> The Gates of Equestria
>  by SapphireRose87
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria was a place that was founded by the rulers of each tribe, earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn. It was said that because the rulers of each tribe bonded together in friendship, that's what ridded their world of Wendigos. So a holiday, called Hearth's Warming Eve was established to remember how the founders bonded together in friendship and got rid of the Wendigos to keep Equestria safe.

Little did the Founders of Equestria know that before Equestria was founded, the land that became Equestria was already being protected by a group of powerful ponies. This group of ponies called themselves the Guardians. They were able to protect the land by what they called Gates. These gates are portals that detect problems with unstable magic in the land and when a guardian opens up a gate, they send that unstable magic to a dimension to keep the land safe from harm. 

Originally, there were five guardians, one at each gate. The gates were in the North, South, West, and East, with a Center Gate that sat on top of the land's connection of ley lines, or magic currents. As time went on, one of the guardians, Sapphire Rose, became stronger than all of the guardians combined. 

As such, the other guardians decided that Sapphire Rose would be the one to be the leader over all of them. At that time, she was the guardian of the Center Gate. With that being said, Sapphire also decided that she not only needed another guardian to take her place as the Center Gate Guardian, but she also needed somepony to help her in making sure that the guardians were kept stable and sound in mind in order to do their jobs. 

The Guardians were the ones that truly stopped the Wendigos from overtaking the land. The Founders of Equestria had no idea this happened when they bonded over friendship. 

Now that Sapphire was the leader of the Guardians, she stepped forward and talked to the founders at length about how to stop similar threats like the Wendigos. 

However, during their discussions, Sapphire knew that the Founders were the ones who caused the Wendigos to happen in the first place. Because of them, they almost turned the land she protected into a wasteland where no creature, not even the Guardians would be able to live. Seeing that she was trying to make peace with the Founders so she and the other guardians wouldn't have to drive them out of the land, Sapphire chose not to mention that. 

Wendigos are the hardest type of unstable magical creatures to keep locked inside the unstabilized dimension. 

Sapphire and the Founders of Equestria agreed to work together, to keep Equestria safe. 

Then the Elements of Harmony were created by a wizard named Star Swirl the Bearded. Sapphire saw this as a way to make the gates stronger and add more protection for Equestria. So, she talked to him about this and he agreed with her, as the Elements themselves were grown inside a leyline current.

Now, every two hundred years, because that's how long these chosen ponies live, new Guardians are chosen to connect to the gates. The Elements of Harmony also get paired up with a Guardian every time the year of choosing the Guardians comes around. 

The Gates of Equestria isn't common knowledge to everyone. Only those that picked represent their nation and city within Equestria know of the gates. Sapphire is the one that picks the city's representatives too. 

Sapphire's one goal in her life that keeps her going more than anything else, is to protect Equestria. The Guardians and the Elements of Harmony feel the same way.
> Chapter One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The year of choosing guardians had come.

Sapphire sat in her office in Canterlot Palace, going over the lineup before she officially appointed the guardians, there was a knock at the door. Her assistant, Tumble, a very energetic young unicorn, bounced over to the door and answered it.

Sapphire smiled when she saw it was Princess Twilight and her humble yet buff assistant Spike at the door.

“Sapphire!” Princess Twilight exclaimed. She gave Sapphire a hug, although Sapphire was older than her. Princess Twilight didn't expect Sapphire to bow to her, they had become close friends when Sapphire visited for the first time.

“To what do I owe the honor of a visit from our glorious Princess Twilight before the official appointing of the Guardians today?” Sapphire smiled.

“Oh, nothing major,” Princess Twilight waved a hoof almost dismissively. “I wanted to see if you read over the files I’d given you and the backgrounds for everypony. Oh, and this year a dragon is going to be appointed this year, and I want everything to be perfect for the ceremony because this is so obviously important to you and-”

Sapphire chuckled, “Yes, yes, I have gone over everything and everything is in order. You do know speeches aren’t given during the ceremony, right?”

Princess Twilight looked down at the floor as if Sapphire had embarrassed her. She gave a nervous laugh, “Um, no, I wasn’t informed of that. Princess Celestia didn’t tell me how this works before I took the throne. I just thought-”

“Oh, it’s no problem, Princess,” Sapphire smiled. “Not even Celestia knew how this was done until the last meeting I had with the founders of each tribe. That was when we decided that since the gates are set up to protect Equestria, the rulers should know of this. So when Celestia took the throne along with Luna, we briefed them on everything involved in the ceremony. But this year’s selection of guardians is very different indeed. While the tradition is that only ponies are guardians now we have a dragon. He’s the strongest guardian we will have.”

Spike laughed, “Well, what do you expect? Dragons are powerful! I don’t know why a dragon wasn’t selected before to guard the gates.”

Sapphire smiled. “Well, that’s probably because dragons weren’t getting along with ponies at the time. And Equestria had its own set of problems. You know, wendigos and stuff like that.”

“We do have a very diverse selection of guardians this year...” Princess Twilight smiled.

"I know, right?" said Sapphire. "Let's see here, I guess we should start by looking at the North gate's guardians selected this year."

Sapphire gripped in her magic a stack of papers sitting on a nearby desk. On the top of the papers was a thick paper with a large label on it that read: NORTH GATE GUARDIAN. On the top of the file was a picture of a young pegasus. His fur was a light blue color and his wings that colors on them looked like rays of the sun. His mane and tail were a shade of yellow that seemed to blaze brightly. His cutie mark was a dragon with a tuft of fire sprouting from its open hinged maw.

"This guardian is a pegasus named Firewing. We've paired him up with the Element of Honesty, Applejack, of course. His medallion, or the power from it, seems to be favoring Applejack's element. The Guardian Council is as flabbergasted by it as I am. But, pairing the guardians with the elements of harmony has been a tradition for over two centuries now."

Princess Twilight nodded. "The elements didn't come on the scene until Princess Celestia took the throne. She used them against Nightmare Moon."

"Uh-huh," Sapphire nodded, "let's see, uh, the next guardian, is the one in the south gate."

Sapphire put the NORTH GATE GUARDIAN file aside. She picked up another file that had a label like the first, reading: SOUTH GATE GUARDIAN. On top of the file was a picture of a unicorn. His fur was white as freshly fallen snow and his mane and tail were a purplish-blue color such as the cosmos.  His cutie mark was a treble clef note with wings. "Okay, the guardian for the south gate is a unicorn named Aetherlight Melody. He loves helping ponies in need. The Elements seem to think Rarity, the Element of Generosity is a good match for him."

"Well if he's a pony that helps those in need, like Rarity, does," said Princess Twilight. "Then pairing would make sense but, as long as he's not evil I guess that should work."

Sapphire snorted. "Well, the Elements of Harmony wouldn't work with anypony that's evil, dear."

Princess Twilight chuckled, "Yeah, you're right, nothing to be worried about..." Princess Twilight’s smile was one of slight worry.

Sapphire ignored Princess Twilight's concern. She knew that the princess would voice them again. She then put the file that said SOUTH GATE GUARDIAN on it and gripped in her magic the next one in line. This time the file said: WEST GATE GUARDIAN. On top of the file, the. But it didn't matter considering the fact Sapphire already knew of this guardian's background. "Okay, the guardian for the west gate is an earth pony named Fancy Mark. He's been paired up with Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter. I can understand that one. He's got issues like Pinkie Pie does."

Spike and Princess Twilight laughed at that because they knew Sapphire was right. Sapphire nodded, ignored their reactions, and continued. "It says here that Fancy Mark has two different personalities inside him. The original one, which is the real Fancy Mark, is kind and reasonable. Taking into consideration his heart-wrenching life story. The other personality he has is called Fancy Dark. Fancy Dark is corrupted, mischievous. But the two personalities balance each other out. With that in mind, we will keep sending him to therapy. So long as there are no problems, then things should be fine. Anyway, moving on."

Sapphire the file with the details for the west gate guardian on it aside and moved on to the next one. This file read: EAST GATE GUARDIAN. On top of the file was a picture of a young earth pony mare. Her fur was purple and her eyes were two different colors, one eye was red and the other eye was yellow. Her cutie mark was a treble clef note, with a regular note beside it. On top of the treble clef note was a white feather with a black bowtie.

"Okay, well, the east gate guardian is a very interesting pony indeed. Her name is Melody, she's a singer and she's blind, but when she sings the notes gives her the ability to see. But only when she sings. So, I can only assume she doesn't sing all the time. She's also an earth pony. She's paired up with the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy. That one makes sense to me also, because Fluttershy can be Melody's ears and eyes when she's not singing." Sapphire said.

Princess Twilight smiled and nodded. "Uh-huh, Fluttershy is so kind when she sees somepony like that who needs help, so she'll be more than happy to do it."

"That's probably why that Element responded so favorably to Melody being paired up with her," Sapphire said. "There is one more gate that needs to be discussed which is the one that will be working the hardest, and that's the center gate. It's the gate that connects all of the other gates."

Sapphire put the EAST GATE GUARDIAN file aside and picked up the file that said: THE CENTER GUARDIAN. On top of this file was a picture of a dragon that had green scales and horns. His wings were green and had yellow color underneath them. He wore a black hooded cloak with a lighting bolt symbol on it.

Spike smiled and laughed when he saw the file, "Ha! Now, this is the file I've been hoping you would go over with us today."

"Yes, yes, I know Spike," Sapphire chuckled, "the center gate guardian. He's a dragon named Lord Thunder. He can produce a high voltage of electricity and summon lightning bolts. This is perfect for the center gate considering it's the one that unites the gates. He's paired up with Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. Now that one was an interesting pairing. But since Rainbow Dash's Element reacts favorably to him, we rolled with it."

"Actually," said Princess Twilight. "His lightning bolts combined with Rainbow Dash's speed will make a good combination. They’ll be a strong pair, those two."

"Okay, and then there's you, Princess. Even though you don't have a gate to guard over, you'll be working with me to make sure the gates’ magic is flowing through them correctly," Sapphire said. 

Princess Twilight nodded, "That's a huge honor to have. Unfortunately, it's not known to the public that this is going on.  Why is that?"

"Ah, good question," said Sapphire. "It's because, if everyone knew about this, they would try to use the power of the gates for their own agendas. The ceremony is only seen by the guardian community. Those guardians represent every city in Equestria. Also, every country all around the planet Equus. The ones that have been picked by this are the descents of the founders of Equestria."

"Oh, I see." Princess Twilight said. "But I do wonder why there are mostly stallions that have been picked to be guardians this year."

Sapphire smiled, "Well every time new guardians are chosen, it's always different. The last time, when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were rulers the guardians were all mares."

"Huh, interesting," Princess Twilight said.

"So," said Sapphire. "Everything's in order, the guardians will be appointed and given their medallions to help channel their magic into the gates."

Princess Twilight looked satisfied with Sapphire's readiness for the ceremony. "Well then, it seems everything is going to be perfect for that day. I can't wait!"

Sapphire nodded in agreement. "That makes two of us!"

Sapphire and Princess Twilight parted ways and held a heart of excitement for the ceremony. Little did they know trouble was already brewing in Equestria. The guardians already at the gates were getting old and dying off one by one.


*	 * 	*


Phantasia smiled as he peeked out of the curtains at the audience gathered around the stage. He had been waiting for months for this opportunity. He had already picked this location months in advance. It was a secret location, deep within the caves underneath Canterlot. 

Man, this is what I live for! Manipulating ponies so they will bend to my will. I can't wait to feed them some more bad ideas about Equestria. Phantasia thought. I can't wait until I take my rightful place as ruler of Equestria. They should've given the throne to me.  But no, they want a princess to rule over them! These stupid ponies of Equestria have no idea that they need a strong stallion to over them. Not some stupid princess!

Phantasia snapped out of his thoughts when he felt somepony tap him on the shoulder. He turned to see it was his assistant, a young mare named Little Snack with a stack of papers on her back. He was very amused at the way Little Snack would carry things and without saddlebags.

"Yes," said Phantasia, "what is it Little Snack?"

"Um, sir," said Little Snack. "Here are the papers for your speech, sir. If you want to go over it one last time sir."

The one thing Phantasia did hate about Little Snack is she was way too quiet. she didn't know how to show confidence. "Little Snack, stand up straight and hold your head up! If you want what's best for Equestria, then you need to show ponies that you mean that."

"Oh, I wasn't doing that?" Little Snack asked dejectedly. "Golly damn it! I messed up again! I'm sorry…"

Phantasia paused when Little Snack said the words 'golly damn it. Those were the first cuss words he ever heard the shy and mild-tempered mare say. Phantasia smiled, "Did you utter a curse in front of me, Little Snack?"

"I...Uh…I don't think so…" Little Snack said with an apologetic look on her face. "If I golly damn did it, I'm sorry…"

Phantasia let out a belly laugh and then said, "The words 'golly damn it' are cuss words, my dear. I didn't know you had that in you! Good job, kid!"

"Um," Little Snack tilted her head slightly out of confusion. "Cuss words are a good thing?"

"Well, it depends on who you're talking to," explained Phantasia, "but since you're working for me, I don't mind it a bit. I'm pretty sure that if you said that in front of the others and maybe on stage one day, no one would mind at all. You just surprised me, that was the first cuss words you uttered around me since you started working for me! Wait until I tell the others, I bet you they're not going to believe me not one little bit."

"Tell us what?" A mare said who was standing behind Phantasia.

Phantasia turned around and smiled. "Ah, Rapid Chaser, you're not going to believe this, but Little Snack said a cuss word!"

Rapid Chaser gave Phantasia a look of disbelief and raised her eyebrow. "Uh-huh. Are you pulling my hoof, Phantasia?"

Phantasia grinned and said, "Nope! I'm not kidding, here, Little Snack, go ahead and say what you said to me."

Little Snack, seeing that her boss was proud of what she said, puffed her chest and said, "Yes sir, golly damn it, sir!"

At that, Rapid Chaser's jaw dropped. Once she got over her entailed shock, she laughed so hard, she was rolling on her back laughing, like a baby. "What, did you coach her on how to do that, Phantasia? Or is it because you've been swearing like a sailor every time you're around?" She wiped the tears from her eyes and stood back up with a chuckle.

Phantasia shook his head, "Oh no no no, that's not the way I say those words. Nope, she didn't get it from me."

"Alright, fine, but you know you don't need that written copy of your speech right? You probably have it memorized like the back of your hoof." Rapid Chaser said, "You'll have the teleprompter right by the stage. But I doubt you'll need it."

Phantasia nodded, "Uh-huh."

Once the crowd quieted down outside, Phantasia knew that was his cue to go address the audience. When he walked on stage, the crowd cheered at his presence.

He cleared his throat and began to speak. "Ponies, the nation of Equestria has been ruled for far too long with leaders that are weak and spineless. These stupid princesses, rule with kindness and friendship. That is not the type of ruler that Equestria needs! Equestria needs is somepony to rule that has a spine and takes down whatever threats that come it. There have been legends told about those stupid princesses stopping wars before they begin.

"I say how is that even possible, ponies? By some stupid trinkets called the Elements of Harmony? I think not! I mean, seriously? Is it that easy to take down a foe or turn them to stone? Again, I think not! What Equestria needs is for somepony to go out there and actually fight for them. Not just stand there with the light of a horn and take care of enemies just like that! Those stories are old pony tales and should not be believed. Do not let what you hear from a pony that are loyal to the rulers tell you. They are blind and they are brainwashed. Soon, ponies, very soon, we will have Equestria! I will rule over it the right way. Who's with me?"

The ponies in the crowd cheered and stomped their hooves. Phantasia smiled at their reactions. He was eager to have the ponies that are at his side to spread as much doubt and distrust as possible. Equestria would be his for the taking, and that is exactly what he wants.

When Phantasia got off the stage and went to the back. He saw Rapid Chaser clapping and rolling her eyes at him. 

"Oh, what is it this time, Rapid?" Phantasia groaned.

"When the hell are you going to give us the go-ahead to build an army and declare war on Equestria?" Rapid Chaser said.

"Rapid," Phantasia glared, "how long have you known me?"

Rapid groaned, she always hated it when Phantasia asked that question. "Since we were foals."

"And do you know how I do things?" Phantasia asked.

Rapid Chaser groaned, "Slow and steady wins the race."

"Good, you do remember. I was beginning to think you had forgotten. That's exactly what I'm doing here now," said Phantasia. "That's the way I've always done this and I'm not about to change course now, my love."

Phantasia went to go kiss Rapid Chaser, but she backed away from him. He knew that when she did that she was not happy at the moment.

He knew that what he said to her was correct but she wanted things to go much faster. In order for Phantasia's plan to work it had to go as slow as possible. 


*	 * 	*


Finally, the day came for the Guardian Appointment Ceremony.  The Appointment Ceremony always took place on the outskirts of Equestria. In a village, this is where the representatives of the guardian community lived. The ceremony underground, far underneath the village. 

While Sapphire Rose was cool as a cucumber backstage, she could tell Princess Twilight was super nervous because of the look on her face. The poor ruler looked like she was about ready to pass out.

Sapphire put a hoof on Princess Twilight's shoulder. "Breathe princess, breathe before you pass out on me."

"I am breathing! See, look, in and out, in and out!" Princess Twilight panicked.

"Twilight," said Spike, "you need to calm down. We don't need our Head Guardian passing out before the ceremony."

Spike took a deep breath and let it out and motioned for Princess Twilight to do the same. After a while of doing this, that seemed to work.

"Thank you, Spike," Princess Twilight said.

Spike chuckled, "No problem, Twilight."

When they heard the sound of drums, Sapphire and Princess Twilight knew that was their cue to go out to the stage.

The guardians, along with the rest of the Elements of Harmony, standing on the right side of the stage. They stood in a line and had looks on their faces as if they were soldiers. They took on this look because of the Appointment Ceremony. They needed to take this seriously.

Sapphire went up the podium and smiled as she began to speak.  "For thousands and thousands of years, the gates that have been set up by me and the founders of Equestria. The gates have always worked to combat threats. This year the gates are being protected not just by guardians but the elements of harmony as well."

Sapphire turned to the guardians and took out a box that held the Guardian's medallions in them. The box also held the elements of harmony in them. Sapphire took out of the box the Northern Guardian's medallion and the Element of Honesty.

"Northern Gate Guardian, Element of Honesty, please step forward."

Applejack walked toward Sapphire, Firewing falling in behind. As they came forward, Sapphire had to keep her laughter in the best she could. Firewing was busy ogling and drooling over Applejack’s plot, stumbling up to the front. It surprised Sapphire that they were able to make it up to her in one piece. When they had made their way, they bowed. As they bowed, Sapphire put the medallions around their necks. Sapphire closed her eyes and uttered two words in the ancient Ponish tongue: “HARMONIA AETERNAM.” Her voice boomed as a bright flash of light emanated from the medallions and a whoosh sounded from the two. The light dimmed, and the two bowing ponies now seemed to shine with magic.

Sapphire smiled and nodded. "The pairing of the North Gate is complete. Stand and return to your position.” Firewing and Applejack stood and went back to the others, Firewing once more eying Applejack’s muscle-toned flank.

Sapphire pulled out the medallions that were for guardians of the South Gate. "Southern Gate Guardian, Element of Generosity, please step forward."

Aetherlight Melody and Rarity stepped forward and bowed gracefully. Sapphire smiled slightly; they seemed to be taking this honor as serious as the first South Guardians. As their heads lowered, Sapphire placed the medallions around their necks, and uttered more Ponish words: “PACEM AETERNAM.” Sapphire nodded, “The pairing for the South Gate is complete, please stand and return to your positions."

Aetherlight Melody and Rarity stood up straight and went back to the others. Sapphire pulled out the medallions for the East Gate. "Would the guardian for the East Gate and the Element of Kindness please step forward to be appointed please?"

A young earth pony named Melody and the yellow-coated Fluttershy walked up slowly to Sapphire. 

Melody, being blind, was humming, which guided her up to Sapphire. Melody didn’t want any help from Fluttershy, but because of her personality, the yellow pegasus was determined to help. When they finally reached Sapphire, they bowed softly. Sapphire put the medallions around their necks. When she did so, she uttered some Ancient Griffish: “LIVETS EVIGE.” A bright light shone and quickly disappeared. Sapphire smiled and nodded, "The pairing for the East Gate is complete. Stand and return to your places."

Melody and Fluttershy stood and Fluttershy guided Melody back over to the others with some difficulty from Melody’s distaste.

Sapphire then pulled out another set of medallions for the West Gate. "West Gate Guardian, Element of Laughter, step forward."

Fancy Mark, along with Pinkie Pie stepped forward and bowed. Sapphire knew this one was going to be the hardest one to try and bond. When they bowed, Sapphire put their medallions around their necks. She uttered some Draconic: “EEUWIGE KRACHT.” The air around the two bowing ponies grew thick and dark black, as a soft glow of purple emanated from it. A dark laugh seemed to echo around the room, and the audience of ambassadors began to stir worriedly.

A glitchy voice chuckled, “This is going to be fun…” All the ponies there quickly forgot what happened and had their memories replaced with the happenings of the previous bondings.

Sapphire seemed dazed from the memory replacement, but then quickly remembered what she was doing and said, "The pairing of the West Gate is complete. Stand and return to your places."

Sapphire thought she saw Fancy’s medallion seem to glitch, turning black and white with red and blue haze surrounding it, but quickly forgot as a dark voice whispered into her ear, “You saw nothing.”

Fancy Mark and Pinkie Pie stood up and went over to join the others. Pinkie Pie being her energetic self bounced back over to the others as if she were a bouncy ball. Fancy Mark looked embarrassed by how Pinkie Pie was acting. The audience got a real kick out of it and there were snickers among them because of it.

Sapphire cleared her throat to get everypony's attention. She pulled out of the box the last set of medallions for the guardians of the center gate. "Center Gate Guardian, Element of Loyalty, step forward."

Lord Thunder’s small frame stood and approached Sapphire, Rainbow Dash not far behind. The two bowed, the dragon taking a knee. Lord Thunder looked like he was trying to make himself look as tall and big as he could. What he didn't realize was that it wasn't necessary to do so. He was the strongest guardian that had been picked, although he looked weak and frail. Sapphire put the medallions around their necks. Like the others, a bright light appeared and quickly dimmed. Sapphire nodded once more. “The pairing for the Center Gate is complete. Stand and return to the others."

Now that the Center Gate was taken care of, everypony there was on the edges of their seats. They knew that there was one more pairing left to take place. That would be the pairing of the new Head Guardian that would be working with Sapphire. The previous Head Guardian had already died and a new one was needed.

Sapphire nodded and motioned for Princess Twilight to come near her and join her at the podium. What happened next was something truly amazing. The podium lowered itself and a huge gold disc raised up in place of it. Princess Twilight gazed at it in wonder, gasping softly as she felt the magic radiating off of it. Sapphire smiled. She had seen this reaction every single time somepony new got paired up to work with her.

"This is the Head Guardian paring disc. It links up to our magic along with the magic of the Guardians and makes sure that everypony can do their jobs. It is used only for this reason. Sorry, Princess, but you won't be able to examine and do research on it. It would throw off the magic balance in it." Sapphire explained.

Princess Twilight blushed lightly and looked away. Sapphire chuckled, "It's okay, princess, I know how eager you are to study new things."

"So, how does this work?" Princess Twilight said, tilting her head.

"Step onto the disc with me and you'll find out," Sapphire smiled.

As everypony watched Sapphire and Princess Twilight stepped onto the disc. As soon as they stepped on the disc, a bright blue light shined. This time, it was brighter than all of the other pairings of the gates. The light shined for a minute or two and when it was done, while Princess Twilight stood on the disc in a daze. Sapphire seemed unphased by it. Sapphire tapped Princess Twilight on the shoulder. Princess Twilight shook her and looked like she snapped back to reality.

"Well now," said Sapphire. "The Appointing of the Guardians and Head Guardians is complete. The ceremony is over with. Everypony that is here, please make your way to the dining hall. We shall have a big feast to celebrate!"

As everypony and the two dragons made their way to the dining hall. Everypony felt relief that new Guardians for the Gates have been chosen. It was sorely needed because soon, the guardians would have a huge problem on their hooves to deal with.
> Chapter Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melody stood on a mound of snow over by the East Gate. It was snowing where she was at. It didn't bother her that much. When she is around other ponies, she doesn't really smile or show any emotion on her face, but when she's by herself she has no problem doing so. She thought to herself. It's more cold than usual today. I still don't mind. 

Her smile didn't last long because she heard the sounds of hoofsteps behind her. Judging by the soft sound of the hoofsteps, it was Fluttershy. She whistled a short tune to confirm that it really was Fluttershy.  "Hey, Fluttershy,” she monotonized.

Fluttershy, being her usual bubbly self, often got on Melody's nerves. "Oh, hey Melody! How is it going today?"

Melody rolled her eyes. "Let me guess, Mom sent you here to do another welfare check on me?"

"Well, yeah. She worries about you every day." Fluttershy murmured. "And I worry about you too."

Melody groaned, she didn't want to talk to Fluttershy today. She didn't feel like showing any emotion whatsoever. "You know I can take care of myself. If I couldn't, I wouldn't have been chosen to be a guardian."

Melody started thinking of making up an excuse to get away from Fluttershy when she heard voices arguing off in the distance. She galloped in the direction of which the voices sounded. She found out very quickly what was happening. She knew who the voices were connected to, Wild Arrow and Aether. 

"Let go of my bag now!" Aether shouted.

"Sure, I'll let go, as soon as you give me the food that you brought for your marefriend, Melody." Wild Arrow jeered. 

"She's not my marefriend!" Aether responded. "What's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem," Wild Arrow taunted. "I'm just wondering why you're bringing food for somepony that's crippled."

"Excuse me?" Aether growled. "She's not crippled. What would make you think that?"

"Because she's blind!" Wild Arrow snapped.

Melody's eye twitched in anger when she heard that. It took a lot for her to get angry. When she did get angry, however, you should probably stay out of her way.

"Hey!" Melody shouted. The funny thing about Melody is when she talked her voice was monotone. But when she sang, her voice was on key. She said the word 'hey' with enough force to get Aether and Wild Arrows attention.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the blind and crippled mare!" Wild Arrow snarked.

"What did you just call me, punk?" Melody snarled.

"You heard me, blind and crippled mare!" Wild Arrow hissed.

Perfect, awesome, did you have to gallop in the sign of trouble so you can save the day? Melody thought, scolding herself. This day just keeps getting better and better. I have to show one stinking emotion after another. First Fluttershy, and now this. Could it get any worse?

"She's not crippled!" Aether insisted. 

At this point, Melody decided it was time to end this stupid argument. She sang three notes. When the last note was sung, a powerful gust of wind came from her voice. Upon hearing this, one would think that this display of power was the Royal Canterlot Voice. 

The gust of wind that came from the note Melody sang was so strong that it slammed Wild Arrow into a nearby tree. Melody nodded, satisfied at the sound of Wild Arrow’s hoofsteps running away. 

"Uh, hey, Melody," stammered Aether. "I just came over for a visit and I, uh, brought you some food. Unfortunately, it can't be eaten at the moment, Wild Arrow smashed most of it. Sorry."

Melody didn't bother to sing anything because she didn't want to see the smashed up food that Aether brought for her. Not because the food wouldn't look appetizing but at this point, she was annoyed with the fact that yet again, she had more ponies hovering over her.

She started to gallop away in frustration from Aether and Fluttershy.

"Hey, wait up!" Aether called after her.

Melody didn't pause in her running, she sped up her pace knowing that Aether or Fluttershy couldn't catch up to her. 


*	*	*


Fancy Mark hated walking in hallways, especially ones with mirrors in them. Unfortunately, the place that he was staying in had mirrors in every other hallway he walked down. He had half a mind to request that servants where he was staying to cover all of the mirrors that were in the hallway that he had to walk down to get to his room. He didn't feel like talking to Fancy Dark today, or any day for that matter. Those conversations always scared him beyond comprehension.

“Well, hello, friend!”

Fancy Mark whipped around and saw his darker ego standing in the mirror behind him. The mirror was fully black and white, the gold trim now lined with blue and red distortion, the same spread out a little on the wall behind it in jagged cubic borders. In the center of it all stood an almost exact version of Fancy Mark, the grey coat smooth and silky. His, no, its fully black eyes seemed to emanate a dark aura. Its hair was deep black but neatly done, unlike Mark’s, which was a blue and yellow striped mess.

“Not today, Dark, I’m busy.” Fancy Mark shook slightly, his fear starting to become visible.

“Oh, come now, I missed you! Did you miss me?” Fancy Dark chuckled with a growling distortion.

“No, you monster, I’ll never miss you.” The mirror image readjusted its suit, and smiled softly. 

“I guess we’re gonna do this the HARD way, aren’t we?” the thing muttered. Mark tried to hold his ground, to not let his fear show any further. Suddenly, he collided with the floor, as if somepony had body-slammed him. Fancy Dark peered down at him with a sneer. 

“Let… me... GO!” Fancy Mark shouted in rage. 

“Oh, I don’t think so, my dear, dear Mark. Sometimes, one has to establish… dominance every once in a while, don’t you agree?” It sat in a regal pose inside the frame.

“NO! I never will! I will never give into someone like you.” Fancy Mark watched as he flung himself into the nearby wall, crumpling to the floor.

“Oh, Mark, don’t you remember?” Fancy Dark’s almost caring demeanor quickly changed into one of rage. “I’m you! I’m your best friend!” It smiled a little. “I’ll always be here! Your functions are mine to control, Mark, they always have been and always… will…. be.” Fancy Mark’s body relaxed slightly from it’s previously tensed position, and Mark scooted up against the opposite wall, hyperventilating. “Remember, Fancy Mark, as soon as you slip up, as soon as you fail your eternal task, I’ll be there. I’ll be waiting to help. I’m always here…” The mirror seemed to begin to be restored to its previously beautiful state. “What? Oh, it’s that pink pony.” Fancy Dark let out a seemingly genuine smile, readjusting his tie. “We can talk later, Mark. Remember, my offer still stands. I can give… you… everything.”

The conversation ended exactly how he thought it would. He was cowering on the floor, staring at the mirror with wide eyes. He didn't notice Pinkie Pie staring at him.

"Hey Fancy," said Pinkie Pie, "what's up?"

Fancy Mark looked up at Pinkie Pie. "Oh, Pinkie, it's you."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow, "Um, yeah, it's me. Why are you cowering by that mirror?"

Fancy Mark gave a nervous laugh, standing up.  "I-It’s not anything you need to concern yourself with, Pinkie. Where are you headed?"

"Over to the dining hall. I'm hungry. Also, I heard there’s a triple fudge chocolate cake that needs to be eaten!" Pinkie grinned.

Eager to get away from the mirror, Fancy Mark turned and followed Pinkie walking as fast as he could.


*	*	*


Aether sighed when he saw Melody gallop away in anger. He thought, Melody can take care of herself. I'm not interested in her as a marefriend but she is cute. Can you blame me for giving her the googly eyes? She's right, though, she's not crippled. To me, she's amazing! She's talented and kind… Oh good job, Wild Arrow, you jerk!

"Don't worry about Melody, Aether," said Fluttershy, "I know you think she's cute, but I don't think she's interested in that sort of thing at the moment. She tends to take her job way too seriously sometimes. I mean I don't think there's-"

Before Fluttershy could finish her sentence, Discord popped up.

"Why, hello there!" Discord greeted them. "I say, is that one of the guardians you told me about, my dear?"

Fluttershy nodded, "Why yes, dear, this Aetherlight Melody. He's the guardian of the South Gate."

"Well, well, well," said Discord looking impressed. "Although he's a guardian it does impress me that a pony who is so small in size was chosen for the job."

Aether took Discord by surprise when he smiled and said, "Gee, thank you for the compliment!"

Discord paused, "Wait, what? Did you just take my insult as a compliment?"

Aether smiled and nodded, "Uh-huh, one thing you should know about me, I like being called small. I think being small is adorable!"

Discord's jaw dropped and then he whispered into Fluttershy's ear, "Fluttershy? Why did Sapphire choose some weirdo to guard one of the gates this year?"

Fluttershy shrugged, "I don't know, you'll have to ask Sapphire about that one. If you ask me, don't think he's weird."

Aether waved his hoof to get Fluttershy and Discord's attention. "Uh, hello! Did you guys forget I'm standing here? Would mind letting me join in on the conversation? You know, because you're talking about me?"

Discord smiled, "Oh sorry about that Aether. However, you are very dashing. So do you have a marefriend yet?"

"Well he would have a marefriend if Melody would say yes to him, they could," Fluttershy faked coughs twice, "make a 'melody' together!"

Aether blushed profusely and looked like he wanted to run as fast as he away from them like Melody did with their teasing him. Discord and Fluttershy found Aether's reaction to their teasing funny because they couldn't stop laughing. 

This is so not funny. Aether thought. Nope. Not funny at all.

 Discord stopped laughing, "Oh, come now, Aetherlight Melody, we were only teasing!"

"Just call me Aether," Aether said.

"Yeah, Discord," said Fluttershy. "I think we've embarrassed him enough for the day. I just couldn't help myself. You and Melody would really make a cute couple. But, as I said before, I don't think she's interested in that stuff right now. It probably would help if Applejack would stop sending me to do welfare checks on her. She can take care of herself as she just demonstrated that by sending Wild Arrow packing with his tail between his legs."

Discord titled his head, "Now, how is she able to do that? She's blind!"

"Well, she's a singer and when she sings it gives her the ability not only just to see, but it gives her incredible power too," Fluttershy explained.

"I see." Discord said. "Well, that can come in handy during a battle. However, I did hear we have a dragon guardian at the gates this year?"

"Yup!" Fluttershy said proudly. "His name is Lord Thunder and he's the guardian of the Center Gate. He's the strongest guardian we have this time around."

Discord smiled. "Oh boy, I hope I get to meet him. Of course, I have yet to meet the guardian that works with you, my dear Fluttershy. Where is she?"

Fluttershy sighed, "She ran off somewhere. I don't know where she went. I don't blame her for running away. Applejack just will not let her be alone for a single minute. I'm surprised she spends so much time worrying about Melody when she has Firewing to deal with."

"Oh yes, that's right." Discord said. "Maybe if I hang around Applejack enough, I'll get to meet the guardian for the North Gate too. I say where does the guardian for the West Gate live?"

"I'm not sure where he lives," Fluttershy said. "But from what I was told it's in a secret location. Only Pinkie Pie's allowed in. Which makes sense considering she's paired up to work with him. From what I know of he has a very interesting personality."

Aether knew Fancy Mark really well. They went to the same school together growing up after what happened to his parents. That story always broke Aether's heart when he thought of it, though it did seem a bit off. When he met Fancy Mark at school, he noticed that Fancy Mark always stayed by himself. For some reason, Fancy Mark always cowered in fear every time he walked past a mirror. Aether asked Fancy Mark why that was, but he never told him why.

Yup, Fancy's got an interesting personality alright. Aether thought. I'm not saying anything to them about him either. I prefer to keep his private life private. Betraying his privacy is the fastest way to lose his friendship. I'm not about to let that happen. I just started to get him to trust me.

Discord and Fluttershy began to talk about the guards again. While Aether wanted to join in on the conversation like he would if he was interested in what they were talking about. But this time, since he already knew who the guardians are and what they were capable of, the conversation was of no interest to him. 

Aether waved his hoof to get Fluttershy and Discord's attention again. "Uh guys, while this conversation is interesting and all, I already know who the rest of the guardians are and what they're capable of. So I'm going to go back to the South Gate again. So, see ya!"

Fluttershy nodded, "Okay Aether, see you around!"

With that, Aether headed back to the South Gate.


*	*	*


Firewing was starting to get on Applejack's nerves. 

"Please, Firewing, can you please go hang out with somepony else?" Applejack begged exasperatedly. 

She looked over to see Big Mac carrying a couple of baskets of apples over to the barn so they could be stored and turned into something else. She pointed a hoof at Big Mac. "Hey, here's an idea, why don't you go hang out with Big Mac? I'm pretty sure he'd love your help with his chores."

Big Mac heard what Applejack said. He looked over at her with wide eyes and shook his head  vigorously, "Nope!"

"But, Big Mac," said Applejack. "It would speed up your workload and you have plenty to do today." 

Big Mac stood firm and shook his head. "Nope!"

Applejack did a facehoof, groaned, and thought, Why me?

"So, you want to get rid of Firewing, but you can't stop hovering over me?" She heard Melody growl. 

Applejack turned around and smiled. "Melody! Thank goodness you're okay. I-"

Applejack paused and her smile faded because she knew when she saw Melody's eye twitching, she was upset. Very upset. Applejack knew that Melody preferred not to show any emotions towards anypony, but when it came down to her, Melody had no trouble doing so. 

"Don't you ‘thank goodness you're okay’ me, Mom." Melody snapped, spitting the last words with contempt. "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm a grown mare now! Just stop already!"

"But you can't be left alone, you're-" Applejack said.

"Blind!" Melody shouted. "Yes! I'm blind! I get it! In case you didn't notice, I've known that my whole life. I can take care of myself you know! If I couldn't do it I wouldn't have been chosen to be a guardian!"

Applejack wasn't expecting Melody to do what she did next. She heard Melody whistle two notes and watched as Melody scanned the room and stomped over to a basket of apples, which she tossed onto her back. When Melody came back to her, Applejack looked on in simmering rage as Melody dropped the basket of apples in front of her.

"I can't take care of myself, huh?" Melody said. 

Everypony in the barn got a big shock when Big Mac said the most number of words he had ever said in his life. "You know, Applejack, she has a point." 

Applejack's jaw dropped when she heard Big Mac say that. "You're taking her side?"

Big Mac nodded, "Eeyup!"

Applejack was steaming. She was so mad, her face turned red. She didn't bother to say anything else. She turned around and stormed off in anger.

 
> Chapter Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lord Thunder was asleep at his favorite spot by the Center Gate. Once again, Rainbow Dash was doing another bragging session about how cool it is to work with a dragon. This crap again? That pony doesn't know how to shut up, does she?

While it was true that his full name was Lord Thunder, even though he didn't rule over a country or anything like that, he still had the title of "Lord" added to Thunder. But he preferred to go by Thunder for short. Thunder stretched and yawned, standing up, and looked Rainbow Dash square in the eyes. "Listen Rainbow Dash, I know you're excited to work with a dragon and all, but this is just a job and that's it. This job needs to be taken seriously, can you tone down the cockiness for once?"

"Excuse me?" Rainbow Dash snapped. "I'll have you know I don't have a big ego!"

"Oh yeah?" Thunder said with a raised eyebrow. "Let's see how many times a day have you done a bragging session this month?"

Rainbow Dash paused. To Thunder, it looked like he had hit the nail on the head. She couldn't stop her bragging to save her own life. 

Thunder gave Rainbow Dash a smug look. "I wonder, true you can do your sonic rainbooms that you just love to add into your bragging session but, my lightning is a lot faster than sonic rainbooms any day."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Hmph! Why don't you prove it?"

Thunder held up one claw and lightning crackled from it. "Go ahead, do one of your sonic rainbooms for me. I bet you I can summon a lightning bolt and the average lightning bolt travels about 270,000 mph, so by the time you even get to do a boom before you create your rainbow, my lightning bolt will have hit this nearby tree."

"Oh, a little bit of healthy competition huh?" Rainbow Dash said with a raised eyebrow. "Well then, maybe we should do this in front of a crowd and let them decide who's better."

Thunder rolled his eyes and pointed his lightning bolt at a nearby tree. It sliced the tree in half and Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped at the sight. She got over her shock and smiled at Thunder. The look that Rainbow was giving Thunder made him very uncomfortable because he had no idea what that look meant.

"Interesting, though I think that because you're working with me," said Rainbow Dash, "you should have a flashier hooded cloak."

Thunder shook his head, "Yeah no thanks. Besides this cloak has sentimental value to it. It's connected to someone that once was very important to me. I loved her very much."

Rainbow Dash tilted her head, "Once was very important to you?"

Thunder sighed, "She's dead now."

"Oh." Rainbow Dash said. "Well, then that makes it even more of an excuse to get you a flashier hooded cloak. You know, so you don't lose this one?" 

Thunder stood firm in his objections to Rainbow Dash's idea of getting him a flashier cape. "Nope, I'm not interested, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to taking my nap." 

Thunder laid back down at his favorite spot, curled up like a cat, adjusted his cloak, and pulled his hood over his tightly. 

Rainbow Dash scoffed, "Fine, but this isn't over with Thunder. Mark my words, you will see things my way sooner or later."

Thunder fake yawned, "Yeah, I doubt that."

Once Thunder went back to his pretend nap, he smiled as he heard Rainbow Dash fly away.


*	*	*


When Aether saw the conversation between Rainbow and Thunder, he thought it was entertaining. That's because he knew Thunder would never agree to be like Rainbow Dash. Thunder was a humble dragon, kind of like Spike in a way. 

Aether chuckled as he went up to the resting dragon, as he knew Thunder was pretending to sleep yet again. "Hey Thunder, having another pretend nap to get rid of your new friend, I take it?" 

Thunder stretched and yawned, "Yup, you guessed it. She's just about as bad as Fluttershy is with Melody." He chuckled, "But it seems to be the other way around with Applejack and Firewing." 

Aether rolled his eyes, "No kidding, did you see the way he gave Applejack googly eyes at the Appointing Ceremony? They barely made it up to Sapphire in one piece."

"Wow." Thunder said. "Anyway, so have you asked Melody out yet?"

Aether hated it when Thunder and anypony else teased him about Melody. "Um, no and I'm not interested in her like that. I mean sure she's cute and all, but um… not now."

Thunder raised an eyebrow, "Why not now? Melody seems like a good fit for you. Unless… Ohh, yeah I get it now. Melody doesn't seem like she's interested in stuff like that at the moment. So, yeah I understand your hesitation on asking her out. She'll probably say no. I don't know much about romance, so I can't really help you out much on that."

Aether looked away, then he smiled and looked back in Thunder's direction. He laughed. "I can't believe how somepony like Firewing wants to be with somepony twice his age?"

"Yeah, you might want to ask him about that." Thunder said.

"Ask me about what?" When Aether and Thunder heard Firewing's voice, they smiled when they saw him. 

"I was wondering, why are you hitting on a pony who's twice your age?" Aether asked. 

"Applejack is strong, kind, she's a hard worker too, she's my kind of mare." Firewing gushed. 

Aether gagged at the thought of somepony liking somepony old enough to be his mother and then some. 

Firewing frowned, "I know that look Aether. What you might find disgusting, I find beautiful! Besides, I can see why Melody wouldn't be interested in you anyway. You're too small of a stallion to date somepony like her anyway."

"Firewing, take that back!" Thunder snapped.

"Excuse me, I like my size thank you very much." Aether smiled.

Aether saw the look on Firewing's face and he knew he was about ready to say something snarky to him. But Aether would always take whatever Firewing could throw at him as a compliment. Aether stared down Firewing daring him to say something.

When Aether saw that Firewing couldn't think of any good insult to throw at him, he smiled. "What's the matter Firewing? No more compliments for me today?"

Firewing hesitated, Aether found Firewing's reaction amusing. He jumped about a foot in the air startled when he heard Melody's monotone voice behind him. "Hey guys, so who else are we waiting for?"

"Oh, hey Melody, how's it going?" Aether stammered. He had no idea why he got so nervous around Melody all the time. They were good friends after all. Every other time they saw each other, they would actually sit down and write songs. He couldn't get over the sound of Melody's voice, she sounded like an angel to him when she sang. 

Melody rolled her eyes at Aether. He sighed, "For now, we're just waiting for Fancy Mark."

"What's that guy's deal, he's weird and doesn't really want to talk to anypony much," Firewing said.

Once again, Aether knew to keep his mouth shut about Fancy Mark. There was no way he was going to betray Fancy Mark's trust by telling ponies about his private life. The same thing goes for Melody. Aether always liked the fact that Melody felt comfortable around him to vent her frustrations about her mom Applejack always sending Fluttershy to do welfare checks on her.

"I think it's stupid that all of the Guardians have to be present just to enter the training arena," Melody said.

Aether nodded in agreement even though he knew Melody couldn't see him. He looked at Firewing to see that he had a look on his face as if he were trying to think of a good way to insult him. Once again, Aether stared Friewing down daring him to say something.
 
"I'm glad the Element Bearers can't come into the training arena." Thunder said. "At least Rainbow can't bug me about wearing some flashier cloak in there."

"No durr," said Fancy Mark, "I'm surprised she didn't get paired up to work with Firewing instead." He chuckled, jabbing a hoof at the pegasus.

"Hey!" Firewing snapped. 

Aether smiled when he saw Fancy Mark, "Hey Fancy, it's about time you got here."

Fancy nodded, "Yeah, sorry I'm late, as always. Getting out of my place that I'm staying at is kind of an issue fer me. I... can't say anything more about it."

"It's no problem, Fancy," said Melody, "as long you're here so we can do our weekly training, that's all we need. I do wonder why we have to go through the Center Gate to get there."

Thunder shrugged, "I don't know. Well, we should probably go ahead and go inside."

Thunder opened up the portal that led to the training arena. One by one, the Guardians entered, once Thunder went through, he closed the portal behind them.


*	*	*


Princess Twilight watched as her cousin Purple Artist sat down on the balcony attached to the observation room, by his telescope to look at the stars. She knew he wasn't happy. She knew this because she hadn't seen his smile ever since the Appointment Ceremony took place. 

"Knock, knock." Princess Twilight said before she entered. Since the balcony had no doors to open she didn't have to knock to come in. But she always said knock, knock out of respect for Purple because she didn't want to startle him. 

Purple looked at her with the same sad face he had ever since the Appointment Ceremony took place. Princess Twilight pulled over one of the huge pillows big enough for a pony to lay down next to Purple. She sat down and put a wing over his shoulder. When he shrugged it off Princess Twilight frowned, "What's wrong Purple? Are you still upset that you didn't get picked to be a Guardian this year?"

Purple sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I don't get it. Why am I on the backup team? I know that it’s important to be a backup in case something goes wrong. I mean, I'm just as powerful as that dragon that was picked to guard the Center Gate. Sapphire knows that too!"

"Come on Purple," said Princess Twilight, "you got to think positive. Sure you weren't picked this year but Sapphire probably has her reasons. You know, I've seen what you can do as far as rearranging the stars at night."

"Yeah I know, but it's not really noticeable to the naked eye." Purple stated. 

Princess Twilight smiled, she had an idea of what might cheer Purple up. "Hey, I have an idea!"

Purple looked at her, "What?"

"Why don't we rearrange the stars together?" Princess Twilight suggested. "I'm the ruler of Equestria now and I haven't given anypony else the responsibility in taking care of the night yet. So what do you say? Wanna do it?"

Princess Twilight smiled because as soon as she said rearrange the stars, Purple perked right up, "You want to arrange the stars with me?"

Princess Twilight smiled and nodded, "Well yeah, this time it will be visible to everypony! So why not?"

"So how do I go about doing this?" Purple asked.

"Well, you have to stand up first," instructed Princess Twilight, "charge up your horn and think of whatever you want to put up in the sky."

Purple nodded, "Okay, sure."

So Purple did what Princess Twilight told him to. He lit up his horn and Princess Twilight lit up hers. She used her magic and combined it with Purple's. What happened next, looked absolutely amazing! Constellation after constellation twinkled in the night sky. Some of the stars weren't just rearranged as constellations, they were rearranged as different pictures of whatever they wanted ponies to see in the sky. Purple even put a couple of shooting stars in there because shooting stars always made him smile when he saw them. 

After a while of rearranging the stars Purple and Princess Twilight sat down and it made her happy to see Purple laughing. She looked up at the stars to see what they had done. Her jaw dropped when she saw how beautiful the night sky looked. 

Purple looked at her, "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"

Princess Twilight shook her head. "No, it's not that it." She pointed a hoof up at the sky. "Look!"

Purple looked up at the sky. Princess Twilight grinned when she saw Purple had a twinkle in his eyes.

"Whoa!" Purple said, with a grin on his face.

Hmmm, Princess Twilight thought, I wonder if he's ready for it? I figured Sapphire might not pick him to be a Guardian, more than likely because he's an Alicorn. But, I can do the next best thing! I need to think more about this, but he might be ready to take on the responsibility of taking care of the night after all!

Princess Twilight didn't realize she was so lost in her thoughts until Purple tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh sorry Purple, I was pondering something I've been thinking about for a while that's all."

She saw Purple look kind of sleepy now, he yawned, "Well, I guess I could take a nap."

Princess Twilight raised an eyebrow, "A nap? You realize it's nighttime right? Don't you mean you should go to bed?"

Purple shook his head, "Nope, since I don't have much to take care of during the day, it's a nap for me. Even though I'm part of the royal family because I'm an Alicorn. I'm still the youngest Alicorn ever. Considering I became one when I was only twenty years old. So yeah, I could use a nap."

"Well, I'd better go," said Princess Twilight, "I'll see you around Purple, maybe we can do this again? Would you like to do that?"

Purple smiled, "Yes I would love to!"

Princess Twilight left the observation balcony, she couldn't help but ponder if she should give Purple the responsibility to take care of the night or not. 
> Chapter Four
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The end of the training for the Guardians always ended in two hundred laps around the track in the arena. The arena was not the size of a normal track and field that you would find at a schoolyard. The arena was the size of two hundred buck ball fields! 

The Guardians didn't understand why their main trainer, Master Shi wanted them to do this. 

Running two hundred laps was especially hard on Aether because of his small size. Every time after training when the two hundred laps were done, Aether was always at the back of the pack. There were only five laps to go when Aether was running out of energy.

"Come on Aether!" Melody said with urgency, "Let's go!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Aether panted. He kept running because he knew in order for training to officially end, the two hundred laps had to be completed.  Unfortunately on the last lap, he tripped and fell face first on the ground.

He heard Melody groan and saw everyone else laughing. 

"So," said Firewing, "do you take failing as a compliment Aether?"

"Aether and Firewing, front and center!" Master Shi shouted. 

"Nice going Firewing." Aether snapped.

"Well if you weren't so small in size we would be able to complete the two hundred laps no problem." Firewing snarled.

Aether growled in response.

"Aether and Firewing would you two stop messing with each other!" Master Shi snapped. 

Firewing pointed at Aether, "If we didn't have somepony so small on our team then we wouldn't have trouble completing the two hundred laps needed. Honestly, Master Shi, I don't understand why-"

"Excuse me," roared Master Shi, "the last time I checked, I'm the one that decides what needs to be done at the end of training! As a matter of fact, my special talent is training ponies so they can get stuff done that needs to be done in order to help them do their jobs. Do you want to know why I have you guys do the two hundred laps at the end of the training session?"

At this point, Aether was trying so hard not to roll his eyes, because all this got started because of Firewing. Why Firewing had such a problem with Aether's small size, Aether had no idea. 

Firewing can be just as bad as Wild Arrow with Melody about my small size. True, I think being small is adorable and all, but Firewing has no right to use that against me as if I'm handicapped because of my size. Aether thought. 

"Aether," Master Shi snapped, "pay attention now, will you? The reason why I have you guys running the two hundred laps around this mega-huge arena is you need to build stamina and endurance. Even your opponent will have this. You need to be just as ready to fight a long battle. You can't just be in the middle of a battle and say, hey timeout! This is getting way too intense! Here, let's go back to it later." 

Aether exchanged a look with Firewing. Master Shi rolled her eyes, "Do you two even understand what I'm talking about?"

Master Shi looked over at Melody, "Melody, do you understand what I'm talking about?"

Melody nodded, "Yes Master Shi. One must be able to stand in battle and most of the time, because we're Guardians, it might be a fight to the death. Fights to the death don't end because you're running out of energy. More than likely, if you run out of energy during a fight, that will make the perfect opportunity for the enemy to go in for the kill."

Master Shi nodded, "That's exactly my point for you two, Firewing and Aether. The same goes for fighting in a team. If one of you starts to run out of energy, the other team member needs to go and pick them up. If everyone fails during a battle, then all is lost. Since Firewing and Aether want to take jabs at each other and you guys haven't completed the two hundred laps needed, everyone will run two more laps around the track, and then your weekly training will be done."

Everyone, and that included Aether and Firewing, groaned at the thought of running two more laps around the mega training arena. 

"Nice going Smalls," Firewing growled, "you just gave us more work to do."

"Excuse me?" Aether snapped. "She said your name too."

"Would two knock it off?" Thunder said. "Or Master Shi will give us more work to do. I don't know about you but I would love to get this training over with."

"Fine." Aether and Firewing mumbled. 

Before Master Shi could shout at them some more, everyone started running two more laps around the track.


*	*	*


Little Snack sat down in her bedroom looking out the window. It was a beautiful spring day out. She had been doing some reading just for fun and at this point, because Phantasia was out for the day, she had the day off. 

There's got to be something more I can do for Equestria. I mean, I think Phantasia would make a great ruler! But is this really the way? Little Snack thought. Once again she was unsure about how to make Equestria better than it already is. 

Little Snack looked over at her desk at the book the Phantasia had been wanting her to read ever since he hired her to work for him. The book was titled: The Gates of Equestria. 

So far it was kind of a good read. It sounded more like a history book, but to Little Snack it was an old ponies tale. It talked about these gates and how certain ponies used their magic to help send unstable magic to some sort of realm to keep Equestria safe. Everything else in the book was just a snooze fest. It was basically a chore just to get through the first two pages. 

Phantasia wants me to read this stupid book, but I don't know why. It's just an old ponies tale. What's so special about this book? Little Snack thought. 

There was a knock at the door. It was Phantasia's marefriend Rapid, "Hey Little Snack! Are you in there? It's our day off so I thought we could spend it together."

Little Snack smiled as she answered the door, "Hey Rapid, what’s up? Uh, sure we can spend the day together. Did you have anything in mind?"

Rapid answered, "Well I was thinking maybe we go get some milkshakes and maybe some hayburgers or something like that?"

So Little Snack stepped outside her room and took out her room key that she had on a necklace around her neck and locked her bedroom door with them. 

Rapid tilted her head, Little Snack raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Why don't you carry any saddlebags with you?" Rapid asked. "You know that would make things a lot easier for you."

Little Snack shrugged, "I don’t know? I guess I just don’t like to? Um, it's not like I have a lot to carry on me anyway. Everything’s pretty close and so I just gotta get it to where it needs to be!”

Rapid tapped her chin with her hoof thoughtfully. "I see, although I must say Phantasia does find the fact that you don't use saddlebags very amusing. He talks about that all the time."

Little Snack raised an eyebrow, "Huh?"

Rapid nodded, "Yup, now let's go get some milkshakes and hayburgers!"

"Yes!" Little Snack said.



*	*	*


As Little Snack and Rapid sat at a table drinking milkshakes and eating hayburgers, they saw two ponies walking by talking very excitedly about something. The two ponies talking were a stallion and a mare.

"Did you hear the news that's been going around town lately?" The mare said.

The stallion snorted. "Oh yeah, I know what you're talking about Lunar. That stupid prince named Phantasia, who's been gathering pep rallies and telling pony that he would be the greatest ruler Equestria has ever seen!"

Lunar chuckled, "That's adorable, a big bad prince who wants to sit on the throne! He does realize that would be considered treason if he does try to do an uprising against the princesses right? I mean seriously Onyx, why in Equestria would somepony hate the princesses so much? I think if they were doing such a bad job of things, then Equestria would be in some serious trouble!"

"Honestly, who does this guy think he is?" Onyx said. "Why does he think he would do a better job of ruling over Equestria? Just think of it, Lunar! A prince, ruling over Equestria? That's laughable! Hilarious!"

As Onyx and Lunar walked off laughing Little Snack frowned when she saw Rapid steaming. 

"Why those two little creeps! I'm going to give them a piece of my mind!" Rapid growled. "How dare they talk about Phantasia like that!"

Before Rapid could go storm and start trouble with the two ponies talking, Little Snack grabbed her gently by the tail. "Um, Rapid? You know they have a right to their own opinions right? Everypony is going to think differently about Phantasia soon anyway. I know they’re jerks and all but I mean, not everypony is going to like him. Hey, I know for a fact that not everypony likes me. But I don’t usually get into fights over it… Honestly Rapid, I don’t think  these two ponies are worth it?"

Rapid sighed and regained her composure, "You're right Little Snack, I just hate when ponies talk about my boyfriend like that. But if they're not saying it to his face, then yeah they're not worth it. Trust me, I have my share of enemies too."

Little Snack smiled and nodded, she felt happy that her reasoning calmed her friend Rapid. She was puzzled when Rapid started laughing.

"Uh, what's so funny Rapid?" Little Snack asked.

"I forgot to tell you something," said Rapid, "when Phantasia gives us the okay to create an army, he wants you to be second in command."

Little Snack had no idea how to respond to this. She just stood there staring at Rapid in complete shock. 

"Why would Phantasia want me to be second in command? I'm nothing special. I just want what's best for Equestria, that's all." Little Snack said.

Rapid smiled, "Actually, he had that idea in mind for you from the very beginning. I don't know what he sees in you for that. But yeah, he seems to like the thought of you heading an army with me fascinating." 

"Okay." Little Snack said. "While that seems nice, this sounds like a horrible idea to me?”

"Well," said Rapid, "just think about it okay Little Snack?"

Little Snack nodded and as she and Rapid went back to eating their food, she did exactly what Rapid suggested. Little Snack thought about what Phantasia would possibly want from her in the near future.


*	*	*


Finally, training was over with, and everyone was packing up getting ready to leave. As Aether was getting ready to leave, he paused when he saw Melody walk by. 

Melody surprised Aether by stopping right in front of him and she said, "Um, hey Aether."

"Hey Melody, wait.. how did you know I was here? You didn't sing anything, and yet you stopped right in front of me." Aether said.

Melody smiled, "It's because I've connected your magic because you know, we've written songs and stuff like that together. I can sense wherever you are because of this. I was wondering after today do you want to go and write another song?"

Before Aether could respond, a loud alarm sounded all throughout the arena. Aether and Melody's cutie mark's glowed where their medallions had connected to their magic. Aether knew that was not a good thing at all. 

A message played over the intercom, "All Guardians, unstable magic has been detected. This is not a drill, unstable magic has been detected! Please report to the main deck."

The message played over and over again until Aether, Melody, Fancy, Firewing, and Thunder gathered at the main deck as the message instructed them to. Sapphire was already at the main deck waiting for them.

Once every Guardian was present, a huge 50-foot tall flat screen tv came from behind Sapphire out of a trapdoor in the ground. On the tv appeared a tall pegasus stallion. His fur was white, his mane was black, and his cutie mark was a silver shield with a gold crown in the middle of it. 

"This stallion's name is Phantasia. From what I know of, he's been wanting to start a revolt ever since Princess Twilight took the throne. Also from what I hear now, Phantasia has been organizing pep rallies and feeding ponies heads with lies about how Equestria is run. He seems to think he would be a better ruler than Princess Twilight. Phantasia has the ego from what it looks like. To me, anypony that thinks they're better than the ruler is a threat to Equestria." Sapphire said. 

"Um," Aether spoke up, "I'm sorry Sapphire, but how is Phantasia unstable magic?"

"I'm getting to that Aether," said Sapphire, "he's wanting to do a revolt and it seems like he's been searching for the Gates first. Probably because if he's sent out ponies to find the Gates, although how he knows about them, I have no idea? The Gates aren't common knowledge, especially to those that don't rule over Equestria or aren't part of the Guardian community. It seems that one of the ponies Phantasia sent out has tripped one of the magical sensors that connects to a gate!"

Aether and the others gasped at this. Sapphire sighed and continued, "The magical sensor that whoever this pony is has tripped, belongs to the South Gate."

Aether gulped when he heard this. He knew taking on the job of being a Guardian would be a dangerous job. But he didn't think he would have to face any danger this soon. 

Sapphire looked at Aether and frowned, "I know Aether, but the job of being a Guardian is a dangerous one and you knew that when you took the position of guarding the South Gate. When you go back to the South Gate, do not make your presence known. That's another function for the medallions that connect to your cutie marks. That's also a reason for your focus training, to put your magic into your medallion. The medallion is to help you protect the Gate you're guarding. Now go, everypony go back to your posts and be on your guard. Aether, I will send for Rarity - your element of harmony bearer that you've been paired with."

Aether nodded. "Yes ma'am!"

Without another word, the Guardians left the training arena on high alert. Especially Aether, since the magic sensor was tripped at his gate. 

Well, Aether thought, so much for writing a song with Melody. Looks like that's going to have to wait for another day.


 







  
> Chapter Five
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phantasia smiled as he pointed at the papers he had pinned on his pinboard. The main thing he had pinned to the board was a map to Equestria. He was searching for something. What he was searching for was the Gates to Equestria. From what he knew of the Gates weren't common knowledge to citizens of and most of the Royal Family. However, he had heard stories about them through his father because his father was picked to be included in the Guardian Community. 

I know I'm going to find them, I just know it! Phantasia thought. Although Dad did say that Gates were specifically used to protect Equestria and not harm it. Therefore the Guardians and the Gates need to be held in utmost respect. The Princesses are meant to rule over Equestria from the very moment it was founded. So if Dad found out what I'm doing now, he would disown me and I would no longer be able to carry the family. But, if I do manage to take Equestria for myself, then Dad will have no choice but to keep me in the family.

Phantasia had pinpointed where the center point that could possibly be the Center Gate of Equestria and had put an actual pin in the center of the map he had of Equestria. He was in his room looking at this because it was the only place that he had some privacy. 

He put a ruler up to the map right where he thought the Center Gate was. He put the ruler vertically and drew a line from the South end of the map to the North end of the map. Phantasia then proceeded to spin the ruler around and drew a line from the West end of the map to the East end of the map. He already figured out where the South Gate was because one of the scouts he had sent out tripped a magic sensor that was connected to it. Or at least the scouts was sure it was connected to the South Gate.

The question was that once Phantasia found where all of the Gates were, how would he go about securing them for the take over of Equestria? He knew that if there were Guardians that had their magic connected to the Gates there was no way they would even think of siding with somepony like him when he wasn't even the ruler of Equestria. The only solution Phantasia could think of was to put one of the Guardians underneath dark magic and brainwash them into joining him. 

Phantasia sighed and thought, I'm close to finding the Gates! I just know it! I will find them and I will take them for my own even if I have cast dark magic on every single Guardian. I will have Equestria! Equestria WILL be mine! 

Even though Phantasia knew he was going against Equestria as a country general, he still believed that he would do a better job in ruling. The fact that only Princesses can was completely stupid to him. Everypony of the royal family should be able to rule over Equestria and it shouldn't matter what their gender is. While some ponies agreed with him, most ponies did not and therefore didn't take him seriously. But Phantasia was sure he would get what he wanted. He thought for sure he would be the ruler of Equestria one day and if and when he did become ruler, he thought about changing the name of Equestria in general. But he would have to wait until after he became the ruler of Equestria.


*	*	*


Once Aether left the training arena through a portal that connected to the South Gate he was greeted by Rarity.

"Hello, darling!" Rarity said. "I came here as fast as I could once Sapphire summoned me. I understand somepony has tripped a magic sensor connecting to the Gate?"

Aether nodded. "Yeah, somepony by the name of Phantasia has been doing pep rallies. Probably to build up an army so he can make a revolt against Equestria."

Rarity gasped. "How dare he! Why on earth would a pony do such a thing?"

"According to Sapphire," said Aether, "Phantasia seems to think he can do a better job of ruling over Equestria than Princess Twilight can. Honestly, I think the guy's angry because only Princesses are allowed to rule. From what I know Princess Twilight has a cousin by the name of Prince Purple Artist. He's an Alicorn and he's not allowed to rule because he's a stallion. He's allowed to help take care of the day or night but actually ruling over Equestria, nope not allowed. Prince Purple Artist isn't even thinking about wanting to take over Equestria. He's on the reserve team for the Guardians in case something happens to one of us. I've met him a couple of times and he's a nice guy. 

"How Phantasia found out about the Gates Sapphire doesn't know, and if she doesn't know then nopony knows! But apparently, Phantasia has sent out ponies to find the exact location of the Gates. Somehow one of the ponies Phantasia had sent out has tripped a magic sensor that's connected to this Gate. So you know what that means."

Rarity nodded, "Yes darling, I do know. Let's do our focus magic and look for that sensor."

Aether nodded. Aether and Rarity's horns lit up and a beam of light shot out from them. Aether's beam of light that shot out from his horn connected with Rarity's beam of light that shot out from her horn. Once their magic was connected their cutie marks lit up for a second or two and then the light faded. Their light from their horns dimmed also. 

Aether let out a deep breath once that was over with and thought, Okay Aether, it's time to show what you're made of! You can do this, Sapphire saw something in you to pick you as a Guardian. 

Aether lit up his horn again and when he saw the light blinking from it he started to search the area around the South Gate. Rarity did the same thing and followed right behind him.

Hmm, I'm not picking up on anything yet, but- Aether didn't finish his thought when he saw it. A small rock that had been tipped over. He felt the magic radiating from and pointed at it. "Over there!" 

Rarity looked at the rock and examined it with her magic. She nodded and that told Aether that he had found the magic sensor that had been tripped. 

"What do you think, Rarity?" Aether asked. "It almost seems like somepony just tripped over it. It doesn't look like they knocked it over intentionally. Considering-"

That's when Aether saw him or her. A pony had stepped out of the shadows and had a smirk on her face. The pony was wearing a black hooded cloak, when the pony took their cloak off they revealed that she was a mare. Her fur was red and her mane was white. She had red irises in her eyes to match her fur. Her cutie mark was a ball of fire inside a black square. She was looking around for something and she seemed pretty sure of herself and that she would find what she was looking for.

"Well Sandy Fire," the mare said to herself, "I haven't found exactly where the South Gate is yet, but I have found what looks like a magic sensor. Usually, when those are around, it's to protect something important."

Great, now what? Aether thought. He had half a mind to go and confront the mare who called herself Sandy Fire, but Sapphire did say not to make his presence known so for the time being he stood his ground.

He felt Rarity tap him on the shoulder and she whispered into his ear, "Come with me, darling. I think there's a way we can get around her and not make our presence known."

"Okay," Aether whispered. Even though he and Rarity did the focus magic to mask their presence he doubted they needed to keep their volume down when speaking. But hey, rather be safe than sorry. 

Aether and Rarity went further into the forest where they were and hoped it would be out of earshot of Sandy Fire. 

"So what are we going to do now?" Aether said, still keeping his voice at a whisper.

"We're supposed to not make our presence known-" Rarity started to say when she and Aether heard Sandy Fire laughing a sinister laugh.

"Well now, is that the magic of a Guardian I sense?" Sandy Fire said.

Aether and Rarity turned around to face Sandy Fire and she had a smirk on her face. 

Aether snarled, "Who are you, and why are you here?"

"Woa," said Sandy Fire, "I'm just here to enjoy the season of Fall here."

Aether snarled again and pointed his hoof in another direction of the forest, "Likely story. The park is over there, there’s a reason nopony knows about this area of the forest. If you're really here to enjoy the season, then you wouldn't be here. Now tell us why you’re really here!" 

Sandy Fire rolled her eyes, "So it's against the law for me to be here?"

Aether wanted to snarl at Sandy Fire again but Rarity stood in front of him and said, "Aether if I were you I'd leave this, shall I say, goon alone. She's not worth our time darling."

Sandy Fire sneered, "Goon! Seriously? I say what are you guys doing in this area of the forest hmm?" 

Aether stood his ground and Rarity did the same. Sandy Fire laughed a wicked laugh, "Oh so you are a Guardian! If that's the case then I would like to propose a deal."

Aether raised an eyebrow, "A deal?"

Sandy Fire nodded. "Uh-huh, this deal comes from the next ruler of Equestria himself."

"The next ruler?" Aether asked. This has to be some kind of joke. "I don't recall Princess Twilight stepping down from the throne, and you know the laws of Equestria don't you? Stallions can’t rule." 

Sandy Fire rolled her eyes, "Blah, blah, blah! Spare me your lecture about Equestrian Law! Yeah, I do know the laws smarty pants! Okay fine, Phantasia said if you wouldn't listen to me, (which I doubt you will), then I have no choice but to take you to him as my prisoner!"

"Yeah, that’s not going to happen!" Aether snapped as he firmed his stance.

"Because you're so small!" Sandy Fire taunted. "I can squash you like a bug easily!"

Aether narrowed his glance.

"Let's see, it's cold over here, so I think you want to be warm, don't you? How's about a little bit of fire to heat things up?"

Sandy Fire stomped her hoof on the ground so hard that it cracked. She stomped on the ground right near where the crack in the ground that she created was. A huge gust of wind came from the crack in the ground and around her waist was a medium-sized shield that was clipped on a belt. She yanked the shield off her belt and spun it around. As she spun her shield around, a huge ball of fire came from it. 

Aether and Rarity jumped out of the way just in time, avoiding the ball of fire that rocketed towards them. The heat from the ball of fire made the hair on the back of Aether's neck stand up. Sandy Fire took the belt off her waist and attached it to her shield and spun the shield around her once more as if she were spinning a lasso at a rodeo. 

Before Sandy Fire could make her next move, Aether made his. Aether lit up his horn and spun around in a tight circle. This created a shimmering light effect that looked like a special effect that a director in a movie would use. But this attack Aether was getting ready to do was no special effect whatsoever. The shimmering light from Aether then created an explosion that slammed into Sandy Fire and sent her flying backward into a nearby tree. 

The tree split in half when she hit it. One would think that an attack like this would knock out a pony out cold. But no, Sandy Fire got to her hooves as if nothing had happened. She smiled as she looked like she was truly impressed by Aether's attack. "Well now, what's your name small stallion?"

Aether narrowed his glance. "That’s none of your concern, turn around and leave now!" Aether said with authority.

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" Sandy Fire taunted. "Kill me? Now I know Guardians aren't trained to-"

Aether called a bluff and snarled, "Who said I was a Guardian?" 

Even though Aether knew his bluff was a straight-up lie, he knew that he had to do everything in his power to protect the South Gate. He looked at Rarity and she nodded at him. He knew that if necessary, he would have to take Sandy Fire to the unstable dimension realm and Sapphire would keep Sandy Fire there until she could figure out what to do with her.

"Now I also know that Guardians aren't trained to lie or so I thought." Sandy Fire said. 

Aether stood firm ready for Sandy Fire's next attack. But she did something that surprised him. Sandy Fire took her shield and belt and put them away. She adjusted her cloak and gave an evil smirk, "Oh well, we'll just have to pick this up where we left off another time, and since you won't tell me your name I'm just going to have to call you Small Stallion for now."

"Oh? Leaving so soon?" Aether said.

"Hmm, well yeah," said Sandy Fire, "it seems the Guardians have a lot more magic and power than Phantasia thought. To add to that, it seems the Elements of Harmony have gotten involved." She pointed a hoof at Rarity, "I know who you are, Element of Generosity!"

"It’s Rarity darling!" Rarity sneered. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Sandy Fire scoffed. "I'm taking my leave now. Bye, bye, Small Stallion!"

Without another word, a small tornado appeared and as quickly as the tornado appeared, Sandy Fire disappeared.


*	*	*


Once Sandy Fire left, Aether was not happy. 

"What's wrong darling?" Rarity asked.

"Okay.. first, what’s with everypony and pointing out my size?" Aether growled, "I mean, there’s nothing wrong with my height. And I’m quite comfortable with my size"

"Why yes you should be darling," Rarity said, "you're absolutely adorable! You remind me of Spike in a way."

"Gee thanks," said Aether, "and second what’s with ponies seeming to think my size is a handicap! Or some kind of.. weakness. It’s infuriating!" 

"Oh calm down darling." Rarity said. "Let ponies have their own viewpoint. If you're happy being in your own skin and aren't trying to be something you're not, that's all that matters."

Aether smiled at what Rarity just said because he knew she was right. 

"Well, I guess the only thing we can do now is report this to Sapphire," Aether said.

Rarity nodded. "Yes and I'll have to go with you to report this as well. Of course, it will delay me from getting back to my boutique, but this is more important. So the sooner we get this done the better."

Before Rarity and Aether could head over to report the fight with Sandy Fire that they just had, Rarity paused and smiled. "Idea!"

"What idea?" Aether asked.

"This spectacular fight just gave me an idea for a new line!" Rarity cheered. "It will be marvelous! I will call it, 'The Big Ball of Fire!" 

Aether did a facehoof, groaned, and thought, Oh for the love of Equestria! This is not the time to be thinking about fashion! But when Rarity gets an idea, there's no stopping her. I suppose that’s not a bad thing though.

Rarity looked at Aether and said, "Okay, I understand Aether. What? Too flashy? I just can't help it! I find inspiration for my clothes everywhere. But yes, let's go report this to Sapphire."

Aether chose to say nothing at the moment. At the moment he was worried about Sandy Fire who worked for Phantasia finding out about the South Gate. He was sure that Sapphire would be worried about this too. 
> Chapter Six
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aether and Rarity went to go report what happened to Sapphire. Sapphire wasn't happy about what they told her.

Aether sighed when he saw Sapphire's reaction. "I'm sorry Sapphire. It's worrisome to say the least. Now that Phantasia knows where the South Gate is thanks to this Sandy Fire, he'll Probably find out where the other Gates are." 

"I know," said Sapphire, "that's a big worry to have."

"So what can be done about it?" Rarity asked.

"Not much at the moment," said Sapphire, "all we can do at the moment is put the Guardians on high alert. Once that happens, their training will be more intense. I will let Master Shi know about this. Sooner or later, there will be a battle over the Gates to gain control over Equestria and Princess Twilight will have no choice but to step down and hand the throne over to the enemy."

Aether was stunned by this information, "And just give up? That's it? But why? Just because the enemy gains control over the Gates doesn't mean Princess Twilight would have to stop ruling! That's just…"

Aether trailed off not wanting to finish his thoughts out loud. The fact that Princess Twilight might have to step down from the throne if the enemy gains control of the Gates, Aether couldn't fathom the idea of that happening. 

"So has this happened before? A ruler of Equestria stepping down from the throne as a result of an enemy gaining control of the Gates?" Aether asked.

Sapphire sighed, "Sadly, yes, it happened right before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna took the throne. The other Guardians and I had a war to take back control of the Gates. That's how the Wendigos came about when the Founders of Equestria were fighting about who should own the land when there was already someone ruling over it. They failed to take that into consideration. The founders of Equestria actually sent scouts out just like Phantasia did and found where the Gates were. There was a war over the Gates and the ruler had to step down from the throne and hand it over to the Founders of Equestria.” 

"That was when I came on the scene. I was a newly picked Guardian for the Center Gate. At that time, the Guardians were gearing up for another war. But I didn't want that to happen again, because it would mean driving out every single citizen that was in Equestria at the time. That's just what the Founders of Equestria did to found Equestria in the first place. Most of the citizens that were in the land that became Equestria are still in exile, in villages on the outskirts of Equestria because of this. That's why the Appointment Ceremony was held there.” 

"A lot of the Guardians are still angry that we didn't war against Equestria so we can take back the throne from the Founders especially when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna started ruling. Honestly, I don't blame them for wanting another war. But festering a grudge doesn't help things. The original Guardians don't realize that if they keep nursing this grudge, more unstable magic can come about."

Upon hearing this information it made Aether livid with rage. How could this happen? So Equestria was founded based on a lie? Aether looked over to Rarity and thought, So, if Equestria was founded, and the holiday that was made to celebrate the founding of Equestria was a lie, then what about the Elements of Harmony? Were the Elements based on a lie too? Is everything here just one big lie??

Rarity shook her head as if she knew what Aether was thinking, "I'm not sure Aether if the Elements of Harmony were based on a lie, just like the founding of Equestria, and I’m not sure if the holiday that celebrates it were based on a lie. Who knows what Star Swirl the Bearded was thinking when he created the Elements of Harmony? Maybe he wanted to right a wrong that was done based on friendship? I don't know."

"So are you going to tell Princess Twilight or the other Guardians and the other Elements of Harmony bearers about this?" Aether asked. "Can Rarity and I tell them about this?"

Sapphire shook her head, "No Aether. This is sensitive information. I won't tell them and you two won't tell them either. That's because you don't have a choice in the matter."

She pointed a hoof at Aether and Rarity's cutie marks, they were glowing again. 

"What's going on?" Aether asked. "Why are our cutie marks glowing?"

"It's all part of protecting the Gates," said Sapphire, "if word gets out that two have told anyone about this information, it could disconnect your magic from your Gate that you're guarding. It's nothing personal Aether, it's all part of doing the job. Just look at my cutie mark, it's the same thing for me."

Aether and Rarity's jaws dropped when they saw Sapphire's cutie mark glowing in the same manner that theirs were.  

Sapphire sighed, "Yes I know, it's a hard thing to do. But if I tell anyone this information it could break my magic with the Gates as well. I had a feeling something was up when I felt my magic acting strangely right after I got the alert about unstable magic. Guarding the Gates is a hard and dangerous job. We can not let the Gates fall into the wrong hooves. Ever since the war with the Founders of Equestria, security measures have been heightened. Especially with stuff like this. If we even try to tell someone about this, whether it be by word of mouth or written word, your magic will erase it before anyone can see."

Aether looked away. "I see."

Aether and Rarity could tell that Sapphire was visibly upset by this because she had tears in her eyes and she was shaking with anger. She composed herself. "Sorry about that, but sometimes I wish I was never picked for this job for this very reason. It's time for you to go." 

Aether and Rarity nodded. They turned around and left. Once Rarity and Aether left Sapphire's place, Aether was very disturbed by this. 

Aether frowned, "I know this is upsetting and all but to wish that you weren't picked for such an important job as Head Guardian? Then again, I guess such a position as hers has it’s tolls."

"Don't worry about Sapphire, Aether," said Rarity, "she's a strong pony. I know how the stress of being a leader for something can be high. I know because I'm the head of my Fashion Empire. Coming up with new designs all the time can be quite stressful despite it being my special talent." 

Aether sighs, "Yeah, it’s just surprising. But I guess because you can't share information with ponies," said Aether, "that's got to be weighing on her." 

Rarity sighed and nodded, "I know but there's nothing we can do about it Aether. Well I must be going back to the boutique, where are you going to Aether?"

Aether thought about it and he wasn't sure that he wanted to be anywhere except guarding the South Gate at the moment. "You know what? I think I'm headed back to the South Gate for now."

For some reason, Rarity gasped at this, "What? You're not going to the East Gate to be around Melody?"

Aether shook his head, "Not for the time being. Besides, Sapphire's going to be putting everypony on high alert now, and more than likely I'll see Melody at the training arena again. Master Shi is going to push us even more in training I imagine. I hate to think of how many more laps she's going to make us run around the track after training again."

"How many does she make you all do after training?" Rarity asked. 

Aether groaned, "200 laps."

"Wha-" Rarity’s jaw dropped.  “Seems a bit overboard if you ask me darling, I’m sure they have they’re reasons, however drastic they may be.” Rarity said.

"Yeah tell that to Master Shi. That's her special talent you know, training Guardians to make sure they're ready in case a war breaks out." Aether responded.

"Oh well," said Rarity, "until the next time we meet, do take care Aether."

“I’ll be fine.” Aether said. Aether and Rarity nodded at each other. Rarity then gave Aether a hug and he headed back to the South Gate.


*	*	*


Once Aether and Rarity left Sapphire's place, Sapphire went to her bed and cried her eyes out in frustration. In knowing that there could be another war on the horizon to gain control of the Gates and the possibility that Princess Twilight might have to hand the throne over to Phantasia was unsettling. The last thing Sapphire wanted was another war, that's why she had urged the rest of the Guardians that were with her to seek peace with the Founders instead.

As she was crying her eyes out, there was a gentle knock on the door. From the sound of it, the knock on the door was her energetic assistant Tumble. Sapphire dried her tears and answered the door. "Hey Tumble, how's it going?"

Tumble smiled, "Well I just came to tell you that I sent word to the Guardians to put them on high alert. Since you didn't tell me the reason why, all I could say to them was that those are my orders from Sapphire."

Sapphire smiled when she heard Tumble speak. It always made her laugh when Tumble spoke because Tumble would speak very fast and she always seemed happy around her. 

Tumble paused, "What's wrong Sapphire?"

"Oh nothing," Sapphire lied, "I'm just stressed about Phantasia that's all."

Tumble raised an eyebrow, "You’re stressed about that? Because you look upset right now. It doesn't seem like the Phantasia situation is all that you're upset about."

Sapphire sighed, "I'm sorry but I can't tell you right now. Actually, I don't think I'll ever be able to tell you."

"Oh," said Tumble, "okay, I understand. Just because we're friends doesn't mean you have to tell me everything."

Sapphire nodded, "Yeah, so what else did you need to speak to me about?"

"That was it," said Tumble, "I'll see you around then. Bye Sapphire!"

Sapphire snorted as Tumble bounced out the door happy and without a care in the world.


*	*	*


When Aether got back to the South Gate he was surprised when he saw Melody and Fluttershy waiting there for him.

"Oh Hey, what’re y'all doing here?" Aether asked.

"I just came to give you something." Melody said.

Fluttershy nodded, "From the looks of it right now, you look upset. So, you can use the company. What's wrong Aether?"

Aether sighed, "I wish I could tell you, but I can’t say. " Still, Aether’s heart was warmed by the sentiment and company. “Thanks for coming though.”

"Oh, I see," said Melody, "anyway, I brought some sheet music with me and before the whole Phantasia mess came into play, I still want to write that song with you. That is if you want to."

Even though Melody said this in her usual monotone voice, Aether smiled at the thought of being able to write a song with Melody. True, her voice was flat and monotone most of the time, when she sang she sounded like an angel. 

Aether nodded, "I’d love to." 

As soon as Melody took out some sheet music, she jotted down some notes.  Aether and Melody began the first stages of writing the song, and in that brief moment of time Aether began to forget about earlier, once Aether and Melody got to work on writing a song, it made Aether feel joyful, distracted, but happily distracted from things, and certainly much better than before.


*	*	*


When Melody arrived back at the East Gate, she wondered why Fluttershy said Aether was upset about something. On top of that, Aether said he couldn't tell her or Fluttershy what was wrong.

Well, at least I made him feel better writing that song. It needs some tweaking to make it sound good enough to record it and play it in front of our friends. Melody thought. 

In seeing that she was alone for the time being, she could show as much happiness about helping Aether feel better when he was feeling down as she wanted. 

Melody could tell by the feeling of the beads she had pinned to the sheet music which one had the song Aether and herself recently worked on and was written down on. Right when she was getting ready to work on it, she heard her sister Apple Bloom call out to her. "Melody? Are you there? If you are, I figured I'd stop by to spend some time with you."

Melody rolled her eyes, put her sheet music away and went outside her room. I don't know why I gave Mom and Apple Bloom the keys to my house. Why can't they understand that I can take care of myself? I'm a Guardian for crying out loud! 

"Oh hey Melody," Apple Bloom said, "what's up?"

"Hey Apple Bloom," Melody replied, "nothing much except that Guardians have been on high alert because some unstable magic has been detected at the South Gate."

"What?" Apple Bloom gasped. "Okay this job is too dangerous for you. You need to-"

Melody groaned, "Come back home? Seriously? I took the job of my own free will. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I have to be underneath Mom's thumb all the time. I'm getting tired of ponies thinking that I need help all the time. I've done fine without help graduating high school and I didn't need help when I got my cutie mark. Oh and one more thing I didn't need help when Sapphire picked me to be a Guardian. So I think I can take care of myself."

Apple Bloom composed herself, "Fine. I understand." She chuckled. "You know what? Applejack did the same thing to me when I was a filly! I guess she rubbed off on me when I got older. You're right, you've been on your own for a while now. Well, you're doing just fine. Don't worry about Applejack, she'll understand sooner or later."

"Let's hope it's sooner." Melody said. When she realized she was starting to show some emotion she kept it in check by going back to her usual monotone voice. "Anyway, what did you have in mind for spending time with each other?"

"Well, I  was just thinking we could sit around the fire and have some hot cocoa and just talk." Apple Bloom said. "You know, because it's always winter time here. Honestly, I don't know how you stand it being so cold over here everyday."

Melody shrugged, "It doesn't bother me anymore even though I've only been here for only a month now. I guess I just got used to it quickly."

"Huh," said Apple Bloom, "interesting. Don't worry about the hot cocoa or the marshmallows, I brought some with me."

Melody nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

So, that's what Melody and Apple Bloom did. They made hot cocoa and marshmallows. They sat around the fireplace and just gave each other updates on what was going on with them, all the while listening to the blowing winds of winter that was happening outside.  







 





 
> Chapter Seven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire decided to take a load off with all of the stress going at the moment, it wasn't really so much taking a load off as trying to create more medicines that the Medic Ponies would be able to use during the war that she thought for sure would be coming up in the future. She already had some of her red roses picked along with the sapphire gems that grew with them and she headed over to the West Gate. 

Sapphire found out that the gems that she grew worked best when they were out in the sunlight and in the warmest climate possible. Although it was always warm in the Crystal Empire where she lived, she decided to go to the West Gate. She was also at the West Gate to check up on Fancy Mark and see how his mental state was fairing. She was worried about that because the Guardians were now put on high alert because of Phantasia and she worried the stress might be too much for Fancy Mark to handle. But she had to remind herself that she picked Fancy Mark because of the power that she sensed inside of him. 

It wasn't until Sapphire found out about Fancy Mark's background with the Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde complex going on with him that she had her reservations about it. But after consulting with the pony who was taking care of him, she felt much better that she was sending him to a therapist. But even still she figured she'd pay him a visit anyway. 

Sapphire was walking down a hallway carrying her gems in a bag in her magic when she saw Fancy Mark staring into a mirror intensely. She paused and hid around the corner when she heard him talking to the mirror.

Okay, what's this about? I'd better stay out of sight for this. Sapphire thought. 

She watched Fancy Mark with curiosity as his conversation with the mirror started to unfold.

"Shut-up!" Fancy yelled at the mirror. "Shut-up! I don't want to hear it anymore!"

A cold-blooded laugh came from the mirror, "You remember that day, don't you? You know, the day you killed them?"

"NO! No, I didn't kill them, I didn't kill them, IT'S NOT MY FAULT!"

"Oh, but you were the only witness…" The thing in the mirror gave a little pout, which then morphed into a sneer, and he began to pull up old memories to the forefront of his mind. "Standing there above your parents, bloody knife in hoof; who else could it have been!?" The thing in the mirror laughed, and Fancy Mark winced as his ears screamed with static.

"I.. DIDN' T… DO IT!!" Fancy Mark began to cry, slowly breaking down. "I didn't do it… I didn't do it…!"

"Nice try, Fancy Mark, but trying to scare me into doing your will won't ever work. I'll rip you apart piece by piece until I get what I want, even if it means hurting you!" The mirror laughed for a short while, and Fancy Mark sat there rocking on the floor, numbly repeating with tears, "I didn't do it… I didn't do it… I didn't do it…."

Once the conversation ended, Sapphire was definitely disturbed by it. Okay, yeah I'm going to have to talk to his therapist about this. Although I have no idea if he's told his therapist anything about him talking to a mirror.


*	*	*


I almost got it! Almost there-  Firewing thought as he flew high into the clouds. But what he was attempting to do for the one-hundredth time didn't work yet again. He was thrown out of the sky as soon as he even got close to breaking the sound barrier and landed flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him. Damn it! Again? I almost had it that time!

"What in tarnation are you doin' Firewing?" Applejack said.

Firewing looked up to see Applejack standing over him with a stern look on her face. He got to his hooves, blushed, and looked away. "Oh, uh hey Applejack, I was practicing my secret weapon, you know because of being on high alert now."

"And what secret weapon might that be?" Applejack asked.

"Um… It's called a secret weapon for a reason." Firewing replied. "I just hope I can have it ready to go soon."

"Okay then." Applejack nodded. 

"So what are you doing here?" Firewing asked. "Aren't you normally back at the farm or going to check on Melody?"

"Well yes," said Applejack, "but I figured since all of the Guardians are on high alert, that I'd stop by and see how things were goin' and from the looks of it, things are just fine so I'll be-"

"Don't you want to stick around for a bit?" Firewing asked quickly. 

Applejack sighed, "Listen Firewing I know you like me and all but I've been pretty busy lately and don't have time for stuff like that, you know a relationship. I really need to see if Melody's doing okay."

"Yeah you know Melody can take care of herself right?" Firewing reasoned.

Applejack groaned, "Why does everypony keep tellin' me that? No, she can't take care of herself, she's-"

"Blind?" Firewing asked. "I think she can get around just fine. Believe it or not, Melody does very well during training and she's been on her own for a while now. From what I've seen she's still alive so forgive me if I'm speaking out of term but she's fine, really she is."

"I can't help it! She's my baby!" Applejack cried. "I adopted her at ten years old! I remember the day I saw her. She was just sitting by herself in a corner playin' with her beads lookin' all cute like and I knew I was meant to be her parent. It was as if she knew the same thing because she came right up to me. It was puzzling to me because before she even said hi to me she whistled a couple of tunes and then she smiled that adorable smile. That's when she said in a shy voice, 'hi there, I'm Melody, you look like a nice pony'. Her sweet little voice melted my heart. It was right then and there that I started the application process to adopt  her and before I knew it, I was her mother."

Firewing listened to Applejack's story about how she adopted Melody with tears in his eyes. Applejack looked at Firewing and smiled, "Are you cryin' Firewing?"

Firewing shook his head, "Uh, no I wasn't crying, I uh…" He looked up at the sky and pointed a hoof upward, "The sun was in my eyes that's all."

Applejack raised an eyebrow, "Uh-huh I can tell when someponie's lyin' to me but okay sure."

"You know something Applejack?" Firewing said. "There comes a time when you have to let your child grow up. Not to mention if she gets a boyfriend, that'll make her look bad if you're hovering over her all the time."

Applejack laughed, "Yeah I know about Aether and he's head over heels for Melody but he won't admit it. If I didn't know any better, I'd say Melody's head over heels for him. Those two would make a good pair. I wonder how cute their children would be if they-" She paused. "Oh look at me! I bet I sound like an old fart talkin' like this."

Firewing looked away true, Applejack was old but to him, she might as well be a beautiful young mare. He figured that there was no reasoning with Applejack when it came down to Melody. Applejack was so overprotective of Melody that she might as well have Melody on a leash to tie Melody to her hip. But knowing Melody, she would find some way to break free of Applejack's grip sooner or later. 

Out of nowhere, they heard Pinkie Pie's high-pitched voice, "What ya doing?"

Firewing jumped a foot in the air when he saw Pinkie Pie.

"What are you doing here Pinkie?" Applejack asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at the West Gate with Fancy Mark?"

"Oh I was," said Pinkie, "but Sapphire's over there too so I figured it would be okay if I stepped out for a bit. You know I like all of the seasons of the different Gates, even the East Gate where it's always cold there! I've been to the area where the East Gate might be in but just for a visit. You know because I would never go to the actual Gate. Actually, I can't find the other Gates. I find the Guardians who guard those Gates, but not the actual Gate. That's probably for security reasons which is fine."

"Okay, why is Sapphire at the West Gate? Do you know what for Pinkie?" Firewing asked.

Pinkie shook her head, "Nope! Not a clue, but that's Sapphire's business and even if I did know, I wouldn't tell you, you wanna know why I wouldn't tell?"

"Why?" Firewing said.

"Because betraying a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend! FORRRREVER!" Pinkie cheered.

Applejack laughed. "Oh Pinkie, you and your antics! Aren't you worried about the Guardians being on high alert?"

"Nope!" Pinkie answered. "Not one little bit! Besides, why stress about things when you can't see the future? Even if I could see the future I wouldn't tell anypony even if I could. Okay, I'm done visiting now, I'm headed back to the West Gate!"

"But you were only here for a few seconds," said Firewing, "wow that was short-lived."

Pinkie nodded, "Yup! I came and I saw, now bye!"

"O...Kay then, well uh see ya later!" Firewing said.

Firewing and Applejack chuckled as they watched Pinkie hop away.


*	*	*


Fancy Mark laid on his bed after crossing paths with Fancy Dark in a mirror again. He would lay down on the bed and get up and pace back and forth again. He couldn't help but think of the day that he killed his parents by accident and that's when Fancy Dark came about. To tell the truth, he was happy that his parents were dead but at the same time, he wondered if deep down inside he wasn't really happy that his parents died. He wondered this because of the fact that Fancy Dark came about shortly after he killed them. 

The reason why Fancy's parents were killed was because of an ancient ritual known only to his family. It was considered as a right of passage in a way. If a child in his family was successful in summoning her and she made a pact with them, then they had full rights to battle things out with other children to gain a seat on the throne. But the kingdom where Fancy was from was gone now, and it was all because of him. He destroyed everything in the blink of an eye and all because he summoned her. He also didn't know why he was the only one that was spared in the destruction of his home.

Now that the Guardians are on high alert because of Phantasia, she's been appearing to him more often and she didn't even need a mirror to do so. 

As Fancy sat on his bed after pacing back and forth he heard her voice and that bone-chilling laugh behind him. To tell the truth, Fancy wasn't really afraid of her anymore that stupid Blood Goddess got on his nerves just as much as Fancy Dark did. Fancy turned around and snarled when he saw her, "What are you doing here?"

The Blood Goddess chuckled, "What? I can't come to visit my friend every once and a while?"

"Yeah that's fine and all but you are getting on my nerves and I'm done dealing with you and Fancy Dark!" Fancy snapped.

Blood Goddess tilted her and then she smiled, "Fancy Dark? Now he seems like a swell guy, when can I meet him?"

Fancy rolled his eyes, "Like I'm going to tell you that information!"

Blood Goddess put up her hands as if to say that she surrendered or something like that. "Okay, okay calm down Fancy, you know you're my favorite pony, right? I tasted their blood because of you."

Blood Goddess licked her lips as if she were remembering the feeling of drinking Fancy's parents’ blood. "Honestly, I wish I could rewind time and taste their blood again. But that's not why I'm here this time."

Fancy narrowed his eyes at the Blood Goddess, "Why are you here?" 

"I just came because I noticed your magic is connected to something very powerful and it's very intense right now. I also sense that there could be war coming up in the future. I wonder, why is that? If that is the case, you know I can help you right?" Blood Goddess said. "I can drink their blood for you and destroy them all if you want?"

"No!" Fancy roared. "No, I don't need your help for anything! I've never needed your help. I just did the stupid ceremony as a right of passage."

Blood Goddess shrugged, "Sure whatever you say, Fancy. Oh well, I'll go find some blood to drink elsewhere."

Blood Goddess licked her lips and gave Fancy a cold sinister stare. Fancy knew this was another tactic she used to try and strike fear in his heart. But it didn't scare Fancy, it just annoyed him. 

"Until we meet again Fancy, and I hope to meet your friend Fancy Dark one day…" Blood Goddess said. 

Fancy rolled his eyes as heard her laughter fade away as she slowly disappeared. After the Blood Goddess left, Fancy couldn't shake the feeling that he would never be able to get rid of her or Fancy Dark and might just be his undoing in the future. 

 








  

 
> Chapter Eight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phantasia smiled as Sandy Fire stood before him and she was bowing to him. True, he did tell her not to bow because he wasn't the ruler of Equestria. Yet…

He was confident and awfully sure that he would be the ruler of Equestria one day. He had all of his dominoes set up and all he had to do was push one over with a hoof and everything would fall into play. 

Phantasia rolled his eyes when he looked over and saw Little Snack shifting on her hooves nervously. Phantasia thought, Little Snack, look at her, no confidence whatsoever! She better straighten up if she wants to be in my army when we go for the Gates and then after that, Equestria! Yes, Equestria will be all mine!

Phantasia made a motion for Sandy Fire to stand up and look at him, "You know you don't have to bow to me Sandy. I'm not the ruler of Equestria yet. But you know for a fact that I will be one day, and when I start ruling I'll be saving Equestria from those spineless Princesses rulers and tall tales about these stupid Elements of Harmony."

"That's just it Phantasia sir," said Sandy Fire, "the Guardians already know that you know about them. They're probably on high alert looking out for more of your scouts. That is if you've sent any more of them out? That's not all."

Phantasia raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Please do tell, but before you do that, Little Snack?"

Little Snack stiffened as she looked over at Phantasia. "Yes sir?"

"Could you please step out so I can talk to Sandy Fire with only Rapid present?" Phantasia asked. "I'll send for you when you're needed okay?"

Little Snack nodded and promptly exited the room. Once she was gone Phantasia turned his attention back to Sandy Fire. "So, what were you starting to say before I excused Little Snack?"

"It seems that the so-called Elements of Harmony bearers have been assigned to work with the Guardians this time." Sandy Fire said.

At this information, Phantasia tried to keep his composure, Crap! Why didn't I take into account that whoever the Head Guardian is would put this action into play. Great. Perfect. 

Phantasia was snapped out of his thoughts when Sandy Fire got his attention again. "Um, sir? We might have a little bit of an advantage with the one who guards the South Gate."

This made Phantasia curious, "Really, now what might that be?"

"Well the Guardian for the South Gate was rather smaller than the average stallion," said Sandy Fire, "although he did stand his ground against me, but I didn't show him the full extent of my power and I'm pretty sure he didn't show me the full extent of his. But with him being so small, I doubt he has a lot of power anyway."

Phantasia laughed, "Oh, that's rich! Now that was a stupid move on the Head Gaurdains part! Ha ha ha! Now, if this Guardian is as small as you say he is, I could probably have the upper hand in the war to take Equestria."

"What do you mean by that?" Sandy asked.

"Because we could capture the guy," said Phantasia, "and use him as a bargaining chip for control of the Gates."

A wicked smile spread over Sandy's face. "So you want me to go back and capture the one who I call Small Stallion?"

"Not yet," said Phantasia, "there are a couple more dominoes I need to put into play before I push them over with a hoof and Equestria will be mine. Thank you for telling me this information Sandy Fire. You may go now."

Sandy nodded, "Yes sir."

Once Sandy left, Phantasia sat back in his chair and grabbed his glass of wine with his hoof that was sitting on a nearby table. He looked over at Rapid and once again she didn't look happy. 

"I know that look Rapid," said Phantasia, "yes this is coming along much slower than I want it to, but I'm thinking now is time to start gathering an army. Only gather them and train them, but do not let Equestria know that they are present. Do you understand?"

A smile spread across Rapid's face as she jumped for joy, "You mean it Phantasia? You really mean it?"

Phantasia absolutely loved it when he made his marefriend happy like this and as a bonus the army would be trained by her and be ready for them to take Equestria with him as their leader. 

Rapid ran up to Phantasia and gave him a passionate kiss. The kiss surprised him because the glass of wine that was in his hoof dropped to the ground and shattered. 

Rapid quickly broke the kiss after the glass shattered and frowned, "I'm so sorry about the dear I-"

"Sssh, it's fine Rapid," said Phantasia, "nopony got hurt so don't worry about it. One more thing honey, could you be a dear and teach Little Snack to stand up straight and have a backbone? True, she's figured out how to say cuss words around me now. But she's timid about things that would involve being in my army."

Rapid nodded. "Yes dear and I'll send for somepony to get you another glass of wine."

Phantasia smiled as he watched Rapid leave. All he had to do was put one more domino in place and then Equestria would be his.


*	*	*


Aether sighed as he sat down staring out the glass window of his home. This really sucks! Why me? Why am I the first Guardian that has to know about trouble at the Gates? Why couldn't it have been Firewing? Or better yet Thunder? Sweet Celestia.

He smiled when he looked up at the sky. To him the sky was another ceiling, but also a really big painting; another roof over the roof of his house so to speak, but with awe inspiring beauty. He knew that wherever he went, all over Equestria, that the sky would be the roof over his head, and in a way, the sky always brought a serenity to his mind, much like how nature brings Fluttershy peace. He envied Pegasi in how easily they could adventure and explore that vast, wondrous expanse. The tufts of cloud in the everlasting blue sky also reminded him of cotton candy. That thought made him hungry.  

I just had to think of cotton candy didn't I? Aether thought as he groaned. He looked down when he heard the low rumble of his stomach growling to confirm that he was hungry. Yeah yeah, I know. Aether thought in response to his stomach.

When he pushed open the kitchen door he lit up his horn and a soft yellow glow came out of it. He smiled as he looked over at the brown cabinet below the counter by the stove. The soft yellow glow opened the cabinet door as he floated out of the cabinet, a medium sized cooking pot and placed it on top of the stove. 

He then proceeded to take out of the refrigerator, a variety of vegetables, carrots, peas, broccoli, etc and set them down on the counter next to the stove. After turning on the stove with his magic, he got to work making some vegetable soup. It was a secret recipe that he learned from his grandmother before she passed and he was grateful that he learned it. That way he always had a special piece of her with him and he knew that she was watching over him in the afterlife.

The soup was almost done when he heard a knock on the door. He called out, "Coming! I'll be there in a moment!"

He put the setting on the stove to a low heat setting so the soup would cook on a slow simmer. He stopped before he got to the door like he always did and lit up his horn. He would do this spell many times as a safety precaution before he answered the door. The spell he did allowed him to see who was behind the door. When Aether lit up his horn and cast the spell, he was confused when he saw it was Pinkie Pie behind the door. Pinkie? Aren’t the Guardians on high alert right now? She should be at the West Gate with Fancy! I guess I'll have to open the door and figure out what her excuse is for being here.

Aether opened the door and he was greeted by a smiling pink face with poofy magenta mane. 

"Hi there!" Pinkie said.

"Hey Pinkie, uhm." Aether said. "Why are you here? Aren't you-"

"Supposed to be at the West Gate?" Pinkie said. "Yeah I know. I just stopped by for a visit!"

She paused and sniffed the air, "Yum, it smells like you're cooking vegetable soup!"

"I am," said Aether, "do you want some? I-I wasn't expecting visitors today, so I can make some more if you want."

Pinkie nodded. "Yeah why not? I'm hungry anyway."

Aether went to the kitchen and pulled out another cooking pot and made another serving of vegetable soup. 

When they sat down to eat, Aether was eating his food at a slower pace than Pinkie was. Aether's jaw dropped and landed on the kitchen table when Pinkie just picked up the bowl of soup and gulped it down as if she was drinking a bottle of water.

Pinkie was finished with her soup in under a minute flat. She burped, "Thanks so much for the soup Aether! That was delicious!"

Aether picked his jaw off the kitchen table and said, "It's no problem Pinkie. Really, but I have to ask - why are you here again?"

"I told you I'm here for a visit!" said Pinkie, "Besides Sapphire's at the West Gate at the moment so figured I could step out for a bit and see how the Guardians are doing, you know because of the stress of the Guardians being on high alert."

"Oh," said Aether, "thanks Pinkie."

"Sure no problem," said Pinkie, "now as payment for the food I shall give you this!"

"It's okay Pinkie there's no need to-" Aether's jaw dropped once again when Pinkie pulled out of her mane the biggest cake he had ever seen. How in equestria does she do that? Does she have some sort of secret compartments in her mane or something? I wonder if anypony knows the answer to that question. I suppose I shouldn’t try to figure her out, I don't feel like dying of a heart attack before the war even begins just from trying to figure her out.

"Go ahead! Take it!" Pinkie said excitedly, with a big grin, "There's no hair in it, so don't worry about that!"

"Um, how are you even able to do that?" Aether asked. 

Pinkie shrugged, "Don't know? For the longest time, I've always been able to do it. So yeah. Alright, that's enough visiting for me!" 

"But you were only here for half an hour!" Aether said.

Pinkie nodded, "Yup! I came, I saw, now bye!"

After Pinkie left, Aether just stood there in utter amazement at what she just did. 

The things that filly does, I will never understand. Aether thought. 


*	*	*


Little Snack paced back and forth in her bedroom and she just couldn't sit still. Now that Phantasia gave Rapid the go ahead to gather an army and get them ready to take over Equestria, for whatever the reason Little Snack felt nervous about it. 

Golly damn it! Little Snack thought, I knew this was going to happen eventually, but now that's happening, I don't know what to think or do! Should I go along with this- no Little Snack, Phantasia is the ruler Equestria needs! I will do whatever I can to make that happen!

As Little Snack was pacing she stopped when she heard a knock on the door and heard Rapid speaking, "Little Snack why don't you answer the door? We need to get started on gathering the army that will help Phantasia take over Equestria!"

Little Snack gulped and reluctantly opened the door, "Yes Rapid, I uh know that. So when do we start?"

Rapid had a smile on her face and said, "Today!"

Little Snack paused. "Today? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

Rapid shook her head, "Nope, it has to happen today Little Snack! You seem nervous about this, which is to be expected, because of how you are. But that's okay, you'll be a tough pony warrior when I get done with you."

Little Snack stood there and pawed the floor with a hoof. "Well I uh…"

"Oh Little Snack," said Rapid after rolling her eyes, "come on, let's get going!"

Little Snack nodded and after making sure her apartment was secure, she followed Rapid down the hallway.

*	*	*



"Come on Little Snack!" Rapid cheered. "You can do it! Show a little bit more authority. If you're going to be my Second in Command, you better start showing backbone."

Little Snack took a deep breath and let it out. She stood up straight just like Rapid told her to and barked a pretend order at her pretend army that Rapid had set up for her to practice with. "Do you think you have what it takes to be in Phantasia's army? Well, do you?" She paused. "I said, do you?"

Little Snack looked over at Rapid to see that she was covering her snout with a hoof trying to stifle a laugh. I'm never going to be able to get this down. It's not working if Rapid's trying so hard not to laugh. I'm really trying though!

Rapid composed herself and she sighed, "Honestly, Little Snack, that was a good try, but you're going to have to do better."

Little Snack sighed, "But how do I show authority when I, well, don't normally do that?"

Rapid smiled, "With practice and hard work. We'll practice for another hour and then you can do it for real. We have new cadets waiting outside to greet us."

Little Snacks eyes went wide, "You mean, I have to do this for real? And in one hour too?"

Rapid nodded. "Yup! Now do it again, Little Snack." 

Little Snack nodded. She kept practicing for the full hour just like Rapid told her to. She really wanted Phantasia to be the ruler of Equestria and she was going to do everything in her power to make that happen. 
> Chapter Nine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire paced back and forth in her office angry about Pinkie Pie visiting the Guardians at each Gate at a time when the Guardians are on high alert because of a possible war on the horizon. With Pinkie visiting every Guardian at every Gate, she put all of the Guardians at risk making it easier for Phantasia’s scouts to find the Gates. As a matter of fact, any Guardian going back and forth to each other’s Gates puts everypony at risk for the same reason Pinkie's actions did.

According to Firewing and Aether, Pinkie thought it was a good idea to visit the Guardians because Sapphire was at the West Gates trying to check on Fancy to see if he was okay. This made Sapphire even angrier with Pinkie. 

So Sapphire decided to call every Guardian along with the Element of Harmony they were paired up with to stress the importance of taking being on high alert because of unstable magic seriously. As it stands at the moment the Guardians weren’t taking their jobs seriously. At least to Sapphire they weren’t.

Great, just great, clearly the new Guardians I have chosen this time around don't know how to take this job seriously, except for maybe Aether and Rarity. This is another reason why I hate this job. But I was picked for it so I must do my duties for the job.  Sapphire thought. Not only that, I have to choose my words carefully. Either way, this meeting needs to happen.

Sapphire took a couple of deep breaths and let them out through her mouth to try and keep her anger at a minimum. Sapphire paused when she heard knocking on the door. She lit up her horn and opened the door and every Guardian along with the Elements of Harmony bearers filed into her office one by one. Once the last of them had come in Sapphire closed the door.

“Okay everypony,” said Sapphire, “the reason I called you here today is to stress the importance of taking a high alert situation dealing with unstable magic. Do any of you remember why we’re on high alert in the first place?”

“Oh, I know!” Pinkie said. “Because of unstable magic right? Unstable magic is bad news! I don’t-“

“Exactly Pinkie,” Sapphire snapped, “did you realize that visiting every single Guardian puts them at risk?”

“I uh… I didn’t know. I just thought that since you were at the-“ Pinkie started.

“You would visit every Guardian because I was at the West Gate?” Sapphire snapped. “Did you realize that every Guardians home is very close to where the actual Gates are?”

“But I didn’t go to the actual Gate.” Pinkie replied. 

“Even still you put everyone in danger making it easier for Phantasia’s scouts to find the Gates,” Sapphire said. “So everypony in this room do you understand the importance of what high alert means?”

Sapphire tried so hard not to be pissed when she saw that no one in the room was willing to answer the question so as to tell her they understood their duties as Guardians. “Well, would somepony answer the freaking question so you can let me know that you understand your duties as Guardians, or do I have to replace every single one of you with the reserve team? Because I will do that if it’s needed!”

Finally, after a long silence Melody spoke up, “It’s as Pinkie said, unstable magic is bad news and if we don’t protect the Gates to the best of our abilities, it could mean bad things for Equestria’s future.”

"Yes, that's correct!" Sapphire confirmed. "With that being said, everypony in this room repeat after me." Once she had everypony's attention she continued. "Unstable magic is bad news."

"Unstable magic is bad news," Everypony repeated.

"If I don't take my job as a Guardian seriously, it could mean bad things for Equestria," Sapphire said.

"If I don't take my job as a Guardian seriously, it could mean bad things for Equestria," Everypony repeated. 

"Visiting each other's Gates can make it easier for Phantasia's scouts to find them," Sapphire said.

"Visiting each other's Gates can make it easier for Phantasia's scouts to find them," Everypony repeated. 

"Good, with that being said," said Sapphire, "I have no choice, every Guardian from this moment forward, until we have dealt with the unstable magic from Phantasia, is under house arrest. What this means is that traveling for Guardians back and forth to each other's Gates is prohibited and that goes for everypony, even me." 

Aether gasped, "What? Why do you have to follow this rule? Aren't you the Head Guardian?"

Sapphire put up a hoof to silence him. "Yes, I am the Head Guardian, seeing that I can't even visit a Gate myself without somepony using this excuse to put others in danger, I will not be traveling to the Gates anymore. When and if we can get this unstable magic under control, I'm not giving another pony an excuse to put the lives of the Guardians in danger. It is disrespectful in my eyes when somepony puts my friends in danger when they are supposed to be taking things seriously."

"But we can't-" Pinkie started.

"See the future?" Applejack snapped. "So why stress out about it? I'm sorry Pinkie, but I have to agree with Sapphire here, you need to be stressed out! It's your job as an Element of Harmony Bearer to help keep Equestria and your friends safe! I take keeping Equestria safe just as seriously as I do when it comes down to working on the farm and keeping it well stocked and well maintained. Let me ask you something Pinkie, you take your job as a party planner seriously don't you?"

"Well yeah," said Pinkie, "I make sure everything is just right, all the way down the very last piece of confetti! Parties are serious business!"

"Do you think that guarding Equestria against harm is serious business?" Applejack said, and Sapphire noticed by the look on Applejack's face, she was just as angry with what Pinkie did as she was.

Pinkie sighed and hung her head, "You're right, protecting Equestria is serious business just like planning a party is. I should've known better. But I didn't go to the actual Gates, so I figured everything was fine." She pawed at the ground. "I didn't realize that the Guardians' homes were right by the Gates."

"Are you serious Pinkie? Have you let a rotten apple into your barrel?" Applejack scolded. "Of course the Guardians' homes are close to the Gates! Did you know that when you were at the West Gate with Fancy?"

Pinkie paused and then her eyes went wide. "Oh boy! Yeah, the West Gate is practically right next to where Fancy's home is! Oh crap!"

Fancy rolled his eyes and joined in on Applejack's scolding, "Oh crap is right! How do you think a Guardian is able to get to their Gate so fast? If there's one sign of trouble, a Guardian has to be able to have quick access to the Gate and deal with it! Even I'm not that stupid!" Fancy fumed.

"That's enough," Sapphire said putting an end to Pinkie's torment. She sighed because she knew that Hearth's Warming Eve was coming up and everypony would want to celebrate it together. "Yes, I know Hearth's Warming Eve is coming up. I have already worked out a plan for this. You will be able to celebrate the holiday but only in the village where we had the Appointment Ceremony at. Once the holiday is over, you will return back to your gates and stay there. I will not be allowing a mailpony to deliver messages, all communication will be severed for the time being."

"I don't get it," Firewing said. "Why can't we have a mailpony?"

"For the same reason to keep the Guardians safe," Sapphire answered. "If a mailpony is spotted going back and forth to each Gate, that also increases the chances for one of Phantasia's scouts to find them. I will let each Guardian know the first sign of trouble with their focus magic. You will know that I'm contacting you by the feeling of your magic. If you didn't pay attention when you did your training then that's your fault. Training will be held once a week and more times after that possibly. We need to be the most prepared we can possibly be in order to deal with the threat. So no visiting each other's Gates. And you know good and well that the focus magic isn't to be used for communicating with each other. It's a tool to help you do your job and that's it."

Sapphire was heartbroken by the fact that she had to issue such an order of discipline just to get the Guardians to take their jobs seriously. She sighed, "I have given an order and you will follow it! As a matter of fact, you have no choice in the matter."

Sapphire pointed at Pinkie's flank and everyone gasped when they saw her cutie mark glowing. Aether and Rarity were the most shocked because they had seen this happen before when Sapphire told them not to do something. Aether and Rarity looked to see that Sapphire's cutie mark was also glowing. 

Fluttershy whispered into Melody's ear what was going on because she couldn't see it. When Fluttershy did that Melody gasped as well. 

"Oh and as far as the Element of Harmony Bearers go," said Sapphire, "you can work your jobs because protecting the Gates is not your main job. However, the only Gate that you are allowed to go to is the Gate that you have been assigned to protect. Got it?"

All of the Elements of Harmony Bearers nodded their head to show Sapphire they understood. 

"Oh and Fluttershy?" Sapphire said.

"Yes ma'am, Sapphire ma'am?" Fluttershy squeaked.

"Let Discord know of this too," said Sapphire, "he isn't allowed to visit the Gates either. As I said, we are dealing with unstable magic. Until it's dealt with, everypony needs to be on their guard. Well, this is the end of this meeting, you are free to go."

"Yes ma'am." Everyone mumbled. 


*	*	*


Sapphire let out a frustrated sigh when everypony left her office. There was a knock on the door and when Sapphire answered it, she was pleased to see Princess Twilight and her cousin Prince Purple Artist with her. 

"Hey there," Princess Twilight frowned, "what's wrong Sapphire? You look upset."

Sapphire tried her best not to let her anger boil over when talking to Princess Twilight. "I just had to place an order of discipline on the Guardians."

"What!" Princess Twilight gasped. "Why?"

Sapphire sighed, "Well it seems that Pinkie Pie decided to take the opportunity with my visit to the West Gate to go and visit every single Guardian."

"Aren't the Guardians supposed to be on high alert?" Prince Purple Artist asked.

"Yeah they are," answered Sapphire, "and they're supposed to be taking things seriously. But it seems that they are not. With Pinkie going to visit every single Guardian in this time of trouble gives Phantasia more chances to find out where the Gates are."

Princess Twilight stomped a hoof on the ground, "Why that Pinkie! How could she be so stupid? She does realize that the Guardians' homes are right next to the Gates that they guard?"

Sapphire shook her head, "Apparently not, it wasn't until Fancy and Applejack laid into her about it that she finally got the point." Sapphire paused and then laughed. "Too bad you weren't there to see those two scolding Pinkie. I was too upset to even think about recording it."

Princess Twilight chuckled, "Really? Well, at least you had help with dealing with that crazy pony. I'm glad she's not the ruler of Equestria. Why I bet that if Equestria was issued a declaration of war and she was the ruler, she would probably go, 'oh Equestria's getting ready to go to war, I think I'll visit the Dragon Lands for a nice long vacation! La, la, la, la!"

Prince Purple Artist snorted, "Wow, Pinkie would actually do that Twilight?"

Princess Twilight shrugged, "Not sure really, I'm just poking fun that's all."

"I see." Prince Purple Artist said. "Um, Sapphire?"

"Yes?" Sapphire replied.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Prince Purple Artist asked.

Sapphire shook her head, "I'm not sure at the moment. I'm sorry."

"Oh, there's no reason to be sorry," said Prince Purple Artist, "I was just asking."

"Okay," said Princess Twilight, "what do I do now? I'm supposed to be working closely with you when it comes down to being a Head Guardian Gatekeeper."

Sapphire tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Well you could keep an eye on the Guardians to make that follow the order I've issued."

"What's the order?" Princess Twilight asked. 

"House arrest, no Guardian or Element of Harmony Bearers assigned to protect the Gates are allowed to visit each other's Gates. They will be allowed to celebrate Hearth's Warming Eve together at the village where the Appointing Ceremony took place, but after that, they are to return to their Gates and stay there until the unstable magic is dealt with." Sapphire answered. 

"Wow," said Princess Twilight, "that's pretty extreme. But if that needs to happen then it needs to happen. Trust me, I've had to issue orders of discipline too and it's not easy. So how do I keep an eye on them?"

"Remember the focus training I taught you?" Sapphire asked. 

Princess Twilight nodded. "Yup!"

"You can use that to make sure everything is well. Don't use it to communicate. Don't let the Guardians know you're watching them. But only do it when you can, but please try to give them some sense of privacy okay? Don't get too nosy, got it?" Sapphire instructed.

"Got it! Watch but don't pry. I can do that." Princess Twilight said.

"And Prince Purple Artist?" Sapphire said.

"Yes, Sapphire?" Prince Purple Artist replied.

"I think it's time we start teaching you and the rest of the reserve team the focus training as well," Sapphire said.

Prince Purple Artist's face brightened at this, "Really? You mean I get to learn that now?"

Sapphire nodded. "Oh yes, we need to prepare the reserve team in case I need to start replacing Guardians that don't care to do their jobs."

"Thank you!" Prince Purple Artist said. He dove at Sapphire and gave her a big hug. 

Sapphire smiled at Prince Purple Artist's excitement. "Okay then. I think that's everything. You can let go of me now, Prince Purple Artist."

Prince Purple Artist let go of Sapphire and blushed. "Oh."

Sapphire nodded. "It's okay. So why did you come to visit me for Princess?"

"Oh, uh I just stopped by for a casual visit that's all." Princess Twilight said. "But with the recent change of events, I'm going to get right on with training Purple the focus training, if that's okay with you?"

"It's fine Princess," said Sapphire, "you know what to do, so yeah you can do it."

Princess Twilight smiled, "Oh this is so exciting! I have another student to who I can teach something to! I haven't had one ever since Starlight! Let's go Purple!"

Sapphire covered her mouth to stifle a laugh as Princess Twilight picked Prince Purple Artist up in her magic and ran out the door. 





 







 




   
> Chapter Ten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aether along with the rest of the Guardians were angry about being put on house arrest because of Pinkie's actions putting everypony in danger by visiting every Guardian at every single gate. 

The anger that the Guardians had about this situation bled over into their training that was taking place more than once a week as Sapphire promised. 

Master Shi took note of this anger everypony was displaying and she told the Guardians that it would be best for them to go into the fighting ring and pretty much beat the crap out of each other. Not so much a fight to the death, just a fight to be fighting.

That was fine by Aether the most. It was mostly because Pinkie disrespected his friends by putting them in danger.

When Aether finally got a chance to fight Firewing in the ring, he was kind of happy about it. He wondered if Firewing felt the same way because of the rivalry they had going at the moment. But if this were an actual battle there's no way Aether would kill Firewing, unless it's a fight to the death. 

Master Shi stood in the middle of the fighting ring. Aether was on one side of it staring down Firewing, and Firewing was on the other side staring down Aether. 

"Alright you two!" Master Shi said. "I want a good clean fight! This isn't a fight to the death! I repeat, this is not a fight to the death! If I see the fight going that way, then I will intervene. Ready? Fight!"

The bell sounded, Aether and Firewing readied their battle stances. Aether smiled as he thought, I might be small and I might not be that strong but I make up for it with my speed and agility, and Firewing is about to find that out.  

Firewing went for the first strike to Aether’s face. Aether moved just slightly out of the way and used Firewings momentum to throw him.

Firewing stood up and grunted; Aether simply stood ready and watchful for the next move. Firewing then ran at Aether and made the mistake of aiming for Aether’s face and upper body again, but Aether moved too fast for Firewing, moving to the side and just enough behind him to sweep him to the ground again. 

In a moment’s time Firewing stood up and all that protected Aether next was his quick thinking.

Aether put up a barrier with his magic when he saw what Firewing was getting ready to do next. Firewing flew at least twenty feet up in the air.

BOOM!

A huge beam of orange light came form Firewing towards Aether. Aether’s shield managed to block Firewing's attack. 

"I thought Master Shi said this wasn't a fight to the death!" Aether growled.

"That wasn't a kill move, trust me, if it was, it would've cracked your pathetic shield you have up Smalls!" Firewing snapped.

Aether’s glance narrowed. 

Firewing charged towards Aether, but he was too fast. Aether moved out of the way, and headbutted Firewing. This dazed Firewing for a moment, but it seemed an adrenaline boost had taken over Firewing. 

Enraged, Firewing grabbed Aether’s tail and threw him into the ground!

THUD!

Aether’s defensive instincts kicked in. After being stunned for several moments it seemed, a magic surge had passed through Aether. He got up, and although Firewing could only see Aether’s back, what he didn’t see was Aether’s horn charging up as he started to stand, enough to make his eyes glow as well with fury and magic. 

He turned and pointed at Firewing, firing his magic. It came too fast and too unexpected for Firewing to dodge and it both shocked and threw Firewing several feet back and to the ground. 

Firewing landed on the ground with a thud loud enough to echo through the room, and slid several feet, Aether panicked when he saw this. Several moments passed with no response as the room went silent.

“Firewing?” Aether said, as more time passed with no response. “Oh no… Firewing!?!?” More time passed...

A gasp is heard throughout the room as Firewings eyes open and he is filled with rage. 

“You little shit!” Firewing said as he started to get up, Preparing to run at Aether full speed. 

Aether’s panic turned to relief and then surprise in an instant all at once when Firewing got back up.

Master Shi teleported into the fighting and a bright light stunned both Aether and Firewing. She growled. "I thought I said no fighting to the death! Aether, you almost killed Firewing! I advise that you hold back on your strength when fighting. I know you two have a rivalry going on but geez man, I don't need a dead Guardian while we're high alert! You two need to work things out and stop being so hostile towards each other. I suggest no more provoking each other so one will move in for the kill. Now since Aether made the finishing move, I'm declaring him the winner!"

As soon as Master Shi released Aether and Firewing, Aether was still getting past the shock. He sighed, walked up to Firewing, “never underestimate the small ones. We might just surprise you,” Aether then walked away. 

This comment made the other Guardians snicker that were watching the fight.  

"Alright you two, do a hoofshake to show good sportsmanship." Master Shi commanded. 

Aether turned back around, walking towards Firewing and they did as they were told. Master Shi nodded, "Good, the next fight is Thunder and Melody!"

Everypony that heard this gasped, Melody rolled her eyes, "Seriously everypony? I might be blind, but I can hold my own against a dragon!"

Master Shi nodded, "Yup, if I were you I'd sit back and watch the show!"


*	*	*


Just like Firewing and Aether's fight Master Shi stood in the middle of the fighting ring. Thunder stood on one side of the fighting ring and Melody stood on the other.

Melody thought, Ponies might think I'm helpless because I'm blind and I'm getting tired of that! Time for me to show them what I'm made of, without destroying the building of course.

"Okay," said Master Shi, "I want a good clean fight, I should remind you no fight to the death! I know everyponies is pissed off at what Pinkie did. But we need to be reminded that we are comrades. Got it?"

Melody and Thunder nodded to show they understood what Master Shi was saying. 

"Ready? Fight!" Master Shi said.

As soon as the bell sounded, Melody whistled two notes and searched deep inside of her to connect her music with her dark magic. No one knew that about Melody, she had some sort of dark magic that she could use at will and didn't have to read a spell in order to cast it. 

Melody stomped a hoof on the ground and readied her battle stance. "Don't go easy on me just because I'm blind, Thunder." She said in her usual flat monotone voice. 

Thunder nodded, "Alright then, as you wish."

Melody heard the cracking of the electricity from Thunder's claws. Actually you didn't have to see to hear that sound and feel it too.

WHOOSH!

Melody felt the first two electric strikes and barely managed to dodge them. Melody was able to cast her dark magic to stop time. She went up to Thunder and rearranged his fighting stance posing him as if he were a doll. She took both of his claws and crossed them. Then she took his tail and moved it in between his legs. Then she took Thunder's cloak and pulled it over his head. 

Since nopony was able to hear her at the moment because she had stopped time, she let out a small chuckle at how she had posed Thunders' body. Finally after she was done messing with Thunder, she released her spell. 

Thunder fell over once the spell was released and he struggled to get free of his cloak. 

Master Shi entered the fighting ring chuckling, "Well, we all know who won this round. Melody is the winner! Melody and Thunder do a hoof and, um, claw shake in Thunder's case to show good sportsmanship."

Melody and Thunder did as they were told. Thunder looked truly impressed by the way Melody won the fight. "Good job Melody! How on earth were you able to trip me up so much?"

"I'm not telling because it's in my bag tricks." Melody said flatly. 

Thunder chuckled, "It's okay. I understand."

When Melody walked past Aether they high-hoofed. 

"Good job Melody!" Aether cheered.

Melody nodded, she wanted to show she felt proud, but to her, showing emotion would have to wait until she got home.

"Alright then," said Master Shi, "the last fight for the day, Aether and Fancy Mark!"

Aether and Fancy Mark nodded and got into the fighting ring.


*	*	*


Just like the last two fights, Master Shi stood in the middle of the fighting ring. Fancy Mark was on one side of it and Aether was on the other side of it. 

Before the fight even started Aether didn't want to go at Fancy Mark like he did with Firewing. Not because Aether was good friends with Fancy Mark, but because Aether noticed that Fancy Mark's right hoof was twitching and he didn't know why. He wanted to tell Master Shi that he forfeited the fight, but he wasn't sure if he should do that just because Fancy wasn't feeling well. Or at least Aether thought he wasn't feeling well. 

"Alright," said Master Shi, "as I said in the last two fights, I want a good clean fight. This isn't a fight to the death. Ready? Fight!"

Aether hesitated but when Fancy charged at him, he stepped to the side to dodge him but in time Fancy managed to trip him. Aether was on the ground face first. Fancy yanked on Aether's tail to help him get to his hooves. 

"Are you going easy on me Aether?" Fancy asked.

Aether gave a nervous laugh and lied, "eheh what? Easy? Me? No way."

"Because you're not attacking me as strongly as you did with Firewing." Fancy snapped. 

"Alright then," said Aether, "you asked for it!"

Aether charged at Fancy and Fancy spun around and yanked on Aether's tail and pretty hard too. 

Aether let out a yelp of pain. "Agh!"

Fancy still had Aether's tail in his mouth as he tossed Aether into the nearby wall. 

BANG! THUD!

Aether fell to the ground. He wasn't knocked out so he got to his hooves and dusted himself off. Aether frowned when he saw Fancy's hoof twitch again. 

 I really don't want to hurt Fancy, I know this is supposed to be a fight and Fancy doesn't want me to go easy on him, but he doesn't look like he's feeling well. Maybe I should- Aether didn't get a chance to finish his thought when Fancy headbutted him in the chest. Aether stumbled backwards trying to catch his breath. 

Before Fancy could make his next move, Aether called out with a wheeze, "Master Shi! I forfeit! I forfeit this fight!"

Everypony in the room gasped at what Aether said. Master Shi teleported into the fighting ring and frowned, "State the reason why you forfeit Aether."

Aether swallowed, "I, um… I can't do it! I can't fight Fancy!"

Master Shi raised an eyebrow, "Why I think Fancy's more than capable of-"

Master Shi paused and looked at Fancy, she nodded at Aether because she saw Fancy's hoof twitch again. "I see… Alright then, the winner by default is Fancy! That ends the fights for today. Fancy, come with me, everypony else, do your usual two hundred laps around the track!" 

While everypony else groaned before Fancy could follow Master Shi to the medical area, Master Shi turned to Aether, "Aether, please come with me also."

Aether nodded, "Yes Master Shi."


*	*	*


Once Master Shi, Fancy and Aether made their way to the medical area, one of the doctors there made Fancy sit on one of the beds. 

Fancy glared at Aether and Master Shi, "Do you guys care to tell me why I'm at the medical area, I'm fine! I feel fine! I don't need to be here!"

Aether and Master Shi exchanged a look when Fancy's hoof twitched again.

"Um, are you sure about that Fancy?" Aether asked. "Your hoof's twitching and it doesn't look like you're feeling well." He sighed. "That's why I forfeited the match. I can't fight my friends when they're not at their best."

Fancy's ears perked up and his eyes went wide, "My hoof's twitching again? I… I didn't notice. Why didn't you say anything before the match started?"

"I wasn't sure about what I saw, then after the match started I confirmed it." Aether answered. 

Fancy sighed and looked away, "I see. So you were going easy on me!" He smiled. "I guess I can't be mad at you for throwing the match then. It's because you were looking out for my welfare. That's just like you to do that Aether. I guess I should thank you for going easy on me then."

"It's fine," said Aether, "I just don't like putting my friends in danger if I can help it."

"Okay what seems to be the problem here?" Aether and Fancy jumped at the sound of the Doctor's voice. They looked over to see a young stallion, a unicorn with yellow fur and a blue mane and tail. His cutie mark was that of a serpent coiled around a staff. 

"Oh, uh Dr. Snake," said Master Shi, "um, well let's just say for some reason Fancy Mark over here, uh… His right hoof is twitching."

Aether covered his mouth with a hoof trying not to laugh at the Doctor's name. It was funny to him. He didn't know why it was funny to him. It was just plain funny.

Dr. Snake looked at Fancy and nodded when he saw Fancy's hoof twitch again. "I see. Sometimes this happens when there's a case of extreme stress, emotionally not so much physically. I can give him a potion that will help calm that down. It won't make him sleepy or anything like that. If anything it'll help him focus more and be on his game when it comes down to doing his job of being a Guardian. 

"I hope this doesn't start happening to any of the other Guardians that would be bad. It wouldn't surprise me if it did happen with the stress of being a Guardian in general." 

"Are there any symptoms I should look out for to see if any of the other Guardians have it?" Master Shi asked. 

Dr. Snake frowned and shook his head, "Unfortunately no, this is what's called Involuntary Stress Twitching. It happens under extreme stress on the mind. Sometimes it can be triggered by a traumatizing event. I'm not a therapist so I'm not going to ask any questions about that. I'm just going by what I see and what I know what to do from there. So with that being said, I'll go get the potion which is to be drunk with a cup of tea. One cup of tea in the morning and one cup of tea at night for two weeks. After that, this condition should be under control."

Fancy nodded. "Thanks Doctor."

Dr. Snake smiled, "Oh it's not a problem at all. This is why I love doing my job. I get to help ponies in need. I especially like helping out a Guardian, they're the most important ponies and this time dragon around that keep Equestria safe. Now I'll go get that potion and it'll fix you right up!"

After Fancy was done being looked at Aether felt much better about helping his friend. He was definitely glad that he forfeited the match before his friend got hurt. He also felt better knowing that Fancy would be in good hooves when he got home. That's because the pony taking care of Fancy takes things seriously when it comes down to Fancy's health. 

Once Fancy was taken care of, they parted ways and went back to their Gates. 
> Chapter Eleven
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All of the Guardians were confused and wary about why they were called into Sapphire's office again. This time, Sapphire seemed calm and happy.

"Um, sorry Sapphire if I'm speaking out of term," said Aether, "but why are we here this time? Are we in trouble?"

Sapphire shook her head, "No you're not in trouble, if you were I would be acting like I'm pissed off. But no, I have somepony that wants to talk to you about something very important."

"What is it?" Melody asked.

Sapphire went to the door and when she opened an old pegasus pony entered. He had white fur, a grey mane and tail cutie mark was one silver star with six gold stars surrounding it similar to Princess Twilight's cutie mark. Sapphire, lead the older pony to a nearby chair. 

"Why thank you kindly Sapphire," the older pony with a little bit of shake to his voice. He smiled when he saw Melody whistle a couple of short tunes, "Ah yes, Melody is it? From what I hear, you are fully blind am I right?"

Melody nodded, "Yes sir, when I sing it gives me the ability to see. But it's not for very long. I can't sing all the time so I still need somepony to be my eyes."

The older pony nodded, "I completely understand child. But I should start by telling you my name. My name is Maverick and I used to be a Guardian for the West Gate. I recently handed control of it down to the young lad standing in this room named Fancy Mark. No I wasn't alive when Sapphire got the job of Head Guardian, you want to know why?"

Every Guardian in the room nodded. 

"Because I wasn't alive around that time," said Maverick, "Sapphire is over a thousand years old!"

While everyone else gasped. Sapphire smiled and nodded, "It's true I was picked to be Head Guardian right when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna started ruling over Equestria."

"From what I heard about you Sapphire," said Maverick, "when you were a filly you ran and played with the other children just like a normal filly would. You even got picked on for being a blank flank by the kids in school. You got your cutie mark with the very first red rose you ever grew. In that red rose was a small sapphire gem. The funny thing is that the last pony that gets their cutie mark in their class, doesn't really turn out to be anything special. Everpony was wrong on that one, so very wrong!"

Maverick paused and then he chuckled, "In any case, Sapphire became the Guardian for the Center Gate at that time and she managed to persuade the other Guardians to not go to war to take back control of the Gates from Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The Guardians at that time were out for blood. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's blood to be precise. That's because the Guardians really looked up to the ruler of the land before the Princesses came into power. The ruler back then was actually a stallion by the name of Prince Zoe."

"A stallion ruled over Equestria once?" Melody asked. The fact that a stallion used to rule over Equestria fascinated Melody. She couldn't speak for anypony else but she really wanted to hear about this pony named Prince Zoe. 

"Oh yes," said Maverick, "but the land wasn't called Equestria back then. The land had another name. The Founders renamed the land after they got over their bickering and they thought they stopped the Wendigos. To those of the Guardian Community, the Founders were the stupidest ponies ever. Their stupid little holiday called Hearth's Warming Eve, was based an a big fat lie!"

Everyone except Sapphire and Aether gasped at this information. 

"Yes I know," said Maverick, "at that time the Founders actually had a war with the Guardians they won and the Guardians had to hand over control of the Gates to them. Not to mention Prince Zoe had to step down from the throne and hand it over to the Founders. The Guardians' anger towards the Founders grew over time and they wanted another war to take back control of the Gates. But then Sapphire saw this and stepped in to reason with Guardian's and that stopped another war from happening."

Melody was listening so intently that she almost fell over. "So what happened next?"

"Well the war didn't happen," said Maverick, "Sapphire got picked to be the Head Guardian and another Guardian took her place at the Center Gate. Now the reason why I tell you this tale is for one very important reason. The reason is, I'm Phantasia's father."  

Hearing that Maverick was Phantasia's father Melody fell flat on her face in shock. Aether came over and helped her up. 

"Thanks Aether." Melody said.

"No problem." Aether replied. 

Maverick sighed, "I owe a big apology to all of you in this room today. Especially to Sapphire. I'm the one that told Phantasia about the Gates. I told him about the Gates when he was still a clot without his cutie mark. I stressed to him the importance of respecting the Gates and those that guard them. I also told him not to be angry if he didn't get picked to be a Guardian because not everyponies' magic is compatible with the Gates."

"I remember Phantasia asking me why only Princesses can rule over Equestria and I told him that's just the way the Founders set the rules when they founded Equestria. I remember him telling me how stupid that was and one day the rules should be changed. A pony should be able to rule over Equestria despite their gender. I told him that he would not get the rules changed unless he took Equestria for himself. That was a big mistake on my part. I should've never put that idea in his head." 

"It seemed that when I told him about taking Equestria for himself, he let that idea stay with him while he was growing up. I bet Phantasia really thinks he's a hero by starting a revolt trying to take control of the Gates for himself. He doesn't realize how much of an idiot he's being. I also bet that he thinks if he takes control of the Gates I won't be able to kick out the family and I'll have no choice but to respect him and keep honoring him. Like that's going to happen! Phantasia should know that he can't force ponies to respect him. If he does it won't be sincere. To me, fake respect is the worst type of respect you can ever get."

Sapphire nodded. "I agree, Elder Maverick. You don't have to apologize for the actions of another. If anypony should apologize for their actions, it's Phantasia."

Maverick nodded in agreement, "I hope this little bit of information helps you better understand why Phantasia is doing what he is doing. If he does decide to try and take control of Gates for himself, please do your best to fight and fight him hard! Do not let him take Equestria! I don't want this land to be renamed again. That will be just as bad as what King Sombra did to the Crystal Empire. I'm so glad that Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor were able to take the Crystal Empire back from King Sombra. Well I should be going now."

Wow I love this type of history! I can't believe Elder Maverick is Phantasia's father. Melody thought. Elder Maverick seems so kind and caring, Phanastia's just a big jerk! 

After Elder Maverick left, Sapphire closed the door and smiled. "Well now, there you have it. Now that we know what Phantasia's true intentions are, I say if we can find a way to change his mindset about Equestria. I understand him thinking that it's not fair that only Princesses can rule over Equestria but that's the way things are. Just because you think something's unfair is not much of an excuse to start a war and drive everypony out of the land because of it. The Founders drove every pony out because they were selfish and greedy. But as Elder Maverick said, I persuaded the Guardians to not have another war with Equestria. You want to know what Equestria was named before the Founders took over?"

"What was it named?" Melody asked.

"The Nintis Empire." Sapphire answered.

"Whoa!" Everypony said. 

"Yeah I know right?" Sapphire said. "You guys are free to go now. You'll be summoned for your training tomorrow."

As everypony began to leave, Melody stayed behind.

Sapphire tilted her head, "Yes, Melody? What is it?"

"How did the Gates get established in the first place?" Melody asked.

"You know something Melody?" Sapphire answered. "I don't know. Honestly, I think that's a closely guarded secret. I don't know who knows that and if I did, I doubt they would tell me the answer."

"Oh." Melody said.

"Was there anything else you wanted from me?" Sapphire asked.

Melody shook her head, "Nope that was it."


*	*	*


Melody sighed as she continued to work the song she just wrote to describe her feelings about the recent events that had taken place. 

You've never once given up
Not even when I've pulled away
But now I'm here and it's almost done
So just this once
Just this once
You've never once given up
Even from that very first day
Edges rough, but it was always love
So just this once
Stay
Stay, stay, stay, stay
You turn to me, it's finally over
You can keep your promise after all
We're going home after all this time
Shocked that we both made it out alive
Now we get to tell a story
That didn't just end with a hero's sacrifice
It goes just this once I'll choose what I want
And just this once I'll do the right thing
And just this once I'll choose to save her
And just this once I'll sacrifice
Just this once I'll make my own choice
And just this once I'll be the good guy

After she finished tweaking the first verse and the chorus she put the song down when she heard Apple Bloom's voice call out to her, "Uh, Melody! I'm here! I brought the books you wanted! Can you believe The Gates of Equestria book was found in the fiction novels section at the library?"

Melody opened the door to her house and let Apple Bloom in. Boy I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be happy that Apple Bloom did a welfare check on me! 

Apple Bloom smiled when she walked into the house. "Wow Melody! You've been doing some decorating or something? Are you that bored because of being on house arrest because of what Pinkie Pie did?"

Melody paused. "Huh?"

Melody didn't she was decorating or anything like that. She had just been placing different notes of her sheet music around the house. 

Apple Bloom whistled, "I take that back, it just looks like you've been working really hard on a lot of different songs lately. I remember you doing that every time something was bugging ya. Obviously this situation about being on high alert and on house arrest is getting on your nerves huh?"  

Melody shrugged, "I guess so. But I don't remember leaving sheet music around the house when I was upset about something."

Apple Bloom nodded. "Oh yeah, that was another tell-tale sign that you were upset about something. The other tell-tale sign that you were upset was pretty obvious, your eye twitching and you screaming at Applejack about it. I wonder if she realized what being a mother was all about before she adopted you? Honestly, every time you argued with her it broke her heart. Applejack didn't like it when you got upset with her. Mostly because she couldn't figure out how to talk to you like I could and still can." 

"Oh, I see." Melody said. 

"Oh and yes I got the books in braille because you can't read a book the normal way because you're blind and all." Apple Bloom said.

"Well duh," said Melody sarcastically, "thank you captain obvious!" 

Apple Bloom chuckled, "Sorry I just have a habit of pointing things out like that. So exactly what did you want those books for?"

"Well I asked Sapphire about how the Gates got established in the first place," responded Melody, "but she didn't seem to have an answer for me because she didn't even have the answer herself. It's almost like whoever or whatever established the Gates intended to keep everything a secret. I would try and use my magic to examine the Gates myself but that might be breaking the rules as far as being a Guardian goes. The last thing I want is to do something stupid like what Pinkie Pie did and put everypony in danger!"

"Yeah that makes sense," said Apple Bloom, "I know how you are, just like you don't like to show emotion around ponies, you would never put your friends in danger."

Apple Bloom set her saddle bags on the ground and handed them over to Melody. Melody immediately began to search through every book until she found the one book she was the most curious about. The Gates of Equestria.

She put the book on the table and flipped it open to the first chapter. The first chapter was titled: Before Equestria was founded.

"Hmm," said Melody, "the title of this chapter is very interesting. I mean who would be able to keep track of everything and I wonder if Sapphire knows about this book if anypony can find it if they know what they're looking for?" 

Apple Bloom shrugged, "I have no idea."


 *	*	*


The Gates of Equestria by: the Unknown Scribe 

Chapter 1: Before Equestria was founded.

A long time ago and no one can say how long Equestria was founded. The land that became Equestria was actually an Empire called The Nintis Empire. There was peace and prosperity all around. 

The ponies that lived in the Empire played and enjoyed the sun in the daytime. The ponies slept when the moon was out at night time. Everyone was protected by the Gates and those that guarded them. At that time, there was no need for a pony to raise the sun and there was no need for a pony to control the moon. The sun and the moon moved on their own and didn't need to be controlled by anypony. 

But on one fateful day, three arrogant ponies that would become the Founders of Equestria summoned the hardest unstable magic to control called the Wendigos to come out of the unstable demission because of their bickering. 

It was very hard for the Guardians to get the Wendigos under control again. When the Wendigos were tamed the Guardians waited for the Founders to come out of the cave they trapped themselves in. When the Founders did come out of the cave, Guardians sternly told them that they were not welcome in the land that became Equestria. The Founders declared war on The Nintis Empire and unfortunately they won and the ruler of the Empire, a stallion named Prince Zoe, had to step down from the throne and hand control of the Gates over to the Founders of Equestria. 

The Founders of Equestria then proceeded to drive every single pony out of The Nintis Empire and founded Equestria.

Even though this is a really short chapter on the history of The Gates of Equestria, I hope that whoever is reading this book keeps reading if they want to find out more about the Gates and their history. 
> Chapter Twelve
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A blast from the past…

Prince Zoe sat on his throne listening to his subjects' complaints on important matters. He wasn't aware of the snowstorm that was outside due to the Windigos. A young adult pony burst into the throne room in a state of panic. By the looks of it he was a unicorn stallion with a white coat like snow and a short blue mane. Prince Zoe grabbed his scepter and held it out signaling that it was okay for the uninvited guest to stand up and speak. 

Prince Zoe nodded. "Yes, I'm listening."

"Your highness," the unicorn said, "the Windigos are back!"

While everypony in the room gasped, Prince Zoe's jaw dropped so low to the ground he could taste it. Windigos? Aren't they supposed to be kept in the unstable magic dimission by the Guardians? 

"Okay then," said Prince Zoe as calmly as he could muster the composure to be, "contact Head Guardian Flawless Victory and tell him to come to the throne room as quickly as possible!"

The unicorn tilted his head. "Head Guardian Flawless Victory? Who is that, a-and where do I find him?" the unicorn said while still working on catching his breath.

Prince Zoe shook his head and lit up his horn. He pulled out a scroll out of thin air and started to scribble a message to summon the Guardian's to deal with the Windigos. When he finished his message he floated it over to the young unicorn. "Listen it doesn't matter who Head Gaudain Flawless Victory is. Where you can find him however, is of importance. You can find him in the watchtowers where the observatory is. Now go! You must hurry before things get worse!"

The young unicorn grabbed Prince Zoe's scroll in his magic and ran off as fast as he could.


*	*	*


Head Guardian Flawless Victory was gearing up to go out and meet the other Guardians to deal with the Windigos when he heard a knock on the door. As soon as he opened the door he saw a young unicorn with a frantic look on his face and a scroll in his magic that had the ruler of Nintis Empire's seal on it. Head Guardian Flawless Victory knew that if Prince Zoe was sending him a message it was of great importance. The young unicorn floated the message over to him in his magic. 

Head Guardian Flawless Victory took the message in his mouth and dismissed the young unicorn. He took the scroll over to his desk and proceeded to open it. He was shocked when he read the message. He had to read it at least three times before he made sure it was real.

The note read as follows:

Head Guardian Flawless Victory,

It seems that the Windigos have broken free from the unstable magic dimission. I have a feeling that if we find out the source, the reason behind them breaking out, then we can send them back to the unstable magic dimission without many problems. Remember when the Windigos even came about? It was because of ponies in this nation arguing about stupid stuff like who gets what farm land and stuff like that. 

I have a feeling that the Windigos breaking out of the unstable magic dimission might be due to ponies arguing about something. What it is I don't know just know to take care of it as soon as possible. Also, when the Windigo came about a war broke out and if that were to happen then we need to be prepared. 

Now time is of the essence! Gather the North Gate Guardian, the South Gate Guardian, the West Gate Guardian, the East Gate Guardian and the Center Gate Guardian, make all of you meet up with me at the Center Gate Portal. From there we should be able to pinpoint where the disturbance is so we can get the Windigos under control as soon as possible before this land becomes a wasteland where no pony can live!  

I'll be seeing you soon.

Sincerely,
Prince Zoe the ruler of Nintis Empire

Head Guardian Flawless Victory nodded after he read the note for the third time. He put the scroll in a drawer underneath his desk and walked out of the room. He knew that the fate of the Nintis Empire rested in his hooves.


*	*	*


Back to the present...

"The Windigos! Are you guys nuts? You're suggesting that we use the Windigos against Phantasia?" Sapphire said with a shocked expression on her face. "Please tell me you're joking Elder Firefly!" 

"I'm afraid not young lady." Elder Firefly said after he shook his head. He chuckled. "Although I shouldn't really call you young because you're a lot older than all of us combined. Anyway, that is a possible avenue. Should Phantasia declare war, hopefully, using the Windigos against him will give us that advantage."

"But do you realize how dangerous that is?" Sapphire asked. "If we lose control of the Windigos then they can turn Equestria into a wasteland!"

Elder Dazzleflash nodded. She spoke, "Yes my dear Sapphire we know this! But if we start training the Guardians, especially that Dragon we have guarding the Center Gate, we should have no problem driving Phantasia and his army away."

"Not to mention," said Elder Facade, "we also have the elements of harmony on our side as well!"

"But, but, shouldn't the fact that the elements of harmony working alongside the Guardians be enough to defeat Phantasia's army?" Sapphire said desperately trying to reason with the three Elders to keep them from pushing her to make this dangerous choice. 

Elder Dazzleflash spoke, "Maybe and maybe not, but we need to do everything in our power to prepare in case there is a war. We've stepped up the Guardians training sessions and we're not quite sure if endurance and strength will be enough."

"In any case," said Elder Firefly, "you don't have a choice in the matter, you know how things go around here. We've made up our minds just wanted to inform you what will be happening soon. You will inform Master Shi that the Guardians will start training with their magic on how to use the power of the Windigos and that's that."

Sapphire opened her mouth to protest this once more but she closed it. She knew that if the Elder's made a choice they were informing her of that choice then it was out of her hooves. She looked down when she saw her cutie mark glowing. She sighed. "Yes Elder's I understand. I will inform Master Shi on what will start happening."

"Good." Elder Dazzleflash said. "Now we shall be off. We'll be seeing you if Phantasia does declare war."

"Yes Elders." Sapphire said. Then she tried so hard not to roll her eyes when all three Elders came up to her and patted her on the head as if they were her loving parents. Once they left, she had no idea what to think. She sat on the floor in front of her desk on her haunches trying to make sense of everything. 

Those three Elders are nuts! They're just as nuts as Fancy Mark is when he talks to a mirror! I mean seriously? Windigos? Use the Windigos? I must be dream- Sapphire didn't get a chance to finish her thought she heard another knock on the door. She hesitated at first because she didn't want to see the Elder's again so soon after they just left. She brought herself to open the door and standing there was Melody. 

"Oh uh Melody," said Sapphire, "sorry, forgot about your visit today. Please come in and sit down."

Melody whistled a few short tunes and nodded as she sat down on a chair that was in front of Sapphire's desk. Sapphire took her seat behind her desk. 

Melody frowned. "Is something bothering you?" 

Sapphire nodded. "Yes there is but I can't talk about it because it's sensitive information."

Melody nodded. "Oh. Okay then."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Uh, well I found this book called The Gates of Equestria."

"Oh you mean that stupid history book by the Unkown Scribe?"

"Yeah that one. So you know about it? But why did you tell me that you didn't know when the Gates were set up?"

"Because I really don't know. And even if I did I wouldn't tell you because it would be considered sensitive information. I can't tell ponies information that they don't need to know. Do you know why that is?"

"I guess it's just like when Pinkie decided to visit all the Guardians at every Gate putting every ponies in danger. If the information about the Gates falls into the wrong hooves then that can put everypony in danger as well."

"Exactly! The Gates of Equestria history book is just that. It's a book about the history of what happened after the Gates were set up. It's not much to go by but that's why the writer is called the Unknown Scribe."

"Yeah it was only ten chapters long, so I guess that makes sense? The first chapter was so short I guess you could call that an introduction chapter?"

"I know, I read that book before I became the Guardian of the Center Gate. I read it out of excitement for when I got picked to be a Guardian and when I was preparing for The Guardian Appointment Ceremony. Trust me, I had no idea what it meant to be a Guardian until I took on the responsibility of one. I'm sure you and the other Guardian's have learned that?"

"Yes I have. I can't speak for the others though. Especially Thunder he seems to keep to himself sometimes like Fancy Mark does. Speaking of Fancy Mark I've seen something weird about him; it only seems to happen when he walks past a mirror."

"Let me guess, he talks to the mirror doesn't he?"

"Yup and a voice talks back. I feel something dark and evil when I hear the voice but I can't place my hoof on what it is."

"I see… Well I can't really talk to his therapist because of the patient and doctor privacy thing. Which makes sense because a patient should be able to talk to their therapist about anything to help with their issues."

"Makes sense. So do you want me to keep an eye on Fancy Mark? You know, just when the Guardians are doing training and stuff like that because we're on house arrest."

"Alright then, was that all you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes that was it."

"Good, can you do me a favor?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Could you summon Master Shi for me? I need to tell her something very important about what's going to be happening with you and the other Guardians training soon."

Melody nodded. "Sure I can do that."

"Thanks."

Melody got up from her seat and left the room. Once Melody left Sapphire sighed. I can't believe the three Elders would want to use the Windigos against Phantasia! They're nuts! But I don't have a choice in the matter now do I? This sucks so bad.


*	*	*


The next time at training as promised Master Shi summoned the Guardians to the unstable magic dimission to start training with trying to control the Windigos just in case there was a war with Phantasia. 

As soon as everypony entered the unstable magic dimision all of the Guardians looked at the Windigos galloping around one in front of the other leaving a cloud of snow and ice in their wake. 

"What is this place?" Aether asked as he looked up at the Windigos.

"This place is called the Unstable Magic Dimission," answered Master Shi, "this place is where all of the unstable magic is kept. This place is what keeps Equestria safe from harm so as not to turn the land into a wasteland."

"Woa!" Everypony said. 

Master Shi turned her attention to the Guardians and smiled. "Yes I know this place is awesome. However, you know the old saying that goes, 'with great power comes great responsibility?"

The Guardians nodded.

"Well you all have been given the greatest responsibility of keeping Equestria safe," said Master Shi, "and now you must learn just that. You must the fullest extent on what it really means to be a Guardian. Learning how to control unstable magic is part of it."

Master Shi went over the far left corner and gripped in her magic five ropes. They didn't look like normal ropes. They looked more like beams of light that had been fashioned into ropes. She floated over one rope to each of the five Guardians. She even took out a rope for herself. She took her rope and unfolded it. She threw it at one of the Windigos and it lassoed around it's neck. The Windigo that she grabbed let out a shriek of surprise that sounded like a howling wind of a snowstorm. 

As she held the rope in her magic tightly she said, "Na, Na! Na, Na! Na, Na!"

After the third time she said, 'Na, Na' the Windigo that she had in her rope calmed down and stood in front her like it were a normal horse. But even with the Windigo standing still one could still feel the chill of the winterstorm that radiated from it. She smiled and the first Guardian that she looked to was Aether. "Aether, you take the first try."

Aether looked puzzled. "Right now? Don't you want somepony like Firewing to go first?"

"Well you're the smallest Guardian here and I say you show the rest of the Guardians that big things can come in small packages!" Master Shi said with a smile.

Aether smiled at what Master Shi said.

Master Shi floated over to Aether with her rope. Aether exchanged his rope for hers. He looked at her. "Okay so.. what do I do to control this Windigo?"

"First you use this rope to connect your magic with it." Master Shi answered. "Once you do that, you should be able to direct it with three simple phrases, 'go' that phrase is very self-explanatory, 'Na-Na' which means halt or stop if you prefer, and the phrase isn't really much of a phrase because it's only one letter. It's the letter 'C' as in cat but it needs to be bellowed out as if you're shouting as loud as you can. No you don't have to know how to sing in order to do it." She took a deep breath and shouted, "CCCCCCCCCC!"

Aether blinked. "Okay. What does that mean?"

"It means charge." Master Shi said after clearing her throat. 

Firewing snortd. "C? For the charge? Can't you just say the words charge instead? And the words 'Na, Na' for stop and halt? Why not say the words stop or halt instead?"

"Firewing," said Fancy Mark, "there's no need to be rude when it comes down to how things are done with the Windigos. My Dad used to say, 'don't do things if you're not going to do them how they're supposed to be done!"

Aether's eyes widened when he heard Fancy Mark scolding Firewing. Wow, what.. Just happened? He hasn't been as standoffish as he normally is.. Now he's standing up to Firewing? Somethings gotta be going on with Fancy, this isn’t like him.

"Wow," said Firewing, "Fancy you're actually saying more short sentences to me? Who are you and what have you done with Fancy? Did you replace yourself with-"

"Firewing!" Master Shi roared. "How many times do I have to discipline you for your disrespectful remarks? When are you going to learn how to hold your tongue? If you can't respect your teammates then maybe you shouldn't be a Guardian and I should ask Head Guardian Sapphire to replace you with somepony from the reserve team?"

"But Master Shi!" Firewing whined. 

"You will learn how to do things the right way," said Master Shi, "and I don't care if you think how things are done is stupid or not. Got it?"

Firewing hung his head. "Yes Master Shi."

"Okay now for that last phrase that I said the letter 'C'," said Master Shi, "I want all of you to practice with me." she took a deep breath and shouted, "CCCCCCCCCC!"

All of the Guardians took a deep breath and copied Master Shi. "CCCCCCCCCC!"

"Oh and remember when you shout the letter 'C' count ten seconds before you stop. So make sure you take a really deep breath before you shout." Master Shi said.

Everypony nodded. 

Master Shi turned to Aether. "Alright, use your magic and your focus training that you've been learning, connect to the Windigo. You'll know you've connected with it once the Windigo has bowed to you. It's a sign of trust and respect and when the Windigo bows to you, you bow back to show it the same respect. Got it?"

Aether nodded and then lit up his horn. He was startled when he heard a strange voice in his head say, Yes Master Aether I accept you….

He looked up at Windigo and almost dropped his rope in shock when he saw the standing in front of him bowing to him. He smiled and said, "Yes companion Windigo I accept you!" 

After Aether bowed to his Windigo Master Shi clapped her hooves excitedly. "Wonderful Aether! You did that in no time at all! That's amazing!"

"Thanks," said Aether, "but.. why is getting a Windigo to bow to you amazing Master Shi? Is it not so easy for others?"

"It's amazing because sometimes it takes a Guardian weeks to get a Windigo to bow to them! You broke a record! You got it to bow to you within five minutes!" Master Shi cheered. She turned to Firewing and smirked. "I wonder, Firewing, why don't you go next? Grab your rope lasso the Windigo and get it to bow to you."

Aether watched Firewing with curiosity as he took his rope. Aether looked and smiled when he saw his Windigo watching Firewing with curiosity as well. Aether tried to hold in his laughter and hold back his teasing as Firewing tried several times just even lasso a Windigo. On top of that, the other Windigo's seemed like they were taunting Firewing with each failed attempt to lasso one of them. That's because the Windigo's started to gallop even faster in their circle and it looked like they were trying to make a tornado out of snow. The winds from the tornado the Windigos created hail that started to go toward the Guardians as Firewing tried once to lasso one of them.

What surprised Aether the most was that his Windigo jumped right in front of him shielding him and everyone except Firewing from the hailstorm the other Windigos created. After a while Master Shi grabbed Firewing's rope and that stopped the hailstorm. "Okay then, Firewing, I think that's enough for you today."

"But Master Shi!" Firewing said. "Can I keep going? I'll get it! I just know I will!"

Master Shi hesitated but then she said. "Okay a couple more tries." she turned to the rest of the Guardians. "Everypony take your rope and try to lasso a Windigo!"

The rest of the Guardians grabbed their ropes. After a moment or two the other pony that had lassoed a Windigo and got it to bow to her was Melody. Aether whistled at her when he saw that. "Nice one Melody!"

He went up to her and gave her a hoof bump. She smiled at him. "Yeah it was a little bit hard at first but I got him to listen to reason."

Aether snorted. "Yeah you go girl! I knew you had that in the bag."

Master Shi after another moment blew her whistle. "Alright that's enough Windigo training for the day! Hand me your ropes and we'll try again the next training session. Aether and Melody, you two and your Windigo's follow me."

"Yes Master Shi!" Aether and Melody said.


*	*	*


Aether and Melody followed Master Shi to a strange looking area. It looked kind of like a barn but with a magical barrier that surrounded the stalls. Master Shi came to a halt in front of two stalls and lit up her horn. After a moment or two the magical barriers lifted and the doors opened. 

Master Shi turned to Aether and Melody and smiled. "Alright you two, bow to your Windigos and say goodnight!"

Aether bowed to his Windigo after he led it into its stall. The Windigo bowed back and Aether's smile turned into a grin when he heard his Windigo's voice inside his head. Goodnight Master Aether! I can't wait to see you again. 

Aether nodded and thought, Yes I will come for you as I'm allowed to.

I know that Master Aether. Oh and one more thing. The Windigo thought.

What is it? Aether thought.

Can you please think of a name for me? The Windigo thought. I'm tired of not being referred to by a name even when somepony is talking to me.

I can do that. Aether thought.

Melody looked over at Aether after they had put their Windigo's to bed for the night. 

"Did your Windigo talk to you by thought too?" Melody asked.

Aether nodded. "Yes she did. Or at least I think mine's a she? I don't know. I didn't ask what it prefered to be called.. gender wise I suppose."

"I asked mine and my Windigo is a she." Melody said. "My Windigo also wants me to come up with a name for it. Did yours say the same thing?"

Aether nodded again. "Yup, I'll guess I'll have to start thinking of one." he turned to Master Shi. "Master Shi? Is there a way I can see my Windigo outside of training?"

Master Shi tapped her chin with a hoof. "Hmm, I'll think about it. I've never heard of a Guardian asking to become one with unstable magic before. But if you can get complete control over your Windigo I'll ask Head Guardian Sapphire about it. Well we're done with training today."

Aether blinked. It surprised him that Master Shi hadn't made him and Melody run 200 laps around the track yet. "We're done for training? But we haven't-"

Master Shi put a hoof up to stop him from saying anything else. "Yes I know Aether, Head Guardian Sapphire has requested that the 200 laps around the track be dropped in training so that you can focus most of your energy on controlling your Windigos? Sometimes it takes weeks for a Guardian to get their Windigo to bow to them! And you saw Firewing's pathetic attempt to lasso a Windigo, even that's hard to do! However I do find it funny that the blind mare and the smallest stallion were the ones that broke the record in getting a Windigo to bow to them!"

Aether chuckled. "Too bad Applejack couldn't be here to see that. That would give her more than enough information to stop her from doing welfare checks all the time on Melody!"

Melody nodded. "Yeah I agree."

"Alright you two," said Master Shi, "run along now. It's time for you to go back to your Gates."

Aether and Melody nodded. "Yes Master Shi."

As Aether returned home to his Gate he couldn't stop thinking about what to name his Windigo. 


*	*	*


Back to the past. Before Prince Zoe started ruling over the Nintis Empire...

Prince Zoe and his mother Queen Bravery were walking the castle talking about the past and what might happen in the future for the Nintis Empire. 

"Remember my Prince," said Queen Bravery, "when the changelings used to inhabit this land?"

Prince Zoe nodded. "Yes I do remember. This place was a wasteland! Now that we've chased them out and their hive is gone this place is thriving. I have one question though."

Queen Bravery paused in her stride and turned to look at him. "What might that be?"

"Where is the changeling hive now?" Prince Zoe asked.

Queen Bravery shrugged. "I have no idea. Your father never told me what happened to them. Honestly, I could care less! Those bugs are horrible and awful and they didn't do anything but take things for themselves and never shared because they did whatever their Queen ordered them to."

"But isn't that what subjects do now?" Prince Zoe said. "They follow orders and they get disciplined if they don't?"

"Not exactly," said Queen Bravery, "our subjects only get punished if they break the laws of the kingdom. If they don't want to follow a direct order then that's up to them. We don't punish them for that or at least I don't. I don't know about your father though. However, I think when it comes for us to step down from the throne and hand it over to you, I think you'll make a fine ruler! And I also think that your subjects will love and adore you. The Guardians that keep control of the gates now will also adore you."

"Yeah but being popular shouldn't be everything!" Prince Zoe protested. 

Queen Bravery patted Prince Zoe on the head and then rubbed it ferociously in a playful manner. "Of course being popular isn't everything when it comes down to being a ruler silly!"

"Of course duh!" They heard a voice say.  

Prince Zoe's smile quickly turned into a frown when turned around and saw his dad King Star staring at him with a stern look on his face. 

"Having another cute discussion with your mother again son?" King Star growled.

Prince Zoe tried so hard to keep himself from rolling his eyes when he replied. "I'm not cute."

King Star raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh sure you're not cute! Now when you start acting like a stallion then I might just upgrade the cute phrase to handsome. Listen son, being popular is only one part of ruling over a kingdom. True there are laws in this land that subjects must abide by. If they don't they get punished. You need to keep ponies from ever thinking of rising up against you. 

"The changelings took and didn't share. We take but we share, we give our subjects and trade with other lands to create an alliance. In doing so our subjects give us a debt of gratitude in return. They are thankful that we give to them and don't just bark orders all the time. 

"If and when you take the throne, you will have an army. You lead and you must make sure they follow. If they don't follow your orders, discipline them and in case you're wondering what happened to the changelings…" He looked away and then hung his head. "They're dead!"

"What?" Prince Zoe gasped. "Why?"

"They were our enemies my Prince," said King Star, "when you capture your enemies during a time of war you have one of two options."

"Okay." Prince Zoe said. "What are they?"

"You either kill them or you lock them in a dungeon and make sure they don't have a way to ever rise up against you." King Star said. "When I killed the changelings, I had to make sure that they could not come back to destroy us. I tried to reason with them but they refused to listen to me and my kingdom."

Prince Zoe hung his head and ears dropped upon hearing what his father did to the changelings. He knew that the changelings were bad news but to kill them just so they can't rise up against the kingdom? To Prince Zoe killing his enemies was going way too far for him. He knew that there was no way that when he started ruling he would ever kill his enemies. He'd rather lock them in a dungeon. 

"Anyway," said King Star, "have you thought of any names for your foal that you're having?"

Prince Zoe smiled. "Well uh yes! We have!"

"Well what is it?" King Star asked. "Hopefully something authoritative?"

Prince Zoe gave a nervous laugh because he wasn't sure if his dad was going like the name he picked out for his daughter.

"Well," said King Star, "tell me. What is it?"

"Um… Well… We've picked out the name Sapphire." Prince Zoe answered. 

"Hmm," said King Star, "I like it! She'll be a wonderful granddaughter! That is, as long as she doesn't have a soft personality like you do." He teased.  

"Hey," Prince Zoe pouted, "I'm not soft!"

"Uh-huh," King Star kept up with his teasing, "sure you're not! As I said before, when you start acting like a stallion then you'll be respected as one!"

Prince Zoe gave a nervous laugh. "We also came up with another part of her name."

King Star leaned towards his son, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? You know that the other part of her name will be Shay which is the last name of the royal family right?" 

Prince Zoe nodded. "Yes, I know that. But the other part of her name that we picked out will most definitely be her middle name, honest it will!"

"Okay then," said King Star, "so what is it? Come on my Prince! Spit it out already!"

"The middle part of her name will be Rose. Her full name will be Sapphire Rose Shay." Prince Zoe said. 

King Star chuckled. "Once again you've shown me why you keep earning the title of cute and not handsome. I mean seriously? Rose for a middle name? Well I guess because your daughter will be a princess and all. But how about cutting out her middle name and just call her Sapphire Shay?"

"Okay," said Prince Zoe, "how about we make a compromise? Maybe we can call her Sapphire R. Shay?"

King Star seemed satisfied with that because he smiled. "Alright then, when your daughter is born her name will be Princess Sapphire R. Shay! I like it!"

Queen Bravery smiled at the name as well. "I like the compromise between you two! See? You two can be civil towards each other." She turned to her husband. "I would keep this conversation in mind the next time you two talk."

"And why would I do that? Our dear Prince needs to learn to be a stallion!" King Star asserted. "When he starts acting like it then I hand over the throne to him and finally retire. Until then no backbone equals no throne."

Queen Bravery and Prince Zoe sighed. Honestly, the way Prince Zoe saw it he could care less about ruling if ruling over a kingdom meant being a tyrant. He also thought that if or when he started ruling, he would be a kind ruler. He would take care of his enemies but he wouldn't kill them. He decided that would be the way he would rule if he was handed the throne. He wouldn't rule over his kingdom any other way.
> Chapter Thirteen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Past: Nintis Empire
The day Prince Zoe's daughter was born

"Waaaaaaaa!" Sapphire cried as she came out of her mother's womb.

"Good lord by the sun and moon my daughter has a set of lungs on her!" Prince Zoe said while covering his ears with his hooves. 

Sapphire let out another scream of bloody murder. "Waaaaaa!"

"It's okay Sapphire," said Princess Zelda, "you're safe, mommy will protect you."

As Princess Zelda shushed Sapphire, Sapphire slowly started to calm down and go to sleep. Prince Zoe smiled as he uncovered his ears. "You know something, with those screams of bloody murder one would think that would be a battle cry."

Prince Zoe had no idea his father was standing behind him until he laughed. "Well, it looks like my granddaughter inherited my set of lungs!"

"Hey," snapped Prince Zoe, "if I recall correctly, it was my sperm that made her and my wife's egg! If she gets her set of lungs from anywhere she probably gets it from me!"

King Star scoffed. "Yeah right when you came out from your mother's womb you didn't make a peep."

"Honestly you two!" Princess Zelda growled. "You're arguing about who made the loudest noise on a joyful day like my daughter's birthday, shame on you!"

Princess Zelda cradled Sapphire in her forehooves and started to sing her a lullaby. "The sun has come out because you've been born today. Everybody's happy, it's time to celebrate. Don't be afraid of the world, just face it the best you can. When you get older on your four hooves you'll be able to stand. I understand your battle cry for now because you just came out."

Prince Zoe smiled when he heard his wife singing to his daughter. Ever since the first time he met her she was a singer. He met Princess Zelda when he went to an opera with his mother. He really didn't want to go along that day but when he saw her, he didn't regret going to the opera that day at all. The irony of it all Princess Zelda was playing the part of princess that was a damsel in distress. Ever since then Prince Zoe wanted to win her over. On this day he was proud to have a wife that he loved dearly and now a daughter that he could share his love with. He had no idea of what the future had in store for him but for the time being he didn't care.


*	*	*


Present Day: Melody's House  

Melody was thoroughly fascinated by the book she had been reading about the Gates. She really badly wanted to do some investigating with her magic so she could pinpoint when her Gate was set up. But she figured it would be putting ponies in danger so she decided not to.

"Hmm," said Melody to herself, "this book is seriously interesting!"

"Uh what's interesting?" Fluttershy said.

Melody just about jumped out of her skin when she heard Fluttershy's voice. 

"Oh sorry Melody." Fluttershy said. "I just heard you talking to yourself about that book you're reading. It's that good huh?"  

Melody nodded. "Well first of all please don't sneak up on me like that! Second, yes it's interesting because according to Sapphire it's a history book about the Gates!"

In her excitement about the book she was reading, she completely forgot to make sure she didn't show emotions about anything. 

Fluttershy giggled. "Wow, you're showing some emotion and who'd thought it would be over a book!"

"Huh? What?" Melody said. In her horror she realized exactly what she just did. I just had to get excited about a book in front of Fluttershy. 

"It's okay Melody," said Fluttershy, "showing some emotions every once and a while is good for you. So that's a history book about the Gates huh?"

Melody nodded. When she showed Fluttershy the book, Fluttershy was confused because the book was written in braille. "Uh Melody? I can't read braille."

"Ooops," said Melody, "here I'll tell you what it says. It says here that the Nintis Empire was so rich in culture. Going to the opera was a favorite pastime for the royal family. It's because Princess Zelda, Prince Zoe's wife, was an opera singer when they first met. But this book isn't all words. There's pictures here too! I know because I've used my singing abilities to see them. Don't worry I bookmarked them."

Melody flipped on a page where the first picture of a tall unicorn stallion was on it. 

Fluttershy tilted her head. "Who's he?"

"This," answered Melody, "is the first King to ever rule over the Nintis Empire. His name was King Star."

Fluttershy chuckled. "King Star? One would think that a king would have a different type of name you know. Considering this is a king we're talking about here."

Melody rolled her eyes. "I don't think the name Star has to be female all the time. Anyway, this guy King Star founded the Nintis Empire when he drove out a hive of changelings. But before the Nintis Empire could even be founded, powerful entity's called Windigos pretty much made the land a wasteland. Somehow King Star and his army got the Windigos under control and the Nintis Empire was founded. Not to mention there was no need to have a holiday to celebrate! Of course there was a party on the first day that the country was founded but after that not really."

"Oh?" Fluttershy said.

Melody nodded. "Yup, it's a shame the Nintis Empire was destroyed after the Founders founded Equestria. I guess it had to be done to make way for the new country."

Melody ran her hoof down the next page and gasped at what she read next. 

"What?" Fluttershy asked. "What is it?"

"It says here that there was another kingdom that the Founders of Equestria had been allied with. The kingdom was called the Kingdom of Nova. It was destroyed and there was only one soul survivor…" Melody said. "The survivor was a Prince by the name of…" She gasped. All the times she's researched something she'd never found something so startling before. "Fancy Mark is a Prince!"

Fluttershy blinked. "Are you sure about that Melody? Maybe you read that wrong?"

Melody ran her hoof over the braille letters again and shook her head. "Nope! I'm not reading it wrong. It says right here that when the Kingdom of Nova was destroyed the lone survivor was a Prince named Fancy Mark."

"So that's what his heartbreaking backstory is!" Fluttershy gasped. "No wonder why he's so shy around everyone! He's not shy, he's scared."

"Scared? How'd you figure that out?"

"Oh please Melody! I know scared when I see it! That's because I used to be afraid of everything until I met Rainbow Dash. If he's not reaching out and trying to make friends even though he's a guardian he might just be too scared to do it."

"But he's like best friends with Aether! Although Aether does have that type of personality that gets even the shiest of ponies to open up to him."

"I knew it!"

Melody looked up at Fluttershy. "Knew what?"

"You like Aether! You like Aether!" Fluttershy teased. But her teasing started to turn into a chant after a while.

"Uh no," said Melody, coldly. "I don't like him like that. We're just friends that's all."

"Uh-huh," teased Fluttershy, "sure you are! Okay you two will admit how you feel about each other eventually."

Melody knew deep down inside that Fluttershy was right. Even though she and Aether claimed to be just friends they knew that they liked each other. But as far as admitting how they felt about each other that remained to be seen.


*	*	*


As Fancy Mark walked down the hallways of his home by the West Gate he smiled. He was no longer afraid of mirrors. That's because he wasn't Fancy Mark. Fancy Dark had finally taken over Fancy Mark's body and was wandering around as if nothing were wrong. 

He paused when he came around the corner toward another mirror. He smiled a sinister smile as he tilted his head towards the mirror. "What was that Fancy Mark? You want out again? Oh no, I'm sorry that's not going to happen!"

He looked into the mirror and laughed wickedly as he saw Fancy Mark's panicked look. Fancy Mark tried to scream as loud as he could but Fancy Dark just laughed at him. "You know no one's going to hear your pathetic screaming Fancy! You kept me in that mirror for so long and now your karma has come back to you full circle! So how does it feel? It feels horrible doesn't it? It feels bad being trapped inside a cage and not being able to see the world for what it is? Hmmm? I didn't catch your response to that." 

He looked at Fancy Mark and couldn't stop himself from laughing so hard it made his stomach hurt. He cackled. "You're just so desperate to get out of that mirror and warn your little friends about me aren't you? Well it's not going to happen! You want to know why?"

Fancy Dark then started running down the hallway breaking every mirror he could find. By the time he was done there was shattered glass all the way down the hallway. He dusted his hooves off. He looked down at them. "Eh, well a little bit of cuts from the glass but nothing too bad." He paused. "You know something? I should probably offer my services as Guardian to the next ruler of Equestria, that stallion named Phantasia. That's not a bad idea! Won't Sapphire and Princess Twilight be in surprise when I stab them in the back? Although if it doesn't work then I'll be executed for treason." He shrugged. "Heh yeah whatever. I wonder though if I can get a Wendigo to bow to me and take her with me. That will be a bonus! Oh happy day! I'm going to ruin Fancy Mark's life so bad I'll be laughing all the way to his grave!"

His sinister grin grew wider as he said to himself. "I bet I can even get that Blood Goddess friend of his to work with me! Another bonus would be if I can get that beautiful mare named Melody to be my wife! I have a feeling Aether's not going to like that! Oh well, I could care less about how he feels or how anypony else feels either! While ponies would call this wretched body of mine Fancy Mark. I will call myself Fancy Dark! Or Dark for short." He laughed a wicked laugh. "This is brilliant! I love it! It's time to put my plan in action."

He rolled his eyes when he heard Pinkie Pie calling out for him. "Fancy? Fancy where are you? I need to speak to you!"

"Oh well," Dark mumbled, "I guess I'll have to talk to the pink one!" He poked his head around the corner and called out. "Yes Pinkie, I'm over here!"

With that Dark went to see what Pinkie wanted. He couldn't wait to put his evil plan to betray Princess Twilight, Sapphire and all of Equestria in action.


*	*	*


Sapphire had enough, she was fed up with being around ponies all the time! She had snapped. She had been working day in and day out ever since she had put the Guardians on high alert and even more now that she had to issue an order of discipline putting them on house arrest. She was tired of being around ponies non stop with no chance to just sit down and be by herself. 

Sapphire was in her office going into self destruct mode. It was more like destroying everything around her mode. 

That's it! Sapphire thought as she shot a beam of light at her sofa ripping it in half. I'm tired of ponies! Not to mention later today I'm supposed to be attending my birthday party. Which is something I expressly told Pinkie Pie not to do! But noooo she was insistent on having a party for me! 'Oh please Sapphire! We must have a party for you! You'll love it! They'll be games and cake and all of your bestest friends will be there!' Of course Princess Twilight advised me to say yes to her because if I say no Pinkie will not respect my wishes she'll go nuts and be sad and depressed about it! Well what about my feelings huh? Noooo I have to do what everyone else wants me to! I'm only doing it to honor my father Prince Zoe's memory! 

Sapphire groaned when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in Tumble! Although I don't have the time or the patience to go to the stupid birthday party!"

Sapphire opened the door with her magic and Tumble entered the room caustionly. "Why don't you want to celebrate your birthday anymore?"

Sapphire growled after she shot another beam of light at her desk destroying it. "When you've lived as long as I have there's no point to it anymore! And I told Pinkie Pie several times not to do it! But nooooo! Pinkie is a nutcase if I say no she'll get all sad and depressed about it!" She stomped on the ground and said what she had been previously thinking. "What about how I feel huh? Do my feelings and my thoughts on matters not matter anymore?"

Tumble looked at her. "Well yes, your feelings do matter!"

"Oh really?" Sapphire snarled. "Then why do my feelings not matter when it comes down to something as simple as not celebrating my birthday?"

"B-b-but," Tumble stammered, "you'll get presents-"

"Yeah, yeah," Sapphire growled and she proceeded to mock Pinkie, "and you'll have cake and all your bestest friends will be there! It'll be sooo much fun!' But I'm not going to have fun because I'm being disrespected because I don't want to upset that psycho!"

Tumble's jaw dropped. It stayed dropped for a short while. But when she finally composed herself to say something, Sapphire started to sing, "I'm getting tired of having to save the day! I'm getting tired of having things go my way! I want some failure! I don't want to be a saviour! Mom always told me popular ponies don't get to be alone!"

Tumble gulped and tried to reason with Sapphire. "Listen you have to go-"

Sapphire kept singing, "So what if it's my birthday? I don't care! I just want other ponies to get out of my hair!"

"Oh boy," said Tumble, "I hope this isn't what I think it is?"

Sapphire paid Tumble no attention and continued with her song, "I'm a Guardian! I guard everyone because I'm a Guardian! I'm a Guardian! I guard everyone's sanity! I'm a Guardian! I guard everyone but myself!"

Tumble said. "Everyone adores you! Don't you see that Sapphire? You have to go!"

Sapphire just kept singing, "I'm getting tired of all those adoring eyes! I don't want to be a superhero! I just want to go back to zero! I'm regarded as a hero and that I despise!

I'm a Guardian!
I guard everyone because I'm a Guardian!
I'm a Guardian! I guard everyone's sanity!
I'm a Guardian! I guard everyone but myself!

Yeah my mother always told me popular ponies don't get to be alone!
Yeah my father always told me never to be on my own!"

Sapphire's horn lit up and she pulled a pen and a notepad out of thin air. She wrote a quick message informing Pinkie and everyone else that she decided not to attend her birthday party. She floated the note over to Tumble. "Give this to Pinkie and tell everyone that I apologize but I'm not going to the party!"

"But-" Tumble started to say.

"No Tumble!" Sapphire snapped. She sang the last part of her song. "So what if I'm a Guardian? I just guard everyone else. So what if I'm a Guardian? Right now I just want to be alone!"

Sapphire's horn lit up once more and normally unicorns teleport with a pop. But when Sapphire gets angry her teleport's do more than a pop. She leaves with a bang and when that happens destruction comes along with it. That's exactly what happened. Sapphire teleported leaving destruction behind her.


*	*	*


The lights were off in the dining hall. Everypony was excited to shout the word 'surprise' as soon as Sapphire walked into the room. 

But once the light's were turned on when the door opened, it wasn't Sapphire standing there. It was Sapphire's assistant Tumble standing there with a look of horror on her face.

"What?" Pinkie gasped. "Where's Sapphire? Please tell me she's standing right behind you?"

Tumble shook her head. "Nope, she's not. She gave me a message to give to you."

Tumble floated over to Pinkie the message Sapphire wrote down. Pinkie read it and her eyes went wide. "What? Why wouldn't somepony want to celebrate their birthday? That's insane!"

"Actually Pinkie," said Princess Twilight, "she asked you several times not to throw this party in the first place! But because you go nuts and get upset if somepony says no to one of your parties, Sapphire reluctantly agreed to have one."

"But, but-" Pinkie said.

"No buts Pinkie!" Princess Twilight scolded. "Part of being a good friend is when somepony says no to something, they mean no! You should respect that. I think once Sapphire gets back you owe her an apology."

Pinkie's ears dropped. "Yes Twilight I understand."

"Can I see that note child?" Elder Dazzleflash asked.

Pinkie nodded and handed the note to her. When Elder Dazzleflash saw the note she gasped. "Oh dear! Tumble, was Sapphire singing when she wrote the note?"

Tumble looked down and nodded. "Yes ma'am she was."

"And putting your emotions in song is bad because?" Melody asked.

"It's bad," answered Elder Firefly, "because if Sapphire sings when she's angry it's not just music that comes out of her."

"Huh?" Melody said.

"Oh yeah," said Elder Dazzleflash, "not only does music come out of her when she's angry destruction comes out as well!"

"Oh so mean like when I use my voice in combat? That type of destruction?" Melody questioned. 

"It's much worse than that." Elder Dazzleflash answered. She turned to Tumble. "Exactly how much damage did Sapphire do this time?"

"Well the watchtower is still intact but the far right wall to her office is destroyed." Tumble replied.

Elder Dazzleflash sighed. "Yeah she's cracked! And it's our fault too."

Elder Facade shook his head in dismay. "We pushed her too hard this time. I'm surprised she didn't destroy the whole watchtower like she did last time!"

Everyone else in the room gasped. 

"Well she did say she had enough of being around ponies all the time." Tumble said.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that's exactly why she snapped?" Elder Dazzleflash asked.

Tumble nodded. "Mhm."

"But being around ponies is good for you right?" Pinkie said.

"Not everypony feels the way you do about being around your friends all the time, Pinkie." Elder Firefly said. "Some ponies like to at least have a break from ponies every once in a while. Sapphire didn't get that chance. Because ever since Phantasia popped up, she's been working day in and day out without a chance to be alone and have some 'me time'. She can't help it. It's just her nature to do that. She wants nothing more than Equestria's safety and her friends in good health and happiness." 

"But even she should know that there does come a time when she should take her own health and happiness into consideration." Elder Dazzleflash said. She sighed. "She just had to go nuts on her birthday!"

"But who goes nuts on her birthday?" Pinkie said. She stomped a hoof on the ground in frustration. "That's insane!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and crossed her forehooves. "So says the pony who tried to replace her best friend with a bucket of turnips!"

"But that was different," said Pinkie in self defense, "you guys were avoiding me all day! Sapphire had her friends around her all day today!"

"Uh-huh," said Rainbow Dash, "so what does that mean Pinkie?"

Pinkie's eyes went wide in her realization of what just happened. She hung her head. "I see. Everypony's different on how they want to be treated."

"And that's a lesson I thought you had learned with Cranky Doodle!" Princess Twilight said. "As a matter of fact, you wrote to Princess Celestia about this. Didn't you?"

Pinkie sighed. "Yes I did and it seems I forgot. I just couldn't believe that somepony wouldn't want to celebrate their birthday! You know, because it's the most important day of your life! How could a pony not want to celebrate it?"

"Well when you've lived as long as Sapphire as," said Tumble, "there's really not much of a point to it anymore."

"Oh?" said Pinkie. "How old is she?"

Tumble gasped. "How dare you show disrespect like that young lady!"

Pinkie looked confused. "Disrespect? About asking someponies age? I don't get it."

Princess Twilight groaned. "Don't you know it's not respectful to ask a mare her age? Especially if they're older than you?"

"It's not okay Tumble what Pinkie asked," said Elder Dazzleflash, "I won't give you her exact out of respect for her. But I will say that she is over a thousand years old!" 

"Woa! That is so cool!" Pinkie cheered. "But don't worry Twilight, I will apologize to Sapphire when she gets back and that's a Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"

Princess Twilight chuckled when Pinkie did her pinkie promise thing. "Okay that's good to know. The question is what do we do now?"

"Well," said Elder Firefly, "we could still have the party without her, sing the birthday song too in her honor and just drop her presents off at her house." He turned to Princess Twilight. "Since you know where Sapphire lives can you drop her presents off for us?"

Princess Twilight nodded. "Sure! No problem! I just hope that she feels better about things when she returns."

Everyone else nodded in agreement. So the party went on without Sapphire even though everypony wished she was there.


*	*	*


When Sapphire teleported away from her office at the watchtower in Canterlot she went to her home that was by the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. She had been living there for over a thousand years. She moved there and went into hiding shortly after the Nintis Empire which was her home before it got destroyed. 

Every time on her birthday, she would go down to the basement of her house and stand before the altar that she had built in memory of her parents Prince Zoe and Princess Zelda. She would remember the very day she escaped the destruction of her country. She would recall the gunfire that she heard coming from the throne room as she fled through a secret passageway that her father had shown her in case events like that toke place.  

Sapphire remembered that when she escaped that day a group of noblemen from the royal family escorted her to safety to the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. She was told by them to not set foot in the Crystal Empire because an evil king by the name of King Sombra ruled there. However, when Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor started ruling there, Sapphire decided that she would try to see if she could safely venture in that country.

When she finally met the rulers there they were very kind to her and even offered her a place to stay within the castle. She refused the offer but instead asked for a job to be a royal advisor to them and they accepted. Even when the rulers found out that Sapphire was a princess from the Nintis Empire they swore to protect her and they did. Till this day no one but the rulers of the Crystal Empire know who Sapphire really is. She still has the crown her father made for her. She tried to get rid of it on several occasions but every time she tried it returned to her. 

On top of the altar that she stood before now was a family photo album that she managed to pick out of rubble of her kingdom shortly after it was destroyed. On top of the photo album sat her crown. The crown that she wanted to get rid of so badly. 

"Hi mom, hi dad," said Sapphire while staring at the altar, "it's another year that's passed since you've died and I have no idea why I can't join you. Am I cursed?"

Normally nothing happens when Sapphire stands before this altar but today something strange did happen. The photo album that lay upon the altar shook and out of it came two pony ghosts. One ghost was that of Princess Zelda and the other ghost was Prince Zoe.

Sapphire gasped. "Mother! Father! But how?"

Prince Zoe gave a kind smile. "Yeah I know it's weird right? But I guess we've been granted access to this portal to guide you and give you words of encouragement my dear Princess."

Tears started to flow from Sapphire's eyes. "But why today when I needed you over a thousand years ago?"

Princess Zelda put a ghostly hoof on Sapphire's shoulder. "Ssssssh! It's okay. We don't know why this is happening either. However, know this we've been watching you from the heavens my dear Princess. And from what we've seen you've done pretty well for yourself. Just look at you! All grown up and strong as ever! I am so proud that you are my daughter."

Prince Zoe nodded. "Yup! The same thing goes for me! Although your Grandpa would probably take credit and say you inherited his determination to get things done!"

Princess Zelda chuckled. "Oh yeah he would! Actually if I recall correctly he did threaten a couple of times that as soon as Sapphire got her cutie mark he might just hand over the throne to her instead of you."

Prince Zoe laughed. "Oh that's right!" He turned to Sapphire. "If that had happened you would've been the youngest ruler of the Nintis Empire! Now, did I overhear you correctly Sapphire before we got here, you want to join us in death? Why?"

"Because living without you guys is painful!" Sapphire cried. "Every year I remember that day. And every year after that I knew I would never see you again! Honestly I have no idea why I strive to protect those stupid ponies that live on our land and it's now called Equestria!"

"I see." Prince Zoe said. "So you hold resentment against the three ponies that declared war on our country and took our lives in the process?"

"Why not just declare war and return the favor with the rest of the Guardian community?" Princess Zelda asked.

"And why would I do that huh?" Sapphire growled. "Just kill a bunch of innocent ponies because I'm pissed at them? That would make me no better than they are!"  

"So why do you protect Equestria? Why do you so desperately not want to go to war? Can you answer that question hmm?" Prince Zoe said.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Sapphire cried. She started to sob. "I don't know! I don't know why I don't just turn my back on them and let Equestria be destroyed! I don't know why I keep stopping wars from happening! I-"

Princess Zelda shushed her. "It's okay child to be confused about your feelings. But if you're doing what you're doing now protecting Equestria and all that jazz, there must be a reason for it right?"

Sapphire wiped the tears from her eyes. "That's what I'm trying to figure out, Mom."

"Maybe someday you'll figure it out." Princess Zelda said. "Oh by the way, it's your birthday! Did you celebrate it yet?"

Sapphire looked away and shook her head. "No Mom, I stopped celebrating it over a thousand years ago."

"You know we would gasp at that remark but we understand." Prince Zoe said. 

Sapphire looked to her ghostly parents to see them smiling. "Yeah when you lived as long as I have, at one point of time there doesn't really seem to be much of a point to it. If you know what I mean."

Prince Zoe chuckled. "Yeah we hear you."

"Oh uh since it's your birthday," said Princess Zelda, "can we sing your birthday song that I wrote for you? Please?"

Sapphire smiled and nodded. "Yes I sing it every year but in private though."

Princess Zelda nodded. "We know."

Princess Zelda cleared her throat and Prince Zoe along with Sapphire sang with her, "The sun has come out because you've been born today. Everybody's happy, it's time to celebrate. Don't be afraid of the world, just face it the best you can. When you get older on your four hooves you'll be able to stand. I understand your battle cry for now because you just came out."

Sapphire smiled after she stopped singing. "Thanks Mom. If there's one thing I hold dear the most is that song you made for me."

With that, Princess Zelda and Prince Zoe went back into the photo album. Sapphire blew out the candles and sang the song once more. "The sun has come out because you've been born today. Everybody's happy, it's time to celebrate. Don't be afraid of the world, just face it the best you can. When you get older on your four hooves you'll be able to stand. I understand your battle cry for now because you just came out."

After that, she laid down on her bed and cried herself to sleep.
> Chapter Fourteen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A couple days after Sapphire's birthday, Sapphire was still at her home on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. She had cooled off somewhat but she wasn't ready to head back to Canterlot just yet. 

She was still asleep in her bed when she got woken up by a trio of ponies singing outside her bedroom door. 

"Oh Sapphire, I'm coming to you as your future husband!" The trio of ponies sang. 

Sapphire did a facehoof and thought, Not this shit again! Honestly, when is that stupid Prince going to get a clue? At least he could send ponies that can carry a tune! Seriously!

When the trio of ponies sang the part about Prince Blueblood asking for her hoof in marriage Sapphire rolled her eyes. I guess I'm going to have to deal with this. This time, no more Ms. Nicemare! 

Sapphire used her magic when she got out of bed and made herself look presentable. She went out onto her balcony and called out, "Would you guys learn how to sing at least?"

"Say what now?" One of the trio of ponies called out. "I say we're singing just fine!"

"Seriously?" Sapphire growled. "I think you guys need to record yourself singing and Prince Blueblood is probably just being nice because he's paying you to do something that he's too big of a coward to do himself!"

"He said you might say that!" The same pony replied. "He just wanted us to prepare you for his presence!"

"Oh really?" Sapphire scoffed. "Prince Blueblood's around the corner isn't he?"

The same pony nodded. "Yes Ms. Sapphire and he is awaiting your answer!"

The trio of ponies smiled as they looked like they were expecting Sapphire to jump for joy and say yes to Prince Blueblood's marriage proposal. Sapphire rolled her eyes and went back into her room. She smiled as she thought about what she was getting ready to do. Well I do need to go sofa shopping today. Mostly because the sofa's I have are starting to break down anyway. 

She lit up her horn and grabbed all of the sofas in her house and there were only three of them in her magic. She used her magic to rip them in half and she carried them to the balcony. "So you guys want to know what my answer is huh?"

"Yes My Lady!" The pony responded. 

"Actually, I would love for Prince Blueblood to come around the corner so I can tell him in person please." Sapphire said. Once again, she rolled her eyes as the trio of ponies went to find Prince Blueblood with looks of excitement on their faces. Seriously? Do these ponies not see the sofas that I have in my magic that I'm getting ready to throw at their stupid Prince? They must be about as dumb as he is! 

She gave Prince Blueblood a wicked smile when she saw him standing in the same place the trio of singing ponies were just a moment ago. 

"Ah, yes Ms. Sapphire!" Prince Blueblood cheered. "Won't you let me come into your house so we can discuss our um… Wedding arrangements?"

"Wow you are very full of yourself you know that?" Sapphire snapped. "Besides I haven't answered the question yet!"

Prince Blueblood smiled and purred. "Oh yes Ms. Sapphire! Please tell me your answer! You know so I can give you your engagement ring! I have it-" 

Before he could finish his sentence, Sapphire took all of the sofas that she had chopped in half and hurled them over the edge of her balcony right at him. "Ow! Hey! Arggg!" He shouted. 

"You want to know what my answer is?" Sapphire shouted at him with anger. "It's a word that starts with an 'N' you moron!"

Prince Blueblood ran off after he called out. "Don't worry Ms. Sapphire, one of these days you WILL accept my marriage proposal! I'll keep coming back and I'll win you over you'll see!"

Sapphire groaned and shouted back. "At least send ahead of you a trio of ponies that can sing! You wasted your money on those three!"

After Prince Blueblood and the trio ponies that were with him left, Sapphire smiled when she saw Princess Twilight and her cousin Prince Purple Artist laughing at what just happened. 

Sapphire went to the door and let Princess Twilight and Prince Purple Artist into her house. 

"I am terribly sorry about Prince Blueblood, Sapphire." Princess Twilight said, trying to keep a straight face. "I should've known not to try and set you up on a blind date with him after how he treated Rarity."

"Yeah, that guy just doesn't know how to take no for an answer." Sapphire said. "I think he's going to go bankrupt trying to win me over by sending a trio of singing ponies ahead of him!"

"So uh, Sapphire," said Prince Purple Artist, "I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but I heard you've been really stressed out lately, are you okay?" 

"I'm fine Prince Purple," Sapphire replied, "but thanks for asking. So why are you guys here today?"

"Oh," said Princess Twilight, "we're because we wanted to bring you your birthday presents! Don't worry, everyone knows why you weren't there. Pinkie Pie should've known to respect your wishes."

"Oh." Sapphire said. When Sapphire saw the mountain of presents she got that Princess Twilight had with her, she felt guilty for not going to the party that Pinkie Pie worked so hard on. Sapphire's ears dropped and she turned away from Princess Twilight. "I'm sorry Princess but I can't accept these."

"Why not?" Princess Twilight asked.

"Because I disrespected Pinkie by not showing up to the party that she worked so hard on for me." Sapphire replied.

"Oh I see." Princess Twilight said. "If you don't take these then you'll be disrespecting your friends. They want you to have these because they care about you."

Sapphire turned back around to face her. "I guess you're right. I'll have to apologize to Pinkie in person the next time I see her."

Princess Twilight shook her head. "Nope. If anypony needs to apologize, it's Pinkie. She didn't respect your wishes because if she did then we wouldn't have this problem in the first place." 

Sapphire smiled. "I guess you're right. But the Elders are right too. I need to stop overdoing it because of working so much."

"Yeah I agree with that. I'm not saying to take it easy, I'm just asking you to not overdo it." Princess Twilight said. "You can't save Equestria if you're not feeling well. Oh, before I forget, I have a note for you!"

She lit up her horn and pulled the note out of thin air. The note was actually a letter in an envelope on the outside of the envelope said the words: To Sapphire from your Secret Admirer. 

The letter Princess Twilight gave to Sapphire even made Prince Purple curious. That's because the writing on the outside of the envelope looked a lot like his handwriting but Sapphire didn't know that. She doesn't know Prince Purple well enough to know what his handwriting looks like.

The note said:

My dear beautiful Sapphire,

I've been wanting to ask you this for a long time now and I have to admit to keep chickening out on doing this. I was wondering if it wouldn't be too much trouble if you would at least like to go on one date with me? I have been admiring you from afar for far too long now and I would like to talk to you in person. 

If your answer is yes please let me know through my friend Princess Twilight. 

Sincerely,

Your Secret Admirer

Ps. Oh just to let you know, your secret admirer is a stallion. 

After Sapphire read the note she did a facehoof and groaned. "Another one! Seriously dear Princess, would you please stop setting me up on dates with random stallions?"

"Awww come on Sapphire!" Princess Twilight said. "This stallion is nothing like Prince Blueblood! He's a good stallion and I think you two just might hit it off. Just go on one date with him please?"

Sapphire groaned again. "You said that about every stallion you've tried to set me up with! And every stallion has been worse than the last one!" She took a deep breath and let it slowly. "Okay fine, I'll go one date and one date only! If I don't like the guy don't try to set me up with another one! Got it?"

Princess Twilight grinned. "Sure I can do that. But I really think you two would make the perfect couple!"

As soon as Princess Twilight said that Prince Purple gave her a look of annoyance. Princess Twilight looked at him. "What? What's wrong?"

Prince Purple shook his head. "I'll tell you about it later, okay?"

Sapphire looked over at the presents that she had gotten for her birthday and smiled. Honestly it feels good to know that ponies care about me. 

"Okay then," said Princess Twilight, "I shall take my leave now. And I'll let my friend know what your answer is to his question!"

Sapphire groaned and shook her head when she saw Princess Twilight and Prince Purple leave. What is with ponies and wanting me to settle down with someone all the time? I'm immortal so what's the point? I wish ponies would let me decide if I want to date someone or not. Oh well, I have to go sofa shopping today. I'd better get going before the store closes.

With that, Sapphire lit up her horn and teleported over to the sofa shop in the Crystal Empire.


*	*	*


Prince Purple pulled Princess Twilight off to the side when they got back to the castle in Canterlot. He was very annoyed with her for snooping in his private life and giving that note to Sapphire without his consent.

"What's wrong Purple?" Princess Twilight asked.

"First of all," replied Prince Purple, "I don't appreciate you snooping in my private life and taking that note! And second, I know you have good intentions but I agree with Sapphire, you need to stop meddling in her love life. I know you're just trying to help but that wasn't the best way to go about it."

"Okay fine," said Princess Twilight, "I won't do it anymore. It's just that you've been so depressed lately. I figured if I helped you out, you would at least get to know the mare you have a crush on finally."

"Honestly, I think this might backfire on you if she finds out her secret admirer is a guardian that's on the reserve team." Prince Purple said. 

"Yeah I disagree but okay then. I won't meddle anymore. Or I'll try not to meddle anymore." Princess Twilight said. "Oh and now that you know she's going on this date with you, where are you going to take her?"

Prince Purple blinked. He never thought in his wildest dreams that he would actually get to go on at least one date with the mare he has a crush on. "Hmm, I'll have to give it some thought. I never thought I'd actually get that far. But I have a feeling Sapphire's just going on this date to be nice."

"Yeah I agree but that's just how Sapphire's nature is." Princess Twilight said. "Who knows? She might actually wind up liking you! Right now, you have a once and a lifetime opportunity! I wouldn't pass it up if I were you." 

Prince Purple nodded. "Okay I'll do it. You're right and I'm not passing this up. I might be a-"

"Oh no," Princess Twilight cut him off, "don't second guess yourself! Just do it okay?"

He smiled at this. Although he liked the idea that his cousin was looking out for him, he was still nervous about the idea of going on a date with Sapphire.  


*	*	*


Thunder groaned as he listened to another round of Rainbow Dash bragging about how cool Sapphire's power is because it's powerful enough to destroy a whole watchtower. 

"I mean wow!" Rainbow Dash gushed. "You're powerful and all that jazz Thunder but Sapphire, she's awesome! Although I don't want to be the one to make her angry with all of the destruction she leaves behind when she gets mad. Too bad I'm not the ruler of Equestria so I can work closely with her."

"I get it!" Thunder snapped. "Sapphire is more powerful, yeah I know you don't get to be the Head Guardian by being weak. You do realize she used to guard the Center Gate before she became Head Guardian?" 

"Yeah I know that," said Rainbow, "I knew she had a lot of power but I didn't realize she had that much power!" She crossed her arms. "What I don't get is why does Twilight keep setting a mare up on dates when Sapphire is clearly not the dating type?"

Thunder paused. "Huh? How do you know Sapphire's not the dating type?"

"Pffft! Are you kidding?" Rainbow retorted. "Sapphire's been rejecting every single stallion that Twilight's been trying to set her up with! Hello! Uh, if a mare keeps rejecting dates and just going on them to be nice, she obviously doesn't want to date in the first place. Duh! I hear Sapphire recently threw a couple of sofas at the last stallion Twilight tried to set up her with. I have no idea why Twilight thought it would be a good idea to set Sapphire up with Prince Blueblood! Especially because of how he treated Rarity at the Grand Galloping Gala!"

Thunder laughed at that because he knew about Prince Blueblood and how arrogant the guy was. "So let me guess, Prince Blueblood keeps asking Sapphire out on a date and that's why she threw those sofas at him?"

"Worse than that." Rainbow replied.

Thunder raised an eyebrow. "Worse than that? What could be worse than constantly asking someone out on a date?"

"He's not constantly asking her out on a date," Rainbow said, "he's constantly proposing marriage and on top of that he keeps sending a trio of singing ponies ahead of him that can't even sing!"

Thunder's jaw dropped.  "Seriously? Wow!"

Rainbow nodded. "Uh-huh. Prince Blueblood being the arrogant prick that he is, is probably going to keep proposing hoping to break Sapphire down so she'll say yes. And if throwing sofas at him doesn't get him to go away, who knows what Sapphire will do next? Maybe she'll pretend to go out with this other stallion that Twilight's trying to set her up with just to get Prince Blueblood to leave her alone?"

"Wait," said Thunder, "Princess Twilight's setting Sapphire up on another date when she just threw couches at the last one?"

"Yup! I know Twilight has good intentions but she really needs to stop doing that." Rainbow said. "And from what Twilight told me, she's trying to set Sapphire up with another Prince that's actually her cousin who has a crush on Sapphire."

"Well hopefully this Prince won't be so arrogant this time." Thunder said. He stretched and went to sit down by a nearby tree so he could pretend to take a nap to get Rainbow to leave. He'd had enough of Rainbow's bragging for one day. He really wished Rainbow would just shut-up and talk about something else. 

Rainbow sighed. "You're going to take another nap aren't you?"

Thunder nodded. "Yup." 

Actually, I'm going to pretend to take a nap. Once Rainbow Dash leaves I'm going home and going to chill out. Geez this pony doesn't know how to talk about anything else besides things being awesome all the time!

"Okay fine." Rainbow said. "I'll leave you alone for now at least."

Thunder curled up underneath his hooded cloak, and put his hood up to block out the sunlight. He didn't have to pretend to take a nap this time. That's mostly because for whatever the reason, after Rainbow Dash flew off he actually fell asleep.


*	*	*


A couple of weeks after Sapphire's birthday, Master Shi called the Guardians into the unstable magic dimension to train with the Windigos again. Firewing was still having trouble lassoing a Windigo and so was Fancy Mark. Everyone else, Aether, Melody and Thunder had lassoed a Windigo and had started working on giving commands to them so they could control them. 

Finally by the end of the training session, Firewing and Fancy Mark had lassoed a Windigo. Firewing was super happy about this. He hopped up and down and clapped his hooves excitedly. "I did it! I did it! I lassoed a Windigo!" He cheered.

Master Shi laughed at Firewing’s excitement because he had been trying so hard the last two training sessions and failed to lasso a Windigo and he wasn't happy about it either. "Good job Firewing! You too Fancy! Now before we end our training session I want to see if you two can get your Windigo to bow to you."

Firewing and Fancy nodded and said in unison. "Yes ma'am!"

Master Shi's jaw dropped when Firewing had no trouble getting his Windigo to bow to him. However, Fancy had the hardest time getting his Windigo to bow to him. His Windigo was terrified of him and didn't look him in the eye. 

Even if the Windigo did look up it shrieked and backed away. 

Drat! Fancy thought. You've got to be kidding me! 

Fancy sat down on his haunches and crossed his forehooves frustrated about his Windigo not liking him. I wonder if this Windigo can sense my evil intentions? Oh well forget about this stupid thing! I don't need it! Soon and very soon I'm going to have to find a way to get around being house arrest so I can contact Phantasia! 

"Hello! Fancy Mark! Are you in there?" Master Shi shouted. 

"Huh? What?" Fancy said looking up at Master Shi. He didn't even realize that she had been talking to him because of his plotting to betray his fellow Guardians by going to Phantasia. 

"I said, we'll have to try again during the training session." Master Shi said. "Not everypony can get a Windigo to bow to them on the first try. It seems this group of Guardians has a special power in forming a relationship with their Windigos. Except for you Fancy. I wonder why this Windigo is so terrified of you?"

Fancy shrugged. "I have no idea."

"Well next training session, you'll get it bow to you for sure! I have every confidence you will." Master Shi said with a small smile. "Now everyone follow me to stables we say goodnight to your Windigos and that includes you, Fancy."

"But I didn't get my Windigo to bow to me yet!" Fancy said.

"That still doesn't mean you can't say goodnight to it." Master Shi responded.

"Oh, uh okay." Fancy nodded. 

Fancy and the other Guardians followed Master Shi to the stables. Fancy gave his Windigo a wicked smile and said, "Goodnight my Windigo. I'll get you to bow to me sooner or later and hopefully, sooner."

His Windigo looked up at him and shrieked again. As Fancy walked away, Thunder and Firewing caught up to him.

"What was that all about?" Thunder asked.

"Yeah, why would your Windigo be afraid of you like that?" Firewing said. 

Fancy shrugged. "I have no idea and right at the moment I don't care."

Firewing gasped. "How can you not care about something that important? I was anxious for the longest time just wanting to lasso a Windigo to begin with! That's because I know this training is very important!"

Fancy rolled his eyes. "Yeah well I don't care. Why be anxious about something you can't do? And it's out of my hooves at the moment."

Firewing narrowed his eyes. "What's with you lately Fancy? That's not something you would say! Who are you and what have you done with Fancy?"

Fancy's eyes widened a bit. Does he know that I've taken over Fancy Mark's body and I'm now Fancy Dark? 

Firewing tapped his hoof waiting for an answer. "Well, what's wrong with you? Do you have an answer for me?"

Fancy shook his head. "Nope. Right now I just don't care. I have other things on my mind at the moment."

"Oh," said Firewing, giving Fancy a wary look, "I see. Well, I can't force you to change your mind about it but I will be watching you."

Fancy rolled his eyes. "Gee thanks? Honestly, I don't need a babysitter but hey whatever floats your boat."

Fancy almost laughed because of Thunder and Firewing's conversation he heard as he walked away.

"I'm telling you Thunder," said Firewing, "there's something weird going with Fancy!"

"Yeah but we don't know if we have reason to be suspicious." Thunder said.

"Oh I have plenty of reasons to be suspicious." Firewing growled. "I'm going to get to the bottom of it!"

"What are you?" Thunder said. "The guy's father? I don't think he needs a dad Firewing! He's gotten along without a father from what I know of, so if I were you I'd back off."

"Nope," snapped Firewing, "not happening! Fancy's changed and I want to know why!"

Thunder groaned. "Alrighty then."

As Fancy got out of earshot from Firewing and Thunder and no longer heard their voices he came across a mirror. He had an evil look as he stared at it and said to himself. "Oh don't worry you'll get to the bottom of what's been going on with me Firewing. I'm going to make sure you're the first to know when I double cross you and all of the other Guardians."

What Fancy didn't realize was that Melody was standing around the corner listening to what he was saying to himself as he walked away. 
> Chapter Fifteen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melody gasped when she heard what Fancy said as he walked away. She didn't realize that Aether was standing behind her until he said something. "Uh, Melody what's up? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

Melody spun around and told Aether what she heard. Aether's jaw dropped. "Are you sure Fancy would do that? That's not like him!"

"I don't know," said Melody as calmly as she could, "but that's exactly what I heard!"

"Okay, I believe you," said Aether, "the question is what are we going to do about it? And more importantly is there anything we can do about it? If we tell Head Guardian Sapphire that we just overheard somepony say it, it would just be our word against his! Not to mention that just because he says he's going to do something doesn't necessarily mean he'll actually do anything. I know Fancy, he would never betray his friends like that!"

Melody raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Because Fancy hasn't been acting like himself lately."

"Well.. maybe he's trying to step out of his shell a little bit?" Aether suggested, with his hoof on his chin. "You know when somepony wants to make a change in themselves it's kind of hard to do." He paused when he remembered what happened earlier in training. "Although, his Windigo did seem terrified of him...." He shook his head. "No. Just because an animal is afraid of you doesn't mean you're evil."

Melody sighed. "Okay fine, so what do we do now?"

"Well I say just keep an eye on him for now. We should also have a back up plan in case he does double cross us." Aether said.

Melody nodded. "Okay what do you have in mind?"

Aether tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm, I just named my Windigo Silme. If Fancy double crosses us, we should have a catchphrase like, Silme wants a carrot. That way we know something's up."

"Okay," said Melody, "that's nice and all but that still doesn't answer the question of what do we do if Fancy double crosses us."

"Yeah, sorry.. I’m thinking that's going to take some more planning, but I think the catchphrase is a good start." Aether said.

"Great," said Melody, "should I tell Head Guardian Sapphire about this or not?"

Aether shook his head again. "No, well.. Not yet at least, we’d need more hard evidence that something is off. As it stands, if we do say something then it's just our word against his."

"Alright then." Melody said. "I'm just going to keep an eye on him so to speak."

Aether chuckled at this because Melody's blind so she won't be able to see what Fancy is doing. Melody rolled her eyes. "Ha ha! I get it. I can't see exactly what Fancy is doing because I'm blind."

"I shouldn’t laugh, I just think that phrase is funny coming from you that's all, not trying to make fun or anything." Aether said. "Anyway, we should probably get back to our Gates before Master Shi starts telling us to get a move on."

Melody nodded and as she went back home she felt unnerved by the fact that Fancy would consider betraying his fellow Guardians. 


*	*	*


It came time for Prince Purple and Sapphire's date. Sapphire was led to the restaurant where Prince Purple was by Princess Twilight. Sapphire gasped when she saw who her date was and had half a mind to turn around and back out of it. But Sapphire didn't want to automatically turn the guy down just because he's a Guardian on the reserve team. Besides, it's not like she could promote the guy because of playing favorites or anything like that. That's because appointing a pony to Guard the Gates just doesn't work that way. 

Sapphire turned to Princess Twilight, "Seriously Princess! I'm surprised at you trying to set me up with a coworker! You know how I feel about stuff like that!"

"Oh come on Sapphire," Princess Twilight whined, "just because the guy's on the reserve team doesn't mean you can't get to know him."

"Honestly Princess," said Sapphire, "think of how that will look if I wind up dating the guy. And if he does get promoted to Guardian ponies will think it's because I'm dating the guy when the Guardian community knows for a fact that promoting a Guardian doesn't work that way. But even so, if the guy did get promoted that's what the Guardian community will suspect." She continued, "And another thing I'm 3,100 years old Princess! Do you really think it's a good idea for me to settle down only to see my loved one pass?"

Princess Twilight gasped and her jaw dropped to the ground when she heard Sapphire's age. "So that's why you don't want to celebrate your birthday anymore?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yup! And trust me, you're not the only princess that's tried setting me up on a date before. Princess Cadance and Princess Celestia did the same thing. But okay fine, remember one date and one date only! If I don't like the guy then back off in meddling in my love life. Got it?"

Princess Twilight nodded. "Got it, I won't do this anymore."

"Promise me you won't do it anymore Princess." Sapphire said.

"Okay I promise!" Princess Twilight said. "Don't worry if I make a promise I'm keeping it! I learned that lesson from Pinkie Pie."

After Princess Twilight left Sapphire went to sit down at the table where Prince Purple was.

"So," said Sapphire, "you're my secret admirer huh?"

Prince Purple nodded. "Uh, yes that would be me."

Okay then let's this date at least isn't boring like the date I went on with Prince Blueblood. Sapphire thought. Hopefully the guy will be able to talk about something other than himself.

"So uh, Ms. Sapphire," said Prince Purple awkwardly, "how was your day today?"

"It was fine," said Sapphire, "how was yours?"

"Mine was fine too." Prince Purple replied. 

Before Prince Purple could say anything else, Prince Blueblood came bursting into the restaurant and stormed right up to the table where Sapphire and Prince Purple were. 

Prince Blueblood got right up in Prince Purple's face and snarled, "You good sir need to leave now! Sapphire's mine and I don't like-"

"Excuse me?" Sapphire roared. "Exactly what do you think you're doing Prince Blueblood?"

"I am righting a wrong here!" Prince Blueblood snapped.

"And what wrong might that be?" Sapphire snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You are my bride to be and you're already cheating on me!" Prince Blueblood replied.

"If I recall correctly the last time you proposed marriage I said no," hissed Sapphire, "and on top of that, I threw three sofas at you! WE AREN'T TOGETHER! SO I'M NOT CHEATING ON YOU!"

Prince Blueblood shrank back in terror. "But I have your engagement ring!"

"Yeah," snarled Sapphire, "and I didn't take it! I threw THREE, yes count them that is if you can count, THREE sofas at you! I think if that isn't a clear no for an answer I don't know what is!"

Prince Blueblood got over his terror because he started scowling at Sapphire. "Alright then, fine! I'm giving you an ultimatum!"

Sapphire glared daggers at Prince Blueblood and if looks could kill he would've dropped dead right on the spot. "And what ultimatum might that be?"

"It's me or him!" Prince Blueblood said, pointing a hoof at Prince Purple.

Prince Blueblood's ultimatum that he had no right to give Sapphire pissed off Prince Purple. Sapphire stepped towards Prince Blueblood getting ready to tear him a new one when Prince Purple stepped in front of her blocking her from Prince Blueblood.

Prince Purple got right up in Prince Blueblood's face, "Excuse me but I think the lady said no! And you have no right to be giving her any ultimatum's because you aren't dating her and you certainly aren't getting married to her!"

Sapphire's horn lit up and she gripped both Prince Purple's and Prince Blueblood's tails in her magic so she could keep them from coming to blows at the restaurant by separating them. 

Sapphire let out an irritated sigh, "Listen to me dear Prince Blueblood! If I'm going to choose anypony, I choose myself! I'm not going to marry you so get lost and don't bother me again! You're lucky I don't have any rights to the furniture in here or I would throw every single table in here at you!"

Sapphire didn't realize it but before she could finish lecturing Prince Blueblood about not marrying him, Prince Purple had asked for a Guard to come over to the table. 

"Ms?" The Guard said. "Is this pony bothering you?"

Sapphire turned to the guard and smiled. "Oh yeah, he's bothering me alright!"

The Guard gripped Prince Blueblood in his magic and escorted him out the door. After Prince Blueblood was escorted away, Sapphire and Prince Purple sat down at the table to continue their date.

"Sorry about Prince Blueblood, Prince Purple," Sapphire said.

"Oh don't worry about it," said Prince Purple, "that guy's an arrogant prick who doesn't know how to take no for an answer. I mean who does that guy think he is? Does he really think you're going to marry him when you said no and threw three sofas at him?" 

Sapphire rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Nevermind him, let's talk about something else."

Prince Purple nodded. So they spent the rest of the date just making small talk. Even though the date went well, Sapphire still had her reservations about dating anyone. So once she and Prince Purple got outside the restaurant, Sapphire pulled him off to the side.

"Listen Prince Purple," Sapphire started.

"Oh boy what this is about." Prince Purple said.

"Huh?" said Sapphire.

"When a mare starts a conversation with the word 'listen' after a date," replied Prince Purple, "that means they're rejecting a romantic relationship with you."

Sapphire nodded. "But it's not a total rejection."

Prince Purple tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Well just because we're not going to date," said Sapphire, "doesn't mean we can't be friends at least."

Prince Purple nodded. "Okay, I can deal with that. But I still have a crush on you either way."

Sapphire laughed. "Yeah I know. Remember, friends but no romantic relationship."

"Got it." Prince Purple agreed.

With that, Prince Purple and Sapphire parted ways.


*	*	*


Melody paced back and forth in her house at the East Gate. She still felt unnerved that her fellow Guardian Fancy Mark might betray them and go to work for the enemy. Normally when Melody was this upset she would work on a song or two. But today she couldn't focus on anything because she felt so unnerved by this.

What on earth is that pony thinking? I mean seriously? Why? Just why? Melody kept thinking to herself. She just about jumped out of her skin when there was a knock on the door.

She opened it and was relieved when recognized Apple Bloom's voice, "Hey Melody, what's wrong?"

"What do you mean what's wrong?" Melody asked.

"You look upset about something and-" Apple Bloom paused. "Well maybe I should correct myself on that because there's no music sheets hung up around the house!"

At this point, Melody was torn, should she tell Apple Bloom what information she just found out? Or should she just keep it to herself and maintain her not showing any emotions around anypony? 

Melody took a deep breath and let it out. "Actually there is something bothering me. I haven't hung any music sheets up because I can't concentrate on anything today."

Apple Bloom gasped. "What? I'm surprised! That never happens!"

Apple Bloom walked over to the kitchen and Melody followed her. 

"Okay, what's going on?" Apple Bloom asked.

"Well," said Melody, "you're not going to believe this but I overheard a fellow Guardian named Fancy Mark that guards the West Gate talking to himself about possibly betraying us and going to work for the enemy Phantasia!"

Apple Bloom gasped surprised by this information. It took a moment for her to compose herself. "So what or are you going to do anything about it?"

Melody shook her head and sighed. "I don't know. Seeing that it was just words, I don't really have anything to go by! I can't go to Head Guardian Sapphire and say well Fancy Mark said this, so should we discipline him? It would be my word against his! Who knows? Fancy Mark can come back and say no he wasn't planning on doing that and then I look like a big jerk!"

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. "Oh yeah I totally agree with you because you would never accuse somepony of doing something that they didn't do or haven't done yet. I say you and your other Guardians just keep an eye on the guy and if he does go over to the dark side so to speak then you can accuse him of something. Until there's not much you can do about it."

"Yeah I guess you're right," said Melody, "it's just unnerving that a fellow Guardian would betray their teammates and Equestria!"

"I agree with that also," said Apple Bloom, "and I say whoever betrays Equestria is a big traitor and needs to be stopped! Anyway, I just came by to check on you since Applejack can't come visit you because of you being on house arrest. I still can't believe Pinkie Pie put everypony in danger by visiting every single Gate! She needs to start learning how to take things seriously for once in her life."

"Yeah I know," said Melody, "I hope we get off being on house arrest soon. I also heard the Head Guardian Sapphire has been really stressed out lately. And Princess Twilight keeps setting Head Guardian Sapphire up on random dates that she doesn't want to go on. I wonder, there is something interesting that I've noticed about Head Guardian Sapphire's cutie mark."

Apple Bloom tilted her head in curiosity. "What?"

"Remember that book you got me from the library The Gates of Equestria?" Melody asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" Apple Bloom replied.

"Well about the sixth chapter in, the book mentioned something about a pony that would live as long as Alicorn or longer because they had been blessed with the gift of immortality." Melody said. "The chapter said that this pony possesses the power of something called Gate Crystals. It continued to say that this pony hasn't been seen in over three centuries ever since the fall of the Nintis Empire. And that this pony is also a Princess from the Nintis Empire."

"Okay." Apple Bloom said. "What does this have to do with Head Guardian Sapphire?"

"I'm getting to that Apple Bloom," said Melody, "the book said that this pony's cutie mark resembles that of a famous flower that was known throughout all of the Nintis Empire called The Legendary Sapphire Rose! The flower is a red rose and when it's in bloom a sapphire gem is found in the middle of it. Head Guardian Sapphire's cutie mark looks a lot like the flower that was mentioned in the book! Which would make sense because Elder Dazzleflash did say she was over a thousand years old!"

"I see," said Apple Bloom, "so you think maybe Head Guardian Sapphire is a Princess from the Nintis Empire blessed with immortality?"

Melody nodded. "It's plausible but I'm not going to poking around in somepony's private life just because I'm curious about them. That's rude! Besides, I'm pretty sure she doesn't want anyone to know about that just yet."

"Alright then, do you feel better telling what was bothering you?" Apple Bloom asked.

"You know something," said Melody, "actually do feel better. But don't go thinking this means I'm going to start showing emotions around ponies! This event just unnerved me. It's not everyday when you find out that your comrade is considering the idea of betraying everyone!"

Then Melody's stomach growled. She had been so worked up over the thought of being betrayed by her teammate that she didn't really want to eat anything until now. She looked at Apple Bloom. "Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Sure!" Apple Bloom replied. 

With that, Melody went to gather the things she needed and proceeded to cook a meal for her and Apple Bloom.          

 













 

 
> Chapter Sixteen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Phantasia sat at his huge chair that he had made for himself to kind of look like a throne. At the moment he couldn't believe what he was hearing from one of his scouts Sandy Fire that he had sent out to find the Gates. "So you're telling me that…"

Sandy Fire nodded. "Yes I set the trap for the Small Stallion but I couldn't find that sensor that I had found before as a possible lead to where the South Gate would be! It's gone!"

"Great, lovely!" Phantasia growled. "If only I had asked my father where the West Gate was but knowing him even though I'm family he won't tell me. From what I know of, no one but the Guardians themselves knows the exact location of the Gates. It's too bad that the last time around when the Guardians were picked I got picked to be on the Reserve Team! The Reserve Team isn't allowed to know the exact location of the Gates either!"

He paused and then scowled when heard Rapid Chaser trying to stifle a laugh. He could tell she was trying to keep a straight face and remain professional but she was trying really hard at it. He growled again and snapped, "That is not funny Rapid!"

"What?" Rapid said, "Who said I was laughing?"

"You were trying to stifle a laugh and didn't succeed at it." Phantasia hissed.

"Okay fine." Rapid said, rolling her eyes. Phantasia might be her stallionfriend but even Phantasia knows she doesn't like to be reprimanded for stupid stuff like that.

Phantasia sighed, "Alright then, I'll figure something else out unless you somehow manage to capture the Small Stallion that guards the South Gate. You can go now."

Once Sandy Fire left, Rapid didn't bother to hide her laughter. When she finally stopped laughing she composed herself, "I wonder something Phantasia dear, is the fact that you got picked to be on Reserve Team another reason why you're so hellbent on taking over Equestria?"

"No." Phantasia said while shifting his gaze.

This action made Rapid fall over on her back in a fit of laughter. "Let me get this straight Phantasia," she said in between her laughter, "the whole reason for you wanting to take over Equestria is because you're bitter about crap? You think you're being a hero by taking over Equestria and making it so that stallions can rule over Equestria and let me guess once you gain control of the Gates you'll make it mandatory that only stallions can control the Gates?" She regained her composure and scowled.

Phantasia looked at her. "What?"

"You know wanting only stallions to rule over Equestria is just about as bad as when Equestria's founders made it so only mares can rule." Rapid growled. "And you're lucky I understand where your ideology is coming from or I would've left you a long time ago!"

Phantasia's jaw dropped because he'd never heard Rapid express herself like this before. "You mean to tell me that you would have left me over wanting to make it so that only stallions can rule over Equestria?"

Rapid nodded. "Uh-huh because no mare in their right mind would want to date a sexist pig! If they did date a sexist pig then they're doing it for other reasons than being in love with the pony they're with. Being sexist happens on both end of the equation that is never good."

"So what do you propose I do?" Phantasia asked. 

"Number one," said Rapid, "you can let go of your bitterness and make it so that mares and stallions can rule over Equestria despite their gender. The same thing goes for who's guarding the Gates. But knowing you, you're dead set in your ways and seriously wanting to make it so that only stallions can rule over Equestria and only stallions can guard the Gates. You won't do that now would you?"

Phantasia sighed because he knew that Rapid had hit the nail on the head. He wasn't planning on making it so both genders were equal when it came down to ruling over Equestria and guarding the Gates. But he never thought of things this way before. 

"That's what I thought," Rapid said. "Like I said, you're lucky I understand you because I did break up with several other stallions before I decided to finally get with you and do you want to know why?"

"Why?" Phantasia asked.

"Because they were the type of stallions that believed a mare was just a tool and should be in the kitchen cooking for the family, staying at home to do housework, and should be seen and not heard." Rapid responded, "And I am not a tool and I'm not a maid. The first moment you start treating me like that, I will be gone faster than you can count to three and I don't care if you were my childhood friend or if I love you. Got it?"

Phantasia nodded. He knew from that moment going forward that he would have to rework his plan a bit when it came down to how both genders would be treated after he took over Equestria. In hindsight he didn't want to lose Rapid because he loved her and he really cared for her. If she left him half of his heart might as well have left with her.  

But either way he was dead set on taking over on Equestria and he was going to do whatever it took to be the next ruler.


*	*	*


Rapid sighed when she left Phantasia as she went to Little Snack's room. She wasn't too happy that Phantasia had decided to put Little Snack underneath dark magic in order to control her mind and give her more of a 'backbone' so to speak. That's why she brought up the point about mares being possibly viewed as tools or maids whatever if Equestria would become under Phantasia's rule. Although she did wonder if he put Little Snack under dark magic because she was having a change of heart? If that were the case then he would probably do this to any of his soldiers that don't want to fight. Especially if the soldiers knew exactly why Phantasia wanted to take over Equestria.

Rapid knew that there was a possibility that since 70% of Phantasia's army was made up of mares, if the mares in the army knew of what might happen to their jobs in the future they might flee the country. Then Phantasia's army would shrink considerably. 

Rapid hated Little Snack being put under dark magic even if it was a 'greater good'. 

Screw the greater good! I want the real Little Snack back, I want the charming and timid Little Snack back! Rapid thought as she sat down on the bed and watched Little Snack sleeping. At least with the dark magic the spell allows bodily functions to operate normally. But this Little Snack… This Little Snack isn't the real one, this Little Snack has no personality she's just… She's just a shell and a puppet. I swear if Phantasia even thinks of doing that to me! He's so freaking bitter about things and that's why he wants to take over Equestria! Princess Twilight is ruling over the country just fine. Both genders are treated as equals. I don't know why Phantasia can't see that. 

As Rapid kept thinking about what Phantasia was doing and why he was doing it, she was starting to have a change of heart herself. True she loved Phantasia but she didn't like his ideas about how the world should be around him. To her Phantasia just wanted to change the world to suit his fancy so to speak. 

After a while Rapid finally made her choice, she decided that in the end she was going to leave Phantasia but only after the war that he was fixing to do started happening. Then once the war was getting started she would have her stand-in be the General and she would have Little Snack's stand-in play the part of the Second in Command. Once everything was said and done Rapid was going to leave and take Little Snack with her and when she got her to safety she would work on reversing the dark magic Phantasia had put her under. 

In Rapid's mind she wouldn't be happy until Little Snack was back to her normal self.


*	*	*


Pinkie stood proudly before Sapphire, she smiled as she said, "So I finally finished collecting all of the censor rocks! Do you forgive me Ms Sapphire?"

Sapphire chuckled, "Pinkie I already told you I forgave you about the birthday party. But I do thank you for gathering the censor rocks for me! This should certainly put a little wrench in whatever Phantasia is coming up with to find the Gates exact location. Did you see any scouts there when you collected the censors?"

Pinkie shook her head, "Nope and I hope none of Phantasia's scouts saw me."

"Well I'd rather be safe than sorry," Sapphire said, "I'm glad the Elders gave me the go ahead to do that and it was my idea. So hopefully this will delay Phantasia a little bit."

"Mhm!" Pinkie said with a nod. 

"Alright Pinkie now that you've taken care of the task I asked you to do the travel portals aren't going to grant you access anymore," said Sapphire, "the only portal you'll have access to is the portal that leads to the West Gate, do you understand?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yes Ma'am!"

"Alright you can go now," Sapphire said. After Pinkie left there was a knock on the door. "Yes, come in!"

"Hey there," said a familiar voice. Sapphire smiled at the pony that just entered the room because it was Melody. 

"Ah yes, Melody please come sit down," said Sapphire. Once Melody had taken her seat Sapphire took her seat at her desk across from Melody. "So, you wanted to talk to me about something in regards to The Gates of Equestria book?"

Melody nodded. "Yes I was wondering about something that involved the Gate Crystals. I noticed that your cutie mark kind of resembles the one that was in the book."

Sapphire's smile turned into a grin. She had no idea why she was so happy that somepony figured it out without having to be told about her backstory. "I'm glad you mentioned it actually. I always knew you were the smart one in the group!"

Melody paused. "Huh?"

"Oh yes," said Sapphire, "a lot of my backstory is in that book. But in seeing that I'm the last Princess of the Nintis Empire you can see why I went into hiding can't you?"

"Oh I get it!" Melody said. Her face brightened as she understood what Sapphire was talking about. "You're afraid that if anypony found out that you're a Princess from the Nintis Empire then somepony might try and use that to their own advantage?"

Sapphire nodded. "Exactly! So what I'm asking of you now is to keep this information a secret. I view everyone, even my coworkers as my friends until they show me they're an enemy. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor know about this and they've been constantly offering me a place in the Royal Family. Princess Twilight doesn't know this information trust me, I'm glad she doesn't because if she would be doing the same thing the Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor have been doing. At least Princess Celestia and Princess Luna respect my decision not to become part of Equestria's Royal Family."

"I see," said Melody, "but why don't you want to be a part of the Royal Family? Aren't you a Princess?"  

"Well yes I am a Princess but I'm not a Princess of Equestria or the Crystal Empire," answered Sapphire, "I'm a Princess of the Nintis Empire."

"So why not start a war and take back Equestria for your own? I mean the land of Equestria-" Melody asked.

"Is my home!" Sapphire interrupted. "Equestria is now my home and I will do whatever it takes to defend it. Why start a war when it means killing innocent ponies? I mean sure the Founders of Equestria did that but if I did what they did then I would be no better than them." She paused and it was then that it dawned on her. She figured out the reason why she stops wars from happening and keeping the citizens of Equestria safe. "You know I figured it out now!"

Melody raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Figured out what?"

"I've been wondering for the longest time what you just asked me," said Sapphire, "why do I fight so hard to protect Equestria? And the answer to that question is I now view it as my home even though I live on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. Equestria has many friendships that I have made and I stopped the Guardian Community from wanting to start a war and kill the innocent ponies that had nothing to do with the fall of the Nintis Empire. Equestria and the Crystal Empire are where my friends and my family live. As long as I have them even though I know I'll be depressed when I watch them pass because I can't join them, I'll be happy at least for the time that they're alive."

"I see," said Melody, "so you don't want to marry anyone because you're the one that has the power of the Gate Crystals and you're immortal because of it?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yup! That's exactly why I'm not interested in dating anypony either. Now I'm asking you to keep this a secret. Will you do that for me? Will you keep it a secret, especially from Princess Twilight?"

Melody nodded. "Yes Sapphire, I will do my best!"

Sapphire smiled and in a sense she felt relief knowing that Melody was the one that figured out that she was the last Princess of the Nintis Empire. "Now is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"

Melody shook her head. "Nope! That was it and I will keep your backstory a secret."

Sapphire smiled and nodded when Melody left. Now at least she has somepony else to talk to that's not a part of the Royal Family of Equestria or the Crystal Empire about her backstory. She had a feeling that she and Melody were on track to becoming good friends. 
> Chapter Seventeen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It came time for Hearts and Hooves Day, the one holiday that a lot of the Guardians on the main team or on the reserves liked to celebrate. Sapphire and the Elders allowed the Guardians to celebrate the holiday in the village that the Appointment Ceremony was held in.  

So for Hearts and Hooves Day a big party was held at the bakery shop that was in the village. All of the Guardians and their families were invited and this time Applejack was able to see Melody and actually keep an eye on her in person.

Melody didn't even have to whistle a few notes to figure out where her mom was because she could sense Applejack's magic signature from anywhere. It was the same thing with Aether now. But with other ponies that she wasn't close to not so much.

Applejack smiled once she entered the room where the party was and saw Melody on the far side of the room talking to Aether. Applejack thought of just leaving them alone but she hadn't seen Melody in over a month because of being ordered to not visit any of the other Gates except the one that she had been assigned to. 

"Melody!" Applejack said as she galloped to her daughter. "Melody, how are you? It's been a while since I've seen you!"

"I'm fine mom." Melody replied after Applejack hugged her.

"Yes ah know that." Applejack said. "It's just I haven't seen you in over a month now. Apple Bloom's told me you've been doin' okay. But you've also been concerned about something and I-"

"I'm fine really I am, we're having a party to celebrate love mom. There's no need to spoil it by being so worried about things all the time." Melody said. 

Applejack smiled and nodded. "Sure okay then." She turned to Aether. "So did you ask her yet?"

Aether raised an eyebrow. "Ask her what?"

"You know what I'm talking about Aether." Applejack said with a teasing smile.

Even though Aether was a bit confused as to what Applejack was talking about, Melody picked up on what her mother was implying. "Mom! Seriously? Yes this is a celebration about love but that doesn't mean I have to use it to pick up a special somepony like most other ponies do on this day."

Aether blushed and gave a bashful smile. "Oh, you mean that question? That'd be a no." Aether chuckled, still blushing, "given Melody's response I'm guessing you um.. Pretty much guessed that one.. though."

Melody did a facehoof and groaned. "Oh for crying out loud, come on Aether let's go talk to other ponies, mom don't follow us please."

Applejack couldn't stop herself from laughing as Melody and Aether walked away, and Melody had a look of annoyance on her face. 

Once Melody and Aether got out of earshot from Applejack, Aether smiled. "You know, I know mother means well but your love life is your business, ya know? Like, I don't wanna be rude but, she can seem a bit.. Clingy.. At times"

"No kidding." Melody said. 

Aether whispered into her ear, "Overprotective parents though, amirite!"

Melody snorted. "Yup!"

Little did they know that while everyone was enjoying the party Fancy Dark was sitting by himself plotting and planning how he would betray his fellow Guardians and join Phantasia’s side. 

Hmmm, Fancy Dark thought, the first order of business would be to ask that wonderful mare Melody out. I don’t know if she’ll take my offer but if she sees that she’s on the wrong side of the equation… He shook his head. Nope a smart mare like Melody would never betray her friends just like that! I have to be smart about this. Then after I have Melody on my side I’ll go figure out how to contact Phantasia!

Fancy Dark smiled when he saw Melody and Aether off to the side of the room talking to each other. He walked right up to Melody and cleared his throat. “Uh, Melody, can I speak to you for a moment in private?”

Melody hesitated at first but said, “Sure.”

Once Fancy Dark and Melody were out of earshot of Aether, Fancy Dark said, “So I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while but… Would you go out on a date with me?”

Melody paused and looked to Fancy Dark that she was shocked about what he just said. “Oh uh well… I’ll have to think about it, okay? Give me until the next time we train to give you an answer please.”

Fancy Dark nodded. “Sure.”

Once Melody left to go rejoin Aether Fancy Dark thought Well that went swimmingly! Of course I should’ve guessed she wouldn’t give me an answer right off the bat! I’ve seen the way she looks at Aether and how he looks at her! They’re probably dating by now! I guess I’m too late!

But what Fancy Dark didn’t know was that Melody was cooking up a plan so that she could keep an eye on him because she knew he was going to betray his friends and fellow Guardians sooner or later.


***


When Melody rejoined Aether to continue their conversation the first thing she said was, “Silme wants a carrot.”

Aether paused and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Melody gave him a serious look and repeated herself, “Silme wants a carrot.”

“So Fancy Mark actually did what I think you’re telling me?” Aether asked.

Melody shook her head. “Nope something else.”

“Okay?” Aether said. “What? Because that catchphrase was only meant if there was trouble.”

“Ah well there is trouble or at least in my opinion there is,” said Melody. “But I think I can use this to my advantage to keep a closer eye on Fancy. And don’t laugh at that, I know I can’t see so yeah.”

Aether paused. “Okay so what happened?”

“Fancy just asked me out on a date!” Melody said.

“What?! Why that little-“ Aether gasped. He was starting to see red when Melody put a hoof on his shoulder and shook her head. “Huh?”

“Remember how I just said that I could probably use this to my advantage to keep an eye on Fancy?” Melody said.

Aether nodded. “Mhm so what’s your plan?”

“So I say I go out on a date with him and when he goes to betray us I can use his feelings towards me as an advantage to reason with him.” Melody said.

Aether smiled at how smart Melody can be sometimes. "That's.. Wow.. It makes sense though, alright then, I don't particularly like this plan but if that's what you want to do then give it a shot I guess."

Melody nodded. "Alright I'll talk to you later."


***


As Fancy Dark was leaving the party getting ready to head back to the West Gate when Melody caught up to him. "Fancy! Fancy wait!"

Fancy paused and turned around. "What?"

"I have an answer for you." Melody said

Fancy raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"My answer is yes," replied Melody.

Fancy gave her a skeptical look. "Wait, aren't you already with Aether?"

Melody tried her best to make her lie real because Applejack heavily frowned upon lying when she was growing up. As of now she couldn't tell a lie to save her life but this time was the exception to the rule. "No I'm not with him," this part of the lie was true so she wasn't lying just yet. "I asked him out earlier and he turned me down." 

That part she just said was the lie. 

"Alright, after the next time we train we'll go to the village to have a date. I'm sure if Head Guardian Sapphire knew we were dating then it shouldn't be a problem." Fancy said. 

Melody nodded. "Okay then once we get clearance from Head Guardian Sapphire we'll set up a date."

"Works for me my dear!" Fancy said. He went up to her and gave her a peck on the cheek.  

After Fancy left Melody couldn't believe what she was doing. As soon as she saw Fancy was gone she wiped his kiss off her cheek. She had to keep telling herself that it was for the best and even though it went against her core values she had to find a way to keep Fancy from betraying her and the other Guardians. If Fancy did betray them then that would brand him as a traitor and possibly disconnect his magic from the Gate he was guarding. 

"So did you do it?" She heard Aether ask. 

She sighed, "Yes I did and he gave me a peck on the cheek too." 

Aether gagged and Melody gagged along with him. "Yeah and I hope he doesn't want to actually kiss me one of these days." 

Aether snorted. "Well he just might depending on how long you want to keep this up."

"Honestly, if it gets to that point I'll have to tell him the truth." Melody said. "I'm not telling Applejack the real reason why I'm dating him because she wouldn't be too happy about this. Good thing I don't live at home anymore."

"Sure. I'll see you the next time we train and whenever you're not on a date with Fancy." Aether said.

"See you later." Melody replied. 

Melody and Aether parted ways and Melody wasn't sure how long she could keep the lie about her wanting to date Fancy up. 


***


Fancy Dark was practically skipping down the hallway as he felt super excited that he got a date with Melody. It had been two days since he asked her out on a date and she said yes. Then as soon as he got to his room she appeared. Once again the Blood Goddess decided to pay him a visit. 

Blood Goddess laughed a sinister laugh, "Well, well, well I sense some sort of happiness inside of you." She paused. "But wait, you're not Fancy Mark now are you?" 

Fancy Dark smirked. "Well I would say I'm happy to see you but at the moment I have other matters to attend to. But since you're here it's only fair I should introduce myself. As you've noticed I'm not Fancy Mark, I'm Fancy Dark."

"Ah I see so you're that Fancy Dark fellow that Fancy Mark spoke of," Blood Goddess said. 

Fancy Dark nodded. "Hmm yes that's me! And since you're here I would like to propose a deal."

Blood Goddess raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what deal might that be?" 

"My deal would be I would like for you to convince as many of my fellow Guardians join a stallion who is sure to be the next ruler of Equestria, Phantasia." Fancy Dark said.

The Blood Goddess crossed her arms. "And what do I get in return? Do you know why I'm called the Blood Goddess?"

"Why?" Fancy Dark asked. 

"Because I destroy my enemies! I don't convince them to join my side. The only ponies that join my side are the ones that can summon me successfully and make a pact with me." Blood Goddess replied. "The only reason you're able to see me right now is because the one who originally summoned me and made a pact with me, the one who's body you reside in. Fancy Mark's body and soul is still in existence. You can try and break all the mirrors you want but that's not going to destroy Fancy Mark. It's only going to silence him so you can be in the driver's seat so to speak." 

Fancy Dark nodded. "What if I destroy Fancy Mark somehow and-"

Blood Goddess shook her head. "Nope! It doesn't work that way! Not only do you have to keep Fancy Mark's body alive, you have to keep his soul alive as well. Just because you're another version of Fancy Mark inside his body doesn't mean you can make a blood pact with me. It has to be the original owner of the body that can make the blood pact with me and the original owner only. The only way I can make any deal with you is Fancy Mark's consent and from the looks of it…" She cocked her head to the side and cupped her right ear. "Judging by the sound of Fancy Mark's screams, yeah there's no way he would make any type of deal involving the betrayal of his comrades. So I'm sorry but any deal like that isn't going to happen any time soon."

After the Blood Goddess said that she disappeared. Once the Blood Goddess disappeared Fancy Dark went to the bathroom to look at the mirror. He didn't destroy the bathroom mirrors because he still wanted at least one mirror that he could use to torment Fancy Mark with. 

As soon as Fancy Dark looked into the mirror he saw Fancy Mark with a smug look on his face. 

"What are you so happy about?" Fancy Dark growled.

"Me? Happy? Oh no I'm not happy I just know you'll never be able to make a deal with the Blood Goddess. You won't be able to do it without my consent!" Fancy Mark chuckled. "Oh and I can't wait for all of your plans to betray my friends and go over Phantasia fall through. True you'll ruin my life and who knows they'll probably execute us for treason!" He shrugged. "Oh you started this and it will end with your demise!" 

Fancy Dark gave Fancy Mark the stink eye as he said, "Is that so? Well I got news for you buddy! Phase one of my plan is complete!"

"Oh really? You mean asking Melody out and her saying yes?" Fancy Mark smirked. "Oh please, I know when somepony has an ulterior motive when it comes down to saying yes to a date with a pony like you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Fancy Dark said.

"What do you think I mean?" Fancy Mark said, "If you even think about casting dark magic on Melody it's not going to work!"

"Oh really thank you for the idea and I might just try that to make sure-" Fancy Dark said.

Fancy Mark cut him off, "Oh no that's not working because dark magic is the reason why you came about! You happened after I made the pact with the Blood Goddess! And from what I can sense Melody has dark magic too! I don't know how she got it but she has it so yeah. Good luck trying to make your fantasy land into a reality!" 

"Why you little-" Fancy Dark snarled.

"Me little what?" Fancy Mark stomped his hoof in anger. His ears flattened and pointed a hoof at Fancy Dark, "You're the one trying to ruin my life! You're the one trying to betray my friends! Not to mention you're also the one trying to make somepony like you that doesn't!" 

"Yeah-" Fancy Dark said.

"Yeah, yeah whatever!" Fancy Mark snapped. "What about all the stuff you said about if I let you take over then you would make my life better huh? Let me, that was a ploy right? It was a ploy for you to take away everything I worked for to rebuild my life after the Blood Goddess took everything away! Don't you understand, YOU WERE THE ONE THAT HELPED THE BLOOD GODDESS KILL MY FAMILY! It wasn't me standing there with the bloody knife in my hoof watching my parents die slowly! It was YOU!" He laughed wickedly, "And you have the audacity to accuse me of doing something that you did! You were the one in the driver's seat back then so this is all your fault!" He sat on his haunches and crossed his forelegs and turned his back to Fancy Dark. "You know what? The next time you look in the mirror you won't see me in it. I'm done with you!"

With that Fancy Mark's image disappeared. Once Fancy Mark's image disappeared in the mirror Fancy Dark yelled, "Well who needs you anyway! I don't need you and I don't need your friends either! Melody will love me and I can assure you of that!"

He sat down and laughed a sinister laugh to himself. With Fancy Mark clearly not being on his side, Fancy Dark knew he had to come up with another plan. 

"Don't worry Fancy Dark," Fancy Dark said to himself, "this is just a little bump in the road to your success. Everypony will see that I made the right choice when Phantasia becomes Equestria's new ruler! Fancy Mark is wrong, Melody does love me, she said yes so why would that mean otherwise?"

After his little conversation with himself Fancy Dark left the bathroom and laid down on the bed. Eventually he drifted off to sleep but his dreams weren't pleasant ones because what if Fancy Mark was right? Fancy Dark didn't care how many nightmares he has in the future, he was going to prove Fancy Mark wrong.  
> Chapter Eighteen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire couldn't believe her ears as she sat down at her desk talking to Fancy Mark and Melody. Fancy Mark and Melody had just recently come to her to ask for permission to go to the village for a date. Sapphire's jaw practically hit the table because of her being in shock. She and everyone else had always assumed that Melody would get together with Aether and not get together with Fancy Mark. 

Fancy Mark chuckled, "I understand you're surprised by this Head Guardian Sapphire! I thought for sure Melody was dating Aether but I asked her out and she said yes and here we are!"

Sapphire looked back and forth between Fancy Mark and Melody to figure out if they were sincere or not. While Melody sat there showing no emotion on her face whatsoever, which honestly didn't really surprise Sapphire, Fancy Mark stared at Melody as if he were a lovesick puppy. 

She raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly. "Oh, okay sure it's not a problem at all. You guys will have access to go on your date Saturday at the village."

Fancy Mark perked up and clapped his hooves excitedly. "Excellent!" He turned to Melody. "So I'll see you on Saturday at 6pm!"

He leaned over and kissed Melody on the cheek and left the room hoping up and down while humming a happy tune. 

Once Fancy Mark left Melody wiped her cheek and had a look of disgust on her face. This caused Sapphire to pause. "Melody, do you even like Fancy Mark?"

Melody paused and then sighed, "Well… Um it's a yes and a no answer to that question."

"O…Kay?" Sapphire said, "What do you mean?"

"The yes part of the answer is that I like him as a friend and I've been wanting to get to know him better," Melody said. "So I figured dating him would be the best way to do that. I also think he's cute so that helps. The no part of the answer is that I asked Aether out before I talked to Fancy and he said no. I was torn between Fancy or Aether and Aether helped me make the decision for me."

"I see," said Sapphire. It was a good thing that Melody was blind because Sapphire had a look on her face that said she wasn't buying this story, not one little bit. "Okay then, have fun on your date and I know you're on the rebound from Aether even though you two weren't dating but at least try to look excited about dating Fancy."

Melody nodded. "Yeah I get it. I'll try."

Sapphire went over to Melody and gave her a hug. After the hug Melody left. Sapphire sat down by her desk and thought, I'm not buying this not one little bit! Melody's up to something in regards to Fancy. I would ask but a real friend doesn't stick their snout into places where it doesn't belong! Besides, we just started to become friends and I trust Melody. I just hope whatever plan Melody's got cooked up that she knows what she's doing.


***


As Fancy Dark skipped down the hallway thinking about what to do on his date with Melody he paused when he heard somepony snickering from a nearby mirror. He scowled when he saw Fancy Mark laughing at him. "What is so funny?"

"Oh nothing, except I was watching how Melody reacted when you kissed her on the cheek," Fancy Mark said. 

"Oh? How did she react?" Fancy Dark growled. 

"She had a look of disgust on her face!" Fancy Mark said with a smile. "Gee I wonder how she'll react when you go to kiss her on the mouth? That is if she lets you kiss her on the mouth. Gross!"

"What's so gross about kissing the mare you love?" Dark asked.

"Because I'm not the one that likes her! I've never considered Melody as a love interest!" Mark declared. "She's like a sister to me, not a lover! Nope! No way! And when I gain control over my body again, I'm going to wash my mouth out with soap!"

Dark stomped his hoof in anger on the ground and snarled. "Well too bad because you're not getting control over your body again! Not if I got something to say about it and I have something to say about it obviously!" 

Mark rolled his eyes. "You're a real idiot but please by all means keep living in la la land. Can't wait until your plans fall apart. And as always, I'll be watching you…"

Mark's image faded away from the mirror. Dark stood there seething in rage. I'll show him! I'm going to gloat so bad Mark will have to apologize for ever doubting me!

When Dark finished seething in rage he laughed. He walked down the hallway whistling a carefree tune. He whistled the tune not because he was happy but he whistled it because it was helping him to calm down at least for the moment. 


***


Rapid Chaser had her bags packed and she also packed Little Snack's bags getting ready to leave Phantasia's hideout. She had seen the notice on the billboard outside her office one day and she couldn't believe her eyes when she saw it! The notice read like this:

Attention ALL MARES who work for my army:

The future ruler of Equestria, Phantasia has requested that every mare working except for the higher ups be fired! Phantasia will not stand for mares working for him because he has seen that they aren't fit to have any job in his army! 

Starting next week Phantasia's army is for STALLIONS ONLY! That is all!

As soon as Rapid saw the notice and saw mares lining up at the unemployment office she was pissed. 

I thought Phantasia would change after I had that conversation with him! What in the world is he thinking? Rapid thought. It was then that she packed her bags and grabbed the notice from off the billboard. She ran all the way to Phantasia's office hoping she could reason with him. 


***


When Rapid neared Phantasia's office she heard him shouting, "I don't care that 70% of my army is pissed because they're mares!"

"But what about Rapid Chaser, Sandy Fire and Little Snack?" Somepony else asked, "Are you going to fire them too? You'd better fire them because you don't, that's a bit of a double standard don't you think?" 

"I said, every mare except the higher ups, which is exactly what Rapid, Sandy Fire and Little Snack are, are fired!" Phantasia shouted back. 

It was at that moment Rapid burst into the room, her face red from anger. Normally Phantasia's never afraid of any mare but the only mare he is afraid of is Rapid when she gets pissed. He shrank back and gave a nervous laugh, "Rapid honey, darling! I haven't seen you in the office lately, what's up?"

"Are. You. Kidding me?!" Rapid roared. She slammed the notice on Phantasia's desk and glared daggers at him. If looks could kill Phantasia would've been dead on the spot. However, Phantasia was sweating and sincerely terrified of Rapid at the moment. 

"I thought we talked about this! I thought you were going to change! What happened?" Rapid growled. 

Phantasia sighed, "Sorry Rapid my dear, I can't do it! I can't stomach the fact that mares are working for me when they should-"

"Be at home, having babies, cooking and cleaning and acting like a maid waiting on their husbands or boyfriends hand and foot?" Rapid snarled.

Phantasia nodded. "Yes."

"No Phantasia!" Rapid snarled, "You're wrong! Mares are just as capable of being in the army as stallions are. You're just too bitter about not being chosen as a Guardian to see that. And you wanna know something? Being bitter is not a good excuse to attack a country. That is the most barbaric reasoning ever! You know what? Since you refuse to change and stop being so bitter about crap, I'm gone!"

"Rapid no!" Phantasia shrieked. "Please don't leave me! Just give me one more chance, I can change."

Rapid gave him a pointed look. "Uh-huh, and what are you going to do?"

Phantasia shook his head. "I don't know!"

"You know exactly what to do!" Rapid snapped. "Take back that notice and hire the mares that you fired back!"

Phantasia shook his head again. "Nope I can't do that!"

"Well then, this is it," Rapid said with her heart breaking knowing what she was going to say next. "I'm sorry Phantasia, but we're done! I'm breaking up with you. I'm not your maid and I never will be your maid! And if Sandy Fire's wise enough she'll see that you don't value her working for you. She's done nothing but show she's the strongest fighter you got despite being a mare! She's stronger than any stallion in your army for crying out loud! I'm done with you, Phantasia, this is goodbye."

Rapid didn't let Phantasia say anything else when she turned around and left the room slamming the door behind her.


***


Rapid sat at her desk in her room and sighed. She shed a couple of tears as she pulled out a piece of parchment paper and a pen and she started to write her letter. These were going to be her final words for Phantasia before she would go to Equestria and find the Head Guardian to tell them everything she knew about Phantasia's plans. 

Dear Phantasia,

I sincerely thought you were going to change your ways and respect the mares in your army. A lot of the mares that you fired in your army were twice as strong as any stallion who works for you! I can't believe that because you're so bitter about not being chosen as a Guardian that you would go so far as to fire the mares who work for you. 

I think you need to sit down and get over your arrogance because you're not a hero for wanting to take over Equestria for your own selfish reasons. You know what, I used to get extremely upset when other ponies would talk bad about you because at that time I loved you so much that it hurt. It hurts me to say goodbye but I told you I'm not going to be a maid and just stay home and give you children all the time. I want to be out in the world free to do whatever I want regardless if I'm dating somepony or not. 

The thing that irritates me the most is your double standards for mares and stallions. Why is it okay for stallions to get away with bad behavior and mares have to show respect for them no matter what? I think that's something you need to think about. 

I think from here on out if any mare wants to be with you, they're only with you not because they love you but because they want power. You'll never find another mare who truly loves you the way I did. 

So I'm sorry but this is my final goodbye and I'm not coming back any time soon. 

Sincerely,

The mare who loved you, Rapid Chaser.

As soon as she finished writing the letter, she folded the paper and placed it on her desk. She looked around her now bare room, that had a bed that she made recently and her empty closet to make sure she packed everything. She also checked Little Snack's room to make sure everything was packed and ready to go. Once she made sure everything was ready, she walked down the hallway and after she exited the hideout she got into a carriage where Little Snack was sitting. She paid the driver to take her to a place in Equestria that she knew very well. The place was her childhood home where her parents lived. She went there because she knew Phantasia wouldn't go after her. 

When she rang the doorbell her mother greeted her, "Rapid darling! It's been so long I haven't seen you in ages! Come in, come in!"

Rapid nodded. "Yes mother, I have a friend with me, is it okay if we stay here for a couple of days?"

"Oh sure! You're my daughter and you're always welcome here! Even your boyfriend Phantasia is welcome here!" Rapid's Mother said. 

"About that, it's not Phantasia who needs a place to stay for a bit," Rapid said. She opened the reveal Little Snack standing behind her staring off into a daze because of being under dark magic. "Little Snack, this is my mother Mrs. Chaser, please say hi."

Little Snack nodded and said in zombie-like fashion, "Hi Mrs. Chaser… It's nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too darling!" Mrs. Chaser said. 

Mrs. Chaser let Rapid and Little Snack in. Once they entered the house Rapid pulled Mrs. Chaser off to the side. "Um, mom there's something you should know about Little Snack."

"Yes? What is it?" Mrs. Chaser asked. 

Rapid sighed, "Little Snacks under some type of dark magic and I don't know how to break it."

Mrs. Chaser gasped, "Oh my! Who did it to her?"

Rapid looked down and then cried, "It was Phantasia! That's one of the many reasons that I broke up with him!"

Mrs. Chaser gasped again, "Why that little- I take it back, if Phantasia steps one hoof on this property I'm calling the police!"

Rapid wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. "Thanks mom, but do you know of anypony who can break the dark magic?"

Mrs. Chaser smiled and nodded. "Why yes dear I do! She lives in the village where the former Guardians and their families live."

"Who is it?" Rapid asked.

Mrs. Chaser's smile turned into a grin. "It's your Grandmother!"

Rapid gasped, "If Grandmother lives at the village where the former Guardians live, then why don't you live there?"

"It's because the invitation to live there doesn't extend to grandchildren once they become of age," Mrs. Chaser responded. "So your father and I left once you and your sisters became of age."  

"I see," said Rapid. "So where can I meet her?"

"Well we can't meet her inside the village of course," said Mrs. Chaser. "Those that leave the village can't find it anymore after they've left. So I'll send a letter to her current address and see if we can meet up somewhere in town. I'll do it tomorrow so we can meet up as soon as possible. Until then, you and Little Snack can stay here as long as you need to. I'll go get the guest room ready for you two!" 

While Mrs. Chaser went to get the guest room ready for Little Snack and Rapid to stay in, Rapid felt a sense of relief that the dark magic that was placed on Little Snack would be broken soon. 
> Chapter Nineteen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day Rapid and Little Snack were still staying at Rapid's childhood home. When Rapid's Mother informed her that she was able to get in contact with her grandmother, Rapid felt nothing but joy! 

Yes! This a good step in the right direction, as soon as the dark magic that Little Snacks under gets broken I'll proceed with going to the Head Guardian and telling him or her everything I know about what Phantasia's planning. Last time I checked the Head Guardian was a mare? I'll ask grandma about it since she's staying at the village where the retired Guardian lives. Rapid's thoughts were racing as she rode in a carriage to the village where her grandmother lived. 

She didn't notice that the carriage had stopped until the door was opened and the driver announced that they were at their destination. After she stepped out of the carriage she turned to Little Snack who was sitting on the seat next to her and said, "Come on Little Snack, I have someone I'd like you to meet. She'll make you feel better."

Little Snack nodded and said in zombie-like fashion, "Yes Rapid…"

Rapid always seems to cringe and die a little on the inside ever since Little Snack began talking like a zombie because of being put under dark magic. This time around was no different. Rapid didn't say anything in response because instead of speaking she cringed.

After paying the driver Rapid and Little Snack went up to the house where her grandmother lives and Rapid rang the doorbell.

Rapid tried not to laugh when she heard an elderly mare's voice humming to the tune of her doorbell. "Ding, ding, ding, ding! Ding, ding, ding, ding!' The elderly mare kept humming the tune over and over again; it almost sounded like a chant which made it harder for Rapid to keep her composure and not burst out laughing because of that.

Once the door was opened Rapid was greeted by her grandmother. "Hello dear, how can I help you?"

"Oh uh, my name is Rapid Chaser," Rapid said.

Rapids's Grandmother tilted her head. "Rapid darling that's you?"

Rapid nodded. "Yes it's me."

Rapid's Grandmother hugged her and squealed, "Oh Rapid my dear! Cloudy said you were coming! I haven't seen you in ages!"

Rapid smiled. "Yes I know and it's good to see you again! Did mom by chance tell you why I wanted to see you?"

She nodded. "Oh yes she did." She looked behind Rapid and spotted Little Snack standing there with a blank look on her face. "I'm going to assume based on the expression on that pony's face, this is Little Snack?"

Rapid had a somber look on her face as she slowly nodded. "Yes Grandma. This is Little Snack and she's under the dark magic that my ex-boyfriend Phantasia put her under."

Rapid's Grandma gasped, "Why that little- I swear if I ever see that pony again he's as good as dead in my book!"

Rapid laughed, "It's not that simple Grandma because Phantasia knows better. He won't come after me when he's an enemy of Equestria! Honestly, I'm surprised you even let me in the house because of being his ex-girlfriend!"

She nodded again and motioned for Rapid and Little Snack to follow her. "Well don't just stand there at my doorstep! Come on in!"

Rapid and Little Snack followed Rapid's Grandma into the living room and sat down on the couch. Rapid's Grandma got up and went over to the kitchen and made some tea for them. 

"Tell me exactly what happened," She said after she placed the tray with three cups of tea on it on the coffee table. 

Rapid sighed and launched into the story about how Little Snack got to work for Phantasia. She left out a lot of details about what happened when she was dating Phantasia because she wanted to save those details for when she talked to the Head Guardian. 

"I see," Rapid's Grandma said after Rapid told her the full story. She stood up and went over to Little Snack and looked her in the eyes. "Hmmm, hmm, mhmmm…" She mumbled to herself. 

"Well?" Rapid said with a look of worry. 

Her Grandma sighed, "I'm afraid this type of dark magic can only be broken by the Head Guardian herself!"

"But I thought you knew how to break all types of dark magic!" Rapid whined. 

"Is that what Cloudy told you?" She chuckled, "Well I'm glad she thinks that highly of me but I was only trained to break four different levels of dark magic."

Rapid tilted her head. "Huh?"

Her Grandma nodded and began to explain what she knew about dark magic and what types of dark magic she could break and what types of dark magic she couldn't break.

Rapid sighed, "Is there any way I can get in touch with the Head Guardian?"

She frowned. "Well I can try and get in contact with Head Guardian Sapphire's assistant Tumble but that's the best I can do because there's no guarantee that Head Guardian Sapphire will agree to meet with you. And you do realize that even if Head Guardian Sapphire agrees to meet with you that there might be a chance that because you're Phantasia's ex she might put you in a dungeon right?"

Rapid slowly nodded and said, "Yes I do realize that. And that's a risk I'm willing to take to get my friend back."

Rapid's Grandma shook her head in dismay. "You're such a good mare you know. I hope that whoever you date in the future can be as strong as you are! Phantasia doesn't deserve you because of what he did to Little Snack!"

"Yeah he even fired all of the mares in his army because he couldn't stomach the idea of having a mare fight for him!" Rapid said.

She gasped, "Really? Phantasia's nuts! There are mares out there that are twice as- no three times stronger than any stallion he'll have working for him! As a matter of fact, one of the Gate Guardians is a mare and she's blind and boy you don't want to challenge her to fight because she will give you a run for your money!"

Rapid's jaw dropped. "Seriously? There's a Gate Guardian who's blind? Man, I would love to meet her!"

Rapid's Grandma shook her head. "That's not going to be possible because knowing Head Guardian Sapphire when she finds out who you are she won't let you anywhere near the Gate Guardians and rightfully so!"

Rapid sighed, "Yeah I know."

"Anyway, you and Little Snack can stay here for a little bit until I can figure out if I can ask for an audience with Head Guardian Sapphire," She said.

"Alright then," Rapid said.

Little did Rapid know that she would have to wait at least a week before she could get an audience with Head Guardian Sapphire.


***


Melody rolled her eyes at Apple Bloom who was busy helping her get ready for her date with Fancy Mark. 

“You know Applejack has been talking my ear off about this date ever since she found out about it!” Apple Bloom whined. 

Melody remained silent as she listened to Apple Bloom complaining about Applejack. Wow, she thinks she’s got it bad! At least she doesn’t have to get a lecture from Mom about what to do on a date with etiquette. 

Melody thought of saying something about that to Apple Bloom but she didn’t feel like arguing about it. As a matter of fact, Melody wasn’t really feeling anything much by the way of emotions about going on this date with Fancy. To her this “date” was nothing but a means to an end so to speak. She had to keep an eye on him, (no pun intended) so she could gather evidence about Fancy's plan to leave and go serve Phantasia. 

In all honesty, Melody doesn't really like Fancy as a love interest but since she agreed to this "date" he will now be considered her first boyfriend. But to Melody she was only going to let him have the title and nothing else. She wasn't going to fall in love with him because she was in love with Aether. 

Melody could've said something to Apple Bloom about her complaining and she could tell her to shut up but she didn't. She decided to stay silent because she had started planning on how she would deal with Fancy. She knew that she would have to be on her toes when it came down to him.

When Melody finally finished getting ready for her date she sighed. 

Apple Bloom paused and looked at her. “What’s wrong?”

Melody shook her head. “It’s nothing, I’m just a little bit nervous about this date that’s all.”

What Melody just said wasn’t a lie. The main reason she was nervous about the date was because she hoped that things went well so she could gather as much information as she needed in order to tell Head Guardian Sapphire about what Fancy was planning. 

Apple Bloom nodded. “Oh I totally understand! First dates are always nerve wracking! I know because I’ve been on a couple of dates before but I never really liked the stallion I went out with so nothing ever came of it.”

Melody tilted her head. “If you didn’t like the guy then why did you go out with him?”

Apple Bloom snorted. “It was a sympathy date. I had been friends with the guy and we were very close. When he asked me out on a date, I felt bad about letting him down so I went out with him.”

“Oh really? Does Applejack know about this?” Melody asked.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Nope! And I would like for it to stay that way because Applejack would do the same thing to me that she’s doing to you about this date.”

“Oh,” Melody said.

“Why do you want to go out with Fancy? I hope you’re not doing a sympathy date with him,” Apple Bloom questioned.

“Oh no, it’s nothing like that,” Melody answered. “I like Fancy and I also liked Aether. I was torn between which one I like more. When I asked Aether out, he said no so that made up my mind for me.”

Apple Bloom gave her a skeptical look. “Alright then, if you say so. I’m just surprised that’s all. I always thought Aether would be your first boyfriend and not Fancy!”

Melody nodded. “Yeah I know.”

Apple Bloom looked up at the clock on a nearby wall in Melody’s bedroom and nodded. “Okay Melody it’s almost time for your date! You don’t want to be late for your first date now do you?”

Melody laughed and Apple Bloom escorted her out of the bedroom to the carriage that was waiting outside her house to drive her to date. Before Melody got into the carriage Apple Bloom hugged her and said, “Have fun on your date!”

“Thanks sis,” Melody said.

“No problem!” Apple Bloom said.

With that Melody got into the carriage and went on her date.


***


Once Melody got to the restaurant where her date was going to be she was greeted by Fancy and he looked fancy dressed up in a black suit jacket with a white shirt underneath it and a black tie. His hair was slicked back and it made him look very handsome. 

Fancy gave a short bow to Melody. As soon as they got settled at their table they ordered their food. Everything seemed to be going smoothly until Melody saw them. Well because she’s blind didn’t really see them, she felt them. Mostly because Melody’s magic was synced with Aether’s magic and she wasn’t too happy with what she felt.

As she felt Aether’s magic standing next to another mare as if he was on a date with her, she excused herself from the table.

Melody managed to get Aether’s attention and he excused himself to go talk to her.

“So you’re already dating someone?” Melody said.

Aether's eyes went wide and he was taken aback by that statement. Before Aether could say something the young mare who was with him walked up behind him and nudged him on the shoulder. "Is this the mare you told me about who dumped you for another stallion?"

"What? Oh.. yeah, she is.." Aether responded. 

Melody stomped her hoof frustrated as to why Aether would do this to her. I thought Aether agreed with this plan for me to go out with Fancy to gather information on him! I guess he changed his mind?

Melody frowned and shook her head. "Nevermind, have fun on your date!"

She walked off as fast as she could without running. Aether just stood there with his jaw dropped. The only reason he acted this way with his cousin was because he wanted to make the idea that Melody chose Fancy over him more believable. Now he stood there wondering if he made the right call. 

Aether looked at his cousin who was named Lily and sighed, "You know something Lily? I'm not hungry anymore, I just want to go home." 

"What's wrong? What I said was the truth wasn't it? Look, I understand that it hurts to not be with someone that you like, but it happens and the sooner you get over it, the sooner you can move on from it," Lily said.

Aether knew what Lily said was right but Lily didn't understand exactly what was going on and he wasn't about to tell her anytime soon. He would never betray a friend, especially a pony that had feelings for real. It was a fake betrayal and he thought Melody would understand that. At the moment, he felt as if he screwed up his relationship with Melody big time. He didn't know how to go about fixing things since this was a secret plan and he didn't want anything to jeopardize this plan that Melody cooked up.

Aether sighed again, "Like I said I'm not hungry, let's go back to Grandma's house. I only have two more days off and I have to report back to work after that."

"Well even if you're not hungry I am!" Lily chirped, "I'm gonna order some food and then we can head back."

So that's what they did. They ordered some food and went back to their Grandmother's house. The reason they were able to go out was because Head Guardian Sapphire lifted the punishment of house arrest but she said that the Guardian's could only get to the village by way of a special portal that nobody but the Guardian's would be able to find. Not to mention the village was where only authorized former Guardian's and their families live. 

Little did Aether and the other Guardian's know, something would happen that would give Equestria a great advantage against Phantasia.
> Chapter Twenty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melody wanted to vent about her recent heartbreak with Aether to somepony. She thought talking to an older pony like Sapphire would do the trick. Mostly because she wanted to get some advice from her about what to do next. So she asked for an audience with Sapphire and found out that her regular office hours were from 11am- 4pm.

As Melody rounded the corner to Sapphire's office she ran into Tumble, Sapphire's assistant. 

"Oh, Melody, how are you doing?" Tumble asked.

"I'm doing fine," Melody said. "Is Head Guardian Sapphire around? I need to talk to her about something."

Tumble nodded. "Yes she's in her office but she's dealing with a little problem at the moment. Once she's done with that, she'll be able to see you."

Before Melody could say anything she heard Sapphire roar, "I don't care! How many times do I have to say no before you get it through your thick skull I. DON'T. WANT TO MARRY YOU! NOW, SINCE YOU DON'T LISTEN TO ME HERE'S A RESTRAINING ORDER!"

"You can't do this to me!" A familiar voice shrieked.

"Oh I can and I just did!" Sapphire shouted, "You've been served and if you violate this restraining order you will spend the rest of your days in a dungeon! Are we clear?"

There was a brief silence when Sapphire shouted, "ARE. WE. CLEAR?"

The stallion's voice answered with a small squeak, "Yes ma'am!"

"GOOD! NOW GET OUT OF MY OFFICE AND OUT OF MY SIGHT! AND DON'T EVER COME NEAR ME AGAIN AND DON'T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT!" Sapphire roared.

Tumble giggled when she heard Sapphire shouting. "Yup! That's Sapphire for you! She doesn't take crap from anybody! She didn't get to be Head Guardian by bowing down to idiots like Prince Blueblood! I swear that pony acts like a three year old who just so happens to have a Royal Pedigree!" 

As soon Tumble said that, Prince Blueblood came storming out of Sapphire's office and his face red with anger. When Prince Blueblood stomped past Tumble and Melody. Tumble covered her mouth with her hoof to herself from bursting out in a fit of laughter. Melody didn't need to have her eyesight to know how angry Prince Blueblood was as he walked away. She also tried to keep herself from laughing at the spectacle that just happened in front of her.

"Well looks like Sapphire's done dealing with her little problem. You can go in now," Tumble said.

Melody nodded and when she got near the door she knocked and heard Sapphire shout, "Come in!"

Melody entered the room and Sapphire smiled when she saw her. "Oh Melody! It's so nice to see a friendly face after what I just dealt with."

Sapphire went up to Melody and hugged her. She then went and sat down on a nearby chair and told Melody to have a seat next to her. "So what brings you here today?"

"Well I wanted to talk to you about Aether," Melody answered.

Sapphire tilted her head. "What about him?"

She sighed, "You know how I said that Aether rejected me so I decided to go out with Fancy Mark?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes, why?"

"Well, I did go on a date with Fancy but I ran into Aether and he was with another mare…" Melody said.

"Have you ever thought that Aether rejected you because he had feelings for another mare?" Sapphire asked.

Melody sighed, "No I didn't think about it. Seeing that happened just hurt me."

"Are you guys still friends by chance?" Sapphire asked.
"Yes we are."

"Why don't you talk to Aether about how you feel. Aether seems like a reasonable stallion, he just might understand how you feel," Sapphire said.

"Well the other thing is that Aether kind of made it sound like I was the one who dumped him and not the other way around when he was talking to his marefriend," Melody growled.

Sapphire raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Now that doesn't seem like the type of behavior that I would expect from Aether. But still I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt and talk to him."

"Yeah I guess so," Melody said. "I just don't know how to even bring it up."

Melody sighed because she almost wanted to tell Sapphire the real reason she was going out with Fancy but she couldn't. She just thought that Aether would support the plan and wait for her until the plan was finished. 

"Well is that all you wanted to talk to me about?" Sapphire asked.

"That was part of it but I also came by to see how you were doing," Melody said. 

Sapphire nodded and she and Melody spent at least an hour talking about random things and then Sapphire had her next appointment and Melody went home.


***


After the next training session Melody decided it would be a good idea to pull Aether off to the side and talk to him about how she felt about what happened the last time she ran into him. 

"Aether, can I talk to you for a moment?" Melody asked. 

Aether nodded. "Yeah, sure there's something that I'd like to talk to you about as well."

"Oh um, okay so that mare I saw you with the other day was your girlfriend?" Melody said.
Aether shook his head and he was going to say something but he paused. "Can I talk to you about this someplace else?"

"Sure, why?"

"Because this isn't something that should be out in the open. Silme wants to eat her carrot in private."

"Oh. Okay…"

Aether pulled Melody over by the stall where his wendigo was. 

"Okay so what do you want to talk to me about?" Aether asked.

Melody rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, that mare that I saw you with when I was on my date with Fancy, is she your marefriend?"

Aether shook his head. "No she's not, she's my cousin."

"Oh, I thought she was your marefriend because of what she said about me being the one who dumped you. What was that about anyway?" Melody asked. 

"Silme doesn't want carrots anymore, she wants apples!" Aether declared. He was trying to tell her in a way that was encrypted enough for her to understand. It was mostly because he was afraid that somepony might overhear what he and Melody were talking about. 

Melody tilted her head. "What?"

"Silme told me that she wants apples now and she wants to share them because it's all part of the plan," Aether said.

Melody frowned and gave Aether a confused look. She knew "Silme wants a carrot" is their codewords for something's up with their plan to out Fancy as a soon to be traitor. But Silme wants apples? She had no idea what that meant. 

"What I mean is, Silme likes carrots but she-" Aether started.

"Could you please explain to me what you're trying to say without being so cryptic about it?" Melody asked with annoyance.

Aether leaned over and whispered into her ear. "I was trying to help make things more believable. I didn't mean to make you upset. So Silme wants an apple to share with you. She's doing her part just like you are."

Melody's eyes went wide when she understood what Aether was talking about. "Oh… Oh! Sorry I was an idiot! I just assumed-"

"Oh don't worry about it. But I will do whatever I can to help," Aether said.

"Actually, let's just stop this," Melody said.

Aether paused. "Huh?"

"Yeah let's stop the secrecy," Melody said, "because I don't want to lose you as a friend. And to be honest I don't like Fancy like that. If anything, I like you like that."

Aether blinked. He had no idea what to say about this confession of love from Melody. He was in love with Melody and he had planned on confessing his love to her sometime in the future he thought maybe he would do it after the plan with Fancy was over with. He smiled. "I like you like that too. I just wanted to help and I made a misunderstanding between us. I'm sorry."

"It's okay now that I know what's going on. I'll talk to Fancy as soon as I can and break up with him," Melody said.

Aether grimaced. "Yeah, that's not going to be a pleasant reaction to the break up. I hope he doesn't take it too hard."

Melody sighed, "Yeah I agree. I hope he doesn't take it too hard."

With that, Melody and Aether parted ways, both of them feeling much better about clearing up their misunderstanding.


*** 


Prince Purple walked down the hallway towards Sapphire's office because he had been summoned there yet again. At this point he was starting to get used to being summoned because it gave him an excuse to talk to Sapphire even though they're not dating. When Prince Purple rounded the corner and got near Sapphire's office he stopped short. He heard Sapphire arguing with a couple of ponies and he recognized their voices. The voices belonged to the three Elder's who are Sapphire's Bosses. Their names are Elder Facade,  Elder Dazzleflash, and Elder Firefly. 

Prince Purple could tell by the sound of the argument that it was about him.

"Listen here Sapphire, he pulled a gun out on Master Shi! How on earth can you let that slide?" Elder Dazzleflash said.

"And not only that he used his buddy in the military to go after you for treason just for doing your job!" Elder Firefly said.

"Not to mention he's a Prince who probably thinks he can get away with anything! This is exactly why we had our reservations about adding any pony who's from the military into being a Gate Guardian!" Elder Facade said.

"I know but-" Sapphire started.

"And another thing, we think you've been getting too soft when it comes down to handing out discipline," Elder Facade said.

"Soft? Me? I've followed your orders down to a T! I even put the Gate Guardians on house arrest under your orders!" Sapphire said.

"Yes you did, but under our orders," Elder Facade said. "You didn't do it because you knew it was the right thing to do within the power we were able to give you from the Royal Court. The Royal Court gave you the power to fire some pony from their job if need be. It's funny because you have no problem threatening somepony with the loss of their job because they're acting like an idiot. But when it comes down to actually following through you let it slide."

"But Prince Purple's a good worker, he just does things different-" Sapphire said.

"He does things differently?" Elder Facade snarled, "Oh he does things different from us alright! He pulled a gun out on Master Shi and you just let it slide! If it were me I would've fired him as soon as I heard about it. There wouldn't have been any threats, just straight up fire him. You have the power to fire someone because the Royal Court gave that power to you. 

"Not to mention you sent the Prince to infiltrate an enemy camp and he killed everyone in it just because he didn't like something someone said. His job was to infiltrate and spy on the enemy, not kill them just because they looked at him sideways. So hand Prince Purple his pink slip and fire him and then you have another very important meeting to get to today. Am I clear?"

Sapphire sighed, "Crystal clear sir."

"Good and don't worry about the Prince's military buddies coming after you for treason. We took care of all of the legal issues concerning that," Elder Facade said. "Not to mention the Prince is probably already standing outside listening to us."

Prince Purple took that as his cue to enter the room. When he entered he saw three elderly ponies sitting across from Sapphire's desk and Sapphire was sitting at her desk glaring at the ponies. After she looked up at Prince Purple her gaze darkened even more.

She motioned for him to take a seat next to Elder Facade in an empty chair. Sapphire sighed, "Prince Purple I'm pretty sure that you heard most of that conversation?"

Prince Purple nodded. "Yes ma'am." He looked at Elder Facade. "To be fair, Head Guardian Sapphire has been doing her job to the best of her abilities. But the military problems aren't my fault and I didn't use that to try and intimidate her."

Elder Facade rolled his eyes. "Oh please give me a break, Your Highness! You're just like every other Royal who waltzes in and oversteps their boundaries just because they think too highly of themselves."

"Really?" Prince Purple snapped. "You think that low of me after everything I've done for Equestria? After all the wars I've been in to make sure Equestria stays safe? I'm not like all of the other Royal's because-"

Elder Facade got off his chair and got right up in Prince Purple's face. "Listen to me Your Highness, I don't like your tone so you'd better watch it! I've been in plenty of wars myself before I got to this position. I worked my flank off to get to where I am today. If I messed up at my job I'd be in trouble too. You're not above the law just because you're a person of Royalty. As a matter of fact, I think it's time we give you a lesson about how you're not above the law."

He turned his attention to Sapphire. "Ms. Sapphire, please hand him his letter." 

Sapphire did as she was told. Prince Purple took the letter and frowned. "You know you're going to regret this right?"

Elder Facade laughed, "Oh we won't regret this because we don't need a suicidal maniac like you working as a Guardain. But hey look on the bright side! You still have your other job in the military. So you can do what you do best over there. You're not cut out to be a Gate Guardian period."

Prince Purple looked over at Sapphire who at this point was looking everywhere else but at him. "Head Guardian Sapphire?"

She looked at him. "Yes, Prince Purple?"

"You don't think low of me do you?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No I don't. This is out of my hooves please don't make this harder than what it has to be…"

Elder Facade laughed a wicked laugh, "Aww isn't that cute! It's a shame you two aren't dating. You'd make a cute couple!"

Sapphire looked like she wanted to say something but she chose to keep her mouth shut. Prince Purple didn't like the way Elder Facade practically taunted Sapphire about not dating him. He had a feeling that if he defended himself further it would make things worse.

"Is there anything else you need from me?" Prince Purple asked.

"Nope, you can go," Elder Facade said.

"Elder Facade!" Sapphire said, "This is my office!"

Elder Facade sneered at her, "And?"

"Shouldn't you at least show me some respect by letting me dismiss the Prince?" Sapphire said.

Elder Facade scoffed, "Last time I checked I'm your Boss. So you can't tell me what to do!"

"Facade please calm down!" Elder Dazzleflash said, "You're gonna give yourself a heart attack if you keep going this way."

Elder Facade scoffed again, "I'm perfectly fine thank you very much." He glared at Prince Purple. "Now Your Highness, you're dismissed!"

“For one I didn’t want to be a Prince in the first place, Elder Facade! And get your facts straight because I didn’t want to be a Prince!” said Purple, “I just became one to make Princess Twilight happy! I just wanted a normal life, not one filled with politics! The life I wanted was a quiet settled down life with a girlfriend or a wife and a few foals! But excuse me for relying on my elite specialized military training to survive in a civilian world! What I did as a special forces soldier would make you cry like a foal or run away like a foal! To me you’re the type who would sit behind a desk and give orders and not be with his soldiers through the mud and the blood! By the look of it you never seen your friends who were more brotherly and more sisterly to you die in ways you can’t forget and you never thought could happen or in never imagined ways! For two get out of my face or something bad will happen to you and if you want to fight well everything in Ms. Sapphire’s office is a weapon even the other two Elders, Sapphire herself and even you’re a weapon I can use to fight you.”

“Also your vibe strikes me as ‘The superior officer is always right and never wrong’ yeah I thought that too until my superior officer told my unit to open fire at a enemy combat group but it was actually a friendly unit who was under radio silence and two ponies in the other group were more of a brother and sister to me than my own brother and sister. You’re the type that gets mileage out of everything and thinks that commanding officers aren’t wrong. And how you sound you never had to sit and watch your friends get gassed to death, asphyx to death, get shot, get torn to shreds or burn to death. Also I highly doubt on your twentieth birthday you got hot under the collar which got your two best friends since kindergarten who were more of brothers to you than your own brother died because you got hot under the collar, I have and I have to live with it while you don’t. 

"I have to live with the decisions I had to make. What would you have done? I have to live with the conscience of ninety thousand soldiers’ deaths. I have to live with the tough decisions I had to make. What would any of you four have done instead? Out of the four of you only one I can see who would be a frontline officer would be Head Guardian Sapphire Rose while you three would be hundreds if not thousands of miles behind friendly lines sitting in an office. I didn’t become Lieutenant General in the Equestrian Army and Equestrian Special Forces by going to Officer Candidate School. I did it by being brutal and savage in war. I did it because I had the guts by not playing by the books. If you don’t like how I was trained then go cry to Brigadier General Ruby Velvet or Major General Flavor Wings. Go cry to my parents about it… Oh wait, my biological parents have been dead for almost forty one years, my adoptive mother has been dead for nineteen years, and my adoptive father has been dead for seventeen years, the mares in my family will ‘listen’ to you three Elders. Also, have any of you had to deal with super weapons, wonder weapons, killing high ranking officers, destroying prototypes in heavily defended bases or whatnot? I’m the one that the military calls when they don’t have no one else qualified for it.”

"Also two and a half hours ago I put in my resignation papers so I'm no longer a Prince. And Elder Facade get off of your high horse and stop acting like you're better than everypony else. Get your head out of your butt ya moron. You're acting like half of my sexist, misogynistic family members and half of my family that act like their foals and to me you're acting like a foal. If it wasn't for me then eleven years ago all of you would be skeletons or soaked with fatal levels of radiation with the rest of Canterlot."

"Also when you said 'Aww isn't that cute! It's a shame you two aren't dating. You'd make a cute couple' well I did have a crush on Sapphire but I'm not going to push my luck by asking her out on a date because I already know that her answer is no even though Princess Twilight set us up on an unwanted date. Also Fa-idiot, it’s Lieutenant General Purple not Prince Purple. Have a good day Elder Dazzleflash, Elder Firefly, and Head Guardian Sapphire. Elder Fa-moron? I'll see you in Hell! Also all of you just locked yourselves out of new intel from my spies in Phantasia’s army and my specialist can anticipate Phantasia’s movements and tap into their communications and my spies give me what Phantasia is planning. I’m sure his ex will give you intel that’s older than mold on bread and sing any tune you want her to sing or is it whistle any tune y’all want her too. Also I didn’t sic Lieutenant-Colonel Vigorous Orchestria on her and she won’t take any of y’all to court, her court is bullets and special made munitions that can penetrate magical shields that no matter how strong the shield is the special munitions can penetrate the shield and either seriously harm or kill the ones in the shield. I’ve also been through hell on Equss that would make you three run like foals! Have any of you been told to defend a spot but at night it’s so dark you can’t see your snout? And the enemy will slip up on you and slit your throat before you can scream? And your buddies who are more family to you than your own family sleeping next to you and if the enemy is right in front of you then they’ll kill you or capture you before you can warn them. No? Then don’t act like you know what going through hell is like! Fa-Idiot you’re lucky that I didn’t shove you out of my face and if you want a war Facade then you’ll need a closed coffin funeral!  Good day Ms. Sapphire, the rest I’ll see in Hell." 

He got up from his seat and left the room.


***


Once Prince Purple left, Sapphire took a deep breath and let it out, "I think you've made a mistake Elder Facade."

Elder Facade groaned, "You see this is exactly what I'm talking about. And don't give me this BS about we're burning bridges and stuff like that. Don't worry, I got friends in high places so we'll be fine on intel and besides we can always send in another pony who can do a better job of spying on ponies. And I'm pretty sure the Prince's replacement won't go killing ponies just because they looked at him sideways. Do you know how many ponies would be dead if I did that?"

When Sapphire didn't respond Elder Facade said, "A LOT OF PONIES! Actually, just about every other pony I meet would be dead! The cashier at the grocery store would be dead, the pony who mows my lawn every other weekend would be dead, my dog sitter would be dead. That was exactly why I don't interact with those ponies much because they have very conflicting viewpoints on just about everything!

"I've had to do jobs that I didn't like when I was serving as a soldier underneath someone and I didn't go killing people just because I thought I knew best. Nobody knows better than their superiors."

At this point Elder Dazzleflash and Elder Firefly went silent and they just sat there listening to Elder Facade ramble on and lecture Sapphire about things. 

"But what if the superior is actually wrong and makes a mistake?" Sapphire questioned.

Elder Facade's left eye twitched in annoyance. "Did you hear a word that I just said?"

"But nopony's perfect on things and I'm sure you might've made a mistake or two when handing down orders to somepony," Sapphire said.

"Let me tell you again, nobody knows better than their superiors! Just like the Prince doesn't know better than you and you don't know better than I do!" Elder Facade said, "Do you understand me?"

Sapphire gave a defeated sigh, "Yes sir. I understand."

Elder Facade nodded. "Good. Now remember how I said you have another important meeting today?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes."

"Follow me, she's in a dungeon right now," Elder Facade said. 

He got off his chair and Elder Dazzleflash and Elder Firefly along with Sapphire got off their chairs and followed suit. They walked downstairs to the front of the castle and got a carriage ride to the other side of town where the dungeon's were located. Once they got out of the carriage they walked into the building and after checking to let the officers on duty know they were there they headed downstairs to the dungeon. 

They walked down another hallway that was very dimly lit so bad that Sapphire could barely see the back of her hoof. Elder Facade finally came to a halt in front of a dungeon. He smiled when he took out a set of keys that he had gotten from the jailer and unlocked the dungeon's door. 

When the door opened it revealed a young earth pony mare who had to be at least in her early twenties. Her fur was light blue and her mane was white. She had a cutie mark that was a lightning bolt coming out of a dark gray cloud. The mare looked like she hadn't slept in days. 

Elder Facade smiled at the mare as if she was a long lost friend. "Ah! Rapid Chaser! It's so nice to see you again. It's good to know you've kept your word about staying in this hellhole to show us that you don't have ill-intentions."

Rapid blinked. "I only agreed to work with you guys to break the dark magic on Little Snack. And in return, I will give you information on my ex-boyfriend Phantasia."

Elder Facade nodded. "Mhm and you know what happens once the deal has been fulfilled right?"

Rapid shook her head. "No, I don't."

"You'll be put on trial for treason and more than likely because you gave vital information on how to bring Phantasia down, you'll be sitting in a dungeon for the rest of your life," Elder Facade said.

Rapid sighed, "I should've known I wouldn't have been allowed to go free even after I helped."

Elder Facade shrugged. "Eh, that's too bad because that's the way the cookie crumbles. Think of this as a reward. We can't banish you from Equestria because the information that you have could fall into the wrong hooves. And I don't think the Royal Court will want to execute you after helping them out. So you'll be able to live. Granted it won't be a nice cozy life from here on out but at least you'll be able to live and the same thing goes for your friend Little Snack."

At this point Sapphire was starting to feel a little uneasy about things and she didn't know why. She hated Elder Facade because of his choice of words to Rapid and to Prince Purple. She hated the way he talked down to Prince Purple as if he was just the dirt beneath his hooves. She made a resolve to write Prince Purple an apology note about what happened. 

Elder Facade cleared his throat, "Oh Ms. Sapphire, could you please snap out of la la land? Overthinking things isn't going to get you anywhere at the moment. Let's focus on what Rapid has to tell us."

Sapphire nodded and tried her best to pay attention to the information Rapid relayed to them. Rapid gave them a lot of details about what Phantasia planned to do for Equestria a lot of which Sapphire casted a recording spell just to record Rapid's voice to go over the information later. Sapphire kept to the other end of the bargain by breaking the very complex magic the Phantasia put Little Snack under. Even though Little Snack was confused and disoriented after the spell was broken she slowly started to turn back into her old self again.

Once everything was said and done Sapphire and the Elder's parted ways and Sapphire went home to get started on writing that apology note to Purple.


***


Three days after Prince Purple was fired from being a Gate Guardian he received a note that had the Head Guardian Sapphire's seal on it. Curious as to what the letter would say, Prince Purple opened it. The letter read like this:

Dear Prince Purple,

I hope this letter finds you alive and well. I'm writing this to apologize to you about how everything went down three days ago. While I can't get you your job back as a Gate Guardian even though you were on the reserve team I'm very sorry for Elder Facade's condescending attitude towards you. He doesn't seem to understand that not all ponies within the Royal Family act like Prince Blueblood. 

I still extend my hoof in friendship with you. That is if you still want to be my friend? If not, then I totally understand. Again I'm sorry about how everything went down and I think things could've been handled better. 

Sincerely,

Head Guardian Sapphire Rose 

Prince Purple smiled as he read the letter. He'd love to stay friends with Sapphire and that was the most heartfelt note he'd gotten in a while from somepony. So he decided to pay Sapphire a visit at her office to clear the air so to speak. 

He talked to her about the note and accepted her apology. They continued being friends even though they weren't coworkers anymore.


***


Elder Facade sat in his living room. He was restless so he got up and went to the balcony of his bedroom to get some fresh air. He went upstairs to the balcony because he didn't want anyone to find out what he was talking to himself about.

Actually he was talking into his recorder about his future plans for Equestria once Phantasia was dealt with. 

He sighed and pressed the record button on his recorder, "Journal entry #999…. Phase one of taking over Equestria is complete. I have all if not most of the information that Phantasia's ex-girlfriend Rapid Chaser gave me. And thanks to the connections that I have in high places within the government it shouldn't be too hard to stage a coup once Phantasia is dealt with. Honestly, I think gender shouldn't matter when it comes down to ruling a country.

"I think it should all come down to bloodline and bloodline only. I think I have the perfect bloodline and I'm the perfect ruler for Equestria! Not to mention I already have a child who can be the heir to the throne. But it'll have to wait until Phantasia is dealt with and once he is dealt with Equestria will be mine for the taking!"

He laughed a sinister laugh and after he was done laughing he put his recorder away in what he thought was a safe hiding spot. After he did that he went to bed.  
> Chapter Twenty-One
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melody paused as she looked at the mirror in her bedroom. She cleared her throat as she practiced her breakup speech that she was going to give to Fancy. "So Fancy, I just wanted to say I'm sorry because I still have feelings for Aether…" She shook her head and mentally scolded herself. She looked up at the doorway to see Apple Bloom laughing. She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I just think it's funny that you're talking to yourself in the mirror practicing a breakup speech. You're acting like you're going to ask him out and not breaking up with him," Apple Bloom said.

Melody sighed, "I know it's just I want to let him down as easily as possible. I know he might take it pretty hard though…"

Apple Bloom sat down on the bed and sighed, "Yeah I know stallions like Fancy tend to be pretty sensitive sometimes. But even if you let him down gently he might refuse to take it to heart."

Melody paused. "Meaning?"

"Meaning, if he doesn't take the break up to heart then he'll still think you guys are together when you aren't anymore. I've had stallions try to do that to me in the past. And if he tries to do that to you then be firm with him," Apple Bloom explained.

Melody nodded. "Right."

The doorbell rang and Melody went downstairs to answer it. She made sure to give a polite smile to Fancy after he hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. 

"So how's it going?" Fancy asked as he took his seat at the kitchen table. He smiled when he saw an apple pie with three plates on the table sitting next to it.

"Oh, uh hi Fancy!" Apple Bloom said, "I just came down here to grab my slice of pie and I'll be in the guest room if you need me."

Fancy looked confused when Apple Bloom grabbed her slice of pie and left. Melody tilted her head. "What?"

"Well I thought Apple Bloom would join us. But then again we're both adults so there's no need for a chaperone," Fancy said.

Melody nodded. "Yeah the main reason Apple Bloom went into the other room is because I have something to tell you."

"Oh? And what might that be?" Fancy asked.

"Well remember how I told you that I wanted to either date you or Aether and Aether told me that he didn't like me so I chose to date you?" Melody said.

Fancy nodded slowly. "Uh-huh."

"It turns out that Aether realized he made a mistake in rejecting me and he wants to be with me. And I still want to be with him. So…." Melody said.

Fancy sighed, "You're breaking up with me aren't you?"

"Yes. But we can still be friends right?" Melody asked.

Fancy shook his head. "No we can't. Because I already know it's going to be hard for me to see you with Aether. So from now on, our relationship is strictly business since we work the same jobs as Gate Guardians."

Melody felt hurt by what Fancy just said but she understood his viewpoint about things. She knew it would be hard for him just for her to break up with him in general. She honestly thought that he was taking this a lot better than she thought he would. 

Melody nodded slowly. "Alright then… I totally understand. So see you at training?"

Fancy nodded. "Sure see you at training."

Little did Melody know that this would be the last time that she would see Fancy at training or anywhere else in Equestria.


*** 


Fancy Dark stomped angrily into his bathroom when he got home. He stood in front of the mirror to see Fancy Mark smirking at him. "Well it was fun while it lasted huh Dark?"

Fancy Dark snarled, "I don't know what you're talking about! The fun is still going!"

"Do you still plan to serve Phantasia?" Fancy Mark asked.

"Yes I do," Fancy Dark said.

"You do realize that once you leave you'll have no access to the West Gate anymore and you won't remember being a Guardian right?" Fancy Mark asked. 

Fancy Dark scoffed. "Tsk, tsk do you think I believe that crap? Well I don't! I think it's something that Head Guardian Sapphire uses as a threat to keep us from quitting."

Fancy Mark shook his head. "Nope! That's not it because I think it is that serious. If you want to quit you can you just won't have any memories of being a Gate Guardian. It's for the safety of Equestria."
 
Fancy Dark scoffed again. "Safety of Equestria my flank! Don't worry my plans will fall into place perfectly and you'll be the fool here, not me!"

"Fine then since you insist on being a fool then I won't ever appear to you ever again," Fancy Mark said. "Even when you lose your memories I won't be there. So goodbye!"

With that, Fancy Mark faded into nothingness and the mirror returned to its normal self. Fancy Dark shook his head in dismay. He went back into the bedroom and started packing. He was going to join Phantasia's army if it was the last thing he did.


***


Sapphire was woken up abruptly in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. She had that nightmare again, the one where she was walking over the skeletons of her family members, ponies she called friends and even ponies that she considered her enemies all from the Nintis Empire. 

She remembered when she went back to see what was left of the Nintis Empire and it was a heartbreaking sight to see. Skeletons of the citizens were all over the place and just about everywhere you looked there were small fires that had been set to blaze for all eternity. 

When she got towards what was left of her castle she almost emptied the contents of her stomach. In front of the castle on a line of flagpoles were the heads of her dad, her mom, her grandfather and her grandmother perfectly reserved with magic. She walked past them and went to check to see if her old room was intact. It was and she grabbed her photo albums and anything that she thought was of value and left. But before she left the Nintis Empire behind she took the heads of her family members off the flagpoles and buried them. 

She said her final goodbye to her home and never went back. 

What most ponies don't know about Sapphire is that the home that she has at the outskirts of the Crystal Empire isn't her real home. True she'll stay there from time to time but that isn't where she prefers to live. She actually lives in the library that was the basement underneath the castle in Canterlot. That's also where she works because it has a secret passageway for her to monitor the magic of the Gates to help her protect Equestria better. 

She had been Head Guardian for over a thousand years now and every time war breaks out or a war is threatening to break out she has that dream over and over again. Most ponies and that includes the Elder's would assume that she constantly looked tired when there was a high alert situation because she was overworked. True, she did work long hours and sometimes 24/7 when situations like what was currently going on with Phantasia. But most of the reason why she looked tired was because of barely getting any sleep. At most she averaged at least four hours of sleep a night lately. That is, if it were possible to get any sleep at all during the week. 

Ever since Phantasia popped up she had been working 24/7 whether it be getting paperwork done during the hours she worked at her office or going to meetings that the Elder's had marked VERY IMPORTANT. Lately, those meetings seemed to be happening a lot. Sapphire being a workaholic was one of the reasons why she had a little bit of a mental break on her birthday this year. 

Anyway, she had that nightmare again but this time when she woke up she had a bad feeling. After rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes she noticed her cutie mark was glowing. Then she felt it… It had been over a century since the last time this had happened. The feeling meant that one of the Gate Guardian's lost their connection with their Gate and that Gate had sealed itself off in order to keep anypony else from using it.

"Crap!" Sapphire said. She immediately teleported to where the Gate Crystals were to figure out which Gate had sealed itself off.

She entered the room and floating above a gold altar were five Gate Crystals. The Gate Crystal that was floating at the top represented the North Gate and it had the Element of Honesty's Crystal floating next to it. The Gate Crystal floating to the right of the North Gate Crystal represented the East Gate and the Element of Kindness's Crystal floating next to it. The Gate Crystal floating below the East Gate Crystal represented the South Gate and the Element of Generosity's Crystal was floating next to it. The Gate Crystal floating to the left of the South Gate represented the West Gate and the Element of Laughter's Crystal was floating next to it. In the center of the crystal was the fifth Gate Crystal and it represented the Center Gate and the Element of Loyalty's Crystal was floating next to it.

Princess Twilight's Element of Harmony Crystal wasn't there because her Element of Harmony wasn't paired with a Gate but it was paired with Sapphire's magic. It was because of the fact that Sapphire was the Head Guardian and her job was to make sure that the Gate Guardian's did their job to protect Equestria. 

"Alright then," Sapphire said to herself, "Let's see which Gate is having problems. I hope it's nothing too serious because right now I've been having one headache after another lately. From anywhere to having Prince Purple get fired to having Elder Facade act a cranky old fart even more than usual lately and let's not forget about that horrible nightmare." She paused and then chuckled, "Wow, I must be tired because I'm talking to myself again!"

She stood in front of the altar and took a deep breath. It took her a moment but she cleared her head of negative thoughts as she concentrated on the magic coming from the Gate Crystals. She checked the North Gate and everything was fine there, she checked the East Gate, nothing was wrong there, nothing was wrong with the Center Gate and the South Gate. However, when she got to the West Gate she stopped. 

She looked over when she saw her cutie mark was glowing and she felt like she was being electrocuted as she focused her magic on the West Gate Crystal. After a moment or two she stopped her magic from going into the West Gate Crystal and that's how she found out that it was the West Gate that had sealed itself off. She gasped when she saw West Gate's Crystal lying on the altar with no power coming from it. The Element of Laughter's Crystal lying next to it. 

She gathered up the West Gate Crystal and the Element of Laughter's Crystal in a box and started to head out to her office.


***


Once Sapphire got to her office in Canterlot, no sooner had she entered her office, her assistant Tumble came running in. Sapphire checked the time on the clock hanging on the nearby wall. It was 7:30 am! She blinked. What the heck is Tumble doing here so early in the morning?

She didn't have to ask that question out loud because Tumble answered it by saying, "There's an urgent message from the Elder's and Princess Twilight! You're being summoned to the throne room!"

Sapphire's eyes went wide because she knew that every time she was summoned to the throne room it was because of an emergency. "Did they say why?"

Tumble shook her head. "Nope. They also said something about needing you to bring the document 6.6.6 with you? I have no idea what that means. They said you would know what they were talking about."

Sapphire tried her best to keep herself composed. If the Elder's were asking her to bring the document 6.6.6 with her then the situation is bad! Not just bad, it's REALLY BAD!  That's because there were only five times that Sapphire had to invoke that document and it was during times of war. She hoped that she wouldn't have to invoke it. 

She didn't waste any time asking any more questions. She went to her safe underneath her desk in her office and took out the document 6.6.6. She grabbed her bag that held the box that had the West Gate Crystal and the Element of Laughter's Crystal in it and after making sure the safe was locked she headed to the throne room.  
> Chapter Twenty-Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Sapphire arrived at the throne room she paused before going in because she heard the loud and angry voices of Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. They were arguing along with the voices that belonged to Elder Facade, and Elder Dazzleflash and Elder Firefly. 

"Elder Facade! What is the meaning of this?" Elder Firefly shrieked.

"It's nothing really," Elder Facade said, "I'm just making sure that Equestria comes under new management."

"New Management? Seriously?" Princess Twilight roared. "I don't know what you're talking about! You have no authority to do this! Let me out of this cage right now!"

Elder Facade gave an evil laugh, "Oh I don't think you're in any shape to make demands from me little missy! And if Sapphire's smart she'll hand over the deed to Equestria and make me the true ruler! If Sapphire's not going to step up and do her job then I'll do it for her. Honestly, I don't understand why that mare decided to forsake her duties as ruler and  let the puppets take the lead."

"No, if Sapphire's smart she'll realize something is wrong because we put in a section in the document that says no one can order her to use it. It is hers to use at her own discretion!" Princess Celestia declared. "I have no idea why she didn't take her rightful place on the throne but that just shows that she's not a corrupt ruler. And from what I've seen she tends to be very territorial when it comes down to protecting her home and her loved ones!"

Princess Celestia's declaration about Sapphire's character was all Sapphire needed to retreat and summon the Gate Guardian's to the training area and put the training area on lockdown until she figured out what to do next. 


***


Sapphire got to the training area and every Gate Guardian got there and included a few Gate Guardians from the reserve team to replace the West Gate Guardian. Most of the Guardian's there were confused. Melody looked worried because she didn't see Fancy there and Thunder was grumpy because he had been woken up so early in the morning. 

But when Sapphire stepped on the stage before them dressed as a soldier ready to go to war the Gate Guardian's there knew the situation was serious. Sapphire's outfit consisted of steel toed boots on her hooves, a metal plate hanging from her shoulders and snuggly fit around her waist. There was a huge sapphire jewel plated into the metal plate. She had a helmet on that was made of metal and had metal stripes at the sides and there were slits on the helmet at the top to let her ears stick out at top comfortably. The helmet also had a long red tassel hanging out of it that went down the back of it. The helmet did have a hole on the top of it so her horn could stick out comfortably.

Sapphire stepped to the podium and sighed, "Let me take this helmet off so I can address you guys properly."

"Head Guardian Sapphire, excuse me for speaking out of term but what's going on?" Melody asked. 

"At the moment we aren't just on a high alert situation," Sapphire said. "We are in a code red situation which means war is just around the corner!"

Everyone in the room gasped and Sapphire continued, "Yes I know this is shocking, but there are a few reasons why war is sure to be coming. The first reason is this…"

She pressed a button on the podium and a flatscreen Tv came down from the ceiling and hung behind her. On the Tv screen showed a video of the surveillance cameras in the throne room. It showed Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Twilight in three separate cages. Next to the cages were two soldiers guarding them and there was another cage that held Elder Dazzleflash and Elder Firefly in it. Elder Facade was standing in front of the cages with a small army of soldiers with a mix of mares and stallions standing behind him. 

"Elder Facade has decided to stage a coup and he is holding the Princess's captive until I hand him the keys to the kingdom. He wants to rule over Equestria because he thinks that I have not been doing my job correctly and he can do it better," Sapphire said.

Aether frowned when Sapphire said that. "Excuse me but the last time I checked Princess Twilight was the ruler of Equestria!"

Applejack surprised everyone by speaking up, "Well Princess Twilight isn't the ruler of Equestria, Sapphire is. She just chooses to step aside and let Princess Twilight call the shots. Sapphire added checks and balances in every aspect of Equestria's government. That way everyone, and that includes Sapphire, would have to answer to someone."

"Yeah that's exactly why I was a little upset that I didn't get paired up with Head Guardian Sapphire!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Seriously Rainbow?"

Aether's jaw dropped. "What the heck? Why doesn't everypony know about this?"

"It's a secret for a reason," Sapphire answered, "The truth of the matter is that I let Princess Twilight rule over Equestria in my place because I felt that I wasn't up to the task. Now I see how much of a mistake that was." She gave a bitter chuckle, "Yeah it only took me over two thousand years to realize it. If the wrong pony found out about this they might try and use me as a bargaining chip in order to take over Equestria. I never imagined that one of the ponies that I held in high regard would stab me in the back like this."

She pushed the button on the podium again and a document appeared on the Tv screen. On the document it looked like a decree written in Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's handwriting. 

The document read like this:

From the two sisters Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that rule Equestria, we declare that the true ruler of Equestria is the last surviving Royal Family Member of the Nints Empire, Princess Sapphire Rose. We are returning the land of Equestria to Princess Sapphire Rose, the very land the Founders of Equestria stole from her. 

Princess Sapphire Rose is free to use this document at her discretion to take the position as ruler of Equestria as she sees fit. Whether it be in times of war, or in times of civil distress or if she feels that she is finally ready to take her rightful place on the throne. 

The document was sealed with Equestria's Royal Family seal and it had Princess Celestia's cutie mark and Princess Luna's cutie mark along with Sapphire's cutie mark on it. 

"I know some of you might be a little bit skeptical about this document. But this is the document that Elder Facade is waiting for me to give him in order to destroy it," Sapphire said. "But the document is binded by law and magic so as long as the ones who signed the document are alive the document cannot be destroyed."

She gave everyone a moment to look over the document. Once they did that, she turned the Tv screen off for the moment and pressed another button on the podium and the floor next to her opened and a small altar that looked much like the one that was used at the Appointing Ceremony slowly appeared. 

"The first order of business is to replace the West Gate Guardian. I have no idea what happened but from what I found out early this morning the magic that is connected to the West Gate cut itself off from the Guardian that was supposed to be guarding it," Sapphire said. 

"Oh I know exactly what happened!" Pinkie Pie said, "Fancy left in the middle of the night but he left this letter behind."

Pinkie Pie handed the letter to Sapphire. When she read it she groaned and did a facehoof. "Seriously? He left because he feels Phantasia is the rightful ruler of Equestria?"

Melody sighed, "I was afraid that was going to happen. That's the real reason I was going out with him. I know I shouldn't have lied to everyone and I hope you'll forgive me someday for that but I overheard Fancy talking to himself about wanting to join Phantasia. I knew I couldn't just go and accuse him of being a traitor because he hadn't done it yet and I didn't have any proof that that's what he was going to do."

Applejack nodded and looked at Melody. "Although I don't like the fact that you lied, you did it for the good of Equestria and that's something to be honored. But after this war you and I are going to have a talk little missy!"

Melody sighed again, "I know."

"Okay then, let's worry about replacing the West Gate Guardian first," Sapphire said. "Would the three guardians from the reserve team please step forward?"

Three ponies stepped forward, there were two mares and one stallion. One of the two mares was a unicorn and the other was an Earth pony. The stallion was a unicorn. 

"Would the pony named Stormynight please step forward?" Sapphire asked.

The stallion who was standing next to the two mares on the stage stepped forward and said, "I am Stormynight and it would be an honor to be able to guard the West Gate if I am chosen."

Sapphire nodded and motioned for him to step on the gold plate and she placed the Element of Laughter's Crystal next to the gold and waited for a moment. When nothing happened Stormynight frowned and then bowed. He left the stage.

"Okay, would the mare named Lily please step forward?" Sapphire asked. 

A young mare stepped forward. Her coat was light green and her mane was a dark brown color. Her cutie mark was a bouquet of flowers that were lilies and she was a unicorn. "I am Lily and it would be an honor to guard the West Gate if I am chosen."

Sapphire did the same thing she did for Stormynight. This time the gold plate glowed a bright yellow beam of light and Element of Laughter's Crystal glowed as well. Sapphire smiled and nodded. She turned to the rest of the Gate Guardians. "Everyone, welcome Lily! She is the new West Gate Guardian!"

Everyone in the room cheered, Sapphire cheered along with them. After everything was fixed as far as choosing a replacement for Fancy, Sapphire stopped cheering and brought everyone to silence. 

At that moment, Spike came running into the room. He stopped to catch his breath, "Head Guardian Sapphire… I… Have three messages for you!" 

Sapphire gave Spike a look of surprise when he handed her three scrolls. The first scroll held a message from Princess Twilight telling Sapphire exactly what she already knew about Princess Twilight and the other Princesses being captured. The second scroll surprised Sapphire because it contained a message saying that Equestria's military headquarters was under attack by an army that was about the same size as Equestria's military. But thankfully the message said that Equestria's military was winning for the most part. The third scroll surprised Sapphire even more because it held a declaration of war from Phantasia! 

The third scroll said that Equestria's military had attacked Phantasia's army first so he felt the need to declare war. He demanded that the Gate Guardians surrender and the ruler of Equestria surrender as well so there won't be any more pointless blood shed.

Sapphire had no doubt that the soldiers attacking Phantasia's army were a part of Elder Facade's faction who supported him and not the actual military in Equestria. 

After Sapphire read the scrolls she immediately came up with a plan. She turned to the Tv screen and pulled up the map of Equestria. "Okay, these scrolls contain urgent messages and in order to take care and protect Equestria I'm dividing the Guardians up into the three groups." She zoomed into the area that was the location of Equestria's Military's Headquarters. "The first group will be sent to the Headquarters of Equestria's Military to help aid in the fighting over there. Apparently there's another army that decided to attack Equestria as well. I'm going to assume these soldiers are part of the Elder Facade's faction." 

She lit up her horn and casted a spell that gave her access to the Headquarters security cameras to see how bad the fighting was. The fighting looked really bad. There were dead bodies just about everywhere you looked in every room in the headquarters building and outside the building. Thankfully none of the ponies dead looked like soldiers from the Equestrian Army. 

Sapphire looked around the room and saw the horrified looks on everyone's faces. "I know this is hard to see but this is what you've been trained for! In times of war it is important that Equestria stays safe! Equestria is your home, don't let anypony take it from you just like my original home was taken from me." She continued, "The next group of ponies I'm going to send to the front lines where the war is taking place."

She pointed at the screen where the border of Equestria was. "I don't have any security camera footage that I could show how bad the fighting is over there. But regardless of how bad the fighting is, give it your all!" She pointed to the screen that showed where Canterlot's Castle was. "The third group of ponies will be coming with me to the throne room. I already showed you the security footage there."

She nodded and turned off the Tv screen once more and the Tv rose up into the ceiling and disappeared. She divided the Gate Guardians up into three groups and put a pony in charge of the group that was going to help Equestria's Military. She put a pony in charge of the group that was going to the front lines in battle with Phantasia's Army. The last group of the ponies that were headed to the throne room with her were the main Gate Guardian's. 

Before Sapphire and the main team of the Gate Guardians along with the Elements of Harmony Bearers left to go to the throne room she turned around and said, "Remember what I said. This is what you have been trained for! Now let's go show Equestria and its enemies what the Gate Guardians are made of!"

With a loud battle cry, Sapphire and the Gate Guardians behind her charged out of the training area and into battle.  
> Chapter Twenty-Three
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Fancy Dark finally found Phantasia's Army's camp he was very excited. However what he didn't pay much attention to was that his magic had been disconnected from the West Gate. What he didn't know was that the moment he opened his mouth about being a Gate Guardian he would forget about being one and his memories would be erased for all eternity.  

Fancy smiled when he saw a tent that had a sign next to it and it said: IN VOLUNTEERS STALLIONS ONLY!!!!

"Well I'm volunteering and I'm a stallion, this must be my lucky day!" Fancy said to himself. He strolled into the tent and smiled at the stallion sitting behind a desk who looked bored to tears.

The stallion looked up at Fancy. "Hello there my name is Blaze. Nice to meet you. Are you here to sign up Phantasia's Army?"

Fancy nodded. "Yup! And I have info that Phantasia might want to know. It concerns the Gate Guardians. I know who the Guardian of the West Gate is and I've been able to convince him to join Phantasia's side because we all know he's going to be the next ruler of Equestria."

Blaze perked up. "You know the Guardian of the West Gate! Dude that's epic! Wait right here, let me go get Sergeant Timberwolf!"

Blaze left the tent for a moment and when he came back he had another pony with him. The pony's fur was dark brown and his mane was white. His cutie mark was a couple of logs underneath a fire. The stallion looked at Fancy and frowned. "So you say you have some important information for Phantasia?"

Fancy nodded. "Yes sir. It's about the West Gate Guardian, I know him and he wants to join Phantasia's army."

The stallion narrowed his eyes. "I see. Well come with me, we'll see if your information is worth something. Because if it isn't, I feel sorry for whatever Phantasia might do to you. He is a very important stallion and he doesn't have time for useless information."

"Yes, of course I totally understand," Fancy said.

He followed Sergeant Timberwolf into a huge tent and saw a stallion with white fur and a black mane, his cutie mark was a silver shield with a gold crown in the middle of it. He recognized this stallion to be Phantasia. Phantasia was standing next to a desk looking at a map deep in thought.

Sergeant Timberwolf cleared his throat, "Your Highness, there is someone here to see who claims to have information about the West Gate Guardian."

Phantasia looked up and chuckled, "Please don't call me Your Highness, I'm not the ruler of Equestria yet." He turned his attention to Fancy. "So I'm going to assume you're the pony with the information?"

Fancy nodded and smiled. "Yes I do have the information! I'm the-"

It was at that moment that every bit of magic Fancy had with his Gate was cut off completely and he stood there staring at Phantasia in a daze. After a moment or two Fancy snapped out of it only this time it wasn't Fancy Dark in control it was Fancy Mark. But even with that happening Fancy's memories of being a West Gate Guardian disappeared. The oath that Fancy had with the Blood Goddess broke and Fancy Dark disappeared forever. 

Phantasia tapped his hoof on the ground impatiently. "Well?"

"I, uh… Huh?" Fancy said as he looked around the room confused as to how he got there. He blinked. "How… Did I get here?"

Phantasia frowned. "You said you had information about the West Gate Guardian?" 

Fancy tilted his head. "Say what now?"

Phantasia groaned, "Alright Sergeant Timberwolf, this guy is obviously pulling your leg. Please either put him on the front lines with all the other new stallions in this army. Because he clearly came here to volunteer so might as well make himself useful and not waste anymore of my time!"

Sergeant Timberwolf sighed, "Yes sir!" He grabbed Fancy unicorn magic and pushed him out the entrance of the tent. 
Once he and Fancy were outside he snarled, "Well you heard him! Follow me and if you're lucky you'll survive this war! Or maybe not, I don't care."

Sergeant Timberwolf grabbed Fancy his magic once more to make sure that he was following him as they walked towards a trench that was set up on front lines of battle. 


***


Sapphire and the main Gate Guardians made their way to the castle in Canterlot and they paused at the sight of the fighting taking place outside the castle. There were a lot of soldiers there! There had to at least be over thousands upon thousands of soldiers fighting. From what Sapphire could tell there were four groups of soldiers fighting, there were soldiers from Elder Facade's faction, there were soldiers from Equestria's military fighting, there were the Gate Guardians, the main group that was with her had charged head first into battle, and there was also Phantasia's Army fighting. Sapphire didn't think twice before she followed her Gate Guardians into battle. 

She'd been in plenty of wars before and this war was no different to her. It had actually been years since the last war she'd been in and she felt really excited to be fighting again. She felt fighting was her calling. She felt fighting was the reason why she had been given a cutie mark that represented a legendary flower that only grew within the Nintis empire every one hundred years. Now because of her magic she could grow that type of flower whenever she wanted. 

Sapphire smiled when she saw how the Gate Guardians were fighting and she thought she'd help increase their powers by ten to give them a little bit of an advantage. But before she could cast that spell she had to fight through a couple of Phantasia's soldiers in hoof to hoof combat. Her smile turned into a grin when she killed every single one of Phantasia's soldiers that dared to challenge her to a fight. 

Alright, it's time for me to cast this spell and give my teammates a bit of a boost! Sapphire thought. She casted the spell and she knew her teammates felt it. She watched as Aether covered Melody in the fight when his speed was faster than normal. She watched Melody as her voice was stronger than normal before she attacked. She watched as Firewing was able to take to the skies and pull off his super secret weapon that looked like a sonic rainboom but it was made of red flames that rained down upon the soldiers burning them alive. She watched as Thunder's lighting bolts started striking the soldiers he was fighting and they were electrocuted and after a lighting bolt hit them, the soldiers' lifeless bodies fell to the ground. Last but not least, she watched as the new Gate Guardian Lily's horn lit up and she casted a spell that made green vines pop up out of the ground trapping every soldier that she was fighting and she strangled every single one of them to death.

Sapphire paused when she saw Purple in the middle of the fight doing hoof to hoof combat and shooting most of the soldiers he was fighting in the head with perfect headshots with his gun. 

"Hey Purple!" She called out, "Do you have any guns that I can use?"

"What kind do you want?" Purple responded without even looking at her as he kept firing his gun. 

"Machine guns and maybe a flamethrower?" Sapphire asked.

That made Purple pause for a short second. "A flamethrower? Why?"

She shook her head. "Don't worry about why, do you have one?"

Purple shook his head. "Nope, sorry all out of flamethrowers! But…"

He shot an enemy soldier in the head and wrestled his gun away from him which just happened to be a light machine gun. Sapphire didn't care what make or model the machine gun was, all she cared about was that it was a machine gun. 

Purple smiled. "Well looks like you're in luck!" He tossed her the machine gun and she caught it in her magic.

"Great, all I need is a flamethrower and since there's none hanging around I'll just have to modify the spell a bit, unless…" Sapphire said. She looked up when she saw a group of soldiers running from what looked like a main battle army tank. She lifted the tank up in her magic effortlessly and after making sure the pony inside of it got out of it safely she sealed it off.  She smiled a wicked smile. "Perfect! This is much better than a flamethrower!"

As Sapphire lifted the battle tank in the air about as high as she could she casted a spell that duplicated the tank. She casted another spell that helped her track Elder Facade's soldiers as well as some of Phantasia's soldiers. As soon as she did that, she pulled the trigger inside the main battle tank's system. Bullets rained down on the soldiers killing every single one of them with perfect headshots! 

"Alright, let's bring on the flames! Time to get rid of these pesky soldiers!" Sapphire said.

She lit up her horn and a bright flash of light appeared and was replaced by a wall of flames that went straight towards another group of enemy soldiers fighting nearby. Every enemy soldier burned alive. She grinned when she saw Purple looking at her with his jaw dropped. "What? Did you really think that I didn't have any fighting experience? I've been in more battles in all the years you've been alive! Just because I don't talk about it doesn't mean I haven't done it. And, just because I don't go crying about the ponies I've lost along the way doesn't mean I'm over it. Well, stop staring at me like that! Let's finish getting rid of these stupid bugs from our kingdom!"

Purple composed himself. "Right! Let's do this!"

Sapphire and Purple continued to fight their way through the soldiers. Sapphire couldn't help but think about how much she needed to get to the Princesses. 


***


Sapphire and Purple fought through the enemy soldiers that were guarding the castle. When got to the entrance of the castle Purple took out the enemy soldiers standing at the entrance. 

“Alright what’s the plan?” Purple asked as they ran up the stairs to the first floor of the castle.

“Right now, the plan is to get a good point high up to possibly snipe Elder Facade. But even still we still have to find Phantasia. Although I have a feeling that coward won’t be with his troops-“ Sapphire said.

“Oh no my dear, that is where you’re wrong!” They heard a pony declare.

Sapphire snarled when she turned around and saw Phantasia standing there in all his glory smirking. “Well at least you’re not a coward. I’ll give you that.”

Phantasia rolled his eyes. “Oh please you give me too much credit. Did you know that I tried out to be on the reserve team for the Gate Guardians? Sadly, I didn’t get picked for the team.” He shook his head. “Tsk, tsk…”

Sapphire gave him a sinister smile and taunted, “Oh you poor baby! And here I thought Prince Blueblood was bad!”

“And just who do you think you are?” Phantasia sneered.

“Who me? I’m the ruler of Equestria!” Sapphire said.

Phantasia scoffed, “You? The ruler of Equestria? You’re not even an Alicorn! How bold of you to make such a claim. Last time I checked it was Princess Twilight who was the ruler of Equestria, not you.”

“Uh Sapphire? What are you doing? You know that can be considered treason by declaring you’re the ruler of Equestria right?” Purple asked.

Sapphire smirked because what Purple didn’t know was by her saying she was the ruler of Equestria she was invoking the document 6.6.6. That document made her the ruler of Equestria. 

“Oh don’t worry about me Purple,” Sapphire said. “We’ll just worry about dealing with Phantasia first. Then we’ll worry about Elder Facade next.” She stood tall and faced Phantasia. “Phantasia, I challenge you to a fight right here and right now. If you beat me, you get Equestria, if not then you die.”

Phantasia gave her an amused look. “And if I refuse your challenge?”

Sapphire shrugged. “Then you die by default.”

“Sapphire-“ Purple said in a warning tone of voice.

Sapphire put up a wing to silence him. That’s right, a wing! Even though Sapphire’s normally a unicorn, every time she’s invoked the document 6.6.6, she automatically turns into an Alicorn. Purple paused and did a double take just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. Yup, Sapphire was an Alicorn alright.

Phantasia’s jaw dropped. Then he composed himself. “Well, well, well an Alicorn that isn’t on the books for Equestria!”

“I’m not on the books for a reason,” Sapphire said. “So what do you say? Do you accept my challenge?”

He nodded rapidly. “Oh you bet I do! Once I get rid of you Equestria will be mine for the taking!”

“Bring it on!” Sapphire growled. She looked at Purple. “Purple get to the throne room and rescue the Princesses! I’ll be fine here.”

“Copy that, Commander Sapphire,” Purple said. Without another word, he turned and ran up the stairs.
> Chapter Twenty-Four
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sapphire and Phantasia stood staring each other down and they readied their fighting stances. 

“Do you really think I’m afraid of an Alicorn?” Phantasia sneered.

Sapphire chuckled, “Well if you’re brave enough to challenge Equestria to a fight then I’m pretty sure you’re not afraid of an Alicorn. Or was that supposed to be some trash talk before a fight? If so, that’s very cliche of you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever, let's do this!”

At first there wasn’t any magic involved because true to Sapphire’s nature when it comes down to a fight she wants things to be fair. But when she saw the murderous look in Phantasia’s eyes she thought instead of giving him a fair fight she would destroy him with any means necessary. 

During the fight it was hoof to hoof combat at first. But right when it seemed that Phantasia was getting the upper hoof, Sapphire lit up her horn and summoned her Windigo. Her Windigo was the ruler of all Windigo’s! It had been a tradition passed down from generation to generation that every Head Guardian would bond with the ruler of the Windigos. In return, the Head Guardian would give them room and boarding along with food for the Windigos to have a comfortable life in Equestria. 

Sapphire’s Windigo didn’t have a name because the Windigo didn’t bother to tell her what its name was. That was also a tradition for every Head Guardian. 

Phantasia scoffed, “An Alicorn needing the help of a Windigo to win a fight?”

“Actually, my Windigo’s on standby just in case I need the help,” Sapphire said. “It’s a tradition.” She turned to her Windigo. “Isn’t that right?”

The Windigo nodded its head in agreement. Sapphire readied her fighting stance once more. Phantasia pulled out his weapons which were a variety of just about every weapon you could think of. He fired his bullets at Sapphire and she effortlessly dodged them. One bullet and flames from a flamethrower almost clipped one of her wings but Sapphire managed to dodge it just in time. 

She casted a spell and grabbed every single one of Phanstia’s weapons and turned them all into dust. A group of his soldiers came running in and stood at his side ready to open fire on Sapphire if need be. Now it was Sapphire’s turn to scoff, “And you talk about me needing my Windigo to help me. Nice hypocrisy there.”

He laughed, “Yeah one word from me and I’ll make sure that your pretty little head is turned into Swiss cheese!”

Sapphire rolled her eyes. “Of course you will!” She smirked and cast a spell and suddenly six different swords appeared in front of her.

Phantasia gave her a look of disbelief and burst into laughter. “Nice! The Alicorn decided to bring swords into a gunfight! You know you might as well go ahead and use your Windigo to help you!”

“Well go ahead and have your soldiers pull the trigger on their guns,” Sapphire said. “We’ll see how far that gets them!”

He shrugged. “If you say so.” He turned to his soldiers and nodded. “You heard her! Fire!”

Phantasia’s soldiers did as they were told and Sapphire used her swords to deflect every single bullet. She had two swords in front of her deflecting the bullets, one sword to the left of her and one sword to the right of her and two swords behind her. Once Phantasia’s soldiers were done emptying their bullets on her, she stood tall without a scratch on her! 

When Phantasia saw this his jaw dropped and he once again gave her a look of disbelief. “How the-" He narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?”

Sapphire smirked. “I told you I am the true ruler of Equestria! And you will meet your end soon. You’re all out of ammunition, I’ve turned all of your weapons into dust and your soldiers will die as well and I sure as hell know that you won’t be getting anymore backup anytime soon.” 

Sapphire didn’t say anything else when she took her swords and beheaded every single one of Phantasia’s soldiers. She pointed her swords at Phantasia’s neck. “You’re coming with me!”

Before Phantasia could react Sapphire grabbed him in her magic and teleported to the throne room.


***


Once Purple got to the throne room what he saw made his blood boil. He saw the very Elder that fired him, Elder Facade sitting on Princess Twilight’s throne and Princess Twilight, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were cages along with the other two Elders. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Purple snarled. “Let the Princesses go now!”

Elder Facade looked at Purple and laughed, “Wow! I should’ve known Sapphire would send you to face off against me. I knew she was getting too soft being a Head Guardian! She sent you? You got to be kidding me! She sends a Prince who's a yellow belly who'll run away in the next twenty seconds!"

Purple shook his head. “Actually she’s dealing with Phantasia. And somehow she managed to turn herself into an Alicorn! I've killed almost ten thousand ponies and other creatures as a soldier. I smoked dozens and thousands of fools before and I ain't adding to the count unless I have to. And I will! When I do, you're going to be number nine thousand nine hundred and ninety eight!"

Elder Facade snarled when he heard that. “That little b*tch! That means she invoked that document! She was supposed to be a good little worker and hand it over to me! The keys of the kingdom were supposed to be mine!”

Instead of being terrified, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Twilight were smiling like they had been given the best present ever on Hearth's Warming Day! 

“She did it! She did it!” Princess Twilight cheered. “I was wondering when she was going to do that!”

Purple paused. “She did what?”

Princess Celestia grinned. “You’ll see.”

Before Elder Facade could say anything else, there were gunshots and a loud boom at the entrance of the throne room. Sapphire had teleported into the throne room with Phantasia gripped in her magic by his neck. She stomped on the ground with her left forehoof and green ivory vines popped up and surrounded Phantasia and kept him in place. 

At this point in the fight Sapphire was covered in blood and the Sapphire who had been the voice of reason for a long time was long gone. The Sapphire who was standing in the room with Phantasia trapped in the ivory vines was standing tall, she looked like an Alicorn and like a warrior. This is the real Sapphire, the one who is the true ruler of Equestria. Sapphire hated the fact that she had to step out of the shadows and take her place on the throne once more, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Elder Facade gasped, “Sapphire is that you?”

“Oh it’s me alright! It’s bad enough that we had to deal with a bitter pony like Phantasia wanting to rule over Equestria, now I have to deal with a cranky Elder who seems to think way too highly of himself wanting to take over Equestria,” Sapphire growled. “Looks like Equestria’s mother needs to take over and punish the children! Do you know how many ponies I’ve added to my kill count because of your stupidity Elder Facade?”

Elder Facade smirked. “Well it’s about damn time you stepped up and did your job as ruler! It’s a little too late because once I kill the Gate Guardians and your Princesses it’s game over!”

“Yeah right, like that’ll ever happen,” Sapphire said.

Just then all of the Gate Guardians burst through the entrance with Elder Facades soldiers following them. Sapphire groaned as she pulled out her swords once more. She threw her swords at every single one of Elder Facade’s soldiers and beheaded them! 

The main Gate Guardians stood behind Sapphire and she found herself smirking again. “You were saying?”

By this time in the fight Purple had pulled out his gun and pointed it at Elder Facade. “I think you need to stand down. This war is coming to a close and it looks like you’re on the losing side of it.”

Elder Facade dropped his weapon and held up his front hooves to show that he surrendered. He gave a nervous chuckle, “H-hey Prince, look we can talk about this right? Soldier to soldier let’s be civil now-“

Purple cut him off, “Excuse me? If I recall correctly, you were the one who fired me and got right up in my face. What did you say to me? Oh yeah that’s right, something along the lines of 'I’m in charge and I don’t like your tone!” He scoffed, “Talk about this like civil ponies? You mean like how civil you were to me? Yeah right! And I’m not a Prince! I put in my papers to resign and abdicate my position so it’s Lieutenant-General Purple ya dumb moron!”

“That’s enough Purple! We got him and since I’m in control Elder Facade, Elder Dazzleflash and Elder Firefly are fired! I’m done with the checks and balances that I put in place when I helped set up the military,” Sapphire said. She casted a spell that unlocked the cages that the Princesses and the other Elders were being held in. 

They stepped out and Purple ran to Princess Twilight and hugged her. She laughed, “It’s okay Purple, I’m fine. And judging by how weak my powers have gotten in a short period of time, that means that Sapphire’s invoked document 6.6.6! Which means she has decided to come out of the shadows once again and take her rightful place on the throne! It’s about time!”

“Thanks for the praise Princess. But the war isn’t over yet,” Sapphire said.

Princess Twilight nodded. “Yeah I know. Looks like we’re going to have a couple of live executions.”

“Would you allow me the honor of doing them?” Sapphire asked.

Princess Twilight laughed, “What do you think Princess? That’s up to you to decide.”

Sapphire nodded. “Alright.” She sighed, “We have to explain to the people what’s going on of course.”

“Yes indeed we do,” Princess Celestia said. “You know you’re more than capable of ruling over Equestria right? I know you have a dark side Onyx Thorn but I know you can control her. Just like Princess Luna controls Nightmare Moon.”

Sapphire looked over and saw Princess Luna nodding in agreement. Sapphire sighed, “Yes I’ll do it. I mean I kind of have to now don’t I?”

Princess Twilight chuckled, “Well if you need any help I’m always happy to assist!” She turned to Spike and nodded as he came running into the room and hugged her. “Spike, I need you to boot up the throne room's cameras. We have a war to finish.”

Spike nodded. “Right!”

Sapphire grabbed Phantasia and Elder Facade in her magic and placed them in front of Princess Twilight's throne. She made them sit on their haunches and stare right into the camera before Princess Twilight addressed the subjects of Equestria.

Princess Twilight smiled at the camera that was focused on her at the moment and cleared her throat, "Soldiers of Equestria still fighting this war on both sides, I, Princess Twilight demand a cease fire! To the enemies fighting, Elder Facade's supporters and Phantasia's army we have your leaders captive! And when I say we I mean me and the true ruler of Equestria, Princess Sapphire Rose!"

Everyone except the Gate Guardians in the throne room gasped. Princess Twilight put up a hoof to silence them. "Yes I know this comes as a surprise to you guys but not to us. Princess Sapphire is our trump card when it comes down to winning any war. Princess Sapphire was the one who helped us set up Equestria's borders to help keep Equestria safe, she was the one who helped set up Equestria's military to help keep Equestria safe, she was the one who helped stop the Windigo's from freezing the land to help keep Equestria safe and she was also the one who worked with Star Swirl the Bearded to create the Elements of Harmony to keep Equestria safe. 

"A long time ago, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna created a document that is both bound by law and magic that Princess Sapphire could invoke anytime she needed to take her rightful place on the throne. That document is this document…" 

The camera showed the document 6.6.6 on the Tv screen: 

From the two sisters Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that rule Equestria, we declare that the true ruler of Equestria is the last surviving Royal Family member of the Nintis Empire, Princess Sapphire Rose. We are returning the land of Equestria to Princess Sapphire Rose, the very land the Founders of Equestria stole from her. 

Princess Sapphire Rose is free to use this document at her discretion to take the position as ruler of Equestria as she sees fit. Whether it be in times of war, or in times of civil distress or if she feels that she is finally ready to take her rightful place on the throne. 

The document was sealed with Equestria's Royal Family seal and it had Princess Celestia's cutie mark and Princess Luna's cutie mark along with Sapphire's cutie mark on it. 

"Most of the time over the years, Princess Sapphire chose to step aside to allow me to run the country to the best of my abilities," Princess Twilight continued with her speech, "She has only had to invoke this document five times in Equestria's history. Including this time it makes six. She has already proven herself capable of protecting Equestria by capturing the leaders of our enemies, Phantasia and Crimson Facade also known as Elder Facade."

The camera panned away from Princess Twilight and showed Phantasia and Elder Facade being held down by Sapphire's magic in front of Princess Twilight's throne. Princess Twilight nodded and it was Sapphire's turn to speak. "And now as my first act as ruler I will execute these two traitors who are threats to Equestria!"

Sapphire pulled a couple of her swords out again and beheaded Phantasia first and then she beheaded Elder Facade next. After she beheaded Phantasia and Elder Facade the war was declared over with Equestria claiming the victory. 
> Chapter Twenty-Five
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One week later…

News of Sapphire winning the war and beheading Phantasia and Elder Facade spread all over the world like wildfire. Once the document was proven to be legit, the Princesses were praised for making such a good decision that helped Equestria win the war. A lot of ponies held respect for Sapphire because she was the one who beheaded Equestria's enemies. 

However, there were some ponies who were complaining about the change in rulers. But they were the same ponies who complained when Princess Twilight took the throne saying everything was just fine and Alicorns live longer than most ponies so why did Princess Celestia and Princess Luna have to step down? It was mostly the high society stuck up ponies who complained about change in Equestria. 

Elder Facade's family were considered traitors to the throne and they were also executed. The rest of Phantasia's soldiers were rounded up and executed. 

Sapphire didn't like the idea of adding more bloodshed on her hooves but in her eyes this had to be done in order to make sure that Equestria was safe. Keeping Equestria safe was always Sapphire's main priority. However, ever since she stepped up and started ruling over Equestria, she knew she had to pick a new Head Guardian to take her place. She knew the pony she wanted to choose right off the bat and after her coronation, she called that pony into her office. She had thought about asking Purple to do the job but then she remembered that he didn't want to be a Prince. He just did it in order to make Princess Twilight happy. Not to mention after the war Purple gave up his position in the military and became a drifter. 

Sapphire and Princess Twilight would get letters from Purple from time to time telling them how he was doing and from random places so Sapphire had a hard time trying to keep track of him. 

As Sapphire finished packing up her stuff in her office she smiled as she took her seat as Head Guardian one last time.  No sooner had she sat down, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!"

She smiled when she saw Aether walk into the room. "You wanted to see me Princess Sapphire?"

Sapphire nodded. "Yes. True I am ruling over Equestria from out of the shadows now so I need someone to take my place as Head Guardian."

Aether's eyes went wide. "You mean that you want me to be the next Head Guardian?"

She nodded again. "Oh yeah! You're capable and you can keep a cool head under tense circumstances."

"But who's going to protect the South Gate with Rarity?" Aether asked.

"Don't worry about that, I got everything under control," Sapphire said. "So next week you'll be starting your new job as Head Guardian. Oh and I hear you and Melody are planning a wedding soon?"

Aether smiled. "Yes we are. We were going to wait to get married until the end of the month."

"That's great you have my blessing to take the time off that you need for the honeymoon and everything," Sapphire said. "Congratulations you two!" 

Aether's smile turned into a grin as he replied, "Thank you so much Princess Sapphire!"

"No problem, so I shall take my leave and let you start decorating this place how you see fit," Sapphire said. She smiled. "This office is yours now."

"Yes ma'am!" Aether said.

As soon as Sapphire left, Aether closed the door and did a victory dance and cheered with joy. Everything in his life was awesome at the moment and he hoped it would stay that way.


***


Ever since Fancy left to join Phantasia's army nopony had seen or heard from him since. But his body was found among the dead soldiers that Sapphire had ordered the military to round up and keep track of. 

Lily, who was Fancy's replacement, has been growing stronger and stronger by the day. She proved her worth as a Gate Guardian and she has since then made friends with the Gate Guardians. 

Sapphire chose another pony from the reserve team to take Aether's place as the South Gate Guardian. It was a mare who was an Earth pony named Starlight Row. 

Thunder continues to guard the Center Gate and takes his naps whenever he wants to during his downtime. Most of the time Rainbow Dash doesn't bother him because she gets called out to do different jobs as a Wonderbolt and that was fine by Thunder. You'd often find him curled up in a ball tucked underneath his cloak sleeping at the entrance of his cave that was a few miles away from the Center Gate. 

Firewing started dating a young Earth pony that reminded him of Applejack because she was from Applejack's family who lives in Appleloosa. Her name was Caramel Apple and her cutie mark was a caramel apple on a stick. That just so happened to be what she was good at making, that and other pastries. Her mane was a light brown color and her fur was orange. 

After the war with Phantasia and Elder Facade and his soldiers Equestria seemed to be at peace for the time being. But Sapphire was still tired of life. She didn't know if she could ever get her wish to die and it was annoying to her that she was still alive. 

It wasn't until she had been ruling over Equestria for thirty years on her birthday that she saw the ghost's of her parents once again. 

Sapphire sighed when she saw them floating above the family photo album that she still has placed in the basement of her home. "Mom, Dad what are you guys doing here? It's been over thirty years since I last saw you."

"Well we came to tell you how proud we are to see how well you're doing as a ruler," Prince Zoe said with a kind smile. 

"Thanks Dad but why do I have to keep living forever and watch my friends and family die all the time?" Sapphire asked.

Princess Zelda hesitated and then gave Prince Zoe a look. "Honey, I think it's time we tell her how to break the curse of immortality."

Prince Zoe raised an eyebrow. "You think so?"

Princess Zelda nodded. "Yes, I think our daughter has been alive long enough don't you think? And she can finally join us in the afterlife."

"Alright then," Prince Zoe said. He turned to Sapphire. "Remember that box you found the Gate Crystals in when you got your memories restored?"

Sapphire nodded slowly. "Yes, why?"

"You didn't throw that box away did you?" Prince Zoe asked.

Sapphire shook her head. "Nope. I kept everything I found with the Gate Crystals."

"Good, inside that box underneath the container that held the Gate Crystals was another crystal. It's an emerald green crystal. Next to that crystal will be a written spell written in the language of our kingdom. I'm pretty sure you'll remember how to speak our language once you read it," Prince Zoe explained. "As you recite the spell pour all of your energy into the crystal. Once you've done that, break the crystal. You should be able to die five hours after you've broken the crystal."

"Really?" Sapphire said, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"Because we felt that you weren't ready to die and in case you're wondering how we know this will work is because the Head Guardian that had the spell before you did the same thing. Now to make sure the new Head Guardian has access to the Gate's magic at full power you'll have to do the ceremony that connects them to the Gate Crystals," Prince Zoe said. "The guy that was Head Guardian before you had the job for over 4,000 years! When he did that spell I just told you about, he died the next day, that's how we know the spell will work."

Princess Zelda chuckled, "Yeah knowing you you'll probably want to get right on that. But please be sure that your affairs are in order before you do this okay?"

Sapphire snorted. "I've been ruling this kingdom just fine for thirty years now and I've beheaded plenty of enemies to the throne more than I can count. So I think I got this."

Prince Zoe and Princess Zelda's ghosts gave Sapphire a hug. Prince Zoe smiled. "Well, I guess we'll be seeing you in the afterlife sometime soon."

Sapphire smiled. "Yes, there's a couple of things I'll have to take care of first."

Prince Zoe and Princess Zelda nodded and after that they disappeared.


***


"Are you sure you want to do this?" Princess Twilight asked as she and Sapphire walked down the hallway to the throne room.

Sapphire nodded. "Yeah I'm sure. I've been alive on this planet for far too long. I'm tired Princess. Not the type of tired that all you have to do is take a nap and you'll wake up refreshed tired if you know what I mean. My birthday's coming up again and the best birthday present I could get is to finally join my parents in the afterlife. I don't know why it took me another year to finally decide to use the spell to break the curse of immortality, but I think it's time."

"Is immortality really a curse?" Princess Twilight asked.

Sapphire tilted her and raised an eyebrow. "To me it is, but you live to three thousand one hundred and thirty-one years old and you see your loved ones pass away and tell me if it's a curse or not then."

Princess Twilight knew that arguing with Sapphire would get her nowhere so she just kept her mouth shut. 

"So my birthday is in two weeks and that day will be the day that I'll be handing the keys to the kingdom back over to you," Sapphire said.

Once she and Princess Twilight reached the throne room Princess Twilight said, "Are you going to try and notify Purple about what's going to go down soon?"

Sapphire shook her head. "Nope. Purple's got a plan in mind for his life and I'm not interfering with that. I don't want to make him return just for my funeral. Besides, that pony is one hard pony to keep track of. He doesn't stay in one place for very long."

Princess Twilight sighed, "Alright then, if you say so."

Sapphire smiled. "I do say so." 


***


Sapphire's three thousand one hundred and thirty second birthday rolled around and Pinkie Pie decided to throw Sapphire the biggest party ever! Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie really outdid herself on the party this year. She had thirty party cannons hidden throughout the venue that had been booked for the party. She made sure to have the biggest cake ever which was big enough to feed all of Equestria with thirty layers and each layer with a different flavor on it. 

Pinkie said that if she could she would've made the cake with over three thousand layers instead of just thirty but she didn't want to risk it. So she went with thirty layers. Written in icing in big letters on the cake was: HAPPY 3,132nd BIRTHDAY PRINCESS SAPPHIRE! 

Pinkie somehow managed to put a huge picture of Sapphire's cutie mark on it for the finishing touches. Sapphire grew to love Pinkie Pie's cakes and she was happy knowing that she would leave the world with a bang so to speak. 

She would celebrate with the biggest party ever and leave knowing that Equestria would be in good hooves. 

So that is what happened. The very night after she celebrated her birthday, Sapphire stood before an altar that she had made just for this occasion. She didn't tell Princess Twilight when she was going to break the curse of immortality. She just said she was going to turn in for the night and when she got to the room with the altar in it she made sure all of the doors were locked and no one could get in. Days before Sapphire's birthday she had done the ceremony to connect Aether's magic with the Gate's and she had made sure everything else was in place.

When Sapphire casted the spell she did exactly what her father told her to do and then she broke the emerald crystal. Five hours later she made sure to drink a poison that she knew would kill someone within minutes of drinking it. She made sure to take some deep breaths and forced herself to not fight the poison that was mixing with her blood inside of her. Before she took her last breath she smiled because she couldn't help but think that she had a good run and now it was her time to move on.


***


The next time Sapphire opened her eyes she was standing before her father Prince Zoe and her mother Princess Zelda and they were grinning at her. Sapphire tilted her head. "What?"

"My baby's coming home!" Princess Zelda cheered. 

Prince Zoe grabbed Sapphire and ruffled her hair a bit. "Alright champ, you had a good run now it's time for you to join us."

Sapphire swatted Prince Zoe's hoof off her head. "Dad! You're messing up my mane!"

Prince Zoe snorted and shook his head. "Mares and their manes! You do realize you won't have to worry about stuff like that in the afterlife right?"

Sapphire smiled. She was getting ready to say something when she paused. 

"There is one more thing that needs to be taken care of first so nopony can try to resurrect you when they find your dead body," Princess Zelda said.

Sapphire tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"Look over there," Princess Zelda said. She pointed a hoof at a bright yellow door. "See that door? You need to close it and make it disappear."

Sapphire nodded and did as she was told. As soon as she did that Princess Zelda grabbed her and gave her a big bear hug. "My baby's coming home!"

Sapphire grinned from ear to ear at that statement. "Going home… I like the sound of that. True Equestria's been my home for three thousand one hundred and thirty-two years but going home to a place that doesn't need to constantly be protected by me sounds like a really good idea. Equestria will be safe without me, I'm sure of it."

Prince Zoe and Princess Zelda nodded in agreement. As her parents started to walk off into the afterlife Sapphire took one last look behind her. Equestria is in good hooves… It's time for me to move on…

With that, Sapphire turned back around and followed her parents into the afterlife.