> My Little Pony Friendship is Magic What If?: Volume 10
>  by SuperPinkBrony12
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> S1 E13: Fall Weather Friends (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

For Spike it had been just another typical, peaceful day since the move to Ponyville a few months back. Both he and Twilight had settled into their new living accommodations quite well, and it had warmed the little dragon's heart to see the pony closest to him make some friends and come out of her shell.

Yes, things were quite peaceful and seemed content to stay that way. But every now and then there were little things that disrupted that peace and quiet. Today, it was the sounds of Twilight growing steadily more frustrated by the second while tossing numerous bailed up scrolls across the room. "Ugh, this is impossible!" She complained aloud.

Spike sighed and took a deep breath. It was his job as Twilight's number one assistant to intervene when she was getting frazzled, specifically because with her magical powers there was no telling what she could do if she lost her temper and went berserk. "What's wrong, Twilight? What is it this time?"

Twilight turned to face Spike and forced herself to sigh. "I am trying to write a friendship report to Princess Celestia, like I have to do every week as part of the arrangements. But for some reason I can't come up with anything I've learned about friendship over the past week. Nothing, Spike! Zero, zilch, nada! And the week is almost up!"

"So, just write to Princess Celestia and ask for an extension. I'm sure she won't mind if you tell her truth, honesty is a part of friendship after all." Spike suggested.

Twilight shook her head. "I can't do that, Spike. I don't need Princess Celestia thinking I'm ungrateful or slacking off. I promised to write to her every week about friendship, and I'm going to keep that promise no matter what it takes! Now come on, help me out here. Surely there must be something I learned that's worth writing down."

The little dragon could only shrug his claws. "Sorry, Twilight, but I can't help you with that. You're way more organized than I am, so if you learned something about friendship you would remember it before I did."

"Ugh, just great!" Twilight groaned anew and planted her head down on her writing desk. "Not even a year and I might have to leave my friends behind because my mind had to pick now of all times to stop working!"

Spike sincerely doubted Twilight's fears were justified but he also knew it was never a good idea to tease Twilight about them. What she needed most right now was guidance, not mocking. "Look, you're obviously not gonna think of anything if you just sit around here all day. Why don't you go outside and take a break?" He promptly suggested. "I hear Applejack and Rainbow Dash are having another Iron Pony Competition today."

"Really? Again?" The unicorn questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Seems like they're always competing."

"Yeah, but it's all in good fun. And everypony who's anypony's going to be there, our friends included," Spike pointed out. "So why not talk to them and see if they have anything for you? You never know."

Spike's words caused something to go off inside of Twilight's mind, the gears in her brain began to turn as a rather bright smile crept onto her face. "You know what, that's actually a great idea, Spike. I'l do just that. And I know just the ponies I wanna ask and what I wanna ask them. Come on!" The scholarly unicorn had settled on a fact that she had been wondering about since coming to Ponyville: How could two highly competitive ponies like Applejack and Rainbow Dash ever get along?

She had no idea what the answer she was going to get would involve. It was a story that many ponies already knew, for it had become quite legendary in Ponyville. A legend of how two ponies' egos got the best of them.



The Iron Pony Competition that Spike had mentioned was taking place at a makeshift stadium not too far from Sweet Apple Acres. By the time Twilight and Spike got over there the stands were already packed with ponies.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash currently stood on opposite sides of a mud bank, each holding an end of a rope that had a flag over it that hovered over a white line. Neither spoke a word as they gazed at each other, as if though daring the other one to blink.

Twilight's friends were in the first row of seats on the left side stands, they had even left a spot open for her. "Hey, girls," Twilight greeted as she trotted over to join them. "Hope I'm not too late."

"Of course not, you're just in time for the grand finale!" Pinkie excitedly exclaimed! "It all comes down to this! Applejack and Rainbow Dash are all tied up, whoever wins this final event wins the whole competition and all the bragging rights that come with it. Ooh, I wish I'd remembered to bring popcorn! This is so exciting!"

Twilight couldn't help but comment. "This is, what, the fifth Iron Pony Competition they've held since I moved here?"

"The sixth, darling, you weren't around for the last one," Rarity explained. "Trust me, they do this a lot. Mostly because Rainbow Dash is just too stubborn to accept defeat. She keeps claiming this will be the time she defeats Applejack and breaks the streak."

Fluttershy tried her best not to look ashamed. "She always did like to prove herself, and she never could back down from a challenge."

Pinkie then made a shushing motion with her hooves. "Enough chit chat, they're about to start the tug of war!"

A whistle sounded and the two athletes began to tug on their ends of the rope! Both quickly dug in their hooves, hoping not to concede even an inch to the opponent as they kept on tugging. 

Slowly but surely, however, progress was made. With a great deal of struggling Applejack began to pull the rope toward her side and Rainbow Dash with it!

Rainbow seemed to sense what was happening as a look of horror flashed in her eyes! For a moment she seemed to look to her wings, as though she were considering using them despite the unfair advantage they would give her. But the moment passed and the brash speedster did nothing with said wings. She just pulled harder on the rope, hoping to gain the upper hoof.

That was a mistake! Applejack seized the opportunity to yank hard! And that yank was all it took to force Rainbow into the mud and over the line! The farm pony happily took off her stentson and tossed it into the air as she let out a mighty "Yeehaw!" to celebrate her victory.

Rainbow picked herself up very slowly, groaning a bit as she was still covered in mud. "I don't know how you do it, Applejack. Every time I think I have you beat at something, you still find a way to beat me."

Applejack just chuckled as she put her stentson back atop her forehead. "Ain't nothin' to it, sugarcube. You just gotta practice more. But I'm always happy to take you on whenever you feel like it, you're the best rival I've ever had the privilege of knowin' and beatin'."

The pegasus just snorted. "You can't really call yourself a rival when the only reason you win is because I don't use my wings. If I did you wouldn't stand a chance."

The farm mare replied quite sternly. "Rainbow, you know we talked about this. Your wings would give you an unfair advantage in over half our little games. And what kind of a victory would it be if you only got it by cheatin'? An empty one, that's what."

Rainbow let out a humph. "Whatever. One of these days I will beat you, Applejack. You can't hold onto the title of Iron Pony forever."

Having overheard this back and forth bantering, Twilight came trotting over. "Uh, forgive me for noticing, girls, but you seem to be having a bit of an argument."

Applejack shrugged it off. "Oh, Rainbow just doesn't take losin' too well, that's all. Can't say I blame her, I don't like to lose either. I reckon nopony truly does."

"Besides," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "This is nowhere near as heated as our rivalry used to be. A few years ago, AJ and I competed over just about every kind of athletic feat you could ever imagine. It wasn't until there came a time when our competitive natures took full control that we realized how out of hoof things were getting."

"I don't believe I've ever heard that before," Twilight pondered. "Is there any chance you could tell me about it?" The unicorn decided it best to leave out the mention of needing something to write a friendship report on, despite how promising this story sounded to her ears.

Applejack and Rainbow exchanged side glances for a moment, as if silently debating whether or not to honor their friend's request. But after the moment passed Applejack broke the silence with a sigh, while her posture took on a sort of low appearance. "Well, if you're that curious I suppose there ain't any harm to it, Twilight. But RD and I don't really like to talk about it."

"Yeah," The pegasus blurted out in response. "It wasn't exactly our finest moment. Still, you'll probably keep a better lid on it than some other ponies who were around to witness it."

Applejack then began to tell the story. "Now let me see if I can remember how it all started. I know it was before you came to Ponyville, Twilight, but it was also after Rainbow Dash moved here. Can't really give ya an exact date, though. I do remember that it started on a day sometime durin' fall, when I met Rainbow Dash for the very first time." And her mind began to flash back to that fateful day and that fateful encounter.





It started out like any other day for Applejack: Up with the sun, a breakfast with family and then it was out into the fields to start on chores. Since it was fall that meant harvest season was at hoof, and the farm mare knew that every apple harvested (or bucked as the case may be) counted. The total amount could mean the difference between making it through the coming winter without hardship, and having to make some sacrifices to not go under.

However, not long after she had gotten started on her bucking, the earth pony was surprised to find something rather unexpected and most unusual resting in one of the trees. It was a pegasus mare with a coat the same light blue as the sky, and a mane and tail in straight bangs with all the colors of a rainbow (she was of course Rainbow Dash, but Applejack didn't know this yet).

Applejack loosely recognized the pegasus, remembering something about Ponyville getting a new captain for its weather team. But right now all she could think about was how this pegasus was napping in a tree that still needed to be bucked. Feeling rather annoyed, she decided to ignore the sleeping pegasus and go about bucking the tree as normal.'

When the tree trunk shook from the force of Applejack's kick, it startled the snoozing pegasus awake as she shook the cobwebs from her brain and jolted up with a start! "Gah!" She exclaimed as she lost her balance and fell out of the tree, landing on the ground below. Luckily she wasn't hurt, so she just stood up and brushed off the dirt as best she could. "Hey, I was sleeping here!" She bitterly complained. "What? Can't a pegasus take a five minute power nap in peace around here?"

Applejack shook her head. "Not when it's in a tree I need to harvest all the apples from. Besides, don't you have some clouds you should be clearin' up or somethin'?"

The pegasus snapped back in an instant. "I already took care of that. There's not a cloud in the sky and I'm off duty. The name's Rainbow Dash, by the way. And you are?"

"Applejack, and I happen to live on the farm these here trees are part of," The farm mare retorted as she blew steam from her nostrils. "I'm supposed to be harvestin' them for winter, but I can't do that if I'm busy havin' to deal with the likes of you. So if you wouldn't mind goin' somewhere else to nap, I'd like to get back to my chores. If my brother comes by and sees me talkin' to you, I'll catch an earful. And I'll have you know he doesn't usually talk much."

Rainbow just replied with a weak yawn. "Whatever, if it means that much to you I guess I'll leave. Ponyville's top athlete needs to rest if she's going to stay at the top of her game."

The mentioning of the words "Ponyville" and "Top Athlete" in the same sentence touched something deep inside Applejack. "Oh, that's funny," She declared in a low tone. "I guess you ain't heard since you're new to town and all, but Ponyville already has a top athlete and you're lookin' at her. Not that I mean to brag, but I've got a fine collection of blue ribbons from rodeos."

Rainbow Dash just laughed and slapped a hoof on her knee. "Oh, that's a good one! You're the top athlete in Ponyville?! I could run circles around you in my sleep!"

"Really? Then how's about a little contest to prove it?" Applejack asked as a smirk crept across her face.

Not one to resist a challenge, Rainbow boldly replied! "Name your game! I'll beat you at it and prove why I deserve to be Ponyville's top athlete!"

"How's about you start by buckin' all them apples off that tree you were just in?" The earth pony with a coat the same orange as some of the leaves at this time of year suggested. "If you can buck more apples off a tree than I can, you win. Of course, if you can't then that means I win. Is that clear?"

The pegasus nodded and trotted towards the tree. "Crystal," After a bit of positioning herself just right she looked back at Applejack and told her. "Prepare to be amazed!" Then she kicked the tree trunk as hard as she could. It shook from the impact and several apples fell from its branches, landing in buckets that had been placed all around. "Top that!" Rainbow boasted, feeling quite proud of her score.

Applejack just spat on the ground. "Mighty respectable for a first timer, but let me show you how a pro does it." It took her only a second to get into position, and when she kicked the trunk of her tree every single apple on its branches fell! Rainbow was speechless!

The farm mare chuckled. "Don't feel too bad, I had years of apple buckin' under my belt. No one expected you to compete with that. Still, consider that a mere taste of what I can do," Then she added. "Still think you're the top athlete in all of Ponyville, or are you ready to admit there's somepony better?"

Rainbow growled as she muttered under her breath. "I hate losing," She was quick to point out. "That wasn't fair! My tree was already half empty, yours was full! How can you be sure I lost if we didn't have the same number of apples to start with?!"

"You implyin' my little game was a load of sour apples?!" Applejack questioned with a glare. "Look, I don't have time to argue with you about this! Just admit you've been beaten and get out of my mane!"

But Rainbow insisted. "You know what? This doesn't count! I demand a rematch!"

"A rematch, huh? Don't you know when to give up?" Applejack questioned as she shrugged her hooves and sighed. "Fine, I guess I'll humor you a little. But I don't have time to bother with you right now."

The brash speedster just smiled. "No problem, because I have the perfect way for us to settle the score. Next weekend is the annual Running of the Leaves in the Whitetail Woods, right?"

Applejack nodded. "Yup, gotta shake down all those leaves to make way for winter."

"Then whoever wins that gets to be Ponyville's top athlete and all the bragging rights that come with it," Rainbow declared. "You in? Or are you too chicken?"

The farm mare simply replied by boldly declaring. "I ain't chicken! I'll take your bet! See you at the Runnin' of the Leaves, and prepare to lose!"





Next weekend came as did as the Running of the Leaves. Applejack and Rainbow Dash arrived at the starting line as several other ponies from across Ponyville did the same.

And from high above, in a light purple colored balloon, a pink coated earth pony was watching the whole thing. As she was watching she spoke into a megaphone that carried her voice for all to hear. "Fillies and gentlecolts, welcome one and all to the annual Running of the Leaves! This is Pinkie Pie, and I'll be your official p-eye-in-the-sky announcer."

"Who's that?" Rainbow Dash inquired of Applejack.

Applejack just smiled. "That there's Pinkie Pie, she lives and works at Sugarcube Corner with the Cakes."

"Oh yeah, I remember now," Rainbow realized. "Isn't she the one who likes to throw parties all the time?"

Applejack nodded. "Yup. She's a little weird at first, but you get used to her. Heard this is her first time bein' an announcer for this here event."

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie went on announcing. "As everypony knows, the Running is a very important tradition, for without it, the autumn leaves of Equestria would never ever fall. Man, talk about lazy. So get ready, ponies. Because the Running of the Leaves will begin in five minutes. I repeat, five minutes."

"So, Applejack, you ready to win second place?" Rainbow teased.

"Maybe," Applejack retorted. "I'm ready to run a good, clean race. Which reminds me of somethin'." She gave her full attention to Rainbow's wings.

Rainbow Dash fought back a gulp. "Why are you looking at me like that, Applejack?"

"Well, I reckon I don't need to tell you why you can't use your wings for this here contest," Applejack spoke up. "And I'm sure you probably didn't intend to use 'em anyway. But I've got to make sure, lucky I came prepared," She pulled out a rope from underneath her hat and used it to tightly tie up Rainbow's wings. The farm mare couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. "There, all nice and snug. Trussed up like a turkey. Well, a turkey who can't fly, that is."

"Ha ha," The tied up pegasus sarcastically replied. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little, but at least now we know we're racin' fair and square," The earth pony answered. "If you're really such a high class athlete you should have no trouble winnin' in spite of your er... handicap."

Just then there came the sound of trumpets! "Racers! Please take your positions! The Running of the Leaves is about to begin!" Pinkie Pie called.

The racers did so, but as Applejack and Rainbow Dash were getting lined up they were surprised to find another pony join them. She was an earth pony mare who looked considerably older than either of them, due to her gold tinted glasses and two toned, light gray mane and tail, not to mention a white collar with a green tie around her neck. Her cutie mark was a tan colored scroll tied with a blue ribbon.

Applejack and Rainbow both blinked in surprise. "Mayor Mare?!"

"The one and only," Mayor Mare replied with a smile. "I figured it was time I did some running that didn't involve an office. I used to do this all time when I was younger and before I became mayor. Oh, I'm so glad I could find time in my schedule to fit it in this year."

"Uh, no offense, mayor, but you don't seriously think you can beat us, do you?" Applejack questioned.

The mayor only vaguely replied. "We'll see. At least this time I don't have to worry about what will happen if I don't win. It's nice to have a race where there's nothing at stake."

"Maybe for you, but Applejack and I are playing to win! Whoever wins this is the undisputed top athlete in all of Ponyville!" Rainbow Dash boasted. "We might even have to come up with a new title for it."

Mayor Mare answered with a wink. "Well, as I've always said, never assume you've won before the race has even begun. And regardless of what might be going with you two, I look forward to competing against you and against everypony here. Don't give me special treatment just because I'm the mayor, treat me no differently than you would any other racer."

"Suit yourself, just don't act too surprised when we see you at the finish line!" Rainbow loudly declared.

Then Pinkie Pie called out. "All right then, the time for chit chat is over. Ponies, are you ready?" The ponies stood at attention, waiting for the signal. "Get set," A few seconds later came the ringing of a bell, the signal for the race to begin. It wasn't long before Whitetail Woods shook to the sound of thundering hooves. "And they're off!" Pinkie excitedly declared while her balloon hovered over the action! "Welcome to the official coverage of the Running of the Leaves! Pinkie Pie here, and you can count on me to bring you all the nonstop action and excitement!" She quickly settled into her role as a commentator. "You know, it's funny, actually. Despite its name, the leaves don't do any of the actual running. No, that's left to my little ponies down there. Without all that running those leaves wouldn't fall at all, what a bunch of lazy leaves!"

It didn't take long for Applejack and Rainbow Dash to pull out into the lead, and Pinkie commented while watching them from above. "But this year, the run is about more than the weather. It's about the race to the finish and the two runners who want to win it: Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Word has it that these two mares have a bit of a score they're hoping to settle. A real grudge match. And grudge rhymes with fudge. Which, I like fudge, but if I eat too much fudge I get a pudge and then I can't budge. So no fudge for me, thank you."

Most ponies were too busy racing to take any notice of what Pinkie Pie was saying, least of all those with something on the line in the case of both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Nevertheless, it was impossible for them to ignore the commentary from above as they kept on racing. And perhaps it was because of that distraction that Applejack was able to pull ahead.

"Ooh, what's this?! Applejack's making her move!" Pinkie Pie shouted in excitement! "She's now ahead by a nose. But Rainbow Dash won't let Applejack have it and takes the lead. She's ahead by half a nose. Or maybe three quarters of a nose. No, about sixty-three point seven percent of a nose... roughly speaking. Applejack sees this move and pushes forth with her strong workhorse legs slinking ahead by three hundred and fifty noses! Ooh, this is gonna be a close one for sure!"

Applejack taunted Rainbow as she pulled ahead. "Please tell me this isn't your best, Rainbow. I ain't even broken a sweat yet."

Rainbow groaned as she tried to surge ahead. "Come on, Rainbow. Show 'em a little dash." She muttered to herself.

"Ho-hold your horses, Pinkie! Rainbow Dash is catching up the frontrunner Applejack!" Pinkie Pie declared. "What an upset. For a moment there I thought Applejack had this in the bag."

As Rainbow caught up to Applejack, meanwhile, she retorted. "You didn't think I was gonna let you off that easily, did you? I'm winning this race, wings or no wings!"

Just seconds after Rainbow had spoken, Applejack felt her legs give way and she stumbled to the ground! She could only watch as she picked herself up while the lead passed her by. "I can't believe it." She muttered under her breath.

"I know, it's beautiful, isn't it?" Mayor Mare commented as she trotted by at a leisurely pace, she didn't seem to be making much of an effort to run. "Who knew Whitetail Woods was so lovely at this time of year? Maybe I should look into a vacation home here when I retire."

Applejack just groaned. "Forget the scenery, Mayor, Rainbow Dash is playin' dirty. She just straight up tripped me."

Mayor Mare shook her head. "She did not, she'd never do something like that."

"I'm tellin' ya, she did. Leave it to a pegasus to play dirty." The farm mare stubbornly insisted.

The mayor just make a tsking sound as she pointed out. "Applejack, I saw the whole thing with my own two eyes. I'm not nearly that old, you know. Rainbow Dash didn't trip you up, that rock did. And if you'd slowed down and paid attention to your surroundings you could've avoided it." Sure enough, right where Applejack had been standing was a rock that now seemed impossible to have missed.

Needless to say, Applejack was quite ashamed of her behavior. Not only had she made a careless mistake but she'd had the gal to accuse a fellow racer of unsportspony like conduct without any proof. "Ma and Pa raised me to be better than that. Good thing they weren't here to see it." She thought to herself as she tried to control the blush forming on her cheeks. "Guess that's why you're the mayor... uh Mayor. Now it looks like I got a lot of ground to make up if I'm ever gonna get back in this race."

"Well just be careful, there's plenty of things besides rocks that can make you trip," Mayor Mare cautioned. "I'd hate to see a promising racer unable to finish because she wasn't paying attention." But Applejack had already raced ahead, determined to catch up!





Rainbow Dash was surprised to see Applejack not only catch up to her but also overtake her for the lead only a short time later. "What the-" She began with a gasp!

Applejack just laughed as she shouted. "See ya at the finish line, RD!"

Pinkie Pie commented on the whole thing from the safety of her balloon. "I don't believe it, this race keeps getting twistier and twistier! After a huge setback, Applejack is back at the front of the pack again. The pick of the litter! The cat's pajamas! Oh wait, why would Applejack take some poor kitty's PJs? That's not very sporting of her," She shook her head. "Never mind, I don't think there's any cats racing, so she couldn't have stolen pajamas. And it looks like Rainbow Dash isn't quite done yet. This could be a true photo finish!"

Rainbow surged forward with all her might, hoping to catch up to Applejack. They were so close that they might as well have been fused together. "Not so fast, AJ! This race isn't over yet!"

"It is for you," Applejack taunted as Rainbow became the one to stumble and fall. "Heh. See you never!"

It took a moment for the pegasus to pick herself up, and just like Applejack she was anything but pleased with what she thought she had seen. "I can't believe it! Applejack tripped me up, of all the nerve."

"Are you sure that's the case? Because Applejack thought you did the same thing to her, and you didn't," Mayor Mare explained as she trotted up to Rainbow. "I'm sure Applejack didn't trip you up at all."

"No, Mayor, I know what I saw! She swung her tail right at me and made me trip," Rainbow protested with a shake of her head. "All that talk about playing fair, and then she goes and trips me the moment I get close."

Mayor Mare nervously replied while adjusting her glasses. "I'm... sure there's a perfectly valid explanation for it. You were so close to Applejack that she probably didn't realize her tail was in the way. Maybe next time stay in your lane while you try to pass somepony. Then you can cut over once you're sure you have the lead. Besides, Applejack would never cheat. At least, not intentionally. After all, this is just a game."

"Maybe so," Rainbow commented to herself. "But the rules have changed. Two can play at this game. If Applejack wants to fight dirty, so be it." And thus the stage was set for what had been a not so friendly rivalry to turn into something far worse.





A short time later, Rainbow Dash was still trailing Applejack (who was still ahead of the other racers). In her mind she was no longer thinking about how to run an honorable race, she was thinking of how she was going to trip up Applejack and secure the lead for herself.

"Hey, looks like Rainbow Dash is trying to catch up to Applejack again," Pinkie commented. "Too bad this isn't a carrot dog eating contest, because then ketchup would make those doggies nice and slippery, but personally, I prefer mustard. Oh, and pickles. Speaking of pickles, it looks like Applejack has found herself in quite a pickle as Rainbow overtakes her," She licked her lips. "Is anypony getting hungry, or is just me?"

Rainbow was all too happy to gloat when she took back the lead. "Look, ma, no wings." She teased.

"And now, as the race enters the heart of the Whitetail Woods, Rainbow's back in the lead again and Applejack's now the one trying to close the gap," Pinkie Pie commented again. "The finish line isn't too far ahead, we're on the last leg of the race, folks. But it could still be anypony's race at this point."

Although her lead looked pretty solid, Rainbow Dash wasn't willing to leave anything to chance. She swung a tree branch into Applejack's direction.

Applejack ducked under it, only for the branch to swing back and hit her from behind! "Hey, Rainbow!" She shouted in shock and annoyance, but Rainbow only blew a raspberry back at her opponent. Realization quickly set in for the scorned farm mare. "Why, that little cheater did that on purpose. It's so on." She grabbed the tree branch, pulled it back, and then climbed aboard. The branch worked like a slingshot, propelling her back into the race!

When Rainbow saw Applejack catching up fast, she not so subtly kicked over a few buckets collecting sap from the trees. "Oops." She pretended to sound concerned.

The sap slowed Applejack down, but she wasn't going to let Rainbow's cheating ways go unanswered. She kicked one of the trees and made a beehive fall down in front of her opponent!

But the angry bees ended up motivating Rainbow to run even faster! She rushed straight ahead to where there was a fork in the road and dove straight into a nearby pond until she was certain the bees had left. Seeing Applejack still approaching and eyeing the sign dictating which route to take, the brash speedster got an idea. She quickly flipped the sign to send Applejack down the wrong path, then changed it back after Applejack ran past so that no one would notice. She couldn't help but laugh at her plan. "That'll teach her to mess with me." She thought to herself, even though a small part of her felt kind of bad for playing such a nasty trick on an opponent.

Mayor Mare came upon the scene a short time later, and she was more than a little surprised to see Rainbow Dash just sitting around and laughing. "Rainbow Dash, how funny to see you here. I thought you'd be leading the pack."

"What do you mean? Of course I am," Rainbow chortled to herself. "I'm sure I'll win now."

"And what about all the other racers that just passed you by?" Mayor Mare pointed out. "Applejack's not the only other pony in this race you know."

Rainbow Dash quickly realized that she had let the lead escape her because of her trick! She gasped! "Oh horse apples! Gotta run!" And she took off as fast as her hooves would let her.

Mayor Mare could only shake her head. "She's never going to win if she keeps making mistakes like that." She remarked, but no one heard but her.





Applejack raced right up the side of a cliff due to being diverted by Rainbow's trick with the sign. It wasn't until she reached the cliff top that she realized she was probably going the wrong way.

Pinkie Pie seemed to think the same as she was hovering by in the balloon. "Applejack, what are you doing up? This isn't a part of the race, there's no trees up here."

"None I noticed, but the sign was pointin' this way," Applejack commented and then it hit her! "Rainbow! Of course she'd do somethin' like that. Uh, you mind givin' me a lift?"

"I don't see any rule that says I can't, hop aboard!" Pinkie instructed as Applejack grabbed a rope and held onto it tightly as the balloon took off.

When Rainbow saw this a short time later she could hardly believe her eyes! "What the hay?! But you said no flying!"

"No, I said no wings. And this is fair game after that dirty trick you pulled." The farm mare retorted.

Pinkie, for her part, couldn't help but giggle. "You know, this has certainly been the most interesting Running of the Leaves I've ever covered. Though that might be because of the lack of running!"

The brash speedster lunged right at her competitor the moment her hooves touched the ground! They eventually wandered off course and up a mountainside that gave way underneath them.

Mayor Mare passed both ponies by a few seconds later. "I must say, you two don't live up to your reputations. I was expecting more of a challenge. And shouldn't the Running of the Leaves actually involve running?"

"You know what," Rainbow commented to Applejack. "The mayor makes a good point."

"Oh, you think so?" Applejack pondered.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah! If you wanna beat me, you better... RUUUN!" And she took off faster than she had at any point prior!

Applejack did the same! "No you don't! Get back here!"





The two ponies could see the finish line up ahead as they kept on running. All the while Pinkie was commenting from above. "Once again, Rainbow Dash and Applejack are neck and neck, jockeying for position. Applejack inches ahead, now it's Rainbow, it's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash, it's Applejack, it's Rainbow Dash! Ooh, somepony make up their mind! I can't take the suspense!"

Just then, Applejack bumped into Rainbow with a grunt! Pinkie could hardly believe her eyes! "Oh no, she didn't!"

Rainbow's response was to bump Applejack right back! And Pinkie exclaimed! "Oh yes, she did!"

"Cut it out, RD!" Applejack snapped.

"No, you cut it out, AJ!" Rainbow snapped back.

"Well you started it." Applejack retorted.

"Yeah, and now I'm gonna finish it! Catch me if you can!" Rainbow shouted.

Applejack growled and lunged toward her rival! "Oh no you won't! Not if I can help it!" She tried to grab Rainbow by the tail, only for her teeth to grab the rope that had tied up Rainbow's wings the entire race and undo it.

Feeling emboldened by this development, Rainbow began to flap her wings! "That's it, all bets are off! Anything goes!"

But Applejack jumped up and tackled Rainbow before the pegasus could fly away! "You ain't backin' out of the agreement that easily! Not on my watch!" The two quickly began to tussle with one another as they rolled across the finish line in a huge ball of dust.

"I won!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"No, I won! You cheated!" Applejack shouted back.

But Pinkie Pie informed them. "You're wrong, you tied!"

"What?! Tied?!" Both athletes shouted together! And Pinkie nodded her head.

"For first?" Applejack questioned.

Pinkie shook her head. "Nope, for last. I can't believe it! I was so sure one of you was going to win it all!" Then she sighed. "Looks like I owe Mrs. Cake some bits. Oh well, can't win 'em all."

"But then, who won?" Rainbow asked.

Suddenly, Mayor Mare trotted forward with what appeared to be a gold medal around her neck. Both athletes (who were bruised and battered from their scuffle) were deeply shocked as their mouths dropped open! "You?!" They both assumed.

Mayor Mare gave a light chuckle. "Oh no, not me. I came close, but it wasn't quite enough. Still, I managed to get fifth place, and they give out medals to everypony in the top ten. Not bad for an old timer like myself, I still got it!"

"No way! How in the world did you manage to place fifth?!" Rainbow questioned. "You were dragging your heels the whole time!"

"You never heard of pacing yourself?" Mayor Mare commented. "I know from experience that the pony who gets out to an early lead usually gets overconfident and over exherts themselves. Whether it's a political race or an actual race. A smart pony waits and saves their biggest effort for when it will count most, which in this case was right at the end when all the other racers were worn out," Looking around she added. "And it would seem I'm not the only one who had that idea, otherwise I probably would've won. Though with all your horsing around, it's no surprise you two didn't win."

The two mares hung their heads in shame, now realizing what they had done in their haste to win. "Guess you're right, Mayor. I'm ashamed of the way we acted." Applejack glumly commented.

"Yeah, we weren't good sports at all." Rainbow added in an equally unhappy tone.

"Sounds like an important lesson to have learned if you asked me." An unfamiliar voice spoke up. Suddenly, all eyes turned to a pony who appeared to tower over the others with her wings and horn (not to mention her majestic, gleaming white coat, and flowing mane and tail). It was none other than Princess Celestia, the ruler of Equestria! Ponies bowed down on either side of her as she come trotting up.

"W-what are you doin' here, princess? Shouldn't you be in Canterlot?" Applejack nervously inquired.

Mayor Mare adjusted her glasses. "Why, I invited her of course. When I heard she was interested in Ponyville I knew I had to arrange an audience with her. And when I learned that she particularly likes this time of year, I figured it wouldn't hurt to sweeten the deal if I had her come to witness the Running of the Leaves."

Princess Celestia gave a warm smile. "It was my pleasure, Mayor Mare. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, after all. And Ponyville seems like a lovely place. More than worthy in my opinion of hosting the Summer Sun Celebration next year, which just so happens to the 1,000th such celebration."

Everyone in the crowd was shocked and speechless! To hear that Princess Celestia had bestowed such an honor on such a quaint little town was something nopony could've ever anticipated.

But all Applejack and Rainbow could think about was the way they had acted earlier, especially now that they knew it had likely been observed by the ruler of Equestria. "I'm so sorry that you had to see us bein' such poor sports, Princess." Applejack apologized as best she could.

Princess Celestia just replied in a warm and gentle tone. "It's alright, I've seen worse behavior in some of my students," If one looked closely they might have detected a hint of regret in her voice. "What matters is that you admit to it now, and hopefully will think about how not to make the same mistake again," Then she added. "But I think I know how you two can make it all up to me. Because the two of you were busy tricking each other instead of shaking down leaves, many of the lovely trees around here are still covered."

"Say nomore, princess, we're on it!" Rainbow Dash declared and then shouted to the farm mare! "Come on, AJ! Still got enough left in the tank for this?!"

"You kiddin'?! You had me at another run!" Applejack happily shouted back as the two once bitter rivals raced away together.





"So you see, Twilight?" Applejack finished her story in the present day. "Not only did Rainbow and I learn a valuable lesson about bein' good sports, but although we didn't know it at the time that there race was what led to us bein' friends."

Rainbow chuckled. "Yeah, it's funny how those things work. But just because we're friends doesn't mean we don't still compete. In fact, being friends just makes it better."

"Really? How so?" Twilight questioned.

"Think about it, who better to motivate you to be the best you can be than somepony you know personally?" Rainbow explained. "AJ and I are always pushing each other, because we both want to be the best. That way, no matter who wins we can both agree that the winner earned their victory fair and square."

"I see," Twilight commented. "Well, I think that will make a fine friendship report to Princess Celestia. It's very important to consider your behavior when you're participating in something sports like, be it major or minor," But she paused briefly as a thought came to her. "Though there's one thing I'm curious about. Why was Princess Celestia so interested in Ponyville in the first place? Did she ever give a reason?"

"If she did we weren't around to hear it," Applejack explained. "For Rainbow Dash and I, we spent the rest of the day shakin' down all the leaves we'd missed earlier. By the time we were done, Princess Celestia had up and left for Canterlot without so much as a word."

Rainbow just shrugged her hooves. "She tends to come and go at will. But she's a princess, and an alicorn to boot. Who knows what her daily life is like? Maybe she had unexpected royal duties to tend to or something?"

"Maybe I'll ask her about it the next time we meet," Twilight suggested. "For now, I've got a friendship report to write!"

"Well don't take too long, 'cause AJ and I were thinking of having another race!" Rainbow called as Twilight trotted away with Spike in tow.
> S2 E14: The Last Roundup (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At Sweet Apple Acres a currently hatless Applejack was practicing her rodeo routine in preparation for an upcoming competition in Canterlot. She knew she would need to step up her game, because the rodeo competition being held in Canterlot was guaranteed to attract the best of the best. A title that Applejack was thoroughly convinced she belonged to. 

But she knew that complacency was the worst enemy of any athlete. So the farm mare was practicing every day she could before the rodeo, determined to get her routine down to memory and polished to perfection. The only pony she had for a test audience was Apple Bloom (who held and more often than than not wore her big sister's hat), who loved to watch her sister strut her stuff.

So Applejack was at it yet again on the day before the rodeo, trying to get in what practice she still could in order to make sure she was as ready as possible. Her whole routine worked well, aside from lightly bumping against a wooden fence during a jump.

Apple Bloom happily cheered the whole time, even as her sister's stentson fell off her head since it was too big for her. "Applejack, you're sure to knock everypony's hat off at the Equestria Rodeo competition in Canterlot tomorrow!"

Applejack picked up her dropped hat and put it back on her head. While she had many hats like it, she still didn't like to get them dirty. And the one she liked to wear most often as a good luck charm, was a gift from her dad. It was one of the only things she had to remember him by. "Aw shucks, Apple Bloom. I sure hope so. But you know, don't wanna get my hopes up."

Apple Bloom could only reply. "Hope so? Don't be so modest, I know so! After all, you're the ten-time rodeo champeen of Ponyville, I'd like to see anypony else try to top that! Why, you've got more blue ribbons than anypony in Ponyville ever!" She gestured a hoof to a nearby wall that displayed several blue ribbons from prior rodeos. "And I can't wait for my big sis to win every blue ribbon in Equestria and bring home the title of Equestria Rodeo champeen! Once you win in Canterlot, there's nothin' stoppin' ya from goin' on to conquer every rodeo in the Equestria Rodeo circuit!"

Applejack could only blush. It had been a dream of hers to be a rodeo champion, and being invited to the one in Canterlot was a big step towards making that dream a reality. What she couldn't have known was that this dream was going to turn into a nightmare. And not just for herself but for her friends as well.



Later that day, all of Ponyville gathered at the town hall to send Applejack off in anticipation of what they expected would be a surefire victory for her.

Rainbow Dash was currently hanging a banner high above, which depicted Applejack's likeness. But just after she'd move it into place she had to duck out of the way of an unexpected lightning bolt! She groaned, realizing where (or rather who) it was coming from. She tried her best not to sound too upset. "Now, careful, Derpy," She spoke to the pegasus noted particularly for her wall eyed condition and somewhat accident prone nature. "You don't wanna do any more damage than you've already done, right?" She gestured a hoof to the town hall proper, which had been damaged earlier by lightning bolts from Derpy's cloud (accidentally, of course).

Derpy shook her head while bouncing up and down on the thunder cloud. "I just don't know what wrong." She innocently remarked, before she missed a step and was given a rather nasty electrical shock from the cloud.

Rainbow could only mutter under her breath. "Yeah, it's a real mystery." She muttered to herself. If not for the fact that nopony else would volunteer on such short notice, she would've gotten somepony less... clumsy. Oh, she knew Derpy meant well, but unfortunately the wall eyed mare's reputation preeceded her (she wasn't as bad when it came to delivering mail though).

Derpy flew down from her cloud to inspect the banner. "Nice work, Rainbow Dash," She commented, before her rump accidentally bumped into a beam and knocked it loose. "Whoops!" Was all she could bring herself to say.

Rainbow quickly swooped down to try and catch the beam, but even with her incredible strength she couldn't really stop it from crashing through one of the floors.

Derpy was at the scene of disaster in a second. "Uh-oh," She commented and peered down into the hole the beam had made. "You okay down there, Rainbow Dash? Anything I can do to help?"

Having lost what patience she had, Rainbow flew up and shouted! "No, nothing! Please, in the name of Celestia, Derpy! Just sit there and do nothing! Okay?!"

"Okay," Derpy replied and sat right down on the spot. Unfortunately, the already weakened floor gave way underneath her, and in a frantic attempt to avoid falling through she grabbed the first thing her hooves could reach. All she ended up doing though, was pulling Rainbow Dash down with her. "Oops! My bad!" She sincerely apologized.

Fortunately, it seemed like no one in the gathered crowd below had noticed what was going on. They were all too busy stomping their hooves on the ground and chanting "Applejack!" over and over again.

Mayor Mare smiled as she spoke to the crowd. "Everypony, can I get your attention? Attention please!" The crowd fell into a hush almost on cue. "I know you're all excited, I am too. We are all here to send Applejack to compete in this year's Equestria Rodeo competition in Canterlot. I know she'll do us proud."

The crowd cheered again, and Mayor Mare let the cheers ring out for a bit before hushing the crowd once more. "And I want to personally thank Applejack in advance for generously offering up her prize money to fix town hall. Far better than having to dip into the emergency fund, wouldn't you all agree?"

Several ponies nodded, and Derpy cheered louder than anypony else. "Yeah, way to go, Applejack! Whoo-hoo!" She fell through the floor a moment later, thankfully unharmed. "I'm alright! I meant to do that!" She insisted, hoping nopony would see her blush. Even she could get embarrassed by her clumsy nature from time to time.

Meanwhile, down below, Pinkie Pie shouted out from the crowd! "Speech! Speech! I wanna hear a speech!"

Applejack modestly replied. "Oh, shucks. I'm not really much for speeches."

Pinkie happily obliged. "Okay then, no speech. I'll go!"

"But," Applejack went on, causing Pinkie to pause right in her tracks. "This here is the nicest send off anypony could ask for. Why, y'all have been cheerin' me on in every rodeo since I was but a little pony. So it seems only fittin' to use my winnin''s to fix up town hall as good as new. Reckon there'll be plenty left over for me when the repairs are done."





A short time later, all gathered at the train station to see Applejack off. The rodeo was slated to begin in less than half a day now.

"Now, Applejack, don't you worry 'bout me. I can hold down the farm just fine until you get back," Granny Smith told her granddaughter. "So no excuses, I want you to show all them highfalutin rodeo ponies what a real rodeo pony's like! Show 'em Ponyville's not to be taken lightly."

"With pleasure, Granny Smith." Applejack nodded.

Mayor Mare came trotting up at that very moment, shoving Granny Smith aside. "And bring back all that money! Ponyville's counting on you!"

Applejack nodded further. "I know, Mayor Mare. You don't need to remind me."

Pinkie Pie then added. "And have fun, that's most important. Oh, and don't be nervous. Or if you are, use all that nervous energy to do even better than you already would! And eat peanuts and popcorn and taffy. Taffy gives you lots of nervous energy!" She proceeded to munch on a bag of the sugary snacks that she had somehow obtained without anyone noticing.

Twilight seemed to prefer a more simple approach. "Applejack, just do your best. Win or lose, I'm sure you'll have a ton of fun."

"I'll do better than my best, Twilight! You'll see!" Applejack boasted. "You sure you don't wanna come to Canterlot with me to cheer me on? It'd mean a lot to have my friends by my side."

Twilight shook her head. "We're needed to plan the welcome home party when you get back. Pinkie Pie insisted. Though if you should happen to see my parents while you're at the rodeo, tell them I said hello."

Just then the conductor called out! "Last call for the express to Canterlot! All passengers please board now!"

So Applejack climbed aboard and waved to her friends as the train began to pull out of the station with a whistle and a puff of steam.

"See ya in a week, AJ!" Rainbow was the first to call out.

"With lots of new, shiny blue ribbons!" Apple Bloom added.

"And don't forget all that money!" Mayor Mare chimed in with a smile that seemed a bit too big to be as sincere as she wanted it to be.

"And make sure to drink plenty of sarsaparilla!" Pinkie suggested, which caused several ponies on the platform to look at the pink party pony with rather odd looks. "What?" She retorted. "It gives you extra sass. Says so on the bottle."





The week passed rather quickly, soon it was the day when Applejack was slated to come back home to Ponyville with her ribbons and her winnings.

All of her closest friends were currently hard at work in the barn on Sweet Apple Acres, setting up the surprise welcome party that really wasn't that much of a surprise. But Pinkie was still insistent on throwing it anyway, because a surprise party was a surprise party regardless of the circumstances. And after what had went down at the last surprise party, her friends all agreed it was probably best to let her throw the next one.

But no sooner had they finished hanging up the banner in the barn than did Granny Smith enter with a rather pronounced frown upon her face. She had in her hooves what appeared to be a small letter of some kind. "Everypony, I hate to burst your bubble, but Applejack's not comin' back."

The news set off of a chorus of gasps from all gathered, and some even began to whisper to themselves about it! Apple Bloom frantically demanded. "What do you mean she's not comin' back, Granny? Somethin' happen to her?"

Granny Smith shook her head. "It ain't anythin' like that. She sent a note here this mornin', but it's rather short. All it says is that she ain't comin' back to Ponyville just yet. She also says not to worry, she'll send the money soon."

"And?" Apple Bloom questioned.

Granny Smith's lip quivered, as if she knew more than she was letting on. But the elderly mare answered. "I'm sorry, she sent another letter the day before tellin' me everythin'. But she also said that if I let her not come home, I'd have to promise not to tell any of y'all why. She just wanted to make sure everypony here got the news, the mayor included. That way she won't come here, breathin' down our necks about the money."

"I can't believe it! That's not like Applejack at all!" Rainbow Dash stubbornly declared! "Ponyville's her home! She must have a reason why she isn't coming back."

"Maybe she was kidnapped?" Fluttershy wondered aloud.

"Or maybe she got sick or hurt at the rodeo?" Rarity pondered. "She did work herself to the bone apple bucking once. And you know how stubborn she can get."

"Well I can tell you this much," Granny Smith told the five mares. "She was fit as a fiddle when she sent the letters, so she's just fine and dandy."

Immediately, Twilight made up her mind. "Well whatever her reason is, it's silly that she couldn't come back to Ponyville and tell us personally! Something must've happened to make her not wanna come back, and we're going to find out what it is!" She looked at Granny Smith and inquired. "Did she say where she was going after the rodeo? Is she still in Canterlot?"

Granny Smith shook her head again. "She ain't in Canterlot, she left town as soon as the rodeo packed up," She squinted at the letter. "My eyesight ain't what it used to be, but I know I can make out the words 'Dodge Junction'. Don't know if she'll still be there by the time you can take a train out there, though."

"It's as good a place as any to start!" Twilight declared. "We'll go out there, find Applejack, and bring her home no matter what it takes!"

"But what about Spike?" Apple Bloom pointed out. "Ain't you gonna take him with you?"

Twilight shook her head. "Dodge Junction is pretty far away. I know he'll be worried, but it's best if he stays behind where I know it's safe. Hopefully, I won't be gone for long," Then she added. "You can tell him that he's welcome to stay here at Sweet Apple Acres for however long I'm away. A sleepover if you will."

"Got it, Twilight! I'll tell him the news right away!" Apple Bloom saluted and then ran off to do just that.

"Okay, everypony, let's go!" Twilight motioned to her friends. "Dodge Junction, here we come!" And the five mares rushed away as fast as their hooves would let them.

Granny Smith watched Applejack's friends disappear into the distance as she commented to herself. "Our little bushel just lost one apple." She then wiped a tear from her eyes.





The mares booked the first train they could to Dodge Junction, but it was a very long trip to get there since it was far beyond the reaches of any established city or town in Equestria, even Appleloosa was more populated than it.

As the train neared its destination, the five mares conversed with each other in the train car about their hopes and worries about the trip they were making (except for Pinkie who was currently facing a different problem).

"I hope this isn't a wild goose chase or anything," Rainbow Dash commented with concern. "I'd hate to get here and find out she's already gone somewhere else. Especially after we promised to bring her back."

"I just hope she's in a mood to talk to us so we can get some answers," Fluttershy commented back. "I don't know how we'd break it to the Apple family if we failed."

"I don't know how we'll break it to Ponyville if that happens!" Twilight remarked in a worried tone of voice.

And Pinkie Pie blurted out. "I don't know how I'll make it to the next stop! I knew I shouldn't have drank all that sarsaparilla!"

Just then, Twilight happened to look out the window and spotted a rather small train station. "Well, this is it, girls. This is Dodge Junction. Applejack came here after the rodeo, so let's fan out and look for her," She declared as they all exited the train car, only for Pinkie to zip past them all. "After Pinkie takes care of personal matters," And she told her pink coated friend. "Make it quick, Pinkie."

"I'm trying to!" Pinkie shouted back as she rushed to the nearest bathroom, in this case a small outhouse not far from the train station. She was wobbling back and forth on her back legs and had broken out in a nervous sweat. "Oh, pickles!" She exclaimed upon realizing the outhouse was currently occupied. "Hurryhurryhurryhurryhurry! Hurry it up in there! I really gotta go!" She pleaded while knocking on the door.

Soon there came the sound of a flush, and the outhouse door swung open as its occupant exited. "Alright, alright, I'm done," An earth pony with a familiar orange coat grumbled. "Some ponies. Sheesh."

The pink party pony was momentarily too distracted by her bathroom emergency to realize who had just crossed her path. But when the realization struck her she shouted at the top of her lungs! "Applejack!" And she started bouncing up and down while telling her friends. "I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her!" Sure enough, Applejack was not far from the train station and looking just as fine as she had upon leaving for Canterlot.

"Oh, Applejack, thank goodness." Rarity exclaimed in relief.

"We're so glad you're okay, we thought something awful happened to you." Fluttershy added.

Pinkie kept bouncing up and down in joy. "I found her, I found her, I found her, I found her!" Then she remembered what she had previously forgotten when she had found Applejack, and crossed her legs as she blushed. "Be right back!" She zipped away to the outhouse and shut the door behind her.

Applejack tried to put on the best smile she could under the circumstances. "I can't believe they came all the way out here. They weren't supposed to. They can't know why I'm here, nopony but Granny Smith can!" She thought to herself and began to think of how to shoo her friends away before they could get a confession out of her. "Hey, everypony, good to see you again. Let me guess, Granny Smith told you about the letter I sent."

Rainbow nodded and immediately got up in Applejack's face. "She sure did! Now spill it, we want an answer! Why didn't you come back to Ponyville after the rodeo?!"

"Yes," Rarity added in a more delicate tone. "Why are you here of all places? Why not some place like Appleloosa or Manehattan where you have relatives?"

At that moment, Pinkie emerged from the outhouse, having taken care of her earlier need from drinking so much sarsaparilla. "What they said," She commented and then asked. "Hey, do you have any snacks? I'm starving."

"I don't have any snacks, and it ain't your business to know why I'm here. I don't recall askin' for you to form a search party," Applejack bluntly replied. "As you can see I'm just fine."

Twilight refused to take no for an answer. "Applejack, please. We didn't come here to be told no. It's not like to you just abandon Ponyville for no reason. All we want to know is why you're not coming back," She proceeded to plead. "Please, we need an answer. Tell us what happened. Maybe we can help."

Before the farm mare had a chance to answer, an unfamiliar voice (except to Applejack who knew to whom the voice belonged) called out. "Applejack? Are these some of your Ponyville friends you were tellin' me about?" Everypony spun around to face an earth pony mare with a very pale yellow coat. Her eyes were a light pistachio green in color with pale, light grayish crimson eyeshade underneath them (almost cherry like in color, you might say), and her mane and tail were two shades of moderate crimson done up in swirls. Most telling of all, though, was her cutie mark depicting two cherries with a leaf on top, a pink scarf, and a yellow hair band with cherries all over it.

"We are." Twilight answered the mare.

"And who are you?" Rarity questioned the unfamiliar mare in their midst.

The earth pony happily replied. "Why, I'm Cherry Jubilee, boss of Cherry Hill Ranch here in Dodge Junction. Hasn't Applejack told ya yet? I saw her compete at the Equestria Rodeo. Never saw anypony win so many ribbons in all my life. Not bad for an up and comin' rodeo star."

Applejack quickly responded. "Aw shucks, Miss Jubilee. You don't have to go into all that. Really." Though the way she played it off sounded unusually suspicious, as if she had another reason to keep talk about her time at the rodeo a secret.

Cherry Jubilee, undeterred, kept on talking. "Oh, she's so modest. That's just what I like about her. And I could always use a pony with quick hooves and a strong back for my orchard. So, when I heard Applejack here was lookin' for a change of scenery, why I snapped her up as quick as I could and brought her to Dodge Junction," She then told her new employee. "Well, I reckon I'll let you catch up with your friends. See you back at the ranch, Applejack." And off she trotted.

Immediately after Cherry Jubilee's departure, Applejack's friends began to press on her again. Rainbow Dash being the first to lodge a question. "'Change of scenery', huh? That doesn't seem like you at all, AJ. Maybe you're an imposter, tell us where the real Applejack is and how we can find her!"

Applejack swatted Rainbow's hoof away. "It's me, sugarcubes. And it's no big deal what I meant about 'Change of scenery' it is what it sounds like. I didn't feel like comin' back to Ponyville just yet, so I decided to come here for a while. Surely, you can relate. Every now and then you get that itch to try somethin' new. Me, I thought cherries would be a nice change from apples, so I took the job and came here. And that's it. End of story."

Pinkie snorted. "That's it? Well, that's a terrible story! Where's the happy ending? What's that supposed to mean for all of us? We came all the way out here for you!"

"Well that's too bad, but I don't recall askin' any of you to come lookin' for me now did I?" The farm mare stubbornly retorted as she turned her back to her friends. "I'll come back to Ponyville when I'm darn good and ready, and you can tell that to Granny Smith, Mayor Mare, and anypony else who wants to know!"

"But Applejack-" Twilight began.

"-But nothin'," Applejack retorted with a huff and a swish of her tail. "It's nice of you to be concerned, but as you can see I'm just fine. So go back to Ponyville, there's nothin' to see here. Now if you'll excuse me, I gotta get back to work at the orchard." She trotted away before any of her friends could say anything else in protest.

Twilight sighed as she put a hoof to her forehead. "It's just like that apple bucking season when she was trying to prove a point. But I don't care what she says, there's gotta be more to it than just a change of scenery. Applejack's not telling us the whole truth."

Rainbow boldly declared. "You're right, Twilight. Something's gotta be up, and we're going to find out what it is! We've got to make Applejack spill the beans."

The mention of beans caused Pinkie to complain. "Wait, Applejack has beans?" And then she groaned. "I told her I was snacky! It's like she doesn't wanna listen to us at all." No one bothered to correct her.





A short time later, Applejack was trotting into a small sorting room with a conveyor belt powered by a giant wheel that one had to run on.

Cherry Jubilee smiled. "Hope you enjoyed your work break. You remembered to wash your hooves before coming back, right?"

Applejack nodded. "I sure did. And I'm ready to put my back into it, Miss Jubilee."

"So modest, I keep tellin' ya you don't have to call me that," Cherry Jubilee insisted. "Anyway, I hope you don't mind but I brought in a few more workers," She turned to the door. "Come on in, girls!"

The farm mare was anything but pleased to see her friends from Ponyville come trotting in, each wearing a white hat similar to her own. "What in tarnation are y'all doin' here? You here to try and ring a confession out of me?"

Twilight shook her head. "We're the new cherry sorters, Applejack," And then she asked. "Shall we get started?"

Cherry Jubilee, suspecting nothing, nodded. "Go right ahead. It's not complicated at all. Red cherries go in one bin, and yellow cherries go in the other. Simple as cherry pie. Oh, just one teensy thing to remember, girls, have fun!" She trotted away a moment later, leaving Applejack alone with her friends.

Applejack suspected that her friends had an alterior motive behind their decision to come here on short notice. "What are you five up to? I don't buy for one second you're suddenly so interested in cherries."

"Whyever not, darling?" Rarity innocently replied. "You made working on a cherry orchard sound..." She paused for a moment as if trying to think of what to say next, before she settled on. "So delightful."

"Uh-huh," A skeptical Applejack replied as her eyebrow arched upward ever so slightly. "Well, just remember: no talkin' about Ponyville under any circumstances."

Rainbow snapped back. "Fine! Now why don't you quit talking and get walking? We don't have all day."

Applejack did so, the gear turning ever so slowly as the conveyor belt brought red and yellow cherries forward to be sorted. It wasn't too difficult though, the belt moved very slowly and it was easy to sort the cherries into their proper bins. So naturally, once given the go ahead from Rarity, Twilight glanced over at Applejack and asked the earth pony. "So, AJ, how was Canterlot?" When her friend shot her a suspicious look Twilight quickly deflected. "Not talking about Ponyville, talking about Canterlot, totally different town. That's not a problem, is it?"

"Nope, you can talk about Canterlot to me all you want. It was fine," Applejack vaguely answered. "Didn't see your folks, though. Sorry about that."

"Eh, it was a long shot anyways. Rodeos aren't their thing," Twilight commented and then asked. "Speaking of the rodeo, how was it? Was it fun?"

"Yes." Applejack vaguely answered again.

Twilight pressed further. "Did you meet some nice ponies there? You know, besides Cherry Jubilee of course."

Yet again, Applejack only vaguely answered. "Met some."

Rainbow Dash came over, trying to get more answers. "Really? Well, did you see Wild Bull Hickok there? And what about Calamity Mane?"

"Yes, I saw 'em both, briefly." Applejack kept up her habit of vague answers, so far it seemed like nothing was going to get her open up.

Rarity left the sorting line and started talking to Applejack, leaving Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy to manage the cherry sorting on their own. "How exactly did you meet Miss Jubilee?"

That question seemed to get the earth pony flustered a bit, because she began to trot faster on the wheel. "Um, well, Miss Jubilee had a cherry stand at the rodeo. Real good treats, probably some of the best I ever had."

As Applejack went on talking the cherries started to come down the conveyor belt at a much faster pace. Too fast for only two ponies to keep up. "Um, excuse me? A little help here, please?" Fluttershy commented only for her plea to be ignored.

Applejack went on answering. "They were cherry themed, but I didn't mind. Cherry winks, cherry cheesecake, cherry tarts. So we struck up a conversation, bein' orchard folk and all that. Wasn't long before I learned about Dodge Junction."

Sensing an opening, Twilight pressed further. "So, you told her about Sweet Apple Acres, right?"

"I did." Applejack replied while refusing to say more.

Rainbow Dash took over on the pressing detail. "Did you tell her why you weren't going back to Ponyville? Why you weren't going back to your family and friends?"

"Of course not, 'cause it was none of her business!" Applejack angrily replied. "And neither is it any of yours! I sent that there telegram for a reason!" Now she was starting to run on the wheel, making it move much faster and making it harder for both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie to keep up!

"Ooh... Can you please slow down? Just a little?" Fluttershy pleaded as Pinkie Pie started trying to stuff cherries into her hat since it was getting too difficult to sort them!

But everyone else was too busy arguing to pay any attention to the chaos unfolding at the sorting station. Applejack's friends were certain they were close to an answer, and with just a little bit more pressing they hoped to get at it. "Come on, is it seriously because I made it rain on you that one time?" Rainbow complained. "I said I was sorry."

"No, it has nothin' to do with that! Stop lookin' for an answer where there ain't one!" Applejack complained and started to run faster!

The cherries on the belt were now moving so fast that sorting them was impossible! Pinkie was resorting to trying to stuff her mouth full of cherries to keep them from falling off the conveyor belt! Fluttershy frantically pleaded to the others! "Help! Somepony! This is a nightmare!" But there was no reply.

Twilight questioned her farm friend. "Is it because you were insulted when I gave you that book on organized orchards? I meant it as a gift, you know."

"No, that ain't it either! Now let me be!" Applejack demanded as she was running at full speed!

Rarity sighed as she asked. "Or is it because you were insulted when I insulted your mane once?"

Her frustration boiling over, Applejack snapped and shouted at the top of her lungs! " No, no, NO! You're all wrong, and I'm not tellin' you why, so please just–"

"STOP!" Fluttershy shouted in desperation as all eyes finally turned to the situation they had left their friends in!

Applejack immediately stopped her running, which made the wheel screech to a halt. But doing this caused the cherries to shoot off the conveyor belt at high speeds and splat everywhere! The whole sorting room was a mess.

A rather annoyed Applejack let out a deep sigh and snorted. "Now look what you've done," Getting off the gear she added. "If you need me, I'll be out in the orchard pickin' cherries. And stop tryin' to ask questions you ain't gonna get answers for. You understand?"

Nopony responded to the initial comment, as the rest of the group were too busy focusing on cleaning up the mess they'd caused. But a distraught Twilight couldn't help but lament to her friends. "Well, girls, we seem to be striking out left and right today."

"That's 'cause we're playing way too nice!" Rainbow retorted with a snort. "If Applejack won't tell us, we'll have to make her tell us."

"Yes, darling, you have a point," Rarity commented. "Desperate times do call for desperate measures, after all."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "You know what that means. It's time to call in the big guns." And all eyes turned to Pinkie as she was licking up some of the splattered cherries.





Pinkie Pie caught up with Applejack in the cherry orchard a short time later. "Hey ya, Applejack! The girls thought you could use some help, and I got volunteered," She said with an innocent smile upon her face. "So, need any help?"

"Maybe a little," Applejack replied and then warned. "But you promise not to ask any questions?"

Pinkie nodded. "I promise," But it wasn't long before she would break that promise, because shaking down the trees to harvest the cherries was quite boring to her. "Have you ever had a cherrychanga?" She asked her friend, before realizing her mistake. "Ooh! Sorry, that was a question. Couldn't help myself."

Surprisingly, Applejack didn't seem to mind. "That's alright, it was pretty silly of me to make that kind of request. And to answer your question: No, I don't believe I've ever had a cherrychanga, whatever that is." Her left eye twitched ever so slightly upon saying that.

The pink party pony just giggled. "Well of course you haven't, because I made it up myself!" She explained in great detail. "You see: A cherrychanga is mashed up cherries in a tortilla that's then deep fried. A cherrychanga. Great name, huh? I came up with it myself," Then she pondered. "Although, come to think of it, maybe I should call it a chimicherry. Ooh, that's good too. Help me out, Applejack. Which do you think sounds better? Cherrychanga or chimicherry?"

"Uh..." Applejack began, only to be cut off before she could answer.

"Ooh, better yet, what if I combined them?!" Pinkie happily declared. "A chimicherrychanga! What sounds the funniest?" She began to trail off, talking about how she used to work in a kumquat orchard just so she could say the word all day long, and how she thought pickle barrel was such a funny word.

The constant chatter was too much for Applejack, she could only take so much! The earth pony broke down as her pink coated friend kept on blabbering away! "Gah! Please, make it stop! I'll do anythin'! Anythin', I tell ya!"

Rainbow Dash and the rest of Applejack's friends showed up a few seconds later, all wearing ear plugs as Rainbow put a hoof around Pinkie's mouth to muffle her voice. "The only way to make it stop is for you to spill the beans, AJ! So spill 'em!" Rainbow demanded of her friend and on again, off again rival.

"Never! I'll never tell you!" Applejack stubbornly insisted. But she relented before long when Pinkie's blabber mouth was unleashed upon her once again. "A-alright, alright! You win! I'll confess! But..." She looked up to the sky and seemed to get an idea. "Uh, can't it wait until mornin'? Like say, tomorrow at breakfast? It's been a long day and I'm feelin' plum tuckered out."

"Tomorrow at breakfast, huh?" Rainbow pondered. "I don't know, that sounds like an excuse."

Pinkie Pie spoke up. "Do you 'Pinkie Promise', Applejack? You know a 'Pinkie Promise' is never broken."

Applejack nodded her head. "If it'll get you off my back, fine. I will tell you the whole truth at breakfast. I 'Pinkie Promise'."

"Okie dokie lokie, breakfast it is. See you then." Pinkie replied with a content smile.





Sure enough, Applejack was there at breakfast the following morning even when her friends had half expected her to leave the night before. Breakfast itself consisted of little more than oatmeal and some pancakes, along with juice.

"Alright, Applejack, you promised to tell the truth!" Rainbow Dash spoke up, dispelling the awkward silence around the breakfast table. "You're not getting out of this! Tell us what we wanna know."

"We really don't like to pry, but we wanna know why you'd abandon Ponyville all of a sudden. It's not like you." Fluttershy commented.

"Abandoned?! I don't know where in the world you go gettin' such a ridiculous idea!" Applejack protested as she slammed a hoof down on the table! "That telegram I sent to Granny Smith was quite clear. I knew I had at least to get her okay before I could even think of doin' any of this."

Twilight then demanded. "And why did you decide to ask in a telegram instead of coming back to Ponyville to ask in pony? You're perfectly healthy, nopony's holding you prisoner, and it seems like you did just fine at the rodeo. Applejack, you haven't been telling us the whole truth. Why is that?"

"None of your darn business, that's why!" Applejack protested again as she blew steam from her nostrils. "Look, it means a lot to me that you'd come all the way out to Dodge Junction just to check up on me. But this is only a temporary arrangement that doesn't concern any of you. I'm only stayin' here until I make enough money to send back home, that's all." A gasp promptly escaped the earth pony's lips upon realizing what she'd just unintentionally confessed to.

Rarity's ears perked up. "What was that about money?! I thought you had more than enough from the rodeo."

Instead of explaining or changing the subject, Applejack rose from the breakfast table and stormed off. "Forget it, this conversation is over. I can't tell y'all the reasons why I'm doin' what I'm doin'. Everythin' would've been just fine if you hadn't come here!" She left the room while her friends were still in a state of shock.

But Pinkie Pie quickly recovered from it upon realizing that Applejack had not only not told the whole truth, but also hadn't eaten breakfast. In other words, she had broken her 'Pinkie Promise'. And to the pink party pony that was an unforgivable offense! Her face turned red and steam billowed out from her nostrils as a rare, firey glare appeared in her eyes! "Nopony breaks a 'Pinkie Promise'!" She declared in an unusually low tone of voice. "Come on, girls!"





It turned out that Applejack hadn't gotten very far. She was at the train station, waiting for the first train out of Dodge Junction. She didn't care where she went so long as she could get away from her friends before they had a chance to catch up to her.

"Applejack!" The angry voice of Pinkie Pie called out from a distance! Soon the owner of said voice appeared in all her glory, and the look on her face conveyed more than words ever could how beyond angry she was. "You 'Pinkie Promised'!" She bellowed at the top of her lungs!

Applejack let out a panicked scream and ran away! "By Faust, that face is gonna haunt me in my nightmares for the rest of my life!" She thought to herself!

Pinkie growled as she saw her fellow earth pony trying to run away. "Applejack, you get back here this instant! You're not getting away! Not from me!"

Suddenly, Applejack spotted four stallions hitched to a wagon! She rushed up to them and tossed them some bits she'd kept stored under her hat as she told them. "Giddy up, fellas! I gotta get the heck out of Dodge!" The stallions were more than willing to obey considering the money they were offered.

Fortunately for her friends, while there wasn't another stagecoach available there was a cart with two harnesses that was currently not being used. So they commandeered it, putting Rainbow and Fluttershy into the harnesses as everyone else climbed into the cart itself! They promptly gave chase, hoping to catch up to the fleeing Applejack!

And they did in only a short amount of time (though they had to stop for a moment when a rabbit came into their path, and Fluttershy insisted on stopping to let it sniff the cart, before it hopped away), much to Applejack's surprise. She was even more surprised to see her friends bump the stagecoach. "Pull over!" Rainbow Dash demanded!

"Hey, y'all cut that out!" Applejack shouted at Rainbow and then told the stallions pulling the stagecoach. "I'll pay you double to outrun them." So they did.

But Twilight counter offered. "And we'll pay you triple to slow down."

Seeing the stallions obey, Applejack shouted back at them! "Ignore her! I'll pay you quadruple to leave them in the dust!" Which is just what the stallions did, showering Applejack's friends with a thick cloud of dust.

"That was so rude!" Rarity snapped in between coughing fits.

But none seemed more upset at the development than Pinkie Pie! "After her! Don't let her get away whatever you do! She's not getting out of her 'Pinkie Promise', not on my watch! And I don't even have a watch!" She barked out!

"You heard her, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash shouted to Fluttershy! "Come on, step on it!" And revving their wings, the two pegasi propelled the cart forward at lightning speed!

When the cart and the stagecoach were side by side, Pinkie took advantage of the opportunity to leap from the cart to the coach and confront Applejack. "Applejack, you broke your 'Pinkie Promise'! Apologize this instant!"

"I didn't break the promise!" Applejack shouted back at her pink coated friend. "I said I'd tell y'all the truth at breakfast, and I came to breakfast even though I didn't want to! I told you the truth!"

Pinkie wasn't convinced. "Not the whole truth, Applejack! This is just like my surprise birthday party when you couldn't tell me why I couldn't go into the barn or why you couldn't come to Gummy's after birthday party. And this time I know you're not planning a surprise party, because it's not my birthday!" She declared with a snarl. "I'm not letting you go until you tell us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you Celestia!"

The farm mare hesitated for a moment, before she looked her friend in the eyes and told her sincerely. "Look, Pinkie, I'm sorry but I can't tell ya the whole truth. I just can't!"

With a humph, Pinkie retorted in a surprisingly cold tone of voice. "Well, I heard a sorry in there so I guess that'll have to do for now. I'll get a real apology later," At that very moment, the stagecoach happened to hit a bump in the road. The momentary jolt caught Pinkie by surprise and caused her to lose her balance! She tumbled off the coach as she screamed! "Rarity, catch me!"

"What?! Pinkie?!" Rarity protested in shock, even as she tried to light up her horn. Her friend's warning unfortunately came too late for her to be able to do what she'd been asked. Pinkie crashed into Rarity, knocking them both out of the cart.

"Rainbow, go back!" Twilight shouted!

Rainbow shook her head. "No time, Twilight! Applejack will get away if we do that! We'll come back for our friends after we catch Applejack! She can't run forever!"

Meanwhile, Pinkie apologized to Rarity as the two picked cactus needles out of their manes and tails. "Sorry." She sheepishly declared, trying not to notice the harsh glare her friend was giving her.





As Applejack focused on trying to outrun her friends, her attention was drawn to what lay just up ahead. There was a railroad crossing, and as luck would have it the gates had gone down, the red lights were flashing and the bell was ringing! A train was on its way! Applejack could see it approaching just over the horizon, but a quick look back to her friends convinced her that slowing down or even stopping for the train was a sure fire way to lose the chase. An outcome she wanted to avoid at all costs.

So instead, the earth pony urged the stallions on. "Faster!" She shouted at them!

The stallions exchanged nervous looks with each other, even as they rushed to the crossing as fast as they could in hopes of beating the train. It seemed they would do anything for money.

The stagecoach broke through the gate and dashed across the tracks just seconds before the train passed over the same spot! Applejack was delighted, she was thoroughly convinced there was no way for her friends to catch up now. "Okay, boys, a deal's a deal." She offered them a huge stack of bits.

But the stallions all collectively declared. "Forget it. Lady, you're trouble." And they ran off, taking the stagecoach with them.

Applejack didn't care, she was too caught up in her certain victory. She especially delighted in seeing her friends approach the crossing as the train was still blocking the tracks. "Ha, just try and catch me now!" She shouted, only to realize too late that she had forgotten that two of her friends (and the ones pulling the cart) could fly. "Oh, nuts." Was all she could bring herself to say.

The moment the cart landed on the other side, Rainbow Dash glared at her friend. "Give it up, Applejack. You're not getting away this time!"

The farm mare reluctantly sighed and hung her head. "You just couldn't take no for an answer, could ya? Well, fine, if you really wanna know that badly!" She took off her saddle bags, throwing them onto the ground as the contents inside them spilled open. There was a huge assortment of ribbons in a variety of different colors.

"I don't get it," Twilight commented as she and her friends all eyed the ribbons that lay scattered upon the ground. "It's like Cherry Jubilee said, you won an amazing number of ribbons."

Applejack growled. "Do y'all need glasses or somethin'? Just take a closer look, you'll see there's every color of ribbon down there," She paused as the next words were slow to leave her mouth. "Every color... but... blue. I came in fourth, third, even second, but I didn't win one first prize," A sigh escaped her lips. "I thought I was hot to trot, but competin' in that rodeo competition made me realize I was just a little fish in a big pond. Didn't matter what I did, I tried my best and it wasn't enough. So you can bet I didn't win any prize money, you either come in first or you get nothin'!"

Twilight scratched her head with a hoof. "But the telegram said you were gonna send money," Realization struck her quite suddenly! "Of course, that's why you came out here, isn't it? You were going to work for Cherry Jubilee until you earned enough money to fix town hall."

The farm mare and now washed up rodeo star shamefully admitted. "Yup, I knew you'd figure it out eventually, Twilight. Had a feelin' the moment you and the girls showed up that it was only a matter of time, but I thought if I could send you away or give you the slip I could stop it. Guess I thought wrong."

"But why, Applejack? Why couldn't you come back to Ponyville to tell us this?" Fluttershy questioned. "Why make Granny Smith swear to secrecy?"

Applejack hung her head, looking down at the ground. "After that big old send off Ponyville gave me, I just didn't have the nerve to come home empty-hooved. I couldn't come home a failure."

"Applejack, you're not a failure. So what if you didn't win first place, that doesn't matter to us." Twilight reassuringly told the earth pony.

Rainbow Dash added. "Yeah! We're your friends. To us it doesn't matter if you came in fiftieth place! You're still number one in our books. And don't you dare say Apple Bloom would think you're a failure either, I think she'd be impressed knowing you got so many ribbons. Certainly a good showing for a Ponyville pony if you ask me."

"Well that's all fine and dandy, but what about the mayor?" Applejack questioned. "I promised that all my prize money was gonna go to fixin' town hall. How can I look her in the eyes and tell her I didn't get anythin'?"

Fluttershy spoke up. "Applejack, we can always find another way to fix those holes in the roof. But if you don't come back, we'll never be able to fix the hole in our hearts."

The touching statement seemed to be enough to get even Rainbow Dash to tear up, even as she tried to play it off! "Darn it all! Now you've got me acting all sappy!"

"So, you ready to come back to Ponyville now?" Twilight asked her friend. "It won't be the same without you."

Applejack nodded very slowly. "I think I am. But I reckon I oughta talk it over with Cherry Jubilee first. Only seems fair after I dragged her into all of this."

"Well good, because we need to head back to Dodge Junction anyway," Rainbow commented as she nervously massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "We uh... kind of lost two other friends while we were chasing you."





Pinkie Pie and Rarity were waiting for their friends when they returned to Dodge Junction a short time later (this time with Applejack in tow). "The next time you leave behind me in the desert, you're gonna get it, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity warned the pegasus. "I mean it this time."

Aside from that not so small detail, everything went smoothly. Cherry Jubilee took the news of Applejack's decision to return home quite well. "Well, I can't keep you from your friends and family any longer, Applejack. I wasn't comfortable bein' part of your ruse in the first place," She told her fellow farm mare. "But if you ever sincerely want a change of scenery and feel like givin' Dodge Junction another shot, just let me know. There'll always be a spot on the orchard for ya. And I hope to see you compete in rodeos again soon."

"I'll... I'll think about it, Cherry," Applejack nodded. "Reckon it'll be a while before I get back in the saddle on the rodeo circuit, though. I obviously need to work on my game."

On the train ride back to Ponyville later, Applejack dictated to Twilight a letter to be sent to Princess Celestia detailing the lesson Applejack had learned. And it went something like this:

Dear Princess Celestia,

It's a tad easier to be proud of yourself when you come in first than it is when you finish further back. But there's no reason to hide when you don't do as well as you'd hoped. 

You can't run away from your problems. Better to run to your friends and family. They'll understand better than anypony else.

And you gotta make sure you don't promise important ponies things you can't be sure of. 'Cause some of them not be so understandin'.

But Mayor Mare was on the platform at the train station in Ponyville, and was there to give Applejack a warm welcome when she stepped off the train. "Granny Smith told me everything, Applejack," She said while adjusting her glasses. "I suppose if we have to dip into the emergency fund to repair town hall it can't be helped. The emergency fund is for emergencies after all."

"Thanks, Mayor," Applejack replied to the mare. "But uh, you sure there's nothin' I can do to make it up to you?"

Mayor Mare shook her head. "Nonsense, you deserve a rest. Though I hope you haven't sworn off on rodeos all together," With a gleam in her eyes she told Applejack. "Because I was thinking of having the Equestria Rodeo Contest in Ponyville next year. What do you think of that?"

"Well, I'll see how I feel in a month or two. For now, I'd rather not think too much about rodeos or the trouble the last one gave me." Applejack replied with a nervous chuckle.
> S2 E19: Putting Your Hoof Down (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside Fluttershy's cottage, a bell was being rung by the pegasus to alert all her animal friends. "Lunch time!" She loudly called out. "Who's hungry?"

Animals big and small alike started to chitter as they rushed over, while Fluttershy poured food into their bowls. Many of them were so hungry and impatient that they didn't even wait until all the bowls were filled before they started eating their portion. It quickly devolved into chaos, with animals trying to get whatever they could.

Fluttershy tried to convince her animal friends to stop. "Now now, there's plenty for everypony. No need to rush. Slow down, sweeties. Save some for the others." She said with a giggle, but her pleas were ignored for the most part. Oh well, she had plenty of animal food for when the current amount ran out.

But there was one animal who had yet to be fed, and he was making this fact known in no uncertain terms. Fluttershy spun around and confronted Angel, her pet bunny. "What is it, Angel? I'll make your salad in a moment."

Angel just glared at Fluttershy, pointing to a picture of a rather lavish salad that was topped with whipped cream and a cherry as it was depicted in a cook book.

Fluttershy let out a gasp! "My goodness! Did I really forget that today is the day I promised to make your special salad exactly the way you want it?!"

Angel's response was to stomp a paw and glare at Fluttershy. His pegasus master sighed. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Angel. I forgot to pick up the supplies when I went shopping yesterday. I know I promised, but can't you take a rain check just this once? I can't go shopping on such short notice. Not on today of all days, the market place is sure to be busy."

The not so sweet little bunny only glared further at his pegasus master and gestured again to the picture of the special salad.

"Oh, you're right, Angel. A promise is a promise and I can't back out on it because I forgot," Fluttershy realized. "I suppose if I go now I can still pick up everything I need to make that salad exactly like it is in the book. That is, unless you're absolutely sure I can't tempt you with a nice, crisp piece of lettuce."

But Angel swatted the leaf of lettuce away and shoved the book into Fluttershy's face as if to hammer home the silent promise.

With a sigh, Fluttershy folded. "Fine, you win. But if I make it you have to promise to behave yourself." She told the bunny. In her mind she thought to herself. "I've really gotta learn not to let him walk all over me all the time. Ponies always say I give in too easily." She couldn't have known at the time that she was soon going to be given a way to do exactly what she'd always wanted. But the results were not going to be what she or anypony else would ever expect.



The pegasus' hunch turned out to be right, the market place was indeed busy. But she couldn't turn back now even if she wanted to. She'd promised Angel his special salad and a promise was a promise.

So reluctantly, Fluttershy looked over a list of the ingredients she would need in order to make the salad the way Angel wanted it. The first item on the list was asparagus. She trotted over to the stand, delighted to see that there were still several stalks available.

But she hadn't gotten far when all of a sudden a stallion seemed to cut right in front of her and without even noticing. "Excuse me, um, I think you just stepped in front of me?" Fluttershy blinked even as the stallion just went ahead and made a purchase. Fluttershy tailed him, forgetting momentarily about her place in line. "Sir, I think you made a mistake? You see I was actually here first and–"

"Oh, sorry, didn't notice you there. What with you being so quiet and all," The stallion apologized. "Try speaking up next time."

"I thought I did," Fluttershy muttered under her breath as she got back in line, only to be cut off by another stallion. "Oh, pardon me, sir." She tried to speak up.

But it seemed the stallion had a hard time hearing what Fluttershy was saying as he pressed a hoof to his ear. "Yes, what is it, ma'am?"

The timid pegasus tried to explain. "Um, I think you just cut in front of me, on purpose."

"What? A cut of celery?" The elderly stallion replied. "No, this is the asparagus stand! I'm sorry, could you repeat that? My hearing ain't what it used to be." And he pulled out a trumpet small enough to fit around his ear.

Fluttershy spoke into said trumpet. "I think you just cut in front of me."

But the elderly stallion just laughed. "Nonsense, I'm already in front. My hearing may not be so good but my eyes are still as sharp as ever. I know I didn't see you, the line was empty."

Deciding it best not to argue, Fluttershy sighed and trotted towards the stand. Unfortunately, it seemed that two earth ponies wearing lavish outfits and wigs decided now would be the perfect time to step in front of Fluttershy and cut her off. "Hey!" Fluttershy tried to shout, though it didn't sound like one.

One of the earth ponies just rudely replied. "Um, would you mind moving back? You're in my personal space."

"But-" Flutttershy began to protest.

The other earth pony just rolled her eyes. "Seriously, do you need your asparagus so badly? Get a life or something."

The pegasus reluctantly obeyed, again deciding it best not to escalate. "O-oh, okay. I mean, there's no rush."

However, as Fluttershy was retreating two of her friends happened to witness the display. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had been watching, and the looks they exchanged with each other conveyed more than words how not amused they were by their pegasus friend's refusal to stand up for herself.

Rarity was the first to make this concern know. "Fluttershy, you really mustn't let them treat you in such a way. You're just as much a pony as they are. Are you really gonna let them walk all over you?"

"Well, no, but it's-it's really no big deal," Fluttershy tried to protest. "I don't usually go shopping on days like this anyway. And this is why."

Pinkie Pie just frowned. "What are you talking about? It doesn't matter what day it is or when you do what you do. It's bigger than big, Fluttershy! It's double big. You are a pony with a problem."

Fluttershy blinked. "What kind of problem?" Seconds after she asked she felt Pinkie Pie zip past her and stand in a line. "Oh, go right ahead, Pinkie Pie. You first."

Pinkie just frowned again. "See? Right there, that's your problem! You always let everypony do whatever they want."

Rarity added. "Pinkie Pie's right, Fluttershy. You know it's bad if even she can see it. And if our other friends were here right now I'm sure they'd agree too. You've really got to stop being such a doormat."

"A doormat?" The timid pegasus blinked anew.

"A pushover, darling," Rarity explained. "You simply must learn to stand up for yourself every once in a while. It's for your own good. Don't tell me you've gone through your whole life letting others tell you what to do."

Fluttershy fought back a gulp. "W-well no, not always. But..." She trailed off as her lips seemed to tremble.

Rarity just shook her head. "But nothing, Fluttershy. Promise us that you'll at least make more of an effort to stand up for yourself. Promise us."

Fluttershy stood up. "Okay, I promise," Then she rushed back to the asparagus stand, relieved to see that there was still one stalk left. "Oh! Good!" She declared and got ready to plop down a bit to pay for it. Unfortunately, somepony else did it before she could, and the pegasus sighed in defeat. "Oh, nevermind. Easy come, easy go."

Rarity had to resist the urge to put a hoof to her face. "Darling, what did we just get through discussing? It's not that hard to be assertive," With a sigh the fashionista declared. "Here, I'll show you," She approached the lanky, glasses wearing stallion who had just purchased the last asparagus stalk and cleared her throat. "Hold it right there, Mister small, lean and handsome."

"The name's Gizmo," The stallion replied as his bowtie fluttered a bit. "And you think I'm handsome?"

"Why of course. Has nopony ever complimented you like that before?" Rarity commented while laying on the charm.

Gizmo shook his head. "That'd be a big no. Most ponies just look at me and think I'm weird."

Rarity laughed as she flicked her mane. "Weird? You? Don't be absurd, you're not weird at all. I'd say anypony would be jealous to be as strong as you. Go on, flex those muscles," She watched as Gizmo did exactly that. "Oh, my heavens! You're quite strong!" She then proposed. "So, do you think a strong, handsome stallion such as yourself could give my friend the last asparagus? You don't really need it more than she does, do you?"

"I suppose not. Sorry for the trouble," Gizmo apologized as he let Rarity take the asparagus. "Sometimes I buy stuff I don't actually need, it's a bad habit I'm trying to kick. Thanks for the help."

"Don't mention it, darling," Rarity replied and gave the asparagus to Fluttershy. "See? It's that easy."

"For you, maybe. I don't have your charms." Fluttershy lamented.

Rarity just winked. "You mustn't sell yourself so short, Fluttershy. Don't forget, you were once a model for Photo Finish of all ponies," Then she changed the subject. "Now then, what else is on your list today?"

Fluttershy pulled the list, checking off the asparagus and moving down to the next item. "Tomatoes." She told her friends. And as luck would have it there was a tomato stand nearby. So the pegasus trotted over, plopped a bit down onto the counter, and scooped the tomatoes into a bag.

But as the pegasus was trotting away the tomato merchant cleared her throat. "Sorry, miss, prices are goin' up. That'll be two bits."

The timid pegasus spun around. "What? But last week it was one bit."

The merchant just narrowed her eyes. "That was then and this is now. So, you gonna pay up or should I just take back those tomatoes?"

Fluttershy fought back a gulp as she deposited another bit onto the encounter. "Oh, okay. I don't wanna argue about it."

Pinkie Pie wasn't about to let this price gouging go unaccounted for, however. She zipped over to the stand and glared at the tomato merchant! "What do you think you're doing, driving up the price on my friend like that?! If it was one bit yesterday then it's one bit today!"

"Sorry, yesterday isn't today. So it's two bits," The tomato merchant growled. "I'm mindin' my own business, why don't you try it sometime?"

"I know your game, you do this all the time," Pinkie protested. "Two bits for tomatoes is outrageous. One bit is the right price."

"Well I say it's two bits!" The merchant snapped back.

Pinkie pulled a bit back. "And I say it's one bit."

"No, it's two bits." The merchant insisted.

A back and forth argument ensued between Pinkie and the merchant as they kept insisting on one bit or two bits respectively. Eventually, however, Pinkie seemed to make another offer. "Two bits!"

The merchant countered. "One bit!" Apparently she didn't realize what Pinkie had just done.

Pinkie, for her part, just pushed two bits to the counter and shouted! "I insist it's two bits and nothing less!"

"One bit and that's my final offer!" The merchant roared.

With a grin, the pink party pony took the extra bit back. "Well, have it your way then, one bit it is." And she giggled.

Fluttershy was amazed! "Wow! I didn't know you could do that!"

Pinkie just waved a hoof. "Oh, that's nothing. Just goes to show that asserting yourself is not only easy, it's also fun!"

"So, Fluttershy, do you feel like giving it a try with the next item?" Rarity suggested.

Fluttershy nodded. "I guess so."





As it turned out the next item on the list was a cherry, and there was currently one on sale! Fluttershy zoomed over to it as she said to herself! "I need that cherry!"

The merchant behind the counter just grinned. "Oh, is that so?"

Apparently not cluing into the hint, Fluttershy just replied while pulling out her list. "Yes. You see, I'm making this special meal for my bunny Angel. He's a very picky eater, and the recipe calls for a cherry on top. I promised him I'd make it for him and I kind of forgot until now," She plopped down a few bits. "So, here you go. That should be enough."

But the merchant just commented as his grin grew wider. "Oh, so you need this cherry, huh? Do you really need this cherry?"

"Yes! I'm desperate for it!" Fluttershy declared!

"Ha, well in that case it's ten bits!" The merchant insisted. "Now pay up!"

Fluttershy blinked in shock! "Ten bits?! But..." It took her a moment to look across to her friends and remember what she had promised them. She would have to be assertive. So she cleared her throat, trying to look directly at the merchant as she first tried Rarity's approach. "Oh, hey, mister handsome, I know you wanna do the right thing because you're handsome and strong. Uh, did I mention how big and handsome you are? And uh... big, handsome, strong guys are always nice to everypony, right?"

The merchant wasn't moved for a second. "Nice try. It's ten bits. Stop wasting my time, either pay me or get out of my sight!"

Fluttershy dug in her heels, deciding to try Pinkie Pie's approach. "Ten bits for one cherry's outrageous! I insist on paying you... eleven bits!"

Pinkie Pie and Rarity were rendered speechless at the bad attempt! It only got worse as Fluttershy ended up dropping her price to nine bits, only to then raise it back up to twelve bits. Naturally, they intervened and dragged Fluttershy away before she could make the purchase. 

"Don't give him your money! One cherry is not worth twelve bits!" Pinkie Pie protested.

The pegasus whimpered. "But I was only trying to do what you girls did. You made it look so easy."

"Well you made one fatal mistake I'm afraid," Rarity unhappily sighed. "You're never supposed to let the pony you're trying to bargain with know how much you need something. You always want them to think you can get it somewhere else, even if you really can't. If they know you can only get it from them they can do whatever they like and you'll be powerless. I'm sure we can find another stand that has a cherry or two. Just refuse to do business with this stallion and walk away."

"But I promised Angel to make that special salad just the way he wanted!" Fluttershy protested. "As his owner I can't betray that promise. It's not his fault I didn't remember it when I went shopping yesterday. I'm sorry, but I need that cherry no matter what it costs!"

"No you don't!" Rarity argued back. "He'll drive up the price so high you won't be able to afford it. Just let it go."

Just then, a unicorn happened to come strolling by and told the merchant. "Hey, I'll give you five bits for that cherry."

The merchant smiled and accepted the offer. "Sold!" Then he looked at Fluttershy as he told her. "Tough break, kid. Next time, don't be such a doormat."





"Come on, Fluttershy. Let's go see Applejack, she should know where we can find another cherry seller," Pinkie Pie suggested to her pegasus friend. "Why are you so bad at being assertive? Didn't Rainbow Dash tell you to be like that for the Best Young Flyers Competition?"

Fluttershy nodded very slowly. "I tried, but it seemed like all that did was make things worse. It seems like every time I want to be assertive it just never works."

"Sounds to me like you're afraid of being assertive," Rarity commented. "Like there's something inside you that keeps stopping you. But you weren't always like this, right?"

"Not really, but after a while it was always Rainbow Dash who did the talking for me," Fluttershy explained. "She was always the more confident one, especially when it came to flying or anything related to it. It just felt nice to have someone who got everypony's attention, so they wouldn't pay any attention to me. I guess I got too used to not being in the spotlight."

Rarity pondered. "Why I do feel like that's not that the whole truth? It's something more, isn't it?"

"It is," Fluttershy unhappily commented. "But I... don't like talking about it. Besides, it doesn't change the fact that trying to be assertive like you girls were didn't work out for me. You make it look so easy. I just wish I could find a way that works for me."

At that moment, Pinkie Pie happened to mention. "Well, how about this?" She presented a flyer to her pegasus friend that read: "The incredible Iron Will turns doormats into dynamos. Assertiveness seminar today, hedge maze centre".

"So?" Fluttershy questioned.

"Maybe this Iron Will is just what you need. Maybe he can teach you how to be assertive in a way that works for you." Pinkie Pie explained.

Rarity blinked. "Wherever did you find such a thing, Pinkie?"

"In the mailbox at Sugarcube Corner, it was inside there when I checked it this morning," Pinkie explained. "I thought I'd hang onto it and take it to Fluttershy later on, but now works fine too."

The fashionista couldn't help but put a hoof to her chin. "How interesting. I seem to recall noticing a similar flyer in my mailbox at Carousel Boutique this same morning. He must be hoping to draw a crowd."

"I can't worry about that right now," Fluttershy protested to both of her friends. "I don't want Angel to starve! I'll just have to make the special salad as best I can without the cherry on top. Oh, I hope he won't mind."

But Angel did mind. When he realized his special salad wasn't exactly the way he liked it he threw a fit. Poor Fluttershy tried her best to calm him down, only for him to throw her right out the front door of her cottage.

By a stroke of luck, Fluttershy happened to spot a flyer just like the ones Pinkie Pie and Rarity had mentioned getting. Sure enough, it was a promotional flyer for Iron Will's Assertiveness Seminar. Now realizing just how badly her lack of a backbone was hurting her, something began to stir deep inside the pegasus. Almost as if someone or something had lit a fire in her heart. "That's it!" She stood up and boldly declared! "Celestia as my witness, I'm never gonna be a pushover again!"





The hedge maze that the seminar took place in turned out to be very recognizable to Fluttershy. It was the same hedge maze where she and her friends had taken part in Discord's "game" after he'd stolen the Elements of Harmony. "It's really too bad he was such a poor sport and played dirty. He really was like a child who never learned how to get along with others." She thought to herself, briefly wondering where that thought had come from.

The thought was dismissed as quickly as it had arrived, especially since Fluttershy found herself facing a new dilemma: The hedge maze was crowded and since a stage had been set up in the center of it there was not much room to go around. She tried to squeeze into a front row seat in between some ponies she thought she recognized. But with an angry shout of "Back of the line!" she was knocked all the way back to the farthest row possible.

Suddenly, loud music began to blare from speakers on the stage as a spotlight shown on the center of it. A moment later came an explosion of fireworks, and then there on the stage stood a minotaur. He had one of his goat assistants take off a robe he had been wearing, and ponies cheered loudly!

The minotaur spoke up as a small microphone carried his deep, booming voice through the entire hedge maze. "Welcome, friends! The name's Iron Will, and today is the first day of your new life as an assertive, confident creature! A creature who's not gonna let life walk all over them anymore! Now then, I wanna hear you all stomp if you're tired of being a pushover!" The crowd obeyed, stomping their hooves and cheering loudly. "Now stomp if you're tired of being a doormat!" The crowd stomped and cheered even louder. "And stomp if you wanna pay nothing for this here seminar!"

The stomping and cheering stopped as the crowd remained silent for a moment, some in it exchanging nervous glances or whispers before all burst into laughter (except for Fluttershy who didn't know what to think).

Iron Will just snorted a bit as he declared. "Who said you could laugh?! Iron Will didn't tell you to laugh!" Then he cleared his throat. "What Iron Will said earlier is no joke, friends, because Iron Will never jokes! You see, Iron Will is so confident that you will be absolutely, one hundred percent satisfied with Iron Will's assertiveness techniques, that if you are somehow not one hundred percent satisfied, then you. Pay. Nothing. Oh, but I pity the fool who doubts Iron Will's methods! I pity 'em!" Glaring at a random pony in the crowd he asked. "You don't doubt me, do you?"

The earth pony stuttered. "Uh-uh, no sir..." And everyone else in the crowd seemed nod and share in the sentiment.

Iron Will flashed a toothy smile. "'No sir' indeed. And that, my friends, is your first lesson: Don't be shy, look 'em in the eye. Make sure they can't pretend not to notice you," Then he added. "Now, to demonstrate that Iron Will's techniques will indeed work for anypony, Iron Will's gonna need a volunteer. Who's going to be the lucky pony?"

No one would volunteer, but that didn't stop Iron Will. His goat assistants had been scanning the crowd from the moment the seminar began, and it had come to their attention that there was a pony who looked particularly meek. Just the  sort of example Iron Will needed. So they passed word along to the minotaur and he called out to Fluttershy. "You, in the back row!"

Fluttershy gulped as the crowd parted and all eyes suddenly fell upon her. "Who, me?"

"Yes, you!" Iron Will demanded. "Iron Will wants you onstage! Pronto!"

"O-okay." Fluttershy replied with a whisper and did as she was told. Immediately upon getting on the stage, Iron Will shoved one of his goat assistants directly in front of Fluttershy.

"Ooh! Look at that! He's blocking your path and he's not going away!" Iron Will narrated the scenario he'd set up. "So, what are you gonna do about it?"

The timid pegasus gulped. "Um, just politely walk around him?"

Iron Will shook his head. "No. Try again."

Forcing back another gulp, the pegasus answered. "Maybe gingerly tip-hoof around him?"

"No." Iron Will protested.

Trying to back away Fluttershy answered in a defeated tone. "Go back home and try again tomorrow?"

"No!" Iron Will roared at the top of his lungs! "When somepony tries to block, show them that you rock!" He roared so loudly and so forcibly that the goat assistant he'd pushed in front of Fluttershy fell over.

Fluttershy was immediately stricken with concern. "Oh my goodness! Sorry."

But Iron Will insisted. "Don't be sorry! Be assertive! Remember: Never apologize when you can criticize," Then he cleared his throat and shouted at the goat assistant. "Why don't you watch where you're going, fool?!" He proceeded to instruct Fluttershy. "Now, you try it. Do exactly as Iron Will taught you."

The timid pegasus tried, clearing her throat. "Uh... next time, get out of the way before... I bump into you, 'cause..." Suddenly, she felt a rush of confidence overtake her as she declared. "I definitely won't be sorry if I do! You understand?!" The goat nodded very slowly.

Fluttershy didn't have time to fully process the emotions surging through her as she felt herself be scooped up by Iron Will (he sensed that this pegasus was just the sort of pony who could help him market his seminars all across Equestria, making him a lot of money). "Now do you see, my friends?!" He told the crowd! "If Iron WIll's techniques can work even for this shy little pegasus, then they can work for you and for anypony! So when others ask you how you gained control of your life, make sure you tell them about Iron Will and his assertiveness seminars!"

The crowd burst into thunderous applause, which Iron Will basked in while Fluttershy tried to process her feelings. "Hm, so this is what it feels like to be assertive. It feels... kind of nice, actually." She thought to herself.





The next day, Fluttershy was giving herself a pep talk as she stared at her own reflection in a mirror. "Okay, I feel good. I feel ready to 'attack the day' as Iron Will says," She said to herself. "You've got this, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy trotted outside, and immediately encountered a problem. The gardener she had hired, an earth pony stallion named Mr. Greenhooves, was watering her petunias a bit too much. She immediately approached him and tapped him on the shoulder to try and inform him of this. "Excuse me, Mr. Greenhooves, but I-I think you might be over-watering my petunias," With a sigh she added. "Again."

But Mr. Greenhooves just laughed as he kept on watering. "Nonsense, just let the professional handle it. I know what I'm doing."

Fluttershy was about to leave, when suddenly she remembered Iron Will's teachings. She wasn't about to let herself be pushed around and told what to do. "Treat me like a pushover, and you'll get the once over." After making sure no one was around she put a hoof on the hose, causing water pressure to build up behind the blockage.

Mr. Greenhooves stopped when he noticed his hose had stopped working. He held it up for a closer inspection, which was when Fluttershy released her hoof and let the water flow back through the hose like normal. Mr. Greenhooves was hit by an unexpected shower, leaving him completely soaked. "Well, perhaps that is enough water. Sorry about that."

"Thank you," Fluttershy said with a smile and then trotted away while giggling to herself. "I can't believe that worked. That was so easy, and fun! Oh, I can't wait to tell all my friends. Won't they be surprised?" And that was just what she decided to do, right after she took care of some unresolved business from the day before.





On the way to the market place, Fluttershy found her path blocked by two carts full of trash. The ponies pulling the carts were a sea green colored unicorn and a cream colored earth pony. And the two seemed to be having a conversation.

"I tell you, Bon Bon," The unicorn commented to the earth pony. "Showpony business is tough."

Bon Bon said in reply to the unicorn. "Well go ahead, Lyra, try one of your jokes on me. I'll laugh at anything."

"Well yeah, because you're my best friend," Lyra told Bon Bon. "And how come you're talking so funny again?"

Bon Bon blinked in reply. "What are you talking about? I'm not talking funny, I'm fitting in," And she quickly changed the subject. "Go ahead, tell me the best joke you've got."

Lyra gave Bon Bon a glance before clearing her throat. "Okay, okay, okay. Here goes. So a donkey and a mule are stuck on a desert island..."

But Fluttershy interrupted. "Excuse me?! Do you mind moving?! Your carts are blocking my path!"

"Yeah, yeah, in a minute." Lyra rudely remarked.

Fluttershy snorted. "You're a unicorn, you can use magic. Move the carts."

Lyra shouted back. "And you're a pegasus, you could fly over us. Or better yet, go the other way. Now stop interrupting me! I'm just trying to tell a joke!" Then she went on talking to Bon Bon. "So the donkey says to the mule: Why don't we build ourselves a boat to get off this island?" And she giggled as Bon Bon did the same.

Unfortunately, Fluttershy had grown impatient. And she most certainly didn't like being told off by somepony else. She'd been about to turn around and leave, when she remembered Iron Will's lessons. "When somepony tries to block, show them that you rock!" So she not so secretly kicked the carts, making them tip over and dump their contents onto the ponies hauling them.

Lyra and Bon Bon gagged as Bon Bon grumbled. "Okay, okay, we get the message! We're moving, lady!"

Fluttershy just smiled as she watched the two trot off. "That's better. Now I think it's time some other ponies learned that there's a new Fluttershy in town, and she's not going to be so easily intimidated."





Compared to yesterday the market place was nowhere near as busy. But there were still several merchants who were out there, trying to sell their products to ponies.

The stallion running the cherry stand was most surprised when he happened to look up from the back of his stand and find himself face to face with a pegasus mare he could've sworn he'd seen before. "Uh, can I help you with something, miss?" He inquired in a seemingly innocent tone.

The pegasus mare growled. "Don't play dumb with me, you know who I am! Or do you not remember how you tried to swindle me out of my bits for a single cherry?!"

The cherry merchant blinked. Suddenly he remembered his last encounter with the pegasus now staring right at him. "Oh yes, it's all coming back to me. You're that doormat who needed a cherry for her pet bunny. Well if you need more cherries you've come to the right place. I've got all the cherries you need, provided you've got enough bits that is."

Fluttershy pressed her snout toward the merchant. "I don't want or need more cherries! I want you and everypony else in this rotten market place to know that I'm not going to keep doing business with greedy jerks like you. My bits will go to ponies I know will give me a fair price, instead of driving it up just to take advantage of helpless ponies."

The merchant just laughed. "You think your threats scare me, kid? You'll come back to me in due time, everypony always does."

Fluttershy shook her head. "I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. Just take a look around. Notice anything different about the market place today?"

The merchant obeyed, suspecting nothing. But as he looked all around he was surprised at how inexplicably empty it seemed to be. "Hey, where is everypony? It's like they all fled town or somethin'!"

The formerly timid pegasus mare replied. "That was me," And she explained in a low tone. "You merchant ponies are all the same. You like to talk a big game, but the moment ponies stop coming to you you're desperate to lure them back. And it turns out I'm not the only pony who's been unfairly cheated out of bits with your price gouging ways. It's amazing what a little word of mouth can do."

The cherry merchant gulped hard as he began to break out into a nervous sweat and tried to shrink away from Fluttershy. Fluttershy refused to let him do so. "Don't be shy, look 'em in the eye!" She shouted at the merchant! "You won't get away from me."

"P-please, kid, I don't want any trouble!" The merchant nervously whimpered. "Take whatever you want, just leave me alone!"

"Not until you tell all the other merchants around here that they need to stop taking advantage of their customers, or else." Fluttershy ended her sentence by ominously glaring at the stallion.

The stallion nodded his head very slowly. "A-alright, alright. I'll tell 'em!"

"And make sure you tell them who warned you! There's a new Fluttershy in town, and nopony better get in her way!" Fluttershy threatened. Then in a normal tone of voice she added. "You can do that, right?"

"Y-yes ma'am." The merchant whimpered again, watching as this "New Fluttershy" strolled away with a confident look in her eyes. She was not a pony to be trifled with.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy thought to herself. "Wait until my friends get a load of the new and improved Fluttershy. They're going to love her!"





So it was that the formerly timid pegasus decided to pay a visit to Sugarcube Corner, hoping to have a chance to show off her new, assertive self to her friends.

A line had already formed stretching all the way to the door as the familiar voice of Pinkie Pie called. "Who's next, please? And what can I get for you today?"

Fluttershy trotted forward, only to feel a hoof tap on her shoulder as a pale pink coated earth pony cut right in front of her! Unlike yesterday she wasn't going to take this insult lying down! "Excuse me!" She growled at the mare. "What do you think you're doing?! Didn't you see me?"

The mare shrugged off Fluttershy's angry remarks. "Uh, I don't know. Maybe I did and maybe I didn't."

"Oh, is that your answer? 'Maybe'?" Fluttershy replied as she locked eyes with the earth pony. "Maybes are for babies!" With a growl she added. "Now go to the back of the line where you belong! And don't ever cut in front of me again!"

The mare obeyed, and several ponies who were nearby did the same as they did not want to risk angering this new Fluttershy.

Fluttershy didn't mind, she strolled straight up to the front line with a smile upon her face. "Why did I ever doubt myself? Asserting myself is way easier than I thought it would be, I shouldn't have been holding back for so long." She thought to herself.

"Wow, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she saw her friend approach. "I almost didn't recognize you with how confident and assertive you sounded! Though you really shouldn't be scaring the customers, the Cakes won't like it."

"Sorry, but someponies need to know not to mess with me. If I have to raise my voice at them, so be it." Fluttershy declared.

Rarity (who was nearby) commented. "Fluttershy? Is that really you? I must be dreaming."

"Oh no, your eyes don't deceive you, Rarity," Fluttershy told her fashion friend. "You're looking at the new and improved Fluttershy. Iron Will's assertiveness seminars really paid off!"

Rarity couldn't resist cracking a smile as she fondly exclaimed. "Oh, your attitude is so feisty, it's fabulous. Although I must agree with Pinkie Pie, there's no need to be so aggressive all the time."

"I don't mean to be, but sometimes you have to be loud in order to be heard," The pegasus confidently declared. "Iron Will is a true inspiration. His techniques really work. Take his seminars if you don't believe him: Satisfaction guaranteed or you pay nothing. And everypony is always satisfied."

The fashionista simply replied. "Well, I have no need for such seminars. But they've certainly made a difference in the way you carry yourself. You truly are a whole new Fluttershy."

Fluttershy nodded her head. "Glad you noticed. Because New Fluttershy feels pretty stoked about New Fluttershy."

"Well, Old Pinkie Pie feels really proud of New Fluttershy," Pinkie Pie said with a smile. "Proud as pink punch to be precise," She promptly pushed a bowl of the aforementioned beverage toward her friend. "Here, want some?" Then a snort escaped from her lips as she tried (and utterly failed) to prevent the giggles from slipping out.

But instead of laughing alongside her friend, Fluttershy declared in a low tone. "You laugh at me, I wrath at you!" She pushed the punch bowl off the counter, making it shatter on the ground.

Pinkie and Rarity blinked. They had not been expecting such a reaction.

Not appearing to notice the looks her friends were giving her, Fluttershy simply exited Sugarcube Corner as she called. "Bye, girls. Make sure to tell all our friends about New Fluttershy," Upon stepping outside she called for a taxi. And when another pony jumped into the seat of said taxi, she responded. "Cut in line, I'll take what's mine!" She lunged into the seat like a wild animal, and after a short struggle tossed the seat stealing pony out with the greatest of ease! "Listen up, ponies!" She shouted as she raised a fist! "Nopony pushes New Fluttershy around! NOPONY!" Then she sat down in the taxi seat as the taxi driver took off as fast as he could!

Pinkie and Rarity exchanged frightened and shocked glances, having witnessed the entire display. As Pinkie looked across to Rarity she nervously commented. "Old Pinkie Pie is not so sure New Fluttershy is such a good idea after all. Not if she's like this."

"Old Rarity agrees. We've gone from one extreme to the other." Rarity could only comment in reply.





The next day, Fluttershy was again giving herself a pep talk with the most confident (and evil if you were to ask anypony else) look on her face. "You got this, New Fluttershy. This day is yours and yours alone! And nopony's gonna take it away from you! Am I right?!" Her unusually loud voice frightened all the animals around her, but none more so than Angel who whimpered in fright and ran away like a scared child! Any desire he might have had to cause trouble had left him, now he too trembled before this new Fluttershy.

"Serves that troublemaker right! He's always been a thorn in my side!" Fluttershy thought to herself! "And if it wasn't for me he wouldn't last five minutes! The least he could do is be a little bit more grateful every now and then."

But Angel was the least of Fluttershy's concerns at the moment. The day was young and she was determined to seize every possible moment of it. There were still ponies she felt had wronged her in the past, and now she was going to get even. The first of them soon presented themselves to her when she checked her mail box. The usual mail delivery pony had been on a leave of absence for about a month now, and the relief pony had an unfortunate reputation for not only being late but also getting his deliveries mixed up. Today was one of those days. "Ugh! The mail pony's delivered the wrong mail, again!" She roared! "This will not stand!"

Fluttershy caught up with the pony a short time later. He was easy to spot due to his blue mail carrier outfit. "New Fluttershy does not want the wrong mail delivered to her cottage. Not anymore!" She told him.

The stallion stuttered a bit as he realized he'd forgotten to put on his reading glasses earlier. "O-oh dear," He realized as he dropped one of the mail sacks he'd been carrying. "Did I mix 'em up again? So sorry about that."

Fluttershy just replied. "You apologize, I penalize!" When the mail stallion tried to run away, she shoved him into the mail box and slapped a stamp on his rear end. She took the letter meant for her as she watched a mail wagon come along and take the stallion away.

Another stallion (this one a tourist wearing a camera around his neck) approached Fluttershy only seconds later. "Uh, excuse me, miss?" He questioned her. "Do you know how to get to the Ponyville clock tower?"

Fluttershy nodded even as she was holding the letter in her mouth. "Sure," She replied in a muffled tone of voice. "You just-" But speaking caused her letter to fall out of her mouth, and unfortunately it ended up in a puddle. The mare gasped and started to growl!

"Oh, that's too bad. Really." The tourist stallion commented in a sincere tone.

Fluttershy, however, just yelled at the stallion! "You make me lose, I blow my fuse! Get over here!" She promptly grabbed the stallion by his camera and flung him as hard as she could! By a strange stroke of luck she ended up tossing him into a pile of hay not far from the clock tower (which his camera struck, causing a bell to chime).

By coincidence, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had come upon the scene. It was now clear to them that their friend had changed for the worse, and it was time to give her a rather stern talking to if they hoped to correct the problem. "Fluttershy! Just what in the name of Celestia do you think you're doing?!" Rarity called out to her friend with a scowl. "That's no way to behave!"

Fluttershy scoffed. "So now you're taking your his side?! Didn't you see what he tried to do to New Fluttershy?! He thought New Fluttershy was a pushover like the Old Fluttershy!"

"He did not, we saw the whole thing," Rarity protested as she gestured a hoof to Pinkie Pie. "He just asked for directions. After yesterday, Pinkie Pie and I had a talk and we've come to the agreement that you're taking these assertiveness lessons a little too far. Applejack agrees as well, she told us what you did to the merchants at the market place before you showed up at Sugarcube Corner."

The pegasus just snapped! "What?! You traitors! New Fluttershy sees how it is! You just want New Fluttershy to become a doormat like Old Fluttershy! Fat chance!"

Pinkie Pie nervously retorted. "New Fluttershy? Old Fluttershy? What are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"

"Whatever happened to the nice Fluttershy we used to know?" Rarity asked. "We want that Fluttershy back."

"Wrong!" Fluttershy retorted as she narrowed her eyes. "What you really want is 'Pushover Fluttershy', 'Do whatever you want to her and she won't complain Fluttershy'! Because that's what the old Fluttershy was like!"

Pinkie put her hooves to her head as she groaned. "Oh, there's too many Fluttershys to keep track of! You're not making any sense anymore!"

"Aw, what's the matter?" Fluttershy taunted in a cruel tone. "Things getting too complicated for that simple little brain of yours, Pinkie?" She promptly gave her party planning friend a shove.

Rarity caught the party planner and immediately glared up at her friend. "That's quite enough of that, Fluttershy. We may have our differences but that's hardly a reason to start stooping to petty insults."

But the pegasus only turned her cruel wrath on Rarity instead. "Why not? Isn't petty what you're all about, Rarity? What with your petty concerns about fashion and all?"

Pinkie immediately stood up and stepped forward! "Hey, you leave her alone! Fashion is her passion!"

"Really? And what are you passionate about?" Fluttershy coldly retorted. "Birthday cake? Party hats?"

The pink party planner fought back a whimper. "You... you know there's more to them than that! You don't mean what you say!"

"Oh but New Fluttershy does!" Fluttershy shouted at the top of her lungs! "She can't believe that her so called 'friends' are trying to tell New Fluttershy how to live her life when they are throwing their own lives away on pointless pursuits that nopony, and I mean nopony else gives a flying feather about!"

Those words moreso than anything else Fluttershy could've said or done reduced both of her friends to tears. It was clear now that they couldn't get through to their assertive, jerkish friend. "Well, it looks like Nasty Fluttershy is here to stay." Pinkie declared with tears in her eyes.

Rarity nodded, her eyes also welling up with tears. "I can't believe what that monster has done to you!" Then she and Pinkie Pie ran away while crying.

Fluttershy only roared! "Iron's Will not a monster, he's a minotaur!"





But before Fluttershy could even think of going somewhere else, she found herself unexpectedly snout to snout with her fellow pegasus and childhood friend, Rainbow Dash. The very same Rainbow Dash who had once tried to encourage her shy friend to come out of her shell and be assertive. 

"Fluttershy, I don't believe it! I can't believe it!" Rainbow Dash growled at her friend. "When I heard from Applejack that you'd become more assertive and were acting like this, I thought for sure she was mistaken. But I know what I just saw and heard. How can you say such things to our friends? They didn't do anything to you!"

Fluttershy just narrowed her eyes. "So now you're getting on New Fluttershy's case, Rainbow Dash?! She thought you of all ponies would support New Fluttershy. It was you who first told New Fluttershy to be more assertive."

"Not like this! Not by becoming exactly like the bullies you used to despise so much!" Rainbow protested. "You're acting just like Gilda was at the party Pinkie Pie threw for her. I'll be darned if I let another friend walk the wrong path in life!"

"As if you really care. You certainly didn't bother to lift a hoof to help New Fluttershy once while she was Old Fluttershy," Fluttershy snapped. "All you ever cared about was trying to be the best at everything, or napping! When the bullies switched their targets from you to Old Fluttershy you didn't care a bit."

Rainbow shook her head. "That's not true and you know it! You're being unreasonable, Fluttershy!" And she desperately pleaded. "It's great that you're standing up for yourself, but this is not the way to achieve it! I don't know what that Iron Will taught you, but you're going about it all wrong if this is what you think it means to be assertive! Picking on others doesn't make you assertive, it makes you a bully! You're no different than Gilda, and that's saying something."

But Fluttershy only retorted. "And where were you when Gilda was picking on Old Fluttershy, your oldest and dearest friend? You knew Old Fluttershy before you knew Gilda, but all you cared about was palling around with her. And now, just like everypony else, after you told Old Fluttershy to be assertive and she did, you decide you don't like New Fluttershy! Well too bad, because the Fluttershy you knew is long gone and she's never coming back, and nothing you say is gonna change New Fluttershy's mind. So back off, unless you want to end up with more than a bruised ego."

The brash speedster could only gasp as those words slowly sank in. "Fluttershy... I don't know how or why, but you've changed. You really are a New Fluttershy..." The next words were spoken not from a position of confidence but from one of personal feelings as she somberly declared. "I don't even recognize you anymore." She promptly flew away, though not without shedding a few tears.

Seeing this caused something to stir inside the formerly timid pegasus, a realization seemed to strike her all of a sudden! "Rainbow, wait!" She tried to call out, but it was all in vain. Dejected, she landed on the ground and gazed deep into her own reflection. What she saw only deepened her guilt. "I'm the monster." She said to herself. And so she did the only thing she could think to do after everything that had transpired. She trotted back up the path to her cottage, went inside and locked the door shut behind her. She vowed to herself then and there to never come out again.





Days passed without a word from Fluttershy and by now cooler heads had prevailed among her friends. They felt sorry for having let everything escalate the way it had, and they were growing concerned over not having seen her at all or hearing from her.

They approached her cottage one gloomy morning, only to discover that the entire cottage had been boarded up with no natural light allowed to poke through.

Their concern growing, Fluttershy's friends decided to knock. Rarity being the volunteer. "Fluttershy, are you in there? Please say something if you are."

But from the other side of the door Fluttershy called. "Go away! Leave now, before Nasty Fluttershy strikes again and says something she'll regret!"

"Fluttershy, all of us said things we regret. I think," Pinkie Pie commented. "But we're worried about you, and so are the rest of our friends. Even Twilight's growing worried, and if she's worrying you know it's bad."

Rarity put a hoof to Pinkie's mouth and shushed her. "Pinkie, I appreciate the sentiment but that isn't going to help. It's not necessary to involve more ponies than were involved in the original dispute."

But Fluttershy called back. "No, Pinkie Pie's right, I'm the only one who's to blame. I was the one who said all those hurtful things," What her friends didn't know is that she was currently inside her cottage, sitting in the dark while tied to a chair. "But don't worry, I'm never coming out of my house again. Everypony will be a lot safer with me and my mean mouth locked away for good."

"Fluttershy, that's not going to work and you know it," Rainbow Dash protested from the other side of the door. "Yelling at each other wasn't the right way to solve things," Then she added. "I told the others about your bullying problems at flight school. About how you internalized it all."

"And because of that I became just like them," Fluttershy argued back. "You're not going to get me to change my mind. This is what's best for all of us. Please, you must understand that my way is the best way. It's the only way we can still be friends. Trust me, I'll be fine."

Rarity spoke up. "Fluttershy, sweetie, Pinkie Pie doesn't blame you, and neither do I for that matter. I'm not sure what exactly Iron Will taught you, but I highly doubt his lessons justify you turning into what you were. It seems to me like his methods might be questionable."

"Besides," Pinkie argued to her friend. "There are lots of other ways to assert yourself besides yelling at everypony."

"Yes!" Rarity nodded in agreement. "You can stand up for yourself without being unpleasant about it."

Fluttershy gulped as she looked at her reflection in a mirror. "I-I'm not sure I can. I'm already too far gone. Whenever I try to assert myself, I become a monster."

Rarity sighed and shook her head even though she knew Fluttershy couldn't see her. "Oh, sweetie, that's nonsense. You're not a monster."

"No, but he might be." Pinkie gestured a hoof and all eyes fell upon a sight they would rather not have seen in the current circumstance.

There stood Iron Will, perched atop his two goat assistants. He stepped down from them as he declared. "Greetings, ponies. Iron Will's the name and training ponies is my game." He flashed a toothy smile.

Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were all speechless for a moment before Rarity found the courage to speak. "My, what a... darling catchphrase," She nervously complimented the minotaur. "What... er, brings you here, Mr. Iron Will?"

"Just Iron Will if you please," Iron Will declared as he cleared his throat. "And Iron Will is here because of your friend, Fluttershy. She absolutely loved Iron Will's assertiveness seminars. Word on the street is that she doesn't take no gruff from no one anymore! To Iron Will that's the sound of a satisfied client, which means Iron Will must collect his dues. After all, these assertiveness seminars aren't cheap, Iron Will needs the contributions of Iron Will's satisfied customers to stay in business. Surely you can relate." Then he walked away.

Rainbow whispered to the others. "Fluttershy's in no position to deal with this creep. We gotta find some way to send him away."

"Don't worry, I'm on it," Rarity insisted as she quickly rushed up to Iron Will to try and plead with him. "I'm sure a big, brave, powerful, and rich monster– I mean, minotaur like you doesn't need that money right away. You can afford to come back later. Like say, a few days? Maybe a week?"

Iron Will was not persuaded for a second. "Are you kidding? Fluttershy is overdo as it is. Iron Will already granted her one extension while Iron Will dealt with other clients, but Iron Will will grant no more extensions. Iron Will collects now." He tossed Rarity aside with little fanfare.

Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash and shouted at them. "Don't just stand there, do something! And make it quick!"

Pinkie took Rarity's suggestion and rushed up to Iron Will, telling him. "Um, we're not even sure Fluttershy is home right now. Uh, she might be off frolicking with some woodland creatures or something. So uh, why don't you give us some time to track her down for ya? Don't you have something else you could do?"

The minotaur briefly pondered and then told Pinkie. "Well, Iron Will does have some grocery shopping to do. But Iron Will will come back this afternoon for Fluttershy."

"But that's only half a day!" Pinkie protested. "We need one full day at least."

Iron Will protested right back. "Iron Will will delay for half a day and no longer!"

Pinkie promptly began to argue with Iron Will, eventually tricking him into requesting a full day instead of half a day. "We need half a day and no more!" She shouted at him.

Iron Will roared in reply! "Well you'll get a full day and no less!" He had managed to grab Pinkie by the tail as he said this.

With a content smile on her face the pink party pony started trotting off in mid air. "Okie-dokie. See you tomorrow, then."

"Wait a minute..." Iron Will began, apparently realizing he'd been deceived. Before he could say anything about it though, he heard a sneeze. A sneeze that unmistakably belonged to Fluttershy, proving to him that she was home. "Well, sounds like a search won't be required after all. Which means Iron Will collects now."

"But... but we had an agreement! You were gonna come back tomorrow!" The pink party pony tried to protest as she stood in the minotaur's way.

Iron Will was not amused. "When somepony tries to block, show them that you rock!" He roared, tossing Pinkie over his shoulder and over the hillside! She landed in a mud puddle as one of the goat assistants starting chomping on her tail.

Rainbow Dash now flew forward, immediately pressing her snout up against Iron Will's! "Alright, mister, I didn't wanna have to do this but you leave me no choice!" And she told him. "Fluttershy's not in a mood for company, because of you. It was your seminar that made her turn into a heartless bully. You don't know just how assertive she became, she started acting like the whole world was out to get her. Like it was either push or be pushed. And that made her do all kinds of things that I know she wouldn't willingly do if you hadn't put the thought in her head!"

The minotaur only growled. "How is any of that Iron Will's fault? Did Iron Will specifically tell Fluttershy to attack others or say what she said to her friends?"

"W-well, you weren't around when she did them..." Rainbow stammered. "But if she hadn't gone to that seminar you hosted she never would've gotten the idea that being assertive meant being a jerk!"

"Iron Will is not a jerk! This is the first time Iron Will has ever received any such complaint about his teachings!" Iron Will roared! "Don't blame Iron Will for what your friend chose to do of her own free will! All Iron Will wants now is what Iron Will is rightfully entitled to because of his teachings. Now stand down, Iron Will will be delayed no longer! Iron Will does not wish to us more force than necessary."

Rainbow was about to protest, when she heard the sound of the cottage door unlocking. Out strolled Fluttershy, looking surprisingly calm and confident given the circumstances. "It's okay, Rainbow Dash. I can handle this on my own." Sh told her fellow pegasus.

Rainbow wanted to protest, but something in the way her friend's eyes looked convinced her that Fluttershy could in fact resolve this matter peacefully and without the help of others. So she reluctantly backed down.

Iron Will, for his part, just looked at Fluttershy and told her. "Your payment is overdue, Fluttershy! Don't forget that you were nothing but a doormat, and Iron Will turned you into a lean, mean, assertive machine! Now, pay Iron Will what you owe Iron Will!"

But Fluttershy looked the minotaur firmly in the eyes and calmly answered. "No, I won't."

The two goat assistants gave off panicked bleats as Iron Will stumbled back ever so briefly. "What did you just say to Iron Will?!"

"I said 'No.' Was I not clear? I've been told I need to speak up." Fluttershy answered, sounding surprisingly confident while at the same time not displaying a hint of the jerkish behavior she had displayed with previous assertive attempts.

The minotaur didn't seem to take kindly to Fluttershy's answer, as he started shaking the fence surrounding her cottage like it were the ropes in a wrestling ring. "What do you mean 'No.'?!" He roared and then ominously declared. "Ooh, I'd hate to be you right about now, Fluttershy! You've made Iron Will very angry, and no one likes to see Iron Will when he's angry! So listen and listen good! Iron Will is about to rain down a world of hurt unless Iron Will gets his money, pronto!"

Despite the momentary ringing in her ears, Fluttershy just trotted past Iron Will as she explained her answer. "As I recall, during the seminar I attended you promised one hundred percent satisfaction guaranteed, or else you pay nothing. Well, Iron Will, I'm sorry to tell you this but I'm not satisfied."

The goats belated again in stunned speechlessness! No client in the history of their boss' seminars had ever given this answer before.

"What do you mean you're not satisfied?!" Iron Will roared and snorted! "How could you possibly not be satisfied?! Everyone is always satisfied!"

"I guess I'm the first, then," The pegasus calmly replied. "Don't get me wrong, your methods were quite helpful. But I don't like what they made me do. I know that's not your fault, you didn't tell me to say or do the things I said and did. However, I do believe that your methods are simply not the kind of advice I needed to hear. My friends were right, there are other ways to stand up for yourself that don't involve being mean. Therefore, I'm not satisfied and I refuse to pay. Simple as that."

Iron Will blinked in surprise. "Oh... you are?" He promptly tried to offer. "Well, are you... sure you're not maybe just a little bit satisfied? B-because maybe... we could still cut a deal. I-I mean we're both reasonable creatures, aren't we?"

Fluttershy only shook her head. "I'm sorry, but no means no, Mr. Iron Will. Now please leave."

"Huh, 'No means no.' huh?" Iron Will blinked again. "That's a new one. Gonna have to remember that for Iron Will's next seminar. Perhaps it might be time for Iron Will to take another look at his methods, maybe what works for Iron Will doesn't necessarily work for everyone." He left with his goat assistants following behind him, the two of them taking notice that he wasn't riding on top of them like he usually did.





Fluttershy's friends were speechless for but a moment as the shock of what they had just witnessed slowly settled in! Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence when the moment had ended! "Wow! That... was... amazing! If I didn't see and hear it myself I wouldn't have believed it!" She exclaimed with wide eyes.

"It's totally amazing, alright!" Pinkie exclaimed as she and Rarity happily threw their hooves around their formerly timid friend! "You managed to stand up to that mon... er minotaur!"

"And you didn't change at all as you did so!" Rarity proudly added! "You were the same old Fluttershy that we've always loved!"

"The one we missed! But now she's more assertive, which is a nice bonus!" Pinkie declared with a bright smile!

"Now you've definitely changed, Fluttershy," Rainbow happily commented to her fellow pegasus. "So it looks like that Iron Will was good for something. I just hope this change isn't temporary, because I could get used to a more assertive you."

Fluttershy nodded her head. "Don't worry, old Fluttershy's back for good. You can be sure of that," Then she looked at her friends as she apologized to all three of them. "I'm sorry I took the whole assertiveness thing too far. Friends?"

"Friends." Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash all declared together as they all joined with Fluttershy in laughing.

When the laughter faded, Rarity spoke up. "You know what, Fluttershy? I think this would make a pretty good lesson to write to Princess Celestia about. If Twilight were here right now, I have a feeling she'd agree."

"I probably should, this was a lesson that was long overdue!" Fluttershy boldly declared. "But first, I think a certain bunny needs to be taught a lesson. If he's going to act like a brat, he can expect no more favors from here on out!"

Still, Fluttershy found the time the next day to write a letter to Princess Celestia about what she had learned. And it went something like this:

Dear Princess Celestia,

Sometimes it can be hard for a shy pony like me to stand up for myself, and when I first tried it, I didn't like the pony that I became. 

But I've now learned that standing up for yourself isn't the same as changing who you are. Now I know how to put my hoof down without being unpleasant or mean. Being assertive doesn't have to mean being a jerk. And neither does having a backbone give you a license to be cruel. Even if the world itself is cruel, being cruel right back won't change anything.

As for Angel Bunny, Fluttershy found that her patented glare known as "The Stare" worked wonders on him. Every time he would try to act up or have his way with his pegasus master, he would be intimidated into silence by the harsh, unforgiving glare of her eyes. He soon learned that he could no longer take charge the way he was used to, not he or anyone was going to push Fluttershy so easily ever again.
> S4 E12: Pinkie Pride (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The setting sun cast a hasty, orange glow over the town of Appleloosa that was in the middle of a glorious celebration! A celebration that had brought even the native buffalo tribe to town.

All were laughing, dancing, and playing. And all were seemingly unaware as a stallion with a coat of light brilliant gamboge watched them from afar. He was decked out in black cowpony attire, including a hat and a vest. "Well, Boneless," He spoke in a low, somber tone to the rubber chicken on his back. "Looks like our work here is done. Reckon it's time we mosey along, now."

The rubber chicken said nothing, but the stallion just trotted away anyways with a party blower in his mouth. "Yup, those ponies never partied so hard in all their life. And those buffalo too for that matter. All thanks to me, the second greatest party pony that ever was: Cheese! Cheese Sandwich!"

Then suddenly, Cheese Sandwich's entire body began to wiggle and shake, his cutie mark (fittingly, a cheese sandwich) moving and squeaking like an accordion. He leaped into the air as he happily exclaimed "Hoo hoo hoo hoo! Now that was a doozy if I ever felt one!" Regaining his composure and again downing his cowpony hat, he spoke to the rubber chicken. "Well, Boneless, looks like our next's party gonna be in..." He paused briefly to be sure he had interpreted the signals just right. "Ponyville!" A faint smile crept onto his face. "Yes, how fitting. At long last, I'll get to see her again. I can't wait to show her just how far I've come."

So Cheese Sandwich set off, it was a long walk to Ponyville but such was the burden of a traveling party pony. His destination was Ponyville, where an unaware Pinkie Pie would soon face the greatest challenge to her title as the greatest party pony of all time.



For Pinkie Pie the day started out like any other, with a party to plan. Of course, as any party pony will tell you a party doesn't just happen. There are supplies to be gathered, guests to invite, and a whole host of other things that have to be just right if the party is to be successful. But when one has been at the party planning (and throwing) game for as long as Pinkie, it all comes naturally. So she went about her work as usual, with a smile on her face and a spring in her step. And as she went along she was singing to herself:

Every single day there's something new that you can plan for.

Every single day there's something wonderful to do.

But nothing makes me happy like a day that I can say:

"Today I've planned a party, and it's just for you!"

Her first stop was a stand selling streamers. The stallion recognized her right away since few ponies were as frequent a customer as the pink coated party planner in his midst. "How's it going today, Pinkie?" He cheerfully greeted.

"Going great, thanks!" Pinkie happily replied. "Got any streamers today? Particularly big ones?" She plopped down the bits to pay for them.

"You betcha!" The stallion replied while he rolled the biggest roll of streamers he currently had into Pinkie's saddle bag, and while he needn't have asked he still did anyway. "Big party planned?"

"Don't you know it!" Pinkie Pie told him. "Stop by Sugarcube Corner later for a bash you won't forget!" Then she set off again.

There was still a lot of stuff to gather on short notice, as Pinkie checked over her list and kept an eye on the clock. But she wasn't worried for a second, she was more than up to the challenge. So she just bounced away while continuing to sing:

Don't have much time to gather all of the things I need,

If I'm really gonna make this party fly!

For today's another day that all of Ponyville will say:

"There goes the super party pony, Pinkie Pie!"

While the party pony was busy gathering her supplies, she couldn't help but overhear other ponies in town singing her praises. First up were the Cakes, the ponies who knew her perhaps better than anypony else in town. And they were singing (while pushing a stroller carrying their twin toddlers):

She planned our first foal shower where we played all sorts of games.

Having so much fun as we chose Pound and Pumpkin's names.

Even Diamond Tiara could be heard praising the party planner, albeit in her own backhoofed kind of way:

She planned my cute-ceañera. My dad made me, I won't lie.

I demanded all the best, and I suppose she passed the test.

Sure it was pretty good all thanks to Pinkie Pie.

Having overheard this Pinkie stopped briefly in her tracks and blinked. "Thanks, I think?"

She was snapped out of this pondering when a painter asked her. "Excuse me. What kind of paints did you say you needed again?"

"Oh, I'm gonna need the full rainbow!" Pinkie told the painter.

The painter poured all the colors he had into one of Pinkie's saddle bags while asking her. "You want a paintbrush too?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yes, if you please!"

"And what from me?" A unicorn mare running a banner stand asked.

"The biggest banner you've got!" Pinkie told the mare! "This party's gonna be the best!"

"Oh, I don't doubt that!" The mare laughed, especially once she had a party hat placed over her horn.

With all her supplies gathered, the party pony raced back to Sugarcube Corner to get everything ready! By now word had gotten out to the whole town about Pinkie's party, and an excited crowd had started to form. As they were making their way to Sugarcube Corner they could be heard singing in chorus:

Every single day there's something new that we can plan for.

Every single day there's something wonderful to try.

But nothing makes us happy like a day that we can say:

"Today there'll be a party planned by Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie was already hard at work, pouring out all the paints onto the banner that she'd set down on the ground. Her friends were all nearby and were watching in excitement! "I don't know how she does it, she makes it look like child's play." Rarity commented.

"Wow, look at her go!" Twilight happily added.

"Oh boy, this is gonna be good! You bet your boots!" Applejack chimed in.

And Fluttershy shouted! "Go, Pinkie, go!"

The crowd was watching too, and they were all singing:

There's no other pony like her, no pony that could ever be.

As great! As fun!

As our super party pony, Pinkie!





With everyone gathered, Pinkie loudly declared to all who would listen! "Ooh, I am so, so, SO excited because today I'm officially planning the birthday bash of..." She paused briefly to build tension before concluding! "Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash wasn't far above, she was flying next to the painted image of her on the banner. "Yeah! A birthday bash by my favorite party pony! I couldn't ask for anything more!"

Pinkie smiled as Rainbow Dash fluttered down. "Of course you couldn't!" Then she pulled her friend close and told her in a dramatic tone. "Rainbow Dash, listen very carefully."

"What is it, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked in blissful unawareness.

With a determined and rather serious look on her face, the party planner told her pegasus friend. "You realize that, by officially enlisting me as your party planner, I guarantee you that this is going to be the funnest, most fantabulous, superbial party in Ponyville, right?"

Rainbow blinked. "Uh, yeah? I guess so."

Pinkie shook her head. "I'm not joking! There's no guessing on this! Parties are no picnic and don't ever let anypony tell you otherwise."

Fluttershy spoke up. "Oh, I like a nice picnic," When Pinkie turned and growled at her the pegasus fought back an eep as she added. "Um, forget I said anything."

The party pony promptly declared by glaring down at Rainbow Dash. "Listen and listen good: Parties. Are. Serious! And you have my certified Pinkie Party Promise," She repeated a series of familiar motions and then stuck a cupcake in her right eye. "That you will have the best birthday party in the history of ever!"

Rainbow wasn't sure what to say, so she just replied with a somewhat uncertain. "Okay."

Pinkie got off of Rainbow and then smiled as she announced! "Great, glad we understand each other! Alrighty then, who's ready to join this here super duper party pony to plan this super duper pa-rty?"

"I am." An unfamiliar, gruff sounding voice suddenly called. And all eyes suddenly turned to spot an unfamiliar earth pony stallion with a coat of light brilliant gamboge. He had a party blower in his mouth and wore a black cowpony hat and poncho while he leaned against an alley wall. His eyes and cutie mark were hidden from view.

Most ponies were unsettled by the newcomer's appearance, but not Pinkie. "Oh, hello stranger," She innocently greeted. "You're just in time for the party."

"Good, a party planned by you is something I wouldn't miss for the world." The stallion ominously declared.

"Uh, excuse me?" Fluttershy asked the stallion. "Just who are you? Uh, if you don't mind me asking."

The stallion spit out the party blower as he trotted forward. "The name's Sandwich, Cheese Sandwich to be exact. And let's just say that I plan parties." It was now possible to make out a pair of green eyes and a brown mane and tail that looked eeriely similar to Pinkie's, as well as what looked a cutie mark depicting a cheese sandwich that appeared to be in the shape of an accordion.

"Wow! What an amazing coincidence!" Pinkie said with a giggle! "Because I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm planning a party!"

Cheese Sandwich answered in a somewhat cold tone. "Oh, it's hardly a coincidence, my little pony. You see, I have a thing called a 'Cheesie Sense' that lets me know when a party's about to go down. And my 'Cheesie Sense' was definitely a tingling, telling me that a party was in the works here. As usual, my 'Cheesie Sense' is correct."

"A 'Cheesie Sense'?! Wow, double amazing!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in an impressed tone! "I have a 'Pinkie Sense', though it doesn't work exactly the same way your 'Cheesie Sense' does."

Cheese Sandwich nodded. "Yes, I already sensed you did. Though it seems your 'Pinkie Sense' can't sense my 'Cheesie Sense', not that it matters," Then he added. "I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time, Pinkie. But I had to wait until my 'Cheesie Sense' told me the time was right. Which it finally is," He proceeded to explain. "Now I know you're a fine party planner, but give credit where credit is due. I'm a traveling party pony, and I just so happen to be the premiere party pony in all of Equestria. If there's a party of kind that needs planning, I'm the one they call on when the chips are down and nopony else can do the job. Be it wingding, hoedown, hootenanny, or shindig, I'm your pony."

Pinkie somewhat dismissively declared. "Well that's very nice of you, Cheese Sandwich, but this party's already been planned. Though if you want to help me plan the next party, I'd be more than happy to work with you."

"Sorry, but I can't stay for that long. I go wherever I must, wherever there's a party in need of planning," Cheese Sandwich protested. "I know you weren't expecting me, but I really want a chance to show you what I can do. Your parties are fine and all, but did you ever wonder what you could do if you had another pony on your level? A pony who could think like you, act like you, and replicate what you do?"

The pink party pony blinked. "Already tried that with the mirror pool, didn't work out for me."

Cheese blinked briefly in reply. "Oh, I see. Well, what I'm offering is more of a team up if you will. Two party ponies can throw a bigger bash than one party pony, wouldn't you agree?"

"Goodness, a pair of party planners in Ponyville?! What could possibly be more perfect?" Fluttershy smiled. "I think a team up sounds lovely." And several other ponies nodded their heads in agreement.

"Hey, I don't care either way. All I care about is making sure this party's epic!" Rainbow boasted. "Because after all, this isn't just any old birthday. It also happens to be the anniversary of when I moved to Ponyville."

"Good heavens, Rainbow Dash!" Rarity exclaimed in realization. "That would make it your birth-iversary! I had no idea!"

Pinkie blinked a bit. "A birth-ivesary, huh? That's going to require a little bit of last minute adjusting."

Cheese Sandwich promptly offered. "My suggestion of partnering up still stands, Pinkie. It would be an honor to work alongside you, even just for this birth-iversary bash."

"Thanks, but I've got it all under control. I haven't met a party yet that I couldn't plan and pull off!" Pinkie boasted. "But if you don't believe me you're welcome to watch me work my magic!" Some ponies in the crowd began to whisper to each other in concern, this was rather unusual behavior for Ponyville's number one party pony. She was acting not unlike she viewed Cheese Sandwich as a threat even though he gave no such indication.

Cheese Sandwich just sighed. "Well that's too bad, Pinkie."

"Why is that?" The pink party pony questioned. "You think you can do better than me when it comes to throwing parties?"

Cheese just replied. "Oh, I don't think so!" He promptly threw off his hat and poncho as he loudly declared! "I know so! After all..." He then began to break out into song and dance:

The super-duper party pony–that pony is me!

I always knew that was the kind of pony I would be.

"Hey, me too!" Pinkie pointed out, but Cheese didn't acknowledge her. He was too busy singing about himself:

Oh, when I was but a little colt, I just wanted to play.

But everypony always told me: "Cheese, that fun just wastes the day"

Pinkie scoffed. "Pah, as if!"

Cheese continued to sing:

But when I threw a party and I busted out some moves!

The ponies finally saw the light, and got into the groove!

The super-duper party pony–that pony is me!

You'll never meet another party pony quite like Cheese!

Suddenly sensing that she was overshadowed, Pinkie tried to speak up. "Uh, and Pinkie?"

But Cheese Sandwich only kept on singing, paying Pinkie no attention whatsoever:

My parties are all off the hook.

And I never plan them by the book.

I start out fun, and then whoopsie-daisy!

Everypony just gets crazy!

Bored of snacks made by your mom?

How about a giant party bomb?

Huge piñatas filled with cake.

Or dive into my fruit punch lake!

The super-duper party pony–that pony is me!

You'll never meet another party pony quite like Cheese!

He paused briefly while singing to kick open a huge present, revealing a hippopotamus that already had a saddle for riding placed on its back. "Here, kid, take it for a spin! Don't worry, he doesn't bite!" Cheese Sandwich offered a random colt from the audience a chance to ride on the tamed hippo.

The colt obeyed and was placed upon the saddle as he happily replied. "Golly! Thanks, Mr. Sandwich."

Cheese then went back to singing, now openly boasting about his talents:

Oh, when I throw my Cheese parties, be sure to not be lame.

And miss my pie fights, wacky kites, and streamers in your mane!

Fizzy drinks, Haywaiian shirts, and brie fondue delight.

You know that with Cheese Sandwich, you'll be partying all night!

Before Pinkie had a chance to realize what was happening, several ponies were rushing over to the newcomer and leaving her behind! Even some of her friends were doing so. "Sorry, Pinkie, but Cheese Sandwich's parties are loads more epic than yours! And if there can only be one party between you, it's go big or go home!" Rainbow Dash told Pinkie.

Fluttershy, meanwhile, was asking Cheese Sandwich. "You're really a traveling party pony?"

Cheese Sandwich nodded. "Yes sir, that's my guarantee. Looks like I got here just in time!" And as loud as he could he sang: 

The super-duper party pony, that pony is me-e-e-e-e!

A dejected and downtrodden Pinkie could only watch as just about everypony she knew raced over to join Cheese Sandwich, leaving her behind and all alone. Only the Cakes bothered to stay. In vain, Pinkie called out in song to the fleeing crowd:

But what about the super party pony named Pinkie...?





Having decided on who she wanted to host her birth-iversary party, Rainbow Dash excitedly declared! "Aw yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about! I'm so stoked that you're here, Cheese Sandwich!"

Applejack commented. "You sure did come on the right day. We're happy to have ya here, even if it is just for a day or two. Not sure why Pinkie's gettin' so defensive all of a sudden, ain't like we're lookin' to replace her permanently. We just wanna try somethin' a little different is all."

"And you can bet your bottom bit that this party will be different from Pinkie's in all the right ways! Even she will be impressed!" Cheese Sandwich boasted even while in his mind he was thinking. "I was really hoping to work alongside her. But if this is the only way to get her to see how good I've gotten then I'll go along. I'll be sure to save her an invitation, just as I would've been willing to accept one to her party."

"Well, no offense to Pinkie, but I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do!" Rainbow commented as Cheese Sandwich was being carried away by an excited crowd of ponies. "I mean, Pinkie Pie's parties are fun and sweet and all, but now that you're on board this party's gonna be--"

"Epic?" Cheese questioned.

Rainbow nodded. "Yeah! It's like you can read my mind, Cheese!" Then she added. "But be sure to let Pinkie know I meant no offense. If it were any other party I'd probably still let her plan it, but a birth-iversary only comes once a year. So something like that calls for the big guns."

"Speaking of which, I hope you'll be pleased with the additions I'll be making to your party," Cheese Sandwich told Rainbow Dash. "As a party pony, nothing's more important to me than the satisfaction of my clients. What I want is to make you smile."

The brash speedster just declared. "You kidding?! With you in charge my birth-iversary is already looking way cooler! Forget twenty percent, you're definitely going to make it at least fifty percent more epic and cool!"

The party planning stallion happily replied. "You sure got that right, Rainbow Dash!" And then he announced to the crowd. "Listen up, party goers. I've got some serious party planning to do, and I need your help to make this birth-iversary celebration the best it can be. So can I count on all of you to help me out?"

"Yes sir!" The crowd of ponies eagerly and happily responded!

"Alrighty then," Cheese said with a smile. "First order of business: Somepony please check on Pinkie Pie and let her know I'm willing to offer a chance to work for me. I'm sure I can find a way to put her skills to good use, and I'd rather have her as a friend than a rival."





Back at Sugarcube Corner, all Pinkie could do was sit there and stoop as she looked at the remnants of her abandoned party. She refused to say a word even as she was silently wondering where it had all gone wrong.

"Pinkie, there's no need to be so glum," Mrs. Cake tried to encourage the party pony. "There'll be other parties to plan for your friends. And I'm sure Cheese Sandwich has his reasons for showing up and taking over the party planning from you. Even you could use a break from it every now and then."

But Pinkie said nothing, she just continued to stare at the ground in silence. "Was it something I said? Or maybe something I did?" She thought to herself.

Just then, Twilight came trotting by and called out to her party planning friend. "Hey, Pinkie!"

Pinkie frantically picked up a watering can and forced a smile onto her face, trying desperately to seem like she wasn't upset. "O-oh, hey... Twilight. What a... nice surprise." She chuckled.

Twilight couldn't help but feel uncomfortable and worried looking at the painfully obvious fake smile her friend was wearing. She wanted to say something, but a quick look at the Cakes told her it was probably best not to. Especially not considering what she ended up saying instead. "Cheese Sandwich wanted to ask if you'll come work for him and help him plan the party. Isn't that nice of him?"

"Yes, very nice." The pink party pony retorted while continuing to pretend to water the flowers.

"Well, aren't you gonna join him? It sounds like he really wants to impress you, although he won't say why," Twilight commented. "I think it'd be nice, you could probably learn a thing or two from working with another party pony."

Pinkie wasn't interested, she didn't even shake her head as she rejected the offer. "Oh, that's okay. He doesn't really need me, he's just trying to be nice. You can tell him thanks but no thanks, he obviously has what it takes to plan the party all by himself. He doesn't really need me to pull off an epic birth-iversary bash."

"Are you... sure?" Twilight pressed her friend, hoping to crack her forced, cheerful facade.

But Pinkie only kept up the forced smile even though she was now just pouring water on the ground. "Yes, indeedy!" She chuckled nervously and waited for Twilight to leave. Only once she was certain that her alicorn friend had left did she let the fake smile fade away. An unhappy sigh escaped her lips as she softly whimpered. "After all, if Cheese really is the super duperiest partying-est pony of them all, then maybe that means... I'm..." The next word was slow to leave her mouth as her lips quivered. "Not."

"Pinkie, where are you going?" Mr. Cake called out to the pink earth pony as he noticed her trotting away.

"To be alone with my thoughts, and my dreams." Pinkie vaguely replied with an unhappy sigh.

Mr. Cake tried to stop her as he shouted! "Pinkie, wait!"

But Mrs. Cake stopped her husband with a shake of her head. "Let her go. This is something she needs to work through on her own."

"Sugar plum, are you sure that's a good idea? You remember what happened the last time she got like this, right?" Mr. Cake questioned his wife. He had been out of town when said incident had happened, but having learned of it afterward had left him concerned for quite some time.

"We both know Pinkie is made of stronger stuff than she appears. It won't be easy, but she'll find a way to get through it," Mrs. Cake insisted. "And we'll be here for her if she ever feels like she needs to talk."

So the Cakes did nothing and just watched as the pony they considered family to them trotted away, her head hanging low to the ground.





Pinkie passed by several ponies, pretending to smile at them. Only when she was certain she was alone did she sing to herself in a sad tone:

For all my life, all I've ever wanted to do.

Was make my friends want to smile true.

But... maybe I was wrong.

And Pinkie Pie... shouldn't plan parties at all!

Not willing to let other ponies see her so upset, Pinkie decided to look for other possible areas of work. They didn't last particularly long, she just wasn't suited to them. Yet even while she was trying to find work she sang to herself:

I'll try to get up on my hooves!

And try a different task.

I'll find something new to do.

There's gotta be more to me than planning a party or two.

When all possible job opportunities dried up, an unhappy Pinkie returned to Sugarcube Corner and passed by the Cakes without saying a word. Her mane and tail were starting to deflate, as if someone had sucked out all the energy keeping them in their natural, poofy state of appearance. She started to put her party planning supplies into storage as she unhappily sang:

I put away my party cannon, I deflated all of my balloons.

The bubbles have all burst, now, Pinkie, what is next... for you?

For you...

Suddenly, a portrait hanging on the wall by the staircase caught the party pony's eye. She looked at it more closely, seeing a picture of herself as a filly just after she'd gotten her cutie mark. Her entire family was present, including all of her sisters (her favorite one had joined the party late, not that Pinkie had minded). Suddenly, the memory attached to the picture began to come back to her. "Oh, I remember this one," She fondly said to herself. "My first party ever. My whole family was there." 

A quick glance across the staircase wall revealed several more pictures, each depicting a party or celebration of particular importance to Pinkie. "And that's Twilight's 'Welcome-to-Ponyville' party. She didn't even expect that one!" She giggled briefly at the memory before moving on to the next picture. "Oh, look at Gummy! He just looks so excited for his birthday party!" The last picture brought a smile to her face. "Shining Armor and Cadance's wedding sure was special, especially once I got a hold of the music. DJ-PON-3 was great!" And then as she put the first picture back on its frame she started to sing to herself:

Oh, just look at those happy faces!

All the parties that I had thrown!

I made them laugh, had such a blast.

A smile that's all their own.

They loved seeing me, the real Pinkie!

Show'd them the time of their life like they've never known!

Like they've never kno-o-own!

For a brief moment, Pinkie looked out over Ponyville from the balcony attached to her bedroom. Seeing it from this high up seemed to suddenly stir something inside of her, as she began to rush back down the stairs with renewed vigor! And as she did so she sang to herself:

I've got to get back out there, have to show them that I've tried!

For there's only one great party pony and that is Pinkie Pie!

I won't let Cheese Sandwich beat me, won't let him get me down!

For I am Pinkie, the bestest party pony around!





The Cakes were more than a little surprised to see Pinkie exit Sugarcube Corner all of a sudden, a look of firey determination reflected in her blue eyes!

"Pinkie, is everything alright?" Mr. Cake asked.

Pinkie rushed right past the Cakes, though not without answering Mr. Cake! "Never better! I've got to find Cheese Sandwich and get my title back! I'm not beaten yet, not by a long shot!"

And it didn't take long for Pinkie to find the party planning stallion. He was currently basking in the praise as everyone else admired his hoof-crafted ice sculptures, and custom made search lights. The party had been moved to the park, and the stage was now party planning central.

Suddenly, Pinkie stepped out from the shadows and shouted! "Freeze, Cheese!" A series of gasps echoed through the crowd as Pinkie locked eyes with the stallion and told him. "I challenge you... to a goof off!"

Several more gasps escaped the crowd as Fluttershy exclaimed! "Oh no, not a goof off!"

"Er, what's a goof off?" Applejack asked Fluttershy.

Fluttershy nervously replied. "I don't know, but it doesn't sound good."

Cheese Sandwich wasn't concerned, he just glared back at Pinkie while he told her. "Oh, so it's come to this? Very well. But fair warning, this cheese has stood alone for a long time, Pinkie. You seriously think you can out-goof me?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Pinkie shook her head. "I know so!" She trotted towards Cheese Sandwich and told him. "Why don't we make this interesting? Raise the stakes a little?"

Cheese replied in a somber tone. "Fine by me. What did you have in mind?"

"Simple, the winner of the goof-off is not only crowned the ultimate super duper party pony but will also headline for Rainbow Dash's birth-iversary bash!" Pinkie announced the wager.

"And the loser?" Twilight asked with concern.

"Doesn't!" Pinkie growled. "This town ain't big enough for the two of us! So the loser hits the road and never comes back!" Then with a smirk she taunted. "So, are you in, Cheese? Or are you... boneless?"

The stallion growled back. "Hey, nopony calls me boneless! Right, Boneless?" He questioned the rubber chicken on his back, only to get no reply.

With a satisfied smile, Pinkie declared. "Good, then we're all set. The goof off is on for high noon!"

But Twilight protested. "Um, Pinkie? Hate to break it to you but it's already three o'clock."

"Oh, okay then," Pinkie blinked. "Then we'll make it three ten to goof off!"

And Cheese roared! "You're on!"





The two party ponies arrived in the center of town a short time later, both prepared for a serious goof off.

Mayor Mare stepped forward to make an announcement before the start of the competition. "Everypony, Princess Twilight was able to find a goof off rule book. So we'll be following the guide lines the book suggests."

"There's an actual goof off rule book?" Rainbow Dash blinked in amazement.

Spike replied with a boast. "Are you kidding?! Twilight can find a rule book for anything! If it exists, she'll find it!"

Meanwhile, Twilight cleared her throat and told the gathered crowd. "Okay, everypony, this is how the goof off will go down," She read from the book. "It says here that the two competitors have free range to goof about -- be it by singing, dancing, playing, prancing, joking, or performing -- all to make the judge chortle, chuckle, giggle, guffaw, hoot and holler, whoop it up, and party down. The funnier, sillier, wilder and goofier, the better," Then she closed the book while scanning through the crowd. "Now, the book mentioned that the judge needs to be a certified expert in partying and goofing. Since we don't have anypony like that we'll have to improvise," She declared. "Rainbow Dash, since the winner of this goof off will headline for your party, you shall be the judge."

Rainbow gulped. "Great. I mean, a big, tense competition on my birth-iversary. What could possibly be better?"

Twilight ignored the comment as she instead looked at the two party ponies and asked them both. "Pinkie Pie, Cheese Sandwich, are you ready?"

"I was born ready!" Pinkie declared as she narrowed her eyes at Cheese Sandwich.

"And I was ready before I was born!" Cheese Sandwich replied as he narrowed his eyes right back at Pinkie.

"Okay then," Twilight smiled. "Let the goof off begin! May the best party pony win!" She promptly flew away and the goof off began!





The goof off was in full swing when Pinkie's eyes just so happened to catch sight of six colored streamers that matched the coat colors of herself and her friends. As she looked at them, a sudden rainbow shimmered and reflected off them, and into her eyes. A realization struck the party planner all of a sudden as she realized that she had gone too far! "Oh no! Rainbow's not having the best party ever!" She thought to herself in great horror! "I... I broke the Pinkie Party Promise! I have to make this right!" And that meant there was only one thing to do.

"Stop!" Pinkie shouted at the top of her lungs! "No more! The goof off is off!"

Various ponies exchanged looks of confusion and murmured to each other, unsure of what to say or think.

Rainbow Dash protested. "What do you mean it's off? I haven't actually named a winner yet."

"You don't have to, I forfeit!" Pinkie told Rainbow Dash and then gestured a hoof. "Which means... Cheese Sandwich is the winner. He is the ultimate super duper party pony."

Cheese Sandwich was overjoyed for a moment (he had been dressed in a conductor's outfit and was about to direct a seal to perform a song), before suddenly he realized what this meant. "Wait? I... am?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yes. So congratulations, Cheese Sandwich. You get the honor of planning and throwing the Rainbow Dash birthiversary bash."

Then Twilight trotted up and asked. "But what about you, Pinkie?"

Fighting back the tears Pinkie sadly answered. "I... I don't. A deal's a deal, so I have to move away," She got up and went to pack, sadly adding. "Sorry to leave you like this, everypony. It was nice knowing you while it lasted. Don't worry, I'll try to write."

A short time later, the pink party pony had packed up all her things into a cart that shouldn't have been possible to move. Yet she was going to tow it anyway, facing to the outskirts of Ponyville with a look of not just sorrow but also uncertainty.

"Pinkie, please! It doesn't have to be this way!" Mrs. Cake desperately pleaded! "If you leave..." She tried to think of a compelling argument. "Who's going to be our go to foalsitter for the twins?!"

"You'll find somepony else, I'm sure," Pinkie answered while not bothering to look back. "I can't go back on my promise now. Just because it's not a 'Pinkie Promise' doesn't mean I can break it."

Mr. Cake tried to insist. "Pinkie Pie, there'll be plenty of other parties to plan and goof offs to win."

The pink party pony just shook her head. "It's not because I lost, it's because I made the ultimate no no for any party pony. I'm sorry, but this is the only way I can make it right. Now I must go before I change my mind!"

But the earth pony had only gone a few steps when suddenly a frantic Rainbow Dash swooped down in front of her! "Pinkie, wait! Don't go!" And she tried to apologize. "Look, I'm so sorry I got swept away by Cheese Sandwich! I didn't mean for you to think I was replacing you or anything!"

"We really don't want you to go, Pinkie!" Twilight protested. "Just because you can't throw the party doesn't mean you have to leave. The whole bet with Cheese Sandwich was silly, nopony should have to leave town."

Pinkie only replied. "I'm sorry it had to get to that point. I could've taken Cheese Sandwich's offer to help, but all I could think about was my own status as a party pony. I let my pride get in the way of what was most important, the wishes of the birth-iversary pony. Cheese Sandwich really is a super duper party planner, and he'll be a terrific headliner. I should've been a big enough pony to admit that."

Rainbow responded by swooping closer to Pinkie. "But don't you get it? You're both super duper party ponies. The town is big enough for the two of you," She proceeded to explain. "I mean sure, Cheese Sandwich is a great guest party pony, but you're Ponyville's permanent party pony. You belong here! Nopony could ever take your place, Ponyville wouldn't be the same without you. And I'm not just saying that because you're a great party planner, I'm saying that because you're a great friend! After all we've been through, you think something like this is going to tear us apart? I think not! We could never have a party without you, Pinkie Pie."

As the friends embraced each other in a tight hug, Cheese Sandwich cleared his throat. He had been silently watching from afar, but now he came forward with his black cowpony hat clutched in his hooves. "Rainbow Dash is right, and I owe you an apology, Pinkie Pie," As he approached the mare he told her. "I never meant for things to get to the point where we had to hold a goof off. It certainly wasn't my intention to take your place or anything like that. I wouldn't dream of uprooting you from the place you call home. The whole reason I came here wasn't to pose a challenge to you, but because I wanted to show you what a great party pony I am, Pinkie Pie."

"Well, thanks, but why me?" Pinkie Pie wondered.

Cheese fought back a gulp as he paused briefly. "Well... it's... it's complicated," A sudden spark of inspiration came to him though as he explained. "Maybe it'll be easier if I put in a way we'll both understand." He then cleared his throat as he started to sing:

I fear that I told a little fib about my pony past.

I hope that when you hear the truth, you will not be aghast.

For I wasn't quite the super party pony like I claimed.

The fact is that I was so shy, nopony knew my name.

As he sang Cheese reflected back on his true past, as a shy little colt in Manehattan with the funny glasses. A pony that was practically invisible to everypony else. And a pony who decided the only thing to do was to pack up his things, and leave town.

He kept on singing, recounting what happened after he'd been on the road for a while:

I stumbled into Ponyville one afternoon by chance.

And found the biggest ever celebration party dance.

Everything was perfect, cheer was filling up the place.

And I saw that everypony had a smile upon their face!

Cheese Sandwich remembered how a rubber chicken had hit him in the face, and that had sparked a realization. He knew then and there what he wanted his life to be! And that's what he sang about:

Oh, I vowed that day to change my life! The past I did set free!

For now Cheese Sandwich was a party pony full of glee!

Yes sir! A super duper party pony, that's what I became.

I traveled all over Equestria, and all did know my name!

But that never could have happened on my own, I'll tell you why.

For the one who threw that party, it was you, Pinkie Pie!

Cheese ended the song as he remembered having looked up briefly from his party hat to spot a pink coated earth pony filly on a ball, juggling rubber chickens with practiced precision.

Pinkie quickly clued in to this as the realization dawned on her! "Me?!"

Cheese happily nodded. "Yes, really! The day I stumbled into that party of yours, was the day my life changed. I haven't looked back since."

"Well why didn't you just say so, you big goof?!" Pinkie half teased/half asked as she booped her fellow party planner briefly on the snout.

"I kept thinking what the best way to do that would be. I got it in my head that if I came to Ponyville for one of your parties and helped you plan it, you'd see what a great party pony I was. Then I would tell you," Cheese explained before he gave a bit of a nervous chuckle. "Obviously, things didn't go quite like I'd hoped. But it's not too late for us to start over, is it?"

Pinkie grinned! "Of course not! I'm more than happy to have you on my side, Cheese Sandwich!"

But Rainbow intervened to break up the discussion. "Alright, that's enough of the warm fuzzy stuff, you two! It's still my birth-iversary, which means you've gotta throw me a bash! Think you can handle that?!"

With a grin that rivaled Pinkie's Cheese Sandwich declared. "You forget who you're talking to?" He looked across to Pinkie Pie. "Shall we?"

Grinning back at the stallion, Pinkie nodded. "Totally! After all, when it comes to party planning, two heads are better than one!" So the party planners forged an alliance, eager to combine their ideas for an ultimate birth-iversary celebration the likes of which had never been seen before anywhere in Equestria! And as they set off they could be heard singing happily together:

Super duper party ponies: That is me and you.

A party thrown by one is good, but not as great as two.

Come on and let's join forces, have twice the expertise.

Now let's all go to the party planned by Pinkie Pie and Cheese!





The celebration was held at sundown in the park, everypony in town had gathered. Music was playing, rides were going, and everywhere you looked you could see ponies enjoying themselves.

As the spotlight shone on the stage, Cheese Sandwich stepped out with a small speaker in his hooves as he announced. "All right, everypony! We are here to celebrate the birthday..."

"...And anniversary..." Pinkie added.

"...Of Rainbow Dash!" The two party ponies said together, as Rainbow appeared in a shower of confetti!

The pegasus wore a party hat and the spotlight shone directly on her. Amidst the roar of the crowd she declared! "Hey, everypony! Who's ready to get their party on?! Hit it!"

A short time later, with the party in full swing, Rainbow stopped briefly to talk to Cheese Sandwich and express her gratitude. "Cheese Sandwich! Oh, I just gotta tell ya, you and Pinkie have totally made this the best birthday/anniversary super combo ever! Hah, it's totally-"

"-Epic?" Cheese guessed.

Rainbow nodded. "You bet it is! Are you psychic or something?"

Cheese just chuckled. "Nah, I just have a knack for these sort of things," Then he looked out at the party and spotted Pinkie Pie by herself. With his cowpony hat and poncho back on he declared. "If you'll excuse me, I have some unfinished business to take care of."

Pinkie Pie was currently writing down her lesson in the friendship journal. It was going to be about how important it was not to let your pride get in the way of letting others enjoy themselves, how you shouldn't automatically view somepony else as a threat or a challenge to your title or position. The only problem she faced was how to write it in a way that would make it easy to understand.

She was surprised to be interrupted in the middle of her writing when Cheese Sandwich pushed a box towards her with Boneless inside it. "Here," He told her. "Just a little memento of my visit. I believe this is yours."

Pinkie blinked. "You're giving me your special rubber chicken friend?"

Cheese said with a grin. "Well technically, he was yours to begin with when you tossed him at me all those years ago. I just sort of 'borrowed' him. I meant to give him back sooner but I never really got around to it."

"But, who's going to keep you company on the road?" Pinkie pondered.

The party planning stallion just laughed as he replied. "No need to worry yourself, Boneless has lots of brothers and sisters," He placed a rubber chicken on his back that had a red number two painted on it. "A party pony must always come prepared for any emergency."

Before Cheese could leave, however, Pinkie protested. "Wait, you're not leaving already, are you?! It feels like we just got to finally know each other. Do you really have to go back on the road so soon? At least you should stay the night, I'm sure I could find something suitable."

"It's nice of you to offer, Pinkie, but I'll be fine. I've been living on the road for as long as I can remember, so I've gotten used to it," Cheese Sandwich explained. "We'll still keep in touch, just forward all your letters to Boneless Two. And who knows, I might come back to Ponyville some day. It does seem like a nice little town, I can see why you've chosen to live here," With a tip of his hat he declared. "Until then, Miss. Pie," And he trotted off into the sunset as he talked to Boneless Two. "Well, Boneless Two, another job well done. But I reckon it's time we mosey along now. Another town, another party. another day."

Pinkie watched the poncho wearing stallion disappear into the sunset, a faint sigh escaping her lips as she commented. "Just who was that mysterious party pony?"

"Uh, Pinkie, he told you his name." Applejack corrected.

With a series of giggles Pinkie replied. "I know that, but it still feels like there's two sides to him. When he puts on that hat it's like he becomes a different pony all together." She was so busy talking to Applejack that she didn't notice Boneless give off a rainbow colored glow.
> S4 E23: Inspiration Manifestation (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike had been expecting a lot of things when he arrived at Carousel Boutique one day shortly before the annual Colt and Filly Fair (a fair for young ones and their families, or whoever was willing to serve as honorary family for those who had none). Maybe Rarity needed his help with a last minute modeling problem. Perhaps she was pressing him into service as a basket holder/body guard for another gem hunt. Or just maybe she was going to invite him out after the fair on what would hopefully be a first date.

What the little dragon didn't expect was to find the front door unlocked, as if Rarity had been expecting him. That was the first sign to him that was something was not right. Rarity was never one to just leave her door unlocked. The only times she did so was if something else was currently occupying her attention.

That something revealed itself to Spike when he made his way inside the boutique. Immediately he found several empty cartons of ice cream lying on the floor, carelessly discarded.

Rarity herself lay upon her iconic fainting couch, resting her head against the soft pillow while she used her horn to bring another carton of ice cream towards herself. She was using a spoon to scoop as much ice cream as she could out, and then stuffed it into her mouth. And the fashionista's mascara was running, while her sobs loudly echoed through the room.

"Rarity?! Is something wrong?!" Spike frantically asked as he rushed to the unicorn's side.

"Oh, Spike," Rarity sobbed even louder, barely paying the little dragon attention at all. "It's the most horrible thing to have happened to me since... I don't know when! I've lost my creative mojo!"

Spike blinked. "What are you talking about, Rarity? Shouldn't you be busy making dresses?"

Between sobs and spoonfuls of ice cream, Rarity tearfully told her tale of woe to Spike. "Yes, I should be. That's the whole problem. Just take a look around you, Spike. See any dresses? Any at all?"

The little dragon's eyes did a quick inspection of the boutique floor. There was not a single dress to be seen anywhere. In fact, the only thing his eyes did see besides all the ice cream, were the roughly sketched out plans for an elaborate traveling puppet theater. And that was it, no actual puppet theater currently existed.

"Do you understand now, my dear Spikey-Wikey?" Rarity declared as she briefly sat up. "I can't even make a puppet theater, let alone a dress! I had hoped that if I just stepped away from dress making and tried my hoof at something else, it would clear up the blockage and get my creative juices flowing. But I'm utterly incapable of making my plans a reality, I haven't finished a dress in weeks!" An unhappy sigh escaped her lips. "I hate to admit it, but at this rate I may have to cancel all my orders. Oh, and that puppet master is going to be so upset. I promised him the finest puppet theater in the history of puppet theaters in time for the Colt and Filly Fair! The deadline's tomorrow, and I haven't even started on it!"

Spike was all but rendered speechless at this confession. "So, you called me here just to tell me this?"

"I didn't know who else I could tell all this to!" Rarity loudly wailed and then fell back upon her fainting couch! "I don't know what to do, Spike! I was hoping that at least a visit from you might cheer me up and take my mind off my troubles for a while. You're always good at that, you were splendid at supporting me when Trenderhoof was in town and I was obsessed with him."

"That was a crush, and I was just doing what friends do," Spike tried to play it off, knowing that it probably wouldn't be best to take advantage of that situation's outcome for his own desires. "This is different. This isn't something just any friend can do."

Rarity slowly nodded. "You're right, Spike. I fear that even my favorite dragon won't be able to help me when I'm like this. I mean, what could you possibly know that could help me break out of my creative slump? It's not like a solution is just going to magically appear!"

Suddenly, an idea came to the little dragon. "You know, you mentioning magic just now made me think of something," He said to Rarity. "There's an entire library of spell books and magical texts in the Castle of the Two Sisters. I'll bet if we went there we could find something that would work for you."

Rarity was surprised at the suggestion. "Spike? You would do that for me? Especially on such short notice?"

Spike thoroughly nodded. "What else would you expect your favorite dragon to do? You need my help, and I'm willing to help in whatever way I can. Now come on, if you want to contribute anything to that fair we need to go soon!" But the little dragon had no idea that his harmless suggestion was going to snowball out of control, unleashing a series of events that would push his special connection with Rarity almost to the breaking point and nearly cause Rarity to lose control of her own mind.



The Castle of the Two Sisters was quite a trek even now that the Everfree Forest had been tamed considerably by the Tree of Harmony. But dragon and pony arrived at it with little trouble. Rarity in particular was amazed at how different the castle seemed to be. "My, it really has come a long way from the sorry state it was in just a few months ago."

"Yeah, it's a lot safer now too," Spike boasted. "No need to worry about falling beams or crumbling roofs."

"You think Twilight will move into the castle once all the repair work has been completed?" Rarity wondered as she and Spike made their way up the front steps of the castle.

Spike shook his head. "Nah, I can't imagine Twilight would just move. She's too attached to the Golden Oak Library to ever think of leaving," He added. "Most likely she'll turn this castle into a museum or something. But we didn't come to sight see, we're here to find something that can help you make a contribution to the fair and get your mojo back."

The two made their way inside the castle and headed straight to the castle library. It was vast and full of dusty old books. Dragon and pony both searched for a while, looking for anything that showed even a faint sign of promise.

But after several minutes the two had nothing to show for it. They had exhausted several shelves of books only to find there wasn't a single spell book among them.

"Spike, I'm beginning to think this is a lost cause," Rarity commented. "I appreciate your suggestion but we really should call it a day and head back. I'm sure I'll get my inspiration back in due time."

Spike groaned. "Come on, Rarity! We can't give up now! You said it yourself, I'm your favorite dragon. And what would your favorite dragon be if he couldn't help you out in your time of need?" As he spoke one of his arms happened to grab a book. But the book turned out to be a prop, it was attached to a lever. Suddenly, the whole bookshelf began to slide. As it parted, Spike and Rarity noticed a room that they had never seen before.

It looked like there was something just beyond a door that was guarded by a padded lock. But Rarity gulped. "Spike, I don't like the look of that place. Maybe we should just get out of here. What would Twilight say if she found out we took a spell book out of this castle?"

Spike waved a claw. "What Mom doesn't know won't hurt her. I mean come on, I've been by her side since the day she hatched me. I think I know a thing or two about magic. Besides, we're just 'borrowing' a spell book for one day. We can put it back before anyone even finds out we were ever here," He rushed over to the door that had appeared, and used his fire breath to melt the lock. "You want to make a contribution to the fair, don't you?"

"W-well yes, but..." The fashionista began.

The little dragon didn't wait for the unicorn to answer. He strolled up the stone steps in the dimly lit room, retrieving a rather tacky and drab looking book that had spikes around the cover. His eyes scanned the title. "Inspiration Manifestation," He read aloud as he made his way down the steps, unaware that they were crumbling behind him. "This sounds like a winner, Rarity!"

Rarity eyed the book with concern. "Spike, I have a bad feeling about that book. I mean, just look at it."

Spike waved a claw in reply. "Come on, Rarity. If I wasn't supposed to have it wouldn't be so easy to get. Besides, you know what they say about not judging a book by its cover," He presented the spell book to her as he encouraged. "Go on, it's yours!"

Rarity reluctantly accepted the book, taking hold of it with the soft glow of her horn. She read aloud from it: "From in the head to out in the field, every thought to action. Hold close this book, and through its power start a chain reaction. Projecting forth whatever beauty you should see. But only when the link is severed can you finally be set free." A faint swirl of lime green magic escaped from the book and made its way up to Rarity's horn. It settled in and Rarity's eyes briefly glowed the same color, while her magic now took on the lime green hue.

"Did it work?" Spike hopefully asked.

Rarity closed the book. "Well, there's only one way to find out," She eyed the book as she remarked. "I really can't get past how... gloomy this spell book looks," A lime green glow from her eyes followed as her magic enveloped the book. In the blink of an eye it transformed! Now it was a beautiful red in color, the spikes were gone. The fashionista let out a gasp! "Oh my! I thought about making this a more beautiful spell book, and I have! I wonder what else this book can do!"

"Well, let's take back it to your boutique and find out," Spike suggested. "After all, you've got that puppet theater to design."

The unicorn nodded. "Great idea, Spike! Oh, what would I do without you? I was ready to give up, and my favorite dragon comes to my rescue! Remind me to give you some gems to snack on later. But for now, let's go and give that puppet master the greatest puppet theater he's ever imagined," Her eyes briefly glowed that ominous lime green color as she suddenly declared. "Or I should say: That I've ever imagined!" For a second it might have been possible to hear a cackle escape her lips.





Some time later, Rarity and Spike made their way through town in search of the puppet master named Claude. He was a bulky unicorn stallion with the same light blue coat as Snips. He had a black mane and tail cut short, purple eyes, and a cutie mark depicting puppet strings. He also wore an orange top hat and a purple suit with an orange tie.

It turned out that Claude had set up shop at Sugarcube Corner, having converted the front door into a make shift theater. He was more than a little surprised to see Rarity. "Ah, Miss. Rarity, how unexpected," He commented with a frown. "Come to see the show, I presume?" He came barging out of the front door a moment later as he snorted. "You'll notice I had to make do in light of your abrupt cancellation and inability to produce a functioning theater." Using his magic the stallion made two of his puppets dance around on the small theater, ending with them both frowning.

"That's why I wanted to see you, Claude," Rarity told the stallion with a smile on her face. "I was actually able to complete the traveling puppet theater that you ordered. I trust you'll find it's to your exact specifications." And she stood aside, revealing a rather large theater in shades of blue and purple, as well as yellow on the front beneath the theater. Two flags of yellow and green were on either side of it, alongside two pull up pikes that held the theater in place. Best of all, two large wheels could be plainly seen, which would indicate that it could actually travel.

Claude seemed to be impressed as he inspected the finely crafted work. "Ooh, yes! It does appear quite stylish. But that was not the most important thing I asked for, now was it?" He used his magic to pull up the pikes and had his puppets tow the theater around. The wheels worked perfectly, no bumping or spinning in place. And they worked just as well going backwards as they did going forwards. "Good, you remembered that it's supposed to travel," He said with a nod as he went around to the back. "Plenty of room for my puppets!" He happily exclaimed when he saw how big the theater itself was. "Thank you, Miss. Rarity. This is exactly what I've been looking for," Then he asked. "But I must say, I'm surprised you were able to make something like this so soon after you cancelled the project. How exactly did you manage?"

Spike opened his mouth. "Well actually, she..."

But Rarity cut Spike off as she said with a wink. "A good designer never reveals her secrets."

That answer seemed to satisfy Claude. He didn't really care how the theater had been assembled, all he cared about was the fact that it worked like he wanted it to (and looked good doing so). "Well, I'll be sure to let everypony know where I got this wonderful traveling theater from. With this I can take my puppets everywhere I go, and without having to throw them into those stuffy cases."





The Colt and Filly Fair came and went not long afterward with little fanfare. When it was all done many ponies stayed to help take down the tents and pack up any leftover supplies.

Rarity and Spike watched the whole thing from atop a nearby hill, Rarity having pulled Spike close to her for a hug. "Spike, I really can't thank you enough for what you did for me. That spell book you found truly worked wonders!" She happily told him. "And you were right, nopony was ever the wiser about our little adventure to the Castle of the Two Sisters."

Spike nodded. "Just doing what I can to make you smile, Rarity. After all, that's what your favorite dragon is here for," Then he held out his claws. "So, can I take the book back now? I'd really like to return it before Twilight gets suspicious. She always checks the library every time she goes to the Castle of the Two Sisters."

Rarity pulled the spell book out from a saddle bag she had tucked it into. It still had the design that she had given it. "Ah yes, I suppose I could. I've made my mark on the fair just as I wanted to. That should be just the thing to get me back into the creative spirit," She briefly floated the spell book over to Spike, before she yanked it away before he could grab hold of it. "Although, come to think of it, I do have quite the backlog of dress orders to fill. I would like to get them all done now so they won't bother me any longer," Turning to Spike she sweetly encouraged. "You will support me in this endeavor by letting me keep the book for just a little bit longer, won't you?"

Suspecting nothing, Spike agreed. "Oh, alright, just for tonight. But it's going back first thing tomorrow, right?"

Rarity nodded. "Of course! One night should be more than enough! In the meantime it'll just stay our little secret." And she trotted away, putting the spell book back into her saddle bag for safe keeping.

Spike left not long afterward, thoroughly content in his belief that Rarity would only hold onto the spell book until morning before he would return it and everything would go back to normal.

The little dragon was quite surprised to be confronted by a rather unhappy looking Owlowiscious before he could even think of coming back home. "Whoo!" The owl called in a sharp tone.

"What are you talking about? I have no idea where you even get such a ridiculous idea!" Spike defended.

Owlowiscious kept on pressing. "Whoo!"

Spike stepped back! "What?! You've been spying on me this whole time?! I can't believe you, Owlowisicious! How could you do such a thing?! Don't you remember that Rarity made you that bow tie that you love so much?"

"Whoo!" Owlowiscious unhappily replied.

The little dragon just groaned. "It's not because I have a crush on Rarity! She needed help getting her inspiration back and that spell book helped. Just watch, you'll see! Tomorrow morning, she'll agree to put it back where we found it and nopony will be any the wiser," He proceeded to threaten. "You better not tell Mom!I I didn't rat you out when you brought back that mouse one time. You're lucky I was able to scare it away. So if you're thinking of telling, you'd better remember that I know your secrets too."

That seemed to more or less settle the argument with the owl. He flew away, though not without casting a glare at Spike that seemed to convey. "I'm watching you!" Only when the owl was out of sight did Spike breath easy. "As long as I can get that spell book back to where it belongs before Twilight visits the castle library again, I'll be fine."





Spike woke bright and early the next morning, especially once he learned that Twilight would be on her way to visit the Castle of the Two Sisters later in the day. He wanted to make sure he'd have enough time to return the spell book to where it belonged before said visit.

He strolled right over to Carousel Boutique, whistling a tune to himself while seemingly unaware of the sounds of magic bursts coming from within the boutique itself. He knocked on the door and called. "Rarity," There was no reply, Spike knocked again. "Rarity? Are you in there? It's me, Spike. Your favorite dragon?"

Suddenly, the front door of the boutique swung open and poor Spike was buried in an avalanche of dresses! Rarity found him, and with her eyes glowing lime green she pulled the little dragon clear from the pile. Her mane and tail looked slightly disheveled, which was unusual considering how she was always one to keep her state of appearance as neat and pristine as possible. "Spike!" She happily exclaimed upon recognizing him! "Oh, I'm so glad to see you! Come inside, I have so much to show you!"

Spike was pulled into the boutique before he could get even a word in edge wise. He was shocked beyond words at what he saw! Dresses were piled high all around him, and Rarity's right eye happened to twitch as though as she had gone without a good night's sleep. "Are you okay?" He asked the unicorn.

Rarity excitedly giggled! "Oh I've never been better! This book you've given has worked wonders for my inspiration!" She briefly pulled it out, revealing that it still had the design she had given it. "Why I've just been up all night, creating, and creating, and creating!" She brought over several racks of clothes. "I've even finished my fall line for the next fifteen seasons in a row!"

"Really?! In one night?! That's impossible!" Spike gasped in alarm!

"Not with this incredible book you've given me!" Rarity boasted! "With it, anything is possible! But I couldn't sleep, because I started thinking 'Why stop there?' Oh, Spike, I've always thought this town of ours could use a few beautifying upgrades, and with this book, I can make that happen with such ease! I know I said I'd let you have the spell book this morning, but there's just so many things I want to do that I can't do without the book! Please, you must let me keep it! I'm not taking no for an answer!"

"O...kay," Spike reluctantly blinked. "But it's going to go back to the Castle of the Two Sisters before Twilight visits it later today, right?"

"We'll see!" The fashionista declared in an ominous tone of voice. "Now come, we've no time to lose!"





Spike followed the unicorn as she dashed out of her boutique. He wasn't used to doing so much running on such short notice and began to quickly tire out. "Come on, think, Spike!" He thought to himself! "You're the son of Twilight, the pony who knows how to think her way out of a tight spot! Surely, you can do the same!" And an idea suddenly came to her. "H-hey, Rarity," He said in between pants. "What do you say we get a little breakfast before we get started? It is the most important meal of the day, after all."

Rarity dismissively replied. "No time for breakfast, Spike! I want to get started right away!"

"Well, technically, we do have time," Spike suggested. "Because with that book held close, you can just make things-" But Rarity had already left him behind, so he had to pause mid statement and catch up to her. He found the fashionista in an alley, looking out towards one of the Apple family's apple carts.

With her eyes glowing that sickly lime green color, Rarity whispered to herself. "Now, this is exactly what I'm talking about! Why, that cart hasn't an ounce of stylish flair anywhere! Allow me to correct that oversight."

Applejack and Granny Smith were unaware of Rarity's presence. All they knew was that all of a sudden their apple cart was a bright gold in color, with gems encrusted all over it. Granny Smith blinked and rubbed her eyes. "My eyes playin' tricks on me again?"

"I don't know, Granny. I know that was just a plain old apple cart a minute ago," Applejack commented while looking all around. "What in rhubarb pie just happened?"

Giggling, Rarity turned away while whispering. "You're welcome, darlings," She hadn't gotten far when she bumped into Spike. "Oh, Spikey Wikey, you're just in time. Tell me, what do you think of the Apples' new apple cart? Isn't it gorgeous?"

The little dragon scratched the back of his head with a claw. True, the cart was gorgeous. But that didn't necessarily mean it was a necessary change. Apple carts weren't supposed to look visually appealing. However, rather than voice those concerns to Rarity he held his tongue. "I... guess if you say it's gorgeous than it is. But I hope you're going to ask Applejack if she wants you to do the same for all of her family's apple carts."

Rarity scoffed at such an idea. "Oh, I don't really think I need to ask permission, darling. Everyone loves surprises," In a whisper she added. "We shouldn't even tell anypony it's me who's behind all the fabulous changes I'll be making to Ponyville," She then giggled. "Won't that be a fun little secret for the three of us to share?"

Spike blinked in surprise, hoping he had somehow misheard. "The... three of us?"

Rarity nodded, gesturing a hoof to Spike. "You," She turned the hoof to herself. "I, and the book, of course," She pulled the spell book out of her saddle bag and hugged it! "My marvelous, marvelous book! Promise me you won't say a word of this to anyone, Spike. Not until I've brought about the necessary changes to Ponyville that is."

"...Right." Spike slowly commented.

"Good," The fashionista smiled. "I knew I could count on you, Spike. And I also know just what I want to do next!"

"Um... okay," The little dragon nervously replied. "But uh, first I... need to... tend to something. Something important," He tried to think of a valid excuse. "Oh, that's right!" He quickly lied! "I forgot I left the stove on back home! Better make sure it hasn't burned the place down!" He rushed away before Rarity could stop him!





Spike made his way back to the Golden Oak Library just in the nick of time, Twilight was about to head out on her journey to the Castle of the Two Sisters! Immediately, he threw himself around Twilight's legs and exclaimed! "Twilight, am I glad to see you! I did a terrible thing!"

Twilight, suspecting nothing, asked the little dragon. "What did you do, Spike?"

"I let Rarity borrow a spell book from the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters!" Spike desperately confessed.

Twilight took the news surprisingly well. About as well as you'd expect anyway. "What?! Please tell me this is your idea of a joke!"

Spike shook his head. "Twilight, I'm your son for Celestia's sake. You know I wouldn't joke about something like this," And he explained. "It wasn't supposed to get out of control like this, I swear! It was just so Rarity could get her inspiration back in time for the Colt and Filly Fair."

"And let me guess, it's taken control of her?" Twilight inquired and received a telling nod that confirmed it. The alicorn let out a groan. "Spike, why would you do such a thing?! Ancient spell books are not something to be trifled with!"

"I know, I know, it was a bad decision on my part! And you can punish me for it all you want later," Spike protested while clinging harder to Twilight's leg. "But for right now I need your help. Rarity's out of control and you're the only pony I can think of who could possibly stop her! I promise I'll find a way to make this all up to you after this is over."

The young alicorn couldn't argue with that. "Do you remember what the name of the spell book was, Spike? It might help give me an idea of what exactly we're up against."

Spike put a claw to his chin as he let go of Twilight's leg. "I think it was called Inspiration Manifestation. And it made Rarity's eyes and horn glow a weird green color for some reason."

Twilight groaned anew. "That means we're dealing with dark magic, Spike. The kind that's really hard to reverse."

The little dragon swallowed hard. "But you can fix it, right?"

"Maybe eventually, though not on my own," Twilight answered in a serious tone. "But it won't make a difference unless we can stop the magic at its source. We need to find Rarity and free her from whatever hold that book has on her!"

"Great, sounds like a plan!" Spike declared as he rushed ahead! "Come on, Rarity's probably already halfway done transforming the town by now! If she asks, I told you nothing!"





Pony and dragon made their way through town. They couldn't find any trace of Rarity but they didn't have to look far to see signs of her work. Transformed houses and buildings, ponies in tacky and ill fitting clothes, they left no doubts as to who could be behind them.

Suddenly, a frantic looking Mayor Mare rushed up to Twilight while panting! "Princess Twilight! Thank the stars you're here!"

"Why?" Twilight asked the mayor. "Is something wrong?"

Mayor Mare nodded! "I stepped outside for a moment to talk to a judge and the next thing I knew town hall had been turned into crystal!" She gestured a hoof to the aforementioned building, which now looked like it would've belonged in the Crystal Empire and not Ponyville! "There are two other ponies trapped inside the walls! You're the only one with both the wing power and magical expertise to free them! Please, you must hurry!"

"Don't worry, Mayor Mare, I'll take care of it!" Twilight declared before she turned to Spike. "Just stay there, okay? This shouldn't take more than a minute, then we can resume our search."

Spike reluctantly obeyed as he watched Twilight fly off to the rescue. He wanted to help too but he knew that there probably wasn't much he could do in that particular circumstance. He could only watch as Mayor Mare rushed to the scene of disaster too, no doubt trying to direct Twilight.

But the little dragon wasn't alone for long when Rarity happened to bump into him. "Oh, Spike, there you are. Finally took care of that urgent situation, did you?" She then chuckled. "Oh, I know I should've waited but I'm simply buzzing with ideas. Simply buzzing! I had to bring the visions dancing in my mind to life, I just couldn't ignore them! Just wait 'til you hear what I've done to Ponyville already, you'll hardly recognize it!"

"If you're talking about the buildings, I already know. Especially town hall," Spike answered the possessed fashionista. "You did know other ponies were inside it, right?"

"It's crystal, Spike, it can't hurt them," Rarity waved a hoof. "Town hall deserves to look its best, far better than that upside down gazebo aesthetic it had before. Besides, that is the least of what I've done. Why, just take a look at Rainbow Dash!"

Spike looked up and nearly fell over in surprise! Rainbow Dash was wearing a dress an insanely dark shade of red with orange around the cuffs. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if not for how overly fancy it was (to say nothing of how it didn't appear to be even a little bit aerodynamic and seemed to actually restrict the brash speedster's moves). Rainbow, for her part, was trying to tug on the sleeves to get the dress off. "Get! It! Off! Me!" She shouted. She was so focused on the dress that she didn't look down to see Spike and Rarity.

"Just look at her now, cloud busting with style," Rarity giggled, before she heard a crash off in the distance. "Oh, she'll be alright," She commented as she immediately assumed it was Rainbow who had caused the disturbance. "It's just a dress, after all. She can take it off whenever she wants to, though I wouldn't recommend it if I were her."

"So, besides turning town hall into crystal and giving Rainbow Dash a dress, what else have you been up to?" Spike reluctantly asked Rarity. He was hoping to stall for time until Twilight got back. Just what was taking that rescue operation so long?

Giggling more, the fashionista happily confessed. "I gave a foal's birthday party a touch of class, it's sure to make the front page of a fancy magazine or two. I even made the clown into a butler, a much needed upgrade if you ask me. And I also opted to give one of Fluttershy's bird houses a make over."

"And, what did the bird think of it? I can't imagine he was particularly thrilled." Spike asked Rarity.

Rarity snorted and scoffed. "Oh please, what does a bird know about fashion? It wouldn't know good fashion if it snuck up and bit it on the butt. All that matters is what you think, Spike. None of this would be possible without you. So go ahead, tell me what you think. You like the changes I've made, right?"

The little dragon froze, unable to say a word. Should he tell Rarity the truth? Would it even matter at this point?

The fashionista interpreted the dragon's silence as a sign of satisfaction. "Ah yes, you're so impressed that you're speechless. Just the reaction I expected," She giggled yet again, but this time it sounded more ominous and threatening than playful. "Oh, I can feel the magic from that book flowing through me. I'm so excited. I'm so excited!"

"I'm so scared," Spike whispered to himself and then tried to suggest. "You know, Rarity, you've probably been at this for a while now. Why not take a break? Give that creative mind of yours a well deserved rest?" He hoped she hadn't heard the nervous laugh he'd ended his little speech on.

The unicorn dismissed the suggestion. "What? Stop now? Are you kidding?! I'm not going to stop now! Why I won't stop until every inch of Ponyville, no, every inch of Equestria has benefited from my creative genius! There's still so much I can do, so many things I want to try," She turned to Spike. "Starting with you, my darling Spikey Wikey. Now hold still!"

Before Spike could even think of running away, he felt the dark magic from Rarity surge over him. His whole body began to tingle, and there was a flash of light!

"You! Look! Fabulous!" Rarity exclaimed as she admired her work, seeing Spike clad in a suit of armor made entirely from diamonds (the really hard kind too). "No no, no need to thank me! I know you like it," Then she felt a tug on her horn. "Ooh, and it looks like my precious book is telling me where to go next! Come along, Spikey Wikey."

But Spike was not used to his new diamond armor. It was incredibly heavy, and the moment he took a step forward he lost his balance and stumbled to the ground face first. When he managed to pick himself back up, Rarity was gone. "Shoot, not good!" He thought to himself.

"Oh no, not you too!" The familiar concerned voice of Twilight suddenly spoke up as the alicorn finally came back from her rescue operation.

"What are you talking about? I just wanted to try on a new look." Spike retorted, only to lose his balance and fall again.

Twilight helped the dragon to his feet. "Very funny, Spike. I know you wouldn't wear such a ridiculous outfit as a fashion statement. I raised you with a much better sense of fashion than that. Besides, it seems like you can hardly move with something so heavy," She used her magic to undo the diamond armor, clearly straining her whole body to do so. "Well that confirms it. It's definitely dark magic we're dealing with here, heavy duty dark magic at that. Oh, it'll take forever to get Ponyville cleaned up!"

"Forget Ponyville, Rarity's already set her sights on all of Equestria! If we don't stop her soon, who knows how far she might try to go?!" Spike wondered with alarm! "It could take Princess Celestia to stop her, just like when you enchanted your foalhood doll to create a friendship problem!"

"I'd rather not have it come to that, Spike!" Twilight firmly insisted! "Which means we've got to find Rarity and stop her before it's too late! Did you see where she went?"

Spike shook his head. "I didn't. I tried to stop her, but she ran away before I was able to get a location," Then he sighed. "I'm really sorry, Twilight. It feels like you're always cleaning up my messes."

Twilight lifted Spike's chin. "Listen, this isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself. What matters most is stopping our friend before she goes too far off the deep end to be saved. Hopefully now you understand why you should never take a book out of the castle library without asking."

"It's actually kind of funny," The little dragon commented. "Earlier, she said she wanted the changes to be a surprise. A fun little secret for the three of us: Me, herself, and the book."

Twilight arched an eyebrow upward. "The book?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I found it kind of weird she mentioned the book, but..." Then realization struck him! "Wait, that's it! I think I know how we can stop Rarity! The book mentioned something about severing the link! If we can somehow get the book away from Rarity for long enough, I'll bet it'll break whatever kind of spell it has her under!"

"Sounds like a plan. A really risky plan, but still a plan," Twilight firmly nodded in agreement. "Now we just need to know where she went."

As if the universe itself had heard the young princess' concern, the ground beneath her and Spike suddenly transformed! It was now a dazzling (and blinding) path made of solid gold. Several ponies were screaming things such as: "My eyes!" and "I can't see!"

Twilight quickly motioned for Spike to hop onto her back and she took to the skies. "Looks like she's heading this way." She observed, spotting Rarity on a hill overlooking Ponyville itself.





With that ominous and maniacal sounding giggle, Rarity was observing her progress as she looked down at Ponyville in its transformed state. So fixated was she on this display that she failed to hear the wing flaps of Twilight as she and Spike drew near.

Twilight landed a short ways away and whispered to Spike. "Okay, Spike. You go up there and distract Rarity so I can sneak the book away from her."

"What?! Why me?!" Spike nearly gasped, it was a miracle he remembered not to shout! "Why can't you do it, Twilight?! I may have thick dragon scales, but I'm not invincible!"

The alicorn shushed the dragon and explained. "I know you aren't, but Rarity trusts you. If I try to go near her she'll suspect something because I don't know about the spell book yet. You do and she still thinks you haven't told anyone yet. That should get her to lower her guard, which will allow me to put an end to this nightmare once and for all!"

The little dragon sighed, he couldn't argue with such logic even if he wanted to. "Well... I guess I have to try." He briefly gulped before plucking up courage. He not so secretly crept closer to Rarity, happening to brush against the saddle bag containing the spell book.

That seemed to catch the unicorn's attention as she swung round quite suddenly! "What are you doing?!" She asked in a defensive and suspicious tone.

"O-oh," Spike stuttered as he tried to play it cool. "Just... just basking in your magnificent radiance, Rarity, that's all."

The fashionista bought the excuse even as she told Spike. "Well don't get any ideas about my precious book. I need it to get any sort of inspiration, and you know it!"

"Yes, yes, I remember," Spike nervously replied as he tried to comment. "So uh, what are you doing now? Seems like you've spruced up Ponyville pretty nice."

"Yes, but I'm not done yet!" Rarity insisted! "You know what this town really needs?" She didn't even wait for Spike to reply as she answered her own question. "Gold plated roof tops for everypony!"

But at that moment, Twilight managed to get close enough to grab the spell book with her magic. She was hoping to teleport away with it before Rarity found out, but the fashionista swung round as if she'd been tipped off! "Twilight!" She roared as her eyes narrowed! "You traitor! You can't have my precious book, it's mine!"

"No it isn't, Rarity!" Twilight protested as she became locked in a magical tug of war with Rarity for the spell book. "That book has taken control of you! I'm stopping this madness right here, right now!"

As Rarity strained herself to near the breaking point she turned to Spike and pleaded. "Spike, don't just stand there, do something! Twilight's trying to spoil our fun!"

"Don't listen to her, Spike! You know where this book belongs!" Twilight insisted.

For a moment, Spike just stood there in helplessness while he watched the two mares fight over the spell book. Then, suddenly, Rarity weakened her magical grip and charged at Twilight! This move caught the alicorn off guard and caused her to lose her hold on the book as it flew into the air!

Thinking quickly, Spike reached out his claws and caught the book before Rarity had a chance to claim it! He began to breath fire on it, but the book refused to burn even a little!

Now Rarity turned her attention towards Spike, her eyes still glowing that sickly green color. "Come on, Spike. Give me the book. Don't make me do something I'll regret later."

But after quickly looking at Rarity's eyes, Spike grabbed the book and shoved it into his mouth! "Oh, I'm gonna hate myself in the morning for this!" He thought and swallowed hard, forcing the book down his throat with a loud gulp.

Rarity let out a horrified shriek, before she collapsed onto the ground!

Twilight, meanwhile, teleported over to Spike. "How do you feel?!" She asked in concern.

Spike groaned as he put a claw to his stomach. "Oh, I don't think dark magic agrees with my stomach! I can feel it inside me! You gotta get it out of me, Twilight!"

"Alright, open wide!" Twilight instructed as she lit up her horn. With a great deal of straining she was able to pull the book out of Spike's stomach. It was covered in saliva but otherwise remained intact. She quickly placed it into a plastic bag and then teleported the bag away! "Princess Celestia will know how to keep that from falling into the wrong hooves." She said to herself as she saw Spike return to normal.

"Thanks, Twilight," Spike sighed in relief. "I am never doing that again!" Then he rushed over to Rarity, still on the ground. "Rarity? Rarity?! Are you okay?! Please, answer me!"

The fashionista slowly stumbled awake as the sickly green color flowed out of her and vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed in the first place. She shook her head, feeling quite groggy. "What... happened?"

"You don't remember?" Spike questioned the unicorn.

Rarity shook her head again. "I don't know, my mind feels all fuzzy. I remember reading a passage in the spell book, and feeling something take hold of me. I felt the urge to create, but after I made the puppet theater for the fair, everything's a blur," Standing up she trotted over, looking down on the transformed town below. "Although, from the looks of it, something quite awful must've happened to Ponyville."

"You happened, Rarity," Twilight explained. "That spell book contained dark magic, and it corrupted you like the alicorn amulet did to Trixie. Except instead of taking over, you wanted to transform Ponyville and then all of Equestria. The only way for it to stop was to get the spell book as far away from you as possible."

Spike let out an unhappy sigh. "It's really my fault, Rarity. I never should've taken that spell book without telling Twilight. And then, after you started getting creative, I was afraid to say what I really felt about what you were doing. I thought if I said anything, you'd think I wasn't being supportive. I thought staying quiet would help, but all it did was let you become something quite awful."

Rarity trotted over and nuzzled Spike in the side. "Spike, if I'm doing something I shouldn't be doing I'd want you or any of our friends to tell me so. If you know somepony's doing something wrong, there's nothing wrong with speaking up about it. Staying silent will only make things worse."

Twilight couldn't help but smile briefly. "Sounds like an important lesson to have learned, Spike. Probably even worthy of writing down in that friendship journal," Her smile quickly faded. "But Ponyville's a mess. That's a lot of dark magic. I'm going to need back up. I hope Princess Celestia and Princess Luna won't be too upset, I know they have more important things to do than to help me clean up Ponyville."

"Tell them that if there's anything I can do to help, I'll do it!" Spike firmly insisted as he looked at Twilight. "One of the most important things you taught me while raising me is that I have to be able to clean up my own messes. At least it'll teach me not to keep such big secrets and to take things without telling you. When it comes to magic, you're the expert, not me."
> S5 E9: Slice of Life (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early in the morning on what seemed to be an ordinary day in Ponyville, the kind of day where nothing of truly great significance was going to happen. Of course looks can be deceiving, but for a particular pair of donkeys who had been reunited with each other only a few years ago they didn't think today was going to be anything to get excited about. That was to be the next day.

Matilda was currently at home in the cottage the old couple shared, gluing down photos in a scrapbook from a recent vacation she and Cranky Doodle Donkey had taken. They had spent time together visiting the many cities and towns of Equestria and the photos had turned out nicely. Matilda smiled as she placed them delicately into their designated spots. "The photo album's coming along nicely," She thought to herself. "Might have to ask Cranky where he thinks we should go for our honeymoon. I hear Neighagra Falls is quite lovely this time of year."

Just then, Cranky Doodle Donkey came trotting in as he slammed the cottage door shut behind him. "Ugh, I swear I'll never understand the ponies in this town!" He frowned. "I moved here for peace and quiet, not to have everypony constantly refusing to mind their own business!"

"Oh, what's the matter, dear?" Matilda sweetly asked Cranky.

Cranky sighed as he explained. "It was the strangest thing. Everywhere I went the ponies were all gussied up and lookin' at me funny! Kept asking me if I was 'nervous'."

Matilda laughed. "Did they forget the wedding's tomorrow?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe they're just as excited for us to be married as we are." Cranky suggested as he nuzzled Matilda and the two donkeys murmured and giggled.

Matilda then looked at her scrap book, more specifically at the glued wedding invitation. She already wanted to preserve the memory. "Well, they're going to feel awfully silly when they realize they've got the wrong date," But then she spotted something when she looked at the invitation again! "Wait a minute! The invitations, they're all wrong!" She gasped and held up one similar to the one she'd glued down! "This says the wedding is today! How did we not notice?!"

"I don't know! I got such a good deal on them too!" Cranky remarked! "Should've figured somethin' like this would happen!"

"But it's too late to correct them, everypony in town already got these!" Matilda insisted! "Even the princesses RSVP'd, all of them! We can't disappoint them!"

Cranky snorted. "See? I told you we should have just eloped!"

Matilda was in no state to argue, this sudden realization had brought with it a swarm of complications that would have to be addressed! "Oh my gosh, if the wedding's happening today then that means we've gotta move everything up a day! The caterer, the flowers, the musicians! We've gotta get it all taken care of soon, or there's not gonna be anything for the wedding!"

"What?" Cranky growled. "That's just great!"

Matilda rushed out the door at a frantic pace! "Oh, where's my wedding planner?! Where is Pinkie Pie?! I'm going to need her help to pull this off!"

Cranky, for his part, went down to the place where he'd gotten the wedding invitations printed off and angrily confronted the pony in charge. "What's the big idea, you nicompoop?!" He shouted at the pony, a familiar wall eyed pegasus mare! "You told me you could do it for half of what the others charged, and then you sent the invitations to everypony in town with the wrong date! Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

The wall eyed mare's response was to bend down and retrieve a basket, a basket full of muffins. With a rather sheepish look she offered. "Muffins?"

Cranky groaned and trotted away. "Never mind!"

But the pegasus mare just sighed and hung her head. "Oh, I messed things up again, didn't I? Why does this always happen to me?"



The wall eyed pegasus known as Derpy was feeling very sorry for herself as she talked with a friend at the cafe. She didn't really know what to do, she just knew she had to talk to somepony. "Boy, of all the things to mess up I had to pick the one thing that's actually most important to everypony in town!" She unhappily sighed. "Figures I'd get the invitations wrong. The dates looked right to me," She sheepishly admitted. "But maybe I'm not the best pony to make that call."

"That would explain why I never got my invitation." The waiter stallion declared in a rather snooty tone.

"Although, in my defense it's not like I didn't warn Cranky something like this would happen," Derpy insisted. "I told him I could get 'em printed for cheaper than anywhere else, but that meant hiring somepony with no experience using a printing press. It didn't help that there was only one press I could use," She briefly recalled the basement printing press at in the schoolhouse basement, which had exploded upon use and squirted ink all over the place. "Doc, please, you gotta help me!"

Doctor Stable blinked, adjusting his glasses. "I'm sorry, miss, are you talking to me?"

Derpy blinked briefly before she giggled. "Oh no no, don't be silly. I meant the other doctor, over there!" She gestured to a brown coated earth pony stallion with an hour glass cutie mark, also known as Time Turner. She then looked at the stallion and told him. "You work with time, right, Doc? Because I really wish there was a way I could back in time and fix all of this."





Time Turner (or as he was better known, Doctor Whooves) pondered Derpy's predicament for a moment before he took her to his house and showed her his lab full of all kinds of strange objects and devices. "I am indeed a master of time, my good friend. But the way I see it, going back in time is old thinking. I was working off a cutting-edge theory of making time come forward to you," As he spoke he didn't seem to notice Derpy fiddling around with what could best be described as a spaceship. "My life's work, decades – no centuries, really – of research and experimentation, and I nearly had it cracked! Then it turns out there's already a magic spell for it. Who knew?" An unhappy sigh escaped his lips.

Derpy was too busy trying out a ball that produced static electricity, enough to make one's mane stand on end. So Doctor Whooves approached her and tried to explain over the crackling of electricity. "But that takes all the fun out of learning and experimenting! There are so many things in life that magic can't explain, where science and mathematics are the real magic!"

"Like these?" The wall eyed mare asked as she eyed some strange objects inside what looked like a lava lamp but without any lava in it. "They're so pretty, I've never seen anything like 'em before."

Doctor Whooves briefly smiled. "Ah, yes, my patent pending flameless fireworks. One of my many non time related experiments I worked on in my spare time," Then he frowned. "Unfortunately I could never quite get them to ignite. I tried everything under the sun."

"How did you learn to make all this stuff anyway?" Derpy questioned.

Doctor Whooves was happy to explain. "I've been studying science my whole life, my dear. Ever since a traumatic experience as a foal, I've been looking for ways to make sense of the world around me. Science provides explanations of things we never thought possible! That's much better than just waving some horn to solve a problem if you ask me! Now, what was it we were discussing earlier? You said you needed my help?"

Derpy blinked. "Huh? Oh yeah, because I accidentally sent out invitations for Cranky and Matilda's wedding with today's date instead of tomorrow's! And I said I wished I could go back in time and fix my mistake."

Upon realizing this detail, Doctor Whooves let out a gasp! "Wait, the wedding today's?! Great whickering stallions! I completely forgot! And I still need to get my suit tailored! Oh, I hope Rarity is available on such short notice!" He dashed out of his lab as fast as his legs would carry him!

He ran straight up to the front door of Carousel Boutique only to find it locked. He began to frantically knock on the door, hoping that Rarity would hear him! "Rarity?" He called. "Rarity! Please open up, it's an emergency!" But there was no reply.

Just then, who should come strolling by but Vinyl Scratch (known to most ponies by her stage name of DJ-PON-3, a DJ famous for never speaking a word)? She was emersed completely in her own little world as loud music was blaring from her headphones, and she bobbed her head in time to the beat.

Doctor Whooves rushed right over to the unicorn, not appearing to notice the headphones. "Sorry to bother you, my good mare, but you've got to help me! I lost track of time, unbelievably, and forgot that the wedding is this afternoon!" But DJ-PON-3 couldn't hear him, she could only see the motions he was making with his hooves that indicated something round.

Doctor Whooves himself didn't seem to know that he wasn't being heard at all as he continued to tell the DJ. "Have you seen Rarity? She's got to alter the sleeves on my suit, and she's got to do it now! She's only the seamstress in this town!"

DJ-PON-3 spoke not a word and just led the stallion away. But he assumed the unicorn was leading him to Rarity (or somepony who knew where to find her) so with a smile he followed after her. "Oh, thank goodness. Lead the way, friend."

DJ-PON-3 brought Doctor Whooves to the town bowling alley, much to the time traveling stallion's surprise. "Wait, there must be a mistake!" He realized. "Rarity would never set hoof in—" But the rest of his sentence was cut off when he saw three earth pony stallions with long beards and brightly colored shades. They were all wearing beautiful, finely tailored suits that sparkled even amidst all the alley lights. "Great wickering stallions!" He rushed right up to the trio as he inquired. "I must say, I greatly admire your style, gentlecolts. Which is good because I have a little proposition I must ask of you."

"What is it, man?" The stallion with gold locks asked. "We're kind of in the middle of something important if you couldn't tell. Bowling is serious business, my man."

Doctor Whooves cleared his throat and pleaded! "Gentlecolts! I'm facing certain calamity, and I couldn't help noticing your remarkable fashion sense. Could I have the name of your incredible tailor? I'd like to request his services."

"Oh is it that all, man?" The stallion chuckled. "His name's me."

The time traveling stallion blinked. "'Me'. What a most unfortunate name."

The gold locks stallion protested. "No, man, like, I manufacture all of my own garments. We all do, man. Name's Jeff Letroski by the way, but everypony calls me the Big Letroski. 'Cause when I hit the alley, nopony's a match for me."

"Well, Mr. Letroski, my request still stands," Doctor Whooves declared as he pulled out a worn green suit. "I need this suit tailored! It's an emergency! A really big one!"

Jeff Letroski shook his head. "No can do, my man. My buddies and I, we're just about to start the finals. Winner gets a huge stash of bits."

Doctor Whooves couldn't help but grumble. "What's this word you keep using – 'Man'?"

Jeff shrugged his hooves. "Dunno, man, but guess what? Our fourth didn't show, he's out sick. We gotta have a fourth player or we'll have to start with a handicap. So I'll tell you what: You roll with us, we'll alter your suit for you. How's that sound, man? We got a deal?"

Doctor Whooves eyed the alley, the lane, and the pins. He began to run some calculations in his head, but he quickly found it hard to come up with a satisfactory answer. There were too many things that had to be taken into account when one went bowling, at least that's what he thought. "I'm sorry, gentlecolts, but I will not bowl. The splits, the spares! There are simply too many variables! It doesn't add up!"

"Variables?" Jeff snorted as he rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about, man? Just throw the ball straight! That's what we do."

"Hold on. Straight?" The earth pony with an hour glass cutie mark suddenly considered. It was a simple suggestion, but one that in his head worked to perfection. It eliminated all uncertainty, it guaranteed only one outcome. "Very well, I'll try your 'straight' technique. It just might be crazy enough to work."

Jeff smiled. "Excellent, man! Come on, let's get you signed up! What size ball do you use?"





With the news having swept Ponyville by now that Cranky and Matilda's wedding was to take place later that day, no one noticed when a train pulled into the station and a pegasus stallion with a tan coat departed from one of the coaches. He had a mane and tail cut into short bangs that were two shades of moderate sapphire blue, vivid cornflower blue eyes, and a cutie mark depicting a lightning bolt inside a shield. Currently he was all decked out in royal guard attire. In fact, he was one of the newest members among them: Flash Sentry.

Flash Sentry took in the sights and sounds that greeted him as he stood on the station platform. There was no one around, much to his dismay. "So this is Ponyville," He said to himself. "How interesting. I can see why you'd live here, Princess Twilight." He blushed ever so faintly, for Twilight herself was the reason why Flash Sentry had chosen to come to Ponyville on such short notice. He was hoping to talk with her and had decided to make his visit a surprise. This was the only day he could take off of work without his captain getting suspicious.

But there soon came a problem for the pegasus stallion, namely the fact that he had no idea where Twilight was. He remembered hearing something about how she now had a castle to call her own, but having not been to Ponyville before he didn't know where it was. Still, Flash wasn't too concerned. "I'm sure if I ask around I'll either find Princess Twilight or somepony who knows where she is. I might even consider taking up the position as head of security for her castle. She could use a few guards to keep her company." So he set off to find the young princess.

As it turned out, Twilight was currently in the center of town talking with her friends. But they weren't concerned about the wedding, something else had come up that demanded their immediate attention.

"Do we even know what they're on about?" Octavia inquired. "Twilight gathers them all here like this, and on today of all days. Don't they know about the wedding?"

"They probably do, but judgin' from the way they're all huddled up like that, I'd say it's either a friendship problem or a monster attack. It's always one or the other with them," Apple Bloom commented. "I hope it's a monster attack, 'cause that sounds excitin'!"

Octavia blinked in shock, hoping beyond hope that wasn't the case! "A monster attack? Blast, I hope you're wrong!" She put a hoof to her forehead. "I'm performing at the reception this afternoon, and I still haven't sorted out what to play. How am I ever meant to practice with a monster invading Ponyville? Can't it go somewhere else?"

"I dunno, if it's a monster attack it must be urgent. But maybe it's actually just a friendship problem and it'll all clear up in about half an hour or so?" Sweetie Belle suggested.

Octavia groaned. "I hope so for my sake. It's bad enough I found out the wedding is today and not tomorrow, I don't need a monster attack disrupting my focus on top of it."

Just then, Matilda came rushing up while panting and shouting at the top of her lungs! "Where's Pinkie Pie?! I need my wedding planner!"

But at that moment there came a ferocious roar, a roar that would make even the bravest of hearts tremble with fear! From out of the skies came a half bear/half insect monster with sharp claws, sharp teeth, and a stinger that looked like it could contain a deadly poison (or not but no one knew for sure).

Twilight and her friends all charged at the creature, drawing its attention by whatever means at their disposal. It was quickly clear though that they wouldn't be subduing this horrible monstrosity anytime soon. And that meant not only was Pinkie Pie unavailable, but several other potential candidates had been taken out of consideration too!

Matilda was horrified, more so because of what this monster attack would mean rather than because she had anything to fear from such a beast! "Oh, no! On my wedding day?! Somepony has to help me!" She looked around, soon spotting a pale, light grayish-purple coated unicorn. The unicorn had a moderate violet mane and tail with light purple highlights, moderate purple eyes, and a cutie mark consisting of three diamonds. She appeared to be directing panic stricken ponies, which to Matilda seemed like wedding planner material on short notice. "You there!"

The unicorn spun around. "Who? Me?"

The donkey nodded and quickly explained! "What's your name, and can you help move an entire wedding from tomorrow to today?!"

The unicorn slowly nodded. "My name's Amethyst Star and I sure can, but nopony's ever asked me to organize anything since Twilight came to town. You get winter wrapped on time for once, and suddenly everypony thinks you're the best thing since Celestia herself."

"So you'll do it, then?" Matilda inquired of her new party planner.

Amethyst Star nodded again. "I used to be the best organizer in all of Ponyville, even if I never got winter wrapped up on time," She muttered the last part under her breath and then added. "You bet I'll—"

But at that moment the monster growled and grabbed Rainbow Dash, flinging the pegasus around like a rag doll! The ensuing scuffle resulted in a few buildings being damaged!

"Great, you're hired!" Matilda told Amethyst Star. "Come on! We better get to the salon before that monster flattens it!"

But the two hadn't been running for very long when Derpy happened to cross their path. "Matilda!" She gasped, apparently unaware of the monster attack that was going on. "Listen, I am so sorry about the invitations! That was my bad! Is there anything I can do—"

Matilda was in no state to really pay attention to Derpy, but she still ended up shouting out! "Flowers! I need flowers!"

A smile formed on the wall eyed pegasus mare's face. "Okay, I can do that."





Unfortunately, Lilly, Daisy, and Rose had bad news for Derpy when she asked them about the flowers for Matilda's wedding (figuring that Matilda had ordered them ahead of time). "Y-you want Matilda's arrangements... today?! Now?!" Lilly gasped and she and her sisters fell to the ground with a thud!

"Oh, this is awful! You just had to ask!" Daisy screamed.

Rose just weakly commented. "The horror, the horror. Blast that monster and its bumbling hide."

Derpy's happy mood faded. "So I'm guessing that's a no, then? There's no way you can do it?"

Stumbling to her hooves Lilly explained in a nervous tone of voice. "You're asking the impossible, that monster attack just made our jobs difficult. But even if it hadn't attacked our stand already we wouldn't have the flowers. We don't have Matilda's flowers in yet, much less arranged. They weren't supposed to get here until this afternoon at the earliest. And now that that monster's showed up, I don't know if we'll ever get them."

Derpy unhappily sighed. "Oh, okay. Well, thanks anyway. I'm sure I'll find some other flowers or something," Then she zoomed away, though not without saying. "See you at the wedding!"

Just seconds after Derpy had left, Flash Sentry came upon the scene. He was shocked to see such horrific carnage committed against innocent flowers, and even more shocked to see the flower ponies all lying on the ground! He was about to ask what had happened, when a loud roar shook the ground and made him look up! He could see the half bear/half insect creature that Twilight and the others were currently tangling with, and he realized what it was! "A bugbear?! But that's impossible!" He thought and was briefly stricken with fear, before it was replaced with bold determination! "Come on, Flash! You're a royal guard for Celestia's sake! If you want Princess Twilight to take you seriously you can't run in fear! I'll teach that bugbear a lesson it'll never forget, Princess Twilight will have to notice me then!" Thus, flapping his wings, Flash Sentry took to the skies in preparation to do battle with the mighty monster!





Meanwhile, across town town hall was being decorated in preparation for the upcoming wedding. A mint green coated unicorn and a cream colored earth pony were hanging ribbons and streamers with little diamonds in the center of them.

The earth pony couldn't help but comment to the unicorn. "I have to admit, Lyra, when Matilda told us that we needed to have this place ready by today, I was a little nervous."

Lyra just flashed a smile at the earth pony. "Come on, Bon Bon. With you by my side, I knew we'd get it done in time. You're my best friend for a reason, you know."

Bon Bon smiled back. "Yes, there really is nothing like a best friend, is there?"

Lyra agreed. "Anything's possible when you know somepony as well as we know each other! I can't imagine where I'd be if I didn't have you, Bon Bon."

Just then there came another roar from the bugbear, a roar that nearly made Bon Bon jump at how familiar it sounded. "What was that? Was that you, Lyra?" She hopefully inquired.

Lyra shook her head. "No, it's just some monster attacking Ponyville or something."

Bon Bon breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, is that all? It's always something, isn't it?" Then she asked. "So what is it this time, Lyra? A creature from the Everfree Forest?"

The unicorn mare shrugged her hooves. "Dunno, but I think I heard somepony say it's a bugbear or something," She let out a chuckle. "Sounds silly if you ask me. And whatever it is, I'm sure Twilight and her friends can handle it."

But Bon Bon flinched, dropping what she had been doing! "Did you say bugbear? Because if so, Princess Twilight and her friends most definitely can't handle it!" A look of sheer panic crossed her face as the earth pony's eyes darted all around town hall. "It's all my fault, it found me! I should've known this would happen!"

Lyra became concerned as she trotted towards her earth pony friend. "Bon Bon, what are you talking about? Is there something you're not telling me?"

The earth pony briefly looked around once more, making sure no one but herself and her best friend were present. Then she pulled the curtains around all of the windows closed as she confessed. "Lyra, it's time you knew the truth. My name isn't actually Bon Bon, that's just an undercover name I chose for myself. My real name," She paused, pulling out a pair of sunglasses. "Is Special Agent Sweetie Drops. I am or I should say was a member of the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria, or S.M.I.L.E for short. It was a top secret anti-monster agency in Canterlot, we operated strictly off the books, even Princess Celestia denied we ever existed. That's how it was until that bugbear escaped from Tartarus a few years back."

The unicorn blinked in surprise. "Is that why you kept using all those funny voices all the time? I thought they were just you doing impressions."

The now exposed secret agent protested. "They were part of my cover. When that bugbear escaped the cat was out of the bag, our agency was in shambles and our reputation took a hit it could never recover from. It wasn't a surprise when we were told we'd have to shutter the whole agency," She pulled out a small chest guarded by a horseshoe lock. "Every last shred of evidence of the organization's existence was destroyed. Celestia demanded complete deniability. And what the princess demands the princess gets."

"But why the bugbear come here? You saying it was in cahoots with that Tirek creep?" Lyra questioned, briefly remembering the rampaging centaur from a few months back.

"Sweetie Drops" ominously answered. "No, Lyra, it showing up is because of me. I'm the one who captured it, and now it wants revenge. When the agency was shut down I had to go deep under cover, and I figured Ponyville was the last place anypony would ever think to look for me. I had to assume the name of Bon Bon, I had to become Bon Bon. Nopony could know the truth. I never thought that monster would be able to track me down, but now it has."

The unicorn with a mint green coat became quite irritated when her "best friend" finished with her explanation. "So what you're saying is, our whole friendship was based on a lie?"

"Sweetie Drops" somberly responded. "I'm sorry, Lyra. I couldn't tell you for your own protection. I never imagined my past would catch up to me the way it has."

With tears starting to form in her eyes, Lyra began to stutter. "B-b-but the lunches! The-the long talks! The benches we sat on! None of that was real?!"

"Sweetie Drops" trotted up to Lyra and sweetly told her. "It was all real. You're my very best friend. That was no lie. I didn't plan on becoming friends with anypony in town, but you found a way past my defenses," Just then she heard the roar of the bugbear, and after obtaining a grappling hook she rushed to an open window. She rappeled down to the ground as she told the unicorn. "If you'll excuse me, I've got to go find a crowd to blend into before I put you in danger! If anything happened to you because of me I'd never forgive myself! But don't worry, I'll see you at the wedding! You can count on that."

"Fine!" Lyra sternly declared as she watched the secret agent rush off. "But... we're going to talk about this later! About this secret agent stuff." 

But her best friend had already disappeared. All Lyra could hear now was Cranky Doodle Donkey trying to negotiate with a ring salespony. "I need my ring today, no matter the cost! ...As long as it doesn't cost any extra."





Back at the bowling alley, the finals were winding down. With Doctor Whooves on the team, Jeff Letroski and his teammates had been cruising to victory with the greatest of ease.

All was going well until Doctor Whooves' ball on the tenth frame had the unfortunate luck of not knocking down all the pins. Not only were there still two pins left standing, but it was the worst possible kind of second ball set up that any bowler could ask for. One that even professionals dreaded having to face: The infamous seven-ten split.

Jeff Letroski knew this as he commented. "Ooh, seven/ten split, man. Harshest of the harsh, wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies," Then he encouraged. "But if you pick this up, we win the whole shebang! I know you can do it, man."

Doctor Whooves gulped. "This is the very thing that traumatized me as a foal! Trying to pick up this split, I never got it right no matter what I tried!" He thought to himself, remembering a particularly bad experience when he was a little colt and had been on a league with his friends. Just like now they had been counting on him to pick up the split and win. Confident of victory he'd bowled his ball down the lane, only to see it slide past the pins and straight into the gutter. It was that very event that had caused him to devote his life to science, convinced that greater knowledge of all the forces at work in the world would give him the control he had sorely lacked in that moment.

The stallion picked up his ball, eyeing the pins and calculating his approach in real time. Then he took a deep breath and nervously trotted forward. He was about to roll the ball when Derpy happened to come barging into the alley!

"Doc, I've got it!" The pegasus declared, startling the stallion and causing him to release his ball prematurely! "I know how I can help! Your flameless fireworks look just like flowers! I'll use them for the wedding! You won't mind, will you?"

Doctor Whooves forgot all about the bowling tournament as he rushed after Derpy! "Great whickering stallions! Wait! There's something you need to know!"

As for the ball, it managed to avoid the gutter and had enough momentum to keep going until it came to the pins. It touched the seven pin, but the pin didn't wobble and fall over. The ball stopped right then and there, the spare had not been picked up.

Jeff Letroski frowned. "Bummer, man! Well, the deal's off. He bailed us, so we'll bail on him."

One of Letroski's teammates suggested. "You know, I don't think anypony saw that. We can mark it a spare just this once, right?"

Jeff Letroski shook his head. "We can't do that, man. That's against the rules. And if you break the rules you enter a world of pain. You don't want enter a world of pain, man."

Meanwhile, Doctor Whooves was chasing after Derpy as he tried to warn her! "The flameless fireworks are extremely volatile! Without knowing what the trigger is, they could go off at any moment! You could set the whole wedding on fire! Please reconsider, you don't know what you're dealing with!" He stopped briefly when something else caught his attention. "My word, is that a bugbear? No wonder Princess Twilight and the others are having such a rough go at it."

A battered looking pegasus stallion panted. "Tell me about it. That bugbear's tougher than it looks. Is this what you ponies in Ponyville have to put up with all the time?"

Doctor Whooves looked down at the pegasus stallion. "Sometimes, usually it's just a monster from the Everfree Forest or some ancient evil coming back for revenge. Don't worry, after a while you learn to live with it."

The pegasus stallion groaned as he rose to his hooves, every inch of him covered with bruises and his mane and tail looking quite frazzled. "I don't see how you could. That bugbear alone is more than I can handle," He briefly coughed. "I think I'll just head back to the Crystal Empire where it's safer, doesn't seem like I'll be much help to Princess Twilight after all."

"Not until you're checked out, sir. You look terrible, that bugbear must've done a number on you!" Doctor Whooves exclaimed as he rushed over to his fellow stallion. "Come on, I'm taking you to the hospital!"

"But aren't you a doctor?" The pegasus asked.

Doctor Whooves shook his head. "Not that kind of doctor, I'm afraid."





Fortunately for Matilda the bugbear's rampage hadn't yet demolished the spa, so she had time to get a hastily ordered mane styling done. But the bride to be was unable to relax, the wedding was drawing ever closer and she knew it. "Oh, there are so many things I'm forgetting! I hope Cranky remembers to tell the musicians!" She said to herself and then whined! "Oh! Oh! I'll never get my mane done in time! I'm going to be a mess for my own wedding!"

Lotus was used to spa patients making a fuss, so she did her best to reassure Matilda while she worked to get the donkey's mane styled accordingly. "You must relax, my dear Matilda! Aloe and I can handle anything! We once did a pony's mane during the ceremony! We'll get your mane done in plenty of time."

An unfamiliar voice then called out. "Oh, it's true, it's true! They really are the best! Nothing phases these two, can you believe they're twin sisters?" The voice belonged to a creature Matilda had never seen before. It was tall, had purple scales, and wore an orange mustache. "Matilda, I've just got to say, I already feel like we're family. So nice to finally meet you."

"Oh," Matilda commented, unsure of what else to say. "It's... nice to see you too. And you really think we're that close?"

The creature laughed! "Oh of course I do! I'm Steven Magnet, Cranky's best beast! Surely he's told you about me by now."

"Wait? You're Steven Magnet? I thought you'd be..." Matilda paused, as if trying to think of how to put what she said next in a polite way. "Er... tall."

Steven Magnet wasn't offended, he just chortled in response. "Yeah, I get that a lot. But what did you expect, a bugbear? I've known Cranky forev-er! Surely he must have told you about the time he saved me from Flash Freeze Lake? Long story."

"I don't believe it!" Matilda gasped! "You're Steven Magnet. How did I not know you were a sea serpent?"

The sea serpent just laughed again. "Oh, I know, I know! Typical Cranky, to leave out minor details, like the fact that I'm, y'know, a sea monster... er sea serpent, right?"

Matilda apologized. "I'm sorry, Steven, it's not that. I guess I assumed you were a pony. And I had no idea the two of you had such adventures together. Cranky never really talked about what he did while he was searching for me."

Steven happily replied. "Yup, that's Cranky for ya. Doesn't like to talk about stuff like that. But let me tell you something. In all that we've been through together, the only thing he ever cared about was finding you. I'd never seen a donkey that determined about anything."

"Really?" Matilda asked, suddenly gaining a new sense of appreciation of Cranky's love for her.

"Well, that and a cure for baldness, obviously." Steven replied and then chortled, briefly splashing water out of the huge tub he was in.

Matilda laughed too and then sighed as she realized something. "That Cranky really is the sweetest thing, isn't he? All the stress I've put myself through today. All the stress I've probably put him through. The only thing that matters is that we're together," With a content smile she declared. "How silly of me to forget. The wedding isn't the important thing – the marriage is."

But Steven laughed anew as he pointed out. "That's really sweet and all, but if you believe the wedding isn't important all then have I got a bridge to sell you! Think about it, Matilda. All these ponies traveling to Ponyville, putting on uncomfortable clothes, sitting through a long ceremony, you think any of them actually more care about the marriage?" He ended by ominously declaring. "Honey, as far as those ponies are concerned: The wedding is everything. And after all they've had to endure today, I bet they're expecting a wedding that'll rival even Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's. You already got the dramatic event covered: A bugbear attack definitely tops a changeling invasion. But the rest, well I hope your wedding planner's got it all taken care of." He didn't seem to realize how much his comments had renewed Matilda's worries.





While Matilda was getting her mane styled at the spa, Derpy was gathering up the flameless fireworks, Doctor Whooves was taking Flash Sentry to the hospital, Lyra and Bon Bon were going about their separate tasks, and Twilight and her friends were still busy dealing with the bugbear, Octavia was back at the cottage that she just so happened to share with fellow musician Vinyl Scratch. In fact, she was the only one who knew the DJ by her real name and not her stage name. Having a DJ as a roommate was not the easiest thing in the world, but Vinyl was far from the worst roommate a pony could ask for. Her DJing career certainly helped when it came to paying the bills.

Octavia was currently practicing the song she was to perform at the wedding, pulling her bow across her cello that she never liked to be without. But for some reason she wasn't really feeling into it this time. "Ugh, all these wedding songs are so... standard. I want Matilda and Cranky's wedding to be special."

Taking off her headphones, Vinyl cast a spell and then spoke. Her voice was heavy with filters and distorted sound effects. "That's what got you so down, Tavi? Chin up, I'm sure you'll come up with something. You always do."

Octavia sighed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Vinyl, but you always say stuff like that. Normally I appreciate the support, but this time I could really use some inspiration," She then frowned. "And I don't get why you insist on talking through that ridiculous spell. We both know that's not your real voice. Your actual voice is so much better, I don't know why you don't like to use it at all."

Vinyl continued to speak in the distorted voice. "Ponies know me as DJ-PON-3, not dorky Vinyl Scratch. The lack of a voice adds a sense of mystery. Surely you can relate, you know about the story ponies say: How you won your cello in a duel against King Sombra."

Octavia shook her head. "I don't know how many times I have to keep telling ponies that isn't true. King Sombra never came to Ponyville, and there's no such thing as ghosts."

Vinyl shrugged her hooves. "Whatever. My lack of a voice keeps the fans hooked and the gigs lined up. Speaking of which..." She trailed off as she trotted over to her turntable and began to experiment with electronic sounds in time to Octavia's cello bits.

Octavia shook her head. "Thanks, but I'm not sure that's quite appropriate for a wedding, now is it?"

Vinyl simply replied. "Hey, you wanted inspiration and I'm providing it to you. Come on, we can make sweet music together. But we've gotta work together if that's going to happen."

After a little bit more tinkering and experimenting, the two musicians were able to produce a sound that both found quite agreeable. It still had Octavia's cello but now the electronic sound was pronounced and better integrated. Octavia let out a gasp! "That's more like it, Vinyl!"

Vinyl grinned. "I think we've only scratched the surface on what we can create together! I'm ready if you are!" She and Octavia promptly got into an intense jam session.

A session that came to an abrupt end when Octavia realized what time it was! "Stop! Vinyl, we're going to be late for the wedding!"

"Then there's only one thing to do!" Vinyl declared as her eyes narrowed. A short time later, the two musicians came bursting out of the front door on what could best be described as a huge, mobile turntable complete with speakers! Octavia used the hook on her bow to grab street lights and swing around corners.

Along the way, the two musicians happened to bump into several other party goers who were tossed into the air and landed atop the turntable at various places.

When Cranky happened to see this, he ducked out of the way and huddled for safety against the wall of a building! The turntable passed him right by, but the rush of wind that followed blew the wig he'd wore ever since Pinkie Pie had gifted it to him right off his head! He was now bald again, and right before his wedding to boot!

Just as the turntable reached town hall, it came to abrupt stop when one of its wheels struck a scepter that a careless pony had left behind! Everyone onboard was flung was forward, and for a moment time seemed to stop.

From a window in the bedroom of his master, Gummy watched the whole thing in silent observation as he thought to himself. "What is life? What is the meaning of it? Is it really nothing more than the endless search for a cutie mark? And just what is a cutie mark but a constant reminder that we're all only one bugbear attack away from oblivion? And what of the poor gator who can never get a cutie mark? Flank forever blank, destined to an existential swim down the river of life to... an unknowable destiny? Surely there must be something more to life than that. But what?"

Time resumed as by some stroke of luck everyone onboard the turntable was flung into town hall and landed at their appropriate designations. And just in time, the guests were starting to arrive.

Octavia smiled as she looked at Vinyl and told the DJ. "Something like that might work. Cracking job, Vinyl." Vinyl just winked as she briefly lifted her goggles.





As the guests arrived for the wedding, all of them brought gifts and placed them on a table that had been set up. But one pair of guests ran into a problem. Namely, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had realized too late they had forgotten their present. They were now arguing about who was to blame for this slip up.

"What do you mean you left it on the counter?" Celestia said to her sister in a hushed tone of voice. "Do you realize how late it is? We can't just teleport back and look for it, the wedding will start at any minute."

Luna whispered back. "I thought you were bringing it, it was supposed to be your turn!"

Celestia groaned. "And you didn't think to remind me? Well, this is just wonderful." She and Luna paused their arguing briefly as Spike walked by and placed his gift with the others, they didn't want anyone to notice their little rift.

Once both alicorns were certain Spike had left they resumed their little blame game as Luna said in a hushed tone. "I handled the gift for Cadence and Shining Armor! You were supposed to do this one, remember? I didn't think I needed to remind you of what we both agreed to! So much for an all knowing big sister."

Celestia muttered. "A courtesy reminder would've been appreciated, I don't have all the answers you know. We can't just come to this wedding empty-hoofed! We'll have to tell Cranky and Matilda our gift is lost in the mail so they won't get suspicious. You know how much I hate having to invent cover stories like that."

Luna frowned. "Well I guess I should just keep track of such things so you don't forget," Then she added. "By the way, do Shining Armor and Cadence know there's a changeling in attendance here?"

Shining Armor was currently sobbing loudly to himself, attracting quite a bit of attention. And Cadence was trying her best to deflect said attention. "It's alright, really," She nervously insisted. "He always cries... er I mean sheds liquid pride at weddings," Then she added. "Though usually it's not until the wedding actually starts."

Celestia whispered. "I think they've got more important problems at the moment. So if you won't tell them, I won't tell them."

"At least we can agree on that." Luna whispered back as her and sister trotted to their respective assigned seats, and then spoke not a single word more to each other.

Derpy, meanwhile, was admiring the flameless fireworks that she'd managed to set up around the alter. "These flameless fireworks look even better than flowers!" She dreamly sighed.

Just then, who should come trotting in but Bon Bon? She took off her sunglasses and announced! "Attention, everypony! Our friends have done it! They've defeated the bugbear! The wedding has been saved!" Countless ponies rose to their hooves and burst into thunderous applause at the news!

But Bon Bon had more important issues to tend to at the moment, namely a certainly mint green coated unicorn who did not look too happy to see her "best friend". "Uh, hey, Lyra." The earth pony nervously greeted.

"Oh, hello, Bon Bon. If that is still your name." Lyra coldly replied while sitting in her seat in the way she was famous for.

Bon Bon swallowed hard, she'd been dreading having to have this conversation ever since she'd befriended Lyra. And much like the bugbear finding her she'd hoped this moment would've never come. Yet it had come all the same and now she would have to deal with it as best she could. "So, uh," She uncertainly began. "You didn't by any chance happen to mention our earlier conversation about my," She grit her teeth and whispered. "Secret identity to anypony, did you? 'Cause that would be bad for both of us."

Lyra just folded her hooves as she answered. "No, I didn't. Your secret's safe with me, and I doubt anypony would've believed me if I told them."

Bon Bon breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. You have no idea how much of a load off that is."

"Yeah, well you're not the only pony with a secret, y'know," The unicorn bitterly remarked as she confessed. "You know those super expensive, imported oats that you were saving for a special occasion?"

"Yeah, what about 'em?" Bon Bon questioned.

"I cooked them up and ate them! All of them!" Lyra confessed. Her cold and distant persona faded right then and there as she giggled. "It's sort of thrilling to reveal your deepest, darkest secrets!"

"Well, that's what best friends are for," Bon Bon replied even as she couldn't help but groan. "Although, I was saving those oats for our anniversary. The anniversary of when we first met and became friends."

Lyra asked. "I take it this means you're not going back to that agency? That you're going to tell me before you run off on another adventure?"

The earth pony mare nodded as she hugged the unicorn. "Of course, Lyra. From now on I promise, no more secrets!"

Mere seconds later, Doctor Whooves came trotting up to town hall. He was wearing a green scarf as Derpy was there to greet him. "Oh, there you are. Looks like my flameless fireworks are stable for now," Then he apologized. "Sorry about my state of appearance. My suit has vanished and this was the only thing left in my closet! How do I look?"

Derpy gave the time obsessed stallion a hug. "Like a million bits, doc!"

Doctor Whooves smiled, before glancing down at his watch. "Great whickering stallions, look at the time! Better get inside." And he trotted in without another word.

But there was still one development that had to take place before the wedding could even begin. Cranky was conversing with Steven Magnet, trying to hide his bald head. "I can't believe I lost my hair! I look ridiculous," And he unhappily remarked. "The love of my life deserves better than this! But where am I gonna find a new wig on such short notice?"

Steven Magnet just smiled. "Have no fear, Cranky, my dear. It's Steven Magnet's mustache to the rescue!" He plucked one of his thick scales and used it as a razor to cut off part of his mustache, which he promptly placed atop Cranky's head to serve as a make shift wig.

"Thanks, buddy. No way was I gonna face Matilda in my bald state." Cranky said to his best beast.

The sea serpent happily replied. "Oh, no problem," Then he pushed the groom toward the alter as he encouraged his friend! "Now you get in there and marry that donkey!"





The wedding began with Mayor Mare officiating. Cranky wore a finely tailored tuxedo while Matilda had a beautiful, flowing white dress. "Dearly beloved," She began, adjusting her glasses. "We are all gathered here today to join these two in mare-trimony. As I look around this room, I can only imagine how uncomfortable Cranky must be at being so... hairless."

A few ponies in the audience laughed as Cranky groaned.

Mayor Mare cleared her throat, having been trying hard not to laugh herself. "But I also see so many ponies from all walks of life, brought together by love. Cranky searched all across this great land of ours to find Matilda, and no matter what obstacles kept them apart, love would finally bring them together, just as it has brought all of us together now," Her eyes scanned the entire room, even up into the balconies where she could see Twilight Sparkle and her friends waving, exhausted but triumphant (though their manes and tails had clearly seen better days, and a few of them even had marks). "It's remarkable to me how a story like Cranky's search for Matilda could fill this room with such a unique collection of ponies, and even a sea serpent," She was going to say something about the changeling, but a look from the royal sisters (now holding hooves as they'd realized their earlier argument was silly) made her decide that wasn't a good idea. "It makes you realize that everypony is the star of their own story. And it's not just the main characters in our stories that make life so rich! It's everypony: Those who play big parts and those who play small. If it weren't for everypony in this room and many more who couldn't be here today for whatever reason, Cranky and Matilda's lives wouldn't be as full and vibrant as they are."

After pausing to catch her breath, Mayor Mare turned to the about to be married couple. She spoke first to Cranky. "So, in front of all gathered here, I now ask: Cranky, do you take this donkey to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for as long as you live?"

"Oh you bet I do!" Cranky declared.

Then Mayor Mare turned to Matilda and asked. "And do you, Matilda, take this donkey to be your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, for as long as you live?"

"I do!" Matilda said while tearing up.

"Then I'm proud to say, I now pronounce you jack and jenny!" Mayor Mare proudly declared as the newly weds kissed each other and the audience applauded as loudly as they had upon hearing of the bugbear's defeat!

Suddenly, the sound of fireworks exploding caught everyone's attention! Doctor Whooves practically embraced Rose as he excitedly exclaimed! "Of course! Now it all makes sense! They need love to ignite! How could I have missed it?!"

Meanwhile, up on the balcony, Twilight was tearing up as she turned to her friends and told them. "You know something, girls? We are so lucky to live in this town. I love you all!" She pulled them all close for a hug.

But Rainbow groaned and moaned. "Ow! Not so tight, Twilight! That's where the bugbear bit me!"

"Oops, sorry," Twilight blushed. "Guess it's a good thing that strange earth pony showed up when she did. You were almost that bugbear's next meal."

"Just who was she, anyway?" Rarity pondered. "I swear I've seen her before, but that ridiculous voice made her hard to identify."

Pinkie Pie commented. "It was the strangest thing. She was there one moment, helping us against the bugbear, and then as soon as it was defeated she left."

Twilight only replied. "Well, it doesn't matter. If we ever see her again we'll be sure to let her know how grateful we are. Without her help, we couldn't have defeated the bugbear and Cranky and Matilda's wedding would've been ruined."

Applejack chuckled. "Sounds like just another day in Ponyville, huh, sugarcube?"
> S6 E4: On Your Marks (What If?) (Bonus Chapter)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apple Bloom was currently in a bit of a predicament. Since getting her cutie mark alongside her friends (they had opted to keep calling themselves The Cutie Mark Crusaders, at least for now) she'd been struggling to figure out what to do in her spare time. Now that she didn't have to spend time searching for a cutie mark she needed to find something she could enjoy. The only problem was that she wasn't used to being on her own for this, but none of the activities her friends were interested in sounded like something she wanted to do. So all had agreed to reluctantly split up, at least for the time being.

"Don't worry, Apple Bloom. Even if we're all doing different hobbies, we'll still be here for each other if we really need it." Sweetie Belle had insisted.

"Yeah, but in the mean time I don't think we really need to keep the club going all that much. Not if we're the only members." Scootaloo had added.

So the three fillies had split up, leaving Apple Bloom to spend her days trying any activities she felt like trying. But she'd never given much thought to doing much of anything by herself, and even just doing her chores around the farm or listening to her granny's stories got boring very quickly.

But one day, as the farm filly was strolling along through town, she happened to overhear instructions being barked out in a thick accent. "Alright, everypony, from the top," A female voice instructed. "And one, two, three, four, two, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, two, two, three, four."

Apple Bloom entered the building from which she heard the voices, discovering that it was a dance studio. The instructor was an earth pony mare with a light purplish gray coat. She had moderate fuchsia eyes, a pale light grayish gold and amber mane and tail, and wore a dark purple dress with light purple sleeves. Her cutie mark was obscured by a purplish white tutu. Apple Bloom immediately said to the instructor. "Whatever kind of dancin' y'all are doin', you're doin' it together, and I want in!" When all the colts and fillies in the dance studio stopped to look at her, she realized that she'd drawn a lot of unwanted attention to herself and blushed. "I-I mean, would it be okay if I enrolled in this here dance class?"

The mare trotted forward and nodded. "So, you wish to be part of my dancing troupe? We offer lessons for single and partner performances, and we go from beginner all the way up to expert. When you sign up for dance lessons from the great Hoofer Steps, you'd best be ready to work hard and impress me."

"Sounds good to me," Apple Bloom said to Hoofer Steps. "When I do start?"

"Well, you're in luck," Hoofer Steps declared with a smile. "We are currently rehearsing for a big recital at town hall later this month, and a spot just opened up," With a whisper, she gestured a hoof to a shy looking earth pony colt over in the corner. Said colt had a brilliant orange coat, moderate purple eyes that were staring at the walls, and a grayish and moderate mullberry mane and tail. He didn't have a cutie mark, which Apple Bloom found quite odd considering everypony else in the class seemed to have theirs. "Tender Taps is a little too shy to perform for crowds. But if you're ready to step into a partnered routine..."

The farm filly's ears perked up! "That sounds an awful lot like friendship! And I'm ready for anythin' I don't have to do by myself right now!"

Hoofer Steps' smile grew wider. "Excellent! Dancing with partner shall be perfect. Just one question: Have you ever danced before?"

"Maybe a little," Apple Bloom commented. "Scootaloo showed me a few moves back when we..." She trailed off, unable to bring herself to finish the sentence due to the memory associated with it. "...Never mind."

Hoofer Steps was unconcerned. "Very well. But let us see how much skill you retained before we decide on your partner," She clapped her hooves. "Places, everypony!" All the colts and fillies obeyed, except for Tender Taps. "And, music!"

A tango score began to play out across the studio, and Apple Bloom started trying to tap her hooves and move them in time to the music. Her coordination wasn't too good, though, and it only got worse when the music started to increase in tempo and she struggled to keep up. It didn't matter who she was paired up with, she knocked every one of her partners to the floor and even caused other dancing pairs to be disrupted.

The music came to an abrupt stop as Apple Bloom exclaimed! "Whew! I feel like that went pretty good for my first try, but let's give it one more whirl, because it's important that I do a good job partnerin' with my new group of friends," Then she looked around, realizing that all the other colts and fillies had left the dance floor. "Uh, is the lesson over already?" She nervously asked.

Hoofer Steps looked down at Apple Bloom, having observed the farm filly's clumsy dance moves. With a frown she declared. "Eh... Now I'm think of it, you might be better as soloist. Partnering is a little too advanced for you right now. But there's still lots you can do on your own."

Those words only caused Apple Bloom to lose any enthusiasm she might have had for dancing. She was not ready to try a solo activity just yet. "Sorry, but doin' stuff on my own is exactly what I don't want right now," She commented and trotted to the door. "Thanks for the lesson, though."

Tender Taps happened to eye Apple Bloom from afar as this was unfolding. He didn't know it yet, but he was going to play a big role in snapping her out of her funk. And in a way he was going to be responsible for getting the Cutie Mark Crusaders back together at a time when they were unknowingly drifting apart.



Apple Bloom hadn't gotten very far when Tender Taps caught up to her. "Hey, wait!" He called out to her. "Sorry it didn't work out the way you hoped, but don't feel bad. Nopony's an expert right off the bat."

"That's not what my problem is," Apple Bloom unhappily sighed. "When I was with my friends tryin' different things was still fun, even if I wasn't good at 'em. It's just not fun knowin' that you're the only one who ain't good and that you gotta do it on your own."

"Hey, you weren't that bad, I've seen way worse," Tender Taps suggested as he put a hoof to Apple Bloom's chin. "You can't do much worse than I did when I was starting out. If my aunt wasn't the dance coach, I probably never would've even tried to stick around."

The farm filly blinked. "Wait, your aunt is Ms. Hoofer Steps?"

The shy little colt nodded his head. "Yeah, and she enrolled me in her class because she said it would help me come out of my shell and make some friends. I didn't really want to, but when your aunt's the best dance coach in all of Ponyville you can't really say no," Then he added. "So maybe you're not ready for a partner just yet, so what? Everypony's got to be able to be a solo act at least once in their lives. You just need to learn a few things on your own and I'm sure you'll make a fine dancer. Take it from me, practice makes perfect and being a soloist can be even more fun than dancing with a partner. You just have to do it with feeling, like this!" He began to tap dance around a little, and then ran up and flipped off of a wall before landing right back on his hooves.

Apple Bloom was almost rendered speechless as her mouth dropped open in surprise! "Hey, you're a lot better at this dancin' then I thought you'd be. If you're that good at it, how come you don't wanna perform at the recital?"

Tender Taps' smile faded as he gulped and suddenly seemed to break out into a nervous sweat. "Well, I want to, but I just can't, not in front of other ponies. I don't mind performing for my classmates or for my aunt, but doing it in front of a crowd of strangers just makes me feel uncomfortable. I feel like they're watching me, judging me, waiting for me to slip up. Whenever I try to do anything on stage, I look out at the crowds and I freeze. I can't do anything!"

The farm filly sighed again. "Kind of reminds me of Sweetie Belle, though she was afraid of singin' for a crowd, not dancin'. But now, singin' is what she likes to do more than anythin'. Wouldn't surprise me if she becomes the next Songbird Serenade or somethin'," She then began to trot away. "Look, I appreciate ya tryin' to cheer me up and all, but I need to find somethin' I'm either good at it or don't have to do on my own. Maybe both if I'm lucky."

"Well if you like, I could teach you a few moves on the side," Tender Taps suggested. "It'd be a secret partnering routine, just the two of us. How's that sound?"

Apple Bloom commented quite slowly. "I'll... I'll think about it, I guess. Nice meetin' you."

"Yeah, you too. Hope I'll see you around." Tender Taps called as he started to tap dance again.





The next day, Apple Bloom was moping around in the clubhouse that had once served as the headquarters for the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Now she wasn't even sure if it would still be around, maybe it would fall into decay and neglect again, and it would have to take a new generation of foals to fix it up.

But she hadn't been alone in the clubhouse for long when there came a knock at the door. Now the farm filly remembered that she had invited some guests to come over, largely because she was desperate for any kind of company at this time. She went over to the door and opened it.

In trotted Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, the latter of which had never been inside the clubhouse before. "Wow! So this is where you and your friends were always hanging out after school!" The glasses wearing filly commented in amazement. "Makes me wish I'd have thought to build my own clubhouse, except we don't have any trees around my house."

"Well, at least coming here beats having to hang out all day around the mansion and trying to avoid Mother," Diamond Tiara commented. "Now that she's been kicked off the school board she really doesn't have anything better to do. So she and I spend our days just trying not to bump into each other so we don't have to say a word."

"Thanks again for comin' over, girls," Apple Bloom commented to her two former rivals. "Glad to see you two are friends again. At least you two are together."

Silver Spoon just looked across to Diamond Tiara as she replied. "Well, I couldn't stay mad at Di for long. Eventually I realized her change of heart was sincere."

Diamond responded. "Yeah, but I had to spend a month apologizing to you up and down before you'd accept me again. You can drive a hard bargain when you want to, Silvy."

Silver winked, adjusting her glasses. "All part of the family business, at least on Mother's side," Then she turned to Apple Bloom. "So, why did you call us here again? Don't you have your Cutie Mark Crusader friends?"

The farm filly unhappily sighed and hung her head. "Well, not at the moment. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle are both out of town for the weekend, and even if they weren't they've got their own interests to keep 'em occupied. As for me, I don't really have much of anythin' to do. At least, not anythin' that I can do with a partner or two. Seems like everythin' I try is a solo activity," She glumly remarked as her bow drooped. "I'm not even sure if we're gonna be the Cutie Mark Crusaders anymore. Can we even call ourselves that now that we've gotten our cutie marks?"

"Well, what else would you call yourselves?" The headgear wearing filly questioned. "I still call you the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and so does everypony I know. In fact, ever since I turned over a new leaf it seems like there's not a pony in town who doesn't know about you three fillies."

Apple Bloom sighed again. "Well, they may not know us for much longer. At the rate things are goin', I'm not sure we'll be together for much longer. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo seem to have moved on, probably 'cause they knew each other long before they met me. But the only friend I had before them was Twist, and we ain't spoken much since she got her cutie mark."

"But you three seemed so inseparable!" Silver Spoon remarked in a shocked tone of voice. "You even got matching cutie marks and got them at the same time! Even Princess Twilight says she's never seen anything like it before, so that must mean something. No way could you three just split up so easily!"

"That's what I thought too, but it happened," Apple Bloom glumly answered as she looked longingly out of the clubhouse window. "I can still remember when we first decided to start tryin' things we liked to without havin' to worry about gettin' cutie marks." And her mind began to flashback to that day as if it were yesterday, even though in fact it had been several weeks (probably more than a month).





It had been only a week since the Cutie Mark Crusaders had earned their cutie marks, but already they had gotten bored and had started to wonder just what they were supposed to do with their lives. They'd quickly realized that helping others was not something they could all the time, especially not when they were already so good at solving whatever problems came their way.

So the three fillies had decided to just do whatever they wanted to do, but for fun. Each had a particular activity that they were eager to share with the others, and all decided to take turns trying out each others' favorite activities.

Scootaloo's activity was up first, scootering. Or more specifically, an extreme variety of it that involved high speeds and mid air tricks. "Okay, you remembered your helmets, right?" Scootaloo asked her friends. "Rule number one about scootering: Always wear a helmet. Trust me, helmets are a life saver."

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded as they stood by on their scooters, nervously eyeing the long ramp that Scootaloo had set up. It went out over a hill, went through a loop, and ended with a jump that would carry the rider into the barn of Sweet Apple Acres through a window that seemed way too small!

"You sure this is safe, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle nervously asked.

The tomboyish pegasus nodded in reply. "Absolutely! I always test every trick ramp myself. It'll hold," Then she cleared her throat. "Just remember – stomp, kick, and roll! Trust me, after this, you two are gonna love scootering as much as I do!"

"Uh if you say so, Scoot," Apple Bloom replied while trying to keep herself from shaking. "But uh, you go first."

The pegasus filly nodded. "Ready? Stomp, kick, and roll!" She did exactly as she had instructed her fellow fillies to do, her scooter soon making its way down the ramp! "Whooo!" She cheered!

In a matter of seconds it was over, Scootaloo effortlessly zipped through the course and landed safely inside the barn. "Ta-da!" She boasted. "See, girls? It's that easy! Now, which of you wants to give it a try?"

But Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchanged nervous glances and shook their heads. Despite seeing Scootaloo's performance they were still not convinced the ramp was safe. "Er, can we maybe do somethin' a little less... extreme?" Apple Bloom suggested.

That something less extreme turned out to be Sweetie Belle's desired activity, singing. She set up some music sheets and stands inside the guest bedroom at Carousel Boutique and then blew into a pitch pipe. "Do... Mi... So..." She sang in a fittingly sweet tone of voice. "It's just a simple harmony. Just follow the notes and repeat after me."

"Harmony, huh?" Scootaloo commented. "I'm more of a rock pony, but harmony sounds good."

Apple Bloom nodded as Sweetie Belle used her magic to pick up a conductor's baton and instructed her friends. "Okay, ready? And a-one, and a-two, and a-one two three!"

Unfortunately, while Apple Bloom's singing was far from perfect it was at least somewhat passable. Scootaloo's singing, on the other hoof, was way off key and sounded horrible.

Scootaloo didn't seem to think so as she just commented. "Wow, that was easy." Sweetie Belle promptly snapped the baton in frustration.

Apple Bloom quickly intervened before tensions could get worse. "Come on, now. Y'all are gonna love potion makin'. Let's go see Zecora and get all set up. It'll be just like those Twilight Time sessions we used to attend."

So the three fillies made their way over to Zecora's hut, their first time being inside it since it had been rebuilt from the ground up (her old hut had been destroyed during Tirek's fiery rampage). The zebra enchantress was more than happy to let the Crusaders borrow some vials and ingredients. "Just be careful what you put into what," She cautioned them. "And please try not to destroy my hut."

"Will do, Zecora!" Apple Bloom nodded as she helped her friends get their potions kits set up properly. "Let's try my old growth formula, that seems simple enough," She then instructed. "It's just a dash, and a drop, and a drip!"

But when Sweetie Belle made her attempt she ended up using too much, which resulted in an out of control plant and a bit of damage to Zecora's hut. The zebra wasn't too upset, but she still decided to confiscate the potion kits. "Perhaps you three should find something safer to do. Now if you'll excuse me, I must prepare a new brew."





The Crusaders returned to their clubhouse later that day, checking off various activities that they'd tried over the past several hours. Apple Bloom was currently marking off bungee jumping as she remarked. "...And even though Scootaloo thinks bungee jumpin' is the bee's knees, Sweetie Belle would much rather keep bees. Unfortunately, I'm allergic. Who'd've thought it'd be so hard to find somethin' for us all to do together?"

Sweetie and Scootaloo exchanged nervous glances before Scootaloo proposed. "Well, I know this might sound crazy, but what if we didn't?"

"Didn't what?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Do things together," Scootaloo explained. "Or at least everything together."

Apple Bloom blinked in surprise. "But we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Scootaloo nodded. "And we still will be, at least for now. But I really wanna bungee jump! The speed, the height, the fall! I can't get enough of it! I know you two don't think it's safe, so you don't have to try. Though if you change your mind that's great too."

"No thanks, I'd rather do something where my hooves stay on solid ground," Sweetie Belle protested. "I know you two aren't interested, but I wanna try crochet. I'm sure Rarity will teach me, even if it's not the same thing as sewing."

Then Scootaloo looked at Apple Bloom. "What about you though, Apple Bloom? I mean, I know you've got your chores and your potions, but isn't there something you'd like to do by yourself that you've always wanted to do on your own?"

The farm filly gulped, she'd been dreading such a conversation. "I don't know... I guess I kinda figured we'd always do stuff together. But bungee jumpin' sounds just as scary as crochet sounds borin'. If y'all really wanna do those things, I guess I can't stop ya."

"Hey, that's okay," Scootaloo insisted as she put a hoof around Apple Bloom. "I'm sure you'll think of something. The Cutie Mark Crusaders was your idea after all."

"Don't forget about the decision to be journalists for the Foal Free Press," Sweetie added. "And we can still meet back here to talk about our new hobbies."

Scootaloo nodded and then suggested. "Why don't you take another look over that chart? I'm sure you'll find something that interested you that we didn't want to do."





The flashback ended as Apple Bloom sighed anew. "And that was pretty much that. I ain't seen Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo since then, largely 'cause I'm too ashamed to tell 'em I haven't found anythin' to do on my own. I don't want them to feel like I'm draggin' them down. If they wanna do whatever hobbies they like to do best, they can do 'em, even if it means it brings about the end of the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Now now, don't go getting any crazy ideas," Diamond Tiara protested. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders are going to survive even if I have to see to it personally! What you three did for me was amazing, and if you could get a pony like me to change my ways then the possibilities are endless for what you can do now that you've got your cutie marks."

Silver Spoon added. "Yeah, Di's right! You still keep in touch with Babs Seed even though she doesn't run the Manehattan branch of the CMC anymore, right?"

"Yeah, so what's your point?" Apple Bloom pondered.

Diamond suggested. "Well, you once said 'Once a Cutie Mark Crusader, always a Cutie Mark Crusader'. And you three were willing to add me and Silver Spoon to the list of honorary members."

"Well, still gotta wait and talk it over with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle before it's official." Apple Bloom cautioned.

The headgear wearing filly just smiled. "So, why not turn your club into a business? You could sell your services to anypony and everypony in town. I bet there's lots of ponies who could use some cutie mark counseling. Just get word of mouth out there and you'd be up to your necks in customers!"

Silver smiled. "That's a great idea, Di!" Then she said to Apple Bloom. "And we can both help you get it set up. We could probably even run an ad in the Foal Free Press, or maybe even the Ponyville Express!"

The farm filly replied. "Well, maybe that's somethin' to suggest to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle durin' the next meetin', if I decide to go to it. That still leaves me with the problem of tryin' to find somethin' I can do that I'll be able to talk about."

"My big sis gives cello lessons," Silver suggested to Apple Bloom. "I'm sure I could put in a good word and convince her to take you on as a student."

Apple Bloom shook her head. "Musical instruments and I don't get along, I tried playin' all kinds of instruments on my own over the past few weeks and every one of 'em ended badly."

Diamond Tiara then proposed. "Well, didn't you say something about that tap dancing colt who has the best dancing coach in all of Ponyville for an aunt?"

"Yeah, and he offered to give me lessons on the side," Apple Bloom commented and then blinked in realization. "Wait a minute, you sayin' I should take 'em him up on his offer?"

"Why not?" Tiara encouraged. "You can probably teach you enough to get Hoofer Steps to let you try a partnered routine again. And then you wouldn't have to do it on your own. That would be something to tell Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo about at your next meeting."

Apple Bloom put a hoof to her chin, deep in thought. "I suppose that's about as good a suggestion as I can think of at the moment," She pondered. "Plus, maybe I can help him get over his stage fright somehow," So with her mind made up she trotted out the clubhouse door, though not before turning to Diamond Tiara and telling her. "Thanks for the tips. I knew I made the right decision to make you and Silver Spoon honorary Crusaders."

Diamond tried not to blush. "Hey, you did something nice for me and I just thought I'd return the favor. Just make sure you remember my suggestion about the business, I really think it'll be a big hit."





Tender Taps was surprised to run into Apple Bloom again the next day. "Oh, hello again. Have you decided to take up my offer?"

"I guess so," Apple Bloom commented. "You really think you can teach me how to dance good enough to get a partner?"

"Maybe eventually, but probably not in time for that big recital later this month," Tender Taps explained. "It'll be hard to get up to that level of good in such a short amount of time."

The farm filly just replied in an unconcerned tone. "As long as I don't have to do it alone I don't mind," Then she got an idea. "But only if you promise me you'll work on your stage fright. If you're good enough to teach me then you're more than good enough to perform at the recital."

The colt swallowed hard. "Uh, you sure about that?"

Apple Bloom nodded toward her fellow earth pony. "You're really good at it, probably good enough to get a cutie mark in it. Not that I mean to brag but I kind of an expert when it comes to cutie marks and special talents."

Tender Taps shrugged his hooves. "If you say so. But let's focus on your dancing first, good thing there's nopony around but us. This whole street's our dance studio," His mood quickly changed as he instructed. "Now, let's start with the basics. Watch what I do, then you try it."

"No music?" Apple Bloom questioned.

"We'll work on that once you're a little bit better," Tender Taps explained. "Now watch closely!" With the greatest of ease he let his hooves began to tap and soon he was tap dancing up a storm. It was like he was in his own little world, letting his hooves move about in a rhythm that only he could hear and feel.

The earth pony filly couldn't help but feel not only amazed but also slightly jealous. "I can't possibly get up to that kind of level of skill, can I?" She thought to herself but wisely decided not to say it out loud.

When it was finished, Tender Taps smiled as he stood briefly in a pose before returning his stance to normal. "It's easy once you get the hang of it. Now let's see you try it, okay?"

"Alright. Here goes." The farm filly declared while taking a deep breath. She began to move her hooves very slowly, trying to mimic the graceful moves she'd just seen demonstrated to her.

"That's it, you're getting it!" Tender Taps encouraged as he watched Apple Bloom start to dance. "Now try to go a little faster. Pick up the pace."

Apple Bloom tried, but unfortunately going faster caused her to lose her coordination. She started spinning all about and ended up tripping over her hooves as she stumbled to the ground.

"Er, not bad," Tender Taps commented as he helped the filly up. "Obviously we need to work on that. But that's okay, everypony struggles with something at some point."





Days flew by as Apple Bloom and Tender Taps spent whatever free time they could find working on Apple Bloom's dancing. Tender Taps seemed to be in his element whenever he was teaching the farm filly, and it helped that doing so allowed both to take their minds off their respective troubles.

Unfortunately, Apple Bloom didn't seem to improve all that much as the month progressed. She seemed to keep messing up on the same part of the lesson over and over again, even as she tried to do something different each time.

"Somehow I don't think I'm makin' that much more progress in all of this," Apple Bloom said one day after practice had ended. "I don't know if I'll ever be good enough to have a partner."

"Come on, you're not that bad! Don't sell yourself so short!" Tender Taps encouraged! "You are improving, even if it seems like you aren't. You're not making as many mistakes as you used to make, so that's a good sign."

The farm filly just sighed. "But I keep makin' too many of 'em."

"Well you're only going to stop doing them if you keep practicing," Tender strongly declared. "If you just give up then you'll never improve, you'll stay the same or maybe even get worse!"

Apple Bloom replied in uncertainty. "Well, one thing's for sure, I ain't gonna be ready to take on a partner before the recital. And I ain't ready to be a soloist. I sure hope you've been workin' on overcomin' that stage fright, Tender Taps. Because you're probably gonna have to perform at that recital."

But the colt gulped. "I've been trying to! I keep trying to perform for ponies I don't know! But I keep freezing up and forgetting what to do! If I go out there on the stage during that recital and mess up like that, I don't think I'll ever be able to get over the humiliation!"

That caused Apple Bloom to pause and put a hoof to her chin. "Sounds like I'm gonna need back up on this one," She said to herself. "And I think I know just the ponies for the job."





Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo hadn't been expecting to be called back to the clubhouse at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres, the next planned meeting wasn't supposed to be for another week. But Apple Bloom had passed word along to both of them to show up, vaguely mentioning that she had something very important to share with them.

Both fillies didn't mind, though, this gave them a chance to catch up and chat. They hadn't really seen each other much since they'd gone off to pursue their own interests. Scootaloo still wore her helmet and safety goggles from a recent bungee jumping attempt. "Sweetie Belle! You are not gonna believe this, but I think I like bungee jumping even more than scootering! Maybe even more than flying! I can't get enough of the adrenaline rush!"

Sweetie Belle fondly exclaimed! "Seriously?! That's amazing!" She then brandished a rather tacky looking scarf that was draped around her neck. "Look what I did! I just finished it this morning!"

Scootaloo was unsure of what to say as she eyed the poorly made scarf. "Wow, Sweetie Belle. Uh, that's, um..."

Sweetie didn't wait for her friend to finish. "'Horrible?', I know. But who cares? It was so much fun!" She twirled it around while fondly declaring. "Rarity was more than happy to show me how, even though she says and I quote:" She briefly threw her voice to try and mimic her big sister's voice. "'Crochet is knitting's poorer cousin.'," Then she let her normal voice return. "But I loved it! I'm sure I'll get better with practice, I already think I know where I went wrong with this one."

"Sounds awesome!" Scootaloo commented, before her thoughts turned to other things. "What do you suppose Apple Bloom's been up to all this time? Feels like we haven't seen her in ages now."

"Don't know," The unicorn filly innocently replied. "But I'm sure we'll find out soon." Then she and her pegasus friend trotted inside the clubhouse.

Apple Bloom was already waiting for her fellow Crusaders when they entered the clubhouse. "Hey, girls, sorry if I was interruptin' ya in the middle of pursuin' your own interests," Her tone of voice briefly sounded bitter before she coughed into a hoof. "Sorry, I'm tryin' not to be mad. I know you said we don't have to do things together anymore. That's kind of why I've been avoidin' ya both for so long, I've been tryin' to find somethin' I could do that I'd like doin' on my own," She unhappily sighed. "Unfortunately, I looked all over Ponyville for things to do, but every single activity I tried just made me feel more alone than the one before it. Didn't help that I wasn't any good at 'em."

"Well, you don't have to be good at something to have fun!" Sweetie Belle suggested. "Just look at this crocheted scarf, it turned out horribly but I had a blast making it!"

Scootaloo added. "And being good at something doesn't always mean you'll find it fun. My dad's a fantastic hockey player, but he quickly got bored of playing it all the time. That's why he stepped back and became a manager."

"I know what you mean, girls," Apple Bloom commented. "That's kind of why I called ya both here today. Though there is somethin' else I wanted to discuss with you two first. Remember how it was thanks to us that Diamond Tiara became a better pony?"

The other fillies nodded. "Yeah, and I remember we made her and Silver Spoon both honorary Crusaders," Scootaloo pointed out. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Apple Bloom cleared her throat. "Well, they suggested we turn our club into a business, assumin' we're still gonna keep runnin' it now that we've got our cutie marks."

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle both blinked. "A business? What would we even do with it?" Sweetie questioned.

"The way Diamond phrased it, she made it sound like we could be Cutie Mark Counselors," The farm filly explained. "It'd be a way for us to put our unique talents to good use. After all, even Twilight seems to think we're special. She says what happened to us is somethin' that's never happened before in the entire history of Equestria. And it just so happens I know who our first client could be, which is the main reason why I asked you both to meet me here," She explained. "I met the best dancer in the whole wide world, but he was so shy, he couldn't bring himself to perform, even though he really, really wanted to."

Sweetie pondered. "I don't suppose this dancing pony had a cutie mark, did he?"

"Actually, no," Apple Bloom replied. "But I bet he could if he had the right encouragement. This is somethin' we can only do as a group. Believe me, I tried to do it on my own. It only kind of worked."





The sun was just beginning to set as Apple Bloom led her fellow Crusaders in a mad dash across Ponyville to town hall. She was just in time, the dancing recital had yet to start. "Good, there's still time!" She happily exclaimed, before a pony in the audience shushed her.

Tender Taps was quite surprised to see Apple Bloom so close to the recital, especially with two fillies he didn't recognize. "Hey, what's going on? You're not part of the recital!"

"I am now!" Apple Bloom explained. "You probably didn't know I'm part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. And what we do is help ponies with problems when it comes to cutie marks and special talents. Ponies like you. You're the best dancer I've ever seen. And this is your chance to show that to everypony!"

The colt with an orange coat gulped. "Yeah, but did you forget what I told you about my stage fright? I know my aunt dragged me to this and wanted me to come out of my shell, but I don't think this is the right way to do it!"

"Hey, a wise pony once told me that if you just give up then you'll never get better at somethin'," Apple Bloom said with a glare. "And I came back specifically to help that pony. Besides, I've got the perfect remedy. We can go on together. No matter what, you'll look good dancin' next to me."

Tender Taps looked out towards the crowd, and something deep inside him told him that this was his chance. It was all or nothing! "A-alright, I'll do it," He declared, before he realized something. "But I don't have my costume, and the backdrop is all wrong, and we don't have time to change it!"

"Don't worry, that's why I brought Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo with me," Apple Bloom gestured to the unicorn and the pegasus fillies beside her. "Leave everythin' to us."

A short time later, Tender Taps and Apple Bloom were dressed in hastily crocheted but matching costumes: Tender's was green and Apple Bloom's was purple.

"You sure this is gonna work?" Tender Taps asked.

Apple Bloom nodded as Sweetie Belle gestured to Scootaloo. "Relax, you'll do just fine! Just get out there and show 'em your stuff!" The unicorn told the still somewhat shy colt.

Just then, the piano music stopped playing, a cue that that the next dance act was about to start. "Here goes nothin'..." Apple Bloom told Tender Taps as the two watched Scootaloo swing down to change the backdrop to a crudely drawn image of a city.

Jazzy music began to play as Apple Bloom trotted out first. Tender Taps still couldn't bring himself to do anything, he remained frozen in place. Apple Bloom just tap danced about in a clumsy fashion, which ended with her falling off the stage while several ponies in the audience laughed at her. She whispered in encouragement to her dance partner. "Can't be any worse than I was! Come on!"

So Tender Taps swallowed a lump in his throat and started tapping his hooves in time to the music. He started out slow and unsure of himself, but it wasn't long before he began to tap dance with more confidence. He kept dancing, and dancing, and dancing, until any thought of doing bad and the consequence associated with it had left him completely!

Apple Bloom watched with amazement and satisfaction as Tender Taps started dancing up a storm on the stage! Her hunch had turned out to be right.

The audience burst into thunderous applause at the performance unfolding before their very eyes. And when it had ended, Tender Taps had earned his cutie mark: A top hat and a spotlight.





After the performance, Tender Taps could barely contain his excitement over his new cutie mark! "I can't believe it! It's just what I always imagined it would be! And if it weren't for all of you, I wouldn't even have it. I can't believe I'd never heard of you girls before."

"Hey, don't mention it. It was no problem!" Scootaloo waved a hoof.

"Helping other is what we do," Sweetie Belle commented and turned to Apple Bloom. "You know, I think there might be something to this Cutie Mark Counseling business."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yup," Then she remorsefully added. "Though I feel kind of ashamed that I was mopin' around for so long when I could've been helpin' Tender Taps much sooner."

"Hey, it's alright. I just hope you'll keep dancing," Tender Taps commented as he offered a hoof to Apple Bloom. "I'd be honored to have you as a friend and a partner."

Apple Bloom accepted Tender Taps' offer as she did a little tap dance of her own. "You know, I think I just might! It sure is a lot of fun, and I'm pretty confident I can only get better."

"And even if we do set up our own business, it doesn't have to mean the three of us will have to completely stop doing things on our own," Sweetie Belle commented. "After all, with each of us going out and trying things on our own, we'll be three times as likely to find ponies to help!"

"And trying new stuff might even make us better at helping them," Scootaloo suggested. "Like how I used my bungee jumping to change the sets!"

"Or how I used my crochet to make the costumes!" Sweetie added.

"Well, one thing is for sure. The Cutie Mark Crusaders will never be the same," Apple Bloom declared, much to the shock of her fellow Crusaders. "We'll be even better! The Cutie Mark Crusades are officially in business!"

And then all three Crusaders high hoofed each other as they shouted together! "Yeah!"
> S7 E22: Marks and Recreation (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Inside the clubhouse at Sweet Apple Acres, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were currently working one on one with a blank flank earth pony filly with a yellow coat, sap green eyes, and a mane and tail two shades of light pink with purple ribbons in them. The filly was currently painting away at an easel.

Apple Bloom trotted forward. "Okay! Let's see how your still life's comin' along, Kettle Corn!"

Kettle Corn stepped back, revealing that she had painted a red circle on the canvas. Sweetie Belle blinked. "Well, that certainly is... round."

Kettle Corn smiled. "I can make it rounder! Would you like me to make it rounder?" She offered.

"Er, no thanks, Kettle Corn," Apple Bloom nervously replied. "I'm afraid that's all the time we have today. We'll try somethin' else tomorrow."

Kettle Corn frowned. "Aw, but I like circle painting."

"Yeah, but trying the same thing over and over again can get boring!" Scootaloo shooed the filly out to the door. "And on the way to figuring out what it is that you're meant to do, you'll find a ton more stuff that you might like to do. That's what makes looking for your cutie mark so great. Right, Crusaders?"

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle nodded as the door opened and Kettle Corn trotted away. Apple Bloom then looked at the long line of gathered colts and fillies and told them. "Sorry, everypony. We're closin' up shop for the day. We'll have to help you out tomorrow."

The colts and fillies all let out a chorus of whines. "Aw!" But they all went away just the same.

The clubhouse door was closed as the Crusaders pondered the dilemma they were now facing. "Business sure has been boomin' lately," Apple Bloom commented. "We owe Diamond Tiara a huge debt of thanks for her suggestion that we turn our club into a business."

"Yeah, but now it seems we can't really help everypony who wants our help," Scootaloo nervously pointed out. "Working with blank flanks one at a time takes forever. You saw how long it took us to work with Kettle Corn, a few more ponies like her and the line will stretch all the way to the horizon."

Apple Bloom began to ponder. "If only there was a way we could help a whole herd of them all at once."

Sweetie Belle smiled. "That would be perfect! We'd save time and they could help each other! It's a win win!"

"Yeah! It worked for us, so it'll totally work for them!" Scootaloo declared while buzzing her wings in excitement! "It'd have to be somewhere big enough to handle all those blank flanks, though, and any more that might wanna show up."

Sweetie added. "Somewhere outside, with tons of activities to try. Spread out over multiple days of course."

"Are you two thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" The farm filly suggested to her fellow Crusaders.

All three shouted together! "Cutie Mark Day Camp!"

"Yeah, glad we agree," Apple Bloom smiled. "And I know just the place, Applejack used to go there with Rara when she was little."

"Camp Friendship!" Scootaloo shouted at the top of her lungs and then apologized. "Oh. Sorry. I thought we were all gonna yell that one too," Then she added. "But if we're going to do a camp, we're going to need a camp counselor. There's no way they'll just let us run the camp all on our own."

Sweetie Belle beamed. "Well, I think I know a pony who would be perfect for the role! A pony who used to tutor us and is still the hottest new princess in all of Equestria! I'll bet if we ask her she'll say yes."

"What a great idea!" Apple Bloom happily declared. "Gettin' Twilight on board will be a great publicity boost! What are we waitin' for? Let's go ask her!" The three fillies then rushed away to do just that. But none suspected that their planned Cutie Mark Day Camp was going to run into a rather unexpected development that would upend everything. And it was going to come from an unlikely pony.



The CMC all but burst down the front doors of Twilight's castle as they rushed inside to look for her! "Twilight?! Twilight?!" They called out, expecting to find her but suspecting nothing out of the ordinary when they couldn't.

The three fillies were quite surprised when Starlight Glimmer showed up in the main hallway of the castle instead. "Oh, hey girls," She greeted the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "You looking for Twilight?"

The Crusaders all nodded as Sweetie Belle explained. "We're going to host a Cutie Mark Day Camp at Camp Friendship, but we need somepony who can be the camp counselor. We were thinking of Twilight because she used to tutor us one on one during special sessions. She called it 'Twilight Time', but after we got our cutie marks she said there wasn't anything left for her to teach us."

"I guess that would explain where she got the idea to make me her student," Starlight commented in brief contemplation. "But couldn't you have just asked one of your big sisters or even somepony in your family to do it?"

"They're all too busy," Scootaloo protested with a shake of her head. "Besides, if Twilight's our camp counselor then everypony will want to come."

Starlight frowned. "Well, I'm sorry, she's currently in Canterlot working to finalize plans for the upcoming Festival of Friendship. I don't know when she'll be back."

Just then, who should come trotting out into the hallway but Diamond Tiara? "What's all this about a camp counselor?"

"We're plannin' on havin' a Cutie Mark Day Camp at Camp Friendship  so we can work with a whole herd of blank flanks all at once, and so that they can help each other," Apple Bloom told the headgear wearing filly. "But we need a camp counselor if we're gonna rent out the camp space."

Diamond Tiara's eyes lit up as she exclaimed! "I always wanted to go to Camp Friendship when I was younger, but Mother said my application kept 'conveniently' getting lost in the mail! You three simply must host that day camp! I know you'll be great at it!"

"Well there's not going to be one if we can't find a trust worthy grown-up to watch all the kids. Nopony's going to trust us, even after all we've done." Scootaloo glumly remarked.

It was then that Diamond got an idea. "Well, how about Miss. Starlight here? She'd be fantastic!"

Starlight blushed. "Diamond, you know you don't have to call me Miss. Starlight. We've known each other long enough," Then she added. "Besides, working with you isn't the same as overseeing an entire group of colts and fillies."

Tiara only insisted as she threw herself onto Starlight's back left leg. "Please, Miss. Starlight? You've always been fantastic with me whenever Twilight's busy. I'm sure you'll do just as fine as a camp counselor. I'm sure Princess Twilight would say the same thing if she were here right now."

"Well..." The unicorn began, uncertain of how to respond.

"Please?" All three Crusaders pleaded at the same time as they adopted the best pleading, puppy dog eyes look they could muster up.

Try as she might Starlight simply couldn't resist such looks, so she sighed and folded. "A-alright, I guess if you want me that badly I can't say no," But she quickly cautioned to the Crusaders. "However, it's your camp, so you three need to help out too."

"Don't worry, Starlight, we will!" Apple Bloom declared. "Looks like Cutie Mark Day Camp is a go!"

"You can count Silver Spoon and I in too," Diamond announced. "We'll be more than happy to help you keep the camp running smoothly. Plus, in a way we'll finally get to go to Camp Friendship after all these years!"





So it was that later that day, with a camp counselor lined up and use of camp grounds authorized, the CMC set up a small stand in the middle of Ponyville to announce their plans and draw customers. They'd even made their own promotional flyers and balloons, which proudly bore their cutie marks (as it was the closest thing they had to a group symbol). "Attention, all blank flanks!" Apple Bloom called through a loud speaker.

"And blank flank affiliates!" Scootaloo announced. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders are pleased to announce our first ever Cutie Mark Day Camp! Come and discover what it is you're truly good at, with the help of Ponyville's cutie mark experts!"

Sweetie Belle added with a smile. "Bond with other blank flanks and find out what you're meant to do together! Better hurry, camp begins tomorrow! So sign up now if you have any interest!"

Various ponies came by the stand, having been drawn to it by the colorful displays and the announcing. 

But one pony was trying to avoid it all, quite unsuccessfully as Scootaloo recognized the pony as a familiar pegasus colt and called out. "Hey, Rumble!"

Rumble flinched even as he tried to play it cool. "Oh, hey Crusaders. Um, sorry I can't stop but uh... I've gotta go meet my brother for... something. Something really important."

Rumble's apparent concern was ignored by the Crusaders as Apple Bloom approached him and hoofed him a flyer. "No problem. Just wanted to make sure you heard about our first annual Cutie Mark Day Camp. The first session's tomorrow and it's takin' place at Camp Friendship."

The little pegasus nervously replied. "Um thanks, but I don't think I can attend. I'm not from Ponyville."

"Doesn't mater where you're from," Sweetie insisted with a smile. "Camp Friendship is accessible for everypony. And there'll be plenty of other blank flanks, probably some pegasi if that's what you're worried about."

"It isn't, but thanks anyway." Rumble commented as he took the flyer and trotted away. When he was certain no one was looking he began to crumple up the flyer.

"Hey, what'cha got there, little brother?" Thunderlane asked as he came upon the scene.

Rumble nearly flinched in surprise! "What? Oh, nothing. Nothing you need to worry about, big brother," He tried to change the subject. "Come on, I've got a cool new dive I've been trying out and I want show it to you. You're gonna love it!" He zoomed away as fast as his little wings would let him. In his haste to leave the colt forgot all about the crumpled up flyer in his possession.

Thunderlane happened to notice this flyer as it lay upon the ground, and uncrumpled it. He could see that it was a very well crafted flyer that was advertising a day camp.

Scootaloo, meanwhile, was barking out to the crowd. "Come one, come all! Cutie Mark Day Camp is for blank flanks of all kinds! Just make sure you get a parent or guardian's permission!"

Upon hearing those words Thunderlane put a hoof to his chin. It seemed that an idea had come to him. "This little day camp might be just what the doctor ordered." He thought to himself.





The next day, hundreds of colts and fillies happily showed up at the old grounds that had once been Camp Friendship. The Cutie Mark Crusaders' logo was displayed on a flag that hung high overhead on a flagpole.

Apple Bloom was the first to greet the gathered crowd. "Welcome, cutie mark campers!"

"Who's excited to be here?" Sweetie Belle asked the foals.

All of them started shouting in delight all at once! "We are! We are!"

Sweetie beamed. "Well, we're excited too! We're glad so many of you showed up for this new experience we decided to host. And with Camp Counselor Starlight here to make sure everything is safe," She gestured a hoof to the aforementioned unicorn who just waved to the colts and fillies. "Here at Cutie Mark Day Camp, you'll be able to try all kinds of things in pursuit of your special talent!"

"Kayakin'!" Apple Bloom gestured to a set of kayaks out by the docks.

"Horseshoe-tossing!" Scootaloo chimed in as she pointed to a rack with several horseshoes nearby.

"And even circle painting, right?" Kettle Corn asked while showing off her skill with it.

Sweetie Belle commented. "Er, right, we'll... work that in at some point. We've also got archery, jam making, dancing, and a whole lot more planned for the next several days!"

Apple Bloom told the foals. "You can try 'em all! But the most important thing is that you'll all be tryin' them together."

"After all, it worked for us." Scootaloo smiled.

"Then I bet it'll work for these little guys too!" An unfamiliar and unexpected voice called out. All eyes suddenly turned to see Thunderlane in a Wonderbolts flight suit, with Rumble by his side. Many of the foals were amazed to see a Wonderbolt in their midst, especially the newest member of the team!

Rumble arched an eyebrow upward at his older brother. "Hey, wait a second. You set me up!"

Thunderlane grinned. "I did no such thing."

Rumble grumbled. "Come on, you won't get away with that! You said we were gonna go practice for the Wonderbolts Ponyville Extravaganza show, not come to camp."

"Well we're going to do both," Thunderlane insisted. "I'm going to Wonderbolt practice. You're going to cutie mark practice. It's not up for argument, Mom and Dad agree that you need to get out of the house and try more stuff. And it'll make practice much easier for me if I know you're somewhere safe."

The pegasus colt frowned. "I'm not three, I can take care of myself!"

"Sorry, Rumble, but this works out for the both of us. Please, just give it a chance," Thunderlane pleaded with his younger brother, before looking across to the Crusaders and Starlight. "I hope it's not too late to enroll my brother."

Starlight shook her head. "Of course not, Thunderlane. We're more than happy to have another camper join us." She smiled down at Rumble, who in turn looked like he'd rather be anywhere else.

Several foals crowded around the Wonderbolt, and a unicorn colt with a bluish-gray coat, blue eyes, and a green and yellow mane and tail (who was named Skeedaddle) exclaimed to Rumble! "I can't believe your own brother is a Wonderbolt, Rumble! You're so lucky!"

Scootaloo naturally couldn't help but brag. "Well, Rainbow Dash is practically my sister, and she's a Wonderbolt too!"

Diamond only ribbed Scootaloo in response (with Silver Spoon standing by her side). "Yes, yes, you've told us so many, many, many times already."

Silver Spoon added. "Face it, Scootaloo, your honorary big sister is old news. Thunderlane's the popular one now. But don't feel too bad, I'm sure Thunderlane's newbie status won't last forever."

Meanwhile, Pipsqueak was asking Thunderlane. "Do you know Spitfire, Mr. Thunderlane?"

Thunderlane nodded. "Yeah, she's my captain. And I know she'll be pretty upset with me if I'm late to practice, she'll probably blow a fuse. Sorry I can't stay as a chaperon, this day camp looks like fun," Then he patted his brother on the head as he told him in a reassuring tone. "Now you have a good time and try some stuff. Who knows what you'll be good at?" Before leaving though, he picked up a horseshoe and effortlessly tossed it so that it would land right on the pike.





"Well all right!" Apple Bloom proudly declared as she saw how so many campers were amazed by Thunderlane's skill. "I reckon we've found the first activity of the day – the horseshoe toss!"

As the foals all cheered Thunderlane announced. "Well, wish I could stay and play, but it's time to fly. Have fun, everypony!" Then he took the skies and soon he was out of sight.

Shortly after Thunderlane departed, Sweetie Belle tossed a horseshoe to Rumble and encouraged him. "Come on, Rumble! We need a volunteer!"

"Who better than the brother of a Wonderbolt to show 'em how it's done?" Apple Bloom encouraged. "Don't be shy."

Rumble picked up the horseshoe as several foals gathered around to watch, one whispered. "No way he's as good as his brother. You can't be better than a Wonderbolt."

Rumble didn't seem to bother to put much effort into his toss, his horseshoe landed nowhere close to the pike or the pit surrounding it. "Whoops," He flatly observed. "Oh no, it looks like I won't be getting my cutie mark in the horseshoe toss..."

Starlight Glimmer trotted over to Rumble and quickly told him. "Oh, don't feel bad. You did fine for a first attempt. Hardly anypony's an expert at something the first time they try it. And if it makes you feel any better, I'm not that good a horseshoe tosser either."

"Eh, I wasn't really worried." Rumble commented under his breath.

Scootaloo came over and told her fellow pegasus. "Good, glad to hear it! That's just the sort of can do attitude a Cutie Mark Camper needs to have! There's plenty of other things to try. I'm sure we'll find something you're good at before this camp is done."

Rumble just sighed. "I didn't even want to be here. But I guess I'll have to play along and humor them for today." He thought to himself.





A day's worth of camp activities following: Kayaking, archery, and even dancing. Everypony seemed to be having a great time, except for Rumble. It seemed like everything he tried he ended up doing very poorly in. Strangely enough he kept playing it off with unconcerned comments of "Whoops." and "Whoopsie." The Crusaders were too busy working with other blank flanks to take much notice, but Starlight and Diamond and Silver began to suspect that Rumble wasn't nearly as bad as he seemed to be (though they had no way to prove it).

The last activity for the day involved something the Crusaders had learned about only recently in school, but they had felt inspired to make it part of their day camp.

Skeedaddle explained it while counting something aloud: "The first and last lines, have five sy-lla-bles but the,
mid-ddle has sev-en. It's called a haiku."

"We learned about it in Miss. Cheerilee's class, and we felt it was too good not to include," Scootaloo explained. "It's actually easier than it looks."

But Rumble ended up scribbling on his paper so hard that he broke his writing quill. Just like with the other activities he'd failed to do good in, he replied in an unenthusiastic tone (albeit in an unintentional haiku): "Whoops. I've tried it all. Time to tell my brother this, camp isn't for me."

"Aw come on, Rumble," Scootaloo tried to reassure her fellow pegasus. "So you didn't get a cutie mark on the first day, so what? Isn't it fun just trying stuff for the heck of it?"

"Not really." Rumble weakly replied and then excused himself from the writing table.

Just after Rumble left there came a shimmer of light, and all eyes were drawn to Kettle Corn who gained a cutie mark: A writing quill and a piece of paper. It was clear to all what she'd gained it in, and the poem she delivered left no doubt: "Haiku cutie mark! And I never would have tried, without Skeedaddle."

The Crusaders clapped their hooves along with the crowd. "See? This is what Cutie Mark Day Camp is all about." Apple Bloom encouraged.

"Working together and helping each other discover your talents or new things you like to do." Sweetie Belle happily explained as the foals all cheered.

Kettle Corn then cleared her throat as she sheepishly asked. "But I can still come back, right? And maybe paint some circles? I like painting circles."

Scootaloo nodded her head. "Of course! Nopony has to drop out just because they got a cutie mark, you can stay for however long you want."

Starlight Glimmer then trotted up. "But that's enough for today, I'm afraid. This isn't an overnight thing," As the foals all unhappily sighed she told. "Come on, no sad faces. You can come back tomorrow and every day after that. There's lots more fun activities to try. Meet back here first thing tomorrow, alright?"

The foals all nodded and disappeared.

Diamond and Silver came trotting up a short time later. "You never cease to surprise me, Cutie Mark Crusaders," Diamond commented with a smile. "I can see now why Princess Twilight thinks there's something truly special about your cutie marks and the way you got them. You truly do seem to have a knack for knowing what ponies are meant to be doing with their lives."

"Guess we're just lucky," Apple Bloom commented. "Besides, as Gabby can attest we can't do the impossible. And you know what Miss. Cheerilee told us: Cutie marks appear when they appear, nopony can do anythin' to make them appear before their time."

"Still," Silver Spoon observed as she adjusted her glasses. "A cutie mark from one of the campers? And on the first day to boot? That's gotta be a good sign!"

Sweetie Belle nodded. "It sure seems that way. I never would've guessed we'd get a cutie mark so soon."

"Just goes to show how swell of an idea this day camp was," Apple Bloom chimed in. "Everypony's really enjoyed it so far."

Scootaloo sighed. "Everypony except Rumble. He didn't have much luck with anything. I know he wasn't showing it but I think it was really getting to him."

Sweetie remarked. "Trying to find out what you're meant to do in life can be frustrating. You remember how long it took us to get our cutie marks?"

Apple Bloom shuddered. "Oh, I remember the nightmares. Figuratively and literally. If it weren't for Princess Luna I don't think I would've ever gotten over them."

"Which means we can't let Rumble quit camp just because he didn't find something he's good at," Scootaloo firmly declared. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders never deem anypony to be a lost cause, and it's time he knew that!" Then she smiled. "And I have a pretty good idea where we can find him."





Scootaloo's hunch involved a practice field that the Wonderbolts had set up not far from Ponyville so that they could train close to where their next show was to take place. Several Wonderbolts were currently flying overhead in different formations, though Thunderlane was currently nowhere to be seen.

Sure enough, Rumble was there and was sitting up in the stands while watching the bolts fly past overhead. A faint sigh of longing escaped his lips, but the Crusaders were too far away to hear it.

"Hey, Rumble! You got a minute to talk?" Scootaloo called out, causing the colt to nearly jump in surprise.

"Oh, it's you girls," The little pegasus remarked, trying not to sound annoyed. "What did you wanna talk about?"

Scootaloo explained. "Look, we just wanted to apologize for not being able to find anything you liked to do today. We were working with a lot of blank flanks, and I mean a lot."

Rumble shrugged. "Oh, that's all? Well, thanks for the concern but I wasn't worried. I'm fine."

"You don't have to lie, we know you're not really fine," Apple Bloom insisted as she got up in Rumble's face. "It's frustratin', and we all know what it's like."

"I'm not frustrated! Stop getting on my case!" Rumble demanded! "I didn't even wanna go to your little day camp, my big brother forced me to go because he's annoying like that! I don't need him or anypony else trying to control my life!"

"Rumble, it's okay, you don't have to take it out on anypony else," Scootaloo pleaded. "Please, just calm down. Not getting a cutie mark isn't the end of the world even if it seems like it is. We're not gonna give up on you."

Sweetie Belle added. "We can help you get your cutie mark no matter how long it takes."

But Rumble snorted. "I don't want or need your help. I don't want to get my cutie mark!"

The Crusaders all flinched as Apple Bloom remarked. "I must have hay in my ears or somethin', 'cause I'm pretty sure I just heard Rumble say he-"

Rumble interrupted. "You heard right! I don't want my cutie mark! That's the whole reason I didn't want to go to your camp in the first place. Now please leave me alone!"

"But Rumble, are you nuts?!" Scootaloo questioned the colt. "Everypony gets a cutie mark eventually. Not wanting a cutie mark is like... like... like not wanting to breath or something like that."

"Why would you even not want a cutie mark? Don't you wanna know what it is you're good at?" Sweetie Belle inquired of the colt.

Rumble narrowed his eyes. "I already know what I wanna be and what I want to do with my life. I don't need a cutie mark to tell me that. In fact, I think cutie marks are silly! They force you into doing one thing for the rest of your life whether you want it or not, even if you'd rather do something else entirely!"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes in response. "Now that's just crazy talk, Rumble. You know that's not how cutie marks work. Take the three of us for example," She gestured to each shield as she explained. "Sure, we all got them at the same time and dedicated our lives to helpin' others. But there's still lots we do that don't involve our cutie marks. Scootaloo rides her scooter or goes bungee jumpin' whenever she's not helpin' us out. And it wasn't too long ago that Sweetie Belle spent a day with her big sister with cutie marks only slightly bein' involved. Heck, I still like to make potions with Zecora sometimes."

"Really? And when was the last time you did that?" Rumble questioned.

Apple Bloom fought back a gulp. "Well, it's been a long time. Zecora is very cautious about what she lets me work with. I was one of her first friends after all."

Rumble wasn't convinced. "And in the meantime you've been doing exactly the thing you got your cutie mark in, the thing you're stuck doing for the rest of your life!" Then he sighed and took a deep breath. "Look, it's fine if you wanna spend your days helping other blank flanks figure out their purpose, but this is one blank flank who's just fine without your help. He already knows what his special talent is going to be, so why should he bother with stuff that's not going to get him his cutie mark? I'm not gonna be put in a box! So thanks, but I'm not going back to your camp. And you can tell my brother the same thing if he finds out."

When Rumble flew off after making such remarks, the Crusaders were left to ponder this unusual development. They weren't sure what exactly to make of Rumble's staunch opposition to cutie marks. "Wow, that was... unexpected," Scootaloo commented. "Have you ever heard of anything stranger than a pony who doesn't want a cutie mark? I sure haven't."

"It's like Granny always says:" Apple Bloom declared. "'Someponies have to find their own hay.'"

Scootaloo shot Apple Bloom a skeptical look. "Are you sure she didn't mean 'Find their own way.'?"

"Oh, yeah, that would make more sense." The farm filly realized.

Sweetie Belle just sighed. "Well, if Rumble really doesn't want a cutie mark then we can't force him. Let's just focus on the camp full of ponies who do want their cutie mark," And she added. "I'm sure somepony will talk some sense into Rumble eventually. Nopony can stay a blank flank forever even if they want to."

Unknown to Sweetie Belle or the other Crusaders, Rumble had overheard. And that gave him an idea. "A blank flank forever? That might not be such a bad idea." He thought to himself as he got an idea. A rather awful sounding one if you were to ask anyone else. But in his mind he was convinced it was the only way to make his point known and guarantee that cutie marks wouldn't bother him.





The next day dawned bright and early for the attendees at Cutie Mark Day Camp. And as luck would have it the first activity of the day was one that all the foals could do without the need of a grown-up to watch over them: Jam making. The Crusaders showed them what to do and everypony had a great time.

No one really wanted it to end, but the ringing of the bell meant it was time to move on to another activity even as several jam filled colts and fillies complained. "This is fun, and I didn't get my cutie mark yet," Pipsqueak complained. "What if I'm not good at anything else?"

"That's just crazy talk, it can take multiple sessions before you know if you're really good at something or not," Scootaloo explained. "Besides, you don't get your cutie mark just because you're good at something. If that was the case ponies would get their cutie marks so fast the tree of us would be out of work!"

Kettle Corn spoke up while splattering some jam. "Take me for example, Pipsqueak. I'm real good at painting circles, but I got my cutie mark in haikus."

Skeedaddle chimed in. "Which is what I like!" Then he looked at his flank and unhappily sighed. "But I'm still a blank flank."

"So, what," Pipsqueak blinked, trying to understand the concept. "You can't get a cutie mark in something you like? Is that it?"

Apple Bloom protested. "Now, we didn't say that."

But at that moment the cabin door swung open as Rumble declared! "You don't have to! You Crusaders like to think you know what everypony needs to be doing with their lives, don't you? But maybe you didn't stop to think that not everypony needs or even wants a cutie mark."

"Rumble, you came back?!" Scootaloo blinked. "But I thought you didn't want to come back."

The pegasus colt simply declared. "I came back because I wanted to offer your campers a chance to truly be free. The kind of freedom you can't get with cutie marks," He gestured to Kettle Corn as he told her. "Hope you like haikus and not circle painting, because that's what your life is going to be like from now on. You'll be way too busy writing haikus to do any circle painting."

Kettle Corn flinched as she looked down at her flank. "But... I like painting circles."

Apple Bloom stomped a hoof down. "Rumble, stop tryin' to scare our campers. You know that's not how cutie marks work."

"Can you really be so sure?" Rumble questioned the farm filly. "Or did you stop to think that maybe you don't know as much about cutie marks as you think you know?"

"Was I speakin' old ponish or somethin'?" Apple Bloom snorted at Rumble as several other campers started crowding around him. " I just said it wasn't!" But before she or the other Crusaders had a chance to react, Rumble began to burst into song and dance about how he viewed cutie marks.

Rumble's little performance drew just about everypony in the cabin, and they all followed after him as he appeared to be leading them away.

"Rumble, what do you think you're doing?" Diamond Tiara questioned the colt. "Those are campers for Cutie Mark Day Camp."

Silver Spoon added. "I don't get what your problem with cutie marks is, but you shouldn't be dragging others into it."

Rumble snorted. "I thought you two would understand, your cutie marks have forced you to uphold your family's legacies even when it brought you nothing but pain and sorrow. And not everypony's lucky enough to have friends who can bail them out," Then he declared. "These campers have finally seen the light, so now they're my campers and I'm starting a new camp!" He dug a line into the dirt with a hoof as he declared. "From now on, everypony on this side of the line is in Camp Blank Flanks Forever!"

"Blanks Flanks Forever!" The colts and fillies all cheered!

Scootaloo stuttered. "B-b-but you... you can't be a blank flank forever!" Her words caused all the foals to gasp quite audibly!

Rumble just shook his head. "You just don't get it, do you? I'm giving these campers a chance to live their lives free from the pressures of having to get a cutie mark. A place where they can appreciate their blank flankiness without being pressured to get a cutie mark!"

In vain, Scootaloo tried to plead. "Now hold on, everypony. Let's be reasonable about this."

But Rumble only loudly shouted and chanted! "Blank flanks forever!" And he led a chorus of similarly cheering colts and fillies away.

The Crusaders, along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, could only watch in stunned silence.

"So, does anypony wanna tell me what the heck just happened there?" Diamond questioned. "Because I'm still trying to understand it."

"I don't know. I'm still trying to figure it out for myself." Sweetie Belle commented.

Scootaloo questioned. "What I wanna know is: Has everypony gone mad?!"

Apple Bloom could only gaze out towards the fleeing blank flanks as she glumly remarked. "In a word: yes."





The Crusaders glumly moped about in the empty cabin where the jam making had been taking place just a short time ago. Now, they and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the only ones still in it.

At least that was until Starlight Glimmer happened to come trotting in. She blinked in surprise at how empty the cabin was. "Hey, where is everypony? Weren't you supposed to be making jam? I know I was busy with Thunderlane over whether Rumble could come back, but I thought things were under control," Looking around she asked. "Where is Rumble, anyway?"

"He's gone and started his own camp," Apple Bloom commented. "He showed up, started talkin' about how bad cutie marks were, and everypony started believin' him."

Starlight couldn't help but shudder. "That's what I used to think, until Twilight and her friends showed up and made my village see otherwise." She thought to herself, but instead of saying it out loud she asked. "So, what exactly are all the campers doing now?"

Scootaloo, who was looking out at the camp through a telescope, commented. "It looks like whatever they want whenever they want."

"It doesn't sound all that different from they were doing with us." Sweetie Belle commented in a puzzled tone.

"Really? Then what was the point of it all?" Silver Spoon questioned.

Scootaloo turned to the others. "The point is that Rumble is a mad pony who must be stopped!" She closed the telescope quite ominously.

Starlight protested. "Now now, there's no need for... whatever it is you're thinking of," She tried to caution. "I'm sure Rumble didn't really mean what he said earlier. Before anypony does anything they'll regret later, why not try to talk to him again? Remember, the key is to remain calm."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Remain calm. We can do that."

But it wasn't long before Sweetie Belle and Rumble were getting into a shouting match with each other! "Cutie marks... make you... special!" Sweetie roared!

"By putting you in a special little box!" Rumble growled back!

"Special!" Sweetie shouted!

"Box!" Rumble shouted back!

Starlight quickly intervened to break up the fighting. "Okay, okay, that's quite enough," And she told Sweetie Belle. "I think you've 'remained calm' long enough."

But just then Sweetie Belle noticed something that she hadn't before, Kettle Corn had crudely painted over her cutie mark with yellow paint. It didn't really match her coat, but the intent behind it was still obvious. "Kettle Corn, you covered your cutie mark?! Why would you do such a thing?!"

Kettle Corn stepped forward and answered. "I'm blank flank again, keeping my options open. I'm more than haikus."

Diamond blinked. "But... you just haikued right then! We all heard you! Covering up your cutie mark won't make it disappear. Believe me, I tried."

But Rumble said to Kettle Corn. "Don't listen to them, they already have their cutie marks and they'll say anything to make you join them. But you're with us now, you're an open-ended question, Kettle Corn. That's something that those cutie marked ponies can never take away from you! Right, blank flanks?!"

"Blank flanks forever!" The crowd cheered, prompting Rumble to smile.

Scootaloo shut the telescope, making it click rather ominously.

Sensing that things were escalating rather quickly, Starlight looked at Rumble and told the colt. "Rumble, I'd like to talk to you. Alone if you wouldn't mind."

"What? Are you taking the side of the Cutie Mark Crusaders now?" Rumble questioned as he was picked up by Starlight's magic and carried away. "No fair using your magic! Put me down!"

Starlight obeyed once the two were indeed alone in a remote part of the camp grounds. "Rumble, I know what you're going through, I've been where you've been."

"No you haven't!" Rumble growled! "You don't know the kind of trouble cutie marks can bring! And I don't need you telling me what to do."

The mare insisted in as calm a tone as she could. "Actually, I do. You've probably heard rumors about my past, about how I used to be evil."

The pegasus colt shrugged his hooves. "Maybe I heard it once or twice, what does that matter? It's not true, is it? If you were really evil you'd have gone to jail or something. That's where Mom and Dad say all the bad ponies end up."

But with a slight gulp Starlight confessed. "Well, not always, though some might say that's where I should've ended up. The rumors you've heard are true: I once hated cutie marks as much as you do now. I even tried to run an entire village where everypony had to give up their cutie marks and serve me, though I still kept my cutie mark and merely 'pretended' to have gotten rid of it."

"So, what's your point?" Rumble questioned, only half heartedly paying attention.

Starlight paused, taking a deep breath. The truth about her past was still a delicate subject for her. "My point is: In the end it didn't work. Twilight and her friends came to my village, exposed my lies, and forced me to flee. The villagers all got their cutie marks back, and eventually I had to realize that I was blaming cutie marks for something I couldn't control. When my friend moved away I thought it was the end of the world, I closed myself off and couldn't make any more friends. I started looking for something to blame besides myself because I couldn't handle the fact that I was in a situation where I didn't have control," Looking Rumble in the eyes she told the colt. "I have a feeling it's the same thing with you."

"You think this is about control, don't you?" Rumble coldly retorted. "I have control of my life, I know what I want to be. Why do I need a cutie mark to tell me that?"

"Rumble, cutie marks don't control your life or make you have to give up control," Starlight protested while shaking her head. "A cutie mark is what you make of it. We aren't defined by our cutie marks, no matter what they may be. Surely you noticed it with Kettle Corn who got a haiku cutie mark, even though she likes circle painting way more."

"Yeah, and you saw how it forced her to haiku," Rumble growled. "And I'm not taking any chances! I don't need some mark on my flank limiting my destiny, keeping me from what I'm meant to do! Now let me go, I've wasted enough time talking to you when I've got a whole camp of blank flanks to manage."

Reluctantly, Starlight watched as the little colt trotted away. "Well that could've gone better," She unhappily thought to herself. "Between Rumble and Pharaynx, I think I'm starting to lose my touch when it comes to giving pep talks."





Rumble returned to Camp Blank Flanks Forever just in time to see Skeedaddle and Pipsqueak competing in a friendly game of horseshoes. Skeedaddle managed to get his horseshoe to land right on the pike.

"Wow, Skeedaddle! You're cracking great!" Pipsqueak exclaimed! "Just as good as Mr. Thunderlane!"

"Thanks," Skeedaddle replied before he gasped in horror! "Oh no! What if I get a cutie mark in it?!"

Rumble trotted up. "Then you'll be stuck doing it for the rest of your life!" And he shouted out! "Blank flanks, no more potential cutie mark activities!" 

And all activity in the camp ceased at that very moment, all except for Kettle Corn who just went back to circle painting without a care in the world. She already had her cutie mark, so she had nothing to fear from getting another one.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp ground, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sitting on the docks and wondering where it had all gone wrong. "So much for Cutie Mark Day Camp." Sweetie Belle glumly remarked.

"It was a swell idea! Everythin' was goin' great," Apple Bloom declared before she narrowed her eyes. "Until that pesky Rumble showed up. Seems like we can't talk any sense at all into him."

Just then there came a loud whooshing sound! The Crusaders looked up in time to see the Wonderbolts zooming overhead. And seeing the Wonderbolts gave Scootaloo an idea. "Well maybe we can't, but I bet I know somepony who can. Come on!"





Thunderlane was more than a little surprised to learn just what his little brother had been up in such a short amount of time when the Crusaders told him. "So, let me see if I got this straight. My little brother somehow up-ended your entire camp, and in less than a day? How in Equestria did he do that? I didn't think he had nearly that much potential."

"Well," Sweetie Belle began as she inhaled and then started rapidly explaining. "It all started when he couldn't toss a horseshoe or paddle a kayak or shoot an arrow or use a pencil, and we felt bad that he wasn't good at anything, but now we know that he doesn't want a cutie mark at all because he's afraid he'll get stuck doing something he doesn't like forever, you know?" She stopped only to gasp and catch her breath.

Thunderlane blinked, having somehow understood every last part of that sentence. "Actually, no I don't. I know my little brother better than anypony, and I know he's not bad at those activities. He used to love doing all those things with me when he was younger and before I became a Wonderbolt."

Apple Bloom blinked back. "Well that doesn't make even a lick of sense. Unless..." Suddenly it came to her! "He was bein' bad at stuff on purpose! I thought there was somethin' odd about the way he messed up on dancin'."

Thunderlane just sighed. "Oh, I was afraid of this. I should've seen this coming."

"Um, afraid of what, exactly?" Scootaloo asked him.

Thunderlane explained. "When I became a Wonderbolt it was quite a shock to the whole family, but Rumble especially. I think it's because he looks up to me so much. Ever since I became a Wonderbolt, Rumble's either watching me or trying to fly like me. He won't do anything else, no matter how hard I try to convince him. That's why I thought your camp was such a good idea for him. He's gonna have to grow up and get his cutie mark eventually, but he shouldn't live in fear of that. He should be willing to make the most of the time he's got now and try to find what he wants to do best."

"But if he really wants to be a Wonderbolt like you someday then what's the problem with that?" Scootaloo questioned. "I kind of wanna become a Wonderbolt too someday."

Thunderlane shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with Rumble wanting to be a Wonderbolt eventually, if that's really what he wants to do with his life then that's fine. But right now he's not even giving anything else a chance," He sighed. "I tried to talk some sense into him by telling him that being a Wonderbolt takes more than just being a good flyer, and that it's not always a full time job. I even told him that the only way he can join the team right now is if he's willing to be the mascot, and we don't even have a mascot. But he just doesn't wanna listen."

"Yeah, even Starlight couldn't talk sense into him. She tried." Sweetie Belle commented.

Apple Bloom grinned. "That's because we've been goin' about this all wrong. What Rumble has isn't a cutie mark problem. He's not afraid of bein' put in a box or growin' up. He thinks he already knows what he wants his destiny to be. He's just worried he'll get a cutie mark that'll keep him from it. It's too bad we can't invite Troubleshoes to talk to him, we were able to convince him not to give up on his dream because of his cutie mark. And I'll bet the same could work with Rumble."

Thunderlane simply smiled. "Well, I think I know of a way that'll help him understand. It's something I started doing once I joined the Wonderbolts, something I never would've imagined I'd ever end up doing." And he whispered his plan to the Crusaders.





Back at the camp grounds, all the blank flanked colts and fillies were finding it hard to just sit around and do nothing. Pipsqueak yawned. "Rumble, I don't know how to say this, but Camp Blank Flanks Forever is... well..."

"Boring!" Skeedaddle protested. "What's the point of having a camp to ourselves if we can't do anything?"

Rumble shook his head. "I know it's not very fun, but we can't risk doing things that'll get us our cutie marks. If we want to stay blank flanks forever then that's what we need to do. You all don't wanna get a cutie mark that'll force you into something you don't want, right?"

"No, but I wanna have some fun. That's why we all signed up for this camp," Skeedaddle complained as he fell out of a tree he'd been hanging upside down in (fortunately, not very far off the ground). "What if I get a cutie mark in being bored? Can you even get a cutie mark in being bored?"

"Don't know, mate," Pipsqueak yawned again. "But I do know that if this keeps up we're all going to die of boredom."

Just then, over the loudspeakers came the familiar voice of Starlight Glimmer! "Attention, blank flanks of Cutie Mark Day Camp! Please come to the docks for a special surprise!"

The foals all rushed to the specified location, only to stop short when they saw the line Rumble had drawn the day before. None dared to cross it.

Sweetie Belle smiled as she looked at the foals and announced. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders are pleased to announce today's special guest – Thunderlane!"

On cue the pegasus stallion swooped in, still clad in the blue flight suit of the Wonderbolts! "Hey, everypony, it's me!" H called before landing on the ground, prompting a chorus of oohs and ahhs from the crowd.

"Y'all know who you can thank for this!" Apple Bloom declared as she gestured to Starlight Glimmer. "She made all the arrangements, includin' gettin' Thunderlane away from the Wonderbolts for the day!"

Starlight then encouraged. "Now, everypony's who interested, gather 'round for a day of activities with a genuine Wonderbolt!"

The ranks soon broke as Skeedaddle looked to Rumble and said. "Sorry, Rumble. But cutie mark or not, I'm not missing out on this! It's not every day you get to hang out with an actual Wonderbolt!"

Rumble unhappily sighed as he watched the other blank flanks abandon him one by one for various activities with Thunderlane: Tug of war, horseshoe tossing, and even making a replica of Twilight's castle entirely out of popsicle sticks. Even Kettle Corn left, removing the paint that had been covering up her cutie mark. And she soon forgot all about haikuing and circle painting (at least for a little while).





The day flew by in the blink of an eye, and soon Starlight Glimmer announced. "Alrightly, campers. I know you're having fun but Thunderlane can't be here forever. So it's time for our last activity of the day."

"And we've saved the best for last!" Sweetie Belle said with a smile as she then gestured a hoof. "Behold: A Wonderbolt obstacle course! Just like the one they'll fly through in their upcoming show!" It consisted of a series of hoops and tunnels in a circular layout.

Scootaloo pointed out. "But since not everypony has wings or can fly, we set it on the ground. But you'll have so much fun you won't care. We'll even run the course with you!" And the foals all cheered.

It wasn't long before the entire camp was running through the obstacle course, and getting quite dirty in the process.

Rumble was about to join in, when he noticed Thunderlane working over a bubbling pot that had some kind of stew cooking in it. "Thunderlane, aren't you gonna run the course?"

Thunderlane shook his head. "The Crusaders have everything under control, and I think you owe them an apology. Miss. Starlight sure seems to think so."

"Believe it or not, Rumble, we arranged for Thunderlane's visit today specifically for your benefit," Starlight instructed. "He told me everything. About why you really don't wanna get a cutie mark."

Rumble gulped and swallowed hard. "But so's wrong about me wanting to be a Wonderbolt? It's what every pegasus dreams of being."

"Not every pegasus," Thunderlane protested. "I know lots of pegasi who haven't given any thought to joining the Wonderbolts even briefly. And I certainly didn't set out initially to audition for them. But after they heard about my incredible skills during the Equestria Games, they told me there was an opening and they wanted me to fill it. I think it helps that Rainbow Dash put in a good word for me, though I think she also wanted somepony lower on the totem pole to take all the attention away from her," Then he gestured to the pot. "I may be a Wonderbolt now, and my cutie mark may be about speed and control, but you know what I really like to do?" When his little brother shook his head he explained. "Cooking!"

Rumble blinked. "You? Cook? Since when?"

Thunderlane answered. "Since I became a Wonderbolt. It turns out we all have to take turns cooking the meals at HQ. I didn't want to at first, but now I love it! I just wish I'd tried it sooner. Maybe I'd become a professional chef instead of a Wonderbolt."

"You really think so? Even in spite of your cutie mark?" Rumble pondered.

Thunderlane nodded his head as he offered a spoon to his little brother. "Of course! There's more to me than just flying, and I bet there's more to you, too. Now come on, give it a try. Cutie mark or not, I'm sure you'll like it."

"And don't forget, the next time the Cutie Mark Crusaders come by you need to apologize to them." Starlight declared.





That opportunity wouldn't come for quite a while. The Crusaders were too busy running the obstacle course to take much notice of what Rumble was doing, especially since all the campers were enjoying the obstacle course too.

Kettle Corn even declared. "Obstacles are fun! Running free through mud and dirt, beats circle painting!"

Apple Bloom nodded. "That haiku just about sums it up. And I promise, tomorrow we can spend time doin' circle paintin'. You'll like that!"

"Yipee!" Kettle Corn cheered.

Just then, Sweetie Belle noticed Rumble with Thunderlane and Starlight and called out to him. "Hey, Rumble. Aren't you gonna do our Wonderbolt course?"

Rumble replied. "Nah, I'm busy cooking today. But if you leave it up I might try it tomorrow."

"So, you're gonna come back tomorrow, then?" Scootaloo asked him. "You're not worried about getting your cutie mark at all?"

The pegasus colt smiled. "Nah, I've finally come to realize that cutie marks are inevitable, but they don't have to define you. I was worried about the wrong thing. I'm sure I'll grow up to be a great flyer, seeing as it kind of runs in the family and what not. For now, it's time to see what else I'm good at it while I still have the time," Then he told the Crusaders. "Sorry about yesterday, I didn't want you to feel bad for doing what you like to do. You truly are every bit as great as they say you are."

"Hey, we're just glad to have you and the rest of our campers back," Scootaloo commented. "And whether you get your cutie mark during this camp or sometime down the road, you can always count on us to be there to help you figure it out if necessary."

Rumble nodded his head. "I'll take that advice to heart, Crusaders. And just wait 'til you see what Thunderlane helped me make. You're gonna love it!" And just like that, Cutie Mark Day Camp was back on and guaranteed to be better than ever.
> S8 E6: Surf and/or Turf (What If?) (Bonus Chapter)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had only been about a week since Twilight's School of Friendship had nearly been closed down by the EEA. But with the threat having passed and the school now cleared to operate, life had started to settle into a bit of a routine for all involved.

And that meant there were now things to be settled and sorted out that had previously been neglected: Among them was the issue of permission for field trips. Despite Twilight's school not being an EEA school, field trips were still deemed a necessity and students were expected to have permission before they could go on any of them.

So, before a weekend, Twilight had taken the liberty of having permission slips passed out to all students. "Remember, your parents, guardians, or caretakers must sign these forms," She told them. "Otherwise, you can't go on field trips with us."

Silverstream was one of the students most excited by the prospect of "Field Trips" despite never having been on any before! But there was one not so small problem that the young hippogriff/seapony faced in getting it signed, she didn't live solely on Mount Aris or in Seaquestria. And with both of her parents being required to sign the permission slip, she knew it was going to be difficult, especially considering what her family was currently working through.

Still, a trip back to Mount Aris (and inevitably Seaquestria) would give her a chance to see her baby brother, Terramar. He'd wanted to go to the school too, but his parents had said he was "too young" and no amount of pleading from him could change their minds.

As Silverstream was preparing to board a train back to Mount Aris, she was surprised to have her headmare greet her on the platform. "Headmare Twilight? What a surprise. Did I forget a homework assignment or something?"

Twilight shook her head. "No, Silverstream, your work so far is up to date," She then asked the hippogriff. "Have you seen Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo around by any chance?"

"No I haven't," Silverstream innocently answered. "Why?"

"Nopony's seen them since this morning," Twilight explained in an urgent tone of voice. "They didn't leave a note or anything, and there's no signs that they were abducted or otherwise harmed. But their families are concerned, and so I am. It's not like them to just disappear. If you happen to see them, please make sure to let them know their families are looking for them."

"You think they ran away from Ponyville?" Silverstream questioned with concern.

Twilight shook her head again. "No, they wouldn't do that. But I've already searched all their usual hiding places and haven't found them."

The hippogriff gave a salute. "Well don't worry, Headmare Twilight. I'll keep an eye out for them before I go back to Mount Aris! And if I find them, you'll be the first to know!"

Twilight smiled. "I'm sure you will, Silverstream. And make sure to tell your Cousin Skystar that Pinkie Pie says hello."

Silverstream nodded and then stepped aboard the train. Soon it had departed from the station in Ponyville and was on its way to Mount Aris. Once the hippogriff was certain she was alone in her train car, she bent down beneath her seat and said to a piece of baggage. "It's alright, you can come out now. No creatures are around but us."

The baggage (which was a suit case) opened up, and out tumbled the Cutie Mark Crusaders who had stowed away inside it! "Thanks for not rattin' us out to Twilight, Silverstream." Apple Bloom smiled.

"We didn't mean to make everypony worry about us, but we really wanted to see Mount Aris." Sweetie Belle commented.

"And Seaquestria!" Scootaloo declared while buzzing her wings in excitement! "You get to live in two great places! How cool is that?!"

But Silverstream sighed as a rare frown formed on her face. "It's not really that cool, it's tearing my family apart and I really don't like it." The hippogriff/seapony had good reason to think this as the train sped along to Mount Aris. She knew her family was still working out all the details of who would live where.

Yet even Silverstream couldn't have imagined just what was going to be in store for her and her guests upon arrival. They were going to be witnesses to a conflict that would be unlike anything any of them had ever dealt with before.



"What do you mean it's tearing your family apart?" Sweetie Belle questioned. "I thought your whole species went back to Mount Aris after the Storm King was defeated."

The young hippogriff corrected as her lips seemed to quiver. "Well, that's only half true. It's kind of complicated to explain," Her eyes soon settled on a discarded brochure lying on the ground in front of her. "Here, maybe this will explain things better than I can."

The Crusaders took turns reading aloud from the brochure: "Mount Aris and Seaquestria are two separate kingdoms jointly ruled by her majesty, Queen Novo. We have worked to restore our old home on Mount Aris to accomadate visitors, but we invite you all to visit Seaquestria and learn how the hippogriffs lived as seaponies after escaping the Storm King's clutches. Visitors are welcome day or night."

"That doesn't really explain it, Silverstream." Apple Bloom commented with a frown.

Silverstream nervously replied. "I know, because what my family's going through is something I don't think too many other families are going through," She tried to explain as best as she could. "After we learned about the Storm King's defeat, Aunt Novo said we didn't have to stay underwater anymore and we could go back up to Mount Aris to live. Some seaponies turned back into hippogriffs and joined her on land. My dad was one of the first to volunteer, he loves being a hippogriff. But others, like my mom, loved being seaponies and didn't wanna have to give that up to live on Mount Aris. So it was decided to split up the Pearl of Transformation among our kind, and Seaquestria could be its own little colony. Since one queen can't always make all the decisions for two kingdoms though, my mom basically acts as the leader of Seaquestria. So as you can probably imagine, I kind of do a lot of back and forth," She clutched her necklace. "This is what makes the transformation from hippogriff to seapony and back a possibility."

"Isn't it true that Twilight tried to steal the whole pearl once?" Sweetie Belle questioned.

Silverstream nodded. "Yeah, but it's all water under the bridge now. Since it ultimately led to the Storm King's defeat Aunt Novo decided to let bygones be bygones and all that," She then sighed anew. "I'm actually really glad you three are coming along with me. I'm already eager to learn all there is know about your world, and I can't wait to show you mine. But I'm worried about Terramar." A slight grin escaped her lips as the hippogriff chuckled. "Bet you'd never guess I was an older sibling. I'm older than Terramar by at least a year and a half. But he's the coolest and cutest little brother you'll ever meet."

Sweetie only commented. "It kind of sounds like my family, like how I'm always staying with Rarity because Mom and Dad are on vacation or something."

"Or how I've started spending a lot of time with my aunts because my parents are so busy with work." Scootaloo added.

The young hippogriff smiled briefly. "You all have such wonderful families. My family though..." She paused and put a claw to her chin. "This is gonna sound ridiculous coming from me, but my family's weird. Like really weird. Mom and Dad are really proud about being what they are, it's almost like it's a contest between them to prove which is better. And now Headmare Twilight basically wants me to get permission from both of them while I'm back home for the weekend."

Apple Bloom just saluted. "Well don't you fret none, Silverstream. We'll be here for you no matter what your family's like."

Scootaloo chimed in. "And there's no way your parents are weirder than mine. I love my mom and dad, but they have the strangest ways of showing their affection for me, it's embarrassing." Her cheeks flushed red at the statement.





The train finally slowed to a halt with a screech on the brakes and a puff of steam. The train station for Mount Aris resided at the bottom of the mountain, just before the daunting, spiral structure that led up to the top.

Just as Silverstream and her guests departed from the train and left the station, a seapony with an apple greenish white coat called out to them as he waved with a fin. He swam right over to them, allowing them to see his gentle, innocent moderate cyan eyes, and moderate cyan and pale turquoise mane. He suddenly leapt into the air, transforming midway through in a flash of light as he shed his fins and gained wings and a break. "Big sis!" He happily exclaimed as he landed on the ground and openly embraced his fellow hippogriff in a tight hug!

"Lil’ Terri-Mary!" Silverstream exclaimed right back as she returned the hug full force! "Oh, it's so good to see you again, little brother!" When the hug ended she gestured a paw over her fellow hippogriff. "Girls, this is my brother, Terramar," She then gestured to the Crusaders. "And Terramar, these are the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo."

Terramar smiled. "Nice to meet you all. You're the young siblings of some of Silverstream's teachers, right?"

"Kind of," Scootaloo massaged the back of her neck with a hoof. "Rainbow Dash and I aren't related, we're sisters on a technical level," Then she looked at the hippogriff. "That was pretty cool how you transformed in mid air like that!"

Terramar held up his Pearl of Transformation necklace. "Well, I kind of had to get good at it considering what's going on with our families, especially because we kind of have two houses."

Sweetie Belle seemed to pick up on what Terramar was saying as she slowly commented. "Oh... I see. I didn't know it was like that."

Silverstream protested. "No, no, no, it's not like that at all! Mom and Dad still love each other, we're still together. They're just really proud of what they are, and they kind of have jobs that make it difficult to be together all the time."

Terramar nodded. "Yeah, Dad's head of the hippogriff army, he and General Seaspray go way back!"

Silverstream promptly asked her brother. "Is Dad on duty? I need him and Mom to sign this," She pulled out her permission slip. "Headmare Twilight says I have to get them to sign off on this if I wanna go on field trips! And field trips sound so exciting!"

"Well actually, he's just about to kick off the 'Glad to Be a Hippogriff' Festival." Terramar told his sister.

"Wow, looks like we got here just in time!" Apple Bloom exclaimed with a gasp.

But both hippogriffs unhappily sighed and seemed to look embarrassed, Terramar especially as he explained in a whisper. "Not really, Dad does this every weekend."





The Crusaders followed the hippogriff siblings up Mount Aris, up the massive and winding stair case that left them exhausted. "You're lucky you can fly," Scootaloo panted as they neared the top. "I can't imagine how hard it must be to go up and down these steps all the time."

"That's kind of why we keep them. It's a lot harder to invade Mount Aris when you have to go all the way up to the top, not that it stopped the Storm King but he attacked from the sky so that's different." Terramar explained as Silverstream seemed to shudder briefly at the mention of the weather controlling monster's name.

The Crusaders barely had time to catch their breath when a rather tall male hippogriff landed in front of them. He had a commanding presence given his pale, light grayish sapphire blue coat, wavy white and light sapphire bluish gray mane and tail, and of course brilliant orange eyes.

Silverstream and Terramar weren't intimidated by the bigger hippogriff in their midst, they just threw their paws around him and hugged him tightly! "Dad!" They happily exclaimed.

The male hippogriff just let out a happy screech as he returned the hug. "Hey, kids, good to see you again, both of you," He smiled, first looking to Terramar. "Haven't seen you in days, son. Wish you'd come around more often. You could stand to learn more about how great being a hippogriff is," Then he looked to Silverstream. "And Silverstream, this is certainly a nice surprise. You keeping up with your grades in school?"

Silverstream nodded. "Yeah, Dad, Headmare Twilight says I'm one of the most promising students," And she cleared her throat. "Uh, it's okay if I brought some friends along with me, right? They wanted to see Mount Aris and Seaquestria, and I promised them I'd do that."

The male hippogriff smiled. "Oh of course, we're always happy to have visitors on Mount Aris. And they're just in time, I'm sure they'll adore the 'Glad to Be a Hippogriff' Festival. It's the absolute best time to be a hippogriff!"

Terramar, meanwhile, gestured a paw to the older hippogriff while looking at the Crusaders. "Cutie Mark Crusaders, meet our dad, Sky Beak."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Sky Beak, sir," Sweetie Belle was the first one to speak up. "Can I just say how lovely Mount Aris is? It's like just being here is a full time vacation."

Sky Beak chuckled. "Glad you think so. I know not everyone agrees, but as far as I'm concerned there is no better place to be than Mount Aris, especially at this time of year," With a screech he called out to the other hippogriffs. "Come on, everygriff, let's show my daughter's guests some real Mount Aris hospitality! To the refreshment tent for a stein of salmon juice!"

Scootaloo couldn't help but blink. "Wait, you eat fish? But don't you live with them?"

"As seaponies, yes," Sky Beak explained. "We're careful not to eat any of our fish friends. We only eat invading fish species that would ruin our ecosystem. Besides, from what my daughter tells me, you ponies like to fish all the time."

Sweetie nodded. "Yeah, my dad loves to go fishing. When he's not on vacation or at work that's usually what he's doing. I don't really like fish, though," She grimaced a bit. "They're all scaly and slippery."

Sky Beak only chuckled. "Well, I think you'll find salmon juice to be a pleasant surprise. Be careful though, it has a real strong taste to it." And before anyone could say anything else, Sky Beak led them all away to a tent set up on the grassy festival grounds.





A short time later, a satisfied Terramar and Silverstream led the Crusaders away. Silverstream had forgotten all about her permission slip, until she noticed it sticking out from one of her bags. "Oh, I was having so much fun at the festival that I forgot to ask Dad to sign my permission slip. Shoot, a perfectly good opportunity wasted!"

"Hey, it wasn't all bad. We got to meet you dad and enjoy some refreshments," Apple Bloom reassured the hippogriff. "I'm sure there'll be plenty of time durin' the festival to talk to him."

"Yeah, your dad's certainly an... outgoing kind of guy." Sweetie Belle commented.

Terramar nodded even as he sighed. "He really is, isn't he? My whole family is. And that's kind of the problem."

But just then Sweetie's ears happened to pick up the faint sound of something, something beautiful. "What's that wonderful sound?" She asked. "You all hear that, right?"

Terramar nodded again as he began to explain. "What you're hearing are the legendary Harmonizing Heights! Legend says that..." He never got to finish as he saw the filly rush off at a breakneck pace!

The titular Harmonizing Heights consisted of an arch marking the entrance, and several hills surrounded by trees and a small stream with stone steps placed across them. The sound of birds chirping could be heard for miles around.

The little unicorn felt something tug at her as her eyes lit up and she started to twirl around! "Yeah! I love this! This is so awesome!" She shouted!

Terramar nervously asked the other Crusaders. "Uh, is she okay? I've never seen anyone react to the Harmonizing Heights like that."

"Oh, don't mind her, she just really likes music," Scootaloo explained. "I'm sure Seaquestria's got something just as great."

Silverstream massaged the back of her neck with a paw. "I dunno, the best we've got down there are whale songs. Kind of hard to have singing hills underwater."

"But that just means you never have to take a bath, because you get to swim in the ocean!" The pegasus filly buzzed her wings. "What's it like to live underwater and be a seapony?"

"Well, you can find out if you like," Silverstream offered as she grabbed her permission slip. "I need Dad and Mom to sign the slip, so since I missed my chance with Dad earlier I think I'll try my luck with Mom first. She always stays in Seaquestria."

Terramar firmly nodded. "Works for me, I'm actually supposed to stay with her tonight."

Apple Bloom eyed the permission slip as she nervously inquired. "But how are you gonna take that slip down to Seaquestria? Won't it get ruined by all the water?"

The pink coated hippogriff just giggled and chirped. "Headmare Twilight was already aware of that, and she came prepared," She promptly pulled out what looked like some kind of plastic. "This is a special waterproof cover. We tested it after class one day, it works just fine," She slipped the slip into the cover. "There, all set."

"Great, let's go!" Terramar encouraged. "Hopefully Mom isn't in an embarrassing mood like Dad is."





The group headed back down the steps to the docks near the train station. Terramar and Silverstream flew out over the water, motioning for the Crusaders to join them and hold their claws.

The Crusaders obeyed and felt an odd tingling sensation for a moment when they were transformed into seaponies, their hooves replaced with fins and their manes and tails replaced with scales.

None were more thrilled with the transformation than Scootaloo, who quickly got used to her new body and started swimming in loops! "Wow! So this is what living underwater's like! It's so cool! Hey, does my voice sound funny?! Everything sounds funny down here!"

Apple Bloom swam about a bit, but Sweetie Belle seemed kind of hesitant. "I dunno, it looks like it gets kind of dark down here. And is it just me, or does any other creature feel pruny right now?"

Terramar waved a fin. "Oh, don't worry, you'll get used to it. And yeah, it gets kind of dark down here, but as long as you're careful not to go too far away from Seaquestria you'll be okay."

"Just watch out for the currents, they like to change you on at the worst possible moment!" Silverstream cautioned. "Let's just say, going with the flow isn't as easy as it looks."

The five seaponies all swam through the coral reef, soon making their way through a tunnel that led them into the heart of Seaquestria. The whole place seemed vibrant and full of life, seaponies of all kinds were coming and going at will, as were some sea creatures.

Terramar and Silverstream swam up to one of the houses as the Crusaders followed. Inside said house was a female seapony who the Crusaders noticed didn't have a Pearl of Transformation necklace. Instead, she had a necklace that seemed to have been made out of pearl and sea shells. She had a pale, light grayish olive coat, innocent and sweet eyes of light purple, and a pale, light grayish purple and moderate magenta mane and tail (as well as fins). "Hi, Mom!" Silverstream and Terramar greeted.

Ocean Flow smiled and waved a fin. "Welcome home, my children. Always nice to see you again," She booped Terramar on the nose. "And Terramar, no excuses, baby. This time, you're staying for dinner. I was just about to prepare some kelp fritters, your favorite."

"Oh, that's okay, Mom. We already ate at the festival, and so did our friends," Silverstream explained as she gestured a fin. "These are the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They wanted to see what it's like underwater, so I thought I'd show them around while I was here."

Ocean Flow happily greeted her guests. "Any friend of my daughter is a friend of mine. Did she show you all her favorite hiding places from when she was younger?" She giggled. "Both my children are really smart, Silverstream especially. You wouldn't believe how many times she would sneak off with her cousin Skystar and get into trouble," Then she offered. "Would you like to see their baby pictures? I've got an entire scrapbook dedicated to my little pearls."

"Er, no thanks, Mom!" Terramar protested with a raging blush. "Uh, we have to go now. Bye."

Ocean Flow, suspecting nothing, just waved to the seaponies as they departed. "Okay, but don't stay out too long, it's getting late."





"Well, that went well," Terramar commented as all five seaponies returned to the surface and their transformation was undone. "Still, at least she didn't seem obsessed with Seaquestria as much, though I think she was about to mention it."

"Then I guess there's only one way to decide this!" Apple Bloom declared once everyone was back on dry land. "When we Cutie Mark Crusaders are faced with a problem, we draw up a chart. And that's just what we'll do. We'll make a chart comparin' Mount Aris and Seaquestria. Which gets more pros is where you two can stay, or at least Terramar can stay."

Silverstream shot the Crusaders a quirked brow. "Couldn't you just have Terramar flip a coin or something? Heads for Mount Aris and Tails for Seaquestria, or something like that?"

But Terramar protested. "That wouldn't solve anything. I already feel like no matter what I choose I'm letting someone down. If there's even a chance a chart could make my decision easier then I say it's worth a shot!" He looked at the trio of fillies and told them. "Make your chart, and do it quickly before Mom or Dad find out! They're sure to try anything to get me to stay in one place."

So the Crusaders made up a rather crudely drawn and hastily assembled chart in the sand with a roughly circular shape to symbolize Mount Aris and some squiggly lines to symbolize Seaquestria. Both had two columns divided by a line, one for the positives and one for the negatives.

Sweetie Belle used her magic to pick up a stick as she explained. "Okay, let's start with Mount Aris. Pros: It's beautiful, the Harmonizing Heights have no equal and there's always something going on." She drew three check marks in one column.

Scootaloo then took the stick from Sweetie Belle as she started to draw some x's for Mount Aris. "Cons: There's a ton of stairs you have to go up and down every day, 'Glad to Be a Hippogriff' Festival happens every weekend, and it's so big you can get lost easily," Then she went over to the Seaquestria side. "Now for Seaquestria. Pros: Swimming is the best, there's lots of great hiding places and everything sounds funny."

Sweetie took the stick back as she started to draw some x's for Seaquestria. "Cons: There's no paths to run on, it's dark and you've got the changing currents. Also, how do you..." She began but then trailed off.

"What?" Terramar asked her.

Sweetie shook her head. "Forget it, I don't wanna know. I'm sure you have some way of taking care of it," Then she eyed the chart. "Hmm, seems like there's good and bad things about both places. No wonder you're having such a hard time deciding," She turned to Apple Bloom as she declared. "What do you think, Apple Bloom? You haven't said much for either one, so it's up to you to be the tiebreaker."

But Apple Bloom gulped. "I don't know if I can choose. It looks like both are great places to live," She looked at Terramar and Silverstream as she told them both. "I can understand why it's hard for you to decide. Maybe a song will help." And the Crusaders began to sing all at once: 

Your heart is in two places, yet you can only live in one.

You're torn between the hilltops and the tide.

Thank goodness that the Cutie Mark Crusaders have begun to give you hope,

And help you to decide.

But their singing happened to draw the attention of Sky Beak, who swooped down and noticed the chart. "Oh, deciding on where to live?" He commented with a smile. "I can help with that." And before his children could say anything in protest he grabbed them both and began to sing:

These hills, they call to you, they say 'Mount Aris'!

This is your home now, simple and serene.

The sun-dappled leaves or a mountain terrace.

And you can see twenty-three different shades of green.

To dare to compare anywhere to there,

Is simply unfair and just plain wrong.

Colt or mare or you wear feathers, fins, or hair

This is where you belong!

Sky Beak hadn't been singing for very long when Ocean Flow happened to surface. "Dear, don't you think you're being a bit unreasonable?" She pointed out. "You haven't told them what Seaquestria has to offer, but I can!" Then she began to sing:

Seaquestria's the most, you're supposed to be there!

Underneath the sea where you can feel at home.

Swimmin' with your friends, you can spend all day here.

Playin' in the bay here, or splashin' in the foam.

Sailin' through the wavy blue,

You'll view a slew of tortoises.

Forget the rest 'cause the sea's the best.

For all intents and 'porpoises'.

Sky Beak and Ocean Flow began to sing back and forth in argument, each trying to convince Terramar, Silverstream, and to a lesser extent the Crusaders that their view was right. The ensuing debate that was sung sounded something like this:

Build your nest here on Mount Aris!

Live it up here in Seaquestria!

Nothing quite compares to Mount Aris.

The eagles are so regal.

But the schools are cooler,

With their sweet maneuvers.

Star wishes every night.

Starfish by eel light.

Better.

Wetter.

Shinier.

Briner.

Seaquestria!

Mount Aris!

Seaquestria! 

Mount Aris!

That's it, this is the end!

Don't talk to me again!

Both parents finished the song and glared at each other.

Terramar promptly ran off with tears in his eyes. "I don't wanna chose! Why are you making me choose?!" He sobbed.





Sky Beak and Ocean Flow were shocked and speechless to see their youngest child up and flee so abruptly! So shocked in fact that they forgot that they had just gotten into an argument and vowed not to speak to each other. "What he's so upset about?" Sky Beak pondered. "I thought he was going to spend tonight with you, Ocean Flow, just like he's been doing every day this week."

"Yes, because you got to have him all to yourself last week, Sky Beak," Ocean Flow explained. "And in case you've forgotten, I don't go up to Mount Aris, you have come down to Seaquestria."

Sky Beak fought back a gulp. "Honey, you know I can't just leave my post in the hippogriff army. Your sister would have my head."

Ocean Flow retorted. "And she'd chew me out if I even thought of leaving Seaquestria without someone watching over it."

Silverstream growled as she flew towards both of her parents, feeling quite flustered. "Mom! Dad! Please, this has to stop! This is exactly what I was afraid of!"

Both parents blinked. "What are you talking about, Silverstream?" They asked their daughter.

Fighting back tears of her own Silverstream explained. "You two are always fighting and arguing about this, about why you have to live apart from each other and force Terramar and I to live with only one of you. We want our family to be the way it was meant to be, the way it was when we were younger and all together. This is exactly why Terramar wanted to go to the School of Friendship too, so he could get away from all of this."

Scootaloo couldn't help but comment. "I know couples fight sometimes, and I know you both have important jobs, but are you sure what you're doing is really the best way to solve everything?" She pointed to her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders as she told the two. "We've been to Mount Aris and Seaquestria, we think they're both nice places."

"And if it's hard for us to decide which is better, just imagine how poor Terramar must feel having to make this decision every day," Sweetie Belle pointed out. "To him it feels like he's being forced to take sides in a battle he wants no part of."

"Well, we thought that if we worked out an arrangement on when he would be on Mount Aris and when he'd be in Seaquestria, everything would work out just fine." Sky Beak commented very slowly.

Ocean Flow unhappily sighed as her fins drooped. "What we were really doing was refusing to address the issue or even explain it to our children. Terramar must hate us for putting so much pressure on him."

But Silverstream shook her head. "You guys are great parents, I'm happy to have you both! Dad, you always know how to make life on Mount Aris interesting! And Mom, it's because of you that Seaquestria is still a great place to hang out! I could never hate you, and Terramar doesn't either," She then pleaded. "But can't we work out a better solution than having to always go back and forth every week or so?"

Both parents pondered this proposal in silence for about a minute or so, neither saying a word in the mean time as they looked deep into each other's eyes.

At last, however, they both motioned for Silverstream and the Crusaders to come over, and they whispered something into their ears.

"You really think that'll work?" Apple Bloom questioned.

Sky Beak and Ocean Flow both nodded as Sky Beak insisted. "If I know Terramar as well as I'm sure I do, this is guaranteed to catch his attention."

"Just lure him back to the beach, and then leave the rest to us." Ocean Flow advised.

Silverstream saluted. "No worries, Mom and Dad! We've totally got this! Right, Cutie Mark Crusaders?!"

"Right!" The three fillies nodded in reply and followed the hippogriff as she flew away!





It didn't take too long for Terramar to be discovered. He was perched on a tree branch hanging out over the ocean, and looking rather sorry for himself.

"Oh, Terramar, thank goodness!" Silverstream exclaimed in relief. "Please, come out of that tree."

Terramar only stubbornly replied. "No! I'm staying here! That way, I don't have to be on land or in the water!"

"But don't you see that that means you're basically disappointin' both parents?" Apple Bloom pointed out to him. "If you ain't in either place then you're not pleasin' your mom or your dad."

"Isn't that better than pleasing one and disappointing the other?" Terramar pondered. "You're only making me more confused."

Sweetie took a deep breath. "Well, we're sorry. This is kind of hard for us. We're usually much better at solving problems, but I think we kind of got in over our heads this time. We didn't realize that maybe this wasn't something we should be tackling."

The hippogriff shook his head. "No, don't blame yourselves, you didn't do anything wrong. You three and my sis were only trying to help. You had a good idea with that chart," He unhappily sighed. "But Mom and Dad had to come along and make it all about themselves again, like they always do."

Silverstream flew up into the tree and landed on the branch besides her brother. "Terramar, you're not the only one who's affected by this you know."

"Yeah, but you get to go to that awesome school in Equestria. You don't have to worry about it every day like I do." Terramar protested.

The pink coated hippogriff shook her head as she looked deep into Terramar's eyes. "Maybe not, but not a day goes by where I don't think about you and what you're going through. Not a day goes by where I don't wish our family didn't have this problem," She pulled out the permission slip. "I'd probably already have this thing signed if Mom and Dad weren't separated from each other all the time. And I can remember a time when that wasn't the case."

Terramar only questioned as he continued to look out towards the sea. "So, you're not going to try to convince me one way or the other? You don't want me to choose like Mom and Dad do."

"If you come back to the beach with me, you may not have to worry about that choice for much longer," Silverstream explained. "So, whaddya say?"





The young male hippogriff reluctantly decided to oblige his sister's request. He came down from the tree branch he'd been perched on and followed the little entourage that had been sent to retrieve him.

His moderate cyan eyes could hardly believe the sight that greeted them when he approached the beach! Several hippogriffs and seaponies had gathered along the shoreline, some even changing back and forth at will from one species to the other. And right in the center of it were both his parents, who were waving to him from afar.

Silverstream happily explained. "Mom and Dad decided to get everycreature together for a picnic on the beach. And you'd better believe it when they mean everycreature: Hippogriffs and seaponies. Isn't it wonderful, Terri-Mary? It's just like old times."

"Really?!" Terramar hopefully inquired, his heart all a flutter!

Silverstream and the Crusaders nodded as Terramar approached his parents as they resides on both sides of a black and white picnic blanket along the shoreline.

"Hi, son!" Sky Beak greeted in a chipper tone. "Your friends told us how you've been feeling ever since our family's 'disagreements' started happening."

Ocean Flow booped her son on the nose with a fin as she apologized. "And we're sorry if we ever made you think you had to choose between worlds. That wasn't our intention, honey. Never at all."

Sky Beak added. "It doesn't matter if you're a hippogriff or a seapony, you're still our son. And regardless of where our jobs or life may take us, we're still a family and we're going to make more of an effort to be together more often."

Ocean Flow smiled. "You're more than just where you're from or who you live with. We love you because you're you, no matter where you choose to be. We're sorry if we didn't convey that to you in a way that made sense. From now on, even if you spend one week as a seapony and another as a hippogriff, our whole family is going to get together for these shoreside picnics at least once a month."

Terramar happily laughed as he transformed into a seapony to hug his mom and then back into a hippogriff to hug his dad.

Scootaloo then trotted up to Terramar as she told him. "There's one thing we forgot to add to the chart, something we should've taken into account much sooner: Both places have family and friends who love you."

Terramar nodded. "Well, I know that now, thanks to you three. And big sis too, she always knows how to cheer me up."

Silverstream waved a paw as she shrugged off the compliment. "Hey, what are big sisters for?" Then she suddenly remembered! "Oh, this is perfect! Mom! Dad! While you're here there's something I need you to sign for me!" She pulled out the permission slip, now worn and rumpled but still readable. "Headmare Twilight told me I have to get you both to sign this or else I'm not allowed to go on school field trips with my friends."

"How unusual, I don't know what 'field trips' are but I have a feeling you wouldn't wanna miss out on them," Sky Beak commented to his daughter before looking to his wife. "What do you think, Ocean Flow?"

Ocean Flow nodded her head. "These 'field trips' sound like a perfect opportunity for you to learn even more about the world around you, Silverstream. We'll sign it for you and you can give it back to Princess Twilight. Make sure she knows that she's welcome to come and visit Mount Aris and Seaquestria anytime she wants."

"Yeah," Sky Beak declared. "It's because of her that we can finally live in peace without worrying about that no good Storm King hanging around."

Silverstream just chirped! "Oh, I will! I'm sure Headmare Twilight would love to come here, it's like being on vacation all the time!"

"And boy does she need one," Scootaloo whispered under her breath. "I'm surprised she hasn't already booked a trip here because of 'research'." A faint giggle escaped from her lips as she said that.

Sweetie Belle, meanwhile, looked across to Terramar and offered. "I hope you come visit your sister in Equestria sometime. And if you're ever in Ponyville, just call on the Cutie Mark Crusaders! We'll be happy to show you around."

Terramar didn't reply, he was just happy to go off into the sunset with both of his parents. It felt so liberating not having to choose who to stay with.
> S8 E23: Sounds of Silence (What If?) (Bonus Chapter)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even though the map's expansion had been a motivating factor for Twilight to open her own school, she had not been expecting the map itself to suddenly flare up again so soon and so unexpectedly.

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were the ones called by it, as they had both informed Twilight upon arrival at her castle. But it was to the surprise of all three mares as to where this mission would take place, the Peaks of Peril.

"Not much is known about this place," Twilight told her friends as she looked over the map. "Despite the namesake though it doesn't seem like the peaks themselves are particularly dangerous or deadly."

"Then why are they called the Peaks of Peril?" Pinkie Pie questioned.

Twilight could only reply. "I don't know, I didn't name them and no clues behind the origins of their name exist," Then she used her magic to produce a shield that depicted strange creatures. One looked almost like a mix between a pony and a deer, complete with extra fur, antlers and a strange looking horn. "What I do know is that Rockhoof and the Mighty Helm once surveyed the area long ago. Though if Griffonstone and the Smoky Mountains are any indication chances are things have changed greatly."

"What are those creatures, Twilight? They look so... strange." Fluttershy commented.

Twilight explained. "They're called kirin. Apparently they have very strong mental powers and emotions. But they are actually quite gentle creatures who live in peace in their own village," She flipped the shield over. "However, the kirin are said to live close to creatures called the nirik. They are fearsome beasts made of fire that destroy everything they touch, and are driven solely by anger."

Fluttershy gulped. "Oh my. Uh, you sure you don't want to go instead of me, Twilight? Those nirik sound an awful lot like dragons, and dragons and I have a... complicated relationship."

Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, Fluttershy, flanks don't lie. My flank isn't glowing, yours is."

Pinkie just bounced towards Fluttershy and reassured her friend. "Come on, you've got nothing to be afraid of! If we can face down a nasty, overgrown brute like the Storm King, we can handle anything! Am I right?"

Fluttershy slowly replied. "I guess so. And the map has never been wrong before." And indeed it wasn't wrong this time. But nopony in the room could've guessed that there was more to the kirin and the nirik than first thought. The true nature of the two was a discovery that would make this particular mission one to remember for both of the ponies called for it.



The only way out to the Peaks of Peril was by train, so Pinkie and Fluttershy boarded the first one available and set off. Neither knew what truly awaited them in a location that neither had been to before.

"It's too bad Twilight didn't have a guide to give us," Pinkie Pie commented with a giggle. "I remember how crazy prepared she was when Rainbow Dash and I got called to Griffonstone."

Fluttershy nodded. "I remember how determined she seemed when we were heading to the Smoky Mountains. Still, it does seem odd that the map would call us so far away from Equestria."

Pinkie wasn't concerned. "Hey, we'll be fine. The map's never led us into danger."

The formerly timid pegasus replied. "Except for when it called us to Starlight's village and to Hollow Shade."

The pink party pony waved a hoof. "And we came out of both experiences just fine. This is going to be no different, you'll see."

"I hope you're right," Fluttershy nervously commented. "And I just hope we're not gone for too long. I'm not entirely sure the volunteers will be enough to keep Sweet Feather Sanctuary under control. Even Tree Hugger doesn't understand animals the way I do."

Pinkie just reassuringly told her friend. "Relax. These things don't usually take too long," Then she asked. "So, what do you think we've been called for?"

Fluttershy blinked. "Why are you asking me?"

The party pony answered. "Because the last two times I got called by the map it was the pony I got partnered up with who had all the ideas on what to do. Rainbow Dash wanted to rescue the idol and Rarity wanted to get The Tasty Treat packed with ponies. And I heard how much you took charge when you and Applejack went to Las Pegasus."

Fluttershy took a deep breath. "Well, it's impossible to determine what kind of friendship problem we'll need to solve until we get there," Then she put a hoof to her chin. "Although, considering what kind of life lives out here, it wouldn't surprise me if we're supposed to solve a friendship problem with the kirin."

Pinkie pondered. "Do you think it'll involve the nirik? Like maybe the kirin and the nirik don't get along with each other?"

The pegasus flinched at the question. "Oh, I hope not. Those nirik don't sound all that friendly. They sound a lot like dragons: Especially the anger and fire parts."

"But we're friends with dragons now, we even have a dragon student," The party pony pointed out and then gasped! "Maybe the map is telling us where we can find even more students for Twilight's school! Maybe we're supposed to befriend the kirin and the nirik so we can get them to come to Ponyville and attend the School of Friendship!"

Fluttershy nervously laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Pinkie. We don't know what we're going to face or if the kirin will even want us. Any creatures that live in a place like the Peaks of Peril probably don't get a lot of visitors."

"Which is why it's up to us to make sure we solve whatever problem they're having: Friendship or otherwise!" Pinkie vowed. "We'll make things right or our names aren't Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy, which they are!"





There was a train station when the tracks reached their end near the Peaks of Peril. Actually, calling it a train station would be misleading considering it really wasn't more than a small platform with a lone, wooden shack that could only fit one pony. There was not a sound to be heard anywhere.

Despite this unsettling scene Pinkie and Fluttershy departed from the train. The Peaks of Peril loomed overhead but gave no indication to any traces of civilization anywhere.

"This can't be right! This looks like a dead end!" Pinkie commented. "Did we somehow get on the wrong train?"

But at that moment there came a raspy cough, soon revealing itself as an old earth pony stallion who wore a torn and tattered station master's outfit that had clearly seen better days. "Oh no, you're definitely in the right place," He seemed to laugh, before coughing into a hoof as he spoke in a raspy tone of voice. "Sorry, my condition's acting up again. The Peaks of Peril are not completely deserted."

"So the kirin live here?" Fluttershy hopefully asked.

"And the nirik too?" Pinkie Pie inquired.

The stallion nodded. "Mind you, I ain't see either of them with my own two eyes. But I've heard tale of strange happenings just beyond here, high up on the peaks. They say the kirin have their own little village deep within the woods. As for the nirik, well, they say that if you see a kirin a nirik can't be too far away," He gestured a hoof. "Just head straight up those peaks and you'll find civilization. But they say nopony's ever gone up there, and come back to tell the tale of what they've seen. Who knows though, perhaps you two will be the first?" He started laughing again, but it soon devolved into a coughing fit.

The two mares looked across to each other, as if briefly considering turning back. But they knew that they had been called by the map for a reason. They couldn't abandon their mission before they'd even truly started it, and so they bravely (if reluctantly) set off.

As the two trotted along, Fluttershy's wandering eyes happened to notice something rather unusual. It looked like some kind of plant, albeit one that the nature loving pegasus didn't recognize. She was going to say something but decided against it, she had no idea what the plant was but its strange blue coloring reminded her of poison joke.

The trek went on in silence, until at last both Pinkie and Fluttershy stumbled upon the very village the mysterious stallion had told them about. Sure enough, there were a whole host of kirin in a variety of different coat and mane colors. Strangely, though, not a word could be heard from any of them even as they were going about their lives as usual.

"Just what is this place? Why's everything so quiet?" Pinkie Pie wondered aloud, maybe a little bit too loudly. Suddenly, all the kirin stopped what they had been doing and turned to look at the strangers in their midst. Among them was a rather tall kirin with a dark red horn, a dark green mane that flowed around her neck, and a light brown coat with even lighter brown stripes above her eyes and down her nose. Her eyes were a dark red in color.

The kirin eyed the newcomers with suspicion. "Who are these strangers?" One asked without moving its mouth.

"Um, sorry to intrude," Fluttershy tried to apologize. "We're Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, we're from Ponyville."

Pinkie Pie asked. "How come you guys can talk even though we can't see your lips moving? What's up with that?"

The tall, female kirin explained as her horn glowed. "We kirin communicate telepathically," Her tone of voice sounded flat and emotionless. "I am called Rain Shine, and I am leader of this village. I do not know why you have come here, we've no problems or any need of assistance."

Another kirin nodded as he telepathically stated. "We have worked to rebuild and preserve our village. None may know that it exists."

"Why? This forest seems pretty safe." Pinkie commented in an unconcerned tone of voice.

But Rain Shine gestured a hoof out towards a small clearing. "The peace is not as secure as it seems. We have problems with the nirik, their anger and fiery powers pose a threat to all we hold dear. We've left them to their own devices beyond that clearing, but we fear that one may try to return one day and destroy all we have worked so hard to restore."

"But we're not associated with the nirik!" Fluttershy protested.

"Then how did you know about our village? It has been kept secret for many years!" Rain Shine demanded while stomping a hoof down.

Forcing back a gulp, Fluttershy explained. "We were sent by Princess Twilight, more specifically a map in her castle. It didn't tell us about this village but we assumed there had to be one if it called us out here."

At that Rain Shine blinked and the other kirin exchanged concerned whispers. "There is another princess?!" They seemed to sound rather concerned, and for a moment it looked like some kind of smoke was forming on the tip of their horns. But it faded almost as quickly as it had appeared, leaving the ponies to wonder if it had ever actually existed or was just a figment of their imagination.

After a bit of discussion with her fellow kirin, Rain Shine turned back to the ponies. "You must forgive our surprise, we have not kept touch with Equestria for a long time now. The news that there is a princess besides the two we know was a shock to all of us," Then she added. "And I must apologize if we sounded off upon learning of the news. Long ago we suppressed our emotions after an incident resulted in the destruction of our village. I hope you can understand why we are weary of letting others in since then. We thought perhaps you might've been sent by the nirik to expose us to attack."

"But the nirik weren't responsible for your village getting destroyed, were they?" Pinkie pondered.

Rain Shine shook her head. "No. But if they got half a chance they would surely destroy all our hard work. They lack control over their emotions the way we kirin do."

"That doesn't seem right, you shouldn't be blaming the nirik for something that wasn't their fault!" Pinkie Pie protested and then gasped as she looked at Fluttershy! "This is it, Fluttershy! This is the friendship problem we were sent to solve!"

"Are you sure, Pinkie?" Fluttershy nervously inquired. "We don't even really know what happened to the kirin's village or why they've tried to live without emotions."

The pink party pony just stomped a hoof down. "Well I bet the nirik will know! If we're going to get to the bottom of this we're going to need to find out why the kirin don't like them so much."

Fluttershy gulped as she eyed the clearing. "Why don't you do that, Pinkie? I'll... stay here and see if I can get more information out of the kirin," She then whispered. "I think they trust me more than they do you right now." And she seemed to be right if the number of eyes suspiciously focused on Pinkie were any indication.

Pinkie, suspecting nothing, happily obeyed and bounced off into the clearing without a word.

"Sorry about Pinkie, she can be a bit noisy sometimes," Fluttershy apologized to the kirin. "But she does mean well, and she can be really quiet if she wants to."





Pinkie Pie bounced along in the clearing, noticing how, much like the kirin village, it was very quiet. Assuming the nirik weren't like the kirin and couldn't control their emotions, there should've been a lot of loud noises. The fact that there were none did not go unnoticed by the prancing pink party pony.

Suddenly, as Pinkie began to draw near what appeared to be some sort of cottage, she could've sworn she heard singing. Not just any singing though, but rather strange and somber singing.

To Pinkie not only was the singing beautiful, but also strangely similar to her own singing. Even though she should've known better she couldn't help but gasp at what she'd heard!

That turned out to be a mistake, because Pinkie's gasp alerted the creature had been singing! There came a sudden shriek, and the sound of whooshing flames!

Pinkie crept closer, her curiosity getting the better of her, only to suddenly find herself face to face with a creature that seemed to be made entirely of fire, except for the black body and charcoal gray scales! Though normally one to laugh in the face of danger, the party pony found herself stricken with terror at the sight of such a creature! This had to be the nirik that Twilight and the kirin had been talking about and had tried to warn her of!

But then, all of a sudden, the nirik twitched. Its entire body began to shake as an amplified cry of "Achoo!" rang out through the surrounding valley! Suddenly, the fiery creature was no more! In its place stood what appeared to be a kirin. It had moderate gold eyes that were staring into Pinkie's blue eyes, a moderate brown mane and tail that looked like leaves during autumn, a very light gray coat, a very dark red horn, and grayish apple green scales ran from her horn down to her nose.

The kirin look alike shook about and shuddered. "Sorry, sorry, that just slipped out!" She apologized! "And I didn't mean to scare you, but you kind of scared me!"

"What do you mean?" Pinkie Pie pondered. "I thought you were a nirik, not a kirin."

The kirin blinked in surprise. "What are you talking about? I'm a kirin!"

"No you're not, silly!" Pinkie giggled. "All kirin talk telepathically or whatever, they don't show emotion. They sound like my sister Maud, except not as expressive."

The kirin let out a sad sigh. "Not all kirin, but I guess if you were listening to my song you know the story. It's a lot for me to pro-cess. Process? Uh, deal with. I'm Autumn Blaze by the way. And it's been so long since I've been able to share anything like this with another creature, especially ever since that unintentional vow of silence."

The pink party pony blinked. "Huh, what was that about a vow of silence? If you're a kirin, then how come you're out here and not in the village?"

Autumn Blaze explained. "When our leader made us step into the Stream of Silence after our village burned down, I don't think she realized it was a permanent thing. We had to learn how to adapt to a world without voices, without emotions. But I couldn't take it, it drove me up a wall. I had voices in my head that wanted to be heard. I wanted so badly to talk and sing and dance and tell jokes and all that stuff," A smile formed on her face as she added. "Then one day, after I strayed from the village to be alone with my thoughts, I found this wonderful plant that could cure me: Foal's breath! All I had to do was mix up a tea with its leaves and presto, I was talking and chatting up a storm! I even started creating my own theater group to get other kirin to see what they were missing. It was hard when I had to play every role."

"So you're not the only kirin who doesn't live in the village?" Pinkie realized.

Autumn Blaze nodded. "I found enough foal's breath to restore a small number of kirin who were interested. But when I went back to look for more they were all gone," She began to walk towards her cottage as she sadly declared. "That's when our leader found out. She thought I was unleashing a force that was just going to destroy our village all over again, and even though I tried to tell her otherwise it was a lost cause. Too many other kirin found me annoying and drove me away. After that I had no other choice but to come out here, to be alone with my thoughts and my words," Her mood quickly changed to cheerful as she added. "But it's not all bad, all the kirin I cured came with me to support me. We're trying to work on a way to get our anger under control so we don't turn into those fiery demons again. Until then, I've got a lovely cottage with a lovely view."

"Can I... meet these other kirin?" The party pony asked her new friend.

Autumn Blaze nodded. "Yeah, and on the way you can tell me everything about you! There's so much to say, so much to do! Oh, look at me. I'm going on, and you haven't seen the best— I mean, have you seen the best—? W-What am I saying? Of course you haven't. Follow me!"

The kirin led her new friend towards the cottage and up to a balcony overlooking a rather beautiful valley below. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Autumn chimed in. "The way the light shimmers off everything, like, like it all suddenly woke up the moment you saw it. And you realize maybe the water and the mountains and the forest and the... yes, the rainbow and the stars and the sky are all looking back at you thinking the same thing? That we are a part of the everything. That maybe there's just one thing and we are all it. You were thinking the same thing too, right?"

"Uh... yes, I think," The party pony blinked very slowly. "So, what was up with your singing earlier? You sounded a lot like me. Is that something you kirin do?"

Autumn blinked back. "Huh, that's the first time anyone's ever said anything about my singing. It sounds just fine to me. But then again I haven't really sung in that fiery form, so maybe when I'm like that it affects things."

"So you don't just turn into it when you get angry?" Pinkie pondered.

"Well, sort of. Ever since we were forced to come here we kind of just tried to focus on what we had," Autumn explained. "But I thought that maybe if I could gain control over our fire forms I could show my village that it's not something to fear. That we don't have to stay quiet and speak with our minds so much," A sigh of regret escaped her lips. "But you saw how well that turned out, I couldn't hold it for very long. One sneeze and 'Poof!' it was gone!"

Pinkie frowned as she and Autumn observed the other kirin from afar, all of them at work on what appeared to be some kind of play. But it was obvious from how they were going about it that they didn't have enough parts filled in for the play to work. "No one should ever be forced to give up being able to feel just because of one accident!" The earth pony protested. "It wasn't even your fault it happened, why should you be treated like it was?" Then she gasped in realization! "My hunch was right! This is what Fluttershy and I were called here to solve!"

The kirin lept up as she eyed Pinkie. "Who's Fluttershy? I don't see anyone but us!" Then she exclaimed! "Oh, I get it! Did you name your shadow?! I did that too! But mine's called 'Silhouette Gloom of the Sundown Lands'," She waved to said shadow with a rather bright smile. "Don't worry, he doesn't bite."

But Pinkie protested. "Fluttershy's not a shadow, she's a real pony! She's back at the village with the other kirin, but she has got to hear this!" She stood up and firmly declared. "Trust me, once she's on board it'll be a snap to get your village to welcome you back, and then you can cure the rest of the kirin!"

"Except there's one not so small problem," Autumn Blaze confessed. "I don't have any more of the cure, it's all gone.  I used the last of the foal's-breath flowers to make it. And I-I haven't seen them bloom since. I don't even remember where I found them the first time!"

"Not to worry," Pinkie smiled, her expression not changing or faltering in the slightest. "We'll find more once we have Fluttershy on our side!" And with that she ran back to the village, leaving her new kirin friend alone.

"Yeah, don't mind me," Autumn sighed and sat back down near her little hut. "I'll just... stay here... with my thoughts."





Meanwhile, back at the kirin village, Fluttershy was starting to grow frustrated by the vague non-answers the natives were giving her about the destruction of their village.

"Please, I just wanna know how it happened. It must've been really bad if it made you resort to such an extreme measure." Fluttershy pleaded with Rain Shine.

Rain Shine just titled her head. "There is nothing more to discuss. You know enough already. Our village was destroyed and the nirik will only ensure its destruction again if they are allowed back. I wouldn't have made such a decision if I knew of a valid alternative, but as leader of the kirin I will do what I must to ensure the survival of our species." She walked away as soon as she had finished her telepathic speech.

Feeling annoyed and running low on patience, Fluttershy was about ready to give up when she happened to stumble onto (or rather over) something in a remote corner of the village. The pegasus blinked. "Could it be?" She thought to herself as she leaned down for a closer inspection.

Suddenly, there it all was: The answer to her question, plain as day!

A neglected sketch that appeared to have been crudely drawn in a great hurry still depicted enough details to tell the story better than words could've ever conveyed. It showed what looked like two kirin, arguing over an object that both wanted. The sketch next showed them turning into the fire creatures referred to as the nirik. And the sketch then showed several other kirin doing the same as their flames spread to the surrounding landscape! The final part of the sketch showed the still nirik looking kirin as they stood over the ruins of their village, while an unhappy sketched version of Rain Shine appeared to be standing over them.

Fluttershy nearly gasped! "The kirin are the nirik! Now it all makes sense!" She was relieved that none of the kirin seemed to be around to overheard her outburst, it didn't seem like this was something that was meant to see the light of day.

Uncertain of what to do and fearful of the kirin finding out, Fluttershy not so secretly rushed for the clearing! She had to tell Pinkie Pie of her discovery. The party pony would surely have already befriended the nirik, no, the other kirin!"

As luck would have it, at that very moment Pinkie Pie was on her way back to the village. So she and Fluttershy bumped into each other quite literally! "Fluttershy, you'll never guess what I just found out!" Pinkie Pie fondly exclaimed with widened eyes!

"I know the truth about the nirik, they're really just like all the other kirin!" Fluttershy spoke up before Pinkie could say so. "Some kirin left a sketch detailing the whole thing!"

"I'll bet it was Autumn Blaze! She's the key to all of this!" Pinkie insisted as she grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof! "Come on, you need to meet her! She can actually speak and sing and everything!"





Pinkie brought Fluttershy back to the hut where the other kirin were taking a break from their rehearsal that was not going well at all. "Hey everykirin!" Pinkie called out! "I've brought Fluttershy, just like I promised!" She then gestured to the lone kirin that Fluttershy had yet to meet. "Fluttershy, meet Autumn Blaze."

Autumn Blaze looked at Fluttershy but at first she didn't say a word.

"Uh, Pinkie says you talk. So, do you actually talk?" Fluttershy asked, hoping for a reply.

Autumn Blaze was silent for a moment, before she started to snicker and then burst out into full blown laughter! "Sorry, but that was too good. I couldn't resist! Oh, you don't know how much I missed jokes. Hi-larity! Am I pronouncing that right? Some words I haven't said in a will. While! While. Hi, I'm Autumn Blaze. Oh, I haven't been able to share all of this in forever!"

Fluttershy blinked quite slowly. Even though she was used to rapid paced conversations thanks to Pinkie Pie, hearing any other creature speak so fast was still a shock to her. "Um, did you ever think of maybe switching to de-cafe or something?" She proposed.

"What are you talking about? I don't drink coffee, don't like the taste!" Autumn Blaze replied as she stuck out her tongue. "But enough about me, I'm so glad that you found my sketch. I was afraid the kirin in the village would cover it up completely. Oh, I just wish I could find more of that foal's breath. When I had that it was so easy to make things happen."

"What exactly is foal's breath?" Fluttershy questioned. "I don't believe I've ever heard of that flower before."

Autumn fondly exclaimed as she recalled her memories with the plant! "Oh, it was the best miracle flower I'd ever encountered! Heck, it was the only miracle flower I'd ever encountered! All I had to was make a tea out of it and presto, I was chatting up a storm! And it worked for the other kirin just as well," She added. "I can even remember what it looked like, I had to learn how when the supply ran out because I thought I could just get some more. It was small, low to the ground, and a dark blue with light blue stripes."

The pegasus suddenly gasped as the description made her realize something she had dismissed earlier! "I think I passed by those flowers on the way to the village, though I don't remember exactly where. I thought they might have been poison joke though, so I didn't touch them."

The kirin practically lept up and started shaking Fluttershy! "Well they're not! I absolutely need those flowers! I'm putting on a play that'll hopefully convince my village to welcome me back. But I need more foal's breath to make it work. Please, if you even have a faint idea of where they might be, take me to them! I've been searching for them for ages and haven't been able to find a trace of them anywhere! I'm desperate for any possible lead!"

"Well, I don't know if I can remember exactly," Fluttershy began while eyeing the surrounding wilderness. "But I bet the local wildlife will know where they bloom. I'll just make sure," She trotted over and started to talk to some squirrels and birds. She returned shortly with great news. "The animals say they know where the foal's breath is, they'll take you to it."

"Why not you?" Autumn Blaze asked.

Fluttershy gulped. "I don't know if the kirin know what I know, and I don't wanna find out. Besides, the animals say they know a short cut, but I wouldn't know where it is because I've never been here before."

Autumn Blaze stood up. "Well, alright, guess I'll go with the animals then!" And then she called out to her fellow kirin! "Keep rehearsing, everykirin! If all goes well, our troubles will be over by tonight!"





The excited kirin returned a short time later with an entire wagon's load worth of the miracle flower she had discovered. "This should be more than enough to get everykirin chatting away!" She excitedly declared. "Oh, it's going to be so great to have a sold out audience to tell all my jokes to and do all my plays for!"

But Pinkie and Fluttershy were a little concerned, their cutie marks hadn't glowed yet so the friendship problem still hadn't been solved. Autumn Blaze's idea looked promising though.

"Um, what exactly are you going to do?" Fluttershy asked Autumn.

Autumn flashed a toothy smile. "Oh, I'm so glad you asked," She motioned for her pony friends to come close. "Here's what I'm going to do," She promptly whispered her plan into their ears. "Well, whaddya think? Is it the best plan ever or what?"

"I dunno, sounds scary. And not the good kind of scary either," Pinkie blinked as she stepped back. "You really think that'll work?"

Autumn only smiled further. "How could it not? They'll never suspect it, and once they're all chatting up a storm they'll have me to thank for it! Just do exactly as I told you to do and everything will be just fine."

So it was that Pinkie and Fluttershy returned a short time later to the kirin village, this time accompanied by Autumn Blaze and her kirin players.

Rain Shine and the other kirin were there to greet them. "Autumn Blaze, you have returned?" Rain Shine's tone of telepathic voice made it clear that she was not happy to see the exiled kirin again.

Autumn nodded, seemingly ignoring all the harsh stares and glares the village kirin were giving her. "Yeah, because I want to invite the whole village to a special performance of my kirin troupe! It's a play we've been working on for a really long time, like 'Since you banished us from the village' kind of long, know what I'm saying?" Then she coughed into a hoof. "But I'm gonna need a few more kirin to fill some parts, just in the background. Trust me, it's going to be the best play you've ever seen!"

Some of the kirin surrounding Autumn Blaze seemed to whisper in stern tones. It didn't sound like they trusted her even a little bit. But Rain Shine threw up a hoof to silence them all. "Very well, Autumn Blaze. We shall attend your little play and grant you the request of a few additional players. We have longed for entertainment."

"Great! Thanks a bunch! You won't regret this, I promise!" Autumn Blaze declared as she looked at several of the village kirin. "Come on, let's get you fitted for your costumes! Oh, this play's gonna be the best thing since... since... well, I don't even know when!"





Pinkie and Fluttershy were soon with Autumn Blaze as the kirin stood on a massive stage that looked like it had seen better days and had not been used for a very long time.

"Oh, it's just like old times!" Autumn Blaze declared! "I used to do my jokes and plays here so many times! And I'll bet I'll be doing them here again very soon!" She then looked to her pony friends. "Now, you remember what you need to do, right? When I give the signal, release the cure!"

"Okie dokie," Pinkie gave a salute. "Come on, Fluttershy, let's take our places!"

Fluttershy nodded even as she murmured to herself. "I really hope this works!" The two mares then left the stage and retreated behind the curtain to keep watch. 

A spotlight shone down on Autumn Blaze as an awed hush fell over the crowd. "Thank you one and all for being here!" Autumn Blaze smiled and waved as she spoke to the crowd. "I hope you all enjoy tonight's presentation of 'A Kirin's Tale: The Sounds of Silence'," She then stomped a hoof down as music began to fill the air. "And now it's time for me to... siiiiiiiiiiiing!" And sing she did, her voice carrying so that every inch of the theater was covered by her powerful vocals. 

Her song took on a sort of musical narrative:

La, la-la-la, la-la.

La-la-la, la-la-la!

We kirin use to talk and sing,

We're not always quiet.

We tell stories and funny jokes,

My stand-up's a riot,

As she continued to sing other kirin began to act out the parts Autumn Blaze was describing:

But then one day a fight breaks out,

Hurtful words are said.

Flaming tames are inflamed,

Destruction quickly spreads!

And soon we're all burning from head to head!

Autumn paused briefly as she spoke. "It even burnt our bread. Oh, sorry, I forgot how much I love rhyming. Now where was I? Oh, right!" She cleared her throat and started to sing again while the other kirin continued acting:

Our once proud village lies in ruins,

Relationships grow worse.

Now we know all too real,

Words can be a curse.

'No more talking!' yells our leader, it's the last thing said aloud!

So into the Stream of Silence, we all step as a crowd.

The water cools emotions, peace is now restored.

But without a way to speak my thoughts I grow super bored.

Autumn again paused in her singing to speak. "No, seriously, there's only so long that Sudoku can keep you entertained!" Then came the chorus, carried not just by her but by many of her kirin players:

But rainbows won't light up the sky until you let it rain!

And shiny apples sometimes come with worms.

Oh, don't give up your laughter 'cause you're scared of a little pain!

It's a lesson that we kirin need to learn!

Another pause came as Autumn Blaze had to catch her breath, this part was extremely important. When the pause ended she sang:

I am stuck in a silent prison,

There's voices in my head.

But then I trip over my salvation,

In a helpful flower bed!

I discover a way to clear my pipes,

I become quite chatty!

I unleash all my stored up words,

And it drives you all batty!

A more somber and perhaps even angry tone started to be reflected in Autumn Blaze as she continued to sing:

You don't like my jokes, my songs,

Or my daily dose of news.

Not the speeches I give, the plays I do,

In all their variety revues!

I put together this theater group,

To put you all in the mood.

And it works all too well: Like really, really well. Suddenly I've got a whole bunch of kirin who want to talk and sing like I do and be a part of my troupe. But I don't have enough of a cure so I go looking for more flowers, and I can't find any, and the rest of you all turn on me!

Autumn Blaze stopped singing and blinked, catching her breath. "Sorry, don't know how that got out," She apologized. "Anyway, as I was saying." She inhaled and started to sing again:

The village leader makes it clear,

I have to make a choice.

Either stay and live with you,

Or my troupe keeps its voice.

So I move out but leave the coach behind,

It's hard to move.

I'm stuck with the view for company,

But now you're hearing me groove!

Take it away, my friends!

The chorus started up again, and this time it sounded much stronger:

But rainbows won't light up the sky until you let it rain!

And candles just won't glow until they're burned.

Oh, don't give up your laughter 'cause you're scared of a little pain!

It's a lesson that we kirin need to learn!

Autumn Blaze burst into a powerful solo as she looked out at the audience and sang:

No matter how hard I school you,

Fear of hurt is still what rules you!

Sometimes you gotta let it raaaaaaaain!

At that moment, Pinkie and Fluttershy not so secretly turned some nobs. Sprinklers all around the theater went off, creating a shower of water that landed on every kirin in attendance!

Autumn Blaze smiled, her plan had worked to perfection! Confident of victory she finished her performance by singing:

Yeah, sometimes you've gotta let it rain.





As the unexpected shower ended all the kirin began to feel rather strange. Suddenly, it felt like a wide range of emotions had been unleashed inside of them! Emotions they had long since forgotten the feel of.

To say that they didn't like what they were experiencing would be an understatement. They seemed to react in a state of panic, rushing about and trying in vain to find some way to fall silent!

"Thank you, foal's breath!" Autumn Blaze loudly declared as she stood on the stage! "Now do you see, my fellow kirin? Our vow of silence was silly. We can't suppress our emotions, we shouldn't have to hide who we are."

But the other kirin only narrowed their eyes as they looked at Autumn Blaze, and at her pony friends! "You tricked us!" They all shouted in unison! "You have unleashed something we can't control!"

"What do you mean? Of course we can control it!" Autumn Blaze protested. "I've been working on that since you forced me to leave the village!"

The other kirin refused to listen. They just lit up their horns, grabbing Autumn Blaze, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy! All three were lifted into the air! "To the Stream of Silence with you all!" The kirin declared!

Pinkie Pie gasped in horror! "If we hit that water, we'll never be able to talk or feel anything ever again!"

"Please!" Fluttershy pleaded to the kirin. "You're making a mistake! I know you're scared to lose control of your anger, but this isn't the answer!" But it seemed like her pleas fell on deaf ears.

However, as the kirin prepared to leave the theater and carry their captives down to the Stream of Silence, an unexpected and distorted voice shouted! "Put them down, now!"

All eyes turned to see none other than Rain Shine, her body fully engulfed in flames just like the so called nirik that the kirin had been taught to fear! "I said 'Put them down'! That's an order!" Rain Shine sternly commanded, her voice shaking the ground as she spoke!

Stricken with fear over their leader's appearance, the kirin obeyed and released their magical hold on their three captives.

"Whew, that was close!" Pinkie sighed in relief.

Autumn Blaze nodded. "Yeah, I was afraid they'd silence the first friends who would ever speak to me since the exile."

Meanwhile, Fluttershy was looking at Rain Shine with concern. "You're in that fiery state of anger! You're going to lose control and burn down the forest!"

But Rain Shine responded by shaking her head even while her voice sounded distorted. "No. I have learned how to control it," She looked at all the other kirin. "Autumn Blaze is right, it is foolish of us to do what we've done for so long. Anger is a part of who we are, as is this form. We can either choose to live in shame of it, or we can learn how to cope with and adapt to it."

"That's what I've been trying to say!" Autumn Blaze chimed in. "Though I guess with how much of a chatterbox I've been it was kind of hard for you to understand that."

Rain Shine promptly took some deep breaths, and just like that her fiery form faded away completely. "I must apologize to all of you, especially to you, Autumn Blaze."

Autumn blinked as the leader looked over her. "What do you mean?"

Rain Shine explained. "I didn't want to admit it at first, I wanted to believe I made the right decision considering the circumstances. But ever since I sent you away I realized that you were right and I was wrong. I shouldn't have forced us to maintain a vow of silence, or even made us step into the Stream of Silence without knowing what it would do. I thought I was protecting the village from further harm and destruction, but I was only dooming us to repeat the same mistakes. Anger is like any other emotion, what matters is what we choose to do with it when we feel that way."

Fluttershy nodded. "I know that I get mad quite often, but I always find productive ways to get rid of it. Ways to blow off steam that don't hurt me or anyone around me."

"And you can disagree with others without having to resort to such extreme options," Pinkie chimed in. "You can't truly detach yourself from your emotions, they're what make you who you are."

Rain Shine then offered. "Autumn Blaze, will you and your kirin players come back and live with us again? You have given us a tremendous gift, and it is up to all of us to learn how to use it properly. I can't say enough how much we've missed that beautiful voice of yours."

After briefly looking across to her pony friends, Autumn Blaze nodded. "You bet, Rain Shine! And I can't wait to talk to you about making plays like this a thing! I mean really, who doesn't love musical theater?"





Autumn Blaze soon got to work on spreading the rest of the cure, just to be sure there were no kirin that she had missed. And now they were all singing along with her as Autumn Blaze leaped across a small pond, leading the chorus:

'Cause rainbows won't light up the sky, until you let it rain.

And candles just won't glow until they're burned.

Oh, don't give up your laughter 'cause you're scared of a little pain!

It's a lesson that we kirin finally learned.

Oh, yes, 'cause rainbows won't light up the sky, unless you let it... Raaaaaaaain!

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy observed the whole scene. And when it had ended and they felt their cutie marks start to tingle, they knew that their mission was complete. They happily high hoofed each other in celebration! Much like the griffons, the changelings and the hippogriffs before them, the kirin had changed for the better.
> S9 E4: Sparkle's Seven (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been only a few weeks since Tirek's unexpected but short lived return. Life in Equestria had mostly gone back to normal since then, mostly because the ponies believed that Tirek was an isolated threat and his defeat meant that the threat had passed.

Of course, Celestia and Luna were still insistent on grooming Twilight to take their place as the leader of Equestria, but the timetable had been pushed back considerably to allow more time and training to pass before the change over. It was something Twilight was extremely grateful for, because it gave her time to focus on her School of Friendship and another promising year for her dream project. A project she would eventually have to hoof the reigns of to Starlight, but that would hopefully be a long ways away.

Then one day, Spike came rushing into the headmare's office with an important scroll tucked under his arms! "Hey, Twilight, you'll never guess what kind of scroll I just got!" The dragon declared as he pulled it out. "It's from Shining Armor, and he's got something I think you'll remember!" The scroll depicted a well worn paper crown.

Twilight smiled brightly as a wave of excitement overtook her! "You know what this means, right, Spike?"

Spike nodded. "Uh-huh! I can't believe he still has that old thing."

"Uh, mind cluing me in here?" Starlight questioned. "What exactly is so special about a toy crown? There's a dime a dozen replicas of them, I'm sure."

But Spike only laughed. "Oh, Starlight, and you call yourself an all knowing big sister. Oh well, I guess it can't be helped," He then explained. "This is no 'toy crown' you're seeing. It's the well worn and hard-won helm of the Sibling Supreme! A Sparkle family staple, or at least it was a staple."

Twilight explained to Starlight. "When Shining Armor and I were small, we competed over just about everything. Part of the reason why he taught me how to fly a kite was so he'd have somepony to compete against, and win against. But if he claims he always won, that's totally not true. Nine times out of ten I whooped his sorry behind!" She giggled at the memory.

"But I thought you once said you and your brother and I quote 'Never had a single fight.'?" Starlight questioned.

"That's because our parents invented the idea of the Sibling Supreme Contest to keep it from getting to that point," Twilight told Starlight while remembering her childhood experiences with it. "They set up a little chart for the two of us, and every time we did something truly special we'd get a gold star. We got them for things like good grades in school, sharing, and even helping with chores around the house. Kind of helped that we had horns so we didn't have to use our hooves for some of the less enjoyable tasks. Then at the end of each week, usually on the weekend, we'd add up the stars. The sibling with the most would win the Crown of the Sibling Supreme — and bragging rights — 'til next time anyway. Shining Armor won it on the last week before I went away to Ponyville, and I haven't seen it since. I thought he'd forgotten about it and threw it away."

Starlight could only comment. "Well, I guess it had sentimental value for him, kind of like how you held onto Smarty Pants. And I suppose that little contest explains a lot about you, like your love of charts for example."

Twilight nodded with a faint blush. "Well, charts were always a big part of the Sparkle family household, especially with my dad."

Spike then commented. "I always wanted to be sibling supreme, even if I was too little to really compete."

Twilight smiled. "Helping to raise you was part of why I got so many gold stars all the time in the first place," Then she asked Spike. "So, what does the scroll say?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot," Spike realized as he held up the scroll, cleared his throat, and read: "'Dear Twilight Sparkle, Meet me at Canterlot Castle to decide who deserves this crown once and for all time's sake. Sincerely, Your Big Brother Best Friend Forever: Shining Armor'"

"Come on, Spike!" Twilight exclaimed in a tone of voice so cheerful it could've been mistaken for Pinkie Pie! "I'll race you there! And just wait until Shining Armor sees how big you've gotten!" She and Spike promptly rushed out of the headmare's office.

Starlight blinked as she watched the two disappear from sight. "Yeah, don't mind me," She sighed in a slightly unhappy and sarcastic tone. "I'll just... watch the school, like we agreed to." The unicorn promptly trotted back into the headmare's office and slumped over the desk. She wasn't going to be part of the upcoming competition that would take place in Canterlot, she would only later learn of the unexpected developments that were going to occur there. And among them was an outcome that neither Twilight or Shining Armor could've anticipated.



Twilight and Spike wasted no time in their mad dash to Canterlot, arriving in what felt like record time. The two made their way to the castle as instructed, and entered the throne room. Twilight couldn't help but gasp when she saw the old paper crown from the Sibling Supreme contests resting atop Shining Armor's head, even while he was clad in his old royal guard captain chest armor. "You're wearing it?" She blinked as she looked at her brother.

Shining couldn't help but grin. "Well, I had to make sure it still fit after all these years. It needed a bit of adjusting, but other than it fits like a glove," And he teased. "Admit it, you know you're jealous. You've been jealous because I left home with the crown and you didn't."

Twilight waved a hoof. "Who? Me? Jealous? Nah. If anypony's jealous it's you, you always complained about how many stars I got just for taking care of and raising Spike."

"It's not that I didn't let you help too sometimes, you know," Spike chimed in. "But in my mind you weren't the same as Twilight, it took me a while to warm up to you. But you turned out to be a great uncle."

Shining Armor smiled. "And you turned out to be a great nephew. Twily was right, you have gotten big."

"Come on, you saw me like this last Hearth's Warming!" Spike waved a claw.

Shining nodded. "True, but it's still gonna take some getting used to. I can still remember you as the baby dragon Twilight brought home from her entrance exam," Then he cleared his throat. "But I didn't invite the two of you here just to catch up on old times. You can deny it all you want, Twilight. But I can tell that you've longed for a chance to win back this old crown. And now, the princesses here have given me the perfect opportunity to do that."

Princess Celestia smiled as she stepped forward. "Indeed. Ever since Tirek's unexpected return, it's come to my sister and I's attention that the security detail in and around the castle could stand to be..." She coughed into a hoof. "'Improved' for lack of a better term."

Princess Luna seemed to bitterly remarked. "I said we could and should do it ourselves, but some ponies are a bit stubborn, unfortunately."

"Which is why I asked our old Captain of the Guard to come out of retirement and do the job," Princess Celestia explained. "I had hoped to have Flash Magnus do it, but after Chrysalis was arrested he told me that he felt his work here was done, and I hear he's now working with the Wonderbolts to get them into shape."

Shining just smiled as he posed in his captain's attire. "Far as I'm concerned, I never really left the job, I still had to oversee security in the Crystal Empire even after Flurry Heart was born. But it's nice to get back to my roots."

"Does Cadence know about this?" Twilight questioned.

Shining nodded his head again. "Of course. You think I could've done any of the stuff I've done if I didn't have her permission?" Then he boasted. "I've taken the security here to a whole new level. The only thing I need now is somepony to test it. So I figured 'Why not you'? For a smart pony like you, it would be the ultimate challenge."

The young alicorn gasped! "Wait a minute! You actually want me to break into the castle?! Mom and Dad always gave me an earful just for sneaking into the Canterlot Archives after dark. If Princess Celestia didn't always take it in stride, I probably would've gotten more than that. Now you're saying you want me to stage a break in?"

The prince happily confirmed. "You heard right. And if you can get past my defenses, steal the crown, and get out without being caught you'll officially be Sibling Supreme forever!"

A smile crept onto Twilight's face as she looked up to the crown. "For-ev-er..."

"But..." Shining cautioned as he threw up a hoof. "Should you fail, I keep the crown for all time. So whaddya say? Deal?"

Twilight didn't need to think about the offer for even a second! "Deal!" She happily declared before a thought struck her. "Hold on, are you sure this counts? Mom and Dad aren't giving us any stars for this."

"Not to worry, I shall represent their authority," Celestia spoke in that warm, motherly tone of hers. "After all, you've always been like a daughter to me, Twilight. And thank you for agreeing to this. More so than anypony else, I know I can trust you to give this new security system a proper test. Be sure to let me know what you discover and if there are any holes that still need to be patched."

Shining Armor seemed to snort. "Well there aren't any, I can promise you that much! I've designed a multi-tiered, impenetrable, triple-backed-up line of defense. It's practically fool proof. But I think it's only fair to let you know what you're getting into," He lit up his horn, displaying a projection of the castle that rotated from all angles. "Allow me to explain: First and most importantly, the castle is surrounded by shards of Queen Chrysalis' destroyed throne. Thanks to Starswirl, its anti-magic powers are now tuned to stop anycreature from using a spell to get inside. We've tested that and Starswirl confirmed that the throne's magic cancelling powers are still active."

"Got it, no spells and no magic. Sounds simple enough." Twilight commented while instructing Spike to write down notes.

Shining's smile grew wider. "Don't get your hopes up, Twily. You can't fly in either," The projection now displayed several giant fans around the castle. "Giant fans keep anycreature from flying too close. If you do you'll quite literally be blown away," Then the projection moved beneath the castle, indicating a series of what appeared to be tunnels. "Plus, the entrances to the tunnels below the castle have all been sealed off, so there's no underground access."

"Anything else I should be aware of?" Twilight half questioned/half quipped as Spike was writing down more notes.

Shining's smile became so wide it looked like it would fall off his face. "Yeah. Even if somehow you could get inside, which you can't, I've doubled the ranks of security. Ponies protect every hallway and door, which can only be opened with royal guard medals. I've even got the guards checking up on each other and they're to remain at their posts at all times while on duty. If anything is even slightly out of the ordinary or not supposed to be there, I've instructed them to alert me immediately."

Twilight seemed to shrug off all the security measures she'd learned about. "Is that all? I thought you said this was going to be a challenge." It was impossible to tell whether she was being sincere or if she was trying to act confident.

The prince grinned. "Oh it is," He shut off the projection as he continued. "You could bring an army with you and it wouldn't help. Even if somehow you made it past all the prior security, the throne room where the crown will be kept is the most secure room in this whole castle. I rigged a trap door to activate at the slightest touch. Watch," He trotted over to the thrones and gave the podium below them a light tap. The trap door in front of the two thrones opened up. "And if you somehow avoid the floor, I've employed nature's alarm system, compliments of the Equestrian Society for the Preservation of Rare Creatures." And several geese suddenly started honking.

Spike rolled his eyes. "Really? Geese? That's your last layer of defense?"

Shining protested in a cautious tone. "You laugh at it now, but these geese and their honking can be heard all the way in Ponyville."

"I should know." Luna grumbled under her breath.

"Oh, and they bite too," Shining Armor cautioned as one goose tried to nip at his tail. "Trust me when I say you do not wanna get on the bad side of these new flying friends of mine," He then turned back to his sister. "So, still think you can find a way past all of that and take the crown?"

Twilight's eyes narrowed as a look of fiery determination was reflected in her vision. "You'd better believe it, B.B.B.F.F! I think you've held onto that crown for long enough! And soon, it's gonna be coming home with me!"

"We'll just see about that!" Shining declared. "And know this, Twily. Either bring your best, or prepare to be defeated!"





Upon returning to Ponyville, Twilight gathered up all of her friends (except for Starlight who was busy running the school), brought them all to the throne room, and told them what Shining Armor had told her earlier. "So that's what we're up against." She declared as she finished her crudely drawn presentation of Canterlot Castle's new security systems.

Applejack couldn't help but wipe the sweat from her brows even though she hadn't done anything yet. "Whoo wee! Well, that sure is a barrel and a half of obstacles. Plus a bushel and a peck of impenetrability. Gotta give your brother credit, he's as serious about security as you are about spells."

"And this is all for the sake of some old crown from your foalhood?" Rarity questioned.

Twilight sheepishly blushed. "Maybe a little, but it's also to test the security measures for Celestia's sake."

"And you're sure that us helping you doesn't count as cheating?" Fluttershy pondered.

Twilight shook her head. "Shining Armor needed help to get all those security systems set up and he basically said I'd need an army to get into the castle. So why not take him up on the offer?"

"Then we're all in." Fluttershy firmly declared!

Pinkie Pie excitedly added! "I was already in! Come on, who doesn't want to hang with geese?!"

Rainbow Dash then commented. "So, how are we going to help you, exactly? I assume you have a plan?"

"Don't I always?" Twilight flashed a smile.

Spike couldn't help but boast. "Shining Armor may have come up with some great security, but he'll never guess Twilight's plan. He doesn't know her like I do. If she could figure out Starswirl's master spell and decipher his old journal, she can definitely outsmart Shining's security systems to get the crown."

Twilight promptly flipped the chalkboard she'd been using over, it now detailed her plan for how to defeat the security systems and who would do what to make that possible. "The plan is simple: We play to our strengths and defeat all of the security measures. That way, even if one of us fails, the others will still have a shot at getting the crown," She began to delegate tasks to each of her friends. "Pinkie, you're up first. You distract the guards with a surprise party. Make sure that it's loud enough to catch Shining Armor's attention and draw him away. If we're going to have any chance of getting that crown, we need to make sure he and the princesses won't be in a position to thwart our plans."

"No problem! When it comes to parties and noise, I'm your pony!" Pinkie proudly declared with a salute.

Twilight then looked to the rest of her friends. "The rest of you will carry out your jobs in this exact order: Applejack: You'll buck your way into the sealed tunnels, your natural earth pony strength should be able to find a way around those bricks. Rainbow Dash: If anypony can figure out how to outfly those wind turbines, it's you. Feel free to bring the Wonderbolts with you, I'm curious to see if Flash Magnus has taught them anything new that might come in handy. Rarity: You'll sew us some guard costumes so we can sneak past security without attracting unwanted attention, I know you'll make them look convincing. And Fluttershy: You'll disable the throne room security by charming the geese. Just make sure to avoid the trap door, and don't let the geese make too much noise," She clapped her hooves together. "This is the greatest plan I've ever thought of! Shining Armor will never suspect it!"

But just then Spike happened to belch up a scroll. He unfolded it and began to read it out loud. "'Dear Twily: I know you're already making up a plan to steal the crown. I just hope it isn't simply..." He read the rest of it to himself and then gasped upon finishing! "Twilight! Shining Armor guessed your whole plan, right down to the exact details!"

"What?! Let me see that scroll!" Twilight demanded and snatched it up with her magic. She read it to herself, her eyes even re-scanning the scroll to make sure she wasn't misreading things. She wasn't. She slumped into her chair as she exclaimed! "It's... it's all here! The party, the costumes, everything! He even signed it 'The future Sibling Supreme'!" She let out a loud groan! "I just can't win, can I?!"

"Well, darling, Shining obviously knows you better than anypony else. He is your brother after all," Rarity explained as she stood up and got out of her seat. "Think about it. No matter how brilliant your plan is, no matter how many variations you try, it will always be something your brother expects, and he'll always win! Unless... when the perfect chance comes along, you do something he can't expect. Then you'll win. Therefore: This plans needs a new mastermind. Since you can't plan the heist, I will! How's that for unexpected?!"





A stunned silence fell over the throne room and for a moment no one could say a word. But Rainbow eventually broke up the silence as she coughed. "What exactly is so different about you doing the heist planning, Rarity? It's still the same plan Twilight came up with."

Rarity shook her head as she then smiled and boldly declared. "On the contrary, my plan will be the exact opposite! My plan will have each of us devise our own unexpected part of it. It'll be so unpredictable that Shining Armor won't realize what's going on until it's too late! Allow me to demonstrate," She proceeded to assume her Shadow Spade attire from the time she had worked to clear Rainbow Dash's name with the Wonderbolts. "All good Shadow Spade stories involve a bit of interrogation. As you will attest, Rainbow Dash, my methods are unusual but they do get results. There's a shady bar in Canterlot that'll be the perfect place for us to extract information."

"Great idea!" Rainbow boasted! "I've been working on my interrogating skills, how about this:" She cleared her throat and spoke as strongly as she could! "Why don't you make like a glass of O.J. and spill, buddy?! You've got answers and we want 'em!"

"And while you do that, I shall be applying my natural charm to 'soften them up'." Rarity commented while appearing to sound briefly annoyed with Rainbow's rash display.

Pinkie Pie then spoke up! "Ooh! Ooh! I know what I can do that they'll never suspect! You're gonna need a lookout, so I can be your eye in the sky."

"Like when you were observing the Running of the Leaves?" Spike questioned.

Pinkie giggled. "No, silly, that's too low. You gotta think outside the box! I'm talking way high in the sky! After all, I've always wanted to go to outer space."

"Well, how's about somethin' a little more down-to-earth?" Applejack chuckled. "I was thinkin' I could distract the guard ponies with a farewell performance by my alter ego, famous country-western superstar Apple Chord!"

"Wait, since when did you have an alter ego? And what do you mean about a farewell performance?" Twilight questioned Applejack.

Applejack put a hoof to her chin. "It's a long story, Twilight. But I'll give you the basics of it. You know how I once went to Camp Friendship with Rara?" When everypony nodded she continued. "Well, between that and hearin' my ma sing her songs on a guitar, I got a real knack for music. I started playin' on the farm all the time as Apple Chord. But it wasn't long before I got noticed, soon I was playin' real shows in sold out venues. 'Course, that meant I had to leave the farm, leave my family behind. And after my folks passed unexpectedly that was a big no no, I couldn't do that. Seein' my family smile was all I ever wanted from music."

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but rib Applejack. "You made all that up just now, didn't you? Because that's the first time you've ever told anypony that story."

"Maybe I was and maybe I wasn't," Applejack just winked. "Either way, you'd never expect a pony like me to be much of a distraction. So that okay with you, Rarity?"

Rarity nodded. "Now we just need Fluttershy, and perhaps Spike as well. Having you on board would be a big help, Spike. It seems Twilight didn't give you much of a role in her plan."

"You're right, she didn't. I'd draw way too much attention, and not the good kind," Spike declared before he pondered. "But you know, I've always wanted to be a super spy. Betcha Shining wouldn't be expecting that."

And Fluttershy nervously commented. "Well... I guess the opposite of what I'm good at is..." She gulped a bit. "Being in small spaces."

"Then it's settled, Fluttershy!" Spike declared as he flew over to her. "I feel like we haven't done anything together in a long time. But what could be better than the two of us as secret agents, working together to outwit a laser security system?"

Twilight and Rarity both blinked in concern as Twilight cautioned. "Uh, Spike, you do know that there's no actual laser security system, right?"

"Yeah, but my point still stands," Spike insisted as he waved a claw. "If you can get around a laser security system, you can get around anything."

Twilight nodded. "That does make sense. And you don't need my permission to live out your fantasy. Just be careful, you're not the same little dragon you were before. You can't fit into really tight spaces."

"Don't worry, I know my limits. You promised to let your mane down more after I went through my molt." Spike half friendly replied and half whined.

The young alicorn simply looked to Rarity, desperate to change the subject. "So, what do I need to do as part of your plan?"

Rarity's reply took everyone in the room by surprise. "Simple, Twilight, you shall do nothing! It's the one thing Shining Armor would never expect from you, and it'll be just the thing to throw him off his game."

"You sure you don't need me to do anything?" Twilight hopefully inquired. "Not even just have a talk with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna so they're distracted?"

The fashionista shook her head to dismiss the notion. "No, Twilight. That's exactly the kind of set up they'll suspect. Rest assured that both princess will not be a problem. When the time comes, we'll create a diversion that'll ensure they're too busy to stop us," Then she looked around the room. "Now, you all have your assignments and know what you need to do. Are there any questions?" No one said a word. "Then it looks like it's time to give Shining Armor a run for his money, and get Twilight that crown!"





Rarity's improvised plan was soon set into motion, and Twilight could only watch as the whole thing unfolded right before her eyes.

The first part of the plan involved Applejack's "distraction". A small stage was set up for her, complete with a curtain to hide behind.

Shining Armor still spotted her though. When he did he rushed straight to the scene as he questioned. "Applejack? What are you doing in that get up?"

Applejack wore a fancy green dress with red trim, and had traded in her signature stentson for a white cowpony hat and boots. "'Applejack'?" She chuckled in a fancy sounding tone of voice. "Who's that? You must have me confused with somepony completely different. My name's Apple Chord," She pulled her guitar close. "And a little birdy told me you boys could use some entertainment."

"What do you mean? I didn't request any entertainment!" Shining Armor shot Applejack a puzzled look.

Fully decked out in her musician alter-ego, Applejack just laughed. "You didn't have to. It sounds to me like you're in more need of my songs than I thought. Come on, take a break. You deserve it," Then she instructed. "Now, clap your hooves if you know this one. And a one, and a two, and a: 'My love is like a barrel! A barrel full of hay.'"

Applejack was playing so loud and her get up was so unusual that the guards didn't see or hear a trio of Wonderbolts fly past with Rainbow Dash leading them. They landed on the ground near the same hot air balloon that was often rented out for trips to Cloudsdale, and Rainbow promptly shed her Wonderbolts flight suit so as not to attract unwanted attention. "Thanks for the assist, Spitfire. Sorry to call you in like this."

Spitfire just replied. "You kidding? Those fans were the perfect workout opportunity," Then she looked at her teammates. "But it looks like Soarin and Fleetfoot weren't quite prepared for 'em. Flash Magnus won't be too happy about that."

"So, what did you find out?" Fluttershy asked Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow explained. "That the only way past those giant fans and into the castle ducts is over there," She gestured a hoof to a small opening where the wind currents from the fans weren't blowing. "But there's no room for mistakes! So it's up to you two!" She gestured to Fluttershy and Spike.

"Not to worry, space travel will make this a breeze!" Pinkie Pie declared.

Fluttershy nervously questioned. "But we're not actually going into space, are we, Pinkie?"

With a giggle the pink party pony declared. "No, silly! I'm dropping you two off as soon as we're close to the fans! Then I'm going into space! I'll be so high in the sky they won't even see me coming, making me the perfect lookout!"

"Great, do that!" Rainbow Dash firmly declared as she watched her fellow Wonderbolts fly away. "I need to meet up with Rarity so we can wring a confession out of those seedy juice bar ponies." And she carefully trotted away, taking care not to be seen by the guards that hadn't been lured away by Applejack's performance.

Fluttershy and Spike flew out of the balloon the moment they reached the opening. But at that very moment the balloon suddenly began to lose air! "Uh-oh," Pinkie gasped in horror! "I knew I shouldn't have tossed that parachute."





Shining Armor had broken away from the distracted guards and happened to notice Twilight all by herself on the castle grounds. "You're up to something, Twily. You can't fool me."

Twilight shook her head. "Nah, you're being too paranoid. I'm just, uh..." She bent down. "Looking at the flowers. Yeah, that's it." She promptly sniffed them.

Shining didn't seem convinced if the quirked brow he shot at his sister was any indication. "Right," He cleared his throat. "Well, I'm going back to my post. Don't think you can distract me as easily as you have the guards. Remember, I'm watching you."

Twilight continued to sniff the flowers until she was certain her brother was out of sight. Then she sighed in relief. "It's working, Rarity!" She thought to herself! "Shining Armor doesn't have a clue! If this keeps up that crown is as good as mine!"

But just then there came the distressed shriek of Pinkie Pie, stranded in the hot air balloon as it had descended into the path of the fans, and was now being blown around by the gusts they were generating! "Canterlot! We have a problem!"

Immediately forgetting about Rarity's insistence to not do anything, Twilight unfolded her wings and took to the air to chase after a screaming Pinkie in the balloon! In the process she flew right past the guards!

"Well, a distraction's a distraction I guess," Applejack whispered under her breath as she used a trick string on her guitar to pull off a guard's badge while he wasn't looking. Then she put on the biggest smile she could muster up as she loudly told the guards! "Come on, y'all! I know my last song was a crowd favorite, but I ain't even half done yet!"

Meanwhile, Twilight pulled Pinkie and the balloon to safety behind the castle as she frantically asked! "Pinkie, what happened?! Where are Spike and Fluttershy?! Did they make it in?!"

"I don't know, I saw them jump out and then the next thing I knew the balloon went," Pinkie made a raspberry noise. "It's all I saw! I didn't make it into space, which is where I was supposed to be. And there's no way this baby's gonna be flying again anytime soon." The balloon had a noticeable hole in the side, almost as if someone had delibertly poked it.

Twilight frowned upon hearing the news. "Great. Well, the good news is Applejack's still playing her part. But Shining Armor's not buying it."

"You want me to distract him for you?" Pinkie offered. "Maybe I can't go into space, but I can sure look the part of an outer space invader."

Twilight shook her head. "No, Pinkie. For Rarity's plan to succeed I can't risk doing anything. I already strayed from it to save you, I'm not gonna stray any further from it," She then sighed. "I just hope Rarity and Rainbow Dash are having better luck."





Rainbow Dash caught up to Rarity just as the fashionista (still in her Shadow Spade outfit) returned with a slouched posture and a glum expression on her face. "Bad news, Rainbow Dash. I got the times mixed up. The seedy juice joint is already closed. It figures that the one thing they're not seedy about are their hours of operation."

"Great!" Rainbow complained as she stomped a hoof down. "Now what do we do?"

Rarity smiled for a brief moment. "Well, I have good news on that. I managed to 'convince' the joint owner to tell me where we can find the secret underground passage into the castle. But it looks like Shining Armor thought ahead on that, he's already ordered it to be guarded."

"No problem!" Rainbow Dash declared as she put her hooves together. "Give me five minutes alone with the guard and I'll get 'em to let us in!"

"Actually, when you see who they got to guard this passage, you may not be so thrilled," Rarity said with a gulp. "It's somepony I think you'll be very familiar with."

The guard turned out to be a pegasus stallion with a recognizable and unmistakable coat of a pale, grayish green. He had grayish purple eyes, a blonde mane and tail, and a cutie mark depicting an orange feather and two green flourishes.

Rainbow Dash gasped in shock! "Zephyr Breeze?! What's he doing here?!"

"Guarding, obviously, I saw Princess Luna place him here," Rarity explained. "Now, I know you two have a bit of a history. But believe it or not that's actually going to play into our hooves." She looked at Rainbow with an unusual big smile on her face.

The brash speedster commented. "What are you talking about, Rarity? He's the most annoying pony in Equestria, and he's totally obsessed with me, and we have to come up with a way to distract—" Then it hit her! "Oh no! No way! I am not dressing up for him! Why can't you do it?!"

"You said it yourself, he's obsessed with you, darling," Rarity snickered while trying to keep it from escalating. "So pour on the charm and distract him long enough to get that entrance opened up for us. I assure you, I will make it up to you."

The pegasus mare groaned. "You'd better mean it, Rarity! And if you ever tell anypony about this, I'm gonna literally drag you through the mud!"





Rainbow was eventually dressed into the most lavish (and embarrassing in her opinion) outfit that Rarity could sew on short notice. She also had her mane and tail pulled back to look more feminine. "Reminds me of the times I had to dress up nice for family photos," She thought to herself. "I'll never understand why my parents kept making me do it. Mom especially, those sweaters were so itchy!"

The fashionista promptly shoved her rainbow maned friend forward. "Go on, Rainbow. He's all yours. I'll be waiting for you once you can get him to open up the entrance."

It naturally didn't take long for Zephyr Breeze to lay eyes on Rainbow Dash. And when he did he could barely contain his excitement! "Rainbow! My my, how funny to see you here! Especially in such a..." He snickered. "Ridiculous outfit!"

Rainbow sighed and groaned as she forced herself to sound nice. "Well... I knew you'd like it. And I kind of feel bad for how things were the last time we met."

"Yeah, I wasn't exactly the model of a model major stallion, was I?" Zephyr Breeze chuckled. "But that's okay, it's all water under the bridge now. Bet you want to know what I'm doing here? And before you ask, no, it's not just 'cause the ladies love a stallion in armor!"

"Then, why are you here?" Rainbow Dash questioned while trying not to sound annoyed or bothered.

Zephyr's confident persona seemed to falter slightly as he answered with somewhat quivering lips. "W-well... the mane styling business has been kind of slow lately, this is a bit of a dry season. Since I can't live with Mom and Dad anymore, I needed some way to pay the bills so I wouldn't lose the nice little cottage I bought for myself. And by a stroke of luck, Princess Luna herself agreed to let me serve in the royal guard. She even winked at me when she told me I could join, though I'm not quite sure why."

The pegasus mare swallowed hard. "Oh, that's... great, I think," She then nervously questioned. "Uh, I know you're probably not supposed to, but do you think you could maybe open up that sealed off entrance over there? My friends needs to get inside for... interior decorating."

Zephyr put a hoof to his chin while his eyes darted all around, looking to see if anypony else was around. "Well, I'm part of the castle team now. And I totally rock the look even if the gold kinda clashes with my aura if you know what I'm saying," Then he commented. "If I let your friend in, do you think you can talk to the sarge about maybe redesigning the outfits? I'm going to have the worst case of helmet hair when this is over!"

"Sure," Rainbow commented. "But uh... we'll need to make it look convincing."

Zephyr Breeze grinned. "Oh, Rainbow, I thought you'd never ask. I can most definitely work with that. Now just play along," He not so secretly shoved Rainbow so that it would look like she was falling. "Whoa! We got ourselves a swooner right here! Rainbow, I know we haven't seen each other in a long time, but I'm glad you're finally being honest with your feelings for me!" He appeared to blindly trot around while declaring. "The truth is such a gift. Like, I had to follow my bliss to see guarding is my calling. Like, look at me go. I'm gonna walk over here, and I go whoo!"

The "act" worked like a charm, the guards assumed Zephyr was just being his old flirty self that they had been advised to ignore. As a result, none of them noticed when the opening to the underground tunnels he was supposed to be guarding suddenly became big enough for two fully grown ponies to fit through.

But the "act" was soon over by Rainbow who just whispered. "Now it's my turn to return the favor." She swished her tail, knocking Zephyr to the ground and leaving him momentarily stunned.

"Yeah, whatever," Zephyr muttered in a defeated tone. "Can't blame a stallion for trying."





Fluttershy and Spike weren't having much better luck on their end. They managed to fly right to the throne room, and Spike was able to use his claws to cut a small opening in one of the stained glass windows so he and Fluttershy could sneak in (as there were no vents). But when Spike noticed the nesting geese all around the throne room, he had to act fast to catch the circle he'd cut out so it wouldn't fall and alert the geese. "Oh man, I almost forgot about them." He whispered to Fluttershy.

"But I can't charm them, Shining Armor will be expecting that," Fluttershy whispered back. "So we'll just have to glide our way to the thrones, no flapping."

Spike nodded. "Got it. And watch out for the trap door." But his words fell on deaf ears as his partner had already started to glide away.

They neared the two thrones and the paper crown resting between them, only to find that one of the geese had been placed there to guard it. It spotted them and began to honk loudly and angrily! Several other geese started to do the same!

Spike and Fluttershy landed in front of the thrones, only to activate the trap door and tumble through it!

As luck would have it, this little mishap occurred just before Princess Luna happened to poke her head into the throne room. "Sister!" She called in an annoyed tone. "Another false alarm from Shining Armor's guard geese! Still think it was a good idea to set them up instead of getting that laser security system?" And as she left the throne room she muttered under her breath. "Cheepskate."

Having heard her sister's call of distress, Princess Celestia left to go investigate and Shining Armor went with her to quiet down the geese.

Twilight had overheard everything and she was quickly becoming a nervous wreck. "We should have heard by now! Something must have gone wrong!"

"More like several somethings," Pinkie commented while blowing into the hot air balloon to try and inflate it. "And don't look now, but I think Apple Chord's just about run out of songs to play."

The young alicorn gulped as she saw the guards starting to leave the concert while a nervous Applejack struggled to think of anything to sing. "This isn't good! No lookout, no distraction, and now no word from any of the ponies inside! I'm starting to think this whole operation might just be a giant flop!"





It wasn't long before Fluttershy started to hyperventilate as she and Spike remained trapped underneath the trap door with seemingly no way out.

"What's wrong, Fluttershy?" Spike questioned the pegasus. "I thought you were just pretending to be scared, like how you're so good at acting."

"Maybe I was at first, because I didn't think something like this would ever happen," Fluttershy explained in a desperate tone of voice. "But now, when I'm stuck here like this, all I can think about is the time I got trapped in the Castle of the Two Sisters with Rarity. I was separated from Angel for a long time, and at one point I even got separated from Rarity. Now whenever I'm in a tiny room, it's all I can think about! I was so worried that they felt alone and forgotten! I felt that way too!"

Spike looked down at the ground and gave a longing sigh. "I know what that feels like. To feel like you've been left out."

The pegasus mare shot the dragon a puzzled expression. "What do you mean, Spike? You're Twilight's son. Adopted son maybe, but you're still part of her family."

"Yeah, except it took her years to even acknowledge that. Years before the mare I most associate with 'Mommy' to start living up to that perception," Spike commented. "Sometimes I kind of feel more like the little brother than the adopted son. Ever since I was in diapers I can remember wanting to be part of those Sibling Supreme contests between Twilight and Shining Armor. The best I could hope for was Shining teaching me how to play Ogres & Oubliettes in his spare time, and teaching me tricks to baffle Twilight. Then, just as I started getting close to Twilight, Shining left and now it's like I never see him at all. I know he's got a family, but I really wish I could see him more often than I do."

Fluttershy draped a wing over Spike. "Sounds complicated to me, but I'm sure if you talked to them about this they would understand. You want to be part of their family, no matter what that may be. Sometimes an older sibling can be just like a mother or a father. I had to basically grow up and be the big sister once Zephyr Breeze came along."

Spike giggled. "Yeah, it's easy to see why he isn't the older sibling."

Fluttershy smiled. "And I think he could learn a lot from you about what it means to be family and growing up. Even if he's getting better now, he still seems to get wrapped up in his own flaws."

Just then there came a rumbling sound and one of the walls suddenly parted! On the other side stood an unaware Rarity and Rainbow Dash. "Look, I am sick of being lost in these slimy corridors, too! But you shouldn't pull every lever you come across!" Rarity scolded Rainbow Dash. "Half of them are traps!"

"Yeah, and the other half might open a secret passage to the castle!" Rainbow protested! "It's not my fault you didn't ask for directions!"

Rarity just sighed. "I did, but it seems they were no good. That seedy juice joint owner was either lying, or he sold me faulty instructions that were almost impossible to follow."

Just then, Spike made a coughing sound, drawing attention to him and Fluttershy. "Uh, hope we're not interrupting anything."

"No, no, no," Rarity shook her head. "It's good to see a friendly face in these parts. But what are you two doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the throne room?"

Fluttershy reluctantly explained. "We were, but then we fell through the trap door by mistake," She then frowned. "Rarity, I don't think our plan is working."

The fashionista surprisingly agreed. "Indeed it isn't. It was too disorganized to truly be effective. Let's return to the outside, regroup and re-evaluate.





By the time that the remaining groups returned to the outside, Twilight was a nervous wreck. "Oh, of all the things to go wrong. If even this plan doesn't work, what will?"

"Well in my defense, darling, the plan was well thought out," Rarity commented as she trotted out, shedding her Shadow Spade outfit. "But we really should've rehearsed and ironed out all the flaws. It was too unexpected and too improvised."

"Then maybe we should go back to the original plan?" Spike suggested. "You know, the Twilight way?"

Twilight blinked. "Spike, you're suggesting I do exactly what Shining Armor expects me to do!"

"So, add a little bit of a twist to it," Spike encouraged. "Add in some elements that he can't expect or won't expect. You can salvage what's left of Rarity's plan and work it into your own plan. It may not be a surprise, but you have a pretty good record for planning things."

Twilight nodded. "Then I guess it's worth a try. Thanks, Spike," She then turned back to her friends. "Okay, you all know what to do! But before you all rush off, let's discuss a few last minute changes we'll be making. And remember, we must lure Shining Armor and the princesses away!"

"No worries, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash firmly declared! "Now that you're planning this, victory is practically guaranteed! I've got a good feeling about this!"





Twilight's original plan was soon set into motion. Pinkie Pie arranged a space themed party and generated a tone of noise with music and balloons popping. The guards left their posts to investigate the disturbance, and Pinkie grinned as she slipped past them while disguised as one of the fake space creatures she'd created. She then made use of the badge Applejack had stolen earlier, growling at the guards. "I come in peace. Take me to your leader."

The guards allowed Pinkie to use her badge to open the door, and she slipped inside and shut the door behind her before they could give chase.

Zephyr Breeze, meanwhile, was getting chewed out for allowing Rarity and Rainbow Dash to slip past him earlier. Pinkie had not so secretly slipped a note at the party mentioning this. "Well, in my defense, you never said what exactly I was supposed to 'guard'," Zephyr tried to argue, only to be stripped of his badge and his armor. He sighed again. "Oh well. Easy come, easy go."

Rarity grinned as she watched the whole scene unfold. "At least there was one part of my plan that worked." Then she waved to Twilight, signaling the start of the next phase.

Applejack eyed the rock Twilight was pointing to. "Twilight, I may be strong but I don't think even I can buck my way through a solid rock."

"Which is why I've brought in an expert," Twilight said with a wink. "I'm sure you'll recognize her."

The expert turned out to be Maud Pie. She spoke not a word as she examined the rock, and then used some chalk to draw a white x where the rock was weakest. Applejack had no trouble bucking her way through the designated spot, and the rock crumbled to gravel.

Meanwhile, Rarity slipped on a royal guard outfit, and with the badge Pinkie had given her she strolled right up to a guard keeping watch over a door leading down to the underground tunnels. "Captain Armor sent me early. You can take a break now." She commented, trying to disguise her voice so the guard wouldn't recognize her.

The guard breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. My hooves are getting sore standing around here. He needs to start scheduling these work breaks more often. D-don't tell him I said that."

Rarity winked. "Your secret's safe with me. Now go on, go enjoy yourself!"

The guard obeyed, trotting away with a smile on his face. And once he was out of sight, Rarity used the badge to open the door and let her friends through.

Fluttershy charmed the geese with the greatest of ease. "Not a word, my fine feathered friends," She whispered to them. "Keep quiet and we'll all get what we want. The crown for my friend, and a feather massage for all of you. How's that sound?"

The geese agreed and any desire they might have had to honk faded away.

Rainbow Dash came swooping in a moment later. "I've got the Wonderbolts flying circles around the fans. Shining Armor and the princesses are still trying to figure out how to get them free," She giggled. "I could've told you those fans were a bad idea."

Spike then pointed out. "All that's left is to get to the throne room. And if I'm right, the secret lever that leads to the hallway entrance is... here!" He flew up and pulled down on a lever, causing one of the walls to slide back and open up with an audible click.





"I can't believe this actually worked! I was so sure it wouldn't!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the rag tag group of seven reached the throne room, the Sibling Supreme crown still resting where it had been since Shining Armor had proposed the challenge.

Spike grinned. "Well it just goes to show you that sometimes the most unexpected plan is the plan that you expect. When you expect the unexpected, you lose sight of the expected."

Twilight happily nodded. "Couldn't have put it better myself!" Then she rubbed her hooves together! "At long last, the crown is mine again, as it should've been all those years ago!"

But at that moment there came a popping sound as Shining Armor teleported into the throne room. He stood in front of the crown and grinned. "Not exactly, Twily. Nice try, but in the end it just wasn't good enough."

"What?! Oh come on! I was right there!" Twilight protested! "You couldn't let me have the crown for just ten seconds?!"

Shining just waved a hoof as he tsked. "Ah ah, that's not what we agreed to. The rules were that you would get the crown if you could sneak in, steal the crown and get out without being caught," He couldn't help but taunt. "Besides, you should know by now that there's no way to beat the true Sibling Supreme!"

"How did you even find out about my plan? Who tipped you off? And how did you outwit the elements I added in at the last minute?" Twilight complained.

Shining Armor grinned. "Why would I tell you? What matters is that you failed, which means the Sibling Supreme crown stays with me. Better luck next time, Twily."

Princess Celestia then appeared in the throne room as she commented. "I'm sorry, Twilight. But Shining Armor is right, you lost. And it looks as though Shining has truly won the crown for all time's sake."





However, at that very moment Spike started to chuckle quite audibly. All eyes turned to him as he pulled out the Sibling Supreme Crown! "Well, that's the thing about looks, they can be deceiving."

A chorus of gasps echoed through the throne room! But none were more surprised than Twilight and Shining Armor! "Spike?! I don't believe it!" Then she realized something! "It was you who tipped off Shining Armor about my original plan, wasn't it?!"

"Guilty as charged," The dragon boasted. "But as you can clearly see, I wasn't really on his side either. I played you both like fine fiddles, and you never suspected it."

"I thought there was something suspicious about you sending that note," Shining Armor realized. "But how in Equestria did you manage to pull this off?! My system was supposed to be undefeatable!"

The dragon chuckled again as his grin grew wider. "I hope you two don't think you're the only ones with a sibling rivalry. I had an inside pony's help. And not just anypony, but my favorite dragon sitter."

At that Princess Celestia seemed to break out into a cold sweat. "You don't mean..." But she needn't have asked, for all swung back around to the thrones and saw Princess Luna perched atop her own throne, ominously stroking one of the guard geese.

"Oh no, your eyes do not deceive, sister," Luna commented in a somber tone. "You and your captain have been outfoxed," She looked down to Spike and told him. "Go ahead, tell them how we pulled it off."

Spike nodded. "With pleasure," And he cleared his throat. "It wasn't hard to notice there were some disagreements over castle security. When Princess Luna said and I quote 'I said we could do it ourselves, but some ponies are a bit more stubborn.', that was an obvious tip off. So my dragon sitter and I worked out a deal, we'd give you all the wake up call you deserved about interior threats. All Luna had to do was put Zephyr in charge of the catacombs and help keep Celestia out of the castle hallways," Then he grinned as he recalled his own part in the scheme, including deflating the balloon and intentionally triggering the trap door. "As for myself, I already tipped off Shining Armor so Twilight would scrap her original plan. And when Rarity set her own plan into motion, I just had to do my part and make sure we stuck to Twilight's plan so we'd all get to the throne room at the same time. I knew Shining Armor would let it play out until the last possible second. Then, while everyone was distracted by his gloating, all Luna had to do was float the crown over to me."

Princess Celestia was the first to speak up after the revelation. She seemed to trying hard to hide her shame as she spoke in a noticeably forced tone of voice. "I, uh, apologize, for not listening to your concerns early, sister. It seems that we'll need to make adjustments to account for threats inside the castle as well as out. If you agree?"

Princess Luna replied in an equally forced tone of voice. "Only if you think it's worth discussing, sister. They're your guards after all."

"Well, maybe some of your guards would be interested," Celestia commented to her sister. "I know they're not used to daytime assignments, but they've gotta learn how to adjust."

Luna just replied while walking out of the throne room. "I'll talk it over with them and see what they think. No promises, though."

Once the princesses had left the throne room, Twilight questioned. "Spike, why would you go to such extremes? Does the Sibling Supreme crown really mean that much to you?"

Spike nodded slowly and reluctantly. "I know I'm already your son, but sometimes it feels like I'm more of a little brother to you than anything else," He held the crown in his claws. "I wanted so badly to be part of your little rivalry with Shining Armor, to feel like I truly belonged with both of you and with your parents. But I was too little to compete."

Twilight smiled. "Not anymore you're not! You've grown up, and you're more than capable of participating in things like the Sibling Supreme contest. After all, it doesn't matter what you are. You'll still always have a special place in my heart as my precious little dragon. You changed my life in ways I could never imagine, and I can't imagine what my life would be like if I never met you."

Shining Armor nodded. "Whether you're my nephew or the little brother I always had but never knew, you're still the same Spike the Brave and Glorious who taught me lessons I'll never forget," And he declared. "So congratulations, Spike. You won the contest, and the crown is all yours. For now, anyway."

The rest of the ponies could only comment with a collective. "Awww..."
> S9 E5: The Point of No Return (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike was carrying a huge box of objects into Twilight's office at the School of Friendship one morning. He didn't know exactly what they were or why they were being delivered but he knew they were important, so he was taking great care not to drop them. Only when he had finally and carefully set the heavy box on the floor did he allow himself to breathe a sigh of relief. "Mail's here." He told Twilight.

The young alicorn and future ruler to be smiled as she rose from her desk. "Thanks, Spike. I knew I could count on you."

Spike just questioned. "What's in this box, anyways?"

Twilight smiled as she explained. "Well, Moondancer found some of my old things while she was doing spring cleaning at the tower I used to stay in."

Spike nodded. "Yeah, I remember you giving the key to her. But why did she send all this stuff all the way here to Ponyville? Couldn't you have just come to Canterlot to pick it up?"

Twilight shook her head. "There was something very important that I wanted her to send to me. Something that's going to help one of our students learn a valuable lesson," Then she dove into the box and started rummaging around inside it. "Now where was it? I know it's gotta be in here somewhere!"

Spike blinked. "Um, what exactly are you trying to find, Twilight? Maybe I can help?"

But the young alicorn was too busy searching to take any notice. She eventually surfaced, pulling out an old macaroni framed picture. "Oh, I forgot I still had this! It's the macaroni picture Cadence helped me make when I was a filly."

The dragon sarcastically replied. "Yeah, who could ever forget a masterpiece like that?"

Twilight paid no attention to the remark. She just floated the picture over to a safe place as she kept on searching. "That's not it, Spike! What I'm looking for is more valuable than a foalhood picture frame!" She let out a groan. "I should've told Moondancer to organize everything before shipping it here," A short time later she pulled out another object. "Ah, my G1 Starswirl figure. Can't believe they made an entire comic line out of him, even if it never caught on," She tossed the figure aside with careful precision though, as it wasn't what she was looking for. Several other objects flew out of the box as she dug further and further in search of her desired object: Old school scrolls, an extra credit report, even some comics Spike had once been into and a few Ogres & Oubliettes figures that had seen better days. "No, no, no! Ugh, where is it?!" She yelled, before she tumbled into the box all the way!

Twilight emerged from a short time later, the box's contents spilled out onto the floor. But she'd found what she had been looking for, a very old and very dusty book with worn pages and a worn spine: The title read "Perfection: The Impossible Pursuit" if one looked very closely, but the lettering had faded and was obscured by dust. "Aha!"

The dragon blinked anew. "Of course, a book. Why did I think it would be anything else?" He sarcastically commented.

"Not just any book, Spike," Twilight smiled. "The book that taught me a lesson I'll never forget. And now it's time to pass on said lesson to a student who needs it most," Then she blushed. "But first, we should get this er 'mess' cleaned up." And set about doing so as she lit up her horn, wanting her office to look neat and tidy in time for the arrival of the student she was staging an intervention for.

The student was about to learn from the headmare about a time when an overdue library book had touched off an entire adventure that culminated in a life lesson Twilight Sparkle would never forget.



Just after Twilight had finished cleaning up her office and had moved the box to a corner of the room so it wouldn't take up space or be visible, there came a knock on the office door.

The alicorn smiled as she warmly called. "Come in, please."

The door swung open and in strolled Ocellus, the young changeling looking more like her shy self from when she'd first come to the school rather than the confident and knowledgeable student she was now known as. "Uh, h-hello Headmare Twilight," She nervously greeted, her little wings buzzing ever so faintly. "Counselor Starlight said you wanted to see me?"

Twilight nodded, motioning for Ocellus to come over towards her desk. "I most certainly did, Ocellus. Please, have a seat. There's something very important we need to discuss."

"What... do we need to discuss?" Ocellus nervously gulped as she sat down and faced the headmare. "My grades have been perfectly solid since this semester began, I'll have you know."

The alicorn cleared her throat, looking her student square in the eyes. "And that is what I wanted to talk to you about today."

The changeling shot back a confused glance. "Huh? What do you mean? Aren't I supposed to get good grades?"

"Yes, good, not necessarily perfect," Twilight insisted. "It's come to my attention and the attention of your professors and fellow students that you seem to be unhealthily obsessed with perfection. You seem to be trying extra hard to do more than is necessary, even when it's not required."

Ocellus stuttered. "But... but... what's wrong with wanting to be perfect?"

"Nothing, as long as you're striving towards it naturally," Twilight tried to explain. "But when it gets to the level you're getting to, to the point where you're obsessing for days on end about every test and assignment and how to do it perfectly, it becomes an unhealthy and destructive habit. That's why I staged this intervention. It pains me to see any of my students go down a path that isn't right, to make the same mistakes that I once made."

The changeling sighed and slumped in her chair. "That's easy for you to say. They say you were a model student who got the best grades at everything she applied herself to. Perfection came easy to you."

"Too easy, to the point where I started to take it for granted and treated everything like it had to be just right," Twilight explained while rising from her desk. She promptly floated over the dusty old book she'd obtained earlier. "And if it hadn't been for this book, I might have kept going down that path until it destroyed me."

At that Ocellus blinked, especially once the book was placed into her appendages. "What exactly is so special about this book? It looks really old."

"It is. It's an old version of a copy I got out from the Canterlot Public Library long ago," Twilight told Ocellus as she trotted over to the changeling. "Back then, I always made it a habit to return all my library books on time. And I checked out as many books as I possibly could, even if I'd already read them so many times and somepony else might have wanted them. For me, it was just as much about maintaining my record as the best book returner as it was gaining whatever knowledge I could. It was ultimately a self destructive goal. And it came to an end in a way I'll never forget. It's a story that I haven't told very often, but I think you need to hear it now more than ever." And just like, the young alicorn's mind began to flash back to her fillyhood years in Canterlot.





A much younger Twilight was checking out yet another huge stack of library books from the Canterlot Public Library, as many as she could possibly fit into the saddle bags on her shoulders.

The librarian was a pale, periwinkle blue coated earth pony mare. She had a dusty white mane and tail, light green eyes hidden behind a lovely pair of green glasses, and a cutie mark depicting dust clouds above an opened book with a yellow book mark on the left hoof side. "Now, Twilight, you be sure to bring all these books back on time," The librarian commented with a smile as she stamped each book one by one. "Lots of other ponies would very much like to read them too."

Twilight gave a salute as she used her horn to stuff all the books into her saddle bags, filling them up to the brim. "Don't worry, Dusty Pages. I will! The best book borrower ever will not let you down!"

Dusty Pages smiled. "I know you won't, Twilight. Ever since we started our best book borrower program, you've maintained a spotless record. You've never had an overdue book once."

The filly nodded. "And I don't plan to start now! I'll return all these books to you in a week after I've read through them all!" She didn't seem to notice a particularly old looking book that was sticking out of the top of her left saddle bag. With a skip in her step, she trotted away as if the books weighed nothing.

It was inevitable that one of the books would fall out of the over stuffed saddle bags. The old looking book fell out of Twilight's saddle bag before she had even left the library. It fell to the floor where a wandering, light yellowish gray coated unicorn filly with a red and two toned purple mane and tail as well as dark purple eyes happened upon it. Her cutie mark was a purple crescent moon and three pink stars. Said filly was none other than Moondancer, the only pony in the same age who Twilight truly felt anywhere close to.

"Twilight?" Moondancer gently called as she picked up the book with her magic. "Twilight?" There was no reply, her friend hadn't seemed to have realized she had dropped a book.

Dusty Pages happened to notice this, however, and upon glancing at the book title she got an idea. An idea to hopefully teach a young filly a lesson that she felt was truly important. "Moondancer, why don't you take that book with you?" She offered in a warm, gentle tone. "I know you've been at the top of the list for wanting to check it out."

Moondancer nodded, suspecting nothing. "Yeah, Twilight keeps checking it out before I get the chance to do so. And she's read it fifteen times already, without even knowing what the title is. She just reads through it, says how silly it is, and then returns it. She does with that a lot of books, actually."

"Then you can take it with you, and make sure to bring it back in a week," Dusty Pages instructed. "If all goes well, when Twilight realizes there's a book that she misplaced, she'll come here to pay for it. That's when she'll learn that true perfection is not achievable one hundred percent of the time."





Next week came quick as a flash. But to the surprise of Dusty Pages, Twilight didn't come in to return her books this time. She just dropped them off in the deposit box and trotted away with a smile. "I get to spend the whole day with Cadence today! How lucky am I?!" She thought to herself, wishing more than anything that Cadence would let her have time to read a book or two. But the young foalsitter made it quite clear that there was more to life than books and studying, and she had set a ground rule that no books could be checked out on days when Twilight was in her care.

It wasn't until the following day that Twilight returned to the library to check out some new books. And unfortunately, it was a day when Dusty Pages was not around. She had already planned other obligations for herself that day (having saved up a considerable amount of paid time off to be able to afford it) and so a different librarian who was unaware of what had transpired with Moondancer or the agreement made was there. She was a dark sea green coated unicorn with bluish green eyes hidden behind reddish-pink glasses. She had a white mane and tail done up in a bun, a yellow sweater and a cutie mark depicting three reddish-pink bird houses all on a rack. "Well, well, Twilight Sparkle. How nice to see you," She adjusted her glasses. "What can I do for the best book borrower ever?"

Twilight was surprised to see this unicorn librarian. "Where's Dusty Pages?" She innocently asked, currently unaware of the missing book.

"Oh, her?" The librarian answered. "She's not here today. But she's told me a lot about you, how you've always returned every book you've ever checked out on time. No excuses, no exceptions," She then smiled. "Would you like some recommendations from the new release section? We've got quite the selection."

The filly happily nodded. "Boy would I! I could use some new material to keep me interested. Reading old books are fun, but after a while you start to get bored of the same old thing." She hoofed the librarian her library card.

The unicorn librarian took the card and scanned it in full anticipation of Twilight floating over a stack of books she wanted to read. But when the card was scanned, the unicorn's horn buzzed. "Hm, that's odd," She commented. "Excuse me for a moment, Twilight," She bent down beneath the check-out desk and pulled out a small card. The mare scanned over it once, then twice. She then stood back up and gave Twilight back her library card. "I'm sorry, Twilight, but according to this catalog you have an overdue library book."

"What?!" Twilight gasped! "But... but... there's no way that could be right! I always return all my books on time! I even make sure to double check my room and everything! I returned them all yesterday, I know I did! There must be some mistake!"

The librarian only shook her head. "I'm afraid not, this catalog is updated every day after we check every single book we have against all the ones currently checked out. A mistake is simply not possible," And she then declared. "It's nothing too serious, but you will have to pay the overdue fine before you can check out more books. By paying the fine you agree to accept the cost of not returning your book on time like you promised."

"Do I have to? I really wanna check out some of the new releases!" Twilight pleaded. "I'm really sorry, I don't know how I could've gotten an overdue book. But I promise it won't happen again."

The librarian was not convinced. "What kind of example would we be setting if we let our best book borrower take out more books after she gave us our first overdue book in..." She paused and tried to think. "Well, I don't even know how long? That just goes to show you how serious we treat these matters, and how serious you should treat them, young mare," She promptly coughed into a hoof. "The rules are the rules. Until you pay the fine there will be no more checkouts for you. And I'm afraid you'll have to go see First Folio in the Grossly Overdue Book Return Office for Ponies Who Should Know Better."

"Oh, but... I don't have any money." Twilight realized as she looked down at the ground in shame.

"Then I'm afraid that means no check outs for you today, Twilight," The librarian scolded with a shake of her head. "Keep in mind that for every day you don't pay the overdue fine, the bigger it gets. So I'd get to paying it off sooner rather than later if I were you. And we may have to take down your portrait of the best book borrower too, depending on if there are other ponies with a spotless record."





So a dejected Twilight rushed home, trying in vain to hold back the tears. She had hoped to come back with a huge stack of new books to read, but instead she was coming home empty hoofed and with the shame of having an overdue book to stain her record. "Why did this have to happen to me?" She thought to herself. "It isn't fair, I've been good! I do all my chores, go to bed when I'm told, and get excellent grades in school! And I know I returned that book! How could I have lost it?!"

Upon arriving back at her house, Twilight immediately rushed to her bedroom and threw herself upon her bed as the tears flowed without end. "One overdue book and suddenly nopony there trusts me?!" She said with a sniffle.

Twilight's sobs soon drew the attention of her parents, and Night Light was the first to comfort his little filly. "What's the matter, sweat pea? Did you not find any books you wanted to read at the library? I'm sure you can just read some of your old favorites again. And don't forget that big book of bedtime stories your mother wrote just for you."

Twilight didn't bother to lift her up from her bed sheets as she continued to sob and sniffle. "They wouldn't let me check any more books out because they said I had an overdue book and I had to pay a fine before I could check more out! It's totally unfair because I know I returned it with all my other books!"

Night Light just lightly stroked his daughter's backside to calm her down as he sat down beside her on her bed. "Oh, sweat pea, it's okay. Maybe you thought you did but you didn't? Why don't you take another look around the house?"

"But I don't even know what the overdue book is, they wouldn't tell me!" Twilight sniffled further. "How can I look for something if I don't know what or where it is?"

Night Light didn't have a good answer for that. But he didn't want to admit defeat to his only daughter. So he did what he did best, change the subject in a way that sounded natural and convincing, as if his daughter had thought of it himself. "Shining was always easier, but I knew things were going to be different with a filly." He thought to himself and then cleared his throat. "Well, Twily, why don't you just pay the fine and fess up to what you did? Think of this as a motivation to make sure you don't make the same mistake again."

Twilight's sniffling began to fade as she slowly looked up. "But... I need money to pay the fine. I already spent all my allowance yesterday hanging out with Cadence, we went to the fair," She briefly smiled before remembering the situation she was in now. "Could I get an advance on my allowance so I can pay the fine?" She hopefully asked her dad.

The stallion gulped. He tried his best not to let his daughter see how anxious he was. All those parenting books he read had told him it was important to stay strong and stand firm on such questions. "No, sweetie, you got your allowance three days ago. You know the rules: When you get your allowance each week you can either spend it or save it. And when you spend it you don't get an advance," At that moment though he happened to see his daughter look at him with the most innocent looking pair of pleading, puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. Something stirred inside him upon seeing them. "But... maybe we can talk to your mother and see what she thinks."

So they did just that, taking their case directly to Twilight Velvet. But her answer was brief and blunt. "No."

"But Mom!" Twilight pleaded!

Velvet shook her head. "It's not up for argument, honey. I'm sorry about your overdue book, and if you'd like I can pay it off for you first thing tomorrow on my way to my book signing."

"No," Twilight protested while stomping a hoof down. "It's my overdue fine, I should pay it."

Velvet sighed. "Well then, how about this compromise, Twilight? If you do all of the chores around the house tonight and don't make a fuss, I'll let you have your next allowance early. How's that sound?"

The filly nodded, hugging her mother tightly. "No problem, Mom! I've done my chores hundreds of times, this will be no different."

However, Velvet threw up a hoof and cautioned. "I don't just mean your chores, Twilight. You're also going to have to take care of Shining's chores. And you're also going to have to help me take care of Spike again. You hatched him, so you need to be responsible for him when you have the time."

Twilight's happy mood faded. "Aw, but that'll take forever! Especially with Spike, you know how much of a hoofful he is."

"Well, if you want to get your next allowance and pay off that fine, you have to work for it. That's the deal we made." Velvet told her daughter.





So it was that Twilight spent the rest of the day around the Sparkle family household, doing not only her usual list of chores but also the chores that were supposed to be done by Shining Armor. That included cleaning up his room (which smelled like a dirty gym locker), washing the dishes, and taking out the trash (which thankfully wasn't very full). But all of that was a cake walk compared to having to take care of Spike. Sure, she had her mom to help for the more difficult tasks, but the baby dragon had lots of needs that had to be addressed.

Still, it was all worth it for Twilight when she was given a stack of bits as promised. And the very next day she trotted down to the Canterlot Public Library to pay her fine. A part of her hoped to see Dusty Pages back at the front desk, believing that maybe the elderly mare could clear up the misunderstanding and get the overdue fine waived.

However, the same librarian from the day before was there to greet Twilight when she entered the library. Now the filly was starting to get worried. "Dusty Pages didn't come back?"

The librarian blinked upon hearing and seeing Twilight, but thought little of her comment. "She'll be back eventually, Twilight. Dusty Pages isn't the only librarian who works here, you know," She told the little filly, before eyeing the small stack of bits she had on her. "Ah, here to pay the late fee I presume?"

Twilight nodded very slowly. "So, where's First Folio's office?"

The librarian replied. "Why, down in the basement of course," And then she whispered. "Because of the shame. Nopony ever goes down there. Well, nopony except undependable rule-breakers who deserve all the horrors the hallway holds," When she saw Twilight start to shake in fright, she quickly retorted. "Relax, I'm just kidding. It's only an overdue library book, not the end of the world. First Folio's office is down there because there's more space. I could walk you down there if you like."

But the filly shook her head while nervously stammering. "N-no thank you, I-I'll... go there myself. I'm a... big filly, I'm brave enough!" She really hoped nopony was looking at her right now, because her legs felt very much like a jelly.





The hallway leading down to First Folio's basement office was dimly lit and very cold, at least as far as Twilight was concerned. She struggled to keep from shivering and sneezing.

At last, the hallway ended. A rather cramped looking room with an opened door greeted Twilight. And inside it sat a lanky looking unicorn mare with an ivory white coat. She had a curly blue and light purple mane and tail, and yellowish-green eyes behind a pair of silver tinted spectacles. Her cutie mark appeared to depict some kind of tape. "Ah, Twilight Sparkle," The mare commented while adjusting her glasses. "Yes, they told me you were coming. Don't be afraid, step in."

Twilight reluctantly obeyed even though she didn't want to. She noticed that the mare was wearing a light blue sweater. "Are you..." She gulped and swallowed hard. "First Folio?"

The mare nodded, adjusting her glasses again. "I am," She waited for Twilight to come trotting in and sit in the chair facing her desk. "I must say, I certainly never expected to see this library's best book borrower end up down here. Especially not with how fondly Dusty Pages spoke of you."

"You know Dusty Pages?" The filly asked First Folio, now having grown concerned over not seeing the old librarian.

"Well, I knew her, but she hasn't been here since that overdue fine turned up on your account," First Folio commented, not appearing to sense how such a statement only unnerved the young one before her. "Speaking of which, I know you don't have the book, but Dusty Pages would say..."

But at that moment, a knot formed in Twilight's stomach. A knot that wouldn't go away until she could find Dusty Pages and explain the whole situation. She got out of her chair and rushed away as fast as she could! Wherever that old mare was now, she was the only one in Twilight's mind that could make this whole thing right.

First Folio blinked in surprise. "Hey, wait!" She tried to call. "Don't you wanna pay off your fine?!"





For a unicorn filly Twilight was awfully fast on her hooves. As her mom and Cadence would attest, she was a little speed demon when the situation called for it. Normally it would be when she didn't want to be taken away from her books to do something else. But this time it was for something far more serious (albeit still book related). And she kept repeating to herself! "Gotta find Dusty Pages! Gotta find Dusty Pages!"

Of course it didn't occur to the little unicorn that she had no idea where Dusty Pages might be or even where to start looking. So determined was she to make this whole thing right that such details didn't trouble her, she could and would figure them all out in due time.

So determined and focused was Twilight that she didn't pay attention to her surroundings. And she likely would've kept on doing so had she not literally run straight into a fellow unicorn filly. Not just any unicorn filly though, but her fellow book lover Moondancer.

Moondancer was more than a little surprised to see Twilight looking so hyper. It reminded her of that cheerful unicorn filly with a mane and tail that looked like toothpaste, but whose name currently eluded her at the present moment. "Twilight, what's wrong? Why did you run into me like that?"

"Sorry, Moondancer, can't stop!" Twilight declared in between pants! "Gotta find Dusty Pages!"

Moondancer, suspecting nothing, happily told her fellow unicorn. "Oh, I heard she's at the old pony's home just down the street from here. She hangs out there a lot, but this is the first time I think she's ever stayed for more than a day."

Twilight gasped, putting her hooves to her face! "Oh no!" She exclaimed in horror! There could only be one reason in her mind why that was the case, and it did nothing to settle her nerves! She bolted once again, disappearing almost as if she had teleported (which she hadn't, Twilight wouldn't master that skill for several years still)!

Moondancer blinked. "Just what was that all about?" She briefly pondered under her breath, before shrugging it off. She knew Twilight could get pretty weird sometimes (though not as weird as some of the classmates at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns) and as far as weird behavior went this was pretty tame. It wasn't like the time Twilight had brought Smarty Pants to school, thinking that the doll was real. Chances are this behavior would soon pass. And it probably wasn't her business anyway. Her parents had told her it wasn't good to get involved in other ponies affairs without being asked. So, with an unconcerned expression upon her face she continued on her way. "I hope the new librarian's as friendly as Dusty Pages always was." She thought to herself.





The unicorn filly was almost out of breath again when she reached the retirement home Moondancer had mentioned. She was just quite relieved when she was allowed inside without any questions. Her hopes for a quick trip were dashed when she didn't see Dusty Pages anywhere in the front lobby.

Not one to give up when things were rough, however, Twilight made her way over to the counter. It took a bit of straining to stand on the very tips of her hooves and reach the bell. Being small had its disadvantages.

A white coated unicorn stallion with blue eyes and a wavy gray mane and tail soon came forward. "Hey, kid," He greeted, currently clad in a dark blue uniform that obscured his cutie mark. "What can I do for you?"

"Is Dusty Pages here? I need to see her, it's urgent!" Twilight pleaded! "Please tell me she's here! Please!"

"Yeah, she's here," The stallion explained as he couldn't help but ruffle Twilight's mane a bit. "She's currently in the middle of a squishy fruit food-fight tournament, though. You'll just have to wait until it's over to talk to over."

"But I need to talk to her right now!" Twilight demanded with a whimper! "There's something I really need her help with! Please, I'll do anything!"

Try as he might, the stallion couldn't ignore the sad look in Twilight's eyes. "Oh, alright," He reluctantly sighed. "I'll take you to her. But stay close to me so you don't get lost or hurt. Squish fruit food-fight tournaments may look harmless, but without the proper safety gear they can really pack a punch! And I don't mean the fruit kind."

The stallion led Twilight through the halls of the retirement home, which were soft shades of white and yellow, and out to a small courtyard in the back. Sure enough, Dusty Pages was there and was currently on a team that were all identified by the blue colored helmets and vests that they were wearing.

Suddenly, a piece of fruit came hurling through the air! Thinking quickly, the stallion lit up his horn to cast a protective barrier. He was just in time, the piece of fruit slammed into the shield with a splat and then slid down! No one had been harmed.

"Stop!" The stallion called above the commotion!

The two teams obeyed but did not seem particularly happy to have their intense battle interrupted. However, Dusty Pages recognized the filly who was with the worker stallion. "Twilight Sparkle!" She smiled as she rushed over! "My goodness, what a lovely surprise to see you somewhere that isn't the library!"

But Twilight gulped as she nervously told Dusty. "Actually, that's what I'm here to talk to you about," And she immediately threw herself at the hooves of her favorite librarian as she desperately and dramatically pleaded! "Please don't quit being a librarian because of me! I didn't mean to have an overdue book, I don't even know how it happened!" The filly burst into tears as she spoke.

Dusty sighed deeply and pulled the filly aside. "Twilight, there's no need to be upset. The overdue book wasn't your fault."

"Yes it is! Somehow I lost it even though I swear I returned it!" Twilight sobbed! "And now, because of me, you had to retire and come here!"

Dusty Pages just laughed. "Who, me? Retired? Not quite, I'm just here for the squishy fruit food-fight tournament that I helped to organize."

Twilight ceased her sobbing and blinked. "Huh?"

The old librarian explained to the filly. "I've been planning this for weeks now. Every so often I come here to visit my friends in the retirement home, and we play games or do other fun activities," She frowned a bit. "It's unfortunate that this had to occur at the same time as the overdue library book, which I played a part in."

"What do you mean? I lost it, didn't I?" Twilight blinked anew.

Dusty Pages shook her head. "No. It fell out of your saddle bag before you left the library, and your friend Moondancer happened to pick it up," She then explained. "I told her to hang onto it and give it back to me the same day you were going to come back and return all your library books. But then you didn't show up, and then next day, which was yesterday, I had to spend getting all the equipment to make this squishy fruit food-fight tournament a reality. I was so distracted that I didn't get a chance to clear up the misunderstanding."

"But why didn't you just come and tell me that my book fell out?" The filly questioned.

Dusty Pages explained with a glint in her eyes. "To teach you a lesson, Twilight. One that I think you needed to learn," Then she inquired of the filly. "Do you know what the title of the overdue book is?"

Twilight nodded and proudly puffed out her chest. "It was called 'Perfection'!"

Dusty shook her head. "That's only half true, Twilight. You probably couldn't see the rest of the title because the book was so old, so worn, and so dusty. Because then you would know that the title of the book is actually called: 'Perfection: The Impossible Pursuit'. It's a book that I wrote."

The filly suddenly gasped anew as her mouth dropped wide open in shock! "Really?! How did I not notice that?!"

Dusty giggled. "I wrote it under a pen name, back before I became a librarian," Then she cleared her throat as her voice took on a more somber tone. "Back then I was just like you, determined to get everything just right no matter what it was. It took writing that book and then rewriting and rewriting and rewriting to get it just right before I realized I was going about life all wrong. I didn't need to be perfect at everything all the time or get it right the first time around. Now I wasn't afraid to try new things, even if I wasn't very good at them. In fact, failing at them often taught me more than my successes ever did. And it pained me to see a young pony like you going down a similar path."

"And I was too stuck in the books to realize it!" Twilight commented as the realization slowly dawned on her. "Well, now I just feel really silly."

The elderly earth pony nodded as she stroked Twilight's mane. "I promise, first thing tomorrow I'll be back on the job. But I won't be around forever, Twilight. Nothing ever lasts forever, even records were meant to be broken. And if I'm being honest, that whole best book borrower title did more harm than good. Just having the late fine seemed like a good enough motivation to keep ponies from taking out books and not returning them," A sigh of regret escaped her lips. "But it seems like I'm the only one who thinks so."

"Not anymore!" Twilight protested as she leaped up. Then she suddenly remembered! "Oh my gosh! I forgot to pay the late fine to First Folio!"

"Not to worry, Twilight," Dusty Pages reassured the filly. "I can pay it for you when I go back to the library tomorrow."

But the unicorn filly shook her head. "I gotta pay that fine no matter what it costs!" Then she blushed. "As long as it doesn't cost more than what I make in allowance."

Dusty giggled again. "Twilight, the fine isn't very steep. Most ponies don't know this but we cap the fine at twenty eight bits when a month has passed. Besides, I ordered a new copy of the book and I'm sure they'll have gotten it in by now. So once you pay the fine, you can keep it. I hope you'll cherish it and keep it close."





"That book was a very big help to me growing up," Twilight told Ocellus as she finished her story back in the present day. "Whenever I started getting too obsessed or freaked out with being perfect, all it would take was somepony close to me reading the title and a few pages to get me to realize what I was doing. Much like Dusty Pages, I don't want to see you making the same mistake that I once made." She promptly used her magic and floated the book over to the young changeling.

Ocellus wasn't sure what to think as the book was placed into her appendages. "Um... thanks?"

Twilight nodded. "So you do understand now, Ocellus? Nocreature's meant to be perfect at everything all the time, nocreature's meant to have all the answers and know everything there is to know about everything. Striving to achieve perfection in everything is an unhealthy pursuit that will only lead you down a path of self destruction. What you might say 'The Point of No Return'."

"So, you're saying you don't want me to do my best?" Ocellus questioned.

"No, no, no!" Twilight quickly protested. "I expect you and every student at this school to work hard and do the best they can do. But friendship isn't perfect, nothing in life ever is. Learning from your mistakes is a part of friendship and a part of life. How we react to our inevitable failures is often what makes us what we are. So, do you think you can let down your... er... hair and maybe stop obsessing over being perfect at everything? Try something you've never tried before if it interests you, don't be afraid of not doing it right the first time."

"Will do, Headmare Twilight!" Ocellus saluted. "And thank you for teaching me this lesson," Then she blinked. "Uh, this isn't going to be a homework assignment or a test, is it?"

The alicorn chuckled. "Do I look like the sort of pony who would do that? That's not how I roll. You know when all my test are and what your homework assignments will be. Like I said, this was an intervention. A chance for me to share some exclusive knowledge with you," And she then commented. "You may be the new Element of Honesty, but I still see a lot of myself reflected in you, Ocellus. I know you want to make a good impression so others will think highly of your race. But striving for perfection and closing yourself from opportunities because you might fail is not how you achieve that. And it's not what would Thorax would want from you either," She then escorted the changeling to the door of her office. "Now go on, classes will be starting soon. Attendance is something you should strive to excel at, because showing up to class on time is how you learn."

With another nod, Ocellus walked out the door and was soon on her way to her first class of the day. But with that book now held tightly in her clutches she was a changed changeling. Now she was truly willing to focus on something besides just her grades and her species' troubled past.
> S9 E9: Sweet and Smoky (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

An anxious Smolder rushed down the hall to the headmare's office, hoping to have a chance to talk to her! But the orange scaled dragon was more than a little surprised when she bumped into not only the headmare, but also one of her professors out in said hallway. "Headmare Twilight? Professor Fluttershy?"

"Oh, hello, Smolder," Twilight greeted the anxious looking dragon. "I'm afraid you've caught me at a bad time, though. Fluttershy and I were just about to leave for the dragon lands. And Spike's going too."

Spike waved a claw. "Yeah, Ember said it's urgent but she wouldn't provide anymore details in case her message got intercepted somehow," And to Smolder he added. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to take a rain check on our next flying lesson. Though, I think I'm finally getting the hang of my new body. Hard to believe it's been almost a year since my molt now."

Smolder shook her head. "It's not about that! It's about my brother! I'm worried about him! Like, really worried about him!"

"Wait, you have a brother?" Fluttershy questioned.

But Spike remembered having heard of said brother during the aforementioned molt. "Why? I thought he got kicked out of the nest once he started molting, and that was that."

Smolder rubbed the back of her neck with a claw. "A-actually, that wasn't quite true. We did sort of stay in touch for a while, especially when I was going through my own molt and he was the only one willing to hang around me. Said I didn't smell as bad as he did," A faint blush formed on her cheeks, but she quickly coughed into a claw and changed the subject. "Last night though, I had a dream about him!"

The mention of a dream caused Twilight to pause. She knew from experience that dreams could be a sign, often a warning sign. "What was this dream about? Maybe I could talk to Princess Luna about it? She is a dream expert, after all."

"No, I don't need some dream interpreter!" Smolder stubbornly protested with a snort! "I know what I saw! I could see my brother standing with these shadowy figures, one of which seemed to tower over the others. I couldn't really explain why but something told me he was in with the wrong crowd. So I have to go back to the dragon lands! I have to find my brother and make sure he's still okay! Please, Headmare Twilight! You have to let me go, it's a family emergency!"

Fluttershy looked at Twilight and commented to the alicorn. "I know it's almost the middle of the semester, but this sounds urgent. And we're on our way to the dragon lands as it is, so why not solve two problems at once?"

"Well, I... suppose there's no harm, just this once," Twilight pondered as she put a hoof to her chin. "But Smolder, I'll be writing a note to the rest of your professors about this unscheduled field trip. You'll have to make up all the homework you'll be missing from their classes when we get back."

The orange scaled dragon just waved a claw in a dismissive fashion. "No problem, I'll work twice as hard when we come back! Now come on, we'd already be halfway to the dragon lands if we hadn't been wasting time with this chit chat! I'll lead the way!" And she flew away before anyone could stop her.

Twilight just looked to Fluttershy and Spike. "Well, you heard Smolder. It's time to get a move on. Ember will be expecting us, and we don't want to keep her waiting. You know how impatient she gets."

Spike shuddered. "Don't remind me." But even he couldn't have foreseen what would lie in store for him in the dragon lands on this visit. It was a surprise he would never forget. And it would all be tied to Smolder's brother.



The ponies and dragons soon departed for the dragon lands, though not one knew exactly what would be in store for them there. They had vague ideas to be sure, but even Twilight and Fluttershy didn't know what to expect.

Soon the familiar smell of volcanic ash and brimstone, and the feel of warm, jagged rock underneath signaled more than words the arrival into the dragon lands. And for Fluttershy it was a sight to behold as this was her first time being in such an environment. "Hm, I expected the dragon lands to be a bit more... rough. This actually isn't as bad as I thought it would be," Then she commented. "Although it's definitely kind of toasty here."

"That's lava for you. As long as you don't get too close though, you'll be okay," Smolder waved a claw. "Though it doesn't feel as warm as it should be for this time of year. Guess some of the volcanoes have gone dormant."

Just then, who should descend from above but a familiar blue scaled dragon that looked only slightly taller than Smolder (and Spike)? All but Fluttershy knew who it was. "Ember!" They all exclaimed!

Ember smiled as she landed on the stony path. "Hey, Princess Twilight! So glad you could make it! And I see you brought Fluttershy and Smolder too," She then whispered. "Fluttershy's the yellow one, right?"

Twilight nodded. "Still having trouble with pony names and faces I see."

Ember fought back a blush. "I'm working on it! At least this time I didn't mistake you for Starlight, though you two really do sound and look the same. When you don't have your wings extended outward it only gets more confusing," Then her eyes started to dart around. "Uh, but where's Spike? Isn't he with you?"

Spike chuckled. "Ember, I'm right here! Surely, Smolder told you I went through a molt," He stepped forward. "How do you like me now?! Check out these sweet new wings!"

The dragon lord gasped in amazement. "Wow! No wonder I didn't recognize you sooner, Spike. You look so different now. You're more... mature," Then she warned. "But don't think that gives you permission to try anything funny with Smolder!"

Now it was Smolder's turn to blush. "Come on, we're just friends. Maybe at best he's like a little brother or something," Then she asked Ember. "Uh, speaking of which, have you seen my older brother anywhere?"

But the dragon lord shook her head. "I'm sorry, Smolder. I've been far too busy dealing with this unexpected crisis to look into your concerns. I don't even know who we is, we dragons don't really keep track of families," And she quickly changed the subject. "So, Princess Twilight, Fluttershy. You two think you can help me with a little er... problem I'm having? I hate having to always depend on you ponies, but I really don't know who else I can turn to. I somehow doubt Thorax would know what I'm facing."

"Well, it all depends. Even now that we're pen pals, Ember, there's still much about dragons that we don't know," Twilight cautioned. "By the way, how's Singe? Princess Celestia said she came back here."

The young dragon lord blinked for a moment, then suddenly remembered. "Huh? Oh yeah. Well, she just left all of a sudden one day. She didn't really say why, all I found was a note saying 'Off to see the world'."

Spike frowned a bit. "That's a bummer. I was really hoping to see her again. There's still some things I wanted to ask her, and some things I wanted to tell her."

Ember reassured her fellow dragon. "Don't worry, Spike. Singe's note told me to tell you that she loves you very much. And if she runs into trouble again you'll be the first to know. Oh, and if you run into trouble, I can teach you how to contact her. I get the feeling she'd drop everything and come running if anyone dared to hurt you!"

But Spike protested by waving his claw. "I can take care of myself, I'm not a baby dragon anymore. I came here to help Smolder look for her brother."

"Well, you might as well have a look around. I'm going to be busy with your pony friends and uh... pony mom," Ember blinked. "It's odd to have a dragon with two mothers: One biological and one adoptive."

Spike shrugged his claws. "I made my peace with it long ago," Then he turned to Twilight. "You and Fluttershy go help Ember, Smolder and I will be just fine on our own. The dragon lands are a lot more peaceful now."

Twilight nodded her head. "Alright then. Let us know if you find him."

"I'm really looking forward to meeting him. The older brother of Smolder must be very nice." Fluttershy commented.

"Well, he was from what I remember of, but that was a long time ago." Smolder nervously replied. Her own memories of her brother were kind of fuzzy.

Ember simply snorted. "Well you won't find him by just standing around here, and that won't solve my problem either. So if we're done with all the reunion talk, let's get going!" And so the group split up: Spike staying with Smolder to explore the dragon lands while Twilight and Fluttershy went off with Ember.





The light blue scaled dragon lord led her pony guests to a not so small gorge that had several small pools of lava running through cracks in the ground. And near each of the pools was a nest that housed four or five dragon eggs a piece.

"Wow!" Fluttershy exclaimed as she looked to Ember. "Are all these yours? I didn't think one female dragon could lay so many eggs."

A raging blush broke out across the dragon lord's face! "What?! Don't be absurd, there's no possible way I could've laid all those eggs on my own! I could never carry that many!" She was quick to correct. "These are the official nesting grounds for all the dragon lands. As dragon lord it's my job to watch over the eggs during nesting season until they hatch."

"So dragon parents just dump their eggs here and take off? That seems a little irresponsible." Twilight questioned with an arched eyebrow.

Ember shook her head. "Not really. They come back to pick up their hatchlings as soon as they hear the news or as soon as nesting season ends, whichever comes first. In fact," She declared as she landed in the grove. "All the eggs usually hatch by now, nesting season's almost over. But for some reason they haven't even come close to hatching yet. I was thinking that since one of you hatched a dragon egg during an entrance exam for one of your pony schools, and the other takes care of all sorts of creatures, you might know what's preventing the eggs from hatching."

Twilight fought back a gulp. "I was just a filly when I hatched Spike's egg, I still don't know how I did it. It was apparently some kind of magic surge, but I don't think that's what these eggs need."

Fluttershy, however, got right to work on inspecting the nesting grounds. It didn't take the pegasus mare with a butter yellow coat to notice what was wrong. "The eggs are shaking!" She realized with a gasp!

"What? They're afraid to come out into the world? I've tried everything I can think of to coax them out of their shells," The dragon lord groaned. "The maker almighty if I have to cave train them all!"

But Twilight protested. "I don't think that's it. I'm not an animal expert, but I'm pretty sure shaking eggs means they're cold. And, is it just me or do those lava pools feel kind of... lukewarm?"

Ember let out a sigh. "I just thought they were slow to warm up because some of the volcanoes around here are have gone dormant. It happens sometimes."

"And you haven't tried to warm them up at all?!" Twilight demanded while stomping a hoof down in visible anger.

"I tried everything I could think of that wouldn't harm the eggs, even using my fire breath underneath the nests in controlled bursts," Ember explained. "Heck, I even tried sitting on them like I hear some mothers do with their eggs. It just didn't work. And that's why I was hoping you two could come. If anyone could figure out how to warm up the eggs it would be you."

Twilight pondered a possible solution. "I could try to cast a heating spell, but it could take a lot to get it just right. If I made it too hot I could cook the eggs."

"Oh, I wish I'd thought ahead and brought blankets," Fluttershy groaned. "Wool blankets especially are really good at warming up other creatures. At least all the creatures at my sanctuary, anyways."

Twilight's eyes were scanning the nesting grounds. "But there's hundreds of eggs! I don't think anything we tried could warm up the eggs fast enough, at best maybe we could get a few dozen to hatch," And she gave a sigh. "I think we're going to need back up on this one. I just hope Spike and Smolder are having better luck on their end."





The two teenaged dragons (at least in terms of size) started their search almost as soon as they had separated from the others. But Smolder ended up doing most of the questioning since Spike had no clue who or what Smolder's brother was.

The search went on for a while but no promising leads or results turned up. Smolder began to worry. "My big bro just has to be here, he just has to be! If he's not here, then I don't know if I'll ever get a good night's sleep again!"

Spike draped a wing over his fellow dragon. "Calm down, Smolder. We're going to find your brother eventually. But it might help if I had some idea of what he was like."

Smolder gave a deep sigh. "Look, I told you that I don't really remember him all that way. I don't think he even knows I'm attending The School of Friendship. We lost touch shortly after I stopped molting."

Spike didn't care, he just looked his fellow dragon firmly in the eyes and pleaded. "Anything you can remember at all about him will be a big help in finding him."

"Alright," The orange scaled dragon reluctantly replied. "I remember he had light grayish green eyes or something like that. He had moderate red scales, orange spikes, and I think light amber wings."

The details came pouring into Spike's mind slowly. But once he had processed them all he let out a gasp! "Wait a minute!" He dramatically exclaimed, hoping beyond hope he was wrong! "Did he have a light grayish gold underbelly and a name that started with G?"

"The name escapes me, but the underbelly I remember." Smolder confirmed with a nod.

Spike suddenly broke out into a cold sweat and froze right on the spot! "N-no way! That can only mean one thing! Your brother is... is... Oh, I hate to even say his name because it brings back bad memories."

Smolder looked at Spike with a mix of concern and confusion. "What? Are you saying you met my brother before?"

"If his name's Garble, then yes, I did!" Spike declared and then shook Ember! "Please tell me this is all your idea of a joke! Please! Because there's no possible way a dragon like you could be the younger sister of a nasty dragon like Garble!"

But as if to confirm Spike's worst fears, at that very moment the dragon that matched Smolder's description (and Spike's) happened to appear. "Smolder?" He blinked in surprise.

"Gar Gar?" Smolder hopefully commented. "Is it really you?"

Garble answered with a half smile. "Yeah, it's me. Long time no see, little sis." And Spike could only gulp as he found himself frozen, unable to move. To him it was like something straight out of a nightmare!





Garble didn't appear to recognize Spike at first. He just looked at the dragon that was the same size as his younger sister and eyed him suspiciously. "You look just like that namby-pamby pony loving pipsqueak of a dragon, Spike. Are you perhaps related to him somehow?"

"Not related, Garble, I am him!" Spike protested and puffed out his chest! "And as you can see, I went through my molt! I've got wings and a bigger body, so you can't push me around anymore!"

Garble snorted and blew smoke from his nostrils. "Oh wow," He sarcastically proclaimed and then muttered. "I don't care. You're still a pony lover. And I'm not so sure I approve of you being around my sister."

"For the record, Gar, I don't need you telling me what to do!" Smolder protested. "You may be my big brother, but you don't have to be so overprotective anymore."

Spike added with a stern glare. "Yeah! In fact, I came all the way out here to the dragon lands because Smolder was worried about you! Had I known you were her brother though, I would've said forget it!"

Garble bitterly remarked. "I don't recall asking either of you to care about me. As you can clearly see I'm just fine," Then she looked at Smolder. "You really disappoint me, Smold. You've gotten soft. But I guess that's to be expected when you hang around pony loving dragons."

Smolder growled back. "And you've definitely changed, I don't remember you being this bitter. But at least now I know you're okay. That you haven't joined up with that shadow monster from my dreams."

Spike, meanwhile, having finally found the courage to move declared. "Well, as nice as this little family reunion is I think I'm just going to go. I've got better things to do than waste my time rekindling bad blood with you, Garble."

"My thoughts exactly," Garble snarled back. "You've got wings now, so why don't you just buzz off and bother some other dragon?!"

"Garble!" Smolder complained.

But Spike protested. "No, Smolder, I know where I'm not wanted. You can catch up with your big brother all you want on your own. And if you still wanna come back to The School of Friendship afterward, you can just let me know." Then he flapped his wings and flew away.

A downtrodden Smolder watched her fellow dragon fly away. She was going to fly after him, but a claw from her brother stopped her. "Hey, forget about that pee wee! You're better off without him!"

The orange scaled dragon snorted anew. "He has a name, you know."

"I know, but far as I'm concerned he doesn't deserve to have one when he's been raised by ponies all his life. We weren't raised by ponies and we turned out just fine." Garble protested as his tone of voice seemed to take on the faintest hint of jealousy.

Smolder just shook her head. "I don't care about your silly rivalry with Spike, he never did anything to you."

"Oh really? He never told you about our many encounters? I don't blame him, every single time he got to where he was because of his pony pals." Garble bitterly remarked.

"Well I've got news for you, Gar Gar!" Smolder sternly declared! "We found out that Spike has a dragon mother! Her name's Singe, and let's just say that if you thought Torch was big you ain't seen anything yet! Singe could crush you like a grape if she found out you were picking on her son! And you don't wanna know what Spike's other mother would do if she caught you picking on him!" She was only slightly exaggerating but it had the intended effect of unnerving Garble.

"W-well, on second thought I... guess we can talk about other things." The red scaled dragon insisted.

Smolder smiled. "Great! We can have one of my top secret tea parties and I'll tell you everything you've missed out on since I stopped molting! Just wait 'til you hear about the time I kicked a nasty changeling queen's butt!"

"Huh, great," Garble nervously chuckled. "You do that. I uh... need to check up on something really quick." And he hurried away before Smolder had a chance to ask him what that something was.





Garble retreated to a secluded spot not far from where he and his fellow teenaged dragons used to hang out and make their own hot springs by redirecting the flow of lava.

But ever since Ember had risen to power as the new dragon lord (or dragon lady as she was sometimes called), Garble had had it rough. And after word reached Ember's ears that he'd tried to hurt Spike during an important friendship ambassador mission in the dragon lands, he'd gotten more than just an earful.

"Garble, your reckless actions are a threat to the delicate alliance that ponies and dragons now enjoy!" Ember had sternly scolded him. "You leave me with no choice but to officially expel you from the dragon kingdom all together! You will no longer be welcome here or in the colony ruled by King Drake! I only regret that I didn't do this sooner."

Garble had tried in vain to plead his case. "I wasn't really gonna hurt him too badly, Ember. I was just making sure the little guy knew his place."

Ember didn't buy the argument for a second. "Your actions have twice brought the dragon lands and the dragon kingdom to the brink of an international incident! You won't get a third chance." And just like that, the exile had been made official.

For over a year or so Garble had been left to fend for himself with no dragons to rely on for assistance. It was tough going, but considering he'd had to fend for himself once before during his molt he managed. And the survival period had only toughened his resolve to "get even" with the one he believed was responsible for this unfortunate turn in his life, Spike.

Then one day not too long ago, Garble had the good fortune (at least in his eyes) to come across a moderate cornflower blue coated ram. Said ram had very dark blue horns, a light bluish-gray mane and tail in short, razor stubs, and pale apple green eyes. Just above his hooves rested a red collar with several yellow orbs on it. "Are you the one they refer to as Garble? The one who has been exiled from his own kind?" The ram had asked him.

"What's it to you?" Garble grumbled. "You got five seconds to explain yourself before I flame broil you alive!"

The ram immediately and effortlessly restrained Garble with the lime green glow of his magic. "You would do wise to consider not to anger me! For I am Grogar, maker of all monsters and the one destined to rule all! But to do this I require soldiers, a Legion of Doom."

"And you wanna recruit me into your ranks?" Garble snorted. "What could you possibly offer me that would make me want to help you? Give me one good reason!"

The ram's eyes seemed to reflect a fiendish glare. "Because in return, I can help you take revenge on Equestria. Revenge on the ponies whom Spike has been with."

"Believe me, I've already tried that! Those pesky ponies and their little dragon always win in the end!" Garble snorted again. "Magic or not, I don't see how you could help me."

But Grogar simply used his magic to conjure up a skull. He chanted something, causing it to briefly glow before he placed it ever so delicately in Garble's claws. "You doubt my methods and that's understandable. But you are not the only one I wish to recruit into my legion. Change is coming, and I think you would very much want to be on the winning side," He then instructed. "Think about my offer, consider what you have now versus what I will grant you if you join my ranks. I know that you will make up your mind eventually. And when you do, simply rub the top of this skull to contact me. I shall await your reply."

And then just as mysteriously as he had arrived, Grogar vanished. Yet the enchanted skull remained with Garble.





"If you're here, Spike, then so are those namby pamby ponies. If you're gonna side with the ponies then I guess I'm siding with whoever's against them, and thus against you." Garble said to himself as he inspected some rocks and found the skull where he had stashed all that time ago.

But at that very moment, Spike happened to come by. "What are you doing here, Garble?!" He questioned, not noticing the skull.

Garble flinched and quickly moved to hide the skull behind his back. "I could say the same to you, you runt! Your pony friends aren't here to save you this time!"

"I just came here to be alone with my thoughts and enjoy the view," Spike bitterly grumbled. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be catching up with Smolder? She was worried sick about you ever since she had that dream."

"Really? She had a dream about me?" Garble rolled his eyes. "I fail to see how dreams could mean anything. I have dreams all the time, they never come true. Now why don't you go find your pony friends and get out of here? Smolder doesn't need you, the dragon lands don't need more pony lovers!"

Spike could only groan. "You really are cold hearted, aren't you? You don't even care about your own sister? Your own scales and blood?"

Garble waved a claw. "Don't you talk about my feelings! Don't presume you know me, because you don't! I cared once, and I learned the hard way that caring is for losers."

The light purple scaled dragon could only sigh and shake his head. "You don't get it, do you? Caring for others and having feelings isn't for losers."

"It is as far as I'm concerned," Garble roared back at his fellow dragon. "Ever since I met you my life has been one of constant set back. All because you just can't let me win."

"Is this the thanks I get for saving you back during the Gauntlet of Fire?!" Spike snorted. "Don't forget, if it wasn't for me you'd have been trapped under that rock forever! I saved you against my better judgement because I thought you would change. If I'd know this is what you'd become I would've just left you pinned there."

"Exactly," Garble declared with narrowed eyes. "Having feelings for others only means you finish last. That's the way life is. You don't know what that's like, because unlike me you got to grow up having your every need taken care of. You got to have comfort and luxury that other dragons were denied. Even my own family regarded me as practically nothing, the moment I started molting they wanted nothing to do with me. My dreams of being a poet, of being anything, they all disappeared!"

Spike blinked. "So that's it, huh? All this time, all the bravado, you were just jealous because I had a better life than you did," And he rolled his eyes. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any more pathetic, Garble. No wonder I couldn't believe you and Smolder were family, you're nothing alike and I thank the stars above that's the case!"

The red scaled dragon just replied as he reached for the enchanted skull. "Yeah? Well you won't be saying that for long when you learn that I'm planning to join a higher calling: Grogar's Legion of Doom."

"What?! A Legion of Doom?!" Spike gasped in shock! "Just who is this Grogar and who else is part of his Legion of Doom?!"

Garble shrugged his claws. "I don't know and I don't really care. I didn't meet any of these other members. All I know is that Grogar is opposing the ponies, so if I side with him I'll be siding against you. And that's good enough for me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to at first, but seeing you has made my decision crystal clear."

"And you don't care that you'll also be opposing Smolder?!" Spike questioned. "Because guess what, she's just as much a friend to ponies as I am. I guess Ember didn't tell you how Smolder is one of the best students at my mom's School of Friendship."

But Garble fiercely roared as he lunged at Spike! "Of course she didn't tell me! Because of you, I was expelled from the dragon lands all together! Bet you weren't expecting that!"

Spike was speechless for a moment, and when he finally did speak he could only say to Garble. "You're right, I wasn't. But if you think siding with this... Grogar will solve anything, then you're a dragon who cannot be reasoned with," He then sighed. "I just hope you and Smolder never cross paths, for her sake. I don't think she could live with the heartbreak of seeing her brother on the side of evil."

Just then, in the distance the familiar voice of Twilight called. "Spike, where are you? There's something very important we need our help with."

Eager for the opportunity to get away from Garble, Spike sighed and turned his back on him. "Do whatever you want, Garble. If you'll excuse me, I have more important things to do than try to talk sense into someone who hates me just for standing up to him." And he flew away without another word.





Garble was all set and ready to rub the top of the skull and contact Grogar, telling the ram that he was ready to serve in his self described Legion of Doom.

But then suddenly something inside him hesitated. Something inside him was second guessing his decision. And he didn't know what it was or why he was doing it. It seemed so easy and so simple.

"Gar Gar?" The familiar voice of Smolder called from afar. "I got the tea party all set up! Come and hurry before the tea gets cold, it'll take forever to heat it back up."

So the red scaled dragon reluctantly put the enchanted skull back in its hiding place, his decision would have to wait. At least he felt he owed it to his sister to have one last tea party with her.

The tea party was a private affair, owing to its top secret nature. The only company the two participants had were the surrounding rocks.

Smolder broke up the silence as she noticed how tense her brother seemed to be. "Garble, you've changed."

"Yeah? Well so have you." Garble defensively retorted.

Smolder narrowed her eyes. "The difference is that I became a lot nicer and a lot softer. You, on the other claw, seem to have gotten bitter and lonely," She then pointed out. "I know about the banishment, I overheard some of your 'buddies' at the lava pool talking about it. Is it true what they say? Have you really had it out for Spike all this time just because of  how you were brought up?"

Garble nodded. "And who wouldn't be when a namby pamby pony lover got all the benefits and got to name the next dragon lord? It ain't right!"

"But don't you see?" Smolder unhappily sighed and sorrowfully declared. "By focusing on that you've lost sight of the dragon you could've been. The big brother I remember looking out for me until I was old enough to do the same myself."

"Well the big brother that you knew is long gone, and he's never coming back!" Garble declared as he got up! "If you're siding with Spike now, then you're my enemy as well! I should've seen it coming, though. A pony loving dragon like him was going to have more influence over you when I didn't."

"And what about your dream to become a poet?" Smolder questioned her big brother in concern. "Please, Garble, it's not too late! You can be who you were meant to be, you can let go of your past and stop focusing on Spike so much!"

But Garble only snapped! "No, it's too late for that! You're too late! You didn't care enough not to leave! You didn't care enough to stay in touch!"

"Because back then dragons were supposed to fend for themselves after a certain age. We both knew the rules," Smolder protested. "And you didn't become this way just because you got kicked out of the nest for being an early molter. I can't believe it, Spike was right about you," Then she got up. "This tea party's over, I'm going to go find my true brother. A dragon who understands me for who I am and doesn't hold onto silly grudges."

Just like that, Garble was alone once again. And now he truly had no one.





Spike had been briefed on the situation when he met up with Twilight, Fluttershy, and Ember. "It doesn't sound like a volcano problem to me," He commented. "I get the feeling that something else is causing the hatching grounds to be so cold."

"Like what?" Ember asked him.

"Well," Spike explained as he pressed a claw down to the pools of lava. "All this lava has to come from somewhere, doesn't it? Where does it all flow?"

Ember started scratching her head. "I actually don't know, I never found out."

"Well, there's probably a blockage or obstruction somewhere along the line that's redirecting the lava away from here," Spike suggested. "If I can follow this trail to its source, we'll probably find the answers. Maybe even how to get the lava to start flowing back to the nesting grounds."

But at that moment the familiar voice of Smolder called out. "Don't bother, I know what the problem is. I saw it while I was getting all set up for my tea party earlier."

"Smolder?" Fluttershy blinked. "Weren't you looking for your old brother?"

Smolder nodded and then sadly sighed. "I was, until I found out he's nothing like I remember and I'm better off with just my memories."

"Smolder, I am so sorry to hear that. I know finding your brother meant a lot to you." Twilight reassured her student.

Smolder just declared. "It's alright, I've already moved on from it and so has he. Now I'm here to help with your problem," And she then explained. "You wanna know why there's so many dormant volcanoes? It's because my brother's buddies have been creating their own hot springs by changing the lava rivers. All the lava's been going to them and not the hatchlings or the volcanoes."

Following Smolder's lead, the group soon discovered two teenaged dragons relaxing in a lava bath that was pooling into a crater in the ground. And all because one of the dragons had moved a huge boulder that would normally keep the lava flowing upstream instead of downstream.

Upon seeing this sight Ember became quite furious! "You idiots!" She shouted at them as she flew down! "Do you even realize what you've just done?! Thanks to you, the next generation of dragons may not even hatch on time, maybe not ever!"

The teenaged dragons gulped. "W-we're sorry, Ember!" They protested and one even tried to push the boulder back into place.

"That'll never work, lava only flows one way," Smolder commented with a shake of her head. "We'll have to find some other way to warm up those eggs."

Ember immediately declared! "Well, these two knuckleheads are going to help us as a form of punishment. But we're going to need more! Every able bodied dragon is going to have to help! The sake of the next generation depends on it!" She promptly flew up to the top of a nearby mountain and let out a mighty roar!





The roar reached each and every corner of the dragon lands, and all dragons immediately ceased what they were doing and came to help.

Twilight pitched in too, using her magic to conjure up warming spells for the some of the eggs. And Fluttershy worked as fast as possible to sew some blankets. "I know they're not wool blankets, but blankets are blankets and they'll still keep you warm, right?" Fluttershy told the eggs as she draped them in the blankets as soon as she had finished them.

But even with Spike, Smolder, and Ember working alongside the other dragons, the eggs weren't warming up enough to hatch! "Come on!" Ember shouted! "Put your backs into it!"

"It's no good, Dragon Lord Ember," One of the teenaged dragons panted. "The eggs can't warm up fast enough. They keep cooling down too much when we have to stop and catch our breath."

Just then, a familiar red scaled dragon appeared with a set of wooden bongos tucked under one of his claws. "Perhaps I can be of assistance?" He offered as he cleared his throat.

"Garble?! What are you doing here?! You're supposed to be exiled!" Ember declared! "And thanks to your buddies the next generation of dragons has been put in great danger!"

Garble tried to keep a straight face, which seemed more like he was gritting his teeth. "Look, I know I did a lot of bad things and I'm not here to atone for them. But I want to see those eggs hatch just as much as you do. So let me help you just this once, and then you'll never have to see or hear from me ever again."

"What are you going to do? We've already tried everything to get the eggs warmed up." Fluttershy nervously commented.

Twilight nodded, wiping the sweat from her brows. "Even my heating spell isn't working, it's just not strong enough. It doesn't help that dragon eggs are unusually strong against magic. Oh, if only Rainbow Dash could produce another sonic rainboom! I could really use another magic surge right now!"

But Garble just set his bongos down as he explained. "You guys aren't doing it right. You gotta warm up 'em nice and slowly. Do it too fast and they'll overheat, the eggs will absorb it to protect the dragons inside from cooking. Of course, if you go too slow or take too long they cool down and the dragons won't come out because they're too cold," And he started pounding his claws on the bongos. "All dragons, time your breaths to my beats! Together we can get these eggs hatched in record time!"

Some of the dragons were hesitant at first, but Ember silenced all of them with a glare. "The future of the dragon race is at stake!" She told them all! "So we're going to try Garble's idea, unless any of you have any better suggestions!" No one did.

Twilight and Fluttershy could only do so much to help this time since they couldn't breath fire, and magical induced fire didn't seem likely to help. But sure enough, Garble's rhythm in conjunction with the dragons' fire breath finally got the eggs to crack open. Soon, a multitude of brightly colored baby dragons emerged.

Fluttershy couldn't help but coo! "Oh my gosh, you're all just so cute! I wanna take you all home with me!"

Twilight giggled. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Fluttershy. Baby dragons are big responsibilities. Let's just say it was a good thing I had my parents to help me raise Spike."





When the egg hatching had concluded, Ember was prepared to thank Garble. But to her surprise (and the shock of Smolder and Spike who had started to think that perhaps they had been too quick to pass judgement on Garble), the red scaled dragon had vanished. "I guess he wasn't kidding when he said I'd never see or hear from him again."

"You weren't going to undo his exile, were you?" Smolder somewhat hopefully asked Ember.

Ember shook her head. "No, his previous actions can't be overlooked. Still, I guess his last act here goes to show that anyone is capable of change, if they truly want to that is."

But Garble hadn't completely left the dragon lands. He couldn't until he had taken care of some unfinished business. he returned to the rocks where he had hid the enchanted skull and pulled it free. His eyes locked onto it for but a moment as he knew what he needed to do.

Clutching the skull tightly, Garble tossed it into the lava below! The lava consumed the skull and slowly began to melt it away, the magic inside it surging up and fading away into the sky. Then the red scaled dragon walked away. "Sorry, Grogar," He thought to himself. "I'm not gonna go up against my sister, even if I can't bring myself to be friends with Spike. It's better for everyone if I'm not around. However this change turns out, I won't be any part of it." He turned back briefly in time to see Spike and Smolder departing from the dragon lands with Twilight and Fluttershy. A rare smile formed on his face. At least he knew his sister was in the right claws and hooves.
> S9 E16: A Trivial Pursuit (What If?) (Bonus Chapter)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was almost the end of the class period for Twilight Sparkle's course on the history of friendships throughout Equestria. Many of her students had either dozed off or were not paying attention, but she continued to lecture, talking about the Tree of Harmony. "The Tree of Harmony remains one of the most powerful sources of magic known to all of ponydom. And though it has been at the 'root' magic and friendship from the moment it was planted, its ways are mysterious. Almost as if it has a mind of its own."

Smolder snorted at such a suggestion. "Mind? Please, it's just a tree. Trees don't have minds."

But Twilight shook her head. "You shouldn't be so quick to dismiss this tree. It's a tree that bore the Elements of Harmony that once helped to defend this land. And later, it repelled an invading forest twice and even grew a castle. A castle that I just so happen to live in." She said the last part with a bit of a wink.

Silverstream shot up a paw. "Wait. Was all of this before or after Discord made chocolate rain?"

"After. Try to keep up." Cozy Glow whispered to the hippogriff.

Meanwhile, Gallus groaned and put a claw to his forehead. "I'm never gonna learn pony history! It's all so complicated!"

Sandbar tried to reassure the griffon. "Hey, don't worry. You'll learn it eventually. I know it's a lot to take in at first."

Just then, the bell rang. Twilight's class was done. But as the students got up to leave the young alicorn informed them all. "You can all show me what you've learned on tomorrow's test: 'Friendship's Effect on the Course of Equestrian History'," Several of her students groaned as she told them. "Remember! Study groups are both fun and effective! But you should try to find a method that works best for you."

Many students went on to their next class without a word, but Sandbar and his friends decided to hang out near the fountain. "Hey, Gallus, you wanna study together with us after school?" He offered. "Ocellus says she has a really great idea to make studying fun."

But Gallus only rolled his eyes. "Yeah, her idea of fun is reading the dictionary in alphabetical order. This is Equestria! If you want the real scoop, then there's only one place to go," He strolled right up to a nearby tree and pretended to plead with it. "Hello, oh maaaaagical Equestrian tree! Can you tell me everything I need to know about friendship? I'd really appreciate it." The tree gave no reply.

Sandbar let out a groan but many of the other students laughed.

"You really should give my idea a chance," Ocellus proposed. "Though I have to make sure the host is on board."

"You're not taking no for an answer, are you?" Gallus questioned, and groaned when the changeling confirmed his suspicions. "Fine, I guess it can't hurt to try. Doubt it'll be a big help, though." But while he didn't know it at the time, Gallus was wrong about Ocellus' idea. It was going to work better than even she might have expected, and would lead to a surprising outcome.



The planed study group decided to meet in the library once all classes had finished for the day. Ocellus was the last one to arrive, and she seemed nearly out of breath. "Sorry," She apologized. "It took forever to get a chance to talk to the host. He said he'll do it, but he's got some errands to run first."

"Who's 'he'?" Smolder bluntly questioned. "And what's all this about a host? Why do we need one if we're just studying?"

Ocellus gave a wink and a smile. "Well actually, I was thinking we could do something a little different besides just the usual studying. I thought we could make a game out of it, a trivia contest. I based off of the trivia trots that I hear Headmare Twilight always participates in."

Silverstream excitedly chirped! "Ooh! Sounds like fun! How does it work?"

"Well," Ocellus explained. "We form teams of two, the questions are chosen at random from different categories, and we each try to be the first to buzz in with the correct answer," She demonstrated by pressing on a small bell, making it ding. "Whoever buzzes in gets to answer the question. If they get it right they get a point, and whoever gets the most points when the contest is over wins."

Gallus only questioned. "What does the winner get?"

Ocellus blushed a bit. "I didn't think there needed to be a reward for the winner. I thought just having the most knowledge about what was on the test was reward enough.

Yona giggled. "Yona not care about reward. Yona just want to help friends do well on test."

"You still haven't told us who the host is, Ocellus," Sandbar noticed. "I take it it's somecreature we're already familiar with?"

The changeling nodded in confirmation. "You'll see when he gets here. In the meantime, though, why don't we have a little bit of a practice run?"

"Does that mean we have to pick teams now? Because I'm not sure I want to really partner up with anyone." Smolder not so subtly snorted.

"We can always change the teams for the real contest if they don't work out," Ocellus offered. "But first we need to get the actual desks for each team set up. Then we'll take turns quizzing each other and keep track of who gets the most right."

The griffon just sighed. "Makes about as much sense as anything else, but I guess I don't have much to lose."





So the six students set up three tables in a corner of the library and placed a small bell on each. A fourth table was set up for the still unknown host alongside a bowl that contained slips of paper. And on each of the remaining tables was a tally sheet to indicate the score.

The teams for the practice run consisted of Sandbar and Ocellus, Gallus and Smolder, and Yona and Silverstream.

But Sandbar and Ocellus seemed to dominate the practice run, the other teams seemed to get every question that was asked of them wrong.

"So, the Elements of Harmony grew the Tree of Harmony?" Gallus uncertainly asked after getting yet another question wrong (he had yet to get a single one right).

Sandbar and Ocellus both groaned as Sandbar tried to explain! "No! The Pillars of Legend grew the tree."

"Then the tree grew the elements," Ocellus added. "And then later the box with the six locks."

And Sandbar chimed in. "But our professors found the six keys and unlocked the chest, which is how Headmare Twilight got her castle. The map came a little later."

Gallus just put a claw to his forehead. "I'm so confused and so gonna fail. I swear I'll never understand any of this, it gets more and more confusing the more I try to understand it."

Smolder ribbed Gallus hard. "Hey, that's the kind of talk I don't wanna hear! I'm not doing much better than you are now, but at least I'm trying to make an effort," Then she looked to the other tables, noticing an absence at table three. "Hey, where's SIlverstream?"

Silverstream had flown away to pick up a book that had caught her attention. "Hey, you guys!" She excitedly called as she returned with the book in her claws. "Check this out! This library has everything!"

Gallus eyed the book and immediately groaned. "That's not going to help us, it's just a plumbing diagram about how to fix a sink."

"What do sinks have to do with Equestrian history?" Sandbar questioned even though he needn't have asked.

The hippogriff gave the obvious answer! "Nothing! I just can't believe that's how sinks work! Indoor plumbing is so fascinating, I wish we had it back on Mount Aris!" Then she asked. "Hey, where's Yona?"

"Still at the table where you left her." Ocellus pointed out.

And the yak was indeed there, but she had put her head down on the desk and was snoring away quite loudly.

Smolder chuckled at the sight. "Well apparently, yaks no love study groups!" She spoke in her best Yona impression.

Meanwhile, Gallus got a rather mischievous idea. He shushed his friends so they wouldn't wake up Yona. Then he not so subtly ran his claws over the top of her hair.

Yona woke with a start! "Ah! Spiders! No! Get away from yak!" It took her a moment to realize where she was, and she blushed so hard that even her thick yak fur couldn't hide it.

"Okay, now if there are no more 'interruptions'," Ocellus glared at her friends. "Let's get back to the practice run. Maybe we should swap the teams around a little to make it more interesting."





But just then there came a giggle from an unexpected source. A familiar pegasus filly with a pinkish gray coat. Her moderate scarlet eyes appeared to be watching the unfolding 'chaos' below and it appeared to have amused her. She herself was high above on a ladder.

"Cozy Glow?" Sandbar was surprised to see the filly. "What are you doing here? And what's so funny?"

"Oh, don't mind me, I'm just enjoying the show," Cozy commented while giggling into a hoof. "Headmare Twilight gave me book stacking duty because I'm such a model student," Then she asked the six. "So, how are things with you? Experts on Equestrian history yet?"

Gallus could only groan. "Not even close. At this point I think I'd be better off studying that plumbing book. Might as well make something out of my time here."

But Ocellus transformed into Twilight and began to mimic the alicorn's mannerisms. "Oh, come on, Gallus! With good friends and solid study habits, anything is possible! Just look at me, I went from friendship student to friendship teacher!"

"Hey, if you can turn into Headmare Twilight then why not just tell us what's on tomorrow's test?" Smolder suggested.

Ocellus transformed back to normal. "I couldn't do that even if I wanted to, that would be cheating. Besides, I could read the wrong thoughts, or Headmare Twilight could change the test. Let's just give my trivia contest another shot, the host should be here soon."

But Cozy Glow flew down and shoved Ocellus aside. "I wouldn't waste my time with that silly little contest if I were you. None of you are actually going to pass. Though it's so inspiring how relaxed you all are about studying friendship, considering your disadvantage." She delivered the last line with a noticeable hint of malice.

Yona narrowed her eyes. "What cute pony? Yaks not disadvantaged!"

"Oh, you are, you just don't know it," Cozy protested while pacing back and forth. "Just consider where you all came from. If Sandbar hadn't sacrificed so much of his time to get you all up to speed, why who knows how behind you'd all be?"

Sandbar pleaded with his friends. "Don't listen to her, she's just jealous."

"Sure, I'm jealous of a bunch of nicompoops like you!" Cozy stuck out her tongue. "Don't make me laugh! Compared to me you're all nothing, I'm a model student!"

"Says you!" Sandbar growled back at the filly. "I know for a fact that you had to have the Cutie Mark Crusaders help you. If it weren't for them you would've flunked out."

Cozy nodded her as she lifted it upward. "Yeah, and since then I haven't needed anyone's help. Having to depend on those Crusaders was unfortunate and it made me realize I need to take matters into my own hooves when it comes to grades, something none of you could ever do. But who could blame you after all you've been through?" She started rambling on, listing off what she considered to be the problem for each of the students. "Silverstream, having to grow up underwater to get away from the nasty Storm King, it's no surprise you'd be wary of trusting anycreature. Gallus, you come from a broken life and griffons just never want to be around anycreature, not even themselves. Smolder, a fierce dragon like you probably can't wait to get away from all of us cute and innocent ponies. Yona," She giggled. "Well, do I even need to say it? Everyone knows that 'Yaks think yaks are best!' Making friends with any other creature must seem like a step down. And you, Ocellus, growing up as a love starved changeling has made you feel like you have to work hard just to keep everycreature from looking at you and thinking badly of you. Honestly, I don't know what Sandbar saw in all of you. It's just so impressive how you keep trying to understand friendship, even though it isn't in your nature."

Sandbar did his best not to notice the looks his friends were all giving him. "None of what she just said is true. You're more than where you all come from," He turned to Ocellus. "Let's get back to the trivia contest. And when we pass the test tomorrow, Cozy won't have anything to be bragging about."

"I'm still here, you know!" Cozy grumbled. "But I've wasted enough time talking to you, I'm done with the book stacking. I'm going to go study for the test even though I know for a fact I'm going to ace it! We'll just see if any of you come close!" She fluttered down and trotted away, turning her back to the six students.

A rather nervous Silverstream then declared with a gulp. "We... should... get back to studying. Who wants to switch partners with me?"





The teams for the second practice run consisted of Sandbar and Gallus, Ocellus and Silverstream, and Smolder and Yona.

This time, Yona, Smolder, and even Silverstream were able to buzz in with a few correct answers. But Gallus still couldn't get a single one right. Even when he thought for sure he had the right answer his friends would tell him it was incorrect.

It didn't take long for the griffon to grow frustrated. And in this frustrated state any kind of noise began to feel like a distraction to him. In this case, the noise that was bothering him was the sound of Silverstream tapping her paws on her desk. "Could you stop that clicking?!" He shouted at Silverstream! "I'm trying to focus!"

"What do you mean, I'm not clicking," Silverstream replied as she ceased tapping on the desk. "Come on, Gallus, stop being so grouchy."

"Yeah, dude," Sandbar added. "We're still in this practice run."

"All thanks to you," Gallus growled and groaned. "We're still in last place. I'm sorry if I don't know every little detail about every single adventure the professors went on like you do. Not all of us idolized them or grew up hearing about their exploits."

Ocellus intervened to break up the arguing. "Well, that's why we're all studying together like this."

"Yeah, to help us 'disadvantaged' creatures, right?" Smolder questioned with a quirked brow.

"Exny on the disadvantagey," Sandbar whispered. "That's not why we're doing this. Stop worrying about what Cozy Glow said. We'll show her when we pass that test with flying colors!"

Then Yona commented. "Yona confused. "Why we all upset?"

"We're not, Yona," Ocellus protested. "But I wish I knew why our host is taking so long to get here."





It was only a few minutes later that the second practice run drew to an end, and the host Ocellus had been talking about finally showed up. The host turned out to be none other than Spike. "Sorry I'm late," He apologized to Ocellus and the others. "Twilight really needed my help to get those tests ready for her class tomorrow."

"No problem, we've already gotten all set up without you and did some practice runs." Ocellus smiled.

Spike strolled over, taking his place at the host table. "Good, then you already know what to expect."

But before the contest could officially get under way, Yona proposed. "Yona think we should switch teams again! Yona want new teammate!"

"I was kind of thinking the same thing," Silverstream commented. "No offense, Ocellus, but it felt like you were doing all the work. You deserve a better partner."

Spike got an idea. "How about we do it according to the magic scavenger hunt Twilight set up a few weeks back? You all remember the pairings she gave you, right?" The students all nodded. "Good, then pair up accordingly."

Sandbar trotted over to join Yona at table three. "Works for me. Yona and I will do great."

"Fine, guess I'll go with Ocellus," Smolder commented as she went to join Ocellus at table two. "At least maybe I'll learn something watching her get all the right answers."

And Silverstream flew to table one to join Gallus. "Ooh! This is gonna be so much fun! Now we're doing it for realzies!"

Gallus didn't share his new partner's optimism. "Don't expect much from me, seriously."

Silverstream just ribbed Gallus. "Oh come on, you big silly goose! Remember, the two of us won the scavenger hunt, we make a great team!"

"Why do you always call me a big silly goose? It's getting on my nerves." Gallus groaned.

The hippogriff only smiled. "Well you kind of are a goose, just like I'm part bird. And you know what they say about birds of a feather."

The blue feathered griffon just sighed. "Whatever. You saw how bad I was during the practice runs. There's no way I'm gonna do good in the actual contest."

"Come on now, there's no need to be so glum!" Silverstream declared. "You're smarter than you think and you know it," Then she declared. "We're ready! Let's start the contest!"





Spike soon read aloud the first question. "Starswirl the Bearded perfected many spells over the years. But what is the spell he is considered the father of, and thus most famously known for?"

"Ooh! I know this one!" Silverstream commented to Gallus and reached for the bell!

"Team One, your answer?" Spike asked when he heard the bell ding.

But Silverstream suddenly froze up on the spot. "Oh, shoot! I had it! It was on the tip of my tongue! It's the... um... the... the whatchmacallit! The one with the funny name!"

The light purple scaled dragon shook his head. "I'm sorry, that's incorrect," He heard another bell ding and turned to the source of it. "Team Two?" He asked.

With a smile on her face Ocellus announced. "The amnimorphic spell! And he created well over 200 spells before his disappearance!"

"Correct!" Spike declared. "First point of the games goes to Team Two: Ocellus and Smolder!"

Silverstream tried hard not to pay too much attention to the harsh look Gallus gave her as the point was tallied. "Sorry, Gallus, I was so sure I had it. I just couldn't remember the name. Amnimorphic is so hard to pronounce."

"Hey, at least you had an idea of the answer. I was completely stumped," Gallus replied. "Like I said, don't expect much. We're so going to lose!"

"W-well, Sandbar and Yona don't have a point yet either!" Silverstream protested. "There's still hope for us."

Spike then cleared his throat. "Alright, that's enough chit chat. It's time for question number two," He reached down into the bowl and pulled out another scrap of paper. "This magical artifact may look like an ordinary seashell, but legend says that if you blow into it you'll call a dragon. What is the name of it?"

Sandbar almost immediately realized what it was, and hit the bell as fast as he could! "It's The Shell of Knuckerbocker!" He proudly declared! "And there's a sweet poem that goes: 'Climb to the height with dragon flight'!"

Yona blinked in amazement. "Sandbar know poetry?"

The colt nodded. "Yeah! It's really awesome! I'll have to teach it to you sometime, Yona."

"Okay," Spike announced as the score was tallied. "That's one point for Team Three, Team One is the only team that hasn't gotten on the board yet. But maybe they will with the next question, and here it is:" He read aloud from a slip of paper. "Once mistakenly believed to be a unicorn, this legendary healer wore a mask that hid her face so she wouldn't get sick while treating her many patients. What is her name?"

Gallus was surprised when he felt Silverstream take one of his claws and make him press the bell. He was even more surprised when he was called on. "Gallus?"

The griffon gulped and swallowed hard. He knew this, he swore he knew this! But try as he might to rack his brain he couldn't get an answer to come out!

"Times up!" Spike declared. "Do you have an answer or not?"

Gallus sorrowfully sighed and hung his head. "No, I have no clue what her name is." And he could only listen as Ocellus rang in with the correct answer: Mage Meadowbrook. It was just as he feared, he knew nothing. Any knowledge he thought he might have had had left him.





"Okay, here's the score after the first round," Spike announced sometime later. "Team Two: Ocellus and Smolder, you're in the lead with six points. Team Three: Sandbar and Yona, you're following behind with three points. And Team One: Gallus and Silverstream, you are in last place with only one point."

Silverstream tried to sound cheerful. "See, Gallus? I definitely redeemed myself with that last question! Now we're on the board and we're back in the game!"

"Because the question was about the Storm King, and you're an expert on him because he once tried to down your species," Gallus unhappily replied. "It's hopeless, Ocellus and Smolder are way far ahead of us! We'll never catch up to them even if we get a few more questions right. There's no way to outsmart Ocellus."

The hippogriff protested. "There totally is! Come on, Gallus! I'm not giving up! We're not beaten yet! I know we can still win this!"

Gallus wasn't convinced. "Every time I thought I had the answer I completely forgot, and Ocellus stole the point away from us. Heck, one time I choked and Smolder got the point for her team. Just face it, I should've partnered up with Ocellus and let her teach me. Maybe I'd learn a thing or two."

"So, I messed up too!" Silverstream argued in protest. "Gallus, this is just like last Hearth's Warming when you wouldn't open up to me or to any of our friends about the goo powder. You don't have to keep being so hard on yourself all the time."

The griffon just shook his head. "I'm just being realistic. This isn't for fun and games, this is to help us study. I can't even get a question right then what hope is there for me on the actual test? There's not a single question out there that I know, and even if it did exist Ocellus would just beat me to it. I should quit now and tell Headmare Twilight I'm going to flunk out, might as well save her the trouble of making a test for a student who won't learn anything."

But Silverstream refused to let him! "No, Gallus! I know you know things, you know you know things! So stop worrying so much and relax," She told him. "What matters most is that we learn what's right and what's wrong. And so maybe you don't past one test, it's not the end of the world."

"It is when I'm the only one who flunks. I have to get good grades to prove I still deserve to be here!" Gallus stubbornly protested. "If I get so much as one bad grade it's all over. Not all of us are here on the good will of our elders. When I have to go back to Griffonstone I want to have something to show for it."

"And you don't think having friends is something worth showing off?" The hippogriff questioned him. "Friends who would organize something like this just to help each other study?"

Gallus began to nervously stutter. "I... I..."

"Okay, break time's over!" Spike called out! "Time for round two! And don't worry, even if you're in last place this is still anycreature's game."

"We're ready!" Silverstream called in reply even though poor Gallus wasn't so sure he was. But it was too late to back out now.





"Ooh, here's a doozy of a question!" The light purple scaled dragon told the teams as he then read. "Who came to Equestria long ago with the intent of stealing Equestrian magic?"

Ocellus was quick to ding in! "Lord Tirek, of course!"

But Spike shook his head. "I'm afraid that's incomplete, Ocellus."

A chorus of gasps echoed among the other students! Ocellus had gotten a question wrong, something that was unthinkable!

Ocellus herself could hardly believe it! "What?! But... but it's true!"

Suddenly, Gallus knew the answer and slammed his claw down on the bell. When Spike turned to him he briefly stuttered. "Uh... w-who is... er I mean who are.... er I mean, they were Lord Tirek and Scorpan."

Spike nodded his head. "That is correct! Point for team one!" And the tally was adjusted to include the point.

Smolder immediately questioned Ocellus over her mistake. "Ocellus, what was up with that? How could you make such an obvious mistake?"

The changeling whimpered a bit. "Sorry. It's just... Scorpan ultimately befriended the ponies and turned his brother in. Tirek got sent to Tartarus."

"So, they were together when they came to Equestria," Smolder pointed out. "Spike didn't ask what happened to them or who reformed and who didn't. Maybe I should take over."

Ocellus nodded. "Sure, go ahead. This is a team effort after all."

Spike soon read aloud the next question. "The map in Twilight's castle has called her and her friends to many locations since it showed up. But where did the map first call ponies to on a friendship mission?"

Smolder soon rang in! "Griffonstone! Ha, tough break, Gallus!"

But Spike again shook his head. "No, that's not correct," Another ringing bell soon reached his ears and he turned to the source of it. "Gallus?"

Gallus proudly announced. "Starlight's old village, also known as our town and Cutie Markless Village!"

"Right again!" Spike proudly replied! "And that's another point for Team One!"

Silverstream's excitement soon returned full forced as she hugged Gallus! "Ooh, I knew we could do it! And you didn't think you were smart, Gallus!"

Gallus brushed off the hug as best he could. "Okay, settle down, Silverstream. We're still tied for last place. Ocellus and Smolder are still way ahead of us."

"So? We can still catch up! We just need a few more right answers!" Silverstream chirped! "So get ready for the next question and be ready with the bell!"

The next question came only a few seconds later as Spike read. "Before Twilight Sparkle and her friends reached out to them, how long had it been since the yaks had opened their borders to anyone?"

Yona rang in lightning fast, it was a miracle her furious pressing didn't break the bell! "A thousand years, which is how long ponies and yaks agree to be friends for!" She happily declared! "Yona there when it happen, Yona and other yaks learn all about it in Yakyakistan!"

"That's correct! Team Three breaks the tie for last and pulls ahead with another point!" Spike announced. "Now it truly is anyone's game!"

But Ocellus managed to score a point for her team with the answer to the next question. "Thorax, or King Thorax as we now call him!" She answered and then beamed when the resulting point was added.





Point tallies started increasingly rapidly after that as Spike shot off question after question after question! The teams would alternate back and forth on who would answer, but Gallus seemed to be getting more and more questions right with each ringing in.

It seemed like hours had passed by as Spike announced. "Now this is what I call a game! Glad to see you've all learned so much," Then he told the teams. "This is it, the final question. You each have ten points, so whoever gets this question right wins the whole thing! Best of luck to you all!"

"Come on, Gallus!" Gallus thought to himself! "You can do it! Don't choke!"

Ocellus, meanwhile, was giving herself a mental pep talk. "You've come so far, Ocellus! Victory's almost in your grasp! One more right answer!"

Spike pulled out the slip of paper and examined the question very carefully. He squinted to make sure he was reading it just right. It seemed that he was as he cleared his throat and the dragon read it aloud: "Equestria was founded by six ponies, including three leaders and their most loyal supporters. In alphabetical order, what are the names of these six founders?"

All three teams blinked in surprise and hesitated. The names of the founders were still hard to remember even for Ocellus. Listing them in alphabetical order sounded impossible.

Still, none of them wanted to lose and so each had a member reach for their team's bell as fast as they could!

A ring reached Spike's ears! He turned to its source slowly. "Team Three?" He asked, surprised to find out they had been the first to reach their bell, Yona must've moved really fast!

But Sandbar was the one who answered, and he answered very slowly. He seemed almost unsure of himself as he nervously commented. "Um... let's see... Pr... no, wait! Chancellor Puddinghead, Clover the Clever, Commander Hurricane, Princess Platinum, Private Pansy, and... um... Smart Cookie, I think."

Spike processed the answer slowly, thinking it over in his head to make sure he knew its result right. Then he turned to the colt and told him. "You are... correct! Congratulations, Sandbar! You've given your team a point and the game!"

Yona immediately pulled Sandbar in for a tight hug! "Hooray for Sandbar! Sandbar carry Yona to victory!"

Sandbar squeaked. "Y-Yona, not so tight!" He protested, not one to really enjoy the yak's killer hugs for long.

Yona reluctantly released her hold on Sandbar, blushing a bit. It was still hard for her to control her own strength.





"Thanks again for agreeing to our host, Spike." Ocellus told the dragon afterward as he helped the students take down the tables.

Spike smiled. "It was my pleasure, Ocellus. You guys did a great job!" Then he suggested. "You should think about joining the next Trivia Trot night at The Hayburger! I think you'd be really good at it."

Gallus shook his head. "If I make it through this test I think I'm going to give the trivia a break. That's way more knowledge than I was expecting to take in."

"Yeah, but we totally proved that you know your stuff!" Smolder ribbed him. "So as long as you remember that when you're studying tonight, you'll do just fine on the test tomorrow! We all will!"

Sandbar happily nodded. "That'll show that Cozy Glow that she was wrong about us. Maybe then we'll have to tutor her. Wouldn't that be nice?" 

Gallus shuddered briefly. "No thank you. That Cozy Glow gives me the creeps. " Then he and the other students all giggled.

But unknown to the six, Cozy Glow was watching them from afar. They didn't know her true identity, but it still frustrated her to know that they were doing so much better after planting the seeds of doubt in their minds. "Curses! Those six are tougher than I gave them credit for! Especially that accursed Ocellus!" She thought to herself! "But even they don't know what I know! I won't let anything stand in my way!" And she began to make a plan.

Spike left the library a short time later, and then the students all decided to call it a night. They'd been told a good night's sleep was essential to doing well on a test or quiz.

Only when Cozy was certain that the cost was clear did she trot into the library. She made her way over to a grate near the rear of said library, a grate that no one seemed to know about but her. She looked down at with a smile as her eyes glowed a sickly green. "That's right. Sleep, you fools," She whispered, shedding her disguise and revealing herself as Queen Chrysalis. "I'm right under your noses and you don't know it. Go ahead, ace your little test for all the good it will do you. I've got much bigger plans in store!"
> S9 E19: Dragon Dropped (What If?)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike was currently in his bedroom in Twilight's castle (also often called The Castle of Friendship) and was hard at work on something that, to him, was very important.

As such the dragon didn't seem to notice when the door to his bedroom creaked open ever so slightly. And who should come strolling in but the unicorn who he had a not so secret crush on (and had even gotten a kiss from last Hearth's Warming)?

"Oh Spikey Wikey, there you are," Rarity sweetly called. "I've been trying to get in contact with you for ages now. But every time I've tried you've been brushing me off or told me you were too busy."

Spike didn't even turn around as he told Rarity. "I'm sorry, okay, but I've got other things to worry about at the current moment. I promise we'll go gem hunting tomorrow. And yes, I want the larger basket."

The fashionista just frowned. "Spike, I already went gem hunting today and I did it all by myself. I couldn't afford to wait around for you. If you didn't want to go gem hunting with me that's fine, you should've just said something."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Spike sincerely commented even while he refused to take his eyes off of his current task of writing a letter. "But I need to get this letter done right now. It's urgent!"

"It can't possibly be that urgent, Spike," Rarity commented. "At the least I think I'm entitled to an answer as to why you keep ignoring me all the time."

That got Spike's attention, he swung round quite suddenly! "What are you talking about? I'm not ignoring you."

The fashionista sighed, trying to get her temper under control. "Maybe you don't intend to, Spike. But it seems like lately there's something else on your mind. You seem to be very distracted," Then she wondered. "Are you perhaps mad with me? Is there something I said or did that made you upset?"

The dragon shook his head. "No, Rarity, I'm not mad with you," Then he looked at a nearby clock and gasped! "Oh my gosh! Is it that late already?!"

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked the dragon.

Spike quickly snatched up his letter and started flapping his wings! "Look, Rarity, I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to take a rain check on whatever it is you wanted to do with me today! I need to get this to the post office before it closes!"

Try as she might, Rarity was unable to keep up with Spike and soon he was out of sight. "The post office? Why would he go there?" She thought to herself. "Although, come to think of it, he's been sending a lot of letters lately. Something must be up, and I'm going to find out what it is!" The unicorn couldn't have suspected or even been prepared for what she would find out, the real reason why Spike didn't seem interested in her anymore. And it was something that was going to give her perhaps her greatest challenge yet, from a non-fashion sense anyway.



Rarity knew that there was only one place to go if she wanted to get answers about Spike's behavior without consulting the dragon himself. She not so subtly stormed into the castle library, expecting that to be the first place Twilight would be. Her hunch was correct.

Twilight, suspecting nothing, looked up from her book she'd been reading. "Can I help you with something, Rarity?"

The fashionista fought back a groan. It wouldn't do her any good to sound jealous or upset right now. She needed to handle this in a proper, ladylike fashion. "You most certainly can, Twilight. You can start by telling me just what the heck has gotten into Spike lately."

"What do you mean, Rarity? He seems perfectly fine to me," Twilight commented. "He's really been making the most of his free time since he graduated from being my assistant."

The unicorn frowned in response. "If by 'perfectly fine' you mean he's been completely and utterly ignoring me!" She snorted. "If this is his idea of playing hard to get, it's not funny. I never did it to him."

"Rarity, whatever are you talking about?" Twilight questioned with a noticeable hint of concern. "Did you and Spike have a fight that he didn't tell me about? I thought we agreed not to keep secrets."

"If we'd fought over anything I think I would know. And I'm usually not the type to hold a grudge anyway." Rarity commented.

The young alicorn just replied. "Then it sounds to me like you're making too big a deal out of this. I'm sure Spike doesn't mean to ignore you, he's just been distracted by other things. You're not the only pony in his life he has to make time for, you know."

The fashionista nodded. "I know, and I've already accepted that he's not always going to be available whenever I need him for something. But if he's going to blow me off to do his own things I expect at least a heads up. That's not too much to ask, is it?" She folded her hooves into a pout.

"No," Twilight shook her head. "And if it's bothering you that much I'll tell him about it the next time I see him. Though maybe you should be talking to Starlight about this sort of thing. I made her guidance counselor for a reason, you know."

"Maybe you ought to consider arranging for Spike to have a talk with her," Rarity proposed. "I'm sure Starlight could tell him how rude it is to just ignore one of his closest friends. And it's most certainly not romantic if that's what he thinks it is. Just what could possibly be so important that he can't take a little time out of his schedule to notice me every once in a while?"

Twilight commented. "I can't say, Rarity. They made me promise not to tell." She realized too late what she had just said and gasped!

Rarity arched an eyebrow upward. "Who's 'they'? Is Spike seeing someone else?"

But the young alicorn clammed up. "You're not getting any more information out of me, Rarity! Find him and talk to him yourself! And if Spike asks I told you nothing."

Rarity stood up and trotted away. "Well, thanks anyway, Twilight." With her tone of voice it was hard to believe she wasn't being sarcastic.





Remembering Spike's earlier comment about making it to the post office before it closed, Rarity made an immediate mad dash to the aforementioned location. As she drew closer she swore she could hear voices: One belonged to Spike but the other one was a mystery, it sounded kind of high pitched and bubbly. Was this the other half of 'they' Twilight had been talking about? Well, there was only way to be sure.

The fashionista swung the door of the post office open in dramatic fashion! And what should her blue eyes take notice of but Spike with a griffon? Said griffon seemed vaguely familiar though, the multiple layers of gray feathers and gray coat were so strikingly familiar to Rarity. And the griffon had a wood carving on two bags over her wings that looked just like the cutie marks of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. But griffons didn't get cutie marks.

The griffon suddenly spotted Rarity and let out a strangled "Eep!".

Spike was surprised too, but managed to keep his composure. "Oh, Rarity. I... didn't expect to see you here."

Rarity gave a not so convincing laugh. "Well, today's just a day for surprises, isn't it? Mind telling me who your griffon friend is here? I swear I've seen her somewhere before, although I'm not quite sure where or when."

"Her name is Gabby," Spike declared as he swallowed a lump in his throat. "She's the first griffon member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and she also happens to be the number one mail carrier in all of Griffonstone."

"The only mail carrier in Griffonstone, actually," Gabby explained as she looked at Rarity with her moderate turquoise eyes. "Hey, I know you! You're Sweetie Belle's older sister, aren't you?"

Rarity nodded. "I am," And then she gasped! "Oh my stars, now I remember! You were the griffon Sweetie Belle was hanging out with, and the one that so generously scrubbed my boutique floors. Are you here for a Cutie Mark Crusaders meeting?"

Gabby shook her head. "Nope, I'm not on Cutie Mark Crusader business, but I hear those wonderful fillies are doing quite well for themselves right now," She cleared her throat. "I'm here because Grandpa Gruff wanted some griff to come and check up on Gallus. He'll never admit to it, but Grandpa Gruff does care about Gallus. And I do too, he's like the little brother I always wanted!"

"I see, but that doesn't explain what you're doing with Spike." The fashionista commented.

Spike happily declared. "Isn't it obvious? I invited her to come here, and Grandpa Gruff asking her to check up on Gallus was the perfect opportunity."

The explanation made sense, but there was still one detail Rarity was trying to figure out. "But how did you two ever get into contact with one another? Even nowadays it's almost impossible to maintain communication between Equestria and Griffonstone."

The dragon was all too happy to explain to Rarity. "It's really quite simple. When Gabby made Twilight believe she became the first griffon in the entire history of griffons to get a cutie mark, someone had to get in touch with her and ask for more details. So naturally, I got volunteered for the position."

Gabby grinned as she added. "Of course, by that time my ruse had been exposed and the Cutie Mark Crusaders told Twilight I didn't actually get a cutie mark. But Spike and I had so much fun sharing letters that we started making it into a once a week thing. We became pen pals!"

And Spike chimed in. "We told each other everything. In fact, when I wrote to Gabby about Twilight's school starting up she basically let us know Gallus would be coming and that he had no family. She wanted to become his guardian, but Grandpa Gruff won't let her. He says she and Gilda are too young."

"Well, I'm here for Gallus now," Gabby declared. "Though it's also nice to finally see Spike again. I almost didn't recognize him at first with how big he's getting. In a couple of years, I wonder if I'll even recognize Gallus when he grows up."

Rarity said nothing, the experience of dealing with such a thing with Sweetie Belle was still fresh in her mind. To know that someone so close to you had grown up, changed, and wasn't really who they were before was certainly an experience to remember.

"I'm sorry if I haven't been paying much attention to you lately," Spike apologized, snapping Rarity out of her mental reflection. "But it took a lot to just get enough free time to arrange for Gabby to visit, and then actually be around when she arrives. I'll probably be too busy showing Gabby around to really spend time with you."

Gabby just chirped. "Oh, that's okay, Spike. You don't need to do that. I've already been here with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I know this town like the back of my paw, no way could I ever forget a town as cheerful as Ponyville. Griffonstone's a tough nut to crack."

"But if anyone can bring it back to how it used to be, I know it's you," Spike told Gabby. "You remind me a lot of myself when was I younger, in a good way of course."

Rarity just coughed into a hoof. "Well, I can see that you're both busy and I'd hate to get in the way of such..." She trailed off in uncertainty. Was she really about to say what she thought she saw? It seemed so obvious, but was it really the case?

The dragon seemed to clue into what Rarity was implying. "Oh, you found out, huh?" He looked rather sheepish. "Well, there's no easy way to explain this to you, Rarity. And that's another reason why I've been kind of avoiding you."

"Spike, if there's something you need to say then say it," Rarity encouraged. "Regardless of the circumstances we both agreed to tell each other the truth."

Spike let out a long sigh. "Well, you won't like what you hear," And he confessed. "I think I've gotten over my crush on you. I just don't feel attracted to you anymore."

That prompted a reaction alright. The fashion loving unicorn stumbled back in disbelief, as expected as the news had been after she'd pieced it together it still was quite a shock to actually be told it. A part of her had hoped that maybe she was just imagining things. But there it was, straight from the dragon's mouth, it was all over. "You... I..." The words wouldn't come out. Suddenly feeling faint, the fashionista lit up her horn and summoned her trusty fainting couch in the nick of time.

Gabby nervously commented. "Uh, that wasn't the reaction I was expecting."

Spike shrugged his claws. "She does this a lot. Still, better the fainting couch than the floor."





It took a few minutes for Rarity to recover from her sudden fainting spell. Still in denial she commented. "Darlings, I just had the strangest dream. I dreamt that Spike said he'd gotten over his crush on me."

But Spike shook his head. "It's no dream, it's reality. I'm sorry I had to break it to you like this."

The fashionista fought back tears. "It's quite alright, really," She sat up on the fainting couch very slowly. "I guess it was silly of me to expect things to stay the same forever. Much like Sweetie Belle you're growing up, and there's nothing I can do to stop that. If that means you've outgrown your crush then I guess it can't be helped," Longingly she then asked. "I mean, we're still friends, are we not?"

Spike firmly nodded. "Of course, that's not going to change. But I think it's time we both started seeing others again. I know you haven't had the best of luck with romance before, but maybe this time you'll find the right one."

"So am I to assume you and Gabby..." Rarity began but she needn't have asked, deep down she knew it was probably true.

Gabby giggled as she smiled. "Well, I'm not too sure I'm comfortable being known as Spike's girlfriend just yet. But that's also kind of why he invited me to Ponyville. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel some kind of attachment to him," In a more serious tone of voice the griffon commented. "I don't want you to feel like I'm stealing him away from you, though. You're not jealous, are you?"

"A lady is never jealous," Rarity insisted as she waved a hoof. "Regardless of how I may feel about this I'm happy that you two are happy, and that's all that really matters. Besides, you don't need my permission. I have no desire to be the third wheel as it were."

"Good!" Gabby excitedly chirped! Then she turned to Spike. "I need to go drop off Grandpa Gruff's letter to Gallus, I promised him I'd deliver it personally. But after that we can hang out together all day. I can't wait to try out this 'Ogres & Oubliettes' game of yours."

Spike smiled. "Great, I was hoping you'd say that! Stop by Twilight's castle later and I'll teach you all the ins and outs of the best tabletop game that ever was! Once you've tried it, you'll wonder how you ever lived your life not knowing about it. Right, Rarity?" But when he turned to look Rarity had already departed.





Twilight was quite surprised to be confronted in the hallway of her castle by Rarity, who in turn immediately asked the alicorn. "Did you know?"

"Know what, Rarity?" Twilight innocently questioned.

Rarity scoffed and snorted. "Don't play innocent with me, Twilight. I know about Spike, about how he's gotten over his crush on me and is now in love with Gabby."

Twilight sighed. "This is exactly why they didn't want me to tell you, Rarity. Spike especially was afraid you'd take it the wrong way," And she shook her head. "I didn't put Spike up to this if that's what you're thinking. I would never interfere in my son's love life. I'll admit, I was never thrilled with the times you would use Spike's crush to your advantage, but I saw plenty of times that it was sincere and that you did care about him."

The fashionista nodded and then began to whimper. "It's just not fair! Why is it that every time I love someone and think that they're the one for me, it always goes horribly wrong?! I struck out with that nasty Prince Blueblood, Trenderhoof was more interested in Applejack than he was me, and now Spike doesn't love me as anything more than a friend. Am I destined to be a hopeless romantic forever?! To get close only to be denied?"

Twilight blinked. "Uh, Rarity, I'm not qualified to answer those questions. I'm the Princess of Friendship, not the Princess of Love. And I'm not sure if Cadence could answer those questions for you either."

The fashionista sniffled ever so faintly. "It's just so frustrating and disheartening. I want what's best for my Spikey Wikey, but at the same time I'm not sure I'm ready to let him go. All the times we spent together, all the times we were drawing close. And now, suddenly, this is how it all ends? Not with a bang but with a whimper?"

The young alicorn's response was to put a hoof around her friend, hoping to reassure her. "It's not my place to say and neither is it yours. Maybe they'll get together eventually and maybe they won't. What they probably want most right now is to be free to pursue this relationship wherever it may go. And I'm sure Spike is conflicted too about ending things with you like this."

"Yes, he told me that was partially why he'd been avoiding me for so long," Rarity commented. "And with the way I'm acting now I guess I don't blame him. Spike sure does know how to pick a winner, Gabby does seem to be more on his level."

Twilight nodded. "Exactly, glad you understand. And I'm here for you if you ever want to talk about it, that's what friends do," Then she offered. "You should probably try to talk about these sort of things with Spike too if you haven't already, just to be sure there's no bad blood and that your relationship ends on a a good note and not a bad note."

But Rarity stood up and turned away. "No, Twilight. Talking to Spike about these things is the absolute last thing I want to do right now. I just... need some time alone to think about all of this, think about how best to cope with it. If Spike or Gabby find out how I'm feeling it's only going to make them feel guilty, and I don't want to ruin their chances just because I can't get over my jealousy just yet."

"Rarity, wait!" Twilight pleaded but it was no use, her fashion friend was gone. She sighed to herself. "Starlight's always better at these kind of heart to heart talks."





For the next several days, Rarity did her best to avoid crossing paths with Spike and Gabby. She threw herself whole heartedly into her fashion career, after all she did have three boutiques to manage and sew dresses for. Even with business partners the workload was still quite considerable, and that was before you factored  in the time she had to make as a teacher at Twilight's school (she and the rest of Twilight's friends had backed off on the idea of being co-rulers, at least for now. It was more of a hassle than they were prepared to take on).

It did warm her heart to see the smile on Gallus' face when Gabby delivered Grandpa Gruff's letter to him. The letter itself wasn't anything to write home about, but Gallus knowing that Grandpa Gruff did care about him in his own way was still quite sweet.

It was the one true bright spot for Rarity as she had to struggle to accept that Spike was no longer hers. And it didn't help that no matter how hard she tried to avoid them she still saw them or heard about them. How they were spending time together playing or discussing Ogres & Oubliettes, how they would often have meals together (especially milkshakes), how they were so sweet together. And every time she saw them the fashionista felt more and more of her agreeing with those comments.

As a result she became distracted for lack of a better term, unable to truly focus. Even her sewing and stitching started to slide, to the point where she had to stop because she was making careless and obvious mistakes that would surely ruin the orders for her customers.

Not even recruiting Fluttershy to help was able to get Rarity's mind off her troubles. But at least it gave her someone else to talk to about them, someone she knew would be a good listener.

"I just can't help but wonder if there's something I could've done different to avoid all of this," Rarity commented while trying to tend to the humming of her sewing machine. "Gabby truly is nice, and I know Spike's happiness should be what's most important. But does it really have to end like this? Maybe it's just me, though. Maybe it's what I did or didn't do that drove Spike away."

Fluttershy could only nervously reply. "Rarity, I don't think there's anything to it. Spike can make his own decisions and that's just what he's doing with Gabby. Relationships change just as much as friendships do."

The fashionista let out a long sigh, stopping her sewing machine and taking off her ruby red sewing glasses. "I guess I just assumed it wouldn't change the way it did. That we'd be together at least long enough to know if it was working out," She commented while rubbing her eyes. "But it just ended so abruptly, so suddenly."

"They are pretty cute together, though," Fluttershy commented in observation, looking out the window and seeing the two flying around together. "And Spike seems like he couldn't be happier. It's probably better this way, Gabby's more on his level."

"But what's he going to do when she inevitably has to go back to Griffonstone? Are they going to continue the relationship long distance via letters?" Rarity pondered. "That seems really hard to do, especially for the two of them. They're quite young and very busy."

The pegasus mare just turned away from the window and toward her fashion friend. "I'm sure they've already considered that inevitably. Why not just see if Gabby can stay here full time? She seems much happier in Ponyville than she does in Griffonstone."

Rarity shook her head. "It'd be no different than if I moved to Canterlot or Manehattan despite being born in Ponyville. I may feel like a city pony, but deep down my heart will always belong here. And I have a feeling it's the same for Gabby, she couldn't leave Griffonstone for good even if she wanted to. And I doubt I could do anything to change that," She then sighed. "It's no good, Fluttershy. Try as I might I simply can't stop thinking about them. I know I shouldn't feel jealous, I know I'm supposed to be happy for them. But a part of me wishes it was me who was out there with Spike, not Gabby. And I just don't know how to tell them that in a way they'll understand. I don't want to sabotage their relationship."

"Well, it would help if you had a way to confront it head on," Fluttershy suggested. "Maybe you could plan a date for them?"

The fashionista was shocked and surprised at such a suggestion! "What?! Me?! Plan a date for them?! I... I couldn't! My feelings for Spike would only get in the way!"

"But you know what Spike likes, and it probably would help Gabby if she knew what they are," Fluttershy commented in explanation. "Nopony knows more about romance and romantic settings than you do. And perhaps planning the date would give you a chance to come to grips with Spike getting over his crush on you."

The unicorn with a pristine white coat gulped and started to shake. "I... I don't know if I can, if I want to."

Fluttershy just encouraged. "It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Just something to let them know there's no hard feelings. Besides, it would give you a chance to talk to them again. You haven't done that since you found out about their relationship. The longer you put off talking to them, the harder it's going to be to ever talk about their relationship."

Rarity sighed, struggling to regain her composure. "Well... I do have all these gems just sitting around here, going to waste. And a pair of passes to a Power Ponies convention in Manehattan, not to mention my own custom dice from the last Ogres & Oubliettes session with Spike," Then her eyes lit up like stars! "Of course, that's it! It'll be just like the time Spike and I went on that date in Manehattan!"

"Wait, when was that?" Fluttershy questioned.

Rarity winked. "Why, when I was looking for a third boutique in Manehattan, of course. You didn't really think it took me all day just to find a suitable location, did you? I know the right place when I see it," She longingly sighed. "Oh, it was so lovely and Spike was such a gentleman. I feel so ashamed we never followed up on it. But I guess now I can finally make it up to him in a way. He will get another date, just not with me." And as she looked over the gems, the passes, and the dice, the gears in her brain started to turn. She was going to give Spike and Gabby a date they would never forget.





Spike was more than a little surprised the next morning to wake up and find Rarity beside his bed! He nearly leaped into the air in surprise! "R-Rarity!" He gasped.

Rarity quickly made a shushing motion to calm Spike down. "Relax, darling, it's only me. Sorry if I frightened you, but I had simply the most incredible news to share with you!"

"Couldn't it have waited until I was fully awake?" Spike yawned, still feeling a bit groggy.

"Oh, but then you would've have to wait even longer to hear that I'm planning a date for you and Gabby!" Rarity proudly declared with a big smile on her face. "I made sure to include everything you like: Gems, Power Ponies, Ogres & Oubliettes, you name it. It'll be just like that date we had in Manehattan, except instead of it being with me it'll be with Gabby."

The little dragon wasn't feeling sleepy anymore, now he was wide awake. "Whoa! You're really gonna do all of that?" Then he questioned. "Does Gabby know?"

The fashionista nodded, still flashing that big smile. "I already told her and she was practically over the moon for it! I think she really wants things to work out between you and her, and I'm more than willing to help you."

"Well, I guess in that case I don't mind," Spike declared as he got out of his bed. "When exactly is the date, and where's it going to take place? Do I have to dress up at all?"

"I don't know, I haven't actually gotten it planned yet!" Rarity confessed in a giddy tone! "But I wanted to make sure you and Gabby were both on board with it before I made any arrangements. You have nothing to worry about, I'll give you two lovebirds a date to remember. A date you'll talk about for years to come."

Spike nervously questioned. "Are you sure you're not doing this for your own sake? I know we haven't really talked to each other since we broke up about a week ago."

The fashionista waved a hoof in dismissive fashion. "I already told you, Spike. I'm not jealous. If I were, would I be so interested in setting you and Gabby up right?"

"Well, no, but..." Spike began.

"-But nothing!" Rarity protested as she cut Spike off.  "You and Gabby will have the best date ever, so help me Celestia!" Then she turned and trotted out of Spike's room, leaving the dragon in a state of disbelief.





It was only about a day later that Rarity informed both Spike and Gabby of her plans for their date. She had arranged for it to be in the middle of town, and had seen to it that they would be the only ones around besides herself (someone had to make sure the date went smoothly, at least that's how the fashionista had put it).

The event wasn't going to be anything fancy or formal, just a nice little evening for the couple to enjoy themselves, talk, and perhaps get to know each other even more than they already did. Even the food would be provided free of charge, Rarity had taken care of everything.

Spike had his doubts, especially considering he'd learned how hard Rarity had taken the break up. But Gabby reassured him that everything would be just fine. "Besides," The griffon declared in an excited tone of voice. "You can't say no to free food, can you?!" And so, reluctantly, Spike agreed to the terms.

The entire center of town had been re-decorated and re-themed just for the date. Everywhere you looked you could see gems hanging from lamps, Power Ponies figures and cut outs in a crudely drawn fashion, and even recreations of the paper, pen and dice world of Ogres & Oubliettes (complete with a replica of The Squizard).

Gabby was in awe of the whole thing! "Wow, Spike! When Rarity sets us up on a date, she goes all out! It's got all of your favorite things all meshed together! I couldn't have pulled something like this off if you gave me a whole month!"

Spike just commented under his breath. "Yeah, I know." But he didn't sound or looked as impressed as Gabby was even while he was trying to be happy for her sake.

Rarity observed the whole affair from afar, giggling to herself. "Rarity, you are a genius!" She told herself, relishing in her role as an observer. She thought that maybe she should consider playing matchmaker for her friends. If she was this good at getting Spike and Gabby together, who knew who else she could help pair up?

Spike followed Gabby to the table that had been set up for them. As he expected it contained their favorite foods, Rarity had even remembered to set aside some of his favorite gems in a bowl.

"Spike, you really gotta give it to Rarity!" Gabby commented after scarfing down all her food! "This is the best food I think I've ever had in my life! And as far as dates go, this might just be my favorite! It's absolutely perfect!"

"Yeah, too perfect." Spike commented as he looked upward, noticing the observing fashionista even from afar (not that she was making any secret of her involvement or presence).

Gabby took notice of the dragon's mood and quickly tried to change it, not wanting to see him unhappy. "Hey, come on, Spike! This is a date, so let's make the most of it!" She chirped. "Why don't you tell me more about the Power Ponies? Though I hear you're also big into Smash Fortune now."

The dragon nodded. "Yeah, I am. Ever since I found out my Uncle Shining was really into them. They're definitely a league up from Power Ponies, but I think I like them even more. Smash Fortune goes to place Power Ponies never went and never could go. Guess it's just a matter of taste, though. It's not that the Power Ponies are bad. In fact, did I ever tell you about the time I accidentally got myself and all my friends sucked into an enchanted Power Ponies comic?"

The griffon nearly gasped! "No! But now I wanna know everything! Please, you gotta tell me! I need to know!"

"Well, it's a long story," Spike commented as he massaged the back of his neck with a claw. Then he cleared his throat. "It all started when the enchanted comic itself was delivered to the doorstep of my old house, the Golden Oak Library."

Gabby smiled. "You once lived in a library? How interesting."

"I never told you?" The dragon asked the griffon who promptly shook her head in response. "Well, I did. And so did my mom, Twilight," He cleared his throat. "We probably would've kept on living in it if hadn't before for a rampaging centaur who shall not be named."





Spike's discussion touched off an unexpected line of conversation between himself and Gabby that lasted for a very long time. It might have even kept on going forever had he not noticed the time. "My goodness, is it that late already?!" He exclaimed as he looked up at the sky, seeing Luna's moon shining brightly down.

"Wow, time sure does fly when you're having fun, huh?" Gabby commented. "This was great! Be sure to thank Rarity for this!" Then she yawned a bit. "Well, I'd better go get some rest."

Spike nodded. "I'll do that too," But then he looked at Rarity (who was still watching the whole thing) and frowned. "Right after I take care of a personal matter." He said to himself.

Rarity was full of glee as Spike approached, expecting to be showered with praise for having planned such a perfect date. "Spike and Gabby will surely be drawn closer together, and they'll have me to thank for it!" She thought to herself.

But Spike immediately cleared his throat and his tone of voice made it clear that he was anything but happy. "Rarity, there's something very important we need to discuss. Something we should've addressed much sooner."

The fashionista blinked in surprise. "Whatever do you mean, Spike? I thought I'd arranged the perfect date for you and Gabby. The kind of a date that only a close friend like myself could have set up."

The dragon was not convinced. He shook his head. "Rarity, I know you think you did this for my sake, trying to make me happy with Gabby. But it felt like you were trying too hard to lure me back, showing me all that I'd missed since I broke up with you."

Rarity forced back a gulp. "Spike, I already told you I'm not jealous. If I was jealous I would've tried to sabotage you and Gabby at the first opportunity. I have done nothing of the sort, I've let you two be together."

"And we were doing just fine, you really didn't need to plan any of this," Spike protested. "I know it's hard for you to accept that I've moved on from my crush. But it's not like it was an easy thing for me to do either. I wasn't sure how I felt about Gabby for the longest time. When we were first exchanging letters it was just a simple friendship and that was it. But as we started exchanging letters more often something began to change."

The fashionista couldn't help but question. "If that was true, why didn't you tell me sooner? And why were you still so determined to get me the best possible gift last Hearth's Warming?"

"I still hadn't sorted out my feelings for Gabby when that was happening," Spike explained. "I don't really know when or how. All I know for sure is that one day I woke up, and I no longer felt the same way I used to feel about you. I thought maybe it would pass, I even thought about asking you out on another date the week before Gabby showed up. But then I started to think more about my feelings. I realized then and there that I couldn't deny it anymore, my crush on you had disappeared."

"So you were conflicted on all of this as well?" Rarity pondered. "But that couldn't be. You were so happy with Gabby, and I wanted you to be happy even if part of me wasn't ready to let you go just yet."

"I felt the same way even while I was with Gabby," Spike acknowledged. "But I want make these kind of decisions on my own. I don't want to feel like you're pressuring me to choose. I know that's not what you intended, but setting up the date the way you did and constantly observing it, that's what it felt like."

The unicorn reluctantly nodded. "I suppose that means we won't be seeing each other very often anymore. At least not while Gabby's still here."

But Spike shook his head. "Rarity, we're still friends. That's not going to change because of who I have for a girlfriend. You'll still be part of my life. You just maybe won't see me as often because I'll be with Gabby."

Rarity unhappily sighed at the notion, even as she resigned herself to that inevitability. "It won't be the same."

"Maybe not, but whatever may come of it we'll work through it together as friends," The dragon told her. "I don't regret the times we spent together. I wouldn't have traded my crush on you for all the gems in Equestria. But things change, I've changed. I want to be free to follow my feelings for Gabby wherever they take me, and it'll be much easier if I know it's not too much for you."

But Rarity declared. "You don't need to worry about me, Spike. I'll learn how to cope with this in due time. If being with Gabby is what makes you happy, I won't stand in your way. And no matter what, even if we remain just friends from here on, you will always be my favorite dragon."

"You really mean it, Rarity?" Spike hopefully asked.

Rarity nodded. "Indeed I do. And you were right, Spike. This is something we should've discussed much sooner," She couldn't help but awe. "You really have grown up."

"it was inevitable, wasn't it?" Spike commented as he waved a claw.





Rarity eventually managed to overcome her personal feelings about Spike being with Gabby. She returned to her work whole heartedly and with a renewed passion.

Among the things she took to doing like she used to do (albeit now without Spike) was gem hunting in the caves surrounding Ponyville. With an orange miner's helmet and a pick ax she harvested whatever gems she needed for her dresses. "Twilight was right, and so was Spike," She commented, seemingly to herself one day. "Things do change, nothing stays the same forever and neither is it meant to be. Spike is growing up," She tried not to wince when she heard a gem shatter behind her, the last thing she wanted was to make so much noise that she woke up the bats. "If Gabby is the one with whom he is meant to be, I suppose I can get used to it."

But it turned out that she wasn't talking to herself, Rarity had brought along a friend. In this case, Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was currently fumbling about with a gem in her hooves. "Sorry," She apologized to Rarity in the best hushed tone she could manage. "I just didn't wanna drop another one and wake the bats."

"Darling," Rarity softly called in reply. "Catching the gems is what the basket is for. I thought I explained that to you when I bumped into you on your way back from Maud's."

Then a familiar voice called out. "Wow! You girls need to be a lot quieter."

Rarity nearly gasped in surprise when she saw Spike come sliding down into the cave with his own helmet and gem basket. "Spike!" She only barely remembered to whisper. "Where's Gabby? Shouldn't you be with her?"

"She flew back to Griffonstone." Spike explained.

"Oh dear," The fashionista nervously commented. "I hope it wasn't because of me."

Spike shook his head. "Nah. She'd used up all her vacation time and it'll be a while before she can save up enough to come back. We'll still keep in touch. Though if I'm being honest, I'm not in any rush with her. She was nice and all, but I think maybe I haven't fully gotten over my crush on you after all. I'm still young yet, and I figure I've got plenty of time to figure out what I want to do with my life and who I might want to spend it with," Then he added. "Besides, even if we just stay friends, I'll still always want my Rarity Time." He promptly allowed Rarity to float a few gems into his basket.

"Oh ho ho!" Pinkie exclaimed in amazement! "So that's how it works!" But she was a bit too loud, she woke up the bats! Everyone in the cave started to scream until Spike was able to activate his flame breath and chase them away.

Spike and Gabby still keep in touch through their letters, but as of right now the dragon has refused to say whether he feels more strongly about Rarity or Gabby as a girlfriend. For the time being he was just happy to know that both of them were okay.