but also the other guides that we will assign to each one of you!" Blue Garnet sits down, and the mane six take their time to look at her. They all analyze the lieutenant. She was a tall mare; her mane was short, but flowing, and dark blue; her coat was silver; her lively purple eyes were accompanied by a pair of white glasses; and her cutie mark was of a shiny black-blue gem.  

“But anyways!" red continued, "I'd just like to say on behalf of all of us here working in the Canterlot Castle, that it is an honor to be in the service and presence of you all. You girls have really done more than you can imagine for Equestria, and we all have full confidence that you will continue to impress us. And lastly, I want to say that this will turn out to become far more than just a celebration for the six of you...” The princesses and the Cyclone try to hide the solemn looks they all suddenly get from Red's last comment. Red then takes a moment to look at each individual pony's proud and modest expressions before continuing. “To friendship,” she says, lifting her glass. Everypony lifts their drinks too, and at once they all cheered,

“To friendship!”  
> Time to Bond...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Red Star, are you sure you know where you're going?” Twilight had to ask, Red's been guiding her all over the castle for what seems like a while.

“What!? You think that just because I am drunk I don't know my way around my own castle?!” Red aggressively asked Twilight.

“Don't worry, Twilight,” Blue Garnet reassured, “Red knows her way around these halls. After all, we've only walked in circles twice this time; that's something.”

“... did you just use sarcasm?” Red seemed surprised.

“Yes...” Blue answers as she adjusts her glasses. 

“Pftaww, my little lieutenant grows up so fast! I could cry...”

“Can you just get us to where we're going?” Blue playfully insisted, “after all you begged me to let you have all those drinks, so just keep your end of the deal.”

“Hmph! You sound just like Cyclone,” Red pouted.

“Does she usually do this?” Twilight finally asked.

“Yes...” Blue teased, “but no pony really likes to do anything about it. After all, she is the second highest commanding officer.”

“So things really haven't changed, huh,” Twilight giggled.

“Don't judge me!” Red exaggerated, “like you don't sometimes drink your horn off at parties, Twilight! And sure, Celestia taught you the importance of responsibility, but I taught you how to have fun while she isn't looking!” 

“That was one of your first lessons...” Twilight murmured to herself, remembering back to the times when she was a little philly.

After a few more minutes of roaming around the castle, the three mares finally made it to their destination, Red's room. They went in, and as soon as they entered the bedroom bedroom, Red started to get in the mood for a drink. 

“Well, girls, the night is still young...” Red reached under her bed and pulled out a large bottle of wine, “who's up for a drink?” she asks while wearing a goofy grin.

“You're kidding,” Twilight and Blue Garnet say in unison, both of them unsurprised.

“Come on, Twi,” Red insisted, “this will be the first time we've ever had a drink together. Just humor me. After all, what better way for the master and the apprentice to bond?”

“Well, when you put it that way, then of course I'll have a drink.” Twilight happily said.

“That's the spirit!” 

“Are you sure I should be doing this?” Blue Garnet asked, worried about getting drunk in front of her commanding officer.

“Hey, I am your boss, and I say join me for a drink. Stop worrying about your job for once and have some fun, Blue.”

“Well...” Blue smiles,  “alright, what the hell.”

“Awesome!” 

----- 

“That was so awesome!” Rainbow Dash claimed, “we have to do that again sometime.”

“We totally should,” Spitfire agreed, “right now though, the rest of the Wonderbolts and I need to call it a night. We had a great time, though.”

“Okay, I totally get it. I'll be seeing you then.”

“Totally. Later, Rainbow Dash.”

The Wonder Bolts wave their goodbyes to the prodigal blue pegasus, and launch way from the hoof-ball field they were all hanging out and practicing in. Rainbow can only wonder how much longer until she can finally become one of those idols. After all, she has more than impressed everyone of them today.

“So, did you enjoy your time with the Wonderbolts?” Cyclone asked jokingly, standing next to Rainbow.

“Are you kidding? It was awesome!” Rainbow exclaimed, “This was so much better than I thought it would be. I got the chance to show them my moves and now I am certain they will make me a Wonderbolt soon!”

“Hehe, I'll say,” Cyclone agreed, “but tonight you should rest. It's starting to get very late.”

“Oh, alright...” Rainbow spread her wings and was ready to fly,  but she delayed her launch to ask, “hey do you know where all my other friends are at?”

“Most of them are inside, but I think one or two of them are in the castle garden.”

“Must be Fluttershy... can you make sure she makes it back safely? She can get kind of... scared. And I've got to get going.”

“Will do.” 

Rainbow readied herself to fly, but once again she was delayed when Cyclone asked, “would you like me to escort you to your quarters?”

“Uh, no thank you,” Rainbow was confused by the question, “I think I can find my way.”

“You sure?” Cyclone insisted, “the castle's halls can make any pony very... uneasy at night.”

“Well it's not like I scare easy,” Rainbow said with her usual grin, “I'm sure I'll be fine on my own.”

“Alright. I'll see ya later.”

“See ya.” 

Rainbow flies away, leaveing Cyclone impressed with the work out she and the Wonderbolts went through.

-----

“Oh my, this is the most relaxed I have felt in months,” Rarity said.

“You said it,” Applejack agreed. Both of the mares occupy themselves in the spa, getting massaged and pampered like royalty.

“Oh boy, I can get used to this,” Spike says. The baby dragon got a silver bowl of gems to go with his treatment.

“I'm glad you all are enjoying yourselves,” Cadence says from the warm bath opposite the other ponies, “after all, isn't it nice to not have to worry about saving Equestria?” 

“No argument there,” Applejack said, “it's pretty nice that we can just hang out together in Canterlot like we used to do.”

“That party we had last night was a perfect example of that,” Rarity added.

“Oh right that,” Spike laughed, “I never would have imagined the highest ranking officers in Equestria play drinking games with the princesses...”

Cadence laughs at Spike's surprise. “Hey just because we're powerful royalty with duties doesn't mean we don't know how to have fun.” Rarity and Applejack giggle while trying to suppress their surprised looks. “And besides,” the princess proceeds, “Red Star, Cyclone, and the princesses have history together. They go back a long time...”

“Really? What's their history?” Rarity asks on behave of everyone’s curiosity.

Cadence didn't answer immediately, rather she took a moment to wonder how she can answer that question, “... well, a while ago before Twilight Sparkle, Red Star was Princess Celestia's first pupil. Like Twilight, she was very advanced for her age, showed great promise, she pretty much idolized the princess... And they were the closest as two best friends can get...” 

Everypony including Spike paused for a moment to take in the fascinating fact they just learned.

“Is there more?” Applejack asked, not able to hold her curiosity.

“Can you tell us?” Rarity also insisted.

“... oh there's always more to a story,” Cadence continues, “but I think that story can wait. After all, it's not my place to reveal secrets like that...” she sinks herself further into the tub until her head was barely sticking out of the water, “let's just enjoy this time before we have to go back to our rooms and call it a night.”

Applejack, Rarity, and Spike look at each other. They both seemed very interested in hearing more. However they each decided it wouldn't feel right to insist. Instead they decide to enjoy the time they have.

“Hey,” Applejack says, “have any of you seen Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy anywhere?”

“I think they might be in the Canterlot Garden,” Spike answers, “but I'm not sure.”

“In the Canterlot Garden?” Applejack scratches her head, “what can they be doing there at this time of night?”

----- 

“Are you sure we should be staying out here for this long, Pinkie?” 

“Oh don't worry, Flutters. Auntie Pinkie Pie will protect you from all the ghosties.”

“That's not what I'm worried about... I'm worried that we might get lost wandering around The gardens like this in the dark...”

“Do you really think the garden is that big? Ooo! What if we find a lost tribe of ponies here!?”

“D-do you really think we can find a lost tribe?”

“Totally, if we look hard enough! Do you want to help me look for them?”

“O-okay, if it's okay, I want to help.”

“Hurray! And who knows we might discover some new species of animal or plant or plant-imal or maybe a human.”

“W-what's a human?”

“I don't know, but by the way my friend Lyra describes them, they sound awesome.”

“Oh, well I want to find a human.” 

“Follow me, I think I know where to look.”

“Okay...”

-----

“Pour me another, please,” Twilight asked, her voice a bit slurred.

“Here you go, Twi, just try not to spill anymore on my bed, you little lightweight,” Red filled the lavender pony's glass with wine.

“This is some pretty strong stuff,” Blue Garnet noted, “how old is this, Red? I've never heard of this brand before.”

“Oh I got this the same day I was assigned to be Twilight's magic tutor,” Red gazed at the bottle, running memories through her head. Then she looked at Twilight, “I've kept this exact same bottle for all these years under my bed, waiting for that one day where I can share it with you, Twilight.”

“Really? You kept this just for me?” Twilight was delighted to know that Red would do such a kind gesture, “aww that's so sweet of you, Red Star!” 

“Yeah don't get any ideas,” Red said, her tone returning to be blunt. “Oh, and Blue, you've never heard of this brand because I made it myself.”

“Really?” Blue was only half surprised.   

“Yeah, really.”

“Huh...”

“Anyways... Twilight, anything 'particularly' interesting in your life?” Red left a trail of lustful implication in her tone.

“Well... not really,” Twilight's volume shortens as she tries to ignore Red's innuendo, “oh, I'm trying on some new experiments to improve on my medical magic... that's new...”

“Oh, sweetie, I meant is there anypony special in your life? You know: a colt... or a mare?”

Twilight choked on her drink a little as she tried to control her blushing, “w-what... n-no I haven't met anyone like th-that. I don't need a colt and I haven't met a colt lately.”

“Did I ever told you how cute you become when you try to lie to me?” Red plainly pointed out, her head tilting a bit.

Twilight lost control of her blushing and Blue Garnet couldn't hold in her laughter.

“Come on, Twi” Red continued, “it's me your talking to. I can see it in your eyes, you've got a colt to play around with. Who is he? Come on, you can tell me.”

Twilight took a moment to breath and collect her thoughts, ending her nervousness so she can answer Red's question.

“Well...” she began, the other two unicorns lay still to listen, “his name is Midnight Shine, but we aren't actually together.”

“Is he hot?” Red asked.

“H-he is very attractive...” Twilight mused.

“Alright, Twilight, tell me everything from the beginning. Leave out no detail no matter how trivial. I want to hear every little thing you two have done so far...”

“Oh, I just know this will be fun to hear,” Blue giggled.

“Uh I-we didn't... okay...” Twilight submitted and began to talk, “it all started a few days ago when...”

-----

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash wanders around the dark halls of the castle in an attempt to remember where her room is. The only light the pegasus has to move in is the moonlight coming through the windows.

“... you would think they would at least put some torches on the walls...” she commented. Despite the fact that no pony is around, Rainbow tries to act as if she isn't scared, so as not to compromise her bravado. “Come on, Rainbow Dash, there's no way you can be scared of a very... very creepy castle at night... I wonder if Twilight ever mentioned this place is haunted...” the cyan pony wanders for what seems like a while. 

Eventually, she comes to a balcony. Deciding to take a peak at the view, she opens the door to the balcony and trots to the edge. “Wow!” she is amazed by the view. From the high balcony she can see the entire Canterlot Garden. A seemingly untouched forest landscape surrounding a huge lake. It's beauty outlined in the moonlight is indescribable. After a long moment of gazing, she said, “wow! If only all my friends were here with me to see this...” not long after she make her comment somepony spoke in to her left ear.

“Who are your friends?” an unfamiliar voice asked from nowhere, “you mean the other Elements of Harmony?”

“Jeez!” Rainbow flew upward from her position, being surprised and half scared by the sudden voice.
When she looked down to investigate, she saw another pegasus. A mare. She had a yellow coat, a dark purple mane and tail, and right from the start Rainbow notices she seems young for the stern voice she has. But what has Rainbows attention the most is that the mare had the brightest red eyes she had ever seen. “Wh-who are you?” the frightened mare finally asks.

“Well, you can call me Light Speed,” the mysterious mare said as she gazed at Rainbow with curious eyes, “just like I can call you Rainbow Dash.”

“How do you know my name?”

“Every pony is talking about you, back at the barracks. Not just you but the other elements of Harmony too. They talk about how you've been spending time with the generals, the princesses, and the Wonderbolts.”

“Really...? Well what are you doing here?” 

“I came here because I really wanted to meet you...”

Rainbow suddenly seemed intrigued by this mare. She doesn't know why, but Rainbow has an itching feeling in her head telling her she knows this mysterious mare. Only thing is, she has no idea where she can know this mare from. To properly investigate, Rainbow lowers herself back down and decides to talk to the mare.

“You came here just so you can meet me?” she asked; Light Speed nodded. “Why me?” she asked.

“I've heard some interesting things about you. Like how you are the very first pegasus to pull off a sonic rainboom; how you claim to be the best flier in all Equestria; and that you're even an element of Harmony. I could go on...”

“Oh, if you do, we can be here all night,” Rainbow boasted. “So what, are you like a fan or something?”

“More or less,” Light Speed giggles, “to be honest, I'm kind of a big deal around the barracks too. I'm actually somepony the Wonderbolts can consider adding to their group...”

“Oh you're competition, eh?”

“Friendly competition...” Light Speed corrected with a smile.

Rainbow grew a grin. She's really starting to like this mare. Though, she still can't put her hoof on what Light Speed reminds her of... maybe it's just the fact they have the same manecut.

“You wanna go for a ride?” Light Speed asks as she propped herself ready to take off, already knowing what the answer will be.

“Totally,” Rainbow Dash readies herself to fly too.

“You sure? They don't call me 'light Speed' for nothing.”

“Bring it on.”

The two pegasus take off at high speeds in unison.

-----

“I don't think we're gonna find any humans...” Fluttershy said.

“Yeah you might be right,” Pinkie Pie admitted. 

“I'm tired, and it's getting really late, can we go back to the castle?”

“Sure, I'm tired too anyways.”

The two mares started trotting back to the castle. Good thing Pinkie had the idea of leaving a trail of rocks behind them while they roamed around, otherwise they would easily get lost. Pinkie would've used cake crumbs, but Fluttershy said the animals would eat them.  

Several silent minutes pass as they walk. Later on the way, Fluttershy kept hearing rustling in the darkness. She tried to think it was just some woodland creatures, but for some reason she can tell that that's not the case.

“Wait a minute,” Fluttershy suddenly spoke, getting the other mare's attention, “Pinkie, do you feel that?” 

“Feel what?” Pinkie asked, not taking her eyes off the trail of rocks.

“Like... somepony's watching us...?” Fluttershy looks around to try to confirm her fear.

“Actually, now that you've mentioned it... I keep hearing something...” Both the mares stop and look around in the dark of the forest, hoping they can spot what they keep hearing. 

Fluttershy, for a moment, started to think she was worrying over nothing after all. She sighed and turned back to tell Pinkie to keep moving.  But Pinkie was gone. 

“Pinkie?!” Fluttershy loudly whispered in panic. She looks around and finds not a trace of her friend. “Okay, don't panic, Fluttershy!” To avoid anymore terror, Fluttershy curls in a ball, lays on the ground, and doesn't try to peak through her hooves.

Meanwhile, not far from the frightened yellow pony, Pinkie follows the echoing sound and the sprinting shadow only she can perceive.

“Hellooo?! Anypony there?” she whispers loudly. Pinkie's trying her hardest not to be scared right now. Thankfully, this isn't the first situation she dealt with that involved a possible ghost. 

Suddenly, a weak yet clear whisper said, “Can you find me...?” Pinkie froze in fear, not knowing where the voice came from or who was saying it. “Find me...” it said again.

“Is anypony there?...” Pinkie cooed. There was no response. It was complete silence, the wildlife was also too quiet. But then Pinkie was stunned by what she saw next.

A shadowy figure started coming out of the base of a tree not far from her, and it crawled across the ground toward Pinkie. It had no form; it was just a disfigured, stretched blob and there was nothing around that could have formed it. Frozen in a mix of fear and confusion, Pinkie stands and waits for the shadow's next move. It slowly comes closer to her almost like it's trying to reach out to her.

Once it got very close, inches away, Pinkie suddenly felt a tap at her shoulder and somepony asking, “Uh, Pinkie? Are you okay-” the voice was cut short when Pinkie burst with fear and jumped high up.

“Ah! Who are you?! Don't eat me ghosty!” Pinkie screamed, still in the air.

“Wow, relax, Pinkie it's me, Shining Armor,” the colt tried to calm her down, “is something the matter?”

“Th-the shadow! Right there!” she earged, but when she looked back at the tree, the shadow vanished. “Wha-” before she can say anything she fell back down to earth.

“Shadow? What are you talking about?” Shinning Armor asked.

“There was a weird shadow growing right in front of me and I think it wanted to attack me or something!” Pinkie insisted.

“Pinkie, there was nothing there when I got here,” Shining explained, “you were just staring at nothing when I found you.”

“Are you sure? I could have sworn I saw a shadow...” Pinkie's tone died down halfway through the sentence as she started to doubt the fact she even saw what she saw.

“Yes I'm sure, I'm sure you were just imagining it.”

“Yeah, I guess I did... Hey, what are you doing here?”

“Well, I was sent to get you and Fluttershy back to the castle,” he explained, “it's getting too late at night to be out here.”

“Wait now that you mention it, where is Fluttershy?”

Still curled up in a ball, Fluttershy still has the fussing feeling she's being watched.

“Hello?” she whispers, “is anyone out there?”

There is no response. It was silent. After finally getting enough courage, Fluttershy takes a peek from behind her hooves. She sees nothing at first, but when she looks around and realizes that there is a young colt standing right in front of her. Gazing curiously at her.

In a sudden panic Fluttershy gave a high pitched squeal and scurries away until her back met with a tree. 

“Oh!” the colt began, “I'm sorry. I did not mean to scare you.”

“Who are you?!” Fluttershy asked, still a little scared.

“Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you.” The colt gets closer.

“Y-you promise!?”

The colt is in front of Fluttershy again and he kneels to get in eye level with her. “I promise,” he gently says. The colt appears to be nice, so Fluttershy starts relaxing again. 

She analyzes him: Fluttershy notices he's a pegasus; he seems young and may be a bit younger than the yellow mare; his coat is a bright white color; his turquoise mane is long enough for him to have bangs that cover his right eye; and lastly, his most interesting detail, his eyes are the color of a bright pink that can rival even Pinkie Pie's coat.

“What's your name?” the colt asks.

“I'm Fluttershy...” the mare slowly says.

“Well, Fluttershy, what are you doing here in this forest so late at night?”

“I was... just about to-” Fluttershy stops when she notices the forest she's in now isn't the one she was in a second ago. This forest looks dead, gray and withered. There weren't any signs of life in it. “Wh-where am I? Who are you?!” She began to panic again.

“You are in the Dead-colt Flora,” the strange colt says, following a wolfish grin, “and I am its prisoner... now so are you...”

“What? No, this is a dream. I have to wake up!” scared and confused, Fluttershy doesn't know what to do. She clovers her eyes and tries to 'wake up', “Wake up... wake up!” she tells herself, “Wake up, Fluttershy!” She's persistently screams, “Wake up!”

“Wake up!” A familiar voice breaks through, “Wake up, Fluttershy! Are you alright?”

Fluttershy frantically stands up from her position laying on a tree. She looks around, and she's back at the Canterlot Garden. The only colt who was there was Cyclone trying to wake her up.

“Cyclone?” the mare says.

“Yeah it's me. Are you okay?”

“Yeah I'm fine but... what happened?”

“What happened? What happened was Shinning Armor and I were sent to find you and Pinkie because it's getting too late for you two to be here. But when I found you, you where passed out laying on a tree.”

“Really...?” Fluttershy says, “so it was a dream...”

“Huh?”

“Nothing... it's nothing,” Fluttershy tries to change the subject and forget the sudden 'bad dream', “where's Pinkie Pie?”

“I'm sure Shining Armor found her by now. But let's just start getting you back to the castle.”

“Okay...”

-----

“Well that was fun,” Red says as she stretches her limbs, “unfortunately though, Twilight's still a lightweight.”

“Yet she likes a good drink almost as much as you...” Blue adds. Both Red and her are the only ones still conscious in Red's bed. Meanwhile Twilight is vast asleep next to them, and neither Red nor Blue have decided whether she passed out from the drinking or if she simply got tired.  

“I know right, I taught her so well,” Red remarked with a silly smile, “they grow up so fast!”

“Oh my goddess those snores of hers are adorable,” Blue comments.

“Ooo! Watch this-watch this...” Red tries to hold in her laughter as she slowly moves her hoof closer to Twilight. Red reaches the back of the lavender pony's left ear and rubs the base of it. The result being Twilight started kicking her hindquarters back and forth similar to a dog or a rabbit. At the same time she starts moaning in annoyance to Red Star's touch.

“Awww!” Blue and Red emitted in unison, following a chain of muffled laughs. 

“That is so adorable!” Blue loudly whispers.

“I know right!” Red says, “I've been doing this to her since she was a really cute little foal. The funniest part is she never wakes up from this!” she laughs even more.

“Oh just let the poor thing sleep in peace. What do you want to do now, Red?”

Red pulled back her hoof and wondered what else to do now that Twilight passed out. 

“I don't know....” she said at first, but then gets momentum, “Ooo! I almost forgot to ask: you've met all of the elements, right?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, which one do you you like so far?”

Blue raised her brow, surprised at the sudden question. “Oh... Do you really want to know now?” she blushed.

“Absolutely!”

“Fine... hmm...,” Blue was reluctant to answer, “Twilight's nice and all, but I really feel I have a lot in common with Rarity...”

“ Ah! I figured!” Red boasted and tried to act as if she knew that from the start. “After all, you two are pretty fashion-conscious. And more importantly, you're both kind of greedy with gems and stuff!” she added.

“Th-that's not-... true...” Blue tried not to admit that Red was right. 

“Haha! Yeah, right. You still prefer to be paid in sapphires! And damn, you overdo it when it comes to 'special occasions'!”  After a few moments of laughter and then collecting their breathes Red changes the subject completely, “but anyways...” Red starts to carefully climb out of her bed, “let's go check on Luna; see what she's up to.”

“Right behind you,” Blue starts getting off the bed too. But when she gets down and starts walking she loses balance and fell on the ground with a loud thud.

“Pfthaha!” Red laughed, “still a bit tipsy from the drinks, sweetheart?”

“Shut up, and help me up.” Blue growled in pain and held her hoof out, waiting for Red to pick her up.

“Here...” Red at first looked like she's offering her hoof, but instead she touches Blue's horn and a magic glow comes from Red's hoof.

“What the...?” Blue says in confusion.

“There! You feel better now?” Red asks after the red glow of magic dims down.

“The heck...?” Blue stands and feels as if she was never drunk to begin with. “What did you do?”

“I sobered you up. What? You think that after all my hangovers I wouldn't have thought of finding a way to solve my problem?” she laughs.

Blue rolled her eyes and murmured, “Drunkard...”

“Aw, I love you too!”

“Grr, can we just get going?”

“Sure, babe.”

“Ugh! Don't call me b-”

The two unicorns teleported before Blue could finish her statement.

-----

Fluttershy slowly opens the front bedroom door and whispers, “Uh, Pinkie Pie? Are you still awake?”

There was no response. Fluttershy enters the room, closes the door behind her, and goes up to Pinkie's bed; all as carefully as she could. Pinkie was dead asleep. Outlined by the moonlight, she was crawled in a ball cuddling the sheets that were also made into a ball. She looks very peaceful. Fluttershy will feel bad for having to wake her up.

The yellow mare nudges the sleeping Pinkie in the shoulder, trying to get her to wake up, “Pinkie? C-can you wake up, please?...” she whispers.

At first nothing happens, but a few moments later Pinkie starts to wake. 

Pinkie gives a long, exaggerated yawn and looks up at Fluttershy with half-closed lids. “Huh? Fluttershy? What are you doing here?” she asks.

“I'm really sorry to wake you up,” Fluttershy hopes her apology is accepted, “but I was wondering if I could sleep here tonight? If that's okay with you...”

“Oh totally, Flutters!” the pink pony summoned enough energy in her to respond in her usual excited manner. “Here, you can sleep here next to me,” Pinkie scoots over to give her friend some space to sleep on. 

“Oh thank you, Pinkie!” the shy mare lifts herself with her wings and gently lands on the bed. “Again, I'm really sorry to have to bother you. It's just I'm a little scared to be alone tonight...” she admits. She was worried about getting another nightmare like the one she had in the garden.

“Oh it's okay, Flutters,” Pinkie starts to wrap her hooves around Fluttershy's chest and cuddles her, “you don't have to be scared anymore. I'm here,” she says in an almost unrecognizably soft tone.

Fluttershy smiled, her involuntary blush refusing to falter, “goodnight, Pinkie,” she says.

Both mares found a comfortable position, close their eyes, and quickly drifted to sleep. 

-----

Meanwhile, in the highest balcony, Princess Luna watches over the castle grounds using her telescope. Standing vigil outside her room, she closely inspects the night. 

Red Star and Blue Garnet arrive just behind the princess.   

Luna turns around to greet the two unicorns, “hello, Maroon Mars,” she says in her usual formal, deadpan tone, “and hello, Blue Garnet.”

“Hi, Luna,” Red says; Blue simply bows her head. “So,” Red continues, “anything worth mentioning?”

“No,” Luna seems disappointed, “there have been no disturbances, no irregularities, and certainly no breaches of any kind anywhere.” 

“Is that so?” Red shared the same disappointment, “you're absolutely sure then?”

Luna shot a grimace at Red, “yes I am certain. After all neither of use has sensed anything ever since the elements arrived here.”

“Yeah that's a bit strange...” 

“Did you learn anything from Twilight?” Luna asks as she starts focusing back to her telescope. 

“Actually, yes,” Red started to get excited again, “apparently, there's a new colt that arrived in Ponyville just a few days ago. His name is Midnight Shine.” 

Luna was intrigued enough to focus back on Red again, “Really? Do you think this 'Midnight Shine' has some involvement?” she asks.

“I'm not sure. Though, his timing couldn't be anymore curious. But I really don't have much to go on to do anything, and apparently he's back at Ponyville according to Twilight,” she sighs. “Is there anything else you need to report?”

“Well...” Luna closes her eyes, calmly exhales, and focuses on what she can sense, “every one of the elements are in their quarters...” she starts, “all except for Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash...”

“Well, Twilight's passed out in my room,” Red says, “but I don't know about Rainbow Dash.”

“She's... flying above the Canterlot Garden... she's flying with...” Luna's eyes dart around in her closed lids, “... she's flying with... a mare...?”

“A mare?” Red asks, “Who?”

“I do not know... it's a...” Luna opens her eyes and calmly inhales. “It's an out of uniform soldier, apparently,” she says.

“Oh, I guess one of Rainbow's fans must have skipped curfew just to meet her,” Red figures with a smirk.

“Should we do something about it, sir,” Blue Garnet asks.

“No, let them be,” Red says, “at least we know Rainbow Dash is relatively safe with one of our soldiers around.” After trailing off for a moment Red changes the subject. “You know what, Blue,” she looks at her lieutenant with a smile, “why don't you take the night off for now?”

“Uh, are you sure, sir?” Blue was surprised by the suggestion. 

“Of course I'm sure. I'll let you know if I need anything, but until then you're free to go.”

“Uh... okay, I guess,” without a second thought Blue left using a teleportation spell. 

Just a moment later, Red Star sensed Celestia presence from behind her. 

“You put a lot of faith in your warriors...” Celestia passively comments. Red turns around and sees the princess touring over her wearing a fragile smile. Red is unsurprised by the sudden appearance. Meanwhile Luna stopped caring and went back to gazing at the stars with her telescope.  

“Is that so?” Red says, “well I don't put anymore faith in my soldier than you put in your student...”

“Really?” Celestia raised a brow, but a part of her expected that kind of response from Red.

“Yup!” Red moves back a step to get a better look at the princess. “You didn't just come her to say hi,” she stated, changing the subject,  “why are you here?”

“I came here because...” Celestia looked down, as if rethinking what she's going to say, “I think it's time... we tell Twilight what's going on...”  

The proposal shocked Red Star, and it even got Luna's attention. A moment passes as none of them knew what to say next. Red Star opened her mouth, but it took her a few seconds to get the words out.

“Uh-o-okay,” she stuttered, “it's a little sudden and soon but okay... are you sure about this, Celest? I mean why now?”

Celestia's brows meet downwards, her expression was all it took to answer Red's question.

“Right,” Red says, “just the two of us, right? Then let's get going...” she is the first to teleport away, not waiting for Celestia. It was obvious Red didn't think it was a good idea. But she also was glad that she can finally tell the truth.

“It's a beautiful night you created, sister,” Celestia says to Luna.

“I know, Tia” Luna said in her quiet tone.

“Keep me informed if anything turns up.”

“Likewise...”

Celestia leaves. Luna smiles as she wonders who else is looking at the stars being awed by the night’s beauty. Then she goes back to work after a moment of marvel. 

-----

“Think you can keep up, Rainbow Dash?”

“Oh now you're asking for it!”

Rainbow Dash boosts her speeds close to her limit as she races Light Speed across the landscape. They've been neck-in-neck for most of the race and the longer they went the more they each realized they might end in a tie. 

Eventually, they were getting close to the cloud they agreed was the finish line. Reaching high speeds they both have the intense competitive looks on their faces. They focused on the imaginary finish line as they got closer. Just moments later, in the split second moment, they see that they both arrived at the line at the same time. It was a tie.

They both stop soon after they finished the race, and then began complementing each other.

“That was so awesome!” They spoke at the same time drawing giggles from the both of them.

“It's been too long since I've had a good race like that,” Light Speed says.

“I know right,” Rainbow says, “I mean not even the Wonder Bolts put up that good of a match!”

“Is that so?...” Light Speed was surprised.

“Yeah, I don't think I would ever say this to another pegasus, but you might be my equal.” Rainbow was more than ecstatic by the realization.

“Really? To be honest I feel kind of the same way,” Light Speed started growing a grin.

“But hold on a sec,” Rainbow scratched her head, “if you're this good, how come I've never heard of you?”

Light's grin dimmed down, then she sat on a cloud. She gestured Rainbow to sit in the cloud too, so the cyan mare does sit and listens to what the yellow coated mare says. “The reason I never let myself become known is because I don't need other people to know how good I am,” Light says, already Rainbow is intrigued, “I mean I figured I'm better than the Wonderbolts or anypony else whether or not ponies know it, right? And if I really wanted fame, I can get it whenever I want...”

Every aspect of Rainbow Dash's self is screaming that is not true, she is total odds with that idea. However, she tried he best to keep a light smile, and she tried to calmly speak her mind. After all, Light Speed did seem like she wanted to hear what Rainbow had to say. “No offense, Light Speed,” Rainbow begins, keeping her gentle tone and smile, “that's a very stupid way of looking at it.”

Light Speed raised a brow, but also seemed interested to hear Rainbow's reasoning. 

“You see,” Rainbow continued, confident in her words, “what's the point of being the best if nopony knows? I mean, what reason would you have of trying to be better if you don't show off?” 

Light Speed took a minute to seep that in. “A valid point,” she said, “but there's just one issue: fame brings arrogance; if you become arrogant, your pride can consume you.” Rainbow's expression turned to one of confusion, not understanding what the mare meant. Before she can respond, Light stood up on the cloud stretched her wings, and said, “let's race to the highest cloud, up there,” then she flew off. 

It took a moment for Rainbow to realize what just happen, “wa-wait for me!” she called. It didn't take long for her to catch up to Light Speed. “Hold on a minute,” Rainbow said once she was flying along side Light Speed, “what do you mean you said that?”

“I meant exactly what I said,” Light Speed said, trying to keep her eyes on where she's flying, “fame brings a reason to be arrogant; and that brings pride; which becomes corrupt. Considering the line of work you and the rest of the elements do, I thought you would agree...”

Distracted by the last remark, Rainbow didn't stop in time after they both arrived to the highest cloud, making her end up hovering over Light Speed. 

After floating down to sit next to Light Speed in the cloud, Rainbow had to ask, “how do you know about that stuff?...”

“Well, only the highest ranking and trustworthy officers are permitted to know about the stuff you and the other elements have been through,” the yellow pegasus spoke in a bland tone, as if she wanted to change the subject, and she wasn't really looking at Rainbow the whole time. “I just happen to be a trustworthy, high ranking officer. I know everything you've had to face over the last few years with your friends.”

“Really?” Rainbow said, her positive tone offering to change the subject, “so what do you think? Do I have what it takes to be a Wonderbolt?”

Light Speed looks at Rainbow Dash, both of their red eyes like lit rubies make eye contact. Light's look of curiosity and wonder counteract Rainbow's expression of prideful joy.

“Why do you want to be a Wonderbolt so badly, Rainbow Dash?” Light finally asked. “After all don't you get a bit carried away with your pride for your own good?”

Rainbow paused for a moment, the question at first didn't really make much sense to Rainbow. I mean who would question her desire to want to join the best fliers in Equestria? But for a second, Rainbow took a bit to reflect and ask that herself. A long pause lasts while she gathers the words to answer the question?

“I want to join the Wonderbolts... because ever since I learned how to fly it has been my very purpose,” Rainbow grew back her grin and confident tone, meanwhile Light looked very interested by the statement. “I have always loved the feeling I get when I fly,” Rainbow continues, “but it's the feeling I get when I compete or when I am challenge that makes it worthwhile. Flying is all I know, and honestly, everypony has to leave their mark on the world somehow. Being the best flier to ever live is what I want to be remembered by, not the fact I am an element of harmony. I just don't want to be forgotten, therefore it is my purpose to be the best. I'll do anything for that glory and fame of being the ultimate best.”

Light Speed was left with a smile and raised brows by the speech, and Rainbow was left excited by it.

“What happens once that pride of yours becomes too strong to the point any villain can use it?” Light Speed asks, her questions seemingly endless. “After all, stuff like that has happened before...”

Rainbow looks at Light Speed with a blank expression. “I'll cross that bridge once I get there...” is all she says, her dimmed tone just as plain as her expression. Rainbow can't think of anything else to do but to lay down on the cloud and gaze at the beautiful night sky. 

Light Speed had nothing else to ask, and she was satisfied by the speech. So she laid back to join the cyan mare.

-----

Back in Red Star's bedroom, Twilight just started gaining consciousness not a moment ago. Slowly she responds to her headache and dizziness. She tries to lift herself up, but she doesn't seem to have the energy. She is aware of where she is, but she's too tired to really care.

“Ugh...” she groaned, tossed and turned as she tried to go back to sleep until she was completely layered in sheets and blankets. For a moment Twilight had a chance of a peaceful rest. She closed her eyes and yawned. A few minutes pass before Twilight's sleep was interrupted.

“Heey, Twiiilight,” Red Star hummed, trying to wake the mare.

Twilight reluctantly opened her eyes and saw her old mentor lifting the sheets above her head. The lavender pony moaned in annoyance, “Red Star, just let me sleep,” she said in an exhausted tone, “my head hurts.”

“Sorry, Sleeping Beauty,” Red joked, “but I need to talk to you about something.”

“Can't it wait until morning?” Twilight groaned.    

“Nope,” Red tried pulling on the sheets, but Twilight wouldn't let go of them.

“Noooo!” the lavender mare resisted, pulling back on the sheets.

“Am I gonna have to force you up!?” Red said, slowly getting frustrated. 

“Maybe...” Twilight moped, “or you can just go to sleep too.” Twilight was too hungover to pay attention to each word she said.

“You're asking me to sleep with you?...” Red leaned in close, to Twilight's surprise, their muzzle inches away from each other. Red's expression is blank at first, “you're putting me in an awkward position, Twi,” she continues while a grin slowly grows in her face, “because I'll be honest; you're not the first mare to ask me that while laying in my own bed...” Red's tone was soft and unrecognizably seductive, and to finish her statement she slowly let her tongue roam across her upper lip.

“Th-that's not what I meant!” Twilight shouted; she pushed Red Star and threw her blankets at her. Twilight's blush growing brighter as she tries to get a certain thought out of her head. “Geez, fine I'll get up, just please st-” Twilight got up in a hurry, but froze when she noticed Celestia standing at the end of the bed. Meanwhile, Red Star lost control and rolled around the floor laughing. “Pr-princess,” Twilight stuttered, “what are you doing here?”

“Well...” Celestia cracked a smile and tried not to laugh, “I came here with Red Star because we both wanted to talk to you about something important.”

“Huh?” Twilight looked at Red Star who was still laughing her horn off, “why didn't you just say Celestia wanted to talk?!” 

“Be-because it wouldn't have been as funny!” Red said between laughs, “T-tell her, Celest! Tell her about our little bet.”

“Well...” Celestia grinned, “maybe later, but right now we need to get serious.”

“Oh alright,” Red seemed disappointed, “but I totally won that bet!”

“Wh-what bet?” Twilight asked, not having a clue what they're talking about.

“Never mind that,” Celestia said, her tone slowly getting strict again, “come with us to the Hall of the Elements. We have to tell you something.”

“Tell, me what?...”

“You'll find out soon enough,” Red's tone seemed to get serious too. “But first...” she leaned in to touch Twilight's horn, and a faint red glow occurred. “there, now you're sober again!”

“Umm...? What did you do?” Twilight stood up from the bed and felt good, rested, and more importantly, sober. 

“Just a bit of my own magic. Now let's go.” Red touched Twilight's horn, only this time she teleported both the lavender pony and herself to their destination. Celestia followed along.

-----

Celestia, Red Star and Twilight Sparkle arrived at the Hall of the Elements. Twilight still didn't know why she was brought there. 

“Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia declared, “we have something we need to let you know.”

“Walk with us, Twi,” Red Star lead the way as they all started walking along the hall. Twilight was just following along and was prepared to listen to whatever they had to say. After all, it must be important if they needed to talk in the middle of the night and alone.

“There are some things we haven't been very honest about,” Celestia begins.

“And there are some things we have kept secret,” Red continued, “completely hidden from even you, my dear student.”  

“Wha-what things?” Twilight became submissive as she had no idea what to expect.

The princess and her court wizard look at each other, exchanging a silent agreement. Then they look at their student. They stopped moving and stood next to each other in front of Twilight.

Red star started off, “you don't remember this, Twilight. But on the second day we accepted you to become our student, something of seismic, cosmic proportions occurred...” 

“What are you talking about?” Twilight still not having a clue.

The two mentors look at each other one last time before Red Star continued.

“We found incontestable evidence that the elements of Harmony have been reincarnated into ponies for the first time...” 

Red started to explain everything to Twilight.



 




> Reminded of Truths 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

--[20 years ago]--

“Hurry up, Red Star! I wanna see-I wanna see!” little Twilight hopped and fussed impatiently to her teacher as she was too short to look through the large window they both were hiding behind. They were waiting patiently for their plan to get into motion, but Red Star was the only one with the binoculars as well as the good view inside princess Celestia's personal chambers. 

“Patience, my adorable apprentice,” Red Star chuckles, spying at the highest tower in Canterlot. “We have to wait for Celestia to get in her room first,” she says.

“Do you really think she'll fall for it, Red Star?” Twilight asked, her excitement refusing to falter.

“Heck yeah she'll fall for it! I just hope you did a good job with the trap.” 

After a few minutes of watching, Red Star sees the princess enter her room. “Ooo! There she is,” Red uses the binoculars to focus on Celestia.

“Really! What's she doing? Is she going for it?!” Twilight loudly whispers, remaining still, scared of what can happen if something where to go wrong.

“Not yet,” Red tries to remain focused and hopes the plan works. 

Celestia appeared to be in a very calm mood. What's more is that she looked rather happy and excited, a quality Red Star rarely ever sees in her nowadays. Which, in Red's mind, only makes this prank a lot sweeter. 

Eventually Celestia sits in her old fashioned coffee table and looks about ready to have her lunch, a very large chocolate cake.

Red's grin starts growing, “hehe, I knew she wouldn't resist the cake!”

“She's going for it?” Twilight started hopping in excitement again, “Red Star, let me me see, pleeeease!” 

Red Star lifted the little filly with her magic so she can see through the window.  “There you go, sweetheart,” she said, handing the binoculars over to Twilight, “watch and see if all those hours studying will finally pay off.”

Twilight can see that Celestia was just about to enjoy the booby-trapped cake. The princess looked very eager to eat it. Awaiting with great excitement, Twilight watches as Celestia cuts a slice of cake and puts it in a plate. In her head, the little filly is urging the princess to have a bite right away. The princess uses a fork to brake off a smaller piece of the slice and puts it in her mouth. 

Almost immediately after that, the entire cake exploded in a barrage of electricity, clouding Celestia's entire room with smoke and lightening. 

“She fell for it!” Twilight joyfully squealed, “it worked, Red Star!”

“What! Let me see,” Red took the binoculars and saw Celestia rushing to open her windows and let the smoke out, she was covered in debris and cake and was coughing heavily. “No way! Good work, Twilight!” she said.

Red Star and Twilight started dancing together in pure joy and celebration. 

“Does this mean I passed the test?” Twilight happily asked.

“Heck yeah! You did a better job at that trap than I expected,” Red Star responded, playfully patting Twilight in the head. “You've scored an A-plus for electrical alteration!”

“Yay!”

Red uses her magic to summon a scroll and an inkwell with a crimson feather. “Now that we got electricity aced, our next item is...” she edits and analysis the writing using the feather, “our next item on the list is incendiary magic. Cool! Now this time we should prank... erm, Cadence!”

“Yay!” Twilight repeated, “don't worry, Red Star, I'll study extra hard for this one!”

“Hehe, I'm sure you will-” Red Star cut herself off when both Twilight and herself were blanketed by a large shadow. 

Both their stomachs dropped and their blood ran cold as they instantly knew who was behind them. Celestia.  As they both slowly turned around to face the princess, they try to put up innocent expressions, but they were too stricken with fear to pull it off.

“Heeey, Celest,” Red Star tries her hardest to speak plainly, “your looking... g-good...” A failed attempt. The princess still had debris and cake covering some of her face and body, and her wrathful anger was obvious in her eyes. 

“Maroon Mars...” Celestia uttered slowly, angrily, towering over Red Star and gazing down at her, “can you explain to me why there was a bomb in my cake?...”

“Well...” Red slowly began, “Celest, you see I wanted to show Twilight here a new way to manipulate elements like water, fire and.... electricity...” she gulps, and puts up a wide smile in hopes Celestia might show mercy. Another failed attempt.

Celestia spread her large wings as wide as she could and as fast as she could, frightening the two ponies cowering below her and getting little Twilight to yelp in terror.

“No pony messes with my cake and gets away with their limbs,” Celestia growled loudly, looking at Red and Twilight with an intent to kill in her eyes, “NO PONY!”

----

“And don't forget to clean the entire outside of this tower. And bake me another cake too!” Celestia ordered as she used a towel to clean her face and body from the rubble left on her by the exploding cake.

“Yes, Princess,” Twilight Sparkle and Red Star said at the same time. They were both made to clean up the mess they made in Celestia's chambers with their bomb. All they were given to scrape the ash and cake from every dimension of the destroyed room were their own toothbrushes and a bucket of water. It seemed like a fair punishment considering what Celestia could have easily done to them. 

“I expect my whole room to look nicer than it did before when I get back,” Celestia bluntly demanded as she left the two ponies alone in her room. 

Once she was just outside her room, with the door still slightly open, she noticed she missed a spot on the side of her neck that still had some cake that wasn't wiped. She rubbed it off onto her hoof then saw that the bundle of crumbs and cream still looked clean and fresh. She stared at it for a second, then chuckled at the idea that it might be good to eat despite what happened. Before she got too curious she wiped it off on the towel.

She looked back at the lavender filly she has for a student. Her smile widens at the fact she has the honor of teaching such an excellent filly. She can easily imagine Red Star feeling the same way. Though the two fillies might have ruined her lunch with their 'studies', Celestia remembers it being the same way she taught Red Star. The princess closes the door and leaves, wearing a gentle smile.

“I knew it was a bad idea...” Twilight muttered as she was scraping the dust from the marble floor with her wet toothbrush. “The last thing I wanted was to offend Celestia in any way! I'll gladly take this punishment...”

“Yeah? Well that's what we get when we mess with the princess,” Red Star laughed, not taking the situation as seriously.

“Did she really have to forbid us from using magic to clean this mess?” Twilight started looking around the room in search of something she can use other than her brush.

“Hey, we blew up her cake with lightening!” Red exclaimed, “messing with Celestia's desserts in any way is kind of a well known no-no in the barracks of Canterlot.”

“Then why did we do it?” Twilight asked, “you said we weren't gonna get caught!” the little filly seemed very frustrated in her tone. 

“I did say that...” Red Star put down her brush and looked at Twilight with her usual grin, “and I lied. I mean did you really think I would waste my own magic just to hide from the princess? That would be far too easy, Twi.”

Twilight dropped her jaw in shock. “The-but you... then what was the point of this lesson if we were going to get caught anyway?!” the small filly then thoughtlessly and angrily tossing her brush aside. 

Then the filly suddenly, halfway through her outburst, she stopped and took a moment to reflect. As she thought carefully to try to answer her own question there was another question she just had to let out. 

Twilight looked at her mentor with her watery, puppy-dog eyes before asking in a fragile tone, “did you do this just to punish me on purpose, Red Star?” 

Red met Twilight's expression with a soft smile and an even softer tone. “Hm, I hate it when you use that adorable look against me, Twi” the mare jokingly said as she conjured up a chair, placed it behind her, and sat on it. Then Red picked up sad little Twilight with her magic and placed her on her lap. Before the little filly can say anything Red gave her a playful nuggy, regaining little Twilight's sweet smile and laughter once more.

“I didn't make you do all that practice and study just to get you in trouble with the princess, Twi,” Red chortled as she spoke. 

“Then what is the lesson in this?” Twilight asked, curiously looking up at Red Star, waiting for an answer.

“Well...” Red hummed, taking time to gather her thoughts to form an answer. “Magic is by its very nature powerful and mysterious, right? There are still so many things we still don't understand and are still trying to figure out. Everyone that studies sorcery and magic must be willing to do almost anything for the sake of knowledge. Whether that be conducting experiments, research, or even making big sacrifices. In this case we needed to blow up a cake and piss off a goddess to learn how to alter lightening,” Red and Twilight giggled and laughed for a moment before Red continues. “And let's be honest, we'll all make a lot of horrible decisions with magic at some point. However, some of those decisions are far more costly than others, so you have to learn to expect consequences. You following me so far, sweety?” Red asks. 

Twilight tilted her head, thinking about what Red said. “Yeah, I follow,” she says as she tries to get comfortable in Red Star's soft lap.

Red continues, “what I'm basically saying is be ready to take responsibility with what you do with your magic. Whether your work is a success or a failure to you, it can be harmful for others.” Red lifts up the little filly by the pits under her forelegs and makes eye contact with her. “Do you get what I'm saying, Twi?” Red asks, looking deep in the purple filly's eyes.  

“Yeah...” Twilight thought carefully about what she was just told. Her smile grew as she realized she actually understood it all. “Yeah, I get what you're telling me, Red,” she says, “you're saying I should just be careful with the magic I create because the consequences I can receive won't be worth the gain, but that I should also keep studying and experimenting with new magic despite the risks.” 

“That's right...” Red's smile meet Twilight's, and they both laughed. “That's why you're my one and only student!” Red exclaimed as she gave Twilight a tight hug, “I'm so proud of you!”

“Hehe, cut it out, Red” Twilight playfully said. “Are we still planning on pranking Cadance with the incendiary enchantment?”

“Are you sure, Twi? We might get in trouble for that,” Red mockingly reminded.

“Hehe! But it's worth the experience, right?”

“That's right! Don't worry you got the easy part this time. You just gotta trust me, Twi...”

--[Present]--

“So...” Light Speed, mused, trying to come up with a conversation as she laid next to Rainbow Dash in a cloud. “How long are you gonna stay up here for?” she asked.

“Why do you ask?” Rainbow said, not taking her eyes off the night sky for even a second.

“Well... it's very cold; I'm getting sleepy; neither of us is suppose to be out here this late at night; and I kind of left my warm little uniform back at the barracks...”

“Why did you leave your uniform?” 

“Because... it's the only thing I could disguise the scarecrow with to take my place...” Light tried to bring up a smile; Rainbow impulsively rolled her eyes. “So, yeah,” Light continued, “that's why I want to know how long you're gonna be out here. I mean, I can't just leave you out here.”

“Why not?” Rainbow was curious.

“... I just can't,” Light said, hoping Rainbow wouldn't insist on the topic, luckily the cyan mare just ignores the subject. The moment becomes silent again as both mares try to come up with something to talk about. The whole time Light Speed notices Rainbow looks like she's deep in thought as she stares at the bright stars. Light turns her body to face Rainbow and supports her head up with her right hoof so she can look down at the cyan pegasus. Then she finally asks,  “what are you thinking about?” 

“Huh? Um, nothing really,” Rainbow said, hardly looking at Light Speed, “just about what you said about my pride and all...”

“Hmm... I see. Well just let me know when you're going back inside because you're gonna want me to escort you back to your room.” Light chuckled, “and don't tell me that you know your way around; I saw you getting lost in those halls.”

Rainbow chuckled too, “yeah, okay... sure... I'll go back inside soon; I wasn't planning on staying out all night...”

-----

Shining Armor and Cyclone are posted outside the hall containing the rooms where the elements of harmony are staying. They're both wearing their armored uniforms. Shining Armor wears his purple set of armor with the gold rims, and Cyclone wears his heavy set of white armor with red rims and black crest of Equestria in the center. The only thing the colts didn't have with them were their helmets. Having nothing to really do, Shining Armor recently proposed a hoof wrestling contest. 

They're still going at it.

“C-come on... just give up!” Shining Armor struggled to keep his strength up. 

“You're pathetic, captain,” Cyclone taunts as he seems to not be struggling at all, “you will never beat me in your life!”  

“Don't bet on it, S-sir...!” Shining's hoof started shaking slightly as he felt his strength wearing thin and his arm getting numb.

A few moments later, Shining loses all his strength and Cyclone slams his hoof on the table.

“I win, again,” Cyclone proclaims. “So I guess this means I've earned this last muffin,” he says as he grabs the prize he's been betting for. 

“One day, you'll lose your touch, and I'll beat you,” Shining playfully swore as he stroked his sore hoof.

“I will never lose my touch!” Cyclone declared. 

“What in Equestria are you two doing?” Blue Garnet asked as she made her presence beside the two colts clear.

“Oh hello, lieutenant,” Shining Armor greeted, “me and Cyclone were just settling who gets the last of the muffins we smuggled through the mess hall.”

Blue Garnet looked at Cyclone who was gleefully eating the blue berry muffin, then she looked at Shining Armor who looked rather bored. “I don't mean to disrespect my superiors, but... shouldn't you both be more focused on the job instead of messing around?”

“Don't worry, lieutenant,” Cyclone says, swallowing the last of the muffin, “we were just passing time. I mean we are still guarding this hall after all.”

“And besides, it's not like any sort of threat has appeared yet. The elements of harmony are safe.” Shining adds. 

“By the way, why did you come here?” Cyclone asked.

“I had nothing to really do,” Blue admitted, “General Mars dismissed me, but didn't really give me any orders other than to take the day off. But of course, now really isn't the time for breaks...”

“Where is she know?” Cyclone asked.

“Last I saw her she was talking to Luna up at her balcony, but I'm certain she left.”

“Luna you say?” Cyclone suddenly seemed unusually interested by the sound of his tone. “Is Luna alone up there right now?” he asks

“I believe so. Why?” Blue curiously asked.

“No reason, just wondering...” Cyclone went back to his serious tone just as fast as he went into a curious tone. 

Blue moved on from Cyclone since she doesn't have the interest to ask him anything. So she turns to Shining Armor. 

“Would it be alright if I take over this position for you, sir?” Blue asks. “I have nothing better to do anyway...”

“Uh, sure. I guess it would be alright. What do you think, Cyclone?” Shining asks, turning to Cyclone. Only that Cyclone wasn't standing across the table anymore. He was gone.

Blue Garnet and Shining were left confused for a moment.

“Uh, where did he run off to?” Blue was the first to ask.

“I don't know,” Shining admitted, “he left so fast I didn't even notice...”

“Ugh, it doesn't matter, so can I take your place? I need something to do,” Blue insisted.

“Alright-alright. Just remember to get in touch with us or sound the alarm if you need anything..” Shining mockingly said as he used a teleport spell to leave the lieutenant alone at the post.

-----

Alone in her chambers, in the second tallest tower in the castle, Luna sits on her large bed as she focuses her senses to have a good idea of her surroundings. Keeping her eyes closed, she concentrates on using her omniscient in the night to keep a good sense on everything that's going on within the castle grounds. Though despite that, she was caught off guard to the voice that all of a sudden occurred. 

“You feeling lonely up here, Luna?” a familiar, broad voice asked.

Interrupted, the princess opened her eyes, looks to her right toward the voice, and was surprised for only a moment to see a certain light blue colt leaning on the sliding door that separated Luna's room and her large balcony.

“Oh, it's just you, general. I can never figure out how you and general Mars can sneak up on me without my knowing. You do know how rude that is, am I right?” she said in her usual formal tone. “Anyways, to answer your question: this is my duty, it matters not if I am 'lonely'...”

“So you are lonely...” Cyclone figured, “doesn't that bother you?”

Luna smiled. “Pardon me, but I distinctly remember having this same conversation before, Cyclone. And like I said before: it doesn't matter... No pony ever notices me anyway...” her tone became dreadful toward the end.

Cyclone returns a smile, “you're right I also recall having this conversation. And like I said back then: I do notice you, Luna...”

“Despite your appearance, you haven't changed very much have you?” Luna chuckled. Then to seem professional she covered her mouth to try to hide her smirk. “Though I will admit that set of armor still suits you well.”

“You really think so?”

“Hmm, yes. Though, I never understood why you had to dye your mane and tail such a simple color. After all, it all went so well with the armor.”

Cyclone chortled and smiled in response to the comment, “that's exactly what Celestia and Red Star said...” 

For a few moments Luna made eye contact with Cyclone's bright red eyes. A certain thought went past Luna's head that made her blush and look away for a moment.

“Forgive me for saying, but you surely picked an odd time to speak to me. What are you doing here anyway, general?” the princess asked while looking in a different direction.

“I came to say hello,” Cyclone says, “after all, I've been so busy with my militant duties that Red Star is the only one who had a chance to welcome you back ever since-...” Cyclone's smile vanished, so did Luna's, they both look down as they knew what the blue colt almost mentioned. 

An awkward silence lingers. Cyclone gazes behind him at the night sky as he thought of a new topic to talk about.

“The night was never this beautiful when Celestia was in control of it,” the colt said, trying to bring back a smile in the princess's face.

“So I have heard...” Luna said plainly, acting as if she didn't care for the compliment.  

“It seems more lively,” Cyclone continued, “you can actually see the bright stars, and the night is a fine dark blue instead of a dread pitch black and-...” he smiled and looked back at the princess before continuing, “I've almost forgotten how gorgeous the moon can look...”

“So have I...” Luna quietly admitted. Then she realized the time she spent talking to Cyclone. “I'm sorry, but I should start getting back to my duties. It's nothing personal.”

“Oh, don't worry about it, I should be leaving too. But, before I go, I have to just say it's very good to see you again, Luna, truly. I hope we can talk again soon,” the colt spoke with deep sincerity.

“Likewise, Cyclone...” Luna replied with an identical tone.

Knowing the conversation is over, Cyclone spread his wings and jumped off the balcony and flew west toward the military barracks.

Watching the colt fly away, Luna couldn't help but feel deeply sorry for Cyclone. “Cyclone... it pains me to see that you and Maroon still cursed...” she thought.

“Aww, why did you two stop talking?” asked a voice coming from the shadows of the room.

“I didn't want to continue knowing you were listening,” Luna said, a small bit of anger present in her tone, “it's all a matter of privacy.”

“I'm sorry...” said the pony in the shadows.

Luna loses herself in thought for a few moments before she speaks her mind. “When I came back from being trapped in the moon, I knew a lot of things would be different...” she spoke with her emotions showing in her expression; the pony in the background of the room remained still and listened to the princess. “But the one thing I was scared the most is seeing...” Luna wraps herself in her arms and grips herself as she tries to control her feelings. Before she got anymore worked up, she sighed and let everything go. 

“I'm sorry...” the pony hiding in the dark repeated in an even softer voice.

“It's quite alright, Cadence,” Luna assured. “But it would help if you leave me alone to attend to my duties.”

“Alright,” Cadence stepped from the dark background and revealed herself. “I only came here to inform you that I have sent the distress call to you know who...” she said in a reluctant tone.

“Hmph, so it's come to that has it?...” Luna said under her breath. “Doesn't matter now; good job, Cadence. Now, please leave.”

“Let me know if you need anything,” Cadence says before teleporting away.

The dark blue princess closes her eyes again, returning to her deep focus. She clears her mind as she keeps watch on the entire castle from her bed. 

-----

In the hall of the elements Red Star and Celestia stood together not far in front of Twilight Sparkle. They both were ready to answer the many questions and comments Twilight surely has. After all, they both just finished explaining the entire situation to Twilight. Though, it's taking a moment for the lavender unicorn to seep it all in.

“So...” Twilight mutters just loud enough to be heard, trying to gather the words she will say. Her expression is a mix of shock and anxiousness. “When I was a little filly,” she continues, “a very powerful force of unknown origin was forced out of me?...” 

“That's correct...” Celestia answered gently, “though, you were unconscious the entire time that was happening and you had amnesia when you woke up.”

“I see...” Twilight said, thinking carefully and looking at the ground. “And now you brought me and my friends to Canterlot because you think it might be back since you are able to sense it... but you don't know for sure...” Twilight looks up at the two mares standing in front of her, scanning for any hint to see if they might be joking with her. But their empty expressions and serious tones suggest only the opposite. 

“We know it's a lot to take in,” Red Star said, “and we'd appreciate it I you keep it to yourself, for now. But we needed to tell you in case you have any information that can help us in this.”

“This explains a lot...” Twilight says under her breath, talking mostly to herself.

“What was that?” Red asked after she heard Twilight, “what do you mean 'this explains a lot'?” 

Twilight looked at Red Star, then at Celestia. She decides to start telling them the truth. “I think I recently was able to sense the entity too...” she reluctantly admits.

Celestia and Red Star raise their eyebrows. “Really?...” they both say. Twilight nodded slightly in response.

“How long have you been able to sense this now?” Celestia asks.

“A few days...” Twilight says. “It was when Cyclone and Shinning Armor came to Ponyville. I started feeling it suddenly right after they told us about the invitation to come here...” Twilight rubbed her head with one of her hooves as she recalled the feeling she got from sensing the entity. “It felt so... heavy... it was just so hard to ignore... What does it mean?” she finally asks.

“It means nothing, really” Red Star said, “personally, I'm not surprised.”

Twilight's confusion isn't letting up. “W-why?” she asks.

“Ponies with a strong connection and understanding of magic are able to passively feel the entity's energy,” Celestia answers. “But it's also true that not just any normal pony can feel it.”

“That's actually another reason why we brought you and your friends here, Twilight,” Red adds. Before the lavender pony could ask why again, Red continues, “the power the entity displays is mostly concentrated in Equestria, but it's so spread out no pony can tell where the source is. And since anyone with an adept understanding of magic can sense it, the safety of you elements of harmony became an issue.”

Twilight's expression looked even more confused, so Celestia added to the explanation.

“The power of the entity is immense,” the princess says, “and it can be sensed throughout the world not just Equestria. It will most definitely attract attention from nearby lands, unwanted attention.” 

Twilight's eyes widen in slight fear and shock as she started to understand.

Red noticed, so she spoke next. “We aren't necessarily expecting some sort of invasion,” she says in an attempt to calm the purple unicorn, “but I am certain some individuals are going to be curious enough of this power to cross our borders and... seek it out in any way possible. And I am sure somepony already has...”

Twilight caught onto Red's implication quickly. “Are you suggesting that Midnight Shine is one of those individuals seeking this power?” Twilight angrily asked while she stomped her fore hoof. 

“You're quick to defend him, that's cute. But I'm not making any conclusions, Twilight,” Red assures. “I just think it's a possibility.”

“Who's Midnight Shine?” Celestia calmly asks, looking at Red Star for the answer.

“Oh that's right I didn't tell you...” Red says, “well apparently Twilight's colt-friend might be after the power we all can sense.”

Celestia's felt a feeling of surprise and excitement that counteracted her serious expression. “You have a colt-friend?” she asked, her smile widening every second she has to wait for an answer.

“He's not my coltfriend!” Twilight shouted as she blushed heavily. “He's a colt who arrived just the other day to Ponyville. And we're just friends!” 

“Oh, I see...” Celestia's mood became serious again, “then I guess Red Star might be right on this one.”

“It doesn't really matter,” Red said, “after all we have Luna watching over Canterlot. Nothing can possibly get past her at night.”

Twilight looks at the ground, thinking, trying to remain calm while seeping all this in. “I have one more question...” she says.

“Yes? What is it?” Celestia urged.

“Well...” she quickly looked back up at the two ponies in front of her. She was obviously mad and her eyes were watery, “why didn't you tell me the truth to begin with?!” she cried angrily.

Celestia and Red gaze at each other with doubtful looks. 

“We couldn't risk letting word of this get out too soon,” Celestia finally said, “this is a matter of national security after all, and only a select few ponies in Canterlot are allowed to know anything about this.”

“That's not all,” Red Star added, “there might be many things we don't know about the entity, but we're certain it's coming back for the elements of harmony.”

Twilight was stunned by the claim Red made. If that is true then that would mean all her friends are in danger of this entity. 

“H-how can you be sure?” Twilight asked.

“Because this thing must've been born from the power of the Element of Magic,” Red slowly answered. “You and your friends are the first to have been born to become the elements. 'Special' doesn't even begin to describe it!”

Twilight didn't know what else to say. She wasn't even sure how to react to all these secrets finally loaded onto her. She looked at the ground, unsure of even herself.

“What should I do, Red Star?” the purple mare submitted before her two masters, asking for a path to take.

Red Star smiled, and stepped close enough to her old student to lift her chin up with her hoof. Making close eye contact. Red said, “trust me, Twi. That's all you have to do. I won't let anything happen to you or your friends, alright?”

Twilight was mesmerized by Red Star as she looked deep into her blue eyes. Losing the ability to answer vocally, the lavender pony nods slowly.

“That's good,” Red giggles, “don't worry, you have the easy part this time. You just gotta trust me, Twi...”

The mere tone of Red's cheery yet soft voice brought back old memories for Twilight. Which made her trust Red Star again.

-----

Unable to go to sleep, Spike tossed and turned in the bed he's laying in. He's apparently too gleeful and excited to sleep. After all he can't stop thinking about where he's actually at. He can't believe that he gets his own room to sleep in, and his room is across the hall from Rarity's. And most of all he gets to have all the gems he can eat. However despite his excitement, he's trying to sleep so the morning can arrive faster. Trying to calm himself down he gets into a comfortable position and clears his mind. 

When he was seconds away from slumber, a sudden thumping noise coming from the door startled him. It sounded like something hard was dropped on the wooden floor. He sat up and saw that the door was opened just enough for the rim of moonlight coming from the window outlines it. 

“Who's there?...” he called out. There was no response, just silence. Before he thought about getting up and closing the door something twinkly coming from the ground caught his attention. He looked down and saw a large diamond, or it at least seemed like one. “What the... a diamond?...” Spike wondered as he leaned in to pick it up.

He looked at it carefully as he didn't feel the apatite to eat it right away. It seemed strange at first. It looked very carefully carved into a perfect shape of a diamond and it looked just a bit smaller than the baby dragon's head, and it seemed to have vein-like lines of a faint blue coming from the center reaching to all it's pointed corners. Spike has never seen anything like it; for some reason Twilight never aloud him to have a diamond to eat before. In fact, he even remembered Twilight telling him it's forbidden for him to hold one, but she never would said why. 

He tilted it in every possible corner, and the longer he gazed at it the more different he felt. He felt every fiber in his body desire the gem more than anything; it started to cloud his thinking. He leaned his mouth closer to the diamond, curious enough to stick his tongue to reach in and lick it.

But just when he was inches away from tasting it, he heard another noise come from the door. He quickly turned to look. The door was still barely open, but just in front of it was another sparkling diamond. Feeling a sudden surge of greed go through the very nerve of his body, he uncontrollably lunged towards it.

Before he knew it he was starring at the two large gems, comparing him. The newest one was only slightly different from the first one in that it had red lines inside it's core. 

Uncontrollably, he grinned and laughed maniacally in ways unrecognizable to his personality. Slowly he was changing physically: his teeth grew sharper and larger, his claws and tail stretched in length. And the whole time the gems he was holding lit blue and red brighter and brighter. 

Though, Spike quickly came back to his senses and felt the radical changes. “Wh-what's happening?!” he shouted in pain as he felt like himself become slowly consumed in what he easily recognized to be 'dragon's greed'. Realizing the issue, he quickly grabbed the two gems and attempted to threw them out the window of the room. Though he already lost so much of his strength he didn't throw them far enough and they landed only a few meters away.

Having lost his strength Spike falls over and writhes as he feels every bone he has morph into something different. He's able to do nothing but go through the pain. “Somepony, anypony, help me!” he screamed.

Right away, somepony kicked the door open and rushed inside. Spike didn't see who it was, and before he can feel glad somepony came to help, a magical glow blinded him and covered him completely. He instantly realized that whoever the pony was, they were not at all here to help him...

-----

From outside Spike's room a large explosion can be heard and seen from a good distance. Large clouds of debris emerged from the site as an intensely loud, blaring roar can be heard coming from the smoke, gaining the attention from everypony near and far.  

> Attack on the Castle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing at the edge of a cliff, a strange mare watched the city of Canterlot from a very far distance. The mare was able to hear the loud roar hailing from the castle. She gazed at the view of Canterlot as her long, snow white hair blew from under the black fedora and along side her matching scarf.

“It is those five barbarians. They are finally stirred awake... so it has started...” she thought out loud. By the sound of her broad, yet soft voice, she seemed annoyed, but secretly she was also relieved. “I hope I can bring honor to my host...” she quietly mused. She adjusted her black hat to cover her left eye and then she covered her muzzle with the scarf, leaving only one of her bright green eyes exposed. Then she moved back, away from the moonlight, and into the shadows of the forest.  

-----

Everyone inside the castle was left in utter confusion and panic from the loud explosion. Especially the elements of harmony, who were dangerously close to Spike's room. Blue Garnet along with several armored unicorn guards were in a hurry to get the elements to safety.

“Secure our guests, don't leave them out of your sights and get them to the hall of the elements-- now!.” Blue ordered, as she was trying to figure out what was going on. She began searching where the loud roar came from-- Spike's room. The door to the room was blown off its hinges and was on the floor in pieces, and large clouds of debris came out of the room. Manipulating the wind with her magic, Blue cleared the air of the flying debris and smoke. Once everything became visible she couldn't believe her eyes at first, but her senses eventually came around. “Impossible...” she muttered.

The whole room was torn and burned away to reveal the outside. Just beside the castle was a figure standing twenty stories tall, just tall enough for its head to be in the same level as Spike's room. It looked as if it had rose from a deep sleep as it stretched itself inward, the large, dark green spikes along its spine standing on end, reaching out. Then it let out a yawn, growling loudly and revealing its immensely large maw. Eventually, the creature started to look around when it realized where it is standing. Then it took notice of Blue Garnet.

The lieutenant was frozen in awe with her eyes widened like saucers and her jaw hanging. Before she even knew it, the creature started to reach its claws toward her. Blue didn't have enough time to react as the giant's arm approached closer to her. But when its immensely huge claw reached a few yards away from the mare, it stopped. The giant's attention was all of a sudden directed to the bright lights being displayed by Canterlot. Being attracted by the lights, it started walking toward the city. Each one of its steps made a loud thud that shook the earth. When it got far enough, Blue got her senses back; she became terrified to the point she felt a bit light headed. 

“Lieutenant, we have secured the elements,” a soldier said when he ran up next to the mare. Blue looked down the hall and saw Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy standing at the end with the unicorn guards. They were all scared and waiting for an explanation; Blue was just glad they didn't see what she had saw. Rushing to the end of the hall, she distressingly asked the mares, “is every pony alright?”

“We're all alright, but what in tarnation is going on? What's happening here?” Applejack asked on behalf of the other mares.

“Where's Spike?” Rarity seemed to worry the most for the baby dragon.

“We don't know, but we're looking for him right now,” Blue tried to avoid the truth at all cost with these mares. “I don't know what that explosion was, so we need to get you over to the hall of the elements right now!”

“Hold on a second,” Pinkie Pie yelped, “where's Rainbow Dash?” she asked while looking around for her cyan friend.

“Don't worry about her,” Shining Armor arrived on the scene with urgency in his tone, “I already sent a few colts to get her here safely. And Twilight is already with the princesses in the hall of the elements; you all must get there immediately.” Shining made a nodding gesture to the unicorn guards, and they led the four mares out of there. “What's going on, lieutenant?” Shining asked as soon as the mares were gone.

“I have not the slightest idea,” Blue responded frantically, “but there's a full grown dragon where Spike's room is suppose to be!” 

“What?” Shining saw in Blue's eyes she wasn't kidding, so he rushed to see for himself. The first thing he noticed is that all the rooms and the floors above and below the room were gone and torn apart too. Then when he looked in the distance, he immediately became stricken with fear when he witnessed the dragon heading towards the city of Canterlot. “We-we have to evacuate the city!” he declared after a few moments of utter shock. “We need to report back to General Mars and the princesses; tell them what's going on!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

The two unicorns teleported themselves out of there.

-----

Meanwhile, away from the castle, Rainbow Dash was in a mix between fear and confusion. Just a second ago she jumped in surprise from her comfortable spot in the patch of clouds when she heard the explosion. Light Speed was equally dumbfounded, and the two pegasi looked at each other with shocked looks with a lot in their minds.

“What was that?” Rainbow was the first one to speak. Then the two flew down, past the thick blankets of clouds until they could see the castle clearly. 

“Wow!” they both shouted. From their place high in the sky, they could see the row of floors torn out from the side of the castle and some smoke coming from them; and they could faintly hear the guards distressingly shouting orders at each other as some were scattering between the city and the castle. 

“Wh-what in Equestria is going on?” Rainbow asked at Light Speed, who looked back at her with confusion in her eyes as well.

“I don't know!” she admitted, her voice was a bit shaky. 

Before either one of them could do anything else, they noticed three armored royal soldiers flying up to them. 

“Lieutenant Speed; Ms. Dash, you have to come with us,” the white coated guard in the middle said once he was close enough to the the mares.

“What's going on, soldier?” Light Speed asked in the blunt tone that matches her broad voice.

“There has been an attack,” the same soldier explained, “and we have orders to bring the elements of harmony into the hall of the elements immediately!”

Rainbow gasped as both Light and herself took a second to seep in the facts.

A few moments later, Light looked down and slowly grew a smirk; no pony seemed to notice. “So it has started...” she suddenly murmured in a voice so faint Rainbow could barely hear it, but the cyan mare decided not to think much of it.

“Come with us, ma'am,” another, gray coated soldier said, directing Rainbow and Light to follow the white guard. Rainbow Dash followed the white soldier while the two gray troopers stood at attention next to Light Speed. 

But before they made any distance, Rainbow and the white soldier heard yelping coming from behind them. Surprised by the sudden shouts of pain, they turned around to see that the two gray troopers were falling from their place in the sky as long trails of blood flew from their necks as they fell. Meanwhile, Light Speed was the only pegasus still in flight with a smile on her face and blood splattered on her hooves.

“What are you doing?!” the white soldier panicked, but before he can take any action he was suddenly blown away by a black ray of magic hitting his chest. 

Rainbow didn't see where the ray came from, but before she could even make a second thought, Light Speed launched herself at her. It was at this split second moment that Rainbow Dash wasn't able to react in time, but she was able to understand what was happening. Light Speed had her hoof prepped to hit Rainbow and her wings were spread wide; somehow, there was a black magic aura coming from the ends of the yellow pegasus's fore-hooves. Though, what Rainbow had her attention on the most were Light's red eyes; they glowed and lit up like flames. The only thing that came to Rainbow's mind at the sight of Light's eyes and wolfish grin is what she remembered seeing during the train ride to Canterlot. 

Within the next half-second, Light Speed's hoof reached Rainbow, and the black aura bursted into a seeping ball of blackness that consumed the two pegasi, and solidified into a giant black orb in the sky.

-----

Princess Cadence, along with four unicorn soldiers, galloped through the hall of the elements and stopped when she reached Celestia, Red Star, and Twilight Sparkle.

“What's going on, Cadence? What was that explosion we heard?” Red Star was the first to ask. By the look on her face, she seemed reluctant to ask, in fear of the answer.  

“There's been an attack, Red Star,” Cadence answered with haste in her voice.

“An attack?” Red asked, “how did that happen?”

Cadence walked to stand along side Red Star and Celestia. “I don't know the details,” she said, “all I know is that it an obvious attempt at the Elements of Harmony.” 

“What? Are my friends alright?!” Twilight suddenly called out.

Cadence wasn't sure how she should answer the lavender mare at first. “I don't know, Twi, but I really hope so. All I know is Shining Armor and Blue Garnet are at the scene right now; they're getting all your friends here.” Then the young princess turned to Red Star before continuing. “But that's not the worst of it,” she said.

“What? What else happened?” Celestia demanded an answer. 

Cadence swallowed a bit of spit before letting out an answer, “there's a full grown dragon heading toward the city...”

“What?!” Twilight yelled, Celestia just had a look of shock, and Red Star analyzed Cadence's expression in hopes she was just messing with them. Once the severity of the situation sunk in, they all trade glances, not knowing what to say next.

“What are we going to do?” Twilight opened the question for any pony to answer.

“Right now, my soldiers are doing everything they can to stall and slow down the dragon. It is distracted, for the moment.” Cadence added.

Then Red Star responded quickly and took charge of the situation. “We need to get all of your friends here immediately,” she said to Twilight, then turned to Cadence, “we have to-” there was a sudden shift in the wind, and all the candles that lit the hall dimmed and almost blew out. At the same time Red Star silenced herself and her attention was redirected as she, Celestia, and Cadence felt a powerful, unfamiliar presence coming from behind them.

Without a second thought, they all turned around and each fired a ray of magic from their horns at the same target. The three rays illuminated their path as they traveled in the dark before hitting something, outlining a force field and casting a sizable amount of smoke as the magic dispelled.

“Identify yourself-- now!” Red Star ordered. The only light in the hall came from the glowing horns of the two princesses and the general; their angry, teeth-clenching expressions were highlighted by their light. 

For a moment it was quiet; not even the royal soldiers knew what to do; Twilight just stood behind the princesses. Suddenly, there were hoof-steps, each one a second apart from the other, and they sounded as if they were coming closer. Eventually, the hoof-steps stopped once a figure of a pony became visible behind the smoke and darkness. 

“My, is the violence really necessary?” the pony in the smoke said sarcastically; the voice clearly belonged to a young colt. Strangely, Twilight Sparkle recognized the voice. 

Then the lights were somehow lit back on just as suddenly as they were dimmed, and the smoke quickly disbanded. Before the three mares, stood a certain gray coated colt holding a the small, blue box carrying the Elements of Harmony.

Celestia's eyes widened as soon as she noticed the box. “Who are you? What are you doing with that!?” she shouted, the glow on her horn becoming brighter as if she was ready to attack. The four soldiers behind the mares took an offensive stance, as if they were ready to attack as well. But they settled down when Red Star gestured them with her hoof to remain still.

The colt didn't respond. His eyes wondered until he saw Twilight Sparkle cowering behind Red Star. “Hello, Twilight,” the colt said calmly, “how's it going?”

Twilight was surprised. “Midnight Shine? What are you doing here? What's going on?” she asked.

Red Star, Celestia, and Cadence traded glances when they realize Twilight was familiar with the colt. 

“So you're this Midnight Shine I've been hearing so much about?” Red said with a slight grin, “you've made a very stupid choice in revealing yourself to us three. Are you responsible for this attack?” she asked.

“I most certainly am not, but I do know who is,” Midnight said as he returned a grin to Red and the two princesses. “Don't worry, I do not intend to harm any of you.”

“Trust me, I'm not worried about that,” Red says, letting her confidence speak for her. “What I want to know right now is how you made it this far inside the castle without being detected?”

Midnight frowned at Red Star. Then the colt saw a chance to change the subject when he noticed Cadence and Celestia eyeing the decorated box he was holding.

“Are you two worried about the contents of this box here?” Midnight asked as he slowly levitated each individual jewelery piece of the elements of harmony. Tossing the box aside, he rotated the elements around himself. “These are some ancient jewels...” the colt mused as he looked at each one.

“Hand those over right now!” Celestia stomped her hoof, the blazing light coming from her horn was not letting up.

Midnight took the unspoken threat from the princess seriously, and then he slowly levitated the elements of harmony over to the mares. Twilight caught them in her magic and kept them close to her.

“Do not let those out of your sight! Do you hear me, Twi?” Red asked. The lavender mare nodded. Then the young commander gestured her soldiers to take formation. Without delay, the four unicorn soldiers galloped to closely surround Midnight Shine. “Arrest him!” the general quickly ordered.

“Wait!” Twilight called out, and the attention went to her. “There's something wrong,” she said while she analyzed the elements of harmony, “the elements... I can't feel them. Their power is gone!”

“What? What do you mean?” Celestia asked.

“I don't feel their power at all,” Twilight repeated. “I can't even recognize them!”

The mares had no idea what was going on, but with sudden questions on their minds they all looked back at the colt. They gasped when they see that the four soldiers were on the ground unconscious and Midnight was standing with a solemn look on his face.

Without any hesitation or delay, Red Star shot a speeding ray of blue magic at the colt. But when it reached inches from Midnight, the magic ray corroded into crumbles and was blown away into nothing by the wind.  

“Do not worry, these soldiers are alive,” Midnight said after a short, pause he gave the mares a chance to absorb what just happened. Red Star was especially nervous as she considered how strong one must be to stop her own magic like that. Then, out of mere kindness, Midnight slowly lifted all four of the soldiers and leaned each of them against the wall to the side. “I'm here to talk,” the colt said with sincerity, “and to warn you of what's about to happen at this moment.”

The mares looked at each other. Celestia seemed to be the only one with a confident look, so every pony looked at her for suggestions on what to do. The princess tried to muster as much aplomb as she could when she gazed at each one of the ponies who needed her leadership. Taking a breath, Celestia nodded to a silent agreement with the other mares, and they all extinguished the magic glows on their horns and they returned to normal stances. Celestia held a frown as if she was being forced to submit to the strange colt. 

“Speak,” Celestia bluntly ordered, “what do you seek to tell us?”

“I don't seek anything from you or your generals, princess,” Midnight spoke in the least ill-mannered way possible. Then the colt looked over to make eye-contact with Twilight. “My business is with the elements of harmony themselves,” he said with a light smile.

Red Star purposefully stepped in front of Twilight, so the colt was forced to focus his attention on the red mare. Meanwhile, the lavender pony took a step back and became submissive, hiding behind her ex-mentor. 

Midnight didn't seem to notice right away that Celestia and Cadence were looking at a certain figure standing behind the colt; both the princesses grinned.

“What in Equestria could your business be with the elements of harmony?” Princess Luna revealed herself as she spoke to the colt in a menacing tone

Before Midnight could react, he was stunned by the blue aura covering him, and then with a swift gesture of the mare standing behind him, he was forcefully slammed to the ceiling where he was pinned by his back with his limbs spread.

“Wait, Princess Luna!” Twilight called out in a panicky voice, “he's here in peace-- he wants to tell us what's going on.”

“Remain silent, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna replied in a way similar to how one would silence an ignorant child. “This colt does not come in peace,” she said as she looked up at the colt struggling to release himself in the princess's magic, “he has brought invaders into the castle; he is the cause of this attack!”

“Is that so?” Celestia asked.

“Indeed, I can faintly sense the presence of several intruders-- they're close” Luna said, “we were correct to prepare for such an event.” 

“What ever you plan to do with me?” Midnight asked as he finds a tolerable position on the ceiling.

“Why is he still talking?” Red Star rhetorically asked, looking up at the high ceiling. “You don't have to worry about what will happen to you, so long as you cooperate with us and tell us everything you know!”

“Tell you everything about what, exactly...?” Midnight reluctantly wondered.

“You know what I'm talking about-- the one true reason why you're so interested in the elements” Red said with the same confidence as before. “Tell me everything you know about the entity!” 

“... oh... I see,” Midnight murmured, wondering if he should say anything. A few moments of silence pass, and then the colt decided to talk. “All I know for sure is that the entity is returning for the elements of harmony-- to its new host,” Midnight looked at Twilight with the same smile he had earlier.

“New host?” Twilight pondered heavily.

“What are you going on about? And what did you do to the elements to make them powerless?” Celestia asked, going back to an important issue.

“I didn't do anything to the elements; those pieces of jewelry have been powerless for some time now,” Midnight assured, then he moved along to answer the next question, “and yes, you heard correctly. The entity wants to return to its new host.”

“What does that even mean?!” Twilight yelped.

Midnight grinned. “You created something all those years ago during your training, Twilight,” he spoke as slowly and clearly as possible, “and now they want to challenge you and your friends, the elements of harmony.”

Simultaneously, all five of the mares-- even Twilight-- took offensive stances and their horns flared with magic immediately after Midnight mentioned Twilight's past.

“How do you know of such things?” Luna growled, demanding an answer.

Midnight's grin grew wider.

Then suddenly, every pony sensed an overwhelming magical power that came from seemingly nowhere.

“Ah! What is that!?” Twilight winced at the feeling. The magic force was so strong and overpowering that all five of the mares were cringing and dismayed. Even their ability to move was stunted and slowed down by the power. Red Star and Celestia looked at each other with horror in their widened eyes. They both recognized the power they were feeling. 

The magical power became such an irritation, that Luna couldn't sustain to keep Midnight held on the ceiling. Knowing the princess of the night was distracted, Midnight used some of his magic to dispel Luna's grip on him, and he came falling back to the ground. As he fell, all the attention returned to him, and he had himself ready to make a safe landing. And the moment he landed, he took a stance to shoot a magic ray at the wall on the side. The ray hit one of the stain glass windows that decorated the hall, and it sprayed shattered glass all over. While the mares tried to protect themselves from the scattering glass, Midnight galloped ahead and jumped through the window. 

At that moment that Midnight jumped out of the window, Twilight noticed something: the colt looked back at her with an empty expression. And for a second, Twilight could've sworn she saw Midnight's eyes glow a bright yellow hue, but it happened too fast for her to be certain of what she saw. Another moment later, and Midnight was gone. And the powerful force that the mare's felt just a moment ago vanished just as suddenly as it arrived.

“What the hell was that?!” Cadence yelled, not expecting any pony to know the answer.

Red Star stuttered as she tried to answer, “th-that power...” she exchanged glances with Celestia, “that was the same feeling Celestia and I had while confronting the entity from when it first appeared...”

“So it has deliberately revealed itself to us for the first time...” Luna mused. At the moment, she seemed to be the only mare taking the situation calmly and unagitated. “Strange that it had to distract us in such a convenient time for Midnight Shine...” 

“Indeed,” Red growled, “and that colt seems to know a lot. Maybe he knows more than we do about this entity... we should capture and question him,” Red said.

“Let him go! He isn't a major threat at the moment,” Luna said plainly, “we have bigger priorities right now.”

“Right, the dragon,” Red figured.

“Actually, it's a different issue that has turned up,” Luna began, looking at Red Star and wearing a severe look as if she knew Red wouldn't like what she's going to say, “two of the intruders I mentioned earlier came from within our own ranks. We've been betrayed by our own loyal soldiers.” 

“What?” Red growled louder, as if insulted by the suggestion. “That's not possible! Cyclone and I recruited and trained the most loyal, honorable soldiers out there. Are you certain of this, Luna?”

Luna didn't respond with words, but instead she let Red Star think about what she just asked. After all, the general did just question the perception abilities of the princess of the night and dreams. 

“I only know the identity of one of the traitors; I'm not sure about the other,” the princess added with a flat tone.

Red Star's brows burrowed.

Before anything else could be said, the rest of Twilight's friends came in busting through the doors at the far end of the hall, with four soldiers on either side of them and Shining Armor and Blue Garnet followed shortly behind. 

“Twilight!” they called.

“Girls,” Twilight yelled back, running to them. When they met halfway into the hall and stopped, the soldiers that were escorting Twilight's friends galloped onward until they tended to the wounded soldiers that were still stacked against the wall. They all slowly became returned to consciousness, and the other soldiers helped them up and checked if they were okay.

“Twilight, Red Star, do either of you know what's going on?” Rarity asked.

“What happened here?” Shining asked, “why are those colts wounded?”

“We'll explain later! Right now you all need to put on your elements,” Red said as she levitated each one of the elements and placed them on the heads of their owner. But when she finished putting her element on, she noticed that she still had one left. “Where's Rainbow Dash?” she asked.

“She should be arriving any minute now,” Shining Armor assured.

Twilight then noticed someone else is missing. “Where's Spike?” she asked calmly, hoping to get a pleasant answer.

Shining and Blue looked at each other, nervously. Red Star could tell they didn't want to be the one to say what happened.

“That dragon that's loose on the city...”   Red Star broke the ice on the subject with a serious tone, “it's Spike isn't it?”

Shining and Blue were surprised that Red would willingly say that in front of Twilight and her friends.
But, they both nod in unison and confirm Red's theory. 

“At least, that's what we have to assume,” Blue Garnet added.

“I see...” Red looked at Twilight, then at the other mares standing in front of her. For the most part, they were speechless, but remarkably collective. What Red Star didn't know is that they had dealt with this sort of situation before.

“Spike? How could that of happened so suddenly?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“On it's own, it's impossible,” Red explained, “some pony or something must've done something to arouse Spike's dragon greed...” She looked down, then looked back up after a few moments, with a reassured look. 

Then the unicorn soldiers came and stood at attention beside their general. “Are you all alright?” Red asked them.

“Yes, ma'am,” one of them answered.

“Sir,” Red quietly corrected. Then she looked at Shining Armor. “Captain, round up all of your available troops and focus on distracting the dragon long enough to evacuate the city.”

“You think I'm gonna let him do this alone? I'm going too,” Cadence announced as she flew next to her husband.

“Alright, just get to it!” Red ordered. Shining and Cadence nodded then they made a gesture to the royal guards, and five of them followed as they galloped out the door. Red looked at her old student, “Twilight, you and your friends are essential for what we're going to do next; stay with princess Celestia and Luna for now.”

“But what about Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie Pie cried.

“Yeah, we can't do nothin' without her,” Applejack added.

“Trust me, I will personally find her and bring her back here,” Red promised. “But you all need to be protected in the meantime-- go with the princesses!”

“You heard her girls, let's get going.” Twilight took control of her group and they started trotting away. 

But before Twilight could join her friends, Red Star grabbed her and pulled her close. “Twi,” she whispered into the purple mare's ear, “I need everything to go smoothly and I need every pony's trust. Therefore, this is not the time for secrecy. Your friends need to know what's going on...” Red made eye contact with her old student, and Twilight understood what her mentor wanted.

“Alright, Red Star,” Twilight said, “I'll tell them.” Red slowly let Twilight go, and the lavender unicorn trotted away. 

“General, if I may speak,” Blue Garnet spoke in her serious tone, “what exactly happened here?”

Red looked at her lieutenant, and debated in her head on what to say. “We encountered the colt named Midnight Shine. And from where the conversation was going he knows about the entity just about as much as we do-- maybe more.”

“Wow,” Blue adjusted her glasses, “well where is he?”

“He got away... and he seems to be a very powerful with magic.”

“Well then,” Blue's eyes shifted to the guards standing beside her, “is that why my soldiers were unconscious on the wall?”

“Yes,” Red Star took a silent gulp, “but that's not the worst part. The entity emitted its direct power to all of us, physically dismaying us long enough for Midnight Shine to escape.”

Blue's eyes widened in disbelief. “That's...” she almost didn't believe her general, “very disturbing...”

“Indeed-- to think that something as powerful as that entity had help and possibly cooperated with that strange colt...”

“Well...” Blue stood at attention, “what are your orders, General?”

“We need to find Rainbow Dash, first of all.” 

“Shining Armor and I have already sent some colts to get her. But we haven't heard from them, yet.” Blue's expression changed to one of anxiety all of a sudden, “Red Star, if I may ask, what are we going to do about the dragon and the entity?...”

“We're going to subdue the dragon and find and kill the entity...”

Blue gave Red a shocked look that said 'you're kidding me'. Then she joked, "if we both make it out of this alive, I'm resigning.” Red chuckled and smiled. Blue's expression fell and her tone became dread, “and I'm sorry that I have to do this.”

Red was caught completely off guard. Blue charged up a purple orb from the tip of her horn that made an eerie noise as it quickly grew in size. In the instant Red realized what her lieutenant was about to do, she used the extremely small amount of time she had to summon a force field around every pony-- the princesses, Twilight and her friends-- on the other side of the hall, but she didn't have enough time to do anything to protect herself. Then she instinctively forced her eyes shut.

Blue Garnet set off the charged orb, and an insanely bright explosion consumed the entire hall. Red Star and  one of the unicorn soldiers were blown away by the force of the explosion, and they both flew out one of the stain glass windows. The other two soldiers that stood closer to Blue, however, were entirely incinerated by the fiery blast. The force of the explosion destroyed every stained glass window and it blew apart some parts of the walls and ceiling. 

-----

In the distance, the strange mare with the black fedora saw the bright display coming from the castle and was furious.

“Idiot!” she growled, stomping her hoof on the grass, “we are not suppose to bring harm to those who are not involved in our business!” Then she tried to calm down by controlling her breathing.

In an attempt to access the situation, the mare looked up at the sky and gazed at the large black sphere floating above the Canterlot Garden, right where Rainbow Dash and Light Speed were last seen. The sphere was elevated high in the sky, just above the large lake in the center of the garden. And for the most part, it was nicely camouflaged in the night sky. “Though it looks like the process has begun...” she thought.

Then she looked off at the castle in the distance, and said with annoyance in her tone, “if any of you try anything stupid, I will have to get involved and stop you!” 

Eventually, the strange mare trotted her way towards the castle. And her eyes started to glow a bright, flaming green hue.