Episode 1: In a New World, as a Pony

"What's happening? My head. It feels...fuzzy."

His eyes flickered open, whilst his body slowly began to wake up and started sending signals to his fogged up brain. The first thing he noticed was that he was laying on a flat hard surface. The second thing he noticed was some kind of light, that was shining right above him. This made him flinch and turn his gaze away from the ceiling.

He let out a moan as he tried to reboots his brain. "Why do I feel so horrible?" He could barely remember who he was or what the last thing he did was. What was wrong with him?

"Oh," a new voice cause his attention, "finally awake I see." He slowly turned towards the voice and forced his eyes open, allowing him to see what was around him. He didn't see anyone at first, but he was able to get a good look at the room he was in. An almost entirely dark blue void, with white pillars lining what he assumed were the walls. He then glanced down and saw he was laying on a stone table of some sort.

"Who said that?" He finally asked, groaning as his aching body pushed him to sit up on the table.

"I am over here." He turned towards the voice and finally spotted another occupant in the room. It was a tall woman with pure white skin and bright red hair, wearing beautiful robes. She smiled at him, this somehow filling him with comfort. "Hello my child."

"Who...who are you?"

"I am a friend," she assured him. "I mean you know harm. As for a name...why don't you call me Faust."

"Faust?" He asked, "alright." He looked around, "where am I?" The look on Faust's face told him this was gonna be one of those 'it's complicated' things.

"Well...to put it simply...you're dead." This got his brain to completely stop as the information was absorbed into his brain. And finally, it was completely processed.

"I'M WHAT!" He leapt up to his feet, only to suddenly feel an intense pain shoot through his head. "AUGH!" He clutched his head as he fell to his knees, Faust gasping.

"Careful. Your memories are starting to synchronise with you again. The information overload can be a little much."

"You don't say," he quipped back before it happened. In the blink of an eye, he suddenly relived his entire life. Everything he had ever done flowed into his brain and information registered. "That's it. My name is Brad." He looked up at Faust, "Bradley Sengood."

Faust nodded. "Indeed. Bradley Sengood. A sixteen year old boy who enjoyed playing guitar and having fun with his friends and family, but who has just lost his life in the world he lived in."

Brad frowned as he looked down at the ground. "How? I don't...remember dying? The last thing I remember...I just left my house to go to school."

"Yes," Faust nodded, "that's because of the nature of your death. It happened so suddenly, your brain didn't have time to process it before you died."

"How...how did I die?" He asked, hoping it wasn't anything embarrassing. Instead of answering, Faust raised her hand and something appeared next to her. A Television.

It switched on before he could ask what was going on and it began to show the image of a camera moving down a street, or at least what he assumed was a camera. But then he recognised the busy street it was going down. The same one he used to get to school.

"Is this...what I saw when I died?" Faust nodded and Brad continued to watch his death from his own point of view. He arrived at a road and stopped at the lights. Several cars flew passed and Brad spotted a woman and her young child on the other side.

The last car zoomed passed and the road appeared clear, with the next car several meters away. The light turned green and he stepped out onto the road, the woman and child doing the same. But before they could get fully across, a loud honking caught their attention.

They turned to see the oncoming car swerving and not slowing down, the vehicle zooming towards them. And Brad quickly realised it was going to crash into the woman and her child.

The video suddenly slowed to a crawl as Brad watched his past self run forward and push the two bystanders out of the way, both falling back and hitting the ground but were both out of the car's path. Unfortunately, Brad had moved into its path and turned to get only a glimpse of the vehicle before the screen went black.

Brad couldn't believe it. "I...I saved them."

Faust nodded. "You sacrificed your life and saved three more lives in your place."

"Three?"

"The woman was pregnant. I took a quick look ahead and it's going to be a boy she names after you?" Brad felt touched by that, but it didn't change the fact.

"I'm dead." Faust nodded. "So what happens now?" He turned to her, "I'm I going..." He pointed up at the ceiling, "or..." He then pointed downwards, making Faust laugh.

"You saved three innocent lives. You really think that doesn't earn you a spot in the good place." Brad smiled at this, "but that's not why you're here?" Now he raised an eyebrow. "Your life was unfairly cut short. You acted without thinking and were willing to throw away your own life for someone you've never even met. You're quite the hero, aren't you?"

Brad frowned, "I'm no hero. Heck, I'd like to be. But I doubt I would have become one in my old life."

"Don't be so sure. Real heroes aren't those who do big acts of courage or stop dangerous villains. A true hero is one who acts, not because they have to, but because they want to. You didn't have to save those people, but you wanted to. You could have lived a great life and helped many other people. But because you were willing to sacrifice it, you've earned a second chance."

"What kind of second chance?" He asked, only for two doors to appeared behind Faust.

"The door to my left leads to the afterlife," she explained. "There, everything you could ever want or need will be provided for you. You'll never have to worry about a thing ever again."

He then looked at the other door, "and that one?"

"That door leads to another world. Should you step through it, you will be reborn and get to live a completely new life."

"Wait..." Brad thought about this before realising what this was, "you wanna isekai me?" Faust looked surprised, clearly not expecting him to know that phrase. "I've heard a few people talking about it once and looked it up. But that's what this is, right. You want to send me to another world, most likely one willed with magic and all that stuff. Right?"

"Pretty much. Though it's completely your choice. You can chose to go to the afterlife, or be reborn. It's entirely up to you." Brad nodded, wondering which one to pick. "Don't feel rushed. You can have as much time as you want to make a decision." Brad nodded again. "But I must warn you. If you chose to be reborn, then everything gets reset. You won't be guaranteed a spot in the good place the next time you die. Everything you did in your previous life will mean squat to the final decision."

"So if I do something truly horrible in the next life, I could end up..." He pointed downwards and Faust nodded.

"That detail usually puts people off this reincarnation thing. So...what will it be?" Brad's eyes glanced from door to door, his gut turning. Risk losing his shot at heaven or spend the rest of eternity wondering what his new life would be like. In the end, he made his decision.

"You're offering me the chance to see a whole new world. One that could be nothing like the one I knew." He smiled, "how could I refuse that opportunity." Faust smiled at this as he nodded, "isekai me."

"Very well," she nodded back. "If that is what you want, what kind of life do you wish for?" This confused Brad. "If you want, I could make you the firstborn son of a king. You would have money and all the power in the world. Or, if you don't want that much responsibility, I could make you the son of a wealthy business owner. You'd still never have to worry about money again. Or heck, if you wanted, I could make you the child of a potato farmer."

Brad laughed at this but then thought hard about her word, remembering what she said earlier. "You said I was a hero, but I never felt like one. But I'd like to be." He looked her in the eye. "So that's the life I want to live. I want to be a hero. A true hero, who does everything they can to help those around him."

Faust smiled at this. "We were right to give you this chance. Very well. The life of a true hero will be waiting for you when you are reborn." Brad nodded and turned towards the door, then a thought occurred to him.

"So...how's this work? Do I just go through the door and suddenly I wake up in the forest of another world? How am I supposed to live if that happens?"

Faust laughed. "You won't just appear in this new world. You'll be reborn. Literally. You'll step through that door and then, you'll be a freshly born baby."

"Seriously?" He turned to her, "you want me to spend the next few years unable to talk or control when I go to the bathroom?" Faust laughed again.

"Relax. You won't be conscious of all that. All your former memories, including the ones of our meeting, will be sealed away until a certain point. Then, when you're old enough, you'll wake up and all your memories will be restored."

"That makes sense," Brad nodded. "So...how long will my memories be sealed away?" Faust hummed at this before nodding.

"Well...you lived in your previous life for sixteen years and a hundred and seventeen days. So you'll spend sixteen years and a hundred and seventeen days in this new world without your memories. That way, you'll be able to adjust to the new world without issue. On the hundred and eighteenth day of your sixth year in this new world, you'll awaken with all your memories of your old life in tact. How's that sound?"

Brad nodded. "I can work with that. As long as I don't die before I get my memories back, it shouldn't be an issue."

"Then let's get your reincarnated." She gestured to the door and Brad began to make his way towards it. "No matter what happens in your next life, just remember this. You are an amazing person and as long as you stay true to your heart, nothing will be able to stop your from attaining your heart's desire. The world is yours for the taking. Just remember not to take to much at once."

Brad nodded and after taking a deep breath, he reached out and grabbed the door handle. Pulling it open, the door unleashed a brilliant light that almost blinded Brad. He stole his nerve and stepped forward, letting the light consume him. The bright light forced his to close his eyes and as he did, everything around him went dark and he suddenly lost consciousness.

He wasn't sure how long he was knocked out, but when he came around he noticed a few things.

The first was that the left side of his face was pressed up against something soft. The second was that something was wrapped around his leg. The third was that when he tried to wiggle his toes, he couldn't. And the final thing was a sensation he felt on his upper back, as if something that wasn't there before was moving.

His body finally began to respond to him and he lifted his head before reaching up to rub the sleep out of his eyes, then felt that sensation on his back again. This made him look around and see what was causing it. A large orange feathered wing.

"Wha..." Was all he could say at first, then look around and spotted a twin wing besides the first. "What am I?" He reached down and grabbed the covers before pulling them off him, allowing him to look down at his feet...which weren't there.

Instead, he had a pair of hooves on the end of his legs. And wrapped around one of his legs was a long blue tail, which soon pulled itself free from around the appendage. He then reached up and felt his face, but sighed when he realised it was the same as before. But that sigh was premature, as he then noticed the sides of his head were missing his ears. "Hello?" he spoke, hearing the sound so knew he had something to hear with. And after a little patting, he finally located large pointed ears near the top of his head coming through his hair.

He then looked around the room and found it was that of a teenage boy, with posters on the wall, action figures on the shelves and a few books and comics piled up on the floor. He then noticed a mirror on a nearby wall and realised he could get a better look at himself, so got up out of bed.

He could, surprisingly, move quite well on his hoofed feet. Though that probably shouldn't be a surprise, giving he had already lived sixteen years as...whatever he was.

He reached the mirror and finally got a look at the body he was now inhabiting. Strangely enough, he was met with almost the exact same face he had in his previous life. Literally, the only thing about him that was different were his ears. "I guess she decided to make it easier on me by giving me the same face." As he said that, something new happened.

Once again, he clutched his head and cried out. "Ahhh!" He yelled, staggering back as he was suddenly bombarded with information and memories. It quickly realised what these were. His life in the world he lived in now. "I remember." Regaining his old memories had pushed his new ones to the back of his mind, but now they had flooded back and he could remember everything about himself. "My name is Flash Sentry. I live with my mom, Misty Vail, and my dad, Trail Blazer. Mom's a librarian and dad works as a town guard."

He looked at the wings on his back, then at his hooves as he remembered what he was.

"I'm a pony. Or...my species evolved from ponies. And I'm an Avian." Avian were humanoids that were descended from a group of winged horses named pegasi. Aside from Avian, there were also Magi, who were descended from horned ponies named unicorns, and Terran, whose ancestors were just simple horses with incredible strength and stamina. All were different races, but still part of the same group known as Equestrians. And they weren't the only creatures that exist in the world he lived in.

He looked his body over and saw he was wearing sweatpants and a loose shirt, his usual clothing attire. He then moved over to a window and looked out into a large town with multiple houses of moderate size. There was a forest to west of the town and to the north was a long stretch of mountains. His village was the second most northern one in Equestria, the kingdom he lived in, only being beaten out by Rainbow Falls.

Multiple humanoid ponies could be spotted, with some looking very different to him.

Some were Avian, like him, who were flying around in the air or simply walking along the ground. He also spotted some Magi, who were walking down the street. Their horns were all glowing different colours, signalling they were using magic. Said magic caused things to levitate or change colour or any other thing the Equestrian using it desired. And, of course, there were the Terran. They were carrying heavy loads or pulling large carts filled with produce.

On many of the Equestrian's shoulders, was a strange tattoo-like mark that was different for every pony. Those were their cutie marks

The reborn human named Flash looked away from the window and sat on his bed, then looked towards his own shoulder and rolled up the sleeve. His shoulder was bare, signalling he didn't have a cutie mark.

"Flash!" He looked up, hearing the voice of his mother. "Are you up yet?"

"Err...yeah!" He called back, quickly getting up and going to a nearby closet. Opening it up, he saw a multitude of clothing he could wear that had holes so his wings and tail didn't have to be covered up. He picked a white shirt and jeans and put them on, then headed downstairs.

It felt weird, walking through the house he had called home for the last sixteen years. It felt both familiar and very distant. And the same could be said when he entered the kitchen and spotted his parents.

Misty Vail, a silver Magi with purple hair and eyes. Her cutie mark was a triquetra. Meanwhile, Trail Blazer was an older version of his son. He had a beard and his cutie mark was a map that was on fire. "Morning son," he told the teenager as he read the paper.

"Err...morning," he told him before sitting down. With each passing second, more and more memories of his time with the two of them flowed into his head. The stories his mother would read him at night. The days spent playing with his father and the excitement he had whenever they took him out for a picnic or something. More feeling of happiness began to fill his heart as he felt a bond with them reforge.

"What are you smiling about?" His mother asked as she walked over with three plates of food hovering around her, her reincarnated avian shaking his head.

"Nothing. Just...it's a really good morning." His parents nodded as Misty put the food down, the three of them beginning to eat.

"So, Flash," Trail looked up at him. "Have you given what we talked about yesterday anymore thought." Flash was a little confused by this, but then her remembered. The previous night, before his old memories came back, his parents had asked him about what his plans for the future were.

Flash had replied telling them the same thing he always said, which would be his answer now. "I told you. I'm gonna be an adventurer." A frown appeared on both their lips. Flash knew why, but he was determined more than ever. Now that he remembered the life he wanted to live in his previous life, he knew being an adventure would be his best chance of being a hero.

Adventurers were warriors, spellcasters or any other kind of RPG class that went exploring thought the realm. The kingdom of Equestria was vast and whilst some of it was populated, there were large chunks of the place that nobody...nopony had ever seen before. New areas were being discovered almost everyday, which was where the adventurers come in. They would explore these areas and discover their secrets. And it wasn't just that. Adventurers were also tasked with defeating powerful monsters that are causing problems, or finding certain items that might be needed for one reason or another. Being an adventurer was never boring, but there was just one small problem.

"Flash," Misty sighed, "we want nothing more then for you to become an adventurer. But..."

"But we just can't afford to send you to the Adventurer's Academy," Trail told him. The Adventurer's Academy was a school where Equestrians learned to be adventurers. Once you graduate, you instantly become part of the Royal Adventurer's Union, which was under the command of the ruler of Equestria herself. Celestia.

There were five academies in Equestria. The closest one to them was just outside the city of Manehatten, but going there cost a lot of money.

"So," Flash told him, "I don't need to go to the academy to be an adventurer. I'll just start as a freelance adventurer, like you guys did." The pair flinched hearing this. "Even if I'm not apart of the union, I'll still be able to get work and then I'll make a name for myself and eventually, the union will invite me to join them."

"Flash!" Misty frowned, "you know how dangerous being an untrained adventurer is. One in ten don't survive passed their first year. We should know." Flash frowned, remembering the stories they told him.

Misty and Trail had both been freelance adventurers, which was how they met, but retired after the pair of them almost died on a mission together. Despite surviving, the two were badly injured and couldn't do anything for months. On the plus side, that time recovering made them fall in love and chose to get married.

"We're not saying you should give up on trying to get into the academy," Trail told him. "We just want you to have a backup plan, encase you don't."

"It's not easy to get a scholarship," Misty nodded. "Your grades are good, but they'll need to be a lot better if want to get in."

"Alright," Flash nodded, "I get it. I'll think of something else, but I'm not gonna stop trying to get into the academy. I'll study and train until it kills me if that's what it takes." He took the last few bites of his breakfast before getting up, "I gotta get going. I'm never gonna get in if I'm late for school." He left the table before his parents could say anything and headed back upstairs, going into the bathroom where he brushed his teeth, washed his face and combed his hair...mane.

Once that was all done, her headed back into his room and grabbed everything he would need for school. Placing them in a backpack, he placed it on so it hung between his wings.

"I'm off!" He called out before heading for the window, opening it up and jumping out. He feel a few feet and then spread his wings allowing him to glide down until he hit the ground. He smirked, loving his wings. He didn't know if Faust had mentally probed him to see which race he would want to be, but she had definitely picked the one he would choose.

He spread his wings again and began to run before jumping up, the speed and lift of beating his wings pushing him into the air. He flew up and up and up until he was soaring above the town, allowing him to get a great look of the place. Despite seeing it a hundred times before, seeing it now that he remembered his old life made him smirk.

He spotted the large wall that encased the town, keeping it safe from any scary creatures that lived in the woods and might try to attack it. "Alright," he told himself, "what do I know about this world?" He looked around and remembered everything he could. "The most important thing to remember is the magic system."

He remembered when he was a kid, watching a bunch of kids shows with different magical abilities. In this world, the magic fell into ten categories. First there was the pony magic that depended on the type of pony you were. An Avian like him not only had the power to fly, but they could also walk on and manipulate clouds. All of the weather in the kingdom was created by Avians and handed out around the country.

Terran magic allowed them incredible strength, stamina, whilst also allowing them to connect to the earth itself and determine what soil was good at growing what type of plants. Almost all the farms in Equestria were run by earth ponies.

Then there were the Magi who, much as their names explained, had magical abilities. Most Magi could only use weak magic, such as levitation or basic household cleaning spells. High level magic could only be done by the most powerful of Magis, whilst standard Magi did what they could with their magic to continue their work.

Aside from the species magic, there other magic in this world was Elemental Magic. There were six Elements, each given a specific name. Sky Magic allowed the wielder to manipulate the elements of wind and lightning, which was one many Avians tended to have. Land Magic allowed the wielder to manipulate the elements of earth and plant life, which almost every Terran could use in conjunction with their Terran Magic. Sea Magic allowed the manipulation of water and ice, whilst Blaze Magic allowed one to create and control fire. Then there was Lumino and Shadow Magic, which was the control of light and darkness.

Then, there was the tenth and most special magic. Null Magic. Null Magic was also known as personal magic, since it was very rare for any two individuals to have it. Sometimes, Null Magic would be passed down from parent to child but most of the time, only one Equestrian could wield a type of Null Magic. Null Magic could be any kind of magic, whether it be an Avian with the ability to make a duplicate of themselves or a Terran that could turn anything they touch to stone.

Null magic wasn't something everybody in the world had, but those that did usually had it because if was connected to their special talent.

These ten types of magic were what made up Equestria's magical abilities. Aside from their Species Magic, everypony in Equestria had at least one Elemental Affinity. But some ponies had more than one. Flash, for example, had three Affinities. He had the Sky, Blaze and Sea Affinities, but no Null Magic. In very rare cases, Equestrians were born with all five Affinities but he had only known of one person with that.

The Ruler of Equestria, Princess Celestia. She was a rare breed of pony that had wings of an Avian, horn of a Magi and the strength and stamina of a Terran. That breed of pony was simply known as an Omni, the most powerful type of pony there was. And her Null Magic allowed her to raise the sun and the moon, giving life and light to their world. She was also an immortal and many ponies considered her a goddess, although Flash had heard she didn't like to be called that.

She and all the Magi had the power to use magic on their own with their affinities, whilst Avians and Terrans needed to use weapons and other magical items that were specifically designed to channel that magic in order to use them. That was why every Adventurer needed the best equipment in order to get the most out of their magic. If Flash wanted to be a hero, he would need to find a weapon that could handle all three of his affinities. But that was gonna be tricky for him.

"What else to I know," Flash asked himself. "This world is a mixed bag technology wise. Things like fridges and cookers exist, along with large vehicles like trains. But they don't have cars, or any other vehicles that run on gasoline. They have electricity, but it all comes from magical sources." To prove his point, he looked down and spotted a Magi selling a green crystal to an Avian. He then sold a red crystal to a Terran, which was a crystal that radiated heat and was used to keep homes warm.

"There's also no internet or phones, but weirdly there are video games." He flew passed the town's part and spotted some kids playing an arcade game, cheering as they got the high score. "I can work with this. Heck, with my new knowledge of a more advanced world, I could make a fortune if I figure out how to invent a computer." He then frowned, "but that's not what I want to do with this new life."

No, his goal in this new world was to become a hero like he hoped when he was offered the chance to be reincarnation.

"I have to work extra hard to try and get a scholarship into the adventurer's academy." As he continued through the town, he thought about everything he would need in order to get that scholarship. Since he was an Avian, he needed to be a really good flyer. He would also need to become skilled using weapons, as most adventures were experts with one particular weapon. Flash would either need to master one weapon for either close, mid or long range, or become a jack of all trades with them all.

In that moment, he spotted the large building in the center of town that was its school. "We're halfway through the school year already, so I've got one and a half years to become someone worthy of being given that scholarship." He gulped, "easy."

He landed on the ground in front of the school gates and saw multiple teens of different races heading into it. It might have been a small town, but every house in the town had at least one child of school age. Flash's class only had ten people, including him, with most grades being around fifteen students full.

He spotted his classmates heading inside and took a deep breath. "Alright. Today's the day I start my serious work to achieve my dream," he strode forwards. "I will become a hero!"

Episodes 2: Unlocking Great Power, as a Pony

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This was it. The day Flash had been waiting and dreading since he first regained his memories a year and a half ago.

Currently, the reincarnated pony was in his classroom along with the rest of the graduating class. A bunch of rowdy eighteen year olds, who were waiting to see what their future would hold. Many of them were simply hoping for a passing grade, but Flash was determined to a grade high enough to apply for a scholarship.

The teacher had just entered the classroom with their final scores, the students all going stiff as they waited for her to hand them out. As she did, Flash thought back to the last year and a half. Ever since regaining his memories, he had done everything in his power to become the best Adventurer he could be.

Whenever he wasn't in school, he was training or studying. The training part he had no problem with, his body already being physically fit before he regained his memories. But now he was proud to call himself the most athletic member of his age group. He had trained with his father and several of Trail's guard friends, who had taught him a lot and told him he was highly skilled with both a sword and a spear, whilst his abilities with a bow were adequate enough to pass.

He had also been teaching himself flight techniques that would be useful in a fight, now able to do several barrel-rolls without getting dizzy and turning on a dime midair. He was confident enough to think he could handle pretty much anything the world could throw at him in a fight.

Flash looked over at his shoulder, which was covered by his jacket, that had the image of a blue shield with a lightning bolt on it. Flash smirked as he remembered not two weeks after regaining his memories, how he saved a young Equestrian from being crushed by a falling ladder. Doing so had earned him his cutie mark, which his parents had been very proud about.

However, where he fell short was the studying part. He tried and he had never been in danger of failing a class, but his scores had never been considered exemply. He had spent the last month before the finals held up in the library his mother worked at, studying as much as he could. He probably would have ended up sleeping there if Misty hadn't pulled him away whenever she was closing up the library. And now, the results of all that hard work were about to be revealed.

"How much do you need to pass?" A magi in front of him asked the terran next to him, as the teacher placed their score down in front of them.

"Seventy-two," he replied before they looked at their scores and groaned.

Flash felt like he had ants in his pants, as the teach stepped in front of him. And when he saw her expression, his stomach dropped. She knew what he wanted and clearly, she knew he would be disappointed. And sure enough, when he took his final score his heart stopped for a moment.

He would need a ninety percent in both physical and theory to even apply for a scholarship and his physical scores had a nice ninety-two next to it, his theory score only had an eighty-four.

Flash's brain couldn't fathom it. An eighty-four was the best theory score he had ever gotten, but it still wasn't enough. All he could do was sit there as the rest of his class got their scores, many appearing happy with them whilst others moaned about failing and needing to repeat the year.

After a while, he finally got up and left the room. He made his way through the school whilst looking down at the score, unable to believe he had failed to reach his goal. Now there was no chance of him getting into the Adventurer's Academy. He tried to think of a way to maybe still get in, but unless he had a rich relative that somehow passed away and left him everything, that was not gonna happen.

"Flash!" He stopped and looked around, seeing several members of his class running towards him. One was a magi name Streak, another was an avian named Guster and the last was a terran named Stomps. Though Flash barely hung out with them, he guessed they could be considered friends.

"Hey man!" Streak grabbed his scores out of his hands with his magic, seeing his score. "Couldn't get what you wanted, huh?"

"Yeah," Flash took it and kept walking. They all left the school and headed out into the town.

"Come on man," Guster told him. "Don't be so down. So you couldn't achieve your dream. It's not the end of the world." Flash frowned at him, knowing he was trying to help but not doing a very good job.

"It's still a pretty high score," Stomps pointed out. "You could go into almost any prefession with those kind of score. I bet you could even get into the Royal Guard with these scores." The others laughed, as Flash sighed.

Everyone knew the Royal Guards were a joke. A bunch of Adventurer washouts that Celestia had felt sorry for and given positions near her that made them think they still had a purpose, but they were completely useless. Flash remembered last month, during the Summer Sun Celebration, when Celestia had apparently been kidnapped by an ancient evil right under the guard's nose.

It had been a bunch of Equestrians their age that had saved Celestia, which apparently included her personal student, as they had found a bunch of ancient relics that they used to not only save Celestia, but free another Omni named Luna who turned out to be Celestia's sister. Even though everything turned out alright, the guards didn't look too good with that hanging over their heads.

But now it seemed that Flash would have to make do with the guards, since it was clear he wouldn't be getting into the Adventurer's Academy.

"Hey," Streak's voice caught his attention, "who's that?" They glanced around and saw the Equestrian he was looking at, since they had never seen him anywhere in this small town. He was a white magi with blue hair similar to Flash's, who was wearing a purple shirt and black pants under a white overcoat with silver trim. On the shoulder of his coat was a dark purple heater shield with a purple six pointed star within it and three blue stars above it. On his back, he was carrying a large shield.

The magi was heading towards them and seemed to notice them staring, the four looking away as soon as they saw they were caught. "Hello there!" He called out, making them look back as he got in close. He then reached into his coat and pulled something out. A wallet.

He opened it up and showed them a card inside, the lot of them realising it was an Adventurer's Licence with a large S on it. "No way," Flash whispered. "An S-ranked Adventurer."

"That's right," he nodded. "Name's Shining Armor. I'm wondering if I might ask you a few questions."

"What kind of questions?" Guster asked.

"Nothing serious. We've got word of a rogue in the area." That worried the four, since rogues were names given to adventurer skilled criminals that did whatever it took to get paid. That included theft, blackmail and even murder. If one was here, that wasn't good.

"Seriously?" Flash asked. "Why would one be here of all places?"

"Not sure," Shining replied. "That's why I'm here. To investigate. Have any of you gentlecolts seen anything out of the ordinary? Somepony you didn't recognise walking through town?" The four thought for a moment, with all but Stomps shaking his head.

"I remember seeing something yesterday," the terran explained. "A figure who was wearing a dark blue cloak. I bumped into him in the market place and he didn't seem happy I did. He ran off with a bag of food towards the western gate." The other three frowned, since that meant he was heading into the woods.

"Why would he go there?" Guster asked, "nothing in it but a bunch of monsters." They nodded, only for Flash to realise something.

"You don't think he went looking for the sealed relic, do you?" This surprised the trio, whilst Shining raised an eyebrow.

"Sealed relic?"

"An urban legend here," Stomps told him. "Every foal in town learns about it before they can even walk. Supposedly, a powerful Omni created a mighty weapon that could defeat any opponent. And when he died, his children chose to seal it away. Apparently, they sealed it in a rock somewhere in the forest. Many say this town was built by the ponies that went searching for it. But it's just a myth."

"Yeah," Streak nodded, "that forest must have been combed through over a hundred times. Nopony's found anything." The others agreed as Shining shrugged.

"Well it wouldn't be worth finding if it was easy to locate. Either way, it's possible this rogue thinks he can locate it. I'd better go investigate the woods." He gave the group a thanks and headed off, the four watching him as he headed for the western gate. And as he disappeared, Streak turned to the others.

"Let's go after him." The others were shocked by this, as Streak began heading in the same direction.

"Are you nuts!?" Flash cried, "we can't go into the woods."

"Don't you wanna see a real life S-ranked Adventurer in action?" Streak asked, "this might be our only chance to see what it takes to be one. We'll get to see him kick monster or criminal butt. It'll be awesome." Guster and Stromps liked the sound of that and the three ran, or flew in Guster's case, towards the western gate.

"Guys!" Flash cried, but they didn't listen. He groaned, knowing he should just leave them to get in trouble out in the woods to teach them a lesson. But then he thought about what might happen if they ran into something like a chimera or even the rogue himself, which made his stomach roll.

Spreading his wings, he took to the air and flew in the same direction. He spotted the three as they were heading towards one of the gates, but not the gate itself. Instead, they had gone to a section of the wall where the sun had cast a shadow. This allowed them to sneak over the wall, Guster carrying the other two over one at a time.

They made it to the other side right as Flash reached them, the orange avian jumping down next to them. "Huh," Streak smirked, "glad you could make it."

Flash frowned, "I know I can't talk you out of it. But the second I think something bad's gonna happen, we go back. Got it?" The three nodded and rushed towards the forest, spotting Shining enter it a ways off whilst they got through the trees.

This was the first time any of them had ever been in the forest. They very rarely left the town itself, usually only heading to a meadow south of the town where kids played, had picnics or Flash trained with his weapons. This was a big moment for the lot of them.

"I can't believe we're in here," Stomps smirked as they looked around.

"I know," Guster nodded as he tried to fly above them. But the forest's canopy was so low, he was having trouble so eventually gave up and landed with them. "I don't see why the adults told us not to come in here. This place looks like a great time just waiting to happen."

"If it wasn't full of monsters," Flash pointed out. "Who knows what we could run into?"

"Would you stop worrying?" Streak told him. "This forest is huge. What are the odds we'll run into anything?" Flash wanted to say they were high, but at that moment Streak ran off. "Come on. Shining should be this way. Let's find him before he takes out the rogue." The other two ran off and Flash sighed before following, hoping they got lucky and didn't run into anything.

They headed in the direction Shining had entered the forest and tried to stay quiet so he wouldn't notice them, but Shining seemed just as stealthy and they couldn't find any sign of him. It got to a point they were sure they had accidently passed where Shining was and wondered where the heck he was.

"Maybe he went back," Stomps guessed. "He could have found the guy already and took him down."

"There's no way he was able to beat him that quickly," Guster told him. "And even if he did, we would have heard the sounds of the fight. He's gotta be in here somewhere."

"We'll just have to go deeper," Streak stated. "And who knows, maybe we'll find the legendary sealed relic in here." The three laughed at the absurdity of that and headed deeper, Flash frowning since the canopy was getting thicker and thicker. This made the light of the sun grow weaker, placing them deeper and deeper into darkness.

They continued through the woods for another few minutes and eventually, Flash heard something that put him on edge. "You guys hear that?" The three lifted their eyes, but nothing caught their attention.

"No," Guster shook his head, "you're seriously paranoid." Flash glared at them as he continued forwards. But then, they heard something. A snapping sound coming from their left. They all jumped at the sound of this, as fear started to enter each of their hearts.

"I'm sure that was nothing," Stomps gulped

"Yeah," Streak nodded, "probably...just a rabbit or something." But in that moment, something appeared in the darkness they were staring at. A pair of large yellow eyes.

"That's one big rabbit," Guster quivered as the eyes slowly started moving towards them.

The three wanted to run, but Flash stopped them. "No...sudden...moves." Then, a large lion paw appeared out of the darkness. This was followed by another paw, then a face that was that of a lion with bat ears. It was a large creature, almost three times their height, being a giant orange beast with red hair, bat wings and a long scorpion tail. "A manticore."

The manticore glared at them, slowly stalking forward and then circling them. The three others all shook and started sobbing, whilst Flash did his best to hold his nerve. He just hoped they did what he said and didn't make any sudden moves.

But they didn't. As soon as the beast licked its lips, Streak screamed and ran in the opposite direction. The others did the same and Flash gasped as the beast charged, the avian leaping straight up as it ran under him.

"Wow!" He cried, barely avoiding the scorpion tail that almost stabbed him as the manticore chased after his friends. He gasped and flew after them, trying to think of a way to save them.

As he flew after the beast, he spotted a large vine hanging off a tree.

An idea formed in his head. An absolutely crazy idea, but an idea nonetheless. He grabbed the vine and quickly tied it into a lasso as he approached the manticore from behind, managing to get just behind its head as it was moments away from clawing at Stomps.

At the last moment, he looped the lasso around its neck and pulled it back. This caught the beast by surprise and it choked for a moment, stopping it and allowing the others to get away. They looked back and gasped seeing what he was doing. "GO!" They didn't argue and rushed away, whilst Flash continued to pull on the vine and keep the manticore away. As he did, a faint glow suddenly appeared around him that he didn't notice.

But then the beast swung its large tail around and slashed through the vine, causing Flash to be sent flying backwards and crashing into a tree. He fell to the ground with a moan, the glow disappearing, whilst the manticore pulled the vine off of it and glared at him.

Flash picked himself up and began to panic, fearing this might be the end. But as the monster charged, it slammed into something.

A forcefield, which had appeared around Flash and protected him from it. The avian wondered what was happening, only to hear a familiar voice call out in a roar before somepony flipped over the dome.

Shining Armor landed in front of him, now holding up the weapon he had been carrying on his back. It was a large heater shield, that was the same shape as his cutie mark. It was white in colour, with golden trim around the edges. And in the centre of the shield, embedded into the metal and running from its top to the bottom, was a golden blade.

The manticore roared and swung its tail at Shining, but he used his shield to block the attack as his horn glowed. "Lustre Burst!" The horn unleashed a bright light, which shot into the manticore's eyes and made it scream with pain before it staggered back, allowing Shining to act.

Suddenly, the blade embedded inside the shield glowed before extending upwards. The shield now had a large sword sticking out the top. Shining ran forward as the blade glowed, building up power as he spun around and swung it at the beast.

The manticore was suddenly bombarded by a powerful wave of light, which had flown off the sword and struck it head on. It was knocked backwards by the attack, which exploded and caused it to fly through several trees behind it. It fell to the ground and the trees fell down upon it, Shining staring at it for a moment to make sure it wasn't gonna get up.

Once he was sure it wouldn't, he retracted the blade before turning to Flash.

The teen could see he wasn't happy to see him, Flash giving him a nervous smile as the forcefield around him faded away. "I can explain."

"Really?" Shining crossed his arms.

"Kinda. My friends were actually the ones who came here first. I was trying to tell them not to, but they weren't listening. They wanted to see you in action and I tried to get them to go back, but then we ran into that thing." Shining sighed as he turned away, Flash getting up and following him. "I'm really sorry."

"Honestly, this isn't the first time some stupid kids have followed me into a dangerous situation. Comes with the Adventurer territory. Anyway, let's get you back to town. I've still gotta find that rogue before it gets too dark to see anything." The pair made their way through the forest, trying to locate the path Shining had been using before. As they did, Flash thought back to the fight Shining had just had.

"That forcefield that appeared around me. That was you, right?"

"Yup. Normally, Lumino and Shadow magic can be used to create them. But that was my Null Magic, called Fortress. So far, nothing has even been able to scratch my shield."

"Cool," Flash smirked, "wish I had a Null Magic. Then maybe I would have been able to get into the Adventurer's Academy." This surprised Shining.

"You want to be an adventurer?" Flash nodded, as Shining gave him a suspicious look. "Why?" Flash looked shocked at that question. "Do you want to be one because it's the best way to get rich? Or because you want a life of adventure and excitement. Or do you only wanna be one because you think it'll help you get with the mares? Trust me, I've met adventurers who have become them for those exact reasons. So which is it?"

Flash thought about this and knew he couldn't tell Shining about his reincarnation. Instead, he simply thought about the best way to describe his situation to him. "I wanna help others." This seemed to surprise Shining. "Adventurers do a lot of good, don't they? They quell monsters that threaten Equestria, hunt out rare items that can be used to make people's lives easier, or catch rogues that have done terrible things. Like the rogue you're chasing. He's done stuff that must have hurt other ponies, right?"

"Yup," Shining nodded.

"Well that's why I want to be one. I wanna help those that can't help themselves. Like a true hero."

Shining smiled at this, able to tell this kid was being honest. He could tell he was a good pony and would be a good adventurer, but then remembered what Flash had said. "You failed to get into the academy?"

"I can't even apply. My parents can't afford it and I was six points off being able to apply for a scholarship." Flash sighed, "my dream of being an adventurer's ended before it could even start." Shining felt sorry for him, never having that issue. He had gotten into the academy on a scholarship and even if he hadn't, his parents would have been able to afford it without a problem.

He wanted to try and comfort the teen, but then realised something. "Where are we?" They looked around and both saw they were nowhere near the edge of the forest, nor were they on the path they should have reached at this point. The two were well a truly lost.

"How the heck did we get lost?" Flash asked, as the pair looked around.

"Too busy talking," Shining sighed. He was so busy looking around, he didn't notice Flash beginning to glow again. And then, the light flew off him and into the ground. This caused a path to appear where they weren't looking as by the time they finally looked in that direction, the path was formed and the light was gone.

"That wasn't there before...right?"

"Right," Shining nodded. He took off his weapon and held it in a ready position, moving down the path with Flash following. They were so focused on the path, they didn't notice somepony else step out from behind a tree.

They followed the path, expecting something to jump out at them. But it didn't. Instead, they noticed a light up ahead of them. And when they reached the light, they blinked at the bright sun as they stepped out into an area without any trees in it.

Said area was a large clearing about the size of his school's Buck Ball Field, which was a perfect circle that Flash doubted could have been made naturally. And in the very centre of the clearing was a large rock, which was flat on the side that was pointing at them.

The pairs shared a glance and moved closer to take a look, doing so allowing them to see a strange array of symbols etched into the stone.

"What is this?" Flash asked, whilst Shining had an idea.

"The sealed relic." Flash was surprised by those words, turning to look at him in shock.

"But...but that's just a legend."

"Legends have to come from somewhere," Shining pointed out. "But I'm betting the reason it wasn't found until now was because of some kind of protective magic. That would explain why that path just appeared. We must have somehow undone the protections on this place."

"So what happens now?" Flash asked, before another voice called out.

"Now you die!" The pair spun around and Shining noticed something flying towards them, too fast for him to put up a barrier. Instead, he pushed Flash out of the way before he was slammed by it.

Flash grunted as he slammed into the ground, then heard Shining cry out and looked up to see the magi was trapped in some kind of cocoon. It was made out of green slime and covered everything except his face, with even his horn being stuck in it. The substance had hardened as soon as it trapped him, sealing him completely.

Flash then turned to see the one who had fired the slime at them. A figure in a dark blue cloak stepped out of the darkness, Flash remembering what Stomps had said. He was also carrying a magic staff and pulled his hood back to reveal he was a magi.

Flash stood up and glared at him. "Are you the rogue Shining was after?"

"Maybe," he smirked, "not that it matters to you." He raised his staff and Flash panicked for a moment before noticing Shining had dropped his weapon when he got trapped. The avian leapt over to it and grabbed the shield before rolling back to his feet. However, he quickly found he couldn't get it to activate.

"It only works with Lumino Magic!" Shining told him, Flash hissing since he didn't have that affinity.

"Icicle Shot!" The rogue roared, as water flew out of his staff and morphed into spears of ice. They shot towards Flash and the teen barely managed to protect himself from them as they collided with his weapon. "I don't have time for this." He then took something out that worried Flash. A clear crystal orb that Shining seemed to recognise.

"A Golem Heart!" The Rogue smirked before imbuing it with magic, causing the orb to turn blue.

"Take this water magic and summon all the water you can!" He threw it into the air and the orb started floating, "give form to my new servent!" The orb started spinning as water began to be pulled out of the grass and surrounding trees. Hundreds, maybe thousands of drops were being sucked towards it.

The water began to swirl around the orb and form a giant water sphere, which then started shifting its shape to form a more humanoid shape. Flash gulped as he clutched Shining's shield. Within a moment, a five meter tall Water Golem stood before him. It was entirely humanoid with the Golem Heart acting like an eye in the middle of its head, whilst its arms were a mass of swirling water that looked like whips.

"Kill him!" The Rogue cried, as the golem raised its arm before swinging it downwards.

Flash gasped and raised the shield, the whip slamming into it with enough force to make him stagger backwards as the water exploded. Said water quickly returned to the golem and reformed its arm, whilst its other one began to swing sideways towards him.

Flash gasped and leapt into the air, flying over the arm as the Rogue moved around the golem towards the rock. "Now," he examined the etchings, "how do I unseal you?" Flash saw this and wanted to stop him, but couldn't since the golem was constantly attacking him. It swung its arms continuously around at him, Flash barely managing to avoid or block them with the shield.

"Flash!" Shining cried, "get out of here!"

"I can't just leave you!" Flash cried, blocking another attack and flying out of range of the whips. "If I leave, that guy might kill you!" Shining was amazed by this. Flash might have been a kid, but he had a good heart. Shining was almost reminded of his sister, as Flash dived down with his shield thrust forward.

He managed to avoid the water whips as he shot towards the golem's head. But it seemed to know what he was up against and seconds before Flash splatted its head, the Golem heart was pulled down its neck and into its body.

"Oh come on!" Flash spun around and skidded along the ground, whilst the golem swung its arms around. Flash tried to block it, but couldn't raise the shield in time and it struck him hard enough to knock him flying with a cry. This also caused the shield to go flying out of his hands and as the head of the creature reformed, it swung its other arm around and slammed it into Flash. "Augh!" Flash was suddenly trapped inside the water, everything but his head sealed away.

"Flash!" Shining looked terrified, as Flash struggled to try and get out. But the golem slammed its other arm into him and completely submerged him.

Flash had barely any time to take a breath before he was trapped, the teen attempting to swim but this was like no water he had ever been in before. Ever passing second, he could feel his air less and less. 'I can't breath,' he groaned as he felt himself getting closer and closer to drown. 'Is this how it ends? A year and a half remembering my old life and now I'm gonna die again.' As he thought that, he looked over at Shining and the criminal.

"Come on!" Said rogue cried as he punched the rock, "release yourself. You will give your power to me."

Flash glared at him, as he thought about what someone like him would do if he got such a powerful weapon. 'I can't let him get that weapon. Whatever it is, has gotta be dangerous in the wrong hands. Who cares if I die again, I'm gonna stop him if it's the last thing I do.' As he said that, a white light suddenly appeared around him without the avian noticing.

Shining saw this, then noticed another light coming from the rock. "Finally," he heard the rogue smile as he looked around and saw the symbols in the rock glowing. "Now, come to me." As he said that, the rock began to slowly crack apart. Second after second, more and more of it broke away from it.

Flash didn't notice this either, too focused on finding a way to free himself and stop the criminal. 'I can't give up yet. There's gotta be a way out and I'm gonna find it. Then, I'm gonna stop this guy before he can hurt anyone else.' That thought did it.

The light from the rock suddenly exploded outwards to blind Shining and the rogue, as a sphere of light flew out of the crumbling stone and shot towards Flash. It slammed into the water around him and vaporized the liquid, making the the golem stagger backwards as Flash was completely consumed by the light. "FLASH!" Shining cried, wondering what the heck was happening.

Flash moaned as he opened his eyes and found he was inside a white void, the teen finally able to breath now that he was out of the water. But there was just one question.

"Where am I?" He got his answer when a sphere of light appeared in front of him. That sphere quickly began to take shape, growing larger as it did so. When the shape solidified, the light faded to reveal an object that Flash couldn't quite identify.

Starting in the middle, it was a round glass window of sorts that was surrounded by a metal ring. That was surrounded by a white box-like object that was split in the middle going sideways, with each side having a button on the edge of it. Surrounding the box was a metal frame that appeared to have handles on the edges that would let him pull it apart. Shape-wise, the whole thing reminded him of the Matrix of Leadership from that robot show he enjoyed watching as a kid.

"What is this thing?" He asked, only for the device to suddenly spin around so it was facing the other way. It then moved towards him, Flash panicking as he was unable to move away from it. It finally attached itself to his stomach and when it did, a light shot out the sides that wrapped around his waist. When the light connected on his back, they combined and became tight enough that it stuck to Flash's body.

The light then faded to reveal it was now a belt, with the device acting like a buckle. Another light on the left side of Flash's waist then appeared and formed a metal book of shots, that was connected to the belt.

Flash stared down at it in shock, as he suddenly realised what this must have been. "The relic," he whispered. "This is the relic?" He touched the buckle and felt it, the metal parts feeling strange. He then grabbed the handles on the side and realised they could be pulled outwards. And when he did so, the white section of the belt spun ninety degrees. This revealed a slot that was not pointing upwards, confusing Flash.

He then reached down and touched the metal book-like object, which he could unclip from the belt and examine. It opened with a click and in doing so, he found the inside had a bunch of slots inside holding cards. taking a card out, he found the card was white on one side and black on the other. To his surprise, the black side had his cutie mark on it.

"For a relic, this is kind of a let down." He continued to examine the card, "why couldn't it give me something more useful? Like Shining's shield, but using one of my affinities." He imagined a version of Shining's shield that used his Sky Element. And as he did, something happened.

The card suddenly glowed. Flash was surprised by this and even more surprised then the light suddenly exploded off the card and revealed something was now printed on the white section. It was an image of the weapon Flash had just been envisioning, a blue shield with a yellow lightning bolt blade in the middle and lightning themed trim.

"What?" Flash asked, amazed by the sudden transformation. Then, an urge came over him. The urge to put the card inside the buckle slot.

Deciding to do it, he slotted the card in with the image pointing outwards. He then pushed the handles back in, which caused the buckle to spin back into position before lighting up. The light came from the central glass window, which shot out and formed a sphere of light in front of him. And inside that sphere, the weapon on the card materialised out of nothing.

Flash was amazed by this and reached into the sphere, grabbing the bladed shield before pulling it out. The sphere vanished and Flash looked the weapon over, amazed by how light it was. And when he channeled his magic into it, the weapon activated and the blade extended before sparking with energy. "Awesome."

The light continued to glow brightly, but was beginning to fade.

"What happened?" The rogue cried as he looked around, "where's the relic?" It was then that he heard the crackling of electrical energy and looked towards the light, as Flash suddenly flew out of it wielding the Lightning Shield.

"Right here!" He cried, swinging the blade through the golem's side. This sent a surge of lightning into the beast and caused the slashed area to smoke at it staggered back. Flash had a feeling it would be screaming if it could. The beast eventually got its footing and charged again, swinging a water whip at him. But this time, Flash retracted the blade and used the shield to block it.

Lightning shot into the whip as it made contact and caused the water to explode, Flash smirking as he extended the blade again.

"Take...THIS!" He leapt forward and thrust the blade into the golem's chest, unleashing as much electrical power as he could. This caused the golem's body to bubble and boil, evaporating almost entirely as the Golem Heart was revealed. Flash quickly reached out, grabbing the Heart and flying up away from the rest of the water.

The crystal kept glowing and would have summoned the remaining water to it, but Flash quickly tossed it upwards. When it fell back to him, he swung his blade around and cut the gem in half.

"NOOOOOOO!" The rogue screamed as the Golem Heart was shattered, the water falling to the ground and drenching the ground. And as Flash flew down, he growled and held up his staff. "YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT! ICICLE SHOT!" The water exploded from his staff and became the spears, which shot towards Flash at high speed.

The teen raised his shield and let the ice collide with it, the impact knocking him backwards a bit. Flash flinched, realising this guy wouldn't be so easy to beat as his golem.

He then noticed Shining and had an idea, dodging another icicle spear before extending the blade and swinging it at the rogue. The figure prepared himself, as a blade of lightning shot off Flash's weapon and flew toward him. But the electrical crescent flew over him and he laughed. "See, you can't even use that thing." He heard the lightning hit something behind him, "now give it to me."

"No," Flash smirked, "and I used it perfectly." The rogue looked confused and spun around, only for his eyes to go wide seeing the slime cocoon holding Shining had broken off of him. The lightning had struck it and broken part of it off him, freeing him enough for him to use his magic.

"Oh no," he gulped before summoning a ball of slime and firing it at Shining. But the Magi's horn glowed as a barrier appeared, protecting him from the slimeball before his weapon flew towards him.

He caught it and the blade extended, allowing him to cut the rest of the slime off of him. "Much better." Shining then pointed the sword at him. "Now, are you gonna come peacefully?" The rogue growled before firing more ice at him, whilst Shining ran forward. He put up a shield that blocked the ice, allowing him to get in close. And in the blink of an eye, Shining was suddenly on the other side of the rogue with his blade pointed forwards.

The rogue stood there for a moment, then moaned before falling to the ground. He wasn't dead, but he wouldn't be waking up for a while.

Flash sighed as he lowered his weapon and looked down at the belt, wondering how he took it off or got rid of the weapon he was now carrying. He reached down and felt the buttons on the box, touching one of them and accidently pressing it. This caused his weapon to suddenly vanish, exploding into light that quickly faded away. He then pulled on the hands to spin the buckle, allowing him to remove the card from it.

As he was doing that, Shining moved over to the Rogue and took something out of his coat. That something was metal disk that was silver on the outside and red on the inside. He spun the silver part around, which made the red part glow. He then pressed that part in and threw it onto the rogue's back.

The red part started blinking for a few seconds before it stopped and unleashed a red light that completely surrounded the pony. And in a blink, they were gone.

Flash saw this and was surprised by it, "what did you do to him?"

"Transported him to a prison," Shining explained. "He'll be held there until he's tried and sentenced." Flash nodded as Shining began to head out of the clearing, Flash following behind. "You were pretty good back there." Flash smirked, "though it's clear you still need a lot of practise before you could be considered Adventurer ready." Flash's smirk vanished. "You could have run and saved yourself, so why didn't you?"

"It's like I said," Flash told him. "I couldn't just run and leave you in the situation you were in. I couldn't live with myself if I saved myself and left you to die."

"Even though you could have easily have died? You shouldn't throw away your life so recklessly."

Flash thought about those words, as they continued through the forest. "It's not like I want to die or anything. But if I had the choice between dying a hero and living as a coward...I'd chose to be a hero any day." Shining smirked at this, whilst looking down at the relic he was wearing.

"Any idea how that works?"

Flash nodded and held up the card he had used before, showing the weapon. He then slotted it into the belt and when it light up, the sphere appeared and created the shield sabre. Flash took it out as the sphere vanished, then pressed the same button he had pressed earlier to make it disappear. "The card was blank before," he explained as he removed it. "But then I thought about an electric version of your weapon and it suddenly appeared. And there are other cards in this case on my side."

"So the cards embody anything you imagine, and slotting them into the belt allows it to actually make them." Flash nodded, though he was only guessing that was how it worked. "Pretty cool. I can see why the relic was sealed away." A few minutes later, they reached the edge of the forest and the town was a short ways off.

And as they reached the town's gate, Flash panicked when he saw his parents there. "Flash!" Misty cried, rushing forwards and pulling him into a hug. "What were you thinking, going into the forest like that?"

"I can explain," Flash told her.

"Save it," Trail told him. "The other teens told us everything when they came screaming out of the forest. Including how you tried to stop them from going in and how you saved them from the Manticore." Flash smiled at this, "don't think this means you're not in trouble. You still should have told an adult." Flash frowned.

Shining stepped forward, "I should also take some of the blame. I should have known those kids would try to follow me into the forest." Flash's parents nodded as Flash pulled away from them. "But your son actually saved my life, even though he did it by putting himself in danger. You should be proud of him. You've raised a brave and noble son." The parents smiled, as Shining turned to Flash. "Sorry kid, but I'm gonna need to take that relic. It's way too powerful to let a kid hold onto it."

Flash sighed, but had no idea how the heck he was supposed to remove it. He tried to pull it off, but the belt refused to give. Shining then took a closer look at the device and saw that the four buttons had something on them. One button said dispel, another button said disenchant, another said scan and the last one said release.

He hummed for a moment before pressing the release button, only to suddenly get zapped. "OW!" He pulled back, wondering what had happened. Flash then pressed the button and didn't get zapped, as the belt suddenly turned into light and vanished along with the card case.

Flash removed the buckle and looked it over, sighing as he thought about how cool it was to use. He then handed it to Shining, who took the device and nodded.

"Thanks," he told them, "I should really get going."

"You sure?" Misty asked, "it's gonna be dark soon." Shining nodded and turned to walk off, staring at the relic as he did so. But as he did, the buckle started glowing. "What?" Then, in a flash, it vanished and Shining gasped.

"Er...Shining." He turned back to Flash and saw the teen was once again holding the relic, Flash looking shocked. "It just...appeared in my hands." Shining frowned and moved over to take the relic, moving away again only for the relic to vanish and reappear back in Flash's hand. Shining tried using his magic to summon it too him, but it warped back to Flash before it got too far.

"Put it on again." Flash did so, placing it on his stomach as the belt reappeared. He pressed the button to take if off and Shining took it again, placing it on his own stomach but finding the belt wouldn't appear. He handed it to Trail and the older Avian placed it on his stomach, with the belt not appearing. Misty tried with the same result and Flash did it again, the belt appearing and locking onto him. "I see."

"What?" Flash asked, "what's wrong?"

"Whatever this thing is, it's somehow magically bound itself to you. That means you're the only one who can use it and if anyone tries to take it away, it'll just warp right back to you. It wants to be with you."

This shocked Flash and his family, the lot of them sharing a confused and amazed look. Misty then turned to Shining. "What do we do?"

"I don't know," Shining told her. "But I think the Princesses are gonna have to see this." That shocked them again, the family staring down at the belt and wondering just how powerful it really was. Flash also wondered this, but also felt new hope washing over him. If he was the only one that could use it, maybe this was his chance to become an Adventurer. Only time would tell.

Episode 3: Being Put to the Test, as a Pony

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As the train rolled along the tracks, a certain individual couldn't believe what was happening to him.

Flash Sentry sat alone in one of the compartments, looking out the window as the landscape flew past him. He then looked down at the device in his hand. The belt-buckle relic that hadn't left his side since he acquired it. And as he stared at the device, he thought back to what had happened not two weeks ago.

Flash had never been so scared, as he was escorted through the castle along with his parents. Four guards around them were marching in perfect sync, all wearing the same armor and carrying a spear.

Flash's fingers ran over the relic he had been brought to Canterlot because of. He remembered Shining leaving his town and telling him not to mess with it until he figured out how to stop it from magically returning to him. But Flash couldn't help himself and had started playing with it as soon as he was alone.

In the time between Shining's leaving and a royal chariot arriving at their doorstep, Flash figured out how to work the device quite well. The cards could transform into anything he imagined, from swords, to bows and simple kitchen knives. He had also figured out what the buttons on the side could do.

The release button removed the device from his waist, allowing him to take it off, whilst the dispel button got rid of anything it made and slotted out the cards. But it was the last two buttons that were the most interesting.

"We're here." Flash looked up and saw a large set of doors, causing him to gulp as they began to open. When they did, Flash and his parents were greeted to the sight of a beautiful throne-room. A long white room, with stained glass windows that allowed the light of the sun to shine in in a rainbow of colours. At the back of the room, there was a golden stage that had a throne on it.

And sitting upon that throne was the most important pony in all of Equestria, though she refused to admit it. Celestia. She was an amazingly tall woman, with snow white skin along with a rainbow mane and tail. She wore a white dress with a gold belt and gold trim around the bottom, along with pink fingerless elbow gloves with golden bracelets around them. She also had a golden necklace and crown, whilst her shoulders were bare to reveal her sun cutie mark.

The guards marched them inside and as they did, Flash spotted two other individuals in the room. One was Shining, who smirked at him, whilst the other was a mare Flash didn't recognise. But he knew who she was. The recently returned Princess of the Moon: Luna.

She was a tall individual. Not as tall as Celestia but still stood above Shining. She had dark blue skin along with a mane and tail of blue and purple. She was wearing a purple dress with black cloak covering her shoulders and back that had holes for her wings. She also had a necklace hanging from her neck that had a silver metal crescent moon over her chest.

Flash's eyes glanced between the two sisters and noticed another difference between them. Celestia, despite how imposing she looked, had a loving motherly warmth to her. Luna appeared very distant and stared at him as if she was trying to determine the best way to kill him. It did not make Flash feel good.

They finally reached the bottom of the stage and as Celestia stood up, Flash's parents bowed and Flash quickly followed suit. "Rise," they heard Celestia speak. They stood up and Celestia examined Flash, smiling as she did this. "So, you are Flash Sentry?"

Flash gulped. "Yes, your highness."

Celestia then looked at the object he was carrying, "and that is the relic that has bound itself to you?"

"Yes," he repeated before offering it to her. Celestia's horn glowed as the device was lifted into the air and floated towards her, the omni taking it in her hand and examining it. Luna flew up onto the stage and stood beside her, also examining the belt.

"How interesting."

"I've never seen a relic that looked so...modern," Luna exclaimed. "I would like to see it used."

"I too would like to see how it works," Celestia floated it back over to Flash and dropped it into his hand. "If you would be so kind as to demonstrate for us." He nodded and slapped the belt onto his waist, causing it to form the belt and card case. He then spun the belt open and took out a card, slotting it inside and shutting the melt with some well practised movements.

The princesses were amazed as the belt unleashed the light, which formed the lightning shield sabre that Flash drew from it and held up defensively. He then switched it to its blade mode, swinging it around with practised precision.. "You've been using that thing whilst I was gone, haven't you?" Shining gave his a suspicious look, making Flash blush.

"Maybe."

Celestia examined the sword in Flash's hand and when Shining moved to take the sword, she saw it vanish. "So only you can wield the weapons it creates?"

"Kinda."

"What do you mean, kinda?" Luna asked.

Flash pointed to one of the buttons, "disenchant. If I press this, it causes whatever I have out to become...well disenchanted. I guess it breaks the connection between the belt and the weapon, allowing it to stick around. But, it loses all its power." He summoned the weapon again and held it up, "I could disenchant this and anypony could wield it. But they wouldn't be able to use the lightning or wind attacks it has now and it would be stuck in whatever mode it was in when I did."

"I see," Celestia hummed. "And you figured this out...how?"

"I...might have another copy of this sword back home." Celestia raised an eyebrow, "and...I used it to supply the town guards with new weapons and armor. And replaced all the books in the library."

"Flash," Shining groaned. "I can understand being curious, but that might be a bit too much."

"How did you replace all the books?" Luna asked. "If that device can only create using your imagination, you either read all those books and have an eidetic memory or..." Flash gulped, then pointed to another button.

"This one. When I press it, it scans whatever's in front of it and can make a copy of it. But the is a higher quality than the original. I just scanned each of the books and disenchanted them."

"I see," Celestia smiled. "Well, that device is obviously very powerful. Which brings us to the problem at hand. Letting such a powerful device remain in the possession of an untrained individual." Flash frowned and looked down. "Shining Armor tells me you wish to become an Adventurer and that you are a rather good hearted individual." Flash smiled at him, "but you weren't able to get the necessary scores for a scholarship to the Academy."

Flash sighed, "yes your highness. Does this mean you're gonna take the relic away from me?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. It's clear that that relic is bound to you and only you. The only way we could take it away would be to kill you, which obviously isn't an option."

"So what are you going to do?" Misty asked, clearly worried about her son.

"Good question." Celestia sighed and sat back. "I've looked at your scores and whilst you don't qualify for a scholarship, you could get a sponsorship."

"Sponsorship?" Trail asked.

"It's when a high ranking Adventurer or the Crown itself agrees to fund your education. Adventurers usually give it to relatives or family friends. You would be allowed to study at the Academy, though in return you'll work under the Adventurer until they consider the debt paid."

"Seriously?" Flash asked, "and you think I could get one?"

"Possibly, though where is the question. I'm afraid the crown is only permitted to sponsor up to five Adventurers a year and my sister and I have already handed out those sponsorships." Flash frowned, feeling his renewed hope dwindling again. But then...

"I'll do it." They all looked towards Shining, who smirked at Flash. "I do owe you one and I'd like to see what kind of Adventurer you can be with some proper training."

"Really?" Flash asked, resisting the urge to run over and hug him.

"Yeah, just be ready to use that device whenever I need it." Flash nodded as Celestia laughed.

"Well, I guess that's settled. However, Shining sponsoring you doesn't automatically mean you're in the academy. You'll need to pass its entrance exam before you'll be permitted in." She thought for a moment, "the closest Academy to your home is the Manehatten Academy. I suggest applying there."

"Manehatten Academy," Flash repeated with a smirk. "Got it. I won't let you down."

"We'll see," Celestia told him. "We'll see."

And now, here he was. The train had arrived at massive city and Flash looked out the windows, amazed by what he saw.

Manehatten Academy was just a short train ride from the city, but it couldn't be located inside due to the enormity of the place. It was a massive area, located right next to the water. On the water, there was a large pier with a beach on either side of it that also had a bridge that led to a structure built atop the water.

Behind the pier was a large round grassy plain with a fountain in the middle of it and several trees and flowerbeds filling it. The fountain had a path around it that went in four different directions. One path led to the pier at six o'clock, the three o'clock path led to what looked like a small village that likely housed the students when they weren't in school. The nine o'clock path led to a large dome-like building and the twelve o'clock path led to a massive castle like structure, which Flash realised was the school itself.

The train pulled into a station on the far end of the village, allowing him and everypony else that was on the train out.

Flash could hardly believe he was actually there, unable to not stop himself from looking around. But if he wanted to make this his permanent home, he needed to get accepted.

He moved through the village and as he did, he found the place was abuzz with activity. Multiple equestrians in the same uniform were scattered around. Said uniform was different depending on the gender. Males were wearing black pants and white shirts under a long black blazer with trim that was either red, yellow or green. They also wore ties the same colour as the trim. The girls, meanwhile, were wearing a white dress that stopped just under the knee, with a similar blazer on top along with a red, yellow or green bow around their necks.

These were the students of the school, who were showing the new applicants around.

Flash was so amazed by what he was seeing, he accidently bumped into somepony. "Hey!" He staggered back and saw who it was he had bumped into. She was a blue magi mare with a silvery white mane and tail, wearing a darker blue hoodie over a purple shirt with a purple dress that had a star wand image surrounded by light. She had what appeared to be a very old magic staff in her hand.

She did not look happy about what Flash had just done. "Sorry."

"Watch it!" She cried, "do you know who you're talking to?" Flash shook his head, "I am Trixie Lulamoon. The next top student at this academy." She looked Flash over, "and you are clearly some nobody from a backwater town who managed to luck his way into this place."

Flash frowned, though she did have a point. "I said I'm sorry."

"Whatever. Just watch yourself from now on. The next time you cross Trixie, she won't be so forgiving!" She raised her staff and in a burst of smoke, she vanished. Flash blinked at the sudden disappearance, but shook his head and continued on. This time, he focused on getting to the area the exam would be taking place in.

But along the way, he arrived in the central ground and found the place was set up like a school festival.

Students were running a bunch of booths, which were selling food and had a bunch of games.

"Step right up, step right up. The raffle is ready for you to play." Flash raised an eyebrow at this and moved over to the booth, which was surrounded by a bunch of different equestrians looking excited.

Curious, he flew above them and checked out the booth. He saw the raffle that was taking placed and spotted the prizes.

There were a few basic prizes, such as a teddy bear, bars of chocolate and some pretty high grade magic stones. But there were also some amazing looking weapons, which looked like they would usually cost a small fortune to buy or have made.

He watched as someone stepped forward. He was a blue avian stallion with a dark blue mane and tail, wearing a white shirt with the famous Wonderbolts emblem on it. On top of that was a blue jacket and he was wearing black pants. On his back was a bow along with a quiver full of arrows

He put some bits down and reached into the box that had a bunch of tickets in. He then pulled out a single ticket. "Three eight two," the mare running the booth checked the list. "That ticket will get you a magic stone of your choice."

"What?" He cried, "ahhh! I wanted the weapon." Flash watched him look at the stones and pick up a green sky crystal. It was a high quality one and if forged into a weapon, would give him great control over air and lightning.

Flash continued to watch as several others tried for a ticket, getting the lesser prizes like the teddy bear and whatnot. He then saw a light green terran mare with dark green hair walk up to the table. She was wearing a striped jumper with two shades of brown, along with blue pants and a large green backpack.

She pulled out a ticket and got the same prize as the avian from before. She chose a brown land crystal, which would allow her to wield land magic in order to use plants and earth attacks.

But no sooner had she taken her gem, the blue magi Flash had run into arrived. "Out of Trixie's way." She slapped down some bits, "she's going to win that magic staff." She reached into the box and pulled out a ticket, but it wasn't a winning one.

Trixie frowned at this and put down more bits, allowing her to pull another ticket. This time, she won her own magic stone and took a yellow lumino crystal. She played again, winning a chocolate bar, then another chocolate bar, two more duds and a Sea Magic Stone. After yet another dud, she tried to take out more bits, but found she had used them all.

"NO!" She cried, stuffing the crystals into her pockets and chowing down on the chocolate bars.

Flash laughed at this and was considering playing himself. But in that moment, an overhead speaker rang. "Would all applicants for the entrance exam, please head to the training dome." Flash's nerves flared up as he flew over to the dome, where a bunch of other equestrians got in line at the check in desk.

The terran and avian he saw earlier were right in front of him. The terran mare took a pair of brown metal gauntlets out of her bag, putting them on as she reached the front of the line. "Name?"

"Wallflower Blush." The magi mare nodded and found her name, allowing her to pass as the avian stepped up.

"Soarin Skies." She checked and nodded, allowing him to pass as Flash stepped up.

"Flash Sentry." The mare looked through the list, but couldn't seem to find him. This worried Flash, as he feared he might not have been added to the register. What would happen if he wasn't?

"Ah," she finally said, "here you are." Flash sighed. "Late addition. Couldn't put you in alphabetical order. Please go through." Flash thanked her and joined the large group, which was located right in front of the domed building. In front of the building was a stage, which everypony wanted to get a look in.

Flash joined several avians in the air, then looked around at all the ponies attempting to get in. He wasn't sure, but he could guess that there had to at least five hundred ponies and maybe more.

"Out of the way!" He looked down and saw Trixie push through the crowd, wanting to get to the front where the stage is. "Don't you know who I am?" Flash rolled his eyes, but focused on the stage as somepony stepped up onto it.

He was a gray middle-aged terran, with a gray and silver mane and tail, wearing a black overcoat over a white shirt with a brown vest and tie. The terran looked out at the many ponies and didn't look impressed.

"Welcome, to the Manehatten Adventurer's Academy. I am the principal of the Academy, Grand Hoof." Flash's eyes went wide, as he had read about Grand Hoof. A well renowned Adventurer who had even fought in a war that Equestria had taken part in before Flash was even born. "This school is where the next generation of Adventurers will be trained. We accept only the best of the best here."

The crowd began to murmur at this, all stating that they belonged there. Grand Hoof didn't seem to agree.

"You might have been the greatest warrior, magician, flyer or whatnot where you came from. But you were nothing more then a big fish in a small pond. And this academy is the ocean. Curb your egos, or you will find yourselves crushed."

This statement seemed to have the desired effect on some of the equestrians, but those like Trixie smirked. Clearly, they felt they were still the best.

Grand Hoof then pointed at the dome entrance behind them. "Through those doors is a magically produced environment. In said environment, you will encounter a large variety of illusionary monsters that are just as strong as the real thing. Every monster has a particular point total. Weaker monsters will have lower scores and stronger ones will have higher ones."

A magi proctor started floating around a box, which had a bunch of strange goggle-like devices inside of them. Each of them took a pair, as Grand Hoof continued to explain.

"These goggles will magically connect to you when you wear them. They will show you the scores of the creatures you run into and whenever you slay one, that number will be added to the total your goggles show in the corner. The goggles also have a life bar and every time you're hit, you'll lose some of that life depending on the severity of the hit. Lose all your HP and your score will drop to zero."

"So they're testing us on how well we can fight and avoid damage," Wallflower realised as they placed their goggles on.

"You will have thirty minutes before the test begins," Grand continued to explained. "Use that time to get into an area you feel best suits your fighting style. Once the test begins, you'll have three hours to defeat as many monsters as you can. At the end of the test, whoever has the highest scores will be admitted into the Academy. Are there any questions?" A lot of people raised a hand, "no...good. Then you'd better get going. Your thirty minutes begins...now!" The doors opened and he stepped aside, the hopeful students all breaking out into a mad dash.

The avians took to the sky and were the first ones inside, Flash amongst them as he looked around and found himself in a rocky area. He flew straight up and in doing so, saw that the area they were in was massive. Far larger than it looked from the outside.

It was a large round area split into four quadrants. Aside from the rocky area, there was also a forested area, an island filled water area and a sandy area. Flash decided to stay in the rocky area, Since it seemed to be the hardest place for monsters to sneak attack him in. A few more applicants also seemed to be thinking that, whilst others headed to one of the other few areas.

Flash spotted the others Equestrians preparing their weapons and he attached the belt to his waist, taking out two cards as he did so. One was a cutlass-like sword with a lightning bolt blade and the other card had a red and yellow round shield with a round central door that looked like it split open. He placed both cards into the driver and summoned them, the weapons materialising in front of him.

He took them out of the light and was ready for whatever was thrown at him, swinging his sword around and getting a few sparks from it.

Everyone waited with baited breath, as the half hour slowly ticked on by. But eventually, Grand Hoof's voice called out above them. "The test will now begin in five...four...three...two...ONE!" A loud clarkson buzzed and as soon as it did, all hell broke loose.

Instantly, a bunch of lights filled the areas and those lights took the shapes of different types of monsters. Flash looked towards the closest light and found a large black bird with a feathered emu neck, long wings, sharp claws and a long yellow beak. The goggles he was wearing put up a one hundred and fifty besides the bird as it squawked before shooting towards him.

He raised his shield and the beast, which was the same size as him, slashed at it. The shield protected him and allowed Flash to push it away before charging forward and cutting through its body, the bird squawking before it exploded and the one hundred and fifty points transferred the total in the corner of his vision.

Several other avians also managed to cut down these birds, whilst many magi and terrans were dealing with the grounded monsters that were two foot tall rock humanoids that were only worth a hundred points.

Flash couldn't be idle. He spotted the closest bird monster that wasn't fighting somepony and charged, the creature seeing this and charging forward as well. This time, Flash raised his shield and channelled some power into it. The circular middle opened up and from it, a blast of fire flew out and struck the bird in the chest. This made it cry out and left it open for Flash to finish it off, earning himself another hundred and fifty points.

"Can't stop," he told himself before charging at another bird.

All over the testing areas, Adventurer hopefuls battled to try and gain as man points as they could.

"Get some!" Soarin cried as he launched an arrow into a shark that was covered in metal armor, causing it to explode and earning him a good two hundred points. A large crab monsters then leapt onto an island and he flew over to take it out, several overs doing the same and knowing whoever got the killing blow got the points.

In the forest area, Trixie was fighting against a green humanoid with vine arms and a flower on its head.

"Feel the wrath of the great and powerful TRIXIE!" She thrust her staff towards the creature, "Icicle Shot!" Ice exploded out of the staff and flew at it, impaling it in the chest and making it explode as a hundred points was added to her total.

But as she smirked over her victory, something shot out of the trees. A giant wasp-like monster that had its stinger pointed right at her. It impaled the girl and made her gasp, but then she smiled before exploding into particles of light.

"Surprise," Trixie's voice made it turn to see her standing a few feet away. "Luster Shot!" A laser fired from her staff and struck the wasp, making it explode and giving Trixie another two hundred points. "Too easy."

In the desert area, Wallflower Blush ran through the sand with her fists clenched.

Then, the sand in front of her exploded as something pulled itself out from under it. That something was a scorpion-like monster with large snapping claws. It charged forward and Wallflower leapt back to avoid its first claws, then dodged the second claw before the stinger thrusted towards her.

She sidestepped the stinger as it impaled the ground and she grabbed it, letting the insect pull it back and throw her into the air. This allowed her to pick up speed as she fell towards it. Pulling her fist back, she screamed before throwing the punch forward, smashing into the centre of its back.

It roared in pain before exploding, Wallflower standing up as two hundred and fifty points were added to her score.

In an unknown location, Grand Hoof and several other Equestrians were sitting in a line and watching a bunch of monitors.

Said monitors were showing the many different applicants attempt to battle it out for a place in the school. One screen was showing a list of names that had numbers on them, the numbers constantly changing and making the names swap places with one another. New names sometimes replaced ones at the bottom, showing that name had fallen out of the highest points.

"Not a bad haul this year," a magi teacher announced as he watched Flash fighting against a rhino-shaped rock monster. He blasted it with fire before thrusting his sword into a gap between its rocks armor, causing it to explode and increasing his score.

"Maybe," Grand told them. "But against monsters of this level, any two-bit adventurer would have an easy enough time. And then there are those that aren't up to the challenge." As if to prove his point, a screen showed a magi stallion attempting to blast a ten-foot long sea-serpent with fire. But the flames had no effect on the creature and it rushed forward before biting him on the shoulder.

Though it wasn't real, it still depleted his life gauge to zero and caused his score to drop to the same number. The beast let him go, only to get shot between the eyes by Soarin.

"It's only the first hour," Grand continued. "The weaker monsters are gonna stop spawning soon. If they want to earn a place here, they'll need to be able to survive against more powerful foes whilst exhausted from the effort of the first hour."

Flash panted as he flew out of the rock area, deciding to try his luck in a different area. He was sweating up a storm, but he wasn't done yet. He checked the score on his goggles.

4350

"I have no idea if that's good or not," Flash sighed. "Just gotta keep taking down monsters until I'm out of time." As he said that, the trees besides him rustled and he spun towards it just in time. Seconds later, a giant wolf made out of sticks and leaves shot out at him.

He gasped and raised his shield, able to block the beast's claws. But its other paw swung at his face and nicked his cheek. He didn't feel anything, but his life gauge went down.

"Oh no you don't!" He cried before launching a blast of fire from his shield, hitting the timberwolf and burning it to a crisp.

4600

Flash panted as he was on guard, trying to see if there were any other monsters around him to fight. He slowly moved backwards, unaware that there was someone behind him that was doing the same. At least until he bumped into them.

"GYAH/WOW!" They leapt forward and spun around, Flash coming face to face with Trixie Lulamoon. "Oh," Trixie lowered her staff, "it's you."

"Hey," Flash once again went on guard and looked around. "So...how many points you got?"

"Ha!" Trixie smirked, "as if the Great and Powerful Trixie needs to compare her score to a lowly weakling like you." As she said that, a scream filled the air and they looked towards it.

Realising there was likely a monster there, the pair rushed through the trees. Flash took to the air and flew through them, where he found a pair of terrans on the ground. Standing over them were a pair of humanoid creatures made of wood that was covered in moss.

"Moss Ents!" Flash realised before raising his shield. "Fire!" Flames exploded from the shield and struck the ents, setting them alight and allowing him to fly in and cut one down.

But as he turned towards the second, a blast of light flew out of the tree and blew the creature's head off. It vanished and Flash heard a laugh, making him look back and see Trixie smirking. "Don't think Trixie will let you have all the fun." Before Flash could say anything else, she suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke.

Flash coughed at this before turning to the two on the ground, "you alright?"

"Err," the terran stood up, "physically. But those things took out my life points. I'm out of the running to get into the academy." The other terran, a mare, sighed.

"Same." The pair began to head towards the exit, whilst Flash frowned. This test was the real deal and if he wanted to stand a chance of getting in, he couldn't relax for a second.

Time passed as more and more of the hopeful applicants were eliminated from the test.

Some lost by simple dumb luck, becoming surrounded by too many monsters to take out. Whilst others lost due to their own ignorance, attempting to take on an opponent too strong for them or who was weak to an element they didn't have. And some simply took too much damage, whether that was from getting multiple small hits from multiple opponents or one big hit from a strong opponent.

Either way, only the best of the applicants were left fighting. This included Soarin Skies, who was currently collecting arrows he had shot at monsters. One of his arrows had flown into the forest area, which he was forced to enter in order to retrieve.

As he did, he heard some rustling and spun around with his arrow notched. But before he could shoot, he saw it was Wallflower. "Oh," he lowered his weapon, "you're that filly who won the Land Stone."

"And you're the one who won the Sky Stone," Wallflower looked like she was having trouble figure out what to say next. "So...how high have you scored?"

"Oh," Soarin checked his goggles. "I'm on eighteen thousand five hundred. You?"

"Eighteen thousand nine hundred and fifty."

"Almost nineteen thousand. Not bad. But have you seen any monsters in the last few minutes?"

"No," Wallflower shook her head, "I think the number of ones spawning is starting to go down." They then heard a rustling sound and got into a battle stance. But they lowered their guard when they saw it was just Trixie Lulamoon.

"Oh," Trixie sighed, "you two again. Well, you'd better not get in Trixie's way. There are probably very few monsters left in this area and they're all going to increase my score." The pair frowned at this, only to hear a voice speak out from above them.

Applicants. Only thirty minutes remain in this test. For those who haven't gotten the necessary points, this is your last chance to increase your score."

"Has it really been two and half hours?" Soarin asked in amazement. The three checked their scores and frowned, unsure if the amount they had would earn them a place.

Inside the viewing room, Grand and the other teachers watched as many competitors went into a made rush to get as many points as possible.

Many of them were starting to cut through the monsters blocking them, but others were getting eliminated due to their haste. "Now it's time for the final test," Grand stated as he looked down at a big red button. "Time to unleash the ultimate monster." With that, he pressed it and all four quadrants became illuminated.

Trixie, Soarin and Wallflower all cried out, as they were blinded for a moment whilst the light pillar appeared in the middle of the forest.

"What's happening?" Trixie cried, as the light started taking shape. It slowly dimmed and as it did, they were able to open their eyes and were shocked by what they saw. "HYDRA!" It was a hydra. A giant brown lizard-like monster with four long, snake-like, necks that had a large dragonic head on the end of it.

The three of them stared at the beast in shock, whilst their goggles brought up the creature's points. And to their surprise, they found that each head had a point total of ten thousand. "No way," Soarin whispered. "Taking down just one of those heads would be enough to earn us a place in the academy."

"But that point total has to be because of how strong it is," Wallflower pointed out. Sure enough, a trio of avians flew towards the hydra and attempted to take down one of its heads. But the beast swung at them and sent one flying off a great distance, then grabbed another in its fangs and bit down whilst knocking the third down to ground and appearing to step on them.

"That thing's tough," Soarin gulped as Trixie laughed.

"Maybe to weaklings like you. But the Great and Powerful Trixie will be able to wipe out all four heads with a single move." She charged forward towards it and as the hydra was so focused on the rest of the equestrians fighting against it, it didn't notice her until she was close enough. "Take this! Icicle Shot!" She fired a buck of ice spikes towards the beast, hitting it in one of its necks. And whilst the attack seemed hurt it, it wasn't enough to do any actual damage.

The other heads then focused on her and flew down to try and bite her, but Trixie managed to leap out of the way just in time. She then raised her staff, "Illusion!" In a puff of smoke, she suddenly vanished and the beast appeared to be tricked by it. But then, it started sniffing the air before growling.

It suddenly spun round, swinging its tail across the ground. This caused it to knock down several trees before slamming into something that appeared invisible.

"Augh!" Trixie's voice cried out, as she suddenly reappeared whilst flying backwards. Her staff went flying off and struck a tree, breaking into pieces, whilst she hit the ground and her life points dropped into the red. She groaned as the hydra stared down at her with all four heads, making her think this might be the end.

But in that moment, a bunch of arrows began hitting it around the eyes. This annoyed the hydra and it turned to see Soarin charging towards it. "Oh yeah!" He fired another arrow, hoping to take its eyes out and blind it, but the beast simply closed the eyes he was aiming for and thrust its head forward. The other heads watched and seemed to somehow be directing it, forcing Soarin to fly away. "WOW!"

As it was doing this, Wallflower ran forward with her gauntlets raised. "RAAAAAH!" She leapt up and threw a punch, hitting it with all her terran strength. But its chest was as hard as rock and this caused her gauntlet to crack. She gasped at this as the hydra spun its tail around, attempting to swat her away.

Wallflower swung a punch at it, attempting to stop the tail. But when the limb struck her fist, the impact still sent her flying backwards as her other gauntlet cracked. She staggered back and fell to her knees, panting as she looked up at the beast.

Soarin kept firing more arrows, but every one shattered against its body. And when he reached back to draw another, he found he didn't have any left. "No!" He cried before getting headbutted by the hydra, knocking him flying down and crashing into the ground as his life points also went into the red. "Not good." He picked himself up and when he did, he realised his bow had broken when he crashed into the ground. "Really not good."

Wallflower looked around and saw that Soarin and Trixie both down for the count. And as she picked herself up, the hydra raised a foot and attempted to step on her. "Raaaah!" She cried, slamming her fist into the bottom of it. But this only stopped it for a moment and she was forced to punch it again, then again and again and again. Every hit kept the foot from crushing her, but it also caused her broken gauntlets to crack more.

Then, after what was probably the fiftieth punch, her metal gloves broke.

She gasped at this and turned away, using all her strength in her legs to leap forward. She managed to get out from under its foot, but its claw tip struck her back and made her flinch as she fell to the ground and her life points fell to the red.

All three of them were in serious trouble know. They had barely damaged the hydra and now their weapons were broken. They were done for.

Or were they?

"RAAAAAAAAAH!" A voice cried out as someone flew at the hydra, slashing at it with a blast of lightning. This attack shocked the hydra, causing it to stagger back as their saviour flew down and landed in front of them. "Let's get out of here!" They nodded and ran off, having no other option.

As the hydra recovered, it looked around and couldn't see them anywhere. But it didn't have time to rest, as more equestrians arrived to try and take it down.

Back with Flash, he and the others had hidden behind some fallen trees.

"You guys okay?" Flash asked, seeing the three panting as he did so. They were clearly all exhausted and upset about what had happened, each of them taking out what little remained of their weapon. "Ouch, that doesn't look good."

"It's terrible," Trixie cried. "Trixie spent months saving up for this thing. It wasn't much, but it was hers. If my father finds out about this, he'll be so disappointed." The others seemed to be thinking the same thing. Flash could tell they all wanted better weapons, but they were just like him. Unable to afford the best gear.

He looked down at his belt and knew that if he hadn't gotten it, he would be in the same situation as them. Worse even.

He wished he could help, but even if he made them new weapons they wouldn't be any better then the old ones. Unless... "I think I have an idea." They looked at him curiously, as he dispelled his weapons and removed the cards from the buckle. "Do you guys each have those stones you won before?" They all nodded as he took out some more cards. "Alright." He put the cards on the ground. "Each of you, place the stones on one of these cards and touch the other end."

"Why?" Trixie asked.

"Just do it." They did so, Flash touching each with a finger as the others placed their stones on one and held the other end. "Okay. Now, each of you close your eyes and imagine a weapon you'd love to have that are powered by these stones. The best weapon you can imagine." They had no idea why he was doing this, but closed their eyes and thought of it.

They didn't need to think very hard, since each of them had had the best weapon in their minds for a long time. They imagined them. How they would look and how they would fight with them. And as they did, the cards began to glow. Flash, meanwhile, was simply thinking one thing.

'Absorb the stones. Use them as a power source. Let them become integrated with the weapon.' Sure enough, the cards absorbed the stones, both in Trixie's case, sucking them into the card as the weapons being imagined appeared on it. When the light faded, Flash opened his eyes and smiled seeing it had worked.

"What just happened?" Wallflower asked, as Flash took the cards and slotted them into his belt.

"If it worked, I just gave you guys an upgrade." He closed the belt and it suddenly unleashed a bright light, which formed three shapes within it. One was a long light blue staff, with a star-shaped patterns running along the metal. The end had a crystal star-shape that was a mixture of blue and yellow. The next was a green bow-like weapon, which had no string and instead had a metal rip-chord-like attachment on the back above the hand grip. The edges of the bow appeared to have blades running along it. Finally, the last was a pair of gloves that had crystal halves on the backs of them.

The three stared at these devices in amazement, each one narrowing in on the one they had been imagining.

Flash smiled before hitting the disenchant button, causing the light to explode off of the weapons and cause them to fall. But they were caught by the ones who had imagined them, the three looking them over.

"Amazing," Trixie whispered.

"It's just like I imagined," Soarin smirked as Wallflower put her gloves on. "That's the weapon you always wanted?" Wallflower blushed, but took a deep breath before slamming his fists together. Doing so made the gloves glow before they suddenly transformed into a pair of giant metal fists that went all the way up to her elbows. "Okay, that's cool."

"How did you do this?" Trixie asked Flash, staring at the device on his waist. "What is that?"

Flash smirked, "this is my weapon. A relic from ancient times that only works for me." He took out his two previous cards and slotted them in, summoning the lightning sword and fire shield. "Listen, we have to work together." That surprised them, as Flash turned to where the hydra was fighting more equestrians. "That thing's way too strong. There's no way anypony can beat it on its own. Our only shot is to fight it together. Each of us, uniting our strengths and removing each other's weaknesses. That's the only way we're gonna win."

"So we work together and each take out a head?" Wallflower asked, Flash nodding.

"Yeah right!" Trixie cried. "You just wanna use us to kill one yourself. The moment you take a head down, you'll leave us to fight it on our own."

"I won't!" Flash told her. "But if you're so worried about that happening, I'll be the last to take out a head. You can go first, if you're really scared of being betrayed. Let's face it, beating that thing's the only way to guarantee entry into the academy. So what do you say?"

The three looked at one another, Soarin then smirking before standing up. "I'm in."

"Me too," Wallflower stood up. "Just lead the way." They all turned to Trixie, who still didn't look sure. But then she looked at the staff Flash had given her. Her dream weapon.

"Okay," she stood up. "Let's do this." Flash smiled before turning towards the hydra, which was now on its own after beating or scaring the other competitors away.

"Alright," he cracked his neck, "then let's show this thing why we're gonna be attending Manehatten Academy!" The others cheered as they charged forward.

Flash and Soarin took to the air and caught the Hydra's attention, making the creature growl as Soarin pulled on the ripchord of his new weapon. This caused a thin metal pole to be pulled out as the front of the bow glowed green, "Aero Shot!" He released the chord, the metal pole flying back into the weapon before a blast of air flew out and struck one of the hydra heads.

The impact was incredible, knocking the creature head backs and surprising the others. But they quickly recovered from the shock and looked angry. However, before they could attack them, Trixie pointed her staff at the pair.

"Illusion!" Flash and Soarin glowed before countless other ones appeared around them.

"Wow," the Flash army said in unison as they looked around, "cool Null Magic." Trixie smirked as she and Wallflower got closer. The two avian armies began flying around the heads, distracting them as ground team got close enough.

Trixie then swung her staff around, "Lumino Wave!" The staff unleashed a crescent wave of light, which flew up and struck the hydra's chest. This caused it to stagger back, whilst Wallflower ran up to a leg that was in the air.

"Here goes nothing!" The gem on her right gauntlet glowed before it fired a vine, which shot towards the leg and wrapped around it tightly. Once it was tied tight, Wallflower grabbed the vine and pulled with all of her strength.

The hydra roared as it fell to the ground, Trixie leaping back to avoid it whilst Flash and Soarin flew out of the way. As it hit the ground, Trixie thrust her staff forward. "Go, Super Freeze!" The staff unleashed a powerful blast of blue lightning, which flew towards one of the hydra heads.

It struck the forehead and as it did, ice began to cover the entire thing.

Trixie didn't stop there and ran forward, spinning her staff around so that the end of it was pointing at the dragon. And as she did, a blade flew out the bottom to turn the staff into something Flash remembered from his previous life. A naginata. "Raaaah!" She swung the staff as hard as she could and struck the frozen head, causing the ice covering it to break apart and explode.

When it did, the head within it also blew up, followed by the rest of the neck. The hydra was now down to three heads and Trixie gasped when she saw her points go up by so much.

"One down!" Flash smirked before looking at Wallflower, "you next!" Wallflower nodded as the hydra tried to get up, but Trixie wasn't gonna let that happen.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie always repays her dues!" She spun her staff around and pointed at the body, "Super Freeze!" She lightning fired out again and struck the body, covering it in a thin layer of ice. Trixie groaned at this, staggering back after the spell completed. "I'm out of power. Sorry."

"Let's not waste this!" Flash cried, as Wallflower ran towards one of the heads. "Soarin, give her a boost!" Soarin nodded and flew down, whilst Flash pointed his shield at the hydra. "This should keep you distracted!" The shield opened up before unleashing a blast of smoke, which blinded the beast as Soarin grabbed Wallflower.

He lifted her into the air and as the smoke began to fade, he dropped her towards the first head they spotted. "Get him!"

Wallflower fell fast, picking up speed as the hydra's head slithered out of the smoke. But by the time it noticed Wallflower in front of it, the girl had already pulled her fist back. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" She screamed before throwing the punch right into its forward, the impact sending it flying into the ground.

As it bounced off the forest floor, its head and neck exploded whilst Wallflower's points went up.

But before she could celebrate, the last remaining hydra heads flew out of the smoke and prepared to take out the last of her points. "NOT HAPPENING!" Flash and Soarin appeared between her and them, Flash launching out some fire whilst Soarin fired an arrow of lightning.

The attacks blasted the hydra back, whilst Wallflower thrust her fists forward. This sent out two long vines, which wrapped around the necks of the creatures. She used this to break her fall and swung down to the ice-covered body.

Once there, she pulled as hard as he could on their necks and forced the hydras to gasp and open their mouths. "Now!" Soarin nodded and shot towards one of the mouths, drawing his bow and aiming at the back of its throat.

"Here comes the birdy!" He fired an a blast of air shot out the bow, flying at high speed right down the hydra's throat. And when it struck the back, it exploded and punched a hole right through it.

The hydra roared as the head and neck disintegrated, leaving only one head left. However, there was a new problem.

"One minute remaining."

They all gasped. They only had one minute left before the end of the test. "Hurry!" Soarin told Flash, who charged forward. Wallflower tried to hold the creature back, but her vine finally snapped.

Flash gasped as the hydra head flew forward and tried to bite him. He shot to the side, barely managing to avoid the creature as it flew passed him. But he ended up scraping against the side with his arm, making him flinch as his health went down.

Shooting into the air, he launched a few fireballs into the creatures head. The exploded and the hydra roared before turning to look up at it. The ice on its body began to break apart, freeing it as Wallflower leapt off and was grabbed by Soarin. "Do it!" Wallflower yelled at Flash, as the hydra looked up at him.

Flash raised his shield and dived down, whilst the hydra prepared to attack with its mouth wide open. But before it could attack, several more Flash Sentrys appeared around him. Soarin and Wallflower saw Trixie on the ground, using the last of her strength to make these illusions.

The Flash army flew in different directions and the hydra couldn't figure out which one was the real one. And as the last few seconds ticked down, one of them threw his shield away and held his sword with both hands. "RAAAAAAAH!" He shot towards the neck and before the beast could stop him, he swung the blade around.

In the blink of an eye, the final hydra head was sent flying off the neck. The beast looked shocked as it completely disintegrated, right before a clackson buzzed to signal the end of the test. Flash panted as he floated there, whilst the others cheered at their success. Flash smiled, but knew it wasn't time to celebrate yet.

It took a while for all the remaining applicants to return from the testing area.

Those that lost their life points had been escorted out of the testing ground, the lot of them knowing they would need to either apply for another school or attempt the exam the following year.

Grand now stood on the stage as a large video screen floated behind him. "Congratulations, all of you who managed to survive the full three hours. I know many of you barely managed to do so, but even the greatest Adventurers sometimes make it back by the skin of their teeth."

Everypony smirked, happy they had been able to make it this far.

"However, even with how many were eliminated, there are still too many of you to accept. As such, only the twenty five applicants with the highest scores will be accepted." with that, he pressed a remote and the scores came up on the board. One by one, the winning applicants spotted their names on the boards and cheered.

Flash looked through the names, starting at the top and panicking when he saw the high scores they had. Then he went down, seeing the scores were getting closer and closer to his. And finally, he saw his name. And not just his.

12/Wallflower Blush: 28950
13/Trixie Lulamoon: 28700
14/Flash Sentry: 28650
15/Soarin Skies: 28500

"YES!" He, Soarin, Wallflower and Trixie cheered. They had done it. They were in the academy.

The rest of the announcement was a blur to Flash, who was just happy he had managed to get in. When the winning applicants were dismissed, he walked away without really thinking about what he would do next. But then, somepony punched him in the arm. "DUDE!" Soarin cried, "we did it!"

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "guess we did." He also noticed Trixie and Wallflower, who were still holding their magical weapons.

"Thank you," Wallflower told him. "If it wasn't for you, we never would have gotten in." She looked down at her gloves, "is it really okay to have these?"

"Sure," Flash smirked. "They were your crystals. Just consider it my way of thanks for helping me get into the academy."

"You helped us way more then we helped you," Soarin pointed out before getting an idea. "Hey, here's a thought. What if the four of us stay teamed up?" They looked confused at this. "I heard that at the academy, students usually end up in teams to do field exercises. If we put in an application to be a party, we can continue working together."

Flash was surprised by this, but smirked. "We did make a pretty good team. If we stick together, we'll go real far in the academy." He held his fist up, "I'm in." Soarin did the same and they looked towards the girls, both looking unsure.

"Are you sure you want me?" Wallflower asked, blushing. "I'm sure there a bunch more powerful terrans."

"Nah," Flash assured her, "you're perfect for the team. Come on. What's the harm is seeing how things go for now?" Wallflower smiled before moving over and placing her hand in, whilst Trixie stared at them.

"Trixie doesn't need a team," she told them. "But...if she will end up in one anyway, might as well be one I know can at least keep up with her." She brought her fist in and the four stared at one another.

"Alright," Flash told them, "then from on, we're a party. We stick together, watch each other's backs and combine all our skills to get the job done. You with me!?"

"YEAH!" Flash could hardly believe it. Not only had he gotten into the academy, but he had also gotten himself a party. His career as an Adventurer was starting to look promising.

Episode 4: Making friends, as a Pony

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"Well, here we are!" Flash smirked as he heard Soarin say that.

He, Soarin, Trixie and Wallflower looked up at the building in front of them, which would be their new home for the year. Said building was located in the small village that was on the eastern side of the campus ground, and had a rather nice looking cafe on the ground floor that would likely become a regular location for them when they wanted to relax and have something to eat.

They found some stairs on the side of the building that led them to their new home on the third story, which had two doors on either side at the top.

"Okay," Flash looked at the two doors, "one is mine and Soarin's place whilst the other is for you girls." He pulled out the key he got in the mail and opened the door, he and Soarin looking inside to see the state of the place they would call home for the next three years.

It was a simple rectangular room, which had a bunk bed on the far side with a long desk next to it under a window and two closets on the other side of the room. There was a small kitchen in one section of the room and a door that likely led to the bathroom. It wasn't much, but it would be more than enough for them. They probably wouldn't be spending much time there anyway.

"Not bad," Soarin smiled as he flew in and sat on the top bunk. "Dibs."

Flash rolled his eyes, but didn't argue as he placed his bag down next to the bed before sitting on it. As he did, he thought about everything that had happened since the entrance exam. Almost instantly after agreeing to form a party, the four of them had submitted an application for said party.

They had had some trouble thinking of a good name for themselves, given that they all had different ideas. Trixie wanted to call them Trixie and the Illusions, whilst Soarin had wanted to be called Team Dynamite Thunder. Eventually, Wallflower had sneakily written down the Team's Name and handed it into the mare running the desk. As such, Team Relic had been formed.

Flash liked the name, as Wallflower pointed out the only reason they were all in the Academy was because of the relic Flash wielded.

Because of this, the school had been gracious enough to allow the lot of them to dorm together instead of being randomly assigned roommates. Flash had returned home to a village wide party, as everyone who knew him was happy to hear he had gotten into the Academy. He was both happy and worried, since now he had the entire village's support. This would make it really humiliating if Flash ended up flunking out. But he didn't intend to do that.

"Cool." Flash looked over at Soarin and saw him opening the wardrobe with his name on it, where he removed the new uniform he would be expected to wear during school. It looked just like the one that Flash had seen during the entrance exam, being a white shirt with black pants and a blazer that was a mix of red and black with a red tie. The shirt and blazer had holes in the back for his wings and tie had the school's emblem emblazoned on it.

Flash smirked at it before getting up to pull his own uniform out of the wardrobe, checking it out and confirming it was his size. "This is pretty cool."

"Yeah, wish it came in a cooler colour though. Could they not have made the trim and tie blue?"

Flash chuckled, "the colour on the uniform is meant to show we're first years. Yellow is for second years and green is for third years."

"Ah man," Soarin sighed as he put his uniform away. "This bites. But it beats not getting to wear one at all." Flash nodded in agreement, the pair beginning to unpack the few belongings they had. Soarin took out the bow Flash had made for him and held it lovingly. "Thanks again." Flash looked at him in surprise. "If you hadn't given me this weapon, there's no way I'd be here right now." He held the bow up, "this weapon is the key to me fulfilling my dream."

"Dream?" Flash asked, wondering what Soarin hoped to accomplish as an Adventurer.

"I'm gonna join the Wonderbolts." Flash instantly understood. The Wonderbolts Guild were a group of avian Adventurers that also acted as the kingdom's main air force. However, only A-Rank Adventurers could hope to even apply. "Just watch. I'm gonna graduate from here, work my way up to an A-Rank Adventurer and join the Wonderbolts."

"Big dream," Flash told him. "But it's gonna take more than a cool weapon to become a Wonderbolt."

"I know that. That's why I'm gonna train as much as I can, whenever I can. You should join me. Then we can both be in top form together." Flash didn't see any harm training with him. He already planned on doing some extra training when they weren't in class, so doing it with a friend sounded like it might be fun.

He would come to regret that thought.

The next morning.

Celestia hadn't even raise the sun yet, as Flash sat in his bed dreaming about big adventures. But those dreams were quickly shattered by an alarm clock, which caused him to awaken with a start. "What the?" He looked around and noticed Soarin jumping out of bed.

"Wakey wakey sleeping beauty!" Flash groaned as he looked at the time.

"It's five thirty." He wanted to go back to sleep, but Soarin pulled his blanket off him. He moaned, now realising how determined Soarin really was to become an Adventurer and join the Wonderbolts. Five minutes later, Flash and Soarin were running through the streets in tracksuits. "How...long...do we...have to...run for?"

"Thirty minutes running," Soarin replied. "Then thirty minutes flying." Flash's mouth dropped, but he didn't complain. They ran for the thirty minutes around the town, then took to the air and flew all the way from the town to the dome and back again several times.

When the thirty minutes was up, Soarin had them land down at the fountain. "Is...it...over?"

"Yup," Soarin nodded. "Good warm-up." Flash nodded, only to do a double take when he heard this.

"That...was just...the warm-up?" Soarin nodded before letting himself fall forward on the grass, where he started doing push-ups. "You can't be serious. Don't we even get a rest?"

"Nope. This is the same exercise routine the Wonderbolts do on a daily basis. Half hour run. Half hour flight. One hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups. Fifty wing-ups followed by a plank." Flash felt exhausted just hearing all that. "Don't worry, you get used to it. I couldn't even move the day after I first started doing it."

"Yeah, well I don't intend to join the Wonderbolts. So I think I'll take a break before I pass out from exhaustion." Soarin shrugged and kept up the push-ups, it only taking him five minutes to do the full one hundred. By this point, Flash had recovered enough to do his own push-ups. But he knew he wouldn't be able to do the full one hundred, so just decided to do a simple twenty.

He managed to get to that number by the time Soarin was halfway doing with the sit-ups, Flash's arms killing him as he rolled onto his back. He caught his breath and after a few more moments, started doing his own sit-ups. He got to fifteen by the time Soarin finished his one hundred, The avian groaning as he laid on the ground.

"How are you not exhausted?" Flash asked, his body screaming at him as Soarin rolled back over to start doing his wing-ups.

"I'm...used to it." He lifted himself up on his wings, whilst his hands were held behind his back. "I've been training ever since I was a kid."

"Really?" Flash asked, "you've wanted to be a Wonderbolt for that long?" Soarin stopped mid wing-up and seemed to contemplate Flash's question.

"It's...complicated."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

Soarin stayed there for a moment and started pushing himself up and down again. "Thanks. Maybe I'll tell you one day. But not right now." Flash nodded as he watched Soarin continue to do the exercises. By the time he finished the wing-ups and plank, it was getting on to be almost seven o'clock. "Come on!" Soarin took to the air and Flash flew up behind him. "We need a shower, breakfast and be at our first class before nine."

They flew towards the village and Soarin was the first one to reach their dorm. As such, he got to be the first one to shower whilst Flash took this time to prepare his bag. The backpack was filled with notebooks and his belt buckle, Flash having had to wear it during his exercise since it refused to remain more than ten feet away from him.

He took out his class schedule for the week and looked over all the classes he would be taking over the next year. At the Academy, two days would be spend in the classroom and two days would be spent doing physical training. Flash was glad that today would be classroom studies, since his exhausted state likely wouldn't have allowed him to do anything too strenuous. He just hoped his body would be able to move tomorrow, since he might be a little sore.

Once Soarin finished his shower, Flash jumped in and sighed as the hot water washed away his sweat and eased his muscles. He could have probably fallen asleep under the hot show, but he needed to stay awake. Once the shower was done, he and Soarin were dressed in their uniforms.

They then headed out of their room and found both Trixie and Wallflower leaving their dorm. The girls were dressed in their uniforms, that being a white dress with black tights, a black blazer with red trim and a red bow with the emblem on the ends.

"Were you two really up at five thirty?" Wallflower asked as they climbed down the stairs.

"You ruined Trixie's beauty sleep," the magi complained when they nodded. As they passed the cafe, the metal shutters slid open to reveal the owners of the establishment. One was a lanky blue terran stallion with a short pink mane and tail whilst the other was a slightly plump yellow terran mare with a long flowing orange mane and tail.

The stallion smiled at the sight of them. "Why, hello there. You must be our new neighbours. Name's Treacle Tart. And this is my lovely wife, Meringue Tart."

"It's lovely to meet you," Meringue smiled. "The lot of you certainly look like promising young Adventurer hopefuls."

"Thank you," Wallflower bowed. "And I promise we'll do our best to keep the noise down as much as possible." The other three nodded as the Tart family smiled.

"That's kind of you," Treacle nodded. "Our last tenants were a rowdy lot. One was always playing music too loud and if the other wasn't arguing with their roommate, they were blowing the place up with a crazy spell or potion." Meringue nodded at the bad memory, whilst the four students hoped they could be better tenants then that.

"Oh," Meringue held up a tray of goodies. "You must be hungry. Can't become great adventurers on an empty stomach." They each took a cupcake and thanked her before heading towards the main campus, snacking on their treat as they looked forward to the first day of training.

Then they reached the large castle, many other students were also making their way inside. They all headed to the dining room, where they could grab something good to eat between the hours of seven and half eight. The four sat at a table and grabbed some toast and scrambled eggs. As they did, Grand Hoof appeared at the foot of the dining room.

"Welcomes students," he announced to them all. "I'm sure many of you new students are looking forward to your first day. I welcome you all to the Manehatten Adventurer's Academy. Here you will learn everything you need to know in order to become S-Ranked Adventurers. We have a variety of classes that you can learn from, such as the Monster Class, where our resident monster experts will teach you about the beasts you're likely to fight as Adventurers."

"Good morning class!" A light blue magi stallion stepped into the room, his snow white hair blustering as he looked out at the class.

"Good morning professor Steel," the students all spoke back as Cold Steel pressed a remote button. Doing so caused a hologram of a two foot elephant to appear in the air, this elephant had a black band running from its trunk, over its head and body to end at its tail.

"Today's lesson shall be on the Rollephant. Not much of a threat when stationary, but dangerous if it gets up to speed and curls up."

"Herbology, where you will learn about many different magical plants that you might encounter or need to track down for an assignment."

A green terran with a pink and blue mane was showing Flash and his class around the green house.

"Professor Bloom?" The pony named Heather turned to a magi student, "what's this one?" She pointed at a plant that looked like a red bluebell.

"I wouldn't do that," Heather told her. The next thing the magi knew, the bluebell came to life and pulled her finger inside of it. The student screamed as she felt it sucking magic out of her, Heather moving fast and cutting the plant off its stem. The magi staggered back as the head fell off her finger. "Magi-bell. Drains magic from whoever it gets its hands on. Good ingredient for potions." She turned to walk off, showing the students more of the plants the school had.

"Potion Making. A useful skill to have when you're out in the field. Never know what might happen. Being able to make a healing potion of something else might come in handy."

A light gray magi with a dark gray mane and tail with half-moon glasses stood in front of the class.

"Next," he held up a jar of blue powder. "We add exactly three tablespoons of ground up Muka Crab shell." Flash and Trixie were currently standing in front of a pot, Trixie scooping out spoonfuls of the powder.

"Um," Flash saw Trixie had taken out more powder than what could fit on the spoon, the pile poking over the end. "I think that might be a bit too much." Trixie rolled her eyes and poured the powder inside, only for a puff of yellow smoke to explode up and hit her in the face.

When it faded, Trixie's face was shown to be covered in tiny mushrooms. The other students laughed at this, whilst the the teacher rolled his eyes. "Used too much powder. That is what happens if you use even the slightest too much. Potions are about precision. Too much and too little will always result in disaster."

"But it won't always be classroom learning. Being an Adventurer is a physically demanding job. As such, you'll need to be in tip-top shape if you want to survive."

The students were all dressed in their normal clothing, standing in a line as their teacher walked passed them.

He was a purple avian with a white mane and tail, his face covered in scars whilst his right wing was replaced by a metal prosthetic. "Alright!" He told them before pointing at the a line in front of them, "suicides. Let's see how well you all do." He blew his whistle and the students started running back and forth. Most of them, including Wallflower, only lasted about five minutes before they could no longer do anything else.

Flash managed to last a good while, but he was completely outgunned by Soarin, who didn't even look winded by the exercise.

"You'll also be learning how to drive a variety of vehicles, should you ever need to sail over a large body of water or fly a vast distance without your wings.

On the water, Flash and Soarin were in a small sailboat.

Trixie and Wallflower were in another, the girls having trouble figuring out how to work the thing. Several more boats flew past them, including one with their teacher on it. "Don't fight against the wind, mi amigas." He was a brown magi with a light blue mane and tail. "Let it be your guide."

Trixie frowned and pulled hard on a rope, only to make the sail swing around and slam into her back. She cried out as she fell into the water, her teammates flinching as she did. Her head soon floated out of the water, the magi spitting out a bunch of water as she did so.

"Should you ever want to learn something that isn't in the general teachings, feel free to use our well stocked library. We have a book for everything you and your classmates will want to know."

Flash looked around the shelf-packed room, which was so big it could fit twelve of his old schools inside.

There were shelves full of likely every book ever written, along with many desks and chairs, with even a couple of bean bags and an exit to an outside courtyard that students were sitting in and enjoying themselves. There was even an area full of magical computers, which were a rare sight indeed. Flash had no idea how he was supposed to find anything in this place, knowing he and the librarian in charge were likely to get very well acquainted.

"You're, of course, free to enjoy your time off as you see fit. Whether you want to relax, study or train, we're happy to give you what you need in order to succeed. The training dome has plenty of free times you can book if you wanna test yourself or work on teamwork."

Team Relic were fighting against an arimaspi cyclopes.

The beast roared as it slashed at the ground, Flash and Soarin leaping back and both firing their weapons at it. Flash was currently wielding a blue crossbow that fired blasts of water and ice, whilst Soarin held his bow at the ready. The pair landed next to Trixie and Wallflower, Trixie slamming her staff into the ground and unleashing a burst of ice.

The cyclopes jumped back to avoid the ice rink she made, whilst Soarin leapt forward. "Accel!" He roared as his body glowed, only to suddenly shoot forward at amazing speed. He flew between the beast's legs and used the blades on his bow to slash at them both, knocking the creature off balance.

Flash and Trixie started launching ice blasts at the creature, freezing its body as Wallflower ran forward and punched it. The beast shattered into pieces, ending the fight as they all cheered.

"And whilst we teachers can help you learn everything you'll need to know, it's up to you to decide what kind of Adventurers you wanna become. Use your time here to not only learn about the job, but learn about yourself. Because that is the most important lesson of all."

Three weeks had passed since the start of the school year and the weekend had once again come around.

Flash had chosen to spend his Saturday at the library, needing to study as much as he could. His Sponsorship by Shining Armor would only remain if he managed to keep his grades up. He was doing okay for now, but he knew the work would only get harder and harder as time went on.

Being stuffed in the library for four hours had seriously worn Flash out, so he had chosen to spend the rest of the day outside. The fresh air was already clearing up his brain, as he looked around for a good spot to sit and read. But his focus was broken when he spotted a large bag of compost with legs staggering about.

The bag spun around and Flash was surprised to see Wallflower was the one carrying the bag, but any moment now she would fall over and possibly spray it all over the place.

Moving fast, he flew over and grabbed the bag. "You okay?" Wallflower looked up and blushed at him.

"Oh...thanks." Flash helped her carefully place the bag down. "Sorry. The wheelbarrow broke, so I had to get this compost to the gardens on my own." Flash smirked and quickly attached his belt, using it to create and disenchant a new wheelbarrow for her. "Wow, that thing probably has a million uses."

"Hasn't let me down yet," Flash told her. They lifted the bag onto the wheelbarrow and started walking towards the gardens. Said garden was located in the forested quadrant of the grounds between the school and the training dome. Heading through the trees, they found an area of the school not part of the normal herbology sector. This was a nice little garden, full of trees, flowers, benches to sit on and even a small waterfall and pond that fed a small stream that ran through it. The most tranquil spot in the school.

Wallflower moved over to one of the empty flower beds and opened up the bag, Flash frowning as he watched her use her hands to dig up the soil and start sprinkling it into the flower bed. "Don't you have any tools?"

"We do," Wallflower nodded. "But most of the best tools get used for the greenhouse. Professor Bloom doesn't like them being removed. Apparently, they got lost a few times so she doesn't let them out of her sight." Flash nodded and spotted a small shed not to far from them, so he headed over to it. It was hidden in the darkness of the trees and when he checked inside, he saw a bunch of old rusted tools.

He smirked before activating his belt again, using it to scan all the tools before creating a bunch of new ones.

Wallflower was attempting to pull a weed out, only to find a brand new shovel being offered to her. She smiled and took it, the weed not standing a chance as she dug it up. "You really enjoy gardening, don't you?"

"Of course," Wallflower smiled. "I just enjoy being surrounded by nature." She looked around and as she did, she sighed. "Plants and trees are the most important things that exist in this world. They're what let us breath, they can be used to make homes and shelter from the dangers of the world. They're just amazing." Flash nodded as he used a small trowel to spread some compost around. "Plus, plants and trees are great listeners."

"You talk to trees?" Flash asked, only to see Wallflower frown. "Hey, I didn't mean that like I was making fun of you. I bet a lot of terrans talk to trees. They are the most connected species to the earth."

"I know," Wallflower nodded as she picked up a carnation and placed it in a hole. "I guess I'm just used to ponies making fun of me."

Flash frowned, "did they do that a lot back home?"

"Not as much as you think. But it seemed to be the only interaction I got back home." Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "I'm...kind of invisible. I guess that's what happens when you don't have any special magic. I just used to fade into the background. Ponies I'd met tons of times don't even remember me when I talk to them."

"No way," Flash told her. "That can't be right."

"I'm afraid it is," she picked up another flower and placed it in the hole. "I guess it's no surprise. I don't exactly stand out. I mean, look at our team. Trixie and Soarin both have amazing Null Magics. You have your relic and me...what do I have?"

"You might not have anything unique when it comes to magic, but it doesn't mean you're not special. Don't forget, you were the one who scored the highest out of the four of us in the entrance exams. And you're the smartest member of our group, whose grades are some of the highest in the class."

"I guess," Wallflower blushed.

"And you managed to get into the school on your own. Your physical and theoretical skills got you your own scholarship. I had to luck into this relic to get mine." Wallflower smiled at this. "Trust me, you are not worth forgetting about. Ignorant ponies might not have been willing to remember you before, but ponies are gonna remember you now. And it's not just because you're teamed up with us."

Wallflower's smile increased at this, as they put another plant in the soil. "Thanks, Flash. I'm glad I made friends with you, Soarin and Trixie."

"No problem," Flash smirked. "I just hope I can stick around and stay friends with you." Wallflower looked confused, "my grades are barely high enough to keep my sponsorship going. And the classes are gonna get a lot harder. If I'm not careful, my grades will drop below the amount I can stay here with."

Wallflower looked worried, "maybe I can help." He gave her a surprised look. "maybe I can tutor you. You said it yourself. My grades are pretty good. maybe I can help you keep your up." Flash smiled, nodding as he did so.

"I'd like that." He then stood up and held up his trowel. "But first, we've got a garden to tend to." Wallflower blushed and held up her spade, the pair getting to work on maintaining the garden.

Over the next few days, Wallflower was true to her word and the pair studied together.

She helped him understand some of the subjects he was having trouble grasping, explaining it in a new way that the professors of the school likely hadn't thought of. Flash's grades quickly started going up and whenever the pair weren't studying or training, they were in the garden taking care of it. Said garden quickly became a place many more students enjoyed hanging out in, some more even offering to help care for it. They quickly started following Wallflower's instruction, making her smile as she became known as the girl with the green thumb. Literally.

Flash might have been busy with school, studies and the garden, but he was also continuing his exercise with Soarin.

Over the weeks, Flash's endurance improved by leaps and bounds. Currently, he and Soarin had just down their half-hour run and flight and Flash wasn't even tired. He and Soarin began their push-ups, Flash now able to do a lot more than he used to.

"I'm impressed," Soarin smirked between push-ups. "You're growing stronger every day."

"Thanks," Flash nodded before finding himself hitting a wall. He groaned and tried to push himself back up, but his arms gave out and he fell to the ground. "But I'm still nowhere near your level." Soarin laughed as he finished his set, the pair both laying on the ground.

"You'll get there."

"Maybe. But if you've been doing this level of training since you were a kid, I've got a long way to go." Soarin shrugged as he looked up at the sky. They both laid there for a few minutes, letting their muscles rest. As they did, Soarin thought back to the conversation they had had on their first day of school.

"When I was younger, I was terrified of heights." Flash looked over at him. "Everyone thought I was pathetic, being an avian scared of heights. But I couldn't help it. The thought of being up high terrified me. It didn't help that I lived in Cloudsdale."

"The sky city?" Flash asked, always wanting to go there but never having a chance.

Soarin nodded. "I never went too close to the edge. I knew I couldn't fall through the clouds, but I could fall over the edge. I was terrified something like that would happen and my parents feared I'd never be able to make life for myself there." Flash understood that. You pretty much had to fly in order to live in Cloudsdale.

"So what happened to change that?"

Soarin thought back to one day in particular, a smile appearing on his face. "A bunch of rogues stole a roc's eggs and tried to hide them in Cloudsdale, hoping to sell them for a quick buck." Flash quickly caught on.

"The roc attacked," Soarin nodded. "I remember hearing about that. It was big news."

"Yup. And I happened to be there with my parents. It swooped down and almost got us. But that's when the Wonderbolts arrived. They stopped the roc, holding it back and keeping it from hurting anypony without hurting it. They kept fighting and managed to protect the city, long enough for the eggs to be found and returned to the roc."

Flash nodded. "I guess seeing them do something like that would make you want to join them."

"That wasn't why I wanted to be a Wonderbolt. After the roc left, I went up to a Wonderbolt and asked how they weren't scared of the roc. But then he told me that he was scared. Terrified. He then told me fear isn't a weakness, but a strength. As long as you listen to the fear, but don't let it control you, it can help you do anything and stay alive. That's when I decided I wasn't gonna let me fear of heights control me. The next day, I went to the furthest edge of town and leapt off the side before I could stop myself."

"So what happened?"

"I fell. My wings weren't strong enough to carry my whilst moving so fast. My dad barely managed to catch me. But after that, my fear of heights vanished. I started flying. Started training and as time went on, I realised I wanted to be an Adventurer. I wanted to be just like the Wonderbolts. That's why I wanna join them."

Flash smirked at this, happy Soarin was following his dreams with such a passion. He pushed himself to his feet and turned to Soarin, holding out a hand. "Then let's keep aiming for our dreams, together." Soarin smirked and took his hand, Flash pulling him up before they took to the air and flew back to prepare for school.

Later that day, Flash, Wallflower, Soarin and Trixie were in class.

However, the classroom was different from usual. All the desks and chairs were gone and in the centre of the room, there was a large circle. Professor Cold Steel stepped up to this circle. "Today, we're going to see how well you do facing a creature in close quarters." He pointed at it. "You will step into this circle and fight a monster. The closeness of the circle will require you to focus on using what little room you have to your advantage. Now, who will be the first to try."

Before anyone else could speak up, Trixie stepped forward. "Trixie will show you all how this is done." The other students rolled their eyes, including Trixie's teammates. She might have had a lot of skill, but Trixie's arrogance could be seriously grating at times.

Trixie took out her staff and stepped into the circle, as it lit up and created a barrier she couldn't cross. Cold watched from the side. "Just say stop if you want the simulation to end." Trixie laughed at this.

"Trixie will not need to say that world." Cold shrugged and summoned the creature she would be fighting. It was a large orange boar-like creature whose head and back were surrounded by flames. Trixie smirked and fired a blast of water at the creature, but it responded by shooting flames out its nose.

The two elements merged and Trixie expected to overpower it, only to find the flames were evaporating the water and steam filled the circle. Trixie was completely blind and looked around, turning her staff into its blade form as she held it defensively. She stepped forward, only to accidently walk face first into the magical barrier.

A loud roar then filled the air before her and she spun around, swinging her blade in its direction. But she missed and staggered around, as the fire boar charged. It slammed into her and she cried out, her staff being thrown from her grasp as she hit the side of the wall.

She fell to the ground as the steam faded, revealing the fire boar as it let out a burst of smoke. It charged forward and was about to slam into her, "STOP!" The boar vanished before it could reach her and the circle deactivated, Trixie falling back and onto the ground whilst the class burst into laughter.

"So much for not needing to say it," somepony joked.

"What is it she calls herself? The Great and Powerful Trixie? More like the Fake and Pathetic Trixie." Everypony laughed at this. Everyone except Flash and his friends. They knew Trixie could be boastful, but she didn't deserve this.

Trixie crawled over to her staff and picked it up, clutching it tightly as everypony continued to laugh. She then turned to run away, rushing out the classroom as Cold told her to come back. But she didn't and everypony continued to laugh, at least until Cold turned to give them all a harsh look.

"None of you had any right to make jokes like that. It's clear none of you understand the girl and if you can't see the truth, I doubt any of you will make worth wild Adventurers." The class all frowned at that. "Here's an important thing to remember about the world. Your eyes can't be trusted. Until you can learn to see past what is visible, none of you will be able to become Adventurers."

"But she's always boasting and bragging about everything she does," a terran stated. "She opened a stuck jar in potions the other day and acted like it was legendary relic she had freed."

"Have any of you wondered why she would bother to do such a thing?" The students weren't really sure about that question, all assuming Trixie was just a show of and a braggot. "Many times when somepony acts this way, they're doing it to hide what they're really feeling. Before you assume Trixie is what she seems to be, maybe you should try and see past the facade she's putting up. But you can do that later." He pointed at the one that called Trixie Fake and Pathetic. "You, come up and face your opponent."

The mare gulped and entered the circle, hoping they would be facing something they could handle. Alas, they found themselves fighting a mantis-like monster with swords for hands. They lasted even less time then Trixie did.

As the students were forced to face deadly beasts in the circle, Flash and his friends all thought about what Cold Steel had said. Had Trixie really been hiding her true self, despite how long they had known her already and how much time the spent together? If she did, that had to be one serious act she put up. But why was she hiding her true self and what originally prompted it?

It being a Friday, the Library was open extra late since the students wouldn't need to be up early for school the next day.

As such, Flash had spent a lot of the evening reading up on Adventurer history. He had a test on this subject coming up and he wanted to ace it. However, history wasn't one of his strong suits. As such, he ended up studying later into the evening. Eventually, he sighed and shut his book.

He knew he needed a good night's sleep, giving his brain the time to relax and process the information.

But as he got up to head out the library, he noticed a voice speaking up. "Father." He stopped, realising it was Trixie's voice. "I'm trying my best."

"Well clearly, your best isn't good enough." The voice was a male one, Flash following it and spotted Trixie at one of the library computers. Clearly, she was video catching with someone. "I've checked the listings and saw you're only tenth in your class. You should be at the very top. And to make matters worse, some of the students you're behind are a bunch of no-name wannabes who don't have a hope of becoming first rate adventurers."

Trixie didn't reply to this, clearly trying to think of a way to save face. "My team and I are doing well. We're at the top of the team listings."

"So you can only do things when you have other ponies propping you up? Disgraceful. You'd better start showing results if you want me to keep paying for your tuition." The screen went blank and it was clear that Trixie's father had cut the call. Trixie looked like she was about to start crying as Flash moved forward, only to step on a creaking floorboard.

She gasped and spun around, seeing Flash and looking annoyed. "How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," Flash told her. "You're dad's really giving you flack, huh?"

"It's none of your business," Trixie turned around and crossed her arms. "Trixie's father has high expectations for her, that's all. It's expected, given her family status." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what she meant.

"What is your family status? You're always going on about how Great and Powerful you are, but you never explain what makes you so Great and Powerful. Sure, you've got an interesting Null Magic. But other then that, you haven't done anything to make anypony think you're anything but a normal magi. A normal, boasting, magi."

Trixie turned to glare at her, "Trixie's family were the ones who started the Crescent Moon Guild. One of the largest guilds located on the eastern side of Equestria. As my father's oldest daughter, it's expected of me to take over the guild one day."

"Ah," Flash nodded. "And if your grades aren't fantastic, you think it'll reflect poorly on your father's guild and your family name."

"Exactly," Trixie nodded.

Flash sat down and thought about it, "so that's why you're always acting this way."

"What way?"

"Acting like you're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Professor Steel said it was a farse and he was right. You only act that way to hide how scared you really are." Trixie looked applaud that he would say that. "You're scared that you'll fail and let your father down."

"That's not true," Trixie told him. "How could Trixie be afraid of something that couldn't happen. She's-"

"Don't," Flash sighed, "I'm trying to be honest with you here. I don't need you monologuing how Great and Powerful you are. And I know it's true. Seeing you now, I can see it in your eyes."

"See what?"

"The same worry I have whenever I think about the ponies back home. My whole village supported me when I got into the academy, and the thought of letting them down sends shivers down my spine. You're dad doesn't sound as forgiving as them, so you must be feeling even worse."

Trixie just stood there, looking upset and worried. "Trixie...I...I've never been good enough for him. He was an Adventuring Prodigy. Got to A-Rank before he was even twenty. Took over the guild before I was even born. He was even the one who originally had the Illusion Magic I inherited from him. I've always tried to live up to his legacy, but nothing I do pleases him."

Flash frowned, "that sounds harsh. And that's why you act all high and mighty? You hope that if you acted like somepony that's better than everyone else, you might become like that kind of pony?"

Trixie sat down. "I was trying to emulate my father and act how he does around normal ponies. So many ponies respect him and I want to be respected to."

"I see." Flash couldn't help but feel sorry for Trixie. "But you shouldn't pretend to be someone you're not." Trixie looked shocked at that. "You want to gain other pony's respect, but what's the point if you're doing it by acting like somepony you're not. They won't respect you. Just the pony you're pretending to be."

"But nopony will respect the real me. If I don't do this, I'll never be worthy of my father's praise."

"You shouldn't care about what your dad thinks of you. It doesn't matter." Trixie looked at him in shock. "The only person you should care about being worthy of is yourself. If I had to choose between being myself and ending up barely making a name for myself, or being someone else and the most respected Adventurer in the world, I'd choose to be myself. Because what's the point of being respected, if you're not the one being respected?"

Trixie seemed to take these words in and thought about it. She brought her legs up so her knees hid most of her body, hugging her legs as she thought. "So...how does Trixie get ponies to respect her as herself?"

"First, you need to stop acting like your the second coming of Celestia. Nopony likes being talked down to. Second, show everypony the real you and what makes you special. Other then your illusion magic, what can you do that can both impress and amaze others?"

Trixie thought about it and an idea form in her head. One that made her smile. "Trixie has an idea."

The next day, the students of the school woke up to find something very interesting in the central section of the campus.

A large stage had appeared on the lawn, with a large curtain blocking them from seeing what was happening backstage. A large crowd had gathered there and once almost all of the students were present, fireworks went off much to everyone's surprise.

Then, the curtains pulled aside to reveal somepony they hadn't expect to see. "Trixie?" Soarin asked, as he and Wallflower stood in the crowd.

"Greetings!" Trixie smiled as she looked out of the crowd, dressed in a purple star-patterned cape and hat. "I am Trixie the Magnificent and I am here to entertain my fellow students and help you relieve some of the stress I know you must be feeling due to all the hard work you've been putting yourselves through here at school."

The students didn't seem convinced that Trixie was gonna do anything that would wow them. Magic shows like this required them not knowing the secret, but she was a magi that could make illusions. It wouldn't be hard to figure out how she was gonna do her tricks.

In that moment, Flash stepped out carrying something. "Can I have a magi assistant from the audience, please?" She pointed one out, gesturing for her to step out onto the stage. Trixie then held up what Flash had brought out. A black collar. "Can you please put this on and see if it works?" The magi looked confused, but placed it on. "Try and cast a spell."

She did so and found her magic wasn't working. She tried elemental magic, simple levitation or even her own null magic. But nothing worked.

"As you can see, this anti-magic collar prevents her from using her magic." Trixie took it off the magi and put it on herself, preventing her from using magic. As the magi jumped down, Flash brought out a table.

Trixie waved her hand over the table and showed there was nothing invisible on it. She then took off her cape and threw it onto the table, only for it to act like the was some kind of box under it. She pulled her cape away and revealed there was a box, surprising the audience.

She held up the box and showed there was nothing inside it to the audience before placing it back on the table, then took off her hat and pulled a wand from it after show it was empty to. She pat the box and caused it to fall apart, only to reveal a glass bowl with water and a goldfish inside it.

The crowd were amazed by this, as Trixie continued to show off her stage magic. It was one trick and illusion after another, each one amazing more and more of the crowd. And as the show went on, the tricks and illusions got more and more visually spectacular.

"Is this your card?" She asked Wallflower, holding up a card that she randomly picked out of the deck. Wallflower looked at it and frowned before shaking her head. "Oh," Trixie looked at it, "that's right. I put your card in your pocket for safe keeping." Wallflower looked confused before checking her pockets, eventually pulling a card out the back. She gasped at the sight of it.

"How did you do that?" She showed Trixie the card and it was the one she had earlier shown to the audience.

An hour and a half after the show had first started, Soarin was brought up on stage. "And now, it's time for the big finale!" Flash took out a large box that Trixie asked Soarin to step into, laying in it so that only his head and hooves were sticking out each side. "In front of you all, I shall amaze and astound you by cutting this willing vic-I mean...volunteer, in half."

"WHAT?" Soarin cried, looking at her in shock before trying to get out of the box. But Trixie had already locked it before taking out a saw. "Trixie, I don't think this is a good idea."

"Relax," Trixie whispered to him, "I got this." She held the saw over him and was about to start cutting, but somepony spoke up before she could.

"What is going on out here?" They stopped and turned to see Grand Hoof walking towards the stage, staring at the construction curiously. "I don't remember authorising this." He gave Flash and Trixie a wary look, the pair giving him a nervous smile.

The two quickly found themselves in Grand Hoof's office, the terran principal staring them down. "Well?"

"This was my idea," Trixie explained. "I just thought everypony could use some entertainment. To relieve the stress they must be feeling. If you're gonna punish somepony..." She sighed, "punish me."

"I'll accept my blame too," Flash stated. "I'm the one that talked her into doing this."

"I see," Grand nodded. "Well, you two were just trying to make everypony happy and nothing bad happened. So I'll just let you off with a warning this time. But if you want to do something like this again, actually ask permission to build large structures on my property. Understand?" They both nodded and were released.

Soarin and Wallflower were waiting outside in the hallway, the pair looking worried. "Are you in trouble?" Soarin asked.

"Not that much trouble," Flash replied. "Good thing I used the belt to make that stage and didn't disenchant it. We'd have probably been in worst trouble if I couldn't get rid of it so quickly."

"Still," Wallflower smiled at Trixie, "it was an amazing show."

Trixie smiled back, "thanks." They headed out of the school, Soarin asking where Trixie learned all that magic. "My uncle Jackpot is a famous Las Pegasus. He and my dad don't really get on, my father thinking he was useless since he didn't have any skills that would make a good Adventurer. But he taught me a bunch of none-magic tricks and illusions. I guess they kinda stuck with me."

"Well he taught you really well," Flash told her. As they stepped out of the school, the students who had been at Trixie's show smiled at them. Many told Trixie her show had been great and they couldn't wait for the next one. "Looks like you're a hit. Guess showing them the real you did the trick."

Trixie nodded. "Thanks for the support. You were right. Being myself is way better than being somepony a lot of others will respect. From now on, Trixie's going to be the pony she wants to be and not the pony she's expected to be." Her friends nodded, happy Trixie was beginning to turn a corner. Hopefully, this would lead to a better relationship in their party.

Team Relic made their way back to their dorm house, the four looking forward to some snacks at the bakery.

But as they arrived on their street, they saw somepony standing in front of the store. That somepony was a stallion Flash knew, his eyes going wide. "Shining Armor?" The magi Adventurer smiled at him as his teammates were shocked, having been told about the stallion that sponsored their friend.

"Hey Flash," he waved. "See you got yourself a team. Good, I could use the extra assistance." The four looked confused. "I need your help with a quest. You four wanna go on your first adventurer." Team Relic looked at each other in shock, but then smiled.

Episode 5: My First Quest, as a Pony

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Dear Mom and Dad.
Things have been amazing since I managed to get into the Adventurer's Academy. My grades are staying steady thanks to the help of my friend, Wallflower, and our team is getting stronger every day. And guess what. Shining Armor came around and asked us to help him on a quest. It was awesome.
Apparently, a small town in the middle of Equestria was suffering from a pretty bad sickness. The only cure the healers knew of that could fight it required a rare herb. One which only grows in certain areas. Shining knew where to find this herb and he thought this might be a good learning opportunity for me.
So he came around and asked me to help him on the quest. He even let the rest of my team join, since he needed to get as much of the herb as possible. Team Relic's first official adventure had begun.

Flash could barely sit still, as he looked out the window of the train taking them to their destination.

He was sitting beside Soarin, with Trixie and Wallflower sitting on the opposite seat. Shining was on the other aisle, looking half asleep as he laid upon the seat. "Ah," Soarin vibrated on his seat, "how much longer until we get there? I'm busting to get adventuring."

"Would you relax," Trixie told him. "You're gonna waste all your energy dancing around and be too tired to actual enjoy this adventure."

Wallflower spoke up. "Should we really be enjoying this? Pony lives are at stake. If we mess up, a lot of innocent ponies could die." She looked terrified, clearly wishing her first adventure wasn't something so important.

"Relax Wallflower," Shining stated from his seat before getting up. "Yes, this mission is important. But it's also simple. That's why I'm not worried about bringing you guys. If I thought it was too dangerous, I never would have asked you guys to come. So relax and enjoy yourselves. Try and use this quest as a learning experience. It's a good way to see how you act in a real life adventure and if anything unexpected happens, I'll be there to help. Okay?"

Team Relic shared a smile before nodding, "okay."

Shining nodded before looking out the window, "we're here." They turned to see a town in the distance, which was very near a wooded area at the base of a mountain. Flash was almost reminded of his own home town, which made him think the forest he was staring at was likely full of monsters.

The train pulled up to the station outside of the town and they all stepped out onto the platform.

Making their way through town, they saw a variety of different equestrians scattered around the place. Most of them appeared to be every day equestrians, just doing their jobs and working their lives. But others, based on the gear they were wearing, were adventurers by trade.

"So many adventurers," Wallflower whispered. "Wait, if they're here then why are we the ones doing this job? In the time it took us just to get here, they could have gone into the forest and gotten the herbs."

"True," Shining nodded. "But they chose not to." The four were wondering why. "This quest is a lot of work, even though it'll be easy work. The amount of herbs needed would require several trips for a single pony, or one trip for several. That means the reward would usually be large to accommodate either the amount of work or the number of adventurers who did it. But the town that needs the cure isn't a very rich one."

"So the reward's small," Soarin realised.

"Yup. That's why nopony's taken it. Celestia actually planned on lending the town money to up the price until I decided to take it."

"That's horrible," Flash glared at the adventurers sitting on their backsides. "These guys would rather do nothing instead of helping ponies in need. I can't believe that."

"I know Flash," Shining nodded. "But I'm afraid most of the time, an Adventurer goes into this profession for the money and not because it's the right thing to do. Sometimes, Adventurers will only take a job if it pays extraordinary amounts for the reward. Some with special Null Magic can even demand larger sums than the original reward because their magic is so valuable to the mission."

"That's horrible," Trixie frowned. "I mean, my illusion magic must have some specific use. But I'd never demand more then what's being offered."

Shing shrugged. "At the end of the day, Adventuring in a job and you want to at least be compensated for your time. It's okay to sometimes take a low paying job or even doing it for free. But if you can't make enough bits for equipment maintenance and to feed, cloth, house and restock your supplies, you're not gonna last long in the Adventuring world."

"I guess," Flash sighed. "But it still doesn't sit right with me."

They continued through the town, seeing many more adventurers that had likely refused to take the quest. Eventually, they reached the edge of town and headed out towards the large forest.

Flash was reminded of the forest he found his relic in, which concerned him a bit. "Is this it?" Wallflower asked, moving over to place a hand on a tree.

"Yes," Shining nodded. "This forest is the only place we'll find the herbs. Raw magical energy flows through it, so a lot of magical plants and animals live here."

Wallflower nodded, "I can just feel the magic flowing through the ground and this tree. This place must be located over a magical layline."

"Magical layline?" Soarin asked, "what's that?" The others turned to frown at him.

"Dude," Flash sighed, "that's like the first thing we learn in preschool." The others nodded as Soarin put his hands in his pockets.

"I...must have been off sick that day."

Shining began to walk into the woods. "Magical laylines are streams of magic that floor through the planet's surface. Think of it like a large river that's made of magical energy. These laylines have many branching paths, which allow magic to flow through the world and into living beings. And large ones like this result in powerful spots of magic, which means powerful and rare magical things can occur here."

They all made their way through the woods, Flash creating his water bowgun whilst the others held their own weapons protectively. Shining led the group and stopped them when they reached an area of the forest. He then checked the ground, the others watching him as he did so.

"Something's been through here recently and might still be around." He picked up a broken stick and gave it a sniff, pulling it away in disgust. "Be on your guard." They nodded, Wallflower transforming her gauntlets whilst they all looked around. The kept moving forward, being ready for anything that might show up.

As they made their way through the foliage, Flash's ears picked up a rustling coming from his left. He silently got the other's attention and carefully gestured in that direction, the other four nodding as they prepared to investigate.

But before they could get too close, what was in the bushes suddenly sprang out. They all gasped seeing a giant centipede that was standing at around ten feet in height, being red in colour with a black head that had scissor claws sticking out the sides. The beast stared down at them, letting out a hissing roar as it did so.

It then spat out a yellow green mist, which flew towards the equestrians.

Shining leapt in front of them with his shield held out, his horn glowing. "Fortress!" A magical dome appeared around them, right before the mist struck it and spread around them.

"What is this stuff?" Trixie asked, glad she wasn't breathing it in.

"Paralysing Mist," Shining explained. "A Killer Centipede's best mode of capturing prey. They like them to still be alive when they eat them." The Adventurer's in training all went wide-eyed at this, knowing they needed to deal with this thing now before it could paralyse them.

As the mist dissipated, the centipede prepared to fire another blast. But before it could, "Super Freeze!" Trixie fired a bolt of blue lightning, hitting it in the mouth and freezing it shut. Flash and Soarin then started firing blasts of ice and wind from their weapons whilst Shining and Wallflower ran forward.

Its mouth might have been frozen, but the beast's scissor claws could still move. It thrust its frozen head down and tried to pin the pair between them. But Wallflower took a stand and grabbed the claws in her gauntlets. She used all her strength to hold them back and the centipede in place, allowing Shining to finally get close enough.

His shield's blade extended before he thrust the weapon forward, piercing it into the centipede's chest. The creature screamed through its ice-covered mouth, as Shining slashed his blade out of its body. The creature could no longer take it and suddenly exploded. As it did, something fell to the ground from out of its now destroyed body. A crystal the same shade of yellow as the centipede's mist.

Shining caught it and looked it over, seeing the crystal's colour came from the mist that was trapped within it. He smirked and threw it towards his friends, Flash catching it. "What's this?"

"Sometimes, defeating a monster will result in it dropping items. That right there is a paralysis crystal. If you throw it hard enough to break, it'll unleash the mist trapped inside. You might be able to use it to your advantage at some point."

"Cool," Flash smirked as he handed it to Wallflower. The girl nodded and put it in her bag, Flash knowing she was the best one to hold onto it since she had the most physical strength on the team.

With the centipede destroyed, the Equestrians continued to make their way through the forest. But along the way, they ran into several more creatures. These ones weren't as big as the centipede, but they came in larger numbers. There was an entire swarm of dog-sized bees that attacked them, Shining once again using his Fortress Null Magic to block their stingers.

As the bees bounced off the shield, the others started firing their long range attacks at them. Many of the bees ended up going down with just a single hit, but one larger than average bee managing to tank a shot from both Flash and Soarin's attacks.

It got in close and would have likely stung one of them, but Wallflower was able to grab it by its stinger to keep it in place long enough for Trixie to cut it in half with her staff's blade. As it died, part of its stinger broke off and they all decided to pocket it as well.

A little while later, the five of them ended up walking into a giant spider's nest. There were three of these spiders, Wallflower managing to get herself stuck in their webbing. As the others fought these beasts off, Flash switched to his lightning sword and used it to cut through the webs. He managed to shift its voltage so that the blade was hot enough to cut through the webbing, but not so hot that it would light anything else on fire.

As their friends defeated the three giant spiders, Wallflower started pulling the webbing off her body. She ended up rolling it into a ball, which stuck to her hands until she managed to get it off and throw it into her bag.

"We've come pretty far in," Shining announced. "We shouldn't be too far from the area we'll find the magic herbs in."

"What if we find a really strong monster there?" Soarin asked. "I don't like the idea of having to fight near the things we came to collect. What if we damage it?"

"Don't worry about it," Shining assured him. "That area belongs to the Storm Hounds. Even when they're not there, other creatures don't like to go near it."

"What's a Storm Hound?" Wallflower asked.

"And why shouldn't we be worried about running into them?" Trixie followed up the question.

"Storm Hounds are a powerful group of monsters that exist and live in this part of the forest. They fall under the Sky Attribute, allowing them to unleash blasts of lightning and run like the wind. They're a pretty strong creature to face, especially considering they usually live in packs and are great at working together." Everypony gulped, seriously not liking the idea of facing something like that. "However, at this time of year they shouldn't be here."

"Really?" Flash asked, "why not?"

"They're a migratory species," Shining replied. "They live in the forests during the winter and spring seasons. But during the summer and autumn seasons, they travel to large mountains where natural thunderstorms occur. Storm Hounds are completely electricity proof and can actually use it to charge themselves up. That's why they usually migrate between two areas depending on the season."

"I get it," Trixie nodded. "So at this time of the year, they'll be off in the mountains and shouldn't be a problem for us."

"Exactly," Shining nodded. "So we should be able to walk through their territory and take what we need without needing to fight them off." Everypony liked the sound of that, though Flash was still confused.

He had watched a few nature documentaries during his previous life and was pretty sure wolves weren't migratory. Even though it had been an entire life-time, he was still amazed at how different this world was from his old one.

As they continued through the woods, they started coming to an area that was a lot more rocky. The previously flat tree covered terrain started elevating in certain areas. They had to either climb over or go around higher areas that ranged from either a few feet to almost ten meters. Eventually, they came to a large wall that was almost fifteen meters high.

Shining had them follow the wall until they came to a gap in it, the five looking through the gap and seeing it led to a long trench with stone walls on either side and a few trees sticking out of it here and there. They headed down it and as they did, they started hearing noises.

"That doesn't sound right," Shining stated as they all held their weapons.

"I thought you said nothing came into the Storm Hound's territory?" Trixie asked, as they picked up the pace. But as they did, they heard noises coming from up on the walls. They all looked up and were shocked by what they saw.

"Storm Hounds," Shining whispered.

Team Relic got their first look at these creatures and couldn't help but be impressed. These wolves were the size of lions, who were a mixture of black and yellow. The yellow parts covered the openings of their ears, around the tops of their eyes, the upper snout below the nose, front neck, chest, underbelly, paws and the tips of its tail. The rest was all black whilst the yellow bits had lightning bolt patterns running off of them.

The Storm Hounds growled as they looked down at them, arcs of lightning crackling around and between them.

"What are they doing here?" Wallflower asked. "You said they weren't here at this time of year." Shining clearly had no clue and before he could think to hazard a guess, one of the wolves leapt into the air.

It suddenly let out a mighty howl, which caused a blast of air to fly towards them. They all cried out and leapt to the side, as the sonic blast struck the ground and caused it to explode. Flash and Shining took cover behind a rock sticking out the ground, whilst Soarin, Trixie and Wallflower found small gaps in the wall they could hide inside.

"Looks like we'll have to fight our way through them," Shining explained as he prepared his shield. "Everypony, do what you can to incapasitate them without causing to much injury. Remember, we wandered into their home. They're only doing what's right." The others nodded and Flash was the first to leap out before firing blast of water form his bowgun.

The wolves leapt into the air to avoid this and as they did, more lightning surged around them before exploding off.

The others leapt out from their hiding places as Shining's horn glowed, "Fortress!" The shield appeared around them and blocked the lightning, the lot of them using this to run forward. Trixie fired Super Freeze spells at the ground around them, freezing it up and causing the Storm Hounds to start slipping.

This allowed the equestrians to get passed them before they could regain their footing, the Adventurers running through the canyon until they got to the very end of the trench.

Rushing out of it, they found they were now in a large storm circle, the rock walls having stair-like ledges going up it. Holes were also lining the wall, forming a bunch of caves that they assumed were where the Storm Hounds lived. One of the holes had water pouring out of it, that flowed down the edges into a pool on the ground. Grass covered the rest of the ground and in the middle of the area, a large patch of green leaves were growing out of the ground.

"There are the herbs!" Shining cried, Soarin rushing out of the forcefield to try and grab some. But before he could, lightning exploded out of a cave and almost hit him.

"WOW!" He leapt back and Shining was forced to drop his shield, allowing Soarin to return to them before he put the dome back up. As he did, more Storm Hounds stepped out of the caves and looked down at them. At the same time, the first group of wolves managed to slide into the area on the icy ground. The equestrians were all surrounded.

"What do we do?" Trixie asked.

"The only thing we can do," Shining stated. "Fight our way through these things and grab the herbs. They're the only thing that can save those sick equestrians." They nodded and all prepared their weapons, Flash changing to his lightning sword and fire shield.

"Maybe I should use that paralysis crystal we got," Wallflower suggested. They seemed to be considering this. But they could make a decision, Flash noticed something.

Stepping out of one of the caves was a small Storm Hound, Flash realising it must be a pup. And this pup didn't look good. It was staggering around, looking like it could pass out any moment. It also sneezed and let out a tiny gust and spark of lightning, followed by another and another.

Then, a second pup staggered out looking just as unwell as the first one. A third followed, along with a fifth and sixth. "So that's why they're still here." The others looked confused until he pointed at the pups. "Those babies are all sick. That's why the Storm Hounds are still here."

The others followed his sword point and spotted the pups, making them gasp as they realised Flash must have been right. "Makes sense," Shining nodded. "But that doesn't change that we need the herbs to...of course. I know what we need to do." The others looked at him as he put his sword away. "We need to make a potion to cure them."

"Why?" Trixie asked, as a Storm Hound howled at the shield and buffeted against it.

"If we can cure the pups, the other Storm Hounds might stop attacking us."

"You sure that'll work?" Wallflower asked.

"It's better then fighting against them just for protecting their territory," Flash pointed out. "What do you need?"

"We'll need a few of those herbs," Shining explained as a bolt of lightning struck his shield. "I'll also need something to boil it with. I've got some ingredients with me to make a potion that should get rid of their sickness. But I need those herbs to tie them all together."

"Alright," Flash dispelled his weapons and took out a new card. He slotted it into his belt and in a flash, a metal pot and spoon appeared that he quickly disenchanted. Shining took the pot as Flash turned to the others. "Soarin, I'm gonna cover you as you go for the herbs. Trixie and Wallflower, protect Shining as he works on the potion." They nodded as Flash took out a new card and thought about what he wanted.

He slotted the card into his belt and closed it up, the light flying out and forming a new round shield that was covered in lightning bolts blades. Flash held it and nodded to his team, who nodded back before Shining dropped the shield. As soon as he did, the Storm Hounds started firing more lightning at them.

Flash leapt in front of Soarin and held up his shield, the electricity slamming into the blades and being drawn inside like a lightning rod. Flash and Soarin flew forwards, whilst Trixie pointed at the Storm Hounds behind Shining.

"Lumino Burst!" The equestrians closed their eyes as light exploded from the staff, blinding the wolves and making them cry out. Wallflower then used this opening to slam her gauntlet into the ground, using all the terran magic she had to make a wall suddenly appear to block the trench entrance.

Shining took the ingredients out of his bag and started mixing them inside the pot, Trixie quickly filling it with water as he measured the exact quantity needed. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Trixie asked, knowing how hard potions could be.

"Relax," Shining told her, "potions might not have been my best subject at school, but I know enough to get a simple anti-sickness potion right." A Storm Hound unleashed a howl attack that would have disrupted the potion, "Fortress!" The barrier appeared for a moment and blocked the wind, as Trixie fired a blast of water that struck the wolf and knocked it backwards.

Flash continued to shield Soarin as he went for the herbs, the pair managing to get closer and closer as the wolves fired more and more lightning. Flash could feel his shield was beginning to reach its limit. It could absorb lightning, but that energy had to go somewhere. Even his belt couldn't constantly store endless amounts of power.

"It's now or never!" He told Soarin, as the pair flew up high. "If you're gonna get those herbs, you need to do it now." Soarin nodded and as Flash blocked another blast of lightning, the avian dived.

"ACCEL!" He suddenly accelerated to an incredible speed, moving faster than even the Storm Hounds could keep up. This allowed him to shoot passed the wolves and reach the spot that the herbs were located, Soarin grabbing some and pulling it up as fast as he could. As he came to a stop, he spun around as the wolves turned towards him. "Accel!" Like before, he rocket forward at incredible speeds.

He shot passed the wolves as they wildly fired blast of lightning, but Flash was able to reach Soarin just in time.

"Take this!" He thrust the shield forward and unleashed all lightning stored within it, which sent out a wave of electricity that blocked the lightning of the hounds. The two forces pushed against one another and eventually cancelled each other out.

As it did, Flash and Soarin returned to the others and Shining put up another shield. "Here," Soarin handed Shining the herb.

"Good." Shining started cutting up the herbs, ripping pieces off to throw into the now bright pink water. "Now we just need to boil it." Flash nodded before dispelling his shield and took out another card, imagining a gas cooker like the one his human parents had back when he went camping as a kid.

When it appeared on the card, he slotted it in and summoned the device. "What is that?" Trixie asked when the cooker appeared, Flash wondering if portable cookers were a thing in this world.

"Hopefully, it'll be what we can used to boil the potion." He put it down and fired it up, flames coming from the device. Shining smirked as he lifted the pot onto the flames, Flash putting the heat on full. As they did, the storm wolves had recovered from the lightning blast, blinding light and climbed over the wall.

Now they were once again blasting the shield with their attacks, Shining grunting at this. "Stir!" He told them, Flash stirring it with a spoon as best he could. The potion began to slowly change colour, turning into a more bluish purple colour as it bubbled and boiled. Shining continued to keep the shield up, but the constant attacks on it were taking its toll. "Alright, take it off the heat." Flash did so and dispelled the cooker, as the potion cooled down and turned a clear white colour. "Perfect."

"Now what?" Wallflower asked. "Even if this potion could cure the hounds, how are we supposed to give it to them."

"We don't have to feed it to them," Shining explained. "If we can get close enough, spilling it on the ground will create a mist that they can breath in."

Soarin turned to Flash, "got a weapon that could do that?" Flash thought for a moment and slowly, an idea formed in his head. He held up the cooker card and thought about a bazooka, one which could fire the potion at the pups. In a flash, the device he pictured appeared on the card.

"Here goes nothing." He slotted it in and the belt unleashed the light, which created the large cannon that Flash rushed underneath. When it fell from the light and onto his shoulder, Flash almost collapsed under its weight. Soarin quickly rushed over and grabbed it, the pair hoisting it up. "Alright," he pressed the button on the side and the back slid open to reveal a slot that one could fill with liquid, "load us up!"

Trixie and Wallflower lifted the pot and used the spoon to start filling the slot up with the potion. Once it was full, Trixie shut the slot as Flash and Soarin spread their wings. "You ready?" Soarin asked Flash.

"Oh yeah!" Flash nodded, the pair exploding into the air and pushing the bazooka up with them. As they left the shield, Trixie used another Lumino Burst spell the blind the Storm Hounds again. This allowed the avians to fly above them and aim at the pups. "Say hello...to my little friend!" He pulled the trigger and the weapon fired, launching the potion towards the pups.

It moved so fast, the Storm Hound babies didn't even realise what had happened before the potion hit the ground.

It exploded into a mist that completely surrounded the pups, making them whine as they started breathing the magic in. Flash and Soarin quickly flew down and returned to the shield, as the Storm Hounds recovered from the blinding. They all watched as the mist faded, revealing the pups.

One by one, the pups started looking a lot better. They stopped sneezing, they didn't look like they were gonna fall over. The adults had noticed the mist that had surrounded their young ones, then noticed how much better they looked when it faded.

The pups began jumping around and looking better then they probably had in weeks. One of them ran over to where the equestrians were and looked up at them, as if knowing they had just helped it get over its sickness. The equestrians smirked at this and Shining carefully lowered the shield, moving over to kneel in front of the puppy and holding out his hand.

The Storm Hound pup sniffed it before letting Shining scratch him behind the ear, the other puppys running over and allowing the others to start playing with them. "Awe," Flash smirked as he patted a pup that let out a tiny electrical current. It tickled Flash and he laughed, whilst the adults seemed to understand that they weren't a threat.

One of the hounds leapt up onto a ledge and howled, catching the other's attention. The baby hounds rushed over to their parents and allowed them to pick the pups up by the scruff of their necks. The wolves leapt up and onto the ledges, climbing the giant staircase until they reached the top.

The hounds then looked down at the equestrians, who waved back at them, then shot off in a burst of wind. Storm Hounds now gone, the Adventurers sighed in relief. "That was a close one," Flash stated.

"Yeah," Shining nodded, "glad I had you guys here with me. That could have gone very differently if it was just me here." He turned towards the object of their quest. "Now come on. Let's get what we came for and get out of here before anything else decides to cause us trouble." The others nodded and they started gathering as much of the herbs as possible.

Once our bags were brimming with herbs, we all headed back the way we came. Wallflower had to bust through the wall she created and I had to melt Trixie's ice path, but we managed to get back through the forest with barely a problem.
We ended up fighting against another Killer Centipede, but managed to take it down without it even being able to spit its breath this time. We didn't get a drop from it, but our bags were already full anyway.
We finally reached the edge of the forest and left, returning to the town and heading to the guild there. We dropped off the herbs and they said they'd magically teleport them to the place they were needed. The mare running the front desk jotted down everything that happened during our adventurer, needing to chronicle it for record's sake.
She was quite impressed that a bunch of trainee adventurers managed to defeat two Killer Centipedes, three Great Arachnids and a swarm of Sting Wingers, then fought off a whole pack of Storm Hounds. Even with Shining by our side, this was still and impressive feat.
She promised to deliver the details and when the guild finished processing everything, the five of our would have our reward sent to our places of residence.

"And with that, I can now announce that Team Relic's first mission is a success." The mare at the counter smiled as she said that the lot of them cheering and high-fiving as Shining smirked.

"Yup, you guys did great. I'll be sure to give Grand Hoof a glowing report about everything you guys did. Now, why don't we celebrate your first successful mission. Come on. It's on me." They all cheered and headed out of the guild hall, Shining knowing of a great restaurant that could be found in the town.

We partied right into the night.
The next day, we headed back to the Academy and Shining really did give a glowing report to Grand Hoof. Of course, the four of us had to do remedial lessons to make up for what we'd missed during our adventure. But everypony wanted to talk to us, asking what it was like to be on an official quest. A couple of other students had been on quests with other adventurers they knew, but we were apparently the first ones who got to fight a bunch of monsters.
Wallflower's holding onto all the drops we got. We don't know when we'll need them again, but they might come in handy.
Growing up, I always wanted to be an Adventurer. And now that I've actually gotten to see what life as one would be like, I know I've made the right decision. I know it's not always gonna be easy, but I'm gonna keeping pushing until I can't push no more. And know you two are supporting me, I know I'll always have somepony to turn to when I feel overwhelmed.
Right you again when something interesting happens. Love, Flash.

Flash sighed as he finished writing about his adventure. He was in his dorm room, Soarin having headed off to the training dome to try and break his long shot record. Currently, his record was hitting the bullseye at fifty meters. Hopefully, he would be able to hit fifty five by the end of the day.

Trixie and Wallflower were studying in the library, Wallflower helping Trixie the same way she had been helping Flash.

Flash folded his letter up and grabbed an envelope off the side. He headed out as he prepared the letter, flying off the stairs as soon as he was outside. Flying over the buildings on the street, he spotted the campus post office and flew down to post his letter.

He looked around and realised he hadn't really had a chance to explore this part of the town. A such, he decided to take a look around. Walking instead of flying he saw that there were multiple different stores and eating establishments scattered all around. Book shops, clothing shops, shops one could buy potions and the ingredients to make potions.

There was even a blacksmith's shop, where most of the students went to get their weapons repaired or replaced. With his magical relic having the ability to make any weapon he wanted or needed, he had never had a reason to come to the blacksmiths.

Getting closer, he heard the sound of banging and realised somepony must be working inside.

Curiocity getting the better of him, he stepped inside and saw that the one doing the banging was a terran that looked a year or two older than him. Flash suddenly remembered seeing him in school. He was a student in the year above him, being a bulky equestrian with gunmetal gray skin and dark gray hair. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and long white pants, his hands having black fingerless gloves on.

He was using a large hammer to bang away at the metal he was working on, eventually stopping and wiping his brow. He lifted the metal with his prongs and placed it in the water. It was at this moment, that he spotted Flash and stood straight. "Can I help you with something?"

"Sorry," Flash told him, "didn't mean to surprise you. Just never been in a blacksmiths before. Curious to look around."

"You're not the first one to come in here out of curiosity." He lifted the metal out of the water and moved it over to a grinding wheel. "You're the Flash Sentry kid, right? Soarin's roommate."

"You know Soarin?"

"Come's in every two weeks to make sure his weapon is okay. Nice bow, strong and the magical crystal used for it is high quality. You were the one that made it, right?"

"Soarin's the one who imagined how it would work. I just used my relic to bring it into reality." The terran nodded as he ground the metal. "You're a student at the school, right?" He nodded. "Um...Iron something?"

"Core," he replied. "Iron Core."

"Cool. Iron Core. So what are you doing here? If you're an adventurer?"

"Lots of Adventurers learn a second trade, to take up when they're done with the adventure lifestyle. My parents are blacksmiths, so I'm gonna become one when I'm finished with my Adventurer career." Flash nodded, understanding. "Anyway, you here to look or do you wanna actually buy something. No offence, but I got a lot of work to do."

"What are you working on?" Flash asked, as Iron held up something. A sword.

But not just any sword. It was a double-edged longsword that had a mint green handle and crossguard. A pearl-like gem was in the middle of the crossgard, with blue seams coming out the side of it. The blade was silver at the bottom and around the edge, with a mint green section inside of it and a blue line running down the middle.

"Wow," Flash took a closer look, "that is cool. What is?"

"An Ocean Blade," Iron explained. "The store was commissioned to make ten of them for the nearby coast guards, but my teacher threw his back out when he was halfway done with this. I'm the only other one who knows how to make this, but I'm still not as good as him. In the time it took me to complete this, he would have been able to do three."

"How long do you have to make them all?"

"Not enough," Iron replied. "If I can't get them done in time, the store's reputation is gonna take a hit."

Flash thought about this, wanting to help but knowing nothing about blacksmithing. But maybe he didn't need to. "I might have an idea." He took out his belt and slapped it on his waist. "My relic can scan things and make a perfect copy of them. I could scan this sword and make ten copies."

Iron hummed, "Soarin told me about how that thing works. He also said that anything you make can only be used by you, unless you disenchant it. But then it's just a fancy looking sword."

"Can the one you made do anything?"

"It's made of special materials that allow those with Sea Magic to control water." Flash smirked, "what?"

"Can you bring me the exact amount of stuff you need to make this sword." Iron raised an eyebrow, but did so anyway. As he did, Flash slotted in a blank card and scanned the sword Iron had made. When he took the card out, the sword's image was on it. "Perfect." Iron brought the last of the materials he needed and Flash held up the card.

"What are you doing?" Flash didn't reply as the card glowed, the light flowing into the metal and gems that were meant to make one of those Ocean Swords. The materials then vanished, shocking Iron as Flash slotted the card back into his belt.

The device unleashed a light that created the sword that looked just like Iron's, with Flash hitting the disenchant button. It a flash, the sword fell to the ground and Flash managed to catch it. He pointed it at the water bucket and Iron was surprised to see the water be lifted into the air.

"I get it. You absorbed the materials into the card and they're what your belt used to make the sword."

"Exactly. Which means it still has all its powers when I disenchant it." He handed Iron the sword and the terran looked it over, smirking.

"It is a perfect copy of the original. Man, that thing is a blacksmith's dream." Flash nodded and turned to scan the sword again, whilst Iron went to get the rest of the materials. The pair got to work, scanning and copying the Ocean Blades. Within thirty minutes, ten swords stood side by side.

They were so perfectly identical, when Iron placed the original next to the new ones he quickly forgot which one it was when he looked away.

He and Flash talked for a bit about possible weapons Flash could make with the relic. Iron told him about his own weapon, which was a spear that could transform into any other metal weapon. Iron could wield the Land and Sky magics, though he preferred to use lightning over wind, which he had learned to combine to create a form of electromagnetic attacks he could use in a fight.

Iron had to soon get back to work, needing to box the swords up and get them ready for delivery. Flash decided to take this chance to head out and continue his exploration of the town, but told Iron he might be back if he ever wanted a weapon his relic didn't create.

"Wait a second," Iron told him before rushing out of the room. He returned a moment later with something in his hand. A knife in a leather shieve. "Here!" He threw the blade and Flash caught it, taking it out of its holster and seeing the knife was a single-edged blade with a black handle and a gust of wind emblazoned on the metal. "That's one of my prototype creations. Probably can't take down anything too powerful, but it might come in handy if you can't get a second to slot one of those cards."

Flash smirked at this and channelled some magic into it, the blade glowing as he felt a thin layer of wind begin to coat it. Iron was right. It might not be able to hurt a monster, but it wind would improve its cutting power and let him overpower other weapons.

"Thanks," he put the knife away as Iron got to his own work.

Heading out of the blacksmiths, Flash checked out several other stores that he had never been in. The store owners were all nice and helpful with whatever question he had. Plus, they didn't try and sweet talk him into buying something he didn't want or need. He liked that in a store owner.

But as he was passing a wool store owned by a pair of old magi sisters, he heard a commotion and looked around to see the wooden sign over their store had just fallen off. "Oh," the old mare frowned, "not again."

"We just had this fixed," her sister cried. "That carpenter better give us a discount on this repair." Flash raised an eyebrow, as the old mares tried to lift the sign out of the way of their door.

He decided to help, since they appeared to be having trouble. "Oh, thank you my boy." Flash smiled and noticed something on the floor. It was a nail, likely broken off from the sign falling. And as he picked it up, he realised the nail was of terrible quality. Not only was the metal horribly forged, but it looked like it was old.

"I think whoever put this up tried to cut corners using secondhand nails." The mares looked shocked by this, Flash putting his belt on and using it to scan the nail. He disenchanted the one created and saw it was a much better quality one.

Flash quickly got to work, making a bunch more nails before creating a hammer and a special lift machine. The mares were shocked by this, as he used the lift machine to raise the sign up to the correct height. Once it was where they liked it, he made a hammer and used it to beat in the new nails in.

Once he was done, he dispelled the lift to see if the sign would hold up. They waited and Flash even gave it a gentle shake, but it didn't fall. They smirked at this and Flash flew down to the sister's thanks, the teen telling them it was nothing. But they refused to let him off without thanks and gave him a nice wool sweater to wear when it got cold.

Flash happily accepted and headed out, looking the sweater over and seeing it was blue in colour with a yellow lightning bolt on the back between the wing holes. He had to admit, it looked pretty cool.

He continued his travel through the streets and eventually came to a street where an older terran was pulling a cart through the street. The cart was full of different fruits and veggies, which Flash noticed seemed to be wobbling a little bit.

And he quickly realised why when he saw that the cart's wheel was about to break. "LOOK OUT!" He ran over, just as the wooden wheel snapped in half. Luckily, he managed to reach it in time to catch it before it fell and made the food fall to the ground.

"WOW!" The terran looked around and realised what was going on. "Thanks lad. Almost lost my shipment." He then noticed Flash was struggling under the weight and quickly rushed over to take the weight.

Flash gasped when the load was taken from him, then moved over to the wheel. It had broken entirely in half and would need more than glue to fix it. He then got an idea and activated his belt again, using it to scan the broken wheel before absorbing the wood.

The terran watched in amazement as the avian teen took his broken wheel and made an entirely new one, which he disenchanted. He quickly attached it to the cart and managed to screw it into place. The terran let go of the cart and found the new wheel was holding the weight perfectly.

"I owe you one," he told Flash. The teen smirked and offered to help the terran get his shipment to wherever it was going, the older pony smiling back before they worked together to drag the cart all the way through town. Turns out, the delivery was going to the school to be used in their dining hall.

It took a while to get there, but not as long as it would have taken if Flash hadn't helped.

"Thanks kid." He told Flash as they reached the loading bay. He took an apple off the cart and threw it over to Flash, the avian catching it and smiling as he headed off. The sun was starting to set and Flash decided to head home, enjoying his apple as he did so.

He eventually made it back to his street and when he stepped into the bakery, he spotted Shining sitting on a couch drinking a coffee. "Hey Flash!" He waved at him when he entered, noticing the knife, sweater and apple core Flash was carrying. "Go shopping?"

"Not exactly," Flash sat down and explained everything that had happened.

Shining smirked as he finished off his coffee, whilst Meringue Tart walked over offering cherry scones. Shining paid for two and threw one at Flash. "Here, treat for the big hero." Flash caught it and raised an eyebrow.

"Hero? I not a hero."

"Really? So you helped the blacksmith, wool sellers and the school's cook because you knew you were gonna get a reward?"

"No. I just helped them because they needed help and I could help them. It wouldn't have felt right if I'd just left without giving them a hand."

"Exactly," Shining told him. "You want to know what a hero is? It's somepony who does the right thing for no reason. You didn't need to help those ponies, but you did because you're a good pony. That makes you a hero, no matter what anypony else things."

"Seriously?"

Shining nodded. "Sure, those with those titles usually get them by doing big feats of heroism. But I'm willing to bet a lot of those so called heroes never would have thought to help the people like you did. Be proud of yourself." Flash smiled at this and nodded, the pair enjoying their scones and drinks.

As they did, Flash though about what Shining had said. Was he really a hero just for helping others. He had done stuff like that in his previous life, but nobody had ever called him a hero then. More and more, Flash marvelled at how different this world was from his old one. And every day, he was so glad he had agreed to reincarnate and been sent to this world.

He couldn't wait to see what happened next.

In Canterlot, the Royal Sisters were standing in a room looking something over on a large wooden table. "Are you sure?" Celestia asked, pointing at the map on said table. "This is where it is?"

Luna nodded. "I don't remember a lot from...back then, but I'm sure that's where I hid it." She glanced at her sister, "I will head out and retrieve it." But then she saw Celestia looking worried. "You don't want me to go?"

"I do wish for you to go," she magically pulled a chair towards her and sat down. "I just don't like the idea of you going on your own."

Luna frowned, "I do not require any assistance. I can do this on my own."

"I'm not saying you can't. I just want to make sure you have help just in case you need it. I'm not doubting your abilities, but the world is unpredictable. And I'd hate for anything to happen to you after I just got you back." Luna couldn't help but smile at her. "The question is, who should go with you?"

"If I am to take somepony, I don't want it to be any over arrogant adventurers who won't do as their told. I wish for someone that will follow my directions."

"Then why not take some students from an academy? They're bound to follow your commands, plus you'll have the chance to mingle with some of Equestria's youth. No offence, but you haven't exactly been very sociable since you got back."

"Very well. But who? Maybe your apprentice and her friends?"

"I'm afraid they're not at the academy right now. There were talks of a dragon-like monster taking residence in a nearby mountain. A member of their party has a strong connection to animals that we're hoping will allow her to commune with the beast." She looked at the map, "the closest academy to this area is the Manehatten one. Why not look for help there."

Luna sighed, but nodded. "Very well. I will seek assistance from this academy. But I will only take the very best." Celestia nodded as Luna turned to leave, the omni princess of the sun sighing.

"I hope you can get that item back. Being without it for so long hasn't been easy."

Episode 6: Competing for a Prize, as a Pony

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It was another beautiful day at the Manehatten Adventurer Academy.

Team Relic were out at the harbour, currently practising how to use a four pony sailboat. "Excellent," Tidal told them from his boat. Flash pulled on a rope that swung the mast around, allowing the wind the catch it properly and push them forward through the water.

Trixie and Wallflower tied some ropes to the side of the boat, allowing the sail to remain in place so Flash didn't have to keep pulling on it. Soarin was at the back, keeping the prop steady so they didn't accidently turn left or right. "Ring." He spoke out, making the others look around and see a red rubber ring floating in the water.

"Ready?" Flash asked, as he took out a long pole. The girls nodded and leaned against one side of the boat, as Flash leaned over the other. This kept them from tipping over, as Flash placed the pole into the water. After a few moments, the pole hooked into the ring and allowed him to lift it out of the water. "That makes four."

They all stopped leaning and Flash removed the ring from the pole, tying a rope looped around three others and the mask that kept them from falling overboard. Tidal Wave clapped at this, only to see a wave making its way towards them. "Let's see how well you do against this, my young protegidos."

The four saw the wave coming and all gulped, as they prepared themselves for the upcoming wave. "Ready?" Trixie asked, taking out her staff. They nodded as she thrust her staff towards the water, "Super Freeze!" The blue lightning flew out and struck the water in front of them, the four then leaning back to get the boat's front out of the water.

The boat hit the ice platform and slid upon it, right as the wave struck it. The ice was pushed out from under them, but the boat managed to get over the wave and splash down on the other side of it. They all cheered at this, Tidal applauding their out of the box thinking.

The four managed to grab one final ring out of the water and when they sailed back to the shore, they managed the hook the rope on the pier and pull their ship to a stop without doing any damage. Flash and Soarin flew off the boat and tied it up, whilst Trixie and Wallflower pulled themselves onto the dock.

"Excellent work," Tidal smiled as Trixie handed over the five rings. "You four have grown well since you started learning to sail. I'm sure you'll be masters of the sea by the time you all graduate." The four smiled at this praise, Tidal signing each of them as passed their sailboat driving test.

They knew there were many more boats to master, but they were confident they could learn each of them over time.

Grabbing their bags full of spare clothing, just in case they fell into the water, the fours headed off planning to head home for a bit of relaxation and some studying. But as they headed across the grounds, they noticed something that made them stop.

A large group of students were currently gathered around the front of the school, looking at something that clearly interest them.

"What's going on?" Wallflower asked, the others shrugging as they moved closer to try and see. Flash and Soarin took to the air and found what everypony was looking at was a poster hammered to the door. Flash took out his belt and activated it, summoning a pair of binoculars that he used to take a closer look.

"What's it say?" Soarin asked, Flash trying to read what was written upon it.

"It's...a contest." This surprised the others, as Flash read it allowed. "Attention, all academy teams. Would you like the opportunity to test yourselves and compete for a great prize? If so, prepare yourselves for a contest this Saturday. Beware, this challenge is not for the faint of heart. If you accept, be warned that injury is a possibility for those not prepared. Any team from any year may enter."

"A contest?" Trixie asked, looking excited. "This could be the perfect chance for us to test ourselves."

"But it said it's not for the faint of heart," Wallflower pointed out. "Are we sure entering is a good idea?" Flash and Soarin landed, both as eager as Trixie to test themselves against whatever would be thrown their way.

"I don't see why not," Flash told her. "If we weren't ready, they wouldn't have made it so first years could enter."

Soarin nodded. "And just think. If we're able to win, we get an awesome prize. I wonder what it is."

Trixie smiled. "I heard there was a contest over at the Ponyville Academy that had tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala as the prize. I hope the prize is something like that." Flash frowned, not liking the idea of spending a night with a bunch of stuffy high class ponies.

"I bet it's something else," Flash told her. "Maybe it'll be a new type of weapon. Or access to some advanced spellbooks and fighting style scrolls."

"Doesn't matter what the prize is for you four, cause there's no way you're gonna win it." They looked around and saw a brown magi stallion with a white mane and tail. "Don't hold your breaths kids. First years like you won't even come close to winning this contest. Whenever something like this happens, it's almost always the third years that come out on top. Occasionally, a second year team wins, but never green first years like you."

Wallflower frowned whilst the others glared at him. "Hey," Flash stated, "there's a first time for everything. Maybe we're the first years to make the impossible happen."

"Sure kid," the magi laughed before someone whacked him on the head. "Ow!" He turned to see Iron Core, who was glaring at him.

"Would you shut up." He turned to Team Relic, "ignore him. He has this annoying habit of trying to make those he thinks are beneath him upset."

"Is he on your team?" Flash asked.

"Unfortunately. His magic is worth dealing with his obnoxious attitude. Anyway, you guys should prepare. This contest is probably really gonna be tricky. There was one last year and a team ended up in the hospital wing for a month cause they just went in without any actual plan."

"Ouch," Soarin flinched, "what happened to them?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna know." The crowd was starting to break apart, as the many teams headed off to prepare for the contest. Team Relic stayed behind and took a closer look at the poster, each of them wondering if they actually could pull this off.

"We can do this, guys." They all looked to Flash, as he smiled at him. "Don't forget, we're a great team and we've already come up against some serious competition. Those Storm Hounds weren't exactly pushovers, but we managed to get through it without a scratch."

"I guess," Wallflower nodded. Flash placed a hand on her shoulder.

"As long as we work together and combined our skills, we can do anything. We've got Soarin's speed, Wallflowers smarts and strength. Trixie spells and my...um..."

"Superb use of your belt," Trixie spoke up. Flash smirked.

"Exactly. Team Relic won't just compete in that contest. We're gonna show this entire school why we're gonna be number one one day. You guys with me!?" They all brought their hands in and yelled, "Team Relic!" This contest wasn't gonna be easy, but they would do whatever it took to win it.

In a dark room, Princess Luna was standing over a metal table.

The table was unleashing a light, which took shape and formed an image above the table. The image was of a tunnel systems, which had three dome-like chambers connected by the tunnels.

She picked up a styles-like device and pressed it to the dome, then drew another tunnel from it to the second dome. "There," she nodded. "Now, what to put in this tunnel." She pressed a button on the table and caused a holographic list to appear in front of her.

She cycled through it, as somepony stepped into the room. Grand Hoof.

"Princess. How go the preparations for tomorrow?"

"They're going well. It's almost finished and when it's done, your students will be in for quite the experience when they step into that dome." She selected the monster and typed in the amount. "I hope they know what they're in for."

"Oh, they'll be ready. Don't worry. You won't be disappointed by the team that ends up winning. They'll be the best of the best."

"Maybe. But maybe you should have made it so that only the third years could enter. Your first and second years might find themselves so overwhelmed, they will never want to go on an adventure again." Grand chuckled at this.

"I wouldn't underestimate them if I were you. Especially the first years. What they lack in experience, they more then make up for in determination." With that, he left the room and Luna got back to her work.

She tapped the final dome and the brought up the monster list, smiling as she found the perfect final boss. "This foals won't know what hit them."

The next day.

Despite it being a Saturday, the school's front lawn was packed with adventurer students who were waiting for the contest to begin. This included Team Relic, who were making last minute preparations to make sure their gear was ready to take on whatever it was this contest would throw at them.

Flash looked around and saw Iron, who was carrying a black spear with a silver spearhead that had a brown land crystal connected to it. He then spotted the magi standing next to him, a magic staff in his hands and an arrogant smirk on his lips. The magi looked around and spotted him, giving him a condescending smile as he did so.

Grand then stepped up onto the stage in front of the dome, the school principal looking them over. "Students of the academy. I welcome you to this contest today. You are here because you think you have what it takes to overcome the challenges that lay before you. You are either brave or very foolish." Everypony frowned at that statement. "Let me introduce you all to the pony running this contest." He pointed off stage and everyone looked over, only to gasp when they saw who was stepping out from behind the curtain. "Princess Luna."

Murmurs filled the crowd, as they watched the dark omni appear and walk into the centre of the stage. She looked out at the contestant and Flash noticed she seem to linger on him and his team for a moment, no doubt remembering him and his relic.

Trixie gasped, "she's looking at me. She must already know how amazing Trixie is." Trixie might have gotten a lot less boastful recently, but there were still times she fell back into that old persona.

Luna finally focused and held up a remote. "This is your mission." She pressed the button and the screen lit up, revealing a strange looking medal-like object that showed her Cutie Mark. The medal then split into three pieces. "Through these doors is a labyrinth I designed for this event. In this labyrinth, you will find three areas that contain a piece of this medallion. Find all three pieces and complete the medallion to win." The equestrians smiled, thinking that was gonna be easy. "However, getting to these pieces will not be easy. You'll need to choose from multiple paths to get to them."

"I guess that's why it's a labyrinth," Soarin joked as the others rolled their eyes.

"Some paths are short, other paths are long. Some paths have monsters and others are empty. It is up to you to decide which path to take. Is that understood." They all nodded as one pony raised an arm, "yes?"

"What is the prize we're competing for?" He asked, but Luna remained stoic.

"The prize will be announced after a winner has been decided. Sometimes on an adventure, you risk life and limb without knowing what it is you are trying to get. If some of you do not want to try without knowing, feel free to drop out now." But the teams remained where they were. "Good. Now," she pointed the remote at the door, "the contest will begin in three, two...one...GO!" She hit the button and the doors flew open.

A stampede followed as the the ponies attempted to get into the dome first, Flash and Soarin quickly grabbing the girls and lifting them above the crowd. Because of this, they were some of the first to enter the dome and find it was a large stone world with several paths, most of them being on the ground but others were higher up.

"In there!" Trixie cried, pointing at hole six feet up. They flew into it and the boys dropped the girls, Flash quickly activating his belt and summoning his lightning sabre. The others held their weapons as they raced down the tunnel, eager to see what their first challenge would be.

Back at the school, Grand and Luna appeared in a flash of light.

They and the rest of the teachers were watching multiple monitors, many of them reminded of the entrance exam as they watched the students move through different passageways.

Luna's eyes flicked across the many different teams, some of which were beginning to engage with monsters. She then narrowed her focus on Team Relic, who had yet to find a monster. Flash Sentry and his lightning blade interested her. 'So, you managed to get into the academy. But what was it that allowed you to make it through? Was it that relic of yours, or your own skills?' Luna couldn't wait to find out.

Team Relic flew through the winding passageway and as they curved around a corner, something appeared in front of them.

The passage was full of ape-like monsters, who were red in colour with cream stomachs and black fists and mouths. "Rage Apes!" Wallflower cried, "those things go wild when they get angry." They knew they couldn't get passed them, but had a feeling a fight in this area was gonna be difficult.

"Hang on!" Flash told them. He took out a card and thought for a moment, as the card glowed and transformed into his chosen weapon. He slotted it into the belt and when he shut it, the light appeared in front of him that he put his left arm into. Something materialised around his arm that shot out and connected to his back.

When the light faded, Flash was carrying a metal cylinder on his left arm that had a rubber hose connected to a large metal backpack he was wearing.

"What is that?" Soarin asked, as Flash pointed the weapon at the Rage Apes.

"Glue Cannon...FIRE!" From the tube, white sludge shot out and flew towards the apes. It struck the ground in front of them and the apes charged, stepping into the slime but finding their feet getting stuck. "That'll hold'em!" The others smiled as Trixie and Soarin began blasting the apes, destroying a good many of them.

But before they could get them all, one leapt over the glue and charged forward.

Flash and Wallflower smirked as they shot forward, Wallflower unleashing a vine from her gauntlet that quickly wrapped the primate up. Flash then dispelled his glue cannon and swung his lightning blade, slashing straight through the monkey and making it blow up.

"Team Relic's doing well," Grand smiled. "Those four are quite the team. With Flash Sentry's varying number of weapons, he can help them overcome almost any situation."

"True," Luna nodded as Flash and Soarin lifted the girls over the glue. "But would he be this good without that relic? It is bonded to him, so it is not like we can take it away. But is it really him whose the one accomplishing all these achievements? Without it, would his team be doing so well?"

"Possibly not," Grand nodded. "But that doesn't take the achievements away from Flash. Many of the students wouldn't be able to do what they do without their weapons." Luna nodded, knowing that was true. "Besides, having that relic wouldn't mean anything if Flash didn't know how to use it." Now Luna was confused. "I've seen many great adventurers in my lifetime. Some of them had legendary grade weapons whilst others had ones they got cheap. And many times, those with the cheaper weapons were able to outclass the others because of how they used them."

"How they used them?" Luna looked back at the screen, where Team Relic fought against a large bat monster. Flash then summoned the glue cannon again and struck the beast's wing, preventing it from flying.

"That relic can create anything the user can picture in their minds. That means its limited to the imagination of its user. And Flash has come up with some pretty interesting weapons. That relic chose a good equestrian to bond itself too." Luna nodded, understanding what he was saying. Grand was right, simply having a powerful weapon wasn't enough to become powerful.

Team Relic reached the end of their tunnel and as they ran out, they found themselves in midair.

The girls cried out until the boys caught them, the four gliding down towards the centre of the large chamber. In the middle of the room was a large table, where several medallion pieces could be seen.

Trixie grabbed one and as they looked the table over, they frowned seeing several spaces where other medallions had likely been. "We're not the first ones here."

"Doesn't matter," Flash told her. "This is a marathon, not a sprint. All those who got here before us could have already exhausted themselves. Let's keep going and not push ourselves to hard." They nodded and picked a tunnel to head through, continuing forward as they raced down it.

It didn't take them long to run into something, a large sphere like creature with four spider legs, a large hose-like tail with a nozzle on the end and a head that looked like a triceratops.

The creature pointed its tail at them and was about to fire, but Trixie swung her staff around. "Illusion!" In the blink of an eye, the four of them vanished and the creature stopped. It looked around, not seeing anything, only to suddenly get bombarded with blast of wind, water, lightning and ice.

It roared in pain, staggering back as Wallflower suddenly appeared in front of it. She let out a mighty roar as she thrust her fist forward, slamming into the creature and causing it to explode. Moments later, the rest of of Team Relic appeared with Flash dispelling his water bowgun.

They kept racing forward and after a little while, they came across another monster. This one was a giant blue tortoise, standing on four legs with with a pair of large cannons sticking out of its shell. The four fired at the creature, but it quickly retracted its head and legs into its shell.

The attacks bounced off the shell and didn't even scratch it, allowing the blasting tortoise to start firing bullet of water in their direction. Wallflower quickly slammed the ground and created a wall, which shattered when the water struck it. But this allowed Flash to react.

As the tortoise was refilling its cannons, Flash ran in close and pulled out his wind dagger. Swinging it at the ground, he created a gust that blew the tortoise backwards. Due to the shape of its shell, it rolled back and forth several times until it finally fell on its back. And as it did, Flash noticed an opening in the middle of its shell.

"Soarin!" Flash pointed at it and Soarin used his Null Magic to accelerate himself into the air. In the blink of an eye, he was right above the downed shellfish and fired a lightning bolt into the opening.

The tortoise roared in pain before exploding, Team Relic rushing passed it as they high-fived.

"Impressive," Grand nodded. "No first years have ever made it this far in one of these contests."

"Maybe," Luna agreed as the team reached the second checkpoint, "but the real test is about to begin." She then turned her attention to another screen, showing Team Gearheads as they were battling against a bunch pony-sized frog monsters.

One of them, Iron Core, ran forward as his weapon glowed. The Piecemaker, as he called it, transformed from a spearhead into a sword, which he spun around to slash through a frog. Several more frogs then spat yellow slime at him, which Iron was able to avoid or deflect.

The blade then morphed into an jagged spike that he thrust forward, causing it to launch these spikes in a rapid motion. The spikes pierced the frogs and caused them all to explode, leaving the tunnel clear for them to proceed. "Alright," his spear returned to normal, "let's get going."

"Um," he heard, "a little help." Iron looked around and was shocked to see the rest of his team were stuck to the ground or wall, the frog slime that he avoided having hit them. Iron groaned and moved over to them, turning his spear into a sword that he could use to cut away at the slime. But whatever this stuff was, it was strong and Iron was gonna have a hard time cutting through it.

Team Gearheads might just fall behind.

Back with Team Relic, They picked up the second piece of the amulet and connected it to the first.

The metal then fused together, forming a pizza shape that looked like it had a large section removed. Trixie put it away and Flash looked at each of the tunnels. "Alright, which way should we head down?" The equestrians all looked at the tunnels before Wallflower, Trixie and Soarin pointed at one.

"This way!" Flash sighed and looked at each of the tunnels, trying to decide which one to go through.

"Eenie meenie miney moe, catch a tiger by the toe. If it bit, let it go. Eenie meenie miney moe!" He pointed as Soarin's tunnel, "this way!" They charged down it, the others looking confused.

"Hey Flash," Soarin asked. "What was that back there? Never heard anything like that before."

"Oh," Flash had used a human thing, "just...something we do back home when we can't pick something. Not sure where it came from." He and Soarin flew ahead and as they turned a corner, they found themselves coming to yet another crossroad. There were about six tunnels they could pick from, Flash and Soarin looking around to see if there was anything that could help them decide. And they saw that five of the six tunnels had creatures inside of them.

They were green snail creatures with a yellow shells, which were about the size of a house cat. They wondered why they would be in such a late stage of the contest, but got their answer when Wallflower cried out.

Looking back, they saw Wallflower looking at her hooves and pulling at them. They were stuck to the ground, which was covered in a strange slime that covered almost every surface of the tunnel. She pulled and pulled, but the slime refused to give way. "I'm stuck."

"Must be some kind of super glue slime," Flash realished. The snails were slowly making their way towards them and Wallflower was stuck smack dab in the middle of the crossroad, making her an easy target. And as they got closer, Flash realised their shells were covered in spikes. Spikes they quickly started firing at Wallflower.

Wallflower cried out and used her gauntlets to deflect several of the spikes, but some she couldn't see coming due to being unable to spin around. "Look out!" Soarin cried, as he and Flash deflected these spikes.

"Super Freeze!" Trixie cried, unleashing blasts of ice lightning that struck the ground at the entrances of these tunnels and froze them over. They all sighed, only for the wall to shake and crack with the spikes slamming into them. "We've gotta get out of here."

"How?" Soarin asked, "we can't just leave Wallflower."

"Soarin," Flash pointed at him, "carry Trixie over the slime. I'll work on freeing Wallflower." He nodded as Flash took out some cards.

"What are you gonna do?" Wallflower asked, as Flash slotted a card. In a burst of light, his Fire Shield appeared in hand.

"Hold still!" He pointed the shield at the ground and unleashed a burst of flames, which struck the slimy ground and filled the tunnel with smoke. Wallflower covered her mouth, as she felt the place getting very hot. Flash flew in circles, being careful not to let the flames get too close to Wallflower

This also caused the ice walls to slowly melt, but he kept it up as long as he could.

"Flash, what are you doing?" Trixie asked once Soarin put her down, only to see Flash stop using his shield and dispel it. He then slotted another card, which created a jack-hammer.

"It's times like this I wish equestrians wore boots." He thrust the tool onto the ground and activated it, the metal smashing the ground again and again. Wallflower watched as the jackhammer broke through the now dried slime, which had done so due to the flames Flash had unleashed. The hammer slowly stated breaking through the ground, as Flash circled around her with it.

But as he did, the snails managed to break through the ice and create small holes they could now shoot the pair through "Not to complain, but could you hurry up."

"This stone is really hard," Flash stated. As he continued working, the snails fired spikes and he barely managed to avoid it.

"Super Freeze!" Trixie launched another burst of lightning, which refroze the wall. "Hurry Flash. I don't think I can do that spell again." Flash sweated, but kept up the intensity. Eventually, he completed a circle of broken ground.

"There!" He dropped the jack-hammer and grabbed Wallflower's arms, using all his strength to lift her. The broken rock slowly gave way and Flash was able to pull Wallflower out of the ground, a pyramid of rock still stuck to her hooves.

Soarin flew over and grabbed Wallflower's arm, the pair flying her down the tunnel as the snails broke through the ice. Trixie ran off with them and once they were far enough away, they stopped to rest and all caught their breath. "That was way too close," Soarin stated.

Wallflower was sitting on the ground, slamming he hooves into the wall as hard as she could. She managed to slowly break more and more of the rock off her until she was finally free, with just a few pebbles stuck to her that she could crush with a few steps. "Thanks for the save."

"No problem," Flash nodded. "Sorry we didn't notice the slime on the ground before."

"It's fine," Wallflower assured him. "The only way you could would be if you were running on the ground and that would have ended with you getting stuck instead of me." Trixie and Soarin nodded, as Flash smiled.

Luna couldn't help but be impressed. She was sure they would have abandoned Wallflower in that moment, which would have gotten them disqualified, but they didn't.

"They chose to help their friend, despite it slowing them down and putting them in danger." Grand turned to her, "this group is an interesting one to be sure." Her eyes narrowed. "But the biggest challenge is coming up. If they wish to win, then they will need to pull out all the stops to be victorious."

"Yes," Grand nodded, "let's see how well they do together."

As Team Relic continued down the tunnel, they heard something that made them worry.

A large amount of cries coming from further down, sounding like screams of pain, effort and anger. The four all shared a look and nodded as they prepared for whatever was waiting for them, Flash summoning his lightning blade and flame shield. And when they reached the end of the tunnel, they were shocked by what they saw.

Several teams of equestrians were in a large round chamber. Each team was fighting against a giant snake monster, which were a mixture of brown and orange with a yellow underbelly and blade on the end of its tail. Around each of the serpent's necks was a necklace, which they realised were actually the final piece of the medallion.

But the equestrians were having trouble against the creatures, which were roughly forty or fifty feet long. And one spat out a large blast of purple slime, which hit a terran on the leg and made him scream in pain.

"Which one should we go after?" Soarin asked, but something caught the other's attention before they could answer. A light coming from Trixie's pocket, the magi taking out the rest of the amulet as it glowed.

"What's it doing?" She asked, only for the light to fly of and hit the ground. They all leapt back as the ground glowed before beginning to crack, then exploded as another snake slithered out of the hole. It to had an amulet piece around its neck, the four realising this was their fight.

"Let's go!" Flash cried before taking to the air, the snake unleashing a burst of poison towards him. Luckily, he had his shield and launched some flames to burn away the poison before it could hurt him. The others then charged in to attack, with Soarin launching lightning bolts that bounced off the snake's skin.

Trixie launched several light and ice attacks, but they to had little affect on the beast. Wallflower charged in and punched the snake, but the creature's body simply absorbed the attack without any issue. The kinetic energy she pushed into its body flew down to its tail and allowed it to swing the blade around.

She gasped and held up both her gauntlets, blocking the blade from hitting her. But the impact knocked her flying backwards, as Flash slashed at its head with his lightning sword. But like Soarin's attack, the electricity was dispelled and the sword just bounced off it.

"Oh come on!" Flash cried, launching fire at it with little effect. "Is there anything this thing is hurt by?" The snake pushed its head through the flames and hissed as it tried to bite him, Flash barely managing to avoid it. "WOW!" He flew down, as Soarin and Trixie both slashed at it with their blades. But their weapons also bounced off the iron hard skin.

"What is this thing made of?" Soarin asked, as the snake swung its tail around at them. They leapt out of the way and as they did, Soarin saw another snake knock out an entire team on the other side of the chamber. Another snake knocked its team's weapons away with its tail, then spat poison that hit them all.

They cried out in pain, unable to do anything due to the agony they were in.

Wallflower picked herself up and ran forward, summoning a pair of vines from her gauntlet that she spun around like lassos. She then fired them at the snake, the vines coiling around starting from the middle and connecting into a knock at its throat. "Now I've got you."

"That's great Wall!" Flash laughed as he took to the air, "now hold it as long as you can whilst we try and get a good shot in." He and Soarin flew up, Soarin attempting to fire lightning down its throat. But the snake either kept its mouth shut, or swung it around so Soarin couldn't get a clear shot.

Instead, he just hit around its head along with Flash's fireballs and did nothing. "Wallflower," Trixie told her, "try and keep it still."

"I'm...trying," she groaned as the snake continued to swing around. It then looked down and noticed the vines wrapped around it, the beast closing its eyes. "What's it doing?" She got her answer when purple ooze started leaking from its body, "it sweats poison?" The poison was soaked into the vines and this caused them to start shrivelling up, resulting in them snapping as Wallflower pulled on them again. "Oh no."

"Not good," Flash growled as the snake turned to Wallflower.

She saw it staring right at her, as it opened it mouth with a high-pitched hiss. "Wallflower!" Soarin cried, "MOVE!" But it was too late. The snake fired a blast of poison towards Wallflower that was moving too fast for her to avoid.

All she could do was brace herself for the incoming pain, but something else happened first.

Flash appeared in front of her and thrust his shield into the poison, the purple meteor bursting upon contact with most of it bouncing back away from them. But several drops flew passed the shield and hit Flash, his shoulder, wing and leg getting hit. "Ahhhh!" He hissed, the pair of just these three drops being incredible.

Luna's eyes went wide at this. She had not been expecting Flash to do this.

"That kid," Grand sighed. "He'd volunteer to throw himself into the volcano if it would save somepony he's never met." Luna looked at him. "His heroic streak is commendable, but he needs to learn not to throw himself into the most dangerous situation."

"Indeed," Luna nodded, "it is commendable."

Despite the pain, Flash pushed through it and looked up at the snake. They were now the only team left standing and they had a feeling it wouldn't be long before another team arrived.

"We've gotta end this now," he told the others. Then, he got an idea. "Time to combo. Wallflower, wrap it up again." Wallflower didn't know what he was planning, but trusted him and unleashed some more vines. Swinging the around, she shot them towards the snake as Soarin kept its attention. "Trixie, make'em disappear!"

"You got it!" Trixie smiled as she waved her staff, "Illusion!" The vines glowed before they completely vanished, the equestrians watching as the serpent was suddenly wrapped up once again. It struggled against the bindings, Wallflower pulling them as tight as she could.

Flash ran forward and took to the air, his wing still hurting but he fought through the pain. Flying up to Soarin, the pair nodded as they prepared their final attack. Trixie also helped, using the last of her magic to unleash a Super Freeze spell. This created a diagonal pillar of light, which Wallflower pulled the snake towards with all her strength.

The snake's chest struck the ice, knocking the wind from its lungs and making it open its mouth in the process.

"NOW!" Flash cried, his shield opening up. "Fireball!"

"Aero Shot!" Soarin yelled. The pair launched their attacks, Flash's shield spitting out a large blast of fire. The wind arrow Soarin then shot flew into the fire, the two elements fusing into a giant flaming arrow. One which flew right into the snake's mouth.

The beast's eyes went wide as the flames roasted its inside, making it scream in pain as it swung its head around and snapped the vines. And just as another team was arriving, the serpent exploded into a million tiny lights. All that was left was the amulet piece, which now slowly floated towards the ground.

Team Relic gathered around it and Trixie held up the other two pieces, the final part floating into place and combining in a flash of light. The completed amulet floated there for a moment before unleashing a blinding light, which filled the chamber and flew through the tunnels.

All throughout the labyrinth, the students were consumed by the light and prevented from seeing. When the light faded, they opened their eyes and saw they were all back outside the dome. They turned towards the stage and found Team Relic upon it, the completed amulet in Flash's hand.

Another flash of light revealed Luna and Grand, Luna walking towards them. "Congratulations," the omni stated. "You were the first to complete the trial and assemble the amulet." The students gasped at this, unable to believe that a first year team had been victorious. "Flash Sentry. Soarin Skies, Trixie Lulamoon. Wallflower Blush. You four showed teamwork, imagination and the will to keep going. You should be proud of how far you've come."

Team Relic smiled as Trixie spoke up. "Thank you, your majesty." Flash handed her the amulet and Luna nodded.

"Now, for your reward. Pack your bags." This statement surprised them. "I came here looking for a team I could take with me on an expedition. The four of you have proven you are the perfect equestrian to take with me."

"An expedition?" Soarin asked, "you mean a super long and hard quest that could take weeks to finish?"

"Possibly months," Luna nodded.

"Is it really a good idea for us to be the ones to accompany you?" Wallflower looked worried. "I mean, we're only first years. What if we hold you back?"

"If you were able to get through the gauntlet I just through at you, then what we'll face out there should not be much more of a struggle. But if you really do not wish to accompany me-"

"We didn't say that," Trixie told her. "If you really think we can help you, then we accept." The others nodded, even Wallflower despite her worries.

"Your majesty," Flash bowed and the others did the same. "Team Relic is at your service." Luna smiled. "But if I might ask, what is it we're attempting to achieve with this expedition?"

Luna nodded. "This expedition is to re-acquire something that was lost a thousand years ago. An ancient spellbook, with magic hidden within that could spell doom in the wrong hands. We must get it back." She spread her wings. "Team Relic, be ready to leave by early tomorrow. We have a long road ahead and little time to get there." With that, she took off and everypony watched her fly away.

Flash, Soarin, Trixie and Wallflower stood up and watched the omni fly back to the school, the four climbing down the stage as they heard a whistle. They looked around to see the magi from yesterday. "Well, we dodged an arrow."

"What are you talking about?" Trixie asked. "Why would being on an expedition be a bad thing?"

The magi stared at them, raising an eyebrow seeing as they clearly didn't know anything. "Don't you know who she is?"

"Duh," Soarin frowned, "Princess Luna."

"Sure, that's why she calls herself now. But she went by a different name not too long ago. Nightmare Moon." The four members of Team Relic all gasped, remembering the story of Nightmare Moon and her recent return. She had kidnapped Celestia, attempted to seal the world into eternal night and had almost succeeded.

"I thought Nightmare Moon was defeated?" Wallflower asked.

"That's the official story. Nightmare Moon was defeated and Princess Luna was restored. But honestly, I don't buy it. You can't just zap somepony good. Obviously, she realised she was beat so she made it look like she'd been turned back to normal. She's probably just biding her time and plans to attack again when she's gotten everypony to think she's good." This statement caused other students around him to all look worried.

"Maybe that spellbook she's after has evil magic?" Another pony cried, the rest of the crowd beginning to look terrified.

"That's enough!" They all looked towards Grand, who stood on the stage with a frown on his face. "Princess Luna is not evil. She might have been Nightmare Moon once, but not anymore." He focused on Team Relic. "You four have been given the honour of going on a serious expedition. You will make your school proud by doing whatever the princess asks of you. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!" The four cried, standing to attention. Grand nodded and left, the rest of the student body doing the same.

The magi smirked as he whispered, "have fun with Nightmare Moon. Hope the legends about her stealing souls on a full moon aren't true." The four glared at him as he laughed and walked off. When he was gone, they glanced at one another and wondered what the heck they had gotten themselves into. But they knew this would be the adventure of a lifetime. One they had little intention of failing.

The next morning, Team Relic were up bright and early.

They had gathered everything they thought they would need and once they were packed, they headed out to the train station. Along the way, they asked what the others thought they would face along the way. There were many suggestions, such as primordial lava monsters or badgers that could spit fire. All they knew was this wasn't gonna be an easy adventure.

They arrived at the station and as they drew closer, they spotted Princess Luna standing on the platform carrying her own bag along with something on her back. She had also changed her clothing, as she was now dressed in a purple top with a white collar along with dark blue pants.

Once they were close enough, they realised the object on her back was a long metal staff with a large metal crescent moon. They guessed it was a magical staff but Flash also had a feeling that moon blade was sharp enough to do some real damage.

"Ah, good. You are all here." The four nodded as they stepped onto the platform. "The train will arrive shortly. It will take use most of the way but the area we will be walking will be dangerous." A sound of a train filled the air. "From this point on, you four are under my command. You will follow any order I give you without question. Is that understood?"

"Yes your majesty," they all stated as the train pulled up to the station. They stepped up onto the train, Luna going first. Team Relic gulped as they knew once they stepped on the train, they would no longer be in the safety of the academy.

"Alright guys," Flash told them. "We wanted to be adventurers and this is our chance to prove ourselves. Let's show the world what we're made of." They entered the train and it began to pull away, the academy slowly moving further and further away.

If all went well, Team Relic would make the history books before they even graduated.

Episode 7: Bonding with a Princess, as a Pony

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Flash was amazed at how often he found himself in this situation. Sitting in a train, anxiously heading towards a big event in his life. First the entrance exam, then his first quest and now, he was on his very first big expedition.

And he wasn't alone. Soarin, Trixie and Wallflower were there with him, Soarin and Trixie playing a card game whilst Wallflower was looking out the window and eating some snacks she had gotten from the snack car. Then there was the fifth member of their group, Flash looking over Wallflower's head at the mare in question several rows away.

Princess Luna was reading a book, looking poised and elegant as one would expect from a princess. Flash wondered why she was keeping her distance, but guessed that was just the kind of mare she was.

"Gine!" Trixie smirked, laughing at Soarin's defeated face. "That's three to nothing."

Soarin moaned, "best four out of seven?"

Wallflower looked out at the wasteland, "how much further do you think it'll be?"

"I doubt where we're going is just a train ride away," Flash told her. "if it was, Luna wouldn't have bothered bringing us and would have likely gotten the guards or something to accompany her." Wallflower nodded, as Trixie shuffled the deck.

"I'm curious what's so important about this book she's after. She said it had magic that could spell doom in the wrong hands. But if it's so important, why is Celestia only sending somepony after it now?"

"Maybe Luna's the only one that can find it," Soarin guessed. "Maybe whatever magic she has is the only way to locate it."

"Then why bother going after it at all?" Trixie asked. "If it's been hidden away all this time, clearly nopony's gonna find if they tried. Why not leave it where it is?"

"Who knows," Flash told her. "That's not our focus. It doesn't matter why the princess wants the book. She want it and she's hired us to help her. Let's just focus on that." In that moment, the overhead speaker rang and told them they were coming to the end of the line.

Luna heard this and closed her book, putting it in her bag as she got up. The others took this as the cue to do the same, the lot of them putting their things in their bags and placing them on their backs.

Luna headed for the door and they followed, as the train pulled into a station.

"We're here," she announced as the doors opened and they stepped out onto the platform. They looked around and found they were in a barren wasteland, with multiple mountains a good distance away from them that were covered in a thick layer of cloud.

"This is where the spellbook is?" Wallflower asked, "guess it makes sense. I wouldn't think to look for it here."

"The spellbook isn't here," Luna told her. "This is just the closest we can get to it by train. From now on, we're going by hoof." The others didn't like the sound of that, as Luna began march towards the mountains. "The place we're heading to is on the other side of that mountain range and passed a marshland."

"Seriously?" Trixie didn't seem to like the sound of that idea, "that sounds like it could take a long time. And I didn't bring any marshland boots." The others thought the same thing, as Soarin smirked.

"No problem." he gestured at Flash. "We can get us over them in no time." They all looked at him, "Flash just has to make something the three of you can ride on and we'll pull it into the air. That way, we can fly over the mountains and marshland without a problem." His friends smiled at Flash placed his belt on his waist, about to create a large chariot. But before he could-

"That's a bad idea," Luna stated before pointing at the mountain range. "Those mountains aren't mountains. They're volcanoes. But even though they're mostly inactive, they still release a lot of sulphur and carbon dioxide, which is blown into the sky and rains down on them." They all gulped, not liking the sound of that. "It's tedious, but we'll have to go around the mountains."

"Can't you just teleport us to the other side?" Flash asked.

"No," Luna stated. "Teleportation is a very difficult spell, even for an omni like me. Even if I was at full power, teleporting all of us such a distance would almost certainly end in disaster." The four wondered what she meant about being at full power, Flash also thinking about what could help them pass the mountains quicker.

Slowly, an idea formed in his head. He had never attempted to make something so big and powerful, but he had to at least try. As such, he took out a card and held it to his forehead.

"What are you doing?" Trixie asked, as Flash stepped away from them. As he did, the card slowly began to make an image appear on it. And when the image was finally complete, he opened his eyes before slotting the card into his belt. As soon as he shut it, the belt unleashed a mighty blast of light that completely enveloped him.

"Flash!" Soarin cried, as they were all blinded by the light. But they watched as it slowly formed a shape, which grew larger and larger by the second. And eventually, the light faded to reveal what Flash had created. And they had no idea what it was.

Unbeknownst to them, Flash had created an all terrain van. It was black in colour, with large chunky tires and chrome armouring. Flash looked inside the van and was right behind the wheel, with another seat to his right. He looked behind himself and saw another row of three seats, whilst a larger space was behind them that would allow them plenty of room to sleep in.

As he placed his hands on the wheel, the passenger side door opened and Soarin looked inside. "What the heck is this thing?"

"If I made it correctly, the ultimate all terrain vehicle." Flash pressed the button and the magical engine exploded into life, scaring the others as they leapt back. Flash hit the gas and the truck moved forward, the force shutting the door Soarin had opened.

He smirked as all the years of playing racing games in the arcade came back to him. He drove the truck perfectly, turning it several times and getting a handle for the wheel. He then turned it back towards the others and pulled up right besides them, the four staring at it in shock.

He rolled the window down and smirked, "need a lift?"

Luna raised an eyebrow, "you're saying this...contraption, can get us over the mountain?"

"Yup," Flash nodded. "Plus, I added a sulphur and carbon dioxide detector along with air scrubbers that'll keep the gases out."

"Impressive," Luna nodded. "But how did you create something like this? From what I understand, the belt requires you to know everything about whatever you create. How did you come up with such an unusual vehicle?" Flash felt himself sweat, since he didn't want to explain that he had cursory idea of how an internal combustion engine worked because he read it in a book in his old life.

"Well...I just thought that I really wanted something strong enough to get over the mountains, but be sealed so we wouldn't breath the stuff in. I guess the belt was able to work with that." Luna raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. Flash feared he was busted, but she eventually shrugged and opened the passenger door. She climbed in as Soarin opened the back doors, he and the girls getting in and looking around the inside.

They all passed their bags back and slotted them into a small cage behind their seats, where they would safely remain until they were needed. Wallflower sat in the middle with Soarin and Trixie on either side, Soarin bouncing up and down on the seat whilst Trixie adjusted hers to be more comfortable.

"Alright," Flash pulled at his seatbelt, "these should keep you guys from getting thrown about." The others grabbed their seatbelts and pulled them around their bodies, the lot surprised by how tightly they held them in place. "Everypony ready?" They nodded, as Flash hit the gas. "Then let's get driving!" The truck rolled forward and they rocketed across the landscape, the rocky ground beneath the tires not even rocking them thanks to the great suspension Flash had installed.

Flash focused on the road, whilst the others continued to be amazed by the truck. When they started this journey, they didn't think they would be riding in luxury. They thought they were gonna end up hot and tired, but here they were being relaxed and air conditioned.

With the truck's increased speed, they managed to reach the base of the mountain within an hour. This impressed Luna, who hadn't expected to reach the mountain until nightfall on hoof. But as they got closer to the mountain, a beeping caught their attention and made them look down to see one of the detectors lighting up.

Said detectors each had ten lights, with one of them now have a light turn green. "What's that?" Trixie asked.

"Carbon dioxide detector," Flash explained. "It's outside the car."

"You said this vehicle would protect us from it, correct?" Luna asked, Flash nodding but still looking worried.

"It's not perfect. I asked it to make the detector show us how well the vehicle can protect us from them. As long as the green lights are glowing, we're safe. If the yellow lights come on, that means the truck's gonna be able to protect us but some of it might get through. If it's red...the truck won't be able to protect us long."

"I see," Luna nodded. "Then we had best try to avoid areas of high toxicity." Flash nodded as the truck started moving up the side of the mountain. As he did, Soarin leaned forward and started watching how Flash drove.

Now that they were on the mountain, the drive was proving much bumpier. Even with the truck's great suspension, the ground was so uneven the vehicle was rocked around all over the place.

They eventually came to an area that had a large ramp-like incline, which was rather steep. "You think we can get passed that?" Trixie asked, but Flash just smirked since he had foreseen this situation. He reached down and pressed a button, causing the front of the truck to open up and fold something out.

"Is that...a harpoon?" Luna asked, taking a close look at the device now on the bonnet.

Flash nodded as he used a pair of knobs to target it before hitting a button, causing the harpoon to be fired. It shot over the incline and as it did, the spearhead-like front split apart to make an X-shaped claw. It disappeared behind the rocks and when it landed, Flash hit the button again. This caused the rope to retract until the harpoon hooked something, making the rope go taught and pulling the truck forward.

Flash smirked and the others were amazed, as the vehicle was pulled up the ramp. When the truck reached the very peak, he hit the gas and pushed it over the top. He also stopped the rope retraction, allowing the harpoon to be unhooked and retract back into the vehicle.

"Impressive," Luna nodded as the whole thing retracted into the bonnet.

"This bad boy should be able to handle this terrain these mountains throw at us." As he said that, another light went up. "So long as we stay in the green, we should be safe."

"Don't be so sure," Luna told him as they reached another incline though it wasn't so steep they needed the harpoon. "Toxic gases aren't the only thing this mountain has."

"You mean monsters live here?" Wallflower asked, Luna nodding.

"What kind of creature could live someplace like this?" Soarin asked. but got his answer when a loud squawking sound filled the air. They all looked out the window and couldn't see anything, but then Trixie looked up.

"There!" They all looked up and saw something flying towards them. It looked humanoid, but had a pair of large bat wings on its back. It was orange in colour and had the head of a crow, complete with a yellow beak. It also had taloned green hands and feet, along with a long blue tail that looked like it could cut through solid steel.

"A Whiptail!" Luna cried, "not good. its claws and tails are sharp enough to pierce almost anything. It'll rip us open like a tin can."

"Great," Flash growled as the whiptail flew towards them. "What do I do? I didn't equip this thing with any weapons."

"Everypony get ready to hold their breath," Luna told them. They looked confused and she cast a spell, her horn glowing before a transparent bubble appeared around her head. She then opened her door and they all held their breath, as she leapt out into the gas-filled area. She quickly took flight and shut the door, flying up into the air towards the Whiptail whilst taking out her staff.

The beast squawked at her, as her staff glowed along with her horn.

"Lumino Cutter!" She swung the staff around and the crescent moon unleashed a blade of light, which struck the Whiptail and knocked it back with a gash appearing in its chest. This allowed her to get in close and use the blade to cut it in half, making it squawk in pain before exploding.

"Wow," Soaring smirked, "she's good." The others nodded as more squawks filled the air, making them look around to see several more Whiptails flying towards the truck.

Luna shot towards them as her staff continued to glow. "Shadow Shroud!" She thrust the staff forward and unleashed a cloud of black smoke, which flew towards the Whiptails and completely enveloped them. "Aero Cutter!" She swung the staff around and unleashed blade of wind, which flew into the cloud before a squawk of pain could be heard.

"Lumino, Shadow and Sky Magic?" Trixie was amazed, as the smoke vanished.

"Super Freeze!" Luna launched the blue lightning, which struck another Whiptail and froze it in midair.

"Sea Magic to?" Flash was amazed, as the frozen Whiptail fell to the ground and shattered.

"She's an omni," Wallflower pointed out. "Omnis have the ability to use every element of magic. The only ones they shouldn't be able to use is Null Magic, though they can have their own." Luna began spinning in the air, turning her into a mini-tornado that slashed through several more Whiptails until only one was left.

That last one had dived down and landed on the bonnet of the truck, the teens inside yelling in shock as it raised its claws ready to cut through the window. But before it could, Flash hit the break and the vehicle came to a complete stop.

The Whiptail was knocked off the bonnet and thrown backwards, crashing into a rock as Luna landed on the roof. "Dirt Cannon!" She thrust her staff forward and a tornado of earth exploded out of it, hitting the Whiptail and ripping it to shreds.

Luna panted as she jumped down and opened the door, quickly climbing inside and pulling it shut before too much deadly gas could enter. As she buckled herself up, she turned to the others.

"Shall we get going?" They nodded and drove off, continuing over the mountainous terrain.

"That was pretty awesome," Soarin told her. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

"A thousand years ago, ponies weren't as skilled as they are now. Magic was still developing and magical weapons were difficult to craft and almost impossible to come by. So my sister and I were some of the few ponies that could fight against monsters like that. It was our duty to protect the ponies of Equestria. And since most of the more dangerous creatures came out at night, I ended up fighting the stronger ones and developing my skills more than my sister."

"You're saying you're stronger than Celestia?" Flash asked as they drove around a large rock.

"A thousand years ago, yes. My physical skills were higher than my sisters, whilst she had the edge on me in magical ability. But these days, I think she would have me bested in both aspects...for now." Those in the back weren't sure they liked the way she said that.

They continued driving for a few more hours, needing to circumnavigate most of the bigger obstacles the truck couldn't get them over. These obstacles were far and few between, so they were hardly stopped at all as they made their way over the mountain.

Eventually, they managed to reach a spot that allowed them to get over the mountain and head down the other side, with no monsters showing up to attack them. This allowed them to roll down the slopes without much issues.

The sun was starting to set and as they began to reach the bottom of the mountain, which meant they had overcome their first hurdle. However, they still had another mountain to get over before they could put this journey behind them.

Flash let out a yawn as he let the car roll down the mountainside and kept his hoof on the break. "Tired?" Luna asked, Flash nodding.

"This might look easy, but it's kind of tricky. And that's when it's daytime and I can see. I'm really not looking forward to driving at night."

"Then we won't," Luna told him. "We'll search for an area that hasn't got any carbon dioxide and set up camp there for you to rest." Flash nodded as they continued down the rocky track, keeping an eye on the carbon and sulfur detectors. Sure enough, they eventually found a flat area of land for Flash to park on.

Once he did, he let out a sigh and laid back whilst the others got out. They looked around and smelled the air. It wasn't exactly fresh, but it wasn't toxic. Flash climbed over the back and opened the sliding door, allowing the others to grab their bags. Luna also used some Land magic to create four square stones for the others to sit on, whilst Flash remained sat on the truck.

"Too bad we don't have anything to make a campfire with," Soarin stated as he took out some marshmallows.

"Not a good idea," Luna stated. "There might not be any sulphur here right now, but a stray cloud could appear and be ignited. We'll make do with food we don't need to cook." They all nodded and took out some ration packs, all the while glad they weren't living fifty years ago. When these things were first created, they were bland, hard and barely edible. But now, they came in a variety of flavours, went down easy and still had everything an adventure needed not to collapse from exhaustion.

As the sun continued to set, they ate in silence but kept their ears open in case more creatures tried to attack them.

But after a while, Flash decided the silence was too uncomfortable. "So, princess." Luna looked up at him. "You said this spellbook we're after is special. But how special? Is there a particular spell inside it that Equestria really needs or something?" Luna clearly didn't want to explain it to him, "just wondering."

Luna sighed as she took another bite of her ration bar. "It's a very special book. It's probably the last book in existence that contains omni magic."

"Omni magic?" Trixie seemed intrigued by this.

"Spells so special, only an omni has the potential to use it." She looked over at the setting sun, as if caught in a memory. "It was from that book that my sister and I learned how to raise and lower the celestial bodies." That was certainly a surprise. "And there are other magics in it that are just as powerful."

"Amazing," Wallflower whispered. "So...how did it get lost?"

"Somepony stole it," Luna stated.

"Who?" Flash asked, but could see Luna didn't want to say it out loud. But after a few moments, she sighed.

"Me." Their eyes went wide, as Luna put her food away. "Things were very different a thousand years ago. Ponies were terrified of the night. They dared not step hoof outside their homes. To them, the darkness did nothing but help hide the monsters that wanted to devour them. They feared everything connected to the night, including me."

"Wow," Flash whispered, "I'm sorry." Luna just looked away.

"I didn't want to be the princess of the night, but I couldn't be anything else. I didn't have the magical power to move the sun, but my sister did. So, she took on the duties of raising the sun and governing the day. And left me to watch over the night...alone."

Team Relic all frowned, feeling sorry for Luna. They had no idea how isolated she must have felt back then.

"And so it was that my sister was forever loved as the bringer of light, who chased away the evil darkness and allowed ponies to play in the sunlight. And I was the evil princess, who shrouded them in darkness and gave the monsters the chance to hunt them."

"But that's not true," Flash told her as the sun completely set. They were delved into complete darkness for a moment, only for the light of the rising moon to shine. "Darkness is the absence of light. Technically, it's Celestia who brought the darkness. Your moon gave the ponies light, but a weaker one that would allow them to sleep."

"I know that. I tried to get Celestia to explain this, but she told me the ponies wouldn't understand. Back then, I thought she just didn't want to risk the ponies hating her for being the one to remove the light." She sighed, "she was so different back then. She loved the attention she got for being the almighty sun princess. All the while I was constantly feared. She didn't realise how miserable I was until I couldn't take it anymore."

"You stole the book," Wallflower realised.

Luna nodded. "All I wanted to do was find a way to make is so the ponies wouldn't be afraid of me. That's when I discovered a spell that could increase my magical power. I thought that if I used it, I would have the magic to raise the sun like my sister. So I used it without thinking about the consequences. But as soon as I cast it, I knew I'd made a mistake. The magic was too much for me. It completely overwhelmed my mind and corrupted me. It transformed me into a monster."

"Nightmare Moon," Flash whispered. Luna flinched hearing that name.

"Yes. I don't remember much from my time as...that, but I do remember that I feared my sister using the same spell to increase her own power. As such, I hid it away in the place we are now heading to. Given my sister was unable to find it in the thousand years I was gone, I guess I did a good job hiding it."

Team Relic looked at one another, now curious about something else. Trixie then asked the question. "How did Celestia...beat you, if she didn't have the book full of omni magic?"

"She used a set of ancient relics to seal me within the moon. The Elements of Harmony. The very same Elements that were recently used to save me from my own foolishness. Six ponies that each represented an aspect of the Elements, unleashed their full power and destroyed the Nightmare Moon shell I was trapped within. Although, it also left my own magical abilities greatly weakened. Hence, why my sister continues to raise the moon in my stead." They nodded as Luna stood up and cast the breathing spell on herself. "I will go check the perimeter and make sure there aren't any more surprises for us this night." She grabbed hr staff and flew off, leaving Team Relic to let what they had just learned sink in.

"Wow," Wallflower whispered, "I feel kind of sorry for her."

"Yeah," Trixie nodded, "I know how it feels to have family that are so amazing they overshadow you. Must have been even worse for her, given who her sister is." They all nodded and remembered what the older students had told them about Luna and Nightmare Moon. Luna had just made one mistake and now she would likely have to live with the consequences forever.

Soarin then had a thought that made him frown. "Guys, what if she's planning to use the same spell as before?" They turned to him in confusion. "What if the only reason she's going after this spellbook, is so she can use its magic to restore the power she lost when she was freed from Nightmare Moon? What if she wants to become her again and delve the world in eternal darkness? If she does, we'll be known as the team that helped her. Instead of being Team Relic, awesome adventures. We'll probably go down in history as the four horses of the apocalypse."

"Soarin!" Flash frowned, "I really doubt she wants to become Nightmare Moon again."

"But how can you be sure?" Wallflower looked terrified, "should we take that chance? What if Soarin's right and she is after her former power? If she turns back into Nightmare Moon, what'll you think she'll do to us?"

"Maybe we should try and take the book when we find it?" Trixie suggested, "take it and run as fast as we can. Get the book to Celestia, where Luna can't get to it."

"You guys need to stop," Flash told them. "You're making wild assumptions. Luna might have made mistakes in the past, but that's where they are. In the past. We shouldn't judge her as evil just because she made a mistake."

"Really?" Trixie asked, "so you're absolutely sure she's not gonna try and turn back to Nightmare Moon. There isn't a shred of doubt at all." Flash was about to say yes, but then stopped as he thought to himself. It was possible, no matter how small, that she was intending to do that. But still, that didn't mean they should automatically label her a bad guy...right? "Thought so."

In that moment, Luna started flying back towards them. "Let's discuss this again later," Flash told them. "We should get to know Luna before we condemn her as a villain." The others frowned, but knew he was right.

Luna arrived and put her weapon down. "All's clear in the surrounding area. We should be free to sleep, but one of us should remain on guard in case something happens. I'll take the first shift and wake one of you when it's time to switch." They nodded with the four younger ponies climbing into the truck.

They each took a sleeping bag out of their backpacks and rolled it out inside the truck, which was just large enough for them all to do it. Soon enough, the four were laid out in the vehicle and wrapped up in their sleeping bags. Trixie had an eye mask and sleeping cap, whilst Wallflower's arms were wrapped around one another as if they were supposed to be cuddling something.

The four slept for a while, though Flash found it tricky to sleep since his thoughts remained on Luna and what she was planning for the book. He didn't want to accuse her of such a thing without actual proof, but did he want to risk the return of Nightmare Moon just because he was worried about hurting her feelings?

The thoughts caused his sleep to become rather strained and he kept rolling from side to side, doing so as softly as he could to stop the truck from rocking. But after a while, he sighed and sat up. As he did, he looked out the window expecting to see Luna sitting there. But she was gone.

"Huh?" He got out of his sleeping bag and carefully slid the door open, looking around but seeing no sign of the omni.

"Can't sleep?" He jumped at the voice and fell out of the truck, barely managing to keep his hoof on it as he hit the ground. He moaned and looked towards the roof, where Luna was sat cross legged. She raised an eyebrow at him before using her magic to pick him up, keeping his hoof on the truck.

"Sorry," he told her, "I was getting comfortable and noticed you weren't there. Just wanted to be sure you hadn't been taken or something." Once he was close enough, he grabbed the truck and flew up to sit beside her on the roof.

"There's still time for my watch," she told him. "You shouldn't push yourself after the long day you've had."

"I'm fine. Besides, you've spent way too many nights alone." Luna sighed at this, as the pair sat in silence for several moments until the omni spoke up.

"So, do you think I'm after the book to become Nightmare Moon again?" Flash's eyes went wide, wondering if maybe she had used a spell to hear what they said before. "I didn't hear you. I just knew that when I told you that story, that possibility would enter your minds. You're right to have those doubts. Trust is good, but being overly trusting can lead to disaster."

Flash nodded and thought about her question. He didn't know if she wanted to be Nightmare Moon again. But he felt there would be no harm in asking. "Do you want to become Nightmare Moon again." Luna looked appalled by that question.

"Never. I want nothing to do with the monster I became. I wish I could just forget about everything that happened." She sighed, "though that'll never happen. Especially with everypony looking at me and only seeing the creature that threatened to keep the world in eternal night."

"I doubt everypony sees you like that," Flash tried to comfort her. "I'm sure Celestia sees you as the sister she lost for a thousand years."

"Celestia," Luna sighed, "sure. If she cared so much, she would have found a way to tell the tale of Nightmare Moon without making me look like the villain." Flash cocked an eyebrow, "she could have pretended the two of use with separate entities. Stated I had been possessed or something, or that Nightmare Moon kidnapped me and her destruction freed me. But no, she had to be honest. No wonder she was the one who got to use that element against Discord."

"Discord?"

"Doesn't matter. Can't change the past, so there's no point dwelling on it. I'll forever be known as the mare that tried to usurp her sister and got turned into a monster for it."

"That's not true," Flash told her. "Sure, you can't change how ponies saw you in the past. But you can change how ponies see you now."

"How?"

"By being a good pony. Show that you're the kind of princess that's willing to put her past behind her and do what needs to be done for the good of the kingdom. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but nothing worth having is."

Luna frowned, "you're right about it not being easy. No matter how many good things I do, I'll always have the stain of Nightmare Moon upon me. I just wish I could make everypony forget about her. Including me."

"You shouldn't forget about what happened in the past," Flash told her. "You should embrace it." Luna looked at him in shock. "Who you used to be is still a part of you, even if you're now somepony completely different. But just because you're not that pony anymore, doesn't mean you have to ignore that they ever existed. Nightmare Moon is a part of you, even if you don't want to admit it. She made mistakes, which caused her to get banished to the moon, seen as a monster and defeated again after stealing the princess. You don't want to make those same mistake, right?"

"Of course not."

"Then you have to learn from those mistakes. Which means you have to accept that you were the one who also made them, back when you were Nightmare Moon." Luna looked down, clearly not eager to do something like that. "Who you used to be doesn't change who you are now. But if you ignore who you used to be, you'll be forced to make the same mistakes you made before. And you might not get another second chance this time."

Luna let this information sink in, then let out a sigh. "You're very wise, for somepony so young." Flash smirked, rubbing the back of his neck. If only she knew he had two life times of experience to pull from.

Luna looked like she was about to say something else, but before she could a loud squawking caught their attention and made them look up to see a flock of whiptails flying towards them. "Oh, great!" Flash banged on the roof of the truck, waking those inside up. "We got company!"

"Wha?" Was the general sound made by his teammates, as he took out a card and slotted it into his belt. In a flash, his water bowgun appeared and he quickly began firing blasts of ice from it. Meanwhile, Luna grabbed her staff and leapt into the air.

The ice arrows impaled several Whiptails at the front, allowing Luna to deal with those behind them. She used her staff's blade to cut the wings of the Whiptails, causing them to fall to the ground as the rest of Team Relic got out of the truck.

Trixie and Flash blasted those on the ground, allowing Soarin and Wallflower to get in close. Soarin quickly cut one in half, whilst Wallflower used her vines to wrap another up and swing it around. As she smashed the beast into the ground, its tail dug into the soil and got quit deep before it exploded.

Luna flew down and landed atop and wingless Whiptail, slicing its tail off before it could attempt to stab her. Soarin then fired a lightning bolt towards it, Luna leaping off and the electricity blew it up.

Trixie then extended her blade and rushed forward, blocking another Whiptail's tail before thrusting the staff part into its chest. "Water Pressure!" A blast of water blew it backwards towards Luna, who held her staff out so the creature flew into the blade and cut itself in half.

Only one Whiptail was left and Flash fired an ice blast at its feet, freezing them to the ground whilst Soarin and Wallflower charged. Soarin blocked the tail and Wallflower wrapped her vines around its neck before pulling, the creature squawking as its neck was ripped off its body and it exploded.

They all sighed, three of them still half asleep as the battle ended. Luna nodded, "excellent work." They nodded and hoped they could go back to sleep. But in that moment, the truck started beeping.

"What's that?" Soarin asked, as Flash swung down and checked the carbon and sulphur detectors. Both were in the yellow.

"We've gotta get out of here!" He told them, the four's eyes going wide before they rushed into action. Luna used her magic to pack everything they had up and throw it in the back, she and the others then climbing into the truck as Flash started the engine. Once the doors were slammed shut, Flash hit the gas and they raced away.

"What happened?" Trixie asked, "I thought there weren't any gas here?"

"Wind must have changed and blown some towards us," Luna frowned. "Or the fight did damage to the area that let the gas escape. Doesn't matter now. What matters is getting out of here before the gas gets to a level this vehicle can't protect us from."

Flash drove as fast as he could, the bumpy ground making it an uncomfortable ride. And as he did, the lights on both the detectors get higher and higher. Nine of the ten lights glowed green and yellow, meaning one more and they would be in trouble.

"We have to get out of here," Flash growled. "The truck can't handle shielding us from this much gas for long."

"And if it goes into the red?" Wallflower asked, but Flash's silence told her all she needed to know. She began to look terrified, whilst the others just looked worried.

Flash looked ahead and saw a particular steep bit of rock ahead of them. Getting up it wasn't going to be easy. And sure enough, when the truck tried to drive up it gravity proved stronger. The wheels rolled against the unstable ground, beginning to dig themselves into the ground.

Flash hit the button and fired the harpoon upwards, over the top before retracting it. It caught on something and the truck began to slowly pull itself up, but as it did the detectors both turned red.

They all panicked, knowing the two gasses were likely getting into the truck at that very moment.

Luna turned to the four she had brought on this quest, Soarin actually letting out a cough. If they died, it would be her fault. She wouldn't let that happen.

So, she lit her horn and dug deep. The others noticed this, as Luna slapped her hands together. In a flash, the shield spell she had used before formed between her hands before quickly expanding. It filled the inside of the truck, then flew through the metal and encased the entire vehicle. As it did, the detectors began to go down.

The ponies were amazed by this and turned to Luna, who looked like she was having trouble. It was then they realised this spell must be difficult to cast, especially if Luna's magic was weakened like she mentioned. "Hold on," Flash told her as the truck reached the top of the hill. The harpoon retracted into the car and he hit the gas, allowing them to continue down the route.

Luna could feel her magic quickly depleting. The size of this spell, coupled with the times she had used it and several other spells had her magic reserves slowly dropping.

Those in the back were amazed by what Luna was doing for them. They had heard what might happen if a magi overused their magic and wondered if the same was true for an omni. If it was, Luna could cripple herself protecting them.

They suddenly felt really bad at the accusations they had thrown at her before. Here she was, risking to lose her magic forever whilst they had been worried she was still evil. They watched as the minutes passed and Luna started panting, a bit of blood dripping from her nose.

She felt her head beginning to spin and as the truck flew off the top of another hill, she felt her magic hit rock bottom. But she kept going as everything went dizzy for her. And as the ten minute mark of her casting it passed, everything went black and she fell forward.

"LUNA!" The others cried as her head hit the dashboard, the magical barrier around them vanishing.

This caused the detectors to beep as the lights came back on, but stopped at the eighth light which was yellow. Trixie leaned forward and grabbed Luna, pulling her back so she was laying back against the seat. As she did, Wallflower took out some cloth and ripped it up.

"Tie this around her mouth," she told Trixie. "Keep the gas out." Trixie used her magic to do so, as Wallflower handed out the other cloths to the rest of them. Soon, their mouths were all covered as Flash kept driving over the rocks. As they did, the ninth light came back on.

Worry filled them all again, as the truck came to the top of a large hill that headed straight down into a bowl-like area filled with white mist. Flash knew going into there was a death sentence, so rolled around the side of the bowl. But the ground was very unsteady. At several points, part of the edge gave way and they almost fell in.

The lot of them were starting to get a bit light headed. But as they finally reached the other side of the bowl, the ninth light went out.

They hoped that meant the gas was starting to lessen and as they rolled down the side of the hill, the eighth light went off as well. Flash kept driving and relief filled him, as more and more of the lights went out. Eventually, all the yellow lights went out and they were safe...for now.

Flash pulled the cloth away from his mouth and sighed as he eased up on the gas, the truck slowing down. "We should be safe for now. So long as the wind doesn't change again." The others nodded as they turned to Luna, who was still unconscious.

"You think she'll be okay?" Wallflower asked.

"I don't know," Trixie sighed. "But she'll be a lot better when we get out of this sulphur filled death trap." They all agreed and hoped the omni would be okay.

Luna's head was killing her, as she felt herself coming around.

"Princess?" She heard a voice call out, "princess? Luna!?" Her eyes fluttered open and as they did, she was greeted to the sight of Flash Sentry's face looking down at her. She moaned as she opened her eyes more, Flash sighing in relief. "You're alright."

"Sentry?" She sat herself up, holding her head. "What happened?" She looked around and saw both Trixie and Wallflower kneeling beside her, the lot of them being in the back of the truck. She then noticed the truck was moving and looked at the front, where she saw Soarin was at the steering wheel.

"You okay?" Trixie asked, "you blacked out from using too much magic."

Luna remembered what happened and gasped as she looked around, Flash smiling. "Don't worry. We managed to get out of there before we could suffocate. Getting over the second mountain wasn't too tricky. Actually, we didn't have any problems once we cleared the gas fields."

Luna sighed in relief, as he reached up and touched her horn. "Is your magic okay?" Trixie asked, "you overdid it and we'd hate it if your magic was lost protecting us." Luna took a deep breath and summoned some of her magic.

Her horn lit up and she was able to create a small flame in her hand, which she quickly snuffed out before her magic ran out. "My magic's fine. A bit of rest and it'll recover." The others sighed in relief, "you shouldn't worry about me."

"Too bad," Soarin called back to her. "We're teammates right now. That means we worry about you." The others nodded, as Wallflower looked upset.

"We're sorry," she told the omni. "We were worried you couldn't be trusted and would try and do something to us, but you put your magic at risk to keep us safe."

Trixie nodded. "Yeah, we're really sorry."

"Really really sorry," Soarin sighed. "Flash was right. We shouldn't have judged you before we got to know you."

Luna smiled, "don't worry about it. You were right to be suspicious of me. As I told Sentry, being overly trusting can be dangerous. But I hope I've proven myself trustworthy to you all." They nodded, smiles on their lips as they did. She then turned to Flash. "Thank you. You were right. I can't change how ponies used to see me. But I can improve what ponies think of me now."

Flash nodded and as he said that, the truck suddenly came to an abrupt stop. The four in the back all found themselves sliding forward, crying out as they did so. "Soarin!" Trixie cried out, but Soarin wasn't listening.

As Luna recovered, she felt she was pressed up against something. She looked down and gasped when she saw she had landed on Flash, with her chest having landed on his face. The teen was bright red as he was blinded by Luna's shirt, the omni gasping and pulling back. "I am sorry."

"It's...fine," Flash told her whilst adjusting his legs so they were hiding his crotch. "Soarin, why did you stop?"

"You guys gotta see this." The four picked themselves up and looked over the seats, allowing them to look out the window and see that they had reached the edge of the mountain. And at the bottom of the cliff's edge, they saw a giant woodland in front of them.

They were amazed at this, as they realised they had overcome their first hurdle on their exploration. The dangerous mountains were now behind them and in the distance, they spotted what appeared to be a small village besides the woods. The perfect place to stop and rest.

The lot of them smirked as they climbed over the seats. Flash took the wheel from Soarin with Luna sat besides him, the others behind them. Once they were all strapped in, Flash looked to them all and they nodded. Even Luna looked a lot happier now that she had the trust of the others, Flash happy their team was coming together.

Putting his hoof down, he began to drive down a pathway he spotted. Their adventure had just begun and many more obstacles awaited them. And together, they would accomplish their mission and go down in history.

Episode 8: Calming Spirits, as a Pony

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The expedition to find the lost Omni Spellbook was going rather well, all things considered.

Team Relic and Princess Luna had made their way over the dangerous poison gas mountains, and were now between them and the marshlands they would need to cross. Currently, the all terrain camper truck had made its way down the mountain and was rolling along the ground that was beside a large forest.

In front of them was a town they hoped to properly rest and resupply at.

"I didn't think there'd be a town this close to such a dangerous mountain range," Luna told them as Flash drove the truck. "These ponies must be a pretty impressive group, if they can survive living between that and a marshland. Not to mention a forest that's likely full of monsters."

Flash nodded. "Hopefully, they're a friendly group. I could really use a good night's sleep after what we just went through." The others agreed as they got closer and closer to the town. But as they did, they noticed something just outside the settlement. A large group of ponies.

"Um," Trixie noticed these ponies didn't have smiles on their faces, "they don't look friendly." The amount of farming equipment and makeshift weapons made the others agree with her. Flash hit the brakes and the truck came to a stop, as the ponies charged forwards.

"Die monster!" One of the ponies cried as they threw a rock at the truck, which bounced off the window.

"We won't let you destroy our home!" Another pony yelled as they swung a burning torch at it.

"They think we're a monster?" Wallflower asked.

"The truck," Luna replied. "Flash, disengage it." Flash nodded and reached down to his belt, hitting the dispel button. The truck vanished in a flash of light, causing the ponies and their bags to fall to the ground. Well, Trixie and Wallflower fell. The others spread their wings.

"The monster turned into ponies!" Somepony cried, the other ponies all yelling at them about being illusions or the ones responsible. But Luna quickly activated her magic.

"SILENCE!" She cried, her voice echoing throughout the entire town. "WHY DO YOU ATTACK US, WHEN ALL WE'VE DONE IS COME HERE LOOKING FOR SHELTER AND FOOD!?" The ponies were all silent, as they seemed to realise Luna was an omni.

They dropped their weapons and fell to the ground, all of them bowing as Team Relic looked at Luna in surprise. "Luna, I don't think the super loud voice in necissery." Flash's words peaked Luna, who nodded and cleared her throat.

"Apologises. Royal Canterlot Voice is usually how we addressed our subjects a thousand years ago." She turned back to the ponies, "now why did you attack us?" The ponies all still looked terrified, Luna's imposing gaze clearly not helping.

As the ponies continued to quiver, Flash looked around the village and was surprised. The houses looked to be the same design and quality as the ones in his hometown, but some of them looked like they were being held up by spare wood and duct-tape. And others weren't even houses, being piles of rubble or having large holes in the roofs and walls. What had happened to this place?

Luckily, a teal coloured terran male moved over to them. He had short orange hair and was wearing simple farmers clothing. "We're really sorry about that. We're all a bit on edge. My name's Quick Wit."

"Hey," Flash flew down. He knew Luna was still new to talking to ponies. "I'm Flash Sentry. This is my team, Soarin, Trixie and Wallflower." They all waved, "and you've met Princess Luna." Luna nodded as the ponies continued to looked terrified. "Now, what's this about a monster?"

"Right," Quick nodded. "Over the last week, we've been attacked three times by a large monster." This surprised them, as he pointed towards the forest. "It comes out and rampages through the town, destroying anything that gets in its way. Then, it vanishes without a trace."

"I see," Luna hummed. "Monsters don't usually leave their places of origins, especially to attack settlements." She stroked her chin, "has anypony in town done anything that might have caused the monster to leave its home." They all shook their heads.

"Maybe somepony's sending it to attack the town?" Soarin suggested.

"But why?" Wallflower asked, "this town doesn't look like it would have anything worth sending a monster to attack it for."

"True," Luna nodded. "This clearly needs investigating." She turned to the ponies, "fear not citizens. My team and I will help defend your town. We will determine what this monster is and why it is attacking you. And make sure it never threatens you again!" The ponies all cheered at this, as Luna looked over the farm tools and rocks they had been arming themselves with. "If we wish to stop this creature, these ponies are gonna need better equipment."

Flash smirked as he tapped his belt, "leave that to me."

For the next few hours, Flash used his relic to make simple but strong weapons for the townsponies. Swords, shields, spears and anything else that would help them fight against whatever might appear out of the woods. Once that was done, Flash needed a rest after driving for so long and not getting a great sleep the previous night.

As he rested, the others helped the ponies rebuild some of the houses that were still damaged. With Luna's magic, the repairs didn't take long.

Flash ended up sleeping the entire day and night, waking up the morning afterwards to find the town looking in much better condition. The others looked just as tired as he had been the previous day, so Flash offered to take over watching the forest.

Flying up to the roof of a house facing the woods, he used his relic to make a pair of binoculars and began to wait. He kept an eye out for any sign of a monster, but nothing showed up. One hour passed with nothing happening, then another hour, a third and fourth after that.

Flash had always prided himself on his patience, but this was pushing it to the limit.

Luna and the rest of his team were all rested by this point, the lot of them heading over to where he was waiting. "See anything?" Trixie asked when they reached him, Flash not bothering to answer back since he had nothing to report. The forest was completely calm.

But that was soon to change, for in that moment he noticed movement from the top of the trees. They were being bent apart from one another in a line, like something was trying to force its way between them. Flash knew it had to be the creature. "Here it comes!" He dispelled the binoculars and slotted his bowgun into his belt, whilst Luna and Soarin took to the air as the grounded ponies prepared their weapons.

The flying adventurers narrowed their focus on the area that was being pushed around, as whatever was coming reached the final layer of trees. And then, it stepped out into the sunlight.

It was a giant wolf-like creature, which was a mixture of blue, black, red and yellow. Its chest and stomach were yellow, whilst the rest of its body looked blue that was covered in black or red. The red parts were on its front and back paws, whilst its front and back legs had black lines running along them along with its shoulders. Its head was blue with a trio of black lines going around its head and down its forehead to meet at the tip of its snout. Long black tendrils were sticking out of its head, which ended with red tips, whilst metal spikes were sticking out of its chest and front paws.

"Wow," Soarin whispered, "what the heck is that?"

"I'm not sure," Luna hummed. "I've never seen a monster like that." The wolf, which was twice the size of an elephant, let out a might howl before it started charging forward. "Attack!" The three shot forward and started shooting at the creature.

"Icicle Shot!" Flash launched ice arrows at it.

"Electro Shot!" Soarin fired a bolt of lightning.

"Blazing Shot!" Luna sent a fireball flying towards it. The three attacks slammed into the charging wolf, but each one simply bounced off its body and didn't even seem to leave a scratch. "What?"

"That thing's fur is tough!" Soarin cried, but pulled the cord on his bow back. "Aero Shot!" He launched a blast of wind towards the creature.

"Water Pressure!" Flash pulled the trigger and launched a blast of water, the two attacks slamming into the wolf. But again it did nothing and leapt into the air, its claws getting dangerously close to them as it tried to slash at them. "WOW!" They all flew up, as the wolf flew under them and landed. It then charged towards the town, as the ponies that lived their prepared to fight to protect their home.

"Hold on!" Trixie cried as she slammed her staff on the ground, "ILLUSION!" In the blink of an eye, a wall of illusion appeared between them and the monster. This illusion showed the area of the town, but the buildings and ponies were gone.

The wolf slid to a stop and growled as it stared at the illusion wall, Trixie hoping it would think its prey was gone. But her hopes were dashed when the wolf took a deep breath and his mouth began to glow. "What's it doing?" Wallflower asked.

The beast let out a howl and as it did, the light exploded out of its mouth in a beam that shot towards the wall. It flew right through it, dispelling the magic and flying towards the town. The laser struck one of the building and caused it to explode, shocking those that lived there. Then, the wolf turned its head and the laser cut through two more houses.

"Since when can monsters do things like that?" Flash asked as he fired several more shots, whilst Luna stared at it.

"It shouldn't be able to do something like that." She watched as the wolf took a deep breath, preparing to unleash another laser. "We have to stop it." An idea form in her head and she gasped. "Wallflower!" The terran looked up to her, "sinkhole." Wallflower's eyes went wide and she nodded, the terran rushing forward as Luna flew behind the wolf and dived.

The pair thrust their weapons into the ground, using all of their Land Magic to make the ground beneath the wolf collapse.

The beast fell into the hole, right as it was about to unleash its laser attack. As such, its head flew upwards and the laser shot into the sky out of danger.

"YES!" Soarin smirked, but the hole wasn't deep enough to completely hold the creature. Its head tendrils flew around and slammed into the ground on the edge of the hole, making it shake and terrifying everypony. Flash and Soarin launched several more attacks, but the beast's fur just reflected them.

"Come on!" Flash growled, "does anything stop this monster?" But as he said that, the creature's body began to give off orbs of light. "What's going on?"

"That's what happened the previous times," Quick told him. "Right before it vanished, its body would started giving off those lights." The wolf leapt up onto its back legs, using its front ones to pull it up. As it did, its mouth glowed before it launched another laser.

"Everypony move!" Flash yelled, as the ponies all fled from the approaching laser. The beam shot passed them and caused an explosion as it dug through the soil, hitting a few ponies and knocking them away. It then struck another house and ripped it apart, as the wolf's body completely dissolved into magical lights.

Danger gone, everypony sighed in relief. Flash looked around and whilst several ponies appeared to have some minor scrapes and a few burns, none of them were seriously injured

"What the heck was that?" Soarin asked, "I've never heard of a monster that fought like that."

Wallflower nodded. "You'd think something that strong would have gotten some attention before. Unless..." She suddenly looked terrified, "what if it's so strong nopony managed to survive an attack by one before. Leaving no survivors is a guaranteed way to make sure nopony talks about it."

"You really think that nopony managed to survive an encounter with it?" Trixie asked. "If that were true, how did a bunch of untrained ponies manage to survive multiple attacks from it with nothing more than mild injuries?" The townsponies weren't sure they wanted to know, but Luna stepped up to the hole she and Wallflower had made to take a closer look.

Flash moved over to her and saw how she held out her hands, as if feeling something. "You know what it was?"

"I have a theory," Luna stated. "And if I'm right, this creature isn't a monster." That statement got looks of shock from the rest of his team and the townsponies.

"How can it not be a monster?" Quick asked, "that thing has been attacking us nonstop. What else could it be, if not a monster?"

"An even more powerful type of creature," Luna stated. "One of incredible rarity and ability. An Esprit." Flash's eyes went wide, along with Trixie and Wallflower's. But Soarin frowned.

"A what?"

"You've never heard of an esprit?" Trixie asked, "it's like...adventurer basics."

"Sorry. Not everypony knows everything," Soarin pouted. "Would you just tell me what it is?"

"A spirit," Wallflower stated. "Powerful spirits that are bound to specially made amulets, which hold their ensense and bind them to the mortal world. They can only leave the amulet if they bind themselves to ponies or other creatures of equal magical ability. They use the magic to construct bodies that can hold their spirits and give them physical form."

"Yes," Luna nodded. "And in return, the esprits help the ones bounded to them. Either in battle or simply to help in everyday tasks."

"So...slaves?" Soarin asked, not liking the sound of that one bit.

"It's supposed to be a partnership," Flash told him. "I've heard stories of ponies like Starswirl the Bearded, who created the amulets so the esprits could survive. Legends say that they originally fell into this world through a portal and without the amulets, they would have faded from existence. They were then given to ponies Starswirl saw as worthy. They were meant to protect the esprit and let them experience the amazing joys of this world."

"They were indeed," Luna nodded. "Back when I was younger, my sister and I both had our own esprits. Celestia still has hers, but I'm afraid I lost mine when...certain situations occurred." Team Relic knew what see was talking about. "When I got back, one of the first things I learned was how badly esprits were being treated. They had gone from partners and friends to weapons that were being used by anypony that wanted to them for their power. That's why Celestia made it so only ponies deemed worthy by her or the magic council can bond with them."

"So you're saying a pony is sending that thing to attack us?" A magi asked, as Luna crossed her arms and thought for a moment.

"I don't think so," she turned back to the pit and let out her hand. "Esprit are meant to be just as smart as ponies, sometimes smarter depending on the esprit. But what attacked us was nothing more than a mindless beast. My sister told me about something similar happening in Canterlot a few years ago."

"Oh yeah," Trixie nodded. "I remember hearing about that. A dragon-like monster appeared and went stomping around the city, right?" Luna nodded.

"It was an esprit that was only following its base instincts, because its mind wasn't connected to the body that had been made. Apparently, somepony stole an esprit amulet and tried to awaken it. But the magical crystal they used caused it to create a body so large, the esprit couldn't control it."

"Wow," Soarin whistled, "how did Celestia stop it?"

"She didn't. Before she could act, a young magi stepped up to the esprit and used an incredible amount of magic to stop it. She was then able to bound with the esprit, freeing it from its out of control body and causing it to break apart."

"Wow," Trixie looked impressed, "a young magi did that. Impressive. So do you think the same thing is happening here?"

"Somepony's exposing an esprit amulet to high levels of magic?" Wallflower asked, "causing it to form a large magical form that it can't control?"

"Exactly. It's following its basic instincts. And for some reason, those instincts are making it attack these ponies. That either means somepony intentionally sending it this way, or it itself wants to hurt ponies for some reason. Either way, we need to find a way to stop it."

"How?" Flash asked.

"The esprit keeps coming from the forest, so the forest is where we need to look. You four prepare yourselves. It won't just be the esprit we'll find in those woods." The four nodded and quickly got to work. Each of them re-packing their bags in order to have everything they'd need to find the esprit.

As they did, Quick Wit and the rest of the townsponies got to work repairing the damage done by the esprit. Hopefully, this would be the last time they would need to do this.

Once they were all packed up, they headed towards the forest. Luckily, they didn't need to search very far. Thanks to the trial it had made, they had a path that should lead them straight to where the esprit had come from. They had their weapons at the ready, Flash using his Lightning Blade and Fire Shield, but there didn't seem to be any monsters that wanted to attack them. Yet.

"This is nothing like the last time we went into a monster filled forest," Trixie stated. "We should have been attacked by at least three different types of monsters already."

"Don't jinx us," Soarin stated. "I'd prefer to get through here without fighting any monsters if possible." The others nodded, knowing they would need all the strength they would need if the esprit reappeared and attacked them.

But in that moment, movement in the trees caught their attention and they spun towards the trees. Flash raised his shield, ready to let the flames loose, whilst Soarin notched his bow and the magic users prepared their staffs. Wallflower raised her gloves, though she couldn't exactly do anything from a distance.

Then, the one that caused the noise stepped out of the woods. It was a giant mantis monster, standing at around three meters in height. It was green in colour and its hands had giants metal scythes, its face having no eyes but they had a feeling it could still see somehow.

They prepared to attack as the monster approached, but then it stopped advancing as it looked down at the path. As if sensing danger, it moved backwards and disappeared into the trees again. "Well," Trixie frowned, "wasn't expecting that."

"It's like it was afraid," Wallflower stated.

"Afraid of what?" Flash asked.

Luna leaned down a placed her hand on the ground, Flash having a feeling she was using her terran magic to scan the ground. "This path is permeated with spiritual energy. The esprit's power must have been flowing out of it as it moved and stained the ground."

"And the monsters can sense it?" Flash asked, Luna nodding as she stood up. "Does that mean nothing's gonna attack us so long as we're on this path?"

"It would be foolish to make that assumption," Luna told them. "It's possible, but we should still be ready to fight in case something decides to attack." They nodded and continued up the path, all the while keeping their attention on the monsters that were likely to leap out and attack them at any moment. But they didn't.

Several times, they heard movement in the trees and could tell that monsters were preparing to attack. But before they did, they sensed the esprit's power and backed off. Even though they knew they shouldn't, the members of Team Relic all began to relax as they moved.

As they did, Trixie turned to Luna. "Princess, you said there were lots of different esprits out there? I know this one's a wolf-like esprit and there was that dragon esprit, but what other types are there." The others were also interested, wanting to know as much about these unusual creatures as they could.

"Explaining every esprit I've ever seen would take forever," she explained. "But I can tell you some of the more interesting ones out there."

"You said you had one?" Flash asked, as Luna frowned.

"Yes. She was a Slumberam, with the ability to travel into ponies dreams and take me into them. Occasionally in the old days, we would take trips into pony's dreams and see what they were dreaming about."

"Cool," Soarin smirked, "you ever go inside nightmares?"

"Dreamwalker didn't like to go into nightmares. Too scary."

"That's too bad," Soarin sighed. "If I had an ability to go into dreams, I'd hunt down every nightmare I can find and try and stop it."

"I don't think that'd be a real good idea," Wallflower told him. "Who knows what damage you could do if you messed up. You could end up having a serious effect on their psyche." The others realised she might be right, whilst Flash shrugged.

"True, but imagine all the good you could do if you knew what you were doing. A lot of the times, nightmares are caused by worries and problems ponies are dealing with in the real world. If they can't deal with them when they're awake, facing them in their dreams might do a lot of good for them." The others seemed to think the same thing, whilst Luna looked intrigued by Flash's suggestions. "But what about Celestia. You said she had one two, right?"

"Yes," Luna nodded, "Philomena. She's a phoenix esprit. She has the power to fly at incredible speeds and use fire attribute attacks, whilst also being able to transform her body into a blast of fire that allowed her to fly through gaps smaller then her. My sister formed such a strong bond with Philomena, she could even use the connection to see through her eyes. She used this to do aerial reconnaissance when she needed it."

"Cool," Trixie smirked, "I wonder if I'll ever get my own esprit."

"I'd sure love one," Soarin smirked. "Maybe something that can move super fast."

Luna looked back at them. "Remember, esprits aren't pets or tools. If you do get an esprit, you'll be responsible for taking care of it. You'll be meant to be their carers and friends. To show them the world that they might not get to enjoy otherwise." The four nodded, each of them knowing what a great honour being entrusted with one would be. If any of them did get to have one, they all promised they would treat it like family.

They five of them continued through the woods and with every meter, they found the trees being less and less damaged.

"Is it just me, or is the path getting smaller?" Trixie asked.

"The esprit must have been growing," Luna stated. "Its physical form likely formed smaller then what we saw, then grew larger as it absorbed more and more magic." As she said that, they turned a corner and found themselves coming face to face with a giant pile of wood and soil.

They looked to the side and found a large slope that led up to a higher section of the forest, Luna moving over to check it out.

"Landslide," she realised. "Must have been recent." As she said that, Flash noticed something sticking out of the slope. It was something pointed and glowing white, the avian flying over to it and brushing some more soil away to reveal what it was.

"A magical crystal." The others looked up and sure enough, a pure white crystal twice the size of Flash's head was half buried in the soil.

Luna could feel the magic radiating off of it. "Must have been buried under there for centuries until the landslide uncovered it." She thought for a moment, "I wonder..." Soarin took this moment to fly over the land pile and was surprised by what he saw.

"Guys, you're gonna wanna see this." Flash moved away from the crystal before he and Luna lifted the girls over the landslide, the four joining Soarin on top of the earth pile and being shocked to see a section of the forest that was in the shadow of small cliff. But it was what was sitting at the base of the cliff that caught their attention.

It was a skeleton. An avian skeleton by the look of the wing bones on its back. The skeleton was leaning against the rock of the cliff, looking like he had been there for a while based on the amount of plants of foliage that was growing in and around it. But it was what was around its neck that interested them the most.

It was a necklace. A piece of string was hanging around the neck and at the bottom of the string, a metal pendant of some kind. The pendant was in the exact same shape as the wolf's head, being a mixture of blue and black. It didn't have any eyes but in the centre of it, right in the forehead beneath the ears, a red gem was embedded into the metal.

"The amulet," Luna gasped before looking towards the magical crystal. "Of course. When the landslide happened, the gem was revealed and its magic started leaking out. The amulet then started absorbing the magic and used it to create a physical form."

"So nopony was making it attack the town?" Wallflower asked, Luna nodding. "Then why did it keep going there?"

"I don't know," Luna stated. "But what matters now if getting the amulet away from the crystal before it absorbs enough magic to form another body." They nodded and all leapt down, moving towards the amulet. But as they got closer, the gem in the amulet started glowing.

"What's it doing?" Flash asked, only for it to then unleash a bright light. It blinded them and forced the five back, as the light took shape. When they finally managed to open their eyes, they were met with the image of the wolf creature that glared at them. It was smaller then it had been before, being only half the size of an elephant. But it was still big and as it snarled, light appeared in its mouth.

"Move!" Luna cried, right as the wolf let out a whole and unleashed a laser from its mouth.

The flyers took to the air, as Wallflower pulled herself away with a vine and Trixie leaped away. "Super Freeze!" She launched the lightning at the monster, but it jumped back to avoid it whilst the metal spikes on the back of its front paws grew and morphed into claws.

It slashed at her, Trixie barely managing to avoid it as blasts of light, wind and fire were shot towards it. The three in the air frowned at the attacks, as they bounced off the beast without causing a scratch. "Just hold on," Flash stated as Wallflower threw a rock she had found at it. "This thing'll disappear eventually."

"I'm not so sure," Luna stated as the wolf launched another laser at them. She put up a shield, which blocked the laser but the impact pushed her back. "It disappeared before because it ran out of magic and had no way to recharge itself." She glanced back at the crystal still embedded in the ground, "but the area's full of magic it can use to rebuild itself."

"So what do we do?" Soarin asked, as the wolf swing its head tendrils around. He managed to avoid the tendril and fired several air arrows into it, the tendril flinching back but not being damaged at all.

"We have to beat it," Luna stated as she thrust her staff forward. Tendrils of shadows exploded off of it and flew towards the esprit, wrapping around its legs and neck. "If we damage the body enough, it'll be forced back into the amulet and we can move it."

Flash flew down and as the wolf struggled against the shadow chains, he slashed at it. It howled at the lightning being channeled into the cuts, but ever slash mark quickly began to close up. "Come on!" As he said that, the wolf's mouth glowed as it took a deep breath. "Look out!" He flew away as it howled, the laser exploding from its mouth and cutting down several trees.

Trixie launched several icicles and Wallflower swung her vines around to whip it, but the wolf's body either deflected the attacks or healed the wound up almost instantly. Wallflower sighed, "as long as its got magic it can heal itself."

"So what do we do?" Soarin asked as he fired a lightning arrow at its mouth.

Wallflower looked around and saw the crystal, an idea forming in her head. She swung over to the slope and grabbed the magical gemstone, using all her terran strength to pull at it. "If...we get this...far enough...away. It can't...heal!" Finally, the gem came flying out of the ground and she clutched it in her gauntlets.

But in that moment, the wolf turned to her and let out another howl. This one was louder and didn't come with the laser, but it was powerful enough to send out a gust of wind that struck Wallflower. She grunted as she fell back, the crystal flying into the air.

The wolf shot forward, a tendril grabbing the gem and pulling it into its mouth. "NO!" Luna cried, as it swallowed the magical gem down.

"Did it just do what I think it did?" Trixie gulped, as the magic radiating out of the gem began to flow through the creature. It let out a might howl as its body grew and veins bulged out of its skin. Its eyes began entirely red and as it roared, slopper flew out of its mouth.

"Oh...great," Flash sighed as the beast unleashed another roar. The laser exploded out of it and they all leapt to the side, avoid the beam as best they could. The only one who didn't was Wallflower, who was still recovering from being blown back.

As such, the laser struck the ground near her and exploded. She screamed as she was knocked flying through a tree and crashing to the ground. "WALLFLOWER!" He friends screamed, Soarin turning to glare at the monster.

"That's it!" He charged forward and fired at it, but the wolf jumped onto its back legs to avoid the lightning. It then swung its tendrils around and slammed him right in the chest. "AUGH!"

"Soarin!" Flash cried, as Soarin was sent rocketing backwards like Wallflower. The wolf's spikes then turned to claws that it started slashing the air with, Flash and Luna flying up as the trees around the beast were cut down. Trixie was forced to run around and avoid the falling trees, then raised her staff.

"Illusion!" She unleashed a blast of light that took shape and formed another wolf, exactly like the one they were fighting. It stared at the illusion for a moment before turning away from it, not even looking back as the fake tried to slash at it. "What?"

"It knows it's not real?" Luna asked, "how?" Trixie stopped running and used her illusion again, this time turning herself invisible. She then spun her staff around and extended the blade, intending to stab it into the beast's chest.

But the wolf's eyes fell on her despite her being invisible. "Trixie!" Flash yelled, "it knows you're there!" Sure enough, the wolf fired out a laser that struck the spot right in front of her.

She screamed in pain, as she was blasted backwards and into the air. She turned visible as she fell towards a broken tree, the jaggard wood pointed right up at her. But before she landed, Luna flew under her and caught the magi. "You okay?" She looked Trixie over and didn't see any serious injuries, but Trixie was clearly thrown for a loop.

The wolf fired another laser at them, but Flash flew in front and raised his shield.

The laser slammed into it and pushed him backwards, making him flinch as he fought against the force. As he did, he looked back at the half-conscious Trixie and then down at where Soarin and Wallflower were laying. They were now down to two and if they didn't do something, this thing would take them out and rampage through the town again.

As the laser stopped firing, Flash lowered his shield and stared at the wolf. Then, he looked behind it at the skeleton. And an idea formed in his head. "That's it."

"What's it!?" Luna asked, as the wolf prepared to fire the laser again.

"Keep Trixie safe!" Flash then shot away from them, shooting fireballs towards the wolf as he did. This caught the beast's attention and made it fire the laser at him, Flash spinning through the air to avoid it. And as soon as the laser finished firing, he shot straight towards the wolf.

"FLASH!" Luna cried as she put Trixie down on the ground, as the wolf's claws extended to slash at him. She swung her staff around and launched a crescent of dark light, which caught the wolf's attention and made it slash at it instead. This allowed Flash to get in close and fly passed its head, the esprit growling as Flash landed on its back and slid down its spine.

And before the beast could react, he leapt off it and flew towards the amulet.

The wolf spun around and attempted to swallow Flash, but his managed to get his fingers around the amulet. And sure enough, a brilliant flash of light exploded out of the relic that consumed Flash and the wolf entirely.

Flash blinked as he looked around, wondering where the heck he was.

He was in some kind of white void, with absolutely nothing around for him to see. He walked forward, but he might as well have been walking on the spot with how much the place stayed the same. "This is where the esprit lives?" He asked, feeling sorry for the creature. If he had to live in a place like this, he would be upset as well.

But then, he finally noticed something ahead of him. Some kind of blue lightning, which was sparking in a sphere a good distance from him.

He rushed forward, "are you the mind of the esprit we've been fighting?" The lightning remained silent. "Please, you have to stop attacking the ponies in the town."

"Why?" A voice finally spoke up, "why should I not give those ponies what they deserve."

"What are you talking about?" Flash asked, wondering why the esprit sounded so angry. He got his answer when the world around him pulsed with light and when it faded, Flash found he was in a town of some sorts. He then shifted to a back alley, a rather sketchy looking one like those he had seen blackmarket deal go down in movies.

And sure enough, he found two ponies hiding in the alleyway looking rather paranoid. "You got the bits?" The magi asked the avian, who pulled out a bag of coins. In return, the magi took out a familiar looking amulet. "Wasn't easy to get my hands on this. The magic council isn't big on no named ponies having them."

"Ha!" The avian snatched the amulet, "well this'll help me make a name for myself. So, how does it work?"

"To bond with it, you just have to give it a name."

The avian frowned, "sounds like a lot of work. And I'd have to remember it too? Whatever, what type of esprit is it called?"

"This species is known as a jakhowl. They're strong all round esprits, that mostly fight in close quarters and can wield life force known as aura to increase its strength and attack from range. They have other skills outside of battle like-"

"Not interested," the avian stated. "It can fight and that's all that matters. You said it was called a jakhowl?" The magi nodded, "I guess that'll do." He raised the amulet up, "your name is jakhowl. Now come out and serve me!" The amulet unleashed a bright light, which blinded Flash for a moment.

When he opened his eyes, he found he was now in a mountainous area.

A roar caught his attention and made him look around, where he saw an elephant sized rat several feet away. He also spotted the avian, who was sitting on a rock watching something moving around the creature. It was moving to fast for Flash to see, but it slashed and punched the rat with incredible force.

When the rat finally exploded, the blur flew over to the avian as he picked himself up. "Good, now return."

"But-" The blur tried to speak before morphing into a light that flew back into the amulet.

"Good," the avian smirked, "only three more to go before this job is done. Easiest bits I've ever made." He walked off and Flash realised he was using the esprit to do all the hard work and reaping the rewards. Talk about unfair.

Before Flash could do anything, the world around him changed again. When it came into focus, Flash realised he was back in the forest. The avian was right where Flash had found his skeleton and then, he heard a noise that made him look around to see several of the mantis monsters he had seen before fighting against the blue blur.

"Will you hurry up!" The avian cried, "this forest is creepy!" The esprit thrust a sphere of some kind into a mantis and caused it to explode, only for another mantis to slash at him.

"Augh!" He heard the voice he heard earlier cry out, as he was knocked backwards.

But Flash watched as he recovered in midair and managed to bounce off a tree trunk and shoot towards the mantis. In the blink of an eye, he flew passed it and slashed him with a glowing claw that had appeared from its paw. The beast roared in pain as it exploded, but the last two mantises slashed at the esprit before he could attack them back.

"GYAH!" He cried before his body exploded, the light that appeared out of him flying back to the avian.

"What are you doing?" The winged equestrian cried, as the light flew back into the amulet around his neck. "Come back out!" He cried, but he didn't. "I'm ordering you!" But the amulet had no reaction, whilst the mantis monsters stepped forward. "No." He took out a dagger, but it was clear he was no match for them. "I...I can't die here. I'm not supposed to die now. I'm supposed to get rich and die old." The mantises charged, "NOOOOO!"

Flash closed his eyes, not wanting to see this. Luckily, the world around him vanished and he was back in the void.

The lightning sphere was still in front of him, "ponies are mean. They only care about using others to make them money." Flash understood now, why this esprit was so angry.

"You're right," he nodded. "That pony was mean. He didn't see you as a partner. You were just a tool for him, to fight so he didn't have to." He slowly moved towards him, "but most ponies aren't like that. The ones you've been attacking are good ponies, who never did anything to hurt you. And now they're scared."

"I was scared," the esprit replied. "I was forced to fight again and again. That's all I was allowed to do. I wanted to see the world. I couldn't wait to meet a pony that could make me their partner. Let me out of the amulet so I could see what the world looked like. But the only time I was allowed out was to fight."

"I know," Flash nodded. "And I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to do that. If the magic council had found you, they would have given you to an adventurer that would care about you. It was just bad luck you were given to a pony that didn't care about you." An idea formed in his head. I wasn't sure if it would work, but he had to try. "Come with me."

"What?"

"Come with me. Become my partner. I might not be a real adventurer yet, but I'm on an expedition right now. We'll be seeing a bunch of different things on this adventure. And if you bond with me, you can see them too. I promise, I'll let you see everything I can. And if you don't want to stay with me when the adventure ends, I'll give you to Princess Luna. She'll take you to the magic council and they'll find you a real partner. So what do you say?"

The lightning sphere was silent, Flash unsure if it was looking at him or not. But he could feel like something was penetrating his very soul, as if looking at his spirit. Then, the esprit spoke up. "I say yes." His voice suddenly appeared much happier. Like the formerly sad way he had talked was all an act he had stopped doing.

"Wow!" Flash pulled back, "you bounced back fast." The esprit laughed.

"I'm a jakhowl. We have abilities beyond just fighting. I can sense aura."

"Aura?"

"The lifeforce of all living things. I can see when an aura is good or bad. And when someone lies, their aura fluxuates. But your aura's really pure and you weren't lying. You really want to show me the world, don't you?"

"Of course," Flash smiled as he knelt down and held out a hand. "And I want to be your partner. If you'll have me." The lightning sphere then started to change. It took a different shape, appearing humanoid with big ears and paws.

"Yes," he reached out a paw, "but you'll need to give me a name. That's how the bond if formed."

"A name?" Flash tried to think. He didn't want to half-ass this name, since it would be something important for the esprit. Then, an idea formed in his head. "Well, you have a pretty bouncy personality. So I'll name you after the bounciest thing I can think of." He grasped the lightning hand, "I name you...Springer." With that, the void around them burst into light.

Back in the real world, Luna was blinded by the light as it filled the forest. It had only been a second since Flash grabbed the amulet, but to her it felt like hours.

The light was so bright, it caused Soarin, Wallflower and Trixie to all wake up. They groaned as they picked themselves up, whilst the light began to fade. And as it did, a pair of figures began to walk towards them. "Flash?" Luna called out, as the light faded completely and revealed who the two were.

Flash smirked as he walked forward, Luna noticing the amulet now around his neck. But it was the other figure that surprised her and the others.

It was a small wolf-like creature, who stood on two legs and went up to about Flash's waist. His body was mostly light blue, with black legs, black around his chest and a black mask covering his eyes and the top of his nose. Two white bumps were on the back of his hands and his tail wagged back and forth, whilst on the side of his head hug a pair of teardrop shaped dangles.

"Flash?" Trixie asked, as she and the others moved over to Luna. "What did you do?"

Flash smirked as he looked down at the wolf, then knelt down and placed a hand on his head. "Everypony, I'd like to introduce you to my new partner. Springer the Jakhowl."

Their eyes went wide as Luna asked, "you bonded to the esprit?" Flash looked sheepish and shrugged.

"It was the only way I could think of to get him to stop. He's sorry about what happened, but it wasn't his fault. He was angry because of what his last partner did to him." He explained everything he saw and they were shocked by this discovery, the lot of them feeling sorry for Springer. "So I promised I would let him join us as my partner. And when the adventure was over, he could leave if he wanted."

"I see," Luna crossed her arms.

"I know I'm not qualified to have him," Flash then bowed his head. "But would it be okay if the two of us stayed a team until the end of this expedition? Then you can take Springer to the magic council and find him a real partner." Springer mimicked him.

"Please."

Luna watched him for a moment, then smiled. "I don't think I'll need to take him. It's clear that you will take good care of him." They looked up at her in shock. "As the Princess of Equestria, I hereby grant you permission to remain bonded to this esprit. So long as Springer wishes to stay your partner, you can remain together as long as he sees fit."

The pair smiled at this before looking to one another, Springer leaping up so they can high-five.

The others took a closer look at Springer, "so this is the thing that attacked us?" Trixie asked, as Springer turned to them and suddenly gave them the best puppy dog eyes they had ever seen.

"I'm sorry." This statement combined with the look made both Trixie and Wallflower's hearts melt, his cuteness too much for even Luna to be mad at. Soarin looked him over, curious about something.

"So, this is what he's supposed to look like? After the monster we fought, I was kind of expecting him to look...I don't know. More badass."

Luna chuckled. "This form is the one Springer can use to conserve energy." She gestured to the Amulet, "most of his power is still locked inside the Amulet. The magic from Flash used to make his current form, is a tiny drop in a bathtub. But if he needs more power, Flash can use more magic to allow him to increase in size and strength."

Flash smirked, "let's give it a try." He took his amulet off and held it up, "ready Springer?" He nodded as Flash channelled magic into the amulet. Light then exploded out of the gem and as Springer leapt into the air, the light wrapped around him.

"Esprit...EVOLUTION!" He cried as the light formed a cocoon around him. After a few seconds, it exploded and Springer's new form was revealed.

He was now a smaller version of the creature he had been before, standing at just above Flash's shoulder though his long ears made him look almost as tall as Flash. The red parts of his body were gone, his front paws being black now whilst his back legs were entirely black. He also had a black ring around his waist between the yellow and blue parts, giving him the appearance of wearing a belt. The spikes on his paws weren't as angled, whilst the tendrils on his head were replaced by two pairs of teardrops he had had before.

Springer landed and the others were amazed by the sudden transformation, as he looked himself over. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Heck yeah it is!" Flash smirked, only to see Springer frowning. "What's wrong?"

"Doesn't feel...right." The others raised an eyebrow, "I feel stronger. But I don't feel...the strongest. Like I'm supposed to be stronger, but I'm not."

"Ah," Luna nodded, "well this is as far as you can go for now. The strength of your current body is the strongest you and Flash can form at the moment. The longer you two remain bonded, the stronger the connection you'll form. And once your connection is stronger, it'll be able to support forming a stronger body for you to inhabit."

Flash turned to Springer. "So we've still got a ways to go before the pair of us are the best team we can be." Springer nodded, whilst Luna turned to leave.

"We should get going. Springer, you should stay in that form until we get back to town. Monsters might decide to attack now that you're no longer as powerful as you once were." Springer nodded and they were about to leave, but Springer gulped.

"Are the ponies in that town gonna be mad at me?" The others weren't sure, but had a feeling Springer was gonna need to do a lot of apologising before they could forgive him. However, it was at that moment Wallflower noticed something on the ground.

"Hey," she rushed over and picked something up, "look." She showed them the magical gem Springer had eaten earlier, "where did this come from?"

Luna smirked, "must have dropped to the ground after Springer's old form vanished." She took a closer look, "doesn't seem to be out of power." A thought appeared in her mind, "I think I might know how we can smooth things over with the ponies in town."

Returning to the town, the ponies were happy when they learned they would no longer be attacked.

Many of them were very unhappy to see Springer, believing he should be locked up for the damages and pain he caused. But Luna told them how it wasn't really his fault, how he was angry about the treatment he unjustly suffered. Springer gave them the same puppy-dog eyes he had given his new friends, asking for their forgiveness.

This coupled with the magical stone, which they could sell for a great price, convinced the ponies to put the water under the bridge.

And so, after resting up a bit more, Flash and his newly increased team were back in their truck. "Thank you," Quick Wit told them. "For everything you've done."

"No problem," Flash assured him.

"We were happy to help," Luna nodded. "And if your town ever has need of help, Canterlot and the rest of Equestria will be there to help you." They nodded as Flash started the truck, looking around at his teammates.

"Everypony ready?"

"Ready," the ponies all smiled.

"Ready," Springer said as he sat on Wallflower's lap. Flash smirked and hit the gas, the truck blasting off and heading down the dirt road towards the marshlands.

This adventure he was on was continuing to amaze him. He went from almost dying in a poisonous mountain range, to meeting and befriending a new partner. Flash could only wonder what might happen next and how it would affect the outcome of their adventure.

Episode 9: Lakeside Adventure, as a Pony

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Continuing their expedition to find the lost Omni Spellbook, Flash and his team were once again driving across the land.

Accompanied by Princess Luna and their newest Esprit teammate, Springer the Jakhowl, they were comfortably enjoying the ride across the forested area on their way to the marshland between them and their final destination. "Shouldn't be too long now," Luna told them. "The marshland should be straight ahead. And once we get over that, there shouldn't be anything between us and the area I hid the spellbook."

"Great," Trixie didn't look happy.

"What's wrong?" Springer asked from Wallflower's lap.

"She just doesn't wanna go near a marshland," Soarin smirked.

"Can you blame me?" Trixie asked, "all that mud and who knows what swimming around in the murky water. Maybe I should ask Flash to make me a full body hazard suit, to make sure I don't get infected by anything."

"I don't think you need to worry about getting dirty," Wallflower told her. "This truck was able to get over a mountain. I'm sure it can handle driving through mud. Right Flash?"

"Yup," Flash nodded as he pointed to something on the dash. They looked down and saw that instead of the sulphur and carbon detector, a screen-like device was there. "I added this when I remade the truck. Now it'll scan the area in front and give us a detailed map of what's ahead. Including any deep mud puddles."

"Exactly," Luna nodded. "As long as we avoid anything too deep, this beast shouldn't have any trouble getting us through it."

"Exactly," Flash nodded. "And even if we come to something it can't pass, I can always make a chariot or something for me and Soarin to pull over it." The others nodded, expecting an easy time.

But as that thought filled their heads, something happened that reminded them an adventure was never meant to be easy.

Suddenly, the engine made a strange noise and Flash no long felt any pressure under his hoof. He looked down and saw the speedometer was going down, along with the revs and everything else. "What's happening?" Trixie asked, as the car slowed down.

"I don't know," Flash looked worried. "I'm not getting any power." He couldn't figure out what was going on. The truck was powered by his relic's magic, so...

His eyes went wide as he looked down at his belt, which wasn't glowing as vibrantly as it should be. Panic filled his heart, as the truck completely died and rolled to a stop. Moments later, the entire thing vanished before any of them could prepare themselves.

They cried out as they all fell to the ground, their bags falling with them. They all moaned as they picked themselves up, the lot turning to Flash as he tried to activate the belt again. "No, no, no, NO!" He took out the truck card and replaced it with his lightning blade, but shutting the belt did nothing. "It's dead!"

Luna reached down and grabbed the device, the belt-strap and card case vanishing as she pulled the relic off. She looked it over, whilst Flash looked terrified. What if he had overused it? What if there was a limited amount of magic the device had and he had used it all up? What if the only thing that had ever gotten him where he was, was now powerless and Shining would no longer want to sponsor him?

"It's recharging," Luna stated.

"Huh?"

"It's out of magic," Luna explained. "So it's gone into some kind of magical charging mode. I can feel it drawing magic from the atmosphere." She handed it back to him. "Looks like you finally hit its magical limit."

"Guess it makes sense," Wallflower stated. "You've been using it almost nonstop for days. Guess even magical relics need to take a break every now and then."

"So it'll work fine once it's recharged?" Flash asked, Luna nodding as he sighed in relief.

"But until then, it appears we'll be walking." The others frowned, not liking the idea of that. But given they should have been walking the entire trip, they couldn't really complain.

So they all grabbed their bags and began to walk down the forest path. However, they were now making much worst time then they had originally expected. The marshland would have only been thirty minutes away if it was by truck. But know, who knows how long it was gonna take.

They continued down the forest road, happy that at least the weather was good. There were clouds in the sky, which meant they weren't getting baked by the sun, but they weren't rain clouds which was good for them. It was the perfect hiking weather, though they wished they didn't have to hike so much.

After an hour of walking through the woods, Trixie was missing the truck. "Any idea if there are any monsters in this area?" She asked, as they made their way further down the open road.

"No," Luna sighed. "So be ready in case one shows up." As she said that, she realised something and turned to Flash. "Without the relic, you don't have any way to defend yourself."

"I'm good," Flash showed her something she hadn't noticed was strapped to his hip. A dagger holster. "A friend of mine gave me this in case I was ever in a fight and couldn't use it. It'll let me use Sky Magic to slash at any opponent I come across. Should keep me from getting myself killed." Luna nodded as Springer ran ahead, excited to experience whatever was waiting for them up ahead.

And as he did, his nose suddenly caught something. "I smell water." That was a surprise, since they didn't think they were close enough to the marshlands to smell anything.

Following Springer, they quickly came to what he was smelling. A giant lake. It was about a half-mile away and as they got closer, they realised it was even larger than the town they had just been in and had a sandy beach surrounding it.

They were all amazed by the sight of it, Trixie looking giddy. "Yay!" She cheered before running towards it, "beach rest!" The others followed suit, as they spotted a path running down the side of the cliff that surrounded the lake, the lot of them jumping onto the beach and sighing at the warm sand pushing against their hooves. "This is perfect."

"What's perfect?" Wallflower asked, not looking sure why they were even there.

"This place!" Trixie cried, "it's the perfect place to rest." The others frowned, not sure they were following. Sure, they had been walking a while, but they hardly felt like they needed a rest. "Come on guys. Ever since we left the train, it's been one insane event after another. So why don't we wait here for the belt to recharge and have some fun."

"Fun?" Springer looked interested about that, "how?"

"There are lots of ways to have fun," Trixie told. "We're surrounded by sand, so we could make sand castles and sculptures. Or, we could go swimming."

"Swimming?" Wallflower looked worried as she stared at the water, "is that a good idea? We're supposed to be on an important expedition."

"I don't see why we can't stay for a bit," Luna stated. The others turned to her. "We're way further ahead then I thought we'd be at this point. So I don't have a problem with us taking time to rest and recharge. Trixie was right about us facing one insanity after another so far. If we're constantly pushing ourselves without a rest, we'll snap. So let's enjoy ourselves whilst we can." The others, minus Wallflower, smiled at this.

"YEAH!" They all cheered, jumping up before taking their bags off. Reaching into their bags, they pulled out some extra changes of clothing.

Trixie had pulled out a bathing suit whilst Flash and Soarin took out some shorts. There were rocks up ahead that the guys ran behind, returning a few moments later dressed in shorts that were the same colour as their jackets with their cutie marks on them.

Trixie was dressed in a blue bathing suit with her wand cutie mark on her side. The three joined up and turned to Luna and Wallflower, Luna having used her magic to create a solid rock in the shape of a chair. She sat down and pulled a book out of her bag, whilst Wallflower was just standing there.

"Aren't you coming?" Flash asked, Springer having already run into the shallows to play around.

Wallflower tapped her fingers together, "I didn't bring a bathing suit. Didn't think we would be spending time at a beach during an important expedition."

"Neither did we," the three told her before Flash continued. "I just packed it in case we had to go underwater to check something out. Better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." The others nodded as Wallflower shrugged.

"Well, no swimsuit. Guess I can't go swimming."

"I gotcha covered!" Trixie smiled before reaching into her bag and pulling out an second bathing suit. "My spare, just in case I had an accident and needed a second set of swimwear. Should fit you."

"Yay." Wallflower sighed, "thanks." She moved around the large rock and returned a few minutes later, dressed in a gray suit that reminded Flash of something from Japanese anime. It fit her pretty well, considering Flash didn't think she and Trixie were the same size.

"You look great," Trixie smiled before they began to head out into the water. The water was lukewarm, the perfect swimming temperature, and they quickly joined Springer in the shallows. He kicked water at them, making them laugh as they kicked back. Even Wallflower kicked some up occasionally.

But Trixie wanted to see how far out they could swim. So she started swimming towards the centre with Flash and Soarin chasing after her. Springer rushed up to Wallflower. "Come on!" He jumped up and pushed her forward, making her cry out as she staggered forward. As it turned out, the lake didn't gradually get deeper.

Instead, there was a sudden drop and Wallflower fell off it and began to sink below the water. This caused her eyes to go wide and she started flailing around insanely, catching the other's attention.

The all turned towards her and saw Wallflower's head break through the surface. "HELP!" She struggled to stay above the water and they all rushed back over to her, Luna getting up from her chair after hearing this.

Springer managed to grab the back of her suit and pulled her back to the shallows, allowing her to get her hooves on solid ground. "Wallflower!" Flash cried when they reached her, but Wallflower quickly ran back towards the shore. "What's wrong?" They followed her and Luna was waiting for them. "Are you okay?"

The almost petrified look she had on her face told them she was not okay. "Why didn't you tell us you couldn't swim?" Soarin asked.

"I can swim," Wallflower finally spoke back.

"Then why did you freak out?" Trixie asked, "did you get caught on something?"

"No." Wallflower looked out at the lake, imagining how deep it was. And as she did, a horrible image appeared in her mind that made her begin to panic and stagger backwards. This was enough for Flash to figure it out.

"You're afraid." The others were surprised by this, "you're afraid of water."

"Not...water. Deep water."

"What?" Soarin clearly didn't understand.

"If I can touch the bottom with my head above it, I'm fine. But if it's too deep..." She began to curl herself up, as her friends shared a look. They had never seen Wallflower look so scared before.

"Wait," Trixie blinked, "you've been sailing a bunch of times. You never looked scared then." The others nodded.

"Well I'm wearing a life jacket," Wallflower countered. "And I'm tied to the boat, so I know I'm not gonna go down. I know it's silly, but I can't help it."

Luna stepped forward, "what caused it?" The others looked at her, Wallflower appearing shocked. "The way you're talking and acting. It is clear this fear comes from something that happened to you. So...what caused this fear of deep water?" Wallflower continued to hug her knees, clearly not liking the idea of telling them why she was afraid.

Eventually, she sighed. "When I was four, my family went camping. It was great and I was having a lot of fun. But then, my grandfather and I went to clean our dinner plates in a river that was really deep. He was so focused on cleaning the pots, he didn't notice me jumping on rocks that were in the river. Not until I slipped."

"You fell in," Luna realised with her nodding.

"I was only under for a few seconds, but they were the scariest few moment of my life. My grandfather was able to pull me out, but ever since going into deep water makes me relive that horrible experience."

"Yes," Luna nodded, "I can see why that would leave a mental scar."

"So you've never been able to go near deep water since?" Trixie asked.

Wallflower shrugged, "I'm okay in swimming pools. But when I'm near natural bodies of deep water, especially without lifeguards or floatation devices, I...I...I..." She started to hyperventilate and the others frowned, feeling sorry for Wallflower. Springer moved over to her and let Wallflower cuddle him, this seeming to calm her down. As her breathing got under control, Flash realised he needed to do something.

"We've gotta get you over this fear," he stated much to Wallflower's shock. "If we don't, then Wallflower will have this demon looming over her forever."

"I don't know if that's a good idea," Luna told him. "This kind of trauma can't just be overcome. It requires years of therapy and taking it slow."

"Yeah, but we can't just ignore this. Not only is it gonna affect Wallflower for the rest of her life, it could get in the way of her Adventurer career. What if this spellbook we're after somehow found its way underwater and we have to dive down in order to get it. I don't wanna leave Wallflower behind."

"Same," Soarin crossed his arms, "and what if we needed Wallflower whilst underwater. Her terran strength is super useful."

Flash knelt down in front of Wallflower, "I won't force you to try and overcome your fear. But can we at least try and help you get over it." He held his hand out and Wallflower stared at him for a moment, wondering if he really could help her overcome this fear.

She had suffered from this for too long. If Flash knew a way to help her, she had to at least try. "Okay," she took his hand and Flash pulled her up to her hooves. "But how are we gonna try and overcome it?"

Luna sighed. "From what I have seen, facing a fear even once can weaken its effect on a pony amazingly." She turned towards the lake. "I am willing to wager that if you can swim all the way to the bottom of the lake whilst keeping calm, you'll be able to do it again much easier. And every time you do, the fear will grow less and less until you no longer have any fear at all."

"Great," Flash pulled Wallflower towards the water, "then we'll start slow. Just get you used to being in the water but keep your head above the water." Wallflower moaned, clearly not happy about this.

They waded into the water and Flash was ahead of her, waiting until he reached the edge of the shallows. Once they were there, Flash turned to Wallflower and told her to take a deep breath. Wallflower did so and Flash pulled her down. The pair were soon crouching under the water, Wallflower's face telling Flash she didn't like this.

The avian counted to ten before pulling them both back up. They gasped as they did so, whilst all but Luna waded out towards them. "Great. Ten seconds. We'll do that three times and then increase the mount. Got it?" Wallflower nodded, as the pair took a deep breath and dived under the water again.

They did this three times Like Flash suggested, then upped it to fifteen for five times. The pair continued this for a while, Wallflower getting more and more used to being under the water.

Once Flash was comfortable she was okay, he swam back to shore and returned to her with some rope. "What's that for?"

"Life line," Flash replied as he tied one end around his waist. "You're worried about sinking, right? Well you won't sink if you're fastened to me."

"But what if I pull you down with me?"

"How?" Flash asked, "we float." To prove his point, he leaned back and let his density do the rest of the work. He floated there for a moment and Wallflower felt silly for forgetting that. "I know you're scared," Flash stood back up. "But you've got the five of us with you to keep you safe. Trust me, nothing bad is gonna happen to you." Wallflower took a deep breath, knowing he was right.

She tied the rope around her waist and the pair began to swim out towards the centre of the lake, where the others had moved to. Wallflower was doing a backstroke, thinking if she didn't look down she could pretend she was in an outside swimming pool.

But as she swam and thought about diving down, the memory of all those years ago came flooding back to her. And so, she started to panic and her swimming became more erratic. Flash saw this and stopped, "Wallflower. Relax." But she didn't and was starting to hyperventilate, forcing Flash to pull her back to the shallows by the rope. "It's okay. Nothing's gonna happen to you." They made it back and Wallflower jumped onto the sandy lakebed. Flash was starting to think maybe he couldn't get Wallflower over this fear.

The mare sighed once she had calmed down. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying, but it's just too hard."

"It's okay," he assured her. "We all have fears. It's a natural part of life. And it's not like your fear came out of nowhere. Ponies can drown, so it's okay to be scared of that happening." Wallflower nodded, glad that Flash wasn't upset about her for failing.

Over with their friends, Springer, Soarin and Trixie had seen Wallflower's freak out and wished they knew a way to help her. "I guess we'll be avoiding water based quests when we graduate," Soarin sighed.

"I'm sure Wallflower will get over it," Trixie told him. "It's just gonna take time." They nodded and hoped that Wallflower would find a way to overcome her fear, but knew they would need to stay away from the water during their adventures until she did.

As such, they planned on having as much fun as they could at this lake before they had to leave.

However, in that moment Trixie felt something grab her leg. "Huh?" Was all she could ask before she was suddenly pulled under the water.

Soarin and Springer heard this and looked around, seeing no sign of the mare. "Trixie?" Soarin asked, wondering where she had gone. But before he could ask Springer to scan for her, something grabbed his leg and pulled him down. "WOW!" Springer saw this and gasped before diving under the water.

When he did, he saw Soarin and Trixie being pulled downwards. Something was wrapped around their leg and waist. Something long and wiggly.

That same something shot up from the lake's depths towards Springer, who was able to avoid it but only by the briefest of distance. When it shot passed him, he realised it was a long tentacle, being red in colour with suckers covering one side of it.

Several more of these tentacles shot up from the lake's depths and attempted to grab him, but Springer was able to swim around and avoid most of them. One shot towards him and he was forced to fight back, bringing his paws together to form a sphere of blue energy.

This was his Aura Blast, which he fired at the tentacle. When it connected, the sphere exploded and created a shockwave that blew Springer upwards and out of the water. "GUYS!" He yelled once he was in the air, "HELP!" The others turned to him and as they did, something else exploded out of the water.

A bunch of tentacles were now flailing out of the water, Trixie and Soarin trapped in two of them. They both struggled against the tentacles, which slowly slithered up their bodies and gained a tighter and tighter grip upon them. "Let me go!" Soarin cried.

"I've seen enough comics to know where this might be going," Trixie growled as a tentacles got dangerously close to her chest.

Luna dropped her book and rushed to her staff, grabbing it as Flash and Wallflower rushed back to shore. Springer had begun to fall towards the water and as he did, a tentacle flew out towards. "FLASH!" The avian heard his partner and nodded, digging deep and allowing more magic into his Amulet.

The light exploded out of it and flew towards Springer, who managed to kick away the tip of the tentacle and bounce of its side. As he did, the light wrapped around him.

"Esprit...EVOLUTION!" As more tentacles shot towards him, the cocoon exploded and Springer was revealed to be in his adult form. "Steel Paw!" The spikes on the back of his paws morphed into long metal claws, which she swung around the cut the tentacles into pieces.

As he did, Luna took to the air with her staff in hand. Flash and Wallflower grabbed their weapons, Flash getting Soarin's bow since he doubted his knife was gonna be much use. He leapt into the air behind Soarin, as Wallflower remained on the shore.

"Guys," she whispered. She wanted to help, but the thought of going out into the water caused her entire body to freeze up.

Flash watched as Springer leapt from tentacle to tentacle, slashing at the tendrils. But whatever this creature was, it was smart. As the tentacles started avoiding him and pulled both Soarin and Trixie up and out of reach of him. "Do something!" Trixie yelled, as the tentacles tightened up on them before pulling them both towards the water.

Luna gasped and quickly cast a spell, "Bubble Head!" She thrust her staff forward and a pair of bubbles shot towards Soarin and Trixie, hitting the pair on the head just before they were pulled under the water. They both held their breath, but then realised something wasn't right. Their faces didn't feel wet.

Looking around, they saw that the bubbles were wrapped around their head. He breathed in and too their relief, they weren't drowning.

"That should give them some air," Luna told Flash. "But it won't last forever."

"Then let's get them out of there!" Flash pulled on Soarin's bow. He didn't dare use an electric attack with his friends surrounded by water, but hopefully his air blasts would be just as effective. "Aero Shot!" He fired and the air arrow flew through the air, hitting a tentacle head on. But the air just burst without doing any damage. "What?"

"Fireball Shot!" Luna launched a flaming projectile from her staff, which hit another tentacle and did nothing as it exploded again it. "Our attacks aren't working."

"Why not?" Flash asked, as the tentacles started flying towards them. He slashed at them with the bow as Luna did the same with the blade of her staff, the two remaining on the defensive. Springer continued to jump from tentacle to tentacle, doing whatever he could to avoid getting captured.

"Aura Blast!" He launched a larger sphere then before, right at a tentacle. But the tentacles curled back before flicking forward and knocking the sphere back. The sphere shot towards Springer and exploded in midair, sending him flying backwards. "Aaaah!"

"Springer!" Flash shot down to try and grab his partner, but a tentacle managed to snag him first.

"Gyah!" Springer flinched when the tentacle caught him and wrapped around his body. His arms were forced to his sides with the tentacles above his claws, meaning he was unable to use both Aura Blast and Steel Paw.

Flash tried to blast the tentacle with his bow, but the attack just bounced off the tendril. "What is with this thing."

"Lumino Shot!" Luna cried, firing a laser from her staff. It struck a tentacle, but didn't do anything either. "This thing must have an element its weak to." She worried that by the time they found this element, Trixie and Soarin would be out of air. "What's this creature's secret?"

A tentacle flew towards her and Luna knew she only had one option. So when it got close enough, she put her staff away as she dodged to tendril. Then, she grabbed hold of it and used all her omni-enhanced terran strength to pull.

She let out a mighty roar, as the tentacle was pulled up into the air with her. Flash, who had been trying to free Springer, heard that roar and was amazed when he looked up to see Luna pulling the giant creature upward. "Wow," he gulped, "remind me not to get her mad."

After a few moments of pulling, something was dragged out of the water. The creature's full body.

It was a giant shell, which was made out of several sections stacked one on top of the other to form a cone-like structure. These sections were covered in spikes and at the tip, a number of these spikes could be seen pointing forwards. The tentacles were sticking out of a hole in the bottom and two of these tentacles were holding Soarin and Trixie.

The two of them were now completely tied up, with only their heads and hooves left uncovered.

"You guys alright?" Flash asked, fearing the pair were hurt in some way.

Both of them flinched as they had trouble breathing, the air bubbles the only thing that had kept them alive. If the tentacles got any tighter, they feared they were gonna have broken bones. "Do...something," Trixie begged.

Luna was beginning to feel the strain of the creature's weight. With it out of the water, she was now up against the full impact of it. She grunted under the weight and looked down, her eyes going wide when she saw the creature. "So that's it." She dropped the beast and it fell back into the water, creating a large splash as she looked it over. "I know what this thing is!"

"Great," Flash told her, "so how do we beat it?"

"It's called an Achilles Tentacruel. It's a rare type of monster that lives in lakes like this. They are also completely immune to any form of magic, along with having incredible regenerative capabilities." Sure enough, all the tentacles Springer had cut up where now fully repaired and ready to grab something to eat.

"That still doesn't explain how we beat it!" Flash cried, as he avoided a tentacle that tried to grab him whilst Springer was pulled down towards the lake.

"They can only be destroyed if you damage one part of them. A gem that acts as their life-force and If it's destroyed, the creature will follow suit."

"Great!" Flash looked at the shell, "where is it?" Luna didn't know. She had only ever read about the Achilles Tentacruel, but had never seen one up close. She knew it had to be somewhere on the shell, but where was the ultimate question.

Flash and Luna flew around, as the creature's shell sank more and more. There was no sign of the gem on the shell above the water, which meant they had to look under it. "Bubble Head!" She swung her staff around and fired a bubble at both Flash and Springer, the pair getting it over their heads right before Springer hit the water.

She then attempted to cast one over herself, but before she could a tentacle flew up and knocked her staff out of her hands. "Luna!" Flash gasped, as another tentacle then grabbed the omni and wrapped itself around her.

She cried out as it pinned her wings and arms to her body, then started pulling her towards the water. She fired a blast from her horn, but knew it would do nothing to the creature.

As she was pulled under the water, Flash dived down and began to swim through it. It was times like this, he wish he still had feet. He was forced to rely on his wings, since her hands were holding his bow, the avian swimming as fast as he could. He managed to catch up to the creature as it pulled his four friends down, Flash mostly worried about Luna since she didn't have an air bubble.

Flash remembered an old history class from when he was a colt, talking about how their ancestors couldn't hold their breaths back before they evolved their anthro bodies. Luckily, they had developed that skill and Luna would be putting it to the test until Flash could save her.

He knew he couldn't free her from the tentacles. His only hope of saving her was to find that gem she was talking about and to destroy it. As such, he swam down to the shell whilst avoiding the tentacles. Once close enough, he grabbed onto one of the spikes and used them to pull himself around. He didn't know how this creature saw, but hopefully it couldn't feel anything on its shell.

He quickly circled around the different sections and as he did, he noticed something. At the very bottom of the shell, just above the spot the tentacles were coming out of, a green gem the size of his head was sticking out. He had found its weak spot.

However, as he dived down to attack it, the creature appeared to sense his presence.

The tentacles began to attack, the tendrils flying towards him. Flash looked around and saw them, his eyes going wide before he swam to the side. The tendril barely missed him and Flash could tell it was a lot faster than him underwater. He had to be fast.

He pulled on the bow and aimed at the gem. But just as he was about to fire, a tentacle slammed into him.

The force made him drop his bow whilst the air blast he shot missed and hit the shell next to the gem. The tentacle tried to grab him, but he quickly drew his dagger and slashed at it. The pair of them struggled against one another, fighting to try and overpower the other.

Back on the shore, Wallflower waited for her friends to surface.

But as the seconds passed, her worries grew more and more. "Something's wrong." She was about to step forward, but then realised what she would need to do to help them. The thought of going into the water made her body lock up, as the memories of the incident from all those years ago flew through her mind. She couldn't do it...or could she?

Her memories slowly shifted to other ones. Happier ones.

Flash helping her with the school's garden, even though she knew he wasn't big into gardening. Soarin, helping her practise her hand to hand combat. And Trixie, who often gave Wallflower makeup advice and once even told her she had a lot of beauty hidden within her.

Then there was Luna and Springer, who hadn't been with them that long. But despite that, she still felt a great amount of attachment to them. Luna was willing to risk her magic to protect them and Springer was so lovable. And, of course, she couldn't forget how Flash was willing to help her overcome her fear of deep water. How could she just turn her back on them?

"Everypony," she whispered. She took a deep breath and was likely about to hyperventilate. But when she thought about her friends drowning or being eaten, that thought seemed to terrify her more then going in the water. "HOLD ON!" She ran forward and got all the way up to her waist before she jumped forward, swimming in the water before he mind realised she was doing it.

She swam as fast as she can until she reached the spot she saw her friends go under, then took a deep breath before diving. She was a good ten feet down before she realised she was completely submerged, her heart beating a mile a minute as it told her she shouldn't be down this deep. But she refused to let her fear kill her friends.

Speaking of friends, she spotted the lot of them up ahead. They were all getting wrapped up, though all but Luna were still covered by a bubble around their head.

Springer was the first one to notice her, "WALLFLOWER!" The others turned to see her approaching and were amazed, but then worried as tentacles shot towards her.

"Look out!" Trixie cried, as Wallflower activated her gauntlets. The larger surface they created allowed Wallflower to swim further, the girl dodging the tentacle and punching them away.

Flash, who was still trying to cut himself free, turned to her as she got closer. "Wallflower!" He pointed at the gem, "break that!" Wallflower nodded, as her lungs were starting to burn.

She swam fast as she could with the tentacles swinging around her, the terran one wrong move away from getting caught by them. She finally reached the shell and threw a punch, slamming her fist right into the gem. The impact was strong, but the water still slowed it down. As such, the gem cracked but remained intact.

'No,' Wallflower thought as she prepared to punch it again. But before she could-

"LOOK OUT!" Her instincts took over and she leapt away, as a tentacle whipped at it. She was forced to swim away and as she did, another tentacle grabbed her by the hoof.

'Oh no!' She tried to wiggle free, but the tentacle managed to get a firm grip on her. She fought against it as best she could, but the tendril managed to wrapped around her hoof. She panicked and in doing so, accidently released her breath. The others panicked, especially as Soarin and Luna's ai bubbles were starting to get small.

Flash feared for his friend. And, knowing this was his only option, pulled his dagger back and threw it. The weapon spun through the water, Flash having charged it with the cutting power of air. But it slowed down before it could reach Wallflower, not appearing it was gonna get close.

However, Luna used her magic and blasted it. This propelled it forward again and caused it to hit the tendril just below Wallflower's hoof.

The tentacle was cut from the main body and Wallflower was able to swim free. But her lack of air was quickly becoming a problem.

However, as she swam away, she noticed something on the lakebed. Another shell. She knew it was a long shot, but they didn't have any other choice. So, she swam down and grabbed the shell before turning it over. And to her shock, it actually unleashed a bubble.

She had positioned her mouth over it, so it flew straight up and allowed her to breath it in. Precious oxygen flowed into her lips and she was able to refuel her lungs before holding her breath again, as the tentacles. moved towards her.

"Look out!" Soarin cried, those words being the last before his and Trixie's air bubbles finally popped.

Wallflower jumped up off the lakebed and managed to avoid the tentacle, grabbing onto one with her large gauntlets and using it to pull herself forward with all he strength. She shot through the water as fast as she could, aiming straight for the gemstone. A tentacle appeared between her and her target, which shot forward. But Wallflower was able to avoid it by spinning like a drill, causing her to move through the water faster.

She shot passed the tentacle and pulled her first back. The momentum pushed her forward with impressive speed and, finally, she reached the gem.

'TAKE THIS!' She screamed in her head before thrusting her first forward, slamming into the gem.

The stone cracked even more and finally broke apart, unleashing a powerful burst of light that blinded everypony. For the first time, the monster let out a mighty scream as the light engulfed its entire body. It then exploded, freeing Wallflower's friends.

Everypony smiled as they felt themselves able to move, though four of them were lacking air.

Flash swam over and grabbed Luna, who looked like she was about to pass out. Springer, Trixie and Soarin quickly hurried to the top of the lake, whilst Wallflower stared at the spot the creature had one been. The reason was because she saw something appear from within the light. A shell that looked like a smaller version of the one the creature had.

For some reason, she felt an urge to take it with her.

The other five finally broke through the surface and gasped, Flash and Springer's air bubbles vanishing. Flash focused on Luna, who still didn't seem to be completely conscious. "Luna. Princess! Wake up!" She finally came around with a gasp, the omni looking around and realising where she was.

Then she realised that Flash was behind her, his arm wrapped around her. Unfortunately, this meant he was clutching a certain area barely anypony had ever gotten to touch. This made her cry out and push Flash away, the teen realising what the problem was.

"Sorry!" He cried, blushing as Wallflower broke through the surface.

"Is everypony okay?" She asked, the lot of them nodding but feeling really tired. They all swam back to shore and when they did, they panted and laid upon the sand.

Trixie then turned to Wallflower. "That was amazing. You totally saved our flanks!" Wallflower blushed at this, whilst the others smiled.

"She's right," Flash smirked. "You were scared, but you overcame it."

"Not really," Wallflower sighed. "I just...felt another fear that made me more scared then I was of the water. Losing you guys." The others smiled, all of them touched by this statement. "I was terrified of the water, but the image in my head of what was gonna happen to you was even worse."

"True," Luna nodded. "Fear can be just as great a motivator, as it is a roadblock. And I wouldn't be surprised if you found going under the water far less scary than it seemed before." Wallflower smiled at that though. She would like it if she didn't have to be scared whenever they were near water.

"So what do we do now?" Soarin asked, Luna pushing herself back to her feet.

"We're gonna have to take another dip." They all looked confused, "I lost my staff in that fight. And Flash dropped his dagger and your bow. I doubt you intend to just leave them at the bottom of the lake." The boys moaned at the thought of having to find their weapons.

Trixie then noticed something in Wallflower's hand. "What's that?" They all looked down and Wallflower held up the shell, which made them tilt their heads.

"I think it's a monster drop. But I don't think it'll have any uses."

"Ahh man," Soarin frowned. "After all that, it would have been cool to get something useful." Luna stared at the shell, then at Wallflower. The omni's eyes shifted between the two before a smile formed on her lips.

"Actually, I might have an idea. Wallflower, may I have your gauntlets for a moment?" Wallflower looked confused, but nodded and took her gloves off. She handed them to the princess and Luna placed them on the ground, then held her hands up over them. Her horn glowed, as she started muttering something. Her hands then glowed and the light started falling off them like snow, landing on the gloves and causing them to glow as well.

Springer looked like he was about to ask what she was doing, but Flash put a finger to his lips. He had a feeling Luna wouldn't want to be disturbed and have her concentration broken.

After another minute or so of Luna chanting, she finally stopped and the light around her hands dimmed.

The gloves continued to glow for a few more moments before the light faded, Luna picking the gloves up and smirking. "Perfect." She handed them back to Wallflower, "here you are."

Wallflower took them and looked the gloves over, "what did you do?"

"I gave them an upgrade. I've noticed you're fighting style is quite limited with your gauntlet's basic designs. Hopefully, this should help make you a more well rounded fighter." Wallflower put the gloves on, but they didn't feel any different. "Take the shell and press it to the gem."

Wallflower did so. And as soon as she did, the gem unleashed a light that swirled around the shell and sucked it inside. The light faded and Wallflower was shocked by this, the others just the same. "You made her gauntlet eat the shell?" Soarin asked, Luna nodded.

"Yup. Now it'll use that shell to create a new weapon. One that should be useful depending on what it becomes." She turned back to Wallflower, "think about the shell." Wallflower did and in that moment, the gloves glowed like they were about to transform. And one did.

In a flash, Wallflower's right gauntlet was suddenly transformed into something entirely different. It was now just like the creature's shell, being made up of three sections that covered her entire upper arm. It was mainly cream coloured, but was blue around the bottom were it was fused to her arm.

"Wow!" Wallflower's eyes went wide, as she looked the shell over. "What is this?"

"Like I said, it's created a new weapon for you to use. Not sure what it is yet, but it should be as hard as that monster's shell was." Flash tilted his head and when he did, he was reminded of something. A time from his first childhood, when he used to watch Saturday morning cartoons.

Suddenly, he realised what the shell reminded him of. "A drill." The others looked at him in confusion. "It looks like a drill arm. Maybe if you concentrate, it'll spin super fast." Wallflower didn't understand, but she trusted Flash. As such, she imagined the shell on her arm spinning. And sure enough, the three sections began to spin with the middle one spinning counter to the other two.

The others were amazed, as the shell grew faster and faster. Eventually, it was spinning so fast it was nothing but a cone-shaped blur.

"Incredible," Luna smirked before looking over at a nearby rock. "Go see what happens when you punch that rock with it." Wallflower nodded and charged forward, thrusting the spinning shell into the rock. The impact caused the area the tip struck to shatter, breaking it apart and allowing the drill to dig deeper into the rock.

When she pulled back, Wallflower stared at the rock and was amazed by the damage done to it. "Wow."

"Impressive," Luna smirked. "Now you have your own piercing attack. I'm sure that will come in handy if you ever come up against an opponent with high defences."

Wallflower smiled as her shell fist transformed back to normal. "Thank you, Luna."

"No problem," Luna nodded. "And it's not just the shell those gloves will be able to use to make new weapons. Any monster drop should allow you to do the same." Hearing this, Trixie gasped.

"Hey, what about all those monster drops we got when we went out with Shining Armor?" The others realised she was right, Wallflower rushing over to her bag.

She didn't know why, but she had decided to bring all three of these items with them. The paralysis gas crystal was useful, but the stinger part and ball of silk were just dead weight. Until now.

She picked up the crystal and turned to her friends, wondering if it was okay for her to use it like this. They nodded, since if it made a weapon with that ability they would be able to use it more then once. Wallflower fed the crystal to her gauntlet and sure enough, a moment later it transformed into something else.

It was a tube-like weapon that reminded Flash of the arm cannon from that old video game, Megadude. It was red in colour and had a black stripe running down the side of it. Flash had a feeling that it would fire the same paralysing mist the centipede they fought could, which might be quite useful.

She then fed it the stinger part, causing it to transform again. It was just like her normal gauntlet, only it was black instead of green. And on the back of it was a black tube that had a white spike sticking out the front of it.

Finally, she fed the gauntlets the webs and both of them transformed this time. They were now a pair of white gloves with large cuffs around the wrists. Black web-like patterns ran around the white fabric and between each knuckle was a yellow metal opening.

"Wow," she whispered as she switched between the five forms her gauntlets now had. She never thought overcoming her fear of water would be so rewarding.

Over the next hour, the six of them remained under the water looking for their lost weapons. Wallflower did find going underwater less terrifying now. If she could fight a giant monster in deep water, being in monsterless water was a cakewalk. She was even able to use her shell fist at a propeller, allowing her to move through the water even faster.

They managed to find their weapons and when they returned to the surface, Wallflower started testing out each of her weapons to get used to them and figure out what they could do. The others laughed at Wallflower's upgrade, whilst also enjoying making sand castle and sculptures.

Even Luna began to do some sand work, the lot of them doing this until Celestia lowered the sun. As it got darker, they made a beach fire and roasted marshmallows. It was a great time for all of them, since the day had turned out quite well despite the lot of them almost drowning.

Wallflower had overcome her fear and gotten a slew of new abilities, which would help their team grow stronger and stronger. No doubt, Team Relic was now a force to be reckoned with.

The next day.

Flash placed his belt on his waist and when it strapped itself into place, he smirked before taking out a card and slotting it into place.

To everypony's joy, the truck appeared around him and reved up. The belt was back to full power and they could continue to drive to the relic. So the lot of them climbed inside and strapped in as Flash drove off, Wallflower looking back at the lake she had grown so much in. Maybe one day, she would return to this place.

For now, she would focus on what was ahead of her. They didn't have long to go now. Once they were over the marshlands, they would be at the area Luna had hidden the spellbook. Whatever was waiting for them there, she knew they could overcome it. For her team was one that could not be stopped, no matter what was thrown at them.

Episode 10: Dungeon Crawling, as a Pony

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Flash could hardly believe it. Though it had only been a couple of days since he had started his expedition with his friends, so much had happened that it felt like weeks.

And now, they were drawing closer to their goal. The area that Luna had hidden the omni spellbook a thousand years ago. Currently, they were splashing through the marshland they had had to traverse in order to get to it. Thanks to the truck he had created and the mapping system it had, they had been able to find a way through the marshland that didn't end with them getting trapped in deep puddles the vehicle couldn't overcome.

"There it is!" Luna cried, pointing straight ahead. They stared out the window and saw a lone mountain, which wasn't very large but still stood out in the distance.

"That's where you hid the book?" Trixie asked, Luna nodding.

"Yes. It is in an underground labyrinth I created. Anypony that found their way inside would have had to face a bunch of different traps and even a few monsters, not that anypony should have gotten inside."

Team Relic all gulped. "So we're gonna have to get passed all those traps and monsters?" Soarin asked.

"Do not worry," Luna told him. "I designed the labyrinth and installed a way to retrieve the book should I ever need it. A single path leads to the book that has no defenses, hidden within all the other paths that have them. Once we get there, I'll cast a spell that will illuminate that path and allow us to make our way safely through it."

"Sweet," Springer smirked as the truck flew through the last puddle and was officially out of the marshlands. They flew across the landscape with each passing second, eventually arriving at the base of the mountain.

Luna had Flash drive around it, since she wasn't exactly sure where the entrance was. But after a half-hour, they came to an area Luna recognised. "There it is." They looked out the window and saw a large flat piece of the cliff, which they now knew had a door hidden within it.

Flash drove up to the cliff and as they did, the others grabbed their bags and gear. Once he pulled to a stop, Flash dispelled the truck and they all stepped up to the wall. Luna placed her hand on it, sighing as she felt the magic flowing through it.

"This is it," she nodded. "The book is in here." She stepped back and held up her staff, which began to glow before unleashing a beam of light. The light struck the wall and sure enough, markings lit up on it that formed a doorway. The markings solidified and as they did, the wall began to retract into the mountain before splitting in half and sliding open.

Doing so revealed a stone staircase, which led all the way down into the darkness.

Flash stared down it and frowned before taking off his bag. "What are you doing?" Soarin asked, as he placed the bag down.

"There's nothing in here that'll be of much use down there," Flash pointed out. "At this point, it's probably just going to slow me down or get damaged." He stood up and activated his belt, using it to create a large chest that Flash opened to put his bag inside. He then turned to the others, "you guys can put your stuff in here as well if you want."

Everypony thought for a moment, Wallflower, Trixie and Soarin taking off their bags. Luna seemed to be considering it, then eventually nodded before taking off hers. Once the bags were inside, Flash locked it as Luna used her earth magic to make a hole in the ground. They dropped the chest inside and covered it up, then turned back to the cave.

Luna tapped her staff on the ground and the crescent moon glowed, allowing them to see as they made their way down the stairs. It was a long walk and they did not look forward to climbing up the stairs on the way back. Eventually, they reached the bottom and came out into a large round chamber.

This chamber had a bunch of passageways lining the wall, reminding the ponies of the contest Luna had set up that led them to joining her on this quest. Now they realised where she got the idea for it. "Alright," Luna nodded, "shouldn't be a problem. Just have to activate the spell and the pathway will appear." They all nodded but as they did, Springer heard something.

"What's that?"

"What's what?" Flash asked, Springer slowly looking up. As he did, his eyes went wide and his ears drooped. The others looked up and Luna raised her staff, the light from it hitting the ceiling and what was clinging to the ceiling.

It was a bunch of bats that were a mixture of purple and black, with large round ears that appeared to be connected together. "Ah," Luna gulped, "that could be a problem."

"What are those things?" Wallflower asked, as the bats looked down at them and did not look happy.

"Sonic Bats," Luna replied before the creatures shot off the ceiling and flew down towards them. "Everypony, get ready for a fight!" Flash quickly slotted two cards into his belt and summoned his lightning sword and fire shield, whilst Wallflower decided to give her new weapons a test run.

She chose the black version of her gauntlets, which she called her Sting Strikers.

Springer leapt up, as Flash unleashed the power. "Esprit...EVOLUTION!" In a flash, Springer transformed into his adult form and quickly launched an Aura Blast at the bats in front of him.

The bats flew down and tried to bite them, but Soarin, Luna and Trixie fired at them and destroyed many. Some got close to Wallflower and she prepared to attack. The spike on the front of the gauntlet's tube glowed purple before the light extended forwards, creating a lance-like stinger that was almost a foot long.

She thrust it forwards and impaled a bat through the chest, making it scream as it exploded. She then thrust her other stinger through another one, whilst Flash and Springer slashed at the bats with their sword and claws. The others kept firing at the ones in the air, allowing Flash and Wallflower to protect them from the ones that attempted to bite them.

"These things aren't so tough!" Soarin laughed as he blew up another bat, "so why are they called Sonic Bats?" He got his answer when one of the bats flew in place, then unleashed a high pitched sound from its ears.

The lot of them froze when the sound hit him, it sounding like nails on a chalkboard. "AUGH!" They all cried, making them open season for the bats that were about to feast on them. But before they could, Wallflower's gauntlets changed.

"Paralysis Cannon!" She screamed as the arm blaster appeared, which she held up before unleashing a stream of yellow green mist out it. The mist hit the bats that tried to bite them and caused them to fall to the ground, Wallflower then pointing it at the one unleashing the sound.

The mist hit it right in the face, causing it to stop making the sound and allowing the others to recover. As they did, Wallflower kept blasting the mist at the bats around them. "This is great!" Trixie smirked, seeing the rest of the bats fall to the ground. "Gotta love that upgrade you got."

Wallflower smiled and returned her gauntlets to the Sting Strikers, the lot of them using their blades and claws to destroy the remainder of the bats. Once the last of them exploded, they sighed and panted from the effort they had had to put in. "That...was tough," Flash sighed.

Trixie turned to Luna, "I thought you said we wouldn't need to fight any monsters?"

"We shouldn't have," Luna sighed. "But...it has been a thousand years. It's possible the defences I've put up have broken down. Who knows what monsters we'll find here." She then noticed something on the ground and picked it up, finding it was a clear crystal that was vibrating. "Well well, guess the fight wasn't a total loss." She threw the gem towards Wallflower. "Monster drop."

"What is it?" Wallflower asked.

"Best guess. It's a crystalised version of those bat's sonic attack. Smash it on the ground and it'll unleashed a high pitched sound. But if you feed it to your gauntlet..." Wallflower smiled and placed it on her glove's gemstone. When she did, the glove sucked it inside.

A moment later, the glove transformed into a something that looked like her Paralysis Cannon. Only it was entirely black and the end was flat with something that look like the speaker on a stereo. The side had something sticking out of it, which bent at the end to point towards Wallflower.

"What is-" That was all she could say before her voice echoed out of the device about ten times loud, the lot of them covering their ears.

"Guess it's some kind of megaphone," Flash guessed. "I bet if you scream into it, it'll unleash a super loud sound blast that'll disorientate your opponents." Wallflower looked impressed and reverted the weapon back to normal, as Luna moved over to the centre of the room.

There, a circle was located that had lines running off of it and reaching each of the passageways. "Alright, let's find this path." She raised her staff and started chanting, her staff glowing as she did so. The others watched in amazement, as the light grew brighter and brighter. Then, Luna slammed her staff into the ground. "Show us the way!"

Everypony watched, as the light flew off the staff and into the circle. The entire thing glowed for several seconds before the light flew into one of the lines, the others following it to the passageway it led to. The line continued down the passageway, illuminating the way they had to go to safely get to the spellbook.

Luna pulled the staff off the ground and joined them at the entryway. "This is it. Let's go." They nodded and headed inside, following the glowing trail through the twisting and turning labyrinth.

They travelled down the path for about a mile, using the pathway to tell them when to take a turn and which fork to take every time they came to one. So far, there didn't appear to be any boobytraps or hidden monsters to fight. "Huh," Trixie looked around, "this is just weird. Given all the insane stuff we had to overcome to get here, I kind of expected actually getting the book was gonna be the hard part."

"Just be glad I decided to add this path," Luna told her. "I doubt any of you could make it to the very end if we had to face what's lurking in here." The others frowned and Luna could sense this. "I'm not saying you're not good. I doubt even Shining Armor and other S-ranked Adventurers could survive. Even me and my sister might have a hard time getting passed some of these obstacles." But as she said this, they came to a fork and a problem emerged.

The lights from the spell were gone. The corridors were all dark and there was no way to tell which way was the safe direction.

"What?" Luna asked, crouching down and placing her hand where the light stopped.

"What happened?" Wallflower asked.

"Where's the light?" Springer inquired

"I don't know," Luna frowned before sighing. "It's been a thousand years. I guess the magic I used to make the path faded." She didn't like this. The only reason she had agreed to bring students was because she was absolutely sure she could get them through the labyrinth without putting them in danger. But now... "We need to leave."

"What?" Flash asked, "why?"

"I don't know which direction we need to go in to avoid the danger," she started walking back the way she came. "I'm not risking our lives to-" She stopped when the tunnel started shaking.

"What is that?" Trixie asked, as the shaking increased. It was then that Luna remembered.

"Oh no. We weren't supposed to go back this way."

"Huh?" The others asked.

"I designed the path to lead us to the book, then curve around to return on a different path. I thought it would be a good idea to only make the path safe if you're going one way." Before she could say anything else, something slammed down from a hole in the tunnel roof.

It was a giant wave, which flew down the tunnel towards them.

Luna tried to get to the others, but the water slammed into her back before she could. Trixie tried to freeze it, but couldn't even utter a word before she to was knocked down. The six of them were each knocked backwards and sent flying down a different tunnel. They were rolled around so much, they had no idea which way was up.

Flash found himself completely alone, as he was being thrown from one corridor to another. Eventually, the water flow lessened and Flash was slammed into the ground. He moaned as he pushed himself to his feet, his body soaked as he looked around and found he was in the middle of a small round intersection with six passageways.

Seeing he was completely alone, the avian began to worry. "Great." He wasn't even sure which passageway he had come from. "I hope the others are okay." He flew down one of the passageways and summoned his weapons again, being ready for anything that might come his way. "It's been a thousand years, so what are the chances any monster she placed down here is still alive?"

However, ten minutes into his search, he found the ground in front of him ripping apart.

Something then leapt out of it, revealing itself to be a black cat monster with metal blades sticking out of its legs and back. "WOW!" He raised his shield the cat's claws ground against them, Flash quickly unleashing a burst of fire from it that hit the beast head on.

It roared as it was pushed back and burnt, Flash swinging his sword around and slicing through it. As the creature exploded, Flash looked back at where the tiger had sprung from and saw the hole was repairing itself. It appeared the labyrinth was able to generate the monsters it would use to attack them.

"Nightmare Moon might have been an evil sociopath, but she could sure make one heck of a dungeon. And it's still working this well after a thousand years." As he said that, several areas of the floor began to crack apart. Flash knew more monsters were coming and quickly flew passed them, wanting to get as far away from the cat creatures as possible before they could outnumber him.

"I hope the others are doing okay."

Soarin and Springer were making their way through the labyrinth themselves, both having been washed down the same passageway.

"Sense anypony?" Soarin asked, Springer placing his paw on the wall and focusing. He frowned, then shook his head. "Are they too far away, or is it something to do with whatever magic is flowing through here?"

"I don't know," Springer shrugged. "Could be both, or something else. I just can't seem to sense their aura." He headed forward, "guess we'll just have to keep going and hope we run into them." Soarin nodded, but was also worried.

"What'll happen to you, if you pop?" Springer looked at him in confusion. "You have to return to your amulet if you run out of magic or take too much damage. But who knows how far away from Flash and your amulet you are. Are you still gonna be able to return to your amulet if you're this far away?" Now it was Springer who was looking worried, not having any idea whether that was the case or not.

However, they didn't have time to think about it. The walls of the labyrinth broke apart and as they did, humanoid lizards carrying swords and shields flew out. "Not good," Springer gulped as Soarin aimed his bow.

He fired and managed to hit one of the lizards in the chest, destroying it. But the others raised their shields, guarding against the wind and lightning arrows as they charged forward.

Springer formed an Aura Blast and launched it at the ground, causing an explosion that the lizards ran through. They were blinded, so they weren't able to see Springer and Soarin as the pair prepared for a counter. Springer created another sphere of aura, but this time it morphed into bone-shape that was almost as long as him.

He and Soarin used these to slammed the lizards in the chests as soon as they ran out of the smoke, making them go poof.

The pair remained on high alert, as they continued to run down the the hallways and hope they could outrun the monsters before they spawned. But as they did, a spot in the floor broke apart before a large crab monsters pulled itself out and blocked the tunnel.

The two prepared their attacks, Soarin beginning to fire air bullets at the creature whilst Springer charged forward. His attacks hit the creature's shell, but whatever it was made of out was too strong to penetrate. Springer then reached it and used his Steel Paw attack to try and break through. But the crab used its claws to block and Springer's didn't even scratch them.

The pair frowned, hoping they could find a way to overcome this creature's defenses. If they couldn't, they were gonna be in serious trouble.

Trixie and Wallflower were also together, the pair making their way through the labyrinth after being washed away by the others.

"Flash!" Wallflower cried out, but nopony answered. "I guess we're too far away to hear or be heard." She looked back in the direction they had come from, but further up was a fork and she couldn't tell which one they had come from. "What do we do?"

"Keep going?" Trixie sighed, "I guess that's our only option." Wallflower nodded as they began to walk down the hallway, hoping they might run into their friends along the way. But as they did, the ground broke apart and a giant four-armed bear appeared in front of them.

The pair stepped back as the beast pushed itself onto its hind legs and held up all four clawed limbs, Wallflower preparing to fight only for Trixie to activate her staff.

"Illusion!" In a flash of light, the pair of them vanished. The bear stood in shock, as Wallflower held up her gauntlet and decided to try out her new weapon.

"Testing, testing," she spoke into the microphone. "One, two, three." She took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs, the soundwaves being amplified as they shot towards bear. The beast's eyes went wide as it covered its ears in agony, Wallflower and Trixie smirking as the magi dropped her illusion and they charged forward.

Staff blade and Sting Strikers primed, the pair impaled the bear's back and made it scream in agony before exploding. They smirked as they fell to the ground, both quickly getting up and rushing forward. As they did, more monsters began to form in front of them and Trixie quickly activated her illusion magic again.

Those monsters didn't know what hit 'em. Seriously, they didn't know if it was Trixie's magic, Wallflower's weapons or a combo of both. The invisible girls were a force to be reckoned with.

Meanwhile, Luna was also walking through the labyrinth. She was all alone and as she walked through one section, holes in the wall fired arrows at her.

The omni's horn and staff glowed, as a shield appeared around her that blocked the arrows. She then jumped up, using her wings to fly over a spike pit that instantly opened beneath her. All the while, she was lost in her own thoughts.

'I can't believe I led those children down here. I was trying to make up for my mistake and now, I've just made another one and possibly led them to their deaths. I should have just come on my own.' But as she thought that, she remembered all the fun she had had along the way. She also remembered the town they had saved, along with the lively young jakhowl who might have never been found if she hadn't brought those young equestrians with her. 'No, I shouldn't have come alone. I should have brought them with me and left them outside.' She sighed, "but they would have followed me in eventually."

She reached a fork in the road and glanced back and forth, trying to decide which way would lead her to the book. She finally picked one and flew down it, continuing to effortlessly block all the traps laid out for her.

"Lightning Slash!" Flash swung his sword around, cutting a white monkey monster in half.

Flash sighed, having fought his way through several monsters already. He was starting to see what Luna had been saying about this place being hard, even for the most experienced Adventurers. If Flash couldn't find his way through maze, he would become so exhausted he would be easy pickings for any monster.

However, as he flew along the corridor he noticed an archway along the right wall. This wasn't another corridor, which made Flash raise an eyebrow.

Reaching the arch, he looked inside to find a small square room. And inside that room, a stone podium was sitting in the middle with something inside of it. A metal box.

"What the?" Flash tilted his head whilst looking around the room, not daring to enter. He had a feeling that if he picked up that box, he was gonna suddenly be trapped with spikes or something flying at him. Curiosity got the better of him, as he wanted to see what that box was. But not enough to make him walk in and take it.

Instead, he used his belt a created a device on his arm. Said device was a tube-like weapon, similar to Wallflower's Paralysis Cannon. But on the end of it was a grasping claw like the ones he used to see at arcades.

Lifting the weapon, the top opened up to transform into a sight for him. Taking aim, he locked on and pulled the trigger.

The claw shot off, still connected to the blaster by a cable. It flew into the room and hit the box, the claws closing around it before Flash hit the recoil. As the claw returned, pulling the box with it, a metal gate flew down. The claw reached Flash before the gate shut, the avian watching as the wall grew spikes and started moving closer.

"Nice try." He smirked as he cancelled his weapon and looked the box over, seeing it was some kind of ancient form of a rubix cube. "Weird. Maybe Luna will know what it is." He pocket the device and flew down the hallway, not running into any more monsters as he reached the end.

There, he stepped out into a square room with two doors. One was blue and one was red, each one closed and having a coloured skull atop the door frame. "What the?" He stepped forward and as he did, he noticed writing on the ground.

One door leads to your goal, the other to certain doom. To find the path you seek, enquire with the guardians of the doors they keep. But beware of what they say to you, for only one speaks words that are true.

"Oh, great. A riddle." he looked up at the skulls, assuming they were the guardians the words talked about. "So one door leads to the book and the others leads to certain doom. And the only way to tell which is which is to figure out which of these skulls tells the truth and which one lies." He frowned, feeling like he had heard of something like this before. But how did it go and what was the answer?

"Aura Blast!" Springer fired the orb towards the grab, but the shellfish simply bounced it away with its claws.

Springer and Soarin both panted, having been fighting this thing for a while. Soarin fired another lightning arrow, but the electricity simply reflected off the shell and did nothing to its body. "Come on Soarin. You've studied crab monsters in school. What's their weakness?"

Springer rushed forward and as he did, the crab tried to crush him under its claw. "Bone Breaker!" He formed the bone weapon and used it to catch the claw, the impact making his whole body shake. But he wasn't gonna let this be his end. With a roar, he managed to throw the claw upwards and this made the crab's body fly up so it was only on its back legs.

As it did, Soarin saw a spot in the centre of its stomach that had no shell. "That's it!" He remembered the weakness for crab monsters and fired an Aero Shot towards it. But before it could hit the spot, the crab fell back down and the air bullet struck its claw instead. "Springer, you've gotta aim for the spot on its stomach. That's its weakness!"

Springer nodded at this and quickly ran forward, dodging the claw attacks befores leaping forward and sliding along the ground. As he did, he formed an Aura Blast and thrust it forward as soon as he was directly beneath the crab.

The orb flew into the opening and as Springer slide out from under the crab, it exploded and the beast let out a mighty roar of pain. It exploded, Soarin and Springer both sighing at their opponent's defeat. They were tired, but they knew they had to keep going.

So, Soarin flew over to Springer and pulled him back to his feet. The two then headed down the corridor, managing to get through it without any more monsters being generated.

They eventually came to an opening and stepped out into a large corridor that was wider then the others. It was straight and narrow and on the other side of the room, a button of some kind was on the wall. "What do you think this is all about?" Soarin asked, Springer unsure.

But then he looked up and spotted something in the roof. Holes.

They were flat long holes that went from one corner of the ceiling to the other. There were five in total, each one equally spaced out. And Springer had a feeling he knew what they did. "Fire an air shot across the room." Soarin was confused, but did as his friend suggested.

As soon as he fired, something shot out of the holes. Five large metal blades, which flew down and slammed into the ground. They were so big, they completely filled the corridor. One by one, they retracted back into the ceiling. But they were likely ready to fall again at a moment's notice.

The pair gulped as they thought about overcoming this obstacle.

"Paralysis Blast!" Wallflower screamed, as she fired the paralysing mist forward.

Despite their opponent's being walking skeletons, this mist caused them all to start freezing up and falling to the ground. This made them easy targets for Trixie, who fired blasts of light, ware and ice at the skeletons. Once the bones were shattered to pieces, the girls walked passed them as the mist faded away.

As they did, they came to the end of a hallway and found themselves looking down a staircase. "Does this place have another level?" Trixie asked.

"I hope this wasn't just the first floor," Wallflower gulped. "Luna never said anything about this maze having multiple levels." The pair began to walk down the stairs, being ready for anything to attack if it did. But nothing happened and the pair found themselves reaching another hallway.

As they walked through it, they came to a folk in the road and decided to take the left one. After few more minutes and an attack by a bunch of fire rats, which Trixie flash froze, the pair arrived at the entrance to a large square room that didn't appear to have any kind of obstacle for them to overcome.

"Huh?" Trixie looked around, "wonder what this is meant to be?" But as soon as they stepped out of the tunnel, a stone wall flew down and sealed it off. They both jumped as they spun around, Trixie staggering back only to find herself over an edge. "WOW!"

Wallflower spun around and gasped when she saw Trixie fall and quickly looked around, allowing her to see that the floor of the room had vanished.

Trixie fell through the air and looked down, gulping when she saw the floor was about ten meters down and covered in spikes. It was times like this that she wished she could cast a floating spell or something. Luckily, she had Wallflower to save her flank.

"Web Slingers!" She cried, as her gauntlets transformed into the web patterned gloves. She swung them down and as she did, white silk shot out of the metal ports between her knuckles. The silk flew faster then Trixie and caught her by the hoof, barely managing to stop her before she hit the spikes.

Trixie had her eyes closed and when she opened them, she sighed seeing she was alive. "Thanks Wallflower." She smiled and started pulling her up. As she did, something appeared.

It was a large stone column, its top at the same height the floor should be. It remained there for about ten seconds, then vanished as another one appeared.

Luna was getting close, she just knew it.

She found herself at the top of her own staircase and flew down, arriving at the bottom and putting up a barrier as several spears shot out of the wall. They all shattered upon hitting her magic bubble, whilst she flew down it and came out in another long corridor full of many other hallway exits.

The ground in front of her suddenly cracked apart, as a giant snake appeared from out of it. It charged at her, but Luna simply thrust her staff forward and unleashed a blast of water into its mouth. This pushed it backwards and allowed her to fly passed it, slicing its head off as she did.

"I'm almost there," she announced. "Nothing's going to stop me now."

And sure enough, she flew out of the corridor and found herself in a giant domed room. Intricate patterns covered the floor and ceiling, with twelve round columns evenly dotted around the room holding it up. She smiled as she realised she was there.

"This is it." She looked around and gasped when she saw something on the opposite side of the room from where she had entered.

Between two of the columns was an opening, which had a stone podium inside of it. And atop that podium, was a large leather bound book, which had the image of four horses on it. One normal horse, one with wings and one with a horn. These three were gathered around a larger horse with wings and a horn.

"Yes!" She rushed forward, "maybe I can find a spell that'll let me teleport the others to me." But as she said that, the ground around her started shaking. She gasped and looked around, worried she might have set off a self destruct booby trap or something.

But then, part of the floor opened up and something flew out from below it. She jumped back and saw it was a bunch of strange liquids that were many different colours, Luna's mind thinking desperately to try and remember what trap she had laid out.

Then, the liquids began to swirl together and take shape. As it did, Luna's eyes went wide. "I remember now." The liquids formed a humanoid shape and as it did, the outer sections of the form solidified into metals of multiple different colours. "A golem."

This golem was over seven meters tall and the most humanoid golem ever created. It's main body was a round hulking form, covered in an armor that was a mixture of blue, purple and black on the chest. Its thin stomach was black with purple lines, whilst its waist was blue. A yellow section was located between its shoulders and body, spikes sticking out the top of them. Its shoulders and arms were covered in blue armor, with purple spikes sticking out the backs, whilst its legs and feet were black with purple lines running down them. Its head was a large blue metal tube connected to a black neck, with yellow horns on the side and a single red round gem on the front for an eye. The same gems could be seen in the centre of its chest along with being on the backs of its hands and on each of its knees.

Luna stepped backwards, preparing for a fight, whilst the golem's head looked down towards her. Its red eyes flashed and Luna could tell it was scanning her, likely wanting to figure out her weakness. "Master." Luna's eyes went wide when she heard this, unable to believe it could talk.

Slowly, she began to remember that she was the one who had forged this creature using magic Nightmare Moon had learned from the omni spellbook. She frowned, but then realised this was perfect. "Yes, I am your master. You cannot harm me. Now let me pass and retrieve the spellbook." But the golem didn't move, the beast apparently still scanning her.

"Master...corrupted."

"What?" Luna didn't like the sound of that.

"Master...corrupted. Must...save...master." It stepped forward and Luna stepped back, trying to figure out what it was talking about. But then, she slowly put the pieces together.

"Oh no." Nightmare Moon had been the one to create this creature. Whilst she might have been the same as her, they were still very different. 'It thinks Nightmare Moon is me in my pure form and the real me is the corruption. But what does it mean by save?' The golem continued to move forward and held out a hand, Luna trying to blast it with her magic.

"Must...save...master. Restore." Luna gasped.

"No," she fired again and the magic did nothing to the creature, "you can't." The hand got closer. "DON'T TURN ME BACK INTO HER!"

Flash continued to look between the two doors, trying to figure out what question to ask in order to figure out which way he should go.

The floor didn't say how many questions he was allowed, but Flash had a feeling Nightmare Moon would have made a limit and left that out of the instructions to trip him up. He had to think of the perfect question, but what could he ask.

"Alright," Flash took a deep breath, "what would they answer if they were lying or telling the truth?" His brain was starting to fry, but he couldn't let himself be overwhelmed. He just had to keep a clear head and figure out what to say. Then, an idea popped into his head. "That could work." He stepped over to the blue door, "answer yes or no." He pointed at the red door, "would he tell me that your door leads to the book?"

The skulls looked at one another, Flash wondering if they were having a conversation. Then, the blue skull looked down at him. "Yes."

Flash smirked. "Then the red door leads to the book and this door leads to certain death." he moved over to it, making the skull share a look.

"But what what if he's telling the truth?" The blue skull asked.

"But then you wouldn't be," Flash smirked. "If you're telling the truth, then that would make him the liar which means him saying yes that your door lead to the book would be a lie. And if you're the liar, it means he wouldn't have said yes to the blue door. Either way, the red door leads to the book." The skulls looked impressed, as Flash stepped up to the door and took a deep breath.

He opened it up and stepped inside, taking several steps only to find the red door lead to a dead end.

"Huh? Where's the PATH!" He screamed as he ground suddenly gave way, making him fall into a sliding shoot. His screams continued to echo through the labyrinth, eventually fading away. The door then slammed shut, the skulls waiting for their next challenger to arrive.

Back with Soarin and Springer, the pair of them continued to stare at the hallway designed to slice whoever stepped hoof into it in half.

"The blades all fall at exactly the same time," Springer stated. "Which means the only way to survive is to be faster then the very last one." He turned to Soarin, "I don't think I can move that fast." Soarin smirked, since speed was his speciality.

"Alright," he handed Springer his weapon and stepped back several feet. He the got into a runners pose, his wings spreading as he focused on the far side of the room. "I can make it." He took several deep breaths before channeling his magic, "I can make it." Springer stepped aside, not wanting to get in Soarin's way. "I can make it. ACCEL!" He exploded forward and into the room, causing the blades to fall at an incredible speed.

He shot through the room and managed to get passed the first, second and third blades before they were halfway down. Springer covered his eyes, not wanting to watch in case Soarin ended up sliced down the middle. All he could do was hope he didn't hear Soarin's screams of agony.

Soarin flew close to the ground, managing to get under the forth but the last was getting dangerously close to the ground. He closed his eyes and flew as fast as he could, he heard the sound of the metal hitting the ground and wondered if he was gonna feel a delayed burst of agony. But then he felt he was about to hit something and came to a stop.

He opened his eyes and found he was now in front of the far wall, the pegasus patting himself all over and sighing when he saw he was alive. He heard the metal beginning to slide upwards and looked back around, seeing something on the other side of the last blade. Strands of dark blue hair, which made him looked down at his tail and find the last inch of it had been cut off.

Springer was revealed when the blades retracted and he sighed in relief seeing him alive, but then looked up. "How am I supposed to get through?" Soarin frowned, then noticed a button on the wall and pressed it. A clicking sound filled the air and the pair wondered if the blades had been locked up.

Springer decided to risk it and ran across, amazed when the blades didn't drop.

Once he reached the other side, Soarin released the button and the blades all dropped. The pair jumped back, hugging one another before turning towards the exit. There they saw a stone staircase, leading downwards to some unknown place. They were worried it would lead to another trap, then heard a scream coming from it.

Back with Trixie and Wallflower, the magi had finally been pulled up and the girls looked around.

Different columns continued to appear and disappear throughout the room, Wallflower humming as she tried to figure it out. One column appeared near the opposite ledge, where the exit was, then disappeared as the first column she saw reappeared. She then realised each column that appeared was within jumping distance of the last column.

"I think the columns appear in a pattern," she explained. "We're supposed to remember the pattern and jump from column to column in order to make it to the other side. But, forget the pattern or get the timing wrong and..." She looked down at the stone spikes. "It had to be the two flightless ponies."

Trixie laughed, "we don't need wings. And we don't need to remember a pattern." She held out her staff, "Super Freeze!" The blue lightning struck the edge of their ledge and formed a path of ice, which went out and eventually touched the ledge opposite. "Use your webs and try to hit the spot in the very centre of the ceiling."

Wallflower smiled, realising what Trixie was getting at. She fired a pair of web lines and hit the roof, directly in the middle of the room. She then handed Trixie a webline and the pair tied them around their waists, Trixie pulling on it to be sure it wouldn't come off the roof or snap halfway across.

The webs were pretty strong and Trixie began to make her way across the ice path, the constantly changing columns completely forgotten about. Wallflower also headed across, being sure to keep a careful grip on the webs in case the slipped on the ice. But luckily, she didn't and the pair found themselves on the other side without trouble.

"Yeah!" They both cheered, high fiving only for Wallflower's glove to shot out some webbing. It shot straight up and formed a parachute-like net that fell down and trapped the pair beneath it. "Awkward," Trixie stated before they heard a sound coming from the doorway they were now in front of. A scream.

In a circular hallway, three corridors could been see lining the walls.

Part of said wall then opened up, revealing a round hole that was giving off a noise. The noise was a scream, originating from the avian teen that it spat out. Flash let out a yelp as he was thrown to the ground, sliding along it for several moment until he came to a stop. "Ow."

He looked around and saw where he was, then slowly picked himself up and rubbed his burning flank. As he did, he heard hoofsteps coming from one of the hallways, the avian looking down it and seeing Trixie and Wallflower heading towards him. "Flash!" They cried, smiling at the sight of him.

"Hey girls," Flash waved as they reached him.

"Is Luna with you?" Trixie asked, "we thought we heard a girl screaming." Flash frowned at this, whilst more hoofsteps made him turn to the other corridor and see it was a staircase.

Springer and Soarin arrived, the pair smirking at the sight of them. "Guys!" Springer rushed up to Flash, happy the team was back together and glad he was near his amulet again.

"What happened?" Soarin asked, "why'd you girls scream?"

"We didn't scream," Trixie and Wallflower stated, as Flash began to walk towards the final corridor.

"Let's focus," he stated. "We must be getting close to the book. Hopefully, Luna's already found it." They nodded and headed down the corridor, which had several hallways that seemed to bleed into it as they walked.

Then, finally, they reached the end of the hallway and came out into the domed room. They looked around, amazed by what they saw, then noticed the book at the far end. "Yes!" Soarin smirked, "we've found it."

"But where's Luna?" Trixie asked, only for Springer to sense something.

"LOOK OUT!" He tackled the lot of them away from where they were, as a blast of energy flew out and struck that spot.

The lot quickly recovered and got back to their hooves, readying their weapons as they turned to the shadowy section of the room where the blast had come from. And when their attacker stepped outside, they were all surprised to see the golem walk towards them.

"What the heck is that thing?" Soarin asked.

"Who cares what it is," Wallflower pointed at its chest. "Luna!" They focused on the gem in its chest and when they did, they realised somepony was inside it.

Princess Luna was trapped inside the gem, though they couldn't see all of her. Only her body was visible whilst her arms, legs and wings were all trapped inside some kind of horrible slime. Her head was also half-ways trapped inside, as everything except her mouth and snout were covered by the slime. She appeared unconscious and was glowing, her friends guessing what was happening.

"Luna's being used as a power source," Flash growled. "We've gotta save her." He charged and summoned his Lightning Blade, which he slashed at the golem. But it quickly raised its arm in defence, blocking the sword before knocking Flash backwards.

As he slide to a stop, the golem glared at them. "Intruders must be destroyed. Protect master until purification is complete."

"Protect master?" Trixie asked.

"Purification?" Springer tilted his head, "what is this thing talking about?" But Wallflower figured it out, making her gasp in horror.

"It thinks Luna's been corrupted. Nightmare Moon was the one who made all this, so this golem must see her as what Luna's supposed to be." They suddenly heard a scream and looked back, seeing Luna being electrocuted by some kind of dark energy. As they did, they realised what Wallflower was getting at.

"It's gonna try and turn her back into Nightmare Moon," Soarin stated.

Flash stared at the princess currently trapped, as his mind replayed everything they had been through with her. The image of Luna laughing filled Flash with joy, whilst the thought of her never doing that again and once again being turned into a monster filled him with dread. "We're not gonna let that happen."

The others nodded, determination masking their faces as they reach prepared their weapons. Flash summoned his fire shield along with his sword, whilst Wallflower changed her gauntlets to the Sting Strikers. Springer's paw spikes turned into claws, as Soarin and Trixie readied their weapons as well.

"Don't worry, Luna!" Flash cried out, the five getting into a battle stance. "We're going to save you!" With that, they charged forward and the golem prepared for a fight.

Team Relic's first expedition was coming to a close. And now, they faced a challenge greater then they could ever imagine. It was up to them to save Luna and prevent her from being corrupted once again. If they didn't, not only would Equestria once again have to face Nightmare Moon, they would lose their friend. They weren't gonna let that happen.

Episode 11: Rescuing A Princess, as a Pony

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"Don't worry, Luna!" Flash cried out, the five members of Team Relic getting into a battle stance. "We're going to save you!" With that, they charged forward and the golem prepared for a fight.

Team Relic's big expedition had been full of one insane situation after another, but they were finally at the finish line. However, blocking their way was a giant golem. It had taken their friend Luna as a hostage, whilst also attempting to transform her back into the monster she had once been. If they weren't able to save her, Nightmare Moon would return and cause who knows how much destruction. They wouldn't let that happen.

"Try this!" Flash swung his sword around, "Lightning Slice!" A blade of electricity flew towards the golem, only for one of its arm blades to spark with energy before shooting it out in a thunderbolt. The two attacks collided and exploded, cancelling each other out.

Flash frowned, as Soarin aimed his bow. "Then how about this. Aero Shot!" He launched the arrow and it flew towards the golem, who held up one of its arms and fired its own wind attack from the red sphere on the back. The two collided and once again, cancelled each other out.

"Icicle Shot!" Trixie launched the ice spear, as Flash held up his shield.

"Blazing Shot!" The fireball exploded from the shield and flew towards the golem along with the icicle. But the metal monster raised its arms and the spheres launched a blast of ice and fire that collided with its opponents and stopped them. "Oh, come on!"

Springer and Wallflower ran forwards, Wallflower summoning her gauntlets in their giant glove forms whilst Springer created an Aura Blast. Once the two were close enough, they thrust their fists forward. But before the attacks could collide with it, the golem's chest orb unleashed a light.

It formed a wall that Springer and Wallflower's attacks collided with, the pair being knocked back as the golem suddenly slammed its hand into the ground. This caused two pillars of earth to shoot out of the floor and slam into the pair of them, knocking them backwards as they cried out in pain.

Soarin and Trixie managed to catch the pair, as Flash disabled his sword to summon his bowgun. He fired several blasts of water and fire towards the golem, but it responded by firing the exact same attacks right back at them. Once the attacks were cancelled out, it slammed its foot into the ground and created a row of spikes that shot straight towards them.

"Everypony watch out!" Flash cried, leaping into the air to avoid getting skewed. Soarin did the same and tried to pull the girls up, whilst Springer used his acrobatic skills as best he could to avoid the spikes. He barely managed to hop from place to place, avoiding the spikes that exploded out from where he had been standing.

He quickly used his Steel Paw attacks to slice through the tips of the rocks, whilst Soarin flew down and fired a tornado that grabbed the spikes and sent them shooting towards the golem. In reply, the mechanical creature slammed its foot into the ground and created a rock wall.

The stone spikes shattered upon contact with this, whilst Team Relic tried to get a safe distance away and avoid any more ranged attacks. "This thing's tough," Soarin panted as they all got a good distance away. "No wonder Luna couldn't beat it." As he said that, Wallflower watched as more energy was being drawn from out of the omni.

"I don't think she couldn't beat it because of how strong it was." The others looked at her, "I think she couldn't beat it because she made it."

"Huh?" Springer looked confused.

"She might have been Nightmare Moon when she created it, but it was still her magic. It's been using her magic as a fuel source for centuries. So when Luna tried to fight it, all her magic did was power it back up. And now it's using her as its own personal battery."

"So if we free Luna, this thing should run out of power?" Flash asked, Wallflower nodding but it was only a guess. "Then let's do this. Trixie, try and confuse it."

Trixie nodded and held up her staff, "Illusion!" She slammed her staff into the ground and in a flash of light, twenty copies of each of them appeared. The golem remained stationary, not even giving the illusions a single look. The army of lookalikes then charged forward, as the Springers all launched aura blasts towards it.

But to their shock, the golem raised its arm and fired a laser at the only real one whilst the fakes all flew through it and vanished. As it did, the multiple Flash and Soarins flew up and circled around it before launching blasts of wind and fire. But the golem pointed its arms as the real ones and launched perfect copy of the attacks.

The ponies all growled, hating how little their attacks were doing. Even Wallflower, who summoned her Web Slingers along with her clones, found her attacks being burned up by a fireball whilst the illusions flew through it. "It's not working. We're not tricking it."

"But why?" Trixie asked, completely lost about how it was able to tell the real ones from the fakes. She decided to shake things up and dispelled the clones, then swung her staff around. "Illusion!" The light flew out and hit the five of them, causing them all to vanished from sight.

But the golem didn't even look phased and quickly launched another laser, which hit something invisible and exploded. "It can still see my attacks?" Springer's voice cried out, as the golem spun around to launch a fireball and unleash a spiral of wind. It then spun around and slammed its foot on the ground, causing another rock wall to appear seconds before an unseen force slammed into it and drilled a hole right through it.

Wallflower reappeared along with the others, her arm surrounded by the Spiral Shell as she glared the golem down. "It can see us," she frowned. "But how?" She then focused on the golem's head, narrowing her gaze to the large eye that made up the majority of its head. "That's it." She jumped back as she turned to the others, "I don't think this thing sees the way we do!"

"What?" Flash asked, wondering what the heck she was talking about.

"It must have some other way of seeing. A way that Trixie's illusions can't fool." Hearing this, Flash and the others tried to think of what way it could see in that wouldn't be fooled by the illusions. And Flash had a pretty good idea.

"Infrared."

"Info-what?" Soarin asked as he flew up next to him.

"Infrared. Basically, it means this thing can see heat sources. That's why it's able to see through Trixie's illusions. They don't affect our natural body heat. That's probably why it can sense all our attacks as well. They all give off some kind of heat."

"My ice attacks don't give off heat," Trixie pointed out as she fired several more ice spears towards the machine. But it blocked them all with its own icicle blasts. "If it can really see heat, why can it see my ice? They're pretty much the opposite of heat."

"True," Wallflower nodded as Springer fired an Aura Blast that the golem launched a laser to counter. "But maybe its thermal vision is different from the kind we know about. Maybe it can see super lower temps along with super high ones. So whenever it sees low temperatures around normal ones, it knows it's being attacked by ice." Those words echoed in Flash's head and as Soarin attempted to get in close, only to be blown away, an idea formed in his head.

"Trixie, I've got a plan." The magi turned to him, "I need you to use your Super Freeze Spell on the entire room." Trixie's eyes went wide.

"Are you nuts?"

"Trust me!" He cried, giving Trixie a look that made her realise he knew what he was doing.

As such, she took a deep breath and raised her staff. "Everypony be ready. Move to a frozen area as soon as I make it, so I don't freeze you as well." They nodded and Trixie summoned as much magic as possible, "SUPER FREEZE!" Ice lightning exploded from her staff and flew out in several arcs.

As it did, the area began to become covered in ice. The others quickly rushed over to an iced over area, allowing Trixie to focus on the rest of the place. Within seconds, the entire room was covered in ice. The only spot that wasn't had been the golem, which had unleashed a blast of heat from the orbs on its body to keep the ice from getting in close. But that was fine, since Flash didn't need it to be frozen...yet.

Trixie fell to the ground, seriously drained after that large spell. If it hadn't been for how strong her Sea Crystal was, she probably wouldn't have been able to completely freeze the place.

"Ahhh!" Soarin cried, shivering as he hugged himself. "Why did we let you do this? It's freezing in here."

"Exactly," Flash smirked as he dispelled his shield and raised his Aqua Bowgun. "Which means it won't be able to see this." He fired an Icicles Shot at the golem, which flew forwards as the machine stared at him. It then fired its own icicle and the two collided, exploding as Flash's eyes went wide. "What? But...that icicle should have been the same temp as the room. How did it see it?"

Wallflower caught on, whilst also seeing the flaw in his plan. "Don't be stationary. If you're behind the attack, it'll see the cold temperature in front of your heat source." Flash smirked and shot off the ice, taking to the air and firing at the golem as he did. The icicles flew towards the beast as it watched him moving around, doing nothing to counter the oncoming attacks.

Sure enough, the icicles slammed into it and the beast found itself staggering back whilst its body was completely scratched up. The others gasped, unable to believe it was working. Flash smiled and kept firing, the golem still unable to see the oncoming attacks.

"Looks like we were right about it having thermal vision," Wallflower laughed as more icicles slammed into it. "As long as Flash doesn't stay behind the icicles, the machine won't be able to tell when something coming at it." With every passing second, more and more icicles slammed into the golem from random angles. It roared as more and more damage was done to its body, Flash attempting to avoid the chest orb so he wouldn't hurt Luna.

As this was going on, Trixie forced herself back to her feet. "Flash still can't beat it on its own." She took a deep breath and started sliding across the ice, thrusting her staff forward as she did. "Icicle Shot!" As Flash flew in one direction, she was sliding in another as she fired icicles blades at the beast as well.

The now two-pronged attack continued to do damage to the machine, whilst Soarin took to the air and joined up with Flash. "Let's freeze this sucker!" Flash smirked and nodded, stopping his icicle attacks as the pair aimed their weapons.

"Water Pressure!"

"Tornado Assault!" The two fired a stream of water and a tornado, which merged with one another to create a hurricane that slammed into the golem as it was still trying to counter the icicles. The machine quickly found itself surrounded by water, which was being super cooled by the tornado and the low temperature of the room.

Its eye was the first thing to freeze over, making it impossible for its infrared vision to work. When the avians stopped their attacks, the drenched machine stood in place as its body began to freeze in place.

"Now's our chance!" Wallflower cried, as she pushed off against the wall and slid towards the golem. Her Spiral Shell weapon spun as she got closer and when she was within range, she leapt into the air and aimed her weapon at the chest. And whilst the drill was able to hit the orb holding Luna, gravity caused Wallflower to fall back towards the ground before she could really dig into the orb. "Augh, it's too high up!"

"I got this!" Flash cried, as he flew down and switched out his bowgun for his Lightning Blade. As he flew towards the golem, he aimed the weapon right at its chest. However, before he could reach it, the orbs along the golem's body began to glow beneath the ice.

Flash noticed this and before he could call out, the ice around the machine exploded.

Everypony was forced to back away, not wanting to be skewed by the shards as the golem stood tall. As it did, the orbs on its body glowed brighter. Then, suddenly, a blast of fire exploded out of its chest gem. At the same time, wind exploded from its right hand gem and water from its left. The gems on its knees shot out lasers and clouds of black mist, the five elements exploding around the room.

The ponies and esprit all cried out as they were forced to get as far away from the golem as they could, Flash quickly summoning his Fire Shield. But when the fireball slammed into his shield, the explosion was so big it hit Flash in the spots the shield didn't cover. "Augh!" He was thrown into the back wall, dropping his sword, as the others tried their best to avoid the attacks.

When Flash hit the wall, something flew out of his pocket. It was the rubix cube he had found, which hit the ground hard and made it crack.

Flash moaned as he slid to the ground, his shield still intact but clearly not enough to protect him from the blasts. He turned to the golem, who was completely ice free now. This included its eye.

It turned its thermal eye towards him before firing a pair of lasers, Flash gasping as he raised his shield. But he knew it wouldn't be enough to defend him from both. However, as he wished for a second shield, his belt glowed and an exact double of the Fire Shield appeared in his open hand.

Flash's eyes went wide as he quickly gripped the shield and raised it up, placing it next to the first shield and blocking both attacks. Flash huffed as he pushed himself back to his hooves, whilst the golem stopped firing its multitude of attacks. As it did, Luna screamed as her power was sucked out of her.

"It must have run out of energy," Wallflower cried.

"So it's sucking even more out of Luna?" Springer asked, Wallflower nodding. "How long can she stand something like that?"

Flash didn't want to find out. He quickly dispelled his shields and, thinking about his lightning blade, created two from his belt that appeared in his hands. He shot off against the wall, flying towards the golem and roaring as he did so. "LET LUNA GO!" But as soon as he got in close, the golem finished charging and once against started blasting out five of its six possible elements.

Flash's eyes went wide as he tried to block the attacks with his swords, but there were just too many and he was blasted back.

As he hit the wall again, the others were all struck too. The ice that surrounded the area had also been destroyed, Flash groaning as he pushed himself back to his feet. "Alright. New plan." He dispelled his swords and summoned two shields, which he held in front of him as he charged forward.

The attacks bounced off them as he flew forward, allowing him to get in close. But as he did, he tried to dispel his shield and summon his swords. But in the brief moment between his weapons being replaced, the golem's chest unleashed a fireball that hit him head on. "GYAH!" He was once again blasted backwards and as he slid along the ground, he realised he was in trouble.

He needed two shields, or even one really big shield, to protect himself and get in close. But he couldn't attack with his shields, meaning he needed to switch to a sword. But if he did that he wouldn't be able to defend himself.

"What do I do?" He groaned whilst pushing himself back to his feet. As he did, he saw Springer jumping around. As the esprit landed, a giant column of rock flew up and shot towards him. But Springer used his Steel Paws and crossed them over, the rock being cut to pieces as it made contact.

"Raaaah!" Springer cried as he then charged forward, using to claws to slash at the golem.

Though this attack did not damage the golem, who blasted Springer away with a burst of wind, Flash realised something. "That's it!" He thought about Shining Armor, whose weapon was a shield with a blade he could use to block attacks and dish out his own. "I need a weapon that I can use to attack and defend as well."

He thought about using the electric version of Shining's shield that he had, but then another idea popped into his head.

As the golem finished its all out attack and began to recharge, Flash removed his cards from his belt and put them away. He then took out an empty card, holding it up as he thought about the kind of weapon he wanted to created. Something that appeared on both arms, made of a strong but light material, and with the cutting power needed to break through this thing. As sure enough, the weapons he envisioned appeared on the card.

"Alright," he slotted the card into the belt, "HERE GOES!" He spun the belt shut and as everypony looked over at him, the belt unleashed a blast of light. The orb formed in front of him and Flash reached inside, grasping something as the items materialized around his arms.

He then pulled them out of the light and revealed their appearance. They were a pair of orange metal gauntlets that covered his hands and arms up to his elbows. Only his hands were completely covered, whilst the bottoms of his arms could be seen. A rubber band could be seen wrapped around his arm just below his elbows, whilst the very end of the gauntlets were round. And sticking out of the ends were three long silver claws, that looked sharp enough to cut through anything.

Flash held up his new weapons and swung them around, nodding at the feel of them. This felt pretty good.

The golem had finished charging up and launched a bunch of lasers towards Flash, who quickly brought his gauntleted arms together side by side. The others watched as the lasers slammed into Flash, but his gauntlet claws completely shielded him from the attack. "YEAH!" Flash cheered, as he pushed off against the floor and flew forward.

The lasers stopped and the golem launched an icicle towards Flash, who swung one of his claws around to deflect the attack.

The others gasped at this, as Flash finally got in close. He shielded himself from a fireball that came out of the chest gem, then slashed at the golem. The claws dug into the crystal and created threw deep grooves in the gem, forcing the golem to stagger backwards in shock and pain.

"YES!" Soarin cheered, "that's the way." Flash continued to slash at the creature as hard as he could, doing more and more damage with every swing. He then jumped back and shielded himself as the golem unleashed a blast of flame from its chest. But this just caused more cracks to appear on its body.

"We can't just sit around watching Flash do everything," Trixie told them. "We have to help." The others nodded and Wallflower had an idea.

"I've got a plan. Trixie and Springer. Keep it distracted!" They nodded and charged, Trixie unleashing a mist of cold air that surrounded the golem. With everything around it freezing cold, it couldn't see anything. This included Trixie and Springer, whose bodies were still cold and undetectable in the cool mist.

They both swung their claws and blade at the gem, cutting it more. But the golem spun around and slammed both its arms into them, the pair being thrown backwards and Springer feeling himself being a single hit away from going poof. But as the mist began to fade, movement above the golem made it look up.

Soarin and Wallflower were above it, Soarin throwing Wallflower at the golem before thrusting his bow forward to launch another tornado. This wind spiral blasted the terran forwards, as her gauntlets turned into their fist form. The speed she was going was so much, the golem couldn't react in time. As such, she reached it before it could even twitch a finger. And as she did, Wallflower thrust her fist forward and struck the eye.

A shattering sound filled the air, as the golem's eye broke apart upon impact. This also knocked the beast staggering back, and it likely would have screamed if it had been made to.

Wallflower fell towards the ground and unleashed a vine, using it to pull herself away as the golem's systems reacted to the damage it had taken. All its remaining gems began to glow, as it prepared to unleash an all out attack. "Now Flash!" She then cried, "while it can't see you!"

Flash nodded, the avian having flown up to the ceiling with his gauntlet claws at the ready. "I've wanted to do this since I saw it on TV as a kid." He brought his claws up and touched the tips together, then started spinning. As he did, flames appeared from the gauntlets and spiralled around him.

The others watched in amazement, as Flash morphed into a blazing tornado. And from that tornado, a drill of fire exploded out and shot towards the golem.

The beast unleashed its attacks, but with no way to see they all went wild and struck anything but its intended targets. This allowed the drill to slam into its chest and bore its way through the gem, which eventually shattered under the pressure and heat of the attack.

An explosion rocketed out of the golem, as the fire drill flew inside and that blasted its way out of its back. The others gasped but when the flames faded, Flash was revealed to be flying up and holding the Princess of the Night in his gauntleted arms.

The golem tried to continue fighting, but the battle had completely drained it of all its power and it no longer had Luna to recharge it. As such, its body began to melt into the many differently coloured liquids that had originally created it. Team Relic watched in amazement, as the liquid pooled around the ground before it started draining away through a crack caused by the battle. When the last of the liquid faded away, they saw a small piece of purple metal on the ground.

Once the golem was out of commision, everypony ran over to Flash as he flew down. His gauntlets dispelled as he hit the ground, allowing him to put Luna down as they all looked her over. She was unconscious and none of them had the medical knowledge to know if she had been unharmed or not.

"Is she okay?" Springer asked, with nopony answering.

"Do you think we saved her in time?" Trixie asked, turning to the others. They all knew what she meant, and all hoped that the golem's attempt to return her to being Nightmare Moon had failed. So they waited for the omni to come around, each one praying she was okay.

Then, she let out a moan as she began to move. Her eyes flickered open and as she looked up, she saw them all staring at her. "Luna!" Flash gave her a worried look, "are you okay? Are you...you?" They waited for a response, hoping her face didn't suddenly turn sinister before she proclaimed she wasn't Luna.

But instead of that, she did something they hadn't been expecting. She started crying. "I'm sorry." Team Relic shared a confused look, "I put you all in danger." She sat up and hid her face in her hands. "I thought I could keep you safe. That I could stop all the traps and monsters. But I failed. I led you all into danger and got myself captured." She looked up at them, seeing the many scrapes, bruises and a few burns on them and their clothes. "You all could have been killed and it would have been my fault."

"That's not true," Flash told her. "You didn't make us come on this expedition. We chose to come with you and we chose to enter this tomb." The others nodded. "Luna, it's not your fault any of this happened. You might have created this place, but you did your best to keep us from getting hurt in it."

"Yeah," Trixie nodded, "and we don't care that this place almost killed us. Even if it was your fault, which it isn't, that doesn't change what we think of you."

"And what do you think of me?" Luna asked, as Wallflower knelt down besides her.

"That you're a good pony that made a mistake and you're trying to fix that mistake." She placed a hand on hers, "so what if you're not doing everything perfect. You're trying and as long as you keep trying, you'll eventually make up for all the mistakes you made. That's what's important." Luna stared at her, then over at the others as they all nodded in agreement.

"You might have made some mistakes," Trixie told her. "But you've done a lot of good since we've met. You saved us from that poisonous mountain."

"You told us about Springer being an esprit," Soarin pointed out. "Which let us find him and add him to our team." Springer smiled at this, as Wallflower held up her gloves.

"And you upgraded my gauntlets so that I could be even stronger than before. I don't care what anypony else says. You're a good pony and I like you." The others nodded as Luna couldn't help but smile, then looked over at the pony that had saved her. But he was gone.

They all looked over at Flash and saw him walk over to the podium holding the spellbook.

Despite all the craziness that had happened, the book hadn't been hit by a blast, frozen or so much as brushed by the wind. He didn't know if that was because of some kind of spell, or just dumb luck. But either way, Flash picked the book up and returned to Luna's side.

He knelt down and held the book out to Luna. "With this, your quest is finally at an end." As she took the book, Luna remembered the last time she had touched it. When she used it to try and power herself up, but turned herself into Nightmare Moon. She wouldn't make that mistake again.

"Thank you," she sighed. "For everything." She picked herself up and looked the five of them over, "all of you truly proved you were worthy of being on this expedition. You've all shown that you have the courage, strength, wisdom, constitution, dexterity and charisma of true adventurers. I'm sure even most third years or even professionals couldn't go through something like this and come out alive. You should all be proud of yourselves."

They all smiled at this, only for Springer to have a thought. "Um...is the quest really over?" They all looked back at him. "We got the book, sure. But isn't the mission to return it to Canterlot? Doesn't that mean we need to return the way we came, then head there by that train thing you told us about?"

This statement got all the young equestrians to think, the lot of them realising he was right. They were far from finished. They would have to go over the marshlands again, then through the forest and over the poisonous mountain again.

The lot of them moaned, wishing they could take a break and be back home.

But Luna simply giggled. "You really think I'd make us go through all that again? I brought something that will let us return to your academy in the blink of an eye." This made them all smile, Soarin asking where it was. "It's in my bag," she smirked before sighing. "Which I left outside." They all groaned at this, since that meant they would need to get out of the labyrinth before they could get home.

As they prepared for their return trip, Trixie noticed something on the ground. "Hey, what's that?" They all looked at it and saw the cube Flash had dropped, Flash checking his pockets and realising it had fallen out.

"I found it on the way here." He moved over and picked it up, "thought it might be valuable." He picked it up and saw the cracks on it, making him frown. "Ah, but it's broken." As he turned it over, a piece between two cracks broke off. Doing so caused something to fall out. A string. "Huh?"

He grabbed the sting and found it was looped. When he pulled it free, the cube broke apart and revealed what was hidden within. An amulet of some sort.

"Is this?" He held it up and saw it was shaped like a pink ram's head surrounded by white wool, with yellow horn sticking out of it. "Luna," he turned to her and showed her the amulet.

Luna's eyes went wide as she saw it, Flash moving over to her. "It can't be!" Flash held out the amulet and she took it, unable to believe she was once again holding it. "Dreamwalker." The minute those words left her lips, a flash of light exploded out of the amulet and took shape.

The light flew off and revealed a bipedal lamb about the same size as Springer's younger form, being covered in white fur with a white face along with black arms and legs. She was also wearing a pink metal chest armor and a pink helmet was on her head, which had a pair of yellow horns sticking out of it.

The Esprit stood on the ground, then opened her blue eyes and looked up towards the ponies and esprit that had freed her. She then saw the omni and her eyes went wide, "Luna?"

The Princess of the Night teared up, "Dream!" The lamb ran forward and jumped into her arms, "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you too!" The lamb cried, the pair hugging one another closely. "What happened? The last thing I remember, you were feeling really upset. Then I went to sleep and that's the last time you summoned me."

"I'm sorry," Luna whispered. "I made a mistake and hurt so many ponies. And I made you feel abandoned." They pulled apart, "can you ever forgive me?" Dream looked into her eyes and smiled, the pair hugging once again as the others smiled.

Going through all this might have been hard, but it was worth it to reunite these old friends.

Luckily, their return trip through the labyrinth wasn't as hard as the first time.

Luna managed to direct them around the more dangerous areas, circumventing the trapped hallways. There were still a few monsters they ran into, but after the golem Team Relic didn't find these creature hard to deal with. Plus, it let Flash get some more practise with his new gauntlet claws. He had to admit, these weapons were great for both offence and defence.

Eventually, they reached the area they first entered and sighed as they saw the light at the top of the long staircase. Though with how exhausted they all were, scaling these stairs seemed like the hardest thing they had done throughout the entire journey.

But eventually, they reached the exit and stepped out into the daylight. "FREEDOM!" Soarin screamed, falling to his knees. "Finally. It's over." The others had to agree, many of them falling to the ground and rest. The only one who didn't was Luna, who moved over to where they had left their bags.

Tapping her staff on the ground, the earth exploded and the chest was lifted out of the hole. She quickly opened it up and found her bag, taking it out and opening it up to pull out a yellow football sized crystal. "The warp gem," she sighed as she showed it to the others. "When it's activated, it'll teleport us to the location of the second gem. Your principal has the other one, so we should appear right where he left it."

"Awesome!" Flash stood up and grabbed his backpack, "then let's get going." The others nodded and all grabbed their bags.

Luna put her bag on before turning to the esprit, "I think you two should return to your amulets. I don't know what effect this form of travel will have on you, so better to be safe than sorry." They both groaned, but nodded before their bodies glowed and vanished in a flash of light. Once the lights flew inside the amulets, Luna held up the crystal. "Everypony grab on."

They did so, each placing their hand on the crystal as Luna's horn unleashed a blast of magic that struck it. The crystal began to light up and when it did, everypony prepared themselves for what could be a seriously wild ride.

The gem then unleashed a light that wrapped around the lot of them, forming and orb of light that then vanished in the blink of an eye. All that was left was a circle of slightly singed grass, which let out a tall trail of smoke.

At the Manehatten Adventurer Academy, Grand Hoof was in his office going over some papers.

A gem sat on his desk that was just like the one Luna had had, the Princess of the Night being the one that gave it to him. And as he finished writing, the gem glowed and he looked up in shock before it unleashed a bright light.

From that light, Luna and Team Relic were thrown through the office and ended up crashing to the ground in a heap. Flash moaned as he sat at the bottom of the pile, trying to get up but feeling something soft and squishy in his hands when he did so.

Luna's and Trixie's cries made him realise what he was touching, the avian quickly pulling his hand back before they realised who had touched what. He quickly pulled himself free and and the others untangled themselves as well, whilst Grand stared at the lot of them.

"I wasn't expecting you all back so soon," he stood up and moved around the desk. "Did everything go well on the expedition?" He turned to Luna, "did you get it?"

Luna smiled as she held the book up, Grand looking at it in amazement before smiling at his students. "Well done. Am I right in assuming you didn't cause Luna any trouble and managed to help her?"

"In more ways than one," Luna smiled. "You have some impressive students here. Keep them well trained."

Grand laughed at this, "oh I intend to. So, I hope you won't mind indulging an old pony's curiosity and tell me what happened during this little adventure." As he said that, Flash's amulet glowed before it unleashed a bright light that transformed into Springer's younger form. As the jakhowl appeared, Grand's eyes widened in amazement. "Is that..."

"You might want to sit down," Luna smiled. "This is gonna take a while."

Several hours later, Flash and his friends were back at the train station.

The spot where they had first started their journey, would now be where the team parted ways with Luna. "You sure you're okay going back to Canterlot on your own?" Soarin asked. "We don't mind coming with you."

Luna shook her head, "you've all done enough. Besides, you've missed quite a few classes you're gonna need to make up. It'll be even more if you came with me to Canterlot." The four moaned, not looking forward to how much extra work they were gonna have to do to stay ahead. "But I can't thank you all enough. I never thought we'd end up facing so many incredible obstacles. And I never would have thought a bunch of first year students would be able to overcome them."

Flash smirked, "we never thought we could do something like that either. But we just kept pushing on and now we've completed our first official expedition." The others nodded as the train whistle blew, making them look around to see the vehicle heading towards them. "Well, I guess this is it."

Luna nodded, "I'll be sure to tell my sister everything you did for me. I'm sure she'll be eager to know about a team of strong Adventurers she can rely on to get the job done if she needs it." They all smiled, as the train pulled up to the station. Team Relic wanted to give Luna a hug, but they didn't think that would be proper in the middle of town.

As such, Luna stepped up onto the train and gave them all one final look before disappearing into the carriage. They waved at her, as she sat at a window facing her. Dreamwalker was also there with her, the esprit waving at them as the train began to pull away.

They watched as their temporary teammate, and now eternal friend, disappeared down the tracks. It wasn't until the train was completely out of sight, that they sighed and began to head back home.

"Feels like forever since we've been back here," Soarin stated as they made their way through the town. "But it hasn't even been a week." The others nodded, as they spotted a bunch of ponies they recognised as Iron Core and his team.

"Well, well, well." It was the magi that had told them about Luna and Nightmare Moon, "the rookies are back. What, did you run away from Nightmare Moon? Guess I can't blame you."

"Oh will you shut up!" Flash cried, making the magi blink. "Luna isn't Nightmare Moon. She a Princess of Equestria and somepony you should show respect for." The magi glared at him, about to say something back until Wallflower interrupted.

"Yeah, just leave her alone. She saved our lives during this expedition and we saved hers. That makes us friends."

"So don't go bad mouthing our friend," Soarin prepared his bow. "If you know what's good for you." Everypony, even Springer, got ready to fight the equestrian that insulted their friend.

The magi growled and turned to his team, but none of them looked like they intended to back him up. As such, he simply turned and walked away. "That's right!" Trixie cried, "run. Good thing you didn't get to go on this expedition. Luna would have just been slowed down." The magi growled, but remained silent as he walked off.

Iron glanced back at them and nodded before leaving with the rest of his team. The five sighed, glad that a fight hadn't broken out. They had been through too much to get into another fight now. "Come on," Flash told his friends. "Let's go home. I don't know about you, but I could probably sleep for a week." The others nodded and they all headed back towards the bakery their dorm was located above. Hopefully, Mr and Mrs Tart had something yumming they could enjoy before going to bed.

When the train finally arrived at Canterlot, night time had arrived and the omni was the only one in her carriage.

Dream was there, sleeping in her lap as she brushed her fingers through her wool. The train then came to a stop at the platform, the princess lifting the esprit up and heading towards the door. Dreamwalker awoke as she did and jumped out of her arm, the pair stepping out and looking around to see that barely anypony was there. This was expected, given how late it was.

She and Dream smiled, remembering the many nights they had spent alone together back in the old times. But those times had changed and they were beginning again. But to do that, they had to set things right from back then.

The trip to the castle didn't take long and as they walked through the town, Luna heard some still awake ponies talking. "Did you hear about what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala?" Luna raised an eyebrow, having chosen to begin her expedition at this time so she wouldn't need to go to that silly ball. "Apparently, some students from the Ponyville Adventurer Academy were invited and they caused a serious mess of the whole thing."

"Oh yeah. I doubt they'll be coming back any time soon. Probably got expelled or something. Luna had a feeling she knew who these ponies were talking about. And if she was right, they were not getting expelled.

They arrived at the castle and as she approached, Luna found the night guards standing watch. They all bowed to her as she passed and gave Dream a strange look, Luna nodding as she stepped through the entrance. When she did, she could feel the presences of every other omni in the castle.

There was, of course, her sister. But then there was another one. One she sensed was getting closer.

Sure enough, another omni appeared around a corner. She was pink in colour, looking tall but still being slightly shorter then Luna. Her mane and tail were a mixture of pink, yellow and purple, whilst her clothes consisted of a blue and white dress that went down to just above her knees and a pair of white socks and golden shoes.

"Luna!" She smiled, "it's good to see you're back."

Luna nodded, "Cadenza." The mare frowned at the name, "shouldn't you be in bed? It's getting late."

"I'm not a filly," the omni named Cadenza stated. "Besides, I was getting ready for bed when I sensed your presence. Didn't think you'd be back from your expedition so quickly." She looked worried, "it didn't go wrong, did it?"

"There were a few issues," Luna stated. "But no, it was a success." As she said that, Cadenza noticed Dream and her eyes went wide.

"Who's this?"

"I'm Dreamwalker," she waved. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Cadenza picked her up and turned to Luna. "Is this the esprit you and Celestia told me about?" Luna nodded, Cadenza looking amazed. "You found her. I can't believe it." Dream smiled as they reached the throne room, Luna throwing it open and being surprised to see her sister sitting upon her throne.

"Luna," Celestia smiled as she got up and walked towards her. As she did, she noticed the esprit in Cadenza's arms. "Dreamwalker," the esprit waved as Celestia turned to give a looking look towards Luna. "You found her."

Luna shook her head, "somepony else found her." Celestia reached her and pulled her into a hug, Luna hugging back and shaking as she did so. This caught Celestia's attention.

"Is something wrong?" She pulled back, "I feel...like something happened."

Luna sighed, "I had a bit of an incident during the expedition. Let's just say...if it wasn't for Team Relic, I might very well have become Nightmare Moon again." Celestia and Cadenza looked shocked, whilst Dream looked confused. "But that's not important right now." Luna reached into her bag and took out the book, "I got it back."

Celestia stared at the book in amazement, taking it from Luna and flipping through it. She smiled, "well done, little sister." She moved over to her throne, the others following her. "With this, we'll have everything we need to move forward when the time is right."

"Move forward?" Cadenza asked, "move forward with what?" She gave them a suspicious look, "are you two scheming something."

"Of course not," Celestia frowned. "However, Equestria is entering a new age. When Nightmare Moon returned, I could sense that she would not be the only threat that might return from the past. If more arrive, we'll need all the help we can get."

"And there's a spell in there that might help?" Cadenza asked, Celestia nodded.

"The most important spell of all." She opened it up to the final page, showing instructions to cast a spell that looked like the most complicated thing in the world. "With this, any pony that meets the criteria will be able to ascend to the status of omni."

Cadenza's eyes went wide, "you can create a new omni?"

Celestia nodded. "You ascening was a miracle. One I doubt we can count on to happen again. That's why it was so important to get this. With it, we can grant those who prove themselves worthy the power they'll need to keep Equestria safe."

"And I assume you already know somepony whose worthy?" Luna asked, Celestia smiling.

"She's worthy. But she's not quite ready yet."

Luna laughed. "Yes. If what I heard about the Grand Galloping Gala was about her, then she has a long way to go before she's ready to stand beside us." Celestia blushed at this statement, whilst Cadenza frowned as she had been unable to attend that party.

"Indeed." Celestia shut the book and placed it on the table next to her. "Now, my dear sister. Please tell us everything that happened during your expedition with this...Team Relic? I don't think I know about them?"

"Oh, you know one of them. The young stallion with the relic that Shining Armor has sponsored." Celestia looked shocked by this. "It seems that boy and his friends have more potential than I originally thought. I have no doubt, that they'll become heroes on par with even your student and her friends."

Episode 12: Attending a School Festival, as a Pony

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A mighty roar filled the air, as a beast exploded out of a lake.

This beast was a giant blue lobster monster, which was somehow walking on the surface of the water without falling through it. The beast looked down at the adventurers on the water and thrust its claws forward, a blast of water exploding out of them.

The water slammed into the ponies and sent those not flying in the air tumbling out of their boats and into the water. The avians dived down, some firing ranged attacks whilst others attempted to slam and smash the opponent. But the ranged attacks were repelled by more water attacks whilst the short ranged fighters found their weapons bouncing or even breaking off the lobster's shell.

The avians tried to retreat, but one was grabbed by the monster and lifted into the air. They cried out, as the pincer started squeezing him. Any second now, he would be snipped in half. However, that didn't happen.

"Blazing Slash!" A blur of orange shot past the pincer, as something cut into the shell and sliced right through it. This made the beast roar as it opened its claw, the avian falling out of it and into the water.

The lobster then turned to what had slashed it and saw Flash, gauntlet claws in hand, ready for a fight. And he wasn't the only one.

Soarin shot across the lake, pulling a boat along behind him. In it, Springer, Trixie and Wallflower were waiting.

"Let's get this thing!" Trixie cheered, as Wallflower dove into the water.

The formerly terrified terran sank into the water without issue, her gloves transforming into a pair of shell spirals that she spun to propel herself through the water. At the same time, Soarin let go of the boat and drew his bow back.

"Aero Shot!" He fired and the compressed air slammed into the beast's head, its shell cracking.

"Super Freeze!" Trixie unleashed the icy lightning, which hit the water and caused a ramp of ice to grow up from it. "Go!"

"You got it!" Springer leapt off the boat and ran up the ice, not slipping at all as his Steel Paws activated. He leapt off the end and flew towards the lobster, whilst Flash dived down with his claws ready. They both roared as they shot past the beast and slashed at it, whilst Trixie fired a laser towards its eyes.

The beast roared at these attacks, right as Wallflower shot out of the water and thrust both her drills into its shell. It couldn't take any more and launched blasts of water in all directions, knocking Wallflower and Springer back. Luckily, Flash and Soarin caught them and returned the pair to the boat. As they did, a blast of water shot towards them.

"Incoming!" Flash cried, as Wallflower stepped up to the front of the boat.

"I got it!" She slammed her hands together and in a flash of light, her gauntlets morphed into single device. It was an oval shaped purple shield with a red gem in the centre of it. The water smashed into the shield and Wallflower was almost blow back, until Trixie and Springer pushed into her back to keep her stable. Flash and Soarin pushed the back of the boat, keeping it from being pushed backwards.

Eventually, the water pressure ended and Wallflower raised her shield.

"Now!" Trixie and Springer fired a laser and Aura Blast, hitting the spot between the lobster's claws and its arms. This caused them to crack, as Soarin shot forward.

"ACCEL!" He accelerated forward and in the blink of an eye, shot past one of the claws and slashed at the cracked part of its shell. This caused the claw to be sliced clean off, Soarin then repeating this attack and cutting off the second claw as Flash shot towards the beast.

"Hellfire Spiral!" He roared, as he spun around and was consumed by flames. The blazing drill slammed into the lobster's chest, cutting right through the shell and burrowing all the way through it.

He exploded out of the back, the flames exploding off of him as the lobster fell into the water and exploded. Team Relic cheered at their victory, as Flash glided down towards them. Moments later, the area around them was consumed with light and transformed into the powered down training room.

Cold Steel and Skybreaker were standing with a bunch of students that had all been eliminated, the teachers looking impressed. "Well done," Cold told them. "You all showed teamwork and decisive action." Skybreaker nodded in agreement, as the students started whispering about how strong the five of them were.

Team Relic smirked as the class ended, Springer reverting back to his younger form. The five of them headed out of the training hall, all the while thinking about everything that had happened to them over the last few weeks.

Ever since returning from their big expedition, the team had proven that the experience had really shaped them into a stronger group of ponies. They had been behind their fellow students when returning, due to missing so many classes, but the teachers had helped and given them extra classes to help get them up to speed. But whilst their classroom grades had needed extra work, their field work proved how strong they had gotten.

Springer had quickly gotten used to life at the academy. Many ponies expected Flash to return him to his amulet between classes, since esprit weren't meant to be in non combat training, but Flash had told them Springer could do whatever he wanted.

Since the range Springer could travel away from Flash was larger than the entire campus, the jakhowl could do anything he wanted whilst Flash was in class. He often spent his days either in Flash's room, reading comics Soarin had given him, or at the bakery helping Mr and Mrs Tart in serving customers. And when he wasn't doing that, he was exploring the place and making sure to stay out of trouble.

Team Relic had become something of minor celebrities in the school, the lot of them having become the talk of the academy with the stories they had told about what had happened during their adventure. To say the students were amazed by them all was an understatement, but others believed they were just making some of it up.

The five were currently heading to the main building, since dinner was about to be served. The five were all starving and they needed to recharge if they wanted to be able to study for a big test they would be taking the next day. But as they arrived at the school's great hall, they spotted a large crowd gathered around something.

"What's this?" Trixie asked, the lot of them being reminded of what had happened when they first learned of the expedition with Luna. They wondered if maybe there was another contest like that one, the lot of them waiting as the crowd slowly split and allowed them to take a closer look.

"What's going on?" Springer asked as they found a large poster on the wall, the lot of them reading it and smiling.

"The school festival!" Trixie cheered, the lot of them getting really excited. Springer didn't seemed to understand what that was, making them all realise just how little of the outside world the jakhowl esprit had gotten to learn about the world.

"The school festival is basically a big party," Flash explained. "There are a bunch of booths that let you do a bunch of fun things. Most of the time, it's a food booth. But there are other stuff like games, puzzles and sporting events. It's great." The others nodded and Springer looked just as excited.

"That sounds awesome!" He jumped up, "let's go."

"We're not just gonna go," Trixie told him. "I say Team Relic opens its own booth. Show the school our team's talents don't just involve fighting." The others nodded, all liking the sound of that. And as they headed into the hall, they started brainstorming.

"There's gotta be something we can do," Wallflower stated as they sat down. "Something the other students will all enjoy."

"Like what?" Flash asked before getting an idea. "Hey, what if we put on a performance?" The others looked at him, "there are a bunch of different things we could do. Maybe do a skit routine."

"I don't think so," Trixie told him. "Those kind of things are usually cringy unless they're done by professionals."

"We could always do a magic show," Wallflower pointed out. "You could dazzle everyone with your tricks." Trixie thought about this, but Soarin didn't seem all that enthusiastic.

"No offence, but I feel like Trixie would end up stealing the show there. Even if she could teach us some tricks, she'd outclass us all."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I think I'd wanna do something the lot of us would end up enjoying and getting credit for." The girls nodded, understanding perfectly. "What if we did a musical performance?" They raised their eyebrows, "I know how to play the guitar. What instruments can you guys play?" But none of them gave an answer, "seriously?"

"Never really felt the desire to learn one," Soarin told him.

"Same," the girls agreed as Flash sighed. The five began to dig into their food as they tried to think of something, but nothing they did seemed like a good idea. It was either something they couldn't make work in time, had no idea how to do or just didn't like the sound of.

"There has to be something," Flash sighed as he swallowed a bit of sausage. As he did, he was reminded that he was still able to eat meat despite being horse descended. As he munched on the piece of sausage, he thanked the god that sent him there his species had evolved into omnivores. "Maybe we could do a food based booth. I'm a pretty okay cook." It was at that moment that Springer remembered something.

"Hey, what if you did a maid cafe?" They looked at him, "like in those comics I read." Trixie turned to Soarin.

"What kind of comics have you been showing him?" Soarin held his hands up in defence.

"Nothing inappropriate, I swear." He then looked at her and Wallflower, as if imagining something. "But you know, he might have a great idea. You two dressed as maids would be great." He, Flash and Springer all imagined the girls dressed up in the traditional black and white maid's dress, carrying plates of food and smiling at the customers.

Trixie and Wallflower frowned, then looked at one another. Trixie shrugged, whilst Wallflower thought for a few more moments. "Okay," she sighed before turning to them, "but the costume better be tasteful. If the skirt doesn't go past my knee, you'll be on the receiving end of my Soundwaver's loudest blast." The three nodded, Flash suggesting using his relic to make the costumes since all he would need is their measurements.

"So we've got a plan," Trixie smirking. "Maid cafe. Shouldn't be too hard."

"So what do we do now?" Soarin asked, "I'm guessing we can't just show up on the day and set up a random booth somewhere for people to sit and eat at." They realised he was right and as an avian second year walked by, Flash leaned over and tapped her on the arm.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Sorry, but do you know who we speak to about setting up an attraction?"

"Oh," she nodded, "You need to talk to Professor Bloom. She usually organises those things." They nodded and all smiled at one another, knowing who they were going to be talking to when they had the chance.

"A maid cafe?" Heather asked, the Herbology teacher smiling at the five currently standing on the other side of her desk. "Of course. You can open one during the festival."

"Yes!" They cheered, as Heather took out a binder labeled 'Festival Prep'. She opened it up and flicked to a section showing a map, the terran taking it out and holding it up. "Area five."

They took the map and saw it was an overview of the school and courtyard, which had been divided into multiple sections. The one labeled with a five, located in the corner of the map, was a medium sized area that looked big enough to accommodate multiple equestrians and some cooking equipment. "This looks great," Trixie smiled.

"Good," Heather nodded. "Now, the festival starts at ten and ends at five. You'll be assigned this section from ten to one. That means you'll be working during the lunch rush. You sure you'll be okay with that?" They all nodded, as Heather gave them a serious look. "You realise if you don't make back what the school will spend for your cafe, the lot of you will need to pay it back yourselves. You sure you wanna risk that?" Suddenly, they were all feeling very nervous.

"We'll be fine," Flash assured her. "With our idea, we'll make back the bits the school will spend and then some. Just watch." The others smiled and nodded, all confident they would be able to make serious paydirt."

"Okay then," Heather nodded. "But you should be careful. You won't be the only maid cafe running." This statement caused their eyes to go wide. "I put you at the other end of the map from them, so you won't be in direct competition. But the second years doing this managed to make a lot of bits last year. Just be careful you don't get overshadowed." Team Relic suddenly felt like this whole situation wasn't gonna be as easy as they thought.

"This isn't good," Trixie frowned as they walked back to their dorm room. "If we're doing the same thing as a group with experience at this, how are we supposed to compete?"

"Why do I get the feeling this other group are actually gonna go the whole sexy maid angle?" Wallflower frowned, since she really didn't want to do that but was worried about what would happen if they didn't make back what they would end up spending.

"Come on guys," Flash told them. "We can do this. We've faced off against monsters, deadly labyrinths and an omni enhanced golem. We can run a cafe for three hours and make enough bits to pay back the costs, even with another group doing the same thing. Now are you guys with me?" They all shared a look, then nodded. But Flash could still tell they were feeling a little unsure. "If we're worried that that other group are gonna overshadow us, then let's not try and copy them. Let's do a maid cafe and have a twist of some kind."

"Like what?" Soarin asked, though Flash was unsure what that could be.

That night, Flash was in bed thinking about what they could do to make their cafe better than the other one.

He tried to think of all the things that made an eating establishment great. 'Since the girls don't wanna do anything to resque with their costumes, not that I can blame them, we need to come up with another reason ponies will come to our place instead of the other one. But what?'

All this thought about the cafe caused Flash's stomach to growl, the avian getting up and moving over to the kitchen fridge. As he opened it up and looked inside, he stared at all the stuff there and huffed. Whilst he loved the world he lived in now, the one thing it tended to lack in compared to his old one was the snacks department.

Whilst the world did have sugary sweets, the sugar used in them were about ten times less then in his world. He was healthier because of it, but that meant they weren't as sweet.

As Flash grabbed a rice cake and began to eat it, he returned to his bed and thought back to all the amazing food he would never get to eat again just to being...there. His eyes went wide as he realised what he could do. "That's it!"

"Huh?" Soarin's voice made him look up and see his roommate was now awake, the annoyed avian turning to him. "What was that? Did you wake me up?"

"Sorry," Flash smirked, "but I think I know what we've gotta do to make our maid cafe a success." Soarin raised an eyebrow, Flash grabbing a notepad and pen to start writing with. It had been years for him, but all those recipes he had learned growing up in his first life were still fresh in his head.

The next day, Trixie, Soarin, Wallflower, Springer and the Tarts were out in the bakery, waiting to see what Flash was so excited to show them. Trixie turned to Soarin. "What's this about?"

Soarin just shrugged, having no idea what Flash was planning. "He said something about special foods that would blow everypony away. But what kind of food would he be able to make that nopony else would know about?"

"And even if he could make something, is it gonna be any good?" She got her answer when Flash stepped out of the kitchen, carrying three plates that he flew over to them.

"Thanks for waiting," he smirked. "Alright, here's some of the food I thought we could try and sell at the cafe. it's not hard to make and when done right, it's really good." They all looked down at the plates, staring at the weird looking pieces of food that none of them had ever seen before.

"What do you call these things?" Trixie asked, as Flash pointed at each of them.

"This is takoyaki. These are called potsticker dumplings. And lastly, we have dangos." They all wondered where the heck he had come up with these names, or the recipes. They simply stared at them, unsure what to do since they weren't sure they would want to try them.

However, Springer didn't seem to have this problem and reached out to grab a takoyaki ball. The jakhowl gave it a sniff before throwing it into his mouth, everyone watching as he munched away before moaning in delight. "Yum, chicken." Flash smirked as he turned to the others.

"Come on, just give them a try. I promise, they won't kill you." They all sighed before each taking a takoyaki and throwing it into their mouths. And when they started chewing, their eyes went wide.

"Wow," Trixie moaned, "these are great."

"So good," Soarin sighed.

"What are in these things?" Wallflower smiled.

"I got the recipe written down," Flash explained. "But wait until you try some of the other stuff. Try a potsticker." This time, they didn't hesitate and all grabbed one. Taking a bite, their reactions were the same.

"I'm getting pork," Mr Tart stated. "And...is that cabbage?" The teen nodded as they all enjoyed it before moving onto Flash's final creation. "You said these are called dangos?"

"Yup. They're sweet on their own, but you can dip them in a bunch of stuff to enjoy yourself." They each took a stick and pierced the colourful spheres, then all popped them into their mouths. Springer's eyes filled with stars due to the taste, the others being just as delighted as they enjoyed the gooey yet still firm texture of the treat.

"These are amazing," Mrs Tart cried. "So sweet, so delicious. I can't believe someone with no formal baking training is able to do something like this."

"Where did you learn to cooks stuff like this?" Soarin asked, the others wanting to know how their team's all rounder somehow knew how to cook delicious meals like this that none of them had ever heard of.

"Well," Flash scratched the back of his head, "a...travelling pony once came through my town. He set up a small booth and sold stuff like this. He was also willing to give anypony who liked them the recipes."

"Well I hope you're willing to share that recipe with us," Mr Tart smiled. "Especially the one for these dangos." They kept eating the three different foods, "I bet my cousin in Ponyville would love to try this." Flash smirked as everypony continued eating until they were all gone.

"Alright gang," Flash smirked. "So, we all agree to have these be the special foods we use at our maid cafe?" They all nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. If food this good, how could they not sell them. "Then we've got work to do." They looked confused, "I won't be able to make all of the food on my own. So until the festival is here, you guys are gonna learn the recipes for these things until you can recite them in your sleep. You ready?"

"YEAH!" They all cheered, Mr and Mrs Tart also happy to help as long as they got to learn the recipes as well. Flash smirked, knowing their maid cafe was gonna be a hit.

Several days past and eventually, the day of the school festival was there.

Team Relic had arrived at their designated area at nine o'clock, with everything they needed to make their cafe a success. Their area was a large space covered by a gazebo, with fifteen tables located inside it along with the cooking location next to a small tent they could use to store ingredients and get changed. Flash, Soarin and even Springer were dressed like traditional butlers, something Wallflower and Trixie had demanded in exchange for them having to wear the maid uniforms.

Speaking of Wallflower and Trixie, the pair of them were inside the tent getting ready.

The time for the cafe to open was getting close, since ponies were already starting to appear. Flash looked out and saw a bunch of different booths scattered around the area, along with some over by the beach of there had even been a couple on the town's streets.

"You girls ready in there?" He heard Soarin call to the girls, Flash and Springer turning to them.

"I'm not sure about this," Wallflower's voice called out. "These still seem a little...revealing."

"How?" Flash asked, "I made yours so you practically wouldn't show any skin. It's better than what that other group did." Flash had gone over to check out the other cafe and sure enough, the mares there were dressed more sexy than cute. Their costumes showed off a bunch of skin, having the tops of their chests, shoulders and upper backs completely bare. Their skirts and socks had also been really short, allowing anyone to get a good look at their legs. They were really pulling out all the stops.

"Come on!" Trixie cried as the pair stepped out of the tent. Doing so revealed that they were wearing more traditional maid costumes, being mostly black with white aprons and red bows tied around their necks. They were both wearing frilly white headbands, with Trixie's hair up in pigtails. Wallflower's skirt went to halfway between her knees and feet and had a pair of elbow length white gloves. Trixie's skirt was a little shorter and her gloves only covered her hands. She was willing to show a little more skin, so long as it wasn't much revealing. "How do we look?"

The three stared at them for a few moments, then smiles and each held up a thumb. "You look great," Flash stated. "Really great."

"Yup," the other two nodded as Wallflower still looked embarrassed.

"Don't worry," Flash assured her. "Your normal clothes leave less to the imagination than this. Let's just get everything ready so we can serve out customers."

"If we have any," Trixie frowned as she looked around. Ponies were beginning to file into the area and look around the many booths, Flash quickly heading over to the kitchen and started getting all the ingredients they would need ready.

As ten o'clock arrived, they all finished their preparations. Now they just needed somepony to arrive and sit down. So they waited...and waited...and waited.

Ponies continued to walk around the festival and seemed to be interested by everything. But as they reached their cafe, the males noticed the sign and looked excited. But then they saw how Trixie and Wallflower were dressed and appeared disappointed. They then noticed the food being served and looked confused.

"Try the takoyaki," Trixie told them. "I can assure you, it's like nothing you've ever tried before."

"I don't know," the stallion frowned. "Sounds like something you'd find weird stuff inside. I'd rather not risk food poisoning." The others agreed and walked off, Trixie crossing her arms in a huff.

"I can't believe those guys. They're talking like it'd have something gross inside. What do they think they'd find, octopus?" Flash decided not to mention that was supposed to be a key ingredient of this dish. Instead, he focused on keeping the food fresh.

Time passed, but nobody gave their cafe a second look. When they saw what was on the menu, they all turned their nose up at the idea. "You know," Soarin told somepony who walked off. "Adventurers are meant to dive into the unknown. Maybe you should think about a change in careers if you can't even handle some foreign food.

"Let's face it," Wallflower sighed. "The food may be delicious, but it's too new for anypony to wanna possibly waste their bits to try."

"Ahhh!" Flash growled, "this sucks. I was sure the interesting food would give us an edge over that other cafe."

"What's this about interesting food." They all looked around and when they did, Flash was greeted to the sight of one of the hottest equestrians he had ever seen. She was a tall pink mare with a mane and tail that were a mixture of three colours, the blue and white dress clinging to her in ways that left little to the imagination.

Flash's entire body froze at the sight of her, fearing that she would suddenly vanish if he even blinked. But when he finally managed to tear his gaze away from her most alluring features, he noticed the wings and horn she had. This could only mean one thing.

"An omni," Trixie whispered before they all noticed the tiara on her head. "A princess." The omni smiled at them, whilst many ponies around her were also staring. It wasn't everyday an omni princess came to their school festival.

Then, somepony stepped up beside her. Somepony they all knew. "Hey," Shining smirked. "Long time no see."

"Shining Armor?" Flash was finally freed from the spell this goddess of beauty had him under, allowing him to focus on one of his mentors. "What are you doing here?"

"Why wouldn't I be here?" Shining asked, "I was told you guys were throwing a party and I had to see what one of my favourite adventuring teams were planning on doing." He looked around, "a maid cafe? Interesting choice." The five felt a little embarrassed, only for the omni to clear her throat.

"Shining," she told him, "aren't you forgetting to introduce me to your friends."

"Oh yeah," Shining smirked. "Sorry." He turned back to them. "Everypony, allow me to introduce you all to the Princess of Love. Mi Amore Cadenza."

She sighed, "you know I don't like that name." Shining laughed as she stepped forward, "call me Cadance."

"Yes princess," the five bowed.

"Just Cadance, please. I get enough of that when I'm working. Cadance will be fine." They nodded as the pair looked around. "So, a maid cafe? And you said something about having interesting food."

"Yes," Trixie nodded, "would you both like to try some? I can assure you, it's delicious." The pair shared a look and nodded, Trixie quickly showing them to a table as Flash started making them some of the food. As he did, everypony around them watched with interest as the princess sat at this strange cafe.

Flash quickly finished the food and placed it all on a plate, Trixie taking it over to the pair.

"Please, enjoy." The two looked over the takoyaki, potstickers and dangos. They were clearly interested by the unusual food, Cadance picking a chicken dumpling up.

She gave it a sniff, that took a bite. Team Relic stood with baited breath, knowing that her liking this was probably gonna be what decided how the rest of their cafe's life would go. She seemed intrigued by the taste before letting out a moan, "this is absolutely delicious." They all smiled as the omni took another bite, Shining grabbing one and having it to.

"Wow!" He whispered, "this is great." They moved onto the potstickers and dangos, loving them just as much as they did the takoyaki. "Anypony who passes this up is an idiot."

"The biggest idiot," Cadance agreed. That seemed to make those watching jump into action, the lot of them filing into the cafe and grabbing whatever table they could find. Each of them ordered the same thing as Cadance and Shining, Flash quickly finding himself needing to work double time to make all the food.

Trixie, Wallflower and Springer began rushing around the place, taking orders and delivering the food to the tables. Soarin helped Flash make the food, their avian speed and dexterity proving useful in cutting up the food and getting it cooked just right.

Though the ponies were only eating there because a princess was, they quickly found that the food was more than worth it. They loved every bit of it and as soon as they finished one plate, they ordered another.

Outside the cafe, ponies who hadn't seen Cadance eat the food were spotting the large group of ponies ordering seconds and realised whatever they were serving must be good. Soon enough, there was a line for the cafe and Team Relic managed to make back everything they had spent on the ingredients in an hour.

As such, the rest of their time with the cafe was purely making profit. As soon as a table was cleared from the last pony, another or two would sit down and order their food. At one point, Professor Cold Steel, Skybreak, First Aid and Heather Bloom even sat down and got to enjoy the food.

"This is great," Skybreaker hummed. "Wish the school could serve these potsticker things."

Trixie heard this and smirked, "I'm sure Flash will be willing to give you guys the recipe." They turned to the pony still cooking, the avian looking and smiling at them and smiling as he finished up another batch of dangos.

"Flash," Soarin showed Flash several ingredients, "we're down to the last few ingredients. We're gonna have to close up soon."

"That's good," Wallflower walked over to put a plate down. " It's almost the end of our allotted time."

"Really?" Flash looked at the time and was surprised that it had flown by. They only had about fifteen minutes before they had to close down the cafe. "Well, better tell the customers." Soarin and Wallflower gave him a look, telling him he was the one who would have to do it. "Really?" He sighed and stepped out from behind the cooker, "attention everypony." They all turned to him. "As amazing as this has been, I'm afraid our kitchen will be closing." Everypony moaned, "I know. But our time is almost up and we're almost out of ingredients."

This statement got the ponies who were sitting to understand, the lot of them finishing the food they had before vacating the cafe. As they did, Flash and Soarin made one final batch of takoyaki and dangos. Alas, there were no more potstickers. Even so, they looked around and saw Cadance and Shining were still sitting at their table.

"Here you go," Flash placed the last of the food down. "First customers might as well by our last."

"Thank you," Cadance smiled as the others started cleaning up the table. "I hope you won't mind giving me the recipes for these delicious foods. I'm sure my aunts will love this."

"Aunts?" Flash asked.

"Princess Celestia and Luna," Cadance told him. "I believe you've met them. In fact, Luna had nothing by high praise for the lot of you." Flash smirked, glad the Princess of the Night respected him so much.

"So," Trixie stepped up to them, "sorry for being forward. But I'm interested in hearing how you two know each other so well." The others were just as interested, as Shining smirked.

"We were on the same team together," Shining explained. "Back when we were in the academy together."

Cadance nodded. "But before that, I used to babysit his sister when he and his parents weren't around." This surprised them, since they had no idea Shining had a sister. "You'll probably meet her eventually. She's the same age as you and is attending her first year at the Ponyville Adventurer's Academy. With your skills, it's likely you'll end up competing against her."

"Competing against her?" Flash wondered what she meant by that, but didn't get the chance to ask. Another group of ponies arrived.

"Hey, are you guys finished?" A terran asked, "we've only got an hour before we're supposed to open up." Team Relic realised these ponies were the ones taking over for them here, the ponies and jakhowl nodding as they had managed to just finish cleaning up.

"Give us a few minutes to get changed," Flash told them. They nodded and began to set thing up for their shop, as Trixie and Wallflower headed into the tent to take off their dresses. Meanwhile, Flash Soarin and Springer pulled off their bowties and removed their blazers.

Flash let out a huge gasp of air, as he unbuttoned his top button and was finally able to take a breath without being choked.

Shining laughed at this sight. "I remember the first time I had to wear something like that. Almost choked myself as well."

Flash groaned as he pulled his shirt out of his pants, "I'm never wearing this again. Next festival, let's come up with a plan that doesn't involve us needing to wear these horrible clothes."

Shining smirked. "Well if you ever manage to become a high level adventurer, you'll end up getting invited to galas and other events that'll require you to be dressed up." Flash groaned as the tents opened up, Trixie and Wallflower stepping out in their normal clothing.

"Wow," Soarin whistled, "that was fast."

"Those dresses are a lot either to take off then they are to get into," Trixie stated as Flash and Soarin stepped inside. A few minutes later, they to stepped out dressed in their regular clothing.

"Now we just have to take this stuff home," Flash held up his tux. "Beats carrying it around the place the whole festival."

"I think I can help with that," Cadance smiled before her horn glowed. She pointed her finger at the suits and the magic flowed through her horn into her finger, then out to Flash's suit. The next thing he knew, the suit and its hanger suddenly shrank down until it was small enough to fit on a doll.

"What did you do?" Flash asked in shock.

"Clothes shrinking spell," Cadance smiled. "Useful for when you need to carry a lot of clothes and don't want to carry a lot of suitcases. It'll last about twelve hours unless I recast the spell again."

"Wow," Trixie whispered as Cadance cast the spell on their clothes. Soon, the tuxes and dresses were safely stored in their pockets. "You think you can teach me that?" Cadance said she was more then happy too, as Shining gestured to the rest of the festival.

"Shall we start enjoying ourselves?" Shining asked, the others nodding as they all headed out to look around the rest of the festival.

When they reached the beach, they found found a bunch of cut out stands they could stick their heads through. Everyone laughed when Flash stuck his head through one showing a knight standing near the rear of a farting manticore. Wallflower and Springer became an octopus and a shark, whilst Soarin and Trixie stuck their heads through one of a mouse chasing a cat. Even Cadance and Shining stuck their heads through one, everyone laughing when they saw Shining was a princess and Cadance was a knight. It was hilarious.

After that, they found an obstacle course of such. You started at one end of a long hallway and had to make it past the obstacles to get other side, where a buzzer was waiting to record your time. Whoever managed to get the ten highest scores by the end of the day would win a special prize.

Soarin, of course, wanted to test his skills and ran through the course as fast as he could. He did quite well, until he got to the section with foam padded shields that flew back and forth. He ended up getting knocked around quite a bit. But even so, he managed to reach the buzzer and hit it to get into fifth place.

Flash, Springer and Shining all tried their hand at the course as well, though found it to be quite difficult since they weren't allowed to fly, use magic or any esprit abilities. Each of them got slowed down by one or two of the obstacles, resulting in their scores not being in the top ten highest.

They had fun though, whilst the mares all had a laugh seeing them getting beaten up by the course.

Afterwards, they grabbed their own food due to missing lunch as they worked at the cafe. There were many different types of food, but they were a lot more basic then the food Flash had introduced to them. Flash ended up enjoying a jumbo hotdog, Springer and Soarin had a burger, Trixie and Wallflower both had a salad with chicken nuggets. The other two only had a light snack, having had their fill at the cafe.

When they had their fill, they checked out a haunted house attraction that the males expected to make the girls hug them for support. As it turned out, they were the ones who ended up terrified and needing to be pulled out by the girls.

They then found a sumo game, where ponies dressed up in giant padded sumo costumes that they wore as they tried to push their opponent out of the ring. Flash and Soarin ended up facing off, with Flash managing to use a backwards roll toss to catapult him. Trixie and Wallflower went next, though it barely lasted ten seconds thanks to Wallflower's strength.

A little while later, they came across a booth that was set up to be a make your own desert station. Anypony could use it to make any sweet treat they wanted with the ingredient provided. The lot of them decided to try, grabbing some apples and use them to make candy apples. It was a messy experience, but the lot of them had fun as they did it.

As the day got late and the sun was starting to go down, they snacked on juice boxes and found a karaoke station. Everypony was excited to try that, the lot of them laughing when Cadance pulled Shining up to do a couple's duet. When the song ended, an announcement was sent over a loudspeaker to announce the winners of the obstacle course.

Turns out, Soarin had been knocked out of the top ten a couple of minutes before the course closed. Soarin was bumped at this, but he quickly perked up when Flash suggested he would just have to train harder and get the top spot next year.

Five o'clock was coming fast and as it did, the booths were beginning to close down. But that didn't mean the festival was over. In fact, music was beginning to be played over the loudspeaker as the day grew darker. And as it did, Shining suggested the lot of them head up to a balcony in the school.

Team Relic wondered why, but didn't argue and they all headed up there.

By the time they reached the balcony, the sun was almost completely set. As such, the seven of them were greeted to an amazing view of the school and lake bathed in the orange glow of the sun's last rays. "Wow," Trixie whispered, "this is amazing."

"It sure is," Shining smirked as he put an arm around Cadance. "And it's only gonna get better." Team Relic looked confused, as they wondered what Shining was talking about. However, they soon got their answer when the sun completely set and the moon began to rise.

As it did, a whizzing sound filled the air coming from the lake. It grew quieter and it got higher, only for a loud boom to pop in the air as the night's sky was filled with colour and light. "Fireworks!" Wallflower cheered, as another firework was launched. Then there was another and another, all different mixtures of colour.

They all watched in amazement, loving the display in front of them.

As they watched, Flash thought back on the great day he had had. Then he realised, he had had tons of great days since coming to the academy. He couldn't help but think back to the time he had met the god after his former life had been extinguished.

It was still hard to believe sometimes, that he had once been someone and something entirely different. Once, he was just an ordinary human teenager that happened to run out in front of a truck. Now, he was a humanoid pony with amazing powers, awesome friends and an entire world of adventure.

Shining looked over at Flash, who was only half paying attention to the fireworks and seemed to be in his own little world. "So," Flash turned to him, "is being an adventurer all you thought it was gonna be?"

Flash thought about this, remembering everything that had happened since regaining his memories. Meeting Shining and unlocking the ancient relic. Being given the chance to enter the adventurer's academy and meeting his future teammates. Training and bonding with Soarin, Wallflower and Trixie. Going on adventures with Shining and Luna, meeting Springer and saving the Princess of the Night from being turned back into an evil villain. And so many other moments he couldn't even list.

"No," he shook his head much to Shining and the other's shock. Then, he smiled at turned to them. "It's even better than I could have hoped." They all smiled, as Flash looked around at the friends he had made.

Flash had come to this world because he had wanted to be a hero. And despite everything he had been through, he couldn't say that he was that hero yet. But if he got to keep having adventures with the ponies he cared about, he was happy to continue with life he was on.

"Faust," he looked up at the sky, "thank you for this new life. I'll keep living every day of it the best I can until the day we meet again. My new life...as a pony."

OVA 1: My Chaotic Vacation, as a Pony

View Online

It was a clear and beautiful day in Equestria, with not a cloud in the sky. The perfect day to be outside, where Flash just so happened to be.

Flash Sentry, Springer the Jakhowl, Soarin Skies, Trixie Lulamoon and Wallflower Blush were all walking down a dirt path, making their way across the lands with large rucksacks on their backs. Team Relic were all on vacation from school, the lot choosing to spend their time off visiting a place Flash was glad to see once again.

"There it is!" Flash cheered, seeing the walls of his home village off in the distance. He let out a sigh as he saw the place, "it's good to be home."

"So that's where you were born?" Springer asked, as they all stared at the village.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Not really," Trixie frowned. "Not being rude, but the place doesn't exactly look...breathtaking."

"Looks kind of standard," Wallflower agrees. Flash huffed at this, as Soarin placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Relax man. Who cares what it looks like? What matters is the experiences you have there." Flash smiled and nodded, as he continued to lead them towards the village. "Still, would have been nice if we didn't have to walk all the way here.

"Well we don't really have a reason to be part of Equestria's train network," Flash explained as they got closer to the village. "Most of the residents of this town were all born here, raised here and will probably die here. We don't get a lot of hoof traffic."

"Why did we agree to come here again?" Trixie asked, as the front gates came into view.

"Because the founding festival is taking place in two days," Flash smirked. "The best party ever, celebrating the creation of our village. Trust me, it's gonna be a blast!" They arrived at the town entrance and the guards spotted them, their eyes going wide seeing Flash before they all smiled.

"Hey kid!" One of them, a Terran, cheered as he moved other to put an arm around him. "We were hoping our town's shooting star would make it back in time for the party."

"Hey Quake," Flash smirked. "You been keeping out of trouble?" Quake laughed at this.

"With you gone, somepony has to make thing interesting around here." He patted Flash on the back before looking over at the others. "Friends of yours?"

"Yup," Flash nodded. "This is Soarin, Trixie, Wallflower and Springer." Quake and the other guards noticed Springer and looked a little worried. "Don't worry about him. He's with me." Springer smiled and the guards nodded, letting them all into the town.

As they did, they noticed how the town appeared to be decorated. Banners of many different colours were hanging from buildings, flags were hanging from string tied up between buildings and ponies were setting up booths and others fun things for the following day.

"Now this is what I call a party," Soarin smirked.

"Yeah," Springer nodded, "I can feel the excitement everyone's feeling."

Wallflower saw many ponies waving at Flash, who waved back as she hummed. "So this entire town only exists because of your belt, right?" Flash nodded.

"Pretty much. According to the legend, the kids of Omni that made it had sealed it away so nopony could use it for evil. But many adventurers tracked it down to the forest outside of town. They spent years searching for it, using this area as a camp to rest when they weren't searching. Eventually, some of them gave up the search but fell in love with the area. So they built a few houses to live in."

Trixie smirked. "Those few houses turned into a lot of houses, then a few shops and a school in order to look after the colts and fillies of those living there. Then it just kept going until the town was born, right?" Flash nodded, "pretty much the same story for every town and city. Something draws them to it, they stay and bam, new town."

Wallflower hummed. "So in a way, your belt is the reason you were born. It's also the reason your parents and everypony else was born as well."

Flash hummed. "You're mostly right." He waved at another group, "my parents are some of the few ponies who weren't born here. They were adventurers that retired to this little village after they met. But you're right about most everypony else."

They continued through the town, until they finally arrived at Flash's childhood home. Not having seen the place in months, Flash smiled before reaching out to check if it was locked. He smirked and opened the door, only to find the place was completely abandoned.

"Huh?" Flash stepped inside, the others following behind. "Weird. I told them I'd be home today. And they never leave the door unlocked. Where-" Suddenly, the lights flew on and several ponies appeared from out of hiding.

"SURPRISE!" Misty Vail and Trail Blazer smiled at their son, who was shocked to see them along with his old friends Streak, Guster and Stomps. "Welcome home!" They all cheered, seeing the surprised teens.

"Wha?" Was all Flash could say as his parents rushed up to him.

"It's so good to see you!" Misty pulled him into a hug, as Trail patted him on the head. When she pulled away, she looked Flash over and smirked. "I think you've grown a little."

"I have?" Flash looked himself over, not thinking he had grown at all.

Trail laughed as he patted Flash on the shoulder. "I think he just looks that way because he's buffed up." He tried to pinch Flash and found his arms was almost all muscle. "Yup, that school's certainly got you a few extra muscles." Flash blushed, as his friends laughed. "So, you gonna introduce us?"

"Oh, right." Flash stepped to the side and gestured to them. "Everyone, these are my friends from school. Soarin Skies, Wallflower Blush and Trixie Lulamoon."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Wallflower bowed.

"Yeah," Soarin smirked, "thanks for having us."

"And thank you for keeping our son safe," Misty smiled at them. "I'm sure he must have pulled you all into a lot of trouble since meeting him." Flash frowned at her, as the others laughed.

"You have no idea," Trixie stated. "But we're happy to have him on our team." It was in this moment that Springer stepped forward, surprising Flash's parents as Flash knelt down.

"Mom, dad. This is Springer. He's my esprit partner. Pretty much, he's part of the family now." The two were shocked by this, but then smiled when Springer gave them his cutest look.

"Aw," Misty knelt down, "aren't you the most adorable little thing." She started scratching Springer behind the ear, the jakhowl melting into her touch.

"Oh yeah, that's the stuff." Everypony laughed at this, whilst Trail turned to Flash.

"I've heard of esprits. Never thought you'd get one." Flash shrugged, "but isn't he supposed to be bigger?"

"He's as big as he needs to be," Flash replied. "Wait until you see him in a fight. He'll evolve into his battle form and show the world just how powerful he is." Trail nodded, as Flash turned to Streak, Guster and Stomps. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," the three smirked, "not everypony was able to escape this place." Flash rolled his eyes, as Misty told them the party was beginning. She had gotten all of Flash's favourite party foods and they had begun to celebrate his temporary return home.

As they did, Flash learned that his friends were all working in different parts of the town. Guster was now a mail-pony, whilst Streak was studying to be an electrician and Stomp was apprenticing with the local baker. Despite how mundane their jobs appeared, they were enjoying them.

What they weren't enjoying were the eye rolls Wallflower and Trixie were giving them, whenever they tried to flirt with the girls. To say they weren't interested was an understatement.

The group began telling them tales of their adventures. Flash had already told his parents in a letter how his first real quest with Shining went, so they moved on to telling them about how their quest with Princess Luna went. All the amazing places they went to and the challenges they overcame, eventually leading them to saving the princess herself.

Flash's parents were quite impressed, having never heard of a golem like the one Flash had faced. Streak, Guster and Stomps were amazed, since Flash doing what he did sounded like something out of a superhero comic.

The party went well into the night, though Guster had to leave early since he was on early mail delivery tomorrow, with Streak and Stomps leaving when the sun was beginning to set.

Misty had cleaned Flash's old room so Trixie and Wallflower could use it, whilst Trail had gotten a blanket and sleeping bag out for Flash and Soarin.

Once the house was cleaned up and everypony had washed up in the bathroom, they headed to bed looking forward to having some fun in Flash's hometown the next morning. They planned on taking a proper tour of the town, with Trixie even suggesting they check out the forest and see how well they did in such a monster filled environment.

And so, Flash found himself sleeping on the floor whilst Soarin laid on the bed above him. Springer had returned to his amulet and now they were just listening to the quiet sound of nothing, letting it slowly drift them off to sleep.

"This place is pretty peaceful," Soarin smirked. "Growing up here must have been great."

"It was," Flash nodded. "Though back when I was younger, most of my spare time was spent training so that I could get into the Adventuring Academy." He laughed. "Ironic. I spent my whole life training to get out of this town and as soon as I got into the academy, I start missing this place." He and Soarin laughed as Flash remembered all the fun times he had had there.

Before he got his memories back, Flash was always having fun. Going out for picnics outside the town, playing in the streets with Streak and the others. Going to the Founding Festival with his parents every year. When he got his memories back and his spark to be a hero was fully ignited, Flash's focus shifted.

He still got to have fun, occasionally hanging out with his friends, but he spent much of it learning how to fight with swords and shields or studying at the library. It wasn't until he was finally in the academy that he let himself relax a little, resulting in his free time doing magic shows with Trixie, helping in the gardens with Wallflower and just playing around with Springer.

Yup, Flash had certainly been getting the most out of his new life. And he had Faust to thank for it.

He hadn't actually thought of the god that had reincarnated him in a while. He had asked her to give him the chance to be a hero and Flash was certainly on his way to becoming one. But he couldn't help but wonder about her choice of locations.

He was thankful she had reincarnated him as Misty and Trail's son, but had she done so only because of the ancient relic that was now laying beside him? Was she the one that had made the belt chose to bond with him, setting all of his adventures into motion?

He would probably never know, though he had a feeling he would meet Faust again when this new life came to an end. But that, hopefully, wouldn't be for many many years to come. Until then, Flash would just be thankful for everything he had and enjoy his time off from school.

The sound of Soarin's snores filled the air and after living with him for a while, Flash had learned to tune them out. Soon, he followed Soarin in to the realm of dreams.

But as he slept, something happened to the town.

From a distance location, a wave of white light rolled over the land and appeared to be spreading throughout all of Equestria. As it did, the ground, plants and animals all began to glow.

The next morning.

Flash let out a yawn as he laid on the living room floor, Soarin sleeping on the couch above him. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, his stomach telling him he needed to fill the tank. So he headed into the kitchen and grabbed a snack to hold him over until breakfast. But as he did, a loud banging suddenly sounded through the room coming from the front door.

"What the?" Soarin suddenly sat up and looked around, clearly confused after being drawn out of his sleep. "Dude, what's with the wake up call?" Flash shrugged as he grabbed his amulet and put it on, giving Springer the energy to come out and take form.

As he did, Flash opened the door only to find Guster standing on the other side looking freaked out. "Flash!" He cried, "you gotta do something!"

"About what?" Flash asked, only for a giant purple fish to suddenly swim behind Guster like it was nothing.

Flash stepped out the house and looked around, his eyes going wide as he realised his hometown had been completely transformed. Every other house had been morphed into something else. One was made out of gingerbread, another had been transformed to be made out of legos and another appeared to be upside down.

Giant flowers were growing out of the ground, whilst rain clouds filled the air. Only they were pink in colour and raining out a brown substance, which Flash hoped was chocolate. The group was checker-boarded, being either two shades of blue or two shades of pink.

But the strangest thing had to be the sudden influx of wildlife in the town. The aforementioned giant fish, was only one of the strange things filling the town. Ballet dancing bulvines, giant frogs with wind up keys spinning on their backs and what appeared to be a giant slinky with eyes in the middle.

"What the heck am I looking at?" Flash asked, as Soarin and Springer ran out. Trixie, Wallflower and his parents weren't far behind, the lot looking around and being in just as much shock as the boys. Screams then filled the air and Flash rushed inside, quickly grabbing his clothes to change.

Soarin did the same as the girls ran upstairs, returning a minute of so later dressed in their clothes and with their weapons at the ready. Flash placed on his belt and they all ran outside, Team Relic charging in to battle whatever was causing this insane situation.

"Be careful!" Misty cried, as Flash gave them a thumbs up before taking to the air.

As he did, he spotted something a few streets over. A giant creature that looked like a white potato, covered in black panto masks that all had opened mouths. And from out of those mouths came a long tentacle, that allowed whatever it was to move around and hold stuff.

And one of the things it was holding was a magi mare Flash recognised. "Crinkle Cut!" He shot down and used his belt to summon his twin Gauntlet Claws, which equipped themselves to his arms.

The creature seemed to notice him and sent one of its tentacles towards him, but Flash spun around and used his claws to cut through the tendril before getting to the one holding the mare. And with a mighty swing, he slashed through it and the mare fell towards the ground.

Luckily, Soarin shot in and caught her. "I gotcha!" He flew her away from the monster, as Flash began to use his Hellfire Spiral to burn through the creature. Breaking through to the other side, he landed on the ground behind it as the creature let out a mighty roar. Then it did something unusual.

Instead of exploding into specks of light, its body began to inflate like a balloon before popping with a burst of smoke and confetti. "Huh?" Flash looked up at the falling confetti, wondering what the heck had just happened.

"Flash!" He looked around and saw Trixie and Wallflower running towards him, Springer right behind them. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "a little weirded out." He brushed the confetti off his body. "I don't think we're dealing with normal monsters right now." As if to prove his point, pink bubbles shaped like elephants suddenly flew into the street.

Soarin had chosen this moment to return and fired a blast of wind at the creatures, hitting one of them and causing it to explode. But when it did, snakes fell to the floor.

"Wow," Springer jumped back. They watched, as the snakes began to slither along the ground. But oddly enough, the snakes appeared to be moving backwards. Their tail tips were lifted slightly off the ground and moved along it, whilst their heads were being dragged behind them on the floor. "Alright, that's just freaky."

The snakes reached them and started trying to bite the group, forcing Flash and Soarin into the air whilst Springer, Trixie and Wallflower started dancing around to avoid their fangs.

Springer leapt into the air, as light exploded out of Flash's amulet. "Esprit, EVOLUTION!" The light swirled around him before exploding off, revealing his more adult form. "Aura Blast!" He slammed a sphere of spirit energy into the ground, the following explosion knocking the snakes away.

"Super Freeze!" Trixie unleashed blasts of lightning, which turned several snakes into ice sculptures whilst Wallflower crushed them with a single bunch from her gauntlet.

Flash flew further up and saw more insane things happening around the town. And as he flew higher, he saw it wasn't just the town that was being affected by...whatever the heck this was.

Outside the town, creatures of many different shapes and sizes were roaming around. And the landscape had also been drastically altered, as the forest's trees were now walking around and giant beanstalks were sticking out of the ground. "What the heck is going on?"

"Boot!" He heard Soarin cry, making Flash look up and see a leather boot with wings flying towards him.

"AUGH!" He somehow found himself getting kicked in the face, causing him to go flying out of control until he crashed into the ground. "Ow."

"You okay?" Trixie rushed over to him, helping the avian pick himself up.

"Boot strike," Flash rubbed his nose. "Log it." Trixie looked confused by this, but they had bigger issues to deal with when the ground suddenly stopped being solid. "WOW!" Those on the ground could barely keep their balance, as the ground acted like it was a giant balloon or bounce house.

"What now?" Wallflower asked, as Springer started bouncing around trying to get to the others.

Flash once again jumped into the air, grabbing Trixie and pulling her up as Soarin did the same to Wallflower. Springer started running along the sides of the buildings, as they heard more screams filling the air. "There's gotta be something causing this," Flash stated.

Wallflower looked around, seeing many different insane things happening without rhyme or reason. "It's so...chaotic." That word struck a chord with her, "chaos magic."

"Come again?" Trixie asked.

"I read about it...once. A type of magic not usable by any kind of pony. Only a special group of creatures are capable of wielding it, but I can't remember what they're called."

"You think one of those things is here?" Soarin asked.

"I'm only guessing. Chaos magic is supposed to be able to do anything, but is almost impossible to control. Cast a spell with it and anything can happen."

"That doesn't sound good," Flash frowned. "We need to try and get these creatures out of the town. I don't know how the heck the guard let them in in the first place, without sounding the alarm."

"They didn't have time." They all looked around and saw Trail flying behind him, carrying Misty with him. "I just talked to the guard captain. He said there was a bright flash of light and suddenly, everything was different. The creatures all just appeared out of thin air."

"Sounds like chaos magic," Misty stated with Wallflower nodding.

"So how do we stop this chaos magic?" Soarin asked, but Misty and Wallflower just frowned.

"Barely anything's known about this magic," Misty explained. "It hasn't been seen in over a thousand years." Before anypony could say anything, the ground suddenly ripped open as a giant green and yellow polka dot worm appeared beneath them.

The creature opened its mouth and showed a bunch of rotating teeth, that almost swallowed Flash and Trixie. But Springer shot forward and slammed a foot into the side of its head, sending it crashing into the side of a building. As it did, Trail dropped Misty onto the roof of a building before taking out a shield and spear.

"Flame Javelin!" The tip of the spear burst into flames and when he swung it around, the flames shot off the spear and pieced the worm's head. This made it roar in pain, keeping its mouth open as Misty held up a magi-staff.

"Star Cluster!" A sphere of light exploded out of her staff and shot towards the creature, flying right into its mouth. As soon as it did, the sphere separated into multiple smaller spheres that started blowing up.

The worm screamed as its body was blown up from the inside out, causing it to burst into confetti like the other creatures. Flash and his friends were all impressed by this. "Your parents are pretty awesome," Trixie told him.

"Well," Flash smirked, "they were adventurers." They heard more screams and saw more strange creatures attacking the citizens. Those ponies could do nothing but run, as almost every house was just as dangerous as the creatures out on the street.

Flash learned this the hard way, when he flew down to tackle what appeared to be a T-rex made out of a kitchen sponge.

He slammed it into the ground, only to bounce off the ground and fly towards a building. And when he did, the door opened before what appeared to be a long red carpet flew out and wrapped around him. "Uh oh!" He was suddenly pulled into the building and found the place was moving, the carpet dragging him through it like a frog's tongue would drag a fly through its mouth.

He let out a roar as he ignited his claws, allowing him to slash through the carpet and free himself. He then charged back towards the door, only for a bunch of metal spines to almost hit him and impale the wall instead.

"Yaaaar!" Flash gulped as he ducked under them, then leapt out of the doorway. "This is getting insane!"

"We're gotta find a way to stop these things!" Soarin cried, launching a blast of wind at a buck ball with teeth.

Flash agreed, as another house tried to grab him with its carpet tongue. He quickly cut it up and decided to change his strategy, dispelling his claws and summoning his lightning sword and fire shield.

The ground quickly turned to jelly again and they all flew into the air, Flash's eyes surveying the town and seeing many more monsters around them. More creatures were also making their way past the walls from outside, the guards too busy dealing with the current horde to stop them.

"We've got no choice," Flash stated. "We need to split up and take everything in the city out faster then it can replenish. Then, we can focus on keeping everything else out." He pointed at the girls. "Trixie and Wallflower, you two head to the eastern part of town. All the creatures there seem to be earthbound." They nodded as he pointed at Soarin and Springer, "you two head west and deal with the creature on the ground and in the air."

"Got it!" Springer nodded as Soarin smirked.

Flash then turned to his parents, "can you guys deal with the creatures in the south?"

"Of course," Misty nodded. "But what about you? You're not seriously going to fight the northern creatures on your own?"

"Nope. There's already a large collection of guards up that way. I'll join with them and help take out the monsters." He pointed his sword in the air. "This is what we've been training for. Let's show everypony in town why we were allowed to study at the Manehatten Adventurer's Academy!"

"YEAH!" They all cheered before they split up and headed off in different directions. As they did, Misty and Trail were amazed.

"Our son really has grown," Misty whispered.

Trail nodded. "Yeah, he's not the little kid we raised anymore." He smirked. "He's gonna go places. He won't fail like we did." Misty smiled before a roar pulled their attention away from their parenting epiphany. They rushed off to take down the monsters, hoping they could defeat them all before the numbers grew too large.

Over the next two hours, the warrior ponies of the town were forced to fight continuously. Whenever a pony managed to defeat a monster, another one seemed to pop up to replace it. All they could do was keep fighting against the creatures, but it was growing more and more exhausting with every fight.

It didn't help that barely any of the fighting ponies had had anything to eat that morning, causing their engines to slowly run low on fuel.

"Accel!" Soarin cried as he shot forward at a blinding speed, cutting through several flying sharks, whilst Springer used his Bone Breaker staff to deflect the water balloons being thrown by an elephant dressed like a clown. The water balloons were full of a strange liquid and whenever it splat against something, that object would have something strange happen to it.

Parts of the ground Springer batted the balloons onto transformed into doves, giant screaming heads and a robotic T-rex claiming to be the son of god...whatever that was.

"Steel Paw!" He then shot forward, the spike on the back of his paw morphing into a trio of claws that he used to slash through the clownepant. Like the other creatures, it expanded like a balloon before popping with a bunch of smoke and confetti flying out of it.

"Illusion!" Trixie cried, turning herself and Wallflower invisible to the eyes of the giant spider they were fighting. Said spider had a bunch of roller skates on its legs and when it fired its web, it was actually firing silly string.

Wallflower ran forward and transformed her gauntlets into the Web Slingers, which she used to grab its front four legs before sliding under the creature's large body. Doing so pulled its front legs under it and caused it to roll forwards onto its back, as Trixie leapt into the air and summoned the blade on her magi-staff.

"Take this!" She stabbed the creature in the chest, making it scream as it began to balloon up before popping. The two gave each other a thumbs up, looking around and seeing there were any more monsters around them.

At the same time, Trail surrounded his entire spear with fire. "Blazing Thrust!" He threw the spear and it soared through the air, cutting through a line of purple monkeys with hands on their tails. Each one soon had a hole through their chests and they exploded, Trail sighing as he saw several more monkeys hanging off the sides of buildings.

Misty raised her staff as the end glowed. "Black Lightning!" She unleashed a spell that was exactly what the name suggested.

Bolts of black lightning exploded from the staff and slammed into the buildings, destroying many of the monkeys and allowing Trail to rush over and grab his spear to dispatch the last few primates that had escaped his wife's attack.

The pair nodded before hearing a large explosion off at the northern part of the town, making them worry and causing the pair to rush off in the direction their son had run off to.

Said son was currently blasting his way through the many monsters, using his lightning sabre to shred the Frankenstein teddy bear fusions to ribbons. "Flame on!" He cried, launching a blast of fire at a bunch of sheep made out of marshmallows, roasting them into exploding as he turned towards the final creature left to fight. A large collection of multi-coloured pipe cleaners, twister together to resemble an actual horse.

The horse charged forward and Flash flew at the beast, spinning through the air as he swung his sword around. The guards watching were amazed, as they watched flash turn into a lightning covered spinning top that shot past the creature in the blink of an eye.

When Flash reached the other side of the creature, he stopped spinning with his blade pointing forwards. Meanwhile, the pipe cleaner horse let out a neigh before it started falling apart and turned into a pipe of differently sized pipe cleaners.

The guards all cheered at Flash's skills, amazed at how strong he had gotten since leaving home.

"Flash!" He looked around and spotted his parents, Trail carrying Misty towards him. "You okay?" Flash nodded, as he flew up higher. His parents followed suit and they all looked over the walls of the city, but saw that they had apparently destroyed every creature that had crawled into the city from outside.

Flash sighed, hoping this meant the assault on their home was over.

However, he soon came to regret thinking that. For the ground suddenly started shaking. "Oh, come on. What is it now?" The shaking was growing heavier and they all realised it was coming from outside the town, making them look towards the forest.

Many of the trees had walked away, but there were still a great many of them left. And soon, something ripped itself through those trees and stepped out into the open.

It was like nothing Flash had ever seen. It appeared to be some kind of centaur creature, though only in shape. Its body was very different, being yellow in colour.

It looked like a giant yellow skull mask had grown a body similar to a hippos, only it was made out of yellow stone and had a long tail sticking out the back. Out the top of the mask part was a humanoid body, also made out of stone, with four arms and long white horns sticking out of its shoulders and back. It had no head, but did appear to have a pair of eyes in its chest.

The creature looked around the size of an elephant, making Flash wonder how the heck it had managed to shake the earth. But with every step, the ground did shake. Clearly, it was a lot heavier then its size indicated.

"Everypony get ready!" They nodded as Soarin, Trixie, Wallflower and Springer arrived on the scene.

The beast approached the town and as it did, Flash got a better look at it and noticed its lower arms didn't have hands. Instead, they ended in a pair of tubes that the beast was now pointing at the wall. The next thing they all knew, the creature fired a strange black liquid towards the wall.

When it hit, the wall instantly melted and allowed the creature to walk into the city. With every footstep, it shook the ground and made the building around it fall apart. And as they did, the mouth of the stomach mask opened up and started breathing in.

Doing so caused a powerful suction, which pulled the wreckage into it. And as it swallowed, its entire body began to glow before it grew larger. "That's not good."

"Aero Shot!" Soarin launched a blast of wind, which struck the creature but did nothing to even scratch it.

"Super Freeze!" Trixie fired the ice beam at its legs, trying to freeze and break them. But as soon as the ice formed, the creature pulled its leg up and ripped its foot off of it. "Gross!"

"At least its can't walk right," Wallflower pointed out. But as soon as she said that, the creature's leg stump bubbled before a new foot materialised out of it. "Or not."

"Everyone!" Flash cried, "fire together!" He launched a fireball at the creature as the others launched their long distance attacks. Several magi guards and a few others with long range weapons unleashed their own attacks, which began slamming into the creature.

But each and every attack simply bounced off the creature like it was made out of rubber. None of them left a scratch or graze, shocking them all as the creature turned its attention on them.

It raised its tube arms and pointed them at the ponies on the ground before unleashing a blast of black liquid, which shot towards them.

"Everypony move!" Flash cried, as they leapt into the air to avoid the ooze. It slammed down onto the ground and flooded the streets, turning the buildings into an melting mess. Flash and the other flying ponies all unleashed their attacks at the ooze, pushing it back so that the grounded ponies could escape.

When the ooze stopped following them, Flash looked up at the creature and shot towards it. His parents called out to him, but he pointed his sword at its chest and attempted to stab it in what he hoped was its heart. But before he could even get close, the creature swung a giant arm at him and almost sliced him in half with its claw.

The creature had now grown to over sixty meters in height and was still growing, as it sucked up more and more of the town that it destroyed. "I don't know where you came from!" He told it, "but I won't let you destroy my home!" Flash shot forwards and sliced his lightning sword through the creature's arm, running up it as he carved a long gash into the limb.

But when he reached the shoulder and pulled away, he looked back and saw the creature was already starting to heal.

"ACCEL!" Soarin shot forward and used the blades of his bow to cut into the creature's legs, hoping to knock it off balance. But the beast's legs were so thick, he might as well have been using a needle to cut a slice of bread.

Wallflower saw its stomach mouth close and slowly open up again, preparing to suck in more of the city. She then had an idea and and smiled as she ran forward. "Wallflower!" Springer ran with her, "what are you doing?"

"Giving it something else to chew on!" She cried, as the sucking force began. "Paralysis Cannon!" Her arm morphed into the maroon tube, which she pointed at the beast before firing. The mist shot out of the end and was quickly sucked up by the creature, all who knew that weapon's power smiling since it meant the creature would be frozen solid.

However, as Wallflower finished unleashing the mist, the creature didn't seem to be slowing down or freezing at all. Instead, it simply stood there, as if trying to determine if it liked the taste of the paralysing mist or not.

Then, it opened its mouth again and breathed out. Doing so sent all the mist flying down towards Wallflower, making her gasp as Springer shot forward.

He quickly threw her over his shoulder and ran away, the mist flying behind them. The other grounded ponies also ran, as the mist barely failed to overtake them and eventually faded away. The ponies on the ground panted as they stopped running, whilst the creature stepped forward once again and crushed several building its then swallowed.

As it grew larger, the eyes on its chest started glowing. "That doesn't look good." Flash was right for in that moment, each eye unleashed a beam of light that shot down towards the ground.

They expected it to explode upon contact, but it didn't. Instead, the ground and houses it touched, both the ones affected and not affected by this bizarre magic, were transformed into ice cream versions of themselves. The ice cream began to melt, filling the streets with a flood of strawberry, vanilla and chocolate cream.

The ponies on the ground screamed at the oncoming tidal wave, fearing they were going to drown in it. But before the wave could reach them, Flash landed on the ground and slotted a card into his belt.

He had just made this on the fly, but hoped it would work to protect his friends and family. His arms were both surrounded by light and when they faded, Flash was revealed to be wearing a pair of black metal gloves similar to Wallflower's. Only these ones had purple gems on the back of the hands, which glowed as Flash slammed his fists together.

He then thrust them upwards, beams of light firing from the gems and flying up. When they collided above them, the beams flew outwards and forms a dome of light that surrounded everypony.

The ponies of the town were amazed by this, Streak, Guster and Stomps shocked at the sight of their friend looking like a badass hero.

The wave struck the shield with incredible force, so much so that Flash had a hard time keeping his balance when it did. But he stayed up and forced the barrier to remain, as the ice cream washed over the dome and continued to fill the rest of the town. When it did, the ice cream surrounding them slowly lowered and eventually reached only to their knees.

Flash finally stopped and the barrier disappeared, everypony flinching at the cold feeling of the ice cream on their hooves.

The avians took to the air, Flash amongst them as he dispelled the gauntlets and summoned his sword and shield once again. The beast stared at him and he knew they had to find a way to stop it. But how? It seemed almost impossible.

It was then that something happened that came out of nowhere.

A brilliant beam of rainbow light, which shot into the air in the far distance. It was likely hundreds of miles away, but so bright it could be seen even from there. The only ones that saw it were those in the air, the light making them look away from the creature.

That beam of light then exploded into a wave of some kind, which spread out across the land and began to move towards Flash's hometown. "What the heck is that?" He asked, as he dodged a claw and unleashed his own fireball at the beast.

Whatever it was, it moved across the land faster then anything Flash had ever seen. It only took a minute to travel from its starting point and reach the town, allowing them to see that it was a wall of rainbow coloured light that filled everything between the earth and the sky.

And as it spread across the land, anything it touched that had been created or changed by the unknown chaos magic was undone.

The houses it flowed over were reverted back to their original states, whilst the strange creatures were completely vaporised. This included the giant stone centaur, which let out a roar as it vanished from existence the moment the wave struck.

Flash flinched at the brightness of it and braced himself, unsure what this light would end up doing to him.

But as it flowed over him, he only felt a gentle warmth that caused all the pain he felt to disappear. And when the light past him, he looked down and saw all his injuries were gone.

He looked over and saw the light pass over everypony else, healing them up the same way. And the wave just kept going, undoing all the strange things that had been done to the town. It passed over the entire village and once that was done, it just kept going spreading over the forest and anything else behind the town. It kept going and going until it disappeared, either dissipating or simply leaving their field of view.

The ponies looked themselves over and when they realised they were all okay, they started cheering and celebrating the end to the insanity they had just had to survive.

Flash flew down and hugged his parents and friends, only for the exhaustion he felt to catch up with him. The others were just as exhausted and once they made sure there was nothing left that had somehow survived that light wave, they headed back to Flash's house.

There, they gorged themselves on as much food as they could stomach before going to bed and sleeping until late the next day.

They ended up glad they had slept so long, for the next day was full of excitement for them. Despite all the insanity that had occurred the previous day, the light that had spread over the town had fixed up everything to its original state. As such, the ponies of the town saw no reason to cancel the Founding Festival.

So that day was spent playing many games, watching many shows and eating all kinds of fun foods. When the sun eventually set, the festival was brought to a close by a fireworks display. To say Team Relic enjoyed themselves was an understatement.

In the days that followed, news spread about the chaotic near apocalypse. Turns out, Flash's village wasn't the only one hit by this strange event. All over Equestria, insane things had been going on. The cause had been the return of an ancient evil from Equestria's distant past, a master of Chaos Magic.

He had escaped from his imprisonment and began to spread his chaos across the kingdom. But before it could spread too far and cause too much damage, a group of ponies had defeated him using a bunch of magical relics. The same relics that had apparently restored Princess Luna.

That group of ponies had been given great honours. But that did not overshadow the hard work many adventurers did, in order to keep the chaos magic from doing any harm. As such, Flash and his friends were treated like heroes for the rest of their stay at Flash's hometown. And when they returned to school, they had quite the story to tell.

OVA 2: Battlings Slimes, as a Pony

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In a forest on the outer edge of Equestria, the animals were enjoying their lives living as animals without a care in the world.

But that all changed when a loud engine filled the air, causing the birds to take flight and the grounded creatures to run up trees or into their underground burrows. A few seconds later, the source of the sound rocketed into view.

The all terrain truck shot over the land and as it did, those inside cheered at the excitement they were having.

Flash Sentry was at the wheel, with Soarin Skies beside him and the rest of his team in the seats behind him. The truck wasn't exactly the same as before, as the living accommodations had been shrunk down to make room for a second row of seats. Trixie, Wallflower and Springer sat in the centre row and behind them, Shining Armor, Luna and Cadance of all ponies were seated.

Shining and Cadance, having never experienced Flash's all terrain vehicle, were amazed by its performance. "This is awesome!" Shining cried, as the truck went flying through a muddy puddle.

Cadance laughed as well, enjoying the ride as she sat between Shining and Luna. Unlike the first time they had met Cadance, the omni was dressed in a blue skirt and a white sleeveless shirt with a pink sash around her waist. A white and pink backpack was on her lap, along with a pink magic staff with a blue heart on the end of it.

The reason the group were flying through the jungle, was because Luna had discovered the last location of a castle, belonging to a well renowned wizard and creature scientist. When she heard where it was, she could think of no better team to ask to accompany her.

And when Shining and Cadance had learned where they were going, they decided to tag along. Shining wanted to see how far Flash and his team had come, since he had last seen them in action and Cadance thought it would be fun.

"Shouldn't be much further now," Luna told Flash. "Take a right here." Flash swerved the truck around and everypony cried out at the sudden shift in direction, laughing at the excitement.

"I have got to get myself one of these," Cadance smirked. "Can you imagine rocking up to peace agreements in this?"

"Well I can happily disenchant one for you," Flash stated. "But I don't think it'll actually work without my belt feeding it magic." He wasn't completely sure about that, since he had no idea how much of an internal combustion engine it actually had. For all he knew, the only thing it would need was gas.

"There it is!" Luna announced as she pointed ahead of them. They all looked out the window and saw a mountain, just beyond the trees. Leaving the jungle, they found themselves in a large open space surrounding the mountain.

"This is where the castle is?" Trixie asked, as Flash pulled the truck to a stop. Everypony got out and Flash dispelled the vehicle, Springer placing his paw on the ground and channelling his aura.

"This place was once full of life. Many ponies lived here."

"Yes," Luna nodded. "I bet if you dug this area up, you would find the ruins of old houses that were built around this castle."

"What castle?" Soarin asked, "I don't see anything that looks like it could have been a castle. Either the whole thing was destroyed, or it was built underground."

"No," Cadance shook her head, "I can sense it." She pointed up at the small mountain, "a spell is keeping it from view." They all turned to the mountain, Luna smiling as she took out her scythe.

"Exactly. A phasing spell, keeping it from being discovered." She raised it up as the weapon glowed, then spoke a spell Flash couldn't quite comprehend as she swung the weapon down. Doing so caused the blade to unleash a dark blue energy blade, which flew up towards the mountain.

The attack struck something and exploded, the light it unleashed spreading across something to form a dome around the entire mountain. Then, when it was completely enveloped, the dome shattered to reveal an old looking castle atop the giant rock with a staircase leading down to them.

"Wow," the students all whispered as Luna began to step towards the stairs. "To think it's just been hiding here." Wallflower placed a hand on the stair's banister, as she, Trixie, Shining and Springer started climbing up it. The winged ponies flew up to the top of the staircase and found a set of red double doors waiting for them.

Luna opened it up once the others were there and they all stepped inside.

"So who exactly was this unicorn?" Soarin asked, as they looked around the entryway of the castle and found the place was rather well preserved despite being centuries old.

"He was believed to be a descendant of Starswirl the Bearded," Luna explained. "He created many impressive spells, that are still being used today. But not much else is known about him. He ran this area of Equestria and Celestia stated he was quite...quirky. Not sure what she meant by that. She said be rarely if ever left his castle and was always doing research. But he was also known to have some very fun parties. He even invited Celestia to a few of them."

"Did Celestia ever go to any?" Cadance asked.

"Not sure," Luna replied. "Anyway, he died and his castle vanished when he did. Celestia tried to make the place unphase, but the spell was just too strong at the time. It wasn't until now that it finally weakened enough for us to come take a look around."

"What are you expecting to find?" Flash asked, noticing a suit of pegasus armor standing against one of the doors.

"He's bound to have some experiments and notes, that could prove useful." Luna spotted a small bookshelf ahead. "We'll do a quick sweep of the place and make sure there isn't anything dangerous. Then we can leave a proper survey to an archaeology team." They nodded but as they did, Springer sensed something.

"We're not alone here!" He prepared to go into his battle mode, whilst the others brought out their weapons, ready to fight whatever was coming.

They looked down the dark corridor, as something appeared from out of the darkness. It was small, no larger then a soccer ball, and round. It seemed to be sliding along the ground and eventually, it came into the light and revealed itself to be a mass of blue jelly without eyes or a mouth. Inside the mass was a golf ball sized core of some kind.

"Oh," Flash smirked, "it's a slime." He had always wondered if slimes were a thing in this world, but assumed so since it had so many other Adventure Story elements. He turned to the others and noticed Shining and Soarin looked a little nervous, whilst the girls all looked like they were staring at some kind of eldritch horror. "You okay?"

The slime moved closer and when it did, the girls all screamed with Luna unleashing a blast of magic that struck the slime. The core in the center popped, which caused the slime's body to follow suit and spill its liquids everywhere.

The girls continued to scream and leap away from the slime. "Wow!" Flash told them, "what is up with you guys?"

"You don't know about slimes?" Soarin asked, Flash nodding as Shining sighed.

"They have another name. The bane of mares."

"Come again?"

"Slimes destroy clothes!" Trixie cried, still looking terrified despite the slime being dead. "They're the weakest monsters in existence and can't even hurt ponies. But their fluids can dissolve fabric."

"Ah," Flash nodded, "I get yah. Guess fighting a monster that can leave you butt naked would be difficult. But hey, you managed to destroy it. So what's the big problem?"

"Slimes never come alone," Shining replied. "You see one, there's probably a whole lot more you're not seeing." And just to prove his point, more slimes suddenly appeared from down the corridor.

The girls screamed and began to run the way they came, the boys chasing after them with Soarin launching several Aero Shots to destroy the slimes behind them.

The girls ran for the exit, but found that even more slimes were waiting for them there. "Where'd they come from?" Wallflower asked, as the boys caught up.

Flash then noticed the stairs seemed clear of slimes and began to fly up them. "This way!" The others followed him up the stairs and they eventually arrived at next floor, which was also free of slimes.

"That was too close," Trixie sighed.

"Did one get on me?" Cadance started looking her clothes over. "I think I got some on me. Shining," she was whining like a baby, "did I get any on me?" Shining looked her over and shook his head, Cadance sighing. "Can't we just teleport out of here and be done with this place?"

"We can't turn back now," Soarin frowned. "If we run away from slimes, that embarrassment will live with us our entire lives." The mares sighed, but knew he was right.

"Let's see if there's anything up here," Shining told them. "Hopefully, those slimes will have dispersed once we're done and we can leave." They nodded and began to make their way through the castle's upper levels.

A few minutes of looking into different rooms, which were mostly guest quarters, they found a large set of double doors that were locked. It took Wallflower's shell drill to bust through it and when they looked inside, they found the place was a large laboratory of sorts.

"This must be where he did his research," Springer guessed as they looked around. There were many different vials and potions covering the table, making them worry the air might have turned toxic if the potions mutated.

But Luna did a quick air quality spell and found the place was safe.

"Hey," Wallflower found some kind of journal on a table, "this must be his notebook." He opened it up and read through it. "Geez, this guy's handwriting was terrible."

"Can you read it?" Luna asked, as she stepped up to a bookshelf and took out a few of the books. Some were actually quite rare, museum pieces some would call them. "Memory spells?" She read the books, "why would he be studying memory altering spells?"

"To anypony who's reading this," Wallflower stated. "It is clear my time has passed and whoever's reading this wishes to know about my life's work."

"What life's work?" Soarin asked, as Wallflower speed read through the first few pages. From what she could tell, he was talking about creating the ultimate creature of his dream. One that would allow him to have his every fantasy.

"What fantasy?" Springer's question would remain unanswered, as something fell down from the ceiling: A slime.

The girls all screamed at the sight of it, the four of them rushing out the room whilst Soarin, Shining and Springer dealt with the creature. Flash ran with them, knowing that they would probably need protection if they ran into more slimes. And sure enough, several more slimes fell down from the ceiling and almost fell on top of the girls.

Cadance leapt back, falling right into Flash, whilst the others continued running forwards.

At the same time, the notebook Wallflower had been holding started glowing. She looked down at it with confusion, as the book unleashed a bright light that began to spread across the entire castle.

"What now?" Trixie moaned, as the slimes approached. "I just wanna get out of here!" And it was as if the light was answering her question, as in that moment she, Luna and Wallflower vanished.

"What happened?" Cadance gasped, as Shining, Soarin and Springer rushed out of the room and saw them. And before any of them could cry out, Cadance and Flash vanished before the light faded away.

"CADANCE!" Shining ran over and destroyed the slimes as he inspected the area she and Flash had been on. "Where did they go?" He closed his eyes and tried to connect to the lingering magic, trying to determine what it was. "It doesn't feel like destruction magic. It's more like...teleportation magic?"

"But where did they get teleported to?" Springer asked, trying to lock on to Flash and the other's auras. But he couldn't. They were either shielded or very far away. "Where are you guys?"

Flash moaned as he began to come around.

He was on his back and felt a weight on his chest. As he opened his eyes and tried to pick himself up, he heard another moan and looked down to see a mixture of yellow, purple and pink hair right in front of him. Cadance was laying on top of him.

"Oh no," Flash gulped as he felt something pressed against him. Something Shining would probably kill him for feeling. "Um...princess? You okay? Cadance!"

"Huh?" Cadance finally awakened and groaned as she picked herself up, clearly not realising what she had just been doing and the effect it had had on the young stallion. "What happened? Where are we?"

"I have no idea." Flash looked around and saw they were laying at the dead-end of a long corridor. Looking down the corridor, they saw several openings in the wall until it reached another dead end. The only light source, was from a small hole in the ceiling every couple of feet. "Oh, don't tell me we were teleported into some kind of maze."

"Looks like it," Cadance nodded. "I wonder if it's located under the castle."

"Think you can teleport us out of here?"

"I can try." Cadance grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close to her, making Flash blush as she held her magi-staff and channelled her magic into it. But the light exploded off them before it could completely form. "Looks like whatever that wizard was up to, he didn't want anypony getting out of here easily."

"So what do we do?"

"What else?" Cadance walked forward, "we go through the maze." But as she said that, they heard a laughing fill the air. Cadance held up her staff and Flash summoned his sword and shield.

"Welcome," a weaselly sounding voice announced, "my pretty little contestants. By now, you've probably realised you're trapped in an intricate maze. There will be no teleporting out or blasting your way through the walls. The only way out is to run my special gauntlet. Nothing here is life threatening, but you might want to be careful."

"What did he mean by that?" Flash asked, Cadance unsure.

"Who was that?" Trixie asked. She, Wallflower and Luna were in another corridor, having just woken up from their own teleportation.

"Sounds like a recorded message," Luna stated. "Something must have triggered some kind of entertainment spell on the castle."

"Entertainment?" Wallflower gulped. "For who? I don't find getting teleported into a giant maze entertaining. And what did he mean about a special gauntlet? If it's not life threatening, why do we have to be careful?" It was then that something appeared around the corner. Something that made their eyes go wide. "Oh no."

"SLIME!" Trixie screamed, seeing a red coloured slime moving towards them.

"I've never seen one that colour before." Luna was just as scared as the girls, but was also intrigued by the slime's strange colour. But before she could wonder if the colour effected it, the slime suddenly spat something at them. A bullet of its slimy substance, which made them all cry out as Luna put up a shield.

"Since when do slimes spit?" Wallflower asked, Luna lowering the barrier as Trixie unleashed a barrage of icicles. One struck the slime and destroyed it, spilling its substances all over the floor.

Luna sighed. "Looks like that wizard left a little surprise for us. A gauntlet of slimes, possibly with new abilities that could make getting out of her unharmed tricky."

Flash and Cadance found themselves in a similar situation.

As they made their way through the maze, several blue slimes appeared. Cadance looked terrified at the sight of them, whilst Flash summoned his weapons. "Stay back. I got this!" He rushed forward and slashed at a slime with his sword, then cut through another and another. He quickly dealt with them all, without getting any of their slime on him.

Cadance clapped, "my hero." Flash couldn't help but blush at this, as they continued forwards. Along the way, they found more slimes and Flash kept slashing at them whilst Cadance gave support with her magic.

"Weird," Flash frowned after cutting up the last slime. "These things don't even try and protect themselves." Another slime appeared and Cadance held up her staff.

"Fire Shot!" A fireball exploded from the staff and shot towards the slime, only for it to leap out of the way. "What was that you were saying?"

Flash rushed forward and cut the slime in half, making it pop as he leapt back. "Guess some slimes are smarter than others." As he said that, another slime appeared. This one being purple in colour.

"A purple slime?" Cadance had never heard of such a thing. As far as she knew, slimes only ever came in blue colours. "I don't like this." As she said that, the slime shot forward with incredible speed. This surprised them, since slimes were only meant to move slowly.

Flash raised his shield, prepared to counter when it attacked him. But to his surprise, it shot right past him and targeted Cadance.

The omni screamed as it tackled her, knocking her to the ground as its body because to eat through her shirt. "NO!" Flash quickly ran up to it and used his sword to flick it off of her, destroying the core as he did so and causing it to melt into the ground.

"You okay?" Flash turned back to her, only for his eyes to go wide when he saw what the slime had done.

"Oh," Cadance moaned at her exposed chest, "my bra as well." She then remembered Flash was there and looked up to see him staring, the avian gasping as their eyes locked.

"I'm sorry!" He spun around, as Cadance covered her chest.

"It's not your fault. It's that perverse wizard that did this." She sighed, "there's no way I'm gonna be able to walk around like this. I can't fight with my arms covering myself. Don't suppose I could borrow your jacket, could I?" Flash nodded, though he doubted it could fit her.

But just as he was about to take it off, a idea suddenly flew into his head. He quickly took out a card and imagined the shirt Cadance had been wearing before. When the card formed, he slotted it in and summoned it before disenchanting the shirt. "Here." He threw it back at Cadance, who caught it and was shocked to see her shirt had been restored.

"Wow," she smiled and quickly swapped it out. "Thanks. Remind me to call you the next time I need a dress made in a hurry." Flash blushed at this, whilst more purple slimes appeared.

"Great," he summoned his weapons again and was ready for them. The slimes charged again and like before, they were making a beeline right for Cadance. "Why do they only want you?" He quickly slashed them in half.

Back in the castle, Shining, Soarin and Springer continued to search the place for their friends.

As they did, Soarin was reading through the notebook Wallflower had dropped when she was teleported away. "Hey, listen to this?" Shining and Springer looked over at him. "At long last, my experiments are beginning to show results."

"What results?" Shining asked. "What was he experimenting with?"

"It seems he was trying to breed new types of slimes," he explained. "Slimes with abilities outside of their normal fabric eating abilities."

"I get it," Springer nodded. "So he was trying to make slimes that could be useful to ponies. Maybe one that eats dirt instead of clothes. Or ones that produce medicine. Is it stuff like that?"

"I'm not sure." Soarin flipped to the next page. "Huh, what's this?" He started reading. "Construction on the labyrinth is ahead of schedule. It should be ready by the time I've completed my first batch of new slimes. My pretty little guests are sure to have the time of their lives down there."

"I don't like the sound of that," Shining frowned as he looked down at the ground. The only place that could be was below them inside the mountain. And if Flash and the girls had been teleported into it, they had to find a way out before they ran out of food or energy.

Back below the castle, Trixie, Luna and Wallflower were continuing to fight their way through the maze.

But the slimes just kept coming and they could only make little progress since they had to keep their distance. "Lumino Shot!" Trixie fired a laser that fired some purple and blue slimes.

They quickly rushed through the maze and when they turned a corner, Wallflower found herself slipping on something. "WOW!" She fell to the ground and felt her pants get soaked, making her look down and see a strange white liquid covering the ground. Whatever it was, it was very slippery. "What is this?"

"Look!" Trixie pointed down the passageway and they all saw a bunch of white coloured slimes, which were giving off the slippery stuff as they moved along the ground. They had been moving away from them, but when Wallflower screamed they turned back to the mares. "Get up!"

"I can't!" Wallflower tried to stand, but slipped on the ground again. "This stuff's like ice." She slipped again as the slimes got closer, Luna quickly raising her staff.

"Wind Wall!" The wind flew out of her staff and filled the entire corridor, passing over Wallflower whilst blowing the slimes and their substance away. They were eventually pushed against the far wall and popped, freeing Wallflower to pick herself up.

"How many types of Slimes are down here?" The Terran asked, the Magi and Omni not wanting to know.

They continued down the hallway and turned another corner, where they found a bunch of green slimes. These ones were sticking to the walls and ceiling, just waiting for unsuspecting victims to walk by so they could fall down on them. "Oh, I don't think so." Trixie held up her staff, "Super Freeze!" She unleashed the lightning and it hit the walls and roof, covering it and the slimes in a layer of ice.

Once they were frozen over, the three ran through the hallway and hoped they would soon find the way out. They weren't sure how many more slimes they could handle.

Flash and Cadance continued to journey through the labyrinth, Flash acting as Cadance's guard and protecting her from the slimes that seemed to have it out for her clothes.

So far, he had only had to replace her shirt twice and her skirt once. But It had still been awkward whenever he did and the fact the slimes kept getting the jump on him, was really starting to bug him. Several more purple slimes were flying towards him, "why...are...they...ignoring...me!?" He asked with each swing of his sword.

The slimes were destroyed and he once again managed to avoid losing his clothes. As they did, Cadance also wondered why they kept coming after her. Then she remembered what the wizard has said and the events leading to them being there. "You were holding me when we teleported. And it didn't look like Shining or the other boys were targeted for the spell."

"Huh," Flash scratched his head. "So you're saying the magic was only supposed to bring you down here?"

"Exactly. And the slimes keep ignoring you, no matter how much danger you put them in." She tapped her hoof, "I don't think they're ignoring you. I think they can't sense you."

"Huh?"

"Slimes don't have eyes. They have an ability called magic sense, kind of like echolocation. What if these slimes had their magic sense altered so that they can't pick up males."

"Why would someone do that?"

"The wizard that lived here was male. Maybe he didn't want his own clothes getting destroyed."

Flash frowned as they turned a corner. "So this guy created an elaborate trap that targeted mares and only mares. The teleportation brings them down to this maze and they have to find their way out, whilst avoiding the slimes as best they can."

"Exactly," Cadance nodded. "I'm willing to bet this happened during his many parties Celestia mentioned."

"You think he planned on bringing Celestia down here?" Flash asked, imagining the regal sun omni racing through this maze getting attacked by slimes."

"Possibly. Though if that actually happened, the castle would have probably been destroyed in her rage." Flash nodded as they turned another corner, where some red slimes were waiting.

Flash shielded Cadance from their slime shots, as the omni launched a blast of light that fried them to a crisp.

It was two final turns that led them to a hallway, which ended in a set of stairs. They began to fly up it and as they did, they saw several white slimes making the steps slippery. Flash easily destroyed them and they continued upwards.

They finally reached the top of the stairs and when they did, they found themselves in what they believed to be a large chamber. They could only guess because the place was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything that wasn't a few feet in front of them.

"Light Source," Cadance held up her staff and unleashed a blast of light. Said light shot into the air, growing brighter as it flew higher. Doing so caused the place to completely illuminate, allowing them to get a better look at the room as a whole.

In doing so, they found that it was a large square room roughly twenty or so meter from one wall to the next. Three of the four wall had an opening that connected to a staircase, whilst the fourth wall appeared to have a similar opening but it was blocked off.

"What is this place?" Flash asked, Cadance humming as she looked towards the walls. When she did, she gasped seeing the image inscribed onto it. "What?" But before he could look, Cadance rushed over and covered his eyes.

"Don't you dare look!" Flash was very confused, Cadance making sure to push his head downwards unaware that she was forcing Flash to look directly at her chest. "Oh, that old wizard was absolutely revolting."

"Why? What's on the wall?"

"The walls are all covered in mares," Cadance replied. "Naked mares." Flash's eyes went wide at this, his male instincts screaming at him to take a look. "Parts of the wall are blank and the designs of these mares are too...life like."

"So?"

"So, I don't think these are just random images placed on the wall. Based on what we've learned of this wizard, I'm willing to bet they're meant to be reminders of his previous victims." Flash quickly caught on.

"You means these are real mares?" He sensed Cadance nodding, Flash still a little confused. "So what, he sent those poor mares through a series of elaborate slime-filled traps that eventually lead them here?"

"Where their naked forms were then used to decorate the walls," Cadance frowned. "So evil."

Flash pulled away and covered his eyes, Cadance not stopping him. "I'm surprised he didn't have an army of mares or angry stallions attempting to smash his doors down and destroy this place." Cadance hummed as she seemed to be thinking about that.

"Yes. Unless the mares leave this place without any knowledge of what happened to them."

"You mean that memory spell?"

"Exactly. The wizard trapped the mares in here, forced them to run a gauntlet of slime traps and eventually lead them here to get themselves put on the wall. Then, he removed their memories of the whole event."

"Wow," Flash could hardly believe it, "that is evil." And as he said that, he sensed Cadance turn away from him. When she did, Flash felt a sudden urge to remove his hands and open his eyes. To look at the wall. 'No, I can't.' But his fingers were starting to move on their own, 'it isn't right. I should show these mares respect.' His fingers parted, his eyes feeling like hooks were pulling on the lids. 'But...this happened hundreds of years ago. They're long since dead. It's...it's not like I'll ever meet them.' And so, his eyes began to lift themselves up and his neck began to crane upwards. And as he looked towards the wall, the image was beginning to focus and-

"FLASH!" The teen yelped and shut his eyes, spinning towards the voice.

"I didn't look. I SWEAR!" It was then that he recognised the voice. "Wait, Trixie? Is that you?"

"Yeah?" Trixie replied, "Luna and Wallflower are with me. What are you doing?"

"Um...look at the walls." He waited and the mares all gasped, Cadance beginning to explain what they had found.

"I see," Luna nodded. "Yes, keep your eyes closed." Flash groaned, really wishing they could just leave. The mares all had the same thought. "It appears this is the final room that leads up into the main castle. But how are we supposed to get up to it?"

"There must be a trick or something," Wallflower stated. "And knowing that wizard's taste, it's probably designed so that by the end we're naked."

"Well that's not gonna happen," Trixie announced. "We're getting out of here and keeping our clothes on. And Flash is keeping his eyes closed!"

"Yes ma'am!" But as Flash said that, the room filled with light alongside Cadance's light ball. Then, a voice began to echo in the room. A laughter that sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

"Congratulations, my pretty little contestants. You've been able to make it all the way to my final challenge. Overcome this and freedom will be yours. But even if you've managed to get this far whilst clothed, nothing will save you from my greatest creation. My masterpiece. THE MEGA SLIME!"

"Mega Slime?" Flash asked, as they all heard something coming from above them. The mares gasped as they looked up, Flash still blind. "What's going on?" He suddenly felt someone pull on his jacket and yank him backwards, right as something sploshed down on the ground where he had been.

"Flash," Luna ordered, "open your eyes!" Flash did so when he looked at the ground, he found a strange black substance on the floor. One that didn't look like the slimes he had seen before. This one remained a puddle, not forming any kind of shape whatsoever.

Then, more of the substance plopped down and Flash looked up. Doing so allowed him to see the ceiling was a grid formation and sliding out from between the gaps, the black substance spilled out. "What is that?" The puddle grew larger and larger, making them all step backwards as it finally started forming a shape. And soon, a giant sphere of black slime was sitting in the centre of the room.

"That would be the Mega Slime," Luna gulped as the creature suddenly grew a bunch of slimy tendrils that started swinging around. They all cried out as they leapt back, doing their best to avoid the slime. But when the slime's arms swung around, it sent out drops of its substance that flew everywhere.

One of these dollops hit Flash on the knee and as soon as it did, it started eating through his pant leg. "Gyah!" He swept it off before it could burn through anything else. "Great."

"This isn't gonna be easy," Cadance sighed as she and Luna took to the air. "Try this! Super Freeze!" Luna and Trixie tried the same thing and as the blue lightning shot towards the slime, the creature's body suddenly hardened. The next thing they knew, the lightning bounced off it and struck random spots in the room.

"No way!" Trixie cried, as the creature's body once again liquefied and swung tendrils around. Trixie leapt back and the whip struck the ground, exploding and sending drops of slime flying at her. "Light Barrier!" The wall of light appeared and the slime bounced off it, leaving Trixie's clothes unharmed.

Wallflower used this time to get into position, her gauntlet transforming into her soundwaver. "Time to go POOOOOP!" She screamed into the microphone and the device sent it out ten times louder, the sonic attack hitting the slime and pushing it backwards. However, the other side of the creature once again solidified.

As such, the slime bounced off of this and flew back the way it came. This sent a blast of slime out towards Wallflower, who gasped as she was getting her breath back from the scream.

Luckily, Flash was there and made a fire shield almost as big as him. He leapt in front of Wallflower and shielded them both, whilst unleashing a blast of fire that flew up towards the slime and actually burned it.

"Nice shot!" Cadance smiled. But then she remembered, "the slimes don't register you. Remember, all those traps only focused on females."

"Yeah," Flash stood up, "and I bet this thing won't notice me either."

"What are you talking about?" Trixie asked, as Flash shrunk his fire shield before summoning his lightning blade. He then noticed a tendril shooting towards Luna and before it could get close, he shot towards it and slashed right through the tendril.

It popped and Flash used his shield to keep himself from getting splashed, then turned back to the Mega Slime and unleashed a blast of lightning from his sword. The lightning slammed into the creature and it vibrated as the electricity surged through its body.

It pulled away from the source of the pain, but didn't attack back like it would if one of the girls had attacked. "Oh, yeah!" He flew at the creature again and went for another slash, but a tendril swung around and almost hit him. "WOW!" He barely raised his shield and was pushed backwards, drops of slim landing on his shoulder and side. "Dang it!"

"I thought you said it couldn't see him?" Trixie asked, as Flash landed.

"It can't," Luna stated. "But it knew the attack came from that direction and swung wildly." Another tendril swung out and hit nothing, though it did throw out several drops of slime that the girls had to defend themselves from. "Flash, don't keep attacking from the same direction!"

"Got it!" Flash leapt into the air and flew around the giant slime, launching fireballs and electrical blasts at it.

"We have to keep it distracted," Luna told the others before firing out a blast of dark light. Trixie unleashed a barrage of icicles, whilst Cadance shot a beam of light. Wallflower slammed her fist into the ground, causing spikes of rock to explode out of it.

But no matter what the mares did, the slime was able to counter their attacks. Luna and Cadance's beam attacks were deflected by the slime growing hard, whilst the icicles were caught in the slime and melted. The rock spikes impaled it from below, but that did nothing against the slime's gelatinous body.

These attacks did nothing to the slime, but they did keep its attention away from Flash as the teen flew around launch fireballs and lightning bolts. The creature's body was burned and fried by the attacks, causing it to grow smaller as the slime was evaporated. But it was a slow process.

"Dang it," Flash sighed. "How were those smaller slimes easier to kill then this?" Then he remembered all the slimes had that strange orb inside each of their bodies. "Yeah, that thing popped whenever it was destroyed. That's what I gotta do here."

"What are you talking about?" Luna asked, as she dodged another tendril attack.

"I gotta destroy that...thing inside the slime. The ball thing that pops when it dies."

"You mean the Nucleus?" Cadance asked, as she blasted a another tendril only for the slime to land on her skirt. "Eww!" She brushed it off quickly as Flash tried to look inside the slime, her skirt partly melting but still staying intact. "Normally, the nucleus is located in the centre of the slime. And since they're so small, it can't move it around that much. But for a slime this big...if the nucleus is the same size..."

"It could be anywhere," Flash sighed as he realised the nucleus was well protected. "Attacking the outside could mean finding the nucleus could take forever. There's no way the girls will be able to hold it off that long." Wallflower and Trixie found their sleeves getting hit by the slime and eaten away. Luna's pants were also eaten at, getting turned into shorts until she blasted the slime off . "No other choice. I gotta take this thing down from the inside out."

"What?" Cadance asked, "are you insane?"

"Just keep that thing's attention focused on this side!" Flash told them before dispelling his sword and shield. He flew around the slime and as he did, he took out another card and slotted it into his belt. "Here we go!" His arms were encased in light before it vanished, transforming into the gauntlet claws.

At the same time, the girls continued to blast at the creature and keep its attention on them. As they did, the creature flicked its tendrils around and sent more slime raining down upon them. "Hurry, Flash!" Luna cried, as part of her shirt was melted away.

Flash took a deep breath before bringing his claws together and shooting towards the slime. "Hellfire Spiral!" He roared, as he spun around and was consumed by flames. The blazing drill slammed into the Mega Slime, boring into it at high speed. By the time the slime realised something was wrong, Flash had drilled all the way to its core.

The flames expanded outwards and slammed into the baseball sized nucleus and roasted it alive.

Outside, the girls all watched as the slime thrashed around in pain. And eventually, the slimy orb seemed to shrink down for several seconds before completely exploding in a wave of slime that went everywhere.

Flash had broken out of the tornado and flew down to the ground, doing several flips until he landed on his hoof and slid across the ground. His claws dug into the ground and caused several sparks before he finally slid to a stop.

He let out a smirk as he dispelled his gauntlet and spun around to give the girls a victory pose. But as he did, his eyes went wide seeing what was happening.

When the Mega Slime was destroyed, its slimy body had flown out and covered everything in the room. That included the girls, who were drenched head to hoof. But no sooner did it splash on their skin, the substance began to dissolve along with any piece of fabric that it was touching. Within five seconds, the four stood in front of Flash completely naked.

To say Flash hadn't been expecting this was an understatement. His brain had completely frozen in shock, unable to even make him blink for fear of losing a second of this.

The girls were looking themselves over in disgust, then gasped when they remembered they weren't the only ones in the room and turned to see Flash staring at them.

Flash gasped as he realised he was caught, then noticed the girls looking him over. "Huh?" He finally looked down and gasped when he saw his own clothes had been destroyed by the slime, making him cry out and cover himself. The girls had also done what they could to keep themselves covered, but the damage had already been done.

Flash would remember this moment for years to come and the image would be chiselled into his brain forever.

"I'M SORRY!" He cried before dispelling his weapons and taking out a new card, imagining Trixie's clothes before summoning an perfect replica of it. "Here!" He disenchanted it and threw it behind himself, Trixie grabbing the clothes as he did the same for Wallflower before moving on to Cadance and Luna.

The mares saw the new clothes and quickly rushed to put them on. They also did their best to not look at Flash, who was now remaking his own clothes. But unfortunately, they also couldn't help but sneak a peek at him. And they had to admit, they were impressed with what they were seeing.

Shining, Soarin and Springer had searched the entire bottom floor of the castle, searching for some kind of passageway that would lead them down into the aforementioned maze.

"Anything?" Springer asked, as they regrouped in front of the entrance.

"Nothing," Soarin sighed as Shining shook his head. They all frowned, as another slime appeared only for Shining to blast it with his magic. "Where could they be?" Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake and they looked down to see the floor splitting open and sliding into the rest of the floor.

They leapt off the moving slabs as they disappeared, revealing a staircase that lead down into a dark tunnel.

They then heard voices, unsure what exactly they were saying. But eventually, Flash and the girls appeared from out of the stairs. "You're alright!" Shining cheered, only to then notice everypony looking red in the face. "You okay?"

"We're fine," Cadance assured him.

"What happened down there?" Soarin asked.

"Nothing," Trixie stated. "Nothing happened down there. Just a big maze with nothing else inside of it." The others nodded, thought the boys had a feeling there was more to the story. "Can we go now? I don't wanna risk getting teleported back down there."

"I'm with Trixie," Wallflower nodded. "I don't think any mare will ever wanna step hoof in this castle." They all agreed and began to leave, Shining, Soarin and Springer noticing Flash was keeping his eyes close to the ground. Clearly, something had happened that this group would take to their grave.

As they stepped out of the castle and made their way down the stairs, Shining looked over at Cadance and raised an eyebrow. The omni turned to him and saw the look, "what?"

"I don't know. Something's...different about you. You look the same...but I feel like something's different."

Cadance once again blushed and looked ahead. "You're just imagining things." She, of course, knew what Shining was noticing. It was actually quite a few things, all centred around her new clothes.

Whether intentional or not, Flash hadn't made their clothes exactly like the old ones. Their designs were the same, but he had made them a size or two smaller then the originals. This meant their clothes hugged their forms tighter and caused their figures to be accentuated even more they had before.

Cadance's were the worst, since her original clothes were already quite form fitting. She even had to pull on the bottom of the shirt to keep it from revealing her bellybutton.

Then there was another issue the mares were facing. Flash had only made them the clothes he had seen them wear, which meant any clothes that had been beneath the surface layer didn't get remade. As such, they were walking around completely commando, since they just couldn't bring themselves to ask him to make them anything.

Trixie and Cadance were keeping their hands down by their sides, not wanting the wind to hit their skirts, whilst Luna and Wallflower stood at the front of the group so nobody could see where their pants were riding up. And, of course, Cadance, Luna and Wallflower were wishing they were wearing a jacket like Trixie to hide what their tight clothes were doing to their chests.

It would be a very awkward journey home, or at least to the next town where they intended to buy some new clothes and underwear.

Flash, meanwhile, was still replaying the image he had seen in his head. As much as he wanted to purge the memory out of respect, it had taken deep root in his brain. And as they reached the bottom of the staircase, Flash looked back at the castle.

The wizard that lived there might have been a perverse and sick old man, but Flash had to admit he had quite the imagination. Flash never would have come up with what he had made into a reality. The many different slimes, his ploy to force unsuspecting mares into a gauntlet of clothes eating creatures and wiping their memories so he wouldn't get in trouble. The guy was a genius. An evil genius.

"We will never speak of this again," Luna stated once they were away from the castle. "We take what happened to our graves and it will be left forgotten. Agreed?"

"Agreed!" The girls then turned to glare at Flash, who gulped

"Agreed," he whimpered. With that, they all left the area the exact same way they arrived. And hopefully, their embarrassment would remain a secret for all eternity.

Back inside the labyrinth, in the room the Mega Slime battle took place in, an empty space on the wall began to glow.

As it did, marks began to appear from out of the light and were etched into the stone. Slowly, five images appeared. The images of five naked ponies. The centre pony was a male, whilst the four ponies around him were female. Based on how close the five ponies were to one another, it looked like the male was being surrounded by a harem of beautiful ladies, whilst the ladies looked at him with amazement on their faces.

This image would remain on that wall for many years to come, not being seen by any other soul for a long time. But when it was eventually found again, those who saw it would only think one thing. That stallion was one lucky son of a biscuit.

My New Life as a Pony

by Banshee531

Episode 1: In a New World, as a Pony

Episodes 2: Unlocking Great Power, as a Pony

Episode 3: Being Put to the Test, as a Pony

Episode 4: Making friends, as a Pony

Episode 5: My First Quest, as a Pony

Episode 6: Competing for a Prize, as a Pony

Episode 7: Bonding with a Princess, as a Pony

Episode 8: Calming Spirits, as a Pony

Episode 9: Lakeside Adventure, as a Pony

Episode 10: Dungeon Crawling, as a Pony

Episode 11: Rescuing A Princess, as a Pony

Episode 12: Attending a School Festival, as a Pony

OVA 1: My Chaotic Vacation, as a Pony

OVA 2: Battlings Slimes, as a Pony