> Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S9
>  by Banshee531
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Uprooted
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the town of Ponyville, everything seemed normal. No evil roots and vines attempting to take the place over, no dark crystals sticking out of the ground. The place seemed perfect, but was also completely and utterly deserted...except for Ace the jakhowl, who was zooming through the town on a motorcycle-like vehicle that had blue lights in place of wheels and a rocket on the back.

"YAHOOOOO!" He cheered as he did several midair loop-the-loops on the bike. "Hahaa!" However, the fun wouldn't last forever. In that moment, the rocket sputtered out, all power now gone.

"Huh?" He looked down at the dashboard, "Out of gas?" The bike began to fall at this, Ace letting out a scream, the young jakhowl barely managing to leap off his bike before it slammed into the earth. An explosion came next, Ace hitting the dirt, rolling a good ten feet before coming to a stop. He moaned as he picked himself up, holding his head as he stood. "Ow..."

"HELP!" yelled a voice, making him spin around to see Mira...a whole bunch of Miras, who were marching through the town, carrying one of them, "But I'm the real one!" She cried, trying to escape as they held her.

"Mira!" Ace quickly formed a Bone Breaker and charged, using it to pole vault over the Mira clones so he could grab the real one. He pulled her away, both landing as the clones turned to glare at them. "Run!" Ace exclaimed, the pair rushing down a street as the clones chased after them. And as this happened, they cut a corner, evading the clones' sight before Mira pulled Ace into a gap between two houses. The clones passed them at this, both sighing in relief.

"What the heck is going on?" Ace whispered, Mira shrugging back. They stepped out onto the street a second later, only to notice Rainbow flying above them in her Wonderbolts uniform.

"Wait!" They then heard, making them turn to see Silverstream calling out to the pegasus. "I don't have my uniform!" She looked ready to fly after Rainbow, only for Ocellus to suddenly show up. The changeling was dressed in a graduation gown and cap while looking absolutely terrified.

"Silverstream!" She cried as Ace and Mira ran up to them. "Somehow, I missed a class all year, and the final is today! If I don't pass, I can't graduate!"

The others would have said something, but another scream rang out, all glancing up as they saw Yona falling, "Looks like she's gonna fall into sugar street!" Ace gasped.

"What?!" Mira yelped, "Ponyville doesn't have a street called-" She stopped when she saw part of the town had turned into something Pinkie would make at Heartswarming. Houses made of biscuits and bridges that were chocolate bars, along with a giant kettle filling a massive teacup with chocolate milk.

They ran as fast as they could, but they couldn't reach Yona in time, only for the yak to suddenly stop several inches off the crumb covered ground. She stopped screaming when she noticed this, opening her eyes and seeing she was okay before falling the last few inches.

"Whoa..." Ocellus stated as they reached her. "That was weird."

They all nodded before Silverstream pointed at something, "And that's even weirder." They turned to see a choco-bar bridge leading to a chocolate milk filling teacup, where they saw Smolder. The young dragon was dressed in a blue dress and tiara, with tons of makeup on her face. She was drinking from a teacup and sighed at whatever she was drinking...only for her happy demeanor to vanish as she saw the group.

"What the-" She quickly threw away the cup and tiara and pulled off the dress. "Uh, this isn't mine!" She threw the dress away and wiped off the make-up.

"Yeah...right." Ace chuckled, only to hear Gallus let out a scream, all turning to see a large box that had a slowly closing door. When they looked through the door, they saw the griffin was trapped inside the box and clearly terrified he was gonna be trapped inside.

"Make it stop!" He screamed, "Make it stop!" He started hyperventilating, but Ace used his Bone Breaker to wedge the door open while Silverstream reached in and pulled him out. Once he was sure he wasn't going to get trapped, he sighed in relief.

That is, till they saw Sandbar to their right, the young earth pony staring up a giant glass case full of pony sized cupcakes, a look of horror on his face. "Are you okay?" Mira asked, only for a bright pink light to catch their attention. The eight lined up at this as the pink light took shape and transformed into a familiar appearance. Twilight Sparkle, a sparkly version of her.

She stared at them and nodded. "Good. You have all answered my summons."

"Wait..." Silverstream tilted her head, "You mean this isn't my dream?"

"Friends must be dreaming together!" Yona cheered.

"More like a nightmare!" Gallus added as Mira glanced around for any sign of Luna.

"I know, right?" Sandbar looked up at the skyscraper-sized cupcake holder. "How do I pick just one? They all look so good!" The others frowned, unable to believe he was worrying about that while they had had to face horrible visions.

"That's your version of a bad dream?" Smolder yelped.

"You have been way too sheltered," Ace groaned.

Ocellus then turned to the twinkling alicorn. "But why did you bring us here, Headmare Twilight?"

"I don't think that's Twilight," Mira chimed in.

"You are correct," Twilight nodded, "I am merely the messenger. You all must hurry. The Tree of Harmony needs you." Before any of them could say anything, she stomped her hoof onto the ground. This unleashed seven differently colored lines, which flew out and struck each. Ace and Mira shared a line and before they could ask what was going on, everything went white.





Mira gasped as she sat up, glancing around to see she was back in her new room at Aurarora. She shook her head at this, only for her door to slam open as Ace ran in, "Mira!" She turned to him, "Did you just have a dream about the Tree of Harmony?!"

"I did," Mira nodded, "And I don't think it was a dream."

Before she could say anything else, Springer walked into the room looking half asleep. "What the heck are you two doing up so early?"

"Springer!" Mira jumped up, "Is the new Rune Gate ready?!"

Springer blinked at her, "Uh...yeah. Why?"

"Can you please activate it for us? We need to get to Ponyville! The Tree of Harmony needs us!"

Springer tilted his head at this, only to let out a long yawn, "Its too early for this. Follow me."





The next day...

In the School of Friendship, Spike the Pyro Dragon was using his Mystic Dragon Magic to clean. Each of his fingers was letting out a stream of fire, each forming its own fiery claw on the end. The claws had a broom or cloth, which he was using to clean the floors, windows and walls. Once he was sure the job was done, he put the cleaning instruments over in the corner and looked down at the floor. A smirk was on his lips as he could see his own reflection in it. "Lookin' good." He gave himself a wink, only for a flash of purple to suddenly appear in front of him.

"Spike! I have horrible news!" Twilight yelled as she appeared as the purple light faded.

"What's wrong?" He backpedaled, "Is the Crystal Empire under attack again?!"

"What?!" Twilight shook her head, "no!" It was then that Spike saw a box floating behind her, the alicorn holding it up and pulling out a bunch of orange pens. "We only have twenty highlighters! And they're all orange! How will everyone color-code their notes?!" She shoved one of the highlighters into his face, knocking him down.

Spike couldn't help but smile at seeing a usual bout of Twilight-ing. "I'm pretty sure you're the only one that does that."

"Still..." Twilight put them back and started marching through the halls. "Twenty isn't enough for the new school year!"

Spike flew in front of her at this, "We got plenty of time to order more. The friendship students won't be back until-" He stopped when the doors of the school flew open, revealing Ace, Mira, Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder, Ocellus and Sandbar. "Uh...now?"

Yona tripped over the stairs at this, starting to roll down the hall and almost knocked Spike over until he flew over her.

"You okay?" Mira asked the yak, who gave a hoof's up.

"Well, this is a surprise." Twilight put the box down, "Why are you all here so early?" Her eyes went wide as she pulled out some papers, "Did I send out the wrong back-to-school date?!"

Smolder shook her head, "Oh, we're not here for school."

The pair raised an eyebrow at this. "Yeah," Sandbar stepped up, "We're back 'cause the Tree of Harmony called us here." Their confusion then turned to shock, Twilight gasping as she turned to Spike while Gallus looked smug.

"Don't feel bad it didn't reach out to you. We kinda have a special connection with it after last year."

They expected Twilight to tell them to get to the tree, only for her to say, "But the Tree couldn't have called you! It's gone! Shroudheart destroyed it!"

"Oh no!" Ocellus gasped, the others doing the same, Ace full-on fainting as the changeling added, "Who's Shroudheart?"

Spike let out a long sigh at this, "He's an evil pegasus villain who uses shadow magic. Don't worry about it, its a super long story." The dragon turned to the Twilight, "You know, maybe next time you should ease in with those truth bombs."

"W-w-what about the Elements of Harmony?" Sandbar asked, Twilight shaking her head.

"Those are gone, too."

"Wait," Spike scratched his head, "Sandbar, you live in Ponyville. Weren't you here when Shroudheart took over the town and turned everypony into mindless slaves?"

"What?!" Mira yelped, Ace fainting again after just getting up. "When the heck did this all happen? The three of us move away and our hometown gets conquered?!"

"We dealt with it," Spike responded, "Well...Twilight and the others did. And again, Sandbar, how did you not know about this?"

"I just got back from vacation," Sandbar replied, "So I guess I wasn't around for that."

Spike nodded back, only for Ocellus to raise her hoof, "But if the tree is gone, doesn't that mean the Everfree Forest will take over Equestria?!"

"We've got that part under control," Spike added, "And Shroudheart won't be coming back, so...some good news, right?"

The eight shared glances, only for Silverstream to ask, "Can we see the tree ourselves? Or what's left of it?"

Twilight nodded back, "As long as you promise to stick together. The Castle of the Two Sisters isn't the safest place, as you may remember."

"Yona not scared of puckwudgies anymore!" The young yak exclaimed, "Friends save whole school from evil pegasus!"

Spike turned to Twilight, "She does have a point."

Twilight giggled at this as the others cheered. The Everfree Forest might have been too much for them before, but it wouldn't stop them from making sure their friend was safe. Their trip into the Everfree Forest wasn't an easy task as they quickly left. With the tree gone, the forest's foliage was a lot more grabby, but it couldn't pass Starswirl's magical border and escape to attack the town. Several times, roots and vines tried to grab them. But with everyone working together, they all managed to make it to the castle of the two sisters.

"There it is," Sandbar sighed before looking down into the cavern below. "So the Tree of Harmony is...was, down there."

They all found the steps and headed down while Ace looked up at the castle. "I get this place is a historical sight and all, but you'd think somepony would try and fix it up by now."

Mira nodded. "A while back, I heard somepony talking about turning the place into their own private home. They also said something about having a skull or something up on the top of it."

They all went wide-eyed at this, only to reach the bottom of the ravine and the cave leading to it. Heading inside, they were all horrified to see what little remained of the tree.

"How could this happen?!" Gallus commented.

The jakhowls ran over and picked up pieces of the crystal, hoping maybe to sense something within it. But there was nothing. "It's really gone," Ace added.

Ocellus stepped up to the rubble, "If only we hadn't gone home for summer break. Maybe we could've saved the Tree."

"I doubt it," Mira sighed, "Twilight and her friends couldn't save the tree, and their connection to it was even stronger than ours."

Smolder growled. "I wish that Shroudheart was still around so we could teach him a lesson!"

"That not bring back Tree," Yona added, "Or Elements of Harmony."

They all looked down, only for Silverstream to let out a gasp. "Wait!" She flew over to the rock pile. "We all saw and heard the Tree in our dream, right? How could it talk to us if it was really gone?"

They all shared a glance at this, Ace humming, "Hey, you're right."

"Maybe the tree's spirit managed to save itself somehow," Mira continued, "It was able to project itself through its roots, so maybe it made some kind of backup of itself before Shroudheart could destroy it."

Silverstream nodded. "And maybe if we close our eyes and think really strong friendship thoughts, the Tree will get better!"

"Eh," Smolder smirked, "I've heard worse suggestions." They all moved closer to the tree and grasped paws, claws, and hooves, the lot sitting down and closing their eyes. Each of them thought about the tree, hoping and praying that it would come back. Any moment now, they expected to sense something, or see a light. Heck, even hearing it growing back would have been enough.

"Is it working?" Sandbar asked in a whisper, the group opening their eyes and seeing the tree was still in ruin.

"No," Yona sighed as Ace huffed.

"Alright, who wasn't wishing hard enough?" Mira flicked his ear as Ocellus sighed.

"I guess the Tree really is gone."

"Then we need to do something to honor it!" Gallus chimed in.

"Ah, good idea, Gallus!" Smolder added.

"Hey," Sandbar stood up, "Maybe that's why the Tree called us! It must've used the last of its magic to make sure we'd come here and keep its memory alive!"

"It did say it needed us," Ocellus continued, only for a voice to call out to them.

"OCELLUS!" She let out an 'eep!', accidently turning into a boulder.

Ace laughed at this, "That might be the cutest rock ever."

Mira rolled her eyes as Twilight and Thorax flew into the cave. "There you are!" The changeling king glared at her, "The hive has been worried sick! Why did you leave without telling us? The last time you and your friends did that, it almost brought our kingdoms to war!"

The rock's eyes shrank before turning back into Ocellus. "Uh, sorry Thorax! It was an emergency!"

"Well, next time, ask before you run off." Thorax turned to leave, "Now, come on. Let's go home."

But as he walked away, Smolder flew up in front of him. "Wait!" She exclaimed, "She can't leave! We have a...dragon quest!"

"But she's not a dragon," Thorax stated before looking back and seeing Ocellus had transformed into one. "You know what I mean!"

Yona stepped up next, "This quest for all Yona friends! Need to help Tree!"

"And it might take a while," Sandbar added.

Silverstream then turned to the Princess of Friendship. "Can we stay, Headmare Twilight?"

"We promise we'll be good," Ace told her before she and Mira gave her their puppy-dog eyes, Twilight rolling her eyes at that.

"Well, as long as you get permission from your kingdoms, I suppose it's all right."

Gallus appeared beside her, holding up a bunch of papers. "You want that permission in triplicate, or is one enough?" The others turned to him with wide eyes, "What? I like to be prepared."





Ace and Mira had rune gated back to Aurarora and told Springer everything that had happened. The jakhowl leader was a little upset Flash hadn't thought to mention what had happened, but with everything that had been going on, he understood that it probably slipped their mind. The youngsters asked if they could go back to Ponyville to help, with Springer nodding, but only if they could get permission from their training instructor, Mirage.

The female jakhowl had been teaching them both everything they should have been taught since hatching. Since moving to Aurarora, the pair had been through an intensive training regiment to get them back up to speed, and now Mirage wanted them to prove that training had actually been of use. As such, the pair were matched up against two other young jakhowls. If they could win the spar, they would be allowed to go.

The four bowed to one another before charging, none using their aura at the moment. Instead, they threw kicks and punches at one another. Mira's style proved to be rather defensive, blocking and avoiding her opponent's attacks until she had an opening, dodging a few blows in her match before thrusting an arm forward and slamming it into the pink jakhowl's chest. The jakhowl was sent off balance, Mira then swinging her arms around to form an Aura Blast before firing it. It slammed into the jakhowl, knocking her out of the arena.

For Ace, he used a more wild style of fighting. He attempted to overwhelm his opponent with speed, throwing fast but precise strikes. The purple jakhowl managed to dodge the attacks and caught Ace's wrist, twisting it and attempting to throw Ace out of the ring, only for Ace to twist himself back around and land just inside of the ring, then force them to spin around until his opponent had his back to the edge. The opponent let go at this, trying to punch Ace, but the blue jakhowl did a backflip to slam his foot into the purple one's chin, the blow knocking him back as Ace formed an Aura Blast and launched it. The sphere slammed into the opponent, blasting him out of bounds.

Ace and Mira both bowed to their opponents at this, then to Mirage, who nodded with pride. She turned to Springer and nodded, the jakhowl leader smiling as he signed their permission slips.





When Ace and Mira returned to Ponyville, they found the rest of their friends had also returned with their permission slips signed. Twilight happily accepted them and even teleported the group back to the Castle of the Two Sisters. The only one of the group who wasn't with them was Sandbar, who didn't needed a permission slip since he lived in Ponyville. When they arrived at the ravine, Sandbar ran out of the cave with a smile of his face. "Hey, you're back! Great!" They all nodded as they started moving back into the cave. "Since I live locally, I figured I'd do a little cleaning up while you were gone. Give us a head start, you know?"

But when they arrived in the cave, they saw just how much of a clean-up Sandbar had done. "Sandbar," Gallus glared at him, "Where's the Tree?" The Tree of Harmony was completely gone. There wasn't a single piece of the destroyed structure left, causing the cave to look a lot more empty.

"I got rid of it," Sandbar replied, "To make room for a memorial."

"You did this?!" Smolder screamed.

"Uh, yeah. That's what you all were thinking, right?" Sandbar smirked, only for Smolder to slap her face.

"That's not what we were thinking!" Ace cried.

"Couldn't you have waited for us to get back before making any plans?" Mira added, Sandbar scratching the back of his hoof sheepishly.

"How can we remember the Tree if it's totally gone?!" Ocellus exclaimed.

"Oh, it's not gone." Sandbar responded.

"Great!" Ace cheered, "Where'd you put it? Maybe we can bring it back and put it exactly how it was before." But Sandbar didn't answer him, instead moving over to where a small stick was growing out of the ground.

"Look! I planted a new tree." He smiled at the sapling, then up at them, only to see nothing but glares, "What?"

"Sandbar..." Ocellus grumbled, "You know that's not the same tree, right?"

"But it's a symbol, y'know?"

Yona moved over to him. "Pony heart in right place."

"That doesn't matter!" Gallus chimed in, gesturing to the place. "This cave was supposed to stay exactly the same so that future creatures could come visit and experience the memory of the Tree!"

Sandbar looked down in shame. "Sorry everyone. I thought I was helping."

"We get that," Mira nodded, "But working together is one of the core parts of Harmony. And to work together, we need to all be on the same page. Which means being open with our ideas."

Sandbar sighed as Smolder looked down at the tiny tree he had planted. "The Tree of Harmony is a huge part of Equestrian history. If we're gonna honor it, we need to do better than that." The others nodded.

"Yeah!" Silverstream leapt into the air, "Like with lots of artwork that represents the symbolism and deep emotions of the Tree!"

"No!" Gallus countered, "It should be a museum with all the Tree's history and artifacts."

Smolder smirked as she leapt onto one of the rocks. "Or a really big and imposing monument, so everyone knows how powerful the Tree was!"

Mira shook her head, "No, you're forgetting what the tree did for us. It helped us. Showed us the truth and shared its wisdom when we needed to be shown the truth."

"Yeah," Ace nodded, "That has to be why the tree called us here. Because it wanted us to take its place and become the new wisdom givers."

"But we don't have any wisdom to share," Ocellus pointed out, "The tree was ancient and had years of experience to help us with. We don't have that." She moved over to one of the rocks and started pilling pebbles onto one another. "I think we should turn this cave into a place for creatures to reflect on the Tree's true gift: The Elements of Harmony."

"Boring," Smolder rolled her eyes.

"I like my idea better," Silverstream chimed in.

"What's more perfect than another tree?!" Sandbar asked.

"We need to protect the wisdom," Mira claimed with Ace nodding.

"What would Headmare Twilight want?" Ocellus added, only for Gallus to turn to the last member of their group.

"Yona! You've been awfully quiet. Which idea do you like best?"

They all turned to the yak, only to see her shake her heads, "Yona like when friends not argue. M-Maybe friends listen to each other and...make plan together?"

The others looked at one another, then shook their heads. "Naaaah." With that, they walked off to try and do their own thing. And as they did this, Yona moaned. And so it was that each of the friends took a part of the cave and tried to do their own thing. Sandbar claimed the area he had planted the tree, while Ace and Mira claimed the deepest, darkest area of the cave. Ace, Mira, Smolder, Gallus and Silverstream went off to gather what they believed they would need, while Ocellus got to work on her own thing.

Meanwhile, Yona grabbed some paper she had taken out of her bag and got to work on something of her own. She was completely focused on her own work, she barely noticed when everyone except Smolder returned with a bunch of things. It wasn't until she heard Gallus calling out that she finally looked up.

"Step right up!" She looked up to see the entire cave entrance had been decorated with images of the tree, cardboard cutouts of Twilight and Starswirl, and anything else you'd see in a gift shop. "Walk this way! Welcome to the one, the only, magical Tree of Harmony Museum!" Gallus was standing behind a podium as two ponies stepped up to the cave and looked it over. "Come, see the birthplace of the Tree!" He flew over to an image of the tree. "Grown from the tears of a basilisk and tended day and night by pony magicians! This is truly one of the wonders of Equestria!"

The ponies looked impressed by this, only for Yona and Sandbar to walk up to him. "Uh...Gallus? None of that is actually true."

"So?" Gallus asked, "Honoring the Tree means giving it a story that creatures will care about."

"It already has a great story!" Sandbar yelled.

"Yeah, but mine makes more sense."

"Whatever," Sandbar turned to walk away. "Can you just keep it down? My sapling doesn't like the noise."

"Good!" Gallus exclaimed, "It doesn't belong in the Tree's memorial anyway." He turned back to the tourists, "And if you think this is great, just wait until you see the mystical Cave of Harmony!"

"Ooo," both looked impressed as the griffon lead them into the cave. When they did, they noticed the back of the cave had a bunch of curtains and glittered covering it. "What's that?" They rushed over to it before Gallus could stop them.

"Wait!" he yelped, "That's...not part of the tour!" They stepped up to the curtains, as they slowly moved open to reveal something they would see in Madam Pinkie's fortune telling tent. A small round table was in the middle, with Ace and Mira sitting behind it on pillows.

"Welcome!" Ace cheered, "To the cave of wisdom!"

"I thought this was the cave of harmony?" One of the mare's asked as they sat down in front of the pair.

"Have you come seeking answers to the questions and problems of your life?" Mira chimed in, "We were chosen by the Tree of Harmony to help ponies in need." The mares looked impressed by this. "Please, tell us what troubles you?"

"Um?" The mares looked at one another before glancing back, "Well, I've been trying to decide where my career should go. I was offered the chance to study under a great teacher, but it would mean leaving my home for a couple of years. What should I do?"

Ace and Mira looked like they were about to answer, but stopped themselves and shared a look. "One moment," Mira asked before the pair turned away from them. The ponies tried to listen, as the jakhowls seemed to argue about going or staying, only for Gallus to fly in.

"Don't listen to them. They have no idea what they're talking about." He pulled them away and shut the curtain right as the pair turned back to the duo.

"You should-" Ace stopped as he saw that the ponies were gone, making them both sigh as they heard more movement outside. The two pulled on some cords, allowing the curtains to open and show Silverstream painting parts of the cave.

"What is she doing?" Mira asked as Silverstream looked over her creation and hummed.

"Needs more loyalty." She picked up a bucket and emptied it onto the ground, yellow paint flying all over the place. Yona had walked into the room, almost getting splashed by it. "Careful, Yona! It's not dry yet." Yona and the jakhowls glanced around, seeing a bunch of multi-colored swirls and shapes adorning the walls and floor.

"What hippogriff painting?"

"This isn't painting," Ace commented, "Painting usually have melting clocks and ponies screaming."

Silverstream rolled her eyes, "It's the Tree, silly!"

"Huh," Mira added, "I know I only ever saw pictures of it...but I'm pretty sure the tree was more...tree shaped."

Silverstream flew up and pointed at one of the paintings. "See? These are the emotions its loss made me feel." She flew over to another painting, "Dancing with the representations of Elements of Harmony!" She looked back at them, only to see looks of confusion, "Maybe I should label it."

As she said that, something appeared above them to block out the light before a sudden splash of water flew down and drenched the hippogriff. "Oops!" They looked up to see a giant bug creature, which they realized was Ocellus, carrying a giant stone fountain. "Sorry!"

Silverstream then looked down, only to gasp in horror when she saw the water had gotten onto her mural. Now all the colours were blending together into one murky color. "Oh, no!" Silverstream tried to pull the colors away from one another, "Brown isn't an Element of Harmony!"

Ace laughed at this, "Clearly you haven't seen Flash after taco night." As he said that, Ocellus continued to struggle carrying the water filled fountain, only for Yona to help catch the bottom of it before it fell.

"Thanks Yona! This fountain is heavier than I thought." Yona nodded as they carried the fountain over to another area of the cave, where Yona heard a bunch of windchimes. And as they put the fountain down, Yona saw the chimes were hanging from the ceilings while a bunch of other stuff was littered around this area. Some bamboo plants, cushions, a table and a sandpit with a rake next to it.

Ocellus turned back to normal, flying over to one of the cushions where she sat down in a meditative pose. "It's for creatures to look at as they honor the Tree's memory in quiet thought and contemplation." Ace and Mira joined Yona in looking confused as Ocellus smiled at them. "I got some help and guidance from the counselor at our feelings forum back home." She started pushing the three toward the seats, clearly wanting them to meditate with her. "Only positive energy will bloom here."

"Wait!" Gallus yelped, the others seeing the pony tourists run away. "You can't go yet!"

"Yeah!" Ace called out, "We still have to give you our wisdom!" But the pair either didn't hear or didn't listen, as they seemed to run away while Smolder arrived, carrying something. It was a giant rock, which had been carved to look like the Tree of Harmony.

"Hey!" Gallus exclaimed, "You can't bring that hunk of junk into my museum!"

"It's not for your museum," Smolder replied as she flew the rock inside. "It's for my tree memorial." She flew until she felt something grab the rock and stop her, the dragon looking back and seeing Gallus holding onto one end of the tree.

"So leave it outside!" He pulled, but Smolder just pulled back.

"It belongs in here!" She growled, the two pulling the rock back and forth until Smolder lost her grip, the griffon doing the same. The rock instantly fell and smashed into Ocellus' fountain, causing water to splash everywhere to wash away Silverstream's paint and Ocellus' garden. The rock broke in half, the round trunk part rolling further into the cave...straight toward Sandbar. The earth pony had put on a pair of noise cancelling headphones, the pony having no idea a large rock was rolling toward him.

Yona gasped as she ran up and grabbed Sandbar, pulling him out of the way as the rock trampled his tree, only to keep going until it crashed into Ace and Mira's wisdom room, the pair screaming in horror as the curtains fell down and the table was flattened.

"Uh oh," Gallus gulped as they saw what had just happened. Everypony's idea to honor the tree was destroyed, the paint mixed into a murky brown mess, the garden destroyed, the two trees flattened and the wisdom room had been demolished.

"What did you do!?" Silverstream cried.

Ocellus moved over to what remained of her garden, holding up a broken piece of the fountain. "My meditation garden is ruined!" She turned to the others, "Why couldn't you've been more careful?!"

"Yeah!" Ace growled, "Now where are the ponies gonna come when they need our wisdom!"

"What wisdom?" Smolder replied as Gallus growled.

"This never would have happened if you had all just listened to me!"

"And made the Tree some kind of roadside attraction?!" Sandbar yelped, "Uh, no thanks!" He hugged his destroyed tree branch as Silverstream hyperventilated into a paper bag.

"Headmare Twilight is gonna be so mad when she sees what you guys did to the Cave of Harmony!"

"Yeah," Mira crossed her arms, "Like some rainbow art project was better?"

"Not cool!" Sandbar yelled as Silverstream glared at them all.

"It's impressionism!"

Ocellus glared back, "I'm just glad the Tree isn't here to see this!"

"Yeah!" Ace exclaimed, "Glad it didn't see your stupid meditation garden!"

"Like your idea was any better!" Sandbar screamed.

"This is all your fault!" Smolder growled as Gallus looked away.

"I give up!"

"QUIET!" Yona screeched, stomping her hooves on the ground and making the whole cave shake. This made them all turn to her, the yak glaring at each one, "Friends doing this the wrong way! All remembering Tree of Harmony for what Tree was, not what Tree is!"

"You mean 'gone'?" Smolder asked.

"No!" Yona strongly stated, "Yona mean even though Tree not here here," she pointed at the cave before then pointing at her heart. "Tree here. In hearts. Tree made friendship even closer." She then held up the papers she had been carrying all this time, unfurling it to show an image of the tree along with the eight of them.

The sight of the drawing touched each, all going wide-eyed as Ocellus gasped, "That's right!" She pointed at the paper, "We ran away to be together right above this spot! The Castle of the Two Sisters!"

Mira nodded, "Kind of like how Twilight and her friends grew stronger when they went there to find the Elements."

Sandbar smiled at this, "And later on, the Tree tested us to show us we're stronger as a team!"

"It saved us," Ace remembered, "If it hadn't taught us to stay together, we never would have been able to use its power to stop Cozy's mad plan. Our entire world would have been destroyed if it hadn't helped us. "

Smolder glanced around the cave, "It did call us all here."

The others nodded as Silverstream gasped, "You mean the Tree of Harmony lives on in our friendship?!"

That statement made them all go wide-eyed again except for Yona, the yak smiling at this. That is, till Gallus let out a long groan, "Wow. I can't believe we just got schooled by a yak."

Yona giggled at this as she rolled up her drawing. "Yaks know things not forever. That's why smash and rebuild." They had to admit that for yaks, that was a pretty insightful world view. Guess when you live in such a hostile place, you get used to things not lasting all that long.

"I think we took care of the smashing part," Ocellus added.

"Then maybe we should start building," Gallus continued, "Together?"

"No doubt," Ace nodded. "That's probably what the tree would have wanted anyway."

They all nodded, until Smolder crossed her arms. "Just one problem. We still haven't decided what we should do for the Tree." They realized she was right, but Yona seemed to be thinking of something. And sure enough, she walked away.

"Yona have idea." She stepped out of the cave and returned a few moments later, dragging a large wooden cart full of something they didn't think they'd ever see again.

"The Tree!" Ocellus gasped, marveling at the crystal chunks inside the wagon. "Where did you find it?!"

"Oh, I didn't move it too far." Sandbar chimed in, only to for the others to give him a look that screamed 'seriously'. "It was kinda heavy."

"And you're just mentioning this now?" Gallus yelped as Sandbar scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Yona smiled at this, "What important is that Yona bring back branches so friends can rebuild!"

Smolder scratched her head. "Rebuild what, exactly?" But Silverstream was the one to answer, raising her arm eagerly.

"Ooh-ooh-ooh, I know! Something that represents what the Tree is! The gateway to our friendship!" Yona looked back at the tree's remains, her eyes going wide as she had a thought.

"Yes!" She grabbed two pieces of the tree and placed them together in a triangle, the young yak sitting under them as if it were meant to be a shelter. "What ponies call it? Club...home?"

"A clubhouse!" Mira cheered, "Like the one the Crusaders have."

"A house made from a tree!" Ace added.

"A treehouse!" Gallus exclaimed, Ocellus gasping.

"That's a great idea!"

"I know the Tree would've liked that!" Smolder finished as Yona nodded. They all began to get to work, knowing they would need to fix the cave up before starting their new project.

"Help me lift this piece!" Sandbar asked, Yona happy to do so as they pushed the destroyed part of the fountain out of the way. They quickly began to clean the place up, getting rid of everything everypony had brought in to try and honor the tree. They washed away the paint and when they were finished, the treehouse construction began.

As they did all this, each had started singing to the music they began to hear in their heads. A song about making something knew out of what was lost, honoring it as they built the construct. Silverstream had drawn up a design that they all looked, whilst the others had gathered a bunch of rope, glue and some other materials they could use. The building slowly came together, the main structure meant to be something similar to Twilight's castle. Silverstream's blueprint showed a tree holding up a square house, but as they brought it together, they found the trunk they had made wasn't strong enough to hold it.

As such, they added some supports under each corner of the structure and made it look more like a stilt house. But that was okay, as they started adding a staircase and a nest-like construct at the top for the more avian members of their group. Soon enough, they were running out of crystals so they started adding whatever was left after their previous disastrous attempts.

When the basic structure was completed, they started adorning it with things to try and make it look nicer. They found the pieces of the Elements of Harmony, Mira, Ocellus and Silverstream gluing them all back together before attaching them to the building. They also hung some differently colored gems from the window, tied a few flag strings around it and gave it a nice touch of paint here and there.

By the time they finished their song, they had also finished their club house. And just by looking at it, they could tell it wasn't gonna be passing any structural safety tests. They had used the tree along with several rocks and branches from the other ideas they had had to create the construct. However, it was still a little small. It barely looked big enough to fit three of them in there, two if one was Yona. And it didn't exactly look pretty.

"Well?" Sandbar asked once he added the last touch of glue, "What do you think?"

"It's," Ocellus tilted her head, "Uh...kinda messy..."

"Really messy," Ace agreed.

"Yeah," Smolder nodded, "Like a bunch of different parts all smushed together."

"Oh, it's just like us!" Silverstream hugged Smolder, Sandbar and Mira.

"Yeah," the yellow jakhowl smirked, "Who cares if it's pretty? We made it and that means it's great!"

Yona nodded as she rolled up her design, "Yona think it perfect!"

"Let's give it a try!" Gallus walked up to the stairs, the others following and laughing, only to find it wasn't big enough to fit them all in. But that didn't matter to them.

What did matter was the sudden shaking that rocked the entire clubhouse. "Whoa!" Sandbar had to hold onto the window to keep upright, "What's happening?!" Ace and Mira suddenly felt something surging through the crystals. Life.

"It looks like magic!" Ocellus gasped as the crystals that made up the clubhouse started growing shards out of it.

"Everyone out!!" Smolder screamed, the group running out of the clubhouse as the crystal shards started consuming the entire structure. They ran to the mouth of the cave, then looked back to see the clubhouse they had worked so hard to build was entirely consumed and transformed into a single crystal spike.

"What the heck is that?!" Ace yelped, only for the spike to start growing upwards. When it touched the ceiling, it pierced through the rock and caused parts of the place to collapse. They feared the entire cave would collapse in on them, but when the crystal broke through to the surface, the cave suddenly stabilized. The spike had stuck out through the courtyard of the Castle of the Two Sisters, and once it broke through, it start growing and reshaping itself with a mighty blast of light and magic.

The eight students had rushed up the ravine and into the castle, only to gasp at the sight in front of them. "Whoa!"

A giant crystal building was in front of them, looking like a giant tree with the trunk having a bunch of doors and windows located on it. The top of the trunk had a large domed structure on top, with a staircase leading up to it and pink crystal leaves coming off the branches.

Gallus was the one who asked what they were all wondering. "How did that happen?" He got his answer when a bright flash of light appeared in front of the building's entrance. From the light, the sparkling twinkly version of Twilight Sparkle appeared.

"Because of you," She replied, "The spirit of the Treehouse would have perished without your selfless deeds and caring. Whenever you seek solace, come here. Your friendship, and the friendship of future generations, will always be safe within these walls." She gave them one final motherly smile before vanishing, the front door opening as she did so.

"Wow..." Ace gasped, "That's awesome." Another flash caught their attention and made them spin around, now seeing the real Twilight and Spike appear.

"I felt a burst of magic all the way over at the school!" The worried alicorn cried out. "Is everyone okay?"

Silverstream nodded, "A little confused, but definitely okay!" It was then that Spike and Twilight noticed the new structure behind them, Twilight letting out a gasp.

"Where did this come from?"

"We were kinda gonna ask you the same thing," Smolder replied.

"It looks like part of the Tree of Harmony," Spike scratched his head, "But how? I thought it was destroyed!"

"It was," Ocellus smiled. "But when we used the broken parts to build something new, this happened."

Twilight let this information sink in, then smiled as she looked up at the structure. "The Tree has always been good at surprises." She flew up to get a better look. "When Starswirl planted the Tree's seed, he didn't even know what it would grow into. I guess the Tree is still alive, changing and adapting to be whatever Equestria needs."

Gallus flew up to her, "A cool place to hang out?"

Twilight giggled and flew down. "Something tells me this is more than that. It seems the Elements of Harmony may still be with us in their own way."

Spike let out a sigh of relief, "That's actually really reassuring."

"You're telling me," Mira added, "Do you think this means the Friendship Map still works? I've been wondering about that ever since I learned what happened."

Spike shrugged as Silverstream turned to Twilight, "But why did the Tree need our help to become something new?"

"I'm not sure," Twilight responded, "If I had to guess, I'd say your friendship is more powerful than you know."

The eight of them smiled at this as Yona spoke up, "Oh, Yona know. Yona just need to remind friends." The others nodded, now more happy than ever that Yona had convinced them to stop their crazy endeavors.

"So, who's gonna give us the tour?" Spike asked, with none of the students looking like they wanted to. They hadn't been inside yet after all.

Twilight giggled at this, " Why don't we all go in together?" They all nodded and headed inside, laughing in excitement about what might be waiting for them within. The Tree of Harmony might be gone, but this new Treehouse of Harmony more than made up for its loss.

Yona was right. Nothing lasts forever, but even if something is lost that didn't mean it couldn't help birth something new. And as long as that understanding was remembered, Equestria would always have something to help it stay strong.
> Forest Therapy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In a rocky piece of terrain, a train was rolling down the tracks hauling a single carriage. Inside was all the wealth and money that Canterlot had been storing within its vault. Tons of bits, jewels and ancient artefacts and relics, all making their way across the desert. The driver, fire and break pony were the only ones there, the three not expecting any kind of trouble.

However, they soon went wide-eyed as they saw a house-sized rock on the side of the tracks with a sign up ahead that gave warning.


DANGER!
TRACK OUT OF COMMISSION!


The three shared a glance, only for their eyes to go wide when they saw the track right beside the large rock really was out of commission. As in, it had been completely ripped up and destroyed. They hit the breaks at this, the train jolting as it began to lose speed, barely managing to come to a stop before the end of the tracks. The ponies jumped out and ran toward the track, looking down at it and seeing that the damage done to it seemed to be new. Somepony had done this on purpose...and recently.

Magical blasts then began raining down upon them, the three screaming as they saw a unicorn and two pegasi up above, the unicorn firing streams of magic. The pegasi then shot down, quickly tying them up in a flurry of motion. As this happened, the unicorn laughed as an earth pony ran around the giant rock, pulling a large wagon behind him. "With them out of the way, all that money and wealth will be mine!"

The others nodded at this, only for a fireball to suddenly hit the ground in front of the unicorn. This made them come to a stop, spinning around to see a figure on the giant rock, now in front of the sun that appeared to be a pegasus.

"Better stick a fork in your sides!" The pony exclaimed before leaping at them, "Because you mooks are done!" The figure flew over their heads and landed atop the train carriage, revealing their identity to all: Fire Heart.

"A kid?" The unicorn asked as Heart's entire body burst into flames.

"Feel the heat!" He quickly unleashed a stream of fire, striking and knocking back the unicorn. He screamed as he was burnt, the others looking shock as Heart leapt down and threw a flaming fist right into a pegasi's face. He then spun around and launched several fireballs from his tail, hitting the other pony and setting parts of his coat ablaze.

Heart landed and slowly turned to the pegasus, making him gulp as he tried to backpedaled. Heart prepared to attack and as he used his back hoof flames to propel him forward, the pegasus got to his hooves. "I surrender!"

But Heart continued to charge, slamming a flaming punch into their face, burning him as well. Now neutralized, Heart panted as he glanced around, waiting for the thugs to get up, "Come on! I know you're just faking it to make me lower my guard. Well, it won't work." But they didn't move. Instead, they vanished.

The train then vanished as well, followed by the tracks, rocks and entire landscape. In its place, the Castle of Friendship's training room appeared and Heart turned to one of the walls. Flash was leaning against it, frowning with his hooves crossed. "Why'd you stop?" Heart asked as his flames vanished, "I was just about to start really teaching them a lesson!"

"You beat them," Flash replied, "You didn't need to keep fighting. They were down."

"Better to be safe than sorry," Heart countered, "How many times have you beaten an opponent, only to find they can still fight?"

"None," Flash instantly responded, "Because them being unable to fight any more is the definition of beating somepony. But that's not the biggest issue here. Heart, you went way too far in that fight." Heart tilted his head at this, "You burned those ponies. Seriously burned them. If they were real, they would have been in absolute agony and would have spent the rest of their lives horribly deformed."

"So?" Heart asked, "They were bad guys."

"That doesn't give you the right to do those kinds of things. If this had been real, those ponies could have sued you even if they would have the spend the rest of their lives in jail. You think you'll ever get to be a knight with something like that on your record?"

Heart glanced away at this, but said nothing, the sight making Flash sigh. "Heart...you have to stop being so aggressive. There are times when you need to pull your punches."

"But-"

Heart's words drowned out as he saw Flash point a hoof at him, "No. We're done here."

"B-b-but I can still train!" Heart replied, "Put the simulation up again! I'll beat them without burning them."

"But what about the next simulation?" Flash asked with crossed hooves again, "Am I gonna have to remind you to not charbroil the next lot of ponies you fight?" Heart flinched at that, only for Flash to add, "I know you're still upset about what happened with Cozy," he flinched at hearing that name. "But until you can get over this, I'm not training you anymore."

Heart's eyes went wide, tears about to appear, "You mean...you're gonna stop being my teacher?"

The knight shook his head, "No. But it's clear your training won't go anywhere until you deal with this issue." Flash then spun around and walked away, leaving the colt to just sit there with a huge frown on his face.





A little while later...

Flash and Grand were on patrol together now, his old mentor sighing as Flash finished his story, "You were right to halt his training," Grand commented as they turned a corner. "But I'm afraid you can't expect him to just get over what happened. The colt needs somepony to help him through this."

"I know," Flash responded, "But what am I supposed to do? I don't have any experience when it comes to overcoming heartbreak. I don't know anypony that does."

"True," Grand shrugged as they turned another corner and saw somepony trying to pick up a bunch of dropped oranges. "Surprisingly, all the relationships in this town seem to be going quite well. I know about ten ponies in Canterlot who had horrible breakups."

"Exactly," the pair helped the earth pony pick up the oranges as they continued, "And it's not like we have a therapist in town to go to. Not since the last one we helped moved away. Where'd he go again?"

"I think he went to become an engineer somewhere out in the desert," Grand replied, "I believe he's somewhere called...Coal Town." Flash let out a long sigh, only for mentor to put a hoof on his shoulder, "Flash, you need to do something. Heart's not gonna get any better on his own, and as his mentor, it's your responsibility to help him through this."

"I know. I just...don't know what to do."

"Flash...he's a kid." The defender turned his head to his mentor, "Try and take his mind off of it. You said he seemed to perk up in Aurarora once he started having fun there, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then try and think of something fun that the two of you could do." Flash put his hoof to his chin, only for a bulb to go off in his head. Grand chuckled as he saw Flash smirk, "Thought of something?"

"I got an idea or two."





The Castle of Friendship...

Inside the place, all its occupants were in the library, enjoying themselves. Soul and Starlight were playing chess, Twilight reading a new book she had just gotten, Spike sleeping and Scootaloo reading a comic. The only one not enjoying himself was Heart, who was laying on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.

They were all in a comfortable silence, at least until Flash threw the door open and stepped inside. "You!" He pointed at Heart, making the colt's head shoot up, "Pack your things."

Heart's eyes went wide. "You're kicking me out!?" He leapt off the couch and flew over to Flash's hooves. "I know you're mad about what happened earlier, but please give me another chance! I won't survive out there! I don't even know how to do laundry!"

"What?!" Flash yelped before shaking his head, "Heart, I'm not kicking you out. We're going camping."

"We are?!" Heart went wide-eyed, the others turning to show a similar expression, "Why?"

"Why not? It'll be fun. Just you, me and a few other ponies I've invited. It'll be great."

"Awesome!" Heart got up, "I'll go pack!" He ran out of the room and Flash smirked as the others continued to stare at him.

"What are you planning?" Twilight asked as she closed her book.

"Grand said I should try and get Heart over Cozy by keeping his mind off of her," he replied, "So this weekend, I'm gonna keep him so busy with camping activities he won't have a second to think about her."

"You really think that's gonna work?" Soul chimed in.

"No, but I don't have any other ideas. And if it doesn't work, I might consider asking Twilight to just zap all his memories of Cozy out of his head." Twilight glared at him at this, "It's a joke...but you know-"

"No!" Twilight opened her book again. "So, who else is going on this trip? You said you invited a few more ponies. Anypony we know?" Flash smirked at the question, making Twilight raise an eyebrow.





The next day...

The Rune Gate lit up before a pair of ponies stepped through the pillar of light. It was Ruby Scarlet and Jaden Chalice, the pair having saddlebags on their back. And as they stepped out of the gate, they saw Flash, Heart and Twilight waiting for them with the males carrying their own bags.

Ruby smiled as she moved over to hug Twilight, "It's great to see you."

"It's great to see you to," Twilight replied as Jaden went over to high-hoof Heart. But when he did this, Jaden noticed the colt's usual enthusiasm wasn't there.

"You okay?" Heart didn't respond, only for the Rune Gate to activate again. This time, three individuals walked out into the room. First Aid, Heather Bloom, and to Heart and Jaden's surprise, the young filly known Asclepia, also known as Raisins.

"Hey," Raisins smirked with a wave. "Long time no see."

"Yeah," Heart nodded, "Still haven't forgiven you for terrifying us back then."

"Oh, come on. It was just a joke."

"What are you even doing here?" Jaden added, "Ruby said this was a camping trip for knights and their apprentices." Raisins smirked, making the pair's eyes go wide. "No way."

"Asclepia has a pretty impressive knowledge of medical magic," First declared, "She has also been studying under Heather to improve her botanist skills."

"So, you're both taking her on as your apprentice?" Ruby asked, the pair nodding. "Interesting. I've never heard of two knights training one pony. But I guess there's no rule against it."

"Exactly," Heather giggled, "Besides, somepony will need to be there to patch the knights up in a fight. From what I heard, Heart can be just as accident prone as his mentor." Flash rolled his eyes at this.

"Anyways, four knights and three apprentices, you all ready to go camping? This'll be a tough exercise." Twilight annouced as they all nodded, the alicorn activating the Rune Gate to the location Flash had decided on. And with one final kiss between Flash and Twilight, the seven stepped through the light and vanished.





In a forested area, a pillar of light exploded out of the ground. From it, the seven ponies appeared, all glancing around to see that the place was very tranquil, not looking like it had ever been touched by pony hoof. That is, till Flash said, "There's a town a mile or so north of here, so if something goes wrong, we can head there. But hopefully, we won't need to go there since we have everything we need to survive on."

Heather walked over to some flowers and smiled, "These plants are in pristine condition." She looked up at the canopy, seeing it was open enough for sunlight to come through. "It's clear these woods are being well taken care of."

"Taken care of?" Heart asked, "Who's taking care of them?"

"Most likely the ponies in town," Heather replied, "They must cultivate the land to keep the ecosystem in balance."

"Why would they do that?" Jaden added, "Isn't them messing with things knocking the ecosystem out of whack?"

Heather laughed at this and shook her head, "Only a fool would think letting a forest get overgrown is the ecosystem in balance. The truth is, if a non-magical forest was left on its own, it would become a disaster zone. Too many trees would end up growing, and when that happened, the canopy becomes too thick for rainwater to reach the ground. And since there's more trees, they would all compete over the lesser water. Can anypony tell me what happens if a tree doesn't get enough water?"

"It dies?" Heart asked.

"Actually," Raisins chimed in, "They dry up first. And they can get that way for a long time before either falling to the ground on their own or getting knocked over."

"Correct," Heather nodded, "And if all the trees in the forest become dry, all it takes is one little spark to set one on fire and this place would become a massive blanket of flames in minutes."

"So you're saying ponies need to chop down trees to stop from making forest fires?" Jaden asked.

"Not just the trees," Heather pointed at the bushes and other undergrowth. "They can also set small, controlled fires to burn away the excess foliage. That ash will also help keep the ground fertile, encouraging new and healthy plants to take their place."

"Huh," Flash replied, "I never realized how much ponies had to do to keep forests like this one so beautiful."

Ruby nodded in agreement as Heather smiled, "The thing to remember is that ponies are a part of nature. Sometimes, we can be a little heavy hoofed in protecting a forest from any harm that we forget sometimes we need to destroy a little to protect a lot. It's like that old saying goes. No pain, no gain."

The others nodded at this as they all began to hike through the woods in search of a campsite. It took them a little while, only to soon find an area of the forest that was flat, clear of vegetation, and provided enough cover in case it rained. "Alright," Flash took off his saddlebag, "Time to give out some jobs. Who wants to go find some water?"

"I'll do that," Raisins instantly chimed in.

"Nice," Flash nodded, "And we also need some firewood. Heart and Jaden, you two think you can do that?" The pair nodded and the three young ponies walked off, Raisen taking a bucket First had pulled out of his bag after removing the shrinking spell on it. Heart and Jaden stepped back into the woods, Flash calling out after them. "Don't go too far. And make sure the wood's dry!"

The pair disappeared into the trees, Flash then turning to the other adults. "Thanks for helping with this. I know you all probably had a lot to do."

"We have been looking to take a break from our work," First responded, "All work and no play makes First a dull colt." Heather and Ruby laughed at this, clearly getting a reference to something Flash didn't know. "Anyway, I am sure this will do the young ones a lot of good. And help your apprentice overcome his heartbreak."

"I hope so," Flash nodded, "I know you all don't have any experience with this kind of thing-"

"Speak for yourself," Ruby interrupted as she started setting up the tent. "Are you forgetting my best friend turned into a shadow monster and brainwashed my entire city?"

Flash flinched at this, only for First to add, "I was also betrayed by somepony I trusted. When I learned what he did, I felt like I could never trust anypony ever again."

"What happened?" Flash asked.

"I met Heather," First replied as the mare in question smiled. "She needed somepony to look after her, and that forced me to put aside my own feelings of betrayal. Before I realized it, I trusted her with my life and realized I could trust others to."

"I was the same way," Ruby nodded, "I had Luna and Celestia to trust. And whilse it took a bit after coming to this time, I learned to trust you and your friends."

"So why is Heart having such a hard time accepting that he needs to stop letting Cozy get to him?"

"He probably doesn't realize what she's done to him," Heather responded, "From what you've said, this Cozy girl was more than just a friend. The fact is that the deeper somepony is in your heart, the more damage that pony can do if they betray you. Think about it. Take Twilight and a pony in Ponyville you barely talk to." Flash did so, imagining Twilight and his barber. "Now imagine what would happen if the two of them betrayed you in the exact same way." He grimaced at this, "The thought of Twilight betraying you hurts more than the other pony, huh?"

"A hundred times more," Flash sighed, "This isn't unfixable, is it?"

"Nothing is unfixable unless you let it be," First replied, "But you can not force it. There is no magic spell that will make it happen. The only one that can make the first move is Heart. He has to decide to get over what happened. Until he decides that, nothing you do will help. All you can do is be there of him, ready to help when he wants you to help."

Flash crossed his hooves at this, sighing as he had no choice but to agree.





Heart and Jaden continued to search the woods, having found a few dry twigs on the ground. And as Heart picked up another, he threw it away when he saw it was too wet. Jaden picked up another stick and found it was dry, soon adding it to the pile that was floating above them in his magic. And as he did, Jaden saw Heart wasn't making even a sound. Jaden had expected him to start singing or something like their test a while back, only to see nothing. As such, he decided to start humming.

Heart heard this and glanced at Jaden, who was humming the tune Heard had sung when they had been travelling together. "What are you doing?"

"What?" Jaden asked, "It's a catchy song. Don't be such a grumpy gus." He started singing out loud, but Heart remained stoic, Jaden then stopping as he turned back to Heart, "Alright then. If you really wanna play hardball, I'll just use the song nopony can resist singing along to." Heart raised an eyebrow as Jaden cleared his throat. "Lollipop, lollipop. Oh, lolly, lolly, lolly. Lollipop, lollipop. Oh lolly, lolly, lolly-"

He stopped singing and waited, as Heart's face started to twitch before yelling, "Lollipop!" Jaden laughed at this before he started singing again, Heart singing with him, "Lollipop, lollipop. Oh, lolly, lolly, lolly. Lollipop!" The pair made a popping sound with their hooves and mouth. "See?" Jaden saw Heart was now smiling, "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

"Shut up," Heart tried to stop smiling, but was having a hard time not smirking. Jaden continued singing and now, Heart couldn't fight against it. The pair sang every song they knew as they gathered the last of the dry twigs they would need before heading back. And when they got there, they saw the older ponies had the site set up. There was one tent for Flash and Heart, one for Jaden and First and a larger one for Ruby, Heather and Raisins.

Raisins had also returned with a bucket full of water and was now helping Ruby as the crystal pony set up the firepit they would use to keep warm and roast any food. Unlike a normal fire pit, this one was using crystal spikes in place of rocks. Jaden put the twigs down and moved over to sit beside Heather as Ruby took some of the sticks and placed them into the fire pit. "Alright," she held up two rocks, "Now the trick to this is to get the right stone and hit them together in the right way." She showed Raisins the angle to hit them at and let the young pony begin to hit the rocks together.

Raisin kept scraping and scraping, attempting to get a spark to appear. After a few attempts, a spark did fly off the rocks into the fire pit, but the sticks didn't catch light, making her try again. Another spark, but again it did nothing. At her third attempt, she looked like she was getting annoyed, only for a small fireball to fly down and ignite the sticks.

"Hey!" Raisins looked up at Heart, who extinguished his hoof and gave her a glare.

"What? You were talking forever."

"Heart..." Flash chastised him. "You shouldn't have done that. Raisins needed to learn how to start a fire herself. Not everypony has your abilities, remember?" Heart huffed and glanced away, making Flash sigh, "Well, with the fire lit, let's get the s'mores going. Then we can decide what we're gonna do on this trip."

"You haven't decided?" Jaden asked.

"I'm open to suggestions," Flash replied as he took out some marshmallows. "There's a ton of things we can do around here. Like hiking."

"Oh," Heather clapped her hooves, "We could make a list of different flora and fauna and see who can be the first one to tick them all off when they see them."

"That sounds fun," Ruby giggled, "If there's a cave around here, we could go spelunking."

"I would have thought you'd have had enough of caves after what happened the last time you were in one," Flash chuckled. "One of my students at the school once told me of an interesting activity: Fishing."

"Fishing?" First asked, "What's that?"

"It's where you get a rod, some string and a hook and you dangle it in some fish-filled water and wait to see if the fish catch it. Then you pull it up."

"Why would you do that?" Raisins asked while looking disgusted.

"Well, he's a griffon," Flash replied, "And they eat stuff ponies don't usually enjoy. Though considering your reaction, I guess fishing's out of the question." The others nodded as they used some sticks to roast the marshmallows. When they were all melted, a few took theirs off the sticks and placed them between two crackers while the others simply ate it off the stick. The only one who didn't take it away from the fire was Heart, as it was starting to turn almost black.

"Heart," Raisins poked him with her stick, "I think it's cooked." Heart glared at her before chomping into his blackened marshmallow. "Would you lighten up? You're being all moody."

"Yeah," Jaden nodded, "Why are you so grumpy today?"

"I'm fine," Heart grumbled, "Let's just...go on a hike or something and try to find some of that stuff Heather was talking about." The others frowned as he got up and walked away, Flash quickly getting up to follow. The others put their stuff into their tents as First used a barrier to surround the fire and block out the oxygen. This caused it to burn itself out, but still be ready for relighting when they needed it.

The group then followed after Flash and Heart, catching up as the pair hiked through the forest. "Do you have any idea where you're even going?" Jaden asked.

"Nope," Heart shook his head, "But isn't that the whole point of a hike? To see where the trail leads you?"

"No," Heather responded, "The point is to look around and enjoy the sights and sounds of nature." Heart didn't seem to take this statement well, making Heather stop. "Just, stand still for a moment." They all did so and Heather put her hoof to her mouth, telling them to be quiet as she gestured around them.

Everypony glanced around, only to hear movement over by one of the bushes. They all turned to it, but Heart got into a fighting stance and looked ready to start launching fireballs at it, only for Heather to mouth to him to not make a move.

A second later, a bunny leapt out of the bush. It was followed by several smaller bunnies, a whole family of rabbits. They all looked completely calm, bouncing around while not even caring that the ponies were there. The seven watched them, most hopping while others ate grass and kept a watchful eye out for predators. They all looked so cute, and the ponies could watch them for hour...except for one.

"Is that it?" Heart asked, his voice scaring the rabbits and causing them to all jet off. The others turned to glare at the colt, "What?! Fluttershy has more bunnies at her place then anywhere in Equestria!"

"Well, we don't live near Fluttershy," Jaden pointed out, "So excuse us for enjoying the sight." Raisins nodded as Heather started to walk again.

"There's more here than just bunnies," she chimed in, "All you have to do is look and stay very quiet." They soon followed, continuing their hike and stopping several times to see an interesting species of bird or bug. She would also stop whenever she saw a rare breed of flower, explaining why it was so rare and what properties it had. All were listening eagerly, but Heart just seemed to be on edge now.

Flash saw this and walked over to him, tapping his side with a wing. The colt glanced up at him as the defender whispered, "Relax. I don't think anything here's gonna be of any threat to us."

"I'd rather not be taken by surprise again," Heart replied as they heard a cricket chirp.

Flash sighed and shook his head, "You're not gonna enjoy yourself if you're constantly stressing about stuff like that. Just try and relax. If anything happens, the adults will handle it."

Heart just looked away, grumbling as they continued their hike for another hour before heading back as the sun began to set. They reached their campsite before it got dark, seeing that nothing seemed to have stumbled upon it. As such, they all sat down and Raisins once again tried to start a fire, managing to get it lit on the third try.

Once the fire was burning brightly, Jaden pulled out some playing cards and asked if anypony wanted to play, Raisins happily agreeing, but Heart didn't seem interested. Jaden and Raisins then split the deck, Raisins getting the red cards and Jaden the black. The pair then shuffled and spread the cards out face down, each of them picking one. "Three of clubs!" Jaden announced as he showed it to her.

"Five of diamonds!" Raisins smirked, "I win." Jaden moaned as Raisins laughed, the adults chuckling at the fun they were having. They both picked another random card and when they showed them to each other, Jaden cheering when he got the higher card this time.

On the third round, Raisins drew an ace and frowned. "Is this high or low?" She asked as Jaden tried to pick a card.

"It counts as a one, except if your opponent has a king. Then it counts as a higher number." He smirked, since the chances of him picking one of the two kings was impossible. But then he drew his card and when he saw what he got, his face fell. "A king?! How?!" Raisins cheered as the others laughed, Heart being the only one to stay quiet.

"Are you sure you don't wanna play?" Raisins asked him, "We could play a three pony game if you want."

"No thanks," Heart replied.

"Come on," Jaden added, "You can't spend the whole night looking at the fire. You'll go blind." Heart rolled his eyes and didn't reply, Jaden letting out a huff next, "What is with you? I thought this was gonna be fun because you were here, but you've been nothing but a buzzkill the entire trip. Just getting you to sing earlier was a challenge."

"Maybe I've just outgrown that kind of stuff," Heart grumbled.

"Outgrown it?" Raisins asked, "This is what you're supposed to do on a camping trip."

"Raisins," First warned, "That's enough."

"But there's something wrong with him," Raisins barked back, "He was way more happy and expressive the last time I met him. And his sister said he's always got a smile on his face. So why is it he's so grumpy and moody right now?"

"Yeah," Jaden nodded, "What happened to the pony that helped me show my skills to Ruby even though I was super nervous?"

"Nothing. I just grew up."

"Flash is grown up, and he's able to at least crack a smile." Heart grit his teeth at this as Jaden added, "I thought we were friends. Friends tell each other what's wrong with them."

"NOTHING'S WRONG!" Heart screamed, making everypony flinch as he got up. "I'm sorry I'm not the gullible idiot you remember me as! But if I'm gonna be a Royal Knight, I can't let anything lower my guard! I let somepony trick me and it almost caused all the magic in Equestria to be lost, destroying it. And when I let my guard down again, me and my friends get framed for a murder and almost have a war with the jakhowls start. Then, I lowered my guard again and the Elements of Harmony are destroyed and I get turned into somepony's mind slave! I'm not gonna let it happen again!"

The ponies all stared at Heart, Flash sighing as he reached out a hoof at him, "Heart...what happened those times wasn't your fault. You can't let those events change who you are."

"Why not?! I lost one home from something I couldn't control and I almost lost my home again because I trusted somepony that I shouldn't have! I'm not gonna let that happen again." He turned to Jaden and Raisins, "You two can mess around like a bunch of foals if you want, but we're supposed to be the future protectors of Equestria. So we need to be serious or the whole world will be destroyed!"

And before anyone could say anything, Heart spread his wings and shot into the dark of the forest. "HEART!" Flash yelled, only for Ruby and First to grab him. "Let go of me!"

"Hold on. Maybe you should leave this to us," First chimed in first.

Ruby nodded, "I think we'll be able to get through to him better then you can." Flash turned back to them, seeing two glares. The sight made him sigh, nodding as he sat back down.

"Got it. Just..." Flash glanced away, "Help him. Please."

"We will." Ruby replied as the two walked away, Heather walking up and patting Flash on the shoulder. And as this happened, Raisins and Jaden just sat there with wide eyes, Flash and Heather seeing this and sighing, as they knew this would be a long story.





Ruby and First found Heart a little aways away, the colt having gathered some stones and currently chucking them at a tree. Each hit the trunk several times, making notable clunking noises as he sat down on a log. "You know," Ruby spoke up, making him turn to her, "No matter how hard you throw that rock, you're not gonna make the tree feel as much pain as you."

Heart growled at her before dropping a stone, Ruby and First sitting down next to him. "That was quite the performance you gave," First said first, "I hope that little outburst made you feel better."

"It didn't."

"Good. I would be worried if it had. Making others feel bad should never give you any comfort."

"Why are you here?" Heart asked, "Shouldn't you be taking care of your own students?"

"There's nothing wrong with Royal Knights helping the apprentices of other knights," Ruby added, "And it's clear that Flash needs all the help he can get with your little attitude problem."

"I don't have an attitude problem!" Heart jumped up to try and fly away, but the pair grabbed him in their magic, pulling him back onto the log. "Hey!"

"We beg to differ about your attitude problem," First stated, "Flash has told us this has been a problem for a while, ever since your unfortunate parting with a young filly." Heart flinched at this, "It is okay to feel upset, but you should not take your frustrations out on your friends."

"I'm not upset."

"Yes, you are." Ruby sighed, "And it's time you accepted it. You think you're doing the right thing, being all serious and constantly trying to be tough and gruff, but that's not helping you."

Heart just glanced away, "I let Cozy make a fool out of me. She used me because she knew she could. I was around her a ton and I didn't see what she was doing. I let her pull the wool over my eyes and blind me from seeing what she truly was. And because of that, she almost drained all the magic in Equestria and would have killed Flash and the entire world."

"But were you the only one she fooled?" First asked.

"No. But I was the one around her the most. I should have seen something. But I was too busy having fun with her to see anything."

"So you're gonna let the pony that fooled you dictate how you're going to act from now on?" Ruby asked, Heart's head darting over to the knight, "You think because Cozy tricked you that there was something wrong with you that needed changing?"

"I do need to change! I trusted her without even thinking she could be hiding something. If I hadn't been so open with her, maybe I would have seen something."

"So you plan to simply not trust anypony ever again?" First asked, Heart opening his mouth in response, but nothing came out, "So you do not trust Flash anymore?"

"Of course I trust Flash!"

"What about Twilight? Soul? Celestia? Us?"

"I trust all of you," Heart growled.

"You thought you knew Cozy," First replied, "But the simple fact is, trust is as dangerous as it is rewarding. Anypony you trust has the capability of using that trust against you. But that does not mean it's better to never trust anypony."

"He's right," Ruby nodded. "I did that. When I first came here, I didn't want to trust anypony else. With what my best friend did, it felt like trusting another pony would only end the same way. Because of that, I went out to fight Sombra on my own and almost got myself turned into an umbrum. If your mentor hadn't been there for me, I would have likely died and been reborn pure evil."

"You have a long road ahead of you," First added, "And you cannot walk it alone. You need ponies you can trust to walk besides you. Ones you know and already trust, and ones that you have yet to meet." He looked Heart straight in the eye. "One day you might meet somepony that could have been a great friend to you. Who might have even saved your life in a situation. But if you keep acting this way, you will likely push them away. And it is a slippery slope between pushing future friends away and pushing past friends away. Eventually, you will be all alone."

"So...so what do I do?" Heart asked, "Go back to being the gullible idiot that anypony can trick?"

"Of course not," Ruby shook her head, "But you shouldn't let what Cozy did to you destroy the kind pony Flash chose to be his apprentice. If you do, she'll have won. Letting your enemies get to you will also grant them victory. If they know they can make you do something you'll regret, they'll do whatever it takes to make you lose yourself. And even if they lose the battle, they'll win the war if they're able to change you."

Heart just stared the two, those words entering his ears. He had been feeling miserable lately, but every time he thought about it, he remembered what almost happened...and he hated it.

"We are not telling you to trust whoever you meet," First continued, "But you cannot constantly be untrusting either."

"So...what do I do?"

"There is an area between trust and mistrust," First responded, "Whenever you meet somepony new, place them in that category. You do not have to trust them, but you have to give them a chance to earn your trust. You are right that you trusted Cozy too quickly. But simply not trusting her from the start would not have been a good idea."

"So you're saying when I met Cozy, I should have still been nice to her but not completely open?"

"Exactly," Ruby nodded, "Your heart should have a door. One that isn't locked, or wide open. It should be ajar enough for somepony to look inside, but still able to be shut itself if and when that pony should do something you don't find trustworthy. Understand?"

Heart slowly nodded, feeling a few tears appear under his eyes. He took several deep breaths, trying to clear his head, but found unable. Instead, he thought back to Flash, his mentor. Flash was anything but closed off, but he was the strongest pony Heart knew. His mind then thought back to the last Hearts and Hooves Day, when he had learned about love. He had learned so much on that day, but it was Iron's words that were now flowing through his mind.

"A heart can't survive without being fed. And once it's dead, it's almost impossible to revive. It'll just rot away, taking everything within you along with it. You'll stop caring about others and slowly start thinking the only pony you have to look out for is yourself."

Iron was right. He didn't want to be a heartless pony. He also knew that Ruby and First were also right. Cozy might have hurt him, but letting that make him close himself off was just gonna give her another victory over him. If Heart wanted to truly put Cozy behind him, he couldn't let her change him.

"She won't," Heart leapt off the log as Ruby and First raised eyebrows at him, "I'm not gonna let Cozy decide who I am anymore. If she wanted to hurt me, I won't give her the satisfaction in winning."

"Good," Ruby giggled, "But it won't be easy. You're not gonna simply start feeling better about everything in the blink of an eye."

"But you can start the process of healing," First finished, "Start by having fun and not feeling like you are making yourself vulnerable when you do. Trust us, you will be doing yourself a favor."

Heart nodded as the pair got up. "But before anything else," Ruby pointed at him. "You owe everypony an apology."

Heart flinched at this, only to sigh as the duo guided him back to the campsite. And as they arrived, they saw Flash and Heather telling the two young ponies what had happened to Heart. When they approached, they all turned to him, the colt glancing away.

"You okay now?" Flash asked, Heart slowly nodding.

"I wanna be okay. And I'm sorry for yelling at you all."

"It's okay," Raisins added, "We heard about what happened. I'd be upset too, if something like that happened to me." Jaden nodded in agreement.

"I just...don't wanna lose everything I have again. It's almost happened so many times that..."

"We understand," Heather interrupted, "I lost my family once, and was able to find another with First and the Royal Knights. Losing them would be heartbreaking."

The others nodded at this, all remembering their own issues of loss. And as this happened, Flash spoke up, "But you can't let that fear overcome you. Remember the first rule of being a knight."

Heart nodded again, the others staring at him as he slowly looked back at them. That is, till his eyes slightly widened, "Hey, what's that?" He pointed to something ahead of him, the group turning to see one section of the stars in the sky vanishing in an upwards line.

"That's...that's smoke." Flash commented as he got up. "That's the direction of the town." Everypony went wide-eyed at this, Flash and Heart taking to the air and flying toward the trailing smoke. And as they got higher, they noticed a light coming from the town's direction. Fire. "Come on!" Flash yelled, taking out his Celestic Gear.

Heart ignited his body and used his back hooves to jet propel himself forward, shooting past Flash as he quickly armorized to use his own boosters. The pair flew at high speed and quickly reached the town, which caused them both to gasp. The entire place was ablaze, ponies running around to try and put the flames out.

Except for a few, which were pushing other ponies around and carrying objects over to a cart. They laughed as they did so, making Flash and Heart glare them. These ponies had set this blaze to distract the ponies from stopping them.

"You stop them!" Flash ordered, "I'll handle the flames!" Heart nodded and the two split apart, Flash punching his boosters to their max as he started flying around the town in a circle. Within seconds, he created a tornado that was just strong enough to suck up the flames and nothing else, soon funneling the fire away.

As this happened, Heart flew down at the ponies responsible. He saw one of the ponies holding a dagger and looking ready to use it on a mare, the sight making him growl, only for Grand's words about letting anger wash over you, but not overcome you, enter his head. He took a deep breath to keep himself calm, but the anger pumped up his flames and he rocketed forward, catching the attention of the pony with the dagger.

"What the-" he yelped as he saw Heart fly down. And before he could react, Heart extinguished everything but his hooves to keep from burning the pony, instead tackling the pony, sending him flying back. He let out a scream, Heart pushing off of him and leaping back as the thug was flung into the side of a building.

The other ponies turned to this, seeing the colt land in front of the mare, glaring at the sight. "Seriously?! You let a kid get the better of you?!" But then, Heart's body burst into flames again.

The crooks flinched at this, most backpedaling as Heart yelled, "Give up! I don't wanna hurt you."

"There's no way that's real fire!" A unicorn exclaimed before launching a blast of magic, which hit the ground in front of Heart and caused an explosion.

The mare seeing this gasped, only to notice something above her and saw Heart jetting up into the air. "I warned you," he said as he charged downward, the unicorn firing again, but he unleashed a blast of fire that blocked the magic. This created a smoke cloud that Heart flew through, allowing him to reach unicorn. His flames went out at the last moment, Heart throwing a punch right into the thief's face. The unicorn screamed as he was struck, Heart's hoof still hot but not enough to burn him. The blow knocked him into the cart of stolen goods, two pegasi and an earth pony thief all gasping at this.

They then growled before attacking, Heart's body bursting into flames again and unleashing a wave of heat. The three hissed when they ran into this wave, feeling their coats threatening to blister as they staggered back. Heart then propelled himself, keeping his front hooves de-flamed so he wouldn't burn them with every punch. He reached a pegasus and slammed them in the face, making them stagger back as Heart spun around to duck under a punch by the other pegasus. He then grabbed his hoof and propelled himself in a circle, pulling the pegasus around before swinging him into the dirt.

The crook screamed in pain, Heart now turning to the earth pony. He charged at him, his hooves and wings blasting out fire. But just as he was about to get to him, the earth pony closed his eyes. "I SURRENDER!" He felt a wave a heat hit his skin at this...only to feel no punch. Instead, the heat he was expecting flew around and landed behind him.

Heart stood tall and spun around, seeing the ponies were all unconscious aside from the earth pony. He tried to think of a way to restrain him, but couldn't come up with an answer. But as this happened, the first pony got up from when he had been flung into the nearby house. He growled at this before grabbing his dagger and walking up to the mare that had been watching this event. She let out a scream, Heart spinning around to see the pony pinning the mare to the ground with his dagger pressed to her neck.

"Give it up kid. There's no way you can get over here in time to save her if you try. Surrender and let my friend capture you, or she dies." The mare screamed again, Heart glaring at the sight as he felt his rage building again.

But as he felt this, Ruby's words echoed in her head. "Letting your enemies get to you will also grant them victory. If they know they can make you do something you'll regret, they'll do whatever it takes to make you lose yourself. And even if they lose the battle, they'll win the war if they're able to change you."

Heart glared at the pony, only to lock eyes with the mare. Her's were filled with fear, and while he tried to convey a message of reassurance, the earth pony suddenly grabbed him by the hood. "Hey!"

"Don't try anything!" The dagger pony growled, pointing his blade at the colt. "Or else." Heart didn't get to learn what else he was talking about, as in that moment, a blue beam flew down from the air and slammed into his back. "AUGH!" This caused him to drop the dagger, Heart smiling at the sight. He quickly unleashed a wave of heat, causing the pony holding him to let go before propelling and slamming into the earth pony. He roared again, being knocked off of the mare and sent flying into another house.

Heart then looked up, seeing Flash hovering above them. He had clearly waited for the right moment to attack so the mare wouldn't be hurt. Flash smirked at the sight before seeing the ponies Heart had taken down. "Not bad," he stated as the earth pony picked himself up. He looked like he was about to make a run for it, but Flash quickly zipped over behind him. And he turned to run, Flash thrust armored punch into his face, instantly knocking him out as the other earth pony started to backpedal. That is, till a chain mace suddenly wrapped around his back leg.

He screamed as he was pulled off his hooves, his mouth hitting dirt as crystals grew around his body to lock him into place. Heart saw this and turned to see Heather and Ruby, the Flower Knight retracting her Celestic Gear as Ruby turned to the other criminals and quickly trapped everything but their heads in gems. The colt sighed in relief, looking over at the town and seeing that Flash had managed to put it all out as Raisins and First began checking the civilians.

Flash stepped up to him at this, "You did good kid." Heart couldn't help but smile at this, something that made Flash smile back. He knew Heart would still have a long road to go before he was ready to move on, but he was confident the colt would overcome this. And he would be stronger for doing so.





Three days had passed since Flash and his camping troop had left. Twilight and Soul were in the castle, staring at the Rune Gate as it activated. And from it, Flash stepped out, followed by Heart and the others. Twilight smiled at the sight, only to turn and see a big smile on Heart's face.

"So?" She asked, her question mostly directed to Heart. "Did you have a good time?"

"It was the best!" Heart cheered, "We went hiking and found a cave to explore! We even got to fight against some crooks!" Both alicorns went wide-eyed at this statement, Twilight turning to Flash who shrugged and nodded. "Hey, Soul." His sister turned back to him, "I'm sorry I've been so moody lately. I wanna try and put what happened with Cozy behind me."

Soul nodded back with a smile, "I'm glad. She didn't deserve you." She moved over to hug her brother, who hugged her back before they and the other young ponies stepped out of the room. Once they were gone, Twilight focused back on the adults.

"What do you think? Is he over what happened?"

"Not by a long shot," Ruby replied, "What happened with Cozy scarred him for life. Scars don't always heal, but they do fade." The others nodded, agreeing with her assessment. "Heart's taken the first step to overcoming this pain. He's finally ready to move on and let the scars fade."

First continued, "One day, what happened will be nothing more than a bad memory. But until then, you, Flash and everypony else, will have to still be there for him."

"I understand." Twilight replied, only to add, "Though uh...what's this about these crooks you fought."

The adults sighed as Flash responded, "Relax. We dealt with them and managed to get in touch with some guards. They're on their way to prison as we speak."





Meanwhile...

The band of thieves were currently travelling in an armored police wagon, being pulled by ponies and protected by guards. The ponies were all sitting there, stewing in their own defeat. They were angry at the colt that had done most of the damage, but they were also angry at the pegasus who had prevented them from regaining the upperhoof.

"When I get out of here," the dagger wielding pony growled, "I'm gonna make them all pay."

The others nodded, only for the wagon to suddenly rock. Cries and screams rang out next, making the thieves all glance around. And after a minute of this, the sounds went completely silent. "What just happened?" The unicorn asked, nopony knowing the answer.

Suddenly, the doors of the wagon flew off its hinges and light poured into the construct. A magical blast quickly followed, hitting the chains locking them together, turning them into black sand that slid off. The band of crooks glanced at each other before walking out of the wagon, only to see the guards and other ponies all laid out on the ground around them. "What the heck happened to them?" A pegasus asked, only for a sound to make him spin around.

They all looked atop the wagon, now seeing a pony in black armor staring down at them as a pair of shadowy wings flowed from his back. "Who...who are you?" The other earth pony asked as the figure remained quiet.

"Flash Sentry," he replied, "He is the pegasus that defeated you." The group glared at that statement, "Do you hate him? You must, since he was the reason that group of ponies was there. If not for him, your plan would have worked perfectly."

"Oh yeah, I hate him!" The unicorn growled, the others all nodding as the armored pony chuckled.

"Good. Then I will take that hatred and use it to destroy him." With that, the wings exploded into giant clouds that shot down and consumed the thieves. Their screams filled the air, only for everything to go black.
> The Point of No Return
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another peaceful day in Ponyville. The School of Friendship was open, but it was still rather calm. As such, Spike could spend his day outside the school entrance with a comic...only to be interrupted by the arrival of Ponyville's resident mail pony.

Spike was halfway through his comic when Derpy dive bombed him. "WHOA!" The Mystic Fire Dragon barely had enough time to notice and leap away. The reason for her crash on this occasion was due to the giant parcel she had been carrying that was almost twice as big as her.

The sight made Spike sigh as he got up and brushed himself off without a second thought. "Twilight, mail's here!" A few moments later, Twilight and Flash walked out of the school and gasped at seeing Derpy face planted into one of the lamps that lit up the water path at night.

"Are you alright?" She asked as Derpy slid down the pole, Flash noticing a bunch of envelopes that had likely fallen from her bag due to the crash. Luckily, none had appeared to have fallen into the water and he started picking them up.

"We just had a really heavy delivery today," Derpy moaned as she turned to the giant box and rolled it right side up.

"You know, you could have told us to pick it up at the post office," Flash chimed in, "Twilight could have teleported there and brought it back in the literal blink of an eye."

"Oh," Derpy blinked, "Oops. It just looked important and I wanted to make sure it got here in time."

"Now that's dedication," Flash chuckled, "So...what's in there?"

Twilight tilted her head at this, only for Spike to run up to the box, "Is it a deluxe set of special edition Ogres & Oubliettes figurines that I'm totally surprised by and have been hinting that I need forever?"

He turned to the ponies, only for Derpy to reply, "Well, it's for Twilight."

"Awww..." Flash rolled his eyes as he gave Derpy her letters back.

"Spike, we give you an allowance and we pay you for cleaning up the castle. If you want those figurines, save up and buy them yourself." Spike pouted as Derpy flew off.

"Thank you," Twilight waved at the pegasus as she called back a 'you're welcome.' Twilight then turned to the box and read the return label. "Huh. It's from Princess Celestia." As she said that, Spike started coughing and spat out a quickly materializing scroll.

"So is this," he stated as Twilight took the scroll from him. "Really? She couldn't have put it into the box?" The alicorn opened up the scroll and started reading aloud.

"My dearest Twilight, I have been conducting a thorough cleaning of the castle, and I came across a few items of yours in your old room. I thought you might want them back." Twilight smiled as she opened the box, "I didn't even know I'd left anything!" They looked inside the box and found a whole bunch of things, Twilight picking up a picture from that was on top. "Awww, look! Remember this? It's the macaroni picture frame Cadance helped me make when I was a filly!"

Flash and Spike saw it was a normal picture frame with macaroni stuck to it. The picture had been taken shortly after Flash had joined the family, the colt having been touched when they asked him to be in it. Seeing it always brought a smile to Flash's lips, though Spike was more focused on the crude way Twilight had stuck the macaroni on.

"Who could forget a masterpiece like that?" He said sarcastically, Flash frowning at him as he pulled something out of the box.

"Hey!" Flash gasped, "The certificate you made me when I completed one of my first knight tests." He could hardly believe such amazing penmanship was done by a filly of all things. "That was a hard test. The insight trials were super hard. At least Heart had Jaden to help him."

Twilight nodded as she took something else out of the box. "My G one Starswirl figure!" That hadn't been such a happy memory for Flash since Twilight had made him and Shining camp outside the store with her overnight to get it. "And some of my favorite school scrolls! And here's my extra extra credit report on The Impediments of Using Magic in Everyday Chores!" She opened up the scroll and read through it, "Ha! Still so true!" She put the scroll down as Spike climbed up onto the box.

"Is my Smash Fortune comic in there? I've been looking for that for years. Whoa, whoa!" Spike seemed to have forgotten he had wings, the dragon falling into the box and swimming around through the stuff until he found something big that was taking up a lot of space. "Hold this."

Twilight saw it was a book, only to go fully wide-eyed, "Oh, no!" Her expression turned into somepony that had just told her Shroudheart had returned. "Oh, no! Oh, no!" She took the book and looked it over, Flash and Spike turning to her.

"What's wrong?" The dragon asked, "It's just looks like an old library book."

"Uh oh." Flash whispered as he saw Twilight's begin to morph.

"Exactly!" Twilight screamed, "It belongs to the Canterlot Library! That means it's..." She flicked through the book until she came to the front page, where a window held a slip. When she pulled it out, she saw her name and the bottom along with the date it was supposed to be brought back on. A date that had long...looooong since passed. "Overdue!"

"Oh great," Flash put the alarm clock he had been looking over down. "Well, there goes the rest of our day."

"What do you mean?" Spike added as he flew out the box, "So she's got an overdue library book? Everypony has them."

"But this is Twilight," Flash pointed at the alicorn as she began to pace around.

"You don't understand, Spike! I have a perfect library book return record!" Spike quickly cleared his throat.

"Had a perfect record."

"Oh yeah," Flash chuckled, "I remember how much you loved boasting about that record. Even let it bleed into your own librarian life." He turned to Spike, "Remember when Time Turner almost had an overdue library book the first year we were living here?"

"Oh yeah," Spike laughed, "She waited up until midnight for him to return it. And when that elapsed, she teleported over to his house and banged on the door for ten minutes to get him to wake up. Good thing he hadn't perfected his noise cancelling headphones yet."

"And it's also a good thing for him that returning the book before the library opens, counts as yesterday's return. Or Twilight's precious perfect record, would have been ruined forever." He glanced back at Twilight, smirking. "So let me get this straight. You threatened to twist the ear off of anypony that would return a book one day late, all the while you had a book that was months and now years late?"

Twilight let out a groan, "I've never turned in a book even a minute late! And this one has been overdue since I left for Ponyville!" And as she said that, she remembered the events leading up to this book becoming overdue.





A week before Twilight left for Ponyville...

Canterlot's library was as busy as ever, the many unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi studying at one of the city's quietest place, including the unicorn, Twilight Sparkle. The future princess walked up to the check-out desk, where one of her favorite ponies was waiting for her.

Dusty Pages, an elderly purple earth pony with a white and pink mane, smiled at her as she stamped the books Twilight wanted to take out. Once she stamped a particular book, she looked up at the unicorn. "Make sure you bring this one back on time. We've got a long waiting list of ponies who can't wait to read it."

Twilight smiled and nodded, "I promise I won't let you down!"

"Oh, of course you won't dear. If there's anypony I can trust to take care of a book, it's you, Twilight Sparkle. After all, you still hold the 'Best Book Borrower' title." She gestured to the framed picture behind her, which showed Twilight smiling as she carried a book.

"Oooh!" Twilight grinned, "I hope I do forever!" She turned to walk away, and as she did, she found the younger Flash sitting with his back hooves up on a table. He wasn't reading a book, instead having brought a comic he could read as Twilight checked out her books.

Dusty sighed, "All the amazing books in this building and that colt chooses to read a comic."

"Meathead," Twilight grumbled, "All that work I did teaching him and he barely uses it."

Dusty laughed at this as she looked between Twilight and Flash. "If that colt ever manages to settle down, it'll need to be with somepony learned enough to help him become a wise enough pony to work as a Royal Knight." Twilight nodded, thinking the same thing. "Somepony that enjoys reading a lot and keeping a reckless stallion like him grounded."

"Oh, she sounds perfect." Twilight commented, "I bet we'll be the best of friends if he ever finds a pony like that to be with." She marched over to Flash and pulled his back hooves off the table, shutting his mouth with her magic to stop him from crying out in the library before the pair started a light-hearted bicker as they made their way out of the library.





"Wait..." Flash asked back in the present, "So you got this book right before you left for Ponyville."

"About a week or so," Twilight nodded, "I got it and planned on reading it as soon as I finished another book I was reading. But that was the book that made me learn about Nightmare Moon, the Elements, and the danger of her return. That focused my mind on saving Equestria. And then Celestia sent me to Ponyville, and I forgot all about this!"

"Well," Flash shrugged, "I guess that can be excused."

"Excuse me?!" Twilight yelped, "What are you talking about?! Dusty Pages prided herself that no books were damaged or lost on her watch, and I failed her! I failed myself!"

"Twilight, let's weigh the situations." He held up one hoof, "Returning a library book on time and keeping your perfect record." He raised the other hoof, "Stopping the return of Nightmare Moon, saving Celestia after she was captured by Nightmare Moon, finding the Elements of Harmony and using them to stop Nightmare Moon, freeing Princess Celestia, restoring Princess Luna and saving Equestria from centuries of eternal night." With every statement, his second hoof got a little bit lower. "I think one situation trumps the other in importance."

"That may be," Twilight stood up straight. "But I can't let this book go unreturned any longer. I have to set things right." The boys could tell what was coming next.

"I take it we're going to Canterlot?" Spike asked as Twilight summoned a bag to put the book in it before zipping into the air. This caused him to groan as he and Flash spread his own wings.

"The sooner the better, I guess." They took off at this, only to see Twilight zoom off at lightning speed, Spike groaning at the sight, "Is Twilight ever gonna get over her perfectionism?"

"Are you kidding?" Flash countered, "She grew up in Canterlot. Ninety percent of the ponies that live there are obsessed with doing everything perfectly. Twilight...Dusty...even Velvet wouldn't release a book until she read the whole thing through six times to make absolutely sure it was perfect. It's just something most ponies living there have ingrained into their being."

They managed to catch up to Twilight as they reached the outskirts of the city, which Flash had expected to be a lot more guarded given what had happened recently with Shroudheart's attack...only to easily fly over the walls, Twilight now heading straight for the city library. But when they arrived, Twilight touched down, only to gasp seeing so many ponies on the street. She quickly grabbed Flash and Spike, rushing them into a nearby bush before they could be spotted. "Twilight, honey. Why are we in a bush?"

"Yeah," Spike asked, "Don't you wanna return your book?"

"Yes." Twilight nodded, "But what if somepony sees me in there?" The boys raised an eyebrow at this, "I'm the Princess of Friendship. Everywhere I go, ponies recognize me. I'll stick out like a sore hoof."

Flash laughed at this. "Twilight, you weren't even able to get a taxi in Manehatten once. Though I guess you are more well known in Canterlot."

Spike smirked at this as he began to speak incredulously, "Princess Twilight Sparkle in a library? Stop the presses!" Twilight rolled her eyes.

"A late book is a big deal, Spike." She took out her card wallet, showing a ton of membership cards and removed one, "What if Dusty Pages revokes my library card? Or bans me from ever entering the building again?!" She looked absolutely horrified, Flash and Spike rolling their eyes as they stepped out of the bush.

"Don't you already have most of those books in your collection at home?"

"Yeah," Flash added, "You clearly haven't checked out any of the books here since moving to Ponyville. If you had, somepony would have noticed you had that book out passed the due back date."

"Exactly," Spike continued, "So what's the big deal about never getting to go into the library again?"

"But the ones in there have a special Canterlot Library-y smell!" Twilight yelped.

"You sniff books?" Spike asked, flinching at this.

"You don't?" She asked a little too loud, causing a passing pony to notice her. The princess tried to hide, causing the unicorn to slowly retreat.

"I think you might draw less attention to yourself if you weren't in a bush," Flash chuckled, Twilight groaning as she kept everything but her head inside the bush.

"I used to live in a library. If I'm not a good example of proper book borrowing behavior, then what kind of princess am I?" Spike flew up and patted her on the cheek.

"One that makes mistakes like everypony else. Trust me. Once you return that book, you'll feel way better."

Twilight took a deep breath, then smiled. "Thanks, Spike." She stepped out of the bush, "Let's go!" But then another pony ran by, making her scream before leaping back into the bush. Flash and Spike sighed, making her giggle before getting out and heading inside. Once inside, Twilight teleported in a zigzag pattern to hide behind a bunch of things.

"Doesn't she realize the loud flash of purple is gonna attract more ponies than not teleporting?" Flash asked as she made it to the return desk. There, she grabbed a nearby plant pot and used it to hide her face as she approached. "Seriously?"

Twilight cleared her throat, then spoke in a deep voice to try and mask her presence. "I have a book to return." The librarian looked up and smiled.

"Princess Twilight! So good to see you!" Flash had to hold back from laughing as Twilight groaned while putting the potted plant down. "Need some recommendations from the new release section?" She pointed at the shelf right next to them, Twilight taking a look before gasping.

"Is that the new edition of Mooncurve's Seven Theories on Bending Time?" Flash and Spike rolled their eyes. "I have been waiting for the release sin-" She stopped as Spike poked her shoulder, the alicorn seeing his look and remembering why they were here. "Uh, I mean, uh, no books today!" She chuckled, "Thanks!" This statement caused gasps of shock to come out of all the ponies around them, Twilight feeling self-conscious as she leaned forward to whisper to the librarian. "But I do need to speak with Dusty Pages about a..." She cleared her throat, "Sensitive matter."

"Dusty who?" The librarian asked, Twilight letting nervous laugh.

"Dusty Pages? The head librarian? She's worked here forever." She opened her bag and took out a picture of the earth pony, Flash wondering how long she had had that in there.

The Librarian stared at the photo for a moment before shrugging. "I'm sorry, princess. I don't know her. Now, was there some other way I can help the library's Best Book Borrower?" She pointed to the picture on the wall besides her, the three seeing it was now super dusty. The librarian lifted a duster in her magic and swept away the dust, revealing Twilight and her nerdy grin. This made Twilight give off another nervous chuckle, as Spike pulled out a comic and used it to hide his mouth as he spoke to her in a hushed manner.

"Just ask where to return an overdue book! It's no big deal! It happens all the time!"

"Not to me it doesn't!" Twilight argued, the librarian looking confused as Twilight lifted the comic higher and sighed. "Fine." Then, her eyes went wide, "Fine! Oh, no! I didn't even think about the late fine! A book out this long will probably cost a thousand bits!"

"Oh," Flash hadn't thought about that. "This is why I never take a book out of a library. I'd be spending half my money paying it back with how often I'd have to pay late fines. Don't think you're selling any of my things to pay off your debt." Twilight groaned as Spike pulled the book out of her saddlebag.

"She...I mean, we have an overdue book." He placed the book down as the librarian laughed.

"Well, that's no problem at all. In fact, it happens all the time." She popped her head under the desk, as Spike smiled at the princess.

"See?" But Flash knew it wasn't gonna be that easy.

"Wait for it." The librarian took out a box with many cards inside.

"I'll just find it in the card catalog." She floated the cards around to find it. "Uh, number one-eight-nine-oh-five, got it!" She laughed as she red the date, her smile instantly vanishing. "Oh, wow. Yeesh. I haven't seen a book this late in... well, ever."

"There it is," Flash sighed as she cleared her throat.

"You need to go and see First Folio in the Grossly Overdue Book Return Office for Ponies Who Should Know Better." Twilight looked really upset, as she picked the book back up.

"Don't pull any punches with those names, do you?"

"And that office would be...?" Spike asked, as the Librarian pointed to a set of stairs.

"In the basement." She leaned over and whispered, "Because of the shame." Twilight looked like she was about to have a panic attack as she slammed her head into the desk. Flash had finally had enough.

"So let me get this straight. If somepony has a book out for too long, you send them to a room designed just to shame them." The librarian nodded, "But what if the pony had a good reason for not returning it for this long?"

"Like what?"

"Alright, if I took a book out of the library, took it home and then got into an accident that put me into a year long coma, would I have to be shamed if I returned the book as soon as I came out of said coma?"

"Umm..." The librarian was about to answer, then stopped as she clearly didn't have an answer for that.

"See? Sure, Twilight forgot to return the book. But she was a little busy at the time preventing Nightmare Moon from bringing on eternal night. You think forgetting to bring back a library book is bad, then you won't like what Nightmare Moon might have done to this library to stop ponies from learning how to raise the sun. So which do you think is more important? Return a book, or save Equestria?"

"Um..." The librarian didn't say anything again as Flash turned to see Twilight and Spike staring at him. 

"What?" He turned to head down the stairs, the pair following as they descended into the darkness.

"Don't you think you were a bit mean to her?" Twilight asked, "She was just doing her job."

Flash turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Her job involves making ponies that likely already feel upset feel even worse by telling them they should feel shame because they didn't return a library book on time? How is that not mean?"

"Well...I mean...still." They reached the bottom of the stairs and glanced around, seeing the place was covered in layers of dust and cobwebs.

They made their way through the corridor until Spike accidently caught his wing on one of the webs. "Ack!" He pulled himself free, "Looks like nopony ever goes down here."

"Nopony except undependable rule-breakers who deserve all the horrors this hallway holds!" Twilight cried out as Spike flew up next to her.

"And faithful dragon companions."

"Ugh," Flash groaned, "Twilight, you need to get over this. You had a good reason for not returning the book. I'm pretty sure all those library ponies would prefer to read their precious books in the sun then by other light sources, which is what they would have had to do if you hadn't stopped Nightmare Moon." But Twilight wasn't listening, instead mumbling under her breath how she was gonna go from the best book borrower to the worse book borrower. "Gaaah, sometimes I hate this city's perfectionist obsession."

"What's wrong with wanting things to be perfect?!" Twilight yelped.

"It's impossible. Grand once told me nothing and nopony is perfect. Even Celestia has flaws." Twilight turned to give him a look of shock, making him facehoof, "Starlight's right about you being biast. Can I remind you that one of the reasons Luna became Nightmare Moon was because Celestia was a total glory hog back in the day?!"

Twilight would have argued back, but Spike spoke up before she could. "Hey!" He pointed at a door at the end of the hallway, "It looks like First Folio left a note on the door!"

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter?" Twilight guessed, Spike flying up to the door and reading the note.

"Out to lunch on Restaurant Row." He turned to shrug at the pair, "Guess we'll have to try back later!" He was about to walk away, but Twilight held up a hoof to stop him.

"No!" She yelled, "I can't wait another minute to return this book! In the time it took us to get here, I racked up another...seventeen bits in late fees!"

"Seventeen bits?" Flash asked, "How much do you librarians charge by the minute?"

"We're going to lunch!" She turned to leave as Spike sighed.

"Good, 'cause I'm starving!" He licked his lips, only for Twilight to glare at him, "Oh. You mean to find First Folio." Twilight rushed off, Flash and Spike sighing at the sight. "Can we at least get takeout?!"

It wasn't long till the three left and headed over to restaurant row, Twilight zooming into the first establishment she could find. But First Folio wasn't at this place, nor was she at the next two places they checked out. They then headed to a somewhere called The Tasty Treat, Flash remembering Rarity and Pinkie telling him about the place from one of their map missions.

"Tell me if you see any librarian-type ponies," Twilight commented as they walked in.

"Twilight," Spike moaned, "We tried this at three other restaurants already!"

"And my late fines are already up another twenty-six more bits!" Twilight cried, Flash beginning to wonder if libraries were actually a racket designed to squeeze every last bit out of ponies with trouble remembering to return books.

The three walked around, Spike somehow getting pulled into waiting tables as the ponies searched for a librarian they had never even met. "Flash?" He then heard a familiar voice say, "Twilight? Is that you?" They turned to see somepony they hadn't seen in ages, smiling at them.

"Moondancer!" Twilight cheered, "How've you been?" She then went sheepish, "I'm just visiting. No real reason. Heh."

"Well, it's good to see you!" Moondancer exclaimed, "I'm just meeting my friend, First Folio, for lunch." She pointed at a table that had a yellow unicorn with a purple mane and tail, half-moon glasses and a blue sweater. "Do you want to join us?" The name made Twilight's eyes go wide.

"First Folio?!" Flash sighed in relief as his stomach started growling, "Yes! I mean, thank you." Folio smiled at the sight of them.

"Princess Twilight, good to meet you! Did you know your picture is still up in our library as the Best Book Borrower?" The alicorn's eyes shrunk at that for a second as they moved over to their table.

"Yeah...I was hoping I could talk to Dusty Pages about that."

Both Moondancer and Folio shared a glance at this, "Oh," Moondancer chimed, "Dusty Pages left the library moons ago. Didn't you know?"

Twilight shook her head, Flash blinking as he remembered that Dusty was more obsessed with libraries than Twilight. "Oh," Folio added, "I heard she was forced to leave." Twilight's eyes went wide at this, "It's so sad. She loved the library."

"Wait...forced to leave?"

"Yuh-huh, uh-huh, yeah. She had a perfect librarian record. Until one careless pony didn't return a book, ruined it all."

"Okay," Flash held his hooves up, "You're saying she was fired simply because of one lost book?" First Folio nodded, "That's insane. Why would anypony wanna work someplace they could be fired from with a single minor mistake?"

"Well, library books are important," Folio pointed out. "After all, pony taxes pay for them. It's a librarian's duty to safeguard the books in their care."

"Yeah, I get that. But losing only one book is enough to make you lose your job forever? That sounds a bit harsh."

As he said that, Moondancer focused on the alicorn in the room. "Are you okay, Twilight?" Flash turned to his girlfriend and saw she was sweating up a storm, the sight making him sigh as he put the pieces together.

"Uh-huh," she slowly nodded, "Would, uh, you excuse me?" She ran for the door, zipping past Spike as he carried a tray of food for the ponies around him.

"We...might have to take a raincheck on lunch!" Flash added before flying after her.

"That's why you only order spicy if you can take it," he heard Spike say as he put the tray down and followed the alicorn. "Twilight, what's wrong?" Twilight skidded to a stop and turned to Spike, looking absolutely horrified as she took out the book.

"Dusty Pages isn't working at the library any more because I didn't return this book!" The face she gave looked like she had stabbed somepony by accident. "Spike, I think I got her fired!"

"We don't know that for sure," Flash cut in, "It still doesn't make any sense that she'd be fired just because of one-and you're running away!" Twilight shot down the street, Flash and his growling stomach groaning as he and Spike ran after her.

"Twilight!" the dragon cried out, "The library is that way!" He pointed in the opposite direction Twilight was running,

"Change of plans! We're going to Dusty's house. She used to invite me over for tea all the time."

"And ponies thought you didn't have any friends before Ponyville," Flash joked as they passed a hay-dog stand. Flash quickly stopped and paid for one, the vender giving it so Flash could settle his stomach. And as he ate and chased after the pair, Spike asked about Twilight's growing late fees.

"They're not as important as making things right," Twilight yelled as they turned a corner.

"Wait!" Spike yelped, "So you're not going to return the book?"

"No," she shook her head, "Dusty Pages is. It's my fault she lost her job. So if I give her the book, she can get her old job back. It'll fix everything!" At that moment, they arrived at a quaint little cottage. Flash had been there just as many times as Twilight, though he was sure the last time he had there hadn't been a bunch of signs covering the building. Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm herself before knocking on the door. She smiled, expecting Dusty to open the door...only for a large blue earth pony stallion somewhere between Big Mac and Bulk Biceps to appear with a scowl on his face.

"Didn't you see the sign?" He pointed at one of the boards covering the building. "No sales-ponies!"

"Oh, I'm not selling anything."

"No carolers either," he growled, "No surveys, no petitions, no free literature..." He stepped back and pulled the door closed, but Twilight grabbed it in her magic and stopped him. The stallion growled at this, Twilight soon winning the tug of war and the pony fell to the ground.

"No problem. I'm just looking for somepony who used to live here. I'm pretty sure this was her house."

"Dusty Pages?" The stallion grumbled.

"Yes!"

"Hold on." He stepped into the house, Twilight hoping Dusty would soon step out, only to come back with a large sack. "She moved to...Silver somethin'. Shoals, Seas, Surfer, whatever. When you find her, give her this." He opened the bag and a bunch of letters and scrolls fell out. Spike would have been buried if Flash had not pulled him out of the way. "It's been stackin' up for years! And tell her to CHANGE HER ADDRESS!" He then slammed the door shut, Twilight and Spike sharing a glance.

"Well," Flash sighed, "This just got a lot more complicated. Wait, Silver Shoals? Isn't that where Luna said she wanted to go?"

"So what do we do now?" Spike asked, "We have no idea where Dusty Pages is."

"We'll just have to check every Silver place on the map," Twilight replied, "There can't be that many places in Equestria with Silver in its name, right?"

Flash and Spike shook their head at this, both soon finding out that there were nineteen areas in Equestria with that particular word in their name. Flash and Spike ended up dragging the large sack of mail all over the kingdom as they tried to find Dusty Pages. First they checked the Silver Shoals that Flash was wondering about, which turned out to be a beach resort. They then checked everywhere else, from a small island with only two houses, to a large lake, to an active mine. Flash had to talk Twilight out of returning to the school and asking Silverstream, leaving them to the last place on their list.

That place turned out to be a retirement community, which Flash kicked himself for not suggesting sooner.

"Silver Stable Community," Twilight read. "For the best golden years." She shined a big grin, "This has to be it!"

"I hope so," Spike groaned as he looked over all the places they had been to already. "It's the last Silver spot on the map we haven't looked."

"I'm just glad this isn't the Silver Shoals Luna was talking about," Flash chuckled, "I know she and Celestia wanna retire, but I doubt they need to go as far as moving into a retirement home."

They headed inside at this, Flash and Spike still needing to struggle with the giant bag of mail. And as they walked in, Spike gasped at how nice the place looked. "Whoa! This place is-"

"Terrible!" Twilight cried, "I know! There's not a single bookshelf in sight!" They headed to the front desk, passing an elderly pony that was snoring up a storm. "Poor Dusty." They reached the receptionist, who was reading a book. "Excuse me!" The receptionist looked up from her book.

"Yes, how may I help you?"

Twilight quickly took out a picture of the old mare, "Do you have a resident named Dusty Pages?" The receptionist stared at the photo before nodding.

"Oh, yes. Her apartment is in the next complex, ground floor." Twilight smiled as she put the picture away, Flash seeing a pamphlet on the side of the desk and taking one.

"Thank you!" They walked off, Twilight's eyes shifting all over the place as she tried to see if there was anything around this place that Dusty loved. But there wasn't a single bookshelf or bookshelf-like piece of furniture anywhere. Instead, there was a lovely looking garden with a vegetable patch several older ponies were tending to. The pair passed the garden as they arrived at Dusty's complex, the old ponies working on the garden waving to them and looking rather spry for a bunch of old ponies.

Flash waved back, though he was more focused on reading the contents of the pamphlet as Twilight groaned. "I can't believe that my carelessness sent her here, when she could be happily surrounded by millions of wonderful-smelling books!"

"You realize that might just be a you thing, right?" Spike asked as they passed a door with a pony's picture on it.

"Um...Twilight?" She looked back at him as he pointed at the door, Twilight turning to see Dusty's face on it.

"There she is!" She took a deep breath at this, "Here we go." She knocked on the door, the three waiting for Dusty to step outside. They waited...and waited...and waited...and Twilight took out a pocket watch to see how long had passed before letting out a roar of frustration.

"She's bound to be back soon," Spike chimed in, "Maybe we should just wait here."

"I don't think that'll work," Flash countered, "If this pamphlet is to believed, there are over a hundred different activities a pony can do whilst here. She could be out until late if she wanted to be." Twilight groaned at this as Flash tried to find something he figured Dusty would enjoy. "Why don't we try...plein air painting. That sound like the kind of calm and peaceful thing a librarian would enjoy doing."

"Good. Where is it?"

The pamphlet came with a map of the community that they could use to find their way around. Flash led them until they reached a large lake, though this did mean Spike was stuck dragging the mail bag behind them. They then reached the pier, where a bunch of old ponies were sitting and painting. "She's not here," Spike groaned.

"But those ponies might know where she is," Twilight pointed out before heading down onto the pier. "Sorry to interrupt your plein air painting, but we're looking for Dusty Pages. Have you seen her?" One of the old ponies turned to them and nodded.

"Sure have!" She smiled before returning to her painting. The three waited and Twilight eventually sighed.

"And...?"

The old mare stopped again, "She had to leave early to get to her fengbi de ti session."

"Her what?"

"Which is right before she leads the woodworking class with me," an old stallion announced. "Then she's on to windsurfing."

"Windsurfing?" Flash replied, "Dusty windsurfs?" They nodded, Flash unable to picture the old and pretty frail looking mare doing something like that.

"Ooh," the old mare continued, "And don't forget theatre rehearsal! Dusty's playing the lead role. Again."

"Then there's her band practice later," the stallion chuckled.

"Thank you!" Twilight nodded before the three left.

"Wow," Spike sounded impressed, "Dusty sounds like one busy pony."

"Oh, no!" Twilight looked heartbroken, "She's just filling her days with distractions to cover the pain of losing the best job ever! But not for long!" She strode forward, Flash and Spike frowning as they followed her back towards the complex.

Turns out, fengbi de ti was some kind of yoga-like dance that was good for keeping old bones strong and flexible. It also turned out it took place in the garden right outside Dusty's apartment, making Twilight moan as she realized Spike was right about them needing to wait. Especially when they learned she had already left before they got there. After that, they made their way over to the woodworking class. Twilight asked an old stallion if he had seen her and he had, but they had just missed her. They then headed back over to the lake, where a bunch of old ponies were windsurfing. Twilight grabbed her own sail board before Flash suggested they simply fly out to talk to them, the mare using her magic to create a wind strong enough to push them out to the others.

Flash watched the two talk to the older ponies, who stated Dusty hadn't shown up for today's class. This annoyed Twilight, who then fell off her board along with Spike and got swept away by a wave. The pair teleported back to shore, soaking wet and happy they hadn't taken the mail out with them. It took them awhile to find the room the play rehearsals were taking place, since it wasn't marked on Flash's pamphlet. When they finally got there, a pony with an oddly shaped nose told them she had already left. Twilight's frustrations grew, along with Flash's amazement at the place.

"I know I said Luna and Celestia didn't need to enter a retirement community yet, but forget that. If I live long enough to retire, this is where I wanna go."

"You realize Twilight's probably gonna be running Equestria until the day she dies, right?" Spike asked as they headed to a bar located in the community. "I don't think that pony understands the meaning of the words: Take it easy." Flash couldn't help but laugh as they arrived outside the bar, knowing the dragon was right.

And as they approached the door, music could be heard streaming out from it. And when Twilight opened the doors, they found it was a simple but nice little place with a stage at the back. And on that stage, strumming at a guitar, was the pony they had come to see.

"Dusty Pages, finally!" Twilight looked like hearts warming had come early, "Come on!" She began to run up to her, but Spike flew in front of her.

"Wait!" He pointed at Dusty, focusing on her smile as she placed her guitar. "She looks pretty happy up there." Flash nodded in agreement, wanting to have his guitar to go up there and play as well.

"Trust me, it's all an act. She'll be a lot happier when I deliver the news that she can go back to working at the library!"

"Twilight..." Flash tried to speak up but the alicorn marched towards the stage.

She then, rather rudely, pulled the instruments away from the ponies playing. "Care to take five, everypony?" The band turned to glare at her, but then Dusty gasped at her.

"Ah! Twilight Sparkle?! My stars!" She turned to her bandmates and nodded, the group getting off stage as the librarian stepped over to them. "Flash Sentry!" She smirked at the sight of the colt, "You certainly seem a lot more mature than the last time I saw you." Flash blushed at this while Dusty focused back on Twilight. "It's so wonderful to see you! What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking all over Equestria for you!" Twilight cried as Spike dragged the mail sack over and finally lost the contents of it onto the floor. "I need to tell you something."

As she said this, Dusty saw the pile of letters, "Well, you brought my mail!" She grabbed Twilight and pulled her into a hug. "Oh, thank you!"

"No," Twilight pulled herself out of the hug. "I mean, yes, we did, but that's not why we're here. I let you down, and I can't forgive myself until I set things right."

Dusty raised an eyebrow at this, "I don't remember you doing anything wrong."

Twilight looked absolutely ashamed about what she had to say. "You told me to take care of a special book I checked out from the Canterlot Library, and I never brought it back!" Dusty gasped as she heard this, turning to Flash who nodded back.

"It was you that had that book out? The one that broke my perfect record?" Twilight nodded as she took the book out of the bag and floated it over to her.

"But now you can bring it to Canterlot Library and get your job back!" She stared at Dusty at this, but the elderly librarian simply glared back at her before knocking the book away.

"No, thank you! I don't ever need to see that library again!" Their eyes went wide as Dusty shoved her mail in the sack and threw it over her shoulder. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be." She dragged the mail bag out of the bar with her, leaving the shocked trio to stare at her.

Flash turned to his girlfriend. "Twilight? You okay?" She didn't answer, instead moving over to the bar and slamming her head down on it. Flash and Spike sat on either side of her, both ordering a drink as the band returned to the stage. They started playing a very upbeat song, which didn't exactly fit with how horrible Twilight was feeling right now. And she made sure to let them know that.

"Do you mind?" She asked the band, who turned to her before playing a more somber melody while Twilight placed her head back to the bar. "I don't understand. If Dusty Pages won't go back to Canterlot Library and explain everything, then she won't be able to get her job back. Even worse, her record will remain imperfect!"

"And yours will too?" Spike added.

"Well, yeah!" Twilight yelped, "But that doesn't matter anymore!"

"Really?" He asked dryly, Twilight blushing sheepishly.

"Well, maybe a little bit." Her eyes went wide. "Oh no! Bits! The late fines!" She turned to Spike, "How much do I owe now?!" The young dragon pulled out an abacus, Flash raising an eyebrow at this.

"Uhhh..." Spike put it away, "You don't wanna know."

"You lost count, didn't you?" Flash cocked an eyebrow as Twilight groaned.

"It would've been worth all the bits in Equestria if I had made things right with Dusty!" She turned away from the bar, "I wish I knew why she won't go back!" Flash patted her on the shoulder.

"Honestly, I think she just doesn't care about the place anymore." Twilight turned to him with wide eyes, "What? If I worked somewhere that fired me after one mistake, I certainly wouldn't want to go back."

"That's you," Twilight grumbled, "And besides, would you not wanna go back if you were fired from being a Royal Knight?" Flash put his hoof at his chin, humming at the question as Twilight added, "I can't stand it! I have to know why she won't go back!"

"Why don't you just ask her then?" Spike suggested, Twilight shaking her head.

"She didn't seem to want to talk."

"You surprised her," Spike pointed out, "And she probably had something else on her schedule. That thing is packed!" He flew in front of her. "Come on. What have you got to lose?"

"Now that I've messed up this much? Nothing." She sighed at this, "You're right though Spike. It's worth a try." She jumped off the bar stool and started thinking, "Where do you think she went? Crochet? Bingo?"

Flash took out the pamphlet, "There doesn't appear to be anything on right now. It's a free hour. Wait, there is one big event. The squishy fruit food-fight tournament." Flash grinned at that while Twilight rolled her eyes.

"Come on Flash, really? That's gotta be a typo. There's no way an old pony's home would host-"





"-a squishy fruit food-fight tournament?!" She screamed as they ducked under a flying apple.

Spike pulled out a white flag and waved it, "Hey, everypony! We come in-" He suddenly got struck by a tomato, the force knocking him flying into a hay bale. He came out of it a moment, trying to wipe the fruit off of him. "Uh...pieces." The trio were suddenly bombarded with a bunch more fruit at this, completely covering them until Twilight teleported them out of the mess.

They reappeared behind a rock and took cover, Twilight looking out at the fight before yelling out. "Stop! We just want to talk to Dusty Pages for a moment! Please?"

"TIME OUT!" A voice screamed, making them look up to see Dusty standing on a branch in full combat gear. She then grabbed a rope and swung down to the ground in front of them. "Next time, you should rent gear."

"We're not actually here for the game," Spike replied.

"Though I wouldn't mind going a few rounds once we're done here," Flash chuckled.

Twilight stepped up at this, "I was hoping you'd give me another chance to talk to you about the library book."

Dusty sighed and shook her head, "This really means a lot to you, doesn't it?"

"Mm-hmm," Twilight nodded, "I know I ruined your life by not returning my book on time, and I will do anything I can to make it up to you. Even promise to never take a book out of a library again, if that's what it takes." Gasps filled the air, as everypony who knew about Twilight knew she loved librarians more than anything in the world.

Dusty stared at her for a moment, then burst out laughing, the three going wide-eyed at this, "That is not the reaction we expected," Spike commented.

"Twilight, dear, you've got it all backwards! I'm not upset with you!"

"You're...you're not?"

"No! If I'm mad at anypony, it's me." The three raised an eyebrow as Dusty removed her combat helmet and moved over to a long bench at the edge of the course. Twilight and Spike sat down beside her as Flash leaned against a tree. "All those years I spent hiding away in that library, trying to be perfect....when your book never came in, I felt something exhilarating!

"What was it?"

"Freedom," Dusty chuckled, the others just tilting their heads at this.

"From books?"

"From perfection!" She exclaimed, "I was too stubborn to know when to call it quits! It took your mistake to make me realize that I wasn't living the life I wanted!"

"You mean you weren't fired?" Twilight asked, "You left the library because you wanted to?"

Dusty nodded, Flash sighing, "So the library isn't a terrible place." Dusty turned to him, "What?! We thought they'd canned you for one mistake that wasn't your fault. I'd call it a terrible place if that were true!"

Dusty shook her head again before looking back at the alicorn. "Twilight, your late book was the best thing that ever happened to me." She gestured to the food fighting course, which had started the match up again. "Now I'm not afraid to try things I might fail at. In fact, sometimes messing up teaches me more than getting it right!"

Flash smirked at this, having tried to teach that lesson to Twilight many times. The princess pulled out the book, holding it up for Dusty. "You're sure you don't want to return it and get that perfect record back?" As she said that, a piece of fruit suddenly slammed into the book, staining it. Twilight's eyes went wide as she screamed, turning it around to see the damage done.

"Ah," Dusty sighed, "Good. It was a yellow one. You can still see the words."

"But it'll have a stain!" Twilight cried, Dusty chuckling.

"That doesn't change the truth inside it." In that moment, she seemed to realize something. "Wait...did you even read that thing?"

Twilight glanced back down at it, "Actually, uh, no, I guess I didn't." She brought the book up and wiped away the fruit, revealing the title. "Perfection."

"And the next part?" Dusty asked, Twilight reading the second part of the title.

"The Impossible Pursuit." Their eyes went wide as they realized how much Twilight could have learned if she had read this book. Spike and Dusty both laughed while Twilight blushed, "Oh. That might've been useful to look at earlier." She turned to Flash, who was suddenly looking very far off. "What?"

"Nothing," Flash moaned, "Just imagining how different things would be if you had read that book before we went to Ponyville. We might have saved ourselves a whole lot of Twilight-ing."

The alicorn rolled her eyes at this, only for Dusty to pat Twilight on the shoulder. "Take that book back to the library. You'll feel a whole lot better once you do. And don't feel bad about me being here. I absolutely love it." Twilight smiled, nodding as the pair hugged one another.

"Alright," she got up off the log, "We'd better get back to Canterlot."

"Aww..." Flash sighed, "can't we play one round." His ear was suddenly twisted, making him grunt as he was pulled over to his girlfriend.

"No way. I'm not letting my late fees get any higher." Dusty opened her mouth at this, only for Twilight to teleport them away.

"Oh well. She'll find out herself."





Back at Canterlot, they had managed to return to the library right before it closed. First Folio wasn't happy about needing to stay after hours to deal with a late book, but she allowed Twilight to return it. Now, it was just a matter of how much Twilight would need to pay. "Uh-huh..." Folio looked over a scroll as she calculated everything, "Your total late fees come to..."

Twilight gulped, "However much it is, I'll cover it." She continued to sweat as she added, "Uh...do you have a monthly payment plan?" Folio lowered the scroll.

"Twenty-eight bits." The three gasped.

"That's it?!" Spike cried, Folio nodding with a smile.

"Yah-huh. Most ponies don't know that it caps at a month. Probably 'cause we don't tell them." She snorted before laughing, Twilight taking the bits out of her saddlebag and placing them on the table. "Thank you. Your account is back to normal. Although we will be taking down your Best Book Borrower picture."

"Um," Twilight looked sheepish, "Is that really necessary? Heh. It just seems so permanent. Heh. I mean, I did return the book, after all." Spike cleared his throat, reminding Twilight of the lesson this whole fiasco was meant to teach her. "Okay. Letting the perfection go." She let out a sigh, then picked up the book. "You want me to reshelve this for you?"

Folio shook her head, "No, it's an old edition. We've already replaced it with a new copy." Spike smiled as he had an idea.

"In that case, can we keep it? It might be a good reminder to have around." He playfully elbowed Twilight, who smiled sheepishly as Folio frowned.

"You sure? It's got a stain."

"That's what makes it perfect." Twilight replied, holding it tightly to her chest. She was gonna read it as soon as she got home. It was time to learn why perfection was an impossible pursuit. This would have been a nice spot to end this story, had Flash not spoken up.

"I have a question. If Twilight doesn't hold the Best Book Borrower title anymore, who does?"

"Give me a minute," she took out a bunch of scrolls that she started looking through, the trio glancing at each other as they waited.

"It's probably Moondancer," Twilight commented, "Her library etiquette is just as good as mine."

Spike nodded in agreement, only for First Folio to add, "Ah, yes." They turned to her. "After Twilight, the pony with the best library return record is somepony named...Derpy Hooves."

That made all three's eyes to go wide, "What?!" Twilight yelped, "But how...when...why..."

Flash laughed at this, "There are many mysteries in this world that will never truly be solved. That mare is one of them." Twilight instantly fainted at this, Flash and Spike rolling their eyes as they saw the mare now realizing that Derpy of all ponies had a better return record than her.

"We're not gonna hear the end of this for a while, aren't we?" Spike asked, Flash nodding. This whole event had been one surprise after another, but hopefully Twilight had learned an important lesson about the pointlessness of perfect. This was gonna be a lesson she would need to learn more then anything for when she took the throne. For now, it was back to Ponyville, and their almost perfect, but still beautifully flawed lives
> A Wild Family Vacation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the bakery of Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was staring at a suitcase, which was currently empty as she looked around at everything that she should take with her on the trip. "Let's see..." He grabbed a set of party balloons, which she stuffed into the case. She then packed several funny hats, an ironing board, tea kettle, tall lamp, skateboard and several weeks' worth of marshmallows. And once it was all packed, she closed the lid and had to use her earth pony strength to force it shut. Luckily, once it was closed, the lock kept it shut and she was able to place it on her back.

"Ready to go, Gummy?" She turned to her pet alligator, who was dressed in a hawaiian shirt with sunglasses, and a suitcase hanging from his tail. "Great. Let's get going." She picked the aligator up and placed him on her back, then headed downstairs.

When she arrived at the bakery, she saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake working hard to fill out an order. "Pinkie," Mrs. Cake smiled, "You ready for your vacation?"

"Yup," Pinkie nodded back, "Just gotta wait for Wild to arrive." She then saw how hard the pair were working while also trying to keep the twins entertained. "Are you two sure you got everything handled here?"

"Absolutely," Mr. Cake nodded, "Don't even think about staying to help. When was the last time you took a vacation?" Pinkie opened her mouth at this, but nothing came out. Instead, Mr. Cake added, "We'll be fine."

"Besides," Mrs. Cake continued, "It's not every day you're invited to your boyfriend's family vacation. You'll finally get to meet Wild's family." Pinkie smiled at this, being very excited for that. Despite being with Wild for a long time, she had never gotten to meet his family. Wild had tried on a few occasions to set up a meeting between them, but his parents were always super busy or a big world ending threat would occur.

"Ding dong," Wild's voice called out, Pinkie spinning around to see the stallion carrying his own suitcase while his puppets were each carrying a case that was tied to them. "Hey!" he waved at her, "ready to go?"

"Give me one more second!" Pinkie replied before giving the Cake Twins one last hug and belly button blow, then hugged their parents before rushing up to him. "Okay. Let's get going!"

"Alright," Wild laughed, "Hope you brought something to do. It's a long train ride to Silver Shoals." Pinkie nodded back, Wild saying bye to the Cakes before the duo left. It wasn't long till they got to the station, both waiting on the train.

"So...which of your family is gonna be there?"

"All of them," Wild responded, "This is one of the few times everypony's able to make it. My parents, all my dad's siblings, and my cousins will be there."

Pinkie nodded again, not needing to ask about his mother's family. Wild had long since told her about how his mother had been raised by her aunt after her parents died in an airship accident. Her aunt had died not long after Wild was born, getting sick and having complications. Luckily, his father's family had been happy to welcome her into their clan so she never felt alone during it.

The train arrived a little while later and the pair climbed aboard. The ponies all the train were a little worried about an alligator being aboard, but Pinkie was able to stop their worries by showing his toothless mouth. As such, the pair enjoyed their time together as the train rolled down the tracks. It was a long trip, but they were able to pass the time playing eye spy, tic-tac-toe, and other fun games. The food trolley also arrived several times and they were able to help themselves to whatever treats and goodies it held.

And as the afternoon grew late, the train announcer spoke up that they would soon be arriving at the station the two were waiting for. They quickly grabbed their luggage and headed for the exit as the train pulled into the place. As they stepped out, along with several other ponies that appeared to also be going to Silver Shoals, Pinkie let out a cheer, "We're here!" Wild chuckled at this while Gummy held onto her tail by his mouth. She glanced around at this, only to find nothing as the station blocked the view of everything.

Wild smirked as he also looked around, "Huh. They said they'd meet us here." Pinkie turned to him with a raised an eyebrow, only for a voice to speak up.

"Wild!" They spun around to see two ponies stepping out of the train's steam. One was a thin blue unicorn mare, with a red mane and tail that was up in a bun. The other was a green earth pony stallion with the same black and gray mane and tail Wild had. The mare had a bunch of cookies for a cutie mark and the stallion's cutie mark showed a pipe.

"Mom! Dad!" He ran over and hugged the pair, who quickly embraced him back.

The three then pulled away, the mare looking Wild over. "Oh, honey. You're practically skin and bones. We'll need to make sure you get some good meals when we get to the hotel." Wild rolled his eyes at this, then turned to Pinkie as his parents followed his hoof.

"Mom, dad. This is Pinkie."

"Hi there!" Pinkie waved excitedly, the mare bouncing over to them. "It's really nice to meet you!"

"And you," the mare smiled, "My name is Ginger Snap."

"And you can call me Cistern," the stallion replied. "So, you're the mare that's been keeping our son from visiting home so often." Pinkie suddenly gulped at this, only for the stallion to add, "I can see why. You're certainly a pretty little thing."

Ginger moved up and pinched her face, "Such a beautiful face. And I love how wild your mane is. Almost like candy floss." Pinkie laughed at the pinching, trying to stop herself from going 'ow'. "I'm sure the rest of the family are looking forward to meeting you as well." She then noticed the reptile on Pinkie's tail. "And is this the Gummy that Wild told us about."

"Yup," Pinkie pulled away and unhinged the alligator from her tail. "This is Gummy. Say hi Gummy." The reptile stared at them for a moment before blinking. The duo just chuckled at the sight.

"It's nice to meet you too," Cistern laughed. "Well, we should get going. We have reservations at the hotel restaurant." They nodded before heading out of the station.

And when they stepped out onto the street, Pinkie could now see the sights of Silver Shoals. They were currently on a hill, looking out at a small town that was running down it. At the bottom was a beach, which had a bunch of large hotels lining it. "Oooh," she whispered, "Which one are we gonna be going to?"

"The best one," Ginger replied, "You'll love it. You'll be rooming with Wild's cousins, so you'll get to have a lot of girl talk." Pinkie turned to them with wide eyes, as she had thought she and Wild would be sharing a room. "Though if we don't hurry, the others might end up going to dinner without us."

They soon made their way down, finding it was a very steep hill, all having a hard time not tripping over themselves as they walked. It was then that Pinkie had an idea, the mare putting down her suitcase and opening it up carefully so everything inside wouldn't fly out. Reaching in, she pulled out a skateboard and several balloons before shutting the case again. "This'll get use there faster." The parents raised an eyebrow at this, leaning back as they then saw her pull a can of helium out of her mane and used it to blow up several of the balloons. And once they were all blown up, she tied them around the three ponies.

"What are you DOING?!" Cistern yelped out as he, Ginger and Wild were lifted into the air. Pinkie had also tied some rope to them, allowing her to weigh them down as she leapt onto the skateboard. The next thing they all knew, Pinkie was racing down the street and pulling the three floating ponies behind her.

"I can't believe this!" Ginger cried, "Where did she get this idea...and that helium?"

Wild laughed as he held onto his puppets. "It's Pinkie Pie, don't question it." His parents both stared at him as Pinkie swerved around a corner. She laughed as they reached the bottom of the hill and jumped off the ground with her skateboard. This led to the four of them floating in the air as the momentum pushed them through the street.

"There's our hotel," Cistern announced as he pointed at a large building beside the beach. Pinkie smiled and stretched her body down to the ground, retracting the top half as soon as the bottom half touched down and pulling the three down after her. She quickly untied the balloons from around them and retied them all to a nearby railing between where the street turned into the beach.

Wild's parents shook at this, Pinkie giggling as she put her skateboard back into her suitcase. "Let's go!" She began bouncing away at this, the parents watching her with wide eyes.

"This girl is...sane, right?" Ginger turned to her son, who slightly glared back at her.

"She's just as sane as I am," he replied with his puppets saying 'just as sane' over and over.

"That's what worries us," Cistern laughed as they headed into the hotel after Pinkie. Once inside, they saw it was something out of this world compared to Ponyville. Marble floors and columns leading up to the ceiling, comfy couches lining the walls, and a large fish tank in the very center of the room that had a bunch of tropical fish within it. Several bellhops were pushing things around while vacationing ponies were sitting around, looking through pamphlets explaining everything they could do in the resort.

"Ooh," Pinkie whistled, "Fancy. Rarity would love this."

"No kidding." Wild added as they began walking through the lobby. "I wonder if-"

"WILD!" the stallion spun around at this, just in time to see a young colt tackle him to the ground. The pony was a pale blue earth pony around the CMC's age that had a green mane and tail. "You're finally here!"

"Wick," Wild laughed as he pulled the colt off of him and placed him on the ground. "Pinkie, this is Candle Wick. My cousin."

"Hi," Pinkie waved, only for the colt to instantly look away, making the mare almost flinch.

"This is great!" Wick exclaimed as he hugged Wild, "It's been ages since we've seen each other and now, we get to spend our whole vacation hanging out!" Wild glanced over at Pinkie, seeing the mare stare at him before looking back down at his cousin and slowly pried himself away from the hug.

"Yeah, we'll hang out Wick. But not the whole vacation. I wanna help Pinkie get to know the rest of the family." Wick heard this and spun around, now seeing the mare waving again, only for him to glare at her, making her wave come to a stop.

But before anything could be said, a bunch more ponies walked up at this. Most were earth ponies, Pinkie guessing they were Cistern's brothers and sisters, with a few pegasi and unicorns of the opposite gender next to them. The younger ponies were a good mix of earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns. Pinkie also noticed the oldest of these ponies was only in his late teens, making her remember how Wild had told her that he was ten years above his oldest cousin.

"Wild!" One of the older earth ponies yelled, "About time you showed up! We were worried we'd have to have dinner without you." They then all turned to Pinkie, "Is this the little lady we heard about?"

"Yup," Wild pulled Pinkie to him in his magic, "Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkie shot him a glare, the unicorn knowing she hated her full name.

"Call me Pinkie," she stated as the ponies all introduced themselves. If Pinkie wasn't so good at remembering names, the number of them might have been tricky to sort through.

"Is that an alligator?" One of the younger ponies asked, seeing Gummy still holding onto Pinkie's tail. The adults turned to him and gasped at seeing him blink, revealing he wasn't just an accessory.

Pinkie laughed at their terrified expressions, the mare pulling him off her tail and showing his toothless mouth. "See? He's totally safe. Had him for years and never had a problem with him once. Wanna pet him?" The younger ponies rushed up and started doing so before the adults could stop. And after a few minutes, the adults decided to pet him as well and were amazed by how calm he was.

"Alright," Ginger returned from the check-in desk. "Wild, you'll be with the colts in room two five three." She gave him a keycard, "You'll be in charge of keeping this safe. If anypony needs to go into their room-"

"I gotta let them in," Wild replied, "I know mom." He took the keycard as Ginger turned to Pinkie.

"You'll be rooming with the rest of the girls in the room next door," she gave her another keycard. "I know it's a lot to ask, given you're our guest, but could you-"

"Look after the keycard so the girls can get in," Pinkie took the card. "No problem." She planted the card into her mane, surprising the adults and making the younger ponies laugh. Pinkie put Gummy on her back, wrapped her tail around her suitcase and started making her way towards the elevator. "So, the rooms are on the second floor, right?" The adults nodded as Pinkie laughed, "I'll be back in a feeeeeew."

Wild laughed as he picked up his own suitcase, "I'll be with her." He walked with Pinkie and the two disappeared into the elevator.

Once they were gone, the family started talking. "That mare's a little...odd," one of Cistern's sisters pointed out.

"What did you expect?" One of his brothers spoke up, "Somepony that dates Wild's hardly going to be normal. He has a bunch of souls in puppets that follow him around. What sane pony would wanna date that?" Cistern glared at his brother, Ginger grimacing at that.





As Pinkie and Wild rode the elevator, Wild let out a moan, "Can't believe I'm stuck in the kiddie room again." He turned to Pinkie, "I'm sorry. I was hoping we could share a room."

"It's okay," she told him as the elevator came to a stop. "We'll just have to spend as much time as possible during the day to make up for not being together at night." Wild nodded as they stepped out into the hallway, making their way down until they found the two rooms that were right across from one another.

Using their keycards, the pair walked in and found they were full of multiple beds. Both placing their cases down, Pinkie took some food and a bowl out of her mane to feed Gummy with. She then ran a cold bath that was deep enough for the alligator to touch the bottom of. "There you go. Just enjoy yourself until I get back." She gave Gummy a kiss before dropping him in the water, she and Wild heading back downstairs.

She was determined that during this trip, she would bond with Wild's family.





When they returned to the lobby, only Ginger and Cistern were there waiting for them, as the rest of the family had gone off to the resort's restaurant. Once the four met up, they all went to the restaurant and found the family seated around a large and long table. Pinkie and Wild were sat at one end with the kids as a waitress came around and started taking their orders.

Once they were taken, the family turned their attention to the new arrival. "So, Pinkie." A mare that was Wild's aunt spoke up, "What do you do for a living?"

"Oh, lots of things. I mostly work at this amazing bakery in Ponyville, but I'm also a party planner." The adults raised eyebrows at this, all knowing from experience that throwing parties was never easy. "I'm also a teacher."

"Wait, what?" An earth pony stallion pushed his glasses up his nose, "You work at a school?" Pinkie nodded, as Wild leaned over.

"Uncle Booker works at a school too. Ancient Languages teacher."

"Oh," Pinkie shined a big grin, "Nice to meet you, fellow educator. I teach at the School of Friendship."

"What?!" One of the older teens called out, "The school of friendship?" Stars appeared in their eyes, "The one ran by the Princess of Friendship?" Pinkie nodded back, "No way! I've wanted to go there since it opened. How did you get a teaching position there?"

Pinkie giggled at this, the family clearly not knowing who she really was. The mare reached into her mane and took out a photo, which showed her and the rest of the Mane Seven together. She passed it over to the young filly, who gasped at the sight of it.

Wild also smirked, since he had only ever told his parents too finer details of who Pinkie really was. He was looking forward to seeing the rest of his family's reaction. "Hey!" One of his older cousins yelped, "Isn't that Flash Sentry?! The Royal Knight that's saved Equestria a bunch of times?!"

"Yup," Pinkie grinned, "We go way back. Before he was even a knight."

"And that's Princess Twilight..." the school loving filly whispered. "You're friends with the Princess of Friendship?" Pinkie nodded again, "And you work at her school." Pinkie nodded for a third time, "Wow."

"Pinkie's more than just a teacher at the school," Wild chimed in, "She's one of the ponies that taught Twilight everything she needed to know to become a princess." Everypony went wide-eyed at this, "She's also the Element of Laughter and a member of the Friendship Council. She helped save Equestria from Nightmare Moon, Discord, the Changeling and a bunch more threats."

"There's no way all of that is true," Wild's uncle waved his hoof as the waitress returned with their food.

"It is," Pinkie giggled, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" When her food came, she licked her lips at the sight, glad this place wasn't like restaurant row, the earth pony remembering how boring and stale that place was. The family began to dig into their food at this, Pinkie now telling them about some of her adventure with her friends. The younger ponies were amazed while the adults all looked unsure about whether or not she was telling the truth. By the time she got to the parts involving the yaks, they were pretty sure she was making some of this stuff up.

"Wow," one of the fillies whispered. "Wait...so when did you meet Wild? With all the insane stuff that happened to you, how did the two of you even meet?"

"Oh, we met during the Battle of Canterlot." The adults all went wide-eyed at this, Wild flinching as she continued, "Yeah, we met when he was fighting and-"

"We just happened to run into one another," Wild interruped, "But we didn't really interact until afterwards. One day I was making my way through Ponyville, then stopped off at the bakery she worked at. Her employers put her in charge of babysitting a pair of twins and she needed a ton of help figuring it out. Ever since then, we hung out until we eventually got together."

Pinkie turned to him with a raised eyebrow, but the others seemed to accept this. The meal then came to an end and the family decided to spend the rest of the evening doing separate things. The younger ponies had a few more hours before their bedtime, so Pinkie and Wild were able to stay downstairs a little longer. As such, the pair walked out into a large pooled balcony that overlooked the beach. Pinkie had been hoping to see the sun set over the ocean's horizon, but only now did she realize the beach was pointing to the east.

As they looked out at the ocean, Pinkie turned to her boyfriend. "You haven't told them about what really happened during the Battle of Canterlot, have you?" Wild sighed and looked away, his puppets nodding at this, "Why?"

"I'm...not proud of that time," Wild replied, "And my family's never exactly been understanding of me." Pinkie tilted her head at this, "My cousins have always looked up to me, but my aunts and uncles don't exactly see me as role model material. Ever since I was a colt and started hearing the voices in my head, they've always thought I was strange."

"I'm sure that's not true."

"They don't admit it, but I know they think I'm completely insane sometimes. And if I told them what really happened at the Battle of Canterlot, they might never want me to be part of their family again." Pinkie frowned at this, placing her head on his shoulder. Wild smiled at wrapped his leg around the mare. He knew he was lucky to have this pony. And he never wanted to have her be away from him.





The next day...

As soon as the sun was up, the younger ponies were instantly awake, ready to have fun. The adults, being adults, wanted to sleep in, but thanks Pinkie and Wild being still children at heart, were also up around the same time as the kids. This meant the adults could enjoy their morning sleep as Pinkie and Wild had the children downstairs for breakfast, then the nine rushed out into the beach.

"Wee!" Pinkie exclaimed as she ran with Gummy on her tail and bounced into the air. "Cannonball!" She splashed into the water, somehow sinking below the surface despite this section of it only supposed to being a foot or so deep at most. The rest of the children also began playing, Wild staying on the beach with those that wanted to build sand structures while Pinkie was with those wanting to swim.

Wild was a little worried, since some of the younger ponies had gone out swimming as the tide could be strong, but Pinkie appeared from under the water and Wild noticed something around her waist. The mare had somehow tied a rope to the younger colts and fillies that she also tried to herself. The rope was long enough that the ponies could swim about without issue, but still short enough for Pinkie to reel in before anything bad happened.

The unicorn laughed at her abilities and focused on the sand playing ponies, helping them build castles and others structures. They played like this for several hours, Pinkie and the swimmers all staying in the shallows and splashing about while Wild and the others made their sandy creations. And as the parents woke up and came out, they found their children were all safe and having a really good time.

They made their way down to the beach and saw that Wild was being asked by the younger ponies which sand formation was the best. Wild clearly didn't want to pick one over the other, so the unicorn found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"Um...they all looked great."

"But which is the best?" Wick asked, showing his candle sculpture that was just a big tube made of sand. He had tried to make a fiery top, but the sand wouldn't remain in the shape he wanted. Wild grimaced at this, the parents having a feeling one of them was gonna have to take over and be the one to upset the others.

That is, till Pinkie appeared along with all the swimming ponies. "I have an idea. Instead of Wild picking, why don't you all pick?" The ponies all turned to her with confused expressions, "Each of you pick the sculpture that you like the most, which isn't yours, and whoever's creation gets the most votes wins."

The group soon caught on, the adults glad that the colts and fillies probably couldn't get angry at that. They and the swimming ponies all began to stare at the sand sculptures, the seven examining the four creations. Then, one by one, they each picked one they liked the most. Two of them picked one that looked like a mere-pony laying on the ground, while another two really liked a castle that was star-shaped with several stinks acting as flags. The last three picked a nicely designed castle covered in shells.

"Yeah!" The filly that created the castle cheered, the others all applauding while Candle Wick frowned since nopony had picked his.

"I really like this one." He looked over at his sculpture and saw Pinkie staring at it with a smile. "Nice candlestick. Birthday or reading?"

"Um..." Wick blinked at her, "I don't know."

Pinkie continued to smile as she looked up at the top. "Oh, but somepony's blown it out." She zipped off and returned with a bucket of water, Wick unsure where that bucket had come from, which she used to wet the ground and allow he to start shaping the sand. "Here you go. There's a trick to making fire out of sand." She showed him the flame and Wick went wide-eyed. "Wild, can you put this on Wick's candle? I'd probably knock it down."

"Sure," Wild smirked as he used his magic to lift the sand flame up and carefully placed it on the top of the candle. Wick smiled at the sight before turning to Pinkie.

"Thank you!" Pinkie gave him a toothy grin back, the adults all watching the exchange. For all the strangeness this mare exhibited, she certainly knew how to handle young ponies.





Now that the adults were awake and ready for the day, the family all headed into town to check out the stores and other fun activities. It wasn't just the beach that was Silver Shoal's main attraction, as there was also a small fun fair on one of the piers with a ferris wheel and several roller coasters. There was also a water park full of different slides and pools, and a mini golf course.

The family soon found themselves on a street full of different food stores, all splitting up, but were still able to see one another as they ate their lunch. A little while later, they found an arcade that the younger ponies had a blast with, Wild's parents accepting babysitting duty, so the others could look around. Pinkie and Wild went exploring, the pair smirking when they discovered a large stone with a strange series of symbols and images on it.

"What's this?" She asked, trying to decipher the stone as somepony walked by.

"Oh," she smiled, "That's our town's greatest attraction. The whole reason it's even named Silver Shoals."

"It's not made of silver," Wild pointed out as his puppets repeated the statement. Pinkie then licked the rock and frowned before spitting onto the ground.

"Definitely not silver. Plain old granite."

The mare raised an eyebrow at this, "Um...yeah. That's not the reason it's called Silver Shoals. That's a treasure map." Those two words got the pair interested as she continued, "It's said that a pirate once buried a bunch of silver somewhere around here and carved the clue to find it on this rock. Ponies who heard about it came to try and find the treasure, but nopony ever did. Eventually, most of the ponies that wanted to find it stayed and created this little town."

"So the treasure's never been found?" Pinkie asked, the mare nodding.

"Many ponies think it doesn't exist. And if it does, the pirate that made it intentionally marked the wrong place so nopony could find it."

She walked off and the couple smiled at one another, both glancing back at the rock. They stared at it for some time, only for Wild to shake his head, "I have no idea what this means."

Pinkie then pulled a camera out of her mane, which she used to snap a picture of the stone. Once it was printed, she began to bounce down the street, Wild following behind until they found the pony they were looking for. Uncle Booker and his wife had met up with all the other adults and young ponies, Pinkie and Wild being the last of the group to arrive.

"There you are," Cistern spoke up. "What were you two doing?"

"We found a treasure map," Pinkie smirked as the younger ponies' went wide-eyed. Wild explained the rock they found, Pinkie showing them the picture she had taken. The colts and fillies had no idea what the words meant as Pinkie handed to picture to Booker. "Wild said you taught ancient languages. Do you recognize this writing?"

Booker took the picture and looked it over, "Yes...this is an ancient dialect that the ponies of old used to speak. And it looks rather simplistic. You said this was a treasure map?" They all nodded, "I don't see why ponies have had trouble finding this. If any of them were as learned as me, they shouldn't have had any problems-wait." He took a closer look, "Well that's interesting."

"What is?" One of the fillies asked.

"Some of these words are in a different dialect. It's from around the same time period, but its from an entirely different tribe." This made everypony tilt their head, "Before Equestria could be properly settled, multiple different tribes lived across the lands that had no way of communicating with one another. As such, their writings were completely different."

"So most of the map is written in one dialect, but certain words are written in another?" Wild asked, "Why?"

"Maybe the wrong words are a clue," one of the younger ponies suggested.

Booker read it again. "The words in a different dialect are...north, west, south, west..."

"Are they all compass directions?" Pinkie asked, Booker reading through and nodding. As he did, Pinkie crossed her hooves as she let this info sink in. As she did, her head started turning clockwise with a ticking noise that made everypony turn to her and grimace with the exception of Wild. That is, till her head was completely upside down, only for it spin back up and ring like an alarm clock. "I know! The words are meant to be the opposite!"

"Huh?" Wick responded.

"Oh, that's brilliant!" Wild added, "So when the instructions tell you to go north, you're supposed to go south and vice versa."

The others went wide-eyed at this, the younger ponies all getting giddy about finding treasure. "Come on!" Pinkie suddenly vanished and reappeared dressed as a pirate with Gummy on her shoulder. "Let's go find some treasure!" The others cheered as they all headed back toward the stone, the adults laughing at the sight.

And when they returned to the stone, Booker read the writing. "Sixty passes north. So that means we go sixty passes south instead."

"Let's go," Wick began pacing until Wild lifted him up.

"Cous, it's gonna be sixty paces for a full grown pony."

"Full grown pony, full grown pony!" Wick moaned at this, but allowed Wild to start pacing sixty paces south of the rock, soon coming to spot in the middle of the town.

"Now we need to go twenty-five paces west, which means going twenty-five paces east." They would have, but found that a building currently stood between them and their direction.

"I got this," one of the pegasi adults chimed in, stepping up to where Wild was and flew straight up, then moved like he was pacing through the air. Once he reached the other side of the street, he flew straight down and took two more paces to hit twenty five.

"Good," Booker stared when the others reached the street, "Now it's fifteen paces south and thirty west. So fifteen paces north and thirty east."

The group soon marched through town, following the instructions until they hit the final one, "Ninety-seven," Pinkie counted with each pace. "Ninety-eight. Ninety-nine...one hundred." The others caught up and Booker read the final line.

"Alright. Now it's only twenty more paces." He spun around and pointed, "That way." But when they all turned, they found themselves staring at a large old building that was fancily decorated.

"Isn't that the town hall?" Ginger asked, the others nodding as Wick ran up.

"Let's go!" He cheered, only for Wild to pull him back by his tail.

"Hold it. I really doubt they're just gonna let a bunch of random ponies start digging up their town hall." The younger ones all moaned at this as a security guard walked out and spotted the large group.

"Hello?" He moved up to them, "I'm afraid the last tour of the day has already ended. You'll have to come back tomorrow if you want to take it."

"We're not here for the tour," Cistern laughed. "We...were actually following a map." The security guard raised an eyebrow at this, "To the silver treasure that was apparently buried here."

"Really?" He asked, "What makes you think it's here. Everypony in town's tried to follow that map and it never leads them here. Usually, it's on the other side of town."

"Yeah," Wild chuckled, "But we realised you were supposed to go in the opposite direction to what the map said." The security guard went wide-eyed at this and looked back at the town hall, "But I doubt you'll let us dig up some of your town hall in the hopes of finding a long lost treasure."

"No," he agreed, "We won't. I'm sorry, but the town hall will be remaining undug up."

"But there's treasure in there!" Wick cried, the guard laughing.

"I doubt it. That's probably just something the town's founders made up to make our town seem special. Sorry kid, but your treasure hunt ends here."

The young ponies all moaned at this, Pinkie patting them on the shoulders. "Ah, come on everypony. Who cares that we didn't find any treasure? We had fun, following the map, didn't we?" The others all nodded, but were still a little bummed. "Come, let's go back to the hotel. It's almost dinner time." They all headed back at this, leaving the hall and the security guard behind.

The adults smirked at how well Pinkie handled them. "The guard was right," Cistern commented, "The treasure was probably made up by the founders who wanted to town to stand out." If he had looked back, he would have seen the guard run around behind the building and return a moment later with a shovel that he took into the town hall.

And as they walked, the adults watched as Pinkie made the young ponies all laugh and smile. "Alright," one of Wild's uncles spoke up, "I'll admit it. That mare's something alright. Great with kids, has a good career and has apparently saved Equestria a few dozen times." He turned to Wild, "She's a keeper. Try and hang on to her."

Wild nodded back, "I intend to."

They returned to the hotel and headed inside, once again being seated at the large table where they ordered, ate and laughed at something somepony said. Pinkie couldn't not enjoy these events, even if somepony paid her. Wild's family was certainly a fun one, full of different types of ponies that worked off one another in a great way. And when dinner was finished, Wild asked Pinkie if she wanted to go for a walk on the beach just the two of them. Pinkie happily agreed and the pair headed out, the pair trotting down as the sky turned orange with the slowly setting sun. They reached the beach and Pinkie when she felt the sand beneath her hooves.

"I love sand. Glad I didn't stop loving it after our trek through the desert."

"Which trek through the desert?" Wild asked.

"Oh, when the Storm King took over Canterlot. Remember? We told you how we had to travel through the desert without any food or water. Not a fun time."

"Yeah," Wild nodded, "Wasn't a great time back in Canterlot either." They walked down the beach, smiling at one another as they reached the water. Pinkie giggled when the tide washed over their hooves, the pair making their way along the sandy beach as they talked. "You know, I never thought my life would be like this."

"Like this, like this."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked as Wild laughed.

"When I was younger, I didn't have any friends. Kind of hard to bond with ponies when you're constantly hearing voices in your head. And when I learned to put my little buddies into my puppets, things didn't exact improve."

"Which is silly," Pinkie giggled, "Who wouldn't wanna be friends with somepony that had a bunch of talking puppets." Wild smirked and nodded as they continued down the beach.

"I thought things would get better when I entered Celestia's School for gifted unicorns, and they did. I got to meet Script and Gorgenia...but I was still an outcast who just happened to be friends with two more outcasts." He picked up a stone and gently tossed it at the ocean, watching it skim three times before sinking. "Then we all met Lightning and he took us under his wing, helping us become stronger. And after years of being in everypony's shadows..."

"You got brainwashed into attacking Canterlot," Pinkie sighed, "But you've made up for that. You're not the same pony that did those things. You've got friends, a great family, and me."

"Yeah," Wild nodded, "Meeting you was the greatest thing that ever happened to me." He turned to look her in the eye, "You showed me that being weird wasn't a bad thing. You helped me make so many connections, and I also ended up being on the forefronts of several insane situations. Since meeting you, my life's been a constant string of insane situations, but you know what?" he pulled her in for a hug. "It's been one heck of a wild ride."

Pinkie smiled and hugged him back, the pair basking in each other's warmth. "I love you, Wild Smile."

"And I love you, Pinkamena Diane Pie." Pinkie laughed at the use of her full name, "More than anything else in the world." He pulled back, "You're the most important pony in my life. You saved me from the darkness of my heart." Pinkie smiled at this, "I know you are who I want to spend the rest of my life with."

This made Pinkie blink at him, "What do you mean?"

Wild took a deep breath and took both her hooves in his. "Pinkie Pie...will you marry me?" Pinkie's eyes went wide as the words sank into her mind. Her heart started beating harder as an incredible amount of joy flowed through her body.

Wild's pink puppet flew down, the back of it opening up and Wild took out a box. He held it up to Pinkie, opening the box to reveal a beautiful engagement ring within. Pinkie stared at it in amazement, wanting nothing more than to say yes. But something stopped her.

"I can't." Wild went wide-eyed at this, "Not yet." She looked Wild right in the eye, "There's something you have to do for me first."

"I'll do anything."

"Tell your family what really happened in the Battle of Canterlot." Wild leaned back at this, "If we get married, they'll be my family. And I can't keep a secret like that from my family. So if you want me to marry you, you have to tell them what happened."

"But...but what if they hate me for what I did?"

"They won't," she instantly replied, "They're your family, and no matter how different you are from them, they won't hate you if you're sincerely sorry for what you did. After all, it was so long ago and you've done so much to make up for it. You even helped save Canterlot a year later." Wild grimaced at this, only for Pinkie to put her hoof on his shoulder, "Wild, you have to do this. They deserve to know the truth."

He sighed, looking down at the sand. "Okay," he nodded before looking her in the eye. "But...if they do end up hating me, I won't be mad at you for making me do this. You're right about them deserving to know. Can...can you just stay out of the conversation? You're right about this needing to be a family thing."

Pinkie nodded, kissing Wild one last time before he turned to walk away. She watched him go and as she did, she screamed in joy. She couldn't believe she was actually going to get married. She thought back to Rainbow's wedding and the awesome party she had planned for her. Now she was gonna be planning her own party...if she could. Were you supposed to plan your own wedding party? She wasn't sure.

She could already see all of her friends reactions when they learned this. She could imagine Rarity talking dresses, Applejack talking food and Twilight talking schedule. It was going to be amazing. And she was so busy imagining the plan that the sun had completely set and she was starting to feel herself getting cold.

She decided to head back to the hotel, hoping that Wild would have been done with his conversation by now. But as she arrived back on the balcony, she looked inside to see Wild surrounded by his entire family. The adults were all looking at him with frowns on their faces while the younger ponies looked shocked. She gulped at this, the thought of regretting her making him do this now rearing its head in her mind.

That is, till Ginger stepped up and hugged her son. Pinkie smiled as Cistern did the same, followed by Wick and several of his other cousins.





"So...you're not angry?" Wild asked as his cousins pulled back.

"No," Ginger shook her head, "Just...disappointed." Wild grimaced at this, "A little at you for doing that, but also disappointed at ourselves." Wild went wide-eyed at this, "We...we knew you didn't have the easiest foalhood. We should have tried to do something to help you, then you might not have done what you did."

Cistern nodded at this, "But what you did is in the past. You said you've worked hard to make up for what you did, haven't you?" Wild nodded back. "Well, that's what really matters. You realized your mistake and you've worked to make up for it. That's all that matters now."

Wild looked around at all his aunts and uncles, the group all saying they understood and didn't hold it against him. "But I don't get it," one of his uncles called out. "Why now? Why'd you keep the secret for so long, only to randomly come out and talk about it now?"

But Wild didn't respond, instead glancing over to a certain somepony standing outside. The others followed his gaze and saw it was Pinkie, who smiled at them all.

"Ah," his uncle chuckled, "That makes more sense."

Ginger smiled at this, "Celestia bless that girl." The others nodded, just as amazed at her as Wild got up to head outside with his puppets. They all watched as the pair met back up and started kissing, the younger stallions all looking sick while the mares went 'aww'. They continued to watch as Wild then turned to his puppet and took something out of it, the older ones gasping when they realized what it was.

Pinkie smiled and threw herself around Wild, happily crying out 'yes' several times. The younger ponies then gasped when they saw Wild take the ring out of the box and tie it around Pinkie's neck, the pair kissing again before the pair headed inside to celebrate.





A little while later...

Wedding music filled Ponyville's town hall as everypony inside stood up. They turned to the doorway, where Pinkie was being led down the aisle by Igneous Rock.

She was dressed in a beautiful wedding dress, her usually stoic father having a smile on his face as he led her to her future husband. And as she made her way down the aisle, she saw many of her friends on her side of the hall and Wild's family on his side.

Her family was at the front row, her mother actually crying while Maud was smiling and Limestone was trying to look tough, but allowed herself to smile. She then saw her friends, all dressed up in their bridesmaid dresses, along with Gorgenia, who Wild had asked her to be part of the bridesmaids, which Pinkie did not mind. And as she saw that, there was also Flash, Lightning and Script, who were all standing beside Wild.

And as she reached the love of her life, who was both him and his puppets were all dressed up nicely, they smiled at one another as Mayor Mare began the ceremony. Pinkie couldn't help but cry as she began her new life with Wild. She would become a part of his family and he a part of hers. And together, they would make sure their lives were always full of laughter and joy.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
> She's All Yak
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several weeks had passed since Pinkie and Wild's wedding, with the married couple having returned from their honeymoon and having Pinkie move into Wild's apartment. The Cakes were still letting her keep her room at Sugarcube Corner, since they knew she would never be able to fit all her party stuff into Wild's place, and her without party things, it would likely destroy the joy within Ponyville. The wedding and its party had certainly been an amazing one, and it had kept a smile on everypony's face for a while.

But as another passed day, a new event came to keep all those smiles on their faces. At the School of Friendship, Flash had just released his students, Gallus, Silverstream, Yona, Smolder, Ocellus and Sandbar walking out of the class after exhausting themselves attempting to pass Flash's challenge. They had succeeded...but just barely.

"Ugh..." Smolder groaned. "I can't wait to get into bed and sleep for a week."

"We can't sleep yet," Silverstream chimed in, "It's the first of the month. You know what that means." They all just stared at her as she added, "Bulletin Board update day. We get to see all the amazing new posters that are gonna go up." They rolled their eyes at this, only to turn and see putting posters on the bulletin board. "See?! New posters! We never had those underwater!"

The students, Heart, Soul, Ace and Mira all walked up to the board, Twilight seeing them arrive, "I won't keep you in suspense any longer. We're bringing one of Ponyville's oldest traditions to our school: The Fetlock Fete."

"The what-lock what?" Smolder asked while scratching her head.

"It's a pony dance party!" Sandbar cheered, "They're the best!"

"I'm ready!" Ocellus exclaimed, suddenly transforming into an earth pony and striking a pose. This only made Twilight giggle.

"You don't need to do that, Ocellus. This year, the event's at school and open to everybody. We're calling our dance the Amity Ball."

"Even better!" The changeling giggled as she warped back to her normal state, the others in the group all smiling as well.

"This is gonna be so much fun," Soul continued.

"I can't wait to show them my dance moves." Heart added as he started doing the robot, everyone laughing at this. They were all glad Heart had returned to his true state after the Cozy incident, if a little wiser because of it.

"Yona not know Amity Ball dance," the young yak chimed in, "Yona only know traditional dance of Yakyakistan. Go like this!" She suddenly started jumping around, using her incredible yak strength to slam the ground. This caused the entire hall, and about a quarter of the school, to shake as everypony who couldn't fly started staggering.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Flash suddenly screamed as he appeared, "Everybody-" He stopped when he saw what Yona was doing, making him sigh in relief.

The yak finally stopped 'dancing' and jumped onto her front hooves, balancing as she smiled at everyone. "Ball dance like that?" She then tripped as Sandbar laughed at her innocence.

"Not exactly," he chuckled, "It isn't just one dance. It's a whole night of them. Plus, an awesome party!"

"This is gonna be good," Ace cheered, "Please tell me there's a dance competition. I wanna show off some of the jakhowl dance moves I learned in Aurarora!"

Twilight shook her head. "We'll have all the old Fetlock Fete traditions." She pointed at a case with a trophy inside of it, showing two ponies on the top that appeared to be dancing. "The Pony Pal Contest, the lucky pot dinner. You'll love it!" She gestured to the poster. "So, like this says, get your pony pal and come along."

They all shined grins at this, Smolder turning to Gallus and Silverstream, "Want to go? I've got nothing better to do."

Gallus smirked, rubbing his chin. "You had me at dinner." Silverstream laughed as the pair snapped at each other, grinning as Flash moved over to Twilight as the alicorn spoke up.

"Now, who wants to help me hang more posters?"

"Me!" Silverstream cheered, Ocellus nodding.

"Sure!" Most of the students followed Flash and Twilight as they walked off.

Ace and Mira didn't, instead heading down another hallway as Mira heard something and looked back. "Hey Yona, want to be my pony pal?" She watched as Yona turned to Sandbar, Ace stopping to watch as well. "We can enter the contest together."

"But Yona yak," she pointed out. "Yona not pony."

"So?" Sandbar asked, Yona pointing at the trophy and poster at this.

"Pony, pony, more pony."

"Aw," Sandbar shook his head, "That's just a poster. Come on! It'll be tons of fun together. Promise." Yona put a hoof to her chin before nodding.

"Okay. Yona go with Sandbar." She held up a hoof that Sandbar shook.

"Great!" He began to walk away, "I'll get the tickets. See you later!" He let out a laugh as he ran off down another corridor, Yona watching him vanish.

"Yona not let Sandbar down!" She cheered as Mira pulled Ace away.

"Oooh," the yellow jakhowl giggled. "I can't believe it. I knew Sandbar had a thing for Yona."

"Huh?" Ace tilted his head, "Since when has he been interested in Yona?"

Mira sighed with a roll of her eyes, "You are such a boy. It's obvious he likes her. I wasn't sure at first, but then the Tree of Harmony incident confirmed it. When Yona saved Sandbar, I could just feel a wave of happy emotions radiating off of him."

"I think he was just happy not to get crushed by a giant rock," Ace chimed in, "I doubt that's enough to confirm he likes her. Maybe he's just wanting to go as a friend."

"Just watch. Those two are totally gonna hit it off."

"If you say so," Ace replied as they began to make their way through the halls. "Can't wait to see who everyone else decides to go with. Wonder who's gonna be dancing with who?"

"Good question," Mira nodded, "Gallus said he was just gonna go with the rest of our friends, but I wonder who he's gonna end up dancing with."

"I'm curious about Heart and Soul," Ace added, "You think Heart's gonna be okay dancing with anypony? I know he's been working to get over what happened, but what if it reminds him of Cozy?"

"Yeah...that true."





Heart and Soul were now walking together, the alicorn filly putting a poster up in the library with her brother when the same question popped into her head. "Heart," her brother turned to her, "Are you gonna be okay with this dance?" He raised an eyebrow at this as she continued, "If going is gonna be too hurtful, you don't have to go. With could spend the night playing board games in your room or...something."

"Why wouldn't I wanna go?" Heart replied, only to see her glance over at him with a worried frown, making him sigh. "Is this because of Cozy?" Her eyes darted away while nodding, "Sis...you don't have to tiphoof around the subject. I'm done letting her ruin my life. If going to this dance is gonna hurt me, she'd still be controlling me."

Soul bit her lip at this, but saw the confidence on his face, making her smile again, "Good. That means you can enjoy the Amity Ball."

"Yup," Heart shined a big grin, "And I'm gonna win the dance contest." Soul laughed at this, "What?"

"You realize that to win the contest, you'll need a pony pal."

Heart glared back at this as they left the library, only to see a trio of fillies their age smiling at them. "Hey Heart," a purple unicorn with blonde hair said.

"Hmm...hey?" Heart replied, the colt not knowing their names.

A pink earth pony spoke up next, twirling her long pink hair as she did. "We've been looking all over for you." Soul frowned at this, "So, wanna go to the Amity Ball with me?" Heart's eyes went wide as the unicorn turned to her.

"Hey! I was gonna ask him!"

"Snooze you lose!" The earth pony laughed while the third member of the trio poked the tips of her hooves together.

She was a lavender pegasus with blue hair, "Hum...w-w-would you like t-to go with me?" Her face turned red at this.

"Uh..." Heart slowly replied as he saw all three now stare at him, the colt raising an eyebrow, "I don't know. Wouldn't you girls rather go with somepony you know better?"

The girls frowned at this, the earth pony responding, "Well, we can get to know each other better during the ball. The whole point of the School of Friendship is to help foster friendships, so why don't we start a new friendship and get to know one another as we dance?"

"So yeah," the unicorn chimed in while throwing her hair back, "So, wanna go?"

"HEY!" The earth pony yelped, "I asked him first!"

"But I spoke to him first!" The pair glared at one another, pushing their foreheads back and forth while the pegasus remained silent. "Heart, who do you wanna go with?"

Heart opened his mouth, but no sound came out. A second later, he turned to his sister, his eyes begging for help as she let out a long sigh, only for a bulb to go off in her head, "Be right back." She walked back into the library and returned a moment later with a six-sided die. "Pick two numbers."

"One and two!" The unicorn exclaimed.

"Three and four!" The earth pony yelled as the pegasus shyly whispered the last two numbers. Soul nodded and threw the dice onto the floor, the lot of them watching it roll a few times before stopping on a five.

"There," Soul picked it up, "Heart can go with the one who picked that number."

"Thanks sis." Heart replied before turning to the pegasus, who looked like she was about to faint.

"So..." he walked up to her, the two soon walking down the hallway, "Do you have a name?"

"M-M-Moonlily." Heart smiled, telling her that was a pretty name and asking her if she was feeling okay when her face turned red.

Soul giggled as he watched them disappear down the hall, only to feel some killing intent pointed towards her. "Oh, grow up." She turned to the other two, "You were the ones that picked the wrong numbers." She flew off as the pair started bickering again, needing to be broken up when Twilight came across them and getting a thirty-minute lecture.





All over the school, the students started to pair up, all quickly getting either rejected or accepted. The ball was all anypony was talking about, which included Yona, who had asked the teachers to help her prepare for the ball. Everyone was looking forward to see how the yak would act on the night of the dance, but were also trying to get ready for the dance themselves, including finding someone to go with.

It was evening at that moment, Ace and Mira now training in the courtyard. Despite being at the school, they were still training to master the jakhowl fighting techniques that they had learned in Aurarora.

"Raaah!" Mira threw a punch, Ace dodging and spinning around to deliver a kick to her head. But as this happed, Mira raised her arm and blocked it before it could connect, pushing him back before leaping upward and attempted to stomp on him. Despite Ace being off balance, she expected him to avoid her attack, only for her foot to collid with his chest.

"Augh!" He yelped as he was thrown back, hitting the dirt as Mira landed.

"You okay?" Mira said as she ran up to him, "You would have normally been able to dodge that." She held out a paw, "What happened?"

Ace took her paw and was pulled up. "I've...got a lot on my mind."

"Really? What?"

"Well...I've been thinking about the Amity Ball and who I should go with."

"Really?" Mira went wide-eyed, only to slightly blush, "Have anyone in mind?" Ace nodded, Mira placing her hands behind her back and rubbing her foot on the ground. "Who?"

"Silverstream." Mira's ears fell at this, "I thought, who do I know that would be really fun to go with? After Pinkie, the funnest creature in school to hang with is Silverstream. So I think I might ask her."

"I see," Mira slowly said, trying her best to mask her aura at this.

"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out how to ask her. Don't wanna come off looking desperate or cheesy. I heard girls don't like to be asked out like that."

"Well, I wouldn't know."

Ace waved his paw, "You will. I bet a bunch of guys are gonna start asking you to the dance starting tomorrow."

"I don't think a bunch of them will."

Ace laughed at this, "Oh please," he turned to walk away. "If you don't get a date to the dance, I'll wear a dress."

He then walked away, Mira sighing at the sight before glancing up at the night sky. "Idiot."





As the day of the ball drew closer, everyone at the school was getting more excited. Flash was walking through the halls, which were already decorated for the dance, smiling as he saw all the students were already grouped up. He then turned a corner, only to see Smolder, Ocellus and SIlverstream walking opposite him.

"Hello girls," he commented, "Looking forward to the dance?" Ocellus and Silverstream nodded while Smolder just crossed her arms.

"I'm looking forward to the dinner," she replied, "Dancing, not so much. In case you haven't noticed, dragons don't do dancing."

Flash chuckled, "I figured. But you know, you can't spend your entire life on the battlefield. Even if you may want to."

"Yeah, yeah..." Smolder sighed, "I had a feeling you'd say something like that."

Flash smirked at this, "If you think about it, fighting and dancing aren't so different." The girls turned to him as he continued, "Two partners, interlocked in a flurry of different movements." He laughed. "Although, one wrong move on the ballroom can only lead to a swollen hoof."

"Or a twisted ankle," Smolder looked down at her feet.

"Well, I hope you girls enjoy yourself. It's not everyday that friends are able to come together like this."

"What do you mean?" Ocellus responded, "We're together everyday."

"And hopefully, you'll be together for many days to come. But the world has a habit of throwing almost everything at you to try and split you up. Whether it be through choosing to move somewhere else, or being forced someplace else by events out of your control. Sometimes, friends have to be apart for a while. It's events like this that are meant to help reaffirm old bonds and maybe help them evolve. That way, when the universe decides to throw you a curveball, your friendships will be able to handle it."

With that, Flash continued to walk down the hallway as the girls shared a glance as Smolder spoke up, "Since when has he been the wise one?"

As Smolder asked this, Silverstream tilted her head as Flash's word swam through her mind, "Reaffirm old bonds and maybe help them evolve..." She slowly started smiling, an idea forming in her head. "I'm gonna do it."

The others turned to her, "Do what?" Smolder's question was left unanswered as Silverstream suddenly flew off down the hall, "Hey! Where are you going?!"

"I'll be back later," Silverstream yelled before vanishing. And when she was gone, the others glancing back at each other before shrugging.

"I'm sure we'll find out later," Ocellus commented, "What do you think Yona's gonna be doing for the dance?"

"I'm not sure," Smolder replied, "The teachers have been helping her get ready, but I don't think it's gonna do much. But I'm looking forward to seeing how a yak really dances." Ocellus nodded back.





Meanwhile...

Heart and Soul were over at the Castle of Friendship, the pair in the castle's kitchen, both working on their lucky pots. They had both chosen to make a dish Trixie had told them about during their time in the Lost City of Faust. "Mash, mash, mash, mash!" Heart cheered as he used a potato masher to turn their boiled vegetable into a sloped form.

As he did this, Soul was busy making stuffing that they would mix with the mash to make a rather delicious combo. As she did, she looked over at the oven. Inside were a pair of popovers, the batter having been placed in a special pan to cook so that it morphed into a bowl shape. Once they were done, they would place the pudding into their lucky pot and scoop the mash, stuffing combo into it along with some peas. It was gonna be delicious.

Heart then sighed as he finished mashing the potatoes, checking to make sure there weren't any lumps in it. As he did this, Ace walked into the kitchen. "There you are," the jakhowl ran over to Heart, only to lick his lips at the food, "Are you making stuff?" That was the name they called it, since it was just a load of stuff mixed together.

"Yup," Heart chuckled, "It's going in our lucky pots."

"Really? Won't it go off by the time of the ball?"

"Not with our lucky pots," Soul giggled, "I asked Twilight to add some runes to them, which'll keep them suspended in animation. So as long as they remain sealed, they'll be as fresh on the night of the dance as they would be if they had been made that night." The timer went off and she opened the oven, taking the pudding out and smiling at how perfect they had come out.

Ace watched them filling their lucky pots, Heart speaking up at this, "So, did you only come to see what we'd be making for the night?"

"No," Ace sighed, "I wanted your advice on something." Heart raised an eyebrow, "Is it true you got three mares to ask you out?"

"Yeah...wasn't expecting that."

"How'd you do it? I get being a future Royal Knight probably makes you seem like a catch, but you're still you." Heart wasn't sure, but he felt like he had just been insulted. Soul was sure though, trying to hide a giggle. "So what did you do to get them to want to go to the dance with you?"

"I didn't really do anything," Heart instantly replied, "They came and asked me."

Ace glared back at him at this, only for Soul to turn to him, "What's this about? Are you wanting to ask somepony to the dance?"

"Yeah," Ace nodded, Soul smiling at this as she had a feeling she knew who he wanted to ask. "Silverstream." This made her smile instantly disappear, "I thought it would be fun, but I don't know how to ask her. Any ideas?"

The siblings shared a glance at this, Heart soon responding, "Maybe there's somepony else you can talk to about this? Like one of our teachers."

"Most of them are busy helping Yona get ready for the ball," Ace chimed, "And Flash...well, I heard he wasn't exactly an expert in asking ponies out." Heart and Soul nodded at that, remembering hearing the censored version of how Flash and Twilight got together, which Rarity had dubbed 'One of the top ten's craziest shipping stories ever'. And before they could respond to that thought, Ace added, "And Springer's never dated anyone, so he's out. Come on, there's gotta be some advice you two can give me."

The pair frowned at this before Soul asked, "Well, why do you wanna go with Silverstream?"

"Because she's super fun and it'd be a blast to go with her. Smolder and Ocellus would probably be too embarrassed to dance, so Silverstream's my best choice. Besides, she's awesome. I just don't know how to ask her without getting it all wrong and making a mess."

"There's your answer." said another voice, all turning to see Mira at the door.

"What?" Ace asked as she walked into the room.

"Tell her exactly what you've just said," Mira replied, "No ridiculous schemes. No pick-up lines. Just be honest."

Ace opened his mouth at this, "But what if-"

"Ace!" She interrupted, "You can't get it wrong if its the truth." The pair stared at one another for a moment, with Ace then smiling at her.

"You're right," he nodded before heading for the door. "Thanks Mira." He walked past her, leaving Mira and the siblings to watch him as he headed off to find Silverstream.

Mira stared at where he was, even after he disappeared, only for Soul to sigh, "Practice what you preach, Mira." The alicorn and her brother continued to work on their lucky pots, the yellow jakhowl walking around the kitchen, wondering how things were going to turn out at the dance.





Ace rushed over to the school, his aura scanning the place for Silverstream. He found her and cut into a sprint, his mind going over what he had told Heart and Soul to repeat to her. He felt her around the corner at this, only to hear a voice, "Gallus!" He stopped at this.

"Hey Silverstream," Gallus' voice replied, "What's up?"

"I know we all decided to go together as a group," Silverstream replied, "But do you wanna be my pony pal? I bet it'll be loads of fun and we might even get to win the prize. Everypony else is going in pairs, so how about it?"

Ace went wide-eyed at this, only to sigh, "Aw well," he turned to leave while blocking out Gallus' reply. "Snooze you lose, I guess." He walked away, his mind now going over his friends, only to think about having a good time with was Mira. "No way she doesn't have a date yet." He sighed again, "Guess I'm going stag after all."





The night of the dance...

Everypony was now walking into the great hall, bringing their lucky pots with them and distributing them onto the table. Heart and Moonlily arrived together, the pegasi placing their pots on the table while Ace arrived with Gallus, Sandbar, Smolder, Silverstream, Ocellus, Mira and Soul. Each had decided to make a traditional dish from their homelands, thought this was after making sure they were something ponies and other species could actually digest.

Ace opened his lucky pot and took a satisfying whiff of the contents before placing it back on the table next to Soul and Mira's. As they did this, Spike spoke up from his spot as party DJ. "Hello, everyone!" He was dressed in a gray hoodie and was wearing a giant version of his own head, his face sticking out of the mouth, as he held up a microphone. "I'm your DJ, Scales-n-Tail, spinning your favorite tunes all night long! So welcome to the Fetlock Fet-I mean, the Amity Ball!"

Everyone cheered at this, Twilight grinning at the sight of her excited students. As this happened, Applejack walked over to the lucky pot table, making sure the trophy was shining ready to be given to the winner of the contest.

Soul watched as Heart and Moonlily went over to the snack table to get something to eat, then looked over and saw the rest of her friends had already gotten some stuff to enjoy. The only one of the group that had done anything to dress up was Sandbar, who was wearing a bowtie.

"I'm just glad I'm here with you all," Gallus stated as a pair of ponies walked past carrying lucky pots. "Least I'm not the only non-pony in the crowd."

"You're not still worried about that, are you?" Sandbar turned to him, trying to get his mane to stay neat. "Like Headmare Twilight said, this is a dance for everyone. There's no pony pressure." His friends stared at him for a moment, then started chuckling since they all obviously knew something Sandbar didn't.

"You should've told Yona that," Ocellus giggled

"Uh..." Sandbar blinked at her, "What do you mean?"

"Didn't you hear?" Silverstream asked as she snacked on a crisp. "Our teachers have been helping her get ready for the dance! She's been taking lessons."

"She's gone full pony for the dance," Smolder added.

"All for you." Gallus jokingly pulled on Sandbar's bowtie and let it go, the recoil knocking Sandbar to the ground.

"For me?" He asked, "Why?" They would have answered, but somepony spoke up before they could.

"How kind of you to ask me to this soiree, Sandbar."

The voice felt familiar, but something was off about it, making Sandbar spin around and see Yona standing in front of him, dressed in a large green dress. She was wearing makeup along with a purple wig and looked nothing like the tough yet adorable yak they all knew and loved. They all stared at her in shock, most unable to get an actual word out.

"What?" Was Smolder's response, Ace and Mira unsure if she was even Yona until they checked her aura.

"You look so weird!" Silverstream added, pulling a face and accidently dropping her plate.

"Yona?!" Sandbar yelped.

"Quite," Yona nodded, "Oh, I do hope I make a good pony pal for you." She winked at him, the others now needing to hide their laughter behind their claws, paws and hooves.

"Uh..." Sandbar muttered out, "Of course you do. But Yona, you didn't need to do any of...this."

"And why are you talking so funny?" Smolder chimed in.

"I am not talking funny," Yona replied, "I'm fitting in." Everyone glanced around at this, seeing Yona was the only one at the party that was dressed up like that.

"Could've fooled me," Gallus responded.

"Yona," Soul frowned, "You don't need to change who you are to fit in. Forcing another creature to conform is the exact opposite of why this school was founded."

But as she said that, Rarity appeared at her side, dressed up as well, "Yona! You look absolutely scrumptious, darling." She moved over to the yak, the pair kissing each other on the cheek, before Rarity picked up the yak's lucky pot. "Uh, why don't I get that for you?" She moved it over and added it to the table.

"You made a lucky pot?" Sandbar asked, Yona nodding.

"Precisely like ponies prepare!" As she said that, the microphone rang out and they turned to the main stage where Twilight was smiling at them.

"Welcome everyone, to our school's first annual Amity Ball! For those of you who've never attended a Fetlock Fete, we can't wait to show you some of our fun traditions on this special night!" They all cheered as Twilight turned to the DJ. "So, Spike..." She stopped when he held up a finger.

"Uh, Scales-n-Tail?"

"Uh, right." Twilight sighed, knowing he wasn't gonna let that one go. "Scales-n-Tail." She turned to crowd, "Let's get this party started!" She handed Spike the mic and flew off, the dragon turning to the crowd as his voice was amplified.

"Oh yeah, party ponies! It's time to raise the roof and stomp your hoof for the traditional first dance of the night, the Pony Cotillion!" He took out a record, placing it on the mixing deck, the music soon playing as several ponies stepped out onto the dance floor.

When Yona saw them moving, she smiled. "Ah! Yona know this one!"

She then flinched at her words, only for Sandbar to ask, "You do?"

Yona nodded and ran onto the dance floor, everyone flinching as they expected the yak to thrash about, only for her to start dancing perfectly. The teachers all smiled at the sight while her friends also watched in amazement. As this was going on, Heart tried to get Moonlily to head out onto the dance floor, but the shy pegasus was too embarrassed. She quickly told him she couldn't stand others looking at her like that, Heart frowning as she ran off to hide in a corner. Clearly, she could give Fluttershy a run for her money.

Soul saw this and frowned, feeling sorry for her brother as she filled her punch glass and watched the dancing. Mira and the others had gone off somewhere, leaving only herself and the teachers.

That is, till Ace walked up to her, "I see you're hiding at the punch bowl too."

"Yup," she nodded before Ace offered his glass.

"To the socially awkward."

Soul giggled and tapped her glass onto his, "Sorry things didn't work out with Silverstream."

"Eh, it's fine," Ace replied, "She's probably having a better time dancing with Gallus anyway. Those two are more fitting together."

"What are you talking about?" Ace turned to her, "Silverstream isn't dancing with Gallus." Ace blinked at her, only to glance over at the rest of their friends, minus Mira, playing cards in the corner. As they played, Silverstream looked over at Gallus and a sad look appeared on her face.

"Wait..." he whispered, "Did he-" Before he could finish the question, he felt a tingle in his spine as he turned to see Yona tripping over her dress and slamming into the punch table, crashing as the bowl fell onto her head...but didn't spill.

"Wow," Soul looked her over and was about to ask if she was alright-

"Yona!" Sandbar gasped, "Are you alright?"

The young yak muttered out, "Yona never practice dance with dress on." She then bit her lip, "Uh...I mean..." She stood up and chuckled. "May I offer you a cup of punch?" She held up a glass before tipping her head, the punch pouring out of the bowl and into the glass.

Sandbar smiled at this as Spike suddenly spoke up. "Time to shake things up a little!" Everyone turned to him. "That's right, everybody! It's the Pony Prance!" He fiddled with the stereo controls and a more upbeat song began to play, the ponies now beginning to dance more rapidly.

Ace and Soul turned to Yona, worried she might end up tripping over her dress again given how fast this dance was. Sandbar clearly had the same worry. "Um...maybe we should sit this one out." He turned to walk away, but Yona grabbed his leg.

"No!" She barely managed to stay elegant, "I do so love the Pony Prance!" She pulled him toward the dancefloor as Sandbar cried out, the pair stepping into the center of the room and dancing just like everypony else.

Soul smiled at seeing Yona having fun, only for her brother to appear next to her. "Sorry it didn't work out with Moonlily."

"Eh, don't worry about it," Heart sighed, "Not your fault."

"Well...I might have used my magic to manipulate the dice a bit." Heart turned to her with wide eyes, "I thought she would be the best one for you to go with. Those other two were more fangirly than anything else and would have tried to parade you around like a trophy or something. But I guess I mucked up."

Heart blinked at her, only to shrug, "I'd complain but...I don't know. I don't think I would have enjoyed myself with them anyway."

The pair sighed, only to have their attention caught by the sound of Yona's cries. They turned to see her wig had shifted down to cover her eyes, causing her to panic and stagger around, knocking Sandbar into another couple. She also stopped holding back her yak strength, making the entire room shake out of control. Everyone else started screaming as they tried to escape the stampeding bull, who knocked down tables, decorations and everything else. Rarity let out a scream, almost being knocked over by Yona.

Heart, Ace and Soul ran in to help, Gallus, Silverstream, Ocellus and Smolder abandoning their game to do the same. "It's okay, Yona!" Sandbar cried as he rushed to her side, Soul attempting to use her magic to remove the wig, but Yona's breads came loose and slammed them both in the face, knocking Soul for a loop.

"Just stop bouncing!" Smolder yelled, Yona not hearing as she kept jumping up and down.

"We got you!" Gallus added, only to be knocked down as Yona swung her head around. The wig flew off at this, only to see the lucky pot table she was charging towards, the yak attempting to skid to a stop, but unable to stop herself from crashing into it. Lucky pots went flying everywhere, Twilight barely having enough time to put up a shield that blocked the contents of the pots from spilling over the majority of the student body. Those closest to Yona, her friends, weren't so lucky as they were all struck by a tidal wave of food as the dance trophy fell to the ground and was covered in food as well.

When the splat attack ended, Twilight lowered her shield and saw that everything was a mess. "What a calamitous yak-ccident!" Rarity cried, Flash taking a quick look around.

"Doesn't look like anybody was hurt."

"Yona!" He turned to see Sandbar running up to the yak, who was still laid out on the floor.

"What happened?!" Ocellus cried.

"Are you alright?" Silverstream asked as Yona got up.

"No!" She screamed, her makeup smearing as she bawled her eyes out. " Yona not all right! Yona want to be alone!" And before anyone could say anything, she ran off, the group staring at the sight.

"Poor Yona," Pinkie commented as she and the other Mane Six walked up.

"And after all that hard work she put in," Fluttershy sighed.

"I don't get it," Flash picked up one of the dropped lucky pots, "Why did she go to all that trouble for a party? She's the last one I thought would do something like that."

"Yeah," Spike added, "It's like she tried to change everything about herself to fit in with the dance." It was then that the five ponies who had helped Yona all went wide eyed at this, gulping as Twilight turning to them and asking what they knew about all of this as Sandbar ran out of the school.

As this happened, Ace noticed Mira enter the room and saw her look surprised by the state of the place. She stepped back out of the room, clearly hoping to escape before she was dragged into cleaning up. Ace also wanted to escape that fate, so he quickly went after her, zipping out of the room and locking onto her aura as he headed to the courtyard, soon finding her by the fountain, looking up at the night sky.

"Hey," he spoke up, "You missed quite the show. Yona...uh...you know what? Probably best not to mention what happened."

"Alright," Mira sighed as Ace walked up to her.

"What happened to you?" He asked, "You disappeared after the dancing started. Did your date wanna go somewhere more private to dance or something?"

"There is no date," Mira deadpanned.

"What?!"

She turned to her fellow jakhowl, "Nobody asked me."

Ace stared at her wide-eyed, the thought of Mira, one of the most respected students in the school, not being asked sounded insane. "But...why? Who wouldn't wanna go with you?"

Mira shook her head, "Because of you."

"What? Me?!" Ace pointed at himself, "Why am I the reason?"

Mira shook her head, "Why didn't you ask me? You're one of my closest friends and I think everypony was expecting you to ask me. But you didn't, and now I'm without a partner."

Ace flinched at those words, "Oh. I uh..."

"But I guess it's not just your fault. I could have asked someone." Mira interrupted, glancing away as she let out a huff. And as she did this, the blue jakhowl felt a tinge of anger...and disappointment in her aura.

"I'm sorry Mira."

"It's fine," she stood up and began to walk away, Ace watching her go. He sighed and turned to look up at the sky, wondering who it was Mira wanted to ask.

But as he thought about it, he sensed someone else arrive on the balcony and he recognized the aura. "Hey Ace," Gallus smirked. "Well, this night turned out more insane than we expected, right?"

"I guess," Ace shrugged.

"Hope Yona comes back. Sandbar went to go talk to her and maybe she'll feel better when she sees everything fixed up."

"Yeah...hopefully."

Gallus tilted his head at the bland reply from the jakhowl, "Are you okay?" Ace turned to him, seeing a frown on his face, "Did I do something to you?"

"Not me. Silverstream." Gallus raised an eyebrow at that, "I was there when she asked you to be her pony pal. She was really excited about it and really wanted to dance with you, but you said no. How could you do that to her?"

Gallus glared back at him, "That's not really any of your business."

"Yeah, it is. Because she's my friend and I can sense how hurt she is." Gallus flinched at this, only for Ace to add, "I know she's acting happy, but it's an act. She's really upset. So why would you do that to her? What, is dancing with her to lame for you or-"

"Can't dance!" Gallus suddenly interrupted.

Ace blinked at him at this, "I beg your pardon?"

"I can't...dance," Gallus glanced away, "It's not that I didn't wanna go with her, but dancing isn't really something that's a regular thing in Griffonstone. And even if it was, I don't have anyone there to teach me."

"Oh." Ace replied, "So why didn't you ask one of the teachers? They were willing to help Yona, so I'm sure they'd help you to." Gallus didn't answer, Ace sighing at this, "You would rather break a girl's heart and go to a dance alone then admit to everyone you can't move in rhythm to music?"

"That about sums it up, yeah."

"Well," Ace spun around, "I certainly feel a lot better about myself."

Gallus rubbed the back of his neck. "Look, if you wanna dance with Silverstream then-"

"Do you care about her?" Ace looked back, Gallus flincing at the question as he repeated, "Do you care about Silverstream?"

"Of course I do."

"Then prove it and tell her why you said no. She won't care that you can't dance. Who knows, she might not know how to dance either. Just be honest. No pick-up lines, no sweet moves. Just be yourself. I've heard that's the way to go."

Gallus blinked at him, only to do a small nod. "Alright, will do." He held up a fist, "Thanks." Ace smiled and bumped it.

"No problem. Trust me, being unable to dance isn't the most embarrassing thing in the world." Gallus nodded and flew back inside, Ace sighing as he knew what to do. "But I'm gonna have to do the most embarrassing thing in the world."





Back at the hall, the teachers were trying to clean the place up before it got too late. With any luck, they could salvage the night and make it still an enjoyable evening. And as they did this, Gallus had taken Silverstream over to a corner and explained why he hadn't agreed to go with her to the ball. "You can't dance?!"

"Yeah," Gallus blushed, "I'm sorry I blew you off. I just...didn't wanna look like a goof in front of everyone else. Sorry if I hurt your feelings."

Silverstream just giggled at this, "You're so silly, worrying about something like that. Next time, just tell me the truth and don't worry about looking silly. And if you're really worried about not being able to do something, I'll help. We're friends after all." Gallus smiled at this as the doors opened and they all saw Sandbar leading Yona inside.

She was now back to how she normally was, but was clearly worried everyone would be upset with her. "Don't worry," Sandbar told her. "I'm with you."

"We all are," Gallus added the group ran up and hugged her.

The only member of their friend group not there was Ace, but that was unnoticed as Pinkie yelled, "Yona!" Her and the other teachers ran up at this, "Are you alright?"

Fluttershy nodded, "We were so worried when you disappeared like that."

"Yona fine," she replied, "But...Yona sorry. Not mean to make such a mess and ruin the pony dance."

Applejack removed her hat, "It's not your fault, sugarcube."

"It's the opposite," Rainbow continued, "If anything, we should be apologizing."

Pinkie nodded, "I thought we were just teaching you how to have fun at the dance." Fluttershy patted Pinkie on the shoulder as Rarity stepped up next.

"We never meant to try to turn you into something you're not." She looked down in shame as Yona smiled.

"Is okay." She turned to Sandbar, "Friend help Yona feel better."

"Good," Flash nodded. "You shouldn't have to change who you are to fit into something. What matters is being true to who you are. I'm glad Sandbar helped you see that."

And as Sandbar smiled at that, Twilight turned to them, "And that's why we're giving you this." They looked up and saw the alicorn was holding the trophy, the pair going wide-eyed at this.

"No way!" Sandbar yelped, "The Pony Pal prize!"

Twilight nodded, "From now on, it's the annual Amity Ball Award for Friendship!"

"No pony-ness required," Applejack assured them as Rainbow tapped her hooves together.

"We all decided you and Yona totally earned this."

Rarity nodded, "Your actions tonight exemplify the true meaning of friendship." The pair looked at the trophy, which had been redecorated so one of the ponies on it looked like a yak.

"Congratulations, you two!" Twilight stated as the others all cheered for them. This was followed by the rest of the students, who were also cheering as Spike flew over the crowd.

"Yona!" He exclaimed, "I'm glad you're back! Everypony wants to learn that crazy dance you did!" The others nodded, surprising Yona.

"Yak dance?" She asked, the others smiling before she did as well. "Is easy! Yona teach...if everyone want to learn?" They all nodded, as Rarity smiled.

"It would be an honor."

Spike flew back to his mixing desk, grabbing the mic and calling out, "You asked for it, and DJ Scales-n-Tail is gonna deliver! Everyone join Yona for...the Yakyakistan Stomp!" He slammed a record onto the player and the music started, Yona bobbing her head before she started jumping around. The others laughed as they did the same, stomping around in unison as they had the time of their lives. They danced for a good while, all enjoying themselves until many were exhausted.

Even Yona was getting tired, she and Sandbar stepping over to rest of a bit as the others began dancing their own favorite dances to the music. Silverstream was showing Gallus a few moves, the griffon feeling a little embarrassed but not caring as he saw how happy Silverstream was.

Off to the side, Flash and Twilight watched and smiled at one another. "This was fun," Flash told his girlfriend. "You sure know how to throw one heck of an Amity Ball."

"Thanks," Twilight giggled, "And tomorrow it's back to work."

Flash nodded. "Well, I'm sure we can handle whatever gets thrown at us." But he said that, he heard laughter and looked over at the entrance. "Except for that."

Mira was talking to Ocellus and Smolder when she suddenly heard the laughter and turned towards the source. Then, she saw the reason everyone was laughing and couldn't believe it. "Ace?"

Ace was currently wearing a black dress with a frilly skirt and a white bowed belt. He was clearly embarrassed by being there like this, but he wasn't gonna let it stop him. "A promise is a promise." Mira kept looking at him, her mouth slowly tilting upward until she burst out laughing.

"Ace, you didn't have to..."

"Hey," Ace stood tall, "I'm a jakhowl of my word." He took a deep breath and held up a paw. "Now do you wanna stand there and laugh at me, or do you wanna dance?" Mira stared at him for a moment as Spike started playing a new song.

She then smiled and took his paw, "I would love to dance." She was suddenly yanked away at this, the pair starting to dance as everyone else watched in amazement.

But no one was more amazed than Soul and Heart, Soul looking like hearts warming had come early. "Heart," she exclaimed, "This...is...HAPPENING!"

"Wait...what's happening?" Soul then grabbed him in her magic and pulled him onto the dance floor, Heart quickly getting into the swing of things as the siblings stood beside the jakhowls. They all started moving together, the four dancing to the song in such perfect sync that it looked like someone had drawn them to do it. In unison, they kicked, twirled, stomped and spun with incredible skill. The music they were dancing too was the perfect song for the dance, everyone who was watching all cheering as they saw them perform.

The shock Ace's dress choice quickly vanished and soon enough, everyone was back on the dance floor. This included Silverstream and Gallus, the hippogriff turning to the griffon, "So, what made you change your mind?"

"Huh?" Gallus asked.

"You said you were embarrassed at first. What made you tell me?"

Gallus pointed to the jakhowls in the room, "You're looking at him." Silverstream glanced over and saw Ace, smiling when she realized what must have happened. "They're good friends."

"The best!" Silverstream laughed as they kept dancing together. The night was still young and they were all going to enjoy it to the best of their ability. The first Amity Ball was certainly going to be one they remembered. And hopefully, it would continue to be a yearly thing the students could enjoy for years to come.
> Keeping Your Guards Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the badlands of Equestria, its few creatures that lived there were roaming around as it looked like it was going to be another normal day. But as they did this, an unusual amount of visitors walked into the place, four ponies to be exact. One was a red pegasus mare with a black mane that had a streak of pink running through it. The second was a bulky looking blue unicorn stallion with a silver mane and tail, while the third was a smaller but still bulky green earth pony stallion with a yellow mane and tail.

They were following the fourth member, the trio grumbling as they did so, "Ahhh!" The mare cried, "It's so hot! Why is it so hot?!"

"This area isn't under the control of the weather factory," the green stallion replied, "So there's no cloud cover or wind."

"This is ridiculous," the blue stallion moaned, "Why are we out here? When my father hears about this, he'll be sure to give the princess a piece of his mind! Making me come out here, when I should be in Canterlot Castle where it's nice and cool!" He glared at the leader, who had just leapt onto a rock to survey the area. "Why are we out here?!"

The figure, whose form was hidden by the glare of the sun, turned to them and they flinched at the light behind him. "Because this is the only way you three will ever make it as guards." The figure jumped off the rock, revealing one Flash Sentry. "So if you don't want to be kicked out, you need to impress me."





Three days ago...

Flash had just finished his patrol of the town and as he flew back to the castle, only to see Grand at the entrance with some papers on his back. "Grand!" The older pony turned to see Flash land, "What cha got there?"

Grand smirked as he took the folders off his back, "Celestia's asked me to come to Canterlot and help with some problematic guard recruits. Apparently, they have a lot of potential, but their attitudes aren't great."

The pair headed inside at this, now seeing Twilight, Iron and Fluttershy there, Grand explaining the problem to them as well. "You want to use the Rune Gate?" Twilight asked as Grand placed the folders on the table. "Of course you can use it. But what exactly is so important about these knights that you think they need special help?"

"We get these recruits every few years," Grand sighed, "Recruits that have something promising about them, but are also lacking the stuff that they need to become true guards. This is the first time it's happened since I left the guard, and Celestia's been having a hard time finding a good enough replacement that can handle this kind of thing."

Flash nodded at this, "Too bad Magnus chose to become the defender of that small town. He probably would have made a great teacher once he was up to speed with modern guard training." He turned to Grand, "So you're gonna head to Canterlot and help them train?"

"Not train. Test." Flash tilted his head at this, "The best way to help them is to make them face their shortcomings. Putting them through a gauntlet with the only way to overcome it being to push past their limits and fix the issues they have."

"Sounds tough," Iron commented as Grand sighed again.

"You have no idea. I thought I was done with these kinds of things when I retired, but I can't just let these promising recruits fall to the wayside. With what happened recently with Shroudheart, Equestria needs all the guards it can find." He looked down at the files, "And seeing what happened with Swift Wing...I don't want that to happen again. But, we also can't just let anypony become a guard. Quality over quantity. That's why it's important I help these three grow into ponies worthy of being guards."

Flash frowned as he stared at the files, "If you want, I could do it." They all turned to him as he shrugged, "I've done enough of your training gauntlets to know what to look for. Just tell me what you need them to overcome and I'll find a way to make it happen."

Grand shined a grin at this, nodding, "Alright then, I'll leave it to you."





The Present...

Flash glanced back at the three ponies that were at risk of flunking out of the guard. "Crimson Nimble!" He told the pegasus before focusing on the unicorn, "Cobalt Crash!" He pointed at the earth pony, "Rough Riot! You three are here because while you all have the potential to be guards, you're lacking in certain areas that hold you back from achieving that potential. We're here to help you three overcome those limits and become the ponies you were always meant to be."

"I don't need any life lessons," Cobalt instantly replied, "I joined the guard because it would help me achieve the kind of standing my father has. Give me one reason why I even agreed to come here?"

"Because your fate is in my hooves," Flash responded, "I decide whether or not you make it into the guards. So you have two options. Do what I say and try to impress me, or give up and go home. But that also means you leave the guard, and we won't be accepting another application from you, no matter how important your father is."

Cobalt glared at him, but didn't say anything back as Crimson Nimble ran up next, "Whatever," she growled, "Can we go now? The sooner we get this training session underway, the quicker we can pass it, and the quicker I become a guard." She spread her wings and shot off, flying off in a direction with speed that almost matched Rainbow Dash's.

Rough moved over to Flash, watching as she disappeared over the horizon. "Um...shouldn't we go after her?"

"Wait for it," Flash replied, only for Nimble to fly back down at them.

"Which way are we supposed to be going?" Flash pointed to the left, making her huff and fly off in that direction. Flash laughed at this and followed after her, Rough and Cobalt bringing up the rear.

"Is it really a good idea to be out here?" Rough asked as his eyes darted around, "I mean, who knows what could be waiting for us?! Poisonous animals, unstable cliffs and who knows what else!" He then heard a tiny noise, making him let out a squeak as Cobalt rolled his eyes and Flash kept a stoic face.

'This is gonna take a while.' Flash thought as his mind went back to three days ago.





"Crimson Nimble, Cobalt Crash and Rough Riot," Flash read the names on the files. "These are the ponies I'll be teaching?"

"Yes," Grand nodded. "They have a lot of skill and would make excellent guards if they can graduate, but their personalities clash with those of a normal guard." Flash opened the first folder, showing Cobalt's profile. "Cobalt Crash is the son of a famous entrepreneur in Manehatten, who partly owns dozens of different businesses inside the city that has made him one of the richest ponies in Equestria."

"Impressive," Iron commented, "So why is he in the guard? I would have thought he'd either be living off daddy or preparing to take over his business."

"He would probably like to do that as well," Grand replied, "But after looking into him, I've discovered his father has cut him off." This made everypony raise an eyebrow, "He was a self-made stallion who's worked tooth and hoof to get where he is. Starting in the guard himself before leaving and using the connections he made to open his first successful business. Because of that, he refused to let his son have a single bit after he came of age. The only way Cobalt will get back into the family checking account is to prove himself worthy of it."

"I get it," Twilight nodded, "Cobalt's trying to prove to his father that he's got what it takes to be just like him."

"However, having a rich and famous father has given him a serious superiority complex. He thinks being a guard is too good for him and thinks that because of his father, he should have already been given a high ranking position in the guard that requires barely any work."

"You've got to be kidding," Flash groaned, "And you want this guy to be part of the guard?"

"He might have an attitude problem, but he's actually incredibly smart with an amazing mind for strategy. Plus, he's skilled in multiple forms of magic such as body manipulation magic. He can create a magical thread that connects him to another and allows him to control their bodies. If he can get over that holier than thou mindset, he could be a great guard and might even make a rank higher than his father."

"Alright," Flash turned to the next file, "Crimson Nimble."

"Yes..." Grand bit his lip at this, "I honestly think she could have been a Wonderbolt if she tried, but she has her sights set on something a little higher: A Royal Knight."

"She wants to be a Royal Knight?" Flash responded as he stared at the papers, "Hmm...yeah, her stats are pretty good. They're almost like mine at that age. What's the problem?"

"Patience. She has zero of it. She wants to be a Royal Knight, but doesn't want to wait for it. She tries to get everything done as quickly as she can, even attempting to perform several tasks at once hoping to get them done faster. She can't sit still for a second. Not good qualities given that guards are normally meant to spend hours standing in a single place with nothing happening."

"Yeah, that could be a problem." Flash picked up the final file, "And Rough Riot." With that name, he expected some kind of tough bruiser or something. But when he opened the folder, he found it had a bunch of notes talking about the various ailments he claimed to have. "Anemia, asthma, bell's palsy, bile duct infection history, bronchitis, cirrhosis, cryptogenic cirrhosis..." The list went on, the sight making him turn to Grand, "What the-how can somepony like this want to be a guard?!"

"Simple. He doesn't have any of those problem," Grand replied, "He just thinks he does."

"So he's a hypochondriac," Twilight chimed in, Grand nodding back.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy gulped, "I would hate to constantly be worrying about my health."

"Yes, and he suffers from many issues involving his own safety. Apparently, his father was a guard who caught something when Rough was young and died. Ever since, he's wanted to walk in his father's hoofsteps, but is terrified of sharing his fate. But when he's not worrying, his fighting skills are supposed to be amazing and he has medical knowledge that First Aid would see as impressive."

"I see," Flash glanced back at the files. "Three ponies with a bunch of potential, but all with issues they need to overcome. This could be tricky."

"You think you can handle them?" Twilight asked, Flash nodding back.

"Sure. Just watch me. I'll get those three straightened out in no time."





'This is gonna take a while.' Flash thought as he stared ahead, only to see his destination. It was a large collection of mansion sized rocks close to one another that formed a labyrinth. "Alright, here's your first task. A trio of gemstones is located inside this maze. Each one is a different color, and you've each been given a color. Your task is to find the gemstone of your color and bring it back here."

"That's it?" Cobalt asked, "That's how we're supposed to prove ourselves worthy of the guard?"

"It's one of the ways," Flash replied.

"Why do we need to do this?"

"As a guard, you'll be responsible for many tasks. Some of them, you won't know the purpose of. All you need to focus on is getting your task done. Now go!"

The three charged in, Nimble racing ahead first. She zipped around everywhere, looking for a red gem while Cobalt walked below her in a slow pace while letting out a yawn as his eyes drifted around for a blue gem. As this happened, Rough tiphoofed inside, his eyes darting everywhere as he looked like he was searching every little thing, but also worried something was gonna leap out at him from behind a corner.

Seeing this, Flash flew onto one of the rocks, watching as the trio began their search, "Alright you three, can you find the hidden meaning behind this exercise?"





Meanwhile...

In a cave located on the side of a mountain in the badlands, a small group composed of a red griffon that appeared to be a mix of a tiger and a kestrel, along with a dark orange diamond dog and a yellow unicorn stallion that were all looking over a map on a table. "Alright," the unicorn used a stick to point at the map. "The base is located right here, and the wagon transport should be taking this route to it. If we can intercept the transport, we'll be let into the base, and then it'll be a free route straight to the vault."

"Why did your princesses even put this thing in the middle of nowhere anyway?" The griffon asked.

"It's meant to be an emergency reserve of gold and gems. Whenever there are leftovers from taxes or other money raising events, the excess is placed here. That way, when a situation occurs, they can take money out of this reserve and fix everything without needing to bankrupt the country."

"I see," the griffon hummed while the diamond dog jumped up and down.

"Scoop want gems! Scoop want gems now!" He started panting at this, the other two rolling their eyes.

"Will you relax," the unicorn grumbled, "You'll get your gems, and we'll get the rest of the bits."

"And I'll get the most important thing of all." They turned to a figure standing at the back of the cave, one that was humanoid in appearance, "Don't forget, I'm the one who's gonna make this all possible. Those magic barriers surrounding the base would be impossible for you to get past if it weren't for me. So remember, my wants come first."

"Don't worry," the unicorn replied, "We understand. You'll get what you want, and once you do, we'll make off with the rest before anyone can do anything to stop you."

"Good." The figure stepped forward and revealed themselves to be a large gorilla-like creature. It had large arms and hands that it used to stabilize its top-heavy body, while was completely bald above the waist. The fur on his waist and legs was black, while his skin was a grayish blue. Its head was that of a gorilla, but had a bunch of black hair sticking out the top and running down the back of its head, and in the center of its head was a single, massive, eye that was pink in color.

The creature stared at them all, being twice their size and looking like he could crush each of them in his colossal fists. "As long as we work together, nothing will be able to stop us."





Back in the maze...

All three were now in the labyrinth, Cobalt coming to a stop after a while and growling while Nimble suddenly appeared and tried to fly past him. But as she did this, he grabbed her tail in his magic, causing her to bungee back to him. "HEY!" She yelped and glared at him.

"Have you seen my gem anywhere?"

"No. Why would I be looking for your gem?"

"Did you happen to see it while looking for yours?"

"No, I told you. Have you found my gem?" Cobalt shook his head, only for her to then ask, "Isn't there a way for you to use your magic to find them?"

"I do know a search spell, but the recoil gives me a major headache." He replied, only to see her glare at him. Sighing at this, his horn began to glow, "Fine." He unleashed a pulse of magic as he closed his eyes, letting him see the entire area, quickly finding three items that stood out from the rest. "Got 'em." He stated before screaming in pain.

Nimble watched him clutch his head, "Well, where are they?"

Cobalt moaned and pointed his hoof, "Red one's on the ground. Left, right, second right and left." Nimble shot off at this as Rough appeared around a corner. "Your gem's down that way. Third left, second right, left and second right."

"Oh...thank you." He walked off at this, Cobalt groaning as he sat there in pain for another minute before getting up.

"Now, where's my gem?" He whispered as he began to walk away, only to get to an area filled with rocks. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me." He looked up at one of the rocks and realized it was on top of it, out of his eyeline and thus unable to be picked up by his magic. He sighed and started to try and climb, only to find that the rock was too smooth, making getting a grip almost impossible.

And as he did this, he lost his footing and fell back to the ground with a yell.





Meanwhile...

Nimble followed Cobalt's directions and turned the last corner, expecting to see her rock on the ground.

But instead, all she found was a smaller but still hoofball sized rock. "Are you kidding me?" She looked the rock over, only to realize her gem had somehow been placed inside of it. The pegasus tried to push it to the exit at this, only to find it was too heavy.

"Great. Now what do I do?"





Rough followed the directions and turned the final corner, gasping when he saw a green gem on the ground in front of him at a dead end.

He raced for it, only to come to a stop when he suddenly found himself on the edge of a hole in the ground. "What?" He looked down and saw the hole was several meters deep and too wide for him to jump. "How am I supposed to get to it?" He glanced back up at the gem, "There's nothing to use to get over there...maybe I could ask Cobalt or Nimble to get it for me?" He shook his head at this, "No, they're too busy with their own tasks."

And as he said this, he sat there, staring at the gem just out of reach.





Flash couldn't believe what he was seeing. Cobalt had given up on trying to climb and was throwing rocks now, trying in vain to shake the rock and make the gem fall over the edge. Nimble was still trying to push the heavy rock toward the exit, but it wouldn't even move an inch, while Rough just sat there doing nothing.

"Oh geez." He gave them an hour after finding their crystals, hoping one would do what he had hoped. But after that, he let out a long groan and yelled, "Alright!" He flew over the maze and spoke loud enough for them all to hear. "That's it! Time's up!"

The three frowned at this as Flash guided them to one place. "How could we do this?" Cobalt asked first, "There's no way I could have gotten my gem from up there!"

"True," Flash replied as he flew down to their level, "But who said you had to be the one to get it?"

"You did," Nimble responded, "You said-"

"I only said you had to bring the gem of your color to me. I never said you weren't allowed to touch the other ones." The three flinched at this as Flash pointed to Rough, "You seemed to have this thought, but instead of suggesting it to the others, you just gave up without even trying." Rough shrunk back at this, "Had you asked Cobalt to retrieve your gem for you, you could have used your earth pony strength to break Nimble's rock and free her gem. Then she might have been able to get Cobalt's gem for him."

"You could have suggested that!" Nimble barked back.

"I'm not always gonna be around to give you the answers," Flash countered, "As Royal Guards, you'll each be responsible for finding the answer to a problem you might face. And sometimes, the best answers are the simplest of ones."

"Your instructions weren't clear," Cobalt replied.

"My instructions were perfect," Flash countered again, "It was up to you to figure out what they meant. The world doesn't spoon feed you solutions. You need to actually look instead of expecting somepony else to give the answer to you." Cobalt glared at him at this, only for Flash to point at Nimble next, "You need to be patient and take the time to think about the task and the limits facing you." Nimble rolled her eyes in response before Flash turned to Rough, "And you need to be willing to admit you need help when it's obvious," Rough flinched at this, "These are all things the three of you need to learn. Without them, you'll never make it in the guard."

The three all shared glances at this, only for Flash to point at the unicorn of the group, "Cobalt, you were willing to help the other two locate their gems. Why?"

"Well...I knew where they were. I'd have to be a pretty big jerk not to tell them. Besides, who knows how long it would have taken them to find them on their own!"

Flash nodded, "And would you have agreed to it if Rough had asked you to get his gem?"

"Maybe. I would have asked if he knew how to get mine first before agreeing. But I don't think he would have been able to."

"True, but he might had realized Nimble could. And when he asked her, he would have figured out he could free her gem with ease." He turned to Rough, "You shouldn't doubt yourself. There's no such thing as a bad idea. Next time you have a thought that you think might work, don't keep it to yourself." Rough looked down at this, "Nimble had that thought."

"I did?" She asked.

"You asked Cobalt if he had any magic he could use to find the gems. He might not have, but you chose to ask anyway. And because you did, you were able to find the gem that would have been impossible for you to track down without it. If you had done the same thing and asked Rough if he could break the rock, you could have each gotten your gem without issue."

Nimble bit her lip at this, only for Flash to spin around, "You all have the potential to be great. That's why you were all given this chance to prove yourself. But unless you can look past yourself and push beyond what's holding you back, you'll never get into the guard."

He began to walk off at this, leaving the three to stare at the knight.





Many miles away...

A transport wagon was being pulled through the badlands by an earth pony as two pegasus royal guards walked beside him. As they did this, the earth pony looked back at the barrels currently inside the wagon. Another delivery for Equestria's wealth reserve.

But as they did this, a sudden voice rang out, "HELP!" They turned to the noise, only to see a unicorn running out from behind a rock. He was being chased by a diamond dog, who was barking like mad. The unicorn then turned to them and ran over, terror on his face. The guards quickly flew over as the dog leapt at the unicorn, one of them thrusting their leg into his chest and kicking him away. The mutt hit the ground and saw the two spear carrying ponies, then turned to scamper away.

The pair sighed at this, only for the unicorn to grab them by the tails. "Please!" He cried, "My brother! He was with me when we got attacked. We got split up and he's still out there. Help him!"

The guards shared a glance at this, both frowning before another voice rang out from behind the rocks. "AUGH!" It screamed, the guards spinning around and flying over to the rock. But as they did this, a sudden giant fist wielded by a one-eyed creature slammed into them, knocking both to the ground.

"Nice shot Odin," a griffon laughed as he appeared behind the cyclops. He then held out a pair of red crystals, which he placed on the pegasi. In a flash of light, they suddenly vanished. He then put one of the crystals around his neck and in a flash, he was transformed into a perfect copy of the guard.

Scoop did the same to with the other crystal and was also transformed into the other guard. "Yeah!" He cheered, leaping into the air. "Scoop can fly!" But instead of flying, he crashed into the ground face first. "Ow."

The griffon rolled his eyes at this, "We're not changelings. These crystals only let us mimic the form of the ones trapped within. Beneath, you're still the same slobbering mutt you've always been." The disguised diamond dog moaned as he picked himself up, the three beginning to make their way around the rock. When they did, they spotted the unicorn had the earth pony raised in his magic. He then lifted another crystal up and placed it on the earth pony, who disappeared in a flash of light.

"Phase one, complete." He turned to the cyclops as he placed the crystal over his neck, transforming into the earth pony before taking out a blue crystal. "Are you sure you want to do this? If something goes wrong, you could be trapped in here for who knows how long."

"I'll be fine," he replied, "Just do it." The pony nodded and touched him with the gem, which enveloped the beast in a bright light before he was sucked into the crystal. With that done, he nodded and put the crystal away. He then looked back at the wagon, as Scoop opened up the barrel and finding it was full of...vegetables.

"No gems?"

"What did you expect?" The griffon chimed in, "You really think the princesses would fill a wagon full of gold and only have two guards to protect it? This is a supply run for the base, so the guards working there don't starve." Scoop moaned at this, "Relax. There'll be plenty of gems for you when we pull this off. But we need to actually do it to get those gems."

"Exactly," the unicorn added, "Now come on. it's still a long way to the base and I'd like to get there as soon as possible." They nodded and the three began to head in the direction the wagon had been heading, devilish grins on their faces as they strided through the badlands.





Flash sighed as he and his group sat down to have something to eat, the four having packed rations they would need to survive on until the test was over. He had to admit, these three weren't having the best of luck with the trials. He could tell they were trying to take what Flash had taught them in, but overcoming personality flaws wasn't really something you could do in one day. And as he sat in the shade of a large rock, he watched the three eating and thought about their actual skills. There were so many other fields they could have joined and done well in, even with their flaws, which made him ask, "Why do you want to be guards?"

They turned to him with raised eyebrows, "Why do you want to know?" Cobalt asked.

"If I knew why you wanted to be guards, maybe I could help you better. I have a basic idea of why you want to become 'em, but I want to hear it from you." He pointed at Rough, who seemed more interested in his ration bar than looking at him. "We'll start with you. Why do you want to be a guard Rough?"

The pony took a bite of the bar before replying, "My father was a great guard. He taught me that there was no greater honor than serving the kingdom. He wanted to get as high as he could in the ranks, so he could use it to help those in need. But before he could make any real progress, he got sick and...his dream came to an end."

"So you want to be a guard in order to honor your father's memory. To do what he couldn't." Rough nodded, "I read up on your father. He was quite the amazing pony. He didn't seem scared of anything, even once rushing into a burning building in order to save as many ponies as he could."

Rough shook his head at this, "If he hadn't been so fearless then he would still be alive. The smoke he inhaled damaged his lungs and when he got sick, that damage made fighting it off impossible."

"He knew the risks," Flash countered, "Being a guard isn't a safe job. If you're not willing to put your safety on the line, then you have no place in it."

Rough flinched at this, only for Nimble to speak up, "I'm not scared of a little fire," Flash turned to pegasi, "With my speed, I'd be in and out of that building before you could even blink!"

"You also might also be going so fast that you'll miss somepony trapped inside or make a mistake that could cost you your life and the lives of those you're trying to help." Nimble glanced back at him, frowning as Flash continued, "You want to be a Royal Knight, and that's an admiral goal if it's for the right reasons. But why are you so impatient to become one?"

"Easy for you to say. You got to start training as a kid! If you had been my age when Grand Hoof started training you, how long do you think it would have taken you to become a knight?" Flash opened his mouth at this, only for nothing to come out as Nimble added, "Our time on this planet is limited. I can't waste the precious little time I have here taking things slowly. If I want to be a Royal Knight before I'm too old to do anything with the title, I've gotta get good enough fast."

"I can understand your point. But if you spend your entire life rushing towards a destination, you'll miss out on all the amazing stuff waiting for you on the road getting there. Yes, I worked hard to become a Royal Knight as soon as I could. But it was everything I did getting there that made me worthy of the title. Remember that."

Nimble shrunk back at this, only for all three to stare at the last member of their group. Cobalt remained silent as he ate his ration bar, only to mumble out, "I don't want to be a guard. I'm only doing this because my father refused to let me back home unless I make something of myself."

"Your father worked hard to get where he is now," Flash replied, "You got to grow up living a life of luxury because of his hard work."

"Then he cut me off and told me I didn't deserve to inherit his fortune."

"Well, what have you done to prove you're worthy?" Flash asked, Cobalt glaring at him in response, "Your father was probably worried you couldn't handle inheriting his investments and earnings. You've done nothing but waste his money and never tried to show you had the same determination he had in order to run his business."

"I could have shown him I was worthy!" Cobalt barked back, "But he never gave me the chance."

"Didn't he?" Flash asked, "Did he ever give you money?"

"All the time."

"And what did you do with it?"

"Spent it."

"Exactly," Flash pointed his hoof at him, "Whenever your father gave you anything, you used it right away. You never saved it, never tried to invest it. You used it as soon as you got it. He was probably terrified that if you were given his business, you'd bankrupt it in a month. That's why he had to cut you off. You don't know the true value of money until you've had to work to earn it."

Cobalt tensed up at this, glaring at the knight as the rest continued to eat. And as they finished, they packed up their trash and began to head out again, Flash planning to take them to another location for another trial. But as they did this, they walked up a hill and Nimble pointed at something out in the distance. "What's that?"

Flash raised an eyebrow, only to reply, "Oh yeah. The gold reserve is nearby." The three went wide-eyed at this, only to see that the object in the distance was a moving wagon surrounded by guards. "Huh. Wonder why the pegasi guards aren't in the air over the wagon? Its the best way to get a vantage point."

"What do you mean?" Nimble replied, "Maybe they're tired?"

"No." Flash shook his head, "They'd take shifts if that's the case." He gestured his hoof to the three, "Follow me, and let me do the talking."

The four went down the hill, the wagon group soon seeing Flash walk up to them. And as they saw them approach, they began to talk, Flash seeing unusual worry painted on one of their faces.

"Greetings..." the flying guard stated, "Citizens. I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to leave this area. Important...guard work to be done here."

"No need to worry about that," Flash responded, "I'm Flash Sentry, the Knight of Friendship." They almost flinched at this, the knight seeing a second of fear fly across their faces. Raising an eyebrow at this, he pointed at one of the pegasi guards, "Don't I know you?" He asked, "I'm pretty sure we met at the last Grand Galloping Gala. You were on guard that night."

"Um...yes," the pegasi nodded. "Me on guard."

Flash's eyebrow slowly descended as he added, "Yeah, that was a wild night. Especially when Discord made the silverware come to life and do that elaborate dance number. Remember when it went out of control and they started fighting one another? We had to duck to avoid getting hit by a flying dinner plate."

"Yes. Close one."

"I bet it was." Flash commented before drawing his sword, making everyone flinch.

"Flash?" Nimble whispered, "What are you doing?"

"These three aren't who they say they are. I've never met that pegasus before, and Discord's dinner dance was a perfect display." He pointed the blade at them, "That means you're lying."

"W-w-well," the earth pony stuttered out, "I'm sure he just misremembered and-" He didn't get to finish as the pegasus in question suddenly leapt at Flash while ripping something off his body. In a burst of light, it transformed into a diamond dog.

"WHOA!" Flash leapt back as the dog hit the dirt, the trio behind the knight now seeing what Flash meant.

"Damn it!" The earth pony took off his gem and reverted back to unicorn form, the griffon doing the same. And as soon as they were back to normal, the unicorn began firing beams of magic. The three cried out, only for Flash to zip up in front of them and deflect each blow with Lightbringer. Seeing this, the diamond dog leapt at the knight, only for Flash to spin around and thrust the butt of his sword into his gut, making him wince before Flash spun again and kicked him in the head.

The three saw this and all charged, Cobalt planning to use his magic to create a shield that could block the other unicorn's magic. But before he could do that, Nimble shot forward. "Wait!" He cried, but she didn't listen and aimed right at the griffon, only for the bird to dodge her punch before grabbing her by the neck. She gasped as she tried to squirm out of his grasp, Cobalt then firing a beam at the griffon, only for the other unicorn to summon a shield, blocking the attack.

"Not gonna happen!" The pony yelled, only for Flash to appear and slam his back hoof into his face. "Augh!" He yelped as he stumbled back, Flash then firing a Flash Cutter at the griffon.

The bird released Nimble at this, quickly pulling away before taking out a blue crystal. "Sorry, but we need your help!" He held the gem out and it unleashed a bright blue light.

The knight leapt back at this, only to see Odin came crashing down in front of them. "RAAAAAAAAAAH!" He roared, seeing the four ponies and quickly swinging his large fists around.

"WHOA!" Flash yelped as he jumped back, "What is that thing?"

"Big and ugly," Nimble commented.

"What's going on?" He asked, growling at the sight of no base.

"That's a Royal Knight," the griffon pointed at Flash, "He figured out we weren't guards." The creature turned to the pegasi, "You gotta stop him!" Odin sighed and threw a punch, Flash blocking it with the side of his sword.

The knight felt the blow push him back before yelling, "Flash Force!"

A laser exploded out of his sword, only for Odin to stand there as his eye glowed before a light flew out and formed a small vortex. When the Flash Force hit it, it stopped and was then sucked into the whirlpool before going into Odin's eye. "What?!" Flash gasped.

"He just absorbed Flash's attack?!"

"That's not all I can do," Odin laughed as the vortex vanished. His eye started glowed the same color as Flash's light, a beam then flying out like a Flash Force.

Flash was so surprised by this that he didn't block and was struck in the chest. "GYAH!" He was knocked into a rock, the others gasping as Flash slumped over as Odin and his team charged at the rest.

What happened next was a massacre. The three guards tried to fight back, but they were no match. Rough found himself get cut over and over by the diamond dog's claws, Nimble was pulled out of the sky by the tail and her wings stabbed by the griffon's talons. Within seconds, the two were knocked down, Odin easily firing Cobalt's magic back at him, "What are you?" The unicorn asked as the creature chuckled.

"Just a creature that wants to be as powerful as he can be." With that, his eye glowed before unleashing the same blast Cobalt fired at him, the laser hitting all three, slamming them into the rock Flash had hit before slumping over. Odin laughed at the sight, "Good, now that that little distraction is out of the way..." He turned to the others, "Let's get out of here."

They all nodded and put their disguises back on, the unicorn lifting up the blue gem and sucking Odin back inside. They then turned back to the four, the griffon suggesting they should finish them off, only for the unicorn to remark, "They're down and out. They'd be stupid to come after us again now that they've seen what Odin can do. Besides, if we don't get to the base soon, they'll question why the wagon was late."

"Yeah...okay." the griffon added as they left.

As such, Flash and his three charges remained where they were. An hour or so passed before one of them began to come around. It was Flash, who moaned as he opened his eyes, his body was screaming at him as he picked himself up. He then saw the other three knocked out, the pegasus quickly checking them over, "Hey, wake up! Come on!" After a few moments, the three began to come around, "You all okay? Anything broken?"

"Just my ego," Nimble groaned, "What the heck was that thing?"

Cobalt sat up at this, "I think...I think it was an Eye-clops. I've read about them, but I didn't think creatures like that actually lived in Equestria. Legends says they had the power to absorb magic and launch it back, but I thought it was just that. A legend."

"The legend had to come from somewhere," Flash replied before getting up and grabbing his sword, "But that doesn't matter."

"Where are you going?" Cobalt asked.

"I'm going to stop them," Flash responded, "We have to stop them before they get to the base and does who knows what."

"Are you nuts?!" Nimble cried, "Why would you wanna face that monster again? He almost killed you!"

"I have to," Flash replied, "I'm the only one that can stop him!"

"You don't stand a chance against him," Rough added, "He launched your attack right back at you. What do you think you can do against something like that?"

Flash didn't answer and kept walking, Cobalt pushing himself to his hooves. "You can't win. You have to know that. That thing is too powerful! You can't win, so what's the point in even trying? All you'll do is throw your life away." Flash stopped at this, only for Cobalt to add, "You got beaten, accept it. Trying to get revenge on that monster is just gonna end the same way it did last time. Just run away."

But as those words left his mouth, Flash spun around, "Winning?" His eyes narrowed at this, "Is that what you think it's about?!" The three flinched at his expression as he walked up to them, "I'm not trying to win. I'm not doing this because I want to beat somepony, or because I hate somepony. Or because...or because I wanna blame somepony! It's not because it's fun, Celestia knows it's not because it's easy. It's not even because it works, cause it hardly ever does. I do what I do because it's right!" They all flinched at the outburst, "Because it's decent. And above all, it's kind. Just that." The three sat down at this, only for him to slowly add, "Just kind."

Flash stared at them, steam slightly coming out of his nostrils. These three were willing to give up and let others get hurt, even when they wanted to be guards. Pathetic.

"If I run away today, good ponies will die. But if I stand and fight, then some of them might live. Maybe not many, maybe not for long. And maybe there's no point in any of this at all. But it's the best I can do. So, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna stand here doing it till it kills me. Because that's the path I chose to walk. Being a guard means putting others lives before your own. This is who I am, and who I am is where I stand...and I fall." He looked them all in the eye, "What would you all fall for?" With that, he spun around, "Stay here if you want, but I've got a job to do." With that, he shot into the air and flew off.

As he disappeared, the three stared at the fleeing Flash, only to remember the monster part. But as they thought about it, Cobalt and Nimble saw Rough picking himself up. "Where are you going?" She asked as the earth pony turned to them.

"I'm going to help." They both went wide-eyed at this, "Flash is right. I want to be a guard, and this is what a guard is supposed to do. I'll help, even if it means I'll get hurt. Just like my father did."

Nimble smirked at this and picked herself up as well, "You're right. I wanna be a Royal Knight. I can't be one if I'm too scared to face something like this. Let's go help him." The pair then turned to Cobalt, the unicorn glancing away in response.





The Equestrian Gold Reserve. A large base that had ninety percent of the building located below ground. The entrance was a single gate the size of a standard ponyville house, surrounded on all sides by four ten foot walls made of reinforced concrete. Multiple guards could be seen protecting the building, most being on the walls of the perimeter along with severally designed magic weapons used to protect the reserve from attack.

The head guard stood atop the wall, soon catching sight of a wagon in the distance, "Good, the transport's arrived." They had been running low on food and water at this, "Get ready for inspection." The guards on the ground headed for the doors, all opening it so a few guards could walk out before closing again.

And as the wagon arrived, the guards held up a clipboard showing the image that had been sent to them of the ponies that would be making the delivery. "Morning," the guard told the earth pony, "What direction does the dove fly at sundown?"

"To the east, with the sun's light upon its back." The guard nodded and the disguised unicorn was glad their informant knew the correct code.

"Just need to check the wagon to make sure you guys didn't accidently pick anything up that could be dangerous." The guards started searching the wagon, checking the contents of the barrels and looking under the vehicle. After a bit of searching, they nodded. "All's good. You're free to go in." He looked up and nodded at the guard, who nodded back before opening the gate.

And as the doors began to open, the three started to head in, reaching the other side of the gate, somepony shot over the wall. "HALT!" The pony landed right in front of them, the three go wide-eyed as Flash pointed his sword at them. "These three are imposters!"

The other guards flinched at this, the unicorn of the trio growling before pulling out the blue gem and throwing it to the ground. "Everypony move back!" Flash yelled as the bright light exploded from the gem and took shape, Odin appearing as one of the guards on a wall corner pointed his magical weapon at him and fired.

The weapon was a giant crossbow of sorts, only designed to fire arrows of magic. The green energy bolt exploded off the device and shot toward Odin, who looked up it as his eye glowed. Flash frowned when he saw the vortex appear and sucked the arrow inside, Flash quickly pointing his blade at the monster, "Flash Force!"

But as he fired the laser, Odin quickly spun around, facing the beam, only for a force field to appear in front of him thanks to his unicorn friend. Flash growled at this as the giant crossbow on the other corner of the wall fired its own energy arrow, only for Odin to stare at it and absorb the magic into his eye as Flash fired another beam, but the unicorn continued to keep the shield up as Odin focused on the crossbow.

The first crossbow was almost ready to fire again, but Odin's eye glowed as the green arrow exploded out of it. The magical projectile slammed into the crossbow, the guards magically loading it leaping away as the attack struck and exploded. Odin then spun around and did the same to the other crossbow while Flash charged directly at the monster. But as he did this, the griffon suddenly appeared and tried to slam his lion foot into his side.

Flash quickly spun at this, dodging the attack before ducking under a beam from the unicorn, the pegasus landing as Scoop charged and slashed at him. "Not good." He commented as he blocked the claws, thinking about using his Sacred Light, only to realize if Odin got that, he could really do some major damage. "No other choice. Theta Mode!" As Scoop's claws came for him again, the knight's eyes turned white before easily dodging the next attack, only for the griffon and unicorn to join in as well.

All three kept trying to hit him, the pegasi dancing around each blow. And as he did this, he tried to move in a way that the unicorn's blasts could hit the other two, but the three didn't fall for it, with either the unicorn or the other two always moving so they weren't in each other's way.

As this happened, Odin had been making quick work of the guards. He swung his colossal fists around, slamming into earth pony and pegasus guards while using his eye to absorb and return the unicorn guard's every attack. Magic shot out from his eye, causing parts of the ground to explode and knock the guards down. Eventually, all the guards were taken out as he turned his attention to the building.

"Finally," he smirked, "I'll have what I need to become invincible."

And as he began to make his way inside, Flash smacked the two away before flying after the monster, only for a wall of magic to appear in front of him, "Oh, come on! Out of my way!"

"No way!" The griffon yelled, "Odin will get us a mountain of gold and gems. We're not gonna let you stop him!" The other two nodded as Odin reached the building.

"Knock, knock." He raised his fist, ready to punch his way through the wall, only for a string of magic to suddenly wrap around his wrist, yanking him back. He stumbled at this, quickly hitting the ground with another pull before the magic unwrapped itself and returned to the caster.

Everyone followed the string, which retracted into the horn of a familiar unicorn that stood at the entrance of the base. "Cobalt?" Flash yelped, only to see Nimble and Rough appear beside him.

"You three!" Odin picked himself up, "I thought I already dealt with you!"

"Well, you didn't do a good enough job," Nimble barked back as the monster stood tall.

Rough's entire body shook at the sight, only to say, "W-w-we won't let you do whatever you're planning!" Odin just laughed at this, only for Cobalt to fire a beam of magic at him. But Odin simply absorbed it into his eye as he charged, the three leaping away in response.

The monster started swinging his fists around next as Nimble took to the air and started flying around him at high speed. "Can't catch me!" She giggled, Odin growling as he kept missing his punches.

As she did this, Cobalt and Rough rushed to his feet. The unicorn used his magic to create another rope, wrapping it around his foot and holding it tight. Rough then leapt up and used his earth pony strength to slam him in the chest, knocking him back, giving Cobalt the opening to pull his foot out from under him.

"AUGH!" He roared, falling to the ground yet again.

The other three gasped at this, Flash using this opening to slam into the griffon and knock him to the ground before taking to the air. "Flash!" Nimble cheered as he landed in front of them.

"What are you three doing here?"

The three smiled at one another, then at him. "We couldn't just leave you to beat this guy on your own," Cobalt replied, "I know we're not guards, and we probably won't be, but we still want to help." The other two nodded as Flash smiled back.

"Raaaah!" They turned to see Odin picking himself up, "How sweet. Too bad you're all gonna die together now!" His eye then fired the spell Cobalt had used earlier, only for Flash to block it with his sword.

Flash glared back at him, only to see the other criminals now appear beside the monster, "Can you keep those three off me long enough to take this monster down?"

The three went wide-eyed at this, "You really think you can take him down by yourself?" Rough asked.

"I think I know how now. But if those three get in my way, I won't be able to. You up for helping him with those three?"

The trio nodded before turning to the other three and charging, Nimble exploding off the mark and shooting straight for the griffon. The bird cat glared at her, ready to stop her like he did before, only for Nimble to remember what Flash had told her. "Patience. Don't let my body move faster than my mind."

And as she got close, an idea popped in her head. She suddenly started spinning like a top, the action surprising the griffon, allowing her to fly past him before he could catch on. She then grabbed him by the tail and increased her speed, moving fast for a few seconds and pulling him along before stopping. This sent the griffon rocketing away and crashing into the side of a wall.

"AUGH!" He squawked, falling over in a clump.

At the same time, Rough and Scoop collided, the Diamond Dog slashing at him. Every fiber of his body was telling him to run away, that even if the dog didn't kill him with a cut, an infection could doom him, only to find he was done listening to his fear. He would stop this criminal and help others, just like his father. Scoop's claws went straight for his face, the diamond dog expecting him to pull away, only for Rough to bring up his hooves. Before Scoop's claws connected, they were knocked away and Rough continued to charge. He then threw a punch right into Scoop's face, using enough strength to knock him flying.

And as this happened, Cobalt began exchanging spells with the unicorn, "You know," the unicorn told the guard hopeful, "There's plenty of gold in there. Imagine how rich you'd be if you helped us. You'd never have to work a day in your life again. Just help us kill all these ponies and you'll be off scott free."

Cobalt glared back at him, "I don't want money I had to kill in order to earn! Why would you pick that over getting a real job?!"

"Who wants a real job," the unicorn scoffed, "This gig will set me for life. I'll have all the bits I want and never have to raise a hoof ever again."

Cobalt flinched at this, seeing how casual he was about it all. It made him feel sick now as he responded, "Those bits aren't for making your lazy life easier. They're meant to help ponies who are in need."

"I'm in need. In need of never having to work again. And if I have to take you down to earn it, so be it."

The pair pushed against one another with two magic beams at this, turning the fight into a stalemate. While this happened, Flash began flying around Odin, trying to slash at him with his Flash Cutter, Grinder and Driver. But Odin's skin was like steel, blocking each quick attacks. The knight growled at the sight, now seeing he had to use some super strong attack...but it would also give Odin fuel.

"Face it," Odin hissed, "You have no hope of defeating me. I'm unstoppable."

"Not true," Flash replied, "You've got plenty of weaknesses."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. For one, you can't hold more than one kind of magic." Odin frowned at this, "I saw it when your friends shielded my attack. He defended you because you'd absorbed the magic arrow before. So what happens if you try and absorb two different magics?"

"Like I'd tell you!" He threw a punch at this, but Flash easily leapt up to avoid it. "Soon enough I'll have what I need to stop that weakness."

"You're not winning today." Flash replied before glancing over and seeing the other three keeping Odin's friends busy, but he knew it might not be enough. "I'm gonna make you regret attacking this base. When this is over, you'll wish you never came here."

"Don't make me laugh!" Odin roared, "You're one pony, and while it's true I can't absorb more than one type of magic, you only have one type of magic. You can't beat me!"

Flash smirked, "You sure?" As he said that, his entire body exploded into light. Odin roared in pain, the light hurting his eye as Flash's Shining Guardian armor appeared around his body. The Knight of Friendship charged at this, the jets on his wings opening up and unleashing the Sacred Light.

Odin then saw through the blinding light and saw Flash as the Sacred Light flew into Flash's hoof and formed a golden sphere. "Idiot!" He yelled, his eye glowing as Flash reached him.

"Take this!" Flash thrust the golden sphere at him, Odin's eyes then unleashing the vortex. The sphere's energy was sucked inside, but it didn't get any smaller. Instead, it grew larger as Flash just kept pumping more power into the orb.

"What?!" Odin yelped, absorbing more and more energy from out of the orb. "You really wanna power this up? All you're doing is giving me more power to blast you with!"

"I don't mind," Flash laughed, "You can have all the power that you want. I've got plenty to spare." The orb was now as large as Flash was and not shrinking at all no matter how much energy Odin sucked out of it. "Still want more? I'm happy to up the power if you want."

Odin stood tall at this, now showing a tiny bit of sweat going down the back of his head, "How much power can you have?"

"Hopefully, more than you can handle." That statement caught everyone else's attention, Flash adding more power to the orb and growing it to the size of Odin. "I realized something during the fight. Every time you hit me with my own attack, it was the exact same strength I launched at you." Flash smirked at this, "That means the power you absorb doesn't decrease. It's all stored inside your body somewhere." The orb grew larger again, "And that means there's a gotta be a limit to how much magic you can absorb!"

"Ahhh!" Odin cried, the stress of absorbing so much magic starting to hit his body.

"Plus, you can only release the energy you fire from your eye. So that means you can't release it while you're absorbing magic."

'He's got me,' Odin gasped, 'If I stop absorbing his attack to fire, he'll hit me with that massive orb...what do I do?!'

Flash started to chuckle at this, "Now, what'll hit it's limit first? The amount of magic you can absorb, or the amount of power I can blast you with? Spoiler alert, I'm nowhere near spent."

Odin began to shake at this, only to see Flash wasn't even sweating.

"We need to help him!" The unicorn criminal cried, but Cobalt got in front of him.

"Not gonna happen!" He yelled as fired another beam of magic, the crook having to block it in response.

The griffon tried to fly over Nimble next, only for the pegasus to grab his tail again, "You're not going anywhere!" She spun around and smashed him into the wall of the base again, making him cry out in pain.

Scoop kept trying to hit Rough, but the earth pony bit back his fear and remained where he was until the last moment. He then dodged the slash and grabbed Scoop's wrist, swinging him around and pinning him down to the ground. "Play dead!" He yelled.

The three would-be guards looked back at Flash, who was still pumping a ton of power into his attack. The pair kept this up for one more minute, only for Odin's eye to start watering. And eventually, the light vortex started shaking before it broke apart. "AUGH!" He screamed, having finally hit his limit. His eye screamed at him, forcing him to close it...which meant he couldn't use it to fire the magic he had accumulated. As such, the giant energy sphere slammed into him. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The sphere connected and a massive explosion filled the air, the force of it blowing the six others flying away. Rough quickly grabbed onto the edge of a previously made crater, holding on for dear life as Nimble and Cobalt grabbed his tail. The three had no idea if Flash's attack had worked or not, but the smoke from the blast began to die down along with the shockwave. And when it did, the three fell to the ground before looking up to see where Flash had been.

As the last of the smoke faded, Odin was revealed to still be standing. "No way!" Nimble cried.

But then, the gorilla creature began to sway before falling over, his eye now smoking. And as he flopped over, Flash chuckled at this before glancing up at the trio, "Not bad. Not bad at all." He walked up to them and saw the three other crooks had been pinned to the wall and embedded into it by the force of the blast. "You three did great."

"Not as great as you," Nimble replied, "You managed to take that monster down, even when we thought it was impossible."

Flash continued to chuckle at this, "It would have been impossible if the three of you hadn't helped." This made them go wide-eyed, "The only way I was able to beat him was because you kept those other three off of me. You gave me the opening I needed to stop him." The three smiled at this, Flash nodding back with a big grin.





Hours passed as the guards who had been knocked out all recovered and were able to get a bunch of rope needed to tie them all up. "Are you sure that's gonna be enough to keep him contained?" Cobalt asked, seeing Odin was wrapped up tightly...but they also knew about his true strength.

"Don't worry," the guard replied, "These cables are made of a specially reinforced metal that won't be so easily broken. He's not gonna be getting out of there."

The three nodded back, only to see Flash walk into the room with the head guard, the unicorn carrying a green crystal the size of his head in his magic. "What's that?" Rough asked.

"We think it's what Odin was after," Flash replied, "This gem has the ability to absorb magic out of something and fire it in a powerful beam. If Odin had gotten his hands on this, he might have actually become invincible. He would have been able to absorb magic with his eye and use this to fire it back out."

"Yikes," Rough gulped, "If he was after something like that, he had to have been up to no good."

Flash nodded, "If he had gotten it, who knows what he could have done next. Equestria might have been his for the taking." The three gulped at that, "I'll have to talk to Celestia about putting this somewhere more secure." He then smiled at them, "You three did well. You put your own safety aside and worked to keep Equestria safe. You should be proud."

"Thank you," Cobalt nodded, "I know we probably won't become guards, but...maybe my father will be proud of me now."

Flash smirked and shook his head, "It takes more than one act of heroism to prove yourself worthy of something like that." Cobalt sighed, the others looking down as well. "But you'll have other shots. Especially once you're in the guard." The three looked up with wide eyes, Flash laughing at their reactions, "You've still got a way to go, but if you keep what you've done here, I think you three can go far."

"We're gonna be guards?" Nimble asked, Flash nodded as she screamed to celebrate. She grabbed the other two around the neck and pulled them in for a hug, the stallions chuckling. They knew they still had to work on overcoming their flaws, but Flash had seen they had the potential to do just that.

"Thank you Flash," Cobalt said as the group prepared to head back out and get in contact with the rest of the guard so they could come and take these criminals someplace they deserved. "I know we weren't exactly the easiest group to teach."

"You're right about that," Flash laughed, "But I've taught harder. You guys are nothing compared to a bunch of kids at the School of Friendship."

"It's a shame we didn't have somepony like you at the castle," Rough sighed, "The instructors we had were alright, but they just didn't have that...spark that makes you wanna listen and learn."

The other two nodded as Flash smiled, "You really think I'm a good teacher?" They nodded again, "Then that's what I'll be."

"Huh?"

"At some point, Twilight's gonna be taking over for Celestia and Luna and we'll have to leave Ponyville. I never considered what I'd end up doing when we moved back to Canterlot, but know I know. I'll take up Grand's old position and train the next generation of guards." That statement made them go wide-eyed again, only to smile a second later. "And I'll be around to kick you all up the backside if you ever slouch in your duties. Don't go thinking you can fall back into old habits. Not when I'm around." They all laughed and nodded before they began their trek over the badlands.





Hours later...

Back at the base, the guards stared at Odin as he woke up. The creature soon found he was unable to break free, and he couldn't see a thing. His eye was still damaged from overuse, making everything he saw very blurry. "You can't hold me forever!" He roared, "I'll find a way to escape!"

"Oh, can it!" A guard yelled, "You're not going anywhere except tartarus prison."

Odin growled at this, only for several guards higher up called something out, "Somepony's coming!"

"Already?" The head guard replied, "That's fast."

"I don't think it's the guard," somepony responded, "They're-AUGH!" The sound of combat hit Odin's ears at this, his blurry vision still blocking everything as he began to hear screams and roars of agony, followed by the sounds of bodies hitting the floor. It was over in just a few minutes. Soon, the entire base's guard detail was dispatched.

"Who's there?" Odin yelped as a dark blur appeared in front of him. "Who...who are you?"

The blur stared at him, "My name is Armalum." Odin just frowned at that, confusion on his face, "The pony you fought, Flash Sentry. Do you hate him?"

"More than anything! He blinded me! When I get him, I'll make him pay!"

"Don't worry," Armalum chuckled, "I will make him pay for you. But first, I need your hatred." And before Odin could say anything else, a dark cloud exploded out of him and wrapped around the eye-clops. Odin's screams filled the air, but nobody was there to hear them
> Frienemies
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Darkness spread across the landscape, the night's shadow filling the sky as all creatures great and small tried to sleep. As this happened, a lone figure made his way through the wildness. The figure was the living armor, Armalum, who was walking calmly through some woods, the terrain now getting worse, meaning he was getting close.

And as he made his way through it, movement could he heard to his left in the bushes. He stopped at this, standing perfectly still as the rustling grew louder and louder...until the source exploded out of the bushes, revealing a large monster that looked like the cross between an owl and a bear. The owl-headed beast let out a mix of a roar and squawk, its feathery bear body towering over Armalum.

But the figure didn't even look at it, as the creature charged to attack. But as it did this, a whooshing sound filled the air with Armalum as he appeared to not move at all. And as this sound rang out, the creature fell to the ground with a hole in its chest. Armalum began to move again after this, one of the blade-tipped cords that made up his tail moving to the grassy ground and whipping something into it. The grass was soon stained red and Armalum kept moving. He had somewhere he had to be.





Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom...

Grogar sat in front of his crystal ball, the orb now glowing an image inside. It was showing a strange looking bell, the sight making Grogar smile. But before he could actually lock onto its location, the clearing of a throat broke his concentration. He looked up and glared at Cozy, who was flying up to him.

"I don't want to tattle on my good friend Tirek, but...you might like to know he left food out. Again."

At that moment, the stump table Grogar was using felt like a very good thing to bash his head against. This has been the most common thing ever since he had brought Equestria's greatest villains together. "I'll deal with it when I'm done."

Cozy nodded and walked away with a skip in her step as Grogar tried to get back to work. But no sooner had Cozy disappeared down the hallway, Tirek arrived. "Don't trust anything that nosy little Pegasus says!"

Grogar growled at this, "I don't trust anything any of you say!" He stomped his hoof on the ground and Tirek flinched at this before frowning at him.

"Hmph!" He walked off at this, Grogar rolling his eyes before staring back at the crystal ball, only for a black hoof to appear on the orb, making him glance up to see a very displeased Chrysalis.

"Are you planning on attacking anypony anytime soon?!" She let out a low, bored-sounding groan, "If not, I don't know why I'm wasting my time here. I am a queen, you know?" She flew off at this, Grogar letting out another growl before huffing in frustration.

He then trotted into the next room, where Chrysalis sat on a wooden throne across from Tirek and Cozy. "I'm leaving, since it's impossible to accomplish the work I need to do here. I suggest the three of you come to some kind of accord." The three stated arguing, pointing at each other and trying to explain everything wrong with them. But before they could really get going, Grogar blasted them with his dark magic and placed magic duct tape over their mouths. "I don't care how, but you must learn to work together! Only then can we accomplish what you so greatly desire: The defeat of Twilight Sparkle and her friends!"

The three glared at him as the magical goat spun around and walked away. And once he was gone, the magic covering their lips disappeared, allowing them to talk again. Cozy opened her mouth at this, only to see Tirek and Chrysalis get up to leave before she could get any words out. She grumbled at this, crossing her hooves with a huff. "This isn't easy, you know."





Outside the skull-shaped base, Armalum stared up at the structure. He chuckled at its design, wondering if Grogar had made it himself since there was no way something like that could have been made in reality. He raised a hoof to walk inside, wondering how Grogar and his flunkies would react to him, only to sense something. Feeling this, his body exploded into a shadow, quickly flying up and into a tree as Grogar walked out.

The living armor watched as Grogar glanced around, seeming to not sense or see the shadow staring at him. He then tapped his hoof on the ground and a portal opened up, Grogar walking through and vanishing. "Hmm...so you're worried your secret's gonna get out? Pitiful." He slithered down the tree at this, his shadow sliding into the skull base as the shadow moved around on the ceiling.

It was here he found the other members. The first was Chrysalis, who was mindlessly talking to a piece of wood. He then moved over another chamber, this one having Tirek as he lifted some weights, trying to keep his old body in shape. The sight made the shadow chuckle before leaving, soon entering the throne room. There, he saw that Cozy had somehow created a banner with cartoon versions of all the villain's faces on it.

"Nothing says 'teamwork' like an inspirational banner," she giggled while hanging it up. "When Grogar sees this, he'll realize there's no way he could survive without me!" She then heard the sound of Tirek doing his work out and flew over to him, the pony smiling as she watched the beast struggle. "You're gonna have to exercise a lot to get as big as you were when you absorbed the life force of all those ponies." Tirek glared at her as Cozy flew up onto his dumbbell and let him lift her up as well. "Anywho, Grogar wants us all to work together, so I've scheduled a team meeting. Doesn't that sound fun?" The centaur growled as she flew down onto his stomach. "And since Grogar left me in charge-"

"No, he didn't." Cozy giggled at this.

"Someone's a real grumpy-taur today. If we aren't meeting, I guess I could just stay and offer positive and inspiring-"

"Fine!" Tirek yelled between reps, "I'll join your meeting. Just leave!"

Cozy let out another giggle before flying away. smiled and flew away. "See you soon!" Armalum watched her go and looked back at Tirek, who groaned as he got up and grabbed a drink from the benchside table.

"Annoying little twerp." He chose this moment to leave as well, following after Cozy as she flew through the maze of corridors towards Chrysalis' chambers.

"It's been weeks, and Grogar's done nothing!" The changeling royal was still speaking to the log, and as Armalum flew in, he saw Cozy appear at Chrysalis's side as the queen ranted, "It's not healthy to hold onto all of this rage! I could lash out at any moment."

The pegasus flew down in front of the piece of the wood. "And how are you doing this fine-"

"How do you think I'm doing?!" Chrysalis screeched, making Cozy flinch and scramble behind the log, "I'm ready to exact my revenge!" She glared back at the hunk of wood, "See what I mean?"

"Being cooped up with nothing to do is the worst! You know what you need?" Cozy chimed in as she walked back in front of piece of wood and began leaning against the log, "A team meeting!" Chrysalis growled at her and pulled the log out from under her. "Eep!"

"I don't do meetings." the bug hissed before walking away, Cozy huffing as she picked herself up.

"Grogar left me in charge."

"No, he didn't." Chrysalis glared back at her. "And even if he did, Chrysalis obeys no one."

"There'll be cupcakes," Cozy added, making Chrysalis hiss again.

A little while later...

Armalum was now watching the trio sit around the throne room. A plate of cupcakes were sitting on the table, Chrysalis taking one to enjoy while Tirek stared at her and licked his lips. Cozy, who was standing on a stack of soap boxes, spoke down to them. "Grogar wants us to work together to defeat our enemies," she pointed out. "Which means we need to trust each other."

Chrysalis ate another cupcake, only to then notice a flaming energy string attached to her horn. "If we are to trust one another, perhaps inform Lord Tirek to STOP TRYING TO ABSORB MY ESSENCE!" The centaur quickly stopped the flaming energy string, picking up a cupcake to spit the little magic he had stolen on.

"I wasn't doing anything of the sort!" He put the cupcake down, "How dare you!"

"How dare I?!" Chrysalis screeched, "Do you know to whom you are speaking to?!" She picked the cupcake up and ate it, re-absorbing her stolen magic as Tirek rolled his eyes.

"How could I not?!" He roared, "You tell your log every five minutes!" Chrysalis growled before taking out the log and hugging it, the sight making Cozy sigh.

"This is why Grogar left me in charge."

"NO...HE...DIDN'T!" The other two yelled, making Cozy groan again. She then stared at the banner she had put up, making her smile before turning to the other two. As she did this, her internal music maker started playing and she flew down. Armalum frowned at this, since he did not have such a thing within him. As such, he was greeted to the sight of the three villains begin an elaborate song and dance routine. Without the actual music, Armalum had no idea if the song was any good, though they were rhyming together at the very least, something Armalum wondered how they were doing.

As they sang, Cozy had them all doing a bunch of trust and teamwork exercises, but Chrysalis and Tirek's loud and commanding personalities made them fail very quickly. "Typical," Armalum commented from the darkness, "A team must have a strong leader to pull it in the right direction. But when every member of the group is equally strong, all that happens is the team remains stalled in place as they try to pull in a different direction." He sighed when the song seemed to come to an end, "Guess trying to get their help is a waste of time."

"Hey!" He heard Cozy yell, "You stepped on my cue!" The others two argued back, the three yelling at one another and likely about to start an actual fight.

"ENOUGH!" They froze and turned to see Grogar had returned. "I had hoped by now you would've resolved your differences, but apparently not."

Chrysalis glared back at him. "Perhaps if we knew what the plan was, we would be better able to prepare!"

The other two nodded, Tirek speaking up, "Assuming you even have a plan."

"Of course I have a plan!" Grogar growled, catching Armalum's attention. "I have located an object of power, and it occurs to me that this is the perfect test. The three of you will work together to retrieve it. Against this item, those ponies won't stand a chance."

Chrysalis crossed her hooves at this, "I have come close to ruling Equestria several times. Perhaps I should be the one to lead us." But as she said this, Cozy pushed her out of the way and smiled at Grogar.

"I nearly drained all the magic from Equestria! That was good!" But Tirek flicked her away.

"I absorbed all the magic of Equestria! I could feel it flowing through my body as I grew!"

"Yes," Chrysalis glared at him, "But it apparently makes you dumber." Tirek hissed back at her, "Oh, don't get angry. Shroudheart was the one who said it." The changeling stuck out her tongue, "I just agree with him."

The three started arguing again, Grogar sighing before his horn glowed and a dome of magic appeared around him before exploding into a wave. It slammed into the three, throwing the trio against a wall, chaining them to it at the same time, "Each of you failed to defeat Twilight Sparkle and her friends! My power is greater than all of yours combined. This is but a fraction of it! Understood?!" The three squirmed at this, only to find they couldn't move, "Now, you shall retrieve the rest of it."

"This should be interesting," Armalum chuckled as Grogar released the trio before his bells began to glow. They unleashed a dark blast of magic, which filled the room with nothing but darkness. The three were about to cry out, only for an image to appear in the void. That image was of a pony, who Armalum couldn't help but notice had several striking similarities to an umbrum. Their curved horn and shadowy mane gave that illusion.

"Thousands of moons ago, the self-righteous Gusty the Great, unable to best me face-to-face, stole my Bewitching Bell." The image showed Gusty grabbing a certain object, "A talisman containing much of my own magic." The image showed Gusty placing the bell inside a cave. "The Bell cannot be destroyed, so Gusty hid it in a place that has taken me millennia to discover." The image changed to show a large mountain, "An enchanted cave high atop Mt. Everhoof, protected by magical winds that prevent anypony from reaching its peak. There, the Bell has remained until now."

"Fascinating..." Armalum whispered. Though he had gained much from Shroudheart, he didn't have the same in depth knowledge as the evil clone of Flash. The best he had were basically a bunch of bullet points describing future events.

The darkness vanished as Grogar glared at the three villains. "Scale Mt. Everhoof and bring me back my bell."

Chrysalis laughed at this, "Ha! The ease of this task is laughable."

Grogar smirked at this, "We'll see."





The three were soon transported to the mountain, only to see it was the largest mountain in all of Equestria. Its peak was surrounded by clouds, and the mountain itself was dangerously ridged, with spikes sticking out of every surface. The City of Cloudsdale wouldn't even be able to fly higher than this mountain, and climbing it was going to be difficult.

"Well, it sounded easy," Chrysalis sighed.

"Scale the mountain..." Tirek began.

"...retrieve Grogar's Bell..." Chrysalis continued.

"...together!" Cozy finished with a cheer while taking out a piece of paper. "I drew up a detailed plan with several visual aids to show how we can...ditch each other and do it alone." Chrysalis and Tirek had already left during her explanation, the filly sighing, "Maybe when I'm waiting for them at the top, then they'll appreciate me." She threw her map into the air and flew off on her own, grumbling while doing so.

As she did this, Armalum appeared on a large rock a bit away, overlooking the trio. He watched them head up the mountain, the living armor humming at the sight, "Let's see what's so special about this place."

He burst into shadows and flew up, noticing Chrysalis first. The former queen was flying straight towards the top, clearly having not been listening when Grogar said there were enchanted winds. A second later, a powerful gust slammed into her, throwing her into a mountain wall. She flinched at this, soon falling to the ground as she found that flying wasn't going to work. And as she began to walk, the shadow cloud flew into the winds.

But unlike the bug, the winds didn't affect the shadow cloud as much. Instead, his form began to swirl around, becoming thinner and thinner until it was a long shadowy rope with a tipped end. The shadow drilled into the wind, soon breaking through and getting right to the top. "Child's play," he commented.

Below the peak was a cave, surrounded in dark blue rocks that had glowing runes inscribed into them. The living armor's glowing red eyes scanned them over, "Master Shadow. Lend me the knowledge needed to understand these symbols." His eyes glowed brighter as he looked upon them before nodding, "I see. A forcefield. A strong one as well."

His horn glowed and magic flew out, moving into his hoof as he started moving it through the air. As he did this, the magic began forming symbols in the air before pushing them into the forcefield. When they got close enough, a yellow energy barrier formed and the symbols connected, the other barrier glitching before vanishing. "Good. The runes should counteract the barrier for a few hours." He walked into the cave, chuckling to himself, "Those fools probably haven't even made it a fourth of the way up yet."

Stepping inside, he found that the place was spotless. After being empty for over a thousand years, he had expected it to be old and dusty, but whatever magic had protected it must have kept it in pristine condition. And in the very center of the cave on a stone podium that had a metal object just like the one Grogar had shown his followers.

"The bell of Grogar." He reached in to take it, only for the room to suddenly summon a ton of more runes. "A secondary defense system. Must activate when the barrier outside goes down. But what does it-" He got his answer when the ground beneath him vanished, his wings quickly flaring in response. But as he did this, a powerful gust of wind blasted downward from the cave's ceiling. "Whoa!"

He was pushed downward, the armor letting himself get thrown down. He fell for about fifty meters before he sensed the bottom, his body bursting into shadow and exploding when he hit the ground. The wind stopped at this, Armalum's shadowy body quickly reforming itself, the armored figure glancing around and seeing he was in a large domed chamber. The hole in the top of the dome led back up to the cave, but the wind would likely blow again to prevent anyone with wings from escaping. The room pitch black, but his vision allowed him to see in the dark while the walls of the room were covered in runes and scattered along the ground were a bunch of metal shapes. "Interesting. The runes stop you from teleporting out, but there's more to them than just that. What is their purpose?"

In that moment, the runes suddenly began to glow. The chamber was illuminated by them, allowing Armalum to see the metal shapes better, which also had be inscribed with magical runes, which were also beginning to glow. The metal shapes shot up next, all floating in the air before connecting to one another, with a bunch of orbs being used as joints to allow the other shapes to move around like arms and legs. The arms and legs were a series of rectangles and cubes, its main body being a large cone-shape with a rounded bottom. Its head was the same shape, sitting on the tip of the cub with two lights on top of it that resembled eyes.

"A golem?" Armalum asked, "Interesting." The creature swung its large arm down at him, Armalum leaping back, "Ha! You'll need to do better than that." He fired a blast of magic from his horn and hit the creature in the chest, making it stagger back. He expected that to defeat the creature, but the golem managed to remain on its feet before beginning to use its larger arms as stability similar to how a gorilla walked.

Armalum flared his wings and beat them at this, the shadows breaking off them and morphing into a bunch of arrows that slammed into the golem. Explosions came next, but the golem just charged forward, the arrows not scratching the creature. Armalum summoned a cloud of darkness to his hoof at this, swinging the cloud for it to reveal a sword. It was black with a red light running down the blade and the tip had a chunk removed from the very end, giving it two points to stab with.

He leapt as the golem tried to punch him, Armalum's wings allowing him to fly above it as he swung the sword, "RAAAAAH!" He slashed at the beast, but te creature wasn't even scratched by the attack. "What are these shapes made out of?!" He flew back at this, dodging a few punches. But as he did this, he got too close to the top of the chamber.

The next thing he knew, the powerful wind that had blown him down there was blowing again, as if it sensed his presence. It slammed into his back and made him cry out, pushing right into the golem as it began another punch. But before it could connect, his body burst into shadows that flew up the creature's arm and solidified when he reached its chest. With a great amount of strength, he smashed his hoof into its chest and threw it back. The creature was thrown away, ripped apart by the impact as the pieces of its body began scattering everywhere.

Armalum landed and smirked at this, "There we go. That was easy." He spun around at this, "Now, to get out of-" A sound made him glance back, only to see the creature begin to reconstruct itself. None of the pieces that made it up had been damaged by the impact, and within seconds, the golem was reborn.

"Okay, this might be harder than I thought." The golem raised one of its hands and brought it down upon Armalum, crushing him under its large cubic hand. But a moment later, a shadow appeared from under it and reformed the living armor. "Really? Did you think something changed in the last minute or so?" The golem thrust its hand upward, trying to catapult Armalum into the wall, but the living armor spread his wings, stopping himself before he could collide, then started launching lasers at the golem from his horn.

The monster was shot again and again, making it stagger back, but not actually hurting it. Armalum's body turned to shadow at this, which started flying in a circle around the beast to create a tornado of darkness. The twister completely enveloped the golem, who swiped its arms around in an attempt to try and knock its opponent away, but Armalum's shadow form didn't even flinch at the impacts. And as he got faster, the golem was slowly lifted off its feet.

"Now I've got you!" He roared before charging at the golem while taking physical form, allowing him to deal a powerful kick to the chest of the beast and knock it flying out of the vortex. It smashed into the wall, and this time one of its arms and the opposite leg were knocked off. It began to slowly rebuild itself at this, Armalum standing tall as his wings unleashed a shadow that swirled above him into an orb. It then changed shape and morphed into a drill-like weapon, which started spinning at high speed.

The drill slammed into the beast's chest next, spiraling at high speed. But no matter how long Armalum drilled into it, the creature's body just wouldn't break. Eventually, the magic of the drill weakened, the beast knocking it away. It then charged again and thrust its arm out, slamming Armalum into a back wall this time. But as it pinned Armalum, the armor let out a low chuckle, "That all you got?"

As if hearing his taunt, the golem raised its other fist and threw it, but Armalum created a barrier that blocked the fist. The golem punched again and again, Armalum just chuckling at the sight. "So weak." He commented after about twenty punches, "I'm bored now." He burst into shadows to escape, the dark cloud flying past the golem and reforming behind it. "Let me show you...what I'm truly capable of."

As the golem turned toward him, Armalum remained still as his wings began to flicker in the non-existent wind. And as he did, the shadows that made them up began to form shapes as it grew large. One of the shapes was the head of a pony that Armalum felt great sorrow at never getting to see again. Void.

Another shape appeared beside it, this one being the head of Shroudheart. On his other wing, the head of the Flash Sentry clone appeared along with several criminals that had been defeated by Flash and his friends during their camping trip. Then, the large head of the eye-clops, Odin, appeared. The golem stared at Amralum, even tilting its head in some form of confusion. And as it began to move again, Armalum let the power flowing through his very being and his horn began to glow brighter and brighter. "Now, feel the power of my hatred!"

With that, the horn unleashed a super powerful blast of magic, an explosion filling the chamber a second later. A mass of metal slammed into the walls, all shattering to pieces. Armalum saw this and stopped his attack, shaking his head, "Can't waste my hatred on something like this. It's reserved for only one pony."

He stared at the now destroyed golem, feeling like he might have just stolen a difficult opponent from the others. However, in that moment, the many pieces of the golem started to move again. "What?" First, the broken pieces came together, locking themselves into place before they merged into one. Once that was done, the repaired pieces began to move to one another and rebuild the golem.

"Oh, enough of this," he groaned before his body burst into shadows and moved up to the top of the chamber. Once again, the wind blew and threatened to push him back down, but he stretched himself out enough to pierce the wind. And by the time the golem was remade and ready to fight, the entire shadow was making it way through the tunnel. The wind kept trying to push him back down, but he was able to fight his way through it, slowly getting higher and higher. And finally, he reached the chamber that had the bell inside it. "Child's play," he laughed as he flew out of the cave.

The barrier was still down, and once he was past it, he flicked his hoof to make the runes he used vanish. Doing so caused the barrier to start reforming, the living armor watching as it completely restored itself before disappearing from view. He checked the barrier, seeing it was still there, "Good. Don't wanna make it too easy for those idiots." He thought about the bell still inside, deciding to leave it there for the time being. "Let's see if they can actually get their hooves on it. If so, I'll reveal myself. But I doubt they will, given that golem is waiting for anypony that gets past the barrier."

He turned away from the cave and leapt into the air, his shadow wings allowing him to glide down from the top of the mountain. When the magical wind slammed into him, he was pushed down even faster before turning into his shadow form as he landed on a rock.

And as the wind died down, he leapt back into the air and started searching the area for the others, soon finding one as the sun began to set. Tirek had set up some kind of camp, with a fire in the middle of a forest clearing along with a chair he had made out of wood and vines. And as he added a log to the flames, the bushes rustled before a very damp, tired and cold Cozy Glow stepped out into the clearing. And when the centaur saw her, he burst out laughing.

"It's not funny, Tirek!"

"Didn't make it to the top?" He asked with a smirk. "Surprise, surprise."

She pointed at him, "You didn't make it to the top either!"

"I didn't try to."

"What?!"

"It took me about five minutes to deduce that Grogar was right," Tirek replied, "None of us could make it up alone. So, rather than subject myself to the elements, I decided to let you two face the danger, take what you learned, and use it to my advantage."

He leaned back at this, laughing as Cozy glared at him. "I put up with your 'I'm smarter than you' attitude in Tartarus! But I'm over it!!"

Tirek growled back at her, "I'd had enough of you trying to manipulate me with that insincere, syrupy sweetness. At least now we can see the real you."

That made Cozy's face go red, "This is not the real me! I'M CUTE AND LOVABLE!" The pair burst out into an argument at this, Armalum chuckling until he sensed another presence, turning and using his long distance vision, he saw a creature that had the upper body of a bull and the lower body of a snake. The creature slithered through the forest and by the time the pair noticed it, the creature was right on top of them and let out a mighty roar.

The pair stared in horror, then turned to each other, "THIS IS YOUR FAULT!"

The living armor was curious to see how they got out of this one. He didn't want to reveal himself yet, but he also knew he would need these idiots if he wanted to achieve his plan, which meant that if they couldn't save themselves, he would have to help them. That is, till a second bull serpent appeared from behind them. This one appeared to be female and was more focused on the male than them, as it gave the creature a seductive look and a come hither gaze. The male was quickly pulled away, its eyes filling with hearts as it slithered forward.

"Quick!" Cozy told Tirek, "it's distracted! Let's go!" She turned to fly away, but Tirek grabbed her tai.

"Wait." It seemed Tirek had also figured it out, Armalum noticing the truth the moment the female appeared. And sure enough, a flash of green fire revealed Chrysalis in the creature's place. She quickly struck the male with her magic and started draining it of power.

And a few seconds later, the creature fell to the ground, looking weak and helpless. Chrysalis licked her lips, humming in delight. "So much love. I haven't eaten this well in ages."

Cozy saw this and gagged, "So gross." Chrysalis turned to the pair, glaring at them.

"Just so we're clear, I didn't save you because I like you. I did it because...because I..."

"Neeeeeeed us?" Cozy asked, Chrysalis hissing and replying through gritted teeth.

"Yes."

Tirek smirked at this, "Clearly, I was right to wait. Now tell me everything you learned today. Leave nothing out." The pair did so as Chrysalis began to produce a strange green substance from her mouth that she used to seal the bull serpent into a cocoon. It took a while, but she managed to get the creature entirely encased and pulled it up to hang from a nearby tree as the others watched slightly sickened.

"Why did you do that?" Cozy asked once she was finished, "Didn't you already drain it of its love?"

Chrysalis shined a grin as she climbed off the cocoon. "I always save a little for the next day."

Cozy flinched at this, "You cocoon all of your...meals?"

"Of course."

"So when you pony-napped Twilight and the others, you cocooned them?"

"Yes." Chrysalis growled at this, "Until that sow Starlight Glimmer freed them, corrupted my subjects, and stole my hive!"

"I heard the changelings evolved," Cozy chimed, "At least...that's what I learned at the school. Hiveena apparently made them evolve into a better version of themselves."

"Technically," Chrysalis rolled her eyes, "My daughter pushed them to the next stage of their evolution, just like I pushed the changeling into what you see when I took the throne from my mother."

"What did you change about them?" Tirek asked.

"It's...complicated," Chrysalis slowly replied, "But it wasn't anything as big as to what happened when Hiveena took my rightful place. It's bad enough she took that fool Thorax as a mate, but turning them all bright pretty colors. Gross."

Tirek laughed at this, "Those ponies do have weaknesses. I used that turncoat Discord. Tricked him into helping me capture his so-called friends."

Chrysalis sighed at hearing that, "Discord was really something until friendship ruined him."

"You should've seen Twilight's face when her friends appeared in bubbles around me." He started making faces, trying to imitate Twilight and making the other two laugh.

"She's so stressed out all the time," Cozy sighed, "I'm surprised Flash Sentry can stand sharing a bedroom with her. I bet she files and organizes in her sleep."

"When I posed as her former foal-sitter, I thought she was going to implode!"

They all laughed again as Cozy thought about when Twilight had turned against her, "I wish I could've seen her face when I nearly erased all the magic from Equestria."

"All magic was a little excessive, don't you think?"

"Eh," Cozy shrugged, "I think big."

Chrysalis crossed her hooves, "I heard rumors that if you had been successful, the entire world would have fallen apart."

"Oh please," Cozy rolled her eyes. "They just said that to justify putting me in Tartarus. There's no way the world has some super powerful entity keeping it in check. If it did, why didn't it do anything to stop me from draining the world's magic? Heck, why didn't it stop any evil from happening in Equestria?" The two blinked at this, seeing her point as she added, "Besides, even if it was true, it would've been worth it just to see Twilight and her friends bow down to me!"

"Indeed it would," Tirek chuckled, "Who wouldn't love to see those prissy ponies realize they lost everything?"

Chrysalis got up and transformed into Twilight, "I'm a pathetic pony princess! I made a detailed list of all the ways I'm a failure!" They all laughed at this as Chrysalis returned to normal as Tirek thought for a moment.

"You know, working with you two may not be the worst thing."

"Perhaps," Chrysalis added, "As long as it results in the complete destruction of our enemies."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Cozy giggled before turning back to Chrysalis. "Do the pathetic princess thing again!" She did so, beginning to mock Twilight while in her body. The others laughed as she started shifting to the other heroes of Equestria, making Armalum smirk from his spot in the tree.

"Those three might just be able to pull this off." He looked up at the mountain, "But even if they work together, that golem might be too much for them. However, if they can figure out a way to overcome it, they might just be worthy of my partnership after all."

He continued to watch as the three mocked the heroes that had defeated them in the past. They seemed completely oblivious to the being in the tree, but that soon changed when Armalum felt his shadow form starting to wain. He couldn't remain like that forever and had to take physical form, which caused his presence to be sensible.

"Who's there?" Tirek glanced around, the other two turning to him.

"What is it?"

"I'm sensing a magical presence," Tirek replied, "Strange...the power is quite strong. But it's the spirit connected to it that's curious." The females raised an eyebrow at this, "It's almost like a bunch of different spirits smushed together. The magic is quite strong."

"How strong?" Cozy asked.

"I'd say it's on the same level as Flash Sentry's Sacred Light." The two flinched at this, only for Tirek to add, "Whoever you are, come out and show yourself! Or are you a coward?"

Armalum hummed at this, only to chuckle as he spoke up while still hiding in the darkness, "I'm no coward, but you three have yet to prove yourselves worthy of knowing who I am."

"Well somepony has a high opinion of themselves," Chrysalis growled, "So...what will make us worthy of knowing who you are?"

"Get the bell," Armalum replied. "I've already been up there and seen everything you'll need to face in order to get the bell. Getting it will certainly be a challenge. But if you can get it, you prove you have what it takes to defeat Twilight and her friends. When that happens, I will come to you." He turned back into shadows and flew away, Tirek instantly losing his presence.

"He's gone." Tirek muttered.

"Who the heck was that?" Cozy asked.

"You think this is apart of Grogar's test?" Chrysalis added.

Tirek shook his head, "No, I don't think Grogar would go to such lengths. He wouldn't have somepony sneaking around spying on us. It's not his style." They both hummed at this as he continued, "Whoever he was, we should be careful. They said they were able to get to the top of the mountain on their own. That means they're strong, so I doubt they're somepony we could defeat at our current power even if we worked together."

"Great," Chrysalis sighed, "Fine. I'm going to get some sleep. Since Tirek didn't bother to try and climb the mountain, he probably still has plenty of energy left to stay awake for a few more hours." Cozy nodded at this as Tirek frowned at the two, only to see both lay on the ground and drift off to sleep.

Tirek wanted to argue, but the pair were already asleep as he sat on his chair. "Fine, I'll keep watch. But only for a few hours. Obviously, as the strongest, I'll be the most crucial part of getting that bell." He glanced up at the moon in the sky at this, "Still...I wonder who that was."





The next morning...

As soon as the sun was up, the three villains began to make their way toward the mountain. They were constantly on the lookout of mysterious voice they had heard the previous night, expecting to sense him at any minute. But they didn't. They couldn't sense a thing, confusion showing on their faces as they continued to climb.





Armalum was back at the top of the mountain, standing in front of the barrier. "Will they be able to work together long enough to achieve their goal? I doubt it, but I'm happy to be proven wrong." And so, he waited, playing tic tac toe against himself in the snow, studying the rune magic a little more for the future, and thinking about what he was going to do when he finally defeated Flash Sentry and his friends.

Then eventually, he spotted the trio as they arrived at the top of the mountain. Chrysalis began to fly up first, only to find herself slamming into the forcefield and being bounced back, the other two approaching to study it. "Augh!" Tirek hissed as he tried to touch the magical barrier.

"Can you absorb it and make it go away?" Cozy asked, Tirek shaking his head.

"I can only absorb magic from living beings."

"Like her?" Cozy pointed at Chrysalis, the former queen glaring back at them.

"Betrayal!"

"Not betrayal," Cozy replied, "Teamwork." She pointed at the centaur. "If Tirek absorbs your energy, he might be strong enough to break through."

"And then?" She asked with a hiss.

"Then..." She did a small gulp at her next words, "He gives it back."

"I do?" Tirek asked, Cozy nodding with a hum as Chrysalis glared at the centaur.

"How do I know you won't take my magic and leave me?!"

"Would we do that to you?" Cozy gave her a smile, Chrysalis frowning at her as if the filly had said something ridiculous. "Okay, normally, yes, we would."

"I'll give you your magic back," Tirek sighed, Chrysalis staring at the monster for a second before nodding.

"Do it." Tirek smirked and opened his mouth, the ball of fire appearing between his horns as he began to drain the magic out of Chrysalis. The changeling moaned as she felt herself beginning to grow weaker while Tirek's body grew a bit bigger.

Eventually, Chrysalis was drained dry and fell to the ground. As she did this, Tirek revelled in his increased strength. "So...much...power!" He gave his forearms a few kisses, "Welcome back, baby!" He turned to the barrier and unleashed a blast of magic, which caused the energy field to slowly fall away.

However, the hole it formed was very small and Tirek could sense it was going to regenerate the second he stopped blasting it. "It's not big enough for me!"

"Maybe not you!" Cozy flew into the hole, getting to the other side. "Keep it open, or I'll be trapped forever!" She flew into the cave as Chrysalis let out a moan.

"Would that be so terrible?" Tirek chuckled at this while Armalum watched from above.

"Huh, well that's disappointing. I was hoping they would have to face that golem." Since the barrier was in tact, the secondary defence would remain unused.

However, Tirek was clearly having a hard time keeping the barrier open. "Can't...hold...much...longer!" He roared as the barrier started fighting against his magic. "HURRY!" The barrier started to close and just as Tirek was about to lose it, Cozy shot out of the cave and through the hole.

She was flying so fast that she accidently crashed into a pile of snow. But a few seconds later, she popped out of it holding the object they seeked. "Ta-da!"

Despite being glad they had succeeded, Chrysalis was only interested in one thing. "My magic..." She turned to Tirek, who stared at his more muscular body. She feared he was go back on his word, but then Tirek opened his mouth and the magical energy spewed out of it.

Chrysalis felt her power restoring, the energy revitalising her as Tirek shrank back down to the form he had before. Once she was back on her hooves and sure she had all of it back, she turned to him in shock. "I-I wasn't sure you were going to give it back."

"Neither was I," Tirek sighed again, "But working together seemed smarter than to continue fighting."

Cozy nodded. "When we helped each other, it felt better somehow."

Chrysalis looked herself over. "I haven't felt like this since before I lost my hive. Having others who will be there for you is...pleasing."

Tirek smiled at this, "All of these years taking power from ponies..."

"When you use your power to help others..." Cozy continued.

"Yes," Chrysalis nodded, "It feels..." She then wide-eyed, now feeling sick to her stomach. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Her scream echoed through the mountains, Tirek and Cozy suddenly being surprised out of the feeling they had fallen under. "The Magic of Friendship is like a disease!" Chrysalis screamed, "An infection that spreads to those around you! I watched it infect my hive! I will not let it get me!"

"Same," Cozy nodded.

"Obviously," Tirek nodded.

"But..." Cozy looked down at the bell, "Grogar said we have to work together."

Chrysalis grumbled at that, "Grogar is too powerful. Something must be done about that."

"Nice to see we all agree with that." The voice made them jump before a shadow suddenly landed in front of them.

They all leapt back as the shadow began to take pony shape. "Shroudheart?!" Cozy asked, "You're alive?" But then, the figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing its armored self, "You're not Shroudheart."

"Thank you, captain obvious." He stood before them, the three all staring at him as he spoke up, "My name is Armalum. Some of you probably heard of me."

Cozy Glow gasped at this, "You mean the living suit of armor that was loyal to Shadow Corruptor? The one that needs a host in order to survive?"

"Yes to the first, no longer to the second." The three raised an eyebrow at this, "You can thank Chrysalis and Shroudheart for awakening me." The other two turned to the changeling, Chrysalis looking very confused. "When he was destroyed, Shroudheart transferred his dark essence to me. That allowed me to awaken and take my final host."

"But...I never helped you," Chrysalis responded, "I don't even know you."

"No, but the clone of Flash Sentry that you made did." Chrysalis went wide-eyed at this, only for the armored pony to add, "Shroudheart had him dig me up and now I'm back. I have the hatred of Master Shadow, Shroudheart and the clone fueling me. Combined with the Corrupted Shadow I was infused with, I'm a new being. No longer needing a living host to give me sentience."

"Interesting," Tirek slowly commented, "So what are you doing here?"

"I've been watching you," Armalum replied, "Seeing if you three were actually capable of it."

"Of what?" Cozy asked.

"Working together. You three, despite your differences, were able to unite for a common goal." The three shared a look, "Just be careful not to become too dependent on one another. We wouldn't want you three becoming friends, would we?" The three stuck their tongues out at the thought. "Good. Now that you've shown you can work together, I hope you'll be willing to help me in my quest."

"Why would we do that?" Chrysalis asked.

"Because thanks to Shroudheart, I now know everything that happens in the future. Including how the three of you fail to defeat Twilight and her friends in the end." This went them all go wide-eyed, "You get close. Really close. But you get a little too cocky and don't take the necessary steps to hammer the final nail in the coffin. That's where I come in."

"What can you do?" Tirek asked.

"You'll see. Just remember that if you help me, I'll help you. Twilight and her friends with be yours to crush and in return, you'll leave Sentry and the Royal Knights to me." The three raised an eyebrow at this, only for Armalum to add, "Feel free to refuse. But if you do, I'll just go to Grogar and tell him what you're planning."

"We're not planning anything," Cozy chimed in.

"You will. If I hadn't intervened, you would have all agreed to betray Grogar. You'd pretend to obey him and wait for the perfect moment to stab him in the back."

"Ooh..." Cozy giggled at this, "I love a good backstabbing!"

The other two nodded, Tirek then speaking up. "After that, we can go back to trying to destroy each other!"

They nodded again, as Chrysalis turned to Armalum, "But how can we be so sure you won't stab us in the back after we've defeated everypony else?!"

"You don't," Armalum chuckled, "But if you don't work with me, you'll definitely lose. And I've seen what the good guys have in store for you when you lose. Its not pretty."

They all frowned at this, all three glaring at each other before nodding, "Fine. We'll work together to overcome those fools. But after that, it's no holds barred."

"Agreed," Armalum spread his shadowy wings. "I'll be in touch. I still have to gather more strength in order to stand against Flash Sentry. When you're ready to finally attack, I'll be there." With that, he leapt off the side of the mountain before turning into a shadowy cloud, the three watching it zigzag around until it was out of sight.

"We must be careful," Chrysalis whispered, "Clearly he is after his own agenda."

"Maybe," Tirek crossed his arms, "But if he can take care of Sentry then we don't have to worry about him." The mares nodded as Cozy looked at the bell they had retrieved.

"In the meantime, what do we do with this?" They all stared at it, only for three big grins to appear on their faces.





Grogar let out a roar as he saw the trio return, "You failed to retrieve the Bell?!"

He slammed his hoof into the table as his three underlings quivered and knelt before him. "W-W-We're sorry, almighty Grogar." Cozy squeaked out as the goat glared down at them.

"We worked together as you asked," Tirek pointed out with Chrysalis nodding.

"We just aren't as powerful as you." Grogar let out a mighty roar as his horns glowed, the beast unleashing a blast of magic that flew through the air and smashed a hole in a wall.

"Obviously!" He told the shivering trio, "At least you finally did as you were told and worked together." He began to slink away, heading through the hole he had just blasted through the wall.

"Of course!" Cozy yelled.

"Whatever you command," Tirik nodded.

"Forget about that old bell," Chrysalis finished, "You were right. We're so much more powerful...when we work as a team." The trio turned to a rock that they had hidden the bell behind. When Grogar was gone, they all laughed at the anticipation of what was to come. Once they uncovered how to unlock the magic hidden within the bell, they would use it themselves and destroy Grogar. Then, they would turn their sights on Equestria and its oh so heroic defenders. And with their new silent partner working from the shadows, nothing would be able to stop them
> Sweet and Smokey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another beautiful day in Ponyville and at the School of Friendship, Flash, Fluttershy and Twilight were in the teachers lounge. Heart and Soul were also there, having been asked there by Flash and Twilight. Soul was doing a test Twilight had made for her to decide how far Soul's magical teachings had come recently. At the same time, Flash and Heart were sitting at another table with a bunch of cards.

The game they were playing was called Dueling Creatures, a battle game where they had to summon monsters, use magic and other items to defeat the other. Based on the counters both players had, Flash had a thousand or so more life points than his apprentice.

"I summon Javelin Dragon," Heart placed a card on the table. "Then I attack your Huge Fighter of Rock."

"I activate my Ambush Card," he flipped one over, "Now, you take damage equal to your creature's Offense points." Heart groaned, seeing that bring his health down to zero. "Not bad, but you're still not using the cards you get to your best advantage."

Heart nodded back before Spike flew into the room, the drake spotting the pair collecting their cards to play another game. "Dueling Creatures?" He asked, "Why are you playing that?"

"It's a great way to help somepony learn strategy and deal with the unexpected," Flash replied as Spike scratched his head.

"Wouldn't chess be better for that?"

"We've played that game," Heart responded, "And after I beat Flash several times, he switched it up to this." Spike laughed as Flash rolled his eyes as the pair started drawing their cards.

"Chess is a good way of teaching strategy, but every move is predetermined." He placed a card face down. "A good player can move a piece and see every way their opponent can counter." He put a monster on the field, then another face down. "It's good for teaching somepony how to look ahead and predict what'll happen next, but in a real battle, you might not be able to do that."

Heart drew his card and smirked before placing it on the table, revealing an enchantment that destroyed Flash's face downs. Flash smiled as his cards were destroyed. "In a real battle, a million different possibilities could happen. The environment could affect the fight, or a freak accident could tip the scales in your favor. Chess doesn't have accidents." He then showed Heart one of the cards that were destroyed, revealing an ambush card that prevented him from attacking when it was sent to the graveyard. "This game teaches you to react and shift strategies to better suit the situation."

"Oh..." Spike nodded, "I get it." The dragon turned to Soul next, the filly finishing her test.

"How'd I do?" She asked Twilight, the alicorn taking the paper in her magic.

A moment later, Twilight nodded, "Really good. A ninety-two percent. You must have really been studying hard." Soul smiled at this as she took the test back and checked what she had missed. And as this happened, a knock at the door happened.

"Uh, Headmare Twilight?" All but Twilight turned to see Smolder step into the room. "Sorry to bug you in the Teachers' Lounge." She flew over to Twilight at this, "Is it okay if I miss class?"

"Mm-hmm," Twilight nodded, "You can make it up tomorrow." This made Smolder flinch, making her rub the back of her neck.

"Actually...I'll be gone for a week." That got everypony's attention, Twilight most of all.

"A week?!" She looked up from her work. "In the middle of the semester?"

"Oh," Fluttershy sat up, "Is everything alright, Smolder?"

This made Smolder grimace, the drake looking away, "Not exactly." She let out a sigh, "My brother's been having a hard time since I left for school. I want to go home and check on him. He's a really sweet guy, and the other dragons can be kind of rough."

This made them all go wide-eyed, Spike asking, "Did you say sweet guy and dragon in the same sentence?"

Smolder chuckled at this before punching his arm, "Yeah. He's sort of like you, Spike."

"Awww..." Spike blushed as Twilight stood up.

"I'm sorry to hear about your brother, Smolder. But the Dragon Lands are really far for you to go by yourself. And I'm not sure about you missing so much class."

Smolder frowned at this, only for Spike to fly in front of her, "Hey! What if she got a school credit for it? Kind of like a...a kindness field trip?" He hugged Smolder, "I'll go with her." Smolder smiled, liking the idea as she patted his shoulder.

"Thanks!" She nodded, "The Dragon Lord is way too busy for personal problems when it's baby dragon hatching season."

Those four worlds caused Fluttershy's head to pop up. "Baby...dragon...hatching season?!" She gasped, looking like she would just exploded with excitement. "All those cute little snouts poking out of those adorable little shells?! Teeny, tiny, twitchy tails?!" She turned to Twilight, "Can I go too?!" She gave Twilight the best puppy dog eyes she could manage.

Twilight leaned back for a bit before replying, "Well, you are the perfect pony to lead a kindness field trip." Heart and Soul then appeared beside them as well, "Why do you two wanna go?"

"Why not?" Heart responded, "It's been a while since I got to go to the Dragon Lands, and this time I won't have to hide in a box most of the time."

Twilight raised an eyebrow before turning to Soul, "What? I wanna go see the dragon hatching season too. The more I learn about dragon anatomy, the easier it'll be for me to treat them in the future. Imagine if I met a dragon in the future that was really sick and because I couldn't heal it, the alliance between the dragons and ponies ends."

Flash laughed at this as he watched Twilight look between the five and then glanced at him, Flash nodding back with a giant grin. The sight alone made her sigh, "Fine." She turned to walk away, "But I'm gonna expect a full report when you get back."

"How many pages?" Smolder grumbled, crossing her arms.

"I was talking to Fluttershy. Hatching season sounds fascinating!" This made them all share a look before bursting out laughing, the five quickly rushing off to get everything they would need for the trip. Twilight and Flash then stared at each other, "Would it kill you not to spoil them so much?"

"Oh, like you were gonna say no even if I wasn't here." Twilight rolled her eyes at this, "And I'm not spoiling them. I'm sure they'll all learn a lot from this trip. And if not, at least they'll have some good memories." Twilight nodded and got back to work while Flash started collecting the cards.





The Dragon Lands...

Within the mighty realm of the dragons, Flicker the Chronicler was busy with one of his many books. He was currently writing about the upcoming hatching season, this being the first time he got to experience it as a chronicler. He would be sure to write down every detail so that future dragons could learn about it should it be needed. But as he was in the middle of writing, a bright light caught his attention, one that belonged to the Rune Gate that was located outside.

He ran out of his cave home and saw the pillar of light shoot down from the sky, five individuals now appearing, "Spike!" He exclaimed, "Smolder! Heart and Soul too. Well, isn't this a fun little reunion?"

"Hey Flicker," Spike replied, "Having fun as the chronicler?"

"Of course. So, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you all be in school?" He raised an eyebrow, not liking the idea that they might have all cut class, only to now see Fluttershy with them.

"We're on a kindness field trip," Soul responded, "Smolder came back because her brother's been having some issues, so we've come to cheer him up."

Flicker went wide-eyed, the dragon turning to give Spike a surprised expression. "Never thought you'd come to help Smolder's brother."

"Why wouldn't I?" Spike asked while tilting his head before turning to the main dragon area. "Come on everyone. If we wanna find Smolder's brother, we're gonna have to search high and low for him." They all nodded and started walking off, Smolder at the back until Flicker grabbed her by the tail.

"You've never been with both Spike and your brother at the same time, have you?"

Smolder raised an eyebrow, "Why would I? They've never met."

"Oh yes they have. I was there the last time they met, and things did not turn out well between them. Mainly due to the fact that if it hadn't been for Spike, your brother would have probably been the Dragon Lord!"

This made Smolder burst out laughing. "Yeah, right." She pulled her tail out of his claws, "Like my brother would ever try and earn the Dragon Lord title. Nice joke Flicker!"

"But-" Smolder flew off before he could add anything, making him sigh, "Well, this is certainly going to be an interesting day." He quickly ran back into the cave and headed back out with a book. "Need to focus. Can't let the drama distract me from my duties." He took to the air, "I hope Spike doesn't take the surprise too badly."





The group of five all made their way over to the main dragon area as Spike took out a list he had made. "Okay," he chuckled, "I made a list of what cheers me up when I'm down, so if your brother's like me, he's gonna love it! What should we do first? The Smile Song? The sharing circle? Or friendship bracelet weaving?"

Smolder shook her head at this, "I'm not sure those are the kind of things my brother's gonna be into."

"Well," Fluttershy asked, "What would make your brother happy?"

Smolder put a claw to her chin, "Just having Spike and me accept him for who he is will make a huge difference." She placed her claws over her heart, "Dragons who appreciate his more sensitive side."

Heart and Soul were still having a hard time believing a dragon other than Spike could be sensitive. And as they thought about that, Spike gasped, "I got it! Show tunes!" He gave them the jazz hands, Heart and Soul laughing as Smolder shook her head again.

"Yeah, no, but good try." Spike slumped as they entered an area full of lava pools and volcanic vents. As they did this, Fluttershy accidently took in a whiff and quickly covered her nose.

"Oh! Uh..." She spoke through her plugged nose. "That's an interesting smell." Soul quickly cast a spell she had learned on the three ponies, a bubble of air appearing around them that blocked the smell before becoming invisible.

Smolder took a deep breath, inhaling the fumes before sighing in relief. "The stink of sulfur. Sharp rocks under my claws." She sighed again, "It's good to be home."

Heart flew up and stared down at one of the lava pools, making him hum as Soul flew up next to him. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm fireproof," he pointed out. "Just like a dragon."

"Just like a kirin," Soul corrected, only to go wide-eyed as she realized what he was meaning, "No way. No. Not gonna happen. You are not dive bombing into a pool of lava!"

"Aw," Heart slumped, "Why not?"

"It's lava!" Soul yelled, "I don't care if you are fireproof, I'm not gonna let you test to see if you're also lava-proof. Imagine how I would explain you melting to Twilight and Flash!"

Heart huffed, crossing his hooves as they flew back down. As this happened, Spike flew beside Smolder as he said, "I can't wait to meet your brother, Smolder. We're gonna be best buddies. I just know it."

"He usually hangs out near here. I'll go try and find him." She took off and left the four as Spike climbed onto a rock. He took out a half-finished pink blanket covered in hearts as Fluttershy walked up to him.

"Spike, do you mind if I take a peek at the cute little baby eggs?"

"No problem," Spike nodded, "I'll stay here and finish this comfort blanket." He hugged it close to his body, "it'll be like a hug every time Smolder's brother wraps it around himself."

"Awww," Fluttershy giggled, "I'm sure he'll love it, Spike."

With that, she flew off and Soul raced after her. "Wait up!" She cried, disappearing behind a rock with Fluttershy. Heart saw this and smirked before looking back at the lava pit. That is, till Soul's head poked out from behind the rock. "And don't even think about it!" She disappeared again with Heart groaning.





Fluttershy and Soul made their way through the Dragon Lands, soon coming across a large canyon that made Fluttershy gasp. "Oh...my...goodness!" The place was full of eggs, all inside a bunch of small craters. There were hundreds, maybe thousands, all waiting to hatch and join the rest of the world. The pair flew down and began to inspect to eggs, both having huge eyes that were full of joy.

"So cute!" Soul squealed, "Is this what Spike looked like before he hatched?"

Fluttershy began to gently stroke one of the eggs. "Good morning, little one. I've come a long way to meet you. Did you know there's a whole wide world out here waiting to say hello? Did you? Oh, did you, boo?"

"It can't answer you." The pair jumped at a voice, turning to see the Dragon Lord herself, smiling at the pair. "It's an egg."

"Ah," Fluttershy stood up and bowed, "Dragon Lord Ember. How nice to see you." Soul also bowed at this.

"Nice to see you too..." Ember frowned, scratching her head. "Uh...which one are you again? The party one? Apple Dash! Or was that the country one?"

"Fluttershy," the pegasus picked up an egg and hugged it. "The one who loves creatures. And this is Shining Soul," the filly waved as Fluttershy glanced back at the eggs, "Are...all these yours?"

That question made Ember's eyes go wide before blushing, "What?!" She shook her head, "No! None of them are! Watching over eggs is just part of the glamorous life of a Dragon Lord."

"Cool," Soul chimed in, "I guess it would make sense. The most powerful dragon usually becomes the Dragon Lord, so its smart to have the most powerful dragon also protect the eggs from anything that might try and hurt them."

"Exactly," Ember nodded, "Though there's not really anything around that needs me to fight against it."

Fluttershy smiled as she put the egg back down., "I think it sounds wonderful."

"Yeah?" Ember asked, "Then maybe you can help."

This made Fluttershy gasp with joy. "I'd love to! Just tell me what to do!"

Ember frowned again, rubbing her arm. "I don't know." She turned to the eggs, "It's my first time being in charge. Dad wasn't big on sharing Dragon Lord details. It's kind of a burn or be burned job."

"Doesn't Flicker know anything?" Soul asked, "He's as knowledgeable about this stuff as Twilight is about magic."

"I already asked him," Ember shrugged, "But he didn't have any advice that I didn't already know about. Keep the eggs warm and free from danger."

Fluttershy giggled at this, "Well, I'm sure you're doing great."

"Not really," Ember shook her head again, "The eggs should've hatched by now, but none of them have even cracked."

"Really?" Soul asked as Fluttershy turned back to the eggs.

"Oh, dear." She looked back at Ember, "Maybe they're lonely?" Ember shrugged again, Fluttershy tutting as she went back to the eggs, "Don't you worry, Auntie Fluttershy's here. And the Dragon Lord and I are gonna do everything we can to welcome you into this world."

"Really?" Ember added as she walked up to the pegasi, "How?"

Fluttershy put a hoof to her chin, "Um...I have no idea."

Ember grimaced at this, Soul then adding, "It's too bad Twilight didn't come with us. She was able to hatch Spike's egg, even if it was by accident." They all frowned at this, gulping at the new thoughts going in their heads.





Meanwhile...

Heart was still trying to figure out if he was lava-proof or not as Spike finished his blanket, "Now, that's a thing of beauty." But as he said that, the sun was suddenly blocked out, making him glance up and see something flying down, "Whoa!" He leapt back, barely avoiding getting stomped on, only to frown as he saw who it was.

Garble smirked as he appeared with several other dragons, "Well, if it isn't our little pony friend Spike."

Spike glared back at him, "That's Equestria's official friendship ambassador to the Dragon Lands to you!" He spun around, "And I'm not little!" He showed off his wings, "I had the molt. See?"

But as he said that, the dragons started laughing at him, "Oh-ho-ho," Garble cackled, "Runt's got wings. I'm soooo impressed." It was then that he caught sight of Spike's blanket, "What's that supposed to be?"

"Nothing," Spike held the blanket behind his back. Garble tried to grab it, but Spike quickly spat fire into his hand before thrusting it.

"Whoa!" Garble yelped, now seeing a wall of fire in front of him. "What the heck? What is this?"

"What, you didn't hear?" Spike changed the shape of his fire to a claw, "I'm actually a rare breed of dragon. One that can do magic. It's how I was able to beat Malafear."

The minute he said that name, the dragons all went wide-eyed at this, most shivering at this as Garble growled, "Yeah right! There's no way you have magic!" He charged at the drake at this, Spike bringing his flame claw down and grabbing the red dragon before lifting him up, "Hey! Put me down!"

"I will," Spike dropped him. "But only because, unlike you, I don't use my power to bully others." Spike extinguished the flames at this and spun around, putting his completed blanket into his backpack. This was when Garble charged again, intending to tackle Spike before he could do anything.

"Spike, look out!" Heart shot over and pushed Spike out of the way, getting body checked himself.

"Heart!" Spike yelped as the little pony was thrown toward a lava pit. But before he could hit it, Heart managed to spread his wings and stopped himself before he actually fell in, though the tip of his tail ended up going in. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Heart sighed before noticing his tail was in the lava. "Huh." He pulled it out and as the lava dripped off, he found the hairs weren't even singed. "Guess I am lava proof." He was about to dive in, only to now remember his hoodie wasn't immune.

"What's your problem?!" Spike yelled at Garble.

"My problem is you," Garble poked him, "Ever since you showed up in my life, things have gone from great to boring. You ruined my phoenix hunt, had that pony friend of yours attack me, and stopped me from being Dragon Lord! And now, thanks to you, dragons have to be nice to ponies! It's not natural!"

Spike shook his head, "It's called evolution. The dragons are becoming better. Just because you can't change, doesn't mean it's unnatural." Garble growled and charged at him again, Spike quickly taking to the air as he spat out a string of fire that hit the end of Garble's tail.

He then threw the other end at a rock that created a long chain, Garble now taking to the air to grab Spike. But as he did this, the fire string stopped stretching, instantly bouncing the dragon back. It slammed him into the rock from before, the dragons around them laughing at the sight. And as they did thius, they started breathing fire that started orange but suddenly turned purple before becoming blue.

"What's happening?" Heart asked as he landed beside Spike, the dragon crossing his arms.

"If a dragon laughs hard enough, it makes their fire burn hotter. It's something I had to learn to control when I was little so I didn't burn down the house every time I laughed."

Garble pushed himself back to his feet at this, his eyes going bloodshot as he glared at Spike before a voice rang out, "Garble!" They all turned to see Smolder running up to the group.

"Smolder?!" He yelped before running up to her, "What are you doing here?" The pair high fived and did a number of different motions, the others dragons smirking at Smolder.

Spike quickly ran over and pushed Smolder away from the bully dragon. "We'd better get out of here before your brother shows up," he told her in a whisper. "Garble isn't very nice to sensitive dragons."

"But Garble is my brother." Smolder replied, making Spike go wide-eyed.

"Your brother?!" Garble grabbed him by the head and turned him around at this, glaring right into his eyes.

"Got a problem with that, pony-boy?"

Spike gulped, "Oh, brother." The two glared at one another, Smolder seeing the pair clearly had some kind of history. Then she remembered what Flicker had told her.

"Did Garble really try for Dragon Lord?" She shook her head and pushed past Spike. "I've missed you, bro. We got a lot of fun to catch up on. There's no lava diving at school."

"Good luck gettin' Garble to do anything," one of his friends chimed in.

"Heh," another nodded, "Yeah. He's gotten so weird since you left. Hiding and moping around..."

"I have not!" Garble barked back.

"Have so!"

Smolder sighed and walked in between them, "Easy, everydragon. I learned at Twilight's school ganging up on each other isn't half as cool as you think."

"Awww," one laughed. "Pony school made you soft." But before he could laugh, Smolder grabbed him by the chin and pulled him down to by eye-level with her.

"Want to try me and find out?" Smolder hissed, the dragon gulping at the sudden change from the dragon.

"M-Maybe later."

"That's what I thought."

"So," Spike spoke up, "Uh, let's get lava diving. What do you say?"

"I'm in!" Heart chimed in, reminding the dragons that he was here. "I just found out I'm lava-proof, so I wanna give it a try."

The dragons all laughed again. "You're lava-proof?" One of the dragons asked, "How?" Heart's body exploded into flames, surprising all but Smolder, Spike and Garble. "What the-how are you doing that?"

"I'm full of surprises," Heart chuckled.

"But how do you know you're lava-proof?" Smolder asked, "Didn't Soul tell you to not try it?"

"I didn't," Heart replied, "Someone tried to throw me in."

Smolder gave Garble a questioning look while the other dragons laughed again. "I don't think lava diving's your scene," one of the dragons spoke up, "Maybe you'd prefer we have a tea party or make friendship bracelets." The dragons laughed again, the fire bursting out of their mouths now turning blue.

"Let the wimps tag along," Garble responded by punching the back of Spike's head. "Then we'll have some-dragon to dunk!" He smacked him on the back next, making Spike stagger forward as the dragons laughed.

"Hmph," Smolder flew in front of Spike before glaring at her brother. "Only gonna warn you once. Spike's my friend. You mess with him, you mess with me. Besides, he came here to hang out with you, Garble."

Garble went wide-eyed at this, only for his friends to start laughing at him again. "Awww...how sweet! Ha!"

"Let's go do dragon stuff," one of them took off. "Garble can have fun with his new friend." Blue flames flew out of their mouths at this before flying off, Garble trying to run after them.

"But I'm not having fun! And he's not my friend!" He yelled as Smolder shrugged at the sight.

"Eh, just ignore them, Gar-Gar."

"Smolder!" Garble screeched, "Not in public!" He pointed at the two outsiders, Spike smiling.

"Oh, it's okay to have a nickname. Sometimes I'm called Spikey-Wikey."

"Seriously?" Garble slammed his claw into his face, "You're admitting this?" He turned to Smolder, "I am not hanging out with him."

"Scared he'll whoop your butt again?" Heart asked, snickering under his breath while Garble growled at him next.

Smolder placed a claw on his shoulder. "Give him a chance, Garble. You two have a lot in common."

Garble groaned, "Fine. Race you to the lava pit." He flew off and Smolder went to chase after him, only for Spike to jump in front of her.

"Wait. I thought you said your brother was sweet."

Smolder nodded, "All the tough guy stuff is just an act. He's a big marshmallow."

Heart and Spike shared a glance, Spike then frowning at Smolder. "Yeah, not seein' it."

"Forgive me for not believing a dragon that wanted to start a war is nice," Heart added as Smolder turned to him, "You do know that if he had become Dragon Lord, he would have started a war with the ponies, right?"

"Wait..." Smolder slowly replied, "He actually tried to become Dragon Lord?!"

"Yes," they both responded before Spike continued, "And he almost killed me and Ember to win it! And if he had won, the ponies and dragons would have been at war right now!"

"Although," Heart spoke up, "I doubt the dragons would have stood much of a chance against the Royal Knights, Elements of Harmony, Alicorn Princesses and the royal guard." Smolder glared at him, "No offense."

Smolder sighed and shook her head, "Okay, maybe he's a burnt marshmallow. Smoky on the outside, but squishy on the inside." Spike tipped an eyebrow, "He just needs friends who can appreciate that part. Like you. You're not changing your mind about helping me cheer him up, are you?"

"Me?" Spike shook his head, "'Course not!" Smolder smiled and flew away, making Spike sigh.

"This didn't turn out like you thought it would, did it?" Spike glared as Heart, who just shrugged. "Come on. Time to go lava-diving."

"What?!" They both turned to another voice, now seeing Soul flying up to them, "What did I say about jumping into lava?!"

"But I'm lava-proof," Heart smirked, "I dipped my tail into the lava and nothing happened. So I can swim in lava!"

"Your outsides are lava-proof, but what about your insides?" Soul asked, making Heart raise an eyebrow. "Whenever you go swimming, you get water up your nose, in your ears and sometimes in your mouth. What'll happen if you do that and your insides aren't fireproof." Heart suddenly imagined himself inside a pool of lava, only for his body to start deflating as his internal organs and bones were melted.

"Uh...yeah." He shuddered, "Good point." Soul nodded as he turned to Spike, "Sorry bud. Looks like I'm not lava diving."

"That's fine," Spike replied, "Why don't you go check out the eggs? Maybe Soul will get her own dragon assistant."

"I doubt it," Soul stated as Spike flew off. "Besides, there's something wrong with the eggs." Hearing this, Heart sat down as Soul began to explain the situation.





Over at a lava pool, Smolder had caught up to Garble and decided to ask him about what her friends had said. "Were you really gonna start a war with the ponies?" Smolder asked, surprising Garble as she gave him a glare. "Heart and Spike said you tried to kill them and Ember to become Dragon Lord. And that if you did, you would have started a war with the ponies!"

"So what?" Garble asked, "I would have been allowed to. I would have been Dragon Lord after all."

"We wouldn't have stood a chance!" Smolder exclaimed, "I've seen how strong those ponies are and they would have blasted us all into oblivion if we even tried to attack. You would have been the Dragon Lord that got our species wiped out!"

Garble glanced away at this, "Whatever. It didn't happen, so can we just drop it? I wanted to be Dragon Lord so no-dragon could make fun of me. But that's not gonna happen." As he said that, Spike flew down, "Can we just drop it?!"

"Okay!" Smolder nodded as she stepped up to the lava pool, "Lava jumping!" She elbowed Garble in the side, "just like old times, huh, Gar-Gar?"

"Yeah..." Garble sighed, "Just like old times." He then shot Spike a glare, "Except for one little annoying thing." Spike glared back at him as Smolder ran to the edge of the pool.

"Scales away!" She dived in, splashing through the lava as she swam around and surfaced a moment later. "Come on in! The lava's fine!" Garble stared at the pool, Spike smiling at him.

"You know, whenever I'm feeling a little down, it always helps if I do something with a friend." He offered his claws, "How about we jump together?" Garble stared at the claw, then swung his tail into Spike's back. "Aah!" He fell into the pool, splashing face and stomach first into the lava.

"Ooh," Smolder winced as Spike began to sink beneath the pool. "Spike? You okay?" Spike's head shot out of the pool, the dragon gasping as he realized something was up his nose.

"Uh," he pinched his nose, "I know there must be something worse than lava up your nose." He suddenly started breathing in before sneezing, the lava exploding out of his nasal passage. "I just don't know what it is."

"CANNONBALL!" They suddenly heard Garble yell, the pair looking up to see him up on the highest rock above the pool. He then leapt into the air and fell at high speed, Spike spitting on his claws and thrusting the flames out to form a wall through the lava.

And when Garble slammed down into the lava, it caused a wave to wash towards them, only for the fire wall that Spike made to stop it, Garble's head poking out in time to see this.

"Whoa," Smolder commented, "Your magic's gotten really good."

"Thanks," Spike dispelled the flames. "But I never would have been this good if my dad hadn't left me that spellbook. And Starswirl helped me learn to understand some of the magic as well."

Garble glared at him, only for Smolder to chime in, "Watch where you're cannonballing. Spike doesn't have enough experience to ride something like that out."

"It was an accident," he lied before backstroking around the pool, Spike not believing that for a second.





Back at the hatching grounds, Fluttershy had a book she was currently reading to the eggs. "And then they all lived happily ever after," she closed the book and smiled down at the eggs. "Time to come out, little ones." She started making baby noises at them, but the eggs remained unhatched, "Maybe you'd like a song?" She was about to sing, but Ember spoke up at this.

"I think you might be encouraging them to stay in. Dragons aren't much for touchy-feely stuff."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Flicker chimed in as he walked up to the two, "I mean, Spike seems to like that stuff. So being averse to being cute and cuddly is clearly something learned." He then saw that none of the eggs were hatching. "We really have a problem here."

"Come on, Flicker." Ember turned to him, "There's gotta be something we're missing."

"I'm sorry Ember," Flicker sighed, "But hatching dragon eggs is supposed to be simple. Keep them surrounded by their element and protect them from danger. As long as the hatching grounds are hot, they should have hatched."

But as he said that, the eggs suddenly started shaking and rattling. Fluttershy gasped at this, "Goodness. Why are the eggs shaking?" She quickly got excited, "Are they finally hatching?"

"I wish," Ember shook her head, "They've been doing that for days. I'm sure it means something, but it's probably not good."

As she said that, Heart and Soul arrived. "Whoa," Heart commented, "What's with the egg dance party?"

"We don't know," Flicker replied as he wrote 'shaking=' in his book, "We need to think of what could be causing them to not hatch. What's different about this hatching season as opposed to all the other?"

Ember sighed at this, "Maybe it's me. Maybe Fluttershy's right about them being scared. Scared that the dragon lord won't be able to lead the dragons well."

"Don't say that," Fluttershy replied, "You're a great Dragon Lord and these eggs are lucky to have you protecting them." She glanced back at the eggs, "There has to be something else that's keeping them from being hatching."

"Well, if you have another idea, I'd love to hear it. Because if we don't figure out what's wrong with them soon, I'm worried the dragon babies are gonna shake themselves scrambled."

They watched as the eggs kept shaking, Fluttershy spreading her wings at this, "I'll go get Spike. He's good at thinking outside the box. You just keep working on making sure the eggs don't get hurt." She flew off and Soul went with her, Heart and the others looking down at the dragon eggs and making sure to keep them from shaking into one another.





The two mares searched the entire area around the hatching grounds, hoping to find Spike and his friends. But the three had left the last spot Soul had been and were now nowhere in sight, resulting in the pair searching high and low, soon finding themselves unable to keep track of what they had already searched due to everything looking so similiar.

"See anything?" Fluttershy asked.

"Nothing," Soul responded before hearing a voice cry out in excitement, the filly turning to see some dragons at a nearby lava lake. "Over there!"

They flew down and saw Spike, Smolder and the other dragons. Garble grabbed a surfboard-shaped rock off the side of the river and used it to skate down it, Smolder following behind while Spike sat on the edge of the river, glaring at the sight. "Spike!" Fluttershy exclaimed, "There you are!"

"Hey, Fluttershy." The pegasus smiled as she landed beside him.

"You know, for a land that's all rocks, this place is surprisingly easy to get lost in."

"You okay?" Soul asked as she landed as well, "You look a little bummed out."

"I'm fine," he lied before turning to Fluttershy. "How are the baby dragons doing?"

This made Fluttershy frown, "The eggs won't hatch. They just keep shaking. I'm starting to think the dragons are too scared to come out. I was hoping you could help, if you're not too busy cheering up Smolder's brother."

"Not a chance," Spike sighed, "Smolder's brother is Garble." Fluttershy gasped while Soul flinched as he added, "The only thing that cheers him up is to make me miserable."

"Hey, Spike!" They turned to see Garble and his friends, the red dragon reaching into the lava below him. "Want to play lavaball?" He threw the ball at him, but Soul acted faster as she made a magical U-shaped tube. The lava ball flew in one end and shot back out the other, heading straight for Garble.

"HEY!" Garble ducked to avoid it.

"Excuse me, but that's not a very nice game!"

Garble just growled back and fired another lava-ball, his friends doing the same, only for Soul to put up a shield to block them all, making the dragons hiss at the sight. "Quit hiding behind your magic!" Garble yelled, "Real dragons don't need magic to defend themselves!"

"Even though it was Spike's magic that saved you all from Malafear," Soul pointed out. The dragons growled at this and kept throwing lava, Fluttershy sighing before she closed her eyes. The next thing they all knew, Fluttershy had grown to the size of an elephant.

"ENOUGH!" She roared loud enough to make even a large dragon feel inferior, the teenagers all dropping heir lava balls. Fluttershy quickly cleared her throat, reverting back to normal size. "I mean, leave my friend alone please." The dragons all glared at her, "Spike came all this way to cheer up Garble, which was a very kind thing to do."

Garble blushed at this as one of his friends said, "Awwww, do you need cheering up?"

"What's wrong, Garble?" Another asked, "Did somedwagon hurt your wittle feelings?"

"No!" Garble shoved him away, "I-I don't know what she's talking about! Spike's the one who's gonna cry!"

And as he got up to stomp over to Spike, Smolder suddenly yelled, "Hey!" They all turned to the dragon, "Are we lava surfing or what?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah!" Garble let out a nervous laugh, "Let's go hang with a real dragon, not a pony wannabe!" The others laughed as they flew away, Spike slumping over as Soul lowered the forcefield.

"See? It's no use." He sighed, "Why don't I see what I can do about the eggs and you cheer up Garble? At least he listens to you."

He flew away at this, Soul crossing her hooves at the sight, "That Garble...he doesn't deserve all the help Spike's been trying to give him."

"Maybe," Fluttershy nodded, "But that doesn't mean he's not getting help." She put a hoof to her chest, "Just you wait, Garble. You're dealing with Fluttershy now, and she's packin' a whole lifetime of kindness!" Soul stared up at her, only to feel a little intimidated.





"Come on," Heart told one of the eggs. "You gotta hatch. Please." He picked one up to stop it rattling against another, "Just come out already." He felt himself start to heat up at this, the warmth spreading to the egg. "Huh?" He noticed it stopped shaking, which caused him to start to cool down. "Hey, it's stopped shaking." But then the egg started again as Ember and Flicker moved over to him. "Well, it was."

"GUYS!" They looked up to see Spike flying over to them.

"Spike!" Ember smiled as the young dragon landed and ran up to her.

"Hi, Ember!" He hugged her as Ember patted him on the head, Flicker smiling at the sight.

"Shouldn't you be doing whatever it is you do at Twilight's school?" Spike frowned at this as he pulled away and slumped over.

"I wish," he sighed, "It's a long story." He turned to the eggs, only to see what Fluttershy had been talking about. "Wow. These eggs really do look scared."

"This one stopped shaking," Heart chimed in, "But it was only for a moment." Spike stared at the egg, then at Heart as he tried to put the pieces together.

"What were you doing before it stopped shaking?"

"I was just holding it," Heart replied, "And kinda getting annoyed that it wasn't hatching."

Spike blinked at this, only for a bulb to go off in his head, "And when you get annoyed, you heat up." He looked down at the egg, remembering what he had learned from his father's memories. "A fire dragon needs heat to hatch. Flame up!" Heart blinked at this, but did as he was told.

He ignited his body and held the egg close, causing the egg to stop shaking. "Hey...it worked."

Spike smiled at the sight walking over to the other eggs and placing his claw on the ground. "What the-aren't the hatching grounds supposed to be hot?" He asked Ember, who nodded.

"Of course. There's a lake of molten lava under them. That's why the eggs are laid here. The heat makes them hatch."

"Then something's wrong," he replied, "I don't think the eggs are shaking because they're afraid. I think it's because they're cold."

Flicker and Ember placed their claws on the ground, only to go wide-eyed. The rocks were ice cold. "You're right!" Ember cried as Flicker smacked his face for not realizing. "But what happened to the lava?"

Spike put a claw to his chin, only for another bulb to go off. "I might have an idea about that."





Fluttershy and Soul had been searching for the dragons for a while after they flew away, only to find nothing. "Garble!" She called out, "Smolder! Is any-dragon there?" But there was no sign of them, only to suddenly hear a sound. A rhythmic beating sound she recognized. "Oh my. Are those...bongo drums?"

"What are bongos doing in the Dragon Lands?" Soul asked as they followed the sound. After a few minutes of following the noise, they started hearing a voice they recognized as Garble.

"Fire, dragon. Wig and waggin'. Feelin' like I be saggin'." They turned a corner and Fluttershy gasped at a new sight.

Garble and Smolder were sitting together, Garble beating the drums while dressed in a white and blue striped jumper and a black bureau.

"Oh, yeah." Smolder snapped her fingers and bobbed her head to the music, "I dig."

"Ragin' lava," Garble sang. "Balaclava."

"What am I looking at right now?" Soul asked, causing the dragons to gasp as the pair walked up to them. Garble quickly threw his hat and sweater off of himself, but it was too late. Soul and Fluttershy had seen everything.

"What do you think you're doing sneaking around here, pony?!" Garble put his bongos down with a snarl, looking like he was ready to gobble the pair up. But after what the two had just seen, they didn't show a hint of fear.

"Sneaking?" Fluttershy asked, "Looks to me like the only one sneaking around is you, Garble. Why didn't you tell me you were a poet?"

Garble blushed at this before yelling, "I'm not!"

"Right...sure you're not." Soul remarked as Fluttershy grabbed the bongos and started playing them.

"Words. Rhythm. Sometimes rhyme. Weird punctu...ation. Sure sounds like poetry to me."

Garble huffed at this, only for Smolder to place her claws on his shoulders. "It's okay, Gar-Gar. Soul and Fluttershy won't think you're soft for being a poet. And neither would any-dragon who was your real friend."

Garble sighed at this before glancing away, "Kay...fine. But I'm not a flowery, namby-pamby poet! I'm a beat poet. Dig?"

"I totally feel you," Fluttershy smiled as Soul tried to make a hoof motion she had seen a jazz pony do once.

"Word."

Garble then glared at them both, "and you better not tell my friends about it!"

"But why not?" Fluttershy asked, "If I was a poet, I'd want to share my creations with everypony."

"Really?" Soul asked, "How long did it take you to start singing with the ponytones in front of everypony?"

Fluttershy blushed at this, now twiddling her hooves before Smolder chimed in, "I'm the only one Garble will perform for. He hasn't written any poetry since I left. That's why he's been so sad."

Garble grumbled at this, "I need to create...but if the other dragons ever found out I like this junk, they'd make fun of me forever."

Fluttershy hummed as she put the pieces together. "Is that why you pick on Spike? To make your friends think you're tough?"

Garble slowly nodded, only for Smolder to grab his collar, "What?! You've been picking on Spike?"

"Uh..." Garble muttered out, "Only when you're not looking." Smolder growled at him, only for Garble to glance away, "But if I didn't pick on Spike, they'd just pick on me! And he is kind of a weakling."

"Weakling?!" Soul yelped, "Spike could probably turn you inside out if he wanted to. But he doesn't, because he understands the power he has isn't meant to make others feel bad."

"Yeah right," Garble rolled his eyes.

But as he said that, Fluttershy then grabbed him by the snout while doubling her size, making her look rather intimidating as Smolder let go of her brother. "I'll have you know Spike is stronger than you are any day!"

"Yeah, right!" Garble pushed her away, "That little cupcake-making, blanket-cuddling pony-dragon?" He laughed, "Give me a break!" This statement made Fluttershy gasp, Soul gulping since she knew Garble had it coming to him now.

"First of all, there's nothing wrong with being a pony!" She reverted back to normal size. "Second, Spike isn't afraid to be who he is, no matter what you or anyone thinks! That's real strength! Not like some dragon I know." The siblings stared at the usually timid pony in shock.

Smolder smirked at this, "For a pony without a horn, she's sure got a point."

Soul nodded. "Spike might be small, but he's got a mountain sized heart. He had the courage to compete in the Gauntlet of Fire, even if he couldn't fly or protect himself." She pointed at Garble, "And I don't remember you willing to sacrifice your life to seal Malafear away."

Garble growled back at her, only for another voice to suddenly yell at them, "Everyone!" They all turned to see Spike fling over, "There you all are! We need your help! Hurry!" They all shared a glance at this, only for Spike to land and tell them the situation.





Turns out, Garble's friends had been removing lava from the underground lake in order to keep their lava pool super warm and make waves for them to ride when surfing. Due to this, the lake of lava had shrunk and the hatching grounds had gone cold. With the eggs too fragile to move, their only option was to use dragon fire to warm them up. Well...not just dragon fire.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Heart roared, as he ignited his entire body and launched flames from his hooves. The fire flew around them and heated the eggs, but his fire and the fire of the other dragons wasn't enough to warm the eggs up beyond just keeping them from shaking. Heart panted as he tried to keep the fire alive, Soul and the others arriving as his sister saw he was straining himself.

"I've ordered every-dragon to warm up the eggs," Ember chimed in, "But they still won't hatch. I don't know what else we can try."

"We can't give up!" Spike added, "There's got to be something we can do!" He spat his flames into his claws and spread them outward. Each claw had a strand of fire that had a flaming claw on the end of it, which he covered an egg crater with, but it still wasn't enough.

"Careful Spike," Flicker commented, "Don't forget that your magic is fueled by your spiritual energy. Use too much at once and you could kill yourself."

"I have to do something," Spike yelped, "If my magic can help these eggs hatch, I'll use it." But he could already feel himself beginning to strain. The magic he had used to protect himself from Garble earlier had been a lot, but nothing compared to making multiple fire claws burn extra hot. "There has to be a way to heat them up more."

One of the teenage dragons heard this and laughed, "How about we wrap the eggs in a bunch of baby bwankets?" He laughed again, shooting out fire at the same time.

"Yeah!" The other dragon cackled, "The wimp can knit 'em up quick-like!" They all laughed as their fire turned purple, all flying straight for Spike.

"Hey!" Spike leapt up, having to cancel his magic and leap away from the flames, "Watch it! That laugh fire could burn somepony!"

Garble saw this and looked between the fire and the eggs that were now starting to smoke. "Burn," he whispered, "Good idea, Spikey-Wikey!" He ran behind a rock, confusing the young dragon. He then returned and Spike raised an eyebrow as he saw Garble dressed in his poet's getup.

"What the-" Heart tried to say only for Garble to sit down and start playing his bongos.

"Eggs, come. Burst into that light. Break through shells that bind." The dragons watched him, unable to believe what they were seeing, "Break free, explore. Stuck!" He snapped his fingers, "Between rock and...hard place." The dragons started laughing at this, Garble slightly blushing. And as this happened, the dragons started breathing fire as they laughed. The flames turned purple, all turning the flames onto the eggs.

"Freedom, come!" Garble continued, "Don't be shy! Look those others in the eye!" They more Garble played his bongos and performed, the harder the dragons laughed. Their purple flames then changed to blue while Spike watched the sight with wide eyes, "Stake your claim! Don't stop! Just do! Be the one and only...you!"

The eggs had completely stopped shaking and as Fluttershy got in close, she heard a crack. "Spike, look!"

Spike turned to see the cracks appearing on all the eggs, the little dragon gasping as he now realized what Garble was trying to do. "Their laugh fire's so hot that it's hatching the eggs!" He cheered and quickly used his magic, placing the fire hands over the craters so the heat wouldn't escape.

"Come to light! Proud to be! Open up! Bam! Be...free!" The dragons laughed harder than ever, resulting in even hotter flames. And one by one, the top of the shells broke apart and little heads started popping out. The dragons kept laughing as more and more of the eggs started to hatch, Garble continuing to play until the very last dragon was born. Only then did he stop as the dragons began to calm down.

"You did it, Gar-Gar!" Smolder exclaimed, "You performed in front of other dragons!" Garble smiled at this, only to frown when one of his friends started laughing.

"And it was super lame!" He yelled, "What kind of weakling writes poetry?" He turned to high-five another dragon, only for Ember to fly up and glare down at them with the Fire Ruby Scepter in hand.

"The hero of the Dragon Lands!" She roared, "That's who!"

"Yeah!" Smolder added, "Garble saved our eggs because he was strong enough to be who he is, whether you liked it or not." She turned to smile at Spike, "I grew up thinking it was okay to make fun of differences. But my friends have taught me to celebrate them."

The rest of the dragons shared a glance, only to nod. Their strength and power hadn't saved the eggs, instead putting them in danger. Maybe being different was a good thing after all.

Ember smiled as she called out to the dragons. "And from now on, in my kingdom, that's exactly what we will do." She then turned to Garble. "Now, if you don't mind, can you teach me how to write poetry like that? It's pretty cool."

"Uh..." Garble muttered out, "Yeah, sure. No problem!"

"Yeah!" the dragon that made fun of him stepped up, "Me, too!"

"I want to learn!" Another cried out, all soon getting in line.

Spike laughed at this as he got between them and Garble. "Take a number, guys." They then heard giggling and turned to Fluttershy, who was hugging the many baby dragons and looking like she could die of cuteness overload.

"I'll take them all!" Ember then flew up next to her.

"You do realize they all have parents, right?"

"Oh," Fluttershy blushed, "Sorry." She looked down at them, "But where are the parents? Shouldn't they be here?"

"They will. After the eggs are laid, they go off to gather enough food to feed them all until they can gather it themselves. They'll be back to collect them soon." Fluttershy nodded and continued to hug and snuggle the dragon hatchling as much as she could.

And as this happened, Flicker started chronicling this day in his journal, making sure to get every detail. Luckily, he assured everyone that the lake would refill in time for next year as long as the rocks were replaced and nobody tried to empty it out again. He suggested to Ember that maybe any event involving lava around the hatching grounds should be banned during the hatching season. Ember liked that idea, though many of the dragons were upset that their favorite sports were gonna be stopped during this time of year.

The sun began to set next as Garble's first beat poetry class came to an end, a bunch of the larger dragons now flying down. They all watched as the parents flew down and saw the dragon babies were hatched. Apparently, dragon parents memorize the smell of their babies when they're still in the egg, meaning they could find the baby dragons and take them home.

"There they go," Ember commented when the last baby dragon was taken away by its parent. "Off into the big wide world."

"Maybe there's a future Dragon Lord amongst them," Flicker joked, the others smiling at the thought as Garble turned to Spike.

"Hey, listen." Spike raised an eyebrow, "I'm sorry." Spike leaned back at this, "I picked on you so the other dragons wouldn't pick on me. But I get that that was wrong."

"Well, I'm glad you understand that." He held up his claw, "I know we'll probably never be friends, but let's try and put the past behind us and focus on the future. Deal?" Garble looked hesitant for a moment, then nodded and took his claw to shake.

"Deal." Smolder smiled at this, happy the two had made up. However, the second everyone looked away, Garble pulled Spike in to whisper into his ear. "But if you ever try anything with my sister, I'll tie you up and feed you to the biggest tatzlwurm I can find. Got it?"

Spike gulped, "Got it." Garble let him go as everyone else turned back, Fluttershy smiling at Spike and her students.

"Well, I think this kindness fieldtrip went splendidly. Now, let's get home. I'm sure Twilight's itching to hear about everything that happened."

They all chuckled at this, Smolder giving her brother one last hug before they all headed for the Rune Gate. It had been an interesting excursion to the Dragon Lands and with Spike, Smolder and even Garble acting as an example, it looked like things were once again gonna change there for the better. The future was looking bright for the dragons, especially for the next generation that would grow up in a land that accepted the differences of the world.
> Jakhowls in Equestria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aurarora had certainly had a lot of changes over the last few months. The underground kingdom of jakhowls had gotten a lot of benefits from allying themselves with Equestria. Two weeks after the jakhowls and ponies partnered up, a group of pony architects and builders arrived to start working on building new homes for the jakhowls. They tested the land and determined what kind of structures would be best for the place, happy that the land under the Tree of Ancients were actually quite strong and could hold any kind of building.

As such, the town was soon rebuilt from the ground up to resemble the houses one would find in Ponyville. The jakhowls quickly grew to love their new homes, which were much stronger and didn't need anywhere near as much repair work. The ponies had also started teaching the jakhowls how to build and repair, though with the quality of the builds, that probably wouldn't be for a long time.

A bunch of vets had also travelled to the kingdom in order to do many different tests, with Ponyville's Doctor Fauna leading them due to her years of treating Springer and the pups in Ponyville. The jakhowls had been happy to find that they were all perfectly healthy, though they were no big fans of needing to get shots to keep themselves from catching some of the diseases their kind likely didn't have the immune system to fight off.

Magic had also been used to make jakhowl life easier, such as the waste. Now the toilets had all been remade as modern lavatories with magic piping that was designed to transport the waste to special storage area near the farms. As such, jakhowl life was never better. The citizens of Aurarora were enjoying their new freedom, though none had actually left the kingdom yet since they had no idea what was out there.

It was here that the leader of the jakhowls, Springer, stepped out of his new house, carrying a bunch of boxes. The house was nice, though it didn't yet feel like the home he had in Equestria. Especially since Ace and Mira had left for school. The place just felt too empty. As such, he made his way through the village toward the training grounds, where a bunch of young jakhowls and their teacher were waiting for him.

Another jakhowl was always watching from the sidelines, the one called Mirage. The silver jakhowl was interested to see how Springer intended to help this class, as all the jakhowls were young ones having trouble learning Aura Blast.

"Hello everyjakhowl," he smiled as he put the boxes down. "You all ready to learn Aura Blast?"

"Are you sure you can help us?" A young red jakhowl asked, "I've been trying for weeks and I can't get it right."

The others nodded as Springer chuckled, "Yeah, I get it." He opened the box, "But this is a technique that my tribe used to teach younglings how to do it. Instead of trying to do the Aura Blast perfectly right from the start, we'll break it up into stages."

The youngsters all tilted their heads at this, confusion clear on their faces as they saw what was in the boxes.

"Water balloons?" One asked.

"Rubber balls?" Another asked while the third held up an uninflated balloon. "How are these supposed to help?"

Springer smirked as he held up a water balloon. "The Aura Blast is a combination of three things: Rotation, power and control. You all are trying to do all three at the same time. Instead, master one and then add the next step. First, rotation." He held the balloon in his paw and everyjakhowl watched as it started bubbling and flexing in many different ways. "Using your aura, spin the water in the balloon until it pops. This'll help you get the feel for that specific step."

The water in the balloon pushed the material to its breaking point at this and popped. "Wow..." the younglings whispered as the water fell to the ground.

Springer smirked and took out the rubber ball. "The next step is power." Once again, the ball started shifting. "This time, using only your aura, burst the ball." The ball was then ripped apart by the aura that exploded out of Springer's paw, the younglings going wide-eyed, "And finally, control." He took out a balloon and inflated it to the same amount as the water balloon. Then held it in his paw.

The younglings waited to see what the balloon was gonna do, but nothing happened. "I don't get it," A pink female commented.

Springer smiled as he used his claw to pop the balloon, revealing a completed Aura Blast in his paw. "If you can combine the first two steps inside this balloon and control it enough to not pop it, you'll be ready to master Aura Blast."

The younglings gasped at this before reaching in to grab a water balloon. They all began to try what he showed them, some having trouble getting the water to spin a little while others were getting it to spin a lot but not enough to pop the balloon. But a few managed to get the balloons to pop on their first try. "Nice. Some of you have the first step down. Now try the second." They nodded and reached for a rubber ball. "Just keep practicing until you can get it."

Springer walked off at this, only for Mirage to appear beside him, "Well, that was certainly an interesting way to teach."

Springer smirked at this, "Just be thankful Princess Luna knew the training technique or I wouldn't know it either."

"Really? So you didn't learn it that way?" Springer shook his head.

"No, my Aura Blast just came naturally for me." Mirage blinked at this, "I was able to do it almost right out of the egg. Never had to learn."

"Huh," Mirage replied, "Well aren't you full of surprises."

"Didn't you see it when you saw my memories?"

"Um..." Mirage tried to respond, thinking back to she had saw the jakhowl's full life, "Huh. You did, didn't you? Strange."

Springer laughed at this, now seeing the surprise on Mirage's face. The female felt she kept getting surprised by Springer as she thought back to how much things had changed with him being the new leader. Though his teaching abilities left more than a little to be desired based on how much she had to correct Ace and Mira's fighting abilities, he seemed to understand the basics of teaching and leading everything else. He had learned a lot about leadership from Twilight and the rest of the alicorns in Equestria. He had in particular gotten help from Luna and Ruby, writing them a few letters after he had become the leader. He even asked if Luna wanted to come directly, as she had ruled over a jakhowl tribe before, but she said that that was in the past and Springer was the future. As such, her advice was more than enough, and Springer now seemed to always have an answer to the problems that presented themselves. It was something Mirage couldn't help but admire.

"You hear anything from Ace or Mira?" She asked as they headed out of Aurarora and up the mountain to the exit.

"Nope. Guess they're focusing too much on school. Or they've done something bad and begging to Twilight that she doesn't write to me about it." Mirage laughed at this as they left the mountain. Though the landscape the ponies had given them wasn't great when they first saw it, jakhowl hard work and pony assistance had allowed them to do wonders. A small farm had already been built at the base of the mountain, which had many crops the jakhowls hadn't seen before growing in it. The forest was an excellent source of lumber for them as well, and it wouldn't be long before the jakhowls were completely self-sufficient.

"Things are looking up," Springer commented, "And who knows, maybe one day there'll be a train station built and we can be connected to the rest of the world."

Mirage had heard about trains but was still a little confused about what exactly they were. "If that happens, jakhowls might start wanting to adventure out into the world."

"Yeah," Springer nodded, "Maybe. They can't all stay here forever. Even if it's just spending a day or two in another kingdom, the experience will be good for them. The younger jakhowls are all interested in seeing the world, especially after seeing my memories and all the stories Ace and Mira told them."

Mirage nodded back, her own interest rising to see the outside world, but with everything that had been happening, she felt she never had time to try. But as this thought went through her head, the universe had a funny way of working. For in that moment, a small cloud of ash flew down from the sky and made its way toward Springer.

"What's that?"

"Looks like Spike's sending me a letter." Springer responded, Mirage raising an eyebrow as the ash swirled around and morphed into a scroll, Springer grabbing it and unfurling the scroll. "Springer of the jakhowls, you are cordially invited to the first UFC Summit. You and a delegation are welcome to attend or refuse the summit at your leisure."

"A summit?" Mirage tilted her head, "What's that?"

"it's basically a meeting," Springer replied, "All the leaders of the kingdoms are sent to discuss any issues or ideas that will help the kingdoms prosper. I think this might be the first one ever. The United Federation of Creatures is still pretty new."

"Are you going to go?" Mirage asked.

Springer shrugged at this, "I don't see why not. I'm betting the other leaders will be there. It'll be interesting to see how they look at me now that I'm actually a leader instead of just the only adult member." He turned to Mirage, "You wanna come?"

She went wide-eyed, "Really?!"

"It said I can bring a delegation. You are my second-in-command, so you should learn what these things are like in case you need to fill in for me at a future point. Plus, it'll give you an excuse to travel outside of Aurarora."

Mirage slowly smiled at this, "Alright, let's do it. Where's the delegation taking place?"

Springer looked back at the scroll again, "Canterlot, but it asks that we head to Ponyville first since the city's undergoing some security work after what happened with Shroudheart." Mirage nodded, having heard about this evil pony and the horrors he had blanketed Equestria with. "The summit's in one week's time. Plenty of time to get everyone sorted for when we're not here. Core and the other elders can handle things until we get back." Mirage nodded and the pair headed back inside.





The week passed, both getting prepared to head to Ponyville for the summit. They were standing outside the newly constructed transport hut, which had the Rune Gate Twilight had given them that allowed for easy commute to another location. The elders and several other jakhowls were also there, ready to see them off.

"Have fun at your meeting," Clair commented, "We'll keep the place from burning down while you're gone."

"Thanks," Springer nodded, "And if there's anything that happens that you're worried about, don't hesitate to use the green fire in my house. Just put a letter into it and it'll be sent right to me." They nodded as the Rune Gate activated, the pair turning to one another.

Mirage stared at the light pillar and flinched, only to see Springer walk in without any hesitation and disappear into the light. The silver jakhowl gulped before quickly doing the same, and in the blink of an eye, she was transported. Stepping out of the light, she found herself in an unfamiliar room made from crystals.

Twilight and Flash stood in front of her, Springer happily hugging Twilight while giving Flash a high-five. The pair hadn't seen each other in a good while, so Mirage understood why they were so happy to see one another before turning to smile at Mirage.

"It's good to see you," Twilight told her, "Welcome to our home, and to Ponyville."

"Thank you for having me," Mirage replied, "I can't wait to see what this summit is all about."

"Of course," Twilight giggled, "Well, the summit won't be until tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to explore Ponyville or you can go ahead to Canterlot. We have a battalion of guards waiting for all the delegates. They'll act as your escorts and make sure you get to Canterlot safely. Sorry about all the hoops we're making you jump, but security is being doubled ever since Shroudheart attacked. And with Chrysalis still on the loose, we don't want to leave ourselves open to another attack."

"We understand," Springer responded, "We'll take a look around Ponyville and then head to Canterlot on the train. Mirage seems pretty interested in seeing it." Mirage blushed at this as the others smiled. "By the way, who else is here?"

"Prince Rutherford has already headed to Canterlot," Flash replied, "So has Queen Novo and her delegation. Thorax and Hiveena arrived a little while ago, so we're just waiting on Ember and the Griffon delegation." They nodded and Flash smirked, "Wait until you see Thorax and Hiveena. You'll be in for a pleasant surprise."

Springer tilted his head at this, only to gesture to Mirage, the jakhowl soon following him. They walked out of the Rune Gate room, Mirage going wide-eyed at the sight of the castle, "You used to live here? I mean, I know I saw it before but...its amazing up close."

"Yup." Springer nodded, "My first home was in that library Flash and Twilight lived in. Then it was destroyed and this place was built to replace it." Mirage nodded as they walked out of the castle, only to be greeted by a large number of Royal Guards.

The ponies all stood to attention as the pair appeared. "Sir!" One of them called out, "We are the guard in charge of your safe arrival to Canterlot. Are you ready to head over there?"

"Not yet," Springer shook his head, "We'll be going by train later."

"Very well sir. We'll send a squad over to the station to await your arrival." Several split off and marched in the direction of the train station while Springer began to lead Mirage away.

"Wow," Mirage laughed, "Those ponies sure take their jobs seriously."

"They don't get a lot of chances to prove themselves," Springer chuckled, "Whenever something really big happens, they find themselves getting outclassed. But they still do good work...when they're not being delivered cake."

Mirage blinked at this, only to shake her head as they arrived at the town. She had seen images of Ponyville when she saw Springer's memories, but actually seeing it herself was so much more. The ponies smiled when they saw them, many calling out to Springer and saying how nice it was to have him back in the town. Springer just waved back as they made their way over to one of the flower stands.

"Springer," the stall pony said, "So good to see you. And who's this lovely lady?" Mirage blushed at this, not used to all this attention.

"Hey Rose," Springer waved. "This is Mirage." He leaned forward and took a whiff, sighing at the lovely aroma. "Haven't smelled anything like this in a while. Wish we had these flowers back in Aurarora." Mirage was curious and leaned in as well, only to go wide-eyed as she sniffed it.

"Amazing." she whispered.

Rose smiled at the pair before picking up a lily, holding it over to Springer. "Here. I think your friend will enjoy this flower."

"Huh?" Springer took it, then turned to the slightly shorter jakhowl. She stared at the lily, Springer smirking before he placed the flower behind her ear. Mirage slightly flinched at this before blushing as she turned to see a big grin on Springer's face.

After saying goodbye to Rose, the pair kept exploring Ponyville. Mirage's eyes kept darting around, stars shining inside them, "This place really is amazing," Mirage commented, "I can see why you were so hesitant to leave."

Springer nodded, "My friends might have helped me grow into the jakhowl I am, but this town and its citizens were just as influential. It was here I knew I could always be safe and able to rest so I was ready to deal with any insane situation that life threw at me."

Mirage giggled at this, the jakhowl feeling the aura around her. She could feel the joy and love that flowed through this town. The ponies all cared about one another and it was the serenity in the town made her glad it was the first place she visited outside of her home. The pair then went up to Sugarcube Corner, Springer licking his lips as they approached. "I haven't had a cupcake in so long. I can't wait to have one."

"What's a cupcake?"

"Uh...remember that thing I told you about that I used to not be allowed to eat because I'd go crazy?"

Mirage blinked at this before remembering, "Why would you want to eat it now then?"

"Cuz I'm an adult." Mirage leaned back at this, only for Springer to add, "I don't know why, but I can eat them just fine now. Its also why I've made sure the school cafeteria doesn't serve Ace or Mira anything sugar based and Sugarcube Corner knows to only give those two sugar-free stuff. The last time they did was a disaster."

"Oh? What happened? I don't remember seeing that in your memories."

Springer glanced away at this as they got to shop's front door, "Er...let's just say the event is now called 'The Day of the Yellow Mouse's Reckoning' for a reason. And don't ask what that means. Its not worth explaining. Just know that we had to repair a third of the school from the sugar aura tornado explosion."

Mirage opened her mouth to ask what the heck that meant, only for Springer to open the door, the duo then greeted to the sight of two individuals standing at the counter. Mirage recognized them from Springer's memories as the changeling rulers, Thorax and Hiveena. The pair spun around, Mirage noticing Thorax was holding something: A baby changeling, which was dark blue in color and had a yellow jacket around his chest. He also had two little red nubs on his head, which would likely grow into a pair of stag beetle antlers like the one holding him.

"Thorax," Springer shined a grin as he walked up to them, "Hiveena. Long time no see."

"Hello Springer," Hiveena smiled before noticing the other jakhowl. "I see Thorax and I aren't the only ones using this summit as an excuse to get some alone time." The pair blinked at this before glancing away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Springer laughed.

"I'm just here to make sure he doesn't embarrass the jakhowls," Mirage added as Springer rubbed the back of his neck.

The changelings laughed at this, only for Springer to ask, "So...who's this little one?" He reached down to tickle the baby changeling on the nose, making him laugh and the older changelings chuckled.

"Meet Costa," Thorax laughed, "The future ruler of the changelings."

"Aww..." Mirage giggled, "How cute. When I was told there were creatures out there that were a mix of ponies and insects, I never thought their babies would actually be cute. Guess this little youngling just proved me wrong."

"Well," Hiveena smirked, "If he had been born before our evolution, then you probably wouldn't see him as cute." Mirage remembered how changelings used to look from Springer's memories, the jakhowl wondering if she was right.

"So," Springer asked, "Has Costa shown any new abilities? I might be wrong, but doesn't each newborn royal changeling have a new ability that'll be passed on to the hive when they take the throne?"

"That's supposed to be true," Hiveena nodded, "I passed the ability to mimic the abilities of what we become into the rest of the hive. But Costa hasn't shown any unusual abilities yet."

"But he's still young," Thoraxa added, "If he does have a new ability, I'm sure it'll appear in time. But who knows, he might not have any abilities. The changelings might have finished evolving for the time being. At least, that's what I hope. If we keep gaining new abilities every generation, we might end up going a little bit out of control."

The other three nodded, only for a voice to suddenly exclaimed, "SPRINGER!" He turned to see something pink tackle him, "You're back!" Mirage jumped into a fighting stance when this happened, her instincts telling her to protect her leader...only to see Springer hugging the one that had tackled him, making her tense up.

"Hey Pinkie," Springer laughed as the pony leapt off of him. "Long time no see. So, how's it been going...Mrs. Wild Smile?" Pinkie giggled as she leapt back behind the counter.

"It's been going great! Things have been awesome ever since we defeated Shroudheart." She placed a box on the counter, Hiveena taking it in her magic. "So, what can I get for you today?"

Springer hummed as the changelings moved over to a table to enjoy their treat, the jakhowl staring at the many cupcakes before realising Mirage would be having her first one. "What would you recommend for a jakhowl that's never had a cupcake before?"

Pinkie gasped in horror as she turned to Mirage, "You've never had a cupcake before?!"

"No, I haven't." Mirage frowned, "Is that a bad thing?" She got her answer when Pinkie leapt over the counter and hugged her, tears exploding from her eyes.

"You poor poor thing! Never getting to enjoy the sugary goodness of cupcakes!"

"Now Pinkie, you do know too much sugar isn't the best for jakhowls." Springer chimed in, Pinkie letting go of the hug as her memories of Springer overloading on sugar came to mind.

"Oh. Right." She leaned over to Springer, "But she should be okay with a basic amount, right?"

"She should. Just don't go overboard."

She did a small salute at this, "You got it! Just take a seat and I'll be right back." She shot into the kitchen at this, Springer laughing at the sight before leading Mirage to a table. The jakhowl was confused by what she just saw, only for a minute later, Pinkie returned carrying a large tray of cupcakes. "Tadaa!" She exclaimed, holding the tray up, "My special sampler of the best cupcakes on the menu!"

She put the tray down and Mirage stared at the many small treats, now seeing the colors and toppings. Pinkie took out a knife and cut each of the cupcakes in half, making two groups of each half before pushing the tray forward. "Might I suggest the vanilla cupcake with pink icing and chocolate sprinkles?"

"It'd be my pleasure." Springer took the half in question and Mirage picked up the other half, "Cheers." Springer took a bite and instantly looked like he was about to melt in delight.

Mirage took this as a chance and placed the treat in her mouth, her teeth biting into the icing and through the cake. As soon as she did, a burst of flavor exploded in her mouth and Mirage's eyes went wide. Pinkie smiled as she saw Mirage looking like she had died and gone to heaven.

"Wow," Mirage whispered. "It's so...so...so..."

"Yeah," Springer chuckled, "I had the same thought when I first tried one of Pinkie's cupcakes." Pinkie smirked and returned to the kitchen as the pair continued to enjoy the delicious sweet treats. With each cupcake, Mirage found herself enjoying a different mix of great flavors, unable to believe she had gone her whole life without trying this amazing food.

Eventually, the pair finished eating the multiple halfs and were well and truly satisfied. "That was amazing," Mirage sat back in the chair.

"Yeah," Springer nodded, "Wanna order something else?"

"Well-"

"Looks like you two enjoyed yourselves," Pinkie commented as she walked up with a tray that had a large strawberry milkshake on it with two straws. "Here. On the house." Springer frowned at why Pinkie would only give them one drink, but Mirage seemed more interested in the drink itself. He started using the straw to scoop up the whipped cream, Mirage doing the same and finding it tasting just as good as the cupcakes.

Once they finished with the whipped cream, the pair began drinking the drink and ended up staring at one another as they did so. The pair couldn't help but blush at this, Springer wondering why his heart was feeling so funny. But the moment was broken when Mirage stopped drinking and grabbed her head. "Ahh!" She cried, holding it and looking like she was in agony, "What's happening to me?"

"Oh," Springer gulped, "Right. That's a little something called brain freeze. Happens when you eat or drink something cold too fast."

"Am I gonna die?" She asked, only for Springer to chuckle at this. Mirage was about to yell at him, but the pain began to subside before she could. She sighed as the aching stopped, allowing her to lower her paws.

"See? Nothing to be worried about. As far as I can tell, nobody's ever died from brain freeze."

"And everyone gets this if they drink too fast?"

"Almost everyone. Heart can't seem to get a brain freeze. Ace sent me a letter a while back, telling me how he, Mira and Soul watched Heart chug down six tubes of ice cream and never even get a tiny headache. He got a serious stomachache, but no brain freeze. Make of that what you will."

Mirage laughed at the implication as they finished off their milkshake. Thanking Pinkie for the delicious experience, they walked out of the bakery, Thorax, Hiveena and their child having already left and were likely on their way to Canterlot. Seeing this, Springer suggested that it was probably a good idea for them to head that way as well.

"So...this train thing. You sure it's safe?"

"Yeah. I've ridden it countless times. Once, I even had to hide under the seats so the ponies didn't know I was there." Confusion embraced Mirage's face at this before Springer told her the story of Spike's pet sitting adventure. By the time they arrived at the station, where the guards were waiting for them, the story concluded, and Mirage was laughing her head off.

Stepping onto the platform, the silver jakhowl saw that a bunch of ponies were simply waiting around. "So how does this work? Is there a button that summons this train or do you require some kind of spell?"

Springer chuckled as he sat on a bench, "No. Trains run on a schedule. There'll be one soon, but we have to wait for it." He told her what to expect so she wouldn't be scared when it happened, Mirage now curious to see what was so impressive about this train, especially since Springer wanted a station to be built outside Aurarora. After a little while, she heard the whistle and turned to see everyone getting up as a metal monster rolled into view. Mirage went wide-eyed at the sight, never having seen anything look that powerful.

The train soon pulled into the station and she watched as ponies started filing out of the carriages. "We have to go inside that thing?"

"It's no different from being inside a house," Springer chuckled, "Only this house has wheel and is being pulled by a steam powered machine." He took her paw and pulled her into the carriage, Mirage flinching as they got inside, "If you want, we can get a private booth at the back. That way nopony will see you looking worried."

"I am not worried," Mirage grumbled before jumping at the whistle. "But a private booth does sound good. Always nice to have some alone time." Springer laughed as they made their way through the train, soon getting to an empty carriage with the guards waiting outside.

The pair waited for the train to start up, Mirage gripping the seat as she felt the entire carriage shake. "We're okay," Springer put a paw on her shoulder, "This is normal."

"It doesn't feel normal," Mirage gulped as she looked out the window and saw the countryside begin to fly by. "How fast are we going?"

"About fifty miles an hour," Springer replied, "I asked Twilight the same thing on my first train trip and she said that was the fastest the train could safely run on the tracks without them getting damaged. Even with magic, nothing's indestructible."

Mirage sighed as she got used to the movement and slumped over in her seat, "Sorry. This is just so weird. I never thought my life would be this insane. Honestly, I never thought I'd ever leave Aurarora. Mostly because I never thought the seal would break."

"I get it," Springer nodded, "You've been thrown into the deep end. Nobody expected the jakhowls to return the way they did, so nobody had any idea how to handle it. But luckily, you all have got me and a few others to help you get used to things. The same way you helped me assimilate into jakhowl culture, I'll help show you the wonders of the modern age. And you've already shown how well you can adapt."

"R-r-really?"

"I didn't see you complain when you saw all the new houses the ponies built. Plus, the magical plumbing that stopped us from having to drag large tubs of poop around all over the place." Mirage laughed at this, nodding as she continued to look out of the window. "But I do understand why you're so worried. Lots of kingdoms in the world are going through a shift. The changelings used to be love starved monsters and the dragons were massive jerks until recently. Then there's the hippogriffs, who spent years hiding under the ocean. And don't even get me started on the yaks."

"And they're all changing who they are?" Mirage asked.

"Not changing. Improving. They're still who they were before, but with a little bit extra improving."

"I hope we can do that," she sighed, "I want the jakhowls to grow, but I don't want it to make us lose what made us special." She glanced back at him, "Am I starting to sound like Razor Fang?"

"No." he placed a paw on her knee, "Razor refused to believe that the jakhowls needed improving. He saw how different everything was and decided it was bad. He thought that only his way was perfect and refused to look or even try any other way. You're willing to try and see the world in a better light. Maybe you'll decide you don't like some things out here, but that's alright because you're willing to try it before dismissing it." Mirage smiled at this, placing her own paw on his. "And I promise I'm not gonna let the jakhowls become something they're not. We'll improve them together and keep what makes them special. Our traditions aren't gonna change, but we'll broaden their horizons and show the world why we're so amazing without needing to invade like Razor was planning."

Mirage nodded and chuckled at that, knowing her father would approve of where the jakhowls were going in this new age. If only he could have been there to see it. They continued to sit and enjoy the ride at this, Mirage growing more and more comfortable until they arrived at Canterlot. And as they entered the city, the train passed through an arch that Springer didn't remember it having before.

That arch unleashed a light inside of it that the train moved through, the light flowing through the carriages as it did so. One of the guards opened the door to their booth as the light was flowing over them. "No need to be alarmed. This magic is designed to scan those inside of any sign of dark magic or a transformation. Don't want Chrysalis or a mind-controlled slave to get into the city and cause havoc."

"Smart," Springer nodded as the light finished scanning their carriage. Once it was done, the train pulled into the station and rolled to a stop.

The guards lead them out of the train and onto the platform, the lead guard turning to them. "You have safely arrived at your destination. You can ask us to remain by your side until we reach the castle if you like."

"I think we'll be fine on our own," Springer replied.

"Very well." The guard held up a pair of glass vials with a mouth swab in each of them. "Apologies, but could you please give us a DNA sample? This way we can ensure the you that arrives at the castle is actually you."

Springer was amazed by how seriously they were taking security now. A part of him wondered if a changeling could change their DNA, but assumed Thorax had assured them they couldn't. As such, Springer took a vial and used the swab to take a sample from his mouth. Mirage did the same, though clearly confused about why they were doing this.

Once the samples were taken, the guards marched off for the castle as Springer began to lead Mirage through the city. And to see Mirage was intimidated by the size of the place was an understatement. "This place is huge!" She looked up at the large buildings, which dwarfed the ones in Ponyville and Aurarora.

"Tell me about it," Springer chuckled, "I guess it can be a little intimidating when you first come. But when you get used to it, it's not too scary." They made their way through the streets, being careful to avoid the many ponies that were rushing around. Springer smirked as he spotted Canterlot Cathedral in the distance, telling Mirage about the battle that took place there so long ago.

As they made their way deeper into the city, the place got more packed, Springer not daring to let go of Mirage's paw, fearing that if he did, she would get swept away by the river of ponies around them. And if he lost her, he might never find her again. However, as they turned a corner, they spotted an old earth pony mare walking down the street pushing a cart of some kind full of grocery bags. That is, till the cart's wheel suddenly came off and she lost control. "Oh!" She cried as her groceries fell to the ground, "Oh dear."

Mirage quickly pulled her paw out of Springer's and rushed over to her, Springer following, "Need a hoof?" He asked, catching the mare's attention. Mirage was worried when she saw her surprised expression, fearing she might see them as some kind of wild animal. That is, till Springer added, "First time seeing a jakhowl up close?"

"Indeed," she nodded, "I heard about your kind and I've seen a few with Princess Twilight and her friends. But it's the first time I've seen you so close before."

"Well, why don't we get that wheel fixed," Springer grabbed the wheel and lifted up the cart to reattach it. As he did this, Mirage started picking the mare's groceries up. The mare thanked them, happy to see such helpful creatures were now a part of Equestria.

They smiled as Springer finished fixing the cart while Mirage picked up the last can of food that had fallen from the cart. The mare thanked them next, soon pushing the fixed cart down the street and around the corner.

"That was nice." Mirage chimed in, "Helping others even if it's in a little way."

"Yup," Springer nodded, "You get used to doing that kind of thing when you're a defender of the peace. When we weren't protecting the town from destruction, we were helping fix wagons and paint houses. Not so much defenders as we were...handy creatures."

Mirage laughed at this as a pony walked up, looking lost as he stared at a map. "Excuse me?" They turned to him, "You don't happen to know where Crast Street is, do you?" Springer took a look at his map at this, Mirage watching and waiting, only to notice something on the ground behind a dustbin. It was a can of something, picking it up and realizing the mare from earlier must have dropped in and they had overlooked it. She glanced back the way the mare had gone and ran off to catch her.

And as she went around a corner, Springer pointed at a place on the map, "There it is." he started waving his paw on the map at this, "Alright. Head down this street, then take a left and keep going. Then take the third right and second left and you'll be there." The pony thanked him and ran off, "Alright Mirage-" He stopped when he saw she was gone. "Mirage?" He glanced around, only to go wide-eyed, "Oh no."

He leapt up the side of a building and perched himself atop the roof, trying to locate the female jakhowl. As he did this, Mirage returned after giving the can back to the mare, but when she returned, Springer was gone. "Springer?" But she didn't get an answer, making her worry as she started heading down another street. "Springer?" Unfortunately, the city's noise prevented them both from hearing each other as Springer tried to pulse out his aura, only to feel the massive amount of life in Canterlot, Mirage feeling the same.

"This is just great," Springer groaned as he stood up on the roof. "First time away from home and she gets lost..." He was starting to wish he had agreed to keep the guard around him. "Come on, think. Where would she go?"





Mirage had been running through the streets looking for Springer, but couldn't find hide nor hair of him. She was about to start panicking, the jakhowl trying to stay calm. "Maybe I should just go to the castle and hope he heads there." She glanced up at the large building in the distance. Sighing at the sight, she sat down, knowing she would need some energy for the trek.

And as she did this, she heard the ponies around her calling out to each other and some were pushing around carts of food. She was glad she had had all those cupcakes before, since she wasn't sure how she would get any food in this city without those strange coins they used. She continued to watch the ponies at this, a unicorn stallion dressed in a tux walking down the street alongside a mare with white fur and pink hair that had a pink strap bag around her neck now passing by her. When they did this, they saw the female jakhowl and the frown she wore.

"Hello there," the stallion spoke up. "Is everything alright?"

Mirage looked up at him and sighed, "I'm fine. I just...lost my friend. It's my first time in this city."

"I see," the stallion nodded, "Your friend doesn't happen to be called Springer, is he?" Mirage went wide-eyed at this, making him chuckle, "Ah, well I'm sure we can find him."

"You know Springer?"

"We've met a few times. My name's Fancy Pants and this is my wife, Fleur."

"Pleasure," she smiled, "So, how did you get separated?" Mirage quickly explained everything, the pair nodding in understanding. "I see. It was good of you to return that mare's belonging, but you should have let Springer know where you were going."

"Indeed," Fancy added, "Even if you thought you would be only a moment. It's easy enough to get lost in a big city like this." Mirage nodded, feeling silly for leaving him when she didn't know anything about the city. "But no matter. It shouldn't be too hard to reunite you."

"I thought going to the castle would be the best option, since that's where we're supposed to be staying."

"Good idea," Fancy commented, "And I know the best way to get to the castle from here that doesn't require going through any silly backstreets. Come along. Let's get you back where you belong."

Fancy led them through the city at this along with showing off the many parts of the city, "And over there is Canterlot Boutique," Fleur explained, "Which is owned by another of Springer's friends named Rarity."

"Oh," Mirage nodded, "He told me about her. Some kind of clothes maker?"

"I wouldn't let Rarity hear you call her that," Fancy chuckled as they walked down the street. "She takes her work very seriously." Mirage nodded, "Do jakhowls wear clothing? I've never really seen Springer wear anything except a bandanna when he was younger...if I remember correctly."

"Huh. Wonder why he doesn't wear it anymore." Mirage replied, "Where I'm from, we don't really have the material for something like that. We're more focused on survival, but...with everything that's been changing, I guess jakhowls might start wearing clothing if it's something that wouldn't get in the way if we need to move."

And as she said this, they turned a corner, only for Fleur to be suddenly tackled by somepony. "Oh!" The pegasus teen grabbed her before she could fall to the ground. "Sorry!" As he said that, Mirage suddenly felt an aura wave of deception flowing off of him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Fleur assured him, "Nothing damaged. Please be more careful from now on."

"Will do," the stallion nodded, "Promise." Mirage stared at the pony as he began to run down the street.

As he did this, Fancy noticed Mirage's expression. "Something the matter, my dear?"

"Something about that pony," Mirage mumbled. "It was...off." She turned to Fleur, "Are you sure you're alright?" Fleur nodded as she checked herself over and didn't find anything the amiss...until she checked her bag.

"MY PURSE!" The bag was now empty, "Thief!" Mirage had already shot in the direction he had gone, having locked onto his aura when she felt something was wrong. She spun around a corner and noticed the pegasus, who was throwing a purse up and down in his hooves and laughing. Mirage glared at him at this, the pegasus happening to glance back and see her coming.

Clearly realizing he was busted, the pegasus started running. Mirage hoped he would take to the air, since that would make him an easier target, but he clearly knew that was a bad idea and kept to the streets instead. He rushed around another corner as Mirage was hot on his heels, the jakhowl finding herself being slowed down by the many ponies gathered in the street. The pegasus moved more freely, able to duck and weave through the crowd without issue.

Mirage quickly had enough and leapt into the air, scaling up the side of a building and landing on the roof. She raced over the roofs at this, the pegasi going into an alleyway and hid there, hoping the jakhowl would pass him by. Crouching behind a dumpster, he peeked his head out. And after a minute of seeing nothing, he smirked as he slowly got up and went around the dumpster-

"Aura Blast!" He looked up at the voice, just in time to see Mirage fly down and thrust a small sphere of energy into his back. The orb exploded, sending out a pulse of aura that happened to be picked up by a nearby individual while the pegasus was slammed into the concrete.

Mirage smiled at this and picked herself up, grabbing the stolen purse from him. "Serves you right."

It was in that moment that a group of guards were on patrol in the city nearby heard the bang, causing them to run over, only to see Mirage step out of the alleyway with a purse in paw. "What's going on here?" The head guard ran up and saw the pegasus on the ground. "Freeze!"

The guards pointed their spears at her, making Mirage flinch and drop the purse, "Wait! I didn't rob him!"

The guards glared at her, only for another voice to ring out, "Mirage!" they all turned to see Fancy Pants and Fleur run up, Fleur seeing her purse on the ground.

"You got it back," she picked the purse up as Fancy seemed to notice the guards glaring at the jakhowl. "Thank you. Did the criminal get away?" Mirage gestured her head toward the alleyway.

"What's going on here?" Fancy asked the guards, who were still pointing their spears at Mirage.

"Just so we're clear," the head guard spoke up, "That's your purse and that pegasus stole in from you?"

"Yes," Fleur nodded, "And Mirage got it back for me."

The head guard turned to the others and nodded, the group retracting their spears. "Very well. Apologizes, but given how it looked, you can understand why we would think you were the criminal." Mirage nodded back, only for the guard to say, "But do you understand the severity of what you've done?" Mirage tilted her head at this as one of the troops pulled the crook up off the ground. "He may have been a criminal, but you're a civilian who's injured him. I'm afraid that still counts as assault."

"What?!" Mirage yelped, "Why?! He's a criminal!"

"Still didn't give you the right to attack him. Did he attack you first?" Mirage frowned and shook her head, "Then you shouldn't have attacked him. You could have tried to get the purse back, but injuring somepony outside of self-defense is still a crime."

She felt a bit of fear flow through her at this, knowing that Springer wasn't' going to like this. That is, till the jakhowl in question landed beside them. "What seems to be happening here?" Mirage gulped as the guard explained everything, Springer frowning as he heard about this. "Mirage."

"I'm sorry!" She looked down, "I just thought I needed to get the purse back." She showed a sheepish expression, "I didn't hurt him that badly. Nothing he shouldn't be able to sleep off."

"We'll need to have a doctor look into that," the guard replied, "Even so, I'll need you to make a statement."

Springer stepped in at this, "You may wish to inform Princess Celestia about this." The guard blinked at him, only for Springer to add, "Considering this involves a member of the jakhowl summit delegation."

The guard glared back at Mirage, only to sigh, "Very well. I doubt the princess will be willing to press any charges against your delegation, so long as the pony really isn't badly injured. Now if you would kindly follow me back to the castle." They nodded and Mirage turned to Fleur and Fancy, thanking them for their help as the two nodded back.

The trip to the castle was quite an embarrassing one, Mirage feeling like a criminal being shamed through the city as they made their way down the streets. "I'm really really sorry," she told Springer while telling him everything that had happened. And as they got to the castle, Springer and Mirage took another swab test to compare it to the sample given before. Once they were confirmed to be who they said they were, the guard lead them through the castle until they arrived at the throne room.

The doors then opened, the pair spotting Celestia, Luna, Twilight and Flash inside. "Springer," Celestia smiled before noticing one of her patrol guards. "What's going on?" The guard stepped up and explained everything, the ponies frowning at what had happened. "Well, it seems you had yourself quite the adventure," she told Mirage. "But the guard is right about using unnecessary force."

"I'm really sorry," Mirage bowed, "I just acted on my instincts. We don't have those kinds of issues in Aurarora, so I didn't have anything to base the situation on." She bowed again, "I humbly accept any punishment you deem fit."

"I don't think we need to go that far," Luna replied while shaking her head, "It was a criminal you attacked, and he was committing a crime. So long as the injuries he sustained aren't severe, I see no reason to give you anything less than a warning." The other royals nodded, Mirage sighing in relief. "But next time, leave the criminal handling to those trained in this situation."

"I will," Mirage responded, "And again, I'm sorry for the trouble I caused."

"I'd hardly call stopping a crook trouble," Flash laughed, "And I'm sure Fleur is happy you got her purse back."

The others nodded as Twilight spoke up, "It's been a long day and you're probably exhausted. Why don't you go rest in your rooms and we'll send you something to eat while you relax."

The jakhowls nodded as a servant stepped up, having been placed in charge of making sure the pair were shown to their rooms. They went through the place in silence, neither sure what to say. And as they got to a doorway, the servant turned to them, "This leads to your apartment. It has a main room that leads to three other rooms and a balcony. Two of the rooms are sleeping quarters and the last is a bathroom. When would you like to be served dinner?"

"Um...an hour?" Springer suggested, knowing they would likely need time to freshen up in the bathroom. The servant nodded and turned to leave, allowing the pair to step inside and find a large round room with some comfy chairs, a dining table and four other doors. Three were normal wooden ones while the fourth was a large pair of glass doors leading out into a balcony. "If you want, you can go get cleaned up first."

Mirage nodded, thanking him as she started searching for the bathroom. When she did, she tried to see what everything was and saw the toilet was pretty much the same as back home...but everything else was different. She slowly figured out the shower, and when she got the hot water just right, she felt all the stress of the day wash off of her. It was truly glorious and something she wouldn't mind Aurarora getting at some point in the future.

Eventually, she finished her shower and toweled herself off while leaving the bathroom. It was here that she saw Springer was gone, only to see that the balcony doors were open. She walked over and saw Springer was standing on the balcony, looking out at the city. She stepped up next to him and the pair stared at the huge city. Mirage could now see in the far distance, the small town of Ponyville which looked even more peaceful than when she saw it earlier. And Springer just stared out in silence, making her sigh. "I'm sorry." He turned to her, "I'm sorry I ran off like that. It was stupid and I could have made the jakhowls look foolish with what happened to that criminal."

"I'm not mad at you," he replied, "I'm mad at myself for losing you so easily."

"I was the one that wandered off," Mirage countered, "You shouldn't blame yourself for my mistake."

Springer shook his head. "That's my job. As the leader of the jakhowls, I'm responsible for all of you. It might have been you who wandered off, but I shouldn't have been so easily distracted. Any failings of my subjects are my failings too. That's one of the lessons I learned watching my friends as they lead." Mirage frowned and Springer sighed, leaning his back against the balcony. "I'm still so new at this whole leadership thing. I've never really had to worry about it before. I've only had to really help out with Ace and Mira...but being the leader of an entire kingdom might be too much for me."

"Don't say that," Mirage shook her head, "You've done an amazing job."

"Yeah, because nothing's happened that needs real leadership. If I can't even keep my eye on one jakhowl in a big city, what am I supposed to do when there's a famine or an illness sweeps through Aurarora?" He sighed, looking down. "I'm a fighter. I follow the orders of those leading and carry them out. That's what I'm good at. I'm a great warrior, not a great leader."

"Springer..." he turned to her, "You are a good leader. I don't care what you think. My father trusted you with leading our tribe. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't think you had what it took to lead us the right way. Today might have been a little problematic, but you were able to handle it."

Springer slowly smiled at this, "Thanks."

Mirage nodded back, "And you know, it's good that you're doubting yourself. Because you're right about not being a great leader." He frowned at this, "But you are a good leader. And even good leaders make mistakes. And it's how you learn from those mistakes that'll help you become a great leader in time. And you won't do it alone. It's clear Celestia and the other leaders will help you when you have trouble making a leadership decision. You said your friends helped you grow into the jakhowl you are."

"Yeah...they really did."

"Well, then trust them to keep helping you grow until you're ready to be a leader that can stand on his own. My father might have been the leader, but he never made all the decisions on his own. And neither will you. You'll have your friend. You'll have the elders. And you'll have..."

She glanced down at this, Springer turning to her and grabbing her paw, using his other one to lift her chin so their eyes met. "And I'll have?"

Mirage took a deep breath, "And you'll have me." She warmly squeezed his paws, "You'll always have me." Springer smiled at her as the pair continued to stare at one another, both feeling something in their hearts swell up.

The pair didn't realize it, but they slowly moved their heads closer and closer together. And before either of them could stop each other, their lips met. The pair kissed and never before had they felt anything that seemed so right. They kept kissing upon the balcony for a while, until they were eventually interrupted by the servant that brought their meals. This forced them to split apart and focus on their food, but all the while they kept staring at each other.

The servant left and they ate together, talking about what had just happened and what it meant for the future. But they didn't really need to talk about it. They knew what it meant, and were happy. By the time the servant returned to gather the empty plates, the two were beyond anxious on what was going to happen next. And the second he shut the door behind him, the pair leapt at each and started making out.

They had no doubt in their mind that this was the right thing, and they would enjoy each other's company as much as possible.





The next day...

Celestia smiled as she sat around the large round table. Luna and Twilight stood behind her, the three alicorns waiting for the other delegates to get there. And as the door opened, Flash stepped in leading Thorax, Ember, Rutherford, Seaspray, Grampa Gruff and Springer into the room along with their delegates.

The only one who had come alone was Gruff, with Thorax of course having Hiveena with him and Ember bringing Flicker. Seaspray had brought a pair of hippogriffs and Rutherford had brought the two yaks he had originally come to Ponyville with back during their first meeting. Springer sat down besides Thorax as Mirage and Hiveena stood behind their chairs, the jakhowl looking a little tired, but was trying to shake it off before turning to Thorax, "Where's the little one?"

"Spike's taking care of him," Thorax replied, "I'm sure he'll be fine." Springer nodded as Celestia stood up.

"Welcome," she told everyone, "I'm happy we could all be here during what I hope is only the first summit meeting of the United Federation of Creatures." They all nodded back, "Here we can discuss what's been going on in our kingdom and what issues have begun to arise, with maybe another member having an answer to help solve it. I'm sure this summit will help bolster the friendships formed between our nations."

They all nodded again, beginning their discussions as those standing listened. As they did this, Hiveena leaned over to Mirage. "You and Springer look a little tired. Up late last night?" This made Mirage blush and glance away, making Hiveena laugh. "Congrats. I could tell there was something between you two." She said nothing else and focused back on the summit while Mirage could only smile.

She was very happy. It might have seemed out of nowhere, but she knew she and Springer were meant to be together. When her father died, she feared she would be on her own. But Springer, Ace and Mira had been there for her, and she now saw them as her family. Now things just seemed more official.

She sighed as she listened to Springer explain to the other leaders how the jakhowls had returned and his epic battle to claim leadership from Razor. He might not think he was worthy of the position, but there was no one else she trusted more with the role. He had helped the jakhowls grow more accustomed to the modern world, and no matter what, she would be there to help him through whatever hard times were ahead. The jakhowls were going to grow stronger with Springer and her leading them into the future.
> Going to Seed
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All was peaceful at Sweet Apple Acres as Rogue the thestral zoomed through the orchard at high speed. He glanced around, seeing no signs of intruders. "All's clear in orchard C," he told himself as he flew above the trees, "And all's clear in orchard D."

He licked his lips at all the apples that were growing. Any one of them looked perfectly delectable, and there was a very good reason for that. But the sun began to rise at this, Rogue flying back to the house. A cockcrow called as he arrived, stepping inside the place with a yawn. At this time of day, the Apple family would usually be getting up and getting ready, but Rogue smirked as he saw the four were already up and at the table.

Applejack had clearly been up the longest, as she was at the stove making a bunch of pancakes. She smiled at seeing him enter before putting some pancakes on a plate for him, throwing it like a discus that Rogue easily caught. She then put some in a bowl for Winona and turned to the others. "Ah know we've had this day marked on the calendar for quite a while, but it's finally here." She placed plates down, the group still looking tired with Big Mac seeming especially exhausted.

"Eeyup," the stallion moaned as he poured some blueberry juice on his pancakes.

"Sure is," Applebloom nodded as she used her pancakes as a pillow.

"What?" Granny Smith asked, Rogue wondering if her hearing had gone again or she had just forgotten what today was.

"The Confluence," Applejack chimed in, "A harvest a hundred moons in the makin'. When every apple comes ripe at the same time." Rogue was curious about that, since he still didn't know exactly how apple growing worked. He was just the guard dog after all. "Big Mac's been up late workin' on this schedule so we can be sure not to miss a single tree," Applejack showed them a map of the orchard that had trees colored with red, orange, green and yellow. "All it'll take now is a few days o' hard work. Who's with me?"

But the sound of snoring made her turn to see Mac asleep on his pancakes. "I'll get the coffee on," Rogue moved over to fill the tea kettle with water.

As he did this, Applebloom stared at the chart and groaned. "That looks like a lot of work."

"Aw," Granny Smith patted her head, "Don't you worry, chick-a-bidee. We got this Confluence under control. I got us some help."

This made Applejack smile. "That's great, Granny! Twilight and the others are too busy at the school to lend a hoof. We could sure use some more muscle. Who'd you get? Braeburn? Honeycrisp?"

Granny Smith just chuckled in response. "Even better." As soon as she said that, a sound filled the air. It started off weak but grew louder until the sound was right outside the door. The sound of many many...cats.

The door flew open and a giant wall of cats filled the opening, which eventually exploded out in all directions to reveal an old mare smiling at them. "Howdy, y'all!" Goldie Delicious giggled. She was an old orange mare with curly white hair. Rogue had never met her, but he had heard a lot of stories about her. The cats ran around the place, jumping about and trying to find comfy places to sleep. One of those places was the head of the sleeping Big Mac, another leaping up onto him and using its claws to knead his ear. Obviously, this woke him up and made him cry out in pain, the group all flinching as he fell back, his pancakes being knocked off the table and slamming into him.

"You okay?" Rogue asked as Goldie chuckled.

"Now, that's how you wake a pony up."

"Goldie Delicious!" Applebloom ran up to her and threw her hooves around the mare who smiled and patted her on the head.

"Granny told me y'all could use a helpin' hoof with this here Confluence, so I came a-runnin'."

Applejack flinched at this while Mac tried to pull the cat off his head. "Well, with a harvest this big, we're grateful for all the help we can get...ah guess."

"Eeyup," Mac pulled the cat off of him and threw it over to Rogue. The bat pony caught the feline, only to see the little thing begin waving its tail in his face.

And as it did this, he suddenly felt something in his nose. "Ah...ah...ahhhhh-CHOO!" He dropped the cat, the apples looking at him in shock. "Oh," he wiped his nose, "Sorry about that." But another cat then brushed up next to him and he suddenly felt the need to sneeze again. "ACHOO!" He accidently unleashed a small sonic blast, which hit the plates still on the table and knocked them off. Luckily, Applejack was able to save them before they and the pancakes smashed onto the ground.

"Oh dear," Goldie commented, "Looks like somepony's got a rather serious cat allergy."

"Cat allergy?" Rogue asked as he was about to sneeze again.

Fearing he might sonic blast them, Applejack ran over and pointed Rogue's head out of an open window. Seconds later, he sneezed and the sonic blast exploded out of him...which thankfully didn't hit anything. "This could be a problem," the Element of Honesty gulped.

"I got it," Applebloom ran out of the room and returned with a face mask. "Here. This should keep you from sneezing." Rogue put it on and moved his face next to a cat, breathing in and getting ready to sneeze. But he didn't.

"I think we're good."

"That's good," Applejack nodded, "Last thing we need is you accidently blasting all the apples into sauce. The Confluence is too rare to let such a chance pass by."

Goldie Delicious giggled at this, "It's too bad y'all ain't ever caught the Great Seedling. He'd have granted you a perpetual harvest, Confluence or no."

"The what?" Rogue scratched his head while Applejack and Mac both laughed.

"The Great Seedlin'?" Applejack chuckled, "Well now, ah haven't thought about that old mare's tale for years."

"The Great Seedlin' ain't no mare's tale!" Goldie replied, looking angry that she would say such a thing. "He's a magical Earth spirit."

"Really?" Rogue asked, "What's so special about him?"

"It's not real," Applejack chimed in, "Just a legend about a magical being shaped like a deer."

Goldie nodded, "Imagine a buck, all the colors of the harvest, that travels from farm to farm, daring ponies to catch him. And those that have the ingenuity are rewarded with crops that are always in bloom." She suddenly looked angry again. "And he's as real as you and me!"

Applebloom smirked at this, while Granny Smith smiled. "As I'm up to recall, Applebloom used to love settin' traps for the Great Seedlin' when she was a young'un." She laughed, Big Mac doing the same as Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm pretty sure she's outgrown the whole thing by now. Right, Applebloom?" She turned to her sister, only to see the filly was nowhere to be found.

"Or maybe I'm big enough now to finally catch him!" They turned to the voice, now seeing Applebloom dressed in a helmet covered in leaves and sticks while carrying a saddlebag stuffed with nets and other trapping supplies. "Who's with me?!" She smiled like a kid in a candy store, Goldie chuckling as Applejack sighed.

"Applebloom," she marched up to her, "You haven't hunted for the Great Seedlin' since you were little. Why would you want to start again now?"

"Cuz the Confluence is so big!" She excalimed, "He's bound to show up! And if we catch him, he'll make all the apples ripe all the time! Right, Goldie?"

"Mm-hmm," the old pony nodded, "That's right, young filly."

This made Applebloom laugh. "Just imagine. Sweet Apple Acres would be the busiest orchard in Equestria!" She turned to Rogue, "I bet you could help me find the Great Seedlin' in no time. So, wanna help?"

Rogue sighed, then yawned. "As fun as that sounds, I've been up all night making sure your Confluence apples weren't stolen. The only thing I wanna do right now is get some sleep."

Applebloom glared at him, only to sigh, "Fine. Then it'll be up to me to catch the Great Seedlin'!" She trotted up to the door. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do!"

She ran off at this, Applejack rushing to the door to call out after her. "Don't forget we have actual work to do!" But Applebloom either didn't hear her, or was too excited about the traps to call back.

"Nothin' like a little filly enjoyin' the harvest," Goldie chuckled.

"Ah don't mind Applebloom havin' fun," Applejack replied, "But there's honest-to-goodness work to do that doesn't have a thing to do with an old legend."

"Aw, quit worryin', sugar booger." She looked back to Granny, who had taken all the plates and started washing them. "Applebloom can hunt for the Seedlin' all she wants. If you're so fret-a-fied about work, why don't you and your brother get to buckin' your own selves?"

Applejack nodded before rushing over to the chart, "Granny's right." She took it down off the wall and turned to Big Mac, who was currently asleep on the ground while using a cat as a pillow. "Come on, sleepyhead. Let's get to work." Mac lifted his head, yawning as he replied with his signature catchphrase. But despite wanting to, he was clearly too tired to really get to work. Luckily, or unluckily, the cat he was holding had had enough and slashed at him. This really woke him up and allowed the cat to jump free, running off as Mac got up.

Rogue wished he could help, but he was almost as tired as Mac looked. As such, he headed over to the barn and hoped he could get a good day's rest before joining them to help later on. But when he arrived, he found Applebloom was already there.

"What are you doing?" He asked, seeing she had made a large wicker basket and was tying some rope to the top of it.

"Building my Great Seedlin' trap," Applebloom replied as she threw the end of the rope over a beam and used it to pull the cage up. "What do you think?" She released the rope and the cage flew down, hitting the ground hard and looked quite sturdy.

Rogue hummed as he stared at it, "Isn't it a bit big?"

"Of course!" Applebloom exclaimed, "The Great Seedlin's large, so the trap's gotta be big too!"

"Yeah, but if it's too big then I doubt you'll be able to hide it properly." Applebloom hummed at this, "Besides." He moved over and lifted it up, showing the basket was rather light despite being big. "If the Great Seedling's as good as they say, I'm pretty sure he'll be able to escape this."

"Aw donkey butter." Rogue gasped, though he wasn't quite sure if that was a bad phrase or not. "Guess I'm gonna have to start from scratch. Something heavier, but easily camouflaged."

She rubbed her hooves together at this, only for Rogue to walk over to her, "Yeah, well can you work on it outside." He used his wing to start pushing her toward the door, "Some of us need to get some shut eye." Once she was outside, he took off the mask, only for a cat to run past her, chasing a farm mouse. "Ah...ah...AHHH-CHOOOO!" Once again, he unleashed a sonic blast that made the barn shake.

"You might want to keep that on," Applebloom yelled from outside, making Rogue groan. He put it back on as he closed the barn, making sure there were no cats around before flying up to his sleep beam. Wrapping his tail around it, he let himself swing down and wrapped his wings around his head.

But despite how tired he was, he still couldn't seem to get to sleep with the mask making him have trouble breathing. Eventually, he took it off and tried to sleep while keeping his wings wrapped tightly around him, soon drifting off into a fairly comfortable sleep. And as he dreamed, he found himself running through a forest with the Great Seedling. It looked just like Goldie Delicious had described, being all the colors of the harvest while its wooden antlers had leaves and apples growing upon them. It was quite a sight.

The pair ran into an orchard, Rogue laughing as he did so. But as he did this, the ground beneath him suddenly gave way as a pitfall trap tried to get them. The pair quickly escaped, Rogue flying out and the Great Seedling somehow able to jump off the air itself.

And as they did this, a cage fell down on him. Rogue quickly unleashed a sonic blast that knocked it away, the Seedling nodding at him. Rogue smiled, only for his nose to start twitching and he found himself unable to breath out.

"Ah...ah...ahhhh-CHOOOOOOOOOO!" He sneezed and unleashed a sonic blast, which struck the Great Seedling and made it explode into a swirl of leaves and other plant life. And as this happened, Rogue found himself falling, only to wake up...and find he had fallen off the beam, hitting the ground with a grunt. A meow came next, making him look up and saw a cat on the beam, another purr causing him to turn and see a second cat next to him.

He groaned as he put his mask back on, the thestral coming to a very simple conclusion. "I'm definitely a dog pony." He laid there for a few more moments, trying to decide if he was still tired enough to try and get back to sleep...but soon found he was more than awake.

He got up and headed out of the barn, taking to the air as he began to look for the Apples. Based on how long he assumed he had been asleep, he guessed they had already completed three fields. But when he reached field number four, he found them still full of apples.

The same was true of field number three and when he arrived at field two, he found the place was only half harvested. "Huh. Guess they fell behind." He flew down, "Really behind." He landed, only to hear a flicking noise and suddenly had his feet pulled out from under him. "GYAH!" He crashed into the ground, pain in his wing surging as he hit the ground before getting pulled up into the air. When the pain in his wing died down, he looked up and saw he was being held up by a snare trap.

"APPLEBLOOM!" He exclaimed, hoping the filly was nearby. He then tried to pull himself up in order to untie himself, but couldn't, and his wing was killing him now, so flying was out of the question. He started swinging around, hoping that maybe the rope would give. But after several minutes of this, he realized it wasn't gonna happen. "Damn it!" He soon gave up, only to remember a book he had borrowed from Twilight once. "Looks like I'm gonna have to one hundred and twenty-seven hours my way out of this."

"You're gonna cut your hoof off?" He spun around, seeing Applebloom walking up to him.

"That's how it ends?" He asked, gulping at the thought. "I got super busy and my rental period expired. I figured he just wiggled himself free." As he said that, Applejack, Mac and the old ponies arrived.

"What are you doin' up there?" Applejack asked her special somepony.

"Oh, you know. Just hanging out." He grumbled, "WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M DOING UP HERE?!" Applebloom moved over to the rope and kicked out the peg, causing Rogue to fall, "Ow!" He yelped as he hit the dirt, only to flinch when he tried to move his wing.

"What happened?" Applejack asked.

"When I got caught, my wing hit the ground and-ahh." He stretched them out and sighed, "Not broken, but I don't think I'm gonna be able to fly for a day or two."

Applejack frowned and turned to her sister, "Now do you see what you've done? Your silly search for the Great Seedlin's gone and gotten Rogue hurt."

Applebloom glanced away, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Rogue moaned, "But maybe you should make a map or something, so I don't accidently run into another one." She nodded back and ran off, Applejack frowning at him. "What? She didn't mean to get me hurt. No reason she can't keep hunting after it."

Applejack sighed and shook her head, "Except we're running behind now cause she's been so busy chasing something that's probably not real."

"Is there any reason to believe it's not real?" Rogue asked as they started walking around to buck the apples. "I mean, after everything you've seen in your adventures, is a legendary earth spirit any different from a Spirit of Chaos, or a shadow pony that can mind control?"

"Ah guess," Applejack shrugged, "Come on, let's just focus on getting this field bucked." The others nodded and they all started bucking as fast as they could, but it was a slow process. By the time the sun went down, they had only managed to get through three and a half of the five fields they had hoped to get through that day. The Apples were all exhausted, one significantly more than the others, with Applebloom looking excited that the Great Seedling would be in her trap when she woke up the next morning.

"You've gotta be really careful," she told Rogue as Applejack dragged her back to the house to go to bed. "If you make too much noise, the Great Seedling might get away."

Rogue sighed, "I'll be sure to stay as quiet as possible." Applebloom smiled as she happily let her sister drag her the rest of the way home while Rogue headed over to the barn. He grabbed some more buckets, hoping to maybe spend the night catching them up. However, with his wing hurt, he had to rely on his less than stellar physical strength as he pulled the wagon to the field. Once there, he started bucking as best he could. Unlike the apples, he needed about two or three bucks to get the apples to fall into the bucket. It was slow work, but Rogue was never one to shy away from it. As such, he kept going for as long as he could while being careful to avoid Applebloom's many many traps.

Two hours after sunset, he needed to take a break and began to enjoy one of his golden apples. He sighed as he sat under a tree, happy there wasn't a single cat in sight. But as he finished it off, he suddenly heard a sound coming from behind him. A snapping twig, which made him get up and get into a battle-ready position. He waited, but the snapping sound didn't repeat itself.

He was about to shrug it off, but then his eyes caught movement in the distance. "Who's there?" He called out, "Whoever's here, you'd better come out. This is private property!" He slowly walked toward the movement, wishing he could fly, but found nothing, "Show yourself!"

And as he yelled this, he saw it. Something moving behind some trees. Rogue stared at the shadow and saw it was something quite big. They were moving through the trees and as Rogue tried to get a better look, he could swear he saw a pair of antlers. "No way." He whispered as he tried to give chase...only to instantly lose the figure.

"Darn it. If I could only fly right now." He commented, only to hear another sound. He spun around and saw a figure in the distance running away, "WAIT!" he exclaimed as he began to cut into a sprint...only to forget Applebloom had put a trap down in front of him, "GYAH!" He fell down a pitfall, hitting his head into the dirt, "Uhn..." He mumbled out before blacking out.





The next morning...

Before the sun was even up, Applejack was awake and busy getting breakfast sorted. Granny and Goldie were soon up as well as Applejack quickly made some pancakes. "We fell behind a bit yesterday," she pointed out. "So we need everypony at their best."

She put the plate down in front of Goldie, who had to protect it from her cats. But as she did this, she noticed a very tired Mac walking into the room. "If that's your brother's best, we might be done for. Mm-hmm."

Applejack sighed at this, "He was just up late workin' out a new schedule so we can stay on track." She took the paper as Mac fell to the ground asleep. As he did this, Applebloom ran downstairs and jumped onto her brother.

"I didn't sleep either!" She cheered, "I was too excited! I can't wait to see if I caught the Great Seedlin'!"

She then rushed out, as Goldie smirked at Applejack. "I hope you're ready to cheer Applebloom up when her traps come up empty," Applejack glared at her. "And where the heck is Rogue? He should be here by now."

As she said that, Applebloom shot back into the farmhouse. "Everypony! Come quick! You got to see!" She ran back out and the adults shared a glance before following her.

They followed her to a hill overlooking one of the fields. "What in blazes is all the excitement about?" She asked, as Applebloom jumped up and down in joy.

"Look!" She pointed at a clearing in the field and when they looked down, they gasped seeing a bunch of apples arranged on the ground in a pretty pattern. They could only watch, their mouths hanging low as Applebloom smiled at Goldie. "The Great Seedlin' did this! Didn't he?!"

Goldie laughed at this, "Well braid my mane! These sure look like Great Seedlin' tracks to me!"

This only helped to excite Applebloom. She leapt up for joy, "I knew it! He was here!" She grabbed Applejack and hugged her. "The Great Seedlin' was here! Ain't that amazin', Applejack?!" She ran off, wanting to examine the tracks closer while Applejack just stared at the sight.

"Yeah..." She scratched her head, "Amazin'..." But then she turned at Goldie, who laughed as she watched Applebloom run around the apples. She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling she knew what really caused this. And she knew who to ask to be sure. "ROGUE!" She called out, expecting her boyfriend to call back. "ROGUE, YAH HERE?!"

But there was no answer, making Applejack frown. That is, till Winona let out a loud bark, making them all run over to the dog, who was at the edge of a pitfall trap. Applebloom gasped at this, "I caught it!" She ran over to the hole and looked down, only to flinch. "Oh." Applejack frowned and stepped over to the hole, grimacing when she saw her boyfriend laying at the bottom.

"Are you okay?" Applejack cried out, Rogue remaining quiet for a moment before letting out a moan.

"What happened?" He moaned as he glanced up, only to see he was in a hole.

"Ya'll okay Rogue?"

"I..." he moaned before pushing himself up and shaking his head. A second later, a memory dinging in his mind, making him gasp. He pushed himself up and leapt, grabbing the top of the pit. Applejack and Mac pulled him up and he staggered around, "I saw it!"

"Saw what?" Applejack asked, really hoping he didn't say what she thought he was gonna say.

"The Great Seedling!" Applebloom's eyes went wide. "It was last night. I was trying to make up for lost time, but then I heard a noise. And when I looked around, I saw it."

"WOW!" Applebloom exclaimed, "What did it look like?!"

"Well, I didn't get a good look. But it was big and had antlers coming out of its head!" Applejack frowned, since the others were starting to look like they believed in the Great Seedling.

"Are you sure that's what you saw?" Applejack asked.

"I know it was," Rogue shook his head, "And I would have caught it, if this stupid trap hadn't been in the way." As he said that, one of Goldie's cats ran passed and he found himself needing to sneeze. "ACHOO!" He let out a small sonic blast, which knocked him back, almost about to fall into the pit again.

Luckily, Applejack was there to grab and pull him back away. "Alright, yah clearly had a nasty fall and that made you remember somethin that wasn't really there."

"Oh, it was there alright." Applebloom added as she grabbed his hoof.

"You've gotta come see this!" She pulled him over to where the apples were lain, making Rogue raise an eyebrow. "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It sure is," Rogue nodded, "And this definitely wasn't here last night."

"I just can't believe the Great Seedlin' was really here!" Applebloom cheered as Applejack sighed.

"Neither can I."

Applebloom picked up one of the apples, looking it over, "What do you think this means?" Goldie moved over to her, a smile on her face as she let out a laugh.

"Well, it looks to me like a challenge. The Seedling wants you to know that he was here, and he's daring you to catch him. Mm-hmm." Granny Smith stepped up next to her, nodding as she did so.

"You think I still have a chance?" The filly asked, Granny giving her a playful elbow.

"You're an Apple, ain't ya?"

Goldie giggled at this, "Why, if you set enough traps, you're bound to catch him."

"You're right!" Applebloom cheered, "And that's just what I'm gonna do! Look out, Great Seedlin'! Here I come!" She exclaimed before running off toward the barn, looking to build as many traps as she could. Granny and Goldie laughed at this as Applejack frowned at the pair.

"Now, why would you go and do a thing like that?" She asked Goldie, who just raised an eyebrow.

"A thing like what?"

"You know what I mean!" Applejack grumbled, "We got enough work to do without you distractin' Applebloom by makin' some apple tracks and pretendin' the Great Seedlin' did it."

This got a gasp from Goldie, who looked insulted. "I did no such thing!"

Granny pointed a hoof at her granddaughter, "What in the tater tarnation would make you say a thing like that?!"

Applejack rolled her eyes, "Well, somepony did it." She turned to Goldie, "And she sure seems to be enjoyin' this quite a lot."

Goldie glared back at her. "I'm enjoyin' it because Applebloom's enjoyin' it!"

"Uh-huh," Applejack sighed before turning to the others. "And I suppose you two didn't do it either?"

"Nnnope," Mac shook his head as he picked up the apples.

"I was unconscious," Rogue pointed out, "And even if Goldie did do that, what about what I saw last night?"

Applejack glared at him while Granny smirked, "I suppose it could've been Goldie's cats! Why don't you ask them?" Applejack turned to the cats, which were playing around with the apples and clearly not smart enough to make such an elaborate display.

"Have you considered that maybe it was the Great Seedlin' after all?" Goldie asked as Applejack rolled her eyes.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." She walked off, picking up her apples as the others frowned.

"I swear," Granny Smith shook her head, "Sometimes I think she's part mule." She then turned to Rogue, seeing he was a little wobbly. "Great Seedlin aside, are you sure yer okay? Applejack was right about you takin a heck of a fall."

"I'm fine," Rogue replied before trying to walk after Applejack...only to walk right into a tree before recoiling back, "Though my steering might be a little off."

"I think you should go rest up," Granny responded, "Ah know you wanna help, but yer no good ta us if yah can't see straight." Rogue moaned but did as he was told, picking himself up and heading for the barn. He arrived back at the yard as Applejack walked in, the thestral hearing the mare talking as he approached.

"Are you sure you want to spend time tryin' to catch somethin' that... might not even be real?"

"What?!" Applebloom yelped, "But the Great Seedlin' is real! You saw the tracks! You think those appeared all by themselves?"

"Ah don't know who made the tracks," Applejack replied, "But ah don't think it was the Great Seedlin'."

"Why not?" He arrived as Applejack took her hat off.

"Because the Great Seedlin' is just somethin' to make the harvest fun for young'uns. And you're old enough now to know that there's a time for fun and there's a time for work."

"But catchin' the Great Seedlin' is helpin'!" Applebloom replied, "He can make the trees blossom all the time!" Applejack sighed at hearing this, seeing she was clearly not gonna be able to convince her sister.

"All right. How about this? If you help me with the harvest today, I'll help you set traps for the Great Seedlin' tonight. Deal?" She held out her hoof as Applebloom cheered.

"Woo-hoo! Yes!" She shook, "it's a deal!" She hugged Applejack, who hugged her back.

"Great," Rogue chimed in, "Do either of you know if we have any aspirin? My head's starting to kill me." The pair frowned at him, asking if Rogue needed a doctor. He assured them he would be fine with a bit of rest, so Applejack went to get him something for his head. "But if the orchard's really gonna be a Great Seedling death trap, I think I'll be staying home tonight."

"Maybe we can stay up together!" Applebloom exclaimed, "We can watch for it from mah room."

Rogue was tempted and once Applejack returned with the pain meds, he headed inside to take a rest. Lounging around on the couch, Rogue let his headache subside while trying to remember if what he saw last night was real or not. He knew it probably was a mistake made by his concussed head, but he had a feeling in his gut that it was real.

Three hours and six of Big Mac's comics later, Rogue head was feeling way better. He was able to get up and walk without feeling the world was spinning, and despite his wing still hurting, he was feeling better than ever. As such, he headed back out into the orchard while being sure not to fall into any more traps. He found the family in orchard five, which meant they were still far far behind.

As he got closer, he saw Applebloom bucking while Applejack was pushing a bucket of apples across the ground. As she did this, several fell out and landed in a swirl pattern. "Kinda looks like those Seedlin' tracks, huh?"

Applebloom rolled her eyes. "Sure. If there were hundreds of apples in a bunch of different lines."

"Well," Applejack thought about it, "If enough apples fell or got knocked down by the wind maybe." One of Goldie's cats then leapt onto the spiral of apples, knocking them away. "Or animals." Goldie stepped up, frowning since it was clear Applejack thought it was her who was doing all this. "I'm just sayin' there's a lot of possible explanations."

Goldie nodded, "And one o' them is the Great Seedlin'!"

"And the rest of 'em ain't!" Applejack growled, only for Granny Smith to shake her head.

"That ain't what you thought when you was a foal." That statement made Applejack's eyes go wide, as she clearly did not wanna have that piece of info leaked.

"What does that mean?" her sister asked.

"Your sister was plumb loco about catchin' the Great Seedlin' when she was your age. Same as you are now." She shot the pony in question a frowny glare. "Worse, even."

Applejack looked a little miffed, while Goldie smirked. "Oh, is that so? Do tell, Granny."

"Well, it must've been the last Conflu-inky, I reckon. I was supposed to keep an eye on your sister, but she was slippier then an apple seed." She told them the tale of how Applejack had been so gung-ho about catching the Great Seedling that she had accidently fallen into one of her own pitfalls. "She spent the better half of the day stuck in that trap!" Granny laughed her flank off while Applejack sighed.

"And missed out on helpin' with the harvest because I was chasin' somethin' for little foals." Applejack commented, "I felt guilty everypony else had to work harder because of me. So, I decided right then and there that I was too old to waste any more time on Great Seedlin'."

"Oh," Granny giggled, "We finished the harvest just fine. But we laughed about that story for years!" She let out a laugh again, Goldie doing the same.

"I'm still laughin'!"

Applejack huffed as her sister stepped up next to her. "I'm sorry that happened Applejack, but it won't if you and me set traps together like you promised." Applejack just frowned back at her, only for the filly to add, "Plus, we'll get 'em done twice as fast and won't miss out on any of the harvest!" She gave her sister a smile, one that Applejack could never say no to.

"Then let's get to work." Applebloom gasped before running off, Applejack looking back at the others and shrugging.

And so, they started working on the traps, leaving the others to do the harvesting. Mac and Rogue did their best to get as much of the work done as they could while Applejack and Applebloom set traps that covered every inch of the farm. Whenever Rogue spotted the pair, they were laying something down. He also noticed whenever Applebloom wasn't looking, Applejack tried to get in some extra work. But with every trap they laid, Applejack's interest in the Confluence decreased, although several of the traps didn't work out quite like they hoped. Big Mac needed to be released from at least three snare traps, which did not help as they tried to get as much of the harvest done as possible.

Eventually, the sun set, and they were barely halfway through field six. When Rogue arrived back at the farmhouse, carrying a large bucket as he heard Applebloom laugh. "It sure was fun settin' up all those traps together."

Applejack also laughed at this, "Ah forgot what a good time it could be."

"Glad you two enjoyed yourself," Rogue grunted as he staggered under the weight of the bucket.

The pair watched him bring it in, shutting the barn and letting out a yawn. Not getting a good sleep earlier, coupled with his work on the harvest had knocked Rogue's sleep cycle completely out of whack. "If you two think I'm guarding the orchard with all those traps set up, forget it. I'm going to bed." He walked off, the sisters shrugging at this before heading toward the house themselves.

"If any two ponies can catch the Great Seedlin', it's us."

Applebloom nodded, "I can't wait to check in the mornin'." But Applejack noticed how tired Rogue was and realized Mac was probably even more exhausted. This had been fun, but they needed to focus on the Confluence.

"Now, there's still plenty of harvestin' to do. So promise me you'll help, even if all our traps are empty."

"I promise," Applebloom replied, "So long as you're ready for the bountiful harvest the Great Seedlin's gonna give us when one of our traps nab him!"

Applejack laughed at this, "Deal."





The next morning...

The sun began to raise, and the cockcrow was just waking up, the bird stretching itself out preparing its throat to do its morning ritual. But before it could, the front door slammed open hard enough that the bang terrified the avian. Applejack and Applebloom rushed out of the house, leaping over and through their many traps on their way to the field.

"Come on, Applejack!" Applebloom cheered, "If we hurry, we can check every trap and still stay on schedule!"

Applejack smirked as she put the schedule chart into her bag. "Now that's what I like to hea-" She stopped when they reached the top of the hill, only to go wide-eyed, "Whoa." It was another apple circle, larger than the last one. Hundreds of apples, arranged in a series of pattens and swirls that were amazing to see.

Applebloom gasped as Mac arrived pulling a wagon with Granny and Goldie in it. "I don't believe it!"

"This must've taken all night," Goldie commented as Granny nodded before noticing Mac had fallen asleep at the saddle, the old mare smacking him awake.

"Eeyup."

Applejack was completely shocked by what she was seeing, only for Applebloom to call out. "ROGUE!" The mare run after Applebloom's voice, arriving under one of the trees, only to see her boyfriend swinging from a rope trap.

The thestral looked like he had just woken up, Applebloom staring at him, "What are you doing up there?" Applejack asked as Rogue stretched his body out.

"Girls! I saw it!"

Applejack tilted her head at this, "saw what?"

"Last night. I saw it."





He had been asleep on the couch, snoring as he laid on the comfy surface. But as he did this, a loud crashing sound suddenly rang out. "Wha?" He shot up and moved over to the barn door, opening the top and looking outside. As he did, he saw a dark figure making their way through the darkness toward the orchard. "The Great Seedling!" He raced out of the barn, quickly rushing through the trees.

But as he did this, he found that whatever he was trying to chase was moving pretty fast. Rogue then came across a trap, only to find it had been sprung but nothing was in it.

"This thing is really good at evading capture." He commented as he kept running. And as the figure started to get closer, he found an unsprung rope trap he was running straight toward. "HEYAA!" He leapt over the rope, managing to clear it, "Oh yeah!" He cheered, only to step back...and feel something tighten around his back leg. "Do'h!"





"And here I am," Rogue told them as he continued to hang there. "I tried to free myself, but you girls made these things way too well. Eventually, I just drifted off to sleep."

"And you didn't see the Great Seedling again?" Applebloom asked, Rogue shaking his head. "Augh! Ah can't believe this! "Ah checked all the traps near the tracks. Every one was sprung, but they're all empty!"

"Every trap sprung?" Applejack asked as Granny freed Rogue and lowered him to the ground. "No way critters did this. Or the wind. I can't believe I'm sayin' this, but...maybe the Great Seedlin' really was here!" This announcement made by Applebloom and Rogue smile like little kids, Granny and Goldie smirking at one another while Mac just looked exhausted.

The old ponies got off the wagon and moved over to Applejack, Goldie looking like she had just predicted snow in july. "So," she smirked, "You're finally ready to admit the Great Seedling might be real?"

Applejack looked back at the tracks, her brain trying one last time to figure out how it really happened. But nothing came to mind, especially after what Rogue had said. "I can't think of anything else that could've laid out these tracks and sprung all our traps."

Applebloom grinned at this, "And if he left this many tracks behind, he's practically beggin' us to catch him!"

Granny stared at the large tracks, "Ah ain't never seen anything like this before."

"Well," Applejack looked more excited than Applebloom, "Tell us what you have seen! Goldie, you too! We need to know it all if we're really gonna catch him!"

"Sure," Granny nodded, " Goldie and I'll tell you all about the Great Seedling all day." They began to walk toward the fields, "While we work." Applejack stopped at this, Applebloom thinking she was about to agree. But instead...

"Work? Applebloom and I don't have time to work today! We've got to set up traps in every row! Even the carrots! Just to be sure!" Applebloom was surprised by this, tapping her sister on the shoulder.

"Yesterday you said the Great Seedlin' was just somethin' to make the harvest fun for young'uns."

"That was before I thought we could actually catch him! Besides," she gestured to their yawning brother, "Big Mac can make time in the schedule for us to set traps, right?"

Mac's eyes went wide, "Uh...eeyup?"

"Great! Get to it! Applebloom and I are gonna go capture us the Great Seedlin'!" With that, the pair rushed off and left Mac, Rogue and the oldies to do the work. Rogue wanted to help set the traps, but Mac's expression told the thestral he was needed. And luckily, his wing was feeling way better, so he could finally fly and help Mac by placing empty barriers under the trees. This turned out to be a good idea, since Mac had chosen to just buck the trees without looking to see if a bucket was under it. His sleep deprived brain was barely working right, the stallion simply bucking mindlessly while crossing off sections on the chart.

Hours of work later, Rogue was exhausted, having had to fly at almost Rainbow speed to get the buckets where they needed to be. He desperately wanted a break, but knew Mac likely wasn't going to stop, so he couldn't either. However, the pair soon reached an area that left them both scratching their heads. Rogue followed Mac into an area that didn't have any apples, the large stallion preparing to buck one of them. "Mac, you've already done that one." Mac barely registered this and looked up, seeing the tree was bare.

He then turned to see all the other trees around them were also bare, the stallion taking out his chart, but seeing that area wasn't supposed to have been touched yet.

"What's up?" Rogue flew over his shoulder and realized the issue, "Did you forget to mark this area off?"

"Eenope," he replied as Applejack and Applebloom returned.

"Whew!" Applejack wiped her brow, "All right! Just one more hill to go!"

But then they noticed the boys, "What's wrong?" Applebloom asked as her sister checked the chart.

"Huh," she turned to Mac, "Is this right?"

"Eeyup," Mac nodded as Applejack tilted her head.

"But that doesn't make any sense. How can all these trees be bare if we haven't bucked 'em yet?"

"Seems like more work of the Great Seedlin' to me," Goldie chimed in, all turning to see the old ponies pushing barrels of apples into a wagon.

Applejack and Applebloom smirked at one another, the two stepping over to the wagon "How do you mean?"

"The closer you get to catchin' the critter, the more mischievous he gets."

"You're sayin' the Great Seedlin' is takin' our apples?" Applejack asked as Granny pushed the last barrel onto the wagon.

"Yes," the green pony replied, "Sounds like he's fixin' to throw you off the scent." She tried to get the barrel to stay on the wagon, but the wooden structure suddenly fell off as a bunch of cats fell out of it.

"Have you ever heard of anypony actually catchin' him?"

"Yeah..." Rogue added, "I'm not really up for an impossible pursuit."

"Oh," Goldie smirked, "There are stories. But it's hard to say for sure. He's quite a trickster. Guess that's why the reward is so great if you can trap him."

As she said that, Rogue noticed Mac rolling his eyes while Applejack added, "Well, his tricks have given me an idea." She turned to Applebloom. "Settin' traps is one thing. But I reckon if we keep watch over the trees that haven't been bucked, the Seedlin' won't know what hit him!"

"That's a great idea!" Applebloom exclaimed before turning to the others. "Anypony else want to stay up with us?"

"Ah, no." Granny Smith turned away. "A pony like me needs her beauty rest. But you young'uns have a good time." She walked away, Goldie following suit.

"My kitties can't sleep unless they're curled up on my haunches," she explained with a titter. "But I can't wait to see the Great Seedlin' with my own eyes once you catch him."

Applejack smirked at Applebloom, "Guess it's just you and me."

"And me!" Rogue added, "I'm supposed to be up at night anyway. Maybe if you two are there, I won't spend the whole night stuck in a Great Seedling trap." Applejack smirked before the three ran off to make preparations, leaving Mac to look at all the trees he still had left to buck on his chart.

That is, till the stallion growled before ripping the chart into a million pieces and walking off.





Nighttime fell as Rogue found himself in a tree alongside the Apple sisters. He was hanging from a branch, right next to a makeshift tree fort the pair had created. Applejack and Applebloom were wearing stick and leaf covered helmets, trying to blend in as they kept an eye out. Applejack had her binoculars at the ready while Applebloom was wrapped up in a blanket and pillow.

"Too bad nopony else wanted to come out," Applebloom whispered, "But I'm glad we're doin' this together."

Applejack chuckled at this, "Me too. It's been a long time since I was on a real Seedlin' hunt." She patted her on the head. "And this is the first time doin' it with mah little sister and mah boyfriend." Rogue smirked as he grabbed the binoculars, using them to keep a watch on the field while Applebloom let out a yawn.

"When did you start tryin' to catch the Great Seedlin'?"

Applejack put a hoof to her chin, "Ah couldn't have been much more than a foal. Ah remember our parents tuckin' Big Mac and me in and tellin' us all about the Great Seedlin' and I got so excited that I could barely sleep. So ah-" She stopped when she heard snoring, making her look down and see Applebloom had fallen asleep. "Don't you worry, sugarcube." She made sure she was tightly wrapped up, "We won't let him get away. Right, Rogue?"

"You bet!" Rogue nodded as he kept look out. The pair remained in silence for over an hour, not wanting to risk missing a sound with their talking. Despite being up so long, Rogue was feeling totally awake. His natural ability to stay up at night meant that he could stay up as long as he needed to, though the same couldn't be said for Applejack. For as the hour they spent in silence was soon broken when he heard snoring.

He turned to see Applejack had fallen asleep against the planks that made up their base, Rogue chuckling at this and using his wing to keep her warm. He watched out for another half hour or so before anything happened.

It was then that he heard it. A thumping sound coming from one of the unharvested orchards. He turned to it, the noise also happening to wake Applebloom up. "Over there!" Rogue pointed to a tree that suddenly started shaking, the apples falling to the ground.

Applebloom gasped before shaking her sister. "Applejack, wake up!"

"Huh?" Applejack yelped, "W-what is it?"

"I think a trap went off!" She pointed at the tree and Applejack smirked.

"Well, let's go check it out!" She leapt down and Rogue grabbed Applebloom, flying her to the ground. They began to carefully make their way to the sound, Applebloom starting to look a little freaked out. "See anything?"

"Mm-mm," they both shook their heads.

"Don't scare him off," Applejack whispered, "We got to lead him into one of the traps."

Applebloom let out a whimper, "I'm not worried about scarin' him." Rogue placed a wing around her back, trying to comfort her. He was used to being in the orchard at night, so he was trying to assure her they would be okay.

However, Rogue suddenly heard a sound and spun around, only to notice a bit of movement, "There!" The girls turned, but saw nothing. "It was just here a moment ago." They then heard another sound coming from behind, making them spin around. Applejack charged at this, Applebloom following since she didn't want to be on her own.

They came up to a bush and pulled it away as something was seen moving through the trees in the distance. Rogue's night time vision allowed him to see it better, but it was moving too fast for him to get any good details. "I thought it was supposed to be all the colors of the harvest."

"Why?" Applejack asked, "What color is it?"

"Red." As he said that, the figure stopped for a moment and bucked a tree. The apples fell, and as it did, they heard a rattling of cans coming from a trap they had set earlier.

They all turned to this, a presence suddenly appearing behind them. And before Rogue could look around, Applebloom screamed. "AH THINK THE GREAT SEEDLIN'S HUNTING US!" She let out a cry of horror and ran off, the presence behind them following after the filly.

"Applebloom!" Applejack raced after her, "Wait!"

Rogue took to the air and shot through the woods, getting above the commotion while Applebloom ran through the trap infested forest. The thestral flew down and spotted the Great Seedling, but as the creature got closer, he was finally able to see what it was.

"Huh?" He yelped, "Mac?!"

It was Big Mac, the pony staggering around with his eyes shut. He was wearing a sleeping cap that had pair of branches in them, likely caught on the head piece when he was pushing his way through the trees. The sleeping pony pushed past him without realizing it and continued to follow after Applebloom, Applejack having caught up. The sisters had become so terrified that they had tried to high tail it back to the barn, but it was locked to make sure the Great Seedling didn't steal any more apples.

Rogue flew above them and watched as Mac staggered over, the sisters screaming in terror since they couldn't get the barn open. "ROGUE!" Applejack screamed, "Blast it!"

Rogue chuckled at this, "I don't think that's needed." The two went wide-eyed, only to hear movement and saw the dark shadow moving up to them. And when it did, the house light finally illuminated him the pony.

"BIG MAC?!" The girls cried as their brother staggered around still asleep. "He's been harvestin' in his sleep this whole time!"

Applebloom let out a yelp at this, "Big Mac is the Great Seedlin'?!" As she said that, Mac accidentally stepped on a skateboard they had set as a trap. The stallion cried out as he finally woke up, the board rolling out from under him and causing him to fly into a pitfall trap.

He screamed as he fell into the hole, the three running over to him, "Y-You okay, Big Mac?" Applejack watched as her brother picked himself up, very tired and very annoyed.

"Nnnope." They couldn't help but laugh at this, their hunt for the Great Seedling having been quite the adventure.





By the next morning, they had managed to collect all the apples Mac had bucked down while telling the older ponies what was going on. "...And thanks to all of Big Mac's late-night work, we brought in the whole harvest with time to spare."

"No wonder you were so tired all the time," Goldie chuckled as Mac nodded.

"Eeyup."

"I'm glad we solved the mystery," Applebloom chimed in, "But I really wanted to catch the Great Seedlin' before I get too old to try."

Applejack giggled at this. "You know what, sugarcube?" She ruffled the filly's mane, "You're never too old to be a filly. There will always be work to do, but havin' fun together is somethin' you never grow out of." Everypony nodded at this, Rogue yawning and deciding to grab some golden apples before going to bed.

And as Goldie began to pack up to head home, Rogue flew through the trees and pulled the mask off his face. However, when he reached the area with his trees, he came to a stop at the sight of something unbelievable. Standing between two of them was a stag, one so large it could pluck an apple from the tree without needing to lift its head. Its body was a range of different colors, having an orange head, neck and chest, yellow body and green legs. Its antlers were made out of wood and had leaves with many different fruits growing out of them.

The creature walked around the trees until it noticed it was being watched, causing it to stare at the pony. A smile appeared on its lips before it turned away and leapt down the other side of the hill. "Wait!" Rogue flew after it, but when he reached the top, he found the Great Seedling was nowhere in sight. "Wow..."

He instantly spun around to tell the others, but a smirk appeared on his lips. Where was the fun in going after something you knew was real? It was better to not know whether you were wasting your time or not. No, Rogue would take this secret with him to the grave. And he'd enjoy setting traps for the Great Seedling with Applebloom and Applejack.

And maybe one day, they would actually catch it and allow the farm to truly bloom all year long.
> A Dash of Parenting Advice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the start of another beautiful day in Ponyville as the sun began to raise and bath it in light. One of the first places the light hit was the cloud home of Rainbow Dash and Soarin Skies. The pair were currently laying asleep in their room, snoring as they leaned against one another. As the couple did this, the light of the sun creaked in through the window and hit their faces.

Rainbow was the first to respond to this, her face flinching before her eyes slowly opened. She turned over and saw her husband, a smile appearing on her lips when she thought that word. She then rolled over to get the sun out of her face, soon stretching as she knew she wanted to just go back to sleep, but also knew it was another busy day.

A minute or so later, she fully got up, Soarin yawning as he started to wake up as well. She headed into her bathroom and used the magical taps that brought fresh water into the house from a nearby pipeline, the prism haired pony splashing her face with it before brushing her teeth. Soarin joined her and the pair stood in comfortable silence as they did their daily clean up.

That is, till Soarin spoke up, "Today's the day. Spitfire give any hints about what we're supposed to be up to today?"

"Nope," Rainbow instantly responded. Spitfire had brought the pair into her office the previous week and told them of a special event that was taking place today. However, she refused to tell them anything about what this special event was. The pair were going in blind, making Rainbow suspect it was something that they would probably would have tried to find a way out of if they knew. But Rainbow was too curious, so the pair would be spending their day at Wonderbolts HQ doing whatever this event was meant to be.

Teeth brushed, the pair headed downstairs for breakfast, feeding Tank as they did so, then flew out of their home to fly toward HQ. Rainbow was kind of hoping that maybe the map would call for her, or maybe there was a dangerous evil that had escaped imprisonment hoping to destroy Equestria, but no, nothing like that happened.

Not long after that, the pair landed on the cloud base while spotting Spitfire on the runway. "Crash," she smirked, "Clipper. Good to see you're on time. Are you both ready for today's special event?"

"Are you ready to tell us what the heck it is?" Soarin asked as Spitfire laughed and gestured for them to follow. They headed into one of the large hangers, where the team practiced indoor stunts for the rare occasion they had to entertain somewhere enclosed. As they approached, they heard a lot of sounds coming from within, mainly screams, yells and a few smashing sounds.

"What's happening?" Rainbow asked as they reached the door and heard the sound of something being thrown into a wall. "Sounds like an army's doing battle in there! What, has the HQ been invaded? Who we dealing with? Rogue griffons? Sky pirates? Parasprite infestation?"

"Be warned," Spitfire replied, "This might be the toughest challenge you've ever faced. Greater than Discord, Sombra and Tirek combined." The pair smirked before Rainbow slammed her way through the doors and into the hanger, doing several karate strikes in the air.

"Get ready to feel the thunder!" But as she yelled this, she quickly came to a stop when she saw what her enemy was: A bunch of colt and fillies. "Huh?"

The kids all turned to her, Soarin going wide-eyed at the sight, "Spitfire...please tell me this isn't what I think it is."

Spitfire grinned at this, "That depends. Do you think this is a special event where young ponies get to hang out and train with two Wonderbolts?"

Rainbow and Soarin's eyes shrunk at this, all turning to see eight young ponies that were now staring at them while their parents were off to the side.

"How long has this been a thing?" Soarin whispered, only for Spitfire to hold something up that the pair were familiar with. A box of cereal. "Wonder-Ohs?" It was the official Wonderbolt breakfast cereal. One neither he or Rainbow liked, so they never looked for it when shopping. And sure enough, on the box was an advertisement.


Do you want the chance to train alongside the Wonderbolts? Send in the token in this box with your name and address, for the chance to win.


"You can't be serious," Rainbow deadpanned, "You want us to babysit a bunch of brats?"

The brats in question all frowned at Rainbow as Spitfire just smiled back, "Not babysit. Train." She gestured to the eight, "Each generation trains the next. If we can't inspire ponies to follow that path, then the next Wonderbolts will never survive."

"But why us?" Soarin asked.

"Why not you? You're both young, and you've shown that you've got the skills to train others thanks to your time at the School of Friendship." The pair were starting to hate Twilight right now, "Well, I've got paperwork to do. You two have fun!"

She zoomed out of the hanger, the pair glaring back at her. They wanted to yell several profanities at her, but the current company probably shouldn't hear those words. As such, Rainbow and Soarin turned to the eight young ponies, who were staring back at them with curiosity in their eyes. There were five colts and three fillies, the eight quickly looking like they were getting bored of just standing there waiting.

"Ooookay," Rainbow called upon her teaching experience, "Let's...give us a second." She grabbed Soarin and pulled him over to a hanger corner, "What the heck do we do?!"

"You're asking me?! You're the one who teaches at a school!"

"Yeah, but most of my students are adults and those that aren't at still way older than this!" She looked back at the ponies and saw that they were younger taen Scootaloo, and then younger than she was when she entered her first race. She would actually be surprised if they could all fly at this point. "I've never had to deal with kids this young."

Soarin sighed and walked over to the young ponies. "Alright, everypony in line." They did so and he looked them over. "Now, when I point at you, you'll give your name and why you wanted to win this contest." He pointed at a red colt with a black mane and tail, "Go."

"I'm Comet Streak! I wanna learn how to fly like a Wonderbolt and beat everypony I race against!"

Soarin pointed to a dark blue colt with a brown mane and tail. "I'm Skybolt! I wanna fly like you cause it could help me in the future." This kid felt way older than he actually was, Soarin pointing to the yellow filly with an orange mane and tail.

"My name's Fluffy Wings. I just thought it could be fun." Soarin nodded, knowing that was as good a reason as any. He pointed at the purple colt with grey mane and tail.

"I'm Thunder Dance," he replied, "My dad won me the contest and thought it would be a good experience for me." Soarin had expected at least one of them would have been sent there by a parent. He pointed at a green filly with a yellow mane and tail.

"My name is Emerald Rain. I entered cause I never won anything before and hoped I might win this." Soarin nodded and pointed to a white colt with a blue mane and tail.

"I'm Cloud Smasher! I love the Wonderbolts and I wanna be just like you!" Soarin smirked and pointed to a cyan filly whose hair was a mix of red and yellow, which swirled into a ponytail she was stroking.

"Sunbeam. My name's Crescent Sunbeam. I like flying and my parents said the Wonderbolts are the best fliers in Equestria." Soarin replied that they were better than the best, then pointed at a black colt with a purple mane and tail.

"I'm Astral Mooncutter. I wanna be a guard when I grow up, and knowing how to fly will really help."

"Alright," Soarin replied while nodding, "Comet, Skybolt, Fluffy, Thunder, Emerald, Cloud, Sunbeam and Astral. Welcome to the Wonderbolts training day. I'm sure you're all excited about today and what you'll learn, so me and Rainbow are gonna try our hardest to teach you want it means to be a Wonderbolt. Does that sound fun?"

"YEAH!" They all cheered as Rainbow trotted up next to him. "So, what are we gonna learn first?" Comet yelled. "Loops? Spins? Flying in sync?"

"Well, first we need to gauge how fit you all are," Soarin replied, "So..." He turned to the parents at this, "Would you all mind helping with this first test?" The parents nodded and Soarin began to explain what they would do while Rainbow went into the equipment bag Spitfire had left them and found a stopwatch.

The test would be simple. Each young pony would fly to the far end of the hanger and back again, with their parents counting every time they returned. Rainbow would time them and see how many times they could do this in ten minutes. This would be a good way to measure their speed and stamina.

"Alright!" Comet cheered as he jumped around, "Just watch me! I'm gonna crush this!"

"Ready?" Soarin asked, the eight nodding as Rainbow placed a whistle to her lips and held the stopwatch. She blew the second she hit the button, starting the time with the eight quickly flying off. Comet exploded off the mark, getting across the hanger with some impressive speed. He was there and back to his mother before the next closest kid was even halfway to the other end of the hanger.

"Fast," Rainbow commented. "Not bad."

"But can he keep it up?" Soarin responded as Comet attempted to whizz back to the other wall and back again. This time, he was a little bit slower, but still pretty fast. However, his third attempt had him moving at about the same pace as the others were going. He panted as he flew back to his mom, getting slower and slower by the second.

"Looks like he's out of gas," Rainbow giggled as Soarin nodded, Comet now the slowest of the group while the others had been keeping at a relatively steady pace. Soon enough, Skybolt's number got higher than Comet's, the colt growling at the sight. He tried to force himself to go faster, but his body refused to pick up the pace, exhausting himself even more.

Soon, the ten-minute time limit ended, and the eight ponies fell to the ground in exhaustion. Soarin took out a clipboard and took the number from each parent, thankful none of them trying to make their kids look better by increasing the number.

"Well, you all did pretty well. Congrats to Skybolt for having the highest score." They all clapped as Comet turned to glare at the blue pony. "But what did you all learn from that?"

None responded, either not knowing the answer or not wanting to give it out of shyness. This was when Rainbow chose this moment to speak up. "You all saw what Comet did wrong." This statement made Comet glare at her, Soarin flinching at Rainbow's tactlessness.

"He didn't do anything wrong. He just used a strategy that's not suited for this kind of event." Comet turned his glare at Soarin as he continued, "While it's true that Wonderbolts need to be fast, it's more important that we don't push ourselves too far from the start. Wonderbolts routines go on for a long time, so the most important thing to learn is how to use your energy sparingly."

"What's sparingly mean?" Emerald asked, Soarin blinking at her before turning to Rainbow, only for the mare to shrug.

Soarin put his hoof to his chin before saying, "Who likes to put ketchup on their hayfries?" All eight kids raised a hoof while Rainbow went wide-eyed, "Alright. Well, isn't it better to put the same amount of ketchup on each fry?" They nodded again. "That's what it means to use something sparingly. You wouldn't waste all your ketchup to only cover one fry, just like you shouldn't use all your energy in one go."

"Ohhhh..." the young ponies all responded.

Soarin nodded, "What Comet did would have been fine if I told you to only do one lap. As a Wonderbolt, there'll be times when you need to use all your energy in one go. But there'll also be times when you need to be careful with how far you push yourself. You kids understand?" They all nodded, with even Comet looking like he understood. "Alright. Well, from what I saw, you're all fairly fit and active. Now, why don't we head outside and start practicing some tricks?"

"YEAH!" The kids quickly ran out of the room while Soarin turned to his wife, seeing the frown on her face.

"You okay?"

"You made that look so easy," Rainbow sighed, "And I almost made one of them cry."

"Yeah...telling them they made a mistake isn't a smart move." Rainbow glanced away at this as they picked up the equipment and headed out the door. "So you made one mistake. So what?"

"I'm just not good with kids. I can handle older ones, no problem. But really little ones...no thanks." They headed out as the kids leapt into the air, "They're way to chaotic."

"What, is the great Rainbow Dash scared?" Rainbow glared at him, Soarin flinching, "I'm just kidding. But you can't let this one little set back stop you. You're gonna have to learn to deal with really little kids eventually. One day we'll have them around us all the time."

"Yeah, not likely." Soarin stopped at this and stared at her, Rainbow looking back and seeing him have a worried expression on her face.

"Are you saying...you don't want kids?" Rainbow frowned as she looked down, clearly worried she was about to say something that would upset him. "I...I thought you wanted kids."

"I do," Rainbow told him. "I want kids...but not babies or little kids. Somepony Scootaloo or Soul's age. Somepony I can have fun with, playing games and teaching how to fly. I just wish I didn't have to get stuck with a whinny, smelly baby that can't even wipe its own nose."

"Well unfortunately, that's kind of something you need to go through before you can have the kid that you get to have fun with."

Rainbow groaned at this, "I know that. I just don't see what's so great about having to spend all your time with something that can't even pick its head up. And honestly, they seem like way more work than they're worth. I mean, I remember when Pinkie told me about her first time looking after the Cake Twins. And then there was the mess Flurry caused at her Crystallizing."

"I doubt something like that will be an issue for us," Soarin replied, "Unless we somehow have an alicorn, I doubt think we'll have to worry about her causing a blizzard." Rainbow kept looking away at this, Soarin adding, "Look, it'll be a while before we're ready to have kids. I know it sounds scary, but we've faced tougher problems."

"I guess." They looked up and saw the kids already trying to do tricks.

Soarin used his whistle, the kids soon flying down. "Alright everypony, let's start practicing our first trick." They all cheered as Soarin turned to Rainbow, "Wanna show them the trick."

Rainbow nodded, taking to the air as Soarin began to explain the trick. It was actually quite a simple move, where the ponies were to take off and fly above the base into a small amount of clouds above them. Rainbow showed them how to dive through a cloud, dragging the end of one between her back hooves and stretching it out. She then flew around in several directions, creating a shape in the air that looked like a letter A.

The young ponies took off and her flew into clouds, diving back down and dragging the clouds around with them. They tried to write the letter, but each one messed up in some way. Comet lost the grip on his cloud, Skybolt turned in the wrong direction, Fluffy hadn't grabbed enough cloud and so on. The Wonderbolts watched as they all tried again, with roughly the same results, so Soain headed up to them as Rainbow just hovered there.

"Excuse me?" He turned to see Astrel looking up at her, "What am I doing wrong?" Rainbow opened her mouth to respond, only to stop as she remembered this one did do a bit better than the others, as he was able to get the shape down, but didn't get it fully right due to how slow they were going.

"You've gotta speed up," she responded.

"Why?"

"Um..." She put a hoof to her chin, "Clouds uh...they don't last long when they're stretched out. That's why you've gotta be quick to complete the shape before it fades away. So try and go faster."

"But if I go fast, I might lose control."

"Then you practice your control," Rainbow replied, "Go on. Try and do it just a bit faster and see how well you do." Astral nodded and flew back up into the cloud. He then shot back down as fast as he could go, pulling some cloud behind him before he started trying to make the letter.

It seemed to go well until he tried to turn to go back up the stream he made in order to complete the letter. HIs cursive was actually pretty good, but his control was quickly shown to be less then desired when he turned and suddenly span out of control. "GYAH!" He cried, spinning out.

Rainbow gasped and flew down after him, flying as fast as she could hoping to catch him before he hit the HQ ground. However, Astral's mother shot up from the ground and caught him with speed Rainbow doubted she could ever pull off. Astral slammed into her and they were both thrown into the ground, though not as fast as Astral had been going before.

Evverypony gasped as they all flew down, Rainbow being the first one to reach them. "Are you alright?" She saw the mare holding her son and slowly sitting up as the little pony began to cry.

"It's okay," she whispered, "It's okay. Momma's here." Rainbow saw that the mare had several scratches on her back and her wing looked like it might be sprained, but she looked like she hadn't even noticed. "I know, that was scary wasn't it. But it's okay."

Astral then calmed down and sniffed, his mother hugging him tighter to completely stop his tears. Soarin saw her injuries and flinched, "Let's get you both to the medical bay to be checked out." The mother nodded and Rainbow offered to take them, mostly wanting to get away from the little ones before she caused another accident.

They made their way across the base, with the mother unable to fly and forcing them to walk. Her name was Moonlight Aurora and she was a black pony like her son, but had a white mane and tail with streaks of yellow running through it. Astral was riding on her back, despite the many scratches that were covering it. The mare didn't even seem phased.

"I'm really sorry," Rainbow told Moonlight.

"Sorry for what?"

"You only got hurt because of me. I was the one who made your son lose control."

"I doubt it. Did you do something that caused him to go spinning?"

"I told him to speed up."

"That's what you were supposed to do. This wouldn't be a very good Wonderbolts Training Day if the kids weren't expected to go fast. Though maybe you shouldn't have had him go so fast right from the start."

Rainbow sighed at this, "I knew this was a bad idea."

"Training young ponies to be better fliers?"

"Me training young ponies to be better fliers. I can handle training grown ponies. I could even handle ponies ages ten and up. But really little kids...I can't do it."

They arrived at the medical bay and the doctor quickly let them in. Rainbow waited outside, wanting to make sure the pair were okay, and also wanting to keep as far away from the training as possible. It was a good twenty minutes before the doors of the medical bay opened up again, Moonlight and Astral stepping out. Moonlight had her wing wrapped up in bandages and a few band-aids on her back while Astral looked completely the same and was enjoying a lollipop. "Well?" Rainbow asked, Moonlight smiling at her.

"We're completely fine. I'll need to hold off on flying for a day or two, but the pair of us should be absolutely fine." Rainbow sighed in relief. "Thank you for waiting for us."

"Well, I couldn't just leave a pair of civilians unescorted on the base. Besides," she looked sheepish, "It keeps me from having to return to the training for longer."

Moonlight sighed as she carried Astral back in the direction they came. "You really shouldn't let yourself be upset. Stuff like this happens to kids. If we wrapped them up in cotton their whole lives, they'll never be able to grow into ponies that can look after themselves when they're older."

"I guess. But not everypony can be a super-mom like you. When Astral fell, you were like lightning flying up to catch him. You let yourself get hurt to keep him safe."

"I'm sure any mother would do the same," Moonlight replied, "That's who we are. We protect our young."

"Maybe you do," Rainbow muttered, "Honestly, the thought of somepony being completely reliant on me is...it's terrifying." Moonlight raised an eyebrow at this, "I mean, one mistake and I could ruin the kid."

"Oh please. I've made plenty of mistakes. When Astral was first born, my husband and I went to visit his parents and placed the baby in a bedroom to sleep. It wasn't until we were halfway home that we remembered we had left him there." Rainbow laughed at this, "There's no such thing as a perfect parent. Ask anypony you know with kids and they'll tell you they've screwed up at least once."

Rainbow tried to think about the parents she knew. The Cakes seemed like the perfect parents, though she hadn't been around them enough to confirm if they had made a mistake or not. Shining and Cadance's child had almost buried an entire city in a blizzard, but her being an alicorn was more the cause then their parenting. And then there were Flash and Scootaloo's parents, who had left their children at orphanages because of a vision their mother had had.

"I guess you have a point. But still, maybe I'm not the kind of pony that's meant to be responsible with a kid. I'm just not mom material." Moonlight laughed at this, "What's so funny?"

"I thought the exact same thing when I learned I was pregnant," she responded, "I wasn't exactly the kind of pony you'd expect to be responsible for another pony."

"Really?" After seeing how awesome she had been before, it was hard for her to not see her as anything but.

"It's true. Before Astral was born, I wasn't exactly an upstanding citizen. Neither was my husband. We were what you would call hoodlums. We ran around, getting into trouble. I even had a criminal record, not that I'm proud of it." Rainbow went wide-eyed at this, "But that all changed when I got pregnant. I thought I was gonna be the worst mother that ever lived. Even considered putting him up for adoption."

Rainbow glanced down at Astral, who was too focused watching the ponies in the air to pay attention to what the grown-ups were saying.

"But as the months went by and he grew within me, I slowly fell in love with him and I knew I couldn't give him up. So, I changed who I was and so did his father. We stopped being menaces to society and got proper jobs, quickly building up a home our child could grow up in that was safe and secure."

"But you were still worried you were gonna mess up?"

"Big time," Moonlight nodded. "And remember, I did leave him at my in-laws when he was a baby." Rainbow snickered at this. "I know it sounds like it's an impossible task, but parenthood is one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. I thought I loved my life before, but I didn't know how little I'd lived until I had a child to live it with." They arrived back at the training grounds, "And it's not like you'll have to do it all on your own."

Rainbow looked up at Soarin and watched him as he was directing the kids on how to do certain maneuvers without losing control like Astral had. She smiled, realizing Moonlight was right. Soarin was clearly great with kids. If she had him, she was sure she could pull this whole parenting thing off...right?

Soarin saw Astral fly back up and smirked, "Alright everypony, now that we're an octuple again, we'll start working on synchro flight. This is tricky, since it requires you to move in perfect time with your partner. So, we're gonna start with you on the ground and then move on to aerial displays later."

They all flew down and Soarin paired them up. Comet was with Skybolt, Fluffy with Thunder, Emerald with Cloud and Sunbeam would be with Astral. Rainbow stepped up next to Soarin as he explained the routine. "First, you lift the front leg closest to your partner and cross it!" The pair lifted their legs and formed an X with them, "Then lower it back down and as soon as it hits the ground, lift your other leg up and full semi-circle until they're pointing straight up." They lowered their legs and did as Soarin explained until they were pointing straight up. "Then, you bring them down from the front and stomp on the ground." They slowly lowered their legs down passed their heads and touched the ground.

"That's easy," Comet chuckled, only to see Soarin smirk.

"It's easy to do slowly." He and Rainbow suddenly repeated the process at high speed, able to move perfectly in sync with one another and stomping the ground at the same time. "You'll find doing it quick is a lot harder. But if you think you can do it, try."

Comet laughed and pulled Skybolt forward, the pair standing side by side before the red colt started the movements. But Skybolt had been taken by surprise and was a second behind, and when the movement ended, Comet hit the ground before Skybolt.

"Come on!" He cried to the blue colt, "What were you waiting for?"

"You didn't give me a signal," Skybolt argued. Comet looked like he was about to yell at him, but Rainbow spoke up first.

"Hey!" They turned to her, "No arguing. That's the last thing you need for flying in sync." The pair frowned as Rainbow took a deep breath. "Just try again. This time, I'll give a signal." She turned to the others, "You all wanna try it to?" They nodded and stood in position, side by side as Rainbow stared at them all. "And...go!" The colts and fillies began the movements, with some doing better and being in sync then others.

Some were going too fast or too slow, while others accidently kicked their partners in the leg instead of crossing them.

"Ow!" Emerald yelped as she pulled her leg away from Cloud.

"Sorry," he flinched, Emerald looking like she was about to start crying, making Rainbow flinch, only for Emerald's mother to run over to her.

"Oh, don't be such a baby." Emerald pouted at this as the mare rubbed the spot that he had kicked. "See, it's not bleeding. Are you a big girl?"

"Yes," Emerald nodded.

"Well, big girls don't cry for little bumps. He's sorry, so be strong for me and don't get upset at him over an accident." Emerald nodded and actually stopped crying, making her mother smile.

"Wow..." Rainbow whispered as the pair stepped away from the two. "That was awesome. I thought talking like that to a kid was a bad thing."

"It's all about understanding the situation," the mare replied. She was a brown pegasus with a peach mane and tail, her name being Star Dawn. "If she had actually been bleeding, I would have comforted her. But if I did for a little bump like that, she'll grow up thinking every time bump and bruise is a death sentence. There are times when a parent needs to be caring, but also a time when a parent needs to be stern and show their children the world can't be allowed to walk over you."

"Cool," Rainbow chuckled, "I always thought being a mom meant being all mushy."

"I'd say it's about eighty five percent being mushy and the other fifteen percent is being stern when you need to be."

Rainbow sighed, "That's still too mushy for me." Star looked at her for a moment and hummed.

"You don't know whether you want to have kids, do you?" Rainbow slowly nodded. "I see. Then maybe you shouldn't." Rainbow flinched at this, only for the mare to add, "It's nothing personal, but trust me, being a parent isn't easy."

"Don't you love your kid?"

"Yes. I love her and her little brother. You should have seen Emerald the other day when I put these little bows in her mane and tail." She remembered the image and looked like she was remembering a sweet dream, only to then turn serious. "But they are a ton of work." Rainbow gulped. "If you are not totally, one hundred percent sure you want them, you won't survive."

"Is it really that hard?"

"Yes," Star nodded. "I never get any sleep. I'm always sick. I never get the chance to read my favorite stories. I still haven't finished the latest Daring Do book, but I can recite over six different story books from memory." Rainbow gulped, fearing she would never get to read another Daring Do book.

"I don't wanna read kids books," Rainbow muttered, "I wanna read books for adults. Adults and teens!"

"And they can be so manipulative," Star contined, "Last week, Emerald's brother pretended to be hurt. I went in to help him, so she could sneak into the kitchen and steal two cookies."

"Oh, wow. Your children are monsters!"

"Hey!" Star yelled, "Those are my kids. Back off."

"Right..." Rainbow gulped.

Star sighed as she looked Rainbow over, "And then there's the process of actually getting kids." She gestured to Rainbow's flat stomach, "You'd risk giving up that bod forever."

"WHAT?!" Rainbow screamed, getting the attention of many others which made her give a nervous laugh until they turned away. "What do you mean? I mean...I know I'd gain a few pounds but...couldn't I work it off?"

"It's more than just a few pounds," Star sighed, "And working it off isn't as easy as you think. To lose weight, you need to exercise. How often do you think you'll have to exercise while looking after a newborn? They require constant attention and by the time they don't need you to do something for them, you'll be so exhausted you won't be able to find the strength to do a simple sit up." She gestured to herself, Rainbow noticing her stomach was a little round. "I used to be about the same weight as you. But after two kids..."

Rainbow hadn't thought about what she would have to go through to have a baby. Months of being overweight, not being allowed to eat certain things, having weird cravings and eventually needing to squeeze the thing out of her in a very painful manner.

"I'm not telling you to not have kids," Star replied, "Having kids can be an amazing and fulfilling experience. But it also means giving things up. Are you willing to do that? If you can't and you still have kids, you could end up not liking them or even hating them for ruining your life. That's not fair on you or the child."

Rainbow knew she had a point. She didn't want to have a kid, only to end up hating it in the end. She tried to tell herself she wouldn't, but did she know that for sure?

"Alright," she heard Soarin call out, "Looks like you've all got the hang of it." They turned back to the group, "Now why don't we add a few more moves to it?" The kids all nodded as Soarin turned to Rainbow, who quickly pushed what she was thinking down so she could focus on the moves.

She and Soarin stood in position and began to perform the movements the kids had all learned with Soarin then explaining what to do after stomping on the ground. The pair quickly did the whole routine together and the kids were amazed by it, the group trying hard to do it as well. As they did this, Rainbow watched, thinking about that pain and discomfort, then to give birth to something that would be completely dependent on her for everything. She would be giving up her own life to look after the life of another. She might have to quit the Wonderbolts or be stuck doing duties a mare with a kid would be able to handle. She had worked so hard to become a Wonderbolt and didn't want to give that up.

Soarin had been focusing on the kids, only to turn to Rainbow, seeing the upset look on her face. He would need to talk to her, but he also needed to focus on his job. Luckily, he saw the time and realized what he could do.

"Alright gang," he clapped his hooves, "I think that's enough for right now. You've all gotten the hang of being in sync on the ground." He wasn't wrong since the eight had all gotten the movements down pat. "Let's break for lunch, and once you're refueled, we can start working on doing it in the air. How's that sound?"

The kids all cheered at this and their parents grabbed them, each having brought something to eat and ran out onto the Wonderbolts lawn. As this happened, Soarin flew over to Rainbow. "You okay?" She turned to him with a huge frown.

"Can we talk?" She glanced back at the others, "Alone?" Soarin nodded and the pair stepped away from the ponies, heading around the hanger and sitting on a large crate at its rear.

"So, what's up?" Soarin asked, "You've been acting weird for a while now."

Rainbow sighed as she glanced away, "I uh...I've decided something. Something that might make you hate me and I'm worried about how you'll react."

"Rainbow," Soarin sighed, "I'd never hate you. What's wrong?"

"I...I don't wanna have kids." Soarin's eyes went wide, "I'm sorry, but I don't want to ever have them."

"But why?"

"Because it's not who I am," Rainbow slowly said, "I'm Rainbow Dash, awesome Wonderbolt and heroic savior of Equestria. Not Rainbow Dash, housewife and stay at home mom who spends her days changing diapers and having a baby scream into her ear." Soarin frowned, since that did not sound like Rainbow either. "I know you want kids, but I don't think I could go through that. It's my body and I don't want to have to suffer through it for something I might end up resenting."

"I guess that makes sense," Soarin leaned back at this, "You're right. It's your body, and I have no right to force you to do something you'll hate."

"I'm sorry," Rainbow muttered out, "You hate me now, don't you?" Soarin then reached down and lifted her head to look at him.

"No way, Crash. It'll take more than this to stop me from loving you." Rainbow teared up at this, "And it's not like this completely stops us from ever being parents. There are other ways to have kids. We could adopt."

"Adopt?"

"Yeah. You said you're not good with babies and kids, so we'll look for a child that's old enough to look after itself but still wants parents. We'll adopt them and be parents whilst skipping all the stuff you don't wanna do."

"Yeah...I guess that's an option. Though I don't think I'll be ready for any of that for a good while."

"That's fine," Soarin chuckled, "You take all the time you need. There's no rush." Rainbow smiled and leaned forward to hug him, Soarin hugging her back. They stayed like that for a minute or so before Rainbow got up and started walking off. Soarin smiled as she went around the hanger. But as soon as she was out of sight, he sighed and leaned back against the building. "I'm...I'm okay with this."

"Hey Clips," he turned to see Spitfire and Fleetfoot walking up, "You okay?" Spitfire asked, "You and Crash seemed to be having a pretty intense discussion."

"Yeah," Soarin sighed, "We just...had to iron a few things out."

"About the training camp?" Fleetfoot asked, the stallion shaking his head. "Then what's it about?"

Soarin grimaced at this, but knew he probably needed to tell someone. The pair sat down beside him and listened as he told them about Rainbow's decision. To say the pair were surprised by the end of this tale was an understatement, but not for the reasons Soarin had suspected. "You got married without talking about whether or not you wanted kids?" Spitfire asked.

"Yeah," Soarin nodded.

"Dude," Fleetfoot shook her head, "That's like...the first thing you should have discussed once she said yes. Do you want kids, where do you want to live, should we get a prenup. Did you two just jump into the wedding without giving any thought to your futures together?"

"I...I guess we didn't," Soarin sighed. "At least I know now."

"Too little, too late." Spitfire crossed her hooves, "So Crash doesn't want kids. Honestly, I get where she's coming from. Having to give up my position to push one of them out, only to have it constantly screaming in my ear. No thanks."

Soarin sighed, "I told Rainbow that maybe we could adopt. And I'm all for that. But...I'd still like to have a kid that's actually my own. And since it'd be part me and part Rainbow Dash, you know it'd grow up to be awesome."

"Well," Spitfire chuckled, "The Rainbow part would be awesome. Though any kid with your genes might have their awesomeness weakened a little bit." Soarin shot her a glare, Fleetfoot laughing while Spitfire smirked at him.

"Forget it. You two wouldn't understand." He jumped off the crate at this.

"Soarin, wait." He glanced back, seeing the frowns on their faces, "We do understand. And if you really want your own kid, you need to tell Rainbow about this."

"What would be the point?" He asked, "She's made it pretty clear she doesn't want kids. If I told her I wanted kids, she'd either force herself to go through with it and end up hating me for making her or feel bad about never giving me a kid. Either way, our relationship will be ruined."

"You can't keep this from her," Fleetfoot replied, "Secrets between married couples never end well."

Soarin groaned and shook his head, "I...I know."

But before he could fully respond, one of the mothers walked past them. "Comet?" She called out, making the Wonderbolts turn to her, "Comet, where are you?"

"Is there a problem?" Spitfire asked, making the mother glance back. She was red, just like her son, with a mane and tail that was brownish orange in color.

"My son, I can't find him anywhere!" This made them flinch.

"How could you lose him?" Fleetfoot cried, the mother frowning.

"I just looked away from him for a second and he was gone. Probably saw something interesting and wondered off without thinking of where he was going."

The Wonderbolts shared a glance, Spitfire pointing at Fleetfoot, "You go check the training field. Clipper, you go search the locker rooms. I'll head over to the main building and make an announcement to try and get him to come to us." They nodded and all flew off, leaving his mother looking absolutely terrified she might never see her child again.





Rainbow had gone off to the showers to cool off, still feeling a little upset about what had happened. Even though Soarin had told her everything was alright, she could tell he was upset. She felt bad for stopping Soarin from ever having a kid, but hopefully the adoption idea would be enough to make him happy. Even so, Rainbow still felt a gnawing sensation in her chest, as she thought about everything she was deciding against.

She imagined each of her friends in a few years, each with their own foal with their significant other. A life that had been created through their love for one another. A perfect fusion of the two. And then there was her, alone and without a foal to call her own. It would be just like when her friends all had pets and she didn't, only this time they were all hanging out doing playdates without her.

Rainbow shook her head to get rid of the images.

Why was she suddenly thinking about all this? She had made up her mind to not have any kids, so why was she suddenly feeling upset about missing out on stuff she figured she would hate? "Come on!" She told herself, "You don't want to ruin your life with a bunch of foals! So what if your friends are all gonna have their own eventually?! You can still be a part of it! You can be their fun cool aunt Rainbow...when they're old enough to not need diaper changes or throw up on you."

She stepped out of the shower and started toweling herself off, only to hear Spitfire's voice echo through the speaker system. "Attention all staff members, a young pony has been lost on the base. He responds to the name Comet Streak and if found, must be returned to his mother as soon as possible."

Rainbow grimaced at this, walking out of the shower room and headed for Spitfire's office. But as she did this, she heard the sound of crying, making her turn to a nearby dumpster. She walked around it, soon seeing Comet curled up behind it, terror on his face as he cried into his hooves. "Hey," she softly spoke, "You okay kid?" The colt looked up at her, "You know, you've got the whole base on high alert looking for you."

"I'm sorry," he whimpered, "I got lost." His crying grew louder and Rainbow flinched.

"Uh...what happened?" She slowly asked as she leaned down, only for Comet to cry louder. Rainbow was on the verge of telling him to shut it, but took a deep breath.

And as she tried to keep her cool, Comet spoke up. "I saw some Wonderbolts flying above us and doing...cool tricks." He rubbed his face to try and get rid of the tears. "But they flew behind one of the buildings and I wanted to keep watching, so I ran after them."

Rainbow nodded at this, "You followed without looking where you were going and now you can't figure out how to get back to your mom?" He nodded back, only to start crying some more. Rainbow sat down beside him and placed a hoof on his head. "Hey, it's alright. I can take you back to your mom and we can forget this whole thing happened."

"NO!" Comet screamed, leaping away from her. "Momma's gonna be mad and take me home! I'm not gonna get to fly like a Wonderbolt and everypony's gonna make fun of me!"

Rainbow flinched at this, about to say he wouldn't be in trouble, but realized a little kid's mind usually jumped to the worst case scenario. "Just try and calm down," she whispered, "I promise you won't get in trouble. It was an accident, and if you apologize, nopony has to get mad." But as she said that, Comet spun around, "Hey, wait!" She leapt into the air and flew after him as he ran for the runway. "WAIT!"

But it was too late.

As he ran onto the runway, a pair of Wonderbolts shot past him at high speed. Comet cried out as a powerful blast of wind picked him up and tossed him into the air, Rainbow gasping at this as she tried to chase after him, only for the colt to crash into the cloud ground with enough force to break a hole through it. Rainbow glanced down into the hole, hoping he had spread his wings and was already flying back up, but the little pegasus only screamed as he fell, too scared to do anything.

The pegasus quickly dived through the cloud, moving as fast as she could to catch up with him. She thought she might have to use her Sonic Rainboom to save him, but she was able to reach him before needing to. "Gotcha!" She pulled him into her embrace and spread her wings, flinching at the intense buffering they received from the air that pumped into them.

And when they came to a stop, she looked down and saw they were about a hundred feet or so from the ground. She sighed in relief before looking down at Comet, who was shaking and crying into her chest. "Hey," she patted him on the head, "It's okay. You're gonna be okay." She began to fly back up to the base, Comet's sobs continuing, though they did weaken. As they did this, Rainbow thought about what the mothers had all told her before. "Hey, you wanna be a Wonderbolt, right?"

Comet looked up at her and nodded, "Uh-huh."

"Well, Wonderbolts are tough. Sure, we can cry, but we don't cry for long. A good thirty seconds is all you need to feel better and once that passes, you need to buck up and not let what's making you cry get to you." They reached the base and flew through the clouds. "Now let's go see your mom. I promise, you won't get in trouble. And since you don't seem to be hurt, we'll keep this little falling incident between us. Okay?"

Comet sniffed and nodded, "Okay."

Rainbow nodded back and they flew to where the families were still hanging out. Soarin and Spitfire were also there, and when they saw Rainbow with the kid, Comet's mother gasped and rushed over to hug her son. "Where were you?" She cried, holding him so tightly that Rainbow was amazed he could breathe.

"I'm sorry," Comet whispered, Rainbow now explaining what happened. She told the mother how Comet got lost, but told her that she promised Comet that he wouldn't get in trouble. His mother wasn't mad, just relieved he was okay.

"Well kids," Soarin chuckled, "This was certainly an interesting distraction. But since Comet's back and okay, why don't we start practicing our air maneuvers?" They all cheered at this, Comet now more excited than anypony, glad he still got to do what he had been looking forward to despite his mistakes.

Soarin took the youngsters to the air and they all started doing the moves in the air, the eight all showing impressive skill at taking their ground dances to the sky. And as they did this, Comet's mother walked over to Rainbow. "Thank you for finding him."

"It was nothing," Rainbow replied, "Didn't even have to look. I just happened to come across him when I was stepping out of the shower."

"No," she shook her head, "I know my son. He would have been so worried about being in trouble, he probably didn't wanna come back. You convinced him to return, didn't you?" Rainbow looked a little sheepish, but nodded. "Thank you. You saved the day for Comet and everypony else. If he hadn't been found, the event might have been cancelled and ruined for everypony. I don't know how you convinced him to come back, but you're clearly a natural with young ponies."

"You think so?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow, the mare nodding.

"If you ever have kids of your own, they'll be lucky to have you." Rainbow smiled as the mare walked off to talk to the rest of the parents, the Wonderbolt watching the young ponies playing around in the air.

This went on for another hour or so before Soarin was satisfied with their skills, telling them all they did great. "You're all possible Wonderbolts in the making. As long as you keep up your practice, I'm willing to bet any of you could be attending the Wonderbolts Academy in a few years time." The young ponies all smiled at this, Soarin grinning back, only to see there was still a little while before the end of the event. He needed to think of something for the ponies to do in that time.

That is, till Rainbow flew up to them, "Alright everypony, who's ready to learn the most important lesson of the day?" The ponies all raised their hooves in response.

Rainbow smirked before leading them over to another part of the base, where a large net had been laid out. "What's this for?" Emerald asked as Rainbow grinned.

"One of the most important things about being a pegasus is having the instinct to spread your wings. After all, you all live in a cloud city. You might not have had this happen to you, and I hope you never do, but sometimes the cloudy ground beneath you will break apart and you'll find yourself falling to the ground."

Comet blushed at this as Rainbow flew up to a diving board above the net. She then placed a blindfold on and waited on the edge of the board as Fleetfoot flew up to her. They both stood there for a few seconds, the young ponies wondering what was gonna happen.

But then, Fleetfoot pushed Rainbow off the board and she fell. The young ponies gasped, but Rainbow instantly spread her wings and stopped her fall. "See?" She took off her blindfold and flew down to the ground. "If you train your body to spread your wings without a thought, you'll never have to worry about falling again. Even if you're scared, it'll happen on instinct. Now, who wants to go first?"

The young ponies all stared at this in amazement, looking at the net and then at the diving board above them. Soarin just frowned, turning to Rainbow. "Maybe this isn't such a good-"

"I'll go first!" Comet flew up to the diving board, amazing the other ponies with his courage. Rainbow smirked and flew up with him, putting the blindfold on as they reached the board.

"You ready?" Comet nodded and Rainbow positioned him on the edge of the board, waiting for him to stop wondering when she would push him. And when he was about to ask when she would, she shoved him over. He cried out, but tried to spread his wings. He managed to catch the air, but hit the net before he could slow himself down. The others all gasped at this, but Comet bounced back up and started laughing. This seemed to make the other youngsters want to go, the group flying up and letting Rainbow blindfold and push them over the edge.

Rainbow smiled as she spent the next hour and a half pushing the young ponies off the board. With every fall, they learned to open their wings faster and faster. Eventually, the action was becoming ingrained in their muscle memory, and they spread their wings the second their hooves were no longer on solid ground. Their parents also became less terrified each time they saw their child fall, seeing the experience really was training the young ponies to hone their instincts.

Eventually, the time came for the day's events to end. The young ponies were all upset about not getting to have any more training, each feeling like they hadn't learned enough. "Don't worry," Rainbow told them, "You all keep practicing what you learned here at home, and you'll become even more awesome. Who knows, you might even be more awesome than me one day."

They all cheered at this, only for their parents to tell them it was time to go. Most began to leave without much issue, though Moonlight would need to take a chariot that Spitfire had arranged due to her injury. However, one of them didn't seem to want to leave yet. Comet turned to Rainbow and before his mother could stop him, he rushed over an threw his hooves around her. Rainbow almost flinched at this, but suddenly felt an overwhelming swell in her heart. "Thank you," whispered.

Rainbow smiled and gave him a gentle hug back, "No problem." Comet smiled and flew back over to his mother, the pair flying off as Soarin turned to her with wide eyes.

"For somepony that doesn't like little kids, you sure did well with them."

"I never said I didn't like little kids," Rainbow replied, "And you know what, maybe I was wrong about not wanting to have one of my own someday."

This made Soarin gasp, "R-r-really?"

"Yeah. But don't expect to be called daddy anytime soon. I'm a long way off from actually being ready. I wanna enjoy my hot athletic body for a bit before needing to give it up." Soarin laughed at this and used his wing to pull her in closer.

"You got it. And you never know, Twilight might know a spell that'll let us have a kid without you needing to spend months in that state." Rainbow smirked at that thought, since it was definitely something she could get behind. That is, till an idea formed in her head.

"Yeah...and maybe there's a spell that'll let the stallion be the one who gets pregnant." Soarin's eyes went wide at this, the mare laughing at his face before spreading her wings and leaving him behind as she flew home.

"You know what?!" Soarin called out after her. "Maybe we are still a bit young to think about having kids." He took off and flew after her, "Maybe we can wait...about a decade." Rainbow laughed harder and even Soarin couldn't help but chuckle. Their day with the young ponies had certainly given the couple a lot to think about. Their future was loaded with endless possibilities and whether they decided to have kids or not, they knew they would love their lives in the future together. That, they were absolutely certain about
> The Last Crusade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another beautiful day in Ponyville and all was peaceful in the town as Iron and Grand went out on patrol. But as Grand walked down the main road, he heard a voice calling out, "Cutie Mark Crusaders! Cutie Mark Crusaders! Cutie Mark Crusaders! Cutie Mark Crusaders!" He turned to see a colt named Skedaddle running down the road, a look of excitement was on his face.

"You looking for Scootaloo and her friends?" He asked, the colt skidding to a halt before turning to nod at him. "Go look at the castle. I think the girls were there." The colt smiled and began rushing for the castle of friendship, his voice filling the air as he did so.

As he approached, Spike happened to be flying out of the castle and he ran inside. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS!" The voice echoed throughout the castle, catching the attention of everyone in the building. A few moments later, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom walked into the main entrance. "I got my cutie mark!"

"You did?" Sweetie asked as the colt turned to show them the cutie mark of a rope in a knot. "That's great, Skedaddle!"

"What's it for?" Scootaloo asked.

"Knot-tying! And I never would've gotten it without all of you!"

The CMC all frowned, as Starlight and Twilight walked into the entryway. "Did we suggest knot-tying?" Apple Bloom asked, only for Skedaddle to point at Sweetie Belle.

"First, I tried sailing, like you said." She pointed to Scootaloo, "Next, I tried fishing, like you said." He pointed to Apple Bloom. "Then, I tried rowing, like you said. But my oar broke. So, I used my fishing line to tie it back together, AND I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!" He let out an excited squeal. "I can't wait to tell everypony!" He shot out of the door and the CMC moved over to the exit, smiling as they watched another satisfied customer.

They then turned to one another and began to cheer and high five, "ALRIGHT!"

Twilight and Starlight both giggled at this, "Well done girls," Twilight patted Scootaloo on the head. "You should be proud."

"Thanks," Scootaloo replied, "But I'm not sure we can take credit for this one."

"Of course you can," Starlight added, "You encouraged that colt to try new things, and because you all believed in him, he succeeded." The three smiled at this, "It's too bad we didn't have ponies like you around when I was little." Starlight blushed at this, "My thoughts on cutie marks might have been better if somepony was there to help me realize what they're supposed to be."

"Well now Equestria has us," Apple Bloom cheered, "And we're gonna keep helping as many ponies discover what their special talents are as we can."

"YEAH!" The other two excalimed, high-fiving as somepony suddenly landed beside the still open castle door. They turned to see it was Derpy, who was on her mail run and currently digging through her bag before pulling out a single letter. She gave it to Scootaloo and the filly smiled, "Thanks." She took it, seeing it was addressed to both her and her brother. "FLASH!" Her voice echoed through the castle, the older ponies needing to cover their ears with how loud she was.

A few moments later, Flash stepped into the entryway. "What's all the yelling about?"

"We got a letter from mom and dad."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this before taking the letter, Scootaloo jumping up and down around him while trying to read it, "Looks like they're coming for a visit."

Scootaloo gasped at this and cheered, hugging her brother. They hadn't been able to visit for a long time, not since after the friendship festival that had been ruined by the Storm King. They had been put on a special project by the museum, and haven't been able to even see the School of Friendship, which they wanted to see.

"We'd better get a guest room cleaned out," Twilight commented as the adults headed upstairs and Scootaloo danced around in enjoyment as the CMC all walked outside.

"Somepony's clearly excited," Sweetie giggled at seeing her friend's enjoyment.

"Of course I'm excited," Scootaloo replied, "Mom and dad are coming for a visit! It's been so long I'm worried they might have forgotten what I look like."

"Don't be silly," Apple Bloom laughed, "There's no way they'd forget what their daughter looks like. Besides, they must have a bunch of photos of you at their home in Manehatten."

"They do," Scootaloo nodded, "But they probably haven't spent a lot of time there. When they get super into a project, they tend to spend every waking minute they have on it. They've probably been sleeping at the museum and haven't been back at their apartment in ages."

She kept skipping around at this, the two giggling at the sight. They knew how much Scootaloo enjoyed her parents being around. Spending most of her childhood in an orphanage, with no knowledge of who she was and why she was left there had not been easier on her. Apple Bloom knew what it meant to miss parents you had never met, but she at least had the rest of her family to help her understand them. Scootaloo had had nopony until she and Flash found one another. Hopefully, Trail Blazer and Misty Vail's visit would be a long one they could spend with their children. They had a lot of missed time to make up for.





Several Days Later...

The bell rang as Cheerilee's school to signify the end of the school day. Scootaloo was the first out the door, running to where her scooter was located as she placed her helmet on her head. She had spent the entire school day being antsy, wanting time to speed up so she could go home and see her parents.

"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom called out, "Wait for us!" Scootaloo quickly attached her cart to the back of her scooter as the other two jumped into it. They barely managed to get their helmets on before Scootaloo beat her wings, shooting for Ponyville.

She was moving so fast, she almost ran over a few ponies that barely managed to get out of the way in time. "Scootaloo!" Sweetie cried, "Don't you think you should slow down before you get yourself...or somepony else, hurt?!"

"It'll be fine," she responded, "I drive at these speeds all the time and I've never had an accident."

"Just because something hasn't happened before doesn't mean it won't happen!" Apple Bloom covered her eyes, not wanting to see the thing that they crashed into.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and turned into the main street, only to find herself coming face to face with Mr. Cake pulling his delivery cart. "LOOK OUT!" She tried to stop, but there was no way she was gonna slow down in time.

She closed her eyes, expecting to crash head first into the cart...but nothing happened. She opened her eyes at this, only to see her scooter floating in the air, inches from slamming into the delivery cart. "Huh?" A cough made the girls turn to see Lightning, leaning against a nearby wall with a frown as he dropped them back to the ground. "Um...thanks."

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't confiscate that scooter until Flash decides what to do with you." Scootaloo flinched at this, only to quickly give him the puppy dog eyes, Lightning raising an eyebrow. "That might work on your soft-hearted brother, but not me."

Scootaloo grabbed the other two crusaders, the two instantly going into puppy dog mode as well. Lightning stared at them, trying his best to keep his heart stone, only to growl and glance away, "Fine! But don't make me regret this. One more incident and I'll be suggesting a speed limit sign on any ground-based modes of transport." Scootaloo grinned and as Mr. Cake moved out of the way, she shot back down the road for the castle. Luckily, there weren't any more incidents and they reached the place in no time at all.

"YEAH!" She cheered as they reached the building and flew her scooter inside, only to park just as Flash and Twilight appeared.

"Scootaloo!" Twilight yelled, "What have I told you about riding your scooter inside?!"

Scootaloo either didn't hear her or wasn't listening, instead taking off her helmet and turning to her brother. "Are they here yet?"

Flash sighed and shook his head, "No, they're not here yet. Their train doesn't get in for another hour."

"Oh," Scootaloo pouted, only for a shadow to appear behind her.

"Good thing we managed to catch an earlier train then." Scootaloo spun around and her eyes went wide, now seeing Trail Blazer and Misty Vail, her parents smiling as she screamed for joy and leapt at them for a hug.

"MOM, DAD!" She squeezed them tightly, the pair laughing as they hugged her as well.

"Hey squirt," Trail chuckled.

"We missed you," Misty added before they looked up at Flash, who moved over to hug them as well. "Both of you." Flash smiled as the four held one another tightly before pulling away to let Trail and Misty greet the others. They hugged Twilight and greeted Scootaloo's friends before they all made their way to the dining room. Twilight had set up a tea set and they all sat around the table, Trail and Misty asking their children about their latest adventures. Flash told them all about several of his trips, including the Friendship Mission he took with Spike that led to them going on a treasure hunt.

The CMC told them about their own friendship mission to help Terramar the Hippogriff find his place, with Flash then talking about her little Washout incident that she did while he was away on an assignment. To say her parents were shocked by this was an understatement, Scootaloo quickly changing the subject to the School of Friendship.

"And Twilight said we're such good friendship tutors, she might even let us teach a class!"

"Really?" Misty asked, turning to Twilight who giggled into her cup.

"I don't see why they can't. They've proved they've got the skill."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "They might even be better teachers than me."

Everypony laughed at this as Scootaloo turned back to her parents, "I can give you a tour of the school if you want. I mean, if you're staying for a while this time."

Trail smirked at this, "Oh, we plan on staying a very good while. Honestly, the hustle and bustle of Manehatten's gotten kind of exhausting. I could use a little time in a quiet little town like this."

That made Scootaloo grin like a hyena, Twilight smiling as well. "Well. feel free to stay as long as you want. Our home is your home."

Flash nodded and his parents smiled as Scootaloo leapt off her seat. "Hey, why don't I show you some photos we took of our time in Griffonstone and Seaquestria. You'll love how I look in my sea pony form." She laughed before running out of the room, Sweetie and Apple Bloom racing off after her.

Misty shook her head as she watched her daughter disappear, sighing. "It's good to see Scootaloo looking so happy. I just wish she didn't have to go through so much hardships to get to this point." They all knew what she was talking about. Leaving Scootaloo at the orphanage hadn't been easy for any of them. But it was something that needed to happen so she could meet Flash when she did.

"We don't blame you for leaving us," Flash slowly said, "It might have been hard at first, but that was just the first few years of our lives. Now we've got the whole rest of our lives to be surrounded by those we care about."

Misty nodded, "You're right. And it's not like she was alone. She had Ms. Blossom to look after her, along with all her friends, Rainbow and then you." She sighed, "I'm so glad we brought her to Ponyville. It's such an amazing place to grow up." But as she said that, Trail noticed a frown appearing on Flash and Twilight's faces.

"Is something wrong?"

Twilight sighed, glancing at Flash as he stared at the table before replying, "There's something we haven't told Scootaloo yet."





The filly in question carried a photo wallet with her friends, the trio returning the the dining room. But as they did this, they heard Misty yell out, "You're taking Scootaloo to live in Canterlot?!" This made the three stop, the fillies hearing those words going wide-eyed. They shared a glance at this before opening the door slightly, now listening in.

"Why?" Trail asked, "Scootaloo loves it in Ponyville."

"I know that," Flash nodded, "But when Twilight eventually takes over as ruler of Equestria, she's going to move to Canterlot. I've gotta go with her because not only are we in a relationship, I'm also her Royal Knight protector. Wherever she goes, I go."

"Oh. I see. Since you're also Scootaloo's guardian, she has to move to Canterlot with you." The two nodded as the pair sighed, "Are you sure there's no other way?"

"I don't see how. I can't exactly just leave Scootaloo here on her own."

"But won't Starlight be staying behind to run the school?" Trail pointed out.

"Yes, but I can't ask Starlight to look after Scootaloo while also getting used to a new job. Trust me, I've tried to think of how Scootaloo could stay here, but everything I come up with involves me dumping her on somepony else to look after. I can't do that to anypony else, which means only one thing."

"Scootaloo has to move to Canterlot with us," Twilight finished. It was then that they heard a flickering sound coming from the doorway, making them turn to see a bunch of photos fall to the ground. Twilight magically opened the door and revealed a now teary eyed Scootaloo standing there with her friends.

"Scoots..." Flash flinched.

"You're taking me away?!" Scootaloo cried, "And you weren't even going to tell me?!"

"Of course we were gonna tell you," Flash replied as he hopped off his chair and moved over to her, "But I was just waiting for the right time. I was actually gonna tell you a few days ago, but then mom and dad's letter arrived and I didn't want to make you upset during their visit." Scootaloo looked down at the floor at this as he continued, "I'm sorry Scootaloo. You realize why this has to happen. I have to travel to Canterlot with Twilight and I can't leave you here."

"But...my friends are in Ponyville," Scootaloo whimpered out.

"We know," Twilight moved over to her. "And the last thing we want to do is take you away from them. But they can come visit and you can visit them. You'll just be one Rune Gate away."

Scootaloo just stared at the floor at this, only for Apple Bloom and Sweetie to run into the room. "But Scootaloo can't leave!" Apple Bloom pulled the pegasus in for a hug, Sweetie doing the same.

"We've been together our whole lives!"

Flash and Twilight frowned at this, the princess responding, "I know it seems hard, but this doesn't have to be a bad thing. Just because you won't see each other every day doesn't mean you'll stop being friends. And you can make a bunch of new ones in Canterlot. It'll be a big change for everypony, but it can be a good change if you let it."

"Besides," Flash added, "It's not like we're leaving next week or anything. You'll have plenty of time to spend with your friends before we have to move away." He placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Give it time. You'll see."

"The only thing I see...is the end of the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" She burst into tears and pulled herself out of her brother's grasp, running out of room.

"Scootaloo!" Flash yelled, only for Apple Bloom and Sweetie to sprint after her.

The defender sighed at this, only for Twilight to walk up and place a hoof on his shoulder, "Just give her time. You knew this was gonna be her reaction."

Flash nodded back, "I know...but I should have told her straight away."

"Maybe...or maybe not."

As this happened, Trail and Misty stared at the sight of their children's upset state. "I'm sure Scootaloo will learn to love Canterlot," Misty whispered to her husband, "Like Twilight said, she'll be able to make new friends and come visit her old friends whenever she wants."

"Maybe," Trail sighed, "But a big busy city like Canterlot doesn't seem like her kind of scene. Besides, she has her destiny to worry about. It's clear the CMC are meant to be together, but they can't be if she moves to another city. Even if she tried to help blank flanks in Canterlot find their cutie marks, I don't think she'd be able to do it on her own. Those three together are an unstoppable machine. But take one piece away from the other..."

"And the whole thing stops working," Misty finished.





Apple Bloom and Sweetie tried to get to Scootaloo before she jumped on her scooter and shot off into town. And as she did this, they soon found that not only could they not catch up, but the filly soon disappeared. They searched all her favorite places until they realized there was only one place she would want to go after hearing the CMC were breaking up: Their clubhouse. And sure enough, when they arrived, they could hear sobbing coming from the place.

Looking inside, they spotted Scootaloo curled up in the middle. "Scootaloo?" Apple Bloom asked, "Are you okay?" Scootaloo didn't reply and just sniffed, "It'll be okay. Like Twilight said, we won't stop being friends just because we don't get to see each other everyday." She heard a tiny sniffle in response, making her add, "We can come visit on weekends and...we'll send letters to each other all the time. We can make this work, right Sweetie Belle?" She turned to her, "Sweetie Belle?"

She now saw Sweetie was crying, the filly bursting into a waterfall of tears that began to fill the room. This pushed Apple Bloom over the edge and she burst out crying as well, making Scootaloo cry even harder as the trio thought about what life without each other would be like. "It's not fair!" Sweetie screamed, "The Cutie Mark Crusaders belong together!"

Scootaloo wiped her eyes, "You can't let the blank flanks down just 'cause I'm gone! You got to keep being CMCs without me!"

Sweetie sniffled "How?! There's only two of us!"

Scootaloo fought through her sobs "M-m-maybe you can find a replacement for me."

"NO, WE CAN'T!" Sweetie screamed, "You're the only...you!"

"Nothin's gonna be the same!" Apple Bloom sobbed, "Who's gonna ride their scooter ahead of us everywhere we go?"

"Or...Or put on plays with us?" Sweetie continued, "Or go camping with us? Or just hang out with us?!"

"Well, it's worse for me!" Scootaloo cried, "I have to say goodbye to both of you!" She leapt at them and hugged their hooves, only for the door to fly open as Rainbow Dash shot inside.

"Guess who just got three front-row tickets to the Wonderbolts show next week!" She cheered, the trio seeing the tickets in hoof, only to remember what just happened, Scootaloo soon not able to do stuff like that with them. This resulted in them bursting into tears again, making Rainbow flinch, "Uh...that is not the reaction I was expecting."

Scootaloo sniffled as she tried to stop her crying. "Thanks for the tickets, Rainbow Dash. We're not upset about that."

"So what's up?" Rainbow asked, "You know you can tell me anything. That's what big sisters are for."

Scootaloo took a deep breath at this, "Flash and Twilight are gonna make me move away." Rainbow's eyes went wide, shock on her face as she heard this. "When Twilight takes over as ruler of Equestria, they're gonna move back to Canterlot and take me back with them."

"Oh...oh." Rainbow barely replied, "Uh...ouch." She saw the CMC all looking upset, tears still going down their faces, "Well um...can't you just stay here?"

Scootaloo shook her head, "Flash is my guardian. So wherever he goes, I go. Unless he, as he put it, dumps me on somepony else, I have to go with him."

"Nopony's dumping you on anypony," Rainbow instantly responded, "I'm sure anypony in Ponyville would be ecstatic to let you live with them here in Ponyville. I mean, this place is your home. It's the only home you've ever known."

"Actually," Scootaloo pointed out, "My first home was the orphanage, then the Golden Oaks Library, and now it's the castle."

"Yeah," Rainbow chuckled, "But all of those places were in Ponyville. This is the town you belong in, not Canterlot." She nodded as she gave Scootaloo the tickets. "Just watch, I'm gonna get Flash to let you stay!" She flew out of the clubhouse, leaving the three fillies to watch in shock as she vanished.

"Rainbow's gonna find a way to convince Flash?" Sweetie asked, "How?"





Flash and Twilight had decided to show his parents around the school since it was clear Scootaloo wouldn't be in the mood to play tour guide. "This place is amazing," Misty whispered as they reached Flash's classroom. When they stepped inside, they found it was in its blank state. Trail tapped the crystal, amazed as the room around them shifted between a volcanic, oceanic and many other terrains.

"This place is great!" he laughed. "What I wouldn't have given to have had a school like this to go to when I was young."

"Indeed," Misty giggled, "It looks like a fun place to spend your days." She frowned before turning to Twilight, "But you won't be able to teach here once you've taken over as ruler of Equestria."

"Yup," Twilight sighed, "We're still looking into ponies that can replace us. Starlight's gonna be taking over as headmare and can probably teach the magic classes, but she's not a big a history buff like me, and we have no idea who could take over Flash's class."

The two parents nodded, only for the doors of the classroom to fly open. "There you are!" Rainbow yelled as she appeared, flying up to Flash and giving him a death glare. "What's the big idea, taking Scootaloo away from everything and everypony she's ever known?! You know she won't be happy in Canterlot!"

"Ah..." Flash slightly leaned back, "I see you had a talk with my sister."

"Yeah, and she was bawling her eyes out! What's the deal?!"

"Rainbow," Twilight chimed in, "You know I have to move to Canterlot when I take over for Celestia and Luna. Flash is coming with me because he's my protector and boyfriend. And Flash is Scootaloo's guardian. There's no way we can leave her here."

"Why not?!" Rainbow asked, "She can live with me!"

"I'm not putting my responsibilities as her caregiver over to you," Flash replied, "I know you and Scootaloo are close, but she's my sister, and I have to be the one to take care of her." Rainbow glared back at him, only for the stallion to glare right back, "Besides, what would you do if I let Scootaloo live with you? For one thing, you live in a cloud house with no way for non-flying ponies to get up to it. Scootaloo can't fly."

"I'd make her an elevator or something!"

"And what about when you're off on a Wonderbolt show in another city or on tour with them? You're really gonna leave Scootaloo at home, alone?" Rainbow bit her lip at this, only for Flash to add, "You can't just leave her with somepony else. With how often you go out on shows and other stuff, you'd need to find somepony to look after her every other week. Scootaloo needs a single, stable place to call her home."

"AAARRRGGGGHHH!" Rainbow growled, "This is insane! Why do you need to leave anyway?! Can't Twilight just run Equestria from here?!"

"Of course I can't," Twilight responded, "Canterlot is the center of all commerce, government and information in Equestria. The entire city was created to be the brain of the kingdom, and if I stayed in Ponyville, it would disrupt that brain's lines of communications and bring the kingdom into chaos."

Rainbow groaned at this, only to shake her head, "I get it...I do. But it's not fair to her. Scootaloo's never gotten to have a choice in her life. She's been pushed in so many different directions because of somepony else." The others frowned at this, only for her to add, "First, she gets left at an orphanage because of something her mom sees in a vision. She's forced to grow up without knowing her parents or that she had a brother." Misty and Trail flinched at this, "Then she finds out she has a brother and moves in with him, but that brother's constantly going out on missions and adventures, leaving her at home waiting and worrying!"

Flash opened his mouth to counter her, only to close it. She was right. He knew his role as a Royal Knight meant he would always have to go out on dangerous missions. And he knew that meant his loved ones would be worried he might not return. It wasn't something he liked, but it was something he had to do.

"She spent so long trying to find her special talent and that when she finally found it, she was ecstatic that it involved her best friends. But now she has to lose everything she's ever loved because somepony else made a decision for her!"

Flash stared at her for a second before sighing, "Well, what do you want me to do?" Rainbow crossed her hooves at this as he added, "Twilight has to move to Canterlot in order to take over. I have to go with her, and I can't leave Scootaloo behind. It kills me to have to take Scootaloo away from her friends, but I don't have a choice. That's just the way the world works. Kids follow grown-ups, even if that means going somewhere they don't wanna go."

"That's kind of harsh," Twilight pointed out.

"I'm not being mean, but it's just a fact. The second the two of us became adults, we were able to do anything we wanted. But before then, your parents had us on a very tight leash."

"That's not true," Twilight responded, only to remember all the late nights her parents came into her room and made her go to bed halfway through a book. The pair were never allowed out after sundown unless Celestia or Grand was with them and weren't allowed to leave the city limits unless, once again, Celestia or Grand needed them to.

Flash sighed again at this, "Look, when Scootaloo's older she can live wherever she wants and move back to Ponyville. But until then, I decide where she lives and she's coming to Canterlot with me."

"But that's not fair!" They all turned to see Scootaloo standing at the classroom doorway. "You're making me pick between my family and my friends! Just because I'm younger, I don't get to decide how my life turns out?! How would you have liked it if Grand had made you move away from Twilight when you were younger?" Flash didn't answer at this, "I bet there were tons of places he could have sent you to try and get stronger than you did in Canterlot. But he didn't cuz he knew you wouldn't want to leave Twilight!"

"That's different. I don't have a choice."

"Yes you do!" Scootaloo cried, marching up to him.

"You think this is easy on me?" Flash asked, moving closer as the pair glared at one another. "I have friends in Ponyville too. Friends I don't wanna say goodbye too either. But I'm still going to Canterlot with Twilight because I know they'll still be my friends, even if we're far apart."

"But I don't want to be apart from my friends!" Scootaloo argued.

"Well, maybe you should," Flash instantly replied, making everypony go wide-eyed, "I didn't want to see Springer leave when he did, but someone then told me a bond can become a shackle if you become too dependant on it." Sweetie and Apple Bloom leaned back at this as Flash turned to them. "You three have spent so long together that it's like you can't exist without being near each other."

"We can live apart from one another," Sweetie responded, "We just don't want to."

"Well, you're gonna have to," Flash added, "If you really are the best friends I know you are, your friendship can survive a few years apart. And when Scootaloo's older, she can come back and the three of you can spend as much time as you want to together. But until then, Scootaloo's moving to Canterlot with us and that's final."

And as those words left Flash's mouth, Scootaloo screamed, "I HATE YOU!"

She ran out a second later, everypony else calling out to her to stop. But she didn't. Apple Bloom and Sweetie rushed out after her and the others just stood there, letting Scootaloo's words flow through their thoughts.

Rainbow then turned to Flash, "Don't you think you were a little harsh on her?"

"I don't want to be," Flash sighed, "But it's the truth. If those girls can't stay friends while one of them's gone, then maybe their friendship isn't as strong as we thought."

"He's not wrong. Ponies can change," Trail replied, "I've met ponies who changed a lot between times I met them. Ponies are always changing from one moment to another, becoming new individuals who can sometimes be nothing like the ponies we once knew."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow asked as Trail turned to her.

"What if Scootaloo changes when she moves to Canterlot. Living in a big city is nothing like living in a small town like Ponyville. Sure, she's been there, but she's never really lived there, has she? She's only ever lived in Ponyville and that's what shaped her into the pony she is. Same with Sweetie and Apple Bloom."

"I understand," Twilight nodded. "You're worried living in Canterlot will change Scootaloo in a way that she and her friends won't have the same bond they have now."

"Exactly," Trail nodded. "And she might not want to ever come back to Ponyville. She'll definitely make new friends in Canterlot, and when she does, she'll find herself torn between which friends she'll want to be with. She's a lot like you and loyalty is something that's very important to her. And I'm sure you've found yourself split when it's come to loyalty. Trying to decide who to remain loyal to."

Rainbow flinched at this, only for Twilight to turn to Flash, "What are we going to do? I get the feeling Scootaloo isn't going to get over this. I don't want to force her to live someplace she'll be miserable in, but what other choice do we have?"

Flash glanced away, knowing what this all meant. He truly didn't want to force Scootaloo away from her home, but the only option would be to stay in Ponyville with her while Twilight went to Canterlot on her own. If he did that, their relationship would suffer, and they would likely have to split Heart and Soul up since the pair were still studying under them.

"AAAUUGGGHHHHH!" He roared, thrashing his hooves through his hair in frustration. "WHY DOES LIFE HAVE TO BE SO COMPLICATED?!" Twilight patted him on the back, the pair heading out with Rainbow on their tails.

Misty and Trail stayed behind, staring at each other, only for something to occur in their minds. An idea, one that should have happened a long time ago. They were going to make up for everything they had put their children through and hopefully, make it so that the two didn't hate each other.





Scootaloo had run out of the school at high speed, tears still filling her eyes, She didn't know where to go and just kept running, trying to avoid everypony since they would likely try and talk to her and make her think Flash was in the right. But she refused to let that be the case. She would just keep running until she knew what to do.

But she couldn't keep running. Eventually, she ran out of breath and had to come to a stop. She panted, unable to catch her breath as her cries were also making it hard. But after a minute or so, she managed to get her breath under control, though she was still crying, the filly wiping her eyes and she thought about Flash taking her away from her home. She regretted what she had said. She didn't hate him, but her anger at him taking her away was just too strong. His words echoed through her head and she kept crying.

"Scootaloo?" Her head went up and went wide-eyed.

"Miss Blossom?" The green earth pony mare with a brown mane and tail stared at her, the filly then looking behind the mare and saw she was standing in front of the Ponyville Orphanage, which hadn't gotten very many young ponies within it. In fact, Scootaloo had been the last filly to live there and there had been no other ponies dropped off since.

Blossom tilted her head, "Is everything alright?" Scootaloo began to tear up again, the orphanage director placing a hoof around her back. "Come on, why don't we go inside and get you a hot cocoa. That always made you feel better when you were younger."

Scootaloo wanted to tell her no, but all the crying and yelling had really made her throat horse. She could use a hot drink to soothe it. They headed inside and went straight for the kitchen, Blossom beginning to boil the milk on the stove. Scootaloo sat there, letting herself calm down as Blossom prepared everything else. As soon as the milk was warm, she poured it into the chocolate mix and stirred. She then added some whipped cream, a wafer, sprinkles, more cream and a marshmallow to go on top.

"Here you go," she placed it on the table. "Just the way you like it."

Scootaloo smiled as she took the drink, quickly downing a good third of it, making her feel warm inside. Scootaloo had forgotten how good Miss Blossom was at making cocoa. She had always been a great caregiver, giving those that were under her care the same amount of attention no matter what. Scootaloo couldn't help but think back to her time under Blossom's care. The mare had been the one to raise her when her parents left her at the orphanage. She had changed her, helped her learn walk and talk and had been the one to comfort her when she learned her wings weren't likely to grow.

The filly suddenly felt a little bad for not coming to visit more often. Ever since moving in with Flash, she had barely seen her at all.

"Now," the mare smiled at her, "What seems to be the problem? You looked really upset about something."

Scootaloo sighed, "Flash is making me leave Ponyville." Blossom gasped at this, Scootaloo explaining everything a few minutes later.

"I see," she nodded. "I understand why that would be upsetting to you. Ponyville is the only home you've ever known. The place you grew up, met your friends, and became the pony you are."

"Exactly," Scootaloo whimpered, "So why can't Flash see that I don't belong in Canterlot? This is the only place I need to be."

"I don't think he would be doing this if he had a choice. He would only take you away if he didn't have to." Scootaloo had heard this before, making her frown as tears tried to form as she added, "I don't think he's taking you away just because he's your guardian. I think he doesn't want to leave you behind because you're family."

"I know that," Scootaloo grumbled.

"Do you? Don't you remember what life was like before the two of your found one another?" Scootaloo glanced up at her, "Do you remember how sad you used to be because you didn't have a family?"

"I wasn't sad."

"You might not have looked it, but you were sad." Blossom instantly countered, "I saw it on your face whenever you thought nopony was looking. When you saw families together, siblings and parents having fun and loving each other. I've seen it many a time, on many faces of children without families. You wished for a family. You wanted that more than you wanted your cutie mark."

"Maybe..." Scootaloo muttered as she looked away, "I always wondered why my parents left me here. I just...guess I forgot about it."

"Since that time, so much has happened. When you found out Flash was your brother, a whole new world opened up for you. A world you never thought was possible. You had a real, flesh and blood relative in your life. Remember how you felt when you learned that?"

"Really happy," Scootaloo whimpered, "But what's that got to do with Flash taking me away?"

"Remember how you felt when you were growing up here? Wishing for a family and wanting to know why you were left behind?" Scootaloo nodded, "Well, Flash went through the exact same thing for a lot longer." Scootaloo's eyes went wide at this, "He grew up without a family and for most of his life, he was living out on the street until he was taken in by Twilight's family."

"I know that."

"But he felt the way you felt for a lot longer then you did. Until he discovered you were his sister, he didn't know anything about himself. When he learned the truth, he finally had somepony he was related to. Somepony he could call his family. Until then, he only had Twilight and her family."

"So...he's taking me away because he doesn't want to give up the only blood relative he had in his life?"

"Maybe. But I think it's more than that. Flash wants to give you the life he never had growing up. A family doesn't have to be something you're born into. Flash had Twilight and her family growing up. And you have Flash, Twilight and her family, not to mention Fire Heart and Shining Soul. They're your family. The ones you live with, care for and love. If he left you behind, how would it be any different from what your parents did to you."

Scootaloo had never thought about it like that. She did see Twilight as part of her family, Spike, Heart and Soul as well. They were the best family she could ever ask for. But they weren't the only family Scootaloo had.

"But Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle are like sisters to me," she replied, "So's Rainbow and so many other ponies that I feel like I could call family. Even you." Blossom smiled at this, "Ponyville's always been there for me. We stick together and no matter what, we're able to survive any challenge thrown at us. We're not just one town. We're one giant family. A family I don't wanna leave behind."

Blossom nodded back, only for there to be a knock at the door. The mare walked over to the door and returned a minute later, followed by Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. "There you are," Apple Bloom jumped onto the seat next to her. "Are you alright?"

"No," she muttered, "But...I'm feeling a lot better now." The pair nodded, slightly smiling at this, "I just wish Flash could understand how much Ponyville means to me."

"Oh, he does sweetheart." Blossom sat down, "Everypony in town knows how important it is to you. And how important you are to it." The three turned to her, "I mean, look at how many ponies you've helped. All the blank flanks you've inspired to aided in finding what they're meant to be. Many of them wouldn't have found their true callings if you hadn't helped them. Because of that, you will always be a part of their lives. I bet every time those ponies see their cutie marks, they'll remember how you helped them."

Hearing this made Scootaloo smile, only for Apple Bloom to gasp, "That's it!"

"What's it?" Sweetie asked, "Do you have an idea?"

"I do," Apple Bloom nodded. "Flash and Twilight are going to Canterlot because Twilight's taking over for Luna and Celestia. They're the ones going because they're the only ponies in Equestria that can do what they do, right?"

"Right..." Scootaloo nodded.

"Well, so are we!" She showed them her flank, "Our cutie marks prove it!"

"Yeah," Sweetie realised she was right and showed off her own butt tattoo. "Our job is to help other ponies find their purpose!" Scootaloo's eyes went wide as she realised what they were getting at.

"And nopony else can do that!" She looked back at her mark and remembered everything that had happened for her to get it, along with everything the three had done since. All the ponies they had helped. All the challenges they had faced. They had overcome them all together. "So if Flash and Twilight split us up, it'd be just as bad as them quitting their jobs!"

The CMC all jumped down off their chairs and high-hoofed, "WOO-HOO!" They laughed as they began to think. "Now," Apple Bloom asked, "How do we explain that to 'em?"

"Oh, you don't have to explain it." Blossom giggled as a thought filled her head, "It's not you Flash and Twilight need to hear it from." The three realized what she was saying and all smiled, knowing exactly how they were gonna pull this off. They would have to contact every pony they had helped while hoping they would be willing to help them.





The next day...

Flash and Twilight were in the dining room, setting things up for breakfast. They were still a little worried about Scootaloo since she hadn't come home until sunset last night and ran up to her room as soon as she got back. They feared she would remain locked up in her room for days or maybe weeks, resulting in her missing their parents' visit. The pair had left the castle before everypony got up and left a note saying they would be back later. To say Flash was upset about his family not spending time together was an understatement.

But as they put the cereal boxes and milk on the table, the door opened up and Scootaloo stepped inside. This surprised the pair. "Scootaloo?" Flash moved over to her, "Are you feeling better now?"

"A little," Scootaloo slowly whispered, "Sorry I got so upset yesterday." Flash smiled and pulled her into a hug, Scootaloo barely hugging him back. "But can you two come with me please?" The pair raised an eyebrow, as Scootaloo turned to leave. "It's important."

"Alright," Twilight nodded, "Lead the way." Scootaloo ran out of the room and the pair followed, leaving the castle and heading to the town.

When they got there, they were surprised the find the place was practically deserted. "Where is everypony?" Flash asked, as they turned a corner and found themselves in front of the town hall. And when they got there, they saw something incredible.

Almost the entire town was there, the area having been decorated with balloons, streamers and banners showing the CMC and their cutie marks. "What is all this?" Twilight asked as Rainbow flew over to them.

"It's Cutie Mark Crusader Appreciation Day!" She explained, turning to Scootaloo. "But we couldn't start without all of them here."

Flash and Twilight shared a glance as Scootaloo smiled and jumped onto Rainbow's back. She flew Scootaloo over the crowd, who began to chant. "CMCs! CMCs! CMCs! CMCs! CMCs! CMCs!" When they got to the front of the hall, Rainbow let Scootaloo down and the filly climbed up on stage to be with her friends. As they did, Mayor Mare smiled as she began to speak.

"These three ponies share a rare ability to help others find their true purpose. It's a job only they can do, and only together."

Twilight smirked as she looked over at her friends, "That sounds familiar." The Mane Seven all smiled back, as the mayor carried on.

"In honor of all they have done and continue to do for the ponies of this town, I would like to present the Cutie Mark Crusaders with a three-handled Key to the City!" She held up said key, which had three loops for all the crusaders to hold as she passed it to them.

The crowd cheered as something flew over them. The Wonderbolts, who created a smoke stream in the three colours of the CMC's shield. With a few impressive manoeuvres, they formed said shield with Flash and Twilight being amazed. "A full Wonderbolt salute?" Flash asked, as Miss Blossom trotted over to them.

"I'm certain you know how important Scootaloo and her friends are," she told the pair, "But I think you still need a reminder." As she said that, Skedaddle moved up to the podium.

"The CMCs used their free time to set up a camp to help us blank flanks find our cutie marks." A bunch more young ponies walked up in front of the town hall and showed off the cutie marks the CMC had helped them get. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders see the best in everypony, even when that pony can't see it in themselves."

Flash sighed and shook her head, "I know how much good the CMC have done. That club's helped define parts of Ponyville."

Rainbow smirked at this, "Oh, it's way more than just a club. The CMCs have made a difference for everypony here." The ponies all nodded, only for two more figures to appear. One was the hippogriff known as Terramar, alongside a Griffon they all knew as Gabby.

"And not just ponies," Terramar added, "They help everycreature." He and Gabby fist bumped, Flash smiling as Blossom pointed at a bunch of young ponies.

"Whether it's encouraging others to discover their special talent..." One of them started tap dancing, showing off the cutie mark the CMC had helped him get. "...or inspiring them to do what's in their heart..." She gestured to Big Mac and Sugar Belle, who the three had helped bring together, along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who the CMC had helped turn over a new leaf. "These three offer the town something no other pony can."

Flash sighed, walking over to Scootaloo. "This is a great show everypony, and if I could, I would let Scootaloo stay." Their hearts all dropped hearing this, "But I just can't justify putting Scootaloo's care on somepony else. I know you all care about her and would happily look after her, but it's not that easy."

"It can be." They all turned to the voice, only to see Trail and Misty walking up to them, both smiling as they approached their children. "You want Scootaloo to live with her family," Misty told her son. "So why not have her live with us?"

"What?!" Flash yelped, "You want Scootaloo to move to Manehatten?! That's even further away than Canterlot!"

The parents smirked at one another before Trail replied. "No. We mean, why not let her live with us here in Ponyville."

Everypony gasped at this, Twilight asking, "You want to move to Ponyville? Are you sure?"

"More than anything in the world," Misty responded, "We saw how hard this whole moving thing was on our kids and realized we could fix everything."

"But what about your work in Manehatten?" Flash asked as his parents sighed.

"Honestly, we could use a break from that kind of work. Remember how we told you about our last project? It was so stressful I'm surprised my hair didn't fall out." They all laughed at this. "Your mother and I spent years travelling around the world, searching for hidden secrets and lost civilizations."

"And when I saw your future in my visions, we realised for it to come true, we had to give up our children. You both suffered through hardships because of us. And when it was finally over, we were able to come back into your lives."

Trail nodded as he added, "But we still chose to live in another city and do work that forced us to focus days on it. If we keep this up, we're gonna hit burn out. So when Flash told us about moving Scootaloo to Canterlot, we realized we had the chance to help. So, we've decided to leave our jobs in Manehatten behind and move here."

"Are you sure about this?" Scootaloo asked, "I don't want to force you to live somewhere you don't want to live just for me."

"Don't be silly," Misty giggled, "We want to do this. This way, we can all spend more time together, and you get to stay with your friends. And Canterlot's not far, so we'll be able to visit your brother whenever we want."

Trail turned to his son, "So what do you think? You okay leaving Scoot in our care?"

"Are you kidding?" Flash clapped his hooves, "This is great! You two can live in the castle if you want."

"That's sweet," Misty giggled, "But I think it'd be better if we found an actual house to live in. We spent all morning looking over some of the available houses, but we wanted to make sure you and Scoot liked them as well."

Flash nodded at this, "Well then, I guess that's settled. Scootaloo can stay in Ponyville." Everypony burst into cheers at this, Scootaloo leaping into his grasp as the pair hugged one another. Misty and Trail also hugged them, the family of four embracing as everything had finally worked out.





It was a busy day, celebrating the fact that Scootaloo would get to stay in Ponyville along with welcoming Misty and Trail to the town. They had visited the houses Misty and Trail were interested in buying, eventually finding one they all liked the look of. It would take a while to get everything organized, with the parents needing to go back to Manehatten to sell their current house along with moving everything across the kingdom to Ponyville. But if everything went well, Scootaloo would be living in her new home before Flash had to leave for Canterlot.

And when nighttime finally arrived, Flash, Twilight, Misty and Trail put Scootaloo to bed and headed out of her room with smiles on their faces. "Thank you for doing this," Twilight told the older ponies. "It would have broken my heart to force Scootaloo to leave Ponyville." She sighed and shook her head, "I know I'm gonna miss it and my friends when we leave."

Misty and Trail nodded, "We're happy to do this. Like we said, Manehatten and our work was starting to push us to burnout."

"Yeah," Trail added, "We might wanna go back in a few years, when Scootaloo's older and can take care of herself. But for now, Ponyville's the perfect place to live a more peaceful life." He put a hoof to his chin, "Though we'll still need to find something to do while we're here. We've saved up a fair bit over the years, but not enough to completely retire."

Hearing this, a bulb went off in Flash's head, "Hey, ever thought of being a teacher?" The pair turned to him, "Dad, you can take over my courage lessons. You were watching me throughout my adventures, so I bet you could teach everything needed to become an expert on my Element."

Twilight gasped at this, nodding as well, "Yes! And Misty can teach my history classes. Your knowledge on ancient civilizations would be perfect for that."

Misty and Trail shared a glance, only to look back at the pair, "That's brilliant! Though uh...are you sure you want us taking over your classes?"

"Why not?" Twilight shrugged, "You're both qualified. And if you watch a few of them while we teach, you can see how we do things and be ready for when we leave. What do you say?" Misty and Trail shared a glance, then smiled before nodding.

"We've love to." Flash and Twilight grinned at this, happy everything had worked out. They had originally been worried about leaving Ponyville, taking Scootaloo away and not having anypony to replace them in the school. But Flash's parents had solved both problems. Now they could focus on their plans for Canterlot without needing to worry about such things.

Everything was looking great.
> The Animarum Temple
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun was only just beginning to raise in the wastelands of Equestria, illuminating everycreature there. As they began to get up and began their days, a loud whistle blew through the air, terrifying them. It was a train, which shot through the rocky terrain toward an unknown location at high speed. Aboard that train, a quartet of ponies were sitting in one of the carriages. Flash Sentry, Twilight Sparkle, Iron Core and Fluttershy sat opposite one another, the two mares leaning against their significant other and sleeping peacefully as they did so.

Flash was also asleep, his face pressed against the glass and looking rather ridiculous from the outside. This left Iron wide awake, the pony not wanting them to miss their stop after waiting up all night for the train that would take them here. He stared out at the still rather dark land, and then turned to the others. He couldn't help but smirk seeing the future ruler of Equestria, drooling in her sleep as she fell onto her boyfriend's lap. But then he looked down at Fluttershy and that smirk turned into a smile.

Fluttershy just had this unnatural ability to look cute no matter what she was doing, including sleeping. She lay there, her body curled up in a tiny ball as she snuggled against him. Staring at her made Iron's heart begin to beat, joy flowing through him as he remembered how great his life was now that Fluttershy was in it. He had been in a dark place after his parent's death and Skybreaker had only ever managed to bring him partway back to the light. He had always felt like he was standing on the edge between the light and darkness, with only one horrible thing being all that was needed to push him back and turn him into the monster he swore to destroy.

But then Fluttershy had entered his life and became the light he needed, acting as the shield that protected him from ever falling. Now he was happy and had been able to put the grief and anger of his past behind him. No matter what, he would protect her.

He was then pulled from his thoughts by the overhead speaker, telling them the next station. Hearing it was their destination, Iron grabbed his Celestic Gear and used the butt to poke Flash. "Wake up!" Flash jolted awake, making Twilight slide off his lap and fall to the ground with a start.

"Yah!" She hit the train floor and her cry awakened Fluttershy, the pegasus opening her eyes and seeing what was happening.

"We're here," Iron grumbled before Twilight could complain. This statement made the princess forget all about her fall and she instantly got up and looked out the window with a grin on her face.

"Really?"

"Well, the station's coming up." Twilight deflated as they quickly got their stuff and headed for the doors, the train pulling into the station and to a stop.

As they disembarked, they soon found they didn't see anything of note. "Are we sure we're in the right place?" Flash asked as Twilight took out a map.

"This should be it. The site shouldn't be that far."

As she said that, Fluttershy noticed something flying down, "Look." They followed her hoof and saw a pegasus, which was yellow in color with a graying pink mane and tail. As he approached, they saw he was dressed in a brown shirt with a blue bowtie and had a magnifying glass cutie mark.

"Princess Twilight?" He asked while landing in front of them. "So good to see you." He bowed, "I was shocked when I heard about your interest in our little expedition."

"And I was shocked when you invited me to tour your site," Twilight motioned for him to stand. "And I wouldn't call this expedition little. Finding the Temple of Animarium is the find of a lifetime."

"Yes, and one I spent my entire life searching for." He turned to the others, "Greetings. I am Keeper. Professor Zoo Keeper. A pleasure to make your acquaintance." They all introduced themselves as Keeper continued to speak, "I'm sure you all have many questions, but we should get going. It's a long trek to the site."

"Yeah," Flash glanced around, "Where is this site exactly?" Keeper used his wing to point to the distance, the four following it and saw something several miles away. "The great forest of Anima. Where the Temple of Animerium is located."

"That's a long ways away," Fluttershy gulped, "Are we gonna be able to get there in a day?"

"It's not as far as it looks," Keeper spread his wings. "We'll be there in an hour if we fly straight." However, the others turned to the one member of their group that couldn't fly, "Oh...right."

Iron frowned at them, "I don't need a pity party. I can keep up with you on land."

However, looking ahead, he saw the terrain wasn't exactly flat. If he tried to run, no doubt he would fall behind the others. But as this happened, a voice caught their attention as he chuckled. "Well, isn't this a conundrum." They all looked up to see one grinning Discord floating above them. "The mighty Iron Core, now the dead weight of the group."

"Discord..." Twilight glared at him, "What are you doing here?"

"How could I not come?" Discord laughed, "The Temple of Animerium is said to be the place where all animals are able to find peace. I'm a jumble of different animals, so of course I should get to come and see it." Iron raised an eyebrow at this, while the others looked accepting, especially Fluttershy.

"Alright," the pegasus responded, "So long as you promise to behave." Discord replied by replacing his wings with angelic ones and forming a white cloak around his body, a harp and halo appearing as well. "Do you also think you could help us? Iron can't fly, and it's a long way to where we're going."

"Of course," Discord strummed his harp and a flash of light appeared around Iron.

"WHOA!" He cried, feeling something appear around his chest. When the light faded, it was revealed he was now wearing a harness connected to a parachute. "What's this for?" Discord smirked before taking a deep breath and unleashed a powerful gust of wind, which felt into the parachute and pushed it into the air. "GYAH!" Iron was pulled up with him, the others gasping as they took to the air. Iron was a good ten meters up by the time they reached him, the earth pony gripping the strings of the chute tightly as he looked down and felt like he was a million miles up.

"I don't think that's what Fluttershy meant," Twilight growled at the spirit of chaos.

"Oh, I'm sure he'll be fine." Discord had ditched the angel gear, and with a snap, a long rope came off the front of the harness and fell toward them. "Just pull him along with this." Flash rolled his eyes as he caught the rope and began pulling Iron along, the others flying alongside him. "So, do tell. What's the full story on this temple? I know the basics, but it's always good to have a refresher course."

Twilight suddenly fell into full lecturer mode. "The Temple of Animerium was said to be a place of important to the Animerium tribe. They were a group of unicorns that had the power to transform into animals. Legends says that when a unicorn proved themselves ready, they could enter the temple and begin a series of grueling trials."

"Indeed," Keeper pushed his glasses up. "It's said that those trials allowed the unicorn to connect with their spirit animal. And once they made that connection, they would be granted the magic needed to allow them to take that animal's form."

"Doesn't sound that great," Flash grumbled, "Changelings can turn into any animal they want. Heck, Twilight could probably do the same thing. She turned us into Breezies."

"True," Twilight nodded, "But that kind of magic was extremely rare in ancient times. A tribe that could do it would be something very powerful."

"Which is exactly why they were destroyed," Keeper chimed in, "Other tribes saw them as a danger and took a preemptive strike, attacking the Animarium from all sides and overwhelming them. Even them in their animal forms couldn't beat something like that. As such, the Animarium Tribe was destroyed."

"That's horrible," Fluttershy muttered.

"That's history," Flash sighed, "To us, what happened was barbaric. To them, it was necessary to survive. They thought the only way to remain alive was to take the power for themselves."

"Indeed," Keeper nodded, "But the destruction of the Animerium Tribe meant the loss of the ability. The magic's use vanished from history when they died out. They likely refused to give up the secret and because of that, the other tribes couldn't figure out how to use the magic and it was lost to time."

"I see," Discord chimed, "Well, maybe we'll be able to figure it out when we get there." The others shrugged as they kept flying while Discord floated up to Iron. "How's it going, big guy?"

"You could have just teleported us there."

"I could have, but this way is far more entertaining." He summoned a bag of popcorn and started eating the bag, "Why exactly did you come? I can understand Fluttershy wanting to see the ruins, since the possibility of learning how to transform into an animal is probably her greatest wish. But why you?"

"Why wouldn't I come?" Iron asked, "Fluttershy wanted to and if she wanted to see this temple, I want to go and make sure she can enjoy it."

Discord smirked at this, "You really care about her, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Iron replied. "She's the most important thing in my life."

"Really? Then why not make it official?" Iron raised an eyebrow, "You wish to be with Fluttershy for the rest of your life?" Iron nodded, "Then ask her to do just that. If you know what I mean."

Iron blinked at him, only to go wide-eyed, "You...want me to propose?"

"Why not?" Discord asked, "if you love her that much. You've been together long enough. Why not take the next step?"

Iron stared at him for a second, only to say, "Wait...why do you care if Fluttershy and I get married?"

"Because you make Flutters happy," Discord admitted. "And I can tell she wants to take your relationship to the next level. I believe the thought of marriage first entered her head when Rainbow got hitched. And Pinkie probably pushed it into overdrive. She wants to get married, but she probably doesn't want to make you feel like you have to if you don't want to."

Iron frowned at this, glancing over to Fluttershy, biting his lip. But as he did this, Keeper called out to them, "We're here." They all glanced ahead and saw a large collection of trees, tall and old, all likely hundreds of years old.

"This is where the temple is located?" Twilight asked as Keeper pointed to an area in the very center of the forest.

"We believe most of the temple is hidden underground, but the main entrance is located above ground in the very middle of the forest." They nodded and kept flying until they reached an area of the forest that was clear of trees. This was where a bunch of holes had been dug into the ground, with many archaeologist ponies working to carefully excavate what was beneath. Tents could be seen hanging from the trees around the site, likely where the ponies slept between shifts.

The archaeologists looked up and saw the new arrivals, then spotted Discord and began to frown. That is, till they saw the Princess of Friendship along with two Royal Knights, the three soon making them calm down as Keeper led the group through the site. "As you can see, we've managed to unearth much of the tribe's village already. They lived quite close to the temple, acting as both its protectors and servants."

"I see," Twilight nodded before looking ahead, "And is the temple nearby?" Keeper nodded and they flew through several trees, Iron running behind him after escaping the parachute.

It didn't take them long to the temple, the five now amazed as they saw a roughly fifteen meters tall building just beneath the top of the trees. It was designed like a bunch of stacked boxes, with one flat stone section having a smaller flat stone section on top of each other to make a pyramid shape that had a flight of stairs running down it. They quickly went up it, soon finding a small stone building on top. They headed inside, finding a stone table in the middle of it. Cave paintings were etched onto the wall that showed many different unicorns with an animal either in front or behind them based on the size. There were rabbits, wolves, bears, snakes, lions, tigers, eagles and so many more.

"Awesome," Flash whispered before looking at the table in the center. As he did this, he noticed an indent in the stone, which looked like somepony had cut a six-sided section out of the table, along with a hole on each of the six sides. "What's this?"

Keeper saw what he was pointing at and sighed, "Honestly, we're not sure. We think it might have something to do with the ceremony that the Animariums used to undergo animal transformation, but we haven't found anything that could prove that." They nodded and all continued to glance around as Keeper added, "We've attempted many ways of finding the entrance into the temple, but nothing we do allows it to open up and reveal its secrets to us."

"Well then it's good that I'm here," Discord cracked his knuckles, "When logic fails, it falls upon the spirit of chaos to break the rules." He snapped his fingers and in a flash, he was transparent like a ghost.

"What did you do?" Twilight asked.

"Just made myself intangible," Discord chuckled, "Now I can just float through the rocks and see what the big fuss is about." He dived down into the floor and vanished, the others staring at the spot, only for him to suddenly pop back out, "WHOA!" He yelped before slamming into the roof as he turned back into a solid form.

"What happened?" Fluttershy gasped as the now pancake Discord floated down like a leaf.

"I'm not sure," Discord replied before blowing into his thumb to return to normal. "The second I got down there, this invisible force suddenly pushed me back up. It even cancelled my intangibility."

"You mean this place still has magic?" Iron asked, Twilight going wide-eyed.

"Incredible..."

Keeper nodded before crossing his hooves, "It seems magic isn't going work." He gestured them, "Come on, there's a lot of artifacts back at the site that you might be interested in. We can come back for a proper look later." They nodded and all headed back out of the temple, Discord frowning at the place that had actually stopped his magic.

They went through the forest and back to the site, now seeing unicorns using their magic to carefully lift several objects out of the dirt. They slowly made their way over to a table and placed the objects upon it while Keeper led the others over. "Here we have a few objects unearthed from the dig."

They all took a closer look and saw some bits of broken pot and other ornaments. "Not much to look at," Flash pointed out.

Keeper shrugged, "Well, most of the artifacts they would have had likely broken down over time. Metal wasn't easy to come by in those days, so any that they had would have been forged into weapons and armor. So they would have had to use wood and stone to make tools."

They nodded as Iron turned to one of the holes. As he stared at it, he suddenly felt something shining into his eye and flinched back. Fluttershy noticed this and moved over to him. "Are you okay?" Iron nodded and moved out of the light, leaping down into the trench, "Did you find something?" The others turned to this, now seeing Iron moving over to a patch of dirt that had something in it, only for the sun to shine down on it, allowing it to reflect the light into Iron's face.

He used his tail to brush the dirt away, revealing some kind of metal object. Iron carefully removed it from the ground, seeing it was some kind of hexagon that had a bunch of different markings on it. But before he could get a better look, Keeper flew in and took it.

"Be careful!" he yelled, "Objects like this are very delicate!" He carefully flew it over to the table and placed it down. "Fascinating. We haven't found anything like this before."

"Any idea what it is?" Twilight asked, Keeper shaking his head.

"No. The markings look familiar, but there's so much dirt and sediment on it, I can't make out what it could be." He frowned, "I'll have to place it in a cleaning solution for a few days before I can tell what it is."

They all frowned at this, only to hear a cough, making them look up at Discord. "May I?" He asked, the ponies grimacing, only for Fluttershy to stare at him, seeing he was being sincere and turned to the others.

"Let's give him a chance."

"But-"

"Trust me." Fluttershy replied, "Let Discord help us."

Discord smirked and asked Keeper what was in this cleaning solution, Keeper explaining the recipe with Discord putting on a chef's hat and adding these things into a glass bowl. When he was done, the bowl was full of a clear liquid that Discord teleported the object into. "Now I'll just speed up time inside the bowl and a few days will become a few seconds." He snapped his fingers and everypony watched.

Nothing happened at first, but then the dirt on the object slowly started disappearing. They all went wide-eyed, now seeing the box-like object become more and more clean. As the dirt and grime faded away, they realized the object was actually split into two layers like a sandwich, which likely meant it was meant to spin and turn. Eventually, Keeper determined it was clean and Discord snapped the object out of the liquid. Back on the table, Keeper dried it off and smiled at the many shapes and patterns that were now visible. He also found he could turn the top half, which caused a square section to pop out of all six of the bottom-halves sides.

"So what is it?" Flash asked as Keeper squinted his eyes, only to gasp.

"The patterns say this is a key to the Magic of Animerium! This box must be what allowed the Animariums to unlock the magic of the temple!"

He then rushed back to the temple, the others chasing after him. They quickly went into to the stone structure, returning to the small building with Keeper staring down at the table. The others caught on at this as he turned device so that the six points retracted, then slotted it into the table. It was a perfect fit, everyone smiling as Keeper turned the top again and the six spikes slotted out again and they heard a pushing sound. Keeper grinned and kept turning the key, excitement flowing through them all as they watched it spin around.

And when he did a full three sixty turn, the key stopped, and they waited...and waited...and waited some more. As they did, their smiles slowly turned to frowns. "Well...that was anticlimactic." Discord commented.

Keeper moved to the key and tried to turn it some more, but it refused. He then turned it back the other way and all that did was retract the spikes back into the key so he could remove it. "I don't understand."

"I guess it couldn't have been that easy," Flash added, "If it was, those other tribes would have figured it out and gotten the magic as well."

"There must be something we're missing," Twilight continued, "Maybe there's another key hidden away and this one is meant to trick others." Keeper nodded back, admitting that could be a possibility. "Why don't we head back and see what we can figure out." He nodded and they all left the temple, Flash, Twilight and Keeper flying back to the site while Iron, Fluttershy and Discord decided to hang back and look around some more.

They started examining the temple itself, mainly the stone blocks with the animal inscriptions. "So what do you think?" Iron asked Fluttershy as she examined an image of a unicorn with an otter. "This place as amazing as you always hoped?"

Fluttershy smiled and nodded. "More than that. I just wish I could have seen the magic and learned if it actually worked. When Twilight told me about this place, a small part of me thought maybe I could find the secret of the magic and learn to become an animal."

Discord looked down at her. "If you want to be an animal, why not ask me? I can turn you into any animal you wish."

"It wouldn't be the same," Fluttershy replied as they moved around to the back of the temple. "The Animeriums were able to unlock the power through their own spiritual discipline. That's what I'd want to do."

"Even if it could have made you go through a bunch dangerous trials?" Iron asked, only to chuckle, "You've certainly come a long way, actively seeking danger even though there's no guarantee of a reward. I'd say you'd been hanging out with Rainbow Dash too much."

Fluttershy giggled at this, only to notice something in the corner of her eye, "What's this?" The others turned and saw he move over to the temple's lowest section. She brushed some dirt off the wall and revealed a familiar looking six-sided indent, with six holes in each side.

"It looks like the same hole that key is meant to fit in," Iron pointed out. "Why's there one back here?"

"Maybe the one at the top is a fake?" Discord guessed before a smirk appeared on his lips, a chuckle escaping it. "Oh, these Animariums were so sneaky. Putting a dummy one up at the top, but having the real entrance at the back where nopony would think to look for it."

"So you think this is how we get into the temple?" Iron asked, Discord shrugging.

"Only one way to find out." He snapped his fingers and the key suddenly appeared in his hands, which he offered to Iron. "Give it a try and see if you can open it." Iron took the key and frowned, thinking he should maybe tell Twilight about this. But then he saw how excited Fluttershy looked, making him sigh before putting his weapon down and placing the key into the slot, turning it as the spikes shot out like before. Continuing to turn the key, he also did a full three sixty until he reached the top. And this time, a clicking sound filled the air as something activated inside the temple.

"Here we go," Iron commented as he expected the temple to open or something...only for the ground beneath him to suddenly throw him and Fluttershy forward as the wall in front of them disappeared into the temple. As such, he was suddenly flung into darkness and felt himself sliding down a slide. Both he and Fluttershy screamed as they slid while Discord just floated there with wide eyes.

And before the creature of chaos could react, the ground spun around and replaced the side of the wall that had Iron and Fluttershy had just disappeared behind. He heard their screams for only a second before they were cancelled out. The Spirit of Chaos blinked for a second before he began to sweat, his voice yelling out a second later. "FLUTTERSHY!"

Inside the temple...

Iron and Fluttershy had just now reached the bottom of the passageway. They both cried out as they hit dirt, Fluttershy landing on top of Iron. "You okay?" He asked as they both got up, Fluttershy confirming she was fine as they stood up and found themselves still in absolute darkness.

"Iron?" Fluttershy gulped, "What do we do?" They then heard a grinding noise behind them, making them jump back as the chamber was soon filled with lights, now seeing a bunch of stone pillars on either side of them. These pillars had a flame atop them, burning brightly and lighting their way.

They were now in a stone tunnel, Iron turning back to the slide and seeing it was now blocked off by a wall. "Looks like we're not getting out the way we came in."

Fluttershy bit her lip at this, "Now what?"

Iron frowned as he now saw he didn't have his Celestia Gear, "Great. Guess we'll have to move forward and deal with whatever comes our way." He stepped in front of Fluttershy, the pair smiling at one another before Iron took the lead.

It wasn't long till they reached the end of the tunnel, stepping through a doorway. They now found they were in a large square room that had no exit, spotting images of rhinos, bulls, bears, gorillas and other strong looking animals. "Now what?" Fluttershy asked, Iron wondering the same thing until the room started vibrating. "What's that?"

Iron spotted four sections of the room open up before large round button-like platforms appeared. The second they were fully raised, the walls on either side of the entrance opened up before a quartet of stone cubes slid out. "Huh. Weird." He inspected the rocks while Fluttershy moved over to the buttons. She stepped on one, only to realize that the button was actually meant to move down, but she wasn't heavy enough.

She let herself grow to twice her normal size, increasing her weight and causing the button to fall. This caused a clicking noise and they all turned to a section of the back wall that they saw it was a sliding door. Fluttershy then stepped off the button and it slid back up, another clicking sound following.

"I get it," Iron commented, "The trial is to move one of these rocks over to the four buttons. When all four are pushed down, the door to the next area unlocks." He quickly started pushing a rock along the ground, groaning at the effort but managing to move it slowly across the floor. Fluttershy moved over to help, unable to grow much since the room was so short, so she would have to use her current size and strength.

The pair managed to push the first rock to the furthest button from them, then had to push it over so it rolled onto the button and pushed it down. The clicking noise followed this and they did the same with the other three, the pair huffing and puffing as they pushed the stone cubes across the room. When the final rock was rolled onto the button, the clicking sound repeated and was followed by many more sounds. And as those sounds filled the air, the door leading out beginning to slide downward until the passageway was revealed and a flight of stairs could be seen.

Iron and Fluttershy smiled at one another, both hoping the rest of these trials would be just as easy as they went through the door. One challenge down, who knows how many more to go.

Back outside...

Discord and magicked Twilight, Flash and Keeper to the true entrance of the temple. To say the pair were upset Iron and Fluttershy had been pulled inside was an understatement. "I can't believe you took the key without telling us!" Flash scolded him. "What were you thinking?!"

"I didn't know this would happen!" Discord barked back, "What kind of temple sucks the ponies inside?!"

Keeper and Twilight stared at the keyhole as the other two yelled at each other, Twilight now finding the ground where a stone section that would likely roll up and replace the current wall now stuck. She began to use her magic at this, only to find anything she tried with the holes was completely cancelled out.

"It's no use," Twilight sighed, "Whatever magic is in this temple, it's cancelling out any magic that tries to open the entrance without the key."

"I'm guessing that's why you didn't just magic them back here when they vanished?" Flash asked Discord, the draconequus nodding with a frown.

"There has to be a way to get them out," Keeper added, "The Animeriums must have had a way to save ponies that failed the trials."

"Unless this was a succeed or die kind of deal," Flash gulped, "There has to be something we can do." He turned to Keeper, "You've studied this tribe for years. Didn't any of the writings talk about how to help?"

Keeper shook his head, "No. I dread to say...those two might be on their own."

Iron and Fluttershy had just reached the top of the staircase, only to find themselves in another square room. This one also had animal images on the walls, showing snakes, foxes, weasels, crows, rabbits, mice and several other animals known for being sneaky or agile. And as they walked in, the door closed behind them before gaps in the wall suddenly appeared.

From the gaps, a bunch of red lights flew out that hit the wall or floor on the other side of the room. The lights then started moving, going back and forth in the same direction and creating a minefield of sorts before the back exit opened up, showing another staircase.

"Lasers?!" Iron asked, "They had lasers back then?! Great. How the heck are we supposed to get through this?!" He turned to Fluttershy, but found she was already gone. "Huh?" He glanced around, only to soon see that she had shrunk down to mouse size and began to fly around. Her tiny size meant she had no issue getting between the lasers, quickly getting to the others size before returning to normal.

"Alright..." Iron grumbled, "Now how am I supposed to get through?!"

Fluttershy looked around while putting a hoof over her mouth, "I thought there'd be some kind of button to turn them off of something." She glanced around at this, only to find nothing. "Oh dear."

"Great...just great." Iron sighed before taking a deep breath. He then cut into a sprint, quickly zipping past the first volley of lasers before standing perfectly still, the lasers moving around him until a space opened up.

"Oh dear!" Fluttershy used her wings to block her vision, "I can't look!" She continued to hear Iron grunt and groan as he struggled his way through the lasers. Somehow, not knowing what was happening was making her feel even more terrified. So she made herself look and watched Iron as he was about halfway through, only to appear to be stuck, the area he had moved into had no openings for him to move through. He groaned as he tried to think of how to get out of this, but wasn't even sure he could move back to where he had previously been.

And Fluttershy looked terrified. However, as she shook in fear, she noticed something. "Iron, don't move."

"Huh?" Iron muttered as Fluttershy shrunk down, "What the-what are you doing?!" He asked as she flew back through the lasers, soon reaching the spot she had originally been. "Fluttershy, if I can't make it through this, then you'll need to go on without me." A laser got awfully close to his nose at this, "I'm sure Twilight will find a way to free me. But it'll be harder to save two ponies then it would one, so just go and-" Before he could finish, the lasers around him suddenly vanished. "Huh?"

"Iron?" He spun around and saw Fluttershy was back where they started, pushing a button that he hadn't noticed before. "I think this challenge is supposed to have somepony stay on this side and hold the button for the others, then make it across themselves."

"Oh." Iron slowly replied before making his way over to the other side. Once there, Fluttershy let go of the button and the lasers returned. With one final shrink and fly, she got to the other side of the room, both sighing at this as the earth pony said, "I love you."

Fluttershy giggled at this before giving him a kiss on the check, then headed for the staircase. "Let's keep going."

"Let's."

Flash, Twilight, Discord and Keeper were back at the dig site, Keeper and the other archaeologists hard at work. "You really think you're gonna find something here?" Flash asked, "You've been searching this area for ages. What makes you think you'll find anything that'll help you get Iron and Fluttershy out of there?"

"You have any better ideas?" Keeper asked as they dug, "The Animeriums couldn't have had just one key. They must have had a second one in case the first got damaged or lost. If we can find it, we can get your friends out of there."

In a flash, Discord appeared next to the hole driving a large digger. "Well then," a hardhat appeared over his horns, "Let's get digging." He turned on the machine, only for Keeper to flew up to him and waved his hooves.

"Wait!" He cried, "Are you insane?! You can't use that to unearth the relics! You'll break everything! If there is another key in there, a single scratch could stop it from working right! We need to be careful!"

Discord glared at him before snapping the digger away, instead taking out a brush and chisel. "Fine. We'll do it the boring slow way." Everypony sighed in relief, only for Flash to gesture to Discord to get working.

Iron and Fluttershy had just reached the top of the staircase, only to find themselves in a much smaller room than the last ones. Despite its size, it was as tall as a giraffe standing on another giraffe's back and still have enough head room to wear a comical top hat. There were also animal drawings on the walls, these ones depicting dolphins, owls, elephants and other smart looking animals. As they walked in, they glanced around for traps, only to find nothing. Shrugging at this, they continued in, only to do their first step...and the entrance was suddenly blocked behind them.

"What do you think this trial is?" Fluttershy asked as Iron stared at the pictures on the walls.

"The first room had animals that were pretty strong. Ones that'd be able to move those blocks around pretty easily, right?" Fluttershy nodded at this as Iron continued, "The second one had snakes and rabbits and animals that could probably navigate the laser maze without a problem."

"I...I didn't notice that, but you're right." She quickly caught on. "So the animals on the walls depict those that have the skills to get through these trials."

"I guess," Iron shrugged, "You think these trials are meant to help those going through it realize what their spirit animal is?" Fluttershy hummed in agreement, "Yeah...I guess if you had an easier time with one trial than another, you're supposed to have that spirit animal."

"You're probably right." Fluttershy replied as she stared at the pictures on the walls. "All of these animals here are known to be really smart. So maybe this trial is to test our knowledge and problem solving."

"Great," he groaned, "What does it plan to do? Give us a pop quiz."

But as he said that, the room started shaking and the entire floor opened up. It retracted into the sides of the room and as it did, a new floor appeared made out of a bunch of different tiles. Each tile seemed to have a shape upon it, all showing shapes that didn't fit with each other, making a giant mess of a picture.

"What the heck is this?" Iron yelped as he and Fluttershy jumped down onto the new floor.

"I...I think..." Fluttershy noticed that the corner of the floor had a tile missing, Fluttershy moving over to it. When she did, she saw an L-shaped groove running through it. And when she checked the tiles above and to the right of the opening, she realised they could move into place and doing so revealed more grooves beneath them. "It's a puzzle."

Iron caught on and rolled his eyes, "Great. So we've gotta move them to make an image. That'll take forever."

"Maybe," Fluttershy scratched her head, "But it doesn't seem that hard. Anypony could do it with a little time and patience. It's not exactly testing our problem solving ability all that well."

But as she said that, a sound above the pair made them both look up...only to see that the ceiling was moving. It wasn't falling, but simply slowly making its way down. It would take a while, but they both knew what would happen eventually. "How about with a time limit?" Iron asked as Fluttershy gulped.

"That...makes it a lot harder." They didn't waste anymore time and rushed to start working on the puzzle. Fluttershy flew up first, soon noticing a tile that looked like it was meant to go in the top right corner.

"Help me move this," Fluttershy pointed at the tile and Iron grabbed onto it. Fluttershy began moving the other tiles around it, opening up a space for Iron to push the tile into it. Eventually, they managed to get it into a corner. As soon as it was in place, the tile glowed as if to tell them it was home. "Now we need to find the tiles that look like they go with this one."

"Got it," Iron responded as he glanced around before spotting a tile that appeared to have connecting shapes, soon pushing it over, making it glow.

The pair slowly started making progress at this, and by the time the roof was a third of the way down, they had about a quarter of the puzzle completed. "We have to hurry," Fluttershy told him.

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Iron cried as they kept moving more and more pieces into place. But as they completed the image, the ceiling seemed to speed up. They managed to get the entire top half of the image done and found it showed the head of a shark above the head of a bull, but they didn't get much time to admire it since the ceiling was getting closer. They slowly started putting more and more of the tiles together, and within another minute or so, the head of a bird was completed in the very center of the room. They still had the wings and another shape to complete beneath it, but the ceiling was getting dangerously close.

Iron frowned at this, wishing he had Piecemaker. With it, he would have been able to prop the roof up, but he was powerless. All he had was his own strength. This thought gave him an idea, Iron rushing to the center of the room. And as the ceiling got close, he leapt onto his back legs and thrust his front ones up into the roof. Fluttershy heard Iron groan and spun around, gasping when he saw him propping the ceiling up. "Iron!" She cried as the roof stopped moving.

"Hurry!" he yelled, Fluttershy nodding as she continued pushing the pieces into place. And as she continued to complete the puzzle, Iron felt the force for the ceiling's mechanism continued to push down on him. Suddenly, his hoof slipped out from under him and he fell to his knees. The ceiling came down with him he quickly found himself getting pinned under it. "IRON!"

"Keep going!" He told her, letting out several mighty grunts as he tried to keep the ceiling from crushing them. "Grr...raugh! Hurry!" He screamed as he kept pushing, "Augh!"

Fluttershy was almost done with the tiles, only needing to slide a few more into place. As she did this, she realized the final image at the bottom of the floor was that of a tiger. As she completed that part of the mural, she saw she just had to slot the remaining outer edges into place.

"I'm almost done!" She told him, as she started moving these last few tiles.

Iron groaned at this, "Urgh..can't...hold it...much...longer." He felt like his entire skeleton was about to break, making him scrunch up as Fluttershy slid the second to last tile into place. As it lit up, she moved to the final tile that was in the corner that had been empty when this all started. She just had to move it up into place and the puzzle would be complete.

But when she tried to move it, it wouldn't budge. "What?" She pushed, pulled, wiggled and did everything she could to move the tile...but it was caught on something. "IT'S STUCK!" Iron flinched at those words as he heard Fluttershy attempting to move it. But nothing she did worked. "NO!" She turned to look at Iron, tears in her eyes. "I'm not strong enough to move it."

Iron couldn't bare to see her looking that sad, but he had more important thing to worry about as he lost some strength and the ceiling fell several more inches. There was now no room to walk, Fluttershy forced to crawl as she moved over to him.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked.

"No," Iron shook his head, "It's not your fault. This temple is old. It's a miracle a stuck tile is the only issue we've run into in here." He groaned as the ceiling continued to lower. Fluttershy shrank down to half her usual size, snuggling up under his chest as the pair remained together. "So this is the end."

"I...I guess it is," Fluttershy nodded, "Unless the ponies outside can come up with a last-ditch solution that somehow saves us."

Iron smirked, knowing that was a very likely possibility. But he also knew this very well could be the end as well. And as that thought entered his head, he knew what to say next, "Fluttershy," she looked up at him, "Will you...will you marry me?" Fluttershy's eyes went wide hearing this, "I know this isn't the best time, but I have to know. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?"

Fluttershy went wide-eyed at this, her mind going blank as she forgot their current predicament. But slowly, a smile appeared on her face as her tears turned from ones of fear to ones of joy. "Yes," she nodded, "Yes, I'll marry you." She hugged him, Iron's heart feeling like it might explode from the joy he felt. But that feeling quickly vanished when the ceiling lowered some more.

"Augh!" Fluttershy gasped as Iron started getting even more crushed under its weight. But the knight forced his eyes open and looked into her eyes, making him feel an overwhelming urge. Since the day they had met, Iron had felt the desire to keep her safe. First when they were just friends, then when they became a couple. And now...now Iron had more of a reason to protect her.

She was his everything. She was his future. Everything that mattered to him, it all revolved around her. And he wouldn't let that future end before it had truly begun. "RAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Using all the will and strength he could muster, The Metal Guardian pushed up into the roof. And no matter how much power this magic roof had, it paled in comparison to the power Iron could draw upon when protecting the one he loved.

Fluttershy watched in amazement as Iron began pushing the roof back up. She didn't know how much that rock weighed, but she had to guess it was least a few tons. Eventually, Iron felt part of the rock's force give out and no longer felt the pressure pushing down on him. And with one final roar of effort, he pushed the rock upward, moving it a few feet. This freed him as he leapt over to the final tile, and with his blood still pumping, he kicked it into place, undoing whatever was trapping it where it was.

As soon as it hit this, the mark began to glow along with the rest of the mural. Iron looked up as the ceiling began to fall again, only for the rock to suddenly stop in midair.

Iron and Fluttershy shared a glance as the mural below them continued to glow. The image of the shark, bull, bird and tiger together also created a rather strange image on a lion's face, which the light flew off of to push the ceiling back up into place. As it did this, the far wall opened up and a new passageway appeared. The pair nodded to each other, Iron being careful to keep Fluttershy safe behind him as they moved over to the passage and onto another staircase. And as soon as they were both inside, the entrance closed back up, bathing both in darkness.

Neither liked this, but kept moving forward until they reached what they assumed was the top. The stairs ended and they walked forward, still completely blind while being careful not to trip over anything. But the ground was completely flat.

"You think we have to pass another trial?" Fluttershy asked, Iron really hoping that wasn't the case. That last burst of strength had completely exhausted him. But before either of them could say anything else, a brilliant light suddenly exploded above them and they both screamed as they covered their eyes. It took a full minute before their eyes stopped stinging and adjusted to the light, allowing them to look up and see the source of the light. That source was a blazing sun of rainbow magic, which hovered above them both.

They could do nothing more put stare at it in amazement as the ball unleashed two tendrils of light. These tendrils moved down and wrapped around the pair, both wondering what was happening. But then the tendrils broke off the main body and continued to envelop them before wisping off. The lights flew above the pair at this, only to take shape.

The light that came off of Fluttershy morphed into a rabbit, looking just like Angel but with more feminine features. It jumped around with amazing speed and agility, looking graceful as it did so. But then it came to the light that had come off of Iron, which finished transforming into a much larger creature.

It was a tiger. A large and strong looking tiger, which let out a mighty roar that terrified the rabbit. The two animals continued to leap around the large room before morphing back into lights, which shot down toward the pair and slammed into their chests. They both gasped at this sensation as the light flowed into them, making them glow for a few seconds.

And when it finally died down, the pair felt a new feeling within them. It was as if there was another presence within them, somepony standing beside them and supporting them. It was strange, but it felt good. The light sun above them began to glow again at this, blinding the pair. Iron grabbed Fluttershy at this, only for the two to start feeling themselves drifting off.

Twilight, Flash, Keeper and Discord felt like they had expended all their options. "Isn't there something we can do?!" Discord cried, "I refuse to simply float here as Fluttershy remains trapped!"

Keeper sighed and shook his head, "It's clear the temple was designed to not be entered while these trials were taking place. Likely to make sure nopony interfered with them."

They all frowned, fearing that Iron and Fluttershy had been in there too long. But as they were about to admit defeat, a bright light suddenly exploded out of the top of the temple. "What the heck?!" Flash yelped before flying up to the top. The others followed, and as they reached the top, they found the light pillar was coming from out of the table and through the roof into the sky.

And from out of the light, two forms appeared.

The light continued to shoot into the sky, forming a swirl of energy above the temple that eventually formed a sphere. The light pillar the disappeared, only for the group to see that the forms were Iron and Fluttershy. The light sphere remained above the temple for several seconds until exploding in a wave of light.

They all gasped at this, only to look down to see Iron and Fluttershy picking themselves up as they groaned, "Fluttershy!" Twilight rushed to her side, Flash zipping over to Iron. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," Fluttershy nodded, "I'm...a little dizzy."

"Same," Iron added.

"What happened in there?" Flash inquired as they moved the pair out of the temple. And as they did this, Keeper spotted something on the table: The key.

Iron and Fluttershy explained the trials they had gone through and how they had almost been crushed to death. They then explained what had happened when they reached the top of the pyramid's interior, amazing them all as they sat on the stairs of the temple.

"So you found the magic?" Twilight asked, Iron and Fluttershy nodding. "Was that the light we saw shoot into the sky?" They looked up at the temple, only for Discord to suddenly phase out of the temple's side.

"I don't know what you did, but there's no magic in there any more."

"What?!" Keeper yelped.

Discord nodded, "I was able to slip in and have a look around. I couldn't sense any magic inside. I can only assume that whatever held the magic inside the temple had weakened over time. And when it let the two of them out, the hold finally broke and it shot out of the temple."

"You think it'll come back?" Flash asked, Discord shrugging in response.

Keeper sighed and shook his head, "I spent all those years looking for this magic and now it's gone."

"At least Iron and Fluttershy are safe," Twilight pointed out before turning to them. "So what happened after you found the magic?" Iron and Fluttershy just frowned, telling the group they honestly didn't understand what just happened to them.

"You think this means they can transform into animals now?" Flash asked, Twilight shaking her head.

"That magic was designed to let unicorns transform. I'm not sure if an earth pony or pegasus could use it."

They sighed at this, Iron unsure if he was happy or upset about this. While the thought of turning into a tiger felt a little weird to him, he definitely wanted at least something out of this whole experience. He turned to see his Celestic Gear, which Flash had likely placed down near the stairs after they had been thrown inside. He got up and moved over to pick up the weapon. And as soon as he touched it, something happened.

The light that had flown into him inside of the temple suddenly exploded out of the earth pony and took the shape of a tiger. This made everyone go wide-eyed, all looking up to see the magical tiger that was staring down at Iron. And as he stared back, his Celestic Gear glowed. The next thing everyone knew, the tiger shot down and morphed back into the light. A light that then merged with Iron's Celestic Gear, causing it to glow before the spear exploded into light and wrapped around Iron, everyone expecting to see him in his normal armored state.

But instead, the light faded to reveal Iron was in a new set of armor. This armor was bright white with black stripes, covering his chest, shoulders and lower legs. A black bodysuit could be seen beneath it and on Iron's head was a helmet styled around the big cat with an opening for his eyes where the mouth would normally be.

Iron looked himself over, feeling a new surge of power that he had never felt in his armored state before. He still had the spikes on his sides that would shoot the projectiles and his tail still had the arrowhead for making weapons, but his hoof armor had tiny claws on them, likely to act as cleats for running. And as he thought about them being bigger, his entire front white gauntlet turned into a metal liquid that increased in volume. When it solidified again, the gauntlet was larger and his claws were almost as long as Flash's swords.

"Wow..." Iron gasped.

"Okay, that's cool." Flash added, Iron nodding in agreement before swinging his claws around to test how well they moved. Despite being large and strong, they felt really light. He then removed his armor, reverting it back to his speared form and smiling as he turned to Fluttershy. She smiled back and looked herself over, wondering if she could transform like that.

"I don't think it'll work the same," Twilight chimed in, "Iron had alicorn magic to channel it through."

"True," Discord nodded, "But she has chaos magic within her. I bet if she focuses hard enough, she'll be able to transform as easily as she can change her size."

Fluttershy went wide-eyed at this before closing her eyes, thinking hard about the rabbit she had seen in the temple. And in a flash, she was suddenly replaced by a small yellow bunny with a pink cottontail and a line of pink hair running down her head. She looked herself over and gasped, hopping around in joy before transforming back. "Oh, that was wonderful! I can't wait to use that around Angel!"

"Amazing," Twilight added, "But it's too bad nopony else will ever be able to gain this ability."

"You never know," Flash shrugged, "Maybe the magic's not completely gone. A few sparks of it might remain and in a few years, maybe it'll grow strong enough to give someone else that ability."

They all nodded, hoping the same thing. Either way, they knew one thing. The temple wasn't magically charged at the moment, meaning it would be possible to magically enter and study it. Keeper couldn't wait for that to happen. And as everypony began to make their way back to the camp, Iron and Fluttershy were at the back of the pack.

As they walked, Iron looked over at her and remembered what had happened inside the temple. "Fluttershy," she turned to him, "About what I said when we were about to be flattened..."

"Yeah," Fluttershy blushed, "I understand. You thought we were going to die. You don't have to...you know, just because you thought you were about to die."

Iron flinched at this, "You...you mean you don't want to get married anymore?"

"Of course I do," Fluttershy replied as she glanced down at the ground, "But I know you only asked me because you thought we were going to die. It wouldn't be right to make you do something you promised under distress. We can just pretend you never-" She stopped when Iron placed a hoof on her lips, making her stop.

"Fluttershy, will you marry me?" Her eyes went wide as Iron nodded. "You're right that I only asked because I thought we were gonna die. But when you said yes, I knew it was what I really wanted. You're the best thing that ever happened to me, and I want the world to know it. So...will you marry me?"

Fluttershy looked ready to cry as she smiled back, "Yes." With that, she leaned in and they both kissed one another. As they did this, confetti exploded into existence above them and rained down as a floating banner unfurled with the words 'she said yes' appearing above them.

"Huzzah!" Discord cheered, "Huzzah! Fluttershy, I'm so happy for you!" He spun into a tornado and when he stopped, he was wearing a dress and carrying flowers. "What do you think? Too garish? I know the maid of honor isn't meant to look better than the bride, but I've got to show the world I'm fun." The couple stared at him before both laughing, Discord smiling as Flash, Twilight and Keeper returned.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked, seeing the banner. "She said yes to what?"

"To Iron's proposal," Discord announced as he snapped his claws, more confetti appearing in response. Flash and Twilight gasped at this, soon walking up and congratulating the pair while Keeper just stared at them.

"Said yes to what?" Keeper asked, only to get no response.

Instead, all he got was the four ponies hugging each other before Fluttershy leaned against Iron, both showing shining blushing smiles.

A few weeks later...

The whole of Ponyville was gathered in a large field surrounded by trees, nature all around them as it presented the perfect place for an outdoor wedding. Animals were gathered around the edges of the field while the guests sat on chairs enchanted not to sink into the ground. Discord had even made it so that all the dresses and other clothes worn were completely impervious to getting dirty, which made Rarity very happy.

Iron stood in front of everypony, dressed up in his formal Royal Guard attire with Grand, Skybreaker and Angel by his side.

A bunch of song birds then flew down and started singing the wedding march, making everypony stand up and turn to see the Mane Seven walking down the aisle with their significant other. Flash and Lightning joined Iron and the others as they all turned to watch the mare of the hour walk down, dressed in a beautiful white floral-patterned dress. The sight made Iron going wide-eyed, a full blush on his face as he saw her true beauty.

As for Fluttershy, she could hardly believe she was currently the center of attention as she and her father walked side by side. Normally, she would be petrified by everypony looking at her. But for some reason, she wasn't the least bit nervous. Mostly because of what was about to happen, as when her eyes met Iron's, joy flowed through her body.

Cirrus Breeze led his daughter up to the altar and happily gave her over to Iron, the pair smiling at one another before he went to sit beside his crying wife and son. Everypony else sat down and watched as Mayor Mare perform the ceremony. Everyone remained silent, even the animals, as the vows were made and the wedding reached its end point. And eventually, the mayor said the words everyone had been waiting for.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." They kissed and everyone cheered, the animals exploding into a frenzy of excited noises.

And as this happened, Discord floated above it all the entire time, a camcorder in his hand. As Iron and Fluttershy pulled apart, he smirked and stopped the recording. "And that's a wrap."
> Lights, Camera, Infraction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The School of Friendship was in a frenzy as the students were busy preparing for a big test that would be taking place in the next week. In the library, Heart, Soul, Ace and Mira were reading at a table. Gallus, Silverstream, Yona and Sandbar were at another table, all trying to cram as much knowledge into their brains as possible before the test. But it was proving harder than they thought.

"Um...true?" Heart guessed at Soul's question, his sister moaning in response.

"That's actually correct, but it doesn't count if you just guess. What if you got this exact same question on the test and guess false? You need to actually have the knowledge."

"Cut me some slack!" Heart groaned, "I'm trying, but there's just so much to remember!"

"Tell me about it," Gallus added, "I'm never gonna remember any of this."

He slammed his head onto the table, Silverstream laughing. "Aw, don't worry. Everyone thinks they're going to fail when they're studying. But just watch. When the test arrives, you'll be able to answer almost every one of those questions."

They all hoped she was right, though they had a feeling it wasn't going to be that easy. It was times like this they wished they were actually interested in some of this stuff, like a certain changeling they knew. Ocellus was sitting at a smaller table, reading her own study book. She was so far ahead that she had decided to keep reading on her own so the others didn't distract her. She was so enthralled by the subject she was studying that she didn't want anything to break her focus. That is, till a bunch of laughter made her look up and see Smolder laying atop a bookshelf right next to her.

The dragon appeared to be reading something, but Ocellus knew that book didn't have any study material in it. And since she was right beneath her, she was able to see Smolder holding a comic book within the pages of the book. "Smolder." She stopped reading and looked down as the changeling flew up to her. "You're never going to pass if you spend all your time reading comics."

She pulled the comic out of her claws, Smolder rolling her eyes, "Come on Ocellus, I've been studying. But it was starting to give me a headache, so I was taking a break."

"You can take a long break after the test," Ocellus pointed out before getting back to her own reading.

"You really need to learn to loosen up," Smolder replied, "You ever hear of a thing called burnout? If you're not careful, you're gonna push yourself too far. Even your big brain isn't indestructible. Overdo it and you'll have an aneurysm or something."

"She does kind of have a point," Soul nodded as she replaced her own book with another. "Everything is at risk of breaking if it's pushed too far. And I honestly can't remember a time you've not had your head in a book."

"So?" Ocellus asked, "I like reading."

"So do I," Soul replied, "And so does Twilight. But we don't spend every waking moment of our lives reading." Ocellus shrugged, returning to her book. But before she could keep reading, Smolder jumped down and pulled it away.

"Be honest," Smolder grumbled, "When was the last time you did something without a book in front of you?"

"I do stuff without books," Ocellus responded, "I...go for nature walks."

She remembered doing that the other week. She had been wandering through a nature trail, looking around for rare birds and trees. But then she remembered that she had had a nature book on her at that time and when she found something, she read about it in the book despite already having read the whole thing.

"I...play video games." She remembered spending an entire weekend with the others, playing a bunch of video games...only to spend most of the time reading the game manuals. "I went to the art museum." She added, remembering going there with some of the more studious students along with Twilight. But she had spent less time looking at the art and more time reading the art's history from a book she had gotten at a gift shop.

"Oh."

"Thought so," Smolder smirked as she took her comic back.

"So what if I like reading?" Ocellus groaned, "I never got the chance to read anything when the hive was under Chrysalis' control. All we were allowed to learn about was how to infiltrate other races and steal love from them!" The others frowned at this, now realizing Ocellus was probably trying to make up for lost time. "Besides, the stuff we learn here will be crucial when we have to make our way in the real world!"

"I doubt that," Smolder jumped back up to the bookshelf. "Who knows what we'll be doing when we're older."

"We're the ones who'll help lead our kingdoms into a new age," Ocellus argued, "That's why we're at this school! When we graduate, it'll be up to us to pass one what we learned here to the rest of our kind!"

"Yeah, when we graduate. Learning all this stuff right away isn't gonna be any different from learning it later. It's not like we're gonna use it now." She was about to start reading her comic, but was stopped when her head scales suddenly started glowing. "Huh?"

"Is Ember calling you?" Soul asked.

Suddenly, Ocellus also started glowing. Only instead of her head, were wings and tail were the part of her that started pulsing with light. "What's going on?"

The others heard this and turned to the duo, now seeing the two glowing. They all gasped, but one was gasping for a different reason. "No way," Heart yelled "You're being called by the map!"

"The map?" Smolder asked as Ocellus and Soul gasped.

"He's right," Soul added, "The Friendship Map must be calling you."

Ocellus went fully wide-eyed as Smolder grinned, "Oh yeah? So it wants to send us on a friendship mission somewhere? That sounds like fun."

"Looks like it," Ace nodded, "You two better get to the castle and find out where you're going." Smolder nodded and headed for the door, only to stop when she saw Ocellus wasn't following.

She spun around, only to see the changeling freezing up, "I can't go on a friendship mission. I'm not ready. I'm still learning about friendship. I'm not ready to try and fix a problem!" She started looking around the library, "There has to be a book somewhere that'll help me figure out what to do. No, no, not that one."

Smolder rolled her eyes and flew up to grab her hoof, pulling her out of the library despite Ocellus' cries. And as this happened, they made their way through the school, only for Flash to see the pair, "What's with the glowing?" He asked, only to recognize the effect on Smolder. "Wait...are you-"

"Going on a friendship mission?" Smolder finished, "Looks like it."

Ocellus then flew up to him. "Please tell me you or another teacher is being called as well!" Flash turned to show her his non-glowing cutie mark.

"Twilight or another might have been called, but if they have it might take them a while to get here." The two leaned back at this, "Celestia and Luna are on vacation, so the girls were put in charge of running Equestria while they're gone."

The pair grimaced at this, Flash and Starlight having had to calm everypony in the school down when the sun and moon started acting strange two nights ago. They sighed as Flash told them to follow, the pair going with him as he headed out of the school and to the castle. Stepping inside, they made their way through it to the map room and saw the map was active and letting out a bright light. "I'm actually surprised," Flash commented, "Ever since Shroudheart destroyed the Tree of Harmony, we were worried that the map might not work anymore."

"I guess the tree being reborn into our clubhouse brought the map back to life," Ocellus guessed, the two now seeing the faces of Ocellus and Smolder circling around a section of the map. "Does that mean what I think it means?"

Flash squinted his eyes at this, "This is the location you two need to go to." It was a large city on the west coast of Equestria, "Applewood. Now that's a cool place to be sent."

"Applewood?" Ocellus asked, "What's that?"

"It's the Equestria's movie capital. All the best movies are made there." The two smirked, having gotten to enjoy a few movies in their time at the school. "But it looks like you're being sent on your own."

"What?!" Ocellus yelped, "We can't go on our own! We're not ready to do a friendship mission!"

"Clearly, the map thinks you are."

Ocellus whimpered as Smolder patted her on the back. "Would you relax? We can handle this. The map called us cuz it thinks we're the best ones to solve this problem." She turned to Flash, "Right?"

"It hasn't been wrong yet," Flash nodded, "Although I'm still a little concerned about you two going on your own. I'm not sure Twilight would approve of you going without somepony there to keep you two safe."

"So what do we do?" Ocellus asked, Flash smiling back.

"I'll go with you," he replied, "Starlight can handle running the school without me. We'll call it a friendship field trip." Ocellus sighed in relief, glad he was going. "But I'm not gonna help with the mission." Her eyes went wide. "If the map wanted me to help, it would have called me. I'll give a little advice, but you two need to figure this out on your own. That's the only way it works."

Ocellus moaned as Smolder punched her in the shoulder. "Would you relax? We got this. What's the point of all those lessons we had to sit through if we can't use what we learned?"

"I guess...I guess I just never thought I'd be using it this soon."

"You two head back to school and pack what you need," Flash ordered, "I'll send a message to Twilight and tell her what's going on. She'll wanna know about the map working again and I'll also need to tell Starlight you'll be absent from school. Be at the train station in an hour." They nodded and headed out, Flash staying behind as he stared at the map, "You finally start working again and pick two school kids for your first mission. This better be important."





As soon as Smolder and Ocellus got everything they needed, they headed to the station. Their friends were there, all excited to hear what their big adventure was gonna be about. "This is amazing!" Silverstream cheered, "You think this means the rest of us will get picked by the map one day?"

"It's possible," Soul nodded, "But it'll only pick you if it's a problem you can solve. Something like that might not happen."

"It's still a possibility, though!" Silverstream squealed, only for Flash to fly down toward the group.

"Well, Twilight's certainly excited to hear about this." He commented as he landed, "She wants you two to have a complete report when this is over."

Smolder moaned while Ocellus nodded as the whistle of the train caught their attention. Soon enough, the trio were departing from Ponyville as their friends waved them goodbye. Along the way, Ocellus asked a bunch of different questions about to how best approach a friendship quest. Flash asked how many friendship quests Ocellus had been told about and the changeling quickly listed them off. When she reached the last one, Flash smirked.

"That's pretty much all of them."

"But how does knowing about past quests help us in this one?" Smolder asked next.

"A lot of ways. Like...how did each pony discover the reason they were there." Ocellus replied. "That's important."

Flash shook his head at this, "Not quite. Ask yourself this: Did they find the problem, or did the problem find them?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Smolder responded, confusion on both students' faces.

"A lot of the times, the ponies never found the problem. They just did whatever they wanted and eventually, the friendship problem slammed right into them. If you really want my advice, I suggest this: Don't look for the friendship problem. Several times, ponies think they find the friendship problem, only to fix the issue and find out that's not why they're there."

"So what are we supposed to do?" Ocellus asked, "Not look for the problem we were sent to fix?"

Flash shook his head again, "I didn't mean that. Just don't let yourself become laser focused on finding it. If you two see something that might interest you, don't hesitate to investigate. Rarity and Pinkie once found their problem while they were getting lunch in preparation of searching for the problem. You never know where it'll show up."

The girls weren't entire sure what Flash meant by that, but they didn't want to ignore his wisdom. As such, they watched as the Equestrian landscape flew by, the pair excited to see what was waiting for them when they got to Applewood.

And eventually, the large city came into view. Applewood wasn't as big as Manehatten or Fillydelphia, but it was still a rather impressive place. Sitting between a large collection of hills and the western coast, the three marveled as the sight of the city. And as they got closer, they spotted a large collection of metal letters spelling out the city's name located on the hills.

"Awesome," Smolder cheered as Ocellus gulped at the sight. She had never been anywhere this large before.

The train soon stopped and the four walked onto the platform. Flash was a little worried the large crowd would result in them getting separated, but Ocellus and Smolder stayed close to him as they headed for the exit.

"So how do you wanna start this?" Smolder asked, Ocellus putting a hoof to her chin.

"Um...I'm not sure-" She tried to say as they walked into the gate, only for an alarm to suddenly ring out, followed by confetti. "Eep! What's going on?!" The changeling cried as a pony ran up to her.

"Congratulations!" she told her. "You're the one millionth pony. As such, you've won an amazing prize!" She held up a white box with a ribbon, Ocellus blinking at it before slowly taking the box.

Flash and Smolder stared at the sight as they walked through the gate, Smolder whispering, "You don't think this has something to do with the friendship mission...do you?"

Flash shrugged in response, "No idea." He turned back to Ocellus, "What's the prize?" Ocellus opened the box and found it was a bunch of coupons for a tour of a movie studio. "Huh. Wonder if there's a problem at the movie studio."

"You really think we were destined to win these tickets?" Ocellus asked, "That sounds a little far-fetched."

"Trust me, you don't wanna ignore this. Tell you what, we'll take the tour and if you can't find a problem, I'll get more involved in helping you find and solve this. Deal?"

"Deal," Ocellus and Smolder nodded.

Flash quickly got a map and used it to find the address on the coupons, glad to see the place they were going wasn't actually too far away. They managed to grab a city tram, which they rode to the studio and arrived to find a large group of ponies outside. Flash stepped up to the security booth and showed the guard the coupons, the guards checking their authenticity and nodding before they were let in. He also let in a small percentage of the tour group line, allowing them to gather and look around. The movie studio was a collection of large buildings, likely all filled with different sets, only for a unicorn mare to walk up to them.

"Hello," she smiled, "My name's Hooflights and I'll be your tour guide today. Welcome to Applewood's famous movie lot, birthplace of some of the greatest movies ever made."

The tour began at this, the group following as she began to give a lecture about the history of the lot and how it came to be. Ocellus listened eagerly while Smolder zoned out and Flash half-paid attention. And as they headed into one of the buildings, they discovered that there was already a film in progress. "Here we have the making of a middle ages movie. In it, a heroic knight is fighting against an evil monster."

They saw said pony, dressed in an old fashioned knight's get up and holding a prop sword. At the same time, what appeared to be an animatronic monster was moved into place. "Wow," Smolder chuckled, "That doesn't look convincing at all."

"Just wait until the CG experts do their magic," Hooflight chimed in, "They can make it look so convincing you'd think the knight was actually going to be devoured." But as she said that, a loud banging sound rang out, the group turning to see the monster's back beginning to smoke as its long neck fell to the ground, "Oh no."

"What's happening?" A stallion asked as he ran over to the machine. He was a maroon unicorn with a white mane, tail and beard, wearing a director's hat and round glasses.

Another member of the crew rushed over, opening the back of the creature, "Sorry Mr. Saddleberg, but it looks like one of the motors ran too hot and broke. We must have overloaded it."

"Can you fix it?"

"Yes, but it'll take a day or two." The stallion roared out in annoyance, lifting his glasses to rub his eyes with his hooves.

"What am I supposed to do?! We're already running behind schedule! With this delay, they may end up shutting down production all together!"

"Can't they just do this scene another time?" Smolder asked Hooflight, who shook her head.

"This set building has been booked to allow another film to be made in here in the next few days. If they can't get all those scenes filmed by then, they'll have to leave, let this set be stripped down, wait for that movie to finish, then rebuild the set exactly the way it was. That would take time and money. If these scenes aren't filmed, either the entire movie would have to be stopped or the unfilmed scenes would have to be removed from the script and the whole thing would need to be reworked with what's already been done. And that will likely ruin the film."

"Ouch," Flash flinched, "That is a problem."

"Yeah," Smolder nodded before an idea popped into her head. "Ocellus, you could help."

"Huh?" Ocellus barely replied before Smolder grabbed her hoof and pulled, "What the-"

"Hey! Wait!" Hooflight called out to them, but the drake just waltzed up to Saddleberg.

"Excuse me." The stallions turned to them, raising an eyebrow. "You need a replacement for your monster. Well, here she is."

"What are you talking about?" He asked as Flash and Hooflight rushed up.

"I'm sorry sir," the guide bowed. "I let them get away from me."

"Ms Hooflights," Saddleberg frowned, "You really need to keep better care of your groups." He turned back to Smolder, "This is a movie set, and we can't have kids messing around. So please-"

"Wait sir," the one who had been speaking before jumped down off the robot and moved over to them. "Maybe the dragon's right." He pointed at the changeling, "You have the ability to change into anything you want, correct?" Ocellus nodded, "So...could you become the monster we need?" He pointed at the animatronic and Ocellus stared at it, her eyes scanning over every little detail. Then, in a burst of green fire, she transformed into an even better version of the beast and managed to let out a threatening roar.

They all looked rather impressed, but Saddleberg shook his head, "You might be able to replace the monster, but we can't just have untrained actors appearing. Our budget is already spread pretty thin. We can't afford to hire you."

"Don't worry about that," Smolder replied, "We'll do it for free. We were taught at school to help whenever we can, even if we don't get anything out of it." Ocellus nodded in her monster form and Saddleberg blinked at this, only to see the smiles on his crew's faces.

"Fine," he sighed, "But she has to do exactly as instructed. And no improvising." He turned away and told everypony to start setting up for the shoot. And as he did this, Ocellus returned to normal.

"Smolder, shouldn't we be focusing on finding the friendship problem?"

"What if this is the friendship problem?" Smolder asked, "Right Flash?"

They turned to their teacher, Flash shrugging in response, "It's possible. We get tickets to a tour, find out they have a problem that a changeling can fix and arrive at the perfect time to help. Sounds like the kind of thing a friendship problem usually entails."

Smolder smirked as Ocellus sighed, wondering how a movie shoot could be the cause of a friendship problem. That is, till the pony that had gotten Saddleberg to agree walked up to them. He was a green earth pony with a black and white mane and tail. "Thank you so much. And sorry about Saddleberg. He's been under a lot of pressure to get this movie finished, but one bad thing after another has been stopping it."

"Really?" Flash asked, "What kind of things?"

"Aside from the animatronic breaking down, props have been mysteriously vanishing, ponies have been getting wrong scripts that cause them to waste time learning lines they don't need to, and there've even been issues with the actors themselves. One of the stars had an allergic reaction to some makeup and had to be sent to the hospital."

"Yikes," Smolder gulped, "Talk about a cursed production."

He nodded back, "Most ponies would have given up by now, but we can't."

"Why not?" Ocellus asked.

"This movie isn't exactly planned to be a big blockbuster," he responded, "In fact, almost all of the props and sets are recycled from other movies."

"Oh yeah," Flash turned to the monster. "I thought that looked familiar."

"But even though it's not expected to be an instant hit, we all think it has to potential to be great either way. This is everyone's shot at the big time." He gestured to the crew as they worked, "This is the first movie for most of us. If we can't get it right here, nobody might hire us again. This movie is make or break."

They nodded at this, "Well, we're happy to help." Flash gestured to himself, "Name's Flash Sentry. And these two are my students, Ocellus and Smolder."

"Nice to meet you," the pony replied, "I'm Demo Reel. You can just call me Demo. I'm with the special effects department, but hopefully I can one day make it big in as a director. So, what brings you-" He didn't get to finish, as Saddleberg called for everypony to get to their places. Seeing this, Demo moved Ocellus into position and explained what they needed her to do, the changling transforming as Saddleberg called action.

Flash and Smolder watched as Ocellus charged into the scene and the unicorn knight began to do battle, swinging his sword round as Ocellus avoided it. She then pretended to breathe fire, the knight raising his shield to defend against the eventual computer generated fire.

When the flames stopped, the knight raised his sword and threw it at Ocellus. His magic remained on the weapon until it reached her chest, stopping inches from the point poking her. That was when Saddleberg told them to freeze. "Replace the sword," he ordered, the sword removed away with magic, Demo explaining to Flash and Smolder that the end half would retract into the blade and they could make it look like Ocellus was stabbed.

"Why?" Smolder asked before turning to Ocellus. "Can you change to make it look like you've been stabbed?" Ocellus didn't move, but was quickly consumed by fire. When it faded, she looked exactly the same, but with the handle of the prop sword sticking out of her chest. The others cheered at this, starting to like how easy it was to do this with a changeling. Saddleberg went wide-eyed, only to quickly shake his head, calling for them to unfreeze. As soon as he did this, Ocellus started acting like she had been stabbed. She staggered around and mimicked attempting to breath fire before falling to the ground, going completely still.

She had to remain like this as the knight spoke with some new characters that arrived on the scene. Things got tricky when she felt an itch, which she tried to ignore and keep from shaking. As soon as Saddleberg said cut, she transformed back to her normal form and scratched like crazy. The others who saw this laughed, all clearly knowing the pain of not being able to scratch when it was really needed.

"Not bad," Saddleberg nodded, "I guess thanks are in order. Now we can move on to the other scenes that take place here."

"Sir," Demo stepped up. "Why not ask them to help with some of the other scenes as well? There are a lot of monsters in this movie, and having Ocellus act with them will make the whole thing look even more believable."

"I'm sure these folks have other things they need to do instead of standing around watching us work."

"Not really," Flash chimed in, "We have nothing urgent to do. In fact, we're pretty sure this is the reason we were sent here. Don't worry about it. You can have us help however you need." The other two nodded and Saddleberg hummed before nodding.

"Very well. It'll take an hour or so to get everything set up for the next scene. Why doesn't Demo show you around? If you wanna help, you might as well know where everything is."

He turned to leave and the four smiled, Demo gesturing for them to follow. They made their way through the sets, showing off everything that was going to happen in the movie and what Ocellus might be able to help with. "Wow," Smolder commented as she flew around, "Look at all this stuff."

"Pretty impressive," Flash added as they saw some of the ponies returning the props that had just been used in the scene they had filled.

Ocellus inspected the props and found the fake sword that had been used. She stared at it and smiled seeing the section of the blade that was meant to fold into it. "Hey!" Smolder flew down, "Stab me." Ocellus laughed and pushed the sword point towards her. But when she did, she found the blade didn't retract into the weapon like it was supposed to. "Hey!" Smolder yelped as she found herself being pushed back, the dull tip of the sword not doing anything against her scales, but did almost make her crash into a pile of props.

Flash and Demo ran over at this, "What happened?"

"We don't know," Ocellus responded, "The sword didn't retract."

Demo took the blade from Ocellus and tried to push it into the sword, only to find it was completely stuck. "Strange. Something must be jamming it."

"Guess it's a good thing Ocellus used her transformation," Smolder giggled, "If she couldn't, you might not have been able to do the stabbing scene."

Flash hummed at this, Ocellus turning to him, "Flash? What's the matter?" The others glanced over at him, but the defender went silent. Ocellus raised an eyebrow, only to realize what it meant. She quickly looked back at the sword, only to remember that Demo said the movie had been running into problems. "You think somepony's trying to sabotage the movie." Ocellus said in almost a whisper.

"Huh?" Smolder responded, "What do you mean?"

"Think about it Smolder." Ocellus countered, "They said they've been having a bunch of problems with filming."

Flash nodded at this, "She's right. Props being lost and damaged. Scripts with pointless lines in them and that animatronic monster breaking down. That's a lot of problems for one movie crew to run into. You heard what Hooflight said. If the movie runs into too many problems, it would have to be shut down."

"But why?" Demo asked.

"Well...that depends." Flash turned to his students, gesturing to them to continue.

Seeing this, Ocellus spoke up, "Well...was anyone against making this movie?"

Demo shook his head. "Not really. Nopony was eager to work on it, so the higher ups put a bunch of us newbies onto the project. Even most of the actors are new at this. This film could be their big break. The only experienced ponies working on it are Saddleberg and a few of the crew heads. But there weren't any complaints about doing it, since it's being made on the cheap."

Ocellus and Smolder shared a glance at this, the drake responding, "Eh...that doesn't sound like a motive to me."

Flash shook his head, "Think a little outside the box, you two." He turned to Demo, "What if it's not the movie that's being sabotaged? Maybe somepony's trying to ruin Saddleberg's reputation." All three stared at him at this, only the defender to add, "He's a big shot Applewood movie maker, right? I'm pretty sure I've seen his name on a bunch of big flicks."

"Yes," Demo nodded, "Saddleberg's one of the greatest filmmakers of our time. He's changed the way movies have been made for years."

"So what's he doing here?" Smolder asked, "If he's such a great filmmaker, why's he working on a movie barely anyone's talking about?"

"Mr Saddelberg's been...going through a bit of a rough patch. His last few movies haven't been the box office breakers he's known for. A lot of ponies think he's starting to lose his touch. So instead of giving him a big project, he's been cut back to doing this small-time flick."

"And what would happen to him if this film was cancelled?" Ocellus asked, Demo putting his hoof to his chin in response.

"I...don't know. But I don't think it'd be good for him. It might even force him to retire."

The trio grimaced at this, the two students fully frowning as Flash watched them react. Taking a deep breath, he spoke up, "Ocellus. Smolder. What do you want to do?"

"Us?" Ocellus asked while pointing at herself.

"You were the ones sent here. It's up to you to decide how you wanna proceed."

The girls shared a glance, Smolder shrugging in response. "I don't know. I'm not an idea dragon."

Ocellus bit her lip, her brain turning gears before she said, "Smolder, you look around and see if you can find anypony that's sneaking about or trying to cause problems. I'll keep helping the film. If our mission is to make sure the film is finished, I'll do as much as I can to get it done." Smolder nodded, liking that idea.

Flash agreed that it was the best course of action, Demo also wanting to make sure the film was completed. "Here," he gave Smolder his crew pass. "This should stop anypony from wondering why you're walking around. Just try not to draw too much attention to yourself."

"You got it," Smolder nodded again before flying off while the others began to make their way back to the film site, arriving as they finished setting everything up. Saddleberg was sitting atop his director's stool as the actors got into position. He spotted them and called out to Ocellus, showing her a book of the monsters they would need her to become for them. Ocellus quickly flipped through the picture book, showing images of the costumes and animatronics that were intended to be used. Beside each of them was a simple description of what each creature would be expected to do.

As she read through the book, Saddleberg called action and they watched from the sides as the scenes were filmed. It took them thirty minutes to get to a scene involving one of the creatures Ocellus would need to become, Saddleberg having them move to a set that was supposed to represent a dark river. "Bring in the sea serpent." Ocellus quickly transformed, morphing into a long red snake-like creature with feathers on her head that were several meters long.

She slithered into the water, gasping when she felt how cold it was. "You could have used warm water!" She grumbled as she saw the murkiness of the water, really not wanting to dive into it. She had gills, but wasn't happy about using them in such filthy looking muck. But she knew the film was counting on her and dived, completely submerging herself as Saddleberg called action. The actors stepped toward the river, looking exhausted despite being well rested. They made their way closer to the water and checked it, seeing it was murky and likely not safe to drink.

One got even closer and used his magic to dunk a cup into the water. He sniffed the water he brought back up and shook his head before throwing it back in. "And turn," Saddleberg instructed with the actor moving away. "And...cue the monster!" Ocellus' snake tail shot out and wrapped around the unicorn's leg, making him cry out as he felt it being pulled. The other actors spun around and saw this, gasping before drawing their weapons.

The knight raised his sword at this, Saddleberg calling out for them to freeze. "Alright, Ocellus. Release him and change your tail to be shorter." Ocellus did so, unwrapping her tail off of him and transforming the way he wanted. At the same time, a member of the crew used her magic to wrap the actor's leg up with a piece of rope that looked just like Ocellus' tail. "And...action."

The knight quickly swung the sword down, pretending to cut the end of the sea-serpents tail. The now shorter tail began bouncing around before being pulled back into the water. Flash smiled at this, impressed by Ocellus' acting skills. But as her head burst out of the river, Flash noticed the light around them shift and looked up, only to see one of the lights swaying back and forth...only for its rope to suddenly snap.

Everypony heard this, only to see Flash zip up to the falling light and kick it away just before it hit the water. "Ocellus, out of the water!" The changeling didn't need telling twice and reverted back to her normal form, flying out of the water as Flash manage sure nothing else electrical could fall in.

"What happened?" Saddleberg cried as Flash carried to light over to him, the director now seeing the snapped cable. "It's a miracle nopony was hurt."

"You okay?" Demo asked, Ocellus nodding.

"That's it," Saddleberg sighed, "The last thing the studio needs is a lawsuit. If that light had hit the water, she would have been electrocuted. I'm gonna have to stop you from continuing to assist us."

"What?!" Ocellus gasped, "but I'm fine!"

"Only because Mr. Sentry was able to react in time. If it happens again, he might not be so quick. I'm sorry, but I've made my decision. The rest of you, try and get things set back up for the set monsters. And make sure none of the other lights are gonna crush my stars."

He walked off at this, everypony frowning. Ocellus felt herself about to cry, thinking this could mean her friendship mission was going to be a failure. That is, till an actor ran over to one of the set crew. "What the heck was that?! Thanks to you, our movie's gonna be cancelled!"

The set crew glared at him. "Us? How is it our fault?!"

"You're in charge of making sure everything is safe!" another actor yelled, "You should have checked to make sure those lights were properly secure!"

"We did!" another member of the set cried out. "Those lights were perfectly safe!"

"Clearly not," the knight actor yelled, "Come on, how hard is it to keep everything running smoothly? How are we supposed to put on an oscar winning performance when you can't do the simplest of tasks?"

"Simplest?!" One of the camera-ponies growled, "How would you know?! You've never done a day of hard work in your life! If you saw how much work getting everything set up was, you wouldn't be complaining!"

The ponies all began yelling at this, making Flash, Ocellus and Demo grimace. "What do we do?" Ocellus asked as she turned to Flash, "Can't you break them up?"

"This is your mission," Flash replied, "You need to find a way to help everypony make peace. If you don't, this movie'll never get made. And everypony might lose their shot at continuing their filmmaking careers."

Ocellus gulped at that, "Oh dear. I hope Smolder is having better luck then."





"I'm not having any luck." Smolder grumbled as she lazily flapped around. Sighing as she took another turn, she commented to herself, "Maybe I should head back and-"

Her words came to a stop as she heard voice ring out, "Please, just give me a little more time." She stopped and looked around the corner, where she saw Saddleberg talking to another pony.

The pony was wearing a suit and a frown as he replied, "You've had your time. I'm sorry, but everything is ready to begin filming. Everything except a director. If you can't do it, I have no choice but to give it to another pony. Haybrick's free, so-"

"Not him!" Saddleberg cried, "There's no way that pony came make this movie into a masterpiece! His artsy, smarmy movie style would ruin this film! Please, I'm the only one that could possibly make this movie a blockbuster!"

"Except you're stuck working on this film," the pony instantly countered, "And even if there weren't a flank ton of problems slowing you down, there's no way you can finish this film before we need to start working on ours." Saddleberg looked devastated by this. "I'm sorry, but we need a director by the end of the week."

He turned to leave and Saddleberg just stood there, only to let out a roar and slam his hoof into the wall next to him, turning to leave as Smolder remained hidden. "Huh. So he can't do the film he really wants because he's stuck here..." she whispered, only to go wide-eyed, "No way."





Demo Reel had managed to stop the argument between the actors and the set crew. The actors had stormed off while the set crew got to work trying to prepare everything for a reshoot of the scene. However, without Ocellus, the scene was showing it was not going to work. Demo had removed the broken light from the scene and taken it over to an empty table, him and Flash investigating it.

"It looks like the rope snapped," Demo started as he looked over the frayed ends of the rope. "But I don't get how. The ropes for all these lights were old, yeah, but they shouldn't have broken like that."

Flash nodded, and saw that it looked frayed and weathered from overuse, only to shake his head, "This rope was damaged on purpose."

"What?" Demo turned to him, "What makes you say that?"

"I've seen this kind of damage before. The rope's outer strands were weakened by something. Probably a file or something like sandpaper. Once it was weakened, the rope would begin to stretch under the light's weight and eventually snapped."

"So you think somepony's still trying to sabotage the film?"

"Yup. And they just made things a lot worse for themselves." Demo raised an eyebrow, "That light would have hit Ocellus if I hadn't kicked it away. Even if she moved out of the way, it would have landed in the water and electrocuted her. They've gone from being a nuisance to being a danger. If they're willing to do something like this once, what's to stop them from doing it again? And next time, the pony its targeting might not be so lucky."

"You're right," Demo gulped, "But we still have no idea who it might be."

"I think I know who's sabotaging the film!" They all spun around to see Smolder, the dragon landing and giving Demo his crew pass back. "I know this might be hard to believe, but Saddleberg is responsible."

"What?!" Demo yelped, "W-w-why would you say something like that?!"

"I just heard him talking with somepony," Smolder responded, "Apparently, there's another movie that's about to be filmed and Saddleberg wants to direct it. But he can't, because he's working on this movie."

"Are you sure?" Ocellus asked, Smolder nodding. "That does sound like a reason to stop this film from being made. But couldn't he just leave this movie and start on that one?"

"No," Demo shook his head, "The studio's faced issues with directors abandoning projects halfway through because something else came along. That's why they made every director that works here sign a contract. Saddleberg isn't allowed to make any other movie until the one he's currently working on is finished."

"And if the movie's shut down?" Flash asked.

"Same situation. He'd be allowed to move on. But just because he has another movie he wants to pursue, that doesn't mean he'd purposely sabotage this film. You don't have any solid proof of this, do you?"

"Well," Smolder rubbed the back of her neck, "No. But we'll find it."

"How?" Demo instantly replied, the trio sharing a glance. Flash wanted to make a suggestion, but this was the girls' mission. As such, he shook his head at the two, silently telling them to fix it.

Seeing this, Smolder nodded back before closing her eyes, only to snap her claws, "I got it." She turned to Demo, "You got any recording equipment?"

"Yes," Demo nodded. "Why?"

"Trust me. Ocellus, how good are you are making yourself look like somepony without actually seeing them?"

"Well...all I need is a clear image of somepony to become them. Why?" Smolder rubbed her claws together and started whispering into her ear, Ocellus' eyes going wide, "Y-y-you can't be serious!"

"Come on!" Smolder groaned, "It's perfect. You'd get the proof we need easily."

"But I can't!" Ocellus cried. "If I did what you're suggesting, I'd be no better off than the changelings were when Chrysalis ruled us."

"It'd be totally different," Smolder slung an arm over her, "You'd be tricking somepony, sure, but it would be for a good cause. The map sent you here because you're the only one that can do this."

Ocellus shrunk back at this, only to sigh, "Oh dear...fine. I'll do it. But I'll probably hate myself in the morning."





Saddleberg was at the studio's cafeteria, getting a cup of coffee as he thought about the potential blockbuster he wouldn't get to make. And as he was about to take that first sip, he noticed somepony walk in. It was one of the big bosses of the studio, the same one he had been talking to earlier. The pony spotted Saddleberg and gestured for him to sit down at a nearby table, Saddleberg sighing as he did so.

"Pan Shot!" Saddleberg nodded as he sat down, "What's going on? Come to tell me you've given the film to Haybrick?"

"Nope," Pan shook his head, "I thought I'd let you know the film you're making has been cancelled." Saddleberg's eyes went wide. "With all the problems its run into and the little time you have left, we in the higher ups are deciding to pull the plug."

"Really?" Saddleberg asked a little too excitedly, "I mean...that's too bad. I know nopony really expected it to be a big hit, but I'm sure it would have developed some form of cult following in a decade or two. A shame, really. Those newbies put so much hard work into it and now, nobody's gonna get to see it."

"Indeed," Pan nodded, "On the bright side, it means you're now freed up to start work on the other motion picture." Saddleberg slowly nodded back, "But before we agree to give you the job..." Saddleberg frowned at this, "You were the one behind all those problems...weren't you?"

"What?!" Saddleberg yelped, "What are you talking about?!"

"Don't worry," he shook his head, "You won't get in trouble. But it was obvious that you were the one who caused all those problems. Wanting to get out of making that film to move onto this one."

Saddleberg stared at him in shock, only to suddenly smile, "Alright, I admit it. I...didn't do anything." Pan's eyes went wide, as Saddleberg's horn glowed. The next thing Pan knew, something was ripped off his skin from under his suit.

"Hey!" He cried, flinching when he saw the tape recorder and microphone that had been hidden beneath his shirt.

Saddleberg smirked as he turned the device off and removed the tape. "Nice try kid. You changelings are pretty good at impersonating others." Pan frowned as she reverted back to her true form, Ocellus sighing as Saddleberg chuckled, "Where's your friends?"

"Flash and Demo aren't here," Smolder chimed in as she jumped down from the ceiling rafters. "How'd you know it was a trick?"

"I'm guessing Demo told you what Pan Shot looks like. Or somepony showed you a picture of him. And while that would have probably worked on somepony else, a director needs to be able to see every last detail. I assume you didn't know about the mole under Pan's left eye." The two sighed as Saddleberg laughed. "Nice try kids."

Smolder glared at him at this, "But you were the one who caused all those complications. You broke that monster and damaged the light to make it fall."

"Yes, I did." Saddleberg smirked, "Sorry about almost hurting you. Didn't think you'd actually be under it, but you moved into the wrong spot at the wrong place. If you had just kept your nose out of things, you wouldn't have been put in danger."

"Why are you doing this?!" Ocellus yelled, "Ruining Demo and everypony else's chance to make it in the film industry!"

"That film would never get me back into the mainstream," Saddleberg spat, "If anything, it'd make ponies think I'm more washed up than they already think I am. If I want to reclaim my glory days, I need to get my name of a big action film. Something everypony will wanna go see. And I don't care what I have to do to get this film cancelled, I'm stopping it from ruining my career." The girls glared at him, only for Smolder to shine a big toothy grin, making Saddleberg raise an eyebrow, "What?"

"You all get that?"

"What?" Saddleberg asked again, "What are you talking about?"

"Your confession," Ocellus smiled, "Flash and Demo were recording the whole thing."

"How?" Saddleberg looked them over, only to find nothing, "You're bluffing."

"Applewood filmmaking is pretty amazing," Smolder chuckled, "They can turn anything into a recording device." She picked up a salt shaker and screwed off the top, pulling out a hidden microphone. "And it's wireless, so we don't have to worry about you taking the tape from us."

Saddleberg's eyes went wide before he leapt out of his chair and rushed for the exit, the girls watching him run and smiling. The director ran through the studio lot as fast as he could to the sound studio. He quickly pushed through a crowd of ponies at this, trying to reach the recording machine, which stored all the main recordings andcatalogued them for later use.

But as he reached the room and threw the door open, he flinched at hearing his own voice speak. "And I don't care what I have to do to get this film cancelled, I'm stopping it from ruining my career."

Slowly opening his eyes, he found not only Flash and Demo were listening to the recording, but so was the real Pan Shot along with all the other bigwigs of Applewood's movie business. They all turned to him, making him shrink back as they glared at the pony that had risked their studio getting sued.





One hour or so later...

Saddleberg had been escorted off the premises and into the custody of the Applewood Police. The police took him in for questioning, Saddleberg likely facing charges of attempted assault and knowing endangerment. The other ponies working on the film were shocked by what they had learned, but quickly apologized to one another for blaming each other.

"Thank you," Pan Shot told Flash and his students. "You've done us a great service today. Who knows what he would have done next."

"No problem," Flash replied, "Happy to help." Ocellus and Smolder nodded, though they were half expecting to start glowing since they had solved the cause of the problem.

"It's just unfortunate we'll have to shut down production," Pan sighed, making everyone go wide-eyed, "Without a director, we can't hope to complete this movie. In a way, I guess Saddleberg gets what he wants."

"You can't!" Demo cried, "We've worked too hard to let him ruin our chance like this." Everypony else nodded, "We can get the movie finished! We know how it's supposed to end!"

"You want to finish this film without a director?" Pan yelped, "That's insane!"

"Just give us a chance," Demo begged, "We won't ask for anything. We can still get the movie finished on time." The rest of the crew nodded again, Pan staring at them before shaking his head.

"Very well. You can continue filming. But if it's not all done by the time this area is needed for another film, there won't be anything for us to do but cancel it. Understand?" They all nodded and Pan walked away, Demo turning to his new friends.

"Thanks to you, we have a chance to make our dreams of filmmaking come true. I know it might be a little unfair to ask this, but-"

"You want our help to finish making it, right?" Flash chuckled as Demo nodded, the three all sharing a glance. "What do we need to do?"

And so, the filming process continued, Demo taking over leading everypony in their direction. Ocellus reprised her many roles as the film's monsters while Flash and Smolder helped with the set ups. The pair even got to do fill-in roles, appearing as background characters in crowd shots. And without Saddleberg there, not a single problem occurred to slow them down. Not only were they able to keep on schedule, the crew working together managed to get them back on schedule and finish early.

"And cut!" Demo exclaimed, "That's a wrap!" Everypony cheered, the final scene of the movie ending perfectly. Ocellus and Smolder smiled as they watched the actors and crew celebrate together. And as they did this, Ocellus' wings and tail started glowing along with Smolder's scales. The pair gasped and high-fived, Flash chuckling at the sight.

With their mission completed, the three began to head back to the train station. "I guess the map picked the right creatures for the job," Flash laughed, "If it hadn't picked Ocellus, they never would have been able to make the movie in time. And if it hadn't picked Smolder, Ocellus wouldn't have had the guts to offer her help. Plus, you two were the ones who came up with a plan to get bust Saddleberg. Probably wouldn't be how anypony else would have done it, so you girls should be proud of yourselves."

"Yeah," Smolder puffed out her chest, "We didn't pretty great, huh?"

"Yeah," Ocellus giggled, "We were able to help those ponies make their dreams come true and accomplished our mission. I didn't think we were ready for this kind of thing, but I guess we were more prepared than we thought."

"And we didn't need any book to tell us what to do," Smolder bragged, "See Ocellus? Instead of reading about filmmaking, we got to actually experience it. Bet that taught you way more then you could ever learn from a book." Ocellus couldn't help but agree. She had learned a lot during this time. Actually seeing how a film was made up close was nothing like what she had read about the subject.

"Yeah. But I still enjoy reading."

"That's perfectly fine," Flash chimed in, "Just remember to balance what you read with the real world. Learning about something from a book is great, but the real test is how you put it into practice in the real world. And you both put everything you learned from our school to great use." The girls smiled at this, only for the defender to add, "And I'm sure Twilight is looking forward to reading your reports."

Smolder's smile faded, groaning and slumping over as Flash and Ocellus chuckled at the sight. The dragon knew Twilight would definitely want to hear all about their friendship mission. She just hoped the alicorn accepted double spaces, or it would take forever to complete.
> The Summer Sun Setback
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a dark night in the Crystal Empire and almost everypony was asleep. The only ones who weren't asleep were some of the guards, all tirelessly patrolling the city. After what happened with Shroudheart, they refused to allow another incursion. They would protect the empire and its inhabitants, no matter what.

But it wasn't the city that was in danger at the moment. Instead, the biggest threat was outside in the crystal mountains. The Crystal Penitentiary held some of the most evil ponies in Equestria. They only place more secure was Tartarus, though much hard work had gone into making the Crystal Pen impossible to break out of.

But breaking in was a different issue. That was the thought Armalum had as he stood at the base of the snowy mountain, staring up the giant rock that held his prize. "Time to visit an old friend...and a few other convicts." His entire body exploded into shadow, flying through the snow with ease. And as he got close, he suddenly found himself crashing into something and getting a shock. "AUGH!"

A second later, he saw what he hit: A giant magical barrier. He prepared a teleportation spell next, but it also fizzled out. Growling at the sight, he tried pushing into it, only to get zapped again. "Yaugh! Damn it!" He hissed, flying away from the barrier before the sounds of the sparks caught somepony's attention. He flew back down to the base of the mountain and reformed. "A hatred smorgasbord is in there and I can't hope to get close enough to get a taste!"

He stared up at the mountain and sighed at this, knowing what the solution was. He would need help. Luckily, he had a trio of creatures willing to help him out in this regard. He just hoped they knew the best way to get in.





Several days later, at the Legion of Doom...

Grogar was stalking through the base, about to go to the exit, only for an annoying voice to clear its throat, "Where are ya goin'?" He spun around to see Cozy, who smiled at him while trying to look cute.

Grogar just glared back at her. "Since you three were unable to retrieve my Bewitching Bell, we need another source of great magical power to defeat Twilight and her friends."

Cozy kept wearing her grin as Grogar left, only for it to switch to a frown as he left the building. Counting to ten to make sure he was out of earshot, she zipped back into the building and sang, "He's gone!"

Moments later, Tirek and Chrysalis stepped out from hiding, the centaur crossing his arms. "I don't trust him."

"None of us do," Cozy countered.

Chrysalis nodded at this, "Which is why double-crossing him with his own bell will be so satisfying." She floated it into view, Tirek frowning at the sight.

"If we can figure out how to use it." Tirek hissed, all three glaring at the object now. "That Armalum pony said we will be defeated again. Perhaps we lose because we put all our faith in this thing, even when it doesn't have any magic."

"Oh, it has magic alright." The three jumped to attention at this, turning to see a shadowy cloud fly down and form into a familiar set of living armor, "Sorry about this, but I require some assistance."

"You want our help?" Cozy asked, "With what?"

"We're a little busy trying to unlock this bell's power," Chrysalis added, "Unless you know how to use it."

"I do not," Armalum stated, "But I'll be willing to help you find it, if you can help me."

"Then we repeat what the small pony said," Tirek replied, "With what?"

"The Crystal Penitentiary," Armalum responded, "I need you help to break into it."

The three went wide-eyed at this, "Why would you wanna break into a prison?" Cozy asked, the other two nodding in confusion.

"It's complicated. I require hatred. And not just any hatred, but hatred directed at one pony in particular: Flash Sentry. And the place with more hatred for him than anywhere else is that prison. But at my current level, I can't get through the defenses. That's why I'm hoping one of you knows the best way in."

"Interesting," Chrysalis hummed, "You wish to get into the Crystal Pen, and we wish to unlock the power of this bell. If you help us, we'll help you."

"You help me and I'll help you," Armalum countered, "We can spend all day arguing about who should help who, but let's be smart. You need to gather information, and there's only one place in Equestria you'll hope to find the knowledge you're seeking."

"There is?" Tirek asked as Cozy hummed to herself.

"Twilight Sparkle may be the worst, but she does know stuff. She once said the Archives in Canterlot has a restricted area."

Armalum nodded at this as the other two smiled. "Celestia and Luna love to hoard information for themselves," Tirek sighed, "If there's an answer, it's there."

"My triumphant return to Canterlot?" Chrysalis asked, "I like the sound of that."

"Oh, my gosh!" Cozy cheered, "Road trip!" The three smiled as Armalum chuckled.

"Guess you three aren't as useless as I assumed. But if you think you can just walk up to the archives without a fuss, you're sadly mistaken." The three glared at him, "However, if somepony was to cause a major incident. Like...say...breaking into a prison and causing havoc, wouldn't that distract them long enough for you to sneak in?"

"He makes a good point," Chrysalis nodded, "Very well, we'll help you get into the prison. How is just the question?"

"Oh, that's easy!" Cozy exclaimed while raising her hoof, the other three turning to her, "There's only one way into that prison. The Rune Gate."

"Rune Gate?" Armalum asked, the pegasus nodding. "Yes, I have a vague memory of that from Shroudheart. A rune created portal at links two places in space time."

"Exactly," Cozy shined a big grin, "Normally, one Rune Gate can link to any other, but if I remember right, the one in the Crystal Pen is only linked to a single other gate. That one's locked in a completely different part of the Crystal Empire and heavily guarded."

"I see," Armalum chuckled, "No big deal. I think I can figure out how to hijack my way into it. I just need to study one of these gates."

"You'll find them in all the really important places," Cozy added, "All the castles, a few of the allied kingdoms, and places that might host important events."

Armalum nodded, "Interesting. Alright then, we'll aim for the one in Canterlot. I'll sneak you three into this restricted section and then head to the one in the castle."

"Shouldn't be too difficult," Chrysalis giggled, "Canterlot isn't exactly the most secure place in the world." The others nodded and Armalum spread his shadowy wings, using them to enshroud the trio before flying the group out of the base and into the sky.





Sunset had arrived in the City of Canterlot. On most evenings, the city streets would be mostly empty with many of the citizens preparing to sleep. But tonight was a different story, due to the fact that it was the Summer Sun Celebration. Many ponies were a little on edge, due to big events like this being a magnet for trouble. The Summer Sun Celebration was no exception, having been the event that had led to Nightmare Moon's return, Celestia's kidnapping and the Mane Seven coming together in the first place. That was followed by the following year, when both Celestia and Luna had disappeared.

Luckily, the last few celebrations had gone off without any trouble and many ponies were hoping the same would be true for this year. But the more cautious ponies of the guard and other safety groups were still on the lookout for anything that could put Canterlot in danger. As this happened, up in one of the towers, Flash was in one of the rooms making sure Heart and Soul were fast asleep. The pair had been sent to bed early, since they would need to be up in the middle of the night to enjoy the celebration.

Once he was sure they were asleep, he stepped out of the room and headed back to the one he was sharing with Twilight. As he approached, he saw Celestia and Luna at the door. Celestia opened it up at this, "Sorry to interrupt. We know you're busy planning the Summer Sun Celebration as we requested. But..." Flash arrived as Luna showed a look of surprise.

"Oh! Things seem, uh, calmer than we would've expected."

Flash agreed with this. when Twilight was given a task, she would freak out about it being perfect and her room would be covered in graphs and charts. But to the sisters' surprise, there was only one chart on the wall that was rather neat and not covered in extra sticky notes.

"No complaints here," Spike joked from the bed. He was reading a comic, Flash moving over to join him as Twilight smiled at the pair.

"With the exception of the odd trivia night, I've made a lot of progress since the Royal Swanifying Ceremony." Flash laughed at this, remembering how that particular situation had turned out. Getting back from Applewood to hear how badly the girls had messed up, made his trip seem like a cakewalk. "You may not know this about me, but I occasionally freak out." The sisters raised an eyebrow at this, "That was a joke."

"Maybe leave those jokes to the professionals," Flash chuckled as Twilight rolled her eyes.

"I wanted to show you with the Summer Sun Celebration how much I've improved. So I focused on delegating and trusting others. It's been great!"

"That's...actually what we came to talk to you about," Luna chimed in, "This may be the last Summer Sun Celebration you'll need to plan."

That caught everyone's attention, Spike lowering his comic while Twilight frowned, "Did I do something wrong?"

"Of course not," Celestia shook her head, "It's just that the celebration has always been about us. My defeat of Luna..."

"...and, thanks to you and your friends, my reunion with my sister."

They nodded at this, Celestia adding, "Now that we're leaving, we don't see a need for the holiday any longer."

Twilight's eyes went wide at this. "Now that you're..." Luna held something up. It was a special talisman that Celestia and Luna had enchanted to allow any alicorn to raise and lower the sun and moon.

"My sister and I have decided: The time for us to retire is upon us. You and your friends have proven you are ready to lead Equestria. So let this be the last Summer Sun Celebration as Equestria leaves behind the old to embrace the new!" Luna gave the device to Twilight, the princess taking it in her magic and gulping as Flash stepped up next to her.

"You okay?" He asked, Twilight nodding.

"I'm fine. Just...wasn't expecting this." Celestia and Luna turned to leave, Flash moving over to shut the door once they were gone.

"Now how do you feel?" He asked, expecting her to break down as soon as the other alicorns were gone, only to see Twilight take a deep breath.

"I'm still fine," she assured him, "But I am gonna have to make some changes to today's plans. Can you get the others and tell them to meet me in the throne room?" Flash nodded and flew out, quickly gathering Rainbow, Rarity, Trixie, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy and asking them to head to the throne room.

They came in and saw the alicorn staring at the amulet, an unsure expression on her face. "What's up, Twilight?" Trixie asked.

Twilight quickly explained what had happened, the group shocked to hear this. "My goodness!" Rarity gasped, "How are you feeling about all this?"

Pinkie nodded, "Something like this could definitely send you into full freaky-outy mode!"

"I'm actually fine," Twilight admitted, "But if this is gonna be the last Summer Sun Celebration, I want to make sure it's the best Celebration ever!"

Rainbow gulped at this, whispering to herself, "Please-don't-give-us-more-work. Please-don't-give-us-more-work. Please-don't-give-us-more-work..."

"So, even though everything was done, I thought of a few last-minute changes I could use your help with."

Rainbow groaned, "I knew it!" As soon as she said that, another voice echoed throughout the hall.

"Oh, the end of a beloved holiday? Last-minute changes to a celebration?" With a poof, Discord appeared, "That sounds positively chaotic!"

"What are you doin' here?" Applejack growled, only to see Discord shine a toothy grin.

"I've known Celestia and Luna longer than any of you. I terrorized them, they turned me into stone..." His entire body turned rock-like and cracked apart, falling to the ground. "If this is the last Summer Sun Situation, I simply can't miss it." He popped back together and focused on Twilight, a smile on his face. "Well, I see I've arrived just in time for the 'Twilight gives her friends an impossibly long and overly detailed list' predicament."

Twilight smirked as she lifted a bunch of colored cards in front of her. "I guess some draconequus isn't the know-it-all he thinks he is." She floated each card to one of her friends, the group taking them with Discord finding there wasn't one for him.

"This is it?" Rainbow asked, Twilight raising an eyebrow.

"What?"

"We were kinda with Discord on this one," Rainbow added.

"Yeah," Trixie nodded, "Do these fold out or something?" She tried to make the card get bigger and reveal a bunch of extra stuff, but Twilight just giggled at this.

"No more crazy lists," she promised, "No more freaking out. With your help, I know we've got this."

Discord let out an annoyed groan. "Character growth is so boring. Do I at least get my own note card?" Twilight rolled her eyes and quickly squiggle a note to give to him.

"There. Now, I need to go rewrite my speech. But if you all look at your cards, you'll see-"

"Can't talk now," Discord interrupted, "Have so much to get done before sunrise." He snapped his fingers and everypony save Twilight vanished in a flash. The alicorn flinched at this, her chart falling to the ground as she rolled her eyes.





Outside...

Armalum had managed to get himself and his three accomplices into the city without setting off any alarms. They had expected the only ponies out at this time of night would be the knight guards, but were shocked to see the streets were packed with them. As such, he had to wisp them under a bridge full of barrels before letting them out of his shadows.

"Augh!" Cozy groaned, the three coughing as they got some of the shadow out of their mouth. "Warn us the next time you try that!"

"Why are so many ponies up in the middle of the night?" Tirek asked as Cozy sighed.

"It's that silly sun holiday." The others rolled their eyes.

"How many holidays do you ponies have?" Chrysalis grumbled, Cozy shrugging as Armalum stared up at the castle. "No matter. Getting into the castle won't be a problem."

"Are you sure about that?" Tirek asked, pointing to the roof. The others looked up and saw a bunch of super fast spinning fans, which none of them remembered seeing the last time they were in Canterlot. When a small green bird got too close, the wind from those fans caused it to be sent flying right at them, only for Tirek to catch it in his hands.

"Oh...those are new." Chrysalis grumbled before transforming into a purple pegasus guard, a smile on her face as she strutted out and headed for the gate.

"I don't think that'll work," Armalum chimed in, his eyes changing color before scanning the entire castle. "Some kind of magic is covering the place. Actually, I'd say it's some kind of anti-magic. Probably designed to prevent anypony from teleporting in. And I think it might deactivate Chrysalis' transformation when she steps inside."

Tirek and Cozy gulped at this, only to see no alarm go off. Instead, the same pegasus guard strode back to them with a frown on her face. "They've increased security into the castle," she changed back to her normal form. "This is going to be more challenging than I thought."

But as soon as she said that, a flash of light caught their attention. Glancing over to it, they saw Discord and most of the Mane Seven appear. As they did this, Rainbow glared at the spirit of chaos. "Could you not go popping us all over the place, please?!"

"Time is of the essence," the spirit of chaos announced before he morphed into a cheerleading getup. "Let's go, team!"

Fluttershy held up the card Twilight had given her. "We need to know what we're doing before we go and do it." They all nodded and looked at the card, Applejack speaking up.

"Pinkie, you and I are givin' Braeburn and the Appleloosan ponies some adjustments to the menu." Pinkie nodded, Rainbow reading hers with a smirk.

"Fluttershy and I are meeting the Pegasi from Cloudsdale to give them changes to the weather."

Flash checked his card, "Trixie and I need to get the guards to change up some of the restricted areas. Twilight wants to increase the number of ponies allowed to attend." Trixie nodded, though not sure how she could help with that.

"Spike," Rarity turned to the dragon, "We're going to update the Flaming Sky Firework Unicorn Troupe with Twilight's new vision." Spike nodded as Discord pulled his out, along with a pair of reading spectacles.

"And I'm supposed to...make sure Discord doesn't do anything 'Discord-y'?!" He slumped at this, "Well, that's annoyingly specific!" The four villains watched as they all headed off in different directions, luckily not seeing them.

Tirek sighed and shook his head, "Increased security on a crowded holiday with Twilight and her friends bumbling around? This is impossible."

"Oh, no. This is perfect. We need a distraction, and those ridiculous ponies just gave it to us." Chrysalis chimed in, "Now, do exactly as I tell you." She started whispering into their ears, the plan she had making them all smile.

They all split up and headed off in different directions, all chuckling as they thought about how much mayhem they were going to cause. They only wanted to get information, but if they had to ruin a party to get that, they were more than happy to do so. Armalum morphed into his smoke form, using it to move through the darkness of the night and perfectly blend in with the shadows. He followed Flash, wishing he could destroy him there and then, but he knew now was not the time. He had greater goals in mind and when the time came, he would leave Flash with nothing before finishing him off.

Flash arrived at the guard station, the royal guards all looking over a map of the city make sure the areas they needed to keep watch over wouldn't get overcrowded. "Alright boys!" The pony called out, only to hear coughs from some of the female guards. "And lovely ladies." They all blushed at this, "Princess Twilight has some new orders for you."

The head of the guards stepped forward. When Shining left to rule the Crystal Empire, his title as captain of the guard had been passed to a large Earth Pony named Steel Girder. "We await her command. What is it the princess needs us to do?"

"She wants to increase the number of ponies allowed to attend the festivities," Trixie replied, "She doesn't want a single pony in Canterlot to have to miss this event. Trust me, it'll be a special one."

Girder frowned. "Apologies, I don't want to argue with you, but that's just not possible," he pointed at the map and showed that that it had the stage area and the surrounding streets and houses. A bunch of red lines had been drawn through these streets, to show how far the crowd was allowed to go. "The pony sense can only reach so far. To increase the number of ponies allowed in would require us to do one of two things. We either extend the crowd's range and by doing that, we make it so anypony at the back of the crowd will be unable to hear and see what's happening."

"Okay," Flash nodded, "And the other?"

"Allow more ponies to be beyond this line," he pointed at the red lines, "But more ponies in this area means less room to move around. Too many and they'll be crushed. And if something happens that requires us to evacuate..."

"Mass stampede that'll end with somepony getting trampled," Trixie nodded, "Definitely don't want that."

"What to do?" Flash hummed at this.

Trixie stared at the map and realized all the houses around the area were flat topped and large enough to fit many ponies. "What if we let the ponies watch from the roofs?"

Girder grimaced at this, "Similar problem. If we need to evacuate, they'd be trapped and rushing to get away. Bottleneck situation."

Flash put a hoof to his chin, only for a bulb to go off, "I got it." He turned to Trixie and whispered in her ear, the mare gasping.

"That's brilliant! And we know just the pony to do it."

Flash nodded and turned back to Girder, "I want you to check the roofs and find out which ones have the best view of the stage and how many ponies they can hold without causing a problem. We'll solve the evacuation problem."

The pair shot off at this, the ponies wondering what they were up to while Armalum was also curious. He quickly gave chase and followed the pair through the city until they reached a particular house. Flash knocked and waited, Armalum seeing them were a little antsy. Eventually, the door opened and Solid Script appeared, "Flash? Trixie? What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Sorry if we woke you up."

"Hardly. I was still awake looking through some ancient scrolls. Do you need something?"

Trixie spoke up at this, "How fast can you make a bunch of two-way mass teleport Rune Gates?"

Script blinked at this, "Pretty fast. Why?"

"Twilight wants more ponies to attend the Summer Sun Celebration. The only place to put 'em is the roofs of buildings, but the guards said I couldn't do that in case of an emergency. But if we had Rune Gates on the buildings..."

"The guests could easily evacuate to a different part of the city. Smart." Script finished, "I should be able to make a few before the festivities."

"Perfect!" Trixie cheered.

Flash nodded at this, "When they're done, take them to Steel Girder of the Royal Guard. He should be able to set them up." Script nodded and the pair returned to the castle, the unicorn heading back into his house and making his way to his work station. He grabbed a large sheet of paper and hung it up against a blank wall, Script picking up his brush and magic paint. And as he did this, he didn't notice the cloud of smoke moving into the room, Armalum sending a small fragment of his magical essence over to Script.

The smoke moved up Script's leg and around his body until it reached his head. And as soon as it got to his mouth and nose, he breathed it in, feeling a bit of dizzy for a moment. Shaking his head, he then slowed down with his brush before the shadow landed beside him.

"Now," the living armor whispered, "Tell me all of your secrets." And so, he began to learn how the Rune Gates worked and figured out the best way to disrupt them. A part of him wanted to have Script simply turn them into bombs that blow up anypony that stepped through them, but knew that couldn't be seen as a simple accident. This couldn't look like an all-out attack. He had to be smarter than that.





Flash and Trixie had instructed Girder about the Rune Gates, telling him that Script would be there and for him to station a unicorn guard at every Rune Gate. The plan was to set one of the two way gates in another part of the city and the other on the rooftops so that ponies arriving on the roofs wouldn't have to warp into a busy section of the city. The Guard Captain nodded and started making the arrangements, having found four buildings that overlooked the event and could hold a large number of ponies without issue.

With that done, the two headed back to the castle. As they walked, Flash turned to Trixie. "So, how you taking the whole Luna's gonna retire stuff?"

"It was a bit of a shock, at first. I thought I still had so much to learn. But Luna thinks I'm ready to step out on my own and forge my own path. I just have no idea what that path is yet."

"We'll if you ever need a place to find your next purpose in life, Ponyville's always a great place to soul search." Trixie nodded, looking like she was actually considering this. The pair then arrived at the throne room, finding the others were there after completing their tasks.

They all reported back to Twilight and Flash explained the plan to her, the princess smiling at the idea and thanking Flash for getting done. "It's all coming together," she excitedly cheered, "I really think this is gonna be the best Summer Sun Celebration ever!"

"You've done an outstanding job," Rarity added.

Twilight smiled as she reached around and pulled them all into a hug. "We've all done an outstanding job!" They all smiled, as Discord slithered up behind them.

"And what about me?" Taking out a pair of binoculars. "You'll be happy to know that I have been watching myself all night..." He looked through his binoculars and as he did, the ends of them somehow appeared behind him. "...and I have yet to do one Discord-y thing."

"Now, that truly is amazing," Luna laughed as she and Celestia stepped into the room.

Celestia shined a grin as she then focused on her former pupil. "Twilight, we know you had, uh, difficulties using the amulet to raise the sun and moon. We thought perhaps a practice session before the festivities might be in order."

Twilight blushed at this before nodding. "That's...a good idea." The princesses began to leave as Twilight turned back to her friends. "Thank you all so much." She followed the royal sisters, her friends all smiling as they watched her leave.

"I sure am proud o' her," Applejack stated once she was out of the room.

"Yeah!" Spike nodded as they all headed out. "She finally realizes things will turn out fine, even when she isn't micromanaging every little detail." They all nodded, but before they could celebrate, someone rushed into the room looking like they were about to collapse.

"Braeburn?" Applejack gasped at the sight of her weakened cousin, "W-what's wrong?"

Braeburn barely had the strength to stand, the earth pony looking like walking to the throne room had sapped all the energy he had. "Earth ponies...sick. Food missin'. Can't...bake...anythin'..." He fell to the ground, the ponies about to rush to his side, only for a guard to fly in.

"Something is wrong with the weather!" He cried, "Storms, hurricanes, fog, you name it! It's a disaster out there!" They gulped, only to then see a unicorn known as Fire Flare and her troupe of unicorn performers walking in.

"Rarity!" She exclaimed, "Please inform her highness that we will not be performing! A simple fireworks show is beneath us! We're better than that!" The troupe turned to leave, the eight organizers all staring in shock at what had just happened.

"What the-" Applejack scratched her head as Fluttershy moved to the window. "Everything was fine a minute ago!"

"Apparently, a lot can change in a minute." They all followed Fluttershy to the window and looked down at the gardens, where a bunch of earth ponies were laying around unwell. At the same time, rain began to pour upon them as the pegasi lost control of the weather clouds.

"It's total chaos out there!" Rainbow screamed, that particular word causing them to all turn toward one of them.

Discord blinked and looked offended. "Don't look at me."

"Really?!" Trixie growled, only for Discord to shine a halo over his head.

"I'm innocent, honest!"

"What are we gonna do?" Fluttershy asked, only for a voice to speak up behind them.

"Do about what?" They spun around and saw Twilight. Grimacing at this, Discord making Braeburn and the guard invisible while Spike let out a nervous laugh before speaking up.

"What are you doing here?"

"I forgot these," Twilight showed them her speech cards. "You all okay?"

Applejack, honest as she was, stepped forward. "Twilight, w-we're sorry, but-" Rainbow jumped in before she could finish that sentence.

"But uh, we don't know what to do now that everything's all ready!" She forced a laugh, the others smiling.

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "Heart and Soul won't be up for a while. And you know me. Don't like to be idle."

They all nodded as Twilight smiled at them, "I guess I was too organized." She looked gleeful at that statement, "I'll try to come up with a few last-minute errands for you before sunrise."

"Well," Rainbow replied stiltedly, "that's a relief!" Twilight headed out of the room at this, Applejack turning to the others.

"Explain to me why we didn't tell her the truth?!"

"Oh, you know why darling!" Rarity instantly replied, "Twilight is finally learning not to let her stress get the better of her. If she finds out everything went wrong, it could be devastating!"

"Oh dear," Fluttershy added, "She would be so upset."

"She'll totally freak out!" Rainbow continued.

"I don't like keeping this stuff from her either," Flash finished, "But I feel like this could be a turning point. If this event goes off without a hitch, I'm sure it'll cement her new ability to delegate tasks instead of doing everything herself. Although, without a hitch might be a little...impossible, at this point."

"Well, what do y'all suggest?" Applejack growled with crossed hooves.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Pinkie waved her hoof, "Let's just fix it all before she notices. No lying necessary."

Applejack glared at them all, only for Flash to step in front of her, "We'll tell her what happened after the celebrations ends. If she sees other ponies are able to handle unexpected obstacles, she'll see she can still trust us with helping."

"I guess," Applejack nodded as Trixie turned to the window.

"So...how exactly do we fix all this?"

"We'd need a miracle," Spike stated as a bolt of lightning blasted a pegasi.

"We have a miracle!" Rainbow announced, only to turn to the others. "Don't we?" In that moment, a poof of smoke filled the roo as Discord rose from it dressed like an angel.

"I suppose I could fix everything," he pointed out, "But isn't the real miracle here the miracle of teamwork and character growth?" He strummed his harp before vanishing in a poof of smoke, the others sighing.

"OH, COME ON!" Rainbow yelled as Flash called out for him to get back there.

"Discord is right," Fluttershy pointed out, "Twilight needs us. Whatever happened, we can fix this." But a blast of thunder and lightning made them look outside, seeing the absolute mayhem that was going on.

"What did happen?" Spike asked.

And as the dragon asked this, Cozy flew over the city, giggling at the sight. "Best...road trip...ever!" They waited for the heroes to rush out and try to get things fixed, Flash and Rainbow running off to get the Wonderbolts, Applejack and Pinkie trying to salvage the food situation while Rarity, Trixie and Spike ran off to try and convince the performers not to leave yet. And as Fluttershy went to comfort the now panicking head weather pony, Armalum, Cozy, Tirek and Chrysalis all headed for the front door.

With all the chaos that was going on, they found that there was now only one pony left guarding the gate. "What's the plan?" Cozy asked, "He'll blab if we knock him out."

"We'll drain him of magic and love," Chrysalis replied, "That kind of trauma on the body is bound to make him forget the few seconds he'll see us."

"You sure that's smart?" Tirek asked, "What if he does remember us? The ponies will know Cozy and I are free."

"Relax," Armalum chuckled, "I can handle that. My magic can erase a day's worth of memories without issue." The others three smiled as Cozy went first, ready to distract the guard. He saw the little filly, seeing her look worried and lost, then smiled at him as he walked over. But as he did this, a presence behind him made him spin around, only for Tirek and Chrysalis to instantly drain him. As he fell, Armalum hit him with his magic, making the pony's mind go blank as Chrysalis took a star badge off his armor and used it to unlock the door.

As they headed inside, Armalum's whole body burst into shadows. "This is where we part. You three find what you're looking for and I'll get what I'm after." They nodded and Armalum flew off while the three villains headed to find the Royal Archives.





Flash and the Wonderbolts were hard at work trying to gain control of the weather. But as they struggled to control the destructive storm clouds, Flash noticed a bright light suddenly flash from a nearby rooftop. "At least the Rune Gate's up and running." But in that moment, a scream filled the air and he looked down to see a unicorn guard that had walked out of the gate...was now red with pink and yellow polka dots, terrifying him as he tried to rub it off.

Flash flew down at this, only to see more Rune Gates activate and guards step out to find themselves a myriad of different colors and spots. "Oh geez," he gulped before asking them where the Rune Gate entrances were. The guards explained and he rushed off, soon finding the gate still active as more guards prepared to go through.

Script was also there, yawning as he stepped up to the gate.

"Don't go through that!" He yelled, surprising them all as he flew down. "Script, what the heck happened?" The pony looked confused as Flash noticed his tired looking eyes. "All the Rune Gates just turned the ponies that went through it different colors. They got polka dots too!"

The guards all gasped and stepped away from the gates, Script blinking at him as his brain caught up, "What?" He used his magic to deactivate the gates and started looking over the matrix he had designed. "No! How could I make such a blunder!?" He yet out another yawn, Flash having a feeling he knew the answer. "I think I can fix it." He yawned again, Flash frowning.

"In your state, you're clearly not up to fixing these. You should get some sleep."

Script shook his head, "I don't understand. I took a nap earlier this afternoon. Why," he yawned, "Am I so tired?"

"Doesn't matter. Let's get you some rest." Flash replied as he helped Script stay standing, letting out a long sigh, "What other bad thing could happen right now?"





Armalum smiled as he arrived at his destination, seeing no guards in sight. "Upping security and they fail to address the easiest way into the castle." He chuckled as his eyes changed color, allowing him to see magic on the door. "Hmm...maybe not."

His horn glowed before unleashing a burst of magic, allowing him to get a better understanding of the enchantment on the door. The entire room had been magically charmed to let out an alert if anypony was inside of it. But while the spell was quite well made, it was also an easy thing to deactivate.

"And...done," he laughed as the spell was shut down. "There. Just need to remember to turn it back on when I leave." He threw the doors open walked in, now seeing the fabled Rune Gate. His eyes glowed to study the magic that made it up. "I see. Not bad. Alright..."

His horn glowed as he worked to infiltrate the Rune Gate's magical system. While the Rune Gate inside the penitentiary wasn't connected to this one, they were all connected to the same magical system. "Easy." He cackled as he made a connection through this system.

And after only a few minutes of work, he had what he needed. Charging the portal with his magic, the circle activated and unleashed a bright light, Armalum making sure to close the door behind him, keeping the light from signaling anypony. And once it was fully charged, he stepped on through.





At the Crystal Pen, the guards working there were expecting a quiet night of patrol. Ever since Shade's attack on the pen, everything had rather peaceful. The prisoners were all in their cells, locked up and not trying to cause any problems. It seemed like it would be another easy night.

But as this happened, everypony in the pen was awakened by an alarm going off. An alarm that signaled the Rune Gate's activation. The guards quickly rushed to the room with the gate, and when they opened the door, they glanced inside and saw nothing. The room was completely empty, making the ponies frown as they stepped inside.

There was no trace that anypony had been in there, the Rune Gate's light slowly fading. But they knew the activation couldn't have been an accident, only for one to look up and see something in a dark corner of the room.

"What's that?" He asked, the others looking up, only to see a dark cloud suddenly explode out and attack them.





Swift Wing had been asleep when the alarm sounded, causing him to wake up. He licked his lips before letting out a yawn, soon drifting over to the door, only to hear screams fill the air. This made him wake up, a smile about to form on his face since the last time something like this had happened, he had almost been able to escape.

That is, till dark mist suddenly started making its way through the gaps of his cell, Swift backpedaling and covering his mouth with his wings. Something about this smoke seemed familiar. The fog filled the room and took pony-shape, Swift raising an eyebrow as somepony stepped out of the smoke. "Storm Blade," the figure chuckled, "It's good to see you again."

Swift squinted his eyes at this, "Do I know you? I'm afraid my memory isn't what it used to be."

"Is that so?" Armalum asked, "Then let me help with that." His horn unleashed a burst of purple energy that slammed into Swift, making him cry out as it lifted him into the air. His entire body was on fire as his brain felt like someone was driving a sword right through it. "Don't fight it. If the memories of who you are are still in there, this should release them."

Swift kept screaming, feeling greater agony than he could possibly remember. His headset fell off of him, his damaged eyes slammed shut to prevent more pain. And as he was moments away from blacking out, it happened.

It was like he was living an entire other life in fast forward, thousands of memories from his past now flooding back. And when they did, Swift realized who he was and what had been done to him. "There, that should do it." Armalum cut the power to his spell and Swift fell to the floor, slamming and groaning at the impact. "Now, how to you feel?"

Swift was motionless for a moment, then began to move. He let out a moan as he opened his eyes, flinching at the light and grabbing his headset to put back on his head. And as he did, the feelings Armalum asked for flew through him. "I feel hatred. Hatred at all those that wronged me. At Faust, for stealing my memories. And at Sentry, for defeating master Shadow."

"That's what I wanted to hear," Armalum chuckled, "Don't worry. I'll make him pay for what he did."

"Good," Swift cricked his back as he fully stood up, "Let's get out of here and find the rest of our team. If you could restore my memories, you can restore theirs'."

"You know where they are?"

"We were all sent to the same place. They seemed pretty adamant about staying, so they should all still be there." He told Armalum the exact coordinate of their team and the living armor nodded, "Let's go. I need to get my Celestic Gear back and make the ones who put me here pay."

"Oh, there seems to be some misunderstanding." Swift tilted his head, "I didn't come to break you out."

"What? But what about avenging master Shadow?"

"That is my goal, but you are not part of it." Armalum chuckled, "You see, I need more power. And your hatred of Flash Sentry will give me that." His shadow wings exploded out of his back. "You and everypony else who hates Flash Sentry. They'll all become fuel for my fire. And with it, I will avenge my master."

Swift Wing stepped back until he reached the wall, "Wait...wait, hang on. WAIT!" But Armalum lunged and Swift Wing's screams soon filled the prison. And those would only be the first screams of the night.





Back in Canterlot...

Twilight had woken Heart and Soul up and taken them outside along with the Royal Sisters. She smiled at the sisters as they made their way to the stage. "You two just enjoy the festivities. I have a few surprises in store for-" She stopped when she saw the spirit of chaos float up next to them. "Yes, Discord?"

"Oh, well, don't mind me." He flew over to a picnic table and poofed up a bag of popcorn. "I'm just here for the chaos." A flash of lightning made the ponies look up as he laughed. "And here we go!"

Somepony zoomed past at high speed, Twilight instantly recognizing them. "What is Rainbow Dash doing?" She flew after her, but stopped when she found Pinkie pushing a large pot of soup toward the food area. "Pinkie?" The mare gasped as she tried to hide the yak-sized pot behind her back, "Is this soup?"

"Yes!" Pinkie looked terrified, "I...was really hungry?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, only to then hear Rarity's voice and looked to see her and Spike on the stage talking to a bunch of ponies.

"Nopony understands wanting to take pride in your work more than I do!"

One of the unicorns pointed at her, "You could do more with your magic than make frilly dresses!"

"Oh, pffft!" Rarity looked insulted, "Nopony makes frills anymore. This season's actually all about simplicity-"

"Not the point, Rarity!" Spike pointed out as Trixie walked over.

"Trust me, I know how you feel. I used to be a performer who used her magic to make the audience adore me. But trust me, acting like you're better than anypony else doesn't make you feel great. It makes you feel hollow."

"Easy for you to say that," one of them stated, "You're the student of a princess! The world's your oyster because you've already impressed somepony into giving you a position of power."

Trixie frowned as this as Twilight stared at the sight, "Princess!" She spun around and found the head weather pony fly up to her, "I beg your forgiveness!" He fell to his knees, groveling. "It's entirely my fault!"

"What is?" She asked, only for a crash of thunder and lightning to explode overhead.

"THAT!" He cried before he started bawling his eyes out, Fluttershy flying over.

"Oh, um, just a slight hiccup in the weather." She let out a nervous chuckle, Twilight squinting her eyes at him before hearing Flash's voice.

"Come on!" She turned to see the defender was next to Script, making him chug an entire pot full of coffee as the unicorn appeared to be working on something. "We don't have much time. You gotta fix the Rune Gate before-" He stopped as he saw Twilight fly down, "Oh."

Twilight glared at him before turning to the one pony she knew would answer her honestly. "Applejack, what is going on?" The pony was pulling a cart of food and when she saw Twilight and all the insanity happening around them, she let out a loud groan.

"I told y'all this was a bad idea! But nopony ever listens to me!"

"That's it!" Twilight flew up and circled the area, using her magic to grab her friends and lift them all into the air. Once she had them all, she flew back down and dropped them, "I thought everything was fine! What is going on?!"

Her friends all looked a little sheepish. "Everythin' was goin' fine," Applejack started.

"Until it totally wasn't," Pinkie sighed.

Fluttershy nodded, "We tried to fix it ourselves."

"But..." Flash scratched his head, "You can see how that all went.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Twilight yelled.

"We didn't want you to freak out," Rainbow tapped her hooves together.

"And you thought not telling me everything was a total disaster would avoid a freak-out?!" Her voice was getting more and more unhinged.

Spike gave her a nervous smile, "When you say it like that, it does sound like a really bad plan."

They all watched as Twilight took a deep breath, all expecting her to go absolutely insane...only to say, "I know how I used to react, but I really have changed." She smiled at them at this, "Panicking won't solve anything." She walked up with a determined look on her face. "But we can handle whatever problems come our way as long as we handle them together!"

"Spoken like a true leader," Celestia giggled as she appeared beside them, "How can we help?"

Twilight shined a big grin, "I love a good to-do list." She took out a scroll and quill, "So tell me exactly what happened so we can figure out exactly what to do to fix it."

They quickly explained everything and Twilight nodded, soon realizing they had their work cut out for them. She asked Celestia and Fluttershy to handle caring for the ailing ponies while Luna, Rainbow and Flash helped the others fix the weather. Twilight went over to Script and helped him fix the Rune Gates while also curing the guards that had been colored by the gates and restoring them to normal.

Heart and Soul helped as well, Soul using her magic to give the earth ponies new strength. It wasn't enough to cure them, but it stopped them from feeling worst while Heart used his fire to burn away the storm clouds while Discord helped in his own unique sort of way. And once Twilight had the Rune Gate fixed, she spoke to the performers and convinced them that using their magic for a performance like this was the best thing any unicorn could possibly do.

Soon enough, the last of the bad weather was taken care of and everything was set up so the celebration could finally begin. Ponies began to file in and watch, many using the Rune Gates to travel to the rooftops and watch. The unicorns unleashed a bunch of magical fireworks with the help of Trixie and Pinkie, and even created a shape in the air that mimicked an image on the moon that showed a pony on it.

The Royal Sisters saw this and both smiled, Celestia even tearing up before they flew up to the stage. As they did this, the trumpets began to play and Twilight step forward. Using the amulet, Twilight was able to get the sun and moon to lower perfectly and everypony watched in amazement as the light of the sun flowed over them. They cheered as Twilight began her speech.

"This Celebration has always been a reminder to not fear the night, for there is always a new day to look forward to. But as we look towards Equestria's future, I am sad to say today will be the last Summer Sun Celebration." The ponies gasped at this, "Because there is something even more important to celebrate."

Celestia and Luna appeared shocked this time as Twilight turned to smile at them both.

"There are two ponies who have watched over us night and day for as long as we can remember. We will no longer commemorate their battle or their reunion. Instead, we will take this day to celebrate how much they mean to all of us. From this day forward, today will be known as the Festival of the Two Sisters!"

The crowd exploded into cheers as Celestia put a hoof to her face, "We don't know what to say." She looked ready to start crying as she pulled Twilight into a hug. And once they pulled apart, Twilight headed off stage as Pinkie bounced up and let out a cheer.

"A brand new holiday?! You're my kind of princess!"

Twilight nodded. "I'm just glad we pulled it off."

The others nodded, all sharing a look before Applejack took off her hat, "About that...we just wanted to say we're real sorry."

Rarity nodded again, "You did tell us you'd changed."

Fluttershy sighed, "As your friends, we should've trusted you."

"Yeah," Flash added, "You really have grown into a pony who can handle these kinds of situations." Twilight smiled as Rainbow flew up and elbowed her in the side.

"Next time you say you're not gonna freak out, we'll believe you."

"Good," Twilight jumped off the stage. "Because I'm sure there's gonna be plenty of things I'll need my best friends' help with." All but Pinkie hugged her, the party pony leaping off the stage and tackling them. This knocked the ponies rolling until they came to a stop, all laughing and ready to enjoy the rest of the Summer Sun Celebration.

But before any of them could think about having fun, a scroll suddenly appeared in front of them in a flash of magic. "What's this?" Twilight took the scroll and unraveled it, only to gasp a second later. She then showed them a giant frown, "Somepony's broken into the Crystal Pen! Cadance needs us to get over there right now!"





The trip to the Crystal Empire was a stressful one since Cadance's letter didn't give any specifics about what happened. When they arrived, they learned Cadance and Shining were at the prison and rushed over to the Rune Gate, soon seeing the guards protecting the gate were very on edge, needing to take DNA samples to test and make sure they were who they said they were.

When they finally arrived, the group found Cadance, Shining and Ruby showing looks of despair, "Cadance," Twilight gulped, "What happened? Who escaped?"

"Nopony," Cadance whispered, "The prisoners are all present and accounted for." This made everyone lean back, only for the princess to add, "We weren't even made aware of the break-in until early his morning, when the shift changed happened."

"So what did happen?" Flash asked, Shining gesturing for them to follow.

He led them to the prison's medical bay, only to show a room with a bunch of guards laid out. "They were all found this morning. Unconscious, badly beaten up, and with no memory of anything that happened last night."

"So nopony knows who did this?" Rainbow asked, Shining nodding before gesturing them to another room.

"This is what really worries us," Shining opened another door, only for everyone to gasp at the next sight.

There was Big Score and his cronies, Electra, Banshee, Shocker, Doom Raizer and his two remaining minions all laid out on beds. Every serious villain Flash and his friends had faced and defeated that wasn't a world ending threat. They were all there, including a few two-bit crooks Flash had taken down without any issue. Each were unconscious and had breathing masks on their faces.

Flash flapped his wings as he glided over them, seeing they all looked thinner, as if they hadn't eaten anything in weeks. Their coats and manes were duller, and they appeared to have aged several years, the wrinkles on those too young for them. It was as if all the life had been sucked out. Flash then saw Swift Wing on the end bed, looking just as bad as the others did. While they were criminals that had caused him no end of grief, seeing them all like this was a little worrying. "What...what happened to them?"

"We don't know," Cadance sighed, "None of the guards are like this. When the new shift came in and found the guards, they rushed to make sure all the prisoners were secure. And when they did, they found them all in this state."

"This is horrible," Rarity muttered as Twilight opened Electra's eye to look into them. "And you have no idea what could have caused this?"

Shining shook his head. "No. All we know is that they've been drained of magical energy and their life signs are dangerously low. They won't wake up no matter what we do. And when we asked the other prisoners what happened, none of them knew. They heard stuff, but whatever did this didn't do it to them."

"I don't like this." Flash commented as he landed beside his friends, "Just...what happened here?"





Meanwhile, at the Legion of Doom...

Grogar had finally returned, only to find his subordinates in the main lounge. Cozy shot up at this and shined a cheeky grin, "Sooooo, did you find what you're looking for?"

Grogar growled at her before walking past her, "Once again, I've found success where you all find failure. I have located what I sought, and tomorrow I will set out to retrieve it. When I return, Equestria will finally be ours for the taking."

With that, he left the room and passed a sulking Tirek.

"Oh," Chrysalis told him, "Stop pouting."

"You knew you couldn't stay that buff," Cozy flew into his lap. "You had to return all the life force to those Earth ponies so Grogar doesn't suspect anything."

"I don't have to like it," Tirek pushed her off his lap as the pegasus flopped to the ground.

"Well," she sat up, "I don't like that we worked so hard to destroy their party and they still pulled it off! But you don't see me complaining!"

"Our goal wasn't to destroy," Chrysalis reminded them, "It was to distract." She took out a book, something they had found inside the royal archives. "And now we have exactly what we need."

"And no time to waste," Tirek added, "We have to master the Bell before Grogar returns."

"What about Armalum?" Cozy asked, "How do you think his mission went?"

The other two hummed at this, only for a cough to ring out, making them look up to see the armored figure sitting in one of the windows. "It went quite well," he responded, "I see you managed to get what you were after, so we're all one step closer to our goals."

"So what are you planning on doing next?"

"I have some ponies I need to find," Armalum replied. "But I'll need to sneak into Twilight's castle before I can." The three frowned at this, only for him to add, "Don't worry. I can do this on my own. You three focus on mastering that bell. I'll be back once I have what I need. And when I do, we'll be ready to lay waste to this land."

With that, he exploded into smoke and vanished. The other three nodded as Chrysalis looked back the book. "We've managed to stay one step ahead of everypony so far. Once Grogar's out of the picture, we'll be unstoppable."

"You know," Cozy giggled, "It really was super easy to get all those earth ponies and pegasi and unicorns to turn on each other."

"It was, wasn't it?" Chrysalis cackled, "Now that is something to think about..." They all began laughing at this, anxious to get their revenge and rip apart the world those fools thought they could protect. Soon, everything would be theirs for the taking.
> Let's Do the Time Warp Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponyville, a simple little town located on the edge of the Everfree Forest. Though it could barely be called a town right now, as was just a collection of stores with apartments built on top of them. The same could be said for Sweet Apple Acres, a small apple farm on the edge of the town, with another farm focusing on pears beginning to set up shop, which was the cause of the small town's creation.

Many buildings were still under construction, but would soon be set to become mainstays of the town upon completion. This included a bath house for ponies to clean the dirt and grime of the day away, which would one day evolve into a spa after bathrooms became a thing for all homes, along with a large building that would one day become the town hall and a newly planted oak tree that would eventually grow to be remodeled into the town's library. And one building that had recently been completed was about to open for business: The town's post office.

In the town's post office, an earth pony stallion was manning the front desk. He and his small crew of pegasus postal ponies were ready to deliver any letter that might come their way, though they didn't expect any incoming and outgoing to go far, especially given the small population they currently had in town.

But as the earth pony sat behind the desk, noticing some stationary was missing from a stack, the chiming of a bell made him look up and see somepony step into the building. Whoever they were was dressed in a brown trenchcoat with a hat on his head. He seemed to be doing his best to keep from having his face seen, the post pony raising an eyebrow as he stepped up to the counter. "Hello. I'd like to send a letter, please." He removed a large brown envelope from his coat and placed it on the counter. "But there are very specific instructions about where...and especially when."

"Of course, sir." The post pony picked up the envelope and smiled. "You know what they say: Not rain nor sleet or dark of night." There was probably more to that speech, but he cleared his throat before adding, "We'll take care of your delivery."

But when he looked down and saw the location it needed to be sent, he saw it was a castle in Ponyville. Except that there was no castle in Ponyville, nor any plans to build one. And then he saw the date it had to be delivered on and realized that by the time that day came, he would either be retired...or dead.

"Hey!" He yelped, "What's the big idea?! Is this some kind of joke you're-" He looked up and saw that the pony was gone, making him sigh, "Well...I guess it's our responsibility now." He stepped into the back, "The others are gonna get a kick out of this." He went to the special delivery section and placed the envelope into the box, leaving it to sit until the allotted time.

And so the years passed, with the letter remaining where it was, gathering dust. And with ever new post pony that joined the force, the story of the mysterious letter was passed down. Slowly, the letter turned from an odd thing to a letter of legend that the postal workers were excited to learn about. And as it got closer to the date, Ponyville began to become the focal point of many weird events that threatened to destroy the town. It was a miracle the post office was never destroyed, though times like Tirek's attack and the bugbear problem almost caused it.

But eventually, the day arrived for the letter to be delivered. And out of all the ponies that had safeguarded it over the decades, the one who finally got to take it out of the box was none other than the clumsiest post pony to wear the uniform. "Finally!" Derpy exclaimed, "It's D-day!" She blew the dust out of the box, coughing as she did so, then removed the letter and turned to the rest of the ponies that worked there. "Now, who wants to make a delivery?" The ponies all raised their hooves, desperate to be the ones to finally send the letter and uncover its meaning.





Spike sighed as he flew through the castle, the drake having nothing to do for the weekend. Twilight was busy working on something magical, which meant he was free to do whatever he wanted. And he intended to spend his day reading a bunch of comics and snacking on gems, only to hear a knock at the door.

"Special delivery!" Derpy announced as he opened the door, the mare holding out the envelope in her hooves, "Very special delivery!" Spike looked behind her and saw every postal pony in town was standing there, looking just as excited as Derpy.

"Obviously..." Spike whispered as he took the envelope while staring at the large group of ponies. "Slow day at the office?"

Derpy smiled as Spike now stared at the envelope, seeing it was addressed to Twilight. "That envelope has been sitting in the back for almost as long as the post office has been open. Generations of post ponies have watched over it. To make sure it was delivered on this exact day. It's become sort of a legend."

"Uh-huh," Spike was barely listening now.

"I know it's not really our place," Derpy scratched the back of her head. "But...could we see what's inside it? It has to be important and we've all wondered what was inside since our first days on the job." The other post ponies nodded in agreement, but Spike didn't hear her question.

"Thanks." He shut the door with his foot and the post ponies all groaned, each one walking away with frowns.

As this happened, Spike flew through the castle and eventually arrived at the library, heading inside and finding the alicorn there alongside two other ponies. Starlight and Trixie were both looking over a book with Twilight, who was writing something in a book.

"Twilight!" He called out, "You got a letter!"

"I'll read it later!"

"You sure?" He asked, "It's marked urgent."

"Please," Trixie waved her hoof at him, "That's what they put on all junk mail." Spike sighed and decided to leave it on a nearby table, flying out of the room as the three ponies continued their work.





Meanwhile...

At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack was doing some cleaning in the house as everypony except Apple Bloom was out. The earth pony was sweeping in the living room when she accidently knocked one of the bookshelves, causing a photo album to fall out of the shelves. "Oops." She quickly picked it up and when she saw what page she was looking at, a frown now appearing on her lips.

The picture was one of her family many years ago, around the time Apple Bloom was first born. In it, Pear Butter and Bright Mac were surrounded by Granny Smith, Applejack and Big Mac while Apple Bloom was in her mother's hooves. The family looked so happy with one another, completely unaware that two of them wouldn't be around much longer. Applejack stared at her parents and felt like she might start crying. Even after learning so much more about their parents when meeting their grandfather, the memory of what happened was still hard.

"Applejack?" The mare jumped at hearing Rogue's voice, quickly wiping away the few tears that were starting to form before turning to him. "You okay?"

She quickly closed the photo album. "Ah'm fine," Applejack muttered out, "Just...got some dust in ma'h eye." She put the book away and got back to sweeping, Rogue blinking at her.

Applejack kept sweeping while trying to keep the thoughts of her parents out of her head, only for Apple Bloom to come downstairs, having finished her homework. "Ah'm heading out."

"Where yah goin?"

"Scootaloo's decorating her new room today. Sweetie and I said we'd help." Apple Bloom ran off without saying anything else as Applejack nodded. Misty Vail and Trial Blazer had finally gotten their housing situation sorted out, meaning they were able to have Scootaloo stay over in preparation for when Flash had to leave for Canterlot. It was a pretty exciting time for everypony.

Applejack continued cleaning with Rogue helping get some of the high up spots she would have a hard time reaching. But as she did this, somepony flew down and knocked on the door, "Hey, anypony in here?" They spun around to see Flash at the front door.

"Howdy Flash!" Applejack smiled, "What's up?"

"You two got time to see something?" He asked, leaning against the top of the dutch door. "Twilight's working on something and told me to get as many of our friends as possible. She's really excited about whatever the heck it is."

"You don't know?" Rogue asked, Flash shaking his head.

"Trixie showed up last week and had a meeting with her and ever since, them and Starlight have been working on it. But whatever it is, they think it's something that'll change Equestria forever."

"Seriously?" Applejack asked, "Now that ah gotta see." She turned to Rogue, "You comin?" Rogue nodded, the two doing the last bits of clean up needed before heading out.





A little while later...

In the Everfree Forest, a dark shadow flew through the trees, making anything that got close to panic and run away as it reached the edge of the woods before reforming into the living armor, Armalum. The dark monster stepped through the trees, only to see the castle and school in the distance.

"At last...the castle." Armalum commented, "But there's bound to be security that'll get in my way. I'll need a distraction. Perhaps I can do something similar to the Summer Sun Celebration?"

As he said this, he saw Flash, Heart, Soul, Grand, Rogue and the rest of the Mane Six make their way to the castle. He turned into his shadow form, stretching it out so that he could slither through the grass without being seen like an extra-long snake.

"So what's Twilight wanting us to see?" Rainbow asked.

"Not sure," Flash replied, "All I know is that she's really excited about it. She said that if it works, it could change how things are done in Equestria forever."

"Oh, this is gonna be good," Grand laughed.

And as he said this, they all walked into the castle, not seeing a small shadow cloud right behind them that slipped into the door's top before Flash shut it. "Twilight?" Flash called out, "You in here?"

His voice echoed through the castle, only for a flash of light to appear in front of them. "Great!" Twilight cheered as she appeared, "You're all here!" She surrounded them all in her magic and in a flash, they were teleported back into the library.

There they saw Trixie and Starlight, working on something on the ground. "Alright," Flash hummed, "What are you girls doing?" He focused on Twilight, "The last time I saw that giddy expression, I was cleaning slime out of my mane for a week."

Twilight looked smug as she, Trixie and Starlight stepped aside. "Fillies and gentlecolts, let us introduce the future of Equestria." They all looked down and saw what looked like a Rune Gate, but something about it was different. "The Temporal Scroller!"

The ponies who knew what that word meant all went wide eyed. "Temporal?!" Grand yelped, "You're messing with time travel again?!" The others all screamed in terror and staggered back, "Twilight, what are you thinking?!"

"You're the one who's always talking about the dangers of time travel!" Flash added, "And you wanna mess with it again?!" He turned to Starlight, "Did you put her up to this?!"

"It wasn't my idea," Starlight shook her head, "Trixie was the one who came up with it."

The ponies all glared at the former show pony, who let out a tiny laugh. "I can explain."

"Would you all relax?!" Twilight chimed in, "We're not traveling back in time."

"You're not?" Pinkie asked, halfway through putting on a red life jacket and golden shades. "Then what is it? Come on! Tell us! Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!" She would have continued, but Trixie grabbed her mouth in her magic and kept it shut.

"The Temporal Scroller is a device to send messages into the past," Starlight responded, "We write something on a scroll, then put it through the scroller and it appears in the past."

"Ooookay," Flash asked, "Why is that so groundbreaking that it could change Equestria forever?"

Twilight and Starlight smiled at Trixie, the mare smirking. "I got the idea after the Summer Sun Celebration. After everything that went wrong and all the work we had to do to fix it, I thought to myself: If only I could go back in time and warn my past self that it was going to happen, then I could have stopped them. Then I realized that through that time travel spell, I could totally do that."

"Haven't we run into this issue before?" Rainbow asked, remembering Twilight's future self coming back in time and setting a whole bunch of stuff into motion.

"Which is exactly what I told her," Twilight chimed.

"Yes," Trixie nodded, "But then I had another idea. Instead of sending myself to the past, I could send a letter to my past self with everything that was going to go wrong. That's when we had this revelation."

"So you wanna start sending messages to the past?" Rarity asked, "Why?"

"It's not about sending the messages," Starlight replied, "It's about receiving the messages." The ponies all blankly stared at her, making her sigh, "Think about it. Let's say the Ponyville Dam had a crack in it and nopony noticed until the whole thing exploded and sent water crashing everywhere, destroying the town." They all gulped at this, "Now imagine if before the dam burst, a scroll appeared out of this device that told us the dam would break and when."

"We could stop the disaster before it became a disaster," Grand continued.

"Exactly," Twilight clapped her hooves, "And then, once the dam's fixed, we write a scroll with the same message and send it through the scroller. That scroll becomes the scroll we originally received, telling us about the dam that's about to break."

The smarter members of the group were all able to follow this, only for Heart to moan out, "My brain hurts."

"I know it sounds complicated," Starlight giggled, "But this device could really help Equestria. And not just for preventing disasters. Imagine if you got a scroll warning you of a bank robbery that was gonna take place. Or if one of us had an illness we couldn't identify or didn't know the cure of. The scroll would appear and tell us exactly what we're dealing with."

Twilight nodded at this, "I know we can handle anything that's thrown at us, but we've been hit by surprise so many times that it's not funny anymore. With this, we'll never be taken by surprise again."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "Maybe it could tell us when Chrysalis is gonna attack next? Or if there are any long forgotten big bads from thousands of years ago that we need to stop." The others nodded, "Alright Twilight, I'm with you. How are we gonna test it?"

Twilight smiled at this, "Follow me." She headed out of the library and everypony followed, only for a shadow to appear on the ceiling.

"This isn't good." Armalum commented as he shifted out of the ceiling, "If they complete that, any chance to get the drop on them could be ruined." But as he siad that, he let out a chuckle, "Then again, I think I've just found my distraction." He fired his magic at the Rune Gate-like device, the symbols and runes on it starting to turn black before they began to pulse with a new energy before retaking his shadow form and flying back into the darkness of the room. And as he did this, the device's light grew brighter and brighter.





"Here we are," Twilight said as she showed them all a cardboard box with a small hole in it.

"What's that for?" Soul asked as Twilight pointed to another box with a bunch of differently colored balls. One by one, she put them into the other box that made it impossible to see inside.

"This is how we're gonna test the Temporal Scroller," Twilight replied, "When we get back, the scroller will send a message back that'll have a list of different colors. If all goes according to plan, we'll end up pulling the balls out in the exact same order that the list has."

"What'll that prove?" Flash asked.

"That there's nothing that could throw our plans for it out the window," Starlight responded, "Time being malleable." This made everypony's head tilt, only for her to continue, "We still don't know that much about time travel. If sending messages through time causes some kind of ripple effect that can change the outcome of the message, we need to know that."

They just stared at them at this, only for the entire castle to suddenly shake. "WHOA!" Heart yelped, almost falling over as Flash stopped him. "What the heck?!" They ran out of the room and headed for the nearest window or door, soon reaching a balcony to see a bunch of blue lightning exploding into the sky. And when they traced the lightning back to its source, they gasped seeing it was coming from a light pillar that exploded out of the castle's roof.

Seeing this, Twilight's horn began to shine, only for Flash, Heart, Rainbow, Applejack, Rogue and even Rarity all leap over the edge of the balcony. "Where are you going?" Twilight asked as the flying ponies grabbed the non-flying ones and lowered them to the ground.

"We gotta get to town and make sure everypony's safe!" Flash yelled, "Scootaloo and the others might be in danger!" Twilight nodded as they quickly went for the town as the alicorn grabbed everypony else in her magic and teleported them to the library. When they arrived, they weren't shocked the see the Temporal Scroller was indeed the thing causing the light pillar as it was blasting the light through the ceiling and into the sky, causing the lightning.

"What's it doing?!" Grand yelled.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Starlight cried, "We didn't even give it any magic yet!" As she said that, a bolt of lightning exploded off the pillar and flew for them, all screaming before leaping away. The lightning missed them, but stopped in midair before seemingly starting to cut through reality itself. They all gasped at seeing this as a tear in the fabric of existence appeared in the library and started creating a sucking motion. Screams came next, all trying to run away, only for another bolt to fly out and rip open another portal.

This one hit right beside Fluttershy, Pinkie and Trixie, sucking all three in instantly. "NO!" Twilight screamed, only for another portal to be rip open behind her, sucking her in along with Starlight and Grand.

Soul screamed as she held onto the ground as best she could, turning to the Temporal Scroller and praying for something to happen, only for the Temporal Scroller to spark several times before exploding, sending pieces of rock flying everywhere. This caused the pillar to disappear along with the lightning, the tears then beginning to close. Soul no longer felt the sucking motion and fell to the ground, panting as she did. She laid there for several moments, trying to process what had happened, only for the library doors to fly open. "What the heck happened?!" Spike cried, running in while carrying a comic. "I can't even read a comic around here without the castle shaking and the sky being torn apart!"

Soul picked herself up and looked over the destroyed pieces of the Temporal Scroller. "Twilight's invention went nuts. It...it sent them all away." This made Spike blink at her, "At least it's stopped."

"I wouldn't count on that," Spike replied, only for the drake to point at the hole in the roof. She looked up and went wide-eyed. Whatever the Scroller had done had torn a large hole in the sky, lightning now pouring out of it.

"Oh no."





The ponies in town screamed as lightning blasted all around them, Flash, Rainbow, Applejack, Rogue and Rarity all reaching the town. "Twilight better fix that thing and fast," Flash commented as a large bolt of lightning shot down. They watched as the bolt tore through the fabric of space and time and opened up a tear, causing them to jump back.

In that moment, Iron and Lightning arrived on the scene after having helped other ponies escape. But as they got there, an elephant sized creature standing on four legs that looked like a lizard but with spikes sticking out of its body walked out of the portal. it was a mix of grey and brown, with a black spike sticking out of its head and each cheek. It also had an anchor shaped black blade on its tail , whilst its back was covered in a bunch of red crystal-like blades

"What is that thing?!" Iron yelped, Lightning gasping.

"It's a kkraa. We learned about them in school. But they're supposed to be extinct!" As he said that, the kkraa swung its anchor covered tail and smashed through a building next to it. Flash flew at it next, summoning some of his Sacred Light as he grabbed the tail, Iron now slamming his spear into the ground, causing a large pillar of metal to fly up under the beast's body and knock it into the air. Flash then swung it around by the tail and sent it flying back into the portal, seconds before it closed.

They all sighed in relief, only for more rips to start appearing all around them. "This is nuts!" Flash cried, only to hear screams, making them turn to see the CMC running for their lives from a bunch of giant tentacles coming out of a portal. "Hang on!" He shot forward at high speed and grabbed the girls, zooming away from the tentacles.

But as he did this, another hole suddenly appeared right in front of him. They all gasped, Flash trying to stop, only for the portal to suck him in. "NO!" Heart, Applejack, Rainbow and Rarity screamed as the four disappeared.

And before they could do anything else, another portal opened up right next to them, causing them to also get sucked inside. Heart ignited his hooves and used them to push away from the portal, but Rainbow, Applejack and Rarity weren't so lucky. Rogue tried to fly up and grab them, but he was eventually sucked in as well. They all screamed as they disappeared, the tear closing up behind them as they did.

Heart was suddenly propelled forward by his flames, taking a few seconds to correct himself as more tears opened up to start dumping things from throughout time. More prehistoric creatures, landmarks from the distant past that looked brand new, and ponies from times gone by who had fallen into this strange new world. Heart flew down to Lightning and Iron, the knights just staring at the sight, "Ooookay," Lightning turned to Iron, "So what does it say in the Royal Knight handbook about how to shut down gigantic rips in time?!"

"How should I know?!" Iron yelled, "This is Twilight's territory!"

"Don't worry." Heart chimed in, "Twilight's gone to fix whatever's wrong with the Temporal Scroller. She'll have everything back to normal in no-"

"PROBLEM!" They spun around and saw Spike and Soul running up to them, "There was an accident in the castle!" Spike had to duck to avoid an arrow being fired at him by a pony that looked to be from Starswirl's time. "Twilight and everypony else were sucked into portals!"

"Everypony?!" Iron cried, realising that likely included Fluttershy. "Oh, horseapples. Where are they?!"

"More like...when are they." Soul gulped.





Fluttershy, Pinkie and Trixie screamed as they fell through the time portal, the three managing to grab hold of each other to prevent themselves from getting lost. And as they reached the end of the portal, the cried out as they collided with the ground, moaning as they lay there. "What happened?" Pinkie asked, pushing herself to her hooves and finding her mane back to front.

As she spun it back around, Trixie rubbed her head before glancing around, "I think we got sucked to another place in time."

"But when in time?" Fluttershy asked, only for the night to suddenly be filled with light. They all yelped at this, the trio staring at it a second later before getting up, soon walking toward the light as the pegasi of the group gasped as she recognized a few of the trees, "This is the Everfree Forest!"

"Why would we end up here?" Trixie added as they the edge of the trees and came out at the edge of a cliff. Stopping at this, Pinkie almost going over the edge before zipping back, only for the trio to see the light was coming from two sources. One light was bright blue while the other was gold mixed with a rainbow of other colors. It was then that they saw a pony in each of the lights, both tall with wings and horns.

And as their eyes got used to the light, they gasped as they recognised the ponies. "Celestia!" Trixie exclaimed, only for Pinkie and Fluttershy to grimace at the other pony, one they had only met once and prayed to never meet again.

"Nightmare Moon," Fluttershy gulped, the two ponies now firing more beams of magic at each other. The two lasers collided at this, pushing against one another before the golden beam overpowered the dark blue one and completely surrounded Nightmare Moon.

"What's going on?" Pinkie asked.

"Celestia and Nightmare Moon only fought once. And we all know how it ended." Trixie commented as they then saw Nightmare Moon let out a roar as she was blasted up into the sky. The three were blinded for a moment, and when the light died down, they saw the moon was now glowing and had the image of a pony on it. They had just seen a great historic event unfurling before their eyes, only to see Celestia fly down, heartbreak all over her face.





Twilight, Starlight and Grand yelled out as they fell out of their own portal, also surrounded by trees. Grand landed first and ended up as the cushion for the mares, groaning at this, "Ow." The mares saw this and gasped, both getting off and apologizing. "What happened? Where are we?"

"Not where," Twilight gulped. "When." She then heard movement and followed it through the trees, stepping out of the woods and finding herself looking at...not the Ponyville she knew. "Sweet Celestia."

"What is it?" Starlight followed her, only to go wide-eyed, "No way. We've been transported back to when Ponyville was still new!"

Grand gulped at this, "That isn't good. We're trapped decades in the past and have no way home." He turned to glare at Twilight, "What the heck happened with that Scroller device of yours?!"

"I don't know!" Twilight cried, "This shouldn't have happene!. The device wasn't even magically charged!"

"So something or somepony must have messed with it," Starlight chimed in, "But who? Who could have charged the scroller up and make it do this?"

"That doesn't matter right now," Twilight replied, "Right now, we need to focus on getting home and fixing what's happened."

"How?" Grand asked, "The only ones who know how that thing work are you two and Trixie, and Trixie got pulled into the portal just like we were!"





Flash yelled out as he and the girls fell to the ground, the four feeling themselves hitting concrete and letting out a moan. "What happened?" Sweetie asked as they began to pick themselves up, Flash noticing they were in some kind of back alley.

"Flash?" Scootaloo added, "Where are we?" Flash told the girls to stay calm as he walked out of alleyway and saw ponies walking around, the way they were dressed giving Flash a pretty good idea of their location.

"We're in Canterlot," he sighed, "Though when in Canterlot I'm not sure." This made the girls stare at him, only for Flash to look up and see something around the city: A shield. "That looks like Shining Armor's. But when did he need to..." He facehoofed at this, "Oh geez."





Applejack, Rogue, Rainbow and Rarity screamed as they were thrown out of their portal, the four rolling along the ground before coming to a stop on a dirt road. They picked themselves up at this, only to see that they were on the road between the town and Sweet Apple Acres.

"Great," Applejack groaned, "What did that weird portal do?"

"It sent us through time," Rogue guessed, "But when are we?"

As he said that, another voice called out. A voice only one of them vaguely remembered. "Whoa, you strangers okay?" They spun around and when they did, their eyes went wide at the sight of a tall strong looking yellow earth pony with a red mane and tail along with a familiar looking hat. "I don't think I've seen ya'll around here before." The four ponies could only stare at him, all knowing who he was from photos. And slowly, they turned to the one pony who had the biggest reaction.

"Da...da..."

The pony tilted his head, "You okay there? You look like ya'll just seen a ghost." Applejack tried to speak up, but the stallion just shrugged, "Anyway, name's Bright Mac. Nice ta meet ya'll. So, yah new around here?"

"Kinda," Rogue nodded, "We um...we're a bit lost at the moment."

Bright smiled at this, "Well then, why don't ya'll come with me. Sweet Apple Acres is always happy to help those in need." He marched off and the ponies could only stare at him, Rarity turning to her cowpony friend.

"Applejack, are you okay?" Applejack didn't say anything, instead just staring at the retreating stallion. "I know this is hard for you, but we can't risk doing anything that could affect history."

"But...it's my dad. And if he's alive...my mom..." The others grimaced at this, and before anypony could say anything, she cut into a sprint, the others quickly trying to follow.

It wasn't long till they reached the farm, only to spot a much younger Granny Smith talking to her son. "Oh," she turned to them, "So you're the ponies mah boy found wandering around."

"Um...yes ma'am," Rogue nodded. He didn't know a lot about time travel, but he had a feeling using his real name would be an issue with someone he would know in the past. "I'm Banshee." The girls looked at him in shock, "This is Cloud, Gem and Dusty." The girls glared at him at this, but he didn't notice, "Thanks for letting us stay. We don't know how long we'll be here, but hopefully we'll be out of your hair in no time."

"Oh, we're happy to have you here." They all turned to another voice, Applejack's heart stopping at seeing Pear Butter walk out of the barn holding a foal in her hooves. "Sweet Apple Acres is a place anypony can call home if they've got nowhere else to go. I know that better than anypony."

Bright walked over to her. "This here's my lovely wife, Buttercup."

"So nice to meet you," Buttercup smiled before looking at Applejack, only to squint her eyes, "Have we met before? You look...familiar." They all panicked as Buttercup took a close look, likely seconds away from realizing she was looking at an older version of her oldest daughter...only to pull away and shrug, "Can't place you. I'm sorry, you probably have one of those faces."

"Yeah..." Applejack nodded, "One of those faces."

Granny Smith then spoke up, "Sorry to break up this session, but we've got work ta do around this farm. And if ya'll wanna stick around, you gotta earn your keep."

"Oh, we're fine with that. Right gang?" The others nodded, most grimacing as Bright Mac lead Applejack and Rogue toward the orchard while Buttercup gave Apple Bloom to her grandmother and lead the others to the barn. The four shared a look at this, gulping at what could possibly happen next.





The Present...

Iron and Lightning were continuing to fight against the many insane creatures and ponies that were popping up in the city. Spike, Soul and Heart were helping as best they can, Spike using his magic to create fire claws that he used to grab an extinct flying creature and throw it back into a portal. Heart was shooting fire at the ones that looked armored and Soul did her best to grab things in her magic and toss them back in.

Lightning panted as he looked around, seeing portals still opening everywhere. "Prehistoric time windows. Hundred year old time windows. Can it get any weirder?" It was then that another portal opened up right in front of them, this one not letting anything out, only for them to all go wide-eyed at the sight inside.

"Yeah it can," Iron nodded at the sight of...himself.

Another time's Iron and Lightning were fighting against a bunch of changelings, but ones that existed before Thorax and Hiveena took over. They watched as a tiger armored Iron slammed a changeling with his hammer tail before noticing the portal.

"Guess we should have expected this!" He yelled at Lightning, "You're up!"

"Huh?!" The other Lightning turned to the portal, "Oh, right!" He ran up and got up to the portal without being sucked through. "Hey everypony, it's us...err...you...from the future." He shook his head, "We don't got time to explain, but get back to Twilight's castle! There's a package there that'll help!" He ducked under a changeling and zapped them with his lightning, while Iron continued.

"And don't forget to tell yourselves...your past selves, I mean. Us...we...just...give us this exact same message when you see us...yourselves...oh, my head hurts." That was everything he got to say before the portal closed, the present day Iron and Lightning staring at each other.

"Did your brain just snap?" Iron asked as Lightning rubbed his head.

"A little, yeah." He shook his head, "Come on. Let's get the others and get back to Twilight's castle." Iron nodded right as an arrow hit a barrel that they were next to that had been launched by some screaming viking-like ponies.





Trixie, Fluttershy and Pinkie stared in awe at the sight of what had just happened. "We just saw Nightmare Moon's banishment," Trixie whispered, "I can't believe it."

"Me neither," Pinkie added before she accidently stepped on a twig. The snapping sound filled the air and caught the attention of the pony in the sky, who spun around with the Elements of Harmony around her.

"Who's there?!" She then saw the three, "Ponies?! What are you doing here?!" The three looked at one another, clearly unsure about how to proceed. Celestia turned to look up at the moon covered sun, the sight of it causing her to look somber, only to cast her magic and moved the moon away from the sun, blinding the three for a moment. She put the sun down and flew toward the ground, staring at the trio at the same time.

"There is something about you three that seems...odd." They all flinched at this, "You have some kind of residual magic on you. What is it?"

The trio shared a glance, only for Trixie to whisper, "It is Celestia. Maybe she can help." The other two nodded and Trixie turned to her. "Basically, we're from the future." This made Celestia raise an eyebrow, "We fell through time due to an accident and now we're stuck a thousand years in the past."

"I...see." Celestia hummed.

"You believe us?" Pinkie asked, Celestia nodding.

"Why wouldn't I? It's the truth, isn't it?" They sighed in relief as Celestia looked up at the moon. "You say you're from the future, so you should have knowledge of the future." This made the younger mares flinch, "Tell me, does my sister return? Will I ever get to see her again?"

Again, the three shared a glance, two of them biting their lips while Fluttershy looked back at Celestia. She saw the giant frown on the alicorn's face, taking a deep breath before saying, "Yes...she'll return." Celestia glanced back at her, making the mare flinch, only to add, "But not for a thousand years."

Celestia went wide-eyed at this, looking like her heart was breaking. Her magic stopped and the Elements of Harmony fell to the ground as her legs gave out, the mare now breaking down and crying. Fluttershy rushed to her side and placed her hooves around Celestia's neck. "It's okay. It's okay. I know it's hard. Just let it all out." Celestia cried louder and louder at this, the other two slowly going up and hugging her as well.





Twilight, Starlight and Grand were carefully making their way through town, hoping they didn't draw attention to themselves. Twilight was currently using an illusion spell she had gotten from Trixie to hide her wings, not daring to tempt what an alicorn suddenly appearing in the past might do to the timeline.

"So...what exactly is the plan here?" Grand asked as the three made their way to the building they hoped was there.

"Starlight and I will write some instructions on how the Temporal Scroller works and how to both fix and alter it to pull us back in time. All we need to do is get them to our friends in the future." They arrived at the street with the post office, Twilight smiling as they carefully moved over to the window. Starlight looked inside and spotted a bunch of stationary, which she teleported to them when the post pony wasn't looking.

Stuff in hooves, the three rushed into an alley behind the post office, "You really think this is going to work?" Grand asked, "Who'd even have the know-how to follow these instructions?"

"Hopefully, nopony else fell through time." Twilight started writing as Starlight prepared the envelope. "I'll try to make it as simple as possible so that even Flash could understand it."

"That's a tall order." Grand commented, "Make sure to use small words."





Everypony had rushed back to Twilight's castle and started looking for the package. Spike had told them about a strange envelope that had arrived earlier in the day, the ponies having a theory it might have been what they were looking for. The only problem was, they couldn't find it. "You're sure it was in the library?" Lightning asked as rummaged from the destroyed room.

"I'm sure of it!" Spike cried after surfacing out of a pile of books. "Twilight was working on that scroller thing, so I put it on the table for her to read later."

"So then where is it?" Iron yelled as Heart dived into another book pile.

"What if it got sucked into a time portal like the others?!" Soul gulped, the group all grimacing at that.

"I found it!" Heart's hoof shot out of the books with the envelope, everypony cheering as Lightning took it in his magic and quickly opened it up to reveal a bunch of old paper.

He read the first page and gasped, "it's from Twilight. She sent it through the mail back when Ponyville was first founded!" The others went wide-eyed at this as Lightning read the letter. "To whomever may be reading this, you're the only one capable of returning us to our proper time and stopping the whole space time continuum from exploding!" They all shared a look at this, their eyes shrinking in fear at the thought of that.





Meanwhile...

Armalum was in the throne room, his hoof tracing over the map.

He remembered what Storm had told him and after cross-referencing with locations on the map, he smiled as a certain location appeared. "Excellent. Now to find them." He heard a loud roar at this that shook the castle, likely due to some kind of creature appearing from out of the temporal tears, the armor chuckling at the situation he had caused. "I wonder how they intend to fix this...and what Sentry might be doing at this moment."





Flash stared up at the shield as it began to flicker, the pegasi gulping as he realized what was about to happen. "We need to get out of here," he told the girls. "We've been sent back to when the changelings invaded Canterlot." The girls gasped at this, only for the shattering of Shining's barrier to fill the air. "Oh, great." As the barrier vanished, hundreds of black insect ponies flew down toward them.

Flash and the girls ran, but several changelings flew over, all diving down for the attack. "Stay behind me!" Flash ordered as he held up his sword and slashed at the changelings. The light blade knocked them back, only for more to start coming, "I really did not miss this!" He grunted as he slashed and kicked the changelings away as the girls cowered behind him.





Applejack and Rogue were helping Bright Mac in the orchard, the cowpony showing her years of crafted skill as she bucked the apples out of the tree.

"Wow," Bright smirked, "You're good. You ever work on an apple farm before?" Applejack flinched at this, opening her mouth to answer, only to close it as sweat began to appear on her face.

"Yeah," Rogue chimed in as he put an empty bucket down, "We've worked on a farm here and there to make a bit when we need it."

Bright nodded at this, "Well, if ya'll ever want a place to settle down in, Sweet Apple Acres is always in need of hard working farm hoofs."

"That sounds...nice," Applejack replied as Bright began to push the full buckets toward the cart. As he did this, Applejack watched him and thought about what could happen any day now. The thought of it made her heart break while Rogue walked up to her.

"Applejack, you know you can't."

"Can't what?"

"You're gonna warn your parents about what happened. What...will happen. You're gonna try and save them."

"Yeah, so what? Why shouldn't ah save mah parents lives?"

"We both know that's not what happened. I know its hard, but you can't risk changing the future like that. You don't know what consequences it'll have."

"Mah parents 'll be alive. What other consequences could there be?"

"That's the thing. We don't know. What if them being alive causes a massive disaster, or turns you into somepony else entirely? It's not like we can control how to go back in time. What if you save them, only to find out doing so completely ruins the future?"

"How could it ruin the future? Mah ma and pa are just ordinary ponies. They're not gonna do anything that'll destroy Equestria."

"But you're not ordinary. You're an Element of Harmony. One of the ponies that has saved Equestria a hundred times over. And you were only able to become that pony because you had to take on a bunch of responsibilities at a young age. If you didn't, you wouldn't be the pony you are today and might not have been able to wield the Element of Honesty. And who else could do it?"

"My dad's honest," Applejack responded, "Really honest. He could take the mantle."

"Yeah, but the Elements need more than just that one attribute. They need a connection between the wielders. Swap you out with Bright Mac and do you really think he and the others would call one another friends. Maybe they'd been nice to one another, but would Flash and the girls really call him their friend?"

Applejack opened her mouth, only to close it again. She now remembered what Twilight had done before with all the time travel, explaining what kind of disasters that could happen. But despite that, she glanced back at Bright, the sight making a giant frown appear on her face. "Oh horseapples..."





Spike and the ponies were doing their best to try and repair the Temporal Scroller and return their friends to the present. Luckily, Twilight had included all the instructions on how to make it from scratch. This was good, because the device's destruction meant they would need to make a new one from scratch. The bad news was that they barely understood any of it.

"Integrate the temporal matrix into the warp gate program and interlock the two magical pathways in order to generate a stable temporal warp and..." Heart tried to read the next part, but let out a cry, "Why are these words so big?!"

"This is hopeless!" Lightning added, "I'm the one with the most magical knowledge and I have no idea what any of this is supposed to be!"

"Perhaps we can be of assistance." The group spun around at a sudden voice, only to go wide-eyed at the sight of Celestia and Solid Script in the doorway.

"Princess!" Iron bowed, "We're glad to see you. But how did you know to bring Script?"

Celestia looked up through the hole in the roof at the lightning that was still exploding in the sky. "Let's just say, I've seen that lightning before. And when I recognised it, I knew only one pony who could possibly fix the problem."

Script stepped up and took the instructions, the pages flying around him as he read them at light speed. "Amazing design. Impressive work." He looked down at the remains of the scroller, "But somepony clearly messed with it."

"Can you fix it?" Lightning asked.

"Can you bring the others back?" Iron added.

"And can you fix the holes in the sky?" Spike pointed at them.

"I can," Script nodded, "But it won't be easy. First I'll pull everypony that's fallen through time back here. But when that happens, it'll open a bunch of rifts that could bring anything else through. You guys will need to protect us until we can finish fixing them."

The others all smiled at this before nodding, "Let's do it!"





Trixie, Pinkie and Fluttershy followed Celestia over a chasm, soon seeing a destroyed castle. Celestia had recovered from her breakdown, still looking upset but at least gotten over the worst of it. She was carrying the Elements with her, the group soon arriving in the room with the giant planetarium. "A thousand years," Celestia put them back inside the stone orbs. "At least that gives me plenty of time to repair the castle."

"Repair the castle?" Pinkie glanced around, "But what about Canterlot?"

"Canterlot?" Celestia turned back to them, "What are you talking about?"

The three flinched at this, all glancing at each other before Trixie spoke up, "Well...history states that after you defeat Nightmare Moon, you create a new city called Canterlot. It's located on the side of a mountain in the middle of Equestria."

Celestia blinked at her before glancing back at the castle, "I...see," She let out a long sigh, "Maybe that's for the best. This was Luna's home as well as mine. I couldn't live here without her."

"Don't worry," Fluttershy assured her, "She'll be back. But you'll need to leave the Elements of Harmony here."

"What?!" Celestia gasped, "Are you insane?! I can't just leave artifacts of such significance in a destroyed castle. What if something attacks Equestria and I need them?!"

"Trust us," Pinkie added, "Those Elements won't be needed again until Luna returns. But they need to be here so the ponies that'll use them can go on an important journey in order to find them, allowing them to form a bond of friendship so strong the Elements will be more powerful than ever."

Celestia stared wide-eyed at them, glancing back at the elements for a second before Trixie spoke up, "Trust us. You don't need the Elements anymore. You'll grow into an amazing pony that will protect Equestria and shape it into the amazing place we all call home."

The others nodded as Celestia stared at them, only to sigh. "Very well then."





Twilight sealed the papers inside the envelope as Grand returned with a trenchcoat and hat. "You know what to do?"

He nodded, "Drop off the envelope and tell them it has very clear instructions." He took it, but frowned as he looked at the hat and coat. "Why exactly do I need to wear this stuff? I get it's a good idea not to have anypony see an alicorn, but I just look like a normal earth pony. I'd probably stand out more with this stuff."

"It's better to be safe than sorry," Twilight replied, Grand nodding before heading toward the post office, the mares hoping their plan would work. Neither remembered if the post office actually received any damage in the years it was open, most likely given Derpy worked there, but prayed their plan would work.





Applejack, Rogue and Bright Mac had finished bucking apples and had returned to the farmhouse, only to find Buttercup feeding Apple Bloom with a bottle as she sat on the front porch. "You mind taking the cart to the barn?" Bright asked Rogue, who gave Applejack a worried look before nodding.

As he took the cart, Applejack looked over at Buttercup and smiled seeing the cuter version of her younger sister. "Isn't she adorable?" Buttercup asked, Applejack nodding back.

"Yeah. Cutest little sugarcube ah ever saw."

"Do you have any kids?" Bright asked, Applejack shaking her head.

"Nah. Maybe one day. But I've got experience raisin' fillies."

"Really?" Buttercup asked, Applejack slightly flinching at this.

"Mah...mah parents passed away when ah was young. Mah grandma had to look after mah siblin's and me, but ah spent a lot of time lookin' after mah baby sister."

"Oh," Buttercup frowned, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine," Applejack waver her hoof, "It...it was a long time ago. But...sometimes ah wonder what they would have thought of how ah did lookin' after the family."

"I'm sure they'd be proud of you," Bright replied, "I mean...is your family safe?" Applejack nodded, "Are they happy?" She nodded again, "And were you able to help them when they needed that help?" Applejack nodded one last time. "Then I think they'd be more than proud."

"Agreed," Buttercup smiled as she hugged her foal. "I know I'd be happy if my children lived like that. So long as they're able to be happy and do what makes them happy, I'd be happy."

Applejack couldn't help but smile as tears appeared in her eyes. In a way, her parents had just told her they were proud of how she had done everything. "You okay?" Bright asked.

"Ah'm fine," Applejack nodded. "Ah'm...gonna go make sure mah friends are alright." They nodded as the mare spun around, wiping her tears at the same time.





Script had finished reconstructing the Temporal Scroller. "Alright," he told the others. "It's now or never. Get ready, because things are gonna get crazy as soon as I power it up." They all nodded and got into a fighting stance as Script lit his horn and unleashed a blast of magic that struck the device. Doing so caused it to light up, growing brighter and brighter.

Everypony was on edge as the device unleashed a burst of light through the whole in the castle and hit the storm above their heads. They all shielded their eyes as lightning started exploding out of the light and opened portals around them.





Twilight and Starlight spotted Grand as he left the post office and walked over to them. Once there, he removed his hat and asked, "When will we know if it worked?"

Twilight hummed at this, "If the post office is as reliable as they claim, then we should know right about-" A blast of lightning opened up in front of them, making them smile as the portal formed.

It then launched bolts of lightning, which struck the trio. "What's happening?" Starlight cried.

"Don't fight it!" Twilight yelled, "The temporal magic we were stained with on the way here is reacting to the portal! It's acting as a lifeline to our real time."

And a second later, the three were pulled into the portal.





Celestia had lead the ponies out of the castle right as a burst of light made them look up. The portal formed above their heads and unleashed the bolts of lightning, hitting the trio. "Looks like you're heading home," Celestia commented, "Thank you for helping me through this."

"Don't mention it," Trixie smiled as they were pulled up towards the portal. "Just remember. You're gonna make a lot of mistakes. This leading a kingdom thing isn't easy. Just don't worry about the mistakes and do your best to learn from them and you'll be the best ruler Equestria could ask for."

"I will," Celestia nodded as they were pulled into the portal.





Flash was seriously getting exhausted right now as he kicked away another changeling before launching a Flash Force at several more. That is, till a burst of lightning made them look back and see another portal opening. "Go!" Flash told the girls, knocking the changelings away with his tail. "I'll be right behind you!" The CMC nodded as they rushed for the portal, the lightning grabbing and pulling them into it.

"You're not going anywhere!" One of the changelings yelled, but Flash slammed his sword into the ground and unleashed a wave of light that knocked them all back.

"No, I think we're done here." he quipped before spreading his wings and leaping at the portal.





Applejack stepped into the barn and found her friends sorting the apples. When they noticed her long frown, they moved over to hug her. "It's okay," Rarity whispered, "I know it's hard, but it's what's for the best."

Applejack whimpered at this, only for a burst of light to make them all look up and see a portal opening. They all gasped, three of them smiling while the fourth gasped. "No," she stepped back, "Ah'm not ready." She turned to run away, but the bolts of lightning flew out and hit them. They were all pulled toward the portal while Applejack struggled to try and break free. "NO!" She screamed, but it was no use and they were all pulled inside before the portal closed itself up.

Moments later, Bright and Buttercup ran in. "What's going on?" But then he noticed the four strangers were all gone. "What? I know they were in here..."

"Why would they leave for no reason?" Buttercup asked.





Everypony watched as the portals began to open up, ponies flying out of each. First was Trixie, Fluttershy and Pinkie. Twilight, Starlight and Grand were next with Flash and he CMC quickly following. Then, Rogue, Rainbow, Rarity and Applejack were the last to arrive, all hitting the ground with a thud.

"YES!" Twilight cheered, "It worked! I love the post office!"

"NOOO!" They all turned to Applejack, the mare now about to cry again, "It's not fair!" The others turned to her, only for more portals to form around them.

"No time for hellos!" Script yelled, "I need help fixing this thing!" Twilight, Starlight and Trixie quickly ran over to help while the portal began to spit something out of them.

"Look out!" Flash cried as a bunch of changelings appeared and landed in the library.

"What is this?" The lead Changling asked, seeing the ponies before spotting the one they had just been fighting. "Take them! The queen will enjoy feasting on them!"

"Oh great," Flash gulped as he, Heart and Iron transformed into their battle modes. "Everypony, keep them away from the others!" Everypony nodded and charged, the changelings transforming into the ponies they were facing, only for Heart to launch a stream of fire that forced the changelings back. This allowed the ponies to fight against their own doppelgangers and not get confused. And with a few hits and zaps, they were knocked back and unable to maintain their disguises.

Iron and Lightning were side by side as a portal opened up next to them. When Lightning looked into it, he saw other versions of them and realized what point in time he was seeing. "Guess we should have expected this!" He stated before looking at Lightning, "You're up."

Iron looked up, only for Pinkie to call out. "Hold on you two. The readers have seen this bit." She pulled a remote out of her mane and hit fast forward, causing time to move in super speed until she hit play.

"Oh," Lightning finished, "My head hurts." The portal quickly closed and the two started to focus on the changelings again.





Bright Mac and Buttercup continued to search for the strangers that had disappeared. There was no sign of them and as Apple Bloom began to get fussy, the pair wondering if they had hightailed it for no reason. However, they were about to find the truth was stranger than fiction.

Suddenly, a portal appeared above them in the barn. The couple cried out at its sudden appearance and were unprepared for the sucking force, which caused Apple Bloom to fly out of her mother's grasp. "NO!" She cried, attempting to grab her, only for the foal to be sucked in, "NOOOOO!"





Applejack was taking her frustrations out on some changelings when she heard the cry of a baby, making her look up and gasp. Baby Apple Bloom fell out of a portal just a few steps away, some changelings seeing this and licking their lips. "YOU STAY AWAY FROM HER!" Applejack roared before barreling forward and knocking them over like bowling balls before taking the foal in her hooves.

She then looked up at the portal she had fallen out of, "Rogue!" She yelled, "Get me up there!" Rogue screamed away some changelings before nodding, the thestral diving down and letting her grab his tail before being pulling up toward the portal.

"Applejack!" Twilight cried as she and the three unicorns were blasting the Scroller with magic. "We can't keep the portals open! If you're not back before they closed, you'll be trapped in the past forever!" Applejack nodded as Rogue threw her through the portal.





Bright Mac and Buttercup stared at the portal in shock, having just seen their daughter fall through it. Bright growled and was about to chase after her, only for something to fly out and hit the ground rolling. They both gasped at seeing the earth pony from before with Apple Bloom in her hooves.

"My baby!" Buttercup rushed over and grabbed her as the mare stood up. "Thank you."

She smiled, but Bright stepped up at this, "Who...who are you?" The mare flinched at this, only for the portal behind her began to close.





"It's working!" Script exclaimed as the Scroller began to pulse with magic. Out in Ponyville, the portals were starting to suck those that had been pulled into the present back to their own times. Once all the time travelers were sucked through, the portals started to close up.

The same was true for in the library as the changelings suddenly found themselves being hit by the lightning. "What is this?" The lead changeling cried as Flash ran up to him.

"Time for you to go back to where you belong!" He dealt a strong kick to his chest and pushed him back into the portal, the many other changelings also being dragged back home. Slowly, the portals started closing. But as they did, everypony focused on the one Applejack had leapt through.





Applejack stared at her parents, knowing this would be the last time she would ever get to see them. There were so many things she wished to say, and not enough time to say them. Her parents simply stared back at her, confusion on their faces before a voice called out, "Applejack!" She glanced back to see Rogue through the portal. "Come on! The portal's closing! Hurry!"

"Applejack?" Bright asked, looking at the mare that shared his daughter's name and appearance. "Wait...don't tell me."

Applejack looked down at the ground, as the portal grew smaller. "Come on!" Rogue yelled, "Before it's too late!"

Applejack remained where she was, unable to move. That is, till a Bright exclaimed, "Go!" She looked up at her father, "You don't belong here! You need to go back to where you belong before it's too late!"

"But..." She whispered, "But you..."

The pair stared at her, Buttercup shaking her head, "It doesn't matter about us. You need to return home. Back to those who are waiting for you." She held up the baby, "Do you really want her to lose her sister?"

Applejack grimaced at this, then looked back at the portal and Rogue. He was begging her to come back and after giving her parents one finally look, she ran and leapt into the portal. Rogue was there to catch her as she crashed through it, the two hitting the ground as the portal shrank so small that she never would have fit through it.

Applejack quickly got up and looked back at the portal as her parents stared back at her. Tears filled her eyes as she called out, "I LOVE YOU!"

The parents smiled at this before the portal vanished into nothing. And at the same time, the Temporal Scroller unleashed one final burst of magic, the lightning covering the town disappearing while the remaining portals all closed. The Scroller then retracted the light, and as it did, it pulsed several times before exploding into a million pieces. Luckily, Twilight and the unicorns were able to shield the others from being hit.

A few minutes later, everypony stood there, panting after the hard day they had had, seeing the destroyed library and damaged castle, also wondering what kind of damage had been done to Ponyville. Apple Bloom then moved over to her sister, who was still crying. "Applejack?" she placed a hoof on her shoulder, "Are you okay?" Applejack didn't answer, only continuing to cry.





Ponyville was working hard to fix the damage done to it. Despite everything that had happened, the destruction was actually at quite the minimum. Nothing Twilight and Celestia couldn't fix with their magic. "Thanks for helping," Twilight told her mentor. "If you hadn't shown up with Script, we might have never gotten home."

Celestia giggled at this, "I was just returning a favor from long ago." As she finished fixing a house, she spotted Trixie, Fluttershy and Pinkie walking over to them, "Thank you for your kind words so long ago. If you hadn't been there, I might never have been able to rule on my own for so long."

"No need to thank us," Fluttershy shook her head, "We were happy to help." The other two nodded before Trixie's eyes went wide.

"Wait...so the whole time you knew us, you also knew we would one day travel back in time and meet a past version of yourself?!"

This question shocked the other two as Celestia chuckled. "Well, I didn't remember every detail about you. It was a thousand years ago. I remembered what you did for me and how kind you were, but I couldn't remember exactly what you looked like or your names. It actually wasn't until I saw the lightning above Ponyville that the memories came back in full force." The other three nodded at this as Twilight continued fixing up a building. "Twilight, about your little invention?"

"I know what you're going to say," Twilight nodded, "We shouldn't make another Temporal Scroller. At least, not yet."

"Really?" Pinkie asked, "Why not? This was an accident."

"And it wasn't because of something we did," Starlight pointed out, "Somepony messed with the Scroller, whoever that was."

"Maybe," Twilight sighed, "But who's to say somepony else won't mess with another one if we remake it? You saw the havoc it caused. It's too dangerous to mess with time, even in the little way we were planning on. We'll have to learn about the future the old fashioned way. By living through it and overcoming whatever surprises show themselves."

The others sighed, but knew she was right. None of them wanted to go through this again. That is, till Trixie asked, "Do we have any idea who messed with the scroller?"





Armalum made his way through the woods. It would take a while for him to get to his destination, but when he did, he would find the ones he seeked.

"Tempera, Wingill, Salix and Terror. Don't worry. When I find you, I'll restore the memories that were stolen from you." He chuckled at this, "Then I'll use them to fuel the hatred I'll take for myself." He began to laugh, looking forward to the utter carnage he would bring about after taking their hatred. And once he had it, he knew he would be strong enough to achieve his ultimate goal.





Sweet Apple Acres had survived the time storm mostly unscathed. A few ancient ponies had tried to pillage the place, but Granny Smith had somehow seen them off with a swing of her walking stick. Now it was just a matter of cleaning the place up.

Rogue finished placing the last of the broken fence in the barn, Mac already working on fixing it, sighing in exhaustion as he made his way out of the place. He headed over to the farmhouse next, and when he got there, he found Applejack sitting at the kitchen table, looking at a photo album. Stepping into the room, he saw the photo was of her family before she lost her parents. He sat down beside her and stared at the picture.

"You made the right choice," he told her, "Your parents wouldn't want you to live in the past. Both figuratively and literally." Applejack couldn't help but chuckle at that. "It's okay to miss them, but if you're always looking back at what was, you'll end up missing what is and what will be."

Applejack sighed and shook her head, "You're right." She shut the book, "I can't let what happened in the past stop me from having a future. That's not what they'd want."

Rogue nodded, "But it's okay to miss them every now and then." Applejack nodded back as Rogue had an idea and opened the photo album. "I think I might have an idea."





Rogue's idea involved getting all her friends together. The Mane Seven, Trixie, Starlight, the CMC, Big Mac, Lightning, Grand, Iron and Granny Smith. Together, they all stood in front of the barn like in the picture Applejack had been looking at. As they did this, Applejack and Apple Bloom were holding a picture of their parents as Spike prepared the camera. "You all ready?" The dragon asked, everypony nodding as he set the timer before flying toward them. They all smiled as Spike joined the group and a bright flash filled the air.

The picture taken would sit beside the other one, showing that even though the Apple Family had lost two members, it had gained many many more. And it would always be a reminder that despite the family's loses, there was so much to enjoy about the future
> She Talks to Angel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another beautiful day in Ponyville and Iron had just finished his patrol. The earth pony was on his way home, a satisfied smirk on his lips as he made his way toward Sweet Feather Sanctuary. His beautiful wife seemed to be more busy than usual these days, working to make sure the animals that were recovering from any illness were relaxed enough to get back on their hooves and ready to join the outside world.

And though Iron wasn't as much of an animal pony as her, he was still eager to help whenever he could. As such, he headed down the road toward the sanctuary, only to see Doctor Fauna and Zecora were walking in the same direction. "Morning," he told them as he caught up, only to see a pet carrier. "What'cha got there?" He was a little worried that Zecora might have conjured something up and was now planning on sticking it with Fluttershy.

"It's a gecko," Fauna replied, "Zecora found him and I figured Fluttershy was the best pony to help look after him." Iron nodded as they arrived at the edge of the sanctuary. "Don't worry Zecora. Fluttershy has this running like a well-oiled machine."

But as she said that, a loud roar made them look over and see a large dust cloud in the middle of the sanctuary. "What the-" Iron said ebfore seeing Fluttershy leaping into the dust cloud, making him realize the animals had probably gotten a little out of control. "Oh, great."

Fauna chuckled as she turned to Zecora. "It might look like chaos, but Fluttershy makes it work, even with Angel running around."

"Ohhhh," Zecora hissed, "Perhaps I can help those two get along before something here can go terribly wrong."

Iron ran over and managed to grab Harry the bear by the tail, pulling him out of the dust cloud. "Okay big guy. That's enough of that." Harry roared at this as Fluttershy escaped the cloud.

She then grew to elephant size before slamming her hoof down on the ground, "ENOUGH!" This caused all the animals to stop what they were doing, the only one still looking ready to brawl being Angel Bunny. Fluttershy cleared her throat and shrank back to normal, "That's better. Now I'm sure everypony's a little exhausted from that...scuffle, so let's take a break and try to relax."

The animals all nodded and went their separate ways, Fluttershy making sure nothing was damaged during the fight. Once she was sure the koalas were okay, she noticed Fauna and Zecora as they walked up to her, "Zecora found this little one and brought him to my office, but I thought he might do better at the sanctuary." Angel bounced over to the carrier and spotted the gecko, who was currently munching on some lettuce. Then, he let out a burst of black smoke that Angel accidently breathed in and started coughing.

"Bringing him here seemed the right thing to do," Zecora added, "I've never seen geckos breathe smoke though, have you?"

"Oh." Fluttershy smiled at this, "I certainly haven't." She then took a closer look, completely ignoring Angel's attempts to get her to focus on him.

"Give it up fuzzball," Iron chimed in, "She's met a new animal, so she's gonna focus on it. It's gecko town."

Fluttershy stared into the cage as Fauna chuckled, "I thought we could take a look at his diet. Plus, it's about time for me to give all the animals here a checkup."

"That's a wonderful idea." She opened the cage and took the gecko out, the lizard not looking happy at being taken away from his leafy food. "If we really want to know what's going on, we need to make sure the problem isn't your food."

The gecko frowned, but nodded as Fluttershy gave him over to Fauna. The vet walked off with him as Fluttershy turned to Zecora. "I wouldn't worry too much. It's probably just something he's been eating." At that moment, Angel leapt onto her back and tried to climb up her hair. "Oh." She grunted, her head turning so he hung from her. "Um, is there anything else we can do for you?"

"Ahhh." Zecora smirked, "Seeing what you two do, the real question is...can I help you?"

Angel let her go and blew a raspberry at this. "You mean me and Angel?" She asked, Zecora nodding. "Oh, he's fine! We're fine! I...I just don't always have time to indulge him." She grabbed the rabbit and pulled him in for a hug. "But we're best friends!"

"Even the best of friends need help from time to time," Zecora replied, "Come visit me in my hut, should you change your mind."

She shut her carrier and walked off, "Okay, thanks!" Fluttershy waved at her, accidently dropping the bunny on the ground. "But Angel and I are great!"

"Are you sure?" Iron asked, "Because I can't remember the last time you actually spent any one-on-one time with him. I mean, have you gone bunny with him yet?" He was talking about Fluttershy's new ability to transform into her spirit animal. And while she was able to do that whenever she could, turning into a rabbit wasn't exactly useful with anything she had to do.

"Oh goodness, Fluttershy." They turned to Fauna, who was staring at a long list nailed to a tree. "Is this the list of what you do every day?" She let out a giggle, "How do you find time for anything else?"

"Between here and teaching at the school, I'm not sure I do." Fluttershy replied before seeing the gecko next to Fauna and picked him up, moving him over to an area she was sure would be an excellent place to rest and relax. "You're gonna love it here, little gecko." But when she put him down, he frowned at her, "What is it? Not fluffy enough?" The gecko pointed at his stomach, "Oh, sorry. We need to see if your food is causing your issue." The gecko nodded and went to sleep, Fluttershy smiling as she turned around.

But when she did, she was shocked to find Angel bunny smiling up at her. From the way he was presenting himself, he wanted to be cuddled and have his tail fluffed. Fluttershy hummed at this as she checked the time. "Not now, Angel." She flew off at this, Angel glaring back at her.

Iron sighed and shook his head. He could understand where Angel was coming from. The bunny had been Fluttershy's most important friend when she was only looking after a few animals and never had to feel neglected. But now, with Fluttershy's responsibilities as a teacher, sanctuary owner and protector of Equestria, it was no surprise she didn't have time for him.

"Those two need a vacation," he commented as he watched Fluttershy carry a cookie jar over to a snake.

The snake was eyeing up a baby elephant, Iron unsure if snakes even attacked baby elephants in the wild. "These snake treats are made to look like chocolate chip cookies." The snake turned to her and took a bite of the cookies, stars suddenly appearing in his eyes, "They're vegan. Pinkie Pie made a whole jar of them. They're all yours if you promise." Her face turned into a glare, "No more trying to eat Muriel the baby elephant."

The snake looked at the jar, then back at the elephant before looking back at the jar. He gave her a salute with his tail before dragging the jar into his den. Fluttershy smiled as she checked her list, only to gasp when she felt something pull on her tail. Glancing back, she saw Angel smiling at her. "No, Angel. I have too much to do."

She flew off for Fauna, Angel huffing at the sight. Fauna was currently checking on a giraffe with a neck in a bracer. The vet removed the cast and the giraffe started coughing, "Oh, careful girl. That neck is still pretty sore." Fluttershy rubbed her neck and glanced around, spotting a flamingo in one of the lakes.

"Don't forget to shift your weight, Scout!" The flamingo changed legs and as she did, the giraffe pointed at her neck.

Unfortunately, Fauna didn't have Fluttershy's animal language skills and sighed. "What does she want?"

Fluttershy read her body language and nodded, "Her neck is feeling better, but a massage every day for the next week wouldn't hurt. I'll add it to my list." She flew off at this as Fauna laughed.

"Fluttershy, I've said it before, but I'll say it again. This place would be a...zoo without you!" Fluttershy giggled at this, only to duck down when an acorn flew down and tried to hit her.

She looked up and saw the cause of the aerial attack. "Angel!" The bunny let out several noises and gestures, making Fluttershy frown, "Listen to you for once? Just what exactly is that supposed to mean?!" Angel rolled his eyes and leapt down, running off as Fluttershy tried to stop him. "Come back! I-I meant tell me, not..." She let out a groan.

Fauna giggled at this, "Well, whatever it is, you're the only one he can tell about it. Little fella just wants you all to himself."

Fluttershy looked over at her list. "Unfortunately, that's not an option."

"You really should try and make it an option," Iron added as he walked over and tried to straight out her rather messy hair. "You've been so busy lately, you have no time to do anything other than look after all the other animal's needs."

"That's because these animals need me," Fluttershy replied, "Nopony else can do what I do, so only I can do it."

"Yeah, but you're not a machine. Push yourself too much and you'll break. Isn't that what you're always telling Twilight?" Fluttershy frowned at this, clearly not liking the idea of taking a break with so much to do. "Even if it's just a day, you should try and spend some time with Angel to show him he's important."

Fluttershy sighed and shook her head, "I'll try. But with so many important things to do, it's not gonna be easy."

"Well, he's not causing any real trouble," Fauna added, only a crashing sound filled the air followed by a distressed bird, "Other than that, possibly." Another crash followed by an elephant cry erupting, "Or that. I'll just stop talking."

Fluttershy groaned at that, "I'll take care of it." She flew after him while Iron picked up her to-do list and looked it over. If he could do some of the items, maybe Fluttershy would have more time. But as he read it, he had no idea what some of these items were meant to be for, and the ones he did understand felt like she was pampering the animals a little too much. After a few minutes, Fluttershy returned with Angel on her back. And by the looks of things, whatever Angel wanted had not been something Fluttershy liked.

"You okay?"

"I'm taking Angel to Zecora's," Fluttershy replied, "Hopefully, she'll be able to fix the problem we've been having." Iron nodded as he took another look at her to-do list.

"And while you're gone, I'll see what I can get checked off on this list. But are you sure this stuff is important? Some of it looks like it doesn't need to be done every single day."

"Of course it does," Fluttershy nodded, "These animals come here hoping to find a place to rest and recuperate. I have to make sure they feel as comfortable as possible."

"Right..." Iron slowly resopnded, "Even if they get so comfortable they never wanna leave?" Fluttershy glared at him, the defender shrugging, "I'm just saying. Remember what happened with the breezies. If you make them too happy, they'll stay here forever and this place could get overrun. Unless you're planning a trip to the mirror pool, your gonna eventually have so many animals to look after it'll be impossible to do on your own."

Fluttershy sighed at this, knowing Iron probably wouldn't let up about this. She nodded and after giving Iron a kiss, she headed off with Iron continuing to do Fluttershy's work.





A little later...

Flash and Fire Heart were running around the outside of the town. The pair were working on Heart's running endurance, Flash wanting him to be able to run as much as he could fly. "Why...do I need...to be so good...at running?" The colt asked, Flash smirking as they continued to run.

"There may come a day where you can't fly. Your wing could be hurt or you're in an area that's too low or has anti-flight defenses. If all an opponent needs to do to beat you is stop you from flying, you're not gonna be surviving a lot of fights." Heart groaned, but nodded as they kept running.

After a while, they arrived at the main square where Heart was looking ready to collapse. Flash pulled them to a stop and Heart rushed over to the fountain, using the water the cool himself down while Flash went and got them something to drink. The pair sat at the fountain and looked around, seeing the ponies around them doing their day to day lives.

The flower ponies seemed to be making quite the killing. Lyra and Bon Bon were setting down a blanket for a picnic and Cheerilee seemed to be having a chat with a spa pony. And as they finished off their drinks, Flash noticed Fluttershy walking through town with Angel hanging out of her saddlebag. "About time those two got some quality time together." But in that moment, Angel held up two bottles of green stuff.

"What's that?" Heart asked, Flash shrugging.

"Not sure." He used his extra strong hearing to listen as Fluttershy spoke to the bunny.

"Not yet, Angel. Zecora told us to take it together when we got home." Angel grumbled at this, only to notice something that made him smile and pointed it out to Fluttershy. The mare turned to him and saw him pointing at Lyra and Bon Bon as the pair tapped cups before drinking. "Hmm. I suppose we could dust off the old picnic blanket. It'll be just like old times."

"What are they talking about?" Heart asked.

"Looks like they got something from Zecora," Flash replied. This made him hum, since Zecora's remedies had a tendency to cause more problems then they fixes. He couldn't help but remember the shrinking potion and shampoo situations.

"We'll drink the potion and settle in for a nice tea party," Fluttershy promised her friend, the bunny smiling at that, "I can barely remember the last time we did that. I've been so busy at the sanctuary." She then stopped, a frown on her lips. "Though I really need to keep an eye on Zecora's gecko, and Iron might still be working on today's chores. I can't dump my work on him. He has his own responsibilities. And if I leave the chores undone, the animals won't get the care they need."

"Huh," Flash commented to himself, "Didn't realize Fluttershy had so much work to do."

"Maybe we should just save the potion until af-Angel!" The bunny had taken the potion and leapt out of Fluttershy's bag, bouncing away as Fluttershy chased after him. "Zecora said to go home first!" But Angel wasn't listening, instead popping the cork and downing the green stuff.

"That can't be good." Flash got up and moved over to them as Fluttershy picked up the other potion.

"I know she said we have to take it together, so...I guess I have to." She popped the top and drank it as well as Flash and Heart reached them.

"Fluttershy, what did you just drink?" She looked at him before accidently belching.

"Oh," she blushed, "I'm sorry. And I don't know what it's meant to doooo-" Suddenly, Fluttershy and Angel glowed bright white. Flash and Heart leapt back as the lights suddenly merged and split apart in the space of a second. When it did, Fluttershy and Angel were shown laying on the ground after swapping places.

"-whooooaaaa!" Fluttershy cried, only to pick herself up and looked herself over. "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, hang on, hold up! Am I a pony? Why am I a pony?!" At the same time, Angel looked himself over before letting out a scream of absolute terror.

"What's wrong?" Heart asked as Angel ran over to the empty bottles.

Fluttershy then turned to her pet, "Question. Did we switch bodies?" The pegasi stared up at her, only to go wide-eyed.

"Wait," he pointed at Fluttershy, "Are you...Angel?" She...he, nodded as he looked towards the bunny. "And you're Fluttershy." The rabbit nodded, "Oh, not again." Flash watched as the two made their way over to a fountain, feeling sorry for Fluttershy having had to suffer through the exact same issue. And she had it even worse, since she had changed both gender and species.

Fluttershy hopped around, but found being as small as she was made it difficult to get through the forest of pony legs between her and the fountain.

"Whoa! Gah! Guh! Whoooaaa-whoa-whoa!" Angel was having just as hard a time, attempting to bounce around until he realized his body didn't need to do that to that. They eventually made it to the fountain and checked the water, seeing the reflection didn't match who they were. "Seriously? I'm a pony?" He smirked, "La-la-la-la! Talking is so cool."

"This is bad," Flash picked up the bottles, "Why the heck would Zecora make you two trade places?"

Angel turned to Fluttershy at that, "Do you think this is what Zecora meant to happen?" Fluttershy shook her head, then said something in rabbit speak that made Angel's eyes go wide. "How are you gonna do your chores?! Really?! That's what you're worried about?!"

"She's right," Heart nodded, "Or...he's right. This is gonna get confusing."

Fluttershy said something else in rabbit, making Angel scoff. "Well, maybe I don't want to switch back. I've only been able to talk to you since we met, and now I can talk to anypony I want!" He ran off at this, Fluttershy frowning as she chased after him as he went over to a flower stall. "Roses are red, violets are blue! You sell flowers and so do you!"

Rose and Daisy blinked at him, only for Flash to sigh, "Angel! That's enough!"

But Angel wasn't listening, now running over to a mother and her foal. "Rubber baby buggy bumpers! Rubber baby buggy bumpers!" But this just caused the foal to start crying, the mother glaring at him before walking off. "Toy boat, toy boat, toy bo-aah!" He was pulled to the ground at this, making him glance back and see his owner glaring at him. "Aw, come on!" He pulled his tail out of her grasp as Fluttershy spoke. "I am too listening! Quit being so bossy because-" He stopped with a gasp, then sniffed the air. "Are there carrots around here?"

"Focus," Flash chimed in, Fluttershy then trying to say something, Flash and Heart frowning since they couldn't understand her. "What'd she say?" He asked Angel, who groaned at having to translate.

"She thinks Zecora gave us the wrong potion, so she gonna go to her hut in the forest and get something to switch us back."

"By yourself?!" Heart asked, "How the heck are you gonna do that?!"

Angel laughed at this, "Yeah. Being able to turn into one of us whenever you want, clearly hasn't taught you what it's really like being a bunny." Fluttershy gestured that she would be fine, "Good luck with that!" Angel cackled before marching off, "I'm gonna go find those carrots!"

"Seriously?!" Heart yelped, "You can't just walk off and leave Fluttershy to fend for herself!"

"She said she can handle it," Angel laughed, only for Fluttershy to stop him again, making him glare back at her as she talked again, "I need to finish your chores?" He laughed again, "I don't work for you. And caring about other animals is a you thing. Besides, you got Iron doing it all. Let him do all the hard labor."

"You ungrateful rat!" Flash yelled, "After everything Fluttershy's done for you!"

"She hasn't done anything for me lately," Angel stuck out his tongue, "And what are you gonna do to make me? What, you gonna beat me up? You wouldn't do that to Fluttershy's body."

"I always knew you were evil," Flash growled, only for Fluttershy to jump onto his head to get eye level. She shot the transformed bunny a glare, which caused him to gasp.

"The Stare?!" Fluttershy continued to glare at him. "You can still do that? Ugh! No fair making me do your bidding against my will!" Fluttershy kept glaring at him, Angel waving his hooves before sighing, "Alright, alright! I'll go do your lame chores while you go see Zecora." Fluttershy smiled and started bouncing off with Angel heading back to Sweet Feather Sanctuary.

Flash and Heart watched them leave, Heart scratching his head. "That was really confusing."

"Try being the one getting body swapped," Flash sighed, "We'd better keep an eye on them. Especially Fluttershy. I'll make sure she doesn't end up getting stepped on and you go follow Angel. Make sure he actually gets back to Sweet Feather Sanctuary. And make sure Iron knows what's going on."

"Wouldn't Angel tell him what happened?"

"I doubt it. Probably gonna pretend to be Fluttershy to get out of work."

"Like Iron would fall for that. He'll see right through the act and realise he isn't Fluttershy." As soon as Heart said that, he and Flash's eyes went wide. "If Iron realize it's not Fluttershy he's talking to..."

"He'll instantly think she's been kidnapped and replaced," Flash gulped. "And he'll attack Angel thinking he's an imposter like Chrysalis."

"So...I'm gonna go...NOW!" Heart shot off at top speed while Flash headed for the forest, hoping to catch up with Fluttershy.





The animals of the sanctuary were all being sure to behave themselves as best they could while Fluttershy was gone. Iron was currently nowhere in sight and Doctor Fauna was busy helping a bunch of racoons, so there was nopony around to look after them. But soon enough, Fluttershy returned. "Anypony know where that useless list of Fluttershy's chores is?" The animals all turned to her, surprised by what she was saying.

"Hey, Fluttershy!" She looked up to see Fauna, "I was starting to wonder if you'd make it back."

"Fluttershy?!" She exclaimed, almost sounding surprised that was who she was. "Oh...um, yeah! Uh, that's me! Definitely Fluttershy! A hundred percent!"

"Uh...okay." Fauna hummed, "Well, Iron Core put your list over there. He did as many as he could, but he had to go out on afternoon patrol. He should be back soon."

The pegasus saw the list and frowned, "Oh...yeah." she grumbled, "There's my good old list of chores that I will absolutely not rush through because I definitely do not have better things to do." Fauna and the animals all stared at her as she glared at the list, "Well, well, well." She turned to Sandra the wolf, a smirk on her face. "Remember me?"

Heart flew down and landed in time to see Fluttershy putting a collar around the wolf and leashing him to a tree. "HEY!" He yelped, "What are you doing?"

Fluttershy turned to him, frowning, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to make sure Iron doesn't beat you to death when he realizes you're not Fluttershy!"

This statement made Fauna and the animals turn to him, "Not Fluttershy?" The vet asked.

"Yeah, that's Angel." This made them all go wide-eyed, the animals now glaring at the imposter, "Zecora made a potion that caused them to switch bodies. So Fluttershy's in Angel's body and Angel...well, you can see for yourself."

"Whatever," Angel shrugged, "I'm just doing what Fluttershy told me to do. Making sure Sandra the wolf tries to eat his veggies."

"I'm not sure this is what Fluttershy had in mind," Heart growled as Angel walked off.

"Who knows Fluttershy better than me?" He asked, making Heart glare at him. He knew he should stop this, but he also didn't know how Fluttershy would deal with the animals as they were. He sighed and shook his head, knowing all he could do was watch as Angel did the list and step in when things went too far.





Flash had followed Fluttershy to the forest, only to soon lose sight of the tiny rabbit. And as he tried to find her, he heard Spike's voice. "I hope the gem tart stall is still there again. I could use a snack!"

He flew down and then heard Twilight behind some bushes. "You nearly bought every tart they had last time, Spike. I can't imagine they wouldn't show up when there's a great customer like you." He flew out of the bushes and almost ran into the mare, "WHOA!" The mare staggered back as Flash stopped. "Flash?! What's the rush?!"

"Have you two seen Fluttershy?" He asked, then flinched at his mistake.

"No," Twilight shook her head, "isn't she at the sanctuary?" Flash opened his mouth, only for the bunny in question to appear, "Oh, hi Angel. What's going on?" The rabbit started talking, but they all just stared at the rabbit, "Do you know what he's trying to say?" Twilight asked, Spike shaking his head.

"Nope."

"She's saying she's not Angel," Flash sighed, the bunny nodding. "She's Fluttershy."

"Huh?" Twilight looked down at her, "Oh. Did you learn how to change your fur colour when you transform?" Fluttershy shook her head and tried to explain. "What? We can't understand you in that form. You're gonna have to change back."

"She can't," Flash added, "This is gonna get annoying." He started explaining and the pair gasped at hearing the tale.

"They switched bodies?" Spike asked, Fluttershy nodding.

"Seriously?!" Twilight yelped, "Another body switching situation?!" They watched as Fluttershy start making motions along with rabbit noises, but the three couldn't make out what it was.

"Sorry, we don't know what you want." Fluttershy face-palmed and pointed to Twilight. "Pony? You wanna be a pony again?" She shook her head and pointed at Twilight, then at herself before making a motion Flash assumed was meant to represent swapping something. "You want Twilight to do something?" Fluttershy nodded, continuing the motion. "You want Twilight to do a dance for you?" Fluttershy shook her head again.

"We're sorry Fluttershy," Twilight replied, "We just can't understand you. But let me see if I can maybe swap you and Angel back to normal." Fluttershy groaned at this, Flash having a feeling that was what she was asking for all along. "But I don't think I know a spell like that off the top of my head. I'll have to check my library to see if there's anything there."

"Now hang on there. You couldn't figure out how to get us back to normal when this happened," Flash chimed in, "How are you gonna fix this?"

"My magical library's increased a lot since then. I'm sure I'll find something."

"Well...okay," Flash picked Fluttershy up, "But I'm gonna take her to see Zecora and ask about an antidote. It'll be safer if I go with her. Who knows what she might run into in the forest." They nodded and all went their separate ways, Fluttershy letting out a sigh. "You okay?" Fluttershy tried to reply, but Flash had no clue what the reply was. "Sorry, I have no idea what you're trying to say." Fluttershy moaned again, "This must be how Angel feels all the time."

Hearing this, Fluttershy went wide-eyed, only to frown at those words. That is, till Flash added, "Don't worry. We'll get you to Zecora and get her to fix this. You'll be back to your old self in no time. And who knows, Angel might have your chores done by then."





Back at the sanctuary, Heart watched as Angel brought a metal bowl over to the chained up wolf.

He threw it down before filling it with carrots, making the wolf moan as he smirked. "And we're gonna keep at it until you start to develop a taste for it!" Sandra moaned as Heart shook his head at this. Angel checked a box off his list and read the next one, "Uh...Check Muriel's trunk." He moved over to the baby elephant, whose trunk was wrapped up in a sling.

He took it off and the elephant stretched her long nose, letting out a wimpy elephant cry before trying to suck air into it. But by doing so, she pulled a bunch of keys off a hook next to her and sucked them down her trunk. Heart gasped while Angel shrugged. "Eh, seems fine to me. As long as we don't need those keys."

"Are you kidding me?" Heart flew down at this, "Don't try and blow them out. I don't need to be Soul to know metal being pushed through a confined space at high speed isn't good."

"Let's see," Angel kept reading, "Massage Clementine's neck." He grabbed a ladder and carried it over to the giraffe, clearly forgetting Fluttershy's body came with wings, using it to climb up and pat the coughing giraffe on the back of the neck. Job 'done', he checked the list. "Get Scout to switch legs?" She looked over at the flamingo and saw it was asleep. "Eh, probably best not to wake him." He looked back at the list, "Did the thing with the thing, yadda-yadda-yadda, animals, animals, animals. All that's left is...Monitor Zecora's gecko until bedtime"?"

He looked up in horror before turning to the gecko. The little lizard breathed out some smoke, making him frown. If he had to watch the stupid thing until the sun set, he wouldn't get to do anything he wanted. "Alright, how about we do bedtime now?" The gecko tilted its head before pointing at its stomach. "Yeah, eating makes me tired, too." A smirk suddenly appeared on his lips. "Which reminds me. There's some carrot extract with my name on it." He looked around. "Okay! Let's get you fed and off to dreamland! What do you eat anyway?"

The gecko looked around, then spotted a certain cookie jar holding snake.

Angel took the gecko over to him and smirked as Antoine looked up. "What do you say, snake? Can you find something else to eat if I borrow those cookies for my friend here?" The snake looked down at the cookies, then nodded and emptied it out onto the ground in front of the gecko. The lizard started eating the cookies down and as it did, it coughed out smoke. "Eh, I'm sure that's normal."

Antoine slithered off to get something else to eat, while Angel carried the gecko over to his bed. "There you go." He put the lizard down to rest. "Problem solved. I don't see what's so hard about this job. Fluttershy is such a whiner."





Flash and Fluttershy were making their way through the forest, Flash being on the lookout for anything that might attack them. Luckily, there were no timberwolves, puckwudgies or cragadiles in sight. The bunny on his back was on constant alert, but Flash was sure they would reach Zecora's place in no time. "Relax Fluttershy. We'll be there soon." But as he said that, they pushed their way through a bush, only to hear a loud squawk.

Looking up, they gasped seeing an eagle flying down towards them.

"WHOA!" Flash leapt to the side, accidently throwing Fluttershy off his back. "Augh!" Flash picked himself up, "Wait! Eagles eat rabbits?!" He asked, only to point his sword at the bird, "Back off!" He swung his blade around, the avian taking to the air and flying off. "Cost is clear Fluttershy. You can come out now." But when he looked back, he found...nothing. "Fluttershy?"





The pony turned rabbit raced through the underbrush, terror at being so small overwhelming her ability to think straight. All she could think about was getting away from the bird, completely forgetting Flash was meant to be protecting her, which he couldn't do if she rushed off. She leapt through a bush and finally ran into something that stopped her dead in her tracks, that something being none other than Zecora.

She ran into the zebra's leg and staggered back as Zecora turned to her and smiled. "Quite a day, my fuzzy friend. Did things work out for you in the end?"

Fluttershy, panting in exhaustion, pushed herself up and started motioning for her. But alas, Zecora was just as incapable of understanding her as everypony else. "I'm...sorry, dear bunny, that things seem so grave. But I don't understand when you sign and wave." Fluttershy groaned at this, "A single link to all the world. Only one in all the land. How special she must be to you, the one who understands." Fluttershy went wide-eyed at this, now remembering what Flash had said. Angel really did have only one pony to speak to, and that pony had been ignoring him. "Perhaps if you explain what you wanted to some pony who understood. If you truly felt heard and valued, all would return to good."

As Fluttershy heard this, she realized Zecora hadn't given them the wrong potion. She had given them a potion to help them see through one another's eyes. She wanted them to swap bodies so they could see how the others lived.

"And if you were to both apologize, having learned this little lesson, I imagine that might bring an end to the friendship therapy session."

Fluttershy gasped and rushed back for the sanctuary while Zecora continued picking the flowers she had been foraging for before the bunny had arrived. A few minutes later, she heard rustling and looked back to see Flash staggering out of the bushes. "Zecora, have you seen Angel anywhere?"

"Angel, no, I haven't seen a peak. Though shouldn't Fluttershy be who you seek?"

"So you know they swapped bodies?" Flash asked, Zecora nodding. "Well, did you give them something to counteract the potion?" She shook her head, "Why not?"

"I'm sure you remember your own body switching event, and the lessons you and Twilight learned as it was spent?"

Flash blinked at her, only to facehoof, "You did this on purpose so Angel and Fluttershy would learn a lesson." She nodded, "So they're gonna switch back on their own?"

"Once their friendship is renewed and strong, only then will their minds return to where they belong."

Flash sighed at this, "That's...gonna get complicated. Especially if Angel is involved." He shook his head, "Nevermind. Which way to Fluttershy go?" Zecora pointed in the direction the bunny went, Flash galloping off, hoping he could find her before she ran into something too dangerous.





Back at the sanctuary, Angel was attempting to get into the storehouse in order to get the carrot extract he craved. But the door was locked, and he had a feeling he knew where the keys were. So instead of getting them out, he tried to push the door open just as Iron arrived from his patrol. "You're back!" He smiled, then noticed what Fluttershy was doing. "Is the door stuck?"

"Um...yes," Angel nodded, "Very stuck." He opened his mouth to say more, only to realize this was Iron. Fluttershy's husband. And he knew that if he told him that he wasn't really Fluttershy, Iron would likely want every detail of what had happened and he would never get that extract. "Could you...open it for me, hubby-wub?"

"Hubby-wub?" Iron raised an eyebrow, "Ooookay. But why not just slam it open by growing larger?"

Angel had actually forgotten he had that ability. Iron was about to charge at this, only for Fauna to walk up to them, "Angel, are you busy?"

This stopped Iron from his charge, spinning around, "What?" He asked, "Angel?"

"Oh Iron, you're back." She turned to Angel, "He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Iron turned to Fluttershy and glared at her, Angel gulping. A second later, he started to explain, Iron's eyes going wide, "YOU AND FLUTTERSHY CHANGED BODIES?!"

"Yes," Angel sighed.

"So where's Fluttershy?"

"She went to talk to Zecora to get something to reverse it. Flash went with her, so they shouldn't be too long." Iron growled at this, only for Angel to glance back at the door, "Now, do you mind opening this for me?"

"Before you do that," Fauna spoke up, "Do you mind helping me look for Muriel the baby elephant?"

"Oh," Angel pushed on the door, "She's having dinner with Antoine." This statement caused both Fauna and Iron's eyes to go absolutely wide.

"Antoine the python?!" Fauna cried, Angel nodding.

"It was on the list. Remember, Antoine wants to have Muriel over for dinner."

"You idiot!" Iron yelled as Fauna rushed up to grab him by the shoulders.

"Not OVER for dinner! He wants to have her FOR dinner!"

This correction caused the bunny turned pony to go wide eyed. "Wait, what?" Fauna and Iron ran off at this, Angel hot on their tails. Well, not hot. He was going with that, but not at the same speed.

When he arrived at the spot Antoine was, he found Iron and Fauna around the snake and saw a large elephant-shaped bump in his body. "Bad snake!" Fauna cried, grabbing the python's jaws and trying to force them open. "Open your mouth this instant, mister!"

"You alive in there?" Iron asked the baby elephant, who let out a cry. "AUGH! How could this have happened?! I thought those cookies Fluttershy got him were enough to keep him from doing this."

"Oh..." Angel laughed, "Yeah...about that." The other two turned to him, but a loud bark caught their attention and made them look over and see Sandra trying to grab some mice that were making off with her carrots. Either she had developed a taste for the veg and was angry it had been stolen, or she was trying to have the mice for a snack. Whichever it was, the mice ran off and accidently knocked over Harry's card pyramid. This made the bear roar, scaring several animals, including Scout, who started running, only for his leg to give out and make him fall. Clementine started coughing at this, only to suddenly let out a blast of fire. The flames caused one of the wooden structures to catch fire, scaring several birds until Iron stamped it out.

Fauna screamed as she rushed over to Angel "What is going on?! You did all the chores on Fluttershy's list! Huh?! Didn't you?!"

"Kinda," Angel shrugged, "Most of them...sort of."

"What do you mean, sort of?!" Iron roared as he ran to Angel. "Fluttershy entrusted you with finishing them off! I did all the hard work, all you had to do was a few simple tasks!"

"Why should I?" Angel cried, "It's not my job to look after these animals."

"Fluttershy would have already done them if you hadn't misbehaved and had her take you to Zecora! Now look at the mess you caused! Fluttershy's gonna be more busy then ever getting things back to normal!" He probably would have kept shouting, only to hear some movement, making them turn to see a very roughed up bunny crawling toward them.

"Oh my goodness!" Fauna yelped, "Is that Fluttershy?"

They picked the rabbit up, Angel looking terrified. "What's wrong with her?! What happened?"

"She's exhausted!" Fluttershy whimpered as Fauna turned to the others. "I need a jar of concentrated carrot extract! Stat!"

Iron growled at this, "It's in the supply room and the door is stuck!"

"Well," Angel scratched the back of her head, "Not stuck...just locked."

Iron glared at him at this, "You were trying to slack off and get carrots, weren't you?!" He turned to where the keys were usually hug, but found they were gone. "Angel...where are the keys?!"

"Um...Funny story?"

Five minutes later...

Angel and Iron were standing next to Antoine listening as the elephant let out a muffled trumpet sound, "So...any ideas how to get the keys out of the elephant that's inside the snake?"

"Well, you can always shrink down and let the snake swallow you, get the keys and come back out again."

Angel gulped at that, "Uh...any other ideas?" All of them crossed their arms/wings/paws ect, and turned away from him. "Okay, point taken. And I totally deserve it. I did not provide you with the care that Fluttershy would. But now you know what it's like not to get the level of attention to which you've become accustomed!"

"Not the time!" Iron yelled.

"The point is...Fluttershy is trapped in my bunny body. If we don't help her, maybe none of us will get her attention! I get that you don't want to help me. But don't you want to help her?"

The animals all glanced back, all remembering how Fluttershy was always there for them. Of course they would want to help her, even if it meant helping Angel. Sandra let out a howl of annoyance, then growled at Angel, telling him of a plan she had. It involved undoing the leash trapping her to the tree, then replacing it with a long rope. They took the rope over to a pair of trees that formed an X, with Clementine throwing one end over the crossover before the gecko brought it over to the snake and tied it around Antoine's tail.

"Here goes nothin'," Angel muttered as he nodded to Scout. The flamingo nodded back and gave Sandra the signal, the wolf rushing at top speed. This caused the rope to go tight and pull the python toward the tree. And when he hit it, the part of him holding Muriel got struck on the other side. Sandra kept pulling as hard as she could, slowly pulling Antoine's tail through the gap in the trees. And as more of him was pulled through, Muriel was pushed up his body.

And eventually, Antoine was pulled through the trees and the baby elephant was sent flying out of his mouth.

Everyone gasped seeing this as Muriel slammed into the ground, covered in...stuff. Angel and Iron flinched at this before running over to the elephant. Iron checked her over while Angel stared at her trunk. "Now we just need to get those keys out of there."

But as he said that, he noticed Muriel's trunk wasn't bulging like it had earlier after sucking the keys inside. And when Angel looked inside, he saw nothing to indicate they were in there.

"Wha...where are the keys?" But as he asked this, he heard a jangling sound and they all turned to see Heart flying down with the metal devices.

"Sorry I was gone for so long," he placed the keys back on the hook. "Cleaning the elephant snot off these things took forever." He turned to them, only to notice everyone except Muriel was staring at him with mouths open and eyes wide. "What?"

Angel turned to Murial with a glare, "Why didn't you tell us you didn't have the keys anymore!?" The elephant looked at him in anger and let out several angry cries. "Oh."

"What did she say?"

"She said she was worried if she told us she didn't have the keys anymore, we'd leave her in the snake until she was digested."

Iron wanted to tell the elephant that was ridiculous, but then remembered he had actually forgotten about the elephant when he saw Fluttershy. "Come on. Let's go help my wife turned rabbit. We'll talk about that later." He grabbed the keys at this, Angel and Heart following, the colt wearing a look of confusion.





Fauna continued to care for the exhausted bunny, only to hear a groan and looked up to see Angel pushing the carrot extract toward them. Once she got the jar up on the rock they were on, the bunny turned pegasus groaned as he slid down the side of it. "This place is so...much...work!" Fauna giggled as she opened the jar and moved over to her bag.

"Now you understand why Fluttershy is so tired all of the time," she commented, "I have no clue how she does it all. But we are so grateful." She took out a syringe and headed back to the jar as Angel leapt up onto the rock and looked over his exhausted form.

"I can't believe she does this every day!" he moaned, now understanding why she never had any time for him. "I just wish I could tell her myself." Fauna nodded as Angel opened her mouth, allowing the vet to place the extract in her mouth.

Iron and Heart arrived at this, the group gathering around her waiting to see if the extract could help. But after a few seconds, it seemed like it wasn't working. Angel started whimpering, only for Fluttershy to finally open her eyes. "You're awake!" He cried, happy when Fluttershy picked herself up and jumped up and down. She then started talking, with only Angel understanding her. "It was so hard getting to Zecora's hut? And impossible getting back? You can't believe I survive like this?" Fluttershy nodded, "Well, I can't believe you work here every day! These animals are crazy! No wonder you don't have time for me!"

"I'm still confused about who's who," Heart scratched his head.

"My life is hard?" Angel translated, "No, your life is hard!" Fluttershy spoke again, "You never appreciated me? No! I never appreciated you!" Fauna was glad she knew that they had swapped bodies or else she would be very confused right about now. "You're sorry? I'm sorry, too!" He grabbed the rabbit and pulled her close. "Come here, you little bunny who's a pony who's a bunny! Ooh!" The pair hugged one another and as they did, the pair suddenly glowed and the light swirled around as they cried out.

"Fluttershy!" Iron yelled as the light exploded off of them to reveal they had traded places with Angel hugging Fluttershy.

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy gasped when she saw she was back to normal. "I'm back!" She leapt for joy, "I'm a pony again!" Angel also leapt up in happiness as Iron rushed over to hug her. She hugged back before turning to her best bunny buddy. "Oh Angel, I promise to always make time for you from now on." Angel spoke back, actually glad he could now only talk to her. "What do you mean maybe I won't have to?" Angel continued to speak, making Fluttershy gasp, "You want to do what?!"

Iron and Heart raised an eyebrow at this, only for Flash to fly down, panting, "I...I finally found you!" He landed, looking exhausted. "I was hunting all over the Everfree for Fluttershy." He looked down at Angel, "Sorry I lost you."

Fluttershy giggled at this, "It's alright. Everything turned out for the best." Flash looked up at her and saw they were both back to normal, making him sigh in relief. That is, till Iron grabbed his tail, pulling him away.

"You lost my wife while she was in a defenseless bunny body, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EVERFREE FOREST?!"

"Um..." Flash muttered out, biting his lip before saying, "Well you see...um I...well..." Iron's growling increased as Flash began to sweat. "Look a distraction!" He pointed at the sky and everypony turned to see nothing there. Flash quickly pulled his tail out of Iron's grasp and shot into the air, flying away as fast as he could.

"SENTRY!" Iron roared as everypony laughed.





Angel's plan to spend more time with Fluttershy and not compromise her busy schedule was to start being a part of the sanctuary. He joined the predator/prey support group, where he learned he didn't just need Fluttershy to communicate. He also decided to help out wherever he could, helping Fluttershy complete her chores. Though he couldn't do much with his small body, he did his best to make things easier for her.

Zecora soon returned for her gecko and was informed by Doctor Fauna that he was actually a young fire lizard, who's developing flame made him look just like a gecko with a smoking cough.

Nighttime soon came with Iron and Fluttershy getting ready for bed, Fluttershy brushing her hair while Iron was giving his Celestic Gear a quick clean. "Iron?" He turned to his wife, "Do you think I should try and hire some extra help?"

Iron raised an eyebrow at this, "Where's this coming from?"

"Well, today got me thinking about everything I do at the sanctuary. It's really important and can't be put off, but I can't keep doing it all on my own. It's like you said: I'm not a machine. If I keep doing this every single day on my own, I'll break." Iron nodded at this, "And if more animals keep showing up, I'll eventually be overwhelmed. So if I want to keep the sanctuary running smoothly, I need to find help."

"Good idea," Iron replied, "Plus, it'll give you more free time. Time you can spend with Angel, your friends..."

"And you," Fluttershy smiled before putting down her hairbrush and getting into bed. Iron did the same and the pair cuddled up together. "Tomorrow, I'm gonna start looking for ponies that can help me. It might take a while to teach them everything that needs to be done, but in the end it'll be worth it." Iron kissed her at this, the pair then holding one another and went to sleep thinking about the same thing.

Fluttershy's job was important, but it was also important for the mare to have a life outside of it. In time, the number of ponies working at the sanctuary would grow to the point Fluttershy could hopefully have a nice work life balance. She could work at the sanctuary, spend time with Angel and her friends and be able to care for the family that she would one day be a part of.
> Grand's Regrets
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another perfect day in Ponyville as Lightning and Grand did a patrol in the town. The sun was shining, the birds singing as the ponies were busying themselves with work or enjoying their day off. As such, there wasn't much for either of them to do. Everything seemed to be going perfectly well that they were starting to get bored.

But as they walked around, the two arrived at the street with Carousel Boutique on it, only to spot Sweetie Belle walking out of the building. The filly was dragging something behind herself, which they quickly realized was a bin bag of trash that was so big, Sweetie was having trouble carrying it. And when she got to the nearby dumpster, she tried to lift the bag, but couldn't even get it above her head.

Lightning stepped over and took the bag in his magic, lifting it up and dropping it into the dumpster. Sweetie sighed in relief. "Thanks."

"Why does Rarity have you throwing out the trash?" Grand asked next.

Sweetie let out a moan, "She's getting me to clean out my room. Our aunt is coming for a visit and she's staying with Rarity. so I've gotta clean out my room so it doesn't look like a mess when she gets here."

"What?" Lightning looked into the dumpster and saw how big the trash bag was. "That's all from your room?" Sweetie glanced away at this, "I'm amazed it took this long for Rarity to make you clean it."

"A gross oversight on my part." They turned to see Rarity, who was wearing a hazmat suit while carrying a bucket and sponge. "To think such a large amount of filth was inside my home."

"It's not that bad!" Sweetie barked back.

"That plate I found under your bed was so filthy that I think the dirt was close to obtaining interstellar travel." The stallions laughed at this while Sweetie grumbled, "It's going to take a lot of work to get that room suitable for our aunt."

"Need some help?" Lightning asked, Rarity smiling under her helmet.

"That would be much appreciated. My aunt lives in Manehatten, and is used to the finer things in life. I wouldn't be able to show her my face if I had her stay in such dastardly horrible conditions."

"So your aunt's coming to stay," Lightning replied as the defenders walked inside, "I didn't realize you had an aunt."

"Well...she's technically my mother's aunt." Rarity removed her helmet. "But Sweetie and I have always called her our aunt. She doesn't have any children, so we're the only family she has." Lightning and Grand nodded, asking what she did, "She used to be a stage-hoof for Manehattan's theatre group. She eventually managed to rise to the rank of director and was a respected member of the acting society before she retired."

"Sounds like an interesting mare," Grand commented, Rarity smirking at this.

"She's about your age. Maybe you and she will get along beautifully." Grand saw the smirk, only to shake his head.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Come on gramps!" Lightning laughed, "Have you ever been on a date after grandma passed?"

"No, and I'm okay with that." Grand responded, his mind going back to Live Wire and his time with her. He thought back to when he first met her and their first of many adventures together, hunting down the Cutie Markers and their distribution. How they fell in love and lived their lives together, only to sigh, "That part of my life ended a long time ago."

"It doesn't have to be," Rarity added, "It's never too late to find love again."

"Maybe," Grand shrugged, "But I don't need somepony like that in my life. I have Lightning, Flash and all of you. I might have lost Live and my son, but I'm happy with how my life is at the moment."

He headed out of the building at this, leaving Lightning and Rarity to sigh. "I'm still sure my aunt would love to meet him."

"I'm not sure gramps would appreciate us butting into his business," Lightning replied, "He and my grandmother went through a lot with each other. You can't just forget about all that and move on. After everything Flash and Twilight have been through together, you think either of them would be able to let go and move on if they lost the other?"

"I guess," Rarity hummed, "We should at least introduce them to one another. See how well they get along before trying to do anything."

Lightning rolled his eyes at this, "Fine. But maybe we should focus on getting the room clean before doing anything else."

"Good idea," Rarity giggled as she placed her hazard helmet back on and headed for the door. Lightning followed, only to stop and grab something in his magic. A female yelp filled the air as Sweetie was dragged inside by her tail, having tried to escape when she thought the adults were distracted. She pouted as she was pulled over to the stairs and finally let go, keeping that face as she marched upstairs to finish cleaning.





Two days later...

Lightning, Rarity and Sweetie were at the station, waiting for the train carrying their aunt. Rarity checked the time and saw the train was due any moment. "What exactly does your aunt look like?" Lightning asked.

"She shouldn't be too difficult to spot," Rarity replied, "I doubt there'll be many old mares getting off the train." As she said that, the whistle caught their attention and made them turn to see a train roll up and come to a stop. The carriages slid open, ponies soon walking out.

Lightning then spotted a wrinkly old unicorn mare with a white coat and red mane. "Is there her?"

Rarity followed his hoof and saw the mare, but shook her head. "That's not her."

"Oh." Lightning pointed at another mare, this one being blue with a purple mane and tail. "Her?"

"No," Sweetie shook her head, Lightning now pointing to a brown mare with a black mane and tail. "Not her either!"

Lightning put his hoof down at this, Rarity's suggestion that barely any old ponies would be getting off now proven false. That is, till he saw an old unicorn mare with an olive green coat along with a lime green mane and tail. He decided to keep his mouth shut, expecting this pony to be another mislead, only for Rarity to see her and gasp. "Aunt Remarie!"

The mare turned to them and smiled, "Rarity!" She hugged the mare before turning to the younger filly. "And Sweetie Belle." She hugged her and pinched her cheeks, "Look at how big you've gotten." Sweetie groaned at this, only for Remaire to notice something on her flank. "And you have your cutie mark. Oh, I'm so happy for you."

"Thanks, Aunt Remarie." She let go of Sweetie's cheeks and the filly rubbed them, "We're really happy you're here."

"I'm happy to be here too," Remarie chuckled before noticing Lightning. "And who is this?"

Lightning gave a curt bow, "Lightning Blitz. It's very nice to meet you." Remarie smiled and bowed back, Lightning noticing the two large suitcases Remarie was carrying in her magic. "Would you like me to take those? You're probably exhausted after that long trip."

"Oh, you are a dear." She floated the bags over to Lightning and he took them in his magic. But as soon as she cut hers, the full weight pulled Lightning and his magic down to the ground with an audible cry. Remarie began to walk with her grandnieces. "So, tell me everything that's been happening since I last saw you."

Lightning pulled himself up and lifted the two bags, barely managing to get them off the ground. It felt like he was carrying ten bags instead of the actual number, making him wonder what the heck Remarie was carrying in these things. The group of four made their way through the town, Rarity and Sweetie telling their aunt everything that had happened since the last time they had seen them. Lightning was trailing behind, barely able to keep up while carrying the suitcases.

"Oh Rarity, you really should visit more often. You have that store in Manehatten now."

"I know. I'm sorry I couldn't come and see you. But whenever I'm in Manehatten, it's always on business and something always seems to eat up my time there. I promise, I'll come and visit you the next time I'm in the city, No matter what."

"That's nice to hear," Remarie replied, "But honestly, I don't think that'll be necessary. It's likely that even if you came to visit, I wouldn't be around much longer to visit."

The sisters gasped at this, "Don't say that!" Sweetie cried, "You've got years left! Decades even!"

Rarity nodded. "Indeed. Don't go saying such morbid things."

Remarie blinked at them, only to giggle, "No, I don't mean it like that. I mean that I probably won't be in Manehatten much longer." The sisters went wide-eyed at this as she let out a sigh, "Manehatten has been a good home to me, but it's such a busy city. Just going to the store for some milk has become exhausting with how fast everypony moves there."

"Ah." Rarity caught on, "You're thinking of moving out of Manehatten?"

"Yes. I'm far from being completely helpless, but I need to live somewhere I won't have to risk a heart attack every time I step out of the house. I'm thinking of moving into a retirement community. Maybe Silver Stables. I hear that place is a fun place to be."

"That does sound nice," Sweetie responded, "Or maybe you could move here? Ponyville's a great place to live."

"Yes, I did consider that. But then I remembered all those stories you kept sending me letters about. This town seems to go from calm and serine to absolutely insane at the drop of a hat."

Rarity sighed at that, knowing she was right. But despite this, Rarity spoke up, "Still, this place is the perfect spot to live out your life when it's not almost being destroyed. And we have some very strong and reliable ponies here to keep it from becoming a crater. Like Lightning." They glanced back, only to find that they had left Lightning in the dust.

"Reliable, huh?" Remarie looked back at her niece, who let out a chuckle. In that moment, she spotted another member of the defenders and smiled at seeing her chance.

"Yes. Very reliable. Like our most mature defender!" She ran over and grabbed Grand before he could argue, pulling him over to her great aunt. "May I introduce-"

"Grand Hoof?" Remarie gasped, as Grand turned to her and his eyes went wide.

"Remarie?" Rarity and Sweetie's heads shifted back and forth as Lightning finally caught up with them.

"You...you two know each other?" Rarity slowly said, her inner self going between surprise and smiling at the thought of them being old friends. That made it more likely for them to want to hang out and spend some time together.

"It's...complicated," Remarie replied, the two looking one another over, the younger ponies seeing the discomfort on Grand's face and the somber expression that soon adorned Remarie's. "It's been a long time."

"Very long," Grand nodded. "Are you doing well? After...what happened, you left Canterlot and I had no idea where you had gone to." He glanced at Rarity, "I guess it was Manehatten that you started living in?"

"Yes," Remarie nodded, "With the theatre company there, it was the best place I could find to work. I just...couldn't live in Canterlot anymore." This made Rarity and Sweetie go wide-eyed, both not knowing their great aunt had once lived in Canterlot. They had always assumed she had lived in Manehatten since her birth. "What about you? You're looking well."

"Thank you," he slowly responde, "I've been through a lot since then. I did what I could to put those events behind me." He looked over at Lightning, "I see you've already met my grandson." Remarie looked between Lightning and Grand, clearly surprised by their relation. "Anyway. I...I should get going. It was nice to see you again."

"And you," Remarie nodded before Grand headed off. Rarity watched him go and had a million questions, the mare quickly grabbing her aunt around the leg and pulling her to her house.

"How do you know Grand?" She asked as they reached the store and headed inside, Sweetie on their tail as Lightning had enough and simply teleported himself and the bags to the building. "You never told us you lived in Canterlot."

"And why did it look like you and Grand were upset to see one another?" Sweetie added as they sat around the kitchen table.

Remarie sighed as she sat down, Rarity quickly putting on the kettle as the older mare let her memories flow. "It's not that we're unhappy to see each other. I think seeing me is making Grand remember a pretty hard time in his life. The same time seeing him reminds me of."

"What time?" Sweetie asked as Lightning returned from dropping off her bags upstairs.

"The time when Grand first became a Royal Knight. When he saved the city from a pony who had been driven insane by a powerful magical device. A pony I loved."

The sisters went wide-eyed again, Rarity then remembering who she was dating and his history. Maybe it ran in the family. "You don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

Remarie shook her head. "No. It was such a long time ago that forgetting about it wouldn't do me any good."

And thus, she started to tell the story of a pony who was Grand Hoof's friend back when they were colts: Number Cruncher. She told them about the time when the magical devices known as Cutie Markers were first appearing, with Cruncher being the first pony to be sold one. The girls and Lightning were shocked at how Cruncher had used it to give himself an explosive Cutie Mark and gained the confidence to ask her out, using it to keep himself from feeling weak so he could have the life he wanted. But in using it, his mental state slowly started to deteriorate until an event caused him to go over the edge and attack Remarie and anypony that got in his way.

Remarie explained how Cruncher's fall to the psychotic caused him to try and destroy Canterlot, resulting in the death of Grand's best friend. Then there was Cruncher's fight to kill Grand and death using a damaged Cutie Marker. And as the story ended, Remarie let out a long sigh, "Despite all the pain he caused, I still loved Cruncher. After what happened, living in Canterlot was just too painful for me. So I left Canterlot and moved to Manehatten."

"Sweet Celestia," Rarity gasped, "That's horrible." She reached out and grasped her hoof. "Is that why you never married or had a family?" Remarie slowly nodded back.

"Cruncher was my love. I couldn't find anypony else after him." Rarity grimaced at this as Remarie switched their hooves so she could hold hers. "Don't be upset. I've had a good life. I spent my years surrounded by friends in Manehatten, entertaining hundreds of ponies. I might not have gotten to have a family of my own, but I have you girls. I don't regret the life I've lead."

"It's still a terrible thing to happen," Rarity muttered, "I knew Grand dought against those Cutie Marker things, but I never realized how much they took from him. His two closest friends..."

Remarie nodded, "Those Cutie Markers truly were evil."

"Well, you don't have to worry about them anymore." They both turned to see Lightning entering the kitchen. "My grandparents seeked them out and destroyed almost every last one of them. There are probably still a few out in the world, but nopony knows how to make them anymore. Once those last stray Cutie Markers are dealt with, nopony else will have to suffer like that."

"That's good to hear." Remarie commented before staring at Lightning with a slight smile, "Would it be okay if I asked what happened to Grand in the years since we last saw each other?"

"Sure," Lightning nodded, "But it's kind of a long story." Remarie nodded as Rarity made Lightning a cup of tea.

Lightning sat down and told her about what had happened in Grand's life, including his marriage to Live Wire and having a son he named after his best friend. Remarie was happy about this, but then felt bad when she learned about Live's death and his son's fall to the dark side. Lightning continued to tell her about how his father had met his mother, married her and had him before her own death at the hands of criminals. Remarie was horrified to hear about this, feeling sorry for the young unicorn who told her about his estrangement to Grand afterwards. He then told her about Grand's meeting of Flash Sentry and his training, Remarie of course knowing all about Flash from Rarity's letters. And then, Lightning told her about his own turn to the dark side.

"I see," Remarie sighed, "I guess Cutie Markers aren't the only way for a good pony to fall to evil. Any source of power has that potential." The other unicorns nodded as Remarie looked down at her drink. "Seeing his grandson become corrupted like that must have brought back many terrible memories. He probably felt like it was Number Cruncher all over again."

Lightning flinched at that, now remembering when Fluttershy had rushed into the Canterlot Cathedral, telling him about his grandfather being in a near death state due to his heart breaking. At the time, he had thought it was just because of him. But now he realized that there was more to it than that.

"Grand hasn't had an easy life," Remarie muttered, "Cruncher told me about his life before everything went wrong. He told me about Grand being left at an orphanage and raised there. He's had to suffer through so much trauma in his life. His family, his friends and so many others have been lost before his eyes. It's a miracle he hasn't fallen into despair after going through all that."

"Grand's life has been hard," Lightning nodded, "But he's had good times as well. The years he spent with my grandmother were apparently the greatest time he'd ever had. And when my dad was young, they were really close. Same with me when I was way younger. Life just...didn't let the good times continue after we got older."

"But that didn't mean he didn't have ponies that cared about him," Rarity added, "Celestia was there for him in those times. And then he met Flash. I'm sure training him was a great time in his life."

"And now he's here," Sweetie finished, "His son might still be insane, but Lightning was able to turn things around. Now he's living in a town where everypony cares about one another. It's one huge family and he gets to protect it, like what he always does." The older unicorns smiled at this, knowing she was right.

Remarie thought about it and was happy Grand found a place he could have a purpose. After everything that had happened to him, he deserved it. "So after your grandmother passed away, he never found anypony else?"

"No," Lightning shook his head, "I think my grandmother still has his heart, even after all this time."

"I can understand that," Remarie was reminded of Number Cruncher and how her life with him was tragically cut short. Once you found that special somepony, it was hard to feel that way about anypony else. "Well, I think we've gone down memory lane long enough. Why don't we head out and you girls show me around Ponyville? I'm sure Lightning has work he needs to be getting back to."

"No, I'm free. If there's anywhere in Ponyville you wanna go, we're happy to show you around." Remarie nodded and they all headed out of the boutique, soon beginning their tour.





Meanwhile...

Grand was continuing his patrol through the town. Everything was calm, which meant he had a lot of time to think, and what he couldn't help thinking about was the pony he had just ran into. Remarie had certainly aged gracefully, that was for sure, but seeing her made him remember that time. Despite Remarie never doing anything wrong, it was a time in his life he didn't want to think about. It might have been the time he became a Royal Knight and met the love of his life, but it was also the time he had lost two of his best friends.

Grand sighed as he made his way around the edge of the town, thinking back to the time when he and his friends were young. He and Doom had started off on the wrong hoof, but he had been there when Grand wanted to give up after what he had done. Grand knew his mistakes in the past had caused many ponies harm, but Doom had helped him learn to accept those mistakes and use them to better himself.

Then there had been Number Cruncher. The pony that had had such a bright future, but let his own inferiority complex turn him into a monster. Maybe if Grand had seen the pain Cruncher was going through, he could have helped him and stop the Canterlot Bombing from ever happening.

But if recent events involving time travel had taught him anything, it's that the past could and shouldn't be changed. He knew what happened happened, and he needed to accept that. But seeing Remarie like that made him wish he could have made things different. Even if only a little.

"Grand?" He looked up and saw Flash and Twilight, "Are you okay? You look like Spike when the store stopped selling his favorite candy bar."

"I'm okay," he replied, "I just ran into somepony that brought up some...painful memories."

The pair frowned at this, Flash quickly switching to a glare, "Who are they? An old foe?"

"Old friend," Grand sighed. "Or...somepony that probably would have been a friend had things turned out differently."





Remarie marveled at the sight of Ponyville.

The town had everything an old mare could ask for. There were plenty of quaint little shops and cafes one could spend their days at, along with a park full of beautiful flowers and scenic trees that you could waste away the day in. There was even a spa that would be perfect for soaking one's old bones. Every minute she spent here, the thought of living in Ponyville became more appealing.

"And this is the School of Friendship," Rarity announced as the four walked up to the large building. Remarie gasped at the architecture, having heard a lot about the school from her grandnieces.

"So this is where you teach?" She asked, Rarity nodding back. "Amazing. I never thought you would move into a teaching role."

"Oh, I'm still in the fashion business." Rarity giggled, "Teaching is my side career. And hopefully, one of my students will graduate and want to teach themselves. Flash's parents are beginning to take over for him and Twilight in certain classes, so I'm sure somepony will do the same for the rest of us eventually."

"I see," Remarie nodded as they headed inside. As they did, they saw many creatures running around the hallways getting to their lessons or study groups. Remarie continued to look amazed by everything around them as they made their way through the building.

"And this is my classroom," Rarity showed her the room that almost doubled as a second Ponyville boutique. "These are some of the designs my students came up with. Aren't they smashing?" Remarie stared at the sight, wondering how exactly one was supposed to learn generosity from making dresses. But based on how well the students apparently shared with one another, it worked somehow.





Grand had just finished telling the other two about his and Remarie's story, the pair now wearing faces of pure shock. "Wow," Flash whispered, "I can't believe that happened to you." Flash had always wondered how Grand had first become a knight, but had never asked given how sad mentioning it seemed to make him. "Poor Remarie."

"She probably hates me for what happened," Grand sighed, "If I had been better, I could have saved Cruncher before he lost his life. Maybe he and Remarie could have started over. Of if I had seen the pain he was in, maybe I could have helped before he ever got that accursed thing."

"What happened wasn't your fault," Twilight replied, "Cruncher chose to take that power, knowing the dangers that came with it. And it was that Technica that seduced him into accepting it."

"Maybe. But I failed to save him when it mattered."

"Remarie might not think that," Flash responded, "Or maybe she does. We don't know." Twilight frowned at him, but he kept gong, "You know who does know: Remarie." Grand tilted his head at this, only for Flash to say, "You shouldn't assume anything. Go talk to her. If she hates you, then we'll deal with it. But you don't know what she thinks. And this was a long time ago. Even if she hated you at the time, that might not be true now."

"Flash is right," Twilight nodded as they headed for the school. "And you can't avoid her. Her grandniece is dating your grandson. And Rarity's really close to her aunt, apparently. So, she's gonna be in your life for a long time."

Grand sighed again, "You're right."

"Yeah. Don't let this scare you. You've faced explosion causing ponies, dragons, changelings and a bunch of things way scarier than talking to a mare." As Flash said that, the school's door opened and they saw Rarity stepping out with Lightning, Sweetie and the pony they were talking about.

Grand and Remarie's eyes went wide at seeing one another, as the younger ponies looked eyes and had one of their telepathic conversations. They all nodded, knowing what they had to do. "Rarity, do you think you can take my measurements for a new dress?"

"Of course darling," Rarity replied, "I'm sorry aunty, but you can't say no to a princess." Remarie nodded as Flash turned to Sweetie.

"Scootaloo was looking for you. Apparently, there's some CMC business that needs you three to get dealt with."

"Oh, alright." Sweetie also apologised to her aunt and ran off while Lightning smacked his head.

"Oh yeah. I just remembered. Wild wanted my help with something. Sorry, I gotta go." He teleported away and Flash spread his wings, making an excuse that he had to make preparations for his next class.

"Don't worry," he told the old mare. "Grand can look after you." He took off before she or Grand could argue, the group dispersing and leaving the two older ponies alone together.

"Seriously?!" Grand sighed before turning back to Remarie. "Um...anything you wanna do while you're here?"

"Well, I've been shown around the town," Remarie replied, "And I did see a rather nice looking cafe I wouldn't mind trying out." Grand nodded and the pair headed for the establishment. Grand remembered what Flash had said and knew he was right. He couldn't just assume Remarie hated him. He needed to know how she felt about him, and there was only one way to do that.

"I'm sorry."

Remarie tilted her head at this, "Sorry for what?"

"For what happened to Number Cruncher," he responded, "How I was unable to save him. I wanted to apologise right after it happened, but I thought you wouldn't want to see me so soon afterwards. And when I finally thought enough time had passed, I found you had moved away."

"I see," Remarie sighed, "You're right to have waited. I was so distraught when I happened, I probably would have screamed at you about it being your fault." Grand frowned at this, "But it wasn't." She slowly looked up at him, "You weren't the one who made Cruncher do what he did."

"Maybe. But if I had seen how badly he felt about thing..."

"Nopony saw it. Number Cruncher hated himself, but he never showed it. I spent so long with him and never saw how badly he felt. Cruncher didn't want to be seen as weak and hid his true feeling from everypony. If he had opened up and allowed those feelings to be seen, I'm sure somepony would have noticed."

"Somepony did," Grand added as they arrived at the cafe. "And that somepony swindled him into accepting a horrible device."

Remarie nodded. "You did everything you could to help him. I can't hate you for that. Cruncher chose to take the Cutie Marker and he let its power corrupt him. He let himself turn into the monster he became. I'll always remember him for the kind pony I met, but he let that kind pony die before his life actually ended. So don't blame yourself for what happened. Because I don't."

Grand smiled at this, "Thank you."

The pair sat together and finally started really talking. After the pain of Number Cruncher left their interactions, they talked about everything they had been through after then. Grand told her about some of the adventures he had been on, such as fighting a unicorn that used a fire Cutie Mark to destroy the clothing store that had fired his girlfriend, or another who used an illusion Cutie Mark to trick ponies into seeing the ghosts of those who had departed the world in a hope of tricking them into joining his cult. Remarie then told him about some of the productions she had helped bring to stage, including ones where she took the lead as the one in charge.

Eventually, they finished their lunch and headed back out into the town. Things seemed to be going well between the pair, with Grand escorting the older mare back to her niece's home. "This was fun," Remarie commented, "And you know, maybe this place is the perfect town to move to."

"Move to?" Grand asked.

"Yes. Manehatten's gotten too busy for an old mare like me. You must have thought the same when you left Canterlot. The big city get too big?"

"I wouldn't say that," Grand chuckled, shaking his head, "Retiring wasn't even my idea. The Princesses suggested it. I had spent so much of my life training and fighting and training others to fight and...they decided it was time I got some rest." Remarie giggled at this, "I figured I would spend the rest of my life being bored out of my head, but Flash suggested becoming part of the Defenders, which would allow me to continue doing what I do best while also getting time to enjoy my life."

"So when you're not protecting the town, what do you do?"

"Oh, I do a lot of things. I tried doing the town's weekly trivia night, but realized going up against Twilight was not fun." Remarie raised an eyebrow at that, "I sometimes go bird watching or simply spend my day enjoying the peace and calm. But what I've really gotten into is model building."

"Model building?"

"Yes. You'd be surprised how much fun it can be. To simply relax and create something with your own hooves. I might fight using incredible bouts of strength, but I can have a gentle touch when I need to. And making models helps me keep that gentle touch."

"I would love to see that."

"Well, if you have time tomorrow. I'm off for the day and I'd be glad to show you."

"Perfect," Remarie smiled as they arrived at the boutique. "I'll see you then." Grand nodded and turned to leave, Remarie smiling as she opened the door, only to hear Twilight let out a moan.

"You realize I didn't actually want a new dress, right?" she told Rarity, Remarie spotting the seamstress as she was measuring the alicorn.

"Oh hush. You've been in need of a wardrobe upgrade for a while now. This just gave me the perfect excuse."

"What's the perfect excuse?" Rarity jumped and spun around to see her smiling aunt, the mare now trying to say something, but kept tripping over her worlds.

That is, till Twilight asked, "So, did you enjoy your day in Ponyville?"

"Indeed. It's quite the lovely little town. I look forward to actually participating in some of the activities around her instead of just watching and sightseeing."

"Well, we can do some of those tomorrow," Rarity assured her.

"I'm afraid not. I'm going over to Grand Hoof's place tomorrow." The pair's eyes went wide, "he offered to show me his model collection. Apparently, it a relaxing way to keep your hoof steady." The girls gave her a smirk as Remarie sighed. "Calm down girls. I'm just going over there to look at models and nothing more."

"Right," they both replied in unison, Remarie shaking her head before walking away. As soon as she headed upstairs, the younger mares squealed with joy. They knew Remarie and Grand would be spending more and more time together. It was inevitable that the pair would get together. They just knew it.





The next day...

As the sun rose in the sky, Remarie made her way through the town toward Grand's cottage. Rarity and Lightning walked behind her, both looking like they were still half asleep. Lightning let out yawn as they made their way through the town. "How the heck are you able to be up this early?"

Remarie chuckled at this, "I'm old. Old ponies don't like to be outside during the night. So, we go to bed as soon as the sun sets and wake up the moment it raises."

"Basically like Applejack," Rarity yawned as well.

They reached Grand's place and Remarie used her magic to make sure her mane and tail were presentable, then knocked to show their arrival. And after a few moments, Grand opened the door and smiled at them, "Morning."

"Good morning," Remarie replied, the other two waving, both yawning as Grand let them all in. His cottage was a small and cozy little area, the living room taking up half the bottom floor with a kitchen taking up another quarter. The upstairs was split between the landing, bathroom and bedroom. It was by no means a grand mansion, but it was perfect for a single pony that didn't want to spend ages cleaning. The living room had a large comfy armchair, a table and chair and multiple shelves. Some of these shelves were full of books, but most of them were housing models of different kinds.

There were wooden models that fit together like jigsaws, mostly of dragons and other creatures one might see in the Everfree forest. There were other ones that were made out of plastic, which were designed to resemble different models of trains and skyships. And, of course, there were many bottles that had old fashioned sailboats inside of them.

"Wow," Lightning looked them over, "I didn't know you had this kind of creative skill."

"Indeed," Rarity nodded, "These look absolutely marvelous."

"Thank you," Grand replied, "It's just something to keep my mind busy on particularly boring days. If I didn't do something like this I'd probably never get to sleep at night." He moved into the kitchen, "But my crowning glory is in here." They followed him into the kitchen and saw he had opened a door, which lead to the final quarter of the building.

Looking inside, they found the room was actually a staircase leading down to the basement. The other three were surprised, not figuring a cottage would have a basement. They all headed down, Grand turning on the lights, revealing the room had many tables inside of it that held a variety of models. They were of houses and structures that made up different towns and cities. One of the most completed of the models, though it was still missing a few places, was a town mirroring Ponyville.

"Wow..." Lightning whistled, "You recreated Ponyville from scratch?" Grand shrugged as the others saw some of the other model sets were places like Canterlot and Manhattan.

"So detailed," Rarity gasped, "Everything is right where it's supposed to be." She squinted as she saw every store and building in the city was right where it was supposed to be. It was almost like Grand had shrunk the city down and hidden it in his basement. "You've even got my store."

Grand waved his hoof at this, "I spent years working security all over Equestria. You need to have the city layouts memorized so you can make your way anywhere without needing a map. I've lost count of how many criminals I've taken down because I was able to navigate the cities better than them. Even now, I can close my eyes and picture the cities perfectly. Seemed like a waste not to use it."

Remarie stared at the model of Canterlot. She had never returned to the city after what had happened there, so seeing it as it was now was quite a sight to behold. But then she saw the street that Number Cruncher had been in when he lost his life, causing her heart to clench at the sudden rush of emotion.

Rarity noticed her aunt's sudden facial burden, "Are you alright?"

Remarie took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm fine darling. Just...amazed at all the fine detail." She turned to Grand, "You must have worked hard on them."

"Not hard," Grand responded, "Just...thorough. No point in doing it if you're not gonna do a good enough job." He watched Lightning as he used his magic to pick up a Manehattan taxi and pretend to drive it around like a little kid. He smirked at this until he noticed Grand watching him and put the taxi down, "It's too bad I don't have any younger grandchildren. It would give us an excuse to play with all this instead of just having to stare at it."

"Yes," Remarie nodded, "But who knows, maybe you'll get to use it to play with your great grandchildren." Grand laughed at this while Rarity and Lightning began to blush.

After a few more minutes of staring at the models, the four headed back upstairs and Grand put the kettle on. Rarity had to leave soon to open her boutique and Lightning was on patrol duty, the younger unicorns stepping out of the cottage and leaving the older ponies to sit and enjoy each other's company. They spent hours talking and talking about anything that came to mind. Books they had read, rumors they had heard and times from their past that they just happened to remember and want to talk to the other about.

As they did this, Grand showed Remarie one of his half-finished models and the pair busied their hooves and horn putting it together. By the time it was finished, Remarie realized it was the middle of the afternoon. She wanted to keep talking, but she also wanted to spend some of the day with her nieces. But she and Grand promised to meet up against the next day when they both had time.

And over the next few days, Grand and Remarie could be seen exploring the many different areas of Ponyville and enjoying their time together. Whenever Grand was on patrol, Remarie would be with her nieces at the spa or a restaurant. But when Grand was free, she was with him.

On the second to last day of Remarie's visit, she and Grand were in the park together. The pair were enjoying a nice picnic lunch, Remarie having made her famous jam sponge for them to enjoy. They ate and watched the other ponies playing in the park, many of them being youngsters who were making the most of a day off school.

Remarie sighed at this, "This place really is amazing. Every day I'm here I fall more and more in love with it."

"So, you think you'll move here for a more quiet life?" Remarie hummed at this, Grand seeing indecision on her face. "I'm sure Rarity and Sweetie Belle would love you being here. And a lot of other ponies that have met you over the last few days."

"What about you?"

"I'd love for you to be here," Grand replied without any hesitation. "But I can tell there's still something keeping you from agreeing."

"As amazing as this place is, I'm still worried about all the possible dangers that seemed to originate here. The last few days have been peaceful, but it's obviously not always like that."

"No. But you don't have to worry about being in danger. The Defenders and I will be there to protect you. Even after Flash leaves, me, Lightning and Iron will be more than enough."

Remarie frowned at this, only for a sudden scream to ring out. They turned to the noise, only to see ponies running away from something leaping out of the trees behind them: A Timberwolf.

The beast let out a growl and a roar as Grand stood up and turned to Remarie. "Go, GO!" Remarie leapt to her feet and ran with the other fleeing ponies as Grand rushed at the beast. The wolf saw him and flexed its claws, but Grand grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it at the monster before it could strike, hitting in in the between the eyes with enough force to break its head apart. Grand then leapt up and with all his earth pony strength, punched through its body, causing it to break apart.

He panted at this, knowing the wolf would soon regenerate, only for more growling to ring out, making him loop up to see several more timberwolves stalk out of the trees. Grand slowly backpedaled, only for a blast of fire to hit one of the wolves, causing it to explode. Grand looked up and see Fire Heart, Flash right behind him as the colt unleashed several fireballs. The flames made the wolves leap back, only for Flash to zip by and cut them to pieces.

Grand quickly got back into the fight and punched his way through the last few wolves while Heart ignited the remains to stop them from reforming. "Thanks," the older pony told the two.

"Just be glad we were flying overhead," Flash replied, "But what the heck are timberwolves doing out here?! They never leave the Everfree Forest."

"You think somepony made them attack?" Heart asked.

"Or some other creature pushed them out of their territory," Grand sighed, "We'd better head in there and investigate." The other two nodded, Flash suggesting them get any needed supplies before doing so.

And as Grand left the park, he found Remarie waiting for him. "Are you alright?" She asked, "Those monsters didn't hurt you, did they?"

"I'm fine," he nodded, "Nothing I can't handle. But we're gonna have to head into the forest to make sure nothing's going down in there." Remarie frowned at this, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll have the other Defenders with me." Remarie still didn't look happy, only to see Grand walk away with a determined look on his face.

An hour later, Flash, Grand, Lightning and Iron were set to get going. Heart wanted to go, but Flash told him somepony needed to stay behind in case more wolves showed up, and with his firepower, he was the best option. Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy hugged their special somepony while Remarie saw Grand waiting for them to follow. They headed into the woods next, Remarie turning to the mares, who didn't look the least bit concerned.

"Aren't you scared?" She asked, the three all turning to her, "Those woods are dangerous. What if they don't come back?"

But the mares all smiled. "Don't worry," Twilight assured her. "Those four will look after each other. The creatures in those woods would be smarter to be scared of them." The others nodded as they turned to leave. "If they don't come back by tomorrow, then I'll worry. But until then, I'll trust Flash to keep himself alive and find whatever caused the wolves to attack."

Remarie stayed where she was for a few more moments, worry coursing through her. But she eventually returned to Rarity's place with her niece while whispering, "Please stay safe."

The rest of the day seemed to go on like any other, the ponies not even looking at the woods with worry. Remarie was amazed by how calm they were all being. If something like this had happened in Manehatten, the whole city would have been on alert and nothing else would get done. It seemed that while living in Ponyville could be a risky operation, it gave you the power to cope with anything that life threw at you. It was no wonder the greatest heroes Equestria had ever seen lived there.

Nighttime eventually came and Remarie was getting ready for bed, having just had a bath and was now getting into her sleep wear. As she did, Rarity stepped into the room carrying a cup. "I thought you might want some green tea to settle yourself before you went to sleep."

"Thank you darling," Remarie took it and sipped the cup. "I envy you."

"Oh?" Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Envy me?"

"To have to courage to be with somepony that had such a dangerous life. One mistake and Lightning could be lost forever. How can you stand it, knowing that the one you love could be lost forever?"

Rarity sighed and shook her head, "It's like we said before, we trust in them to keep each other safe. And we know an accident could happen. But if we worry about them getting hurt like that, we'll be driven crazy."

"Exactly. You risk your own pain because they go out and do dangerous things."

"Maybe. But being with Lightning makes me happy. And it's not like he's always doing something dangerous. I mean, more ponies die of everyday, mundane stuff than they do being heroes. Flash and all the defenders have been doing this for years and none of them have lost their lives. Yes, there have been a few close calls, but they always come out of it better than ever."

"That just means it hasn't happened yet."

Rarity put her hoof on her aunt's shoulder, "Aunty, this isn't about me, is it?" Remarie flinched at this, "You just don't want me to feel the same pain you felt."

Remarie looked shocked by this, only to glance away, "If you had felt what I felt that day, you wouldn't want to risk feeling it either."

Rarity shook her head, "So that's it. You didn't stop dating because Cruncher was your one true love. You stopped dating because you didn't want to feel that pain again." Remarie said nothing to refute this. "Aunty, you can't run from pain. I might not have lost anypony, but I know ponies that have. Iron Core, Tidal Wave, Grand and even Lightning. They felt the pain of loss and it affected them greatly. But they pushed past it and allowed themselves to love again. And you have too as well."

"Even if it means I could be hurt again?"

Rarity nodded, "Everything worth having is only worth having because it comes with the risk of losing it." Ramarie didn't respond to that, "You love me, don't you?" Remarie glance back at her as Rarity continued. "And Sweetie Belle. You love us both?"

"Of course I do!"

"But if we died, you would feel pain. So wouldn't it be better to not love us?"

Remarie realized what Rarity was trying to do here and sighed, looking down as she thought about never getting to be with her beautiful nieces. "You're right. I can't let my pain stop me...and neither should you."

Rarity nodded back, "If something bad ever happens to ponies I love, then I'll deal with the consequences. But until that happens, I will continue to live the life I love no matter what." She hugged Remarie and Remarie hugged her back, the younger unicorn leaving to head to her own room while Remarie finished off her tea and got into bed. Worry still racked her, but she managed to drift off to sleep, but not without the image of Grand surrounded by timberwolves flowing through her mind.





The next morning...

Remarie, Rarity and Sweetie Belle were making their way to the train station, Remarie needing to get back to Manehatten. As they headed there, Remarie couldn't help but look over at the woods. There hadn't been any more timberwolf attacks, but there had also been no sign of the defenders. Rarity saw this and followed her line of sight, hoping Lightning would have been back by now. But she was still staying strong, not letting the worry consume her.

They arrived at the station at this as the train was about five minutes away. They put her bags down and Remarie turned to the girls, "Thank you for the lovely visit."

They hugged as Sweetie spoke up. "Come back soon."

"I will," Remarie nodded, "And you girls are welcome to visit me the next time you're in Manehatten."

"So you're not going to move here?" Rarity asked, Remarie frowning and shaking her head.

"This town is amazing, and I can understand why you love to live here, but..." She remembered the timberwolves and Grand having to go into the forest. If she lived here, she would constantly be worried every time she saw Grand out on patrol. But was that enough to stop her from living in such a scenic place?

"Hey!" They all turned to see Grand and Lightning, Rarity and Remarie both gasping seeing the pair looking muddy but unharmed.

"You're back!" Rarity exclaimed, about to hug Lightning, only to see his muddy state as Remarie walked over to Grand.

"You're okay?"

"Perfectly fine," Grand assured her before letting out a yawn. "It took all night, but we managed to fix the problem that caused the timberwolves to attack."

"What did cause the timberwolves to attack?" Sweetie asked.

"A couple trees had fallen in the woods and blocked a stream that fed a cragadile lake," Lightning replied, "It dried up and made the cragadile need to search for another lake. The only one it could find was in the timberwolves' territory and it pushed them out."

"So you managed to fix it?" Rarity asked.

"Yup. Got rid of the trees and once the lake was filled back up, the cragadile was happy to go back to the larger body of water. Shouldn't have to worry about the timberwolves causing problems for a while."

"That's good," Remarie sighed, only for a train whistle to catch their attention, "I guess this is it."

"Doesn't have to be," Grand chimed in, "You could come back for another visit. Or stay here full time."

Remarie glanced back at Grand, "Maybe...maybe I will." They all smiled at this, "But not yet. Manehatten might be growing too action packed for me, but I don't think I'm ready to leave it just yet. Maybe one day I'll move here. But for now, we'll just have to hope we see each other again."

"Definitely," she and Grand hugged one another as the train pulled into the station. As it did this, Remarie got on board before waving at the group, all of them waving back.

And as the train pulled out of sight, Lightning walk up to him. "So, you two decide where you're going on your next date?"

Grand rolled his eyes, "We haven't been on a date. And we won't." The younger ponies frowned. "Remarie and I are friends, that's all. There's nothing romantic between us."

"You might think that," Rarity added, "But she-"

"Only sees me as a friend," Grand assured her. "Trust me, I know. We discussed that and both agreed we weren't looking for anything like that." He smirked at them, "A mare and stallion can be friends without having feelings for each other." The three frowned at this as Grand laughed and walked off.

Young ponies today had no idea how to read a situation. Grand looked forward to the next time he saw Remarie and hoped she would one day make Ponyville her home. But that was all he hoped would happen. Because even though old ponies were more than welcome to have relations, Grand and Remarie were fine with just being friends.
> A Horse Shoe-In
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All was well in the School of Friendship, everyone focused on their studies or the classes they were teaching. That is, except for Starlight, who was in her office, putting up some decorations. And as she did this, she thought about how up and down her role as school counsellor had been. When the school first opened, she ended up having a bunch of appointments due to the creatures there not getting along at first, only for things to calm down and now she barely got any appointments, though she did get a few such as Cozy Glow and Twilight during the ladybug incident.

Now she suddenly found herself having more appointments than she could handle due to offering help with absolutely everything. That situation had caused a few issues, such as having no time for her friends and eventually leading Silverstream to go missing during a cockatrice outbreak.

But now she had set hours and appointments, which calmed things down thanks to the new balance she had created. That is, till a rare day like today, when nopony needed her help with anything. As such, she was busy making her office look nicer to visit. "I think you really spruce up the office, Ms. Philodendron." She commented as she watered a plant, gasping as an idea formed in her head. "Oh! I'm gonna call you Phyllis!" She patted it on the leaf before speaking like a baby. "Don't you look good, Phyllis!?" Then, a knock came from the door and she answered in her baby voice. "Come in!" But she quickly shook her head and cleared her throat. "I mean, uh, come in!"

The door opened before Twilight, Spike and Flash walked in, Spike and Flash glancing around as Starlight got up and moved around her desk. "Uh...were you just talking to someone?"

Starlight gasped, moving the plant behind her back. "No! Why?" She let out a nervous laugh, as Twilight stepped up to her.

"Starlight, I have something very important to discuss with you."

"Is this about taking that slice of cake from the teacher's lounge?" Starlight asked, "Because it didn't have a name on it."

"Yes," Flash frowned, "It did."

Twilight giggled at this. "It's not anything like that." She gestured to Spike, who was carrying a thick scroll that he unraveled to be twice as long as Starlight was tall. And after clearing his throat, he started reading.

"Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship, in light of her impending ascension to the throne of Equestria and in anticipation of her many duties and responsibilities forthwith, does hereby intend to make good on her previous offer to you, Starlight Glimmer, of replacing her as headmare of the School of Friendship!"

Starlight went wide-eyed at this as Twilight added, "Starlight, I want you to take over the school when I move to Canterlot."

"I know!" Starlight replied while still looking shocked. "It's just so...amazing!" She tried to smile, but shock continued to cover her face. "I'm a little...do you think I'm really up for it?" Flash was about to answer, but Starlight beat him to it. "Of course you do! I've covered for you every time you've had to run off and save Equestria, but...I mean...yes. Of course! Thank you!" She grabbed the three and pulled them into a hug that would make a yak jealous, letting out a squeal of excitement as she did.

"You're welcome," Twilight groaned, "And I can't think of anypony who'd be better for the job."

"But," Flash gasped, "Maybe don't hug the students like this. The last thing we need is...the new headmare to crush a student's spine." Starlight let them go at this, smiling like a filly at heartswarming.

"I'm a little nervous. And excited. I'm mostly just nervous."

"I understand," Twilight nodded, "Of course I'll have a lot of important responsibilities as ruler of Equestria, but I'll always be available to help whenever you need."

But as she said that, Spike burped out a scroll and quickly read it. "Are you supposed to be at a royal etiquette lesson with Celestia and Luna right now?" Twilight's eyes went wide.

"Right!" She sighed, "Can't underestimate the important responsibility of royal napkin placement." She teleported away, Flash and Spike shrugging as they left, only for Flash to glance back at her.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay? Not gonna twilight out, are you?"

"Of course not," Starlight waved her hoof, "Relax, alright? I got this." Flash slightly glared at her before leaving the room, Starlight now leaning against her desk. "Wow," she sighed before turning to her plant, "I mean, no biggie, right Phyllis? I've totally got this." But then she accidently nudged the table, causing the plant to be knocked off, flinching at the smashing sound that filled the air as the potted plant crashed into the floor. A nervous laughed escaped her lips as she suddenly thought about all the accidents that she would be responsible for preventing. "No...biggie."





Later that day...

Trixie was making her way through the school. The mare was on her way to have lunch with Starlight, a tradition they had started as students of princesses. But it seemed Trixie wouldn't be able to call herself that anymore, given Luna's impending retirement. Soon Trixie would have to find something else to fill her time now that she had apparently learned everything Luna had to teach.

Trixie sighed as she glanced around the school, wishing she could have had a straightforward path like the one Twilight had been on. But there was no Elements of Harmony forcing Trixie to go on a life changing adventure, stop an ancient evil and be put on the path to princesshood. No, Trixie was gonna have to find something else to focus her attention on. And as amazing as her stage magic was, going back to just doing that would seem like a waste after everything she had been put through.

"I guess I could always get a job on a rock farm," she groaned as she got to Starlight's office. She knocked and when Starlight didn't answer, Trixie opened the door and found the mare gluing a potted plant back together while mumbling to herself.

"And what if I forget about permission slips? How can I be sure the students are allowed to go on field trips without parents permission?! Ooh...what am I gonna do?"

"Starlight?" The mare screamed and knocked the plant off her desk, threatening to smash it against the ground. Luckily, Trixie was able to catch it before it broke and lifted it up in her magic. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" Starlight started brushing her hoof through her mane in a circular fashion, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you seem to be a little nervous about something. Plus, you're doing that thing where you curl your mane around your hoof when you're worried about something." Starlight turned to her hoof and saw her mane was coiled around it, the unicorn quickly pulling it out as Trixie walked over to her. "Come on, what's the problem? There's no way you'll enjoy your lunch if you've got whatever's wrong on the brain."

Starlight sighed as she placed her chin in her hooves. "Well uh...Twilight is...giving the School of Friendship over to me."

Trixie gasped at hearing this. "Really?! That's amazing!" But then it hit her, seeing the expression on Starlight's face, "Oh. You're worried about how you're gonna run the place, aren't you?"

"Exactly," Starlight cried, "Twilight's putting her faith in me and...I can't let her down."

"I doubt you could do anything that would let Twilight down."

"Yes I can! I could run the school she worked so hard to create and make successful into the ground! One little mistake and I could ruin everything!"

Trixie rolled her eyes at this, "You've been spending too much time around Twilight." She patted Starlight's shoulder, "Come on, you're not gonna ruin the school. You've been filling in for Twilight since the start. How will this be any different?"

"That time I was just a stand in!" Starlight yelped, "If anything big happened that needed the headmare to make a decision, I didn't have to worry since I could just leave it for Twilight to worry about when she got back! Now, I'm the one who has to make that decision! What if I make the wrong decision?!" She started shaking Trixie at this, "What if I poison my students by feeding peanuts to an allergic one?!"

The next thing she knew, she was getting slapped across the face. "Get ahold of yourself," Trixie replied, "You're not gonna poison anypony."

"But I don't know if I can run this school!" Starlight cried, "I still need to learn as much as I can about running the school!"

She then ran past Trixie, exiting the room as her friend ran after her. "Where are you going?" Trixie asked, catching up to her as they made their way to what Trixie assumed was Twilight's office.

"Like I said, I need to learn as much as I can about running the school, and the only pony who really runs the School of Friendship is the Princess of Friendship. And I'm worried about doing it all alone, so I want to get as much advice from Twilight as I can while she's still here."

"I guess that makes sense." Trixie stopped as Starlight continued on, "But Twilight's never really done anything alone. She always has her friends." As soon as she said those words, Starlight's eyes went wide and she turned to smile at the blue unicorn.

"That just gave me an idea! Thanks Trixie! You can give good advice when you don't mean to!"

Trixie blinked at her, "Uh...thanks?" She shook her head at this, "Wait, are we still doing lunch?"

Starlight didn't answer, bolting for Twilight's office and heading inside without knocking. Doing so allowed her to see the alicorn trying to fold a napkin into a swan. "Getting royal place settings just right is a lot harder than it looks."

"Ooookay," Starlight wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Uh, I know how busy you are, but I wanted to talk to you about running the school because honestly, I was a bit worried about taking it over all on my own. But I just realized you never did it alone."

Twilight had been listening, but also trying to get the origami to stick instead of flying apart. "Having a friend help out is pretty great." She seemed to have it perfect. But as soon as it was the swan on the table, if fell apart and she let out a huff.

"Exactly!" Starlight used her magic to blast the napkin into shape. "So, what do you think about me hiring a vice headmare to help run things?"

Twilight smiled back at her, "I trust you to run the school any way you want. And if that means hiring a vice headmare, I think it's a great idea."

"Really?" Starlight gasped, having been worried Twilight might say no.

Twilight nodded back, "Like you said, I've always had ponies around to help. And don't worry. You can always call on me to-"

"Uh, Twilight?" They turned to see Spike walk into the room. "Rarity says you were supposed to be at the boutique five minutes ago for your second fitting for the coronation gown."

"Ugh," Twilight groaned, "How many fittings are there gonna be?!"

Spike shrugged in response, "A lot?"

Twilight shook her head before turning to Starlight, "Anyway, good luck finding your vice-headmare. I know you'll pick the right pony for the job." With that, she teleported away while Spike ran out. Starlight also headed for the door, wondering how exactly she should pick her vice-headmare. But as she stepped up to the door, Trixie jumped in.

"Wow," she exclaimed, "I heard the whole thing. And all I can say is I am humbled."

Starlight tilted her head at this, "Uh...why?"

"I hadn't ever considered it, but hearing you say it out loud made me realize what a great and powerful vice headmare I'll be!" She grabbed Starlight and pulled her in for a hug. "Plus, we get to work and socialize at the same time!" Starlight blinked at this, now figuring out what she was saying and knew Trixie was probably expecting her to hand over the job. She was about to answer, but then Trixie laughed. "Just kidding."

"Huh?"

Trixie pulled away at this with a big grin, "That's probably what I would have said back before I was Luna's student. But I know you can't just be given a job because it would be fun for you and the one giving it to you."

"Yeah," Starlight sighed, "It would be fun, but you're right. I can't just give you the job."

"Still doesn't mean I can't apply for the job," Trixie chuckled, "You never know, I might actually turn out to be the perfect pony for the position."

"I hope so," Starlight then cleared her throat. "Alright, what qualities do you think make you the best pony for the job?"

Trixie opened her mouth at this, only to go wide-eyed. "I...have no idea." Starlight rolled her eyes. This was gonna be harder than she thought.





And so, Starlight put the word out. Anypony in Ponyville who wanted to try and fill the position of Vice-Headmare. She, of course, hoped Trixie would be the best for the job, but she also knew she needed to treat this position with respect, so she would do everything in her power to test Trixie and the other applicants to make sure they could handle anything the job threw at them.

Aside from Trixie, four other ponies applied for the position: Big Mac had decided to try and step out of his comfort zone, though Starlight wasn't sure he could handle working as vice-headstallion and on the farm. Another was Octavia Melody, who could be quite the useful vice-headmare given the details running an orchestra could entail. Then there was Time Turner, who had the smarts to fill in for any teacher when they were called away. And finally, much to Starlight's surprise, Spoiled Rich was there, looking as snobby as ever.

Trixie was also there, as the five ponies stood in a line with Starlight speaking up. "I'm glad you all decided to be a part of the search for the School of Friendship's vice-headmare."

"Honestly," Spoiled Rich rolled her eyes. "If you're looking for somepony to fund-raise, I can bring in enough bits to have several buildings named after me."

"Well," Starlight scratched her head, "That's not the primary responsibility of the vice-headmare. But anypony is welcome to apply. I think the selection process I've come up with is pretty special."

"Alright then," Trixie shined a big grin, "Lay it on us. What do you need us to do?"

Starlight nodded and after clearing her throat, she held up a chart that showed a three-tiered pyramid. "Since you all have to prove you have what it takes to be vice-headmare, I've designed the interview in three stages. Each stage will test a different skill the vice-headmare needs. Only those who do well will move through the stages until finally the best candidate rises to the top! So, without further ado, it's time for stage one: Substituting for the teachers!"

The candidates all murmured as they wondered what this would entire, Trixie smirking, "Perfect. I've stood in a few time before. I think I can handle this. Which class am I substituting in? Rarity's? Rainbow's?"

Starlight held up a hat, "Each of you will take a piece of paper from this this hat. This will tell you which class you'll need to fill in for, since it's likely your substitution duties could happen out of the blue with no warning." They nodded and each took a piece of paper out, except for Spoiled who refused to touch other pony's clothing.

"Come on Generosity or Laughter class!" Trixie opened the paper and found she would be filling in Twilight's history lecture. "Oh, come on!"

"You all have thirty minutes to prepare something. You'll find what you'll be teaching in the classrooms you've been given." Starlight walked off and the ponies all headed toward the classes written on the paper, Trixie finding herself in the history class and locating a bunch of papers on the desk.

She read through it and learned what she would need to teach to each of the students, opening up the history books and almost falling asleep at the first page. "This is impossible." She took a deep breath at this, "I just gotta play to my strengths. Now...how do I make any of this stuff sound interesting? If I just read it, nobody's gonna listen and I'm not gonna pass. Gotta find a way to make history come alive."





Starlight was making her way toward each of the classrooms. She had a clipboard in magic hand, ready to see each teaching method, eager to see what they would do, as she would hate to have to eliminate anypony at the first trial. First, she checked in of Big Mac. She was in Rarity's classroom, showing the class how to sew and stitch with Rarity watching to make sure nothing happened. "Wow," she heard Ocellus comment as she arrived. "That seam is so straight! You really learned how to sew from mending apple sacks on the farm?"

"Eeyup!" He nodded, Starlight smiling as she saw how well he was doing.

She then headed to Rainbow's classroom, where Spoiled Rich was supposed to be teaching the students. And when she got there, she found the mare giving a lecture. "Obviously, loyalty is the foundation of friendship and trust." Starlight nodded, glad to see Spoiled actually could be a decent teacher. "But nothing gets more loyalty than a big stack of bits!" Starlight frowned, as Spoiled took out a large book. "This book on business will teach you all how to earn your own. Chapter one: Equity..."

Starlight frowned and carefully stepped away, knowing Spoiled probably wouldn't like what she had to say. She took several notes as she determined Spoiled Rich probably wasn't the best candidate. And as she headed for the next class, she heard a bunch of music and ran over to Pinkie's class. There, she found Octavia teaching the students how to play a bunch of different orchestral instruments while she played the cello. The students all laughed and cheered as they slowly improved their playing ability, able to keep in time with one another a make a musical marvel. Of course, Pinkie couldn't stop herself from getting involved and started playing her yovidaphone as well.

Starlight smiled at the sight, seeing Octavia knew what she was doing. She wrote some notes as she headed for Fluttershy's class, which was where Time Turner was working. When she got there, she found the earth pony had set up a small science experiment. The students watched as his contraption boiled water, blew up a balloon and create a chain reaction that led to a baby bird getting fed the perfect amount of water. This excited the students and Fluttershy as well, Starlight smiling as she headed for the final room. And this one had her a tiny bit worried.

"Come on Trixie. Show me what you got." She walked into the classroom, expecting Trixie to simply be reading the book and barely giving any details, only to go wide-eyed.

"In the Pre-Equestia Era, year thirteen twenty-two, Abraxius the Bold set out of a harrowing adventure." In a flash of light, a pony stick figure appeared in the air. Trixie was using her illusion magic to put on a show for the students. As she read what happened from the book, her illusions reenacted it and allowed the students something to visualize whenever they tried to remember this. Even Gallus, who usually took a nap during history class when he could get away with it, was at full attention.

To say Starlight was impressed was an understatement. "She might just be able to pull this off." However, the show soon came to an abrupt stop when Trixie came to a part of the book she had no idea how to interpret.

"He had to uncover the mythological...cap...nar? Cap...niar? Cap...I have no idea what this is?" The students laughed as Trixie decided to skip that part, but in doing so she had no idea what to show the students with her illusions when she resumed the story.

"Or she might not," Starlight added.





Back in her office, Starlight was looking at the pyramid chart and placed Mac, Octavia and Time Turner's pictures onto it.

"Okay Phyllis, obviously those three are moving on." She looked back at her desk, where Trixie and Spoiled's pictures were laying. "But what about the rest?" She picked up Spoiled's picture and frowned. "Mm-hmm. I think we're in agreement on this one." She put the picture away, deciding Spoiled would not be moving on.

She then picked up Trixie's photo and thought about what she had seen. "She had the right idea, but does being flashy make up for not knowing the curriculum?" She hummed, turning to her plant. "What do you think?" The plant said nothing in reply and at that moment, Trixie stepped into the room.

"Starlight!" She smiled, "I wanted to know how well I did during the first round? I know my illusions were a big hit, but some of the history wasn't as...easy to understand."

"Trixie, you know I can't just tell you how well you did. We might be friends, but I have to treat you just like any other applicant." Trixie frowned at this, "But..." Starlight put her picture up on the chart. "I've decided to let you go through to the next round. I wanna see how else you'll handle situations like the one you faced earlier."

Trixie sighed in relief, "That's good. I was worried I was gonna bet booted out after the first round. I'm just glad I didn't go with my first idea."

"Which was?"

"The entire class taking a nap." Starlight glared at her at this, "Don't worry. I'm gonna slay the next round." She scratched the back of her head, "Though uh...what is that exactly?" Starlight rolled her eyes, shaking her head as the two walked out of the office.





After Starlight told Spoiled she did not make it through the first round, she gathered the four up to discuss the next round. "Alright remaining vice-headmare candidates, welcome to stage two! All of you are here because you performed your first trial well enough to face your next challenge: Parent teacher conferences!" She lead them all toward the library, "The vice-headmare will need to be a master communicator, and I can't think of a better test of that than meeting with our students and their parents or guardians."

"I eagerly look forward to sharing my love of science with both progeny and progenitors!" Time Turner announced, as Octavia nodded.

"Indeed. An orchestra is made up of different parts, and good communication is the key to harmony."

"Eeyup," Mac agreed.

Trixie smiled at this, "I can't wait to talk to whoever I'm meeting. Learning about them will give me insight into learning about the student. And that will help be figure out the best way to reach them. Just watch, I'm going to crush this stage!"

Starlight hoped she was right as they arrived at the library, only to find four students and their guardians waiting. Silverstream was with her father, while Ocellus and Yona with both parents and Gallus was with Grampa Gruff. Starlight once again used the hat pulling way of determining who each candidate would talk to.

"Life at the School of Friendship is like a song," Octavia told Ocellus' parents. "And although she started out singing her part pianissimo, Ocellus is now soloing fortissimo!"

The two changelings shared a glance, "That's good, right?

Octavia let out a nervous chuckle, "Indeed."

"The science curriculum at this school is somewhat lacking," Time Turner told Mr and Mrs Yak, "But Yona has taken to the subject like a yak to smashing! If fostered, I believe she could easily blaze a trail and expand our understanding of science itself!"

Yona smiled at this while her parents started cheering. "Yaks best! Yaks best! Yaks best!"

Starlight smiled at this, only to then turn to Trixie as she started bigging up her griffon student. "Gallus is a fantastic student," she stated, "When a subject really catches his eye, he'll go at it at full force like a hurricane. As long as it has his interest, he'll stop at nothing to become the best." She clearly expected Grampa Gruff to be proud of Gallus, but the older griffon simply rolled his eyes.

"What does that matter?"

Trixie leaned back at this, "What?"

"Being interested in something isn't gonna bring in the bits. Anypony can be good at something if they enjoy it. That doesn't make Gallus special. Now, if he can be really good at something he hates, that'll take him far."

"I'm confused," Trixie replied, "Why would you want him to be good at something he hates doing?"

"Because nothing fun doing is gonna bring in the bits. Playing around and having fun isn't gonna make him rich. He needs to learn how to work for a living. That's why I sent him here in the first place. To learn everything he can to make as much money as possible. And he's not gonna do that playing games and baking cupcakes."

"Well that's just wrong," Trixie responded, "There are lots of ways to make a living doing what you love. Everypony in Equestrias does that exact thing."

"Oh please," Gruff spat, "I don't know why I have to come to these things."

Trixie frowned at this. Starlight had a feeling the unicorn was being reminded of her own father. "Well, most parents or guardians want to be involved in our students' lives. Maybe we should find a different representative from Griffonstone to be Gallus' guardian."

"Oh, that'd be great. If you find one, LET ME KNOW!" He screamed in her face, the cry echoing through the library and making Starlight flinch.

She was about to step in, only to hear Sky Beak speak up, "I'm so confused." She looked over, seeing the parent was talking to Mac. "You're saying Silverstream is exuberant?"

"Eeyup," Mac nodded.

"And enthusiastic?"

"Uh, eeyup."

"But aren't those the same? And are they good? I mean, you could be trying to tell me she's unfocused, but then you might just be explaining that you appreciate her high energy."

"Eh, nope. Uh, eeyup. Uh...mmmaybe?" Clearly, Mac was having a hard time communicating what he wanted to say. Starlight should have seen that coming.

"There seems to be a lot of nuance here," Sky Beak replied, "And I just want to make sure I understand exactly what you're saying. So what are you saying?"

"Uh..." Mac gestured to Starlight, begging her to come and help.

Starlight was about to go to his aid, but Trixie's voice made her stop. "Gallus helped save all the magic in Equestria." She looked back at her, seeing the unicorn forehead to forehead with Gruff. "If it wasn't for him, the entire world could have fallen into Chaos. You can't say that's not something to be proud of!"

"Gallus doesn't need to know I'm proud of him!" Gruff argued back. "And he certainly doesn't need me trekking all the way to Ponyville!"

"Just be glad I'm not vice-headmare yet!" Trixie growled, "If I was, I'd tell you you're no longer welcome at this school. But since I'm not, I'll just remind you that Gallus' progress is your responsibility."

"Well, I never asked for it," Gruff hissed, much to Gallus' pained expression.

Trixie looked absolutely horrified by this statement and was clearly about to explode, Starlight rushing over to them. "I think that's enough for this meeting," Starlight chimed in, "It's always lovely to see you, Grampa Gruff. Same time next semester." Gruff growled and flew off, Starlight sighing in relief.

She turned to give the mare a talking to, but then noticed Trixie patting Gallus on his shoulder. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. You're doing great here at the school, and if he can't see that, it's his loss."

Starlight sighed, seeing Trixie's heart was in the right place. But that didn't mean she could just yell at parents. She really needed to talk with Trixie.





A little while later, Starlight and Big Mac were in the unicorn's office. Big Mac had just told her he was dropping out of the candidate process, something Starlight could understand. "I really appreciate your honesty, Big Mac, and you're right. Parents expect a lot of detailed communication when it comes to their kids. And if you aren't comfortable with that, vice headmare probably isn't the job for you."

"Yeah...eenope." The pair shook hooves before Mac left, Starlight removing his picture from the pyramid. As Mac walked out, Trixie walked in, looking a little sheepish.

"Hey....I'm guessing you wanted to talk to me about what happened."

"Yes," Starlight nodded as Trixie sat down. "Trixie, I know you have a lot of personal issues when it comes to parents that don't seem to care about their kids. Your father not believing in you and refusing to accept your abilities is something that's affected your whole life."

"Yeah," Trixie scratched the back of her head, "You can say that again."

"But you can't talk to other parents like that. If I hadn't jumped in when I did, what would you have said to Grampa Gruff..." Trixie tried to reply, but the only things she came up with were ones she probably shouldn't say out loud. "Being vice-headmare does require you to care for the students. But it also requires you to stay level headed."

"Okay, I get it. I'll try and work on that for next time." She looked over at the pyramid and saw Octavia and Time Turner's pictures on the pyramid and not her's. "If...there will be a next time."

"I'm gonna give you another chance," Starlight replied, "For the final stage of the interview process, you'll each have to put together a field trip. And if you really do want the job, I need yours to be exceptional."

"How exceptional?" Trixie asked.

"Just do what you think the students would do. Play to your strengths." Trixie nodded and headed out, Starlight sighing as she turned to Phyllis. "Is it wrong for me to think she might actually pull it off?" The plant remained silent, making her groan. "Don't answer that."





Several hours later...

Starlight and a group of students were now inside an opera house. Many of the students were sat down, looking excited to see what Octavia had planned for them as she tuned her cello. But one of the students didn't seem so enthusiastic. "Not looking forward to the performance?" Starlight asked Gallus, who let out a yawn.

"I know Octavia loves music, but a field trip to a classical music performance isn't my idea of an exciting time."

But as he said that, Octavia finished her fine tuning and the curtains on the stage were pulled back to reveal Vinyl Scratch and her DJ equipment set up. The earth pony nodded at Vinyl and the unicorn quickly turned on her speakers as Octavia started playing. And the minute she did, a burst of techno beat flew out alongside the classical music.

The equipment also unleashed an explosion of light, turning the concert hall into a massive disco. Gallus' boredom was instantly abolished and the griffon started cheering alongside the other ponies in attendance. "Okay, I take it back." He started dancing to the beat, Starlight smiling at this as she made a note to say Octavia was definitely passing this round.





A little while later, Starlight and another group of students were walking through Timer Turner's basement. The scientist pony smiled as he lead them through the maze that made up his many creations. "When I heard we'd be arranging field trips, I knew right away I wanted to take you all to my lab. I can think of no better trip than one through the quantum field!" The students all looked rather confused, only for Time Turner to hold up a clock. "I am referring to time travel!"

Starlight gasped. The last thing she needed was another temporal storm that needed fixing. She was about to tell Time Turner that wasn't a good idea, only for him to rush over to something under a sheet. "I've been working on a temporal transportation device!" He pulled the sheet off of the object and revealed something one wouldn't expect to be a time machine.

"A chair?" Smolder asked, Time Turner gesturing for her to sit in it. As she did this, the earth pony took out a pocket watch as it ticked away.

"And three...four...five." He turned to smile at Smolder. "Congratulations! You are now five seconds into the future! You see, we are all already time travelers! Hmm?" He laughed and turned to the other, "Who's next?" The students didn't look like they wanted to just sit in a chair, Smolder asking what they were all thinking.

"Uhhh, now what?"

"Oh," the scientist replied, "I actually hadn't thought that much beyond this." Smolder groaned at this, while Starlight frowned and wrote a note on her clipboard. Time Turner had an okay idea, but clearly he needed to think more ahead.





A little later...

Starlight walked into the classroom Trixie had been given for the history lesson earlier. When she got there, she found Trixie was nowhere in sight. The unicorn hummed at this, watching as the students waited for Trixie to show up. Starlight frowned at this, thinking this wasn't a good start. But just as she was about to mark the unicorn down, a bright flash of light caused her to look up to see Trixie appear at the desk.

"Greetings, students." Trixie was dressed in her old magicians cape and hat, the unicorn jumping onto her desk. "Who's ready to go on the best field trip ever?"

The students all cheered, one asking, "Where are we going?"

"I think the easier question to answer is, where aren't we going?" She took something from out of her cape and threw it towards the ground, Starlight seeing it was a sheet of paper with a familiar looking series of runes on it. "I'm sure you're all familiar with a Rune Gate. Well, I've designed one that will transport us all to a bunch of different places. Every ten minutes, we'll teleport to a new location and get to see it all."

This excited the students and they ran over to it, Yona needing to take a deep breath in to fit, Trixie jumping onto the center of the gate as Starlight stood next to her. "Trixie, are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Relax," Trixie waved her hoof, "I studied Rune Gates with Luna. I know how to make my own. And I've already tested it out on myself." Starlight still wasn't sure, but Trixie blasted the gate with magic and it activated. In a flash, they and the class were teleported out of the school.

When the light vanished, they found they were in a swamp-like area. They were on the only bit of solid ground there was, surrounded by a bunch of muddy puddles and large trees with vines hanging from it. "Welcome to Froggy Bottom Bog," Trixie announced, "I'm sure you've learned a lot about it from your lessons with Fluttershy. Including all the amazing wildlife there is to see." The students all went wide-eyed at this, "Okay, you have ten minutes to look around. Remember everything you've learned about being in nature and try not to touch anything." The students all cheered and ran off, Trixie smiling as Starlight wrote on her checklist. "So..."

"Don't go making your business cards yet," Starlight replied, "This field trip has to go off without a hitch. And a lot can go wrong in a place like this."

"Like what?" Trixie asked, only to hear a scream and look around to see one of the ponies was sinking in a puddle of mud.

"What happened?!" Starlight cried, the pair rushing over.

"He was walking passed it and slipped on a bit of wet ground," another student responded, "Now he's stuck in the mud and sinking!" Trixie gulped at this, while Starlight looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

"Uh...I can fix this." Trixie tried to teleport the student out, but with most of him under the mud she had no idea how he was positioned and couldn't get a proper grip around him. "I can fix this!" She looked around and spotted some vines, which she pulled down and quickly wrapped into a lasso.

She swung it over to the pony and told him to put it under his front legs, the pony doing so as she swung the rest of the vine around a tree branch. After freezing the branch to allow for more movement, she started pulling on the vine as hard as she could.

"Ahhh!" She groaned, only to turn to a certain yak, "Um...Yona? Mind giving me a hoof?" Yona ran over and Trixie tied the rope around her horns. "Now pull!" Trixie pulled as hard as she could while Yona pulled as well.

The pony cried out as the rope started yanking him upward, but the mud's grasp on him was like a vacuum. "Stop!" Starlight cried, "You're gonna rip him in half!" The two stopped and the pony panicked, making Starlight groan before blasting the mud with her magic. In a flash, the mud around him turned into rock and she blasted it again. This time, the rock around him exploded and was sent flying everywhere. The pony was free, the student panting in relief as he was pulled out of the hole by Yona.

Starlight teleported him down and turned to Trixie, who laughed nervously. "I would have gotten him out in time. And don't worry. This little hiccup won't ruin the rest of our fieldtrip."

"What that sound?" Yona asked, the unicorns all turning to her before hearing a buzzing noise. They looked up and spotted a beehive above them, which now had a large piece of rock sticking out of it...the rock from Starlight's blast.

A swarm came next, the species of insect inside known as a flash bee, which could produce an electrical sting. And when they looked down at them, they did not look happy. "Eep," was all Trixie could say before the bees dived. "RUN!" The ponies and Yona cut into a sprint at this, the bugs soon zapping the ponies.

"HURRY!" Starlight yelled as she fired a beam of magic at the rune gate. The gate then opened, the students beginning to jump through it with Trixie and Starlight staying behind until the last student was through. And as they did this, the flash bees swarmed together and started building up as much power as possible.

"That's the last one," Trixie yelled as the two leapt through the portal, only for the flash bees to unleash a blast of lightning at them, hitting the duo just before they got through.





Back in the school, Yona and the other students leapt out of the portal and ran to the other side of the room. They looked back at the Rune Gate at this as a massive blast of lightning flew out of it. They screamed at this, racing out of the classroom as Starlight and Trixie crashed into the ground.

Starlight, her mane being electrified, spun around and hit the Rune Gate with a blast of magic before it could let the flash bees through. The portal vanished a second later, making them now see the room, which was a complete mess, allowing the two sparking mares to turn to one another. Trixie looked up at her frazzled mane, then at Starlight, who was frowning at her. "So...how did I do?" Starlight's frown turned to a glare, making Trixie look down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Clearly," Starlight replied while trying to fix her mane. "You said you tested the Rune Gate. Did you check to make sure the places you were sending the students were safe?"

"Of course I did," Trixie replied as Starlight's mane bounce back to be frizzy. "I mean...I looked around. I just didn't see that beehive the last time I was there."

"That's not good enough!" Starlight yelled, "As headmare and vice-headmare, the student's safety is our number one priority! They, their parents and even the EEA trusts us with their safety! What if one of them had gotten more than a tiny zap from those flash bees?! They could have been hospitalized! The school would have been at fault and Twilight's reputation would be ruined!"

"I'm sorry," Trixie looked ready to start crying. "You're right. This was all my fault. I...I guess I'm not vice-headmare material."

Starlight hated to admit it, but she wasn't. And before she could even say anything, Trixie's horn flashed and she teleported away. "Trixie!" Starlight cried, but knew she wouldn't be able to hear her.

At that moment, Twilight happened to step into the room. "Starlight?" She spotted the frizzed-up unicorn and the damage done to the room. "I just thought I'd check in to see how the search for a vice-headmare was going." A wave of magic flew out of her horn and covered the entire room. When the light faded, the place was back to normal and Starlight's mane was fixed.

"A lot better now," the unicorn replied.

"Okay..." Twilight slowly responded, only to see Starlight sigh.

"Trixie wanted to be vice-headmare and was really trying. And I wanted it to be a friend so badly that I ignored the fact Trixie wasn't cut out for the role." Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, "She did alright when it came to filling in for another teacher, even though she didn't really understand the curriculum." Twilight nodded. "She clearly cares for the students, but she almost yelled at one of the parents during a conference. And her field trip was a total disaster. She really wanted this job, but if I gave it to her, it could have caused the whole school a lot of problems."

"Not everypony is right for every job," Twilight chimed in as the two stepped up to a window. "But everypony has something to contribute. The trick is figuring out what."

Starlight nodded, "I have a feeling Trixie's confidence has been destroyed."

"That's always been her biggest flaw," Twilight replied, "Ever since she gave up her boastful persona, she's been terrified of not being good enough, even if she's proven herself again and again."

"I just wish I knew how to help her."

Twilight placed a hoof on Starlight shoulder, "Just being there for her is a good start. After that, just let things flow until you find what you're looking for." Starlight nodded back.

"Thanks Twilight." She took a deep breath, "Now, I gotta go help a friend."





Starlight found Trixie on the edge of town. Apparently, this was where she had originally set up her wagon a long time ago when she came to Ponyville for the first time, and now she was leaning against a rock and throwing smaller ones around. "Hey, Trixie." The mare looked up at her, "I'm sorry about what happened."

"It's not your fault," Trixie sighed as she threw another rock away. "You were right to not hire me for the job. I just...I thought this would be the perfect step forward for me."

"What?" Starlight sat next to her. "What are you talking about?"

"Ever since Luna told me I'd learned everything there is to learn from her, I've had no idea what to do. When Twilight finished learning from Celestia, she became a freaking princess, and you're gonna be the headmare of the school of friendship. I want something that ponies will remember me for. I thought the temporal scroller would work, but we both know how that turned out."

"Trixie..." Starlight whispered, "You don't need to worry about not being remembered for anything."

"I just...don't want everything I've gone through to just be for nothing. Luna taught me so much and if I don't do something with what I learned, what would be the point in learning any of it. It would all be a big waste."

"A waste?" Starlight yelped, her eyes going wide, "Are you kidding me?! Think about everything you've done since becoming Luna's student! You helped her acclimate to the future and bond with other ponies! You helped Flash during his battle against Shadow. You were there for Heart when Soul was taken by Faust. And you helped Celestia when you went back in time to comfort her during the temporal scroller incident."

"I guess," Trixie picked up another rock. "But still, that doesn't help me find a new purpose. What am I supposed to do with myself when I'm terrible at everything?"

"You aren't terrible," Starlight replied, "Your illusion magic is incredible, and you've been helping ponies as much as you can since becoming Luna's student. I'm sure she would be proud of you with whatever you decide to do. Who cares if you're not a great vice-headmare, because you're a great friend."

"You really think so?" Trixie asked, Starlight nodding her head.

"Of course. You really stand by the ponies you care about. Gallus even said nobody's ever stuck up for him the way you did with Grampa Gruff. It would have been nice to run the school together, but not everypony is right for every job."

Trixie nodded. "I know how you take your responsibilities seriously. And maybe I should've known I wasn't exactly a perfect fit."

Starlight sighed and shook her head, "If it makes you feel any better, nopony was."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Time Turner has decided to go back to his experiments, and Octavia is worried the responsibilities of vice-headmare will take too much time away from her music. Maybe getting a vice-headmare was a bad idea."

"Starlight...obviously you'd like some help. And hiring a vice-headmare is a great idea."

"But who could it be?" Starlight asked as Trixie thought about everything Starlight had been looking for in a vice-headmare.

"Well," She picked up a few rocks off the ground and stacked them on top of each other. "You need somepony who's responsible like you and detail-oriented like Twilight. And...smart, obviously. It is a school after all."

She started juggling the rocks as Starlight added, "It would be nice if I got along with them, since having it be a friend can't work out." Trixie frowned at this, thinking about all the friends Starlight had. And when her mind fell on one particular one, she let out a gasp as inspiration struck her like a bolt of lightning.

"Maybe it can!" Starlight turned to her, "Let's get back to the school. I need to send a message to the Crystal Empire."

The next day...

"And I knew as soon as I read Trixie's scroll that it was the exact right thing for me to do." Starlight smiled with glee at the sight of her her oldest friend as Sunburst paced back and forth in her office.

She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this sooner. Sunburst was perfect for the position. He was practically a male version of Twilight, so having him do some of what Twilight did as headmare was perfect. There was just one small issue. "But what about being Flurry Heart's Crystaller?"

Sunburst smiled at this, "Well honestly, now that Flurry Heart's a little older, there really isn't much for me to do outside of the occasional tradition or festival. And working at a school is what I always thought I'd do." He placed a hoof on the desk. "I mean, if you'll have me."

"Are you kidding?!" Starlight shook his hoof, "You're hired!"

"I had a feeling this would work out." Trixie giggled.

"Oh, Trixie." Starlight pulled her into the tightest hug she could muster, "Thank you so much." Trixie patted her on the back as Starlight let her go.

"Between being insightful when I want to be and giving good advice when I don't mean to, I suppose I can be a pretty good friend." Starlight nodded, but then realized something. Trixie might not have been suitable for vice-headmare, but maybe she was perfect for something else.

"More than that, actually. You really did give good advice." She marched around the desk, thinking about every issue Trixie had helped her face. Giving her the idea for a vice-headmare, only to shine a small smirk, "And you helped me talk through the problem of finding the right pony for the job. And we know you care about the students..."

The blue mare nodded back, "Trixie the Great and Powerful Advice Giver, Problem Talk-Through-er, and Student Care-About-er!" She laughed at this, "Eh, I think I'll go with friend."

"Friend is perfect," Starlight replied before sharing a look with Sunburst. "But there's a position here at the school you might be right for too. What would you say to being the School of Friendship's new student counselor?"

Trixie's eyes went wide at this. She had never considered such a position, but now thinking about the years of working under Luna, who was practically a therapist herself, she had learned a bunch about helping ponies with their problems. There was only one thing she could say in reply.

"I'd say this office needs a bit of redecorating." She picked up Starlight's philodendron, "Potted plants scream desperation." She dropped the plant into the trash and Starlight gasped.

"PHYLLIS, NO!" She screamed, looking like she had just seen her best friend fall off a cliff.
> Lingering Shadows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville and in the Castle of Friendship, Heart and Soul were hastily packing their bags for a trip they were about to take. "This is gonna be so awesome!" Heart cheered as he stuffed a bag of chips into his bag. "I can't wait to get to the Appaloosa County Fair! Just you, me, Ace, Mira and the CMC. Having a blast and enjoying everything they have there."

"Yeah," Soul nodded, "I can't wait to see what kind of animals they have at the petting zoo."

"I'm just glad we remembered to ask Flash to take us," Heart added, "Can you imagine what might have happened if we planned this huge trip, only to forget to ask for a chaperone to take us?"

"Oh please," Soul giggled, "Like that'd happen. If we didn't ask Flash, the CMC probably would have asked Rainbow or Rarity." They nodded at this as they then made their way through the halls toward the dining room. Once Flash was ready, they would go to Sweet Apple Acres to collect the jakhowls and CMC, then be on their way to Appaloosa.

But as they did this, a light suddenly appeared in the corner of their eyes, making them glance back to see Heart's cutie mark start to glow. Their eyes went wide at this, "The map?" Soul asked, "Now?"

"Oh, come on!" Heart groaned before turning to Soul, "What do you think the odds are that the problem I'm being sent to is in Appaloosa?" Soul shrugged at this, but hoped Heart's quest wouldn't take too long. As such, they ran into the map room as Heart added, "And if its not, don't worry about me. Just...make sure you have fun."

"Heart..." She started to reply, about to promise to bring him something back. But as they got there, they saw something that made going to the fair at all appear to be an impossibility.

"Not you too!" Soul cried, seeing Flash standing there with a glowing cutie mark. They went over to the table, where Flash and Twilight were trying to locate the place the pair were being sent.

"Wait..." Heart stared at his mentor, "You mean we're going on a friendship mission together?"

Flash smirked as he ruffled the colt's mane. "Looks like it, squirt." Heart pulled away, but smirked anyway as Twilight located the spot they would need to go.

"That's one of the furthest places the map has ever sent anypony," Twilight commented, "Looks like a small village surrounded by a dense forest. I wonder what could be going on there?"

"Only one way to find out," Flash replied, "Twilight, can you get the Rune Gate ready?" Twilight nodded and headed off to make one to send to the general location as the defender turned to Soul, "Looks like I won't be able to take you two to the county fair." Soul looked ready to start crying, only to see Flash shake his head, "Don't worry. I'm sure somepony else will be able to take you, even if it's last minute."

"I hope so," Soul muttered out, "Scootaloo and the others are gonna throw a fit about this, though."

"Yeah," Flash slowly replied, "They probably will." Soul's ears drooped at this, only to realize what Flash had just said. She then saw him put his hooves together, bowing his head. "Do me a favor and let them know, will ya?"

"What?!" Soul yelped, "You want me to tell them?!" Flash nodded, "So you're basically running away from getting yelled at."

"Hey, duty calls. The map has charged me with finding and fixing a friendship problem, and it's my responsibility to make sure it gets resolved as soon as possible." The look she was giving Flash told him that she wasn't believing that for a second. "Just tell them for me, okay?"

Soul groaned, "Fine." Flash shined a small grin and told Heart they had to be off. The pair headed for the Rune Gate room, knowing that he was probably gonna be in for an earful when he and Heart got back.

When they got to the Rune Gate, Twilight was there warping the temporary gate away. "Okay, I've sent it a few miles south of the village. That should keep the light of it from being seen so you don't spook anypony."

"Got it," Flash kissed Twilight on the cheek. "You gonna be okay on your own? Starswirl's flower didn't look too good when you showed it to me."

"Don't worry about it," Twilight replied, "I'll get it back to full health. Fluttershy's coming over to lend a hoof. You two just focus on your friendship mission."

The pair nodded as she activated the Rune Gate, the pair stepping forward. "I wonder what kind of problem we're gonna run into?" Heart asked, Flash shrugging as the pair put their saddlebags on.

"Only one way to find out. You ready?" Heart nodded and the pair leapt through the portal, being warped off to another location far far away.





When they reached the other side of the portal, they leapt out and found themselves almost crashing into a tree.

"WHOA!" The pair barely managed to pull themselves away as the portal closed behind them. They quickly landed next, now seeing they were in a forest with a pretty thick canopy that blocked off the sunlight. "Guess we're in the right place."

"Great..." Heart moved over to the Rune Gate in order to wrap it up. "So which way is the village?" Flash took out a compass and pointed himself north, the pair beginning to make their way toward the town they had been sent to help. The forest was pretty thick, Flash having to cut through it with his Celestic Gear, Heart wishing his had a weapon since his fire could set the whole place a blaze. That and the mixture of small and large trees made flying impossible, so they were forced to walk.

"Ahh," Heart growled as several small bugs tried to attack him. "Back off!" He swung his tail around to shoo them away. Flash was also not enjoying the bugs and knew if Heart lost his cool, he could end up exploding and burning the place down. Hopefully, they would get to this village before Heart's temper hit its limits. And as they moved through the forest, they heard a new sound which filled the air.

"Is that water?" Flash asked, Heart listening and picking up a rumbling sound.

"Sounds like a river." Neither of them remembered a river on the map, but guessed they had missed it. They made their way through the forest at this, arriving at the edge of the trees and finding themselves standing on the edge of a cliff that went down about five meters before a river could be seen flowing through it. The river was about fifteen meters across, with the other side also having a tall cliff on it.

"I wouldn't want to be the one swimming in that," Heart commented, Flash having to agree. He looked downriver and couldn't see anything like a waterfall or anything like it. But the water had to be going about thirty miles an hour, maybe faster. You would need to be a pretty strong swimmer to escape it.

"Guess the map sent us so we could fly over this thing."

Heart nodded as he looked up stream, only for his eyes to go wide as he poked Flash in the shoulder. "I don't think not being able to fly would be a problem." Flash turned to him, then followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. And to his surprise, he saw a large bridge stretching from one side of the canyon to another.

"We must be getting close to the village." He replied as they walked up to the bridge, only to soon notice that a bunch of ponies were on it. Focusing, they saw that the ponies were young colts and fillies, about the same age as Heart, all being earth ponies of different colors. They were glancing over the edge, holding onto the rope railing. They appeared to be laughing at something, but when they spotted the approaching ponies, one of the fillies lost her grip.

Flash's protective instincts kicked in and he leapt over the edge, attempting to catch the filly before she hit the water, only to just miss her. He pulled up so as to not be swept up in the rapid flow, the filly's head breaking the surface as she was dragged down the river. "Hang on!" Flash yelled as he flew down to grab her, but she was pulled under once again. "NO!"

He was about to dive down next, knowing the river would be dangerous, and was about to use his Sacred Light to propel himself in and out of the water, only to sense a presence behind him. But before he could look around, whatever it was shot past him and dived into the water. His eyes went wide, thinking the pony was insane. But then, a light appeared around the pony that had dived under the water. When it faded, something about the shape of the pony made Flash raise an eyebrow. It almost looked like they had...a fishtail.

"Wait..."

He watched as the creature shot through the water and caught up to the filly, not at all phased by the river's flow. And when they caught her, they shot up to the surface and light exploded off it before flying up to the edge of the cliff, Flash following them. He then heard a voice as he reached it, one that sounded strangely...familiar. "Are you alright?"

The filly coughed as she spat out some water, "I'm okay. Thank you."

"No problem." Flash reached the top of the cliff at this, now seeing the one who had saved the filly. And his eyes went wide at the sight of them.

It was a hippogriff. A hippogriff Flash would recognize anywhere. The front part of its body was a mix of dark and light blue, while its pony rear was black but turned blue at the knees of its back legs. He had a mane of light and dark blue, with a light blue tail while his wings were black with dark blue tips. Around his neck was a metal collar, with a purple crystal on the front of it.

Flash couldn't believe what he was seeing, the hippogriff turning to him with a smile, "Hey, saw you trying to help her. Thanks, even though you couldn't really do anything." He walked up and held out a claw, Flash's instincts making him jump back a bit. "You okay?" He looked himself over, "A little weirded out because of how different I look? I get that."

"No..." Flash shook his head, "It's...not that."

"Flash!" They turned to see Heart fly over, the other young ponies following him. When Heart saw the hippogriff, his eyes went wide and he gasped.

Flash quickly shot over to his student and pushed him back, "Relax."

"That's Wingill!" He cried, not loud enough for the hippogriff to hear. He stared at the creature in question and saw the young ponies gather around them. "We've gotta get them away from him before he hurts them."

"I don't think he's gonna do that," Flash whispered, "He's...not the same. Remember what happened to Storm Blade?"

"But..." Heart stared at Wingill as he and the younger ponies laughed at something. It was then he remembered that the hippogriff shouldn't remember him or Flash, nor that he was once a member of a dangerous cult. "What...what do we do?"

"For now, we play things by ear and don't tell him we know who he is. Just treat him like you would any other hippogriff you're meeting for the first time." Heart flinched at that, only to slowly nod back before they flew down. "Sorry about that. Let us introduce ourselves properly. I'm Flash Sentry, a Royal Knight of Equestria. This is Fire Heart, my apprentice."

"Name's Wingill," he replied, "That's all I can really say about myself." Flash nodded back, "So what are you doing here? I don't know about this Equestria place, but I doubt it has anything to do with our little village."

"Actually, we were sent here on a mission. We don't know what the mission is, but it's connected to your village. Do you think you can take us there?"

The ponies all shared a glance, but nodded and Wingill lead them through the woods. It wasn't far before they arrived at the village, seeing it was located in a large clearing, with a few trees here and there that really tied the place together. Houses and other buildings filled the place, being made of stone and brick much like Ponyville. The place looked like a scenic place to live and as they made their way into the town, Flash and Heart saw a bunch of ponies on the street. The ponies noticed the newcomers, with one pony in particular stepping out.

"Wingill," he called out, "We have some new guests, I see?"

Wingill nodded as he turned to Flash, "This is our mayor, Great Oak." He turned to Oak, "These ponies are knights from a place called Equestria."

The earth pony went wide-eyed at this, "Equestria?"

"You've heard of it?"

"Of course. They were only stories, but my grandfather told me many things about the land of ponies." He walked over and shook Flash's hoof, "It's an honor to meet you. Can I ask why you've come here?"

"They said they're here on a mission," Wingill responded.

"A mission?"

"It's hard to explain." Flash chimed in, "A problem has arisen in this town, and we were sent to fix it."

"A problem?" Oak asked, "What kind of problem? Are we in danger?" Flash opened his mouth, only for the mayor to add, "Well, I'm sure our protector can deal with this issue no problem." He turned to the hippogriff, "Right Wingill?"

Wingill nodded, "If anything tries to hurt this town, I'll destroy it."

"Atta boy," Oak chuckled, "But still, we would appreciate any help you might be willing to offer. Wingill, why don't you show our guests around town? If they're here to solve a problem, they'll need to know everything about us here." Wingill nodded as Great Oak walked off, Flash and Heart following him as they made their way through town.

"Over there is the bakery," Wingill commented, "They make really good bread. And we have the food storage over there. We grow our own fruits and vegetables here, storing them for when winter comes."

"Makes sense," Heart nodded, "So how long have you been in this village?" Wingill turned to him, "I mean...there aren't any other hippogriffs here, so you can't have been born here, right?"

"Hippogriffs?" He asked, "Is that what my species is called?" Heart flinched at this, Flash rolling his eyes.

"Yeah," the older pegasus nodded, "That's what you're called. A hippogriff and seapony." Wingill went wide-eyed and looked himself over, "But Heart makes a good point. You're clearly not from here."

"Yeah," Wingill nodded, "Honestly, I have no idea where I come from." The pair raised an eyebrow at this, "I just woke up one day not far from the village. Great Oak and a few more of the villagers found us and brought us here."

"Us?" Heart asked as they passed by a stone building that was putting out a lot of smoke.

"Wingill!" The pair turned to see somepony else they knew. Somepony else that had tried to kill them in the past. A bright red kirin with a flame patterned mane and a dark red shell-like pattern on its back. "Who're your new friends? We getting new villagers? If they're gonna need a house, let me know and I'll start making the glass."

Wingill laughed at this as the kirin kept talking. "Sorry about him. Salix loves to talk. Honestly, he can't shut up sometimes. Also, don't be scared, but he can kind of burst into flames. It's like...his thing."

"That is what a kirin does," Heart replied.

"Kirin?" Salix zipped over to him, "You know what I am?" Heart nodded. "Wow! What else do you know about my kind? Do you know where I might find more of them? Are there any special customs I'm supposed to adopt? What-" He kept asking a bunch of questions, Heart slowly backpedaling at this.

Flash walked over to Wingill, "Is he like you?"

"Yeah," Wingill nodded again, "We both woke up with no memories of who we were or where we come from. All we know is our names. To say our abilities came as a shock to us is an understatement. You haven't even seen everything I can do."

"Really?" Flash asked, "What else can you do?" Wingill held up his claw as a bucket of water shook, the water then flowing out of it and forming a bubble in his claws. He then reshaped it into a blade, then a fan and a few more shapes before turning it to the bucket. "Cool. But hippogriffs can't do that." Wingill went wide-eyed at this, "The only thing hippogriffs can do is change into seaponies and that's only because of..." He looked down at the gem on his bracer.

"This?" Wingill glanced down at it, "I was wearing it when I woke up."

"It's part of the pearl of transformation. Queen Novo used it to transform her subjects into seaponies to escape the Storm King." He wondered if that name would affect him, but Wingill just looked intrigued.

"You're saying we were attacked?"

Flash opened his mouth to respond, only to notice Salix taking Heart into his store. "I'll explain more later." He headed inside and found the room was full of glass creations. There were bowls, cups and all sorts of other stuff. There were even glass figurines, showing fish, birds and other animals. They all looked absolutely incredible.

"Did you make all this?" Heart asked, Salix nodding as he walked over to one of the glass ornaments.

"Yeah. After we learned I could create fire hotter than the sun, I started using it to help whenever I could. I helped the local blacksmith and took over for him when he decided to retire, making knives and other farming equipment. But I really like glassblowing. Don't know why, but it just comes really naturally for me."

"That's pretty cool," Heart slowly replied, careful to not touch anything, knowing he would probably break it. "You could have made quite a name for yourselves with this level of crafting. You'd see something like this in a Canterlot Art show."

Flash turned back to Wingill, "So...was it just you two who woke up outside the village."

"No," Wingill shook his head. "We had some ponies with us. Two mares and a stallion. Glitter and Tempera are still here, but Storm Blade left."

Flash went slightly wide-eyed at this, "Storm Blade? Pegasus with weird headwear and a strange looking spear that could practically control the weather." Wingill and Salix now went wide-eyed, "We uh...we met him a while back. He was a freaking psycho that almost made a volcano erupt and destroy a village."

"That...that can't be," Wingill muttered out, "What happened to him after that?"

"He was captured and locked up. Actually, he would have been arrested even if he didn't do that. He deserted Equestria years ago, stealing an important artifact from it and leaving a fellow soldier to die."

Salix sighed and shook his head, "I can't believe him. But there did always seem to be something off about him." He turned to Wingill, "We should tell the girls." Wingill nodded and the two walked out, Flash and Heart following them out of the building.

"This is so weird." Heart whispered to Flash, the defender humming back.

"No kidding. Let's just play it cool for now."

And as they headed across the town, they saw what Flash could only guess was a school of some kind. Many children were playing outside with what looked like a bunch of rabbits and cats. One of the colts grabbed a rabbit and squeezed it tightly, only for it to burst like a balloon, causing ink to go flying everywhere. The colt started to cry, only for somepony to step up next to him.

She was a silver unicorn mare, with a white mane and tail that had multicolored tips. Her cutie mark was a painting pallet, and as she placed a hoof on the colt's shoulder, she showed him a kind smile before taking out a notepad. With a few swipes of the pad with a pencil, she ripped it off with her magic and threw it into the air. Doing so caused the image to glow before flying off the pad, becoming a rabbit that began to bounce around.

The colt laughed at this and hugged the mare before racing off after the rabbit, the mare giggling at the sight. "Tempera." She spun around at this, "We need to talk."

"Oh, hello Wingill, Salix." Tempera responded, only to notice the two newcomers. "Hello there. I don't think we've met. I'm Tempera."

"Flash."

"Heart." Heart looked over at the animals the others were playing with as he remembered getting attacked by much larger and deadlier beasts. "That's a pretty cool skill you've got."

"Thank you," Tempera chuckled, "The other kids love it." She turned to Wingill, noticing his and Salix's worried looks. "What's wrong?"

"Is Glitter around?" Wingill asked, "We need to talk about Storm Blade."

"Storm Blade?" They spun around at another voice, now seeing a brown unicorn mare that had a purple mane and tail and was wearing star-shaped earrings. She also wore a silver cloak that was colored like the night sky on the inside, while her cutie mark was a fan of purple cards with an eye on the back of them.

"Glitter," Salix frowned, "These two know Storm Blade."

That shocked the two mares, who both looked at the pair with Flash sighing. "What happened to him?" Tempera asked, seeing her friend's face. "I'm guessing it's not something good." Flash nodded back, making her sigh. "Please, tell us what happened."

Flash took a seat on a nearby bench at this, now telling the tale of how Storm Blade was once a pony named Swift Wing. How he was a guard with the chance to become a Royal Knight, but failed while a friend of his passed. How he went on a mission with said friend and was believed to be killed, but it was later discovered he had abandoned his friend and stolen his Celestic Gear.

He had to lie at this point, telling them that Storm Blade was believed dead and there was no knowledge of what happened to him until he suddenly showed up and started attacking. Getting back on track, he told them the story of how Flash and his friends went out hunting him. How Cold Steel and Soarin Skies teamed up to stop him while the others prevented a volcano he had set to erupt from destroying a village. When the story ended with Storm in prison, the four all showed large frowns.

"I can't believe it," Wingill sighed. "I mean...he didn't stick around much so I didn't really know him, but he was still one of us."

"So, you four really have no memories of anything you did before coming here?" Heart asked, the four nodding back.

"We just woke up one day," Tempera replied, "And all we could remember were our names. For a long time, we simply stayed here and tried to remember...but we can't seem to remember anything."

Glitter shrugged at this, "After a while, we started doing what we could to help out around the village. Salix started helping the blacksmith and took over for him. Tempera and I helped out with the children and took over for the old school teacher when she decided to retire. And after Wingill realized what he could do, he started making sure everypony stayed safe."

"Sounds like you made a place for yourself here," Flash smiled, now remembering what Faust had told him when she warped the five away. She had hoped wiping their memories would allow them to start over and find a place for themselves that they could call home and be happy. And while Storm Blade had been unable to do that, four out of five wasn't bad.

"You're right," Wingill nodded, "This place is home." He looked down at the pearl shard, "But I'd still like to know who I was beforehoof."

"We all would," Tempera added.

Wingill looked up at Flash, "You said this thing was part of a pearl you've seen." Flash nodded, "Do you think I'd learn who I was if I go to the place you mentioned seeing it? I could talk to the queen you mentioned before."

"Maybe..." Flash slowly replied, "But...let's take it one step at a time."

And as he said this, Great Oak trotted up to them, "Ah, there you are." They turned to the town leader. "Managed to find that problem you came to solve?" Flash and Heart turned to each other, almost forgetting about that. Their eyes then drifted to the four former cultists. It couldn't be a coincidence they were at a place with a friendship problem.

"Not yet," Flash responded, "But in our experience, these things tend to make themselves known without needing to search for them."

"I see," Oak nodded, "Well then, why don't we all enjoy something to eat?" The six almost hopped in place at this, so preoccupied with the story of Storm Blade, they had completely forgotten about lunch. "Our town managed to whip up a little surprise for our two new arrivals. Come, let's enjoy."

The four cultists smirked as they got up and followed Oak, clearly excited. "You're in for a treat," Salix cheered, "This town throws the best parties. They have sandwiches, potato snacks-" He continued to list the treats they would get to enjoy while Flash and Heart held back and got out of earshot.

"You think we're here because of them?" Heart asked.

"Maybe," Flash whispered, "It's possible the map wants us to tell them who they used to be. Not knowing who they once were can make it kind of hard to accept who you are now. But still..."

"What if we tell them and they suddenly remember everything? Including how much they hate us?" Flash gulped, thinking the same thing. The last thing he wanted was for them to return to who they used to be.

"Let's keep it to ourselves for now and try to see if there's anything else that might tell us why we're here. And if it seems like nothing else stands out, then we'll tell them." Heart nodded as they arrived at the largest building in town. Flash figured it was the town hall, but in fact, it was the town's dining room. A place where all the citizens of the town ate together, enjoying their meals like one large family. And as they stepped into the room, Flash and Heart were amazed to see the tables were covered in food and drink. It was a Pinkie Pie level of deliciousness, complete with ponies in the corner starting to play music.

The four cultists laughed as they pushed the pair to a table and quickly started filling their plates. Flash and Heart were soon swept up in it all and did the same, the music getting louder with the ponies of the town singing to it. Salix and Glitter also started singing while Tempera started dancing around along with the colts and fillies. Wingill was stuffing his face, but bobbing his head around to the music. Flash and Heart couldn't help but start enjoying themselves, the pair also giving into the music while the ponies of the town asked about where they were from.

Flash started telling them stories about his adventures, like how he had tricked a chaos spirit into losing his cool and helped defeat an evil dragon ghost. At the same time, the townsfolk told them some of the stories of what happened in the town. It was actually a pretty simple place from what they told them. They grew crops for food and searched the woods for anything that might be useful. Being earth ponies, they had found themselves unable to cross the river canyon for years, but then the four cultists had shown up and with their help, they had built a bridge along the canyon that let them cross whenever they wanted.

But the biggest issue they faced, were wild animals like lions, tigers and bears. "Oh my," Flash gulped. "You've got those here?" They nodded.

"But then Wingill showed up," Oak laughed, "When a bear attacked the field he was helping out on, he suddenly discovered his ability to control water and fought it off. Before him, we would either run or get severely injured. But now, we don't have to live in fear anymore."

"Wow," Flash turned to the hippogriff, "So you're a Defender of the Peace, just like me and my friends back home."

"Yeah," Wingill smirked, "I guess I am. And I love every second of it." The others all cheered for Wingill, all now singing a song they had written just for him, Heart eventually singing along as best he could. The song lasted a good while and when it ended, closing on a super long note, they all cheered again and drank some cider.

"Oh yeah!" Heart cheered as he drank down his own cider. "Here's to the reformed Cult of Shadow. You all are way better of here then you were with Shadow!" As soon as those words left Heart's mouth, the dining hall went quiet as he slapped his hooves over his loose lips. Salix, Wingill, Tempera and Glitter turned to him, all staring at him as Flash resisted the urge to facehoof.

"Shadow?" Wingill asked, "What are you talking about?" The four could tell that wasn't just something Heart had made up, the colt sweating bullets as he turned to Flash. They did the same and saw him look upset.

"Flash..." Tempera asked, "Who is Shadow? And why are we better now that he's not around?"

Flash remained silent as Wingill glared at him, "We've met before, haven't we?" Flash sighed, "I thought as much. When you first saw me, the look you gave was of surprise. I thought it was because of how I looked, but you've seen hippogriffs before. So that means you were surprised to see me specifically. Because you've met me somewhere before, haven't you? And not just me." The other three glared at him, Flash knowing he was busted.

He took a deep breath and cleared his mind, knowing what he was about to say had to be just right. "Yes, we have met before."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Glitter asked, "You knew we had lost our memories and you decided to keep you meeting us before. Why? Was it some kind of sick joke?"

"I was doing it for your own good," Flash replied, "Trust me, you don't want to know who you were before losing your memories."

"What gives you the right to decide that?" A villager asked. "It's their lives. They should know about it." The other villagers all nodded in agreement while Heart flew over to Flash.

"Who were we?" Salix demanded, "Tell us!"

"You were criminals!" Flash yelled, making everypony go wide-eyed, "Each of you was part of a group of criminals bent on one day conquering Equestria. You were led by an insane maniac called Shadow Corrupter. I don't know exactly how you joined up with him, but each of you became one of his most devoted followers. You pledged yourself to him, no matter what he wanted you to do."

The four let this info sink in as Heart spoke up. "You tried to kill us. Shadow wanted ultimate power and to get it, he had you guys fight me, Flash and some of our friends. We fought over and over, winning and losing against one another. And eventually, Flash managed to beat Shadow."

"Then what?" Wingill glared at him, "You stole our memories and sent us here?"

"No. The one Shadow was trying to take the power from did that. She thought you deserved a second chance. She took your memories and sent you here. Clearly, she knew what she was doing. Look at you four." The four glanced at one another. "You were once insane killers that could have spelled doom for Equestria. But now...you're living lives that make you happy."

"Except it's all a lie," Tempera looked close to tears. "You say we're living happy lives, but we're nothing more than pretending to be this way. We're not the ponies we're supposed to be, because who we once were was stolen away from us. I...I don't even know who I am anymore."

"You're Tempera," Oak told her.

"But who is Tempera?!" She screamed, "Is she a teacher or a psychopath?! Who am I supposed to be?!"

"You're whoever you want to be," Flash responded, "You went through terrible things in your past and Shadow took advantage of that. He used the pain you were in to mold you into who you once were. But now, you've been cleansed of all that pain." He pointed at her, "This is who you were supposed to be before Shadow got to you."

Tempera didn't listen to this and rushed out the room, Wingill and the others following her out of the great hall. "Wait!" Oak cried, but they didn't listen and kept running toward the edge of town. Once they were gone, Oak turned to Flash. "Did they really do all that?" Flash frowned and nodded. Oak always told himself he was a good judge of character, so he knew this was the truth. "I can't believe it."

"Like I said," Flash repeated. "Shadow got to them during their lowest moments. If they hadn't run into him, they might have been able to work through their problems and overcome them to be the best ponies they could be. But once he got his dark hooves on them, the only possible way to save them was to erase their memories."

"They've done so much for us," Oak replied, "I...I'm finding it hard to believe they were once villains."

"What's gonna happen to them?" A filly asked, "You said they did bad things. Are you gonna arrest them for what they did?"

Flash crossed his hooves, huffing at that. "I'm...not sure. It depends on what they want to do." He slowly got up at this, "Come on Heart, we've gotta find them." Heart nodded and got up, both flaring their wings before taking to the air. "I just hope we're not too late."





Tempera kept running until she was deep in the woods, her hooves finally giving out as she tripped over something. She cried out as she fell, the weight of what she had just learned keeping her from picking herself up. All she could do was lay there, crying as she imagined what terrible things she must have done so long ago. It wasn't long before she felt others around her and she knew who it was, the mare lifting her head and seeing Wingill, Salix and Glitter standing around her.

Glitter reached down and helped her up as Wingill used his water control to remove the tears from her eyes. "You okay?" Salix asked as Tempera sat against a tree. "Sorry. Stupid question."

"It's fine," Tempera sniffed.

"No," Wingill growled, "It's not okay." He slammed his hoof into a tree, "What did we do?" The others turned to him as he reached down and felt the crystal on his bracer. "I always wondered what this was and where it came from. I wondered why I had it, and now I find out I probably stole it! What other terrible things did I do?!"

Salix sat next to Tempera and wondered the same thing, Glitter just standing there. A part of them also wanted to know the truth, only for fear to show on each face over the idea of it. "What do we do now?" Glitter asked, "We can't just forget about this. But where are we supposed to go from here?"

"Maybe there's a way to undo what happened to us," Salix replied, "Flash said some powerful being did this to us. Maybe they can undo it."

"And what if remembering turns us back into the monsters Flash said we were?" Tempera countered.

And as that statement settled over them, a chuckling sound rang out. It made Wingill turn to noise, "Who's there?" He summoned a bit of water as the laughter continued, "I'm warning you..."

"Now now," a voice replied, "I'm not here to hurt you. After all, we're old friends." They all shared a glance, only to suddenly see a dark suit of armor walk out into the light. "Wingill, Tempera, Salix and Terror Card. It's been a while."

"Who are you?" Tempera asked, "Are you a friend of Flash and Heart? Are you someone we tried to kill as well?"

Armalum growled, "Flash Sentry is here? How the heck did he...that Rune Gate of his." He shook his head, "Nevermind. I'll deal with him later. To answer your question, no and kind of. I'm no friend of that fool, and yes, a few of you did try and kill me at one point. But I guess you could call it a bonding moment between us."

"What are you talking about?" Salix asked, "Who the heck are you? And what's with that weird suit of armor?"

"This suit of armor is me," he chuckled. "If you still had your memories, you'd recognize me. Armalum, the loyal servant to our master, Shadow Corrupter."

The four gasped as they remembered Flash saying that name. "So...it's true?" Glitter asked, "We really were working for an insane pony that wanted to conquer the world?"

"Insane?" Armalum huffed, "Hardly. Shadow Corrupter just knew what he wanted and that to get what you want takes power. You all agreed to follow him because he offered you what you wanted." He pointed at Wingill, "The power to protect those you care about." He pointed at Salix, "The freedom to be who you wanted to be without consequences." He pointed at Glitter, "The chance to change your future for the better." He finally pointed at Tempera, "The place to call home and make your own decisions. You all came to him needing something and Shadow granted it to you for the simple price of loyalty."

"That's not what Flash told us," Wingill responded.

"Flash Sentry wants you to be unhappy. To leave who you used to be forgotten. If you still had your memories, you'd remember that he is the enemy that stole everything from you." He chuckled as his horn sparked, "But I can change that."

"What are you talking about?" Tempera asked.

"I can restore your memories. Just like how I restored Storm Blade's memories."

"You restored his memories?" Salix asked, "So he remembers everything that happened to him?"

"That's right," Armalum nodded, "And now, it's your turn." He stepped up as lightning sparked on his horn, "Ready to be the real you once again?"

The four stared at him, only for Glitter to shrink away, "I don't know if I want to remember. What if I remember and I don't like who I am."

"Of course you'll like who you are. You liked yourself before. Trust me, this'll help you." His horn flared at this, "Besides, I'm not giving you a choice."

The four flinched at this, Salix yelling, "You can't make us do something we're not ready for!" His body bursted into flames whiled Wingill summoned water from a nearby stream to form a sword. Tempera took out her sketch pad, while Glitter took out her cards.

Armalum sighed and shook his head, "So be it." His shadow wings flew out of his back before charging at them.





Flash and Heart continued to look around the village, the townsponies also looking for their friends. "Any sign of them?" Flash asked, everypony shaking their heads. "Where the heck did they go?" He got his answer when a large explosion rocked the forest and caused a bunch of birds to go flying out of the canopy. They all turned to it and saw a blast of lightning shot out of the sky, "Everypony stay here!" Flash yelled as him and Heart ran into the forest.

The pair got ready for a fight as they sprinted, only to hear the roar of a tiger and the cries of pain from somepony. "What's going on?" Heart asked as they pushed their way through the trees, only to find the four they had come to help. Then they saw who they were fighting. "No way."

"Armalum?" Flash could hardly believe what he was seeing, having hoped he had seen the last of the suit of armor when Heart wiped Void off the face of the planet. But seeing him now, he had a feeling things weren't gonna go well. "Come on!" Flash took out his sword and prepared to fight, but Armalum saw him coming.

"There you are!" His metal hoof sparked with energy and he quickly slammed it into the ground, creating a ring of energy that quickly spread out. It passed the four previous cult members and right before it passed Flash, it stopped and extended itself upwards. Flash suddenly found himself slamming into a wall of darkness, making him bounce back as the wall curved upward and formed a dome that trapped the five inside.

Wingill and his friends looked around, now seeing they were now trapped. And before they could think of what to do, Armalum's horn unleashed four bolts of black lightning. Each one slammed into them and they found themselves unable to move as their bodies felt like they were being ripped apart.

"What are you doing to them?" Flash yelled as he and Heart tried to break through the barrier.

Armalum cackled at this, "Restoring their lost memories. It's time they became who they were meant to be, so that they can once again serve our master's goal."

Flash's eyes went wide at this, only to hear the four scream in pain. Before he could do anything, the four now remembered the tragedies of their lives, causing them to leave home and journey through the world. Then, they remembered the events that lead to them meeting Shadow Corruptor.

"I remember," Glitter whispered as she saw herself being defeated by Shadow despite seeing a vision of him falling to her.

"I remember," Salix cried as he re-lived Shadow offering him the chance to be who he wanted to be, not needing to give up his voice or his flames to be accepted.

"I remember," Wingill groaned as was reminded of the fear he had felt about the Storm King. He then remembered meeting Shadow and realizing he had the power to stop the maniac.

"I remember," Tempera gasped, remembering that first day of meeting Shadow, leading to the obsession she had and everything she had done to get his favor. "I remember everything."

They all fell to the ground at this, Armalum laughing at the sight. "Yes! Now, remember the hatred you feel for Flash Sentry! If it wasn't for him, you never would have had your memories stolen! You never would have been sent this backwater place! You never would have lived those pathetic lives you were likely leading!"

As they heard those words, the four were also made to re-live everything they had been through since losing their memories. Waking up in this forest, being taken in by the townsponies, finding roles for themselves inside the town. Despite not knowing who they really were, they were happy. Happier than they had ever been under Shadow's control.

"Now," Armalum cackled, "It's time to take that hatred and use it for myself."

"What?" Flash asked as he kept trying to cut through the shield. He summoned his Sacred Light and fired a blast form his horn, hitting the dome and causing it to weaken.

Armalum could feel his shield giving, but by the time he broke through, it would be too late. "You will not win this. When your apprentice killed my master, his hatred became infused with the Corrupted Shadow he was holding. And when he was destroyed, that Corrupted Shadow's power merged with me. Now I no longer need a host so long as I have the hatred within me directed straight at you."

"You're fueled with hatred?" Flash asked as the shield continued to weaken.

"That's right. And the more hatred of you that I absorb, the more powerful I become. So I've been going around, meeting with every villain you've ever faced and put away and I've taken their hatred from them."

Flash went wide-eyed at this, remembering what he had seen at the Crystal Pen. Seeing every villain he had in a coma. "That...that was you?"

Armalum chuckled at his reaction, "Taking their hatred had a slight side effect, but it doesn't matter because their lives will go to a good cause. The destruction of Flash Sentry."

"No!" Flash pushed even harder, the light making the barrier crack. But as this happened, the memories of the cultists were now completely restored.

"And now...give me your hatred!" Armalum laughed as his magic kept its grip on the four...only for the connection to suddenly cut. "WHAT?!" He dropped the four, all of them hitting the dirt with a thud. "What's...what's going on?! You remember everything about your lives before, don't you?!"

"Yes," Wingill groaned as his eyes opened up and began to stand up, "I...remember everything. Every crime I committed. Every pony I've hurt. Everything I did since joining that maniac." Armalum, Flash and Heart all stared at him, only to see all four push themselves to their hooves. "And I hate myself for what I did."

"No..." Armalum shook his head, "NO! This can't be possible! Are you saying that even with your memories restored, your hatred for Flash Sentry is gone?!"

"Flash never did anything worth hating him over," Salix responded, "We were the ones that tried to kill him and take over Equestria."

"We were fools to follow Shadow," Glitter replied, "We thought he had the answers we sook, but we were fools to ever let him convince us he was what we needed."

Tempera looked sick, as she remembered how she used to act around him. With her new clarity, she realised she despised the kind of pony he was. "A monster like that knows nothing of love. I won't let myself waste my life trying to live for him anymore." The memories of all her new friends, of the children that loved her, filled her heart with a warmth that burned away the darkness Shadow had infested her with. "Flash Sentry defeating Shadow was the best thing that ever happened to me."

"She's right," Wingill nodded, "Losing our memories may have left us confused, but it gave us the chance to start over. And now that we've got them back, we know all the mistakes we made and what we have to make up for." He pointed at Armalum. "So no, I don't hate Flash for what he did. He showed us a better life. A life out of the darkness."

The others nodded, as Armalum glared at them. "You..."

And as he was about to attack them, the shield around them shattered. Flash zipped up to Armalum next, only for the armor's body to burst into a cloud of darkness, which swirled into the air and avoided the fire, water and light blasts his opponents sent his way. Once on a tree branch, he reformed and glared down at them.

"Traitors! After everything my master did for you!" The former cultists glared at him while Armalum focused his attention on Flash. "Just you wait, Sentry. You will soon feel the full wrath of my hatred! I will destroy you with the anger and rage of every pony you've ever wronged!"

Hearing those words, Flash growled at this, "If you hold the hatred of everypony I've ever been enemies with, that must make you the one who hates me the most."

Armalum hissed back, "More than you could possibly imagine." In that moment, Flash was back in his battle against Shroudheart and heard what he had told him.

"Beat me and you will be forced to face the one who hates you the most. And that hatred will fuel them into becoming the greatest threat this world will ever see...and in order to defeat him, you will have to give up everything that's precious to you. You'll give everything up to save this world and make your friends feel despair like they've never felt before."

"So this is what he meant." He pointed his sword at Armalum, "I won't let you get away with what you've done. And whatever you're planning isn't gonna happen. I'll stop you, no matter what."

"You can try," Armalum cackled, "But I will make sure doing so takes everything from you. Until then, enjoy the time you have left. Because the good times end here." With that, he exploded into shadows and flew into the forest.

They tried to follow after him, but he disappeared in the darkness and they had no idea which way he went. Flash stared at the last place he had seen him and was still in shock by what he had learned. "Armalum...that's bad."

"Twilight needs to know about this," Heart added, "Who knows what he'll do if he's not taken down."

"Yeah." He spun around at this, only to see the former cultists, who were all still reeling from what they had learned about themselves. Wingill leaned his head against a tree while Glitter was crying and Salix looked like he had just seen a ghost and Tempera was staring into space.

"What are you all gonna do now?" Wingill asked him, Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "We're criminals. We've committed many crimes. Now that we remember them, we can stand trial just like you wanted."

Flash shook his head, "I don't want to make you stand trial, but my job is to make sure dangerous criminals can't hurt anypony else." They all flinched at this, only for him to add, "And I don't see any criminals." They all went wide-eyed, "You four have done terrible things, that's for sure. But you're clearly repentant for what you did and won't do it again. I don't think jail time will do you four any good."

"You're going to let us go?" Tempera asked, "After everything we've done?"

"I'm not gonna make you four do anything you don't want to do," Flash replied, "However, I think you should go back to where you originally came from." The four flinched again, "You left your homes because of intense situations. Back then, you couldn't do anything except run away. But you're not the same ponies. You need to face your pasts or you'll be haunted by them." He turned to Wingill, "Your mother's been really worried about you."

Heart turned to Salix, "Autumn Blaze and the other kirin want to see you again as well."

Wingill reached up and held his pendant, a part of him fearing what might happen if Queen Novo took it away. But he knew Flash was right. He couldn't hide from his past any more. If he truly wanted to make his life better, he had to face up to it and accept the consequences.

"Alright," Wingill nodded, "I'll go." Flash smiled at this, "But I'm not sure I can do it alone."

Flash placed a hoof on his shoulder, "You won't be alone."

And so, Flash and Heart began the next part in their mission. After sending a message through the Rune Gate to Twilight, he brought the four through the portal to be met by Twilight. To say the Princess of Friendship was wary of the four being in her home was putting it lightly. Flash assured her they weren't a threat and explained everything to her. Twilight was certainly surprised to hear how much they had changed and chose to let Flash handle the situation.

They also contacted Celestia and Luna, who were also amazed by Flash's discovery. They agreed to help the two ponies that had run away from Equestria. First was Glitter, who's family had been looking for her ever since she ran away from home. Celestia set up a meeting with her and them, along with a meeting with Tempera's family.

To say Tempera had many things to say to her parents was an understatement. She went off on them for how they treated her, starving her of love so much that she had become blind to what love really was. Her parents tried to apologize, as her running away had caused their reputation a great amount of strain. They had fallen on hard times and Tempera wanted nothing to do with them, saying she had found a place she was loved and would be staying there from now on.

Glitter got to reconnect with her family, explaining everything that had happened to her leading to her running away. They were shocked by this and wished they had known, but Glitter assured them it wasn't their fault. She had to learn for herself that the future could be changed, and now she was ready to change her future for the better. And she would do it in the new home she had found for herself.





The Kirin Village...

Inside a newly constructed building of the village, a Rune Gate was located there, having been recently installed when Rain Shine was interested in maybe joining the UFC. That Rune Gate quickly activated and created a portal, which Heart and Salix stepped out of.

Salix showed a nervous frown, only to suddenly hear laughter and singing coming from outside as the gate powered down. Heart stepped out first, seeing the kirin all running around and laughing with joy. He then spotted one appearing to be getting angry, steam coming off his horn, only to take a deep breath and the heat stopped, though he would likely go to the rocky area later to blow off some steam.

"Fire Heart!" He turned to see Autumn Blaze, "You're back!" She picked him up in her magic and pulled him in for a hug. "Oh, it's been so long since I last saw you!"

"Hey Autumn," Heart groaned, "How's it been?" She finally let him go, though not without leaving him with a possible broken rib, and smiled.

"Things have been great! We haven't had a single problem since you and your friends showed up. Everypony's learned to control their anger, and when we do reach a breaking point, we just head out of town for a bit and come back feeling refreshed. It's actually kind of therapeutic! I actually kind of look forward to when I get annoyed, cause it means I can go out to the rocks and go bam! Bam! Bam! We should go there while you're here. We can roast some boulders and oh, I have a new play you might enjoy and-"

"Autumn!" Heart yelped, "It's great you'd doing okay, but listen. Can you gather everypon-er, everykirin up? I need to show you something." Autumn raised an eyebrow at this, only to zoom off a second later.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Salix asked from within the hut.

"Don't worry," Heart replied, "They've been missing you ever since they got their voices back. They want to apologize." After a few minutes, Autumn returned with all the kirin. Rain Shining was next to her, the leader of the kirin clearly interested in seeing why Heart wanted them all to gather.

"Okay, I got'em. So, what's the big surprise? Is it a party? Are we getting invited to-" Heart grabbed her mouth before she could say any more.

"Kirins of the Peaks of Peril, I have somekirin here who wishes to greet you all!" He ran into the hut, only for the group to hear him say, "Come on."

"I don't think I can do this," another voice replied.

"Would you just get out there already?"

"Stop pushing!"

"Go!" Someone was sent staggering out of the building and when everyone saw him, their eyes went wide as the individual looked up at them. He then let out a nervous chuckle.

"Uh...hi."

"SALIX!" Autumn screamed, leaping at the kirin and tackling him to the ground. Salix cried out as Heart stepped out next. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"You have?" Salix yelped.

"We have," Rain Shine nodded as she stepped up, Autumn letting him go as Salix stood up, only to see Rain bow her head, "We're sorry." The other kirin followed her lead, much to Salix's shock. "We never should have banished you. We should have listened to you."

"Um...it's okay. I guess I understand why you did it. And I'm just glad you all realized how important keeping your voice is."

"Indeed," Rain nodded, "But it wasn't until Autumn, Heart and their friends showed us the truth that we realized how foolish we had been. All we can say now is that we're sorry for banishing you. And we hope that you will find it in your heart to forgive us and return to the village."

Salix smiled at this, "I do forgive you." He then frowned, "But I'm not staying." This made the kirin go wide-eyed, "I um...I've found a new home. Someplace I love living. I'll still come back and visit, but that's where I belong."

Rain sighed and nodded, "We understand. You must go where you feel at home. But you will always have a place here if you wish to return." Salix smiled at this. "And while you're here, we can celebrate your return. I'm sure nopony here needs anymore excuse to party."

The kirin all cheered, as Salix laughed. Heart smiled at the sight as he watched the kirin all hug their formerly lost tribal member. He could only hope that things were going as well with Flash.





Flash and Wingill were also at the Castle of Friendship, about to step through the Rune Gate as well. Twilight had gone ahead to tell Queen Novo about Wingill's return, Flash and him getting ready for their trip there. And sure enough, a cloud of smoke appeared out of nowhere and flew toward them, forming a scroll.

"You ready?" He asked as the hippogriff, who was currently wearing a cloak to keep himself hidden. He nodded and Flash activated the portal, the pair stepping through it and travelling to Mount Eris.

They stepped out the other side and found themselves in a stone building, which opened its doors as two hippogriff guards walked in. "Please state your name and business here." Queen Novo might have been willing to have a Rune Gate placed in Mount Eris, but she was still focused on security since she knew how easily this portal could be used.

"Flash Sentry," he replied, "Royal Knight of Equestria. Come to see Queen Novo."

The guards nodded. "Princess Twilight has explained everything to us." They stared at Wingill, who tried his best to keep his head down. "Please follow us." They headed out of the building and up the side of the mountain, many hippogriffs noticing the cloaked figure being lead through it by the guards and a Royal Knight.

Eventually, they reached the very top of the mountain. There, a large hall was constructed that almost looked like a courthouse. This was where Queen Novo conducted her business whenever she was above ground, the four heading inside. Many hippogriffs followed them in, knowing something big was happening. The inside of the hall had a stage on the far side of it, where a long table was located. Queen Novo, Sky Beak and several more high ranking hippogriffs could be seen there, Twilight and Skystar also standing behind it.

Wingill looked around at this, only for his eyes to fall upon one hippogriff in particular: His mother.

Soft Current was looking just as confused as the rest of the hippogriffs as Wingill reached the bottom of the stage. There, Queen Novo stared down at him. "Remove the hood. Let us see your face."

Wingill sighed and did so, a collective gasp filling the air as every-griff saw the one that had abandoned their home and stolen a piece of their magical pearl. "WINGILL!" Soft screamed, Wingill turning to her as he saw her try to push her way through the crowd.

But the guards stopped her from approaching, only for more guards to walk up to Wingill and removed the neck bracer that held his pearl fragment, the guards flying it over and giving it to Novo. "Wingill. You stand before us having stolen a piece of our magical pearl. And through testimony from Flash Sentry and Princess Twilight Sparkle, you also stand guilty of crimes committed during your time working under the mad pony known as Shadow Corrupter. How do you plead?"

"Guilty," Wingill sighed. "I joined Shadow because I thought he could defeat the Storm King and allow the hippogriffs to be free of our forced exile. But I see now that I was just being a fool. Even if Shadow had destroyed the Storm King, he probably would have conquered us himself and taken the pearl for his own ends."

Novo nodded at this, "You were trying to protect our citizens, but in doing so brought great risk to us. Am I also right in assuming you caused great bodily harm to others during your time under his hoof?" He nodded. "I see."

"I'm willing to accept any crime you see fit," Wingill replied, "I...I just want to say that I'm sorry."

Novo nodded as she turned to Flash. "Mr. Sentry. You were the one who found him. How do you think he deserves to be punished?"

Flash frowned and shook his head, "It's not my place to say how hippogriffs should punish hippogriffs, but I do think Wingill should be shown some leniency." Wingill turned to him with wide eyes, "Wingill made a mistake, but I'm sure you can all understand why he did what he did. He stole a part of the pearl because he didn't want to be trapped anymore...and he didn't want you to be trapped either."

"That is true," Novo responded, "But he put us all in danger. If the Storm King had captured him, who knows what he would have done to get our location out of him. And he would have had the pearl fragment to come down here and attack us."

"Didn't Skystar do the exact same thing?" Flash gestured to the princess, who had once abandoned her people to help battle against the Storm King. "It's just a shame that Wingill found Shadow before he found us. If he had, he could have been the hero that warned us of the Storm King and we wouldn't have been taken by surprise like that."

Wingill sighed, wishing that had happened. Who knows what might have happened if he had warned the ponies about that psycho.

"I know Wingill has done a lot of bad things for what he thought were the right reasons. But he's also done a lot of good since that time. Losing his memories allowed him to learn what it truly means to be a hero. I can assure you, the town he was protecting wouldn't have a bad word to say about him."

"I see," Novo hummed, "Wingill, I'd like you to tell me everything that happened to you since appearing in that town." Wingill nodded and told them about how he had awoken in the town with five other members of the mindwiped Shadow Cult. How the townsponies had taken them in, helped them get settled and welcomed them with open hooves. And how Swift Wing had left to uncover the truth about who he was while the other four had began to find a place for themselves in the town. And how Wingill had discovered his abilities and realized how he could use them to help others.

Then, he told them of Flash's arrival and their run in with Armalum, resulting in their memories being restored. "And that's it," Wingill finished. "I know I have a lot to answer for and I'm willing to accept any punishment you wish to give to me. I just want to get it over with and live my life."

Novo nodded at this and began to discuss everything with the other hippogriffs at the table. She even asked for Twilight's opinion and Twilight seemed to agree with her. Finally, she turned back to Wingill. "In light of everything we have heard, we have reached a verdict about your punishment." Wingill took a deep breath, preparing himself. "Five years."

"Five years in prison?" Soft cried.

"No," Novo shook her head, "Five years banishment. Wingill abandoned his people and put us all at risk. As such, he shall not be permitted to return here for five years."

"That's it?" Wingill asked, "After everything I've done, that's all you're going to do?"

"Don't expect to simply do whatever you want during that time," Novo replied, "I'll be having a hippogriff guard meeting with you every month. I expect you to spend these five years giving back. Every month, my guard will make sure you're doing everything you can to help this village that showed you so much kindness. If even one pony that lives there has a complaint, I'll have you back in front of me for a harsher punishment before you can blink. Is that understood?"

Wingill went wide-eyed, soon turning to Flash, who smiled and nodded, then back to the queen. "Yes, your majesty."

"Very good," Novo nodded, "One final thing." She picked up the neck bracer and had a guard carry it over to Wingill.

"Your...your majesty?"

"I gave each of my citizens a piece of the pearl in order to give them to freedom they desired. You might have stolen your piece, but you also showed us the pearl's power still worked in pieces. Call this a thank you for teaching it to me."

Wingill could hardly believe he was being shown such mercy, even after everything he had done. But he wasn't going to say no to this, the hippogriff placing the bracer around his neck and feeling the pearl's power flowing into him. "Thank you, your highness."

Novo smiled and nodded. "Alright, let us bring this trial to an end. I have a seaweed wrap to get to. You have until sundown, and after that, your banishment will begin." The hippogriffs all rose and waited as the queen flew out of the room. Once she was gone, everyone relaxed and Soft rushed over to her son.

"WINGILL!" She pulled him into a hug and Wingill gasped as he held her, the pair crying into one another. Twilight walked over to Flash and the pair smiled, Flash glad Soft Current got to meet her son again. She pulled away from Wingill and turned to him. "Thank you."

Flash nodded, knowing he barely did anything. But he wouldn't deny her thanks. Everything seemed to have worked out.





The next day...

The temporary Rune Gate in the small village powered itself up and in a flash, the pillar of light appeared with Flash, Heart and the four former cultists stepping out of it. The townsponies were all waiting for them, glad to see their fellow town members had returned.

Wingill sighed, happy to be back. He was also happy to have spent time with his mother again, with Soft Current planning to visit as soon as she could. The others were just as happy to be back, the townsponies cheering for them.

"So what happens now?" Glitter asked, turning to Flash.

"Now, you go on with your lives. You know of your past now, and how you chose to live with that knowledge is up to you. All that matters is that you live a life you can all be proud of." They smiled at this while Flash turned to all the townsponies. "The princesses of Equestria plan to connect your town to our kingdom. A permanent Rune Gate can be constructed to allow you to visit Equestria or for other places with one to come visit you,but if you ever feel like you'd like to increase your town's security, Equestria will be happy to welcome you."

"Welcome us?" Great Oak asked, "You mean you would have us move to Equestria?"

"That's up to you," Flash replied, "You can stay here, or we can relocate your entire village to a place within our borders. That way, you won't be cut off from us if the Rune Gate ever fails. And you would be under the protection of Celestia and the Royal Knights. Wingill can keep you all safe from everyday issues, but if something big shows up, he might need help."

"An interesting suggestion," he nodded. "We will consider it."

Flash smiled as Wingill stepped up to Flash. "Thank you. For everything. Now that we know who we are, we're not walking blindly through life. We're going to live our best lives, no matter what happens." The other three nodded and this made both Flash and Heart smile, only for a light to catch their eye.

They looked back and saw their cutie marks were glowing, signaling that they had completed their mission. The pair cheered, high-hoofing at their victory. Despite everything they had gone through over the last few days, they were glad they had come. Now they could head home and enjoy a well-deserved break.

"I guess you'll be going," Salix chimed in.

"But what about Armalum?" Tempera added, "What if he comes back?"

"I don't think he will," Flash assured her, "You have nothing for him to bother coming back for."

"Still," Wingill frowned, "It's unsettling to know he's still out there. And now that he's more powerful than before. How the heck are you gonna beat him?"

"Relax," Heart waved his hoof, "Flash can handle it. He'll take Armalum down, no sweat. Right?" He turned to Flash and his teacher was once again reminded of what Shroudheart had said, coupled with Heart's future self telling him about something happening in the future. "Flash?"

"Huh?" Flash shook his head, "Uh...yeah." He nodded, "I'll take him down." He turned to the four. "But if he shows up again, contact us. Trust me, with the power he now has, the four of you might not be able to handle him." They nodded as Flash and Heart headed for the Rune Gate.

Their friendship mission had certainly been an interesting one. Discovering four of their past enemies, completely changed from their experiences. Learning of Armalum's return and his new ability to steal hatred and helping the four move on from their past. It was certainly a mission they would remember for the rest of their lives, no matter how short that might be.





Armalum was sitting in the darkness of the forest, tapping his hoof impatiently. He could feel the hatred within him festering, the spiritual energy he had absorbed along with the hatred merging more and more with his own essence. He had incredible power, but was it enough?

"Guess there's only one way to find out," he hissed, "Time for the final phase of the plan." With that, he picked himself up and headed back toward Equestria. There was only one place he could gain the power he needed. From the one who had ruined his master's plans originally and stolen his teammates memories. "It's time to pay, Faust.
> Growing Up is Hard to Do
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day had finally arrived. "I can't believe we're goin' to the Appleloosa County Fair!" Applebloom cheered, as she, Sweetie, Scootaloo, Ace and Mira stared at the poster for the event.

They were currently in the CMC clubhouse, all five planning out everything that they intended to do. This would be their first time at the fair of Appleloosa and it was only for one day, so if they didn't do what they wanted, they might not get another chance for a whole year. Sweetie sighed at what was awaiting them, "Animal shows, carnival rides..."

"And all kinds of food on a stick!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Ace added, "I can't wait!" He had a camera around his neck, intending to take photos of everything there. His plan was to send them back to Aurarora to show the other young jakhowls some of the fun things you got to do out in the world.

"I just hope I have enough stuff to keep me occupied on the way there," Mira giggled as she opened up her backpack and took out a puzzle book. "I'd hate to get bored and ruin my appetite snacking."

"Speaking of..." Sweetie turned to Scootaloo, "Did you pack snacks for the train?" Scootaloo smiled as she opened her saddlebag and show a bunch of different bags and wrappers.

"For there and back."

"What did I just say!" Mira yelled due to them tempting her to overstuff herself.

"And our train tickets are all set," Applebloom held up the tickets. As she did, Sweetie walked over to a flipchart and ticked everything off before turning the board over to show a large schedule.

"And I've got our whole itinerary planned!" They all smirked at this.

"Are you sure you're not Twilight's sister?" Applebloom joke, making Sweetie blush as the others laughed.

Scootaloo jumped for joy at this, "Weeks of planning has all come down to this. All we have to do now is wait for our chaperone to get here." The others nodded and sat down, waiting for the pony that had promised to take them to the fair.

Ace then turned to Scootaloo. "What time did Flash say he was gonna get here?"

"As soon as he, Heart and Soul were ready. Can't be that much longer." They sat and waited for another minute, all five vibrating on the spot, almost unable to hold it much longer. And just as they were about to explode, they heard the sound of somepony landing outside the door.

"They're here!" Mira cheered, the group sprinting to the door, only to see one pony...one that couldn't take them to the fair.

"Soul?" Sweetie tilted her head, "Where's Flash and Heart?" They then noticed Soul's giant frown.

"Oh no," Scootaloo gulped. "Flash isn't coming, is he?"

"No," Soul sighed, "No, he isn't." All their plans and excitement were now replaced with annoyance and groans. Ace fell to the floor while Sweetie kicked the flipchart over. "He and Heart got called by the map just as we were about to come here. They just left."

"What?! That's not fair!" Applebloom cried, "He promised he'd take us!"

"Couldn't he have waited until tomorrow?" Mira huffed, Soul doing the exact same thing.

"He said it was his responsibility to make sure whatever the map needed fixing was done as soon as possible." That didn't make them feel any better. "He said he's sorry."

"He could have come and told us that ourselves," Scootaloo grumbled.

They all sighed, but Ace quickly sat himself up and smiled. "We're not done yet!" They all turned to him. "Flash might not be able to do it, but there's gotta be one pony willing to take us. We just gotta ask around and find somepony before it's too late."





"Please, Rarity." Sweetie did her best puppy dog eyes, "Flash was gonna take us, but got called away and the fair is only for today!"

"I'm sorry, darlings, but I can't possibly go to Appleloosa." Rarity replied as she worked on a shiny yellow suit with a blue trim and bowtie. "I promised to deliver a new design to Fancy Pants for his Monocle and Top Hat Appreciation Society soiree." She turned to get some fabric, only to feel something grab her leg, making her glance down to see Sweetie clinging to her.

"Can't you finish it tomorrow?" Rarity lifted her leg up, trying to shake her off, but she remained held on tight.

"Well, I could." She then used her magic to detach the filly. "But you'll learn as you get older how important it is to keep your promises, especially when running a business."

"I seem to remember Flash promising us something," Ace crossed his arms as Sweetie was floated over to them and was dropped.

"Well, what about Lightning?" Mira asked, but Rarity shook his head.

"I do believe he and Iron are on patrol duty today. They can't just leave to go have fun at a fair."

"Grand?" Applebloom asked, Rarity shaking her head again.

"I think he's gone to Canterlot already." They groaned at this.

"Maybe we should just go by ourselves?" The others turned to her, only for Rarity to shake her head.

"Oh, my dear no! Appleloosa is far too long a train ride for young foals without accompaniment. You could end up in the wrong place entirely. Why don't you see if Rainbow Dash is free?"

Soul shrugged at this, "Worth a shot, I guess."





"Sorry," Rainbow replied from her cloud house, "But I just heard from Spitfire that a whole bunch of storm clouds got loose from the cloud factory and she needs every Wonderbolt to help bust 'em."

"Aw, come on, Rainbow Dash!" The group was standing on the ground beneath the house, looking up at her hopefully. "They won't miss one pony! And we really want to go to the fair! Apparently we're too young to go alone."

"Well, duh." Rainbow flew down. "Young ponies like you could get lost and never find your way back. But I still can't go. Being a Wonderbolt isn't just about showing off. It's also a responsibility. You'll understand when you get older." She flew back up to her house, "I'm sure you'll find somepony else to take you."

They all groaned at this, Scootaloo turning to Applebloom, "Maybe your sister?"





"I wish I could, sugarcube." Applejack replied as she filled a bowl with soup, "But Big Mac's not feelin' well today."

She walked out of the kitchen at this, the young ponies and jakhowls following. "Awww," Applebloom groaned, "But Big Mac's old enough to take care of himself, and we'd all have so much fun together." They got to the living room and found the stallion, looking like he was going to throw up the second he lifted his head off the couch.

Mira turned to Soul, "Can't you fix him?"

Soul shook her head, "Even my magic can't cure a common cold."

"What about Rogue?" Ace added, "Can't he take us?"

"He's fast asleep right now," Applejack chimed in, "We had a few intruders last night and he exhausted himself scaring them off. If he gets up now, it'll throw his whole sleep cycle out of whack."

"Rats," Scootaloo grumbled, "First my brother gets called away to help somepony and now this. Is the world against us having a good time?!"

Applejack shook her head as she dipped the spoon in the bowl. "Sometimes takin' care of somepony is more important than havin' fun." She reached out to feed the soup to Mac, only to drop it and the bowl when she spun around and glared at the six of them. "Speakin' of which, don't you even think about tryin' to go without a grown pony there to take care of you. You could end up in hot water or worse."

"We know," Applebloom sighed, the group heading back to town and tried Pinkie, but she and Wild were apparently out of town for some reason. As such, they went to the next best pony.

"The fair could be over before we find somepony to take us," Scootaloo said first.

Applebloom smiled at the pony they were trying to persuade, "But then we thought of you, since the fair will be full of all sorts of animals and creatures."

Fluttershy looked back at them, the mare frowning, "I'm sorry, but Twilight has an important magical research project and she's asked for my help." Their hopeful faces dropped, Ace kicking a rock in frustration.

"I guess that means Twilight's busy, too?" Sweetie asked as they approached the castle.

"I'm afraid I am," the Princess of Friendship told them ten minutes later. "Starswirl sent me this enchanted flower and it isn't doing well." She gestured to a flower sitting atop her library table. The object was in a glass crystal case and had only two petals that were glowing purple and covered only half the flower. "If I figure out its magical properties, maybe we can save it."

"So that's a no on going with us to the fair?" Scootaloo asked, wishing her parents weren't in Manehatten at the moment, dealing with a situation there.

Applebloom sighed at this, "We've already asked Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, and none of them can come."

"The one day everypony's busy and the map decides to pull the only free pony away for something," Soul moaned.

"And everypony made it clear we're too young to go on our own," Sweetie groaned.

"Oh definitely." Twilight nodded, "You could take the wrong train or miss your stop..."

"Or get lost in a strange town and end up in a dangerous situation with nopony to help you."

"We know!" The CMC yelled.

"So not cool," Ace added, "Heart and Jaden got sent out on their own without any supervision and I'm way more responsible than him!" Although he chose this moment to lean against the table and almost knock the flower off it, Twilight barely grabbing it in her magic. "Uh...sorry."

"Heart and Jaden weren't really on their own," Twilight replied, "Flash and Ruby were keeping an eye on them. If something bad had happened, they would have stepped in." She put the book down and lowered her head to their eye level. "I know it's hard, but sometimes you just can't do what you want."

The six just pouted at this, Scootaloo pointing at them, "I'm pretty sure if you wanted to go to the fair, you could."

"Sure," Twilight stood up, "Grown-ups can do a lot of things that foals can't, but there's plenty we can't do either." She looked back to the flower in the case. "Like right now, I can't find a single reference to this flower!"

Fluttershy walked up to it, "None of the birds or insects I've talked to have heard of it either."

Twilight patted her chin, "Hmm...I wonder if there's anything in Shadetail Evergreen's Tome of Flora and Fauna?"

Fluttershy tilted her head, "That book's pretty out of date, but it might be worth a try."

The pair smiled as they headed for the door. "I think there's a copy in the library filed under 'Discontinued But Still Potentially Useful Ancient Texts'." She opened the door and hummed, "Unless I put it under 'Hokum With a Slight Chance of Practical Applications'."

As soon as the pair were out of the door, the six turned to the magical piece of foana. "I guess this flower is the most interestin' thing we're gonna see today," Applebloom sighed.

Scootaloo nodded, "Unless you count watching Twilight struggle to remember how she organizes her books."

"I do not," Ace remarked as he crossed his arms.

"I bet every pony in Equestria is in Appleloosa right now." Sweetie added.

"Every pony but us," Applebloom finished.

"So unfair," Mira cried, "We're smart. We can plan things. We've stared down insane danger a bunch of times, but we're not allowed to go because we're younger than a bunch of ponies that's done none of those things!"

Soul sighed, "I technically am an adult. I mean, I was born two thousand years ago. How much older do you have to be for that?"

They all sat around the table and stared at the flower. "I wish we didn't have to wait to grow up," Scootaloo sighed, the group not noticing that the flower had started glowing.

"I wish it would happen all at once," Applebloom moaned. "Then we'd know everything we need to get to the fair and back with no problem."

Once again, the flower's glow increased as Sweetie spoke up. "I just wish we were as old as our siblings. Then nopony could tell us what to do, and we'd be able to take care of ourselves."

"YEAH!" The other three agreed, only for the light of the flower to finally catch their attention as it filled up the entire room.

"Hey Sweetie Belle, why's your face all lit up?" Sweetie turned to Scootaloo and saw she was glowing as well, the group following the light toward its source: The flower.

"What's going on?" Ace asked as they jumped up and stared at the flower. And as they did, one of the petals on the flower exploded and swirled out into a tornado of pink light. That light quickly enveloped them, trapping them inside before they could even think of escaping. And slowly, a large bulb of pink light grew around them. Once they were trapped inside, the light from the flower vanished, only for the bulb's petals to curl away to reveal the six that had been trapped inside.

They all groaned as they picked themselves up after this, all opening their eyes. "Everyone okay?" Soul asked, only to gasp when she saw Mira. The jakhowl had somehow transformed into a yellow version of Mirage, with blue in her chest fur, Soul realizing she had somehow entered her battle form. She then looked over at the others and saw that they different too. Ace was basically a green-eyed Springer, while Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were taller and looked the same age as Twilight and the others.

Then she looked herself over and saw she had been aged up as well. Her mane and tail were now longer and had a slight flow to them, looking halfway between Twilight and Celestia's mane. Her jumper had been enlarged to fit her and she was about as tall as Twilight.

"What...just happened?" Ace asked, looking himself over as the others did the same. They soon came to the same conclusion as Soul before looking up at the flower, seeing it now had only one petal.

"Do you know what this means?" Scootaloo asked, Ace, Mira, Sweetie and Applebloom thinking the same thing. "WE CAN GO TO THE FAIR!" They high fived and laughed while Soul just stared at the flower before turning to her friends.

"Everyone!" She yelped, "I think there's more important things to focus on right now!" She looked herself over again, "We just aged about a decade or more!"

"So?" Ace replied, "That's what we wanted."

"How the heck are you two even in that form?" Soul asked, "Last I checked, jakhowls don't turn into those forms just by aging!" The two flinched at this, "We need to show Twilight."

"And we will," Scootaloo smirked, "After we get back from the fair." The others nodded back, "Come on, let's go before the train leaves!" She ran out of the library and the others followed suit, leaving only Soul, who looked between the doors and the flower.

Her common sense was telling her to go get Twilight, but then she thought about the fair and how much fun she would have. Especially now that she was tall enough to go on all the rides. "Ahhh!" She flew out after the others, only to see she instantly caught up to them. "Wow! I'm fast." She quickly realized larger wings meant she was faster. "I could get used to this."

Scootaloo leapt onto her scooter as soon as she was out of the castle, though it was now a tiny bit too small for her. She let out a cheer as she flew over a hill. Had she been younger, she would have flown further, but even with her older form, her wings were still a tad small. The others followed after, Applebloom turning to Sweetie. "I hope you brought the tickets. We've gotta hurry if we're going to make the train."

"I think we'll be fine," Sweetie told her. "Check out how fast we're going! Grown-up legs are strong!"

"You're not kidding!" Scootaloo cried, as she slammed her leg into the ground to push herself forward. But as she did, her scooter's wheels wobbled under the strain. "I don't know how much of this my scooter can take!"

"And grown up jakhowl legs are even stronger!" Ace cheered, leaping up onto a roof to prove his point. "This is awesome!" Mira had to agree, using her much stronger body to do several leaps over a large crowd of ponies.

"And nopony yelled at us to slow down even once!" Applebloom cheered, "Being a grown-up is great!" They reached the train station and spotted the train on the platform. The station master looked like he was about to shut the carriage door and signal it to leave, but before he could, they all rushed past him with Sweetie throwing their tickets at him. They all sighed as they sat down, the train now beginning to make its way toward Appleloosa.

"We made it!" Sweetie cheered, everypony except Soul smiling.

"Of course we did!" Applebloom added, "We're grown-up ponies now! We can do anything! And all those worries Twilight and the others had don't apply anymore. Because we're big! And bein' big is all it takes!"

"I don't think it's that easy," Soul replied, "And I'm still not sure if we're really adults. We don't really know what that flower did."

But the others weren't listening and instead, simply started enjoying themselves on the train. As they did this, the music maker started playing and the CMC started singing. They celebrated all the things they could now do on their own, exclaiming how being older meant they could do anything they wanted without issue. No more school, no more bedtimes and no more ponies telling them what to do. They sang about how they now knew everything, Ace and Mira even attempting to make an Aura Blast that was larger than normal. But the orb only went pop, the pair shrugging it off as they kept singing.

Even Soul had to admit, she was getting swept up in the excitement of everything. She remembered all the things she hadn't been allowed to do because she was too young, like studying surgery at the hospital or watching a movie that she wasn't allowed to see for being overly graphic. Now, she could do both of those things. The others eventually finished their song, the overhead announcer stating that they were about to reach their final destination.

Believing that was Appleloosa, they rushed to the exit, only to notice something wasn't right outside. The last they checked, Appleloosa wasn't full of dense trees and swampy bogs. They stepped out onto the platform and glanced around, the train pulling away as Scootaloo groaned and held her stomach, "I think I ate too many snacks."

"I told you not to spoil your appetite," Mira added as Sweetie looked worried.

"Uh, this doesn't look like Appleloosa."

"That's because it isn't." They all went wide-eyed at hearing this, since the voice didn't seem to belong to anypony in sight. As far as they could tell, they were the only ones there.

"You all heard that, right?" Applebloom asked, all nodding as Sweetie walked over to the ticket booth.

"Uh, hello?" She turned to the others, Mira and Ace preparing a Steel Paw and Bone Breaker as she asked what they were all thinking. "Do you think we got on the wrong train?"

"I thought trains just took you where you wanted to go," Scootaloo added, only for laughter to fill the air, the girls screaming at this. Ace and Mira prepared to fight, only to see the laughter had come out of an old pony dressed as a station master.

"Sorry, I don't mean to laugh." The way he spoke and had one eye larger than the other was now making them all flinch, "But you lot must not travel much."

"Well..." Ace slowly responded, "This is kind of our first time travelling on our own."

"Really?" The old pony asked in a high pitched voice, "How old are you?"

They decided not to answer that question, Soul instead stepping forward. "If we're not in Appleloosa, then where are we?"

"This is Hayseed Junction," he explained, "The train to Appleloosa isn't for a few hours." They all realized their goof, the fair now seeming like a distant memory now. "Or you could set off on hoof." He pointed to a forest, a dark forest they could only see a few feet into. "It's treacherous and confusing! Unfit for the young or timid!" They all gulped at this as the station pony smiled. "But you're all grown-ups. You'll be fine. I'll write down some directions." He went into the ticket booth as the six shared terrified looks.

"Maybe we should wait for the train," Sweetie whispered.

"And miss the fair?!" Scootaloo hissed.

"No way!" Ace added.

"We already ended up in the wrong place, which is exactly what we were warned about. And what if we can't follow the directions?" They looked back at the station pony, who was drawing a map of some kind on several pieces of paper.

"Come on," Applebloom added, "We didn't come all this way for nothin'. Besides, I've been through a swamp as a young pony. As a grown-up, it'll be a snap."

"Yeah," Mira nodded. "Besides, it's not like we're defenseless. Ace and I can blast anything that might attack us. And if that fails, we've always got Soul's magic."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Soul countered, "Magical power is supposed to grow as you get older. It's not normally a problem since the growth is gradual and you have time to learn better control. But now that I've jumped straight to having adult magic, it'll be like when I first got it all over again."

"I say we go for it," Ace chimed in, "There's no way we get lost twice in one day."

"Grown-ups always know the way!" Scootaloo announced.

"Because being big is all it takes!" Sweetie finished, only for the station master to let out an insane laugh that made them all flinch again.

He then started hacking up, his coughs making him drop the map as he took out an inhaler. "Sorry," he commented, "I've got kind of a throat thing." He picked up the map and gave it to them, the six staring at the swamp with terror in their hearts. Sweetie took the map and headed in first, the others following close behind. There was a path leading in, only to instantly hit a fork in the road. The unicorn looked over the map, suddenly having way more respect to Heart and Jaden for not getting lost on their journey.

After a few moments, she determined the right path was the way to go and they headed that way. But a few minutes later, they found the path had been submerged in a boggy pool with rocks sticking out the top. Ace leapt over it first with Sweetie, Mira and Applebloom following after. Soul flew overhead and the group made their way, completely unaware that they had left somepony behind.

A few moments later, they entered a denser part of the swamp. This area had many low hanging vines and thick roots covering the path, Ace slashing at the vines, cutting them away as he tried to keep the path clear. But he didn't get every vine and as such, Applebloom ended up running into a bunch and getting herself tied up. Once again, none realized until they were far away as Mira noticed some nice flowers on the side of the path, at least pretty compared to the rest of the swamp, making her stop and crouch down to sniff them. What she didn't know was the flower was a type that came with a defense mechanism. One that shot a load of pollen into her face. As soon as she breathed it in, she felt herself getting dizzy and fell to the ground.

Ace, Sweetie and Soul continued along the path, completely unaware that they were now down three members. Sweetie was now at the back of the group, staring at the map and realizing the path went right, but if she had looked up, she would have realized the path actually went left. As such, she went one way while Soul and Ace went the other. A few minutes later, Soul and Ace found the path was blocked by a bunch of logs piled on top of each other, making a large wall that they couldn't get through.

Soul flew over it, expecting the others to climb up as well, but Ace spotted a hole in the wall at the bottom and decided to go under instead, finding there actually was a route moving through the wall. But it wasn't a straight one, causing him to have to zigzag left and right, up and down. Eventually, he reached the exit and found himself completely off the path.

Soul landed on the other side and waited for the others, but saw that they weren't coming. "Girls? Ace?" She called out, but they didn't answer. She flew back over the wall and looked around, only to find...nothing. "Uh-oh."





The aged up filly known as Scootaloo was staggering through the swamp on her own. She was soaking wet and covered in mud, a result of falling into that pool. She patted the side of her head, trying to send the water out of her ears. "Sweetie Belle, are you sure this is the right way?" But when she glanced back, she now found she was all alone. "Sweetie Belle?"

Her eyes darted around, sweat appearing on her face, only for Sweetie's head to pop out of the bush next to her. "Scootaloo?" The pegasus let out a screech, leaping back and falling over.

And as she quickly scrambled back onto her hooves, she began panting before glaring Sweetie. "Don't do that!" Sweetie rolled her eyes at this.

"Where are the others?" Sweetie asked, only for another voice to speak up.

"Girls?" They looked up and saw Applebloom still tied up in vines. Sweetie quickly used her magic to cut through them and levitated her down, the pair seeing Sweetie was covered in mud. "Maybe we should find the others and head back to the station."

"I'm not sure we can," Sweetie sighed before slumping over, "I think we're lost."

"Just like Twilight and the others said!" Scootaloo copied her. They then heard rustling and spun around to spot a moving bush. The three hugged one another, fearing the worst...only to see Mira stagger out of the foliage, holding her head.

"Ow." She groaned before shaking her head, only to go wide-eyed at the trio, "There you are. Any of you seen Soul? I feel like my head just got hit by a rock."

"No," Sweetie gulped, "We don't know where she or Ace are."

Mira took a deep breath before closing her eyes and tried to reach out through her aura. Slowly, she locked onto a pair of auras, only to sense they weren't too far away. "Soul," She tried to reach her telepathically, only to get nothing. "Ace...you there?"

"Mira?" Ace's voice filled the air. "Finally! Where the heck are you?!"

"Just follow our auras," she replied, "Soul's not too far from you. See if you can lock onto her and find us."

"Got it." Ace's voice disappeared and she let out a groan, the ability doing a major number on her already banging head.

"They'll be here soon." The others nodded, but knew they still had a problem. They were completely lost and had no idea how to get anywhere.

"Well, where were you when I was feeding and caring for him?!"

The four's ears perked up at this as they turned to a nearby bush. Applebloom walked up to it and opened up the bush, only to be greeted by the sight of two young ponies. They were in their late teens, older than how the six of them used to be, but still not full-on adults. One was a brown pegasus filly with a teal mane and tail, wearing a yellow bandana, while the other was a red earth pony colt with a blue mane and tail. The colt was also carrying a wooden box.

When the pair noticed them, the colt screamed at seeing their disheveled appearances. "Wild swamp ponies!" He then noticed Mira, "And a wolf!" This statement caught the attention of two actual grownups, who looked them over and did not appear impressed.

"We're not wild swamp ponies," Sweetie grumbled, "We're just grown-ups." She then noticed them looking at Mira, who was currently trying to get something out of her sharp teeth using her sharp claws. "And she's fine. Not gonna eat you."

"O-o-okay," the colt nodded, "But what are you doing in there?"

"Well," Scootaloo gulped, "We are definitely not lost." She tripped over a bush at this, the colt and filly not looking convinced.

"Okay," the filly nodded. "But that swamp is pretty confusing if you're not from around here." She gestured to herself, "I'm Spur, and this is Biscuit." The colt smiled, only for the box he was carrying to shake and let out a low growl.

"I'm Applebloom," the earth pony replied, "Nice to meet you. But uh, we're not confused. We're just...explorin' new ways to Appleloosa."

"Hey," Biscuit cheered, "That's where we're going!" He began to walk up the trail as Spur glared at him.

"No, it isn't!" The four raised an eyebrow at this.

"Uh, which is it?" Sweetie asked.

Spur rolled her eyes as she explained, "Biscuit thinks he can just take Bloofy here to the fair."

"Why not?" Biscuit asked. "It's just up the road. And Bloofy's my pet too." He hugged the box with his face, only for Spur to grab it away from him.

"Since when?!" She hugged the box herself. "Bloofy's never even seen a crowd! Which you'd know if you ever took care of him!"

"Anyone know what a Bloofy is?" Mira asked, the others shaking their heads as Biscuit glared at Spur.

"Did you ever think meeting all those ponies might be good for him?" As he said that, Applebloom stepped over to the box and looked inside. It was a little dark, so she couldn't really see the creature, but she did see a pair of eyes that looked rather excited.

"He seems okay meetin' us."

Biscuit smirked at Spur, "See? They're grown-ups, and they get it. Bloofy should totally come to the fair with me, right?"

Spur grabbed the box, hugging it protectively as she looked up at the four. "Y'all don't really think that, do ya?"

The girls shared a glance, Sweetie quickly holding up a hoof. "Um...Hold on. Us grown-ups need to confer." The four stepped away and huddled, "What do you girls think?"

Scootaloo was the first to speak, "If they go to the fair, we can tag along!"

Applebloom nodded at this, "And Spur probably should share Bloofy. I mean, that's somethin' a grown-up would say, right?" The other two nodded with Mira thinking the same thing, but then she remembered something from Fluttershy's class.

"Different creatures react to different situations...differently. We don't know anything about this Bloofy thing. Who knows what'll happen."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Sweetie looked back to the two...younger ponies. "As grown-up ponies, we think you should share Bloofy and let Biscuit take him to the fair."

Biscuit smiled as he pulled the box out of Spur's grasp. "That is some quality grown-up advice!" He started heading down the trail, the four ''adults'' following behind, Spur glaring at them.

"But Bloofy's never been around anything that exciting. What if something goes wrong?"

Applebloom smiled at her. "We're headed to the fair, too. Since we're such great advice givers, feel free to ask us for more." She patted Spur on the head and ran off to catch up with the others, Spur flying with her still unsure if this was a good idea.





Soul and Ace had managed to find one another and were currently following Mira's aura after the jakhowl told them they had found a way to the fair. The two soon found a path, eventually finding their way out of the swamp and as they got closer to Appleloosa, they saw somepony walking toward them.

It was a teal unicorn stallion roughly her new age, maybe a little older, who had a white mane and tail and dazzling red eyes. As he made his way to them, he noticed Ace and looked a little concerned. She noticed something was strapped to his back leg: A knife holder. One that had a red light appearing around the handle.

"Wait!" She gasped, "You don't need to do that!" The stallion raised his eyebrow at this, "I'm uh...I'm guessing you've never seen a jakhowl before."

"No," he replied, "What's a jakhowl?"

"Me," Ace pointed at himself. "Relax, I'm harmless. So long as you don't get me mad."

The stallion looked surprised by Ace's ability to speak, but quickly accepted it. "Alright, good to know." The glow around his knife vanished. "Sorry about that. Seeing such a lovely lady next to you had me a little concerned." Soul blushed at hearing that, "I'm Bell, by the way. Argo Bell."

"Shining Soul," she responded, "It's nice to meet you." Bell nodded before noticing something about Soul, seeing the wings and horn on her head. Suddenly, his face turned bright red as he backpedaled.

"You...you're...you're an alicorn." Soul nodded, only to see him start bowing, "I'm sorry. Forgive me for being so forward your majesty!"

"Majesty?" Soul asked as Bell looked up at her, "I'm not a princess."

"But you're an alicorn!" Bell yelled, "And only princesses are alicorns." Soul blinked at this, only to now remember she had just grown up.

"Please, I'm no different you or anypony else. Please, stand up. I might be an alicorn, but I'm not a princess." Bell gulped and picked himself up, "Are you heading to the Appleloosa fair as well?"

"That's right," he nodded, "Sounded like fun, so I thought I'd see what they had." He walked down the path and looked back, "Are you coming?" Soul smiled and ran after him, Ace tilting his head at this, "You ever been to one of these fairs before?"

"No," Soul shook her head, "I haven't. But I know it's gonna be a lot of fun."

"What the-" Ace asked, but quickly chased after them so as to not be left behind. He wasn't sure why, but Soul's aura was fluctuating as she talked to this stallion. "Weird."





Mira and the CMC gasped as they saw the fair come into view. They walked through the entrance and couldn't help but get excited as they saw all the games, attractions, and rides. "It's everything I thought it'd be!" Sweetie cheered, hugging the others as Biscuit showed Bloofy all the interesting things around them. But all the new sights and sounds had whatever was in the box rather excited, as it started shaking the box and causing to lid to come open for a moment.

Biscuit quickly shut the lid and Spur gulped at this, only for a passing pony to notice and look inside the box. "Well, my goodness, what an interesting critter!" She pointed at Biscuit, "You should enter him in the animal showcase. You'd be sure to win Most Interesting Creature!"

"Animals showcase?" Biscuit gasped before turning to Spur. "That's exactly what we should do!"

"That seems like a bad idea. What do you grown-ups think?" She turned to the others, but found the four were nowhere in sight. "Huh?"

Mira and the CMC were laughing their heads off as they ran through the fair searching for something fun to do. They quickly rushed over to the games and Applebloom, with her new adult earth pony strength, managed to hit the bell with a mallet. Mira picked up a bunch of rings and started throwing them at the targets, her added height allowing her to get the perfect angle in order to win a prize. As this was happening, Spur flew around looking for them, only to see the four rush off to do something else. She chased them toward a ride, and while the four of them were allowed on, Spur wasn't tall enough to ride, making her growl as she saw the 'responsible' adults had completely ditched her after promising to help give her advice.





Meanwhile...

Ace, Soul and Bell had arrived at the fair, Soul and Bell talking about a book series they both enjoy, laughing at the jokes one another told about it while Ace just stood their uncomfortably. And as they paid for their entry, Bell asked Soul an interesting question, "I know you said you had friends here already, but do you wanna spend the day with me?"

Soul went wide-eyed at this, Ace doing the same as the alicorn felt her face go red as she stared into the ruby eyes of the other pony, "Um..." was all she could say before Ace grabbed her by the hoof.

"Can you just give us a second?" He pulled Soul away from him and around the back of a booth. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Well...I don't know."

"He's clearly interested in you," Ace replied, "What do you think's gonna happen if he finds out you're really a filly?"

"I don't seem to remember you or the others all caring about that detail when I told you the same thing."

Ace glared at her, "That's different. That was going to a fair. This is a pony's feelings. If he starts really liking you, what's he gonna think when you return back to normal?"

"Who said we're returning back to normal?" Soul asked, "For all we know, this is permanent." Ace's glare intensified, making Soul roll her eyes, "Would you relax? I'll spend the day with him and make sure nothing happens. If I have to return to normal afterwards, so be it. It's not like he's gonna fall in love with me in one day." She walked back around, "But if it does turn out we're stuck like this...I guess it wouldn't be so bad." With that, she was gone, leaving Ace to sigh and facepalm.





Mira and the CMC had had a blast at the fair. Getting to go on all the rides with a height requirement, not being asked if they needed help getting into the ride and just having the respect that came with being grown up. Currently, they were walking through the fair eating a bunch of treats, only for Spur to fly up to them looking upset. "What happened to being able to ask your advice?! You ran off the second we got here!"

The look on her face made them flinch, Scootaloo gulping down the food as Applebloom tilted her head, "Where's Biscuit and Bloofy?"

"That's why I came to find you!" She lead the four through the fair until they arrived at a large arena, where they found a bunch of ponies and their pets inside. This included Biscuit, who was currently filling out the contest form to enter Bloofy. "It's one thing to bring Bloofy to the fair, but it's another to stick him in a showcase!"

"What's the big deal?" Biscuit asked, taking the box and holding it tightly so she couldn't take it.

As he did this, the adults got between them. "You are supposed to be sharing him," Sweetie pointed out.

"Yeah," Scootaloo nodded, "I'm with Biscuit. The showcase looks like fun."

As she said that, Bloofy's box started rattling. Spur frowned at the sight, "Sorry if I think taking care of Bloofy is more important than having fun!"

"Bloofy's just excited," Biscuit added, "He probably just wants to get out." He put the box down and opened the lid, allowing the creature inside to poke its head out. It was an odd looking beast that was mostly purple. Its face was light purple with the rest of its body being dark purple. It had long ears and a tuft of fur on its head, while his body was a long coat of fur that went to the floor and made it so they had no idea if it even had legs. Bloofy jumped out the box and sniffed around, it and Biscuit heading off to show everypony how awesome they were.

Spur frowned while Applebloom glared at her, "Aee you sure you're not just upset you have to share him? What if you took a little break?"

Spur went wide-eyed at this, "You mean, like, leave?"

Sweetie nodded, "If sharing him is too hard, that might be the best thing. Take our word for it. We are grown-ups." Mira nodded, but then felt Spur's heart sting with betrayal before she turned to leave. The others nodded as they turned to watch Biscuit and Floofy begin an obstacle course.

"I don't know what Spur's so worried about," Applebloom commented, "Bloofy and Biscuit are havin' fun."

"Yeah," Scootaloo nodded. "What could go wrong?" They watched as Bloofy completed the obstacle course in record time, the little creature getting a big round of applause from the watching crowd.

However, Mira suddenly sensed a great amount of panic and excitement exploding out of the little guy. "Uh...I think Spur might have been right."

The others turned to her, only to hear Bloofy let out a high pitched squeal. The next thing they knew, he was spinning on the spot and getting faster by the second. In mere moments, he had created a purple tornado with his head sticking out the top. A tornado that kept getting larger. The ponies in the audience screamed as they ran for it while Biscuit, Mira and the CMC stared at the cataclysm in shock. "Me and my big grown-up mouth," Scootaloo maoned.

Bloofy continued to spin around, the tornado beginning to move throughout the stadium and sucking everything that wasn't nailed down up into it. Hay bales, food stands, even a cow and a few ponies.

Applebloom gulped at the sight. "Do you think this qualifies as gettin' into a dangerous situation with no grown pony to help us?"

"I think we're the grown ponies that need to be helping today!" Sweetie cried as Mira rushed toward the tornado.

She saw a young pony swirling around inside of it and hoped to grab her, but the second she got close, she was also pulled inside. "Whoa!" She cried, unable to stop herself from being sucked in, soon flying around as she saw a cream colored earth pony mare wearing a white and blue dress, red shoes and carrying a wicker basket with a dog inside.

"Hang on!" She told her, only to suddenly get tackled by something. "Eep!" She spun around and found herself sitting atop a bicycle as she flew past the pony, jumping off it a second later, only for a broom to slam into her and force her to ride it Harry Trotter style. "This is getting ridiculous." She leapt off the broom and created a pair of Aura Blasts. Slamming them together, they exploded and propelled her through the tornado. She managed to tackle the mare as they were both knocked out of the tornado, Mira spinning and landing on the ground with the mare and her little dog safe in her arms.

"You okay?" The mare nodded as she was put down. "Get to safety."

"Bloofy!" She then heard Scootaloo cry. "Treats, treats, treats! Who wants a treat?" Bloofy looked around and saw Scootaloo holding up a lollipop. The creature moved towards her a this, the suction around it began to pull Scootaloo into the tornado. The pegasi was almost sucked up, Applebloom and Sweetie barely managing to grab her and pull her back. The lollipop then zipped up into Bloofy's mouth, and as it enjoyed the sweet treat, the beast turned to Biscuit and started moving towards him. Sweetie saw this and gasped, then looked up at her horn and remembered what Soul had said about magic being more powerful. She had seen other unicorns do it and Twilight had even explained the theory. She had to try.

She ran around the tornado and tackled Biscuit, her magic enveloping the pair before they vanished in a flash of light. When they reappeared, behind a large hay bale, Sweetie groaned as her head felt like she had just eaten a whole carton of ice cream in a second. The others rushed behind the bale as Biscuit looked over at Bloofy. "What do we do now?!" At that moment, the bales of hay were sucked up as well and the four could only think of one thing to do.

"RUN!" They screamed, running for the exit with Biscuit following close behind.





Out in the fair, Bell and Soul continued to enjoy themselves while Ace was following close behind. Soul laughed at something Bell said while Bell smiled at her, Ace sensing the attraction he had for her. "This has been great," Soul told him. "I'm glad we got to enjoy the fair together."

"Same," Bell nodded. "And it doesn't have to be the last we see of each other. We could write to one another and maybe meet up again when we're free."

Soul smiled at this idea, Ace wanting to pull his hair out. However, before Soul could reply, a bunch of screams made them turn to the stadium. "What's that?" Soul asked, running for it with Bell and Ace following behind. They reached the stadium, mere moments after the others had left, only to find the tornado creature causing havoc.

"Wow," Bell pulled out his dagger, "Stay behind me."

"Yeah," Ace stepped up, "Right." He created an Aura Blast and fired, but the wind from the tornado pulled the orb around it and sent it flying back to Ace. "WHOA!" It exploded and knocked Ace into a nearby wall, "Alright...tag in."

Bell ran forward, moving at blinding speed as he zigzagged around to try and get in close enough to Bloofy. He then leapt up with his knife primed, but Bloofy saw this and pulled its head into the tornado, Bell missing him before being blown away, "GYAH!"

Soul flinched at seeing Bell crash, only to stare at the tornado, "I need an adult."





Over at the Appleloosa Stadium, Twilight and Fluttershy had just stepped off the train. The alicorn had a book hovering in front of her while Fluttershy galnceed around with worry. "I hope you're right about Ace and the girls coming here."

Twilight nodded as she kept reading. "Well, once we read Shadetail Evergreen's warning that the flower grants wishes, it wasn't a stretch to think they wished themselves to the fair. It's all they were talking about." As she said that, Fluttershy noticed a bunch of ponies running away from the fair, only to see something else that made her gulp.

"Or maybe since we told them they were too young to come, they wished to become grown-ups, then came here and caused some kind of trouble that led to a town-wide panic!" Twilight dropped the book as Fluttershy pointed to the fair and saw ponies screaming.

"Yeah," Twilight sighed as she put the book away, "Or that."

"Twilight! Fluttershy!" They turned to see adult version of their charges running up to them. "Thank goodness! I know you're not gonna believe it, but it's me, Applebloom!"

"And I'm Scootaloo!" The pegasus yelled, "We kinda got turned into grown-ups!"

"And we thought we could take the train here since we were old enough, but we ended up in the wrong place, just like you said we would!" Sweetie added.

"And got lost!" Mira cried.

"Just like you said we would!" Scootaloo finished.

"Then we met these foals who led us to the fair, and we tried to give them some grown-up-style advice, but it turned their pet into a tornado that might destroy the whole town!" Twilight and Fluttershy let this info sink in, Twilight sighing again as Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

"Alright," Twilight pointed at the stadium, "Let's fix this."

"How?!" Mira asked, but Twilight and Fluttershy were already moving. They quickly made their way toward the stadium and when they arrived, they saw three others were trying to fight the creature.

"Ace!" Twilight yelled, "Soul!" The jakhowl and alicorn turned to her, both gulping. "We are gonna have a long talk after this is over." She then heard a scream and saw Bell flying towards a wall, only to be caught by the Princess of Friendship while Fluttershy looked the creature over.

"Goodness!" She smiled, "A Whirling Mungtooth! They are very rare and just the cutest little things when they're not excited." As she said that, a fruit cart was thrown into the side of the stadium wall next to them. "This one's excited."

"How do we calm him down?" Scootaloo asked.

"When they're young, a Mungtooth forms a tight bond with its caretaker. They're the only ones who can get them to stop spinning." They all turned to the pony they hoped would be able to stop this, Biscuit looking terrified as they stared at him.

"Spur's the one who really took care of Bloofy. We have to find her!"

"You all go look for Spur," Twilight replied, "Fluttershy and I will do our best to keep everypony here safe." They nodded and ran off as the two true adults rushed into action. "Of all the times to not have a Defender of the Peace around." Twilight saw a bunch of kids being revealed from their sucked up hiding spot and teleported over to them. She teleported them to safety as Fluttershy grabbed a sheep out of the air and flew it down to where several more animals were hiding. As she led them safely to the exit, the others returned to Spur in toe.

"That's Bloofy?!" She yelped.

Biscuit shrank back at this, "I'm so sorry, Spur. You knew what was best for him all along."

Applebloom nodded. "And even though we seem like grown-ups, you were way more responsible than us."

Spur tilted her head at this, "What do you mean, 'seem' like grown-ups?"

"Uh..." Sweetie tried to say, "We um...don't have time to explain. Right now we have to stop this, and you're the only one who can do it."

"So go do it," Ace added.

"How?" Spur looked back at Bloofy, seeing the still raging tornado.

"I'll show you." Fluttershy chimed in as she flew down, "He mostly just needs to see you." She held up Bloofy's box and Spur took a deep breath before flying forward.

"Hey there, Bloofy-boo." Bloofy turned to her as she opened up the box, "It's okay." Bloofy smiled as Spur dived into the tornado, everypony gasping, only for the vortex to suddenly vanish. Doing so revealed Spur, hugging her pet as she had calmed it down before putting it back in her box. She then turned to Fluttershy. "How did you know what to do?"

Fluttershy just smiled back, "After years of experience with animals, I've picked up a few things."

"Are we sure that thing is safe to let a filly have?" Bell asked, "What if it gets out of control again?" They all turned to him, Twilight giving him a reassuring look.

"Spur's the only one who can calm him down. He's really only safe when he's around her, and she's clearly shown she can be responsible with it."

And after they had made sure everypony was safe, the group headed out of the colosseum and back toward the train station. "Well, one thing's for sure." Spur smiled at the blue ribbon now attached to Bloofy's box. "Bloofy definitely earned the Most Interesting Creature prize."

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you," Biscuit muttered out.

"We all are," Applebloom apologized as the pair turned to them.

"I guess grown-ups aren't always perfect," Spur stated as Twilight walked over to them.

"They sure aren't, but young foals pretending to be grown-ups are even less so." They all frowned at this, while Bell, Spur and Biscuit looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Spur asked as Twilight took something out of her bag. The magic wishing flower.

"There's only one petal left," she placed it down on the ground in front of them. "But I think you all know what to wish for, and I'm pretty sure Starswirl won't mind." They all looked at the flower, Soul then turning to Bell and looking upset that she had to show him the truth.

"I'm sorry. I guess we won't get to hang out anymore." Bell tilted his head at this as she and the others all circled around the flower and spoke in unison. "We wish we were foals/pups again." The flower exploded with light and they were all consumed by the giant bulb, shocking their three new friends until the petal peeled away. When it did, the six adults were all back to their original ages. Ace and Mira were back in their child forms and when Bell saw Soul, his eyes went wide.

"Hold on!" Biscuit yelped, "You're actually younger than us?!"

They all nodded as Sweetie replied, "The flower turned us into grown-ups, so we figured we could do whatever we wanted. But I guess that's not exactly true."

Applebloom sighed. "We did everything real grown-ups told us not to and caused all kinds of trouble."

"And things could have been a lot worse," Scootaloo frowned. "I guess we were pretty selfish."

"We're sorry," Mira sighed as Soul and Ace focused on the now traumatized-looking Bell.

"Are you okay?" Ace asked.

Bell finally blinked as the information finally sank it. "So let me get this straight. All this time, you were a filly." Soul nodded, "and I wanted to..." He suddenly looked ready to hurl, "Oh, I could have gotten in serious trouble."

"It's not that bad," Soul responded, "I was an adult when we hung out."

"No, you weren't!" Soul flinched at this as Bell took a deep breath. "Age might be defined by how many years you've lived, but that's not what truly being an adult means. That flower didn't turn you into adults. It turned you into very big kids. A true adult is born through the years of experience one lives through. Childhood is the time to make mistakes and learn from them, so that you'll be less likely to make them in the future. Only when you've lived long enough to have the wisdom to make the right choices, are you truly an adult."

"I guess that makes sense," Soul nodded, "And I guess we won't be writing to each other or hanging out."

"Yeah," Bell nodded. "Sorry, but a grown pony being pen pals with a much younger filly doesn't looks so good from my end." Soul sighed as Bell placed a hoof on her shoulder. "But, why not try giving me a call in say...ten years. Then we'll see how things work out."

Soul smiled at this as Bell said his goodbyes and started walking away. The sight made Ace sigh, "He's right you know. I guess looking like an adult isn't enough to be one. I mean, I've seen some adults that act more like kids then some kids do."

They all laughed at this as Twilight patted them all on the head. "I'm glad you learned something. That's what growing up is. Which is why you probably shouldn't skip any of it." They nodded as Mira and the CMC turned to Spur and Biscuit.

"I know we didn't make the best impression, but we sure would like to visit you and Bloofy someday."

The pair shared a look before giving them a knowing smirk. "I guess that'd be okay, on one condition. You get a real grown-up to bring you."

"DEAL!" They all said, the group laughing as the train whistle filled the air. Spur and Biscuit headed off down to road while the train approached, the ponies and jakhowls glad everything worked out. Growing up might seem like it was something you wanted doing as fast as possible, but it was the journey to becoming an adult that made one an adult. It was just like Bell had said: Wisdom came from experience, not age. And Ace, Mira, Soul, Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle all had a lot more experience to acquire before they could be considered grownups.





Back at the Castle of Friendship, Twilight sighed as she put her bag down.

Ace, Mira and Soul were back at the school while Applebloom and Sweetie were back home safely. Scootaloo was in her room, allowing Twilight to lay down in the library and relax. "What a day." She sighed, realizing all this could have been avoided had the map not called Flash away, but she also knew the lesson the youngsters had learned was important. Maybe that was why the map called him on this specific day. "I wonder how Flash and Heart are doing?"

It was in that moment that the Rune Gate's alarm went off, the mare gasping as she teleported to it. The pillar of light appeared, and she expected Flash and Heart to appear...only for a scroll to fly out of it.

"Huh?" She grabbed it in her magic and opened it up, reading what Flash had written and gasping. "No way."
> Flash's life
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was another beautiful day in Equestria and excitement was in the air. There were many reasons for this excitement, one of which being the recent wedding of Big Mac and his new wife, Sugar Belle. The events leading up to this wedding was certainly an interesting set of situations, involving living apples and many other insane circumstances. But in the end, the wedding went off without a hitch and the new married couple had gone off on their honeymoon.

Another reason to be excited was the upcoming coronation of Twilight Sparkle, as Equestria's newest ruler. Many expected Twilight to be freaking out, but the mare had managed to keep her nerves under control despite all the insanity that was going into her upcoming crowning. With all the preparations going smoothly, the mare was able to kick back and relax. And this was something Celestia had suggested she do up until the crowning. After all, it would likely be a good while before she got to have any real time off once she was made ruler of Equestria.

And that was exactly what Twilight was doing, the mare laying in her library, enjoying a good book. Spike was also there, enjoying his own comic as they sat in a peaceful silence. "This is great," Twilight commented, "I hope I get to do this at least once a month once the ceremony is over."

"I'm sure Flash can take over for you whenever you need a break," Spike assured her, "Where is Flash anyway?"

"Well, he was on patrol duty, but I think that should have ended already. Probably heading home now or he might have run into something that needed his attention." Spike nodded and the pair went back to their reading, enjoying the little recharge time they had.





Outside, Flash was still on patrol. The pegasus was flying around town, though he wasn't really paying attention to anything that was happening around him. No, he was too busy thinking about his most recent adventure, Armalum's words flowing through his mind.

"When your apprentice killed my master, his hatred became infused with the Corrupted Shadow he was holding. And when he was destroyed, that Corrupted Shadow's power merged with me. Now I no longer need a host, so long as I have the hatred within me directed straight at you."

And then there was Shroudheart's warning.

"Beat me and you will be forced to face the one who hates you the most. And that hatred will fuel them into becoming the greatest threat this world will ever see...and in order to defeat him, you will have to give up everything that's precious to you. You'll give everything up to save this world and make your friends feel despair like they've never felt before."

He hadn't been lying. Armalum did appear. How it was connected to Shroudheart, Flash had no idea. But he was here, and if Shroudheart was right, taking him down would require Flash to give up everything. His life, his future, everything.

Of course, this revelation had thrown Flash for a bit of a loop. It almost felt like he had a ticking clock attached to him and the second it hit zero, he would find himself fighting against Armalum and losing his life. He half expected the grim reaper to suddenly shoot out of nowhere and take him to the afterlife. Flash sighed as he continued flying, only for something to fly right past him.

"WHOA!" He almost crashed into a building until regaining control, the pegasus looking up and seeing Rainbow and Soarin flying by. They were either having a race or playing some kind of game, the laughter they were unleashing clear evidence they were having fun at least. Though annoyed about almost being run over, Flash couldn't fault them for doing something that made them happy. Flying with one another was just how the pair showed their affection with one another.

Flash then heard more laughter and looked down, seeing he had flown over the park and saw Fluttershy and Iron along with Angel. The trio were having a picnic with one another, Fluttershy laughing at something Iron had said as he fed Angel part of a carrot. Flash smirked at this, knowing Iron would have never let himself be seen in such a situation before he and Fluttershy got together.

Not wanting to intrude, he flew away and continued to fly over the park until he arrived at another area of it. When he did this, he heard more laughter and looked down to see a bunch of school ponies. They were all gathered up and watching something: A puppet show. The one running the puppet show was Wild Smile, the unicorn entertaining the colts and fillies. As he did this, Pinkie was walking around with snacks for them to enjoy as the show went on. On the few occasions Pinkie went behind the stage, she and Wild smirked at one another. They were doing what they loved, bringing joy to others.

Flash flew away again, thinking about the three couples he had just seen. Flash was happy for them, especially that they had all found one another and were happily married. He was also happy for all the other ponies whose weddings he had gotten to attend.

That alone made him think about her. Flash and Twilight had been dating longer than Mac and Sugarbelle, but somehow the nervous farm pony had gotten up the guts to propose before him.

But Flash knew why he hadn't done it. With all the insane things that had been happening lately, the thought of marriage hadn't occurred to Flash, and Twilight was way too busy getting ready to become Equestria's new ruler. Put wedding planning on top of that and she would have a meltdown...and there was Armalum.

Flash sighed at this as he found a nice cloud to sit on, laying down on it. As he did this, he couldn't help but imagine Twilight in a beautiful wedding dress. Her walking down the aisle towards him, the pair vowing to one another to always be there for each other. Pure beauty and happiness rolled into one.

It was something Flash so desperately wanted.

"I can't," he whispered, "If only...I could have more time." Had Armalum not been an issue, he would have asked Twilight to marry him the moment she was coronated. But now, how could he let her think they were going to spend the rest of their lives together? Flash didn't even know if he was going to live another week or not.

"Flash?"

The pegasus continued to imagine the kind of life he could have if he wasn't destined to fall at Armalum's hooves. Getting married, having a family, training Heart and who knows how many other Royal Guards to help protect Equestria.

"Flash?"

It wasn't fair. He had already done so much. Didn't he deserve to have the life he wanted?

"FLASH!" A rock went right through the cloud, the pegasi yelping before rolling over, accidently going over the edge of the cloud.

"WHOA!" He barely managed to grab onto the edge, the pegasus then looking down and seeing Grand staring up at him.

"About time," Grand yelled, "I've been trying to get your attention for a while." Flash frowned and spread his wings, letting himself drop down slowly toward his mentor. "What's up with you? Not every day I see you daydreaming when you should be on patrol."

"I'm fine," Flash replied as he landed and dusted himself with his wings.

"Flash..." Grand gave him a slight glare, "I know you. And I know when something's on your mind. So spill it." Flash frowned before Grand turned away from him. "Come on, let's go get comfortable. You look like you could use a drink."

The defender blinked at him, only to sigh as he began to follow his mentor. "Maybe...maybe I should tell him." he whispered to himself as they continued into town.





Far, far away from Equestria...

Armalum was walking through a dense forest, using his Corrupted Shadow to cut through the trees. "I know you're close. I'm going to find you." He whispered, "Where are you?"

But as he said this, he came to a stop as a rustling sound filled the air. Slowly, a cloud of shadow appeared before him and elongated. Once it was long enough, the clouds faded and revealed his sword. He kept it low, his eyes darting around, only for a creature to leap out of the bushes and revealed themselves to be a large chimera.

The tiger, goat, snake combo monster had its claws ready to tear him to pieces. But Armalum didn't even look its way as the Corrupted Shadow exploded out of his back and transformed into claws. The claws grabbed hold of the beast, its talons inches away from slashing at him. The living armor then rose his sword and the weapon swung around so fast, it was almost like it hadn't moved at all.

Slowly, the chimera's roars, bars and hisses ceased. Moments later, pieces of the creature began to fall off of the rest and Armalum dispelled the shadow claws to allow them to fall in a pile on the ground. The poor creature didn't know what had hit it, Armalum dispelling the sword and continuing on his way.

And after a few more minutes of trekking through the woods, he came to the edge, only to see a large wasteland. The ground was solid rock and showed nothing but boulders. This wasteland went on and on for about a mile before a large mountain could be seen in the distance. And it was this mountain that Armalum could feel was the spot he had been searching for. "Soon. Very soon."





Back in Ponyville...

Grand had taken Flash to one of his favorite cafes, and as they sat down, Grand ordered them both a drink as Flash just sat there, staring down at the table. "Alright kid. Now what's got you all glassy-eyed?" Flash didn't say anything, making Grand sigh, "It's either tell me, or I tell Twilight something's up and she badgers you until you give in and tell everypony." Flash glanced up at him, Grand smirking as he added, "Come on. If something's wrong, then we can help. But we can't if you don't tell us what it is."

Flash nodded and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before saying, "I'm going to die."

Grand raised an eyebrow at that before smiling, "Well, so am I, someday."

"Don't you dare," Flash growled back at him, only to see the smile, the pair laughing for a moment a second later. The waiter took this moment to bring them their drinks, Grand waiting until he was out of earshot before giving Flash a serious glare.

"Flash, what is this all about?"

Flash took another deep breath. "I'm going to die, and it might be soon." Grand crossed his hooves at this, "You remember Shroudheart?"

"The psychopathic version of you from another timeline, who somehow returned, destroyed the Elements of Harmony, turned everyone in Ponyville and Canterlot into his slaves and almost killed you and the girls? I remember."

Flash nodded back, "When we were fighting, he told me something. That if we defeated him, it would bring about an even greater threat. One that I would have to lose everything in order to beat."

"And you believe him?" Grand asked, "He's nuts. He was probably saying that to throw you off your game."

"No," Flash shook his head, "He wasn't lying. I could tell. He was telling the truth. And I know who the new threat is." Grand raised an eyebrow at this, "Armalum." Grand sighed, remembering what Flash had told him about his recent friendship mission. "Shroudheart said that the enemy would be the one who hates me more than anypony else. Armalum said he was fueled by the hatred others had for me. He's literally made of hatred for me, so of course he's the one who hates me most."

"That's just a coincidence," Grand waved his hoof, "It doesn't mean you're going to die." But as he did this, he saw the dark look on Flash's face, "There's more, isn't there?"

Flash nodded again, "Do you remember when I told you about how Heart's future self showed up?"

"Yeah. And?"

"Well...I didn't tell you everything that happened. More specifically, I didn't tell you everything that Heart told me about the future."

"You let him tell you about the future?" Grand asked. "You know what that could do."

Flash took a sip of his drink. "I didn't want to learn about it, but it just kind of happened. Heart and I...we had trouble working together."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Flash felt the words stumble inside his brain, "Well, I mean that he didn't know how to fight by my side. At all."

That made Grand lean back, thinking about how much he had recently seen Flash train Heart personally. "He...didn't?"

"Yeah." Flash bit his lip at this, "And...well, I found out that the pair of us hadn't fought together in a long time for him. And it wasn't by choice." Grand's eyes went wide as his brain started to catch up, "I'm dead in the future Heart came from."

"How?"

"That I didn't let him tell me." Flash took another sip at this, "But Heart didn't deny it. I'm not in the future, and from everything that I've seen since then, Heart's still on track to be the knight that goes back in time and tells me. The future him had the scar Heart got on his hoof and he's starting to gain a lot of skill with the different weapons I've been training him in, so it's likely his Celestic Gear will still be the Flamemaker weapon he was wielding."

"Maybe," Grand nodded, "But..." Again, Flash's face another hint of darkness, making him sigh, "Oh for Celestia's sake. How much more have you been keeping secret?"

"When I was in Aurarora, I met with a jakhowl that could show me the future. When I saw the future, I saw..."

"You saw...?" Grand watched Flash glance around, grimacing at the memory what he had seen. And once he was sure nopony was listening, he leaned in close and whispered.

"I saw Ponyville was destroyed."

"WHAT?!" Everypony around them turned to the pair, Grand giving off a nervous laugh and waving. Once they looked away, Grand glanced back at Flash and hissed, "What do you mean Ponyville was destroyed?!"

"I saw Ponyville in ruins. Every house and building was destroyed, even the school and the castle."

Grand grimaced at this, "And you're sure?" Flash did a slow nod back, making Grand sigh, "We can't let that happen. I don't care about what you know about the future, I am not letting Ponyville be destroyed."

"I don't want Ponyville to be destroyed either," Flash replied, "But that could be the least of our worries. If Armalum really is the one that destroyed the town, it means his powers might far more than Shadow's. When I last faced him, Armalum was able to create a force field I couldn't break through on my own. Even when I used my Sacred Light, it took forever the destroy it."

"He was able to withstand the Sacred Light?"

Flash nodded, "If Armalum attacks, I'm not sure what will be able to stop him. We were able to summon the power of the Elements inside of us to take down Shroudheart, but there's no guarantee that'll work a second time. There's also a chance it won't be enough to beat Armalum now."

Grand crossed his hooves at this, "So what are we gonna do?"

Flash sighed and leaned back, "According to Shoudheart, I manage to find a way to beat him. But doing so will cost me everything. It's clear what has to happen. In order for us to stop Armalum...I'll have to sacrifice myself."

Grand's eyes narrowed at this, "Flash...think about what you're saying. I understand that risking our lives to keep Equestria safe is a Royal Knight's duty, but there's a difference between sacrificing yourself when there's no other option and deciding to let yourself die before even attempting any other method."

"I know that," Flash nodded, "And I don't intend to just throw myself at Armalum, expecting to die. When I face him again, I'm gonna hit him hard and do whatever it takes to stop him. But...but whatever it takes might be losing my own life in the process. I wanna be ready for that."

His mentor just glared at him at this, only to take a deep breath, "I see. And are you planning on telling Twilight and the others about this?"

Flash shook his head, "You know how Twilight is. If I told her all this, there's no way she'll take it well. She's probably lock me up to make sure I don't do anything stupid."

"You are doing something stupid," Grand countered, "But, that's who you are." Flash smiled at that, "Alright, I'll keep this info to myself. But don't think you're going up against Armalum alone. I don't care what the future says, you're coming out of that fight alive."

"Thanks Grand," Flash nodded, "But...just in case if something does happen, can I ask you a favor?" Grand slowly nodded back, "If I don't make it, I need someone to take over Heart's training. And I can't think of anypony better suited to it then you."

"I'd be honored, but don't think that means I'm gonna let you die. You're coming out of this fight alive. The entire Royal Knight squad will fight him with you if we have to. It's clear he's gonna be a hard opponent to fight."

"Yeah, no kidding." Flash responded, remembering he hadn't had the best chance to measure Armalum's power during their last encounter, but he did know the living armor was strong. He said it was hatred that he needed, and though he had little success with the former cultists, the Crystal Pen was another thing altogether. The very thought made Flash think: How many villains had he gained the hate of over the years? How many more sources of power were out there for Armalum to feed on?

That thought alone had deep dark consequences.





Armalum was now walking across the rocky wasteland, soon climbing up a mountain. He used his shadow form to scale it, flying higher and higher until he reached the top. It wasn't a large mount, making it easy for him to reach the peak. And when he rematerialized on the tip, he looked down to see what he had been searching for.

"The Lost City."

Down at the base of the mountain was the Lost City of Faust, transported there after the war. Most ponies wouldn't be able to see it, only seeing a plot of land with several swamps and bogs. But with Armalum's eyes, he could see through the illusional dome surrounding it and saw the whole city. The place was a connecting point to the one who called herself Faust, the creator of all things. And it was here that Armalum would find what he was searching for.

The living armor summoned his wings and wrapped them around himself before leaping, flying down the side of the mountain until he reached the forcefield hiding the city. And as expected, he found himself slamming and bouncing off it.

"Think you can keep me out?" He swung his head, the horn sparking in energy as he fired into the force field, causing the magic to fluctuate and open up a small hole. "There we go." It grew larger and larger until it was large enough to fly through, the armored one quickly getting insde.

"Alright Faust," he chuckled, "Where are you?" The city was just as it had been the last time he had been there, though the missing castles were a little off putting. He walked along a street next to one of the rivers flowing through it, leading to a large water reservoir.

Memories poured through, all the battles, both victorious and failures. Armalum was mostly reminded of his fights with Ruby Scarlet and the issues he had faced with his former host. But those days were behind him. He was free of the need for a host, now able to move on his own so long as he kept his hatred for Flash Sentry burning bright.

This city had been where everything went wrong. Where they had been trapped and forced to fight for Faust's pleasure. Where his master had lost everything. His power, his name, and very nearly his life. All because Faust had chosen Sentry over him.

"She'll come to regret that," he stated as he reached the very center of the city. "FAUST! I KNOW YOU'RE HERE! I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME! SHOW YOURSELF, YOU COWARD! IT'S TIME YOU ANSWERED FOR WHAT YOU DID TO MY MASTER! WHAT YOU DID TO HIS SERVANTS!" With that, he started launching blast of dark magic toward the building. The single shot was all he needed to turn them to dust. "I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL YOU SHOW YOURSELF! NOW ANSWER ME!"

"Enough." The voice echoed in his mind as the ground beneath his feet began to glow. The next thing Armalum knew, the floor completely vanished and he began to fall into a pit of light. He summoned his wings and tried to fly back to the exit, but it quickly vanished, forcing him to fly down.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" He commented as he went down, soon seeing a bright light before reaching a chamber, the armored pony now spotting a ball of energy in the center. "There you are."

"Armalum!" A voice called out from the light, "You attack my city?! Clearly you are not as smart as you think you are."

"I'm smart enough," Armalum replied, "Smart enough to find your precious city. And now that I'm here, it's time to take what you should have given my master."

"Your master got what he deserved. He lost and like a child, he tried to take what he had not earned. You would do well to follow the example of your former teammates and put his influence behind you. Move on with your life."

"I will not and cannot move on with my life. This is my life. Taking revenge on the ones that wronged my master. I had hoped to go after Sentry first, but you will be the one to taste my wrath first."

"Do you honestly think you can harm me?" Faust responded, "You truly are a fool."

"You're right," Armalum nodded, "Battling the being that helped create the universe would be foolish, if you were at your full power." Faust said nothing in response to this. "That's right, I know you're not at peak performance. Haven't been since Cozy Glow almost destroyed you. Near death experiences have a tendency to weaken those that went through them. And even now, you're not back to full power. If you had, your force field would have easily repelled me."

"Hmmm," Faust replied, "Maybe you're not as stupid as you made yourself look like. But even in my weakened state, you still have no chance against me."

"We'll see about that," Armalum smirked before diving down, firing magic at the ball of light, but shields started appearing around it, blocking every blast. She launched several beams of her own, Armalum dodging them as he tried to counterattack. As this was happening, the ball of light began to flux and slowly change shape, morphing into a tall pony-like figure with wings and a horn. If Armalum didn't know who it was, he would have assumed it was Celestia given the shape.

"Cute. Deciding to fight me in that form."

"Why not? It's clearly the superior species. Such a shame the Corrupted Shadow's descendants were all failures" She spread her wings and started firing magic from her horn, Armalum countering it with his own. The pair circled around the chamber, trading lasers with one another that did nothing against the other.

Armalum eventually stopped firing and spread his wings, the shadows breaking off of them and forming a bunch of arrows. With a beat of his wings, they were sent flying toward Faust. But the energy alicorn spread her own wings, the light coming off of them forming her own set of arrows. She sent them flying and they managed to hit each of Armalum's arrows, cancelling them out while Armalum summoned a cloud of shadows in his hoof. He swung the cloud around and it straightened out before fading away, revealing his sword. He charged at Faust, who launched lasers back, but Armalum slashed through them all before swiping at her, only for the sword to shatter on another forcefield.

This allowed Faust to fly back before bringing her hooves together as a beam of light extended out from it. An energy sword came out next, the being swinging it in hoof before slashing at Armalum, the armored one blocking it with his own blade as the pair began to duel. Clash after clash followed this, the pair blocking and dodging for several minutes. Neither seemed to have the advantage, eventually locking blades and pushing against one another as Armalum let out a low cackle, "Your powers are weak, old mare."

"You can't win," she hissed back, "Strike me down and not only will you lose everything, but so will everypony else."

"Oh?"

"You can't be that stupid. My death at the hands of that filly would have brought about the end of all things in Equestria. You must realize if you do the same thing, it will only result in the same destruction." The pair then pushed away from one another, "Tell me, would you send the world into chaos just to settle a personal vendetta?!" But as those words left her mouth, Armalum began to laugh, "What?! What's so funny?!"

"I have no intention of letting the world fall apart," Armalum replied as he waved his hoof, "I know your death will result in the end of all things. But it won't happen right away." Faust tilted her head at this, "How long do you think the universe can last, without you there to keep it running properly? A month? Maybe two? Long enough for me to exact my revenge."

"Then what?!" Faust yelled, "Without me, this world will collapse! You say you have no intention of letting it do that, yet you still intend to end me?! How can you plan to kill me and keep the world running?"

"It's like I said, your end will not instantly result in the world's destruction. And when the time comes that the world absolutely needs a ruler, I am more than happy enough to take over that position." Faust's eyes, if she had any, would have gone wide in that moment.

"You're mad."

"No, just ambitious. It's a trait I inherited from my master. For centuries, I have had to follow the orders of others. Forced to inhabit other beings in order to survive and following the commands of those that could take away my ability to live amongst the world. Even now, I'm forced to follow the desires of those I feed off. To kill Flash Sentry, once and for all. When that achievement is accomplished, I will have nothing driving me. Nothing to fuel my continued existence in this world."

"So you intend to ascend from this world and become its new ruler?"

"Exactly," Armalum slashed at her at this, the other barely blocking the attack, "Everyone wants to rule the world, and I have the ability to accomplish it. I will remake this world to be a better place, where nothing and nopony will oppose me. The type of world you could never dream of creating." He pushed Faust back and fired a beam of light at her, Faust dodging it and flying up into the tunnel leading out of the chamber. Armalum's wings flared at this, quickly zipping up and thrusting his wing claw. He grabbed her leg, but she quickly blasted it with her horn as they approached the exit. Faust then spun towards Armalum and slashed at him, but his horn sparked, creating a shield of darkness, instantly blocking the blow.

"You really think you can create a better world?" She asked, "What makes you think you know what a better world is?"

"Can't be any worse than you did," he laughed. "You let a pair of opposites make things that were the complete opposite of each other. What did you think would happen?" The shield vanished as he slashed at her again, "This world's entire existence has been nothing but conflict. One thing tries to destroy another thing, resulting in a battle that destroys more things around it. You really think a world like that deserves to be saved?" The pair pushed away from one another, both spreading their wings as they pointed their weapons at each other.

"This world isn't perfect," she responded, "But perfection isn't real. If it were, I wouldn't even exist and neither would you. My birth was a result of universal error. Something doing something imperfect and causing a chain reaction that resulted in me. I knew this and knew perfection was impossible. That's something I taught the Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow, which they understood and accepted. They didn't try to make the perfect world. Just the best world they can imagine. And now you're trying to undo it. I won't let that happen!"

"And how are you gonna stop me?" Armalum fired a blast of magic, Faust dodging it as the laser hit the ceiling and exploded. The pair then flew out of the tunnel and continued shooting at one another, Armalum soon getting a hit on her wings. She cried out as she fell down, crashing and rolling through the streets of the city until she reached one of the lakes. She groaned and picked herself up as Armalum flew down.

As he did, he slammed his hooves together and a spark appeared. That spark created a fireball, which Armalum began to expand until it was almost as big as him. He then thrust it forward, the fire exploding into a flaming coil with a serpent head on the end of it. The snake flew down and hit the ground, igniting any piece of plant life around it as it slithered toward Faust.

She saw this and quickly spread her wings as the water behind her glowed. Within seconds, the water turned into a massive wave, crashing down over her and flooding the streets as the serpent was struck, hissing as it turned into vapor. As this happened, Faust slammed her hoof into the water. When she did this, the whole thing froze and spikes of ice started growing out the top. She then slammed her other hoof into it and the ice exploded, sending the spikes flying toward Armalum.

"Impressive." Armalum commented as he spread his wings before wrapping them around his body, morphing into a shadow form that the spikes flew through. He then shot down at Faust, as she leapt into the air. She spun around as light flowed off her wings, spiraling around her to form a tornado that the shadow cloud was thrown away from. The shadow hit the ground before reshaping into another tornado, the two vortexes moving toward one another and crashing into each other. The impacts caused them to bounce off each other, but they kept forming themselves to collide again and again.

Eventually, the light tornado curved at the base and began to wrap itself around the shadow tornado. Eventually, it was coiled around its opponent from top to bottom and started constructing, causing the shadow tornado to be crushed within it, eventually exploding to reveal Armalum as he cried out. The light tornado reformed as he slowly fell, only for a pair of giant light wings to explode out of it. And slowly, it faded away to reveal Faust had grown to the size of Flash's Avatar.

She stared down at Armalum, her wings morphing into claws similar to his wing claws. They swung around and smashed into Armalum, crushing him between them as he roared. The heat of the light was like a furnace, Faust staring down at him. Despite not really having a face, he knew she was glaring at him.

"Let me go!" He roared, "Or suffer the consequences!"

Faust scoffed at this, "Clearly, when you absorbed your master's hatred, you also absorbed his foolish ego! You see yourself as some kind of divine being, who must be obeyed simply because you are powerful. But it's time you understand what you are: Nothing."

"You dare!"

"OH, I DARE!" Armalum flinched at this as Faust's wing claws began to spread around him. He felt something forming around him. Some kind of crystal. "You are tiny! You were nothing but a nuisance when you were under Shadow's command and now, you dare think you can be something more than what you truly are."

Armalum groaned as the crystal encased more and more of his body. "And what am I? If you hate me so much, why let me be created?"

"You were the creation of the Umbrum. A weapon to be used to conquer the world. That's all you were at the start. A weapon meant to control and manipulate. But then some of you gained sentience and showed you could be more. I hoped you would grow into a species worth allowing to live. But instead of evolving, all you did was take and leave nothing behind. It was clear what you were then."

"And what's that?"

"The same thing you were under Shadow's command. The same thing you are now. A parasite. Nothing...but a parasite." Only Armalum's head was left uncrystallized. "A parasite that now wishes to destroy everything just because he thinks he can do it better. Well, I won't allow that. I will seal you away and keep you close. You will sleep. Sleep for all eternity if I must. But I doubt that will be needed. After all, you said Flash's death is what fuels you."

"So you're just gonna keep me sealed away until Flash Sentry dies?"

"That's right. After a long and happy life, he'll die, and so will all the hatred for him that fuels you. After that, you'll have nothing and I can safely release you back into the world. No power, no drive, nothing." Armalum's head began to crystalize and eventually, he was almost entirely encased.

"There's just one mistake with that plan." Faust tilted her head, "Thinking my hatred could be so easily sealed away." With that, he was completely trapped inside the crystal and Faust could feel nothing coming off of him. She sighed and looked away, her eyes now seeing that the damage done to the city had been minimal. Letting out a sigh, her power began to repair the city, the being already ready to return to her chamber, where she would hide Armalum away for the next hundred years or so. But as she did that, she suddenly felt the crystal begin to vibrate.

"What?" The crystal shook more and more, only to now feel a power begin to radiate off of it. "NO!" A giant crack appeared on the gem, and before she could do anything, it was already too late.

A wave of dark energy exploded out of the gem, knocking Faust back as Armalum was freed. The living armor's wings were spread wide, creating large clouds around him. The clouds began to reshape themselves, as the faces of all the beings Armalum had drained of their hatred and life force appeared within them. Faust could only watch in shock, as Armalum's horn glowed brighter and brighter, and as the heads flowed out of the clouds and into his horn, he unleashed a massive blast of power. It struck Faust so fast, she had no chance to counter and screamed as she was blasted into the ground so hard that the entire city shook.

She kept screaming as the blast pinned her large body to the earth while Armalum's wings spread out again and grew larger. Once they were big enough, so big they practically eclipsed the sun, he brought them down and formed massive bowls with them. The hit the ground and dragged along it, until they eventually encased Faust within them.

He stopped his laser and Faust remained trapped, the energy being trying to unleash her power with little effect. And slowly, the dark cage around her began to shrink. "NOOOOO!" She screamed, only for her to start shrinking as well. Eventually, she was restored to her original size as Armalum created a small opening for her to stick her head through.

"Now I've got you," he smirked as her head appeared out of the hole. "Now you understand just how powerful my hatred is. Powerful enough to defeat a god like you. Powerful enough to replace you."

Faust cried out as she break free of Armalum's grip, the energy being unable to do anything. "Let...me...go."

"Oh no," Armalum laughed, "This is the end of you. Prepare to meet your doom!" As he said this, his horn sparked and began to build up power. Then, that energy started moving towards his hoof. And as Faust saw this, she closed her 'eyes' and began to call out to the one she knew could help. To call out Flash...but it was too late again. For Armalum slammed his hoof into her chest with a loud cackle.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Her screams shook the land around her as the dark energy started corrupting her very being. Armalum continued to laugh at this as he kept pushing his hoof further into her. The dark energy coming off his hoof slowly started darking the energy that made up her form. He could feel her fighting against him, but it was no use.

"Don't you understand?! This is a battle of wills! I'll admit, your will is strong. Living all that time and not going mad would take a lot. But my will is stronger!"

"No!" she cried as more and more of her body darkened. "You can't do this!"

"Yes, I can. But like I said, I'm not going to let this world fall apart. Once you're gone and I deal with Sentry, I'll take over and become its new god. And I will reshape this world the way it should be. The way Master Shadow wanted it to be. None of this Friendship is Magic garbage. The only thing that will matter in this world will be power. Power you take and use solely for yourself. That is the perfect world he searched for. And it is that world that I will create in his place."

Faust glared at him, as almost all of her body was corrupted. But then, she chuckled. Had she had a mouth, she would have been smiling. "You are a fool."

Armalum would have frowned, if he had a mouth. "What?"

"You might destroy me and take my power, but you will never defeat Flash and his friends." Armalum let out a snarl at this, "I've lived a long time and I've seen many amazing sights in that time. And one of my favorite things to see is a hero rising up against great odds and vanquishing evil. And I've got to see that a lot, considering how many evils have risen and fallen to good. And do you know why?"

Armalum let out a demonic hiss, "Enlighten me."

"Because the kind of power you believe in, is the weakest power there is. Power used for one's own sake will always pale in comparison to power used for the sake of others. That's why villains like you never win. Because the power you use is nothing compared to the power used by those like Flash and his friends. The power the seek to protect others."

"Don't make me laugh," almost all of Faust's body had been absorbed at this. "Are you trying to tell me that even after I absorb your power, Flash Sentry will still defeat me?! That's impossible!"

"Maybe," Faust nodded, "But there's a word that is given to those who can accomplish anything, no matter how impossible it might seem." The pair stared into each other's 'eyes', as all but Faust's face was darkened. "They're called heroes."

Armalum growled as Faust was completed consumed and let out a mighty roar as he crushed her physical form into nothingness and absorbed all the power that made up the god. "Then I will make sure things such as heroes become a long forgotten memory."

The magic flowed into him and he roared as he felt the power within him surge. He roared as he felt his magic being super charged, the Corrupted Shadow within him growing stronger and stronger by the second. Had he been his former self, his armor would have exploded from all the power he had accumulated. But he wasn't the same as he was before. This power was nothing compared to his hatred.

But even so, the power was going to be something new to control. As such, the energy began to spark around him and form a sphere of dark light. With every passing second, the orb grew more and more erratic until eventually, the energy could no longer be contained.

"ROOOOOAAAAARRRRR!" The orb exploded and completely engulfed the city around him, the building being struck by the shockwave and shattering into dust. And then the dust was reduced to atoms and the atoms were reduced to nothing. The entire city was obliterated in a single second and when the light from the explosion subsided, a crater was all that was left.

Above the crater, Armalum was flying above it. But something was different about him. His armor had changed. In a way, he looked similar to Flash's Shining Guardian form. His chest and legs were covered in similar armor, with red gems on the chest and knees. His helmet was similar to Flash's, with the stacked triangle horn sticking out of his head. Only this horn was curved and bright red, just like an umbrum. His tail was the same and on his back were a pair of robotic wings, just like the ones Flash used. They opened up and unleashed the Corrupted Shadow, acting as booster rockets for the armored monster.

Armalum looked himself over, the power he had had trouble adjusting to now completely under his control. And what a power it was. He laughed as he felt new strength flowing through him. "Flash Sentry. Your time is up."





The sun was beginning to set as Flash leaned against the castle balcony. He looked up at the bright red night as an uneasy feeling was settling in him. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like something really really bad had just happened.

His talk with Grand had helped calm his nerves a bit, but he was still feeling uneasy about what was to come. After all, his end could be closer then he thought. And though he was still willing to accept that if it came down to it, he couldn't help but remember what Future Heart had told him.

"Twilight...she wasn't the same afterwards. She...it took her a long time to get over what happened, and even then she could never really move on. Everypony else started to get on with their lives, knowing you wouldn't want us to waste them mourning you."

"But it still hurt. For the longest time, nopony could even say your name without everypony getting depressed. It was really hard."

Flash let out a long sigh, his mind imagining the pain all his friends were going to be put through if he ended up dying against Armalum. He had always known he could one day cause his friends pain because of who and what he was. But knowing that an almost guaranteed chance of that happening awaited him made the pain of it all sting so much more.

"You okay?" Flash spun around at the voice, now seeing Twilight standing there. She tilted her head at this before walking out onto the balcony as well. "You've been acting kind of out of it for a while now. Is something wrong?"

Flash opened his mouth, only to slowly close it. His mind went over everything he should say, wanted to say, but he knew better. As such, he glanced back at Ponyville before softly saying, "I was uh...I was just thinking about Armalum."

Twilight nodded at this, "I can't believe he's back. Who knows what he's up to right now." She smiled and winked at him, "But you don't have to worry. We're gonna beat him just like we beat all the other villains."

"I know," Flash replied, "Just worried what it might cost us, that's all." Twilight blinked at him at this, "Us getting this far is because we all stuck together and shared our strengths. But after everything we've been through, it's a miracle we didn't lose anypony we care about. You can't say we didn't almost lose somepony a few times." Twilight did a slow nod at this, "I just...I don't know. Guess I'm worried our luck's gonna run out one day. No matter how good we are, we can't expect a perfect outcome every time."

"I know you're right," Twilight responded before placing her head on his shoulder. "One day we might end up losing somepony, but that just means we have to make the most of the time we have together." Flash felt himself shiver at that, only for Twilight to add, "And even though it's impossible to keep everypony safe forever, I'm still gonna do whatever it takes to try and make that happen."

Flash smiled and rested his head on her's, "I know you will. That's just who you are. Even if perfection is an impossible pursuit, you'll always strive to make something as close to perfect as possible. I don't know where you find the strength of will to do all of that."

"It's easy," Twilight giggled, "Knowing I have you and everypony by my side, even if you're not really there, gives me the strength I need. It's the same way you were able to beat Shadow in the end, wasn't it?"

Flash nodded. "Yeah. I beat Shadow because while he was filled with nothing but hate, but I had everypony's love fueling me." He remembered what Armalum had told him that day. "Armalum is practically made of hatred. Hatred directed towards me."

"So what?" Twilight scoffed, "It doesn't matter how much hatred he has, he'll never be able to stand up to the love you have in your heart. And we both know, the love of one pony can burn away the hatred of a hundred."

Flash smiled and turned to her. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Twilight smirked at this, "I wonder that myself sometimes." Flash rolled his eyes. "But you know, I think it all started the day you saved my book bag from a bunch of bullies."

"Yeah. Hard to believe that one little event could set so many things into motion. You ever think about that day and how ordinary it seemed, only for it to probably be one of the most important days in our entire lives?"

Twilight giggled again, "I've been a princess for so long, sometimes I forget I wasn't born with these wings. After everything we've been through, it's almost hard to believe we started out as such simple ponies."

"Can you imagine what our younger selves would think if they saw us like this?" Twilight glanced up at him at this, "Before I was taken in by your family, I was living on the streets with no idea when I was gonna eat next. If I went back to the day before I saved you and told my younger self what was gonna happen, I don't think I'd believe it myself."

"I don't think anypony would believe it if you told them their future. Well...Rainbow would probably believe it if you told her she was a Wonderbolt." The pair laughed at that. "But some of the more insane stuff. Fluttershy gaining the power to shrink and turn into a bunny. Us getting sucked into a comic book. Spike using magic and sealing away an ancient evil. I doubt anypony would believe it if you told them they would go through insane situations like that. It sounds like stuff out of a story book."

"Guess reality can be stranger than fiction sometimes." Twilight nodded as the sun completely set.

Twilight grabbed his hoof and began to pull him away from the balcony, taking him toward their bedroom. Flash smiled at the mare, but also felt a twinge of regret. His death would hurt Twilight more then anypony and he didn't want that to happen to her. He wouldn't let that happen to her.

"The future isn't set in stone."

Twilight looked back at him in confusion, "Huh?"

Flash shook his head, "Nothing. Just...talking to myself." Twilight pulled him again as they continued down the hallway, Flash letting Grand's words sink in. 'I won't do that to her. I'm going to live and defeat Armalum. I don't care what Shroudheart and future Heart said. I'm going to live, no matter what it takes.'

Armalum might become the most powerful enemy he ever faced, but Flash would still defeat him. He had too much to live for to let a hate filled monster take it all away from him. No matter what happened, he would be sure to see his future come to pass. He would watch Heart become a knight. He would meet his friend's kids and watch them all grow up. And he would create a future with the mare he loved.

He had too much to give up his future. No matter what, Armalum would not take anything from him. That was something Flash swore to fight to make a reality. "Watch out, Armalum. Your time is coming to an end."
> The Ending of the End PT1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day had finally come. Twilight Sparkle was about to become the ruler of Equestria. The day that the purple alicorn stepped up to take over for Celestia and Luna.

Everything was perfect.

But as most thought that, over the last few weeks, rumours had been going around between the earth ponies, unicorns and pegasi. They were all terrible rumours that were making the other ponies not trust those not of their own kind. And its source was the swamplands of Equestria with a unicorn pony walking toward a skull-shaped landmark. And as she walked in, her body was engulfed by flames as she revealed herself as Chrysalis.

The former changeling queen marched into the throne room, where Tirek and Cozy Glow were waiting. "Ah," Tirek chuckled, "Chrysalis. Another successful field trip, I presume?"

Chrysalis smiled as she sat down. "Spreading distrust among the unicorns and earth ponies is almost too easy. We could take down Twilight and her friends a hundred times, but as long as they have the 'love' of Equestria behind them, they'd crawl back to defeat us." She slammed her hoof on the table, "Not anymore."

Cozy nodded, "No friendship, no magic! It's so obvious when you think about it. I did my part freaking out the pegasi."

"And Grogar's long absence has given me time to prepare the next part of our plan." Tirek stood up and moved over to a torch, which he blew out, causing the torch and the wall it was connected to to come apart. Pulling it away, it revealed a hole that had the relic of Grogar within it. Taking it out, Tirek stepped over and placed the book they had gotten from Canterlot on the table. In the book, there were images of Grogar using the bell to steal a unicorn's magic and giving it to himself.

"Grogar's Bell. This artifact can steal any creature's magic. It holds that magic until it is released by this spell. Which means all the power inside is ours for the taking!" He started kissing the bell, only for Cozy to take it away from him.

"You're drooling on the Bell," she hissed.

Chrysalis was about to speak up, but another voice beat her to it. "So it seems you figured out how it works." The three jumped at this, only for a cloud of darkness to flow into the room. "Good. I was hoping you'd be ready by now." The cloud reformed and took the shape of a pony, Armalum.

The three noticed his new look and could feel even more power within him. "Someone got themselves an upgrade," Cozy commented.

"Yes," Armalum nodded. "And with it, a gift to all of you." They all raised an eyebrow at this, only to see Armalum hold up his hoof and create three balls of dark light. The orbs hit the trio, making them flinch as a sensation washed over them and they started to glow purple.

"What is this?" Chrysalis asked.

"Like I said, it's a gift. And a lifeline for me. Don't forget, I've seen how this all plays out. You guys use this plan and get defeated. But with this little added bonus, that won't happen. Plus, it'll keep me safe so you don't try something stupid like betray me." The three glared at him, only to nod, "Now then, shouldn't you start getting the power out of that thing?"

"Yes," Chrysalis replied, "Let's try the spell before Grogar gets back. I'm sick of waiting for that old goat's master plan.

Tirek nodded before holding out his hands, "Take my hands." The other two gave him a quizzical look. "So we can all be part of the spell. Unless you'd prefer I take all the magic myself?" Cozy placed her hoof in his hand, while Chrysalis raised her hoof.

"Our pact stands. What we do, we do together. Once we defeat the protectors of Equestria, we can claim this land and rule our kingdoms alone once more." The other two nodded as Armalum stepped back. He watched as Tirek used his magic to blast the bell and cause it to glow and float up. It then unleashed a swirling black and yellow vortex from the bottom, the three staring into it before a burst of light exploded out and struck the three. Armalum flinched at the bright light, but quickly recovered as he stared into it. As he did, he watched the three begin to change and grow more powerful. He could sense the magic flowing through them and while it still wasn't on his level, it would be more than enough to destroy their enemies.





A little while later, Grogar walked into the evil base. "I have returned." He announced, "Twilight Sparkle's coronation is today, and we are going to ruin it with this artifact." He held up a pink and gold piece of magical jewelry. "But to succeed, you must work together."

"Oh, way ahead of you, Grogar." The goat looked up and saw a pair of bright green eyes staring down at him. It was Chrysalis, the insect pony hanging upside down as she launched a dollop of green slime from her mouth. It hit Grogar's hooves and stuck them to the ground as the entire structure started rumbling. Tirek exploded out of the tunnel and revealed himself to be twice his normal size. Cozy then flew out of another tunnel, now having a large horn sticking out of her head. She fired a blast of magic at Grogar, a pink explosion occurring just next to him. As it did, a spiral of darkness appeared in front of him and took form.

Grogar's eyes went wide at the sight of Armalum, "You." He looked up at the others, seeing Chrysalis had also transformed to be taller, having larger wings with crystal armor on her body. Cozy then lifted something into view, Grogar gasping once again. "The Bell! You had it all this time?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"We're villains," Cozy replied. "Duh."

She, Tirek and Chrysalis unleashed a blast of magic from their horns, hitting the bell and activating it. The bell pointed itself at Grogar before unleashing a black and yellow beam, hitting him and sucking the magic right out of the old geezer. He cried out, only for his body to suddenly transform. The three gasped as they saw his fur turn from blue to brown and gray while his horns changed shape and his hooves turned into claws and feet...only to reveal a broken Discord.

The Lord of Chaos groaned as he picked himself up, turning to the four and giving them a sheepish look. "That was...unexpected," Tirek stated as Discord snapped his fingers. But this did nothing, Discord now finding himself being closed in by the four villains. As such, he quickly started to run away.

"Wait!" Cozy cried as Discord left the building. "Discord was Grogar?! Like, the whole time?!" She turned to Armalum, "Did you know about this?"

"Yes," Armalum nodded, "But I saw no reason to tell you. Who knows how things would have changed if you knew too soon. This way, everything's on track for the future we all want."

"I...guess," Cozy turned back to where Discord had been. "Should we follow him?"

Chrysalis shook her head. "Without magic, he's no threat. Besides, we have plans." The others nodded, all smiling at that statement.





Canterlot was shining that day, the entrance of the castle having been decorated perfectly for Twilight's upcoming coronation. Inside, the thrones of Celestia and Luna had been removed and replaced by one large throne for Twilight. The two alicorns smiled as they watched Twilight testing out the throne. "Doesn't she look so adorably regal up there?" Celestia asked, Luna taking out a tissue as they watched Flash step up to the throne.

"Our little Twilight, all grown up." She wiped her eye, turning to her sister. "Should we tell her that we've cleared out our royal suites so she, Flash and Spike can move in?"

"Oh, maybe wait until after the coronation." The pair spun around to leave, "Twilight doesn't need anything else to worry about today."

"So," Spike was measuring Twilight's head to make sure her crown would fit, "You freakin' out yet?"

"About what?" Twilight asked,

Spike smirked as he took her measurements. "Oh, I don't know. It's not every day the princesses that have ruled Equestria for hundreds of moons retire and pass all their responsibilities onto you and your friends."

"Oh, that." Twilight let out a tiny giggle, "Actually, I'm feeling pretty good. We've all faced so much and come out okay. I know we're up to the challenge of keeping Equestria safe and happy."

"Well, you focus on keeping it happy," Flash leaned against her throne. "I'll worry about keeping it safe."

Twilight shined a cheeky grin, "Oh? You looking forward to the new job?"

"Oh yeah," Flash smirked. "Just watch. I'll have the new guard recruits up to snuff in no time. Grand told me everything he did to make sure the guards were at the best they could be, but I'm gonna make a few tweaks so they can actually..." He glanced around for a second before whispering, "...do something in a crisis."

The other two laughed at this as Twilight turned back to Spike. "I'm ready for this. There's nothing we can't handle together. Which reminds me..." She made Spike sit down next to her and pulled out a velvet box, handing it over to Spike and gesturing for him to open it.

Spike did so and found that inside was a special medal. "Royal advisor? What's that?"

"A new position I created for you," Twilight replied, "You've been at my side for every step of this journey. Knowing I had you to count on gave me the strength I needed to grow and succeed." She lifted the medal up and put it around his neck, "I wouldn't be here without you."

This statement caused the little dragon to start tearing up, Spike quickly wiping his eyes as he and Twilight hugged. "Thanks, Twilight. You know I'll always be your right-hoof dragon." Twilight nodded back before they pulled apart and stood up.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Because now that my crown's been fitted, we have some royal errands to run!" Spike nodded and they both started flying toward the exit, Flash not following.

"I'll catch up later. Gotta go make sure the security's perfect." They nodded back before Flash walked out a side door, out of the castle and into the guard's training ground. There, Lightning and the other Royal Knights were all talking amongst themselves. With Twilight taking over as the ruler, each would need to swear fealty to her and once again vow to protect Equestria and all those that live in it. But as he approached, he saw worry on their faces.

"Hey," They all turned to him, "What's up?"

"We're not sure," Grand replied, "Something seems wrong with all the guards. Well...most of them?" Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "I asked a few guards how things were going and they answered, but I could tell they weren't happy. In fact, I'm pretty sure they were holding back some kind of disgust."

"What?" Flash asked, "Since when have the guards ever treated you with anything other than absolute respect? Who were they?"

"They're new guards. I don't recognise them, so it's clear they joined after I left. They were a pair of unicorn guards."

"I had a similar problem," Cold chimed in, "But with some pegasi guards. They clearly weren't happy about me giving them orders. But when I talked to some unicorns, they were happy to help."

Flash scratched his head at this, asking around the others and getting the same results. "Wait," Flash asked after Iron told him his situation. "The guards angry at you were all pegasi and unicorns, but the ones not angry were earth ponies?"

Iron nodded back, only for Lightning to ask, "You figure something out?"

"I'm not sure," Flash shook his head, "I'll look into it. For now, let's just focus on getting everything ready for the coronation." They all nodded and headed off in different directions, Flash frowning as he made his own way through the grounds. As he did, he spotted several guards on duty. Something he couldn't help notice was that the guards were all grouped up in teams of their own kind. Unicorns with unicorns, pegasi with pegasi and earth ponies with earth ponies. This was strange, since the guard shift was usually meant to pair different types of ponies up to allow them to have a multitude of skills.

As he continued to check everything security wise, he found the unicorn and earth pony guards were giving him just as much of the cold shoulder as the others had stated. When he gave an order, they obliged. But it wasn't a happy obligement. Only the pegasi seemed happy to take his commands.

Eventually, he turned a corner and found three guards who weren't all one type of pony. And when he saw who they were, he smirked. "Cobalt, Nimble, Rough!" The three guards turned to him and smiled, "Finally, ponies who aren't acting weird."

"I'm guessing you're talking about how everypony is sticking with their own kind," Cobalt responded, Flash nodding back at the unicorn. "Yeah...and it's not just the guards. The whole of Canterlot is acting xenophobic all of a sudden."

"Any idea what's causing it?" Flash asked, the three grimacing at this, "Come on, out with it."

Nimble stepped forward. "I've been hearing rumors that the earth ponies have been hoarding food and the unicorns have been planning to take it for themselves."

"What?!" Flash yelped, "Who told you this?!"

"Some of the pegasi guards," Nimble replied, "They saw me with these two and told me to be careful."

"I got the same warning from the earth ponies," Rough added with Cobalt nodding.

Flash shook his head, "This is a problem. I'll...talk to Twilight about it. You three keep an ear out for any more rumors. Try and figure out where they're coming from, so we can nip them right at the source." They all nodded and spread out as Flash headed over to the main courtyard.

There, he spotted Applejack unloading a barrel of apples. As she did, a unicorn guard was keeping a close eye on her. He approached to see what was happening, but Applejack saw somepony else approaching first. Twilight, Spike, Rainbow, Fluttershy and Rarity were heading their way, Applejack calling out to her. "Twilight!" She ran over to her, the guard following close behind. "There you are! You mind tellin' your friend here that I don't need an official guard wherever I go? Especially if he ain't gonna help carry apples?" She glanced back at the guard, who glared back at her while Twilight smiled at him.

"I appreciate you taking such good care of my friends, but we're fine now." The guard nodded and walked off, but continued to eye the non-unicorn ponies as he did.

"It was the strangest thing. He kept callin' me 'earth pony, like I didn't have a name. And watchin' me like he thought I'd steal the silver!" Flash's frown matched hers, his mouth opening to talk to Twilight, only for a sudden rumble to fill the air before a door flew open and a mountain of destroyed sweet treats came spilling out of it.

From out of this mountain came Pinkie Pie, who was completely covered in cupcakes and other desserts. "Do not go in that kitchen!"

The others turned to her, Rainbow commenting, "You look like you were in a sugar war."

"For some reason, the bakers are super grouchy with each other! That unicorn chef started throwing dessert at Mrs. Cake! I tried to help, but I got caught in the crossfire!" She looked at her hoof and smiled at seeing the cupcake stuck to it. "Tasty, tasty crossfire." She slurped up the cupcake as Twilight turned to Rarity.

"You sure this is just pre-coronation nerves?" Rarity bit her lip at this, only for everypony to hear a sudden groan on the ground. They glanced down, only to see Discord laying in the dirt.

"My aching metatarsals!" He was massaging his feet as Fluttershy flew over to him. "You know, you forget how convenient snap-travel is."

"Wait...did you just walk here on foot?"

That question made them all raise an eyebrow. That is, till Discord replied, "Yes, actually." He showed a sheepish smile at this, "And I have a confession to make. You see, I might have made the teeeeeniest boo-boo. All very well-intentioned and noble on my part, of course, but-"

"Get to the point, Discord." Applejack's statement made Discord huff.

"You remember that whole thing with Shroudheart?" Discord asked, everypony blinking at this, "That was slightly my fault. And by slightly, I mean..." He turned away from them, "I brought him back."

"You did?!" Rarity cried, "But why?!"

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Discord rubbed the back of his neck. "Which is why I also brought back three other villains who are now on the loose and not really big fans of yours. So...my bad."

They all gasped at this, Flash glaring at him before he leapt into the air. The pegasus flew through the castle and found the other Royal Knights, bringing them all to the throne room where Twilight had brought the others and Discord. As the sun began to set, the spirit of chaos explained what had happened as everypony listened...and judged.

"Let me get this straight..." Luna growled, "You wanted to boost Twilight's confidence, so you brought back Chrysalis, Cozy Glow, and Tirek to attack her?!"

"Don't forget Shroudheart," Discord added.

"And while you united these three villains," Celestia cried out, "YOU pretended to be Grogar?!"

Discord huffed as Grand continued, "And now, Armalum has joined forces with them!"

"I didn't bring him back," Discord countered, only for First to point at him.

"You brought back Shroudheart and his defeat is what allowed Armalum to return. So, by the law of transitive properties, you brought Armalum back!"

The Spirit of Chaos flinched at this as Fluttershy flew up to him with a betrayed look on her face. "Discord, how could you do this to Twilight?! And us?!" She looked ready to start crying while floating down, Applejack and Iron comforting her.

"Look at what a great job you did defeating Shroudheart. All the confidence you gained. Remember the cheering? The hoof-bumps?"

"Except it was all a lie." He looked back at Twilight, who was sitting on her new throne, the mare appearing heartbroken to discover Discord's treatory.

"A well-intentioned lie," he responded.

Applejack rolled her eyes at this, "For all the time you've spent with us, you really haven't picked up too much in the way of friendship lessons, huh?"

"You've been setting up challenges for us the whole time, haven't you?" Discord raised an eyebrow at this. "None of our successes were actually real."

"Of course they were!" He yelled.

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "So what if he orchestrated this event? We've still kicked flank that he didn't set up to kick."

"But how can we know he didn't set it all up?!" Lightning yelped, "He was conveniently absent when the Storm King attacked! And his magic was strangely nerfed when Chrysalis kidnapped everypony! How do we know he didn't put all that into motion?!"

Twilight frowned at hearing this, Discord then swearing, "I didn't."

"How can we be sure you're telling the truth?" Ruby asked, "You've lied too many times to ever have us believe you!"

"Hold on," Flash chimed in, flying up in front of the creature, "Discord can't have done everything. He was stuck in stone when Nightmare Moon, Chrysalis and Sombra. And Tirek escaped while he was in stone as well. But you're right," he turned to glare at Discord. "You have majorly screwed up this time."

"I'm sorry," Discord bowed his head. "I only wanted to help."

"And how was that supposed to help again?" Spike asked, the others nodding as Discord leaned down to explain.

"I intended to prepare Twilight for anything by orchestrating an epic attack at her coronation."

Before he could continue, Rarity rushed up and grabbed his beard, "You beastly beast!" She screamed into his face "Don't you know how much this day means to Twilight?! And me?! I made her dress!"

Lightning ran up to pull her away, "Easy girl!"

He held on as she started kicking and screaming at the draconequus. "Why wait until now for such a horrible plan?!"

"You don't take a final exam on your first day of class," Discord pointed out, "Just think. After defeating three baddies, Twilight would have to believe that she's the leader we all know she is!" He shined a big smile, only to see Celestia now glaring at him.

"You have made a grave misjudgement, Discord. Do you have anything else you'd like to tell us?!"

Discord gulped, "Would you like the good news or the bad news?"

"That wasn't the bad news?!" Luna screeched.

"Yeah. You see...I uh...well um...all my chaos magic is...gone. Trapped in Grogar's Bell."

Spike sighed, "So what's the good news?"

"Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow now have all of the real Grogar's magic." Everypony blinked at this, Rainbow and all the Royal Knights then screaming in unison.

IN WHAT WORLD IS THAT GOOD NEWS?!"

Discord shrugged at this, "Compared to me losing my powers, anything else is good news!"

"You really need to get your priorities straight," Flash groaned, "But he does kind of have a point." The others turned to him in shock. "Those three have a whole bunch of power. There's no way they're gonna be able to control it right off the bat, so that gives us time to come up with a plan. Let's-"

"FLASH SENTRY!"

They all gasped at hearing a voice now echoed out through the city. "Armalum," Flash growled as the group turned to him.

"I'M CALLING YOU OUT!" Armalum screamed, "YOU AND ALL YOUR ROYAL KNIGHT FRIENDS! I KNOW YOU CAN FIND ME, SO YOU AND YOUR ROYAL KNIGHT FRIENDS COME FACE ME IF YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN! IF YOU DON'T, I WILL MAKE EVERYTHING BURN!"

The voice continued to echo a little, only for the group to all stare at Flash as he turned to glare at a window. "What do you think he meant by you can find him?" Cold asked.

"I don't-URGH!" Flash yelled as he clutched his head, only for his mind to see himself racing out of the castle and through the city. Eventually, he found himself staring at a familiar tree with an armored figure standing in front of it.

"Flash?" Twilight rushed to his side as he blinked and the image vanished. "What's wrong?"

"He's in the park," Flash replied, "He's...he's waiting for me."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Rainbow asked, "Let's take him down!"

"No," Flash shook his head, "he's calling me out." He stood tall at this, "You girls need to focus on the other three. They're just as powerful as Armalum."

They all grimaced at this, only for Grand to chime in, "He's right. Armalum called out the Royal Knights. So, the Royal Knights will deal with him."

The knights all nodded, with even Lightning agreeing to fight as well. Flash turned to Twilight, the pair staring at one another, only to place their foreheads together, Iron and Lightning hugging their significant other as well. They all had a feeling this battle would be one of the most important ones any of them would ever fight.

Flash also knew that this was it. The moment he had been dreading. The battle that, according to Shroudheart, would take everything away from Flash. But he had swore it wouldn't come to that. He had the Royal Knights with him. Armalum wouldn't stand a chance, even if he did have the Corrupted Shadow.

"Good luck," Celestia told the protectors of Equestria. They all nodded as they gathered up, the unicorns using their magic to teleport the group away. With a flash of light, they all vanished and Celestia turned to the other princesses. "We need to come up with a plan."

"Yes," Discord nodded, "I'm afraid your little boyfriend was quite wrong about those three needing time to adjust. They plan on doing something right away. Look at what I overheard them saying!" He snapped his fingers, but nothing happened. "Ugh! Just listen to my voice and use your imagination!"

Pinkie did just that, closing her eyes and imagining Tirek, Discord and Chrysalis in a cartoon version of their evil lair. "Let the fool go," Chrysalis stated, "Without magic, he's no threat. Besides, we have plans."

Armalum then spoke up. "Well, I'll be off then. Time to start my plan to finally take everything from Flash Sentry. I'll take the Royal Knights out of the picture with him and you can deal with the rest." He morphed into a shadow and flew off as the other three put the bell down on the table.

"The Lame Six are so busy being perfect," Cozy giggled, "They haven't even noticed what we've been up to. Have I mentioned how great revenge is?"

"I hope you got a name picked out for your future kingdom," Tirek laughed, "Because it's time to destroy Equestria!" They all laughed as Pinkie opened her eyes, Discord doing their evil laughs before turning to the princesses. "They're probably on their way to attack Canterlot right now!"

"Then we'll stop 'em!" Pinkie cheered.

"How?!" Twilight asked. "Stopping Shroudheart by himself was hard enough! And that was with lord-of-chaos training wheels!" She stared down at the floor at this, letting out a long sigh, "I...why does this keep happening?!"

"Twilight," Celestia stepped up next to her. "It doesn't matter if Discord set up your successes or not. We believe in you and always have."

Luna walked up as well. "Lean on your strengths to counter your weaknesses."

"My strengths?" Twilight looked up at the others, who all smiled at her while Twilight did the same. "Right!" She turned to her dragon assistant, "Spike! Send a letter to Starswirl! Tell him we need the Pillars to guard the border of Canterlot!" Spike nodded and started writing while Twilight began pacing back and forth. "If the villains are coming for a fight, we'll have one waiting for them! With Chrysalis on the loose, she'll go after Starlight! We also need to warn Cadance and Shining Armor! They're our final line of defence if we fail!" She flew into the air and looked over her friends. "The ultimate battle for the fate of Equestria is coming!"

"Aw yeah," Rainbow cracked her hooves, "I am so looking forward to this!" The others weren't as excited, only to nod as they began to get ready. And hopefully, Flash and the Royal Knights would be able to stop Armalum the return to help them defeat their foes.





In the park, Armalum stared up at a tree house that had survived a long time despite its decrepit look. He didn't know how he knew about the structure, but he knew Flash Sentry had a special place in his heart for it. The perfect place for him to lose everything. And as a bright flash occurred behind him, he spun around to see Lightning and all the Royal Knights staring him down. Flash Sentry, Grand Hoof, Iron Core, Ruby Scarlet, Skybreaker, First Aid, Heather Bloom, Cold Steel, Tidal Wave and Lightning Blitz stood in line, though with weapons raised while those that didn't charged their magic.

Armalum chuckled at the sight, "I've been looking forward to this." He summoned his sword as Flash noticed he looked different from the last time he had seen him. "Now I can finally destroy all of you without needing to hunt you down."

"You're not destroying anything," Grand replied, "When this is over, you will never threaten Equestria ever again."

Armalum let out a cackle at that, "HA! You really expect me to be scared of you?"

As he said that, First Aid leapt back and pointed his Celestic Gear, his magic beginning to fill it. "Aid Force!" Energy exploded out of it and split into nine strings, hitting each pony in front of him.

"Flash/Grand/Iron/Crystal/Sky/Bloom/Cold/Tidal/Lightning...FORCE!" The attacks went straight for Armalum, who didn't even move as the blows instantly struck him. A giant explosion came next, the force of the attack sending out a shockwave that almost pushed them all back.

And as the smoke from the explosion faded away, the ponies all went wide-eyed as they saw Armalum was completely unharmed. The gem on his chest was projecting an energy field that formed a large wall in front of him, the figure chuckling as the energy faded away. "Was that it?" He asked, "I'll admit, that attack would have hurt before I gained my new power. But now...not even a scratch."

"New power?"

"What's he talking about?" Heather added as Flash continued to look over Armalum's new form.

"Oh," the armor laughed, "Didn't I tell you? I recently had a little spar with a friend of yours, Flash Sentry. It was close, but even she could not overcome the hatred that fuels me. And to the victor went the spoils. All of her power." Flash had a feeling in the back of his neck that he wouldn't like where this was going. "How about I simply show you what I mean." With that, he unleashed a pulse of energy from every part of his body.

The pulse instantly pushed the group back, Flash, Ruby and Cold recognizing the energy, the three feeling their legs going weak as they remembered the last time they had felt something so incredible. "Faust," Flash whispered.

"That's right," Armalum laughed, "Your precious goddess is gone. And now, I possess all of her power."

"You're lying!" Ruby yellled. "There's no way you could have destroyed her!"

"Oh, but I did. And now, all of her power belongs to me." With that, he thrust his hoof and unleashed another wave of energy, this one knocking all but Flash back.

"Armorize!" Flash roared, his golden armor forming around him. He quickly activated his wing boosters, letting him push back the wave while the others hit the dirt. Armalum's horn shined at this, his magic instantly summoning a large black portal under all the knights. And before they could react, all fell through it.

"GUYS!" Flash gasped, seeing them vanish followed by the portal. He then charged at Armalum, the armor holding up his own blade and blocking Flash's sword strike. "What did you do to them?!"

Armalum chuckled, "You can relax. They're fine. But they'll find the place they've been sent to is rather...lonely." Flash hissed at him as Armalum pushed him back, firing a blast of darkness next, only for Flash to quickly spin around it and slash his blade again. The pair locked swords again at this, Armalum easily pushing Flash back before the defender flared his thrusters, flying straight up as Armalum followed, the pair now spinning around in the air.

"You won't get away with this!" Flash yelled as they locked swords again. "Twilight and the others are gonna stop your friends, and when they do, you'll regret helping them!"

"I don't think I will," Armalum chuckled, "I have Shroudheart's power within me. I know how Twilight would have won this battle. And I've taken measures against it. Your friends will lose. Just too bad you won't be around long enough to see it."

Flash growled as he charged again, his sword glowing as he approached. But Armalum simply smirked as an energy field surrounded his own sword, the living armor swinging it around and intercepting the blade. Flash felt his strike connect with something, but the sound of clanging metal didn't fill the air. He looked down and saw his sword touch the energy around the black sword, protecting it. Then, the light within his blade was sucked out of his sword.

Armalum laughed as he pushed Flash back and slashed again, Flash blocking this one, only for the light around Armalum's sword to burst at the point of contact. All the energy sucked out of Flash's strike was suddenly blasted back at him with double the force. Flash screamed as he was sent flying into the tree house, causing it and the old tree it sat upon to explode. Flash hit the dirt like a sack of bricks, a groan escaping his lips as he felt his Sacred Light fading away.

"Ha!" Armalum laughed, "I knew this would be easy! Too easy, to be honest." He fired another beam of light from his horn, hitting the spot behind Flash and creating a portal. "I think I'll have some fun with your friends before I deal with you." The portal unleashed a sucking motion and Flash suddenly found himself being drawn in.

"No!" He grunted, stabbing his sword into the ground.

"Don't bother. You can't escape. And if you wish to face me, then I suggest you get to Ponyville as fast as possible." With that, he launched a laser from the gem in his chest. It shot down and struck the ground in front of Flash, exploding and pushing the defender into the portal, Armalum laughing at the sight. And as it closed, Armalum opened another portal and flew through it, off to the location he had chosen.





Back in the castle...

All the guards were now on high alert, though they all still seemed a little upset. Twilight stood in front of her throne and looked over her small army. "We've faced enemies of Equestria before. And we've always succeeded, no matter the odds. That wouldn't be possible without all of you."

"You're welcome!" Discord replied, only for the others to glare up at him.

"Dude," Spike hissed, "Read the room."

Twilight began pacing back and forth. "So, I ask for your help again today in what is our biggest battle yet. All of Equestria is at stake, and I can't do this alone. But I'm not afraid. Because with friendship as our armor and teamwork as our power, nopony can ever bring us down!" They all smiled, glad the Princess of Friendship wasn't being overwhelmed, but-

"Oh, come on!" The doors of the throne room flew open as Cozy flew in carrying a bunch of unconscious guards in her magic. "Where'd you get that? A daily affirmations calendar? Yeesh." She dropped the guards as everypony saw what she had become.

"Cozy Glow?!" Twilight gasped, "You're-"

"About to wipe the floor with you!" The small alicorn yelled before unleashing a blast of magic. It slammed into Twilight and threw her against her throne, her friends all gasping when they saw this. "Wow! It's true! Alicorns really do have more fun!"

The guards turned to her and attacked, the unicorns firing their magic at the filly, only for her to use her own to block with her own. She then quickly picked them all up in her magic and threw them against a wall before firing a barrage of magical bullets at the other guards, the earth ponies unable to dodge and getting blasted back while the pegasi flew over the attack, only for Cozy to unleash a burst of energy from her horn that filled the entire room.

Celestia and Luna managed to put a shield around themselves and the Mane Seven, but the pegasi guards were instantly struck. This caused them to suddenly feel a hundred times heavier and they all hit the dirt, feeling their wings breaking under the pressure.

"Ha!" Cozy laughed, "Too easy! And here I was hoping for an actual challenge."

"Well, you got one!" Cozy's eyes went wide at the voice, making her spin around to see a fireball and energy beam. Both slammed into her, blasting her into a nearby wall.

"Heart!" Rainbow cheered.

"Soul!" Fluttershy gasped, "What are you two doing here?"

"What, you think I'd miss this?!" Heart exclaimed as Cozy picked herself up and glared at the pair, the two staring back at her, "Should have known you'd show up in my life again."

Soul nodded at this, "When Starlight told us about your return, we knew you'd probably come back here. So we snuck out of the school and used the Rune Gate to warp over here. Now it's time to put you down once and for all."

Cozy glared at the duo, specifically Soul, "You..."

And as this happened, Twilight stood up as the others got into a battle stance. The newly minted alicorn knew she was gonna be in for a serious fight, but she was ready.





Flash moaned as he felt himself beginning to awaken. As he did this, he felt a cold chill hit him, making him open his eyes, only to find he was in a snowscape. He picked himself up, glancing around to find no signs of life. "Where am I?" He asked, only to glance back and see something in the distance, "That's-"

He took to the sky at this, quickly racing toward something in the distance. And as it got closer, he saw it was the Crystal Empire. "How did I wind up here?" He whispered, only to remember what Armalum had said. "Get to Ponyville." His eyes went wide as he remembered the vision he had had in Aurarora. "No."

It didn't take long to get the empire, only for him to find it completely deserted. "What?" He looked around, but saw no sign of any pony. He headed up to the castle and it was just as bare. The place was a complete ghost town. "What's going on? Cadance? Shining? Flurry?"

He prayed there was a good reason for this and headed for the Rune Gate, only to find the device wouldn't activate.

"Armalum...what have you done?" He now realized there was only one way to get back to Ponyville. The long way.





At the same time, Grand was waking up and finding he was actually in Ponyville. He picked himself up and saw the other knights, minus Flash, all coming around. "What happened?" Cold asked, "How'd we end up here?"

"Where is everypony?" Another knight asked, the group now seeing the whole place was deserted. There wasn't just no ponies either, there weren't any birds in the air, squirrels in the trees or even a single bug on the ground.

"This can't be good," Iron commented as a portal opened up behind them. They all spun around, getting into a battle stance as Armalum stepped through, "What did you do to Ponyville?!"

"Nothing," Armalum chuckled. "I did nothing to this place."

"Then where is everypony?" Heather asked, "ANSWER US!"

Ruby glanced around, only to notice something was...off, other than the fact there appeared to be no life in this normally lively town. The place wasn't as vibrant as she remembered. The colors of the buildings, the trees and even the sky seemed less inspiring. It was as if somepony had looked at the colors of something and chosen a duller version of it to replace the original. And then there was the wind, or lack of it. The whole place felt like a pale imitation of the real thing.

"This isn't our world, is it?"

Armalum chuckled at that, "Impressive. You actually figured it out. Yes, you're right. This isn't your world."

"What?" Tidal yelped, "What are you talking about?"

"That portal we fell through," Ruby responded, "It somehow transported us to another world."

"Not another world," Armalum corrected, "A pocket dimension. An empty area of space time that is so close to your reality, it's allowing certain things to bleed through and effect it. Like air and the images you see around you. It won't last long however, and when it eventually collapses, you'll all be lost forever."

"So that's it?" Grand asked, "You're just going to leave us here while you deal with Flash?"

"Of course not," Armalum chuckled. "I'm no fool. If I left you here, you would simply find a way to escape. No, I brought you here to deal with you personally. And once you're out of the picture, there'll be nothing standing in my way of destroying Sentry once and for all."

"We're not gonna let that happen!" Lightning yelled as he threw one of his knives at the monster, who simply shifted his head to allow it to pass him by. But as it did, the mark on it glowed as Lightning appeared behind him. He grabbed the knife in his mouth as a ball of lightning appeared in his hooves, which he thrust at Armalum. At the same time, Skybreaker and Cold had used their own speed and teleportation to get in close. Cold formed a sword of ice while Skybreaker swung his axe at the monster, the three aiming for his neck.

But before they could get close, Armalum raised his own sword. And suddenly, from Armalum's point of view, it was like the world around him had suddenly stopped. His sword was covered with energy and with a single slash, he cut Cold's ice sword in half as the energy slammed into it. He then knocked Skybreaker's axe away and slashed him with the energy before turning to Lightning, piercing the electric sphere before spinning around and kicking him in the face.

He then returned to his original position as the world sped back up, Lightning, Cold and Skybreaker finding themselves getting knocked back, all slamming into surrounding buildings. To the others it was like Armalum had only moved an inch and the three had been sent flying. "What the heck was that?" Heather asked as the impacted houses collapsed on top of the ponies that had crashed into them.

Grand and Iron moved over to Lightning and Skybreaker, Ruby helping Cold out of the wreckage. "He's fast," the ice unicorn grunted. "Or he's slowing down time. I can't tell." Ruby frowned and quickly raised her own crystal sword before charging, Tidal and Heather doing the same as Aid raised his crossbow.

"Celeritas Aid!" He fired a trio of green arrows, which hit the three and made them as light as a feather, giving them a speed boost. But as they tried to attack, they saw Armalum was still faster, easily blocking every blow and creating energy shields whenever an elemental attack was sent in his direction.

"Iron Lance Fury!" Iron launched a barrage of metal projectiles, which Armalum easily deflected with a spin of his sword before firing a blast of magic off a gem on his leg, hitting Iron and knocking him back. The earth pony was blasted through a building, breaking out the back and crashing into the ground. Moments later, the building began to fall as well.

"Grand Impact!" Grand slammed his hammer into the ground and a bunch of rock spikes shot out, attempting to crush Armalum, only for the armored pony's wings to ignite and propel him upward, the attack missing before raising a hoof. He started swirling it around and around, a sphere of darkness appearing on the tip of it. That sphere grew larger, going from a soccer ball to the size of Armalum, then double his size and then triple. The ponies on the ground saw this and all raised their weapons defensively as Armalum flew behind the orb. And once he was, he stabbed the blade into it and it exploded into hundreds of smaller orbs.

The spheres started raining down on the battlefield, the unicorns being quick to put shields up to protect them and the others. But the lasers shattered the barriers with ease, destroying anything and everything when they did. The Royal Knights all cried out, all scattering across the battlefield.

Armalum just laughed at this. "You fools can't defeat me. I have the power of the one who created this world! Don't you get it?! I'm a GOD!"

"Hardly!" Grand growled as an explosion knocked him back, "A god wouldn't be driven by something as petty as revenge."

Armalum just cackled at this as the last of the lasers exploded and filled the battlefield with smoke. "A god can use his power however he wants. That's why he's a god." As he said that, something shot out of the smoke, an ice dragon that quickly tried to swallow him whole. But before it could even reach him, Armalum shot a tiny laser from his horn, entering the beast's mouth and instantly destroying it.

And as the ice shattered, somepony on the dragon's back leapt off it, "And you use your power so wastefully!" Tidal roared, "You should use it for others!" He unleashed a barrage of water at this, but Armalum's tail extended with the blade on the end, easily slashing the water away.

"I've done nothing but use my power for others until now!" He spat as the water was cut in two. "I think I've earned the right to use it for myself!" He then zipped right up to Tidal and slammed a hoof into his chest, knocking him flying into the dirt. Armalum then looked down into the smoke as it faded, where he found First Aid using his Celestic Gear to heal the others.

"OH, I don't think so!" Moving faster then the eye could see, he shot down and reached First before anyone could react. The next thing First knew, he was being slammed into a building and smashing right through it. His Celestic Gear fell to the ground as Armalum continued to push him through another two buildings before releasing him.

"FIRST!" Heather gasped, only for Armalum to instantly appear before her. She quickly swung her mace, but Armalum used his tail to catch it before pulling it out of her grasp. He then spun around and kicked her so hard that she would have been killed if she hadn't been an earth pony. She shot through two buildings and crashed into the ground, Armalum chuckling at the sight.

But as that happened, Ruby, Cold and Skybreaker charged at him with weapons drawn, only for Armalum to thrust his hooves into the ground, unleashing a bunch of energy spikes below them. The tips of the spikes stabbed into the trio, and before any could even feel the pain, explosions consumed them, sending them flying into more buildings.

Grand and Lightning charged next, Lightning throwing a bunch of knives first, only for Armalum to dance around them. But as this happened, Grand swung his hammer down at the armored pony, only for it to be blocked by the villain's sword before Armalum spun around and slammed his hooves into the older pony's chest, knocking him flying before thrusting his blade at Lightning, the slash about to behead the unicorn.

But as this happened, Lightning quickly teleported, the unicorn jumping from one marker to another. And as he did this, he tired to throw an electric punch, only to find it coming in contact with a barrier, stopping it cold, only for the gem on Armalum's chest to unleash a chain made entirely of magic. It wrapped around Lightning's neck, his horn surging to try and warp away, only for the magic to sputter out.

Tidal leapt at Armalum at this, only for more energy spikes to slash into him. As this happened, Armalum swung the chain, flinging Lightning into the knight. The pair cried out as they were knocked into one another, both hitting the dirt before more energy spikes stuck, exploding and blasting the duo away.

Armalum laughed at this, only for a bright flash of light to shine out in the corner of his eye. Turning to this, he saw Iron in his tiger armor, the earth pony roaring as he leapt while a pair of claws appeared on the ends of his hooves. He slashed at Armalum, the living armor barely blocking with his sword, only to see claws actually scratch the blade. Iron kept slashing at this, Armalum now using all his speed to avoid the attacks and striking back.

The pair turned into a blur, both slashing against one another as they moved around the battlefield. Armalum used his wings to fly around and Iron leapt after him, the pair meeting in the air several times to clash blades. Eventually, the pair landed on the rubble of two destroyed houses while the other knights glanced at one another.

Iron's claws returned to normal and he raised his tail, the blade on the end of it glowing. "I'm going to rip you apart! Iron Force...EXCEED!" A massive tornado of metal exploded out of the tail, Armalum's chest gem glowing as it summoned a wall of dark energy, the tornado slamming into it and sending the metal shards in as well. Armalum grunted as he was pushed back, only to dig his hooves into the wreckage to keep himself from being blown back. But then, the wall started cracking under the constant onslaught.

As this happened, Skybreaker, Cold Steel and Grand Hoof picked themselves up. They were all the closest to the battle and Armalum had his back to them. As such, they raised their weapons and channelled their energy. "Sky/Grand/Cold FORCE!" They yelled, unleashing the triple attack at the villain. He felt them coming, and knew if he moved, the other attack would break through and get him.

As they got closer, Armalum let the shield give way and the four attacks collided. The explosion that followed rocked the town and knocked over a few more buildings, but the knights who launched it smiled at the sight...only for the smoke to clear and Armalum was nowhere in sight.

"Did we get him?" Iron asked.

However, they soon heard chuckling and looked straight up. There, they saw a cloud of dark shadows swirling around above them. And slowly, it reformed to become the figure in question. "Did you actually think that would hurt me?" He asked, the knights going wide-eyed at the sight, "Pathetic."

The knights all groaned as the nine picked themselves up, "Come on everypony!" Grand yelled. "We can't let him win!"

"Let me win?" Armalum asked, "You're letting me win? Don't make me laugh! This world already belongs to me, and you believe you can win?" The gems on his armor began to glow, "I think it's time you pathetic vermin see just what kind of power you're really dealing with."

A blast of dark energy exploded out of the villain before forming a sphere around him, the orb growing before changing shape. It began to grow legs, a head and wings. Armalum had now created his own dark avatar, an energy version of himself looking down at them as the horn on his head started glowing. Everypony braced themselves at this as the light exploded out and down at the group.

Moments later, screams filled the air along with a mighty explosion.





Back in the real Equestria...

Heart and Soul were fighting Cozy Glow in the air, the older ponies watching as they knew Heart and Soul still had a score to settle and they knew the two could stop her. "Fire Force!" Heart unleashed a powerful stream of fire, but Cozy easily summoned a shield to block it, only for Soul to fire a beam, only for this to also be blocked by a second barrier.

"Too bad," the evil filly giggled, "Looks like your magic isn't strong enough." She started laughing, "You know what? I just remembered something you once told me. About just how hard it was to get your magic under control." She spun around and fired a beam of magic at the ground near the recovering guards, causing a portal to open up beneath them. They all screamed as they were sent falling through the portal, which led them to falling into the castle's moat.

She cackled at that, "Doesn't seem so hard to me!"

Soul growled at her, only for her expression to switch to a grin, "Hmph. Just shows your magic is way less special than mine. If it's so easy to control, you probably got the bottom of the barrel alicorn power."

"What?! Why you-" Cozy hissed as she fired a beam out of her horn, Soul doing the same. The attacks locked, only for Heart to fly down and slam a ball of fire into the ground. The orb then exploded upwards and formed a large pillar of fire, which headed straight for Cozy. The filly cut her spell and dodged it, but Soul used her magic to take control of the fire and make it coil around their opponent.

Cozy quickly found herself trapped in a tornado of flames, Heart continuing to feed it while Soul controlled it. "How'd you like our combo move?" The colt cheered, "We call it the Inferno Cell! Have fun trying to get out of there!"

Cozy rolled her eyes before her magic formed a sphere around her, which expanded outward and caused the flames to explode away, knocking both Heart and Soul into the floor in front of the others.

They rushed to their side as Cozy laughed, "Thanks! That was a lot of fun!"

Celestia's horn sparked at this, Heart and Soul seeing this and nodding to them as the alicorn yelled, "Stand down, Cozy Glow!"

Cozy let out a cackle, "Gee, I guess I could...but if I'm honest." Her horn sparked, "I'm having too much fun!" She fired a blast of magic down at the group, Twilight quickly making a shield as Celestia nodded to Luna.

"Ready, sister?" Luna nodded back as the duo leapt up.

"Wait! What are you-" Twilight asked as the pair unleashed a blast of combined energy at the filly, only for the filly to shine her horn. A second later, the Bewitching Bell appeared, the bell unleashing a black and yellow vortex. The vortex captured the attack and sucked it inside, followed by the rest of the alicorn sisters' power. The pair screamed out as their energy was drained, Twilight and everyone gasping. Once the last of their power was sealed away, the two fell to the ground and Twilight screamed. "NO!"

"That's the problem with you magic-types. You're so reliant on all your special power, you forget to use your brains! HA!"

Twilight glared up at her. "Keep telling yourself that! Now!" Cozy raised an eyebrow at this, only to see Twilight's friends had all vanished. Rainbow then appeared, zipping around the filly at high speed. This caused Cozy to spin out of control, the filly crying out as she was thrown across the room. And when she got control of her flight, she found herself staring at a Rarity levitating Pinkie holding a party bazooka.

"Surprise attack!" She fired the cannon right into Cozy's face, knocking her back and making her cough up confetti. At the same time, Fluttershy flew up with a bunch of geese around her.

"Fly, my pretties!" The geese tackled the midair filly, pecking and knocking around before smacking her away as Heart and Spike flew up to launch blasts of fire. As this happened, Soul ran over to Celestia and Luna, using her magic to try and heal them. But all she could do was re-energise them, as there was nothing but sparks of magic within them.

And after being attacked by more geese and almost burned by Spike, Cozy found herself getting grabbed by a lasso and yanked into the floor, hitting the ground and almost dropping the bell, but managing to clutch it tightly to her as the Mane Seven circled around her. Twilight summoned her magic, ready to pull the bell out of Cozy's grasp and return the stolen magic, only for a bright light to appear behind her.

It made everyone turn to the window as it grew brighter, Cozy taking to the air at this as the window exploded and unleashed a blast of energy that sent them all flying back. Chrysalis flew in through the window as Tirek pulled himself through, the centaur knocking Twilight's throne away to reveal Discord hidden behind it. The draconequus tried to escape, but Cozy grabbed him in her magic and threw him over to the others. As soon as he was next to them, Twilight picked herself up and created a shield around them.

The three villains laughed as they approached. "You think your pathetic shield can stop us?" Chrysalis laughed again before standing on the shield. "The Pillars have been defeated. Your school is abandoned. And right about now, Armalum is likely finishing off your little boyfriend and the rest of the Royal Knights. Face it, Twilight. You've lost!"

Twilight glared back at her, "You can attack us, and we may fall, but Equestria will still stand, united in friendship." The others slowly picked themselves up at this, "And we won't stop until we defeat you, no matter how many ponies you take down!"

The three villains stared at her as they listened to her words, then burst out laughing before Tirek added, "Didn't you all notice something was wrong in Equestria? We've been busy."

Chrysalis nodded. "A whisper here, a rumour there..."

"Destroy some crops," Tirek continued, "Cause some damage..."

"Turn pony against pony..." Cozy laughed.

"Until your whole kingdom is on edge," Chrysalis finished. "Waiting for just one tiny thing to push them over the brink!"

Tirek nodded at this, "There's no backup friends or rainbow magic to save you now!"

Twilight went wide-eyed at this, hearing these statements before Cozy let out another cackle, "Golly, I think it's time for some redecorating!" The three villains smiled before they combined their powers and unleashed it in every direction. The force of the energy flew out and ripped the castle apart, a mighty beam exploding out the side and completely destroying the structure. Everypony gasped as all that remained of the building was the throne room. And that was missing half the walls.

Twilight could feel herself close to a panic attack, her brain trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. But she was completely drawing a blank. And Chrysalis flying up to her didn't make anything better. "You know what's stronger than friendship, Twilight?" Chrysalis slammed her hooves into the shield, "FEAR!" She unleashed a blast of magic that caused the shield to crack apart before shattering.

Twilight cried out as Cozy grabbed her in her magic and lifted her up so Tirek could grab her. "Cause when you have to protect yourself, you don't have time for anypony else." He clutched her wings as the other two flew onto each of his shoulders.

"Too bad you never taught that in school," Cozy laughed before the three began to charge up an attack. Twilight's eyes shrunk at this, seeing what could be the end.

That is, till a large chunk of rock slammed into Tirek, knocking all of them back. He dropped Twilight and she hit the ground with a thud, the alicorn looking up and seeing Rarity fall over. That rock had pushed her past her magical limit, but she smiled at Twilight as her friends helped her up. Twilight got up at this, only to see the villains recover and launched their combined attack, only for the alicorn to pick up a massive slab of wall and used it to shield them all.

"Go, Twilight!" Rarity ran up to the rock in order to keep it up, "Get help!" Applejack ran up and did the same.

"We'll hold 'em 'til you get back!"

"No!" Twilight cried, "I can't leave you here!"

"It's our only chance!" Fluttershy ran up to the rock, Rainbow doing the same.

"You'll come up with something to save the day!"

"You always do!" Pinkie cried, as Spike flew up to her.

"We believe in you!" He flew up to the rock and pushed against it, Celestia and Luna doing the same.

Heart and Soul looked ready to follow, but Discord grabbed them before they could and threw them into Twilight's grasp. As he did, he looked Twilight straight in the eye. "FLY, YOU FOALS!" He rushed up to the rock and Twilight saw it was about to give away. She clung to the twins as tears filled her eyes, then summoned her magic to teleport away. Seconds later, the rock exploded and everypony screamed as they were consumed by the light.





Flash flew as fast as he could, his Sacred Light armor active with his wing boosters exploding out to push him through the air at mach speed. He had been flying ever since he realized there was nopony in the Crystal Empire, nor for a way for him to return to Ponyville through the Rune Gate. He crossed the many different terrains of Equestria as he flew back to Ponyville, fearing what could be left of his home when he got there. He felt exhausted, but he couldn't slow down.

But as the mountain that housed Canterlot came into view, he saw something beyond that made his heart sink. Smoke coming out of the ground where Ponyville should be located. "No." He pumped more power into his wings and doubled his speed, the strain on his body being completely ignored as he forced himself past the mountain and finally arrived at the town.

Flying down, his armor fading away, he entered the smoke and coughed as he called out to anypony, the thought of not hearing anyone answer confusing him since it meant they either escaped or hadn't. And as he kept searching, he saw the smoke slowly pull away, making him go wide-eyed at a new sight.

It was the Castle of Friendship, but it had been absolutely destroyed. It was in the exact same state it had been in when Flash had his vision, which made his stomach churn. And as the smoke began to clear, Flash looked over and saw the School of Friendship was just as destroyed as the castle.

"No!" He turned to the town and ran, using his wings to keep the smoke from getting too close to him. And as he did this, he saw more of the town. "No!" He saw Sugarcube Corner was in ruin, the same for Rarity's Boutique and Town Hall. Every building had been absolutely destroyed. "NOOOOO!"

It was then that he heard movement behind him, making him spin around and point his sword at a pile of debris. And slowly, the one who had caused all this appeared. "Welcome," Armalum laughed.

"You," Flash growled, "All this time. You were the one I saw." He slowly put the pieces together, remembering what Clair had said about things not being what they seemed. All those villains he had seen in the vision, had all been one being. One being who was fuelled by those many villains. "I'll make you pay for this!"

"Will you now?"

But as he began to charge, he heard a groan, making him turn to see Grand Hoof laying half buried by a destroyed house. "GRAND!" He rushed over and pulled the pony out of the rubble, only to hear more moans, making him glance around and see the rest of the Royal Knights scattered along the ground. "Everypony..."

"Flash," Grand groaned, "is that you?"

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I'm here. What happened? Did Armalum do this to Ponyville? Where's everypony else?"

"They're not here." He coughed, "This is a pocket dimension or something. This isn't the real Ponyville and nopony else is in it except us." Flash sighed at this. "Flash, be careful. He's strong."

Flash heard this and helped the earth pony lay down. He then turned to Armalum as the dark figure stood tall, ready to do battle. "This is it. Everything's been leading to this."

"That's right," Armalum nodded. "Strange. I don't think anypony would have guessed I'd be your final opponent. But now all that matters is I am here to destroy you. And once I do, I will take my rightful place as this world's new god."

Flash raised his sword as it began to glow. "I'm not gonna let that happen." He let out a roar before charging, "THIS ENDS NOW!" Armalum charged as well, the pair about to clash. This battle would determine the fate of the world itself. There could only be one victor and the one left standing would decide what would run Equestria in the future.

Power, or friendship.
> The Ending of the End PT2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria was in a state of absolute chaos as Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow and Armalum attacked and defeated all of its heroes. The Royal Knights had all gone missing while the Pillars of Equestria that were protecting the School of Friendship had also been defeated. And then, Celestia, Luna, Twilight and her friends had all been overpowered by the three supercharged villains.

Twilight had managed to escape with Fire Heart and Shining Soul, but the rest had stayed behind to allow them to get away. This subjected them to a powerful blast of magic that knocked them all out, and when they woke up, they found themselves in a cavern located under the now destroyed castle. It had been made into a makeshift prison, Tirek having blown holes in the walls that Chrysalis had sealed up with her slime attacks. There were also several cages hanging from the ceiling, all filled with the defeated heroes of Equestria.

If that wasn't bad enough, the villains had also done something even worse. They had sown seeds of distrust between the three tribes of Equestria, which had begun to sprout the weeds of hatred. While trapped inside their cells, the villains had been more than happy to tell them how much the kingdom was splitting apart.

"News just in!" Cozy Glow laughed as she flew up to Spike and the rest of the caged Mane Seven. "Turns out, the unicorns have all taken refuge in Celestia's School." They all glared at her at this, "Meanwhile, the earth ponies are hiding out in Ponyville and the pegasi of Equestria have fled up to Cloudsdale. So pathetic!"

She began to laugh as Spike yelled, "This isn't funny! You have no idea what kind of damage you could be doing to Equestria!"

"Who cares!" Cozy scoffed, "So long as I get what I want, why should I worry about everypony else being happy?" She smirked at them. "I'm going to rebuild this kingdom in my image and make everypony bow to me." She cracked her hooves and neck as her horn started glowing. "And now for your complete destruction! Won't that be fun?"

"Patience, Cozy." The filly stopped and turned to Chrysalis, "Destruction is so...permanent. We need to show the rest of Equestria that we've broken their heroes first. Besides, we should have fun with our guests."

"No!" Tirek roared as he marched into the room. "We should hunt down Twilight Sparkle! As long as she's out there, she's dangerous!"

Chrysalis cackled at this, "Is the big, strong minotaur that scared of one little pony? Relax. It's not like her friends are going anywhere." She pointed at the caves, Starswirl attempting to free himself, only for his magic to fizzle out. "The fools brought the remains of my throne to Canterlot to protect themselves." She laughed at this, "Those shards block their magic."

"Great," Rainbow rolled her eyes, "And here comes to evil monologue."

She watched as Cozy flew over to them, only for Chrysalis to grab and pull her back, "Careful. Too close and the shards cancel even our powers." She stomped a line into the ground. "But on this side of the cavern, we're the most powerful beings in Equestria, thanks to Grogar's Bell." They looked over and saw the Bewitching Bell in the middle of the cavern, the three standing around it smirking before turning to a hole with no slime. "Isn't that right, Grogar?" They grabbed a magical chain and pulled on it, causing Discord to be pulled out of the cave looking as weak and feeble as all the other ponies there.

Chrysalis and Tirek laughed at the depowered fool while Cozy was staring at the bell. She smiled as she grabbed it and pointed the end at herself, about to unleash the magic stored within. However, Tirek saw this and slapped the bell away from her. "What are you doing?! You saw what happened when you tried to take Discord's chaos magic!"

"Yeah, but there's Alicorn princess magic in there now too!" She looked at the bell like it was the last piece of candy in Equestria. "I could be so much more powerful if I could just-"

"What do you mean you could be?" Chrysalis hissed, only for the three to start arguing. As they did this, Spike and the girls all shared worried looks.

"This is really bad," Fluttershy quivered, "Oh, if only Iron and the others were here."

"What the heck even happened to them?" Pinkie asked, the villains having been tight lipped about that particular detail.

"We gotta find Twilight," Applejack added, "She's probably already figured out some way to defeat those monsters." They nodded as Rainbow asked the simplest question.

"Any idea how we get out of here to do that?" Spike then stepped forward and touched the slime wall, attempting to claw at it with little success.

"Too sticky. There's no way anypony could get through this." Unfortunately, Chrysalis' throne shards were also blocking his magic, so he was back to being the same weak dragon he used to be. Not even his fire could burn through it.

"I'm so sorry." They turned to see Discord "It made so much sense in my head. Twilight defeats her worst enemies and is filled with confidence. I truly did have the best intentions." He held up his hand, "I swear I'll make it up to you." Even Fluttershy was giving him a glare.

"That's gonna need to be a pretty epic makeup," Rainbow replied.

"STAY AWAY FROM THE BELL, YOU PEST!" They looked back at the arguing trio as Tirek blasted Cozy to keep her from unleashing the magic. "None of us can use the Alicorns' magic until we figure out how to handle that fool's ridiculous chaos magic!"

This statement made Discord's eyes go wide, as an idea formed in his head. He picked up a crystal from the ground and spoke up. "I could always tell you how."

Everypony's eyes went wide at this, fearing Discord might be about to make things worse. Everyone in the cavern wished Twilight and Flash were there, but had no idea where either of them where. All they knew was that wherever they were, they weren't giving up. So neither could they.





In an alternate dimension, Flash Sentry roared as he charged at Armalum while summoning his Sacred Light. The dark armor summoned his own sword and charged, the pair meeting in the center of the destroyed town as their clash caused an explosion of Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow, the blast knocking everything away. The impact was enough to consume the nearby buildings, tearing them apart as the Royal Knights did what they could to keep themselves from being blown away as well. Ruby and Cold had used the last of their magic to create ice and crystal walls, which the knights hid behind.

The pair pushed against one another at this, only for Flash to flare his wings and fly back as he unleashed a barrage of Flash Cutters that Armalum, only for him to block them using a shield generated by his chest. Flash's boosters fired up at this, the pegasi now flying straight up, Armalum following after him. The pair flew through the air and moved so fast that the others could only see gold and purple line of energy. Those lines quickly turned to one another and charged, bouncing off when they impacted and unleashing shockwaves with every hit.

The pair zigzagged through the air, hitting one another and ricocheting off several times before zipping down and slamming into the ground. Both were clashing their swords again, the impact sending out more shockwaves. As they did this, Armalum launched a blast of magic from his horn, but Flash teleported to behind the armored pony, only for Armalum's tail to raise up and block Flash's sword, Armalum spinning around and firing a laser from his chest. The dark energy beam slammed into Flash and made him go flying, crashing into a pile of debris that had somehow survived the shockwaves.

And as he picked himself up, he saw one of Ruby's Crystal Swords stuck into the ground. He glanced around and saw the other Royal Knight's weapons were scattered about while Armalum charged. Quickly grabbing the crystal sword, Flash began to clash with Armalum again, only for the armored pony's horn to shine, a shield appearing that the crystal sword instantly shattered at hitting the barrier.

Armalum spun around next, kicking Flash hard in the chest, sending him flying back as Lightbringer slipped from his hooves and bounced away from him. He crashed again, only to flip himself backwards onto his hooves. As he did this, he saw First's and Heather's weapons on the ground and picked them up. Channeling his magic into the crossbow, he fired several energy bolts that Armalum was forced to deflect before he flew in close and swung the mace, using his enhanced strength to smash it into Armalum's chest, knocking him flying.

But when he hit the ground, Armalum burst into smoke and morphed into several clouds that swirled around Flash. He fired the crossbow into the surrounding shadows, but the bolts just flew through. Flash then swung the mace around, creating a tornado with it that he used to blow the smoke away, only for Armalum to shoot out of the smoke and tackle him, the blow knocking the weapons out of his grasp again.

They hit the ground rolling, Armalum's body still transitioning from smoke, Flash now seeing he was right by Wavefang and Cloud Hacker on the ground. Armalum then summoned his sword again, but Flash teleported away to where the weapons were. He then teleported back to Armalum and thrust the Wavefang, Armalum barely able to raise his sword so it was caught between two of the prongs. Flash then pushed the sword to the ground and slashed at Armalum with the axe, Armalum screaming as his armor had a large piece carved out of it.

The others cheered at this as Flash pulled the trident back and spun it around to slash Armalum with both at once. Armalum was sent staggering back, but quickly fired a pair of lasers from his boot gems. One of them hit the axe and blew it out of Flash's grasp, but the other missed as Flash used all his strength to thrust the trident forward, only for Armalum to grab the trident and pull the defender forward, quickly raising up to kick him in the chest.

Flash cried out as he was knocked away, Armalum throwing the trident away. He then picked up his sword and leapt at Flash, only for a shield of ice to suddenly appear in front of Flash, blocking the blade. The knight gasped at this and turned to see Cold smiling at him, Lightning taking out one of his remaining knives and throwing it at him. Flash caught it and grabbed the shield, using it to block Armalum's sword before slashing at his chest. Armalum staggered back before unleashing a beam from all five of his gems as well as his horn, Flash raising the shield and blocking them all. But the heat and pressure from the attack shattered the mini-barrier, knocking Flash back as Armalum used his magic to lift up several pieces of debris and threw them.

The rubble slammed into Flash at this, pushing him back again before he saw something in the corner of his eye. He then warped away to dodge the last bit of rubble, appearing beside Grand Slammer as he threw Lightning's knife right at Armalum. The living armor dodged the attack, only for Flash to swing the hammer into one of the rocks. That sent it rocketing toward Armalum, slamming into him, causing the armored pony to explode into a black cloud before suddenly disappearing like smoke.

Seeing this, Flash narrowed his eyes as he thought, 'If I was a scumbag like him, where would I sneak attack my enemy?' A smirk appeared on his face before spinning around, swinging the hammer into an image of Armalum, destroying it. Another one then appeared and Flash smacked it as well, followed by another and another. Flash panted at this, Grand's hammer not something easily swung around without earth pony strength and endurance.

And as this happened, the real Armalum appeared along with four others, each of them firing a beam at Flash. He had no choice but to drop the heavy weapon and fly straight up, the lasers meeting in the middle and exploding. This knocked Flash out of the sky, making him roll through the air, eventually coming to a stop while Armalum flew up after him. Flash fired his own laser at him, but he turned into a cloud to avoid it before splitting into five.

The clouds flew around randomly, one then slamming into Flash and knocking him back before another one hit him and knocked him in the other direction. The other three soon did the same and Flash was sent falling to the ground, eventually crashing and groaning. Armalum then reformed and raised his sword, Flash pushing himself up as he heard his voice being called.

He turned to see Iron throw something at him. Flash smiled and grabbed it as Armalum dove down and tried to cut him in half, only for Flash to raise Piecemaker and block the attack, Armalum's sword bouncing off. At the same time, Flash pushed himself up and thrusted the weapon into Armalum, a barrage of blows coming next as they slammed into Armalum's now cracking body.

"Augh!" He staggered back as Flash tried to run him through, only to burst into a shadow and swirl into a tornado around Flash, the pegasus coming to a stop before suddenly being slammed in the chest by a beam of energy that sent him flying out of the tornado and crashing into the ground yet again. Piecemaker went flying out of his grasp at this, Armalum leaping out of the tornado with his sword, Flash flinching at the blow he had just received before his eyes caught sight of something else, closing his eyes as he began to focus.

And in the split second, a certain object teleported to his hooves as he raised it just in time. Armalum's sword clashed with the defending weapon, the living armor surprised to see Lightbringer once again in Flash's grasp. The defender illuminated the sword and unleashed a blast of light, sending the living armor flying as Flash picked himself up.

"Had enough?" Flash asked, only to see Armalum stand tall again. "Guess not."

Cricking his neck, Flash glared at the armored pony, only for both to rush forward, the battle continuing.





Spike and the Mane Seven had been on quite the journey. Discord's little ruse had managed to free Starlight, the unicorn unleashing her magic to free the rest of them, allowing the six to escape. After that, they rushed out of Canterlot and found the place was deserted. And to their shock, they had found Ponyville was now swarming with earth ponies. It was just as Cozy and the others had said, the three tribes had been split up and refused to work together, deciding to instead worry about their own kind.

They had hoped to find Twilight in Ponyville, but the mare wasn't there. Spike had then realized where she was and one Rune Gate warp later, they were in the Crystal Empire. The Crystal Guards had been on high alert and when they stepped through the portal, they had found spears pointed right at them. "Hold it!" The guards turned to see Sombra walking up to them.

"They hoped you'd show up." He turned to the guards, "They're the royal family's guests." The guards nodded at this and Sombra led them through the castle.

"So Twilight's here?" Applejack asked, Sombra nodding back.

"Indeed. We've been unable to gather information about what's going on. How are things?"

"Bad," Spike replied, "Flash and the Royal Knights are missing, Celestia and our friends are doing their best to fight against those three, and now all three tribes are against each other. Things couldn't get any worse."

Sombra grimacing at that, especially the news of Ruby being missing. They arrived at the throne room a bit later, only to find Heart and Soul rushing up to them, "You're okay!" Heart cheered, hugging Rainbow and Soul hugged Rarity.

Cadance and Shining ran up to them next, "Oh, thank Celestia you're all alright." Cadance turned to the ceiling. "She's upstairs. It's...not good."

They were let up to one of the guest rooms while explaining everything that had happened in Equestria. When they arrived, they found Twilight surrounded by a bunch of graphs, scrolls and books that she was feverously reading through until the door opened. She turned to see her friends and gasped. "You're here?!" They all rushed over and hugged her, "I was so worried! Where are the princesses?"

Pinkie smiled a big grin at this, being the last to pull away from the hug. "They put up a crazy fight so we could escape and find you! Mission accomplished! Now, let's go save Equestria!" She cheered as a banner somehow unfurled above them and confetti began to fall to the sound of music.

But the sight just made Twilight frown, only to glance away, "They made a terrible mistake. You all did." She then held up some books and scrolls in her magic. "From the second I got away, I've been searching every book, scroll, and spell for a way to rescue you and stop Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy, but I haven't found anything." She threw a book away, "I failed."

She fell to her flank and looked down in shame, only for Spike to say, "You'll come up with something. We can't save Equestria without you."

Twilight glared back at him, "You all escaped without my help. You didn't need me then. So why would anypony need me now?"

Rainbow flew over to her. "We know things look bad, but we've been in tough spots before, and we always-"

"LOOK AROUND!" Twilight screamed, "Nothing we've ever done has mattered!" She pointed at a board that had pictures of all their villains on it. "Shroudheart? Returned and destroyed the Tree of Harmony! Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow? Returned and more powerful than ever! The School of Friendship? Shut down! Everypony in Equestria is so blinded by fear that they can't remember what friendship is! And that's not even taking into account Armalum's return, the sudden disappearance of Flash and the rest of the knights. Nothing we do makes any difference!"

"But we're still free and together," Pinkie added.

"And it's not like things can get any worse," Rainbow finished, only for a loud scream to fill the air, making them run over to a window, only to now see a dark cloud filling the sky, a trio of creatures appearing inside it. They were ghostly, spectral horses with wispy back ends. They flew through the air, bringing about a freezing wind that was even penetrating the barrier of the Crystal Heart.

Spike turned to everypony, "Haven't we learned never to say that by now?"

"What the heck are those things?" Heart asked as the creatures flew overhead.

"WIndigos!" Twilight cried, "They're real?" The others looked shocked as they remembered the story of Heartswarming Eve. Despite all the insane things they had seen, many of them had believed windigos were just something made up.

"What are they doing here?" Soul asked next.

"This is just like the Heartswarming Tale," Applejack replied, "The three tribes are divided and mistrust one another. That's letting them come and freeze us all."

"That doesn't sound good," Heart gulped, "Flash, I wish you were here."





Weapons now out of hoof, the pair glared at each other and spread their wings. Opening them up, they unleashed the thrusters that propelled them as they sent all their strength into their hooves. And when they were within striking range, the pair threw a punch with all of their might as the attacks collided.

Once again, the impact unleashed a shockwave that destroyed anything it touched. The ice and crystal walls had already taken a serious battering, this time shattering as the Royal Knights were all blown back. And as they hit the ground, most were close to blacking out as they rolled across the dirt, forcing themselves to stay awake as they tried to watch the battle between Flash and Armalum. They were now pushing each other, their hooves now surrounded by black and gold energy, the two doing everything they could to try and overpower the other.

"Give it up!" Armalum growled, "You...can't win!"

Flash cackled at that, "Wow, if I had a bit for every time somepony told me that, I'd be able to take Twilight out to the most expensive restaurant in Equestria."

"Well, you'll never have the chance! Because once this is over, you'll never see her again." He pushed Flash back at this as he added, "By now, Twilight is likely planning her big counterattack while the rest of Equestria is being drawn together by those fools who still believe in friendship."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Doesn't matter," Armalum laughed, "I already saw it coming and gave Tirek, Cozy and Chrysalis the protection needed to stop them. Once that little stunt fails, the three will wipe those fools out. And you'll be joining them."

"Not...gonna happen!" Flash yelled as he began to push Armalum back, "I'm going back, and I'm gonna stop those three if it's the last thing I DO!" He thrust his hooves forward, shoving Armalum, only for the gem on Armalum's chest to shine a white light that formed a protective barrier. As soon as Flash hit it, he suddenly felt his strength being drained. "Augh!" He tried to pull back, but his hooves were stuck. "What's going on?"

"Fool," Armalum chuckled, "Did you forget? It's not just Corrupted Shadow powering me any more. I destroyed Faust and took all her power! There's no way you can defeat me!" Flash felt himself start to lose more, Armalum pulling a hoof back before rocketing it into Flash's chest. The impact was like getting shot, Flash's armor cracking apart as he felt the force of it flow through his entire body.

"FLASH!" Grand cried, hearing Flash's scream as the barrier holding his hooves faded and he fell back. But before he could fall, Armalum slammed into him again. He screamed as more of his armor broke apart, Armalum continuing to wail on him with punches and kicks. The pegasus tried to block or dodge, but Armalum was suddenly a lot faster. And with every hit, more and more of his Shining Guardian form broke away. His chest, legs, wings and head armor cracked and chipped, until one final uppercut sent Flash shooting up. His armor broke apart at this and fell away, Flash's body feeling like it was giving out as Armalum flew up to greet him.

"It's over!" Armalum raised his hoof as a short blade of white and black light grew from it. "Now...GIVE ME EVERYTHING YOU HAVE!" He thrust his hoof into Flash's chest, Flash's screams echoing throughout the pocket dimension. His friends gasped at this and tried to pick themselves up, each of them reaching for their Celestic Gear, Grand even grabbing Lightbringer and preparing to unleash an attack...but Armalum saw it coming.

"Goodbye!" He held up his other hoof and wave of energy shot down, hitting all the knights. Each one screamed as they were knocked back as a portal formed behind them. They disappeared a second later, Flash fighting through the pain as he saw this.

"What...did you do?"

"Sent them back to Equestria. They're no match for those three in their current state. And they would just try to interrupt the process."

"What process?" Flash asked, only to suddenly feel another sharp rush of pain coming from the knife. He looked down and saw it was beginning to drain a golden light out of him, "My...Sacred Light."

"That's right," Armalum laughed, "You're gonna lose all your power!" The golden light was sucked into Armalum's body as Flash gasped, the defender grabbing him at this.

"No!" He tried to dislodge him, but it was no use.

"Don't bother trying to resist!" Armalum cackled, "You're facing the power of a god. Faust's abilities are what gave you the Sacred Light, and now it'll be those powers that rip them right out of you!" Flash tried to resist, only to feel all his strength vanish.

"NOOO!" He activated his power one more time, pushing Armalum back. At the same time, the flow of his magic into the villain stopped before slowly beginning to reverse. "Faust entrusted me with this power! I won't let you have it!"

"Oh?! I guess you've still got some fight left in you after all. That's fine. This wouldn't be any fun if it was too easy!" Armalum's own power flared as he once against started pulling Flash's power out of him. "Alright, tug of war it is! A battle of wills! Which of us is going to give up and lose everything to the other?!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Flash roared, attempting to force as much will as he could to draw his own power back into him.

But Armalum's will was just as strong, pumped up by the hatred for the pony in front of him that was fuelling him. The energy kept being pulled back and forth, neither side appearing to give an inch...only for Flash to feel something. A surge of uncontrollable pain.

"GYAH!" He cried, feeling himself black out for a second from the pain in his body. But that second was all Armalum needed as he sucked the Sacred Light right out of him. And as Flash tried to recover, it was already too late. His power was now completely drained away.

And the second the last of the Sacred Light was taken away, it was like someone had pulled all the breath out of Flash. His body went limp as Armalum pulled the blade out of his chest. He released Flash and began to fall, his wings too weak to even move as the defender crashed into the dirt, his body so numb that he didn't feel the pain he should have been in.

Armalum looked himself over, feeling the Sacred Light that now swirled within him. "Yes!" He cheered as a golden aura exploded out of him. "YEEEEES!" The aura quickly mixed with the dark aura of the Corrupted Shadow before both were absorbed into the white aura that had once been Faust's.

And as he danced in the air at the power he had just received, Flash glanced up, his face flinching in pain with every breath. He wasn't sure if it was the loss of his Sacred Light or the damage he had taken, but breathing felt like he was taking a knife to the chest with each breath.

Armalum looked down at him, laughing at the pitiful sight, "I'm actually surprised you survived the extraction. But I doubt you'll be able to survive without the Sacred Light much longer." Flash just let out a tiny groan, the sight making Armalum cackle, "Look at you! And Faust thought you could defeat me?! YOU?!" Flash glared at him, Armalum slowly floating down. "To think, this is where it all ends for you. The great and mighty Flash Sentry, made powerless by my hooves. Such a fitting end for the one I hate."

Flash's twitched at this, trying to move, but it could barely move an inch, "I won't...let it end this way."

"Oh, would you wake up and accept your fate?! What do you plan to do to me?! How do you expect to defeat me in your state? Look at you!"

"I'll...I'll find a way!"

"I have the power of a god," Armalum stated sternly. "What do you have now? Nothing. I'll admit, you've defeated many powerful foes, but everything you used to defeat them is gone. The Element of Courage was destroyed. Your friends accidently took your Sacred Gear with them back to Equestria. And your Sacred Light..." He raised his hoof as it glowed with light, "It's mine." He leaned down with a cackle, "Everything that ever made you special is gone."

Armalum chuckled as he took to the air once again. "Flash Sentry, you're an opponent worthy of respect...that is, as a vessel for Sacred Light. The fact you've survived up to this point can only be described as admirable." Flash didn't like where this was going. "However, your time is finally up. Prepare yourself, for the end." His wings opened up and unleashed the dark energy of the Corrupted Shadow which flowed out and formed a cloud on either side of him.

Flash stared at the cloud, barely able to keep himself conscious as faces appeared within it. Faces of ponies Flash recognised. The ones he had made his enemies by defeating them. Doom Raizer, Shadow Corrupter, Electra, Big Score and so many others, all now laying in a coma in a prison hospital.

"Now..." Armalum laughed, "LET MY HATRED DEVOUR YOU!" The cloud exploded, morphing into a bunch of smaller clouds that zoomed through the air. Each one had a face of the ponies that hated him as they all flew down toward Flash. The defender's survival instincts kicked in and the pegasus rolled off his back in an attempt to escape, but the Rickashay cloud reached him and bit onto the back of his leg. He screamed as he felt the pain race through him while three more hate spirits flew down and bit his other legs. The others quickly followed, biting onto him in the wings and anywhere else they could find room. He tried to pull them off, but they all refused to release him.

And as they bit him, the cloud bodies began to merge and completely surround him. His screams were slowly muffled out of existence until finally, he was completely consumed by the cloud of hatred. Armalum watched this with absolute delight, glad to see his efforts had paid off.

"Now you will spend what little time you have left wallowing in the misery of the hatred you brought upon yourself. May you sink into despair and be overwhelmed in the darkness." He glanced around at this, seeing the realm growing darker. "Won't be long now before this pocket dimension falls apart. Once that happens, anything that's inside of it will cease to be." He frowned at that, "Even I wouldn't be able to survive that. I do so hope he gives in before I have to leave."

He watched as the dark cloud continued to swirl around, the voice and moans of those he had drained of hatred filling the air. It wouldn't be long now.





The windigos continued to fly over Equestria, the dark cloud spreading across the sky, blanketing the land and threatening to freeze it solid. And as the three tribes saw them flying overhead, they all agreed that they had to focus on themselves and let the other two tribes fend for themselves.

"We have to do something!" Rainbow cried as they watched the beasts swirl around, all of them turning to Twilight.

But the Alicorn of Friendship just looked away, "I've already done enough."

The sight made them all glare at her, Applejack growling as she marched up to the alicorn, "You want the truth, Twilight? Bad things happen. No matter what you do, there's never gonna be a time when everything's perfect. But that don't mean you quit tryin'!"

"And what if I make things worse?!" Twilight screamed back, "Ever since Celestia told me I was taking over, I've been gaining confidence! Then I find out it's all a lie! Equestria's been falling apart around us, and I didn't even notice! What kind of princess does that make me?!"

"But Celestia and Luna aren't perfect either," Heart pointed out. "Come on! What would Flash say if he was here right now?"

"But Flash isn't here!" Twilight exclaimed, "If he was, at least we'd have some way to fight back! But we don't! We have no Elements of Harmony, no Royal Knights, no alicorn princesses, no Sacred Light....NO ANYTHING!" She screamed, her eyes tearing up, "Why do I have to be the one to decide what needs to be done?! I can't help with this!" She then shrunk back, tears going down her face, "I'm...I'm scared."

Everypony shared a sorrowful glance, only for Fluttershy to take a breath and step forward, the pegasi putting her hoof on Twilight's chin and raising it, "I probably know more about being scared than anypony, but thanks to all of you, I've learned I'm always less scared when I'm with my friends."

The others smiled at this as they all walked up to her side, "If we're facing impossible odds, we're facing them together!" Rainbow added.

"It's what we always do, darling." Rarity finished.

Twilight stared at them, only to say, "But...but we're on our own, and we have no idea what to do!"

Pinkie suddenly slid beneath her, smiling up at her. "That's true pretty much every time something terrible is about to happen."

"We don't have the Elements of Harmony anymore! How can you all be so calm about this?!"

"Because," Spike flew up to her next, "Even if you don't believe you can do this, we do. We believe in you. In us." They all nodded, smiling as Applejack stepped up again.

"The truth is, all our lives wouldn't be the same if we hadn't met. We're better off because of our friendship with you. So when you say you haven't made a difference, that's just not true. You've made a big difference to us."

"And us," Heart added, "Flash might have brought me and Soul to Ponyville, but you were the one that opened your home to us."

"You helped me learn to control my magic," Soul continued, "You showed me the kind of pony that I want to be. And not just me. You took Flash in and gave him the chance to become the hero we all know and love. And that led to so many other ponies getting a new lease on life."

Rarity nodded at this, "Lightning Blitz, Iron Core, Cold Steel, even some of our old foes like Sombra and Shadow's cult. They all got to grow because of what you did."

Spike put his claw on the alicorn's shoulder, "Twilight, you're the best pony to lead Equestria into the future. Believe us."

Twilight couldn't help but smile at this. If Flash had been there, this moment would be perfect. "Thank you." She wiped her eyes, "Sometimes even the Princess of Friendship needs a reminder that there's more to the Magic of Friendship than rainbow lasers."

"Although that part is pretty cool." Spike laughed as Twilight turned to the others.

"We still need a plan," she stated as the door flew open.

"That sounds like the pony I used to foal-sit for." They turned to the royal family, Cadance giving Twilight a confident glare. "Count us in."

"No." Twilight shook her head, "You need to stay here and protect Flurry Heart." She stared down at her niece, fearing what might happen if they failed. "If we don't...if things don't work out, she's Equestria's last hope." The couple nodded, though they also didn't like the idea of their daughter having to face those villains. "Okay. Three of our worst villains have taken over, powered up by ancient magic." She moved over to the window and stared at the beasts in the air. "Everypony in Equestria is so scared and divided that the windigos are circling. And it's up to us to fix it all."

"What are we gonna do, Twilight?!" Pinkie asked as Twilight gave them all a confident smirk.

"The same thing we do every time, Pinkie. Try to save the world!" The others cheered as they all began to head out the castle, off to what could be their final battle. Heart and Soul watched, knowing the adults wouldn't allow them to help. However, sharing a glance, they both knew what they had to do. It was time for them to step up and show what they had learned at Twilight's school of friendship.





Back at the destroyed Canterlot Castle, Tirek trotted into the wrecked throne room.

"Every prisoner is safely in their cells," he told the other two. The pair were currently looking up at the sky, making him look up as well. "Now we can hunt down the rest of the...Windigos? Those exist?"

Cozy shivered as she held a blanket tightly around her. "I'm not hunting anypony d-d-d-down in this weather!" She turned to Chrysalis. "Can't we magically get rid of them and w-w-w-warm things up?"

Chrysalis shook her head, "I don't think we should. This could work out quite well for me."

The other two glared at her. "You mean us," Tirek hissed as Chrysalis shined a grin.

"Oh, don't be a spoilsport. After all, this harsh weather is the final blow to break the ponies' spirits. Once Equestria is a frozen wasteland, we'll use our magic to destroy those windy beasts. The ponies will be so grateful that they'll do whatever I want!"

"The windigos are ancient magic," Tirek growled, "It would be unwise to leave them unchecked. Best we deal with them now." He and Chrysalis glared at one another, but Cozy spoke up as she saw something.

"We probably should deal with Twilight and her friends before anything else."

The others turned to her. "I thought it was too cold for you to hunt anypony down?"

"We don't need to," she pointed to a window, "They're right there!" The other two turned to see a group of ponies marching across a field in the distance.

"Change of plans." Chrysalis chuckled as the other two shined big grins, "Let's go hunting!"





Twilight, Spike and the rest of their friends were all heading for the destroyed castle, Twilight still having no idea how they would deal with the villains. The cold weather wasn't making it easy either.

"You think they know we're here?" Spike asked, only for a black and yellow vortex to suddenly appear in front of them. The portal grew larger, only for three villains to walk out of it a second later, the Bewitching Bell floating behind them.

"Ah'd say they have an idea," Applejack gulped.

As the windigos continued to swirl overhead, the trio marched as Twilight spotted the item that was allowing the villains to wield such incredible power. "That bell has Discord, Celestia, and Luna's magic inside. If they use it against us-"

Fluttershy interrupted her, assuring Twilight that wouldn't be a problem. "Discord's magic is so chaotic that he's the only one who can use it."

Twilight nodded at this, only for Chrysalis to call out, "You just can't accept that you were beaten before you even realized there was a fight, can you?"

Twilight glared up at her. "You can't beat us if we never give up! As long as I have my friends by my side, I'll put my faith in friendship-"

"Ugh," Cozy moaned, "Can we just skip the whole 'friendship is worthless' part and get on with this please?" Her horn began to glow, only for everyone there to feel a slight shift. "Huh?" Looking up, they saw what looked like a portal, the wormhole swirling above their heads. "Is...is this us?"

"I'm not doing it." Chrysalis replied.

"Me neither," Tirek added before something fell out of the portal. A lot of somethings.

The Royal Knights screamed as they hit the dirt, their weapons scattering all over the place. Their friends gasped and ran to them, rushing to their sides as the knights began to pick themselves up. "Grand!" Twilight spotted Lightbringer in his hooves, making her gasp. "Where's Flash?!"

"He...he's fighting Armalum," Grand groaned, "They're in a pocket dimension. Armalum was so strong and Flash..." Words began to fall apart in his mind as he tried to talk, only for him to just say, "I'm sorry."

Twilight could feel panic racing through her again, only to shake her head, "It's fine. Flash won't lose to him." Grand smiled before looking up and seeing the windigos above.

"What the-"

"it's a long story," Twilight interrupted as the other knights were helped up. The alicorn saw that they were all in pretty bad shape, biting her lip at the sight, "I know you're all injured...but we could really use your help right now."

"You don't even have to ask," Grand responded, "Knights, stand tall!" The knights all raised their weapons, First taking a deep breath and unleashing his Aid Force in order to heal them as best he could. The three villains frowned at all the extra enemies they had to fight, only for Cozy to fire a beam at the group. But as she did this, Twilight grabbed everyone in her magic and teleported them away at the last second. She warped to some nearby trees, watching as the spot they had just been in was turned to a steaming crater.

"We need to get that bell and get Discord and the princesses their magic back." Her eyes darted between everyone in front of her, "Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, you're with me and the Royal Knights." They all nodded, Rainbow smirking.

"Sweet! I'll grab that bell in ten second-"

"No." Twilight shook her head. "We're the distraction." She pointed to the others. "They're gonna get the bell."

The others went wide-eyed for a second, only to nod a second later. As this happened, the villains all glared at the area around them, Chrysalis yelling, "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"There!" Cozy yelled, as Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie and the knights charged out of the forest. The knights started launching long distance attacks, the villains all countering with their own magic. Rainbow and Skybreaker started flying around at high speed, Cozy finding herself being spun around by the wind they made. Grand and Iron slammed their weapons into the ground, Ruby doing the same with her hooves, creating spikes of earth, metal and crystals that moved towards them as Tirek fired a beam of energy that shattered the attack. Twilight, Cold, Lightning and Tidal then teleported around the battlefield, launching attacks at Chrysalis as her horn glowed, blocking everything as she countered with blasts of slime, only for First to teleport Heather behind her, the earth pony using her chain to pull Chrysalis' leg out from under her.

"Augh!" the changeling yelped before firing another volley of magic, the group taking cover from the attack. And they continued to battle, Spike and the remaining mares made their way around the fight.





Cloudsdale...

The pegasi were continuing to siege themselves in their clouds city. The Wonderbolts were busy reinforcing the cloud walls so the windigos couldn't blow them away, Soarin hating himself for doing this. He wanted to be down there with Rainbow, but he had to make sure the pegasi were safe. He knew whatever was going on down there, Rainbow would be fine. A flash of light then caught his attention, making him turn to see what appeared to be a battle on the ground.

"That's gotta be them," he commented as he was about to dive down, only for another voice to call out to him.

"Soarin!" He spun around to see Spitfire fly up to him. "What are you doing?! We've gotta protect Cloudsdale!" Soarin frowned, about to tell her the rest of Equestria needed their protection, only for another flash of light to appear, making him turn to see Fire Heart and Shining Soul.

"Heart, Soul! What are you doing here?" Soul nodded to her brother before teleporting away, the pegasi looking at the colt as he gave them all a glare.

"PEGASI OF EQUESTRIA! WE NEED TO TALK!" He yelled, the group all flinching at this as the colt felt all eyes upon him. He felt a tinge of fear at this, only to take a deep breath, remembering what his mentor had taught him. He was more scared of what would happen if he did nothing, then what might happen if he did. "Flash, give me strength...wherever you are."





Flash could feel nothing but pain and misery as he laid in the empty blackness of the dark cloud surrounding him. The heads of those that had hated him had finally disappeared and allowed him to lay there, but he found no peace. His body was beaten, and his will was broken. There was no hope. If he had his Celestic Gear or his Sacred Light, he would have kept trying. But now, he felt nothing. What could he do to win?

He thought back to Shroudheart's prophecy. The mad version of him said Flash would defeat Armalum and give up everything to do it. Had he been wrong? Had he been lying? Or had Flash's choice to try and win this fight and survive caused a change to the outcome? Was this how everything ended?

Flash wasn't sure what was happening back in Equestria. He knew things were probably bad, but Twilight and the others would find a way to stop Chrysalis and the others. But then what? Faust was gone and without her, the world would eventually fall apart. The only way to save it would be to let Armalum take over, but that seemed like an even worse idea...but he had already lost.

"Twilight," he whispered, "Everypony...I'm sorry." He could feel the last remaining vestiges of his life beginning to slip away. And as they did this, Flash suddenly finding himself reliving his life like they said happened when somepony was about to die.

At first, it was just the happy memories. The times he spent with his friends. The days he spent with his family. The training he did with Heart, Grand and all the other Defenders. Springer and all the other friends he had made throughout his life.

Then, he was reminded of all the times he had fought against evil or unfairity. All the times he had almost died protecting others and barely come out on top. The times he had had to dig deep and bring out a power that he hadn't even known he had. So many adventures and challenges he had overcome. But now it was all coming to an end.

The darkness around him swirled even faster, as if knowing he was about to die.

That is, till something stepped out of the darkness. "Hey, mister." Flash slowly opened his eyes at the noise, soon looking up to see the voice's owner, "Are you okay?" The defender had to blink at what he saw. He was now staring at...himself. But it was a younger version of him.

"How...who..."

The young pony smiled at him, his tail wagging, "I'm Flash. What's your name?"

"F...Flash."

"Really?" The colt laughed, "We've got the same name. That's so cool. And we kind of look alike. Are we related?" Flash opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Instead, the little one continued to talk, "I hope we are. I don't have any friends or family, so knowing there's somepony out there that I'm related to would be cool."

Flash blinked at the sight again, his mind now telling him he was probably already dead and having some kind of after death journey...or he was actually talking to his past self. He knew logic wasn't something that always existed in his life, but this was honestly par for the course as he replied, "I...I guess we could be related."

"Cool!" Young Flash smiled as he looked him over. "So...what happened to you?"

"I...I lost a fight."

"Really? Who were you fighting?"

"Somepony very powerful. I couldn't win. He was too strong."

"Ouch. Why would you fight somepony if they're so much stronger then you?"

"I had to. I'm...I was, a Royal Knight. I was supposed to protect my home and those around me, but I failed."

"So you were a hero?" Flash slowly nodded, "That's so cool. What's it like being a hero?" Flash could not believe this was how it ended. Talking to a former version of himself about who he was.

"It...was really hard. I fought against a lot of bad guys and didn't always win every fight. But I didn't let that stop me. I kept getting up and fighting to find a way."

"So...why aren't you doing that now?" Flash tried to tilt his head at this, "You said you lost to somepony, so why are you just sitting down and taking it? Get up!"

"I can't. He's too strong. If I had my Celestic Gear or my Sacred Light, I might be able to stand a chance. But I don't."

Confusion shined on young Flash's face, "I don't know what those things are, but I didn't think you needed something special to be a hero. Though if I'm honest, I don't really know a lot of about them." Flash didn't answer that, only for his younger self to add, "So...have you only ever been able to be a hero because you had those things? Doesn't sound like a hero to me, needing something special to be one."

Flash stared at his other self for a second, that info now sinking into his brain. And as it did, a memory shined in his head. "No...no, I didn't always have them. I helped somepony a long time ago. She was a filly your age. Three bullies were picking on her and throwing her bag around. I don't know why, but I flew in and helped her." He smiled at this, "I didn't need anything special to help her back then. I just did what I could."

"See? There you go!" his younger self chuckled, "So, what's the difference here?"

"The difference is those were just a bunch of bullies. This is a super powered being that I wouldn't stand a chance against. He has all the power and I have nothing. No ancient relic. NO Celestic Gear. No Sacred Light. Not even any friends to help me. I have nothing."

His younger self said nothing while Flash continued to lay on the ground as the darkness continued to draw in closer. But as he did this, something else rang out in that darkness.

"Twilight, you and the others need to get out of here now!" Flash's eyes went wide at the sound of his own voice. He and his younger self turned to the voice as part of the darkness flickered away. Doing so revealed another version of him, along with several others. The other Flash was standing in front of Nightmare Moon, glaring her down as Twilight and the rest of the Mane Seven stood behind him.

"What about you?"

"I'll hold her off as long as I can." Flash flared his wings, "The six of you are the only hope for Equestria. You need to escape."

"Oh, how brave." Nightmare Moon mocked, "I do still owe you for tricking me earlier, so you can be the first victim of my new unending night!" Her horn flashed and a large bubble shot out, encasing the two of them. Flash and his younger self watched as the Flash that had once stood against such an evil charged in to do battle against the mad alicorn.

"Wow," young Flash whispered, "He's so cool."

"You think?"

"Yeah. I mean, he's going up against somepony so strong. He doesn't seem to have any of those things you were talking about, but he's still fighting. Is he one of those Royal Knights as well?"

"No. He's...he's just a courageous fool that didn't have any power. But he...he kept fighting anyway, even though he knew it would likely cost him his life." As he said that, more memories appeared around him. Memories of times he stood up to an opponent who was clearly far stronger then him. An opponent that, by all realms of logic, should have killed him. But he was able to overcome all these situations. He might have had his friends, ancient relics, his Celestic Gear and Sacred Light to do the job, but he also had something else. The courage to stand against a foe that he knew could kill him. When had he let that courage slip away?

"I'm such an idiot," Flash took a deep breath and began to stand up, "I let all that power I possessed make me forget who and what I am."

His younger self turned to him at this, "Who are you?"

Flash stood on his hooves, and though he was shaky, he gave his younger self a nod, "I am the Element of Courage. The Knight of Friendship. I am the one who has stood against monsters and gods alike. I am the pony who stood up to the likes of Nightmare Moon, Discord and King Sombra, and even though I knew the chance of winning was almost nothing. I am the pony that fought and defeated Doom Raizer, Shadow Corrupter and many others. No matter how impossible the fight, I stood and fought risking everything to protect the ones I love."

His younger self smiled at this, but repeated the question. "Who are you?"

The pony took a deep breath, then opened his eyes. "I am Flash Sentry...and I am a hero!" His younger self nodded before exploding into a light that flew into him, causing a soft glow to surround him. The cloud of hatred tried to attack him again, but the light grew brighter and brighter. As it did this, ponies started appearing around Flash. Twilight, Heart, Springer, the rest of the Mane Seven, Soul and the Royal Knights, the Princesses, and all the friends Flash had made in his life.

Just like with Flash's battle against Shadow, these figures protected Flash from the darkness.

Outside the cloud, Armalum saw the light beginning to break out through the cloud. "What?" A small beam of light appeared, followed by another and another. "What's going on?" Eventually, the cloud exploded, the darkness now burned away by the light. "NO!"

Flash stood there, the pegasus looking up at Armalum with a smirk.

"HOW?!" He flew down and landed opposite him, "How did you escape?! I took your Sacred Light!"

Flash shined the biggest grin possible, "You thought you were so great, thinking you knew everything that was going to happen. Yet you overlooked the exact same thing Shroudheart did. You might have taken my Sacred Light, but I have a power in me that you can't take away."

Armalum growled and charged at this, summoning his weapon and slashing at Flash. But the pegasus sidestepped the attack before raising his hoof and slamming it down on the blade, shattering it instantly. Armalum gasped at this, only for Flash to spin around and stomp him in the chest, knocking him flying. He cried out as he fell over, Flash slowly walking up to him as he said, "You might be fueled by hatred, but I have something even stronger. Love. The love for my friends, my family and all the ponies of Equestria."

"So what?!" Armalum staggered back. "One pony's love shouldn't be able to overpower the hatred of so many!"

"Oh, but that's exactly it. Love is a hundred times stronger than hate. Doesn't matter how many ponies you drained of their hate, it's still not enough to overpower me! Because I refuse to let you become the ruler of the world I love!"

"You don't have a choice!" Armalum roared, "Without Faust, the world will fall apart unless I take over. What, you're saying you'd rather the world end instead of me taking over?" But then Flash raised a hoof as it began to spark with golden lightning. "What?! That's..."

"The Sacred Light? Yup." Flash chuckled, "Just a few remaining sparks you missed. Nothing special, but enough to help me do what I need to do."

"What you need to do? What are you talking about?! I've already won!" Flash continued to walk forward and Armalum, for the first time in his existence, felt genuine fear course through him. "Get away from me!" He fired a beam from his chest gem, but Flash just sidestepped it with ease before charging forward.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Flash slammed his sparking hoof into Armalum, instantly piercing the armor and unleashing the energy stored inside.

Armalum screamed as his body was broken apart, Flash's hoof sinking into it and grabbing onto something. "What are you doing?!"

"The same thing you did to me!" Flash yelled, "I'm taking my Sacred Light back, and all the other power you stole!" The Sacred Light began to flow out of Armalum and into Flash, but that wasn't the only energy stolen. The Corrupted Shadow was also being pulled out, followed by the power Faust had wielded.

"Are you insane?!" Armalum screeched, trying to push Flash away from him. "You can't contain that much power! You'll explode!"

"I will contain it," Flash replied, "At least long enough to do what I need to do." He felt the Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow enter his body, the pegasus crying out. He could feel the two conflicting existences swirling inside of him, the two trying to reject one another. But Flash refused to let them do so.

Armalum could hardly believe what he was seeing. Flash had begun to merge the two powers. He had done it, but a normal pony like him shouldn't have been capable of such a thing. "This is impossible!" He screamed, only for his horn to flare, "I won't...I won't let you take my power!"

"It's not your power!" Flash yelled, "You didn't work to get it or struggled to learn how to control it. That's why you bad guys always fail! You want to take the easy way out, forgetting that the struggle is what matters!"

"Oh, I struggled!" Armalum roared as the flow stopped and began to reverse. "I struggled for centuries as a powerless being, forced to take power from others I commanded! But now, finally, I've evolved into something more! I think I've struggled more than enough!"

"No, you haven't. You might have struggled, but you took every chance you saw to cheat. To hurt and kill! Because of that, you don't deserve any kind of power!" The power once again began to flow into Flash, but Armalum just let out a gutteral, almost demonic screech as they began another mental tug of war, the battle of wills now raging. And as pulled against each other, the dimension around them began to break apart.

"You really think you can beat me?!" Armalum growled. "You realize what'll happen if I'm destroyed, don't you?! Your world goes with it!"

"No, it won't!" Flash bbarked back, "I know the world needs someone to watch over it and keep it running. But it's not going to be you!" The magic swirled into him, the Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow now one hundred percent drained from Armalum. Then, the power of Faust began to follow.

Armalum slowly realized what was happening and gasped as more power flowed out of him and into Flash. He tried, but he just couldn't stop it. "No!" He screamed, but Flash remained attached to him as Armalum felt himself get weaker and weaker. "You can't!"

Cracks began to appear around his body, spreading out from the hole in his chest and slowly growing wider. As they did this, Flash glared at him. "This time, you're not coming back." Flash could also sense the dimension's impending collapse. "You made this dimension, feel free to be its god for as long as it remains!"

"NO!" Armalum's entire body covered in cracks at this, only for Flash to pull his hoof out of Armalum's chest. And as soon as it was free, Flash charged it with energy and threw it forward. "NOOOOOOOOOO!" The hoof smashed into Armalum's face and his form exploded, a burst of light flowing out of the impact.

All over the dimension, pieces of Armalum's armor were scattered. There, they would remain until the pocket dimension collapsed...and fade from existence.





Back in Equestria...

The heroes continued their battle against the three villains, the trio believing the group was trying to overwhelm the power of Grogar's Bell. "Miss me!" Pinkie cheered, Chrysalis firing blast after blast as the pony bounced around, "Missed again!" She ducked under another beam, this one hitting a rock that blew it up into pieces, "Missed again, but thanks for playing!"

Chrysalis growled as she chased the mare toward the others, leading her away from the bell. As she did this, Spike, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy were sneaking around, Spike nodding at the mares before breathing into his claws, a cloud of fire then surrounding them before it and they vanished. The fire had turned them all invisible, the four tiphoofing over to the bell, the villains not noticing the slight distortion that occurred around the edge of the invisible cloud.

However, as they got closer to the bell, Ruby and Tirek collided their blasts and unleashed a shockwave, blowing the fire cloud away, Chrysalis seeing this and gasping. "THE BELL!" The others saw this and gasped as Tirek unleashed a wave of energy that knocked them back. This allowed Chrysalis to blast the four away from the bell, Spike and Rarity firing their own magic back, but the changeling just flared her horn, her power instantly overwhelming them.

"Augh!" they both yelped as they were knocked away, Applejack running up next as she lashed out her lasso to grab it. But as the rope was about to hit the object, Tirek snagged it with his arm and flicked it, throwing the earth pony flying away. At the same time, Fluttershy dashed to the get the bell, only for Cozy to appear, firing a beam that knocked her away, the mare, Rarity and Applejack being caught by Iron, Lightning and Heather.

The others prepared to attack, but Chrysalis called out. "ENOUGH!" The three stood behind the bell, "Or the dragon's wings get plucked!" She lifted Spike into the air, her magic holding him by the wings and sealing his mouth shut to prevent any flame attacks.

They all gasped at this. "Cowards!" Cold Steel roared as Chrysalis pulled on his wings and made him cry out through his closed mouth.

"Please!" Twilight begged, "Don't hurt him!"

Spike then pulled his mouth free of the magic. "Don't worry about me! Just save-AHHH!" Chrysalis pulled on his wings as Cozy used her magic to grab the knight's weapons and pull them out of their grasp, the knights flinching as they saw their weapons thrown far away. At the same time, the others showed they were surrendering.

The villains moved around the bell and once they were, Chrysalis threw Spike over to them. Tirek laughed as Twilight caught him. "Turns out that the Magic of Friendship is your biggest weakness." The three began to charge up their power, "A fitting end to your pathetic story." The power they were building was going to be big. So big that all the magic users together wouldn't be able to defend against it.

Rainbow turned to the others, "No matter what, we face it together!" They all nodded, refusing to let these three make them scared. Iron and Lightning held their lovers closer as they all bunched up.

"I'm sorry Flash," Twilight closed her eyes, "Please, stay safe and keep fighting!"

"DIE!" the trio exclaimed as they launched their attacks and combined them into one epic blast.

Everything turned white as the ponies closed their eyes, waiting for the end to occur. Twilight expected pain...only for nothing to happen. She wondered if she had been killed before the pain even set in, but then she heard Spike speak up. "What happened? Can I open my eyes?"

"Ya sure can!" Applejack cheered as they opened them and went wide-eyed as they saw a large white bubble surrounding them all and holding back the supercharged attack. "Way to go Twilight!"

"It's not me!" Twilight replied, the other unicorns shaking their heads when they were looked at. The attack came to an end at this, the three villains shocked at the sight. And before they could ask what the heck was going on, a light caught their attention coming from a nearby hilltop. The others turned to see the light had come from the horns of many different unicorns. Hundreds of them. Possibly every unicorn in Equestria.

"What?" Grand asked as other creatures started appearing around them.

Up in the air, griffons, hippogriffs, dragons and pegasi were flying over the hill. On the ground, jakhowls, yaks, changelings and earth ponies were also there. And it didn't end there. Buffalos, kirins and even a few creatures from Klugtown were there.

Leading the pack was none other the Neighsay, who pointed at the battlefield with the earth ponies, jakhowls, changelings and many others began to rush down. Spitfire was leading the sky forces, the pegasi, dragons and others flying down at high speed. The pegasi reached the group first and flew so fast that they kicked up a bunch of dirt and dust that blinded the villains. As they did this, the changelings transformed into copies of the ponies the three had just been fighting. They flew into the cloud, confusing the criminals, allowing the yaks to slam into them while the kirin shot fire and the jakhowls launched Aura Blasts.

"Don't let them escape!" Tirek roared as Cozy leapt between his horns.

"Which ones?!" She asked as the orb surrounding the heroes was lifted into the air. It was eventually placed down on the hill, Twilight unable to believe what she was seeing.

"You all okay?" They turned to see Springer and Mirage running down to them. "You should have told us you were having a party. I would have brought dip." The heroes smiled at their returning friend while Thorax flew down next.

"The changelings won't fool them forever," he replied, "And I don't know how long the unicorns' shield will hold."

Hiveena nodded, "If you're gonna pull something out of your hat, now would be the time."

But Twilight couldn't think. She was just too blown away with everything that was happening. "I don't understand." She looked down at the battlefield. "How are you all here?"

"That's kinda our fault," she heard Gallus announce before turning to see Gallus, Smolder, Ocellus, Sandbar, Yona, Silverstream, Ace and Mira standing there. They all smirked as Heart and Soul then stepped into view.

Twilight could hardly believe they were there. And Smolder's next words were even more unexpected. "You know those long lectures about friendship you gave at school?" The ten all grinned at each other as they remembered what happened.





Ponyville, hours before the battle...

When the windigos first appeared, the ponies of Ponyville screamed as they started running for shelter. The only ones who didn't were Rogue and the Apple Family, along with Sandbar.

Rogue looked ready to fly up and blast the windigos away, but a loud crashing sound caught his attention. He and the rest of the earth ponies turned to see Sandbar standing on top of a sandbox. "We all know the story of Hearth's Warming Eve! We can defeat the windigos together!"

Berryshine stepped up to him, "You really think if we all sing a couple songs and everything will be fine?!"

Sandbar shook his head. "It's not just singing that saved the founders of Equestria! It's what it represented!"





In Celestia's School of Magic, Soul was standing on a desk, having teleported into the place after dropping her brother off.

The unicorns of Equestria stared at her, including Trixie, Twilight's parents, Script, Wild Smile and Gorgenia. "Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi becoming friends! We learned at Twilight's school that friendship is the most powerful magic there is!"

The unicorns listened to this and Wild frowned, wishing he was out there with Pinkie and the rest of his friends. He, Script and Gorgenia nodded, agreeing with the filly one hundred percent, Trixie doing the same.





Up in Cloudsdale, Heart still had the pegasi's attention and was using it to make them see reason. It didn't hurt that he was also warming them up using his fire power.

"Focusing on our differences keeps us divided! Villains and creatures like the windigos use that division against us!" The pegasi shared glances, all now remembering just how amazing things were before they had let themselves forget how great unicorns and earth ponies could be.

Soarin flew up to Heart, patting him on the shoulder as he looked over at the Wonderbolts. Spitfire nodded back, also seeing the error they had made.





And it wasn't just Equestria that was getting a reminder about the power of Friendship.

All of the many kingdoms were being taught the lessons that Twilight's school had taught its students, delivered by the students that had represented them, including the yaks.

"Yaks strong," Yona told the rest of her tribe. "Ponies strong. But yaks and ponies stronger together! Yaks must be loyal to pony friends!" The yaks cheered, Rutherford smiling and nodding at Yona's words.





The dragons.

"I know helping other creatures by being kind and generous sounds lame," Smolder told the dragon as Ember stood behind her. "But I've seen how powerful it can be!"





The griffons.

"Playing together!" Gallus announced, "Singing together! Even laughing together! That's what real heroes look like!"





The hippogriffs and seaponies.

"Were we really happy by ourselves at the bottom of the ocean?" Silverstream asked, currently in Seaquestria since the snowstorm was affecting Mount Eris and forcing them all underwater. "Be honest! It's the ponies that showed us a better way!"





The changelings.

"They've taught us how powerful love and the Magic of Friendship truly is! We can't let them stand alone! We're their friends! They need us!" The changelings nodded, Thorax and Hiveena looking down at Costa.

If they wanted him to grow up happy and strong, they had to remove any threat to him. Including his psychopathic grandmother.





And last, the jakhowls.

"We spent a thousand years hiding away," Ace told the jakhowls of Aurarora. "But now we can finally step out into the world and show them how amazing our kind is."

"But not if we let villains like Tirek and the others have their way," Mira continued, "Our strength, jakhowls and ponies, come from unity."

The jakhowls seemed to be swayed by this as Springer smiled at the sight. He would have ordered the jakhowls to go help the ponies if he needed to, but he was glad Ace and Mira were convincing them. The pair had certainly come a long way from when they were first hatched.

"Let's show the rest of the world why it can count of the jakhowls!" Ace added, the canine creatures all howling.

"Because when things get tough, jakhowls don't hide from danger! We face it head on to protect those closest to us!" They all cheered, ready to go out there and fight against evil.





Twilight couldn't believe it. She knew they had learned a lot during their time at her school, but she never thought they would be able to teach it to others so well.

"How 'bout that?" She heard Applejack say, "It's just like you said the day we opened that school."

Spike nodded, "The more creatures who know about friendship, the safer we'll be."

"We told you you had it all figured out!" Pinkie cheered, Twilight smiling at this, only for a changeling to suddenly slam into the barrier around them. She spun around and saw Soarin smash into the barrier as well, both he and the changeling sliding down as the unicorns started losing their strength.

The barrier began to fade as Chrysalis, Cozy and Tirek blasted the distracting forces away and cleared the air. They looked up and saw them at the top of the hill, the three charging, only for a blast of magic to cut through the ground in front of them, making them stop.

"ENOUGH!" They looked up at Twilight, who no longer had any doubt in her expression. "Because of you, I almost lost my way! But everyone here has reminded me of the true power of friendship!"

"Oh yeah!" Springer exclaimed as their allies rushed up the hill. "You tell 'em girl!"

"There will always be darkness in the world, but there will also always be those who find the light!" As she said this, she began to glow a purple light, "The Pillars knew this! That's why they created the Elements of Harmony!"

It was in that moment that more light appeared around her. From those lights, the Pillars of Equestria appeared, and they weren't the only ones. Celestia, Luna, Starlight and everypony else the three villains captured suddenly appeared beside the group. Even Discord appeared, smiling at how confident Twilight had become. It seemed his plan had worked...in a way.

"The Elements showed me and my friends how strong our friendship can be!" Spike and the Mane Seven glowed as they were all lifted into the sky besides her. "Together we worked to bring harmony to Equestria! But there will always be more to do! Which is why we teach others about the Magic of Friendship! Others who will continue our mission after we are gone!"

"Whoa!" Ace gasped, as he, Mira, Sandbar, Gallus, Smolder, Ocellus, Silverstream, Yona, Heart and Soul were also lifted up. The three villains stared in shock at the three groups in the sky. The original wielders of harmony, the current heroes of friendship, and the future protectors of the world. Twilight's light and the light around them started glowing brighter, the three looking absolutely terrified.

"Now I truly understand! The Elements were just symbols! The real magic has always been right here! And the more who understand how powerful friendship is, the stronger we will all be!" The many creatures of Equestria smiled at one another, their difference and former quarrels all but forgotten. And as Twilight closed her eyes, she felt her power flow and opened her now glowing eyes. "Together!"

The light shined brighter and Cozy gulped. "This is bad, isn't it?"

The other two were about to answer, only for a light to appear around them, one that hadn't come from the bell. "What's going on?" Tirek asked as he stared down at himself.

Chrysalis shined a grin at this, "Armalum. This must be the power he gave us." She began to laugh, "Nice speech, but we have the power of a god flowing through us! Armalum's gift will protect us from anything you do, and once it's over, we'll simply drain you all of the magic you have and end you once and for all!"

Twilight glared at them, and before anypony could say or do anything, another explosion of light filled the sky and blinded them all. "Oh, come on!" Tirek roared, "What now?!"

Twilight looked up and forced her eyes open, allowing her to see a portal like the one that had expelled the Royal Knights appearing above them. The portal swirled around and had a mix of black and golden light, followed by a tornado of those same elements shooting out and flying toward the ground. Once it collided, it unleashed a shockwave that almost knocked them all back, the tornado raging on the battlefield for several seconds before exploding, the wave washing over them and healing all the wounds caused in the fight against the villains.

At the same time, bursts of dark energy flew out of the tornado and off into the distance. Eventually, each of them would find a pony that hated Flash Sentry and merge into them, waking them up from the comas they had been suffering from since meeting Armalum.

And when the light began to fade, everyone opened their eyes and saw something that made them go wide-eyed. Flash Sentry was standing on the battlefield, now decked out in a new set of armor. It was almost exactly like his Shining Guardian form, but it was more regal and had black pieces combined with his gold. His chest and boots had black patterned emblazoned on the gold metal and his wings were larger with black sections replacing some of the gold parts. His helmet now looked more like a crown, with the multi-triangle horn on his forehead that swapped between black and gold triangles. Lightbringer glowed where Grand had left it, then shot into the air and flew over to Flash. As soon as he grabbed it, without even looking, it transformed into its Shining Guard form, only to then shift again to incorporate black areas into it.

"FLASH!" His friends all cheered, the Knight of Friendship smirking back at them before turning to the villains.

"What?!" Chrysalis yelped, "Where's Armalum?!"

"Gone," Flash replied, "Trapped in his own pocket dimension, which should be disintegrating any second now." He whistled, "No coming back from that." He pointed his sword at them. "Now, time to deal with you three."

"Like you could!" Cozy laughed, "Armalum gave us protection. Even the power of all of Equestria isn't gonna be enough to overcome it! You've lost!"

"Protection?" Flash raised an eyebrow at this before raising his sword, "No problem. Twilight!" The princess smiled at this, "Get ready to do...whatever it is you're doing!" She nodded and turned to the others, who nodded back. As they did, rainbows shot off the groups and collided with her before she launched a blast of rainbow energy into the sky. It struck the clouds and created a rainbow shockwave, which completely destroyed the dark clouds and caused the windigos to be blown away to reveal a beautiful clear sky.

At the same time, Flash stabbed his sword into the ground and unleashed a trio of black and gold light that flew through the earth and grabbed the three villains. "What?!" Chrysalis screamed, only to feel the energy Armalum had given them being sucked out. "How?!"

"Armalum gave you that power, and I have all the power he did it with. Makes sense I can take that protection away." The three struggled as their protective magic was drained away. And as this happened, the rainbow Twilight shot into the sky curved down.

"No," they all gasped as the last of Armalum's power was sucked out of them. And as it was, the rainbow slammed into the three. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Everyone watched as the three silhouettes were drained of their power, made obvious by the fact they were all shrinking. They expected it to end in an explosion, only for the rainbow beam to simply disappear and the three villains fell to the floor. As everypony flew down to check on them, they saw Cozy and Chrysalis were reverted back to normal and Tirek was in his old and weak form.

Twilight saw the armor on Flash disappear and she flew down to hug him, Flash hugging her back as their friends rushed over to them. "Flash!" Grand gasped, "What happened?! We thought Armalum might have beaten you!"

"He almost did," Flash replied, "But I wasn't gonna let him get the better of me. And I'm one hundred percent certain he's not coming back a third time."

They all sighed in relief at this, instead focusing on the now weakened villains. Chrysalis hissed at them as Tirek and Cozy backpedaled away, "You think friendship will save you?! We will always return! Nothing will ever stop-" She stopped, mainly due to a house sized cupcake crashing down on the three and trapping them within it.

"That was unexpected," Heart stated as rain began to fall. Brown rain, which Spike stuck his tongue out to test.

"Chocolate rain?" They then saw this was Chaos Magic at work, the group turning to the most likely suspect.

"Don't look at me!" Discord responded, only for them turn and see Pinkie Pie violently vibrating.

"Pinkie!" Twilight gasped as she saw she was holding the bewitching bell, "You took Discord's magic from the bell?! How do you feel?" Pinkie hummed as Wild rushed over to her, the mare scratching her head as she continued to spark.

"Tingly. Itchy. Also like..." Her eyes went wide as she suddenly started growing, eventually reaching fifteen feet in height as her hair swirled into pink tendrils and a cloud of pink smoke and balloons appeared around her. "I COULD TRANSFORM THE COSMOS SO EVERYTHING IS MADE OF ICING!" Sweets and other party things swirled around her, her eyes being replaced by a pair of cupcakes as Discord turned to the others.

"Perhaps maybe I should..." They nodded and Discord flew up, grabbing the bell and pointing it at Pinkie.

With a flick of his finger, the bell sucked all the chaos magic out of her and Pinkie shrank back down and fell to the ground. Flash and Twilight caught her, Wild running up and seeing her eyes now swirling. "Waiter! There's some chaos in my soup!"

Discord flicked the bell again and unleashed the chaos magic, absorbing it back into himself and feeling himself being restored to his former chaotic glory. He snapped his finger and a pineapple with a mouth appeared, the draconequus smirking before warping over to Celestia and Luna to restore their powers. The two smiled at the return of their magic, as Cozy, Tirek and Chrysalis pulled themselves out from beneath the cupcake.

And as they did this, Celestia and Luna marched up and glared down at the three. "There isn't a punishment worthy of all you've done!" But as she said that, a pair of Discords appeared and whispered something into the two's ears.

"Oh," Luna chuckled, "That does seem fitting."

"May I help? Please?" Discord asked, the two copies merging into one as the sisters nodded. The three began to charge up their power and before the criminals could do anything, they blasted them with a combined magical beam. The three were struck and found their bodies beginning to turn to stone. They screamed at this, only for Cozy and Chrysalis to find their bodies merging with Tirek's as a stone pedestal appeared beneath his hooves.

Spell complete, the three fell to the ground with a loud thud and the trio were well and truly trapped. Chrysalis looked ready to attack, Tirek was cowering and Cozy was looking absolutely terrified. It was truly a sight to see and Discord smirked as he laughed. "Together forever. I can't think of anything that they would want less!"

The creatures of Equestria and all the other kingdoms cheered, as Celestia moved over to Twilight. "When I sent you to Ponyville, I had high hopes. When you became Princess of Friendship, I knew I made the right choice." She placed a wing around Twilight and held her close. "But nothing could prepare me for how proud I am right now. Equestria is definitely in the right hooves." She stepped back to Luna and Discord, "You are ready." They bowed, even Discord giving her a curt nod as Twilight smiled.

"You know what? I think I am."

"Thank goodness," Applejack laughed as the Mane Seven and Spike walked up to her. "First question, your Highness. What do we do with all these creatures?"

She looked up at the hill as Pinkie spoke up. "We're gonna need a lot more chairs for the coronation!"

"Actually, as ruler of Equestria, I'd like to postpone the coronation for a while. At least until the castle's rebuilt." They nodded at this, "Besides, there's something we need to do first."

"What's that?" Iron asked as Twilight licked her lips.

"Oh, I know that look." Flash chuckled, "You want some donuts!"

"It's been a while since we had some," Twilight laughed, "And what better excuse then defeating four of our greatest enemies?"

They all nodded at this, "Shouldn't we go and thank all the creatures that came here to help us?" Starlight asked, "I'd hate them to think their efforts weren't appreciated."

"You're right," Twilight nodded, "Come on everypony, let's go give our thanks to all our friends." They nodded again, the group beginning to head up the hill. As they did, Flash walked at the back of the group and the other knights turned to him.

"So...what exactly happened to you after we were thrown out of the pocket dimension?" First asked, the others staring at him, only to see Flash flinch as a bit of gold and black energy sparked around him.

"Are you okay?" Grand asked, Flash nodding as the sparking stopped.

"Yeah. Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow. Body's still adjusting to the new power."

"So you managed to absorb the Corrupted Shadow Armalum was using?" Cold asked, Flash nodding again. "Incredible. And I thought you were done getting more powerful."

Lightning let out a laugh, "If you get any stronger, the rest of us might be put out of a job."

They all laughed at this before Ruby asked, "But what about Faust? Armalum-"

"Don't worry about her. Faust is fine. It'll take more then Armalum to do her in."

Hearing this, they all smiled and ran ahead, Grand being the only one staying besides Flash. The older pony chuckled as he elbowed Flash in the side. "Looks like your doom and gloom prophecy was all wrong. You managed to defeat Armalum and it cost you nothing. Guess Shroudheart was trying to fool you after all."

"Yeah," Flash nodded as Grand began to walk off, "Didn't cost me anything." But as Grand and the others got further away, Flash flinched again as his hoof sparked. "Ahh!" He held his hoof, the pain flowing through it being almost as bad as the pain he had felt when Armalum had ripped the Sacred Light out of him. He took several breaths and the pain faded, the sparks stopping as he let his hoof go.

"Flash!" Twilight called out, "You coming?"

"YEAH!" Flash yelled back, taking a deep breath. And as he spread his wings to follow, he stared at the sight of his friends, a large frown on his face as he whispered three words.

"I'm sorry, everypony."
> Flash's Destiny
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Equestria was enjoying a time of great peace. 

A month had past since Armalum and the other criminals had been defeated and everything was absolutely perfect. The different kingdoms were all at peace with one another and in every one, species from the other kingdoms were travelling around learning more about the cultures of their fellow creatures.

Work had begun on the Canterlot Castle, which had to be rebuilt entirely from scratch. The upside of this was that the security systems that had been grafted onto the old castle could now be upgraded, but it would still take time, which meant it would be a while before a certain ceremony could take place. That was fine with Twilight Sparkle, who was using this chance to enjoy all the free time she could have before she became the ruling monarch. As such, the alicorn was currently out in the town, enjoying a day out with her friends and loved ones.

"One super deluxe berry cupcake platter!" Pinkie smiled as she put the tray of differently flavored cupcakes down for them all to enjoy. "And your milkshakes will be right out." She grabbed a cupcake and took a bite, the others all doing the same. But as they did, they couldn't help but notice something seemed a little off.

"Is it just me..." Rainbow started, "Or is the cupcake...you know."

"It tastes good," Applejack nodded, "But...ah don't know. It doesn't feel the same."

They all turned to Pinkie, fearing they might have upset her. But the look on her face showed nothing but confusion. "So it's not just me," she frowned as she took another bite. "I don't know what's wrong. Over the last few days, everything I bake seems to be missing its normal wow factor."

"Maybe you're just having an off day," Twilight suggested, "Or an off week."

"It's not just me," Pinkie sighed, "Mr. and Mrs Cake's creations also seem to be lacking."

"Probably a bad batch of flour or sugar," Rarity shrugged, "I'm sure the wow factor will be back eventually. And until it is, these cupcakes are still delicious." They all nodded and took another bite. But whilst the cupcake was nice, it didn't give them that warm happy feeling Pinkie's creations seemed to normally give them.

Then, as Rarity picked up another cupcake, her horn suddenly sparked and the cupcake went flying. "WHOA!" Flash yelped as he ducked under the cupcake and it splattered against a wall. "Hey! I know they're not the best, but you don't need to take it out on me."

"Oh, I'm sorry Flash. I didn't do that on purpose," Rarity replied, "Strange, I got a weird magic spasm." The others flinched at this as Rarity used her magic again, but nothing happened this time. "Probably nothing."

They enjoyed the cupcakes to their best of their abilities and when the milkshakes arrived, they found they didn't have the same zing either. They shrugged it off and finished the snacks, then headed out to enjoy themselves somewhere else. But as they were walking through town, Fluttershy's ears perked up at a sound and she looked up to see a bird flying overhead. And as it did, its wings suddenly gave out.

She gasped and leapt up to catch it. "Are you okay?" She looked him over and saw he looked perfectly fine. He spread his wings and tried to take off, but for some reason he couldn't get any lift. "Strange. You don't look injured."

"You alright Fluttershy?" Flash asked, seeing the bird in her grasp.

"This little one can't seem to fly," she responded, "I'm gonna take him to the sanctuary and make sure he's absolutely fine." They all nodded as they watched her fly off. Some thought about going with her, but a sudden crash of thunder made them look up and see a stormcloud overhead.

"What the heck?" Rainbow yelped as it started pouring rain down on the town. "It wasn't scheduled to rain today!" She watched one of the weather ponies flying toward the cloud. "What's the big deal? You put the wrong cloud there?"

"No," he replied, "This cloud was just a normal cloud when I put it here." He busted it and scratched his head, only for another crash of thunder to ring out, making him turn to see another storm cloud. "That wasn't there before!" He flew over to bust it as the others stared at the sky, now seeing the other clouds beginning to grow dark. Some unleashed lightning and rain, while others were dropping snow and hail all over the place.

"What the heck is going on?" Twilight asked, putting a shield up to protect them from the weather. The pegasi quickly got to work, busting every cloud that started changing.

"Somepony must have messed up at the weather factory," Flash commented, only for Rogue to suddenly fly over to them.

"Applejack!" He called out, the mare turning to him, "We've got a problem at the farm." Applejack gasped and ran off, the others following suit. Flash and Rainbow continued to help with the clouds, promising to catch up when they were done. Flash managed to knock down three clouds before landing on a roof, seeing the others having success busting them.

However, it was in that moment that his body flinched. "Gyah!" Sparks flew off him as he staggered around, making him fall off the roof. Nopony saw him as he hit the dirt, the pegasi biting his lip to keep himself from screaming out in pain. And after a minute of this, the sparks stopped and he took several deep breaths before picking himself up.

In the last month he had suffered from bouts of pain and outbursts of energy. It was a miracle that they had only happened when he was alone, though a few occasions he had to fight to keep the energy from exploding out of him. And everytime it happened, the pain was worse than the last.

And all there was, only one emotion showing on Flash's face at this: Dread.

Ever since the defeat of Armalum, he had spent every spare moment he could with those he loved. He went bowling with Scootaloo, Heart, Soul and Twilight, had picnics with his sister and parents. Visited Velvet, Night, Shining, Cadance and Flurry. And simply enjoyed the time he had left with those he loved.

"Not yet," he begged, "Just a little more time. Please."

"I don't think you have much time left." Flash spun around and reached for his sword, only to see a shrunken draconequus sitting atop a dustbin with a glare on his face.

"Discord?" He glared back at him, "Please tell me this is your doing..."

"I'm afraid not," Discord shook his head. "This is being caused by magic going out of whack. And we both know why said magic is going out of control."

Flash frowned at this, "You...you know?"

Discord nodded back, "Did you think I wouldn't notice the world being completely out of control? What kind of chaos spirit do you take me for?" He jumped off the bin and tried to grow, only to stay the same. As such, he fell down and landed on his butt. "Ow!" He suddenly grew larger and became so big that his head hit an overhanging part of the building they were between. "OW!" He shrank back down, rubbing his head at this.

"I'm guessing this means your magic's going out of whack too?"

"Yes," Discord grumbled, "This is what I get for messing up with the other villains. But that's besides the point. The world is going out of whack because there's nopony there to keep things under control. If you think things are bad now, wait a few more days and you'll find things getting much worse."

Flash sighed and shook his head, "I have to do it soon, don't I?"

Discord did a slow nod, "I'm sorry Flash. I honestly wish I could help you, but even if my magic was working right, I'm afraid there's nothing I can do to help. I can't simply snap Faust back into existence."

"I know," Flash winced, "Somepony has to take her place...and that pony is me." He looked back at Ponyville as the weather was brought back under control. But as he watched the pegasi finish up, he saw several birds beginning to fall out of the sky. The grass was also starting to turn brown, while the sky itself seemed to be losing color.

"How...how long do you think I have before it's too late?"

Discord shrugged, "I'm not exactly an expert on these kind of things. It's never happened before. But I'll say this, you're probably gonna give out before the world does. You're like a flamethrower made of paper."

Flash sighed as his hoof sparked and he clutched it. "I...I know."





Sweet Apple Acres...

Twilight could hardly believe what she was seeing. The apples in the trees were all starting to rot on the branches while the trees' leaves were also turning black. Applejack showed a look of horror at this as she asked, "What the hay is happenin' here?!"

"I don't know," Rogue replied, "I was just flying through the fields and noticed the apples turning brown. Then the leaves started changing color!"

"This can't be a natural phenomenon," Twilight responded as she began summoning her magic. A wave of magical energy spread across the orchard, Twilight attempting to locate any kind of blight that might have infected it. But before the scan could be completed, the magical field stopped spreading, sparking a second later, "What?"

"Twilight?" Applejack asked, only for the magic to retract and surround Twilight.

"Whoa!" She yelped as she lifted into the air. "What's going on?!" She tried to fly down, but her wings couldn't fight against her magic and she was sent flying.

Luckily, Applejack managed to throw a lasso and Twilight tied it around her hoof. The rest of Twilight's friends quickly pulled her back down, Rarity stating what they were all thinking. "Does this not seem like Cozy's doing?"

They all frowned at this, only for Twilight to shake her head, "No." Her magic then stopped, making her hit dirt a second later. "Ow." she moaned before getting up, "Cozy was draining magic from Equestria, but this isn't that. It's...it's like my magic was going out of control."

"Ya'll think this might be connected to what's happenin' to mah farm?"

"I don't know," Twilight sighed, "It can't be a coincidence." She took a deep breath, "I need to send a letter to Celestia. We gotta go find Spike." She would have teleported, but she didn't trust he magic at this moment. "Come on." She ran out of the farm and the others quickly followed. And as they did this, they found other trees were starting to lose their leaves along with the flowers, all looking close to dead. The colors in the plants looked faded and worn, making the whole world around them seem duller by comparison.

"Can't we ever catch a break?" She growled, making her think about what had happened a month ago. At this rate, she would need a vacation by the time she took the throne.

As such, they arrived in the town and were glad to see the clouds debacle had been taken care of, with no damage appearing to have been done by it. However, they couldn't help but notice the place seemed less...lively. The plants and trees were the same as the others, appearing to be dying and losing leaves, while the river that ran through the town didn't look as clear as it normally did. They frowned at the sight, wondering how they could have missed the change the town was undergoing. This couldn't have just happened, so it must have slowly been building over time.

"What is happening?!" Twilight asked as she saw the flower ponies having a fit over the state of their flowers. For once, they actually had a reason for panicking.

"Twilight!" She turned to see Rainbow along with Iron, Lightning and Grand on her tail. "You fix everything at Sweet Apple Acres?"

"No," Twilight shook her head, "And I'm starting to worry that might just be a symptom of a bigger problem."

"I'll say," Lightning chimed in, "My magic's been going haywire all morning. And I'm not the only one. Unicorns are having trouble keeping it under control all over town."

"Twilight!" They spun around again, this time seeing Fluttershy, "Please! Something's wrong with all my animals!"

"What do you mean?"

She almost shrunk as she said her next words, "None of the birds can fly. The critters are all feeling exhausted for no reason, and the fish can't seem to swim in a straight line."

"Ouch," Rainbow hissed, "That's just...weird."

"Are they sick or something?" Grand asked, Fluttershy shaking her head.

"No. I checked them all. There's nothing wrong with them. But...everything that makes them...them is failing."

Twilight sighed, "What else could go wrong?" She got her answer when she heard Trixie's voice call out her name, making her turn to the now approaching unicorn, "What's wrong?"

"it's the students!" Trixie cried. "They're out of control!"

Trixie didn't give any more explanation and rushed back to the school, Twilight and the others following behind her. When they arrived, they found the place was a complete mess. "What happened here?" Twilight asked, only to hear a roar and made them turn to see a bugbear flying through the halls, ripping through things.

Iron, Grand and Lightning prepared to attack, but Trixie jumped in front of them. "Wait!" She cried as the bugbear suddenly transformed into Ocellus.

The changeling fell to the ground, groaning as she held her head. "Ocellus?!" Twilight stepped forward, "What are you doing?!"

"I don't know!" She screamed, only to let out an eeyore sound before transforming into a donkey and then reverting back to her normal form. "I can't help it! I keep transforming at random! And it's not just me!"

"Twilight!" Starlight ran up to them, followed by Heart, Soul, Sandbar and the non-pony students. Yona was carrying Silverstream, who kept morphing between her hippogriff and seapony form. Meanwhile, Gallus was flying behind Heart with a fire extinguisher, as the colt kept bursting into flames, only for Gallus to blast him with the extinguisher.

"What's going on?!" Silverstream asked between transformations.

"You gotta do something." Heart burst into flames and Gallus blasted him again, only for him to find the extinguisher running out.

"Everypony calm down," Twilight replied, "Something seems to be affecting the magic in Equestria. I don't know what, but I'm working on it. I just need to find Spike so he can send a letter to Celestia."

"Would that even work?" Starlight asked. "If magic's being affected by something, will his messaging ability work like it normally would?"

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, only for another voice to call out, "TWILIGHT!" They turned to see Spike carrying a bunch of different scrolls that all looked like they had all been charred. "Celestia, Cadance, Springer and a few more creatures have been sending you a bunch of letters! Something big must be happening!"

"We already figured that much out," Rainbow groaned as Twilight took the letters and gave Spike a questioning look, Spike seeing some of the burns on the parchment.

"Sorry...I uh, I don't know what happened when I received the scrolls."

"Its fine. It's not your fault," Twilight unfurled the first scroll. "Celestia's been getting reports of magic going nuts all over Canterlot. The weather's out of control, magic isn't working right, and the plants and vegetables are beginning to spoil."

"So it's not just Ponyville," Grand added as Twilight opened and read some more scrolls.

"Thorax and Queen Novo are having trouble stopping themselves from transforming, but Novo said the problem only happens when they're close to the pearl fragments." As soon as Silverstream was a hippogriff, she pulled off her necklace and threw it away. As it happened, an earth pony student happened to walk past and the pearl landed around his neck. It took a lot to calm him down after he transformed into a seapony.

Once he was back to normal and the necklace was safely placed somewhere out of harm's way, Twilight continued reading the other scrolls. "Oh no," she gasped, "Cadance is saying the shield around the Crystal Empire keeps shrinking and expanding. She's worried it's gonna give out and they'll be buried in snow." She then read Springer's scroll, "Aurarora's not in danger but..." She turned to two certain school going jakhowls, "Ace, Mira. Make an Aura Blast."

The two blinked at her before bringing their paws up and tried to make the orbs, but the attacks both fizzled out and popped before they could properly form. "Uh...what's going on?" Ace asked, trying again with little success. He then tried to make a Bone Breaker, but that also failed.

"It's as I feared," Twilight grimaced, "Springer says all the jakhowls are starting to lose their ability to manipulate aura."

"This is going from bad to worse," Iron commented, "The Crystal Empire might be buried, jakhowls losing their abilities, food beginning to rot. If we don't do something, things are gonna get really bad."

"You're right," Twilight nodded as she stared at the first letter she read. "Celestia wants us to come to Canterlot and start searching for the cause. We'd better get-" She stopped at this as she noticed something. "Where's Flash?"

Everyone glanced around at this, only to see nothing.





Flash was out in Ponyville, sitting on a bench looking up at the sky.

He had also noticed how the plants seemed to be dying, clearly caused by an issue that Faust would fix. And all the unicorns losing control of their magic was likely just the start of it all. He knew he would need to fix things, but doing so would mean losing everything.

"Flash?" He turned to see his sister and parents strolling up, "What are you doing out here?" Scootaloo asked, Flash letting out a sigh as he leaned back.

"Just...taking a break and catching my breath."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Misty asked, "Look at everything that's going on."

"Relax. It'll be fixed soon."

The three sighed at this, Misty commenting, "I do hope something like this isn't going to keep happening between now and her coronation. I want to spend as much time with the two of you before then, since we won't get to see much of you after you move to Canterlot."

Flash showed a big frown at this, Trail seeing this and saying, "Hey, don't worry. We can come visit when school's not in session. And I'm sure Twilight won't always need you, so we can spend some days hanging out in Canterlot when we do."

Scootaloo smiled at that, only to see Flash turn to them with a smile she had never seen him wear. "Flash? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he replied, "Just...I'm really glad you all are back in my life." The trio almost flinched at that, only for him to continue, "Before we met, I thought I didn't have any blood relatives. So having you here with me is...I'm just glad you're all here."

The three smiled at this, Scootaloo jumping onto the bench and leaning into his side. Trail and Misty stepped up and patted both on the head, the family basking in this warm moment.

That is, till a scream rang out, followed by a burst of light coming from one of the buildings nearby. Another issue with unicorn magic. "I think you should go give them a hoof," Misty whispered, Flash sighing and nodding as the three pulled away. "How about we get together for dinner after everything's sorted out?"

Flash nodded again and flew off to help, here he found it was Lyra. Once he managed to slay the giant taffy monster she had somehow created, he walked into the town and frowned at thinking of what he wanted to do before it happened.

As such, he flew through the air and tried to take in all the sights of Ponyville, only to spot one of the few clouds that hadn't gone nuts and needed busting. He grabbed it and pushed it into the air until it was the exact right height. He looked down at Ponyville and sat on the cloud, only to then push it a few inches to the left before trying again.

"Perfect." He sat there and took in the sight before him. He smiled as he felt himself flashing back to that day. The day that had started it all.

"Flash?" He looked down and saw Twilight, the alicorn glaring up at him, "What are you doing?! Equestria's falling into chaos and you're just sitting here?!"

"Relax Twilight," Flash responded, "It's being taken care of as we speak."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, only to smile. "Oh? Did Faust contact you? Is she gonna fix everything?"

"Err...yeah, let's say that." Twilight tilted her head and Flash patted the cloud next to her. "Come on, sit down. You're gonna wanna see this."

Twilight flew up and sat down beside him, turning to him with a raised eyebrow, "So...why are we sitting on a cloud looking down at the town?"

"Just look. Doesn't this sight remind you of anything?" Twilight glanced back at the town, only to shake her head. "Come on. Try to remember. We were both in a chariot, being pulled by a pair of pegasus guards. Spike was with us, reading a scroll."

Twilight gasped at this, "This is the spot we were in when we first saw Ponyville."

"Yup," Flash nodded, "Well, it's where I first saw Ponyville. You probably remember us being a little closer since you were moping around about not wanting to be there." Twilight laughed at this as they kept staring at the town.

It was weird, how different the place looked. Aside from the fact that the plants were all dying, the town really had changed in the time they had been there. Aside from several restored buildings after the originals were damaged or destroyed, there was also the castle and school of friendship, the new houses that had been built for new ponies living there and so much more.

When they had arrived, Ponyville had just been a quaint little place that barely registered on the map. Now, it was probably the most famous location in Equestria.

"So, why did you want to stare at the town from here?"

Flash tried to hide his frown, not wanting to tell Twilight this was where he wanted to be when it finally happened. "Well...I realized that we might end up busy over the next few months, then we'll be heading to Canterlot. I just wanted to take this moment to enjoy the sight and really burn it into my brain."

Twilight smiled and nodded, placing her head on his shoulder. "I'm so glad we came here. Not just because of the friends we made, but because of just how amazing this town is." Her eyes drifted over to the Everfree Forest. "Sure, it hasn't always been easy. And we've certainly found ourselves running into our fair share of challenges. But Ponyville protected us and gave us the freedom we needed to grow into the ponies we were meant to be."

"Yeah," Flash nodded, "I'm glad we came here as well."

"And it's not like we're never gonna get to see it again," Twilight giggled, "I'm sure we'll be able to visit. And one day, after we give the kingdom over to the next pony worthy of ruling it, we can come back here and spend the rest of our days here."

Flash's heart tightened at that. Twilight was already planning their distant future. A future that would never come to be. "Yeah, I can't wait." That wasn't a lie. He literally couldn't wait. He wouldn't get the chance to.

Twilight sighed and sunk into his side. She could feel the stress go away, only for a crash and scream ring out. They looked down and saw a unicorn, their horn going wild, making her sigh, "How long until Faust fixes everything?"

"Soon," he replied, the alicorn nodding before leaping off the cloud and glancing back at him, "I'll be there soon." Twilight nodded again and was gone. As she flew off, Flash couldn't help but remember all the amazing things the pair had been through since coming to Ponyville. Every adventure, every misadventure. Every day they spent simply hanging out without having to worry about the world turning inside out.

The nights they had spent in each other's company, reading or playing together. The occasional arguments and the much more then occasional disagreements. Flash wasn't sure why, but he might just miss those times more than anything.

His hoof sparked and he could feel the pressure within him growing stronger. He didn't have long left. And by the sound of something smashing and a giant hydra crashing through the school's roof, followed by a large blast of fire igniting the place, the rest of Equestria didn't have long either.

"It's time," he sighed as he felt his body beginning to grow. "But...not yet." He stood up on the cloud and took one final look out at the city. "There's something I have to do."

He closed his eyes and imagined what he wanted to happen and the ponies he wanted to see. He had no idea if this would actually work, but he had all of Faust's power within him. He just had to think hard enough. As he did this, the energy began to spark around him again. But this time, it didn't hurt him. He let the energy flow freely out of him until finally, he opened his eyes and they glowed white.

With that, a mixture of black and gold light exploded out of him in a tremendous wave. The wave shot out in all directions, engulfing everything in its path. That included Ponyville, the citizens of the town taken by surprise as the light flew over them.

Twilight had been on her way to tell her friends about Faust fixing things when the light had spread toward her, making her gasp. She wanted to teleport away, but her magic didn't activate. As such, all she could do was brace herself as the light struck her.

It wasn't just Ponyville though. The wave began to spread all over Equestria, consuming everything as the kingdom found itself overtaken by the light. Some tried to run, some tried to fight, some tried to block the incoming wave...but nothing stopped it.

In five point three eight minutes, the entire world had been consumed.





Twilight moaned as she felt herself beginning to come around, the memory of that strange light hitting her replaying in her head as she opened her eyes. As she did this, she found she was inside some kind of white void. And she wasn't alone.

Spike, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Starlight were also there besides her. And every second, another pony appeared. Heart and Soul, the CMC, and Scootaloo's parents. Grand, Lightning, Iron, Rogue, Wild and Soarin. Then those that hadn't been in Ponyville. Celestia and Luna soon appeared, along with Trixie and all the other Royal Knights. Twilight's parents, Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry appeared next. Finally, Springer appeared, looking just as confused as everypony else.

"What's going on?" The jakhowl asked, everypony else remaining silent.

"Where are we?" Trixie asked, only for a new light to catch their attention. They turned to see some kind of white sphere of energy floating in the center of the void.

They all gathered around it, Heart reaching out to touch it, but Ruby smacked his hoof away. "Don't do that. You don't know what it'll do."

Heart huffed as they continued to stare at the orb, and as more stared into it, the more the light inside became clear. And after a while, everyone felt like they could see something inside of it.

"Is that Ponyville?" Pinkie asked, seeing the town and Sugarcube Corner.

"No," Soarin shook his head, "It's Cloudsdale." Everypony else was seeing different things. Some were seeing Ponyville or a specific part of Ponyville, while others saw Canterlot, Manehatten, the Crystal Empire and even Aurarora.

"What...is this thing?" Twilight asked, only for Flash's voice to answer.

"It's our world." They all spun around as Flash materialized in the air and began to fly down. "That is our world, locked in stasis to keep it from falling apart anymore than it already has."

"What are you talking about?" Luna asked, "Does this have something to do with all the strange events that have been happening recently?"

Flash didn't reply, instead just walking over to the orb with a big frown on his face. Seeing this, Twilight slowly said, "Flash...what's going on?"

Flash sighed as he turned away from the orb, "I lied." The all blinked at this, only for Flash to add, "When I said Faust was okay before, I lied. She's gone...forever."

They all gasped at this, Flash having told them about how Armalum had destroyed Faust and taken her power. He had told them Faust had reappeared after Armalum was defeated, having been trapped within him instead of being killed.

"So...what does that mean?" Cadance asked, knowing that Faust was the only one who kept the world working perfectly.

"I means our world is doomed," Cold stated, "Without her, things are going out of whack. Our magic is failing, plants are beginning to die, and who knows what other bad things are going to follow." Everypony gasped, the younger ponies hugging those older than them for comfort.

Celestia grimaced at this, only to glare down at the a certain defender, "Flash, you seem to know a lot about this?" Everypony turned back to him, Flash nodding. "The fact you knew this was happening and didn't tell us means you know how to fix things. If you didn't, you would have told us so we could search for an answer."

"You know how to fix everything?" Soarin asked his friend, "That's great! What do we do? Find some kind of special relic or being of power to help put everything back to normal?!"

"No," Flash shook his head, "A mystic relic or all powerful being isn't gonna deus ex machina us out of this situation. The world needs a god. Someone to keep it running properly. Like Faust once told me, every machine needs a mechanic to fix it up every now and then."

"But Faust is dead." Trixie replied, "How are we supposed to fix the world without her?!"

It wasn't Flash who answered. It was Twilight. "Somepony needs to take her place."

This made everyone but Flash go wide-eyed. The idea of somepony taking Faust's place and maintaining the world for all eternity sounded...it almost sounded insane. But Flash nodded back at her as he responded, "Somepony has to give up being themselves and evolve into...well into a god. They'll be beyond any mortal pony. They'll outlive all those they care about and not even be able to interact with them again. Even if they tried to, only a select few would have the power to understand them. They would be alone...forever."

Celestia quickly stepped up at this, "I'll do it. If it protects Equestria, I'll do it."

"No, sister!" Luna marched in front of her. "It should be me. You had to spend a thousand years ruling alone. I won't let you take on an even greater task, when you're so close to the rest you deserve."

"You both deserve a rest," Cadance chimed in, "If it comes down to it, I'll do it." She looked down at Flurry, "Anything to give her a future." The rest of the ponies started arguing, stating they should be the one to make this sacrifice. But Flash opened his wings and a brilliant light exploded off of him, making them all scream as they were forced to cover their eyes.

"None of you can do it," Flash commented, "I didn't bring you here to decide who should do this. I..." He took a deep breath, "I brought you here to say goodbye."

Everypony went wide-eyed at this, all instantly figuring out what he was saying, Misty walking up first and yelling, "No!"

"I have to," he instantly replied, "I'm the only one who can do it."

"Why are you the only one who can do it?" Grand asked, everypony else glaring at him. However, Flash easily answered by holding out his hoof and unleashing a golden flame, "Your Sacred Light?" The fire was then mixed with something else. A dark cloud.

"The Corrupted Shadow," Cold added, "Faust was made up of those two things. So is the world. You're saying only someone with both Sacred Light and Corrupted Shadow can take her place."

"Exactly," Flash nodded, "But it's not just that. When Armalum destroyed Faust, he took all her power. The only way I was able to beat him was to take Faust's power back, along with his Corrupted Shadow. All that power is flowing through me. The power to keep the world in balance is now a part of me."

"I see," Celestia sighed, "Then you really are the only one able to do this."

Flash nodded as he walked over to orb. "Equestria is in a state of stasis. Once I transform, I'll merge with it and become its new protector. As soon as I do, I'll be able to keep it in balance and protect the world."

"No..." Scootaloo looked ready to start crying, "NO!" She rushed over and grabbed his leg, "I don't want you to go!" She started crying at this, hugging him as tightly as possible while the other youngsters and a few of the gentler ponies started crying as well.

The sight made Flash's heart clench before detaching his sister from his leg and hugging her. "I'm sorry. But I have to."

"NO!" Scootaloo cried, "Please don't go! I don't wanna lose you!"

"None of us do!" Springer added, "There has to be another way to stop this!"

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?!" Ruby yelled, "We would have had more time to find a solution that didn't involve you giving up your life!"

"There is no other solution," Flash replied as Scootaloo hugged him again, "You think I'd do this if I thought there was another way? I'm sorry, but this is the only thing that'll save the world. Armalum intended to replace Faust after he destroyed me. And when I learned Faust was gone, I knew somepony would have to take her place." He sighed, "I knew it would have to be me."

Grand's eyes widened as he realized what Flash was talking about. The warning Shroudheart had given him. He would defeat the greatest threat to Equestria, but lose everything in the process. This was what he meant.

Flash shook his head at this, "I didn't tell you because...I didn't want what little time we had together to be wasted searching for a solution that didn't exist. I wanted to spend it enjoying things with everypony. To have fun with those I loved the most." Everyone was crying now. Even the more rough and tough members of the group couldn't keep back from becoming a blubbering mess. Heart and Soul ran over and hugged Flash as well, Flash's heart breaking as they cried.

Flash stared at all his friends at this, knowing this would be the last time he got to see any of them. His gaze then fell upon Twilight, who hadn't said anything since Flash had revealed his intentions to take Faust's place. She was just standing there, looking down.

He slowly detached the three youngsters, who stepped back as Grand, Trixie, Starlight and his parents held them close. He walked up to Twilight, everyone stepping back to give them some space. And when he reached her, Twilight slowly raised her gaze to meet his. "I'm sorry," he said just above a whisper.

Twilight was clearly trying to hold her tears back, "Why?! Its...its not fair."

"I know," Flash nodded. As he said that, his body jerked as black and gold sparks started flying around his body. He screamed, falling to the ground as everypony rushed over to him.

"FLASH!" Twilight tried to touch him, only to get zapped. "Yow! What's going on?!"

Flash panted as the energy began to die down. "Another reason I have to do this." He tried to push himself back up, but his legs gave out. "Even if there was a way to revive Faust, I'd be doomed anyway." This made them all go wide-eyed, Flash now taking a deep breath before getting up. "I've gone too far." His hoof sparked again, "Sacred Light, Corrupted Shadow and all of Faust's energy. It's too much. My body can only contain my Sacred Light because I was born with it. My body adapted to it from youth. But I'm not some kind of demigod with no limits."

"You have too much power for your body to handle," First commented, "It is breaking down." Flash nodded.

"Flash," Twilight was crying now, the alicorn quickly hugging him. Flash embraced her back, the pair holding onto one another as the others continued to cry.

"I...I know this is hard," he replied, "But it's the only way." No one responded to that, "And it's not like I'll be gone. I'll still be there. You just...you just won't be able to see me. But I will be there."

"No!" Heart cried, "This wasn't supposed to happen! You were supposed to help Twilight rule Equestria! You were supposed to get married and have kids! You were supposed to see me become a Royal Knight! You were supposed to have your happily ever after!"

Flash sighed, letting Twilight go and moving over to him. He knelt down and placed a hoof on Heart's shoulder, looking him in the eye. "I know squirt. But...life doesn't always go the way you want it to. As a Royal Knight, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes to protect those you care about. If this is the only way to keep you all safe, then it's my duty to do it."

Heart was still crying, only for Soul to walk up and hug him. As she did this, Flash looked up at the knights, who had all grouped up as he asked, "Please watch over him for me. Help him grow into the knight I know he can be. One that'll surpass me."

Grand smiled and nodded, "We will." He stepped up to Flash as he stood up. "Who would have thought the scrawny little intruder I found in the training area that day would eventually grow into...this." Flash smiled as Grand placed a hoof on his shoulder. "I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. But I know training you more than makes up for them."

"Thanks Grand," he responded before holding up his hoof. In a flash of light, his Celestic Gear appeared in hoof. He then gave it to the old knight, "You mind holding onto this for me?" Grand grimaced at the sight, but nodded as he took the sword from Flash. The pair then hugged, the pegasus thanking him before Grand took Heart over to the others.

Iron and Lightning stepped up next, the two looking their teammate over and smirking. "Weird," Iron chuckled, "When I met you, I was sure I was gonna hate your guts. Hard to believe I'm actually gonna miss you."

"Same," Lightning nodded, "Don't worry, we'll keep Ponyville safe." Flash nodded and held out his hoof, but Lightning pulled him forward in his magic and the three hugged. They pulled apart and the two stepped back, allowing Ruby, Skybreaker, Cold, Tidal, First and Heather to walk up.

"Amigo," Tidal sighed, "You make the Royal Knights proud."

Skybreaker nodded, Ruby and Heather hugging him next, "You did good kid," the old pegasus announced.

"Indeed," First agreed, "We'll do everything in our power to keep Equestria safe. We will not allow your sacrifice to be in vain."

Ruby and Heather released their hug at this, tears pouring down their faces. "Why does it always have to be you?" Ruby sighed, "You've already given more than enough of yourself to protect Equestria."

"Maybe," Flash nodded, "But the same could be said for you." He put a hoof on both of their shoulders, "You two keep training those students of yours. Heart's gonna need a lot of help when he's older, and Jaden and Raisins are the best ponies for the job."

"You bet they are," Heather wiped away a tear at this, only for Flash to turn to Cold, the pair staring each other down.

"Thank you," Cold replied, "For everything." He sighed and glanced away, "When we met, I was the one who had to determine if you were worthy of being a Royal Knight. But it was you who taught me what being a knight truly is."

Flash smiled and held out his hoof, "Just don't forget. Can you do me that favor?" Cold looked back and nodded, the pair shaking hooves as Flash turned to the rest of the group.

Unlike the knights, who had come to accept Flash's decision, they were clearly unhappy about it. None more so than his family, Misty now running up and hugging him. "Please. There has to be another way."

"It's okay mom," Flash hugged her back, Trail and Scootaloo embracing them as well, "Maybe...maybe this was why you and dad found that temple in the first place. Maybe me getting the Sacred Light was all for this moment."

"Who cares about how things are meant to be!" Trail yelled, "You don't deserve this! How do you know you can even survive becoming something like that?! And if you could, not being able to interact with the world...you'll be driven insane!"

Flash chuckled at that, "I'll be alright. I can handle it. I am your son after all." Trail and Misty felt their hearts clench at this as he tightened the hug, "Don't worry. I'll be okay. And I can watch over you all." He pulled back and turned to the orb, nodding at the sight, "It's time you went back to Equestria."

"What?" Misty asked as he pointed at the orb.

"Touch the sphere and you'll be drawn back into Equestria. Once you're all back inside, I can fix everything."

"No!" Misty shook her head, "Not yet! I'm not ready to say goodbye!"

"You have to," Flash replied, "This void I've created won't last forever. It's already beginning to weaken." He turned to the knights, nodding at them. They all nodded back, Cold being first to touch the orb. It unleashed a light that surrounded him before the knight disappeared. The other knights all did the same, one by one saying goodbye to him before they vanished. Heart and Grand were the only ones to remain behind, Flash's family staring at the orb as they kept hugging him.

"Please," he whispered, "I have to do this. You have to go back. Live your lives for me."

Scootaloo kept crying as they pulled apart. "Promise," she cried, "Promise me that we'll see each other again. I don't care how you do it. Promise me this won't be the last time we see each other!"

Flash smiled and put a hoof on her shoulder, "I promise." And he meant it. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to do it for a long time, but he knew one day he would learn to connect to those around him. Someday, he would see those he loved. "I promise we'll see each other again. But you have to promise to keep being the awesome pony you are and always live your life to the fullest."

Scootaloo wiped her tears, and despite her sorrow, gave him the biggest smile she could. "I promise." Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle walked over to her next, both placing a hoof on Scootaloo's back as they gave Flash a teary-eyed smile as well.

"You two look after her for me. She'll need you for a while."

"We will," Apple Bloom nodded.

"Promise," Sweetie whimpered. The two also hugged Flash before they and Flash's parents led Scootaloo over to the orb, Scootaloo looking back at him before they all disappeared into it.

Seeing his family disappear, Flash sighed. As he did this, Starlight, Trixie, Soul, Luna and Celestia stepped up next. Soul was still crying and Flash quickly kneeled down. "It's okay," he wiped her eye with his hoof, "It'll be okay."

"You promise you'll keep watching over us?" Soul asked, looking up into his eyes.

"Of course I will," Flash winked, "But you won't need me to. Because you've grown into an amazing young pony. One I know will one day become an amazing princess." Soul smiled at this. "You and your brother stay together, no matter what. Watch out for each other...especially him." Soul giggled and hugged him, Flash smiling as he looked up at Starlight and Trixie. "You two keep that school running. I don't wanna go check it out and find you turned it into a performing arts school."

"What?!" Trixie scoffed, "I'd never do that."

"And I actually would never do that," Starlight giggled as she and Trixie laughed. "Thank you, for giving me a chance to learn how to change."

"You definitely put it to good use," Flash nodded as Trixie stepped over to kiss him on the cheek.

"You have no idea how much you affected my life," she added, "If I hadn't met you that day, I don't know where I'd be right now."

"I bet you'd have found your own way," Flash assured her, "Maybe you would have taken a different path, but I'm sure you would have ended up in the exact same place. The place you belong."

Trixie smiled at this, tearing up as Starlight held her close. Flash then turned to Celestia and Luna. "It appears we owe you more than we can over repay," Celestia commented, "I always knew you would become something great ever since I first met you in that park. I knew you had the potential...but I never could have expected this."

"Yes," Luna nodded, "You've come a long way since the time you bravely stood against me with no hope of victory. Equestria was lucky to have you."

"I never could have gotten where I was without you," he replied, "You two helped me grow into the pony I am today. If you two hadn't shown me what a great leader can do, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle what I have to do now."

The Royal Sisters smiled and when Soul finally let go, the pair walked up and kissed Flash on the check. His eyes went wide and he blushed at this as Starlight and Trixie took Soul and stepped over to Heart and Grand. Flash locked eyes with his mentor and student, the pair soon to consider each other that title. They both nodded at Flash, the pegasus nodding. He knew Heart would one day become a knight and with Grand leading his training, the colt had nothing to worry about. He would be the best knight to ever protect Equestria.

The seven touched the sphere and were sucked inside. And as they did this, Soarin, Wild, Rogue and Springer all walked up next, "Flash," Springer tried to say, but no other words would come out. Flash knew this was hard for him. At least when he stayed in Aurarora, they knew they would see each other again. Flash was the first pony Springer had met, so of course this would be hard.

"I know, bud." He patted him on the shoulder. "But you gotta be strong. You have a kingdom to look out for. And I promise, as long as I have a say, no harm will ever come to the jakhowls. I don't care if I'm breaking any kind of cosmic rule. You all have struggled enough."

"I'll keep you to that...but then again, life isn't fun without things going a little crazy."

"True. That's our lives in a nutshell." Flash laughed, Springer chuckling as well as the two hugged.

As they tightly held each other, Soarin spoke up, "Can't believe one of my best friends is gonna be a god."

Flash smirked as he and Springer pulled apart. "Try to be careful from now on. I'm not gonna be there to save your flank the next time you get in trouble." They both laughed before Soarin hugged him, the pair patting each other on the back before letting go.

Rogue and Wild walked up next, "You two stay out of trouble too. Try to not give Applejack and Pinkie too much of a hard time."

They both smiled at this and patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks for doing this," Was all Rogue could say. "You've got more courage than I have."

"Yeah," Wild nodded. "I don't think I could say goodbye to everything I loved." His puppets flew over and hugged Flash, the pegasus laughing at this. "You're one tough pony."

"Thanks," Flash nodded as the four began to move over to orb. And after one last look, they let themselves be absorbed into the orb. That just left the rest of Flash's family. His friends and the ponies that had taken him in.

Velvet, Night, Shining, Cadance and Flurry walked over next, "Oh, Flash!" Velvet hugged him, "You have no idea how proud we are of you!"

"You really are amazing," Night added.

Flash smiled as she pulled back. "I wish I could have repaid you for all you-"

"Don't," Night placed a hoof on his back, "Taking you in was one of the best decisions of our lives. We were happy before you joined us, but it was nothing compared to after you came to live with us." Velvet nodded and glanced over at her daughter, Night doing the same as seeing how stoic she was.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "For the pain I'm going to cause her."

"No," Velvet shook her head, "None of this is your fault. You have to do this, and she knows that. But accepting it is going to be hard."

"Please be there for her. She'll need you." He turned to Shining and his family, "All of you." They all nodded as Flurry started crying. The alicorn baby struggled out of her mother's grasp and flew over to him. Flash hugging her and she cried into her chest. Flash knew she didn't understand the specifics of what was happening, but she knew Flash was going away.

"It's okay," he held her tightly. After a few seconds, he gave her back to her mother and smiled at her. "Flurry, I know you'll grow into a beautiful mare one day." He booped her on the nose, "Just know your uncle loves you and will always be looking out for you."

"Oh Flash!" Cadance teared up. She leaned forward and kissed him on the check, "Everything you've done for everypony... never forget you have family! Even if you can't talk to us, we will never forget you!"

"I know you won't." He turned to Shining, the prince taking a deep breath.

"I'm gonna miss you," he held out his hoof and Flash took it. Once again, he was pulled into a hug. "If we ever have a son..."

"Please don't," Flash laughed, "If he's anything like Twilight, he'll drive himself nuts trying to live up to me." They pulled apart, "Protect our family for me. And thanks for being the big brother I never got to have."

"You got it," Shining chuckled, "You keep the world running smoothly. Leave the rest to me." He smiled and after one final hug, Flash watched them all head toward the orb. They all looked back at him, clearly mournful, but touched the sphere, leaving Flash with only the ponies that he had started his adventure with.

And before he could turn to them, he was tackled to the ground. "FLASH!" Pinkie screamed, tears exploding out of her face like waterfalls. "Please don't go!"

"Pinkie..." Flash slowly replied.

"It's okay Pinkie," Applejack pulled the mare away as Flash stood up, "Flash's gotta do what he's gotta do. It's hard, but it's true."

"Oh Flash!" Fluttershy hugged him next, Rarity following her lead. They hugged him and Flash held them tightly as he looked over at Rainbow and Applejack. Applejack continued to hold Pinkie as she cried while Rainbow was clearly trying to hold back her tears. Applejack was the same, water trying to appear in her eyes.

"Thank you," he said in a shaky tone, "All of you. You're the best friends a pony could have asked for. Everything I've been through, I'm glad I went through it with all of you."

Fluttershy and Rarity pulled apart, Pinkie hugging him again. Then, Applejack and Rainbow rushed over to hug him as well. "It's not gonna be the same without you," Pinkie cried, "You promised Scootaloo you'd see her again." She pulled back, "Promise us the same thing."

Flash smiled, "I promise we'll see each other again." He made the gesture, "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"You'd better keep that promise," Rainbow added, "If you don't, I'll find a way to come back here and kick you in the flank." Flash laughed and looked over at the little dragon flying next to them, Applejack and Rainbow stepping aside as Spike rushed to hug him as well.

"It's okay," he assured the Mystic Fire Dragon. "You'll be okay. You've grown so much since coming to Ponyville. I know I can trust you."

"Trust me with what?" Spike asked, Flash pulling away and gesturing his head to Twilight. "Oh."

"Twilight's gonna need you to keep her from going nuts. I know you'll be able to stop her from overthinking things."

Spike took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll do my best."

Flash chuckled at this, "I know you will." He looked back at them, the group all crying now, "You all might not be able to see me, but I'll always be with you. I'll be Equestria itself. Every time you walk on grass of fly through a cloud. Every time you swim or bake something sweet. Every time you breath the air, I'll be there. And if you ever feel like you're alone and can't go on, remember that I'm there with you. Even if you can't see me, or hear me, I'll be there. And I know you can do anything you put your minds to."

"Flash," Rarity whispered, "Thank you."

"We won't forget you," Pinkie added.

"And I won't forget you," Flash continued, "Even after...after a thousand years and you're all gone. I'll never forget the best friends I ever had." They smiled and gave him one last group hug before they all said their goodbyes, each of them looking over at Twilight and knowing this last goodbye would likely be the hardest.

One by one, they each stepped over to the orb. And one by one, they each touched it and were sucked inside. Flash sighed as he watched the last one disappear, then turned to Twilight. He had so many things he wanted to tell her. So many things he wished he had said before all this. But...now he had just a few minutes before the void broke apart.

"Twilight," he slowly said, "I know you're probably angry at me for-" He stopped when he was suddenly tackled to the ground, Twilight pinning him down as she looked down at him. Her face finally broke into tears as she glared down at him.

"I'm not angry," she told him. "I'm FURIOUS!" Flash gulped at this, "Furious that the world is making you do this!"

"Twilight?"

"Of course you'd give up your life to save us all!" she began to cry. "You wouldn't be you if you didn't!" She collapsed on top of him, placing her head on his chest, crying as Flash held her tightly. "You wouldn't be the pony I loved if you didn't." Flash smiled and continued to hold her tightly. "But it's not fair. You and I were going to rule Equestria together. We were going to work to make it even better than it already was. Help bring other creatures into the UFC. But now..."

Flash sighed, "You'll have to do that without me."

Twilight sniffed as Flash rolled them around so they were sitting together, the pegasus continuing to hold the alicorn before she whispered, "I can't do this without you."

"Oh no you don't." Flash lifted her head to look him in the eye. "Don't even think about losing all the confidence you've built. I know it's gonna be hard, but you can still rule even without me."

"But I don't wanna rule without you!" Twilight screamed, "All the hard work! All the decisions I'm gonna have to make! I'm not worried about making the wrong decisions, but the thought of having to make them on my own..." She placed her face in his chest again. "Celestia always told me how exhausting ruling could be and I wasn't worried, because I knew you'd be there at the end of the day. We could be together and unwind. Let all the stress of the day fade away."

"Yeah," Flash sighed, "That does sound like it would have been nice. But...life had other plans." He had been strong up until now, smiling for all his friends to show them he was okay with this.

And it was here that Twilight heard Flash beginning to sniff. She glanced up and saw his eyes were now watering. "I'm sorry," he cried, "I wish this didn't have to happen." He held her tightly, "I wanted so much for us to always be together. To get married, have kids and watch them grow up together. Getting old and gray. Eventually passing the crown on to someone else and living out our golden years together. I WANTED THAT MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

It was now Twilight's turn to hold him. She had watched Flash comfort all the others through this, but now he needed it. "It's okay."

She wished she could tell him something that could make him feel better. The pair continued to hold one another, letting their emotions overflow as they took comfort in each other's presence. And after a while, they stopped crying as Flash thought about how much pain Twilight was going to be in after this happened. He remembered what Future Heart had told him about how she felt, and as far as he could tell, this was the future he had mentioned. Twilight would be in pain, and he hated himself for doing it.

"I'm sorry you're going to be alone," Flash slowly said, "But...maybe you don't have to be."

"What?" Twilight looked up at him.

"Maybe...maybe when I reboot the world, I can make it so you don't remember me. Erase myself from ever existing. Then-"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Twilight screamed, making Flash flinch. "I don't care how much pain I'll be in, I don't want to ever forget you!" She looked him dead in the eye, "You're the best thing that ever happened to me! Swear to me that you won't make any of us forget you!"

Flash blinked at her, only to sigh, "Alright." He held her tighter. "But you have to promise me you won't give into the pain. I know me being gone will hurt, but I know you can overcome it. Promise me that you'll continue living your life without me. And when you think of me, remember the good times and don't give into despair."

Twilight sniffed, "I'll try. But it won't be easy."

Flash nodded back, only for another thought to enter his head. "One more thing." She tilted her head at this as Flash sighed again, "Even if it takes years, I want you to promise me you'll move on."

"What?"

"If you ever meet a pony that you connect with. Somepony you start having feelings for. I don't want you to deny those feelings. Promise me you'll move on."

"Flash," Twilight barely responded, "I...I can't."

"Yes, you can," Flash nodded. "I'm not an idiot. I know I can't be the only pony you find attractive. I want you to promise that if you ever feel yourself becoming close to another pony, you won't hurt yourself by refusing to accept them. I want you to be happy, and if that happiness means you have to be with somepony else, I'm okay with that."

Twilight looked away at that, "I could never love anypony. You're the only pony I'd ever want."

"Maybe. But if there ever comes a time, maybe in ten years or fifty, that you find yourself beginning to fall for somepony, promise me you'll at least give it a try. For me."

She sniffed, but nodded anyway. "Okay." She hugged him again, "I promise." The pair held one another for another minute, only for Flash to then flinch as his body sparked again. "FLASH!" Twilight gasped as he leapt away from her and clutched his stomach, working to get the power back under control.

And once the sparking stopped, he sighed. "I'm almost out of time."

"No," Twilight cried, "Not yet." Flash smiled and placed a hoof on her chin.

"It'll be alright. Like I told the others, I won't truly be gone. I'll be with you, wherever you go. And even if you can't see me, you'll know I'm there." Twilight nodded and hugged him again. "And like I told Scootaloo and Pinkie. I'll find a way to see you all again. It might take a long time, but I'll figure out a way to see you again."

"You'd better hurry then. I did promise to move on, so if you take too long, I might find some other hunky meathead to be with." The pair laughed at this before pulling apart again. They stared into one another's eyes as Flash made the orb move toward them. "I love you."

Flash nodded with a smirk, "Quite right." Twilight giggled at this as he added, "And I love you. I'll always love you. Even in a thousand or ten thousand years. For however long I have to do this, I will always love you." Twilight couldn't help but start crying again, the pair leaning forward and kissing one another. It was the most heartfelt kiss either of them had ever experienced, full of all the love and need they had for one another. If this was to be their last kiss, then let it be one that neither of them would ever forget.

And when the pair pulled away, the looked into each other's eyes and burned the memory of their lover into their mind. Flash then held Twilight's hoof and pressed it to the orb, knowing she wouldn't be able to do it herself. "Goodbye." He told her as the light enveloped her.

"Flash...thank you for everything." Those were her last words before she was sucked inside, leaving her lover to do what he had to do.

Now alone, Flash stared at the orb containing his world and all the creatures he loved. He slowly walked around it, remembering all the things he had done to keep it safe and all the dangers still left to plague it. "But that's just you, isn't it? Silly old Equestria. The more you get saved, the more you need saving." He smirked at that thought, "Like a treadmill."

He groaned as he suddenly staggered, his body growing closer to giving out.

A minute later, he got control again and righted himself, the images in the orb flowing and showing him many creatures living and playing together in harmony. "Well, I suppose one more mission to save it won't kill anyone." His hoof started glowing, "Well, except me."

He held up his hoof, but then pulled it back. "You wait a moment," He told the world. "Let's get it right." He started marching around the orb, "I've got a few things to say to you. Words I want all of you to take in. None of you will probably remember this, but I know it'll be there somewhere. In the back of your minds. Words to live by that took me so long to learn. Basic stuff, first. Never be cruel, and never be cowardly." He stopped and looked disgusted, "And never ever eat pears. Yuck."

He kept staggering around the orb, putting his thoughts into words that would hopefully make Equestria a better place to live. "Remember that hate is always foolish." He smiled at this, "And love...is always wise." He suddenly felt himself out of breath, but kept marching forward. "Always try to be nice, but never fail to be kind."

Suddenly, his legs gave out and he fell to the ground with a groan. He felt himself drifting away, but forced himself to stay conscious. He rolled onto his back as he kept speaking. "Kindness, honesty, laughter, loyalty, courage and generosity." He pushed himself up, "Let these things flow through you. Even if it's only one, they will guide you to a great life." He got onto his hooves, taking a deep breath as he regained his balance.. He stared at the orb, as his body began to glow brighter and brighter. "Laugh hard, run fast, be kind." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Equestria...I let you go." With that, his body exploded into streams of brilliant golden energy.

The light flew into the air and began to swirl into a vortex above the orb as Flash's body completely vaporized into nothingness. And once it was all gone and part of the swirling mass, streams flew down off of him and began to swirl into the orb. The white sphere of light was surrounded with golden light and when it absorbed all of it, a massive flash occurred and the void was engulfed in a warm and brilliant light.





Twilight felt herself rousing from what felt like a warm and comforting sleep. Her eyes slowly opened and as they did, she saw she was laying on the ground. And she wasn't the only one, as Rainbow and Scootaloo were right in front of her.

She picked herself up and found everypony else that had been there with her was beginning to come around. Celestia and Luna, Springer and the Royal Knights. Even her parents, Shining, Cadance and Flurry. They were all there, some rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

She then noticed something about the area around them. They were in the middle of Ponyville Park, and as they picked themselves up, they saw the plants around them were completely different from what they were before. They no longer looked ready to die, the previously darkening leaves and petals now once again vibrant and beautiful. Starlight activated her magic and was amazed to find it working perfectly, allowing her to pick up a leaf and bring it over to her with ease.

"That wasn't just a dream, was it?" Spike's question didn't need an answer. He and everypony else knew it had really happened.

He was gone.

Twilight looked up at the sky as she remembered everything he had told her. And despite those words, tears began to fill in her eyes. "Flash." Her friends and family rushed to her side, comforting her as she started crying.

The knights, the princesses, all his friends did the same.

Equestria had finally been truly saved, but at a great cost. For years to come, this day would be marked by a special event. As Celestia's defeat of Nightmare Moon brought about the Summer Sun Celebration, this day would be remembered as they day Equestria's greatest hero gave up his life to allow the world to keep turning. For the next thousand years, a name would be remembered throughout time.

Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace.


The End