> Wool of Magic
>  by Zeprto678
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Jasper Goes to Ponyville
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

At a tower was a figure wearing a cloak, exited through the front door.



“I should be back in a couple of hours, probably at night, and don't worry. I'll be safe,” called out the sheep.

He sighed before locking the door. Weird glowing symbols appeared around it before disappearing a few seconds later. The sheep turned around and started walking forward at a brisk pace. 

“You can do this, Jasper. You’ve spent months preparing for this day, and now, it's time,” he muttered.

Jasper passed by his garden as he continued forward, his walking pace gradually changing into a sprint.

“All those months of backbreaking work and toiling away in the lab, and now you’re finished,” said the sheep.

Jasper had been holed up in his tower for months reading, researching, and experimenting with spells, potions, and artifacts, trying to create something important ever since last Fall, and today, the sheep finished it. Jasper's cloven feet were now running on a stone pathway, going past some trees and nearing a cliff edge.

“Now, it's time I head for Ponyville,” said the sheep.

As soon as Jasper was at the edge, he jumped off. The tower and garden were a part of a floating island that belonged to the sheep. Its height prevented it from being spotted by most regular ponies, and its position above a mountain in the Everfree aided that thanks to their superstitions. As for Jasper falling through the air was nothing new for him. Wings made out of feathers sprouted from the sheep's back, stopping his fall as they flapped in the air.

Jasper inwardly sighed. “It's a good thing I tested out this spell a few times before I decided to jump off. That would've been bad,” said the sheep. If that spell didn't work, then he would've tried his other spells instead. “Now, to Ponyville.”

Jasper flew off towards the town of Ponyville.





Many Minutes Later

After a long flight, he arrived in Ponyville. The sheep had to use an invisibility spell so that no one could see him flying around above the town. Jasper landed in an alley that was located in between a store and a restaurant.

He sighed as the sheep exited the alley, wingless and visible. “That was one long flight. Next time, I'm going to have to move my home a bit closer to Ponyville,” thought Jasper.

The sheep walked out of the alley and headed in the direction of the library, planning to gather information. While walking, he didn't notice that ponies were starting to stare at him. After all, they had never actually seen a sheep walking on its hind legs before, or one like Jasper for that matter. 

“I guess I should ask someone when the Summer Sun Celebration is supposed to happen. Afterwards, I can plan what to do later,” thought the sheep.

He would have thought more, but a hoof holding a banana appeared before Jasper.

“Banan!” said a male voice.

That surprised the sheep, causing him to snap out of his musings.

“Baaa!” bleated Jasper, cutely. He calmed down once he saw the banana. “Oh.”

The sheep turned to look and see who the hoof belonged to.



The unicorn stallion was holding the banana out from behind his stand, which was only stocked with bananas. 

Seeing that the unicorn stallion was offering the banana to Jasper, he accepted the gift. “Thanks for the banana, but why'd you give me one? I would've paid for some anyway,” said the sheep, confused.

Luckily, somepony was there to cure him of his confusion.

“Don't worry about it. That's Banana Pie's way of making friends,” a female voice informed. “He gave me one and we became friends instantly.”

Jasper turned to see who the voice belonged. As soon as he saw who it was, the sheep became stunned.



The pegasus mare smiled. “Hello, and welcome to Ponyville. My name’s Cinnamon Bluebelle Melody, but my friends call me ‘Cinna’,” they introduced.

Jasper couldn’t believe that Cinna was actually here, even though she looks kind of different. During the months that had passed by, while he was held up in his lab, the sheep had created a few spells while working on his secret project. One of them allowed Jasper to travel to other universes. So, he traveled around to a few of them before returning back home to continue his project. The last universe the sheep had visited before returning was the pegasus mare’s. 

He snapped out of his shock, and instead, Jasper had a smile on his face. “Uh, nice to meet you. My name’s Jasper,” responded the sheep.

Seeing that they didn't actually recognize Jasper, that let him know that the one in front of the sheep wasn’t Cinna, but at the same time is, as this one might in fact be the pegasus mare’s counterpart from this universe. It is his first time visiting Ponyville, so Jasper doesn’t know if those who he met before in other universes might exist in that one.

The sheep then realized something, and then he covered his face, blushing. “Ugh.  I can’t believe I just bleated,” said Jasper, embarrassed. “I’m in my 20s yet I just did something like that.”

She reached over with a hoof and patted him on the back. “There, there. It’s okay,” said Cinna, sympathetic. The pegasus looked up at Banana Pie. “Right, Banana Pie?”

The unicorn stallion nodded. “Banan!” said Banana Pie, agreeing.

That made the sheep feel a bit better. Jasper looked up at both of them before looking back at Cinna. “Thanks. At least you’re not one of those ponies who likes to boop others on the nose,” he said, chuckling.

She shook her head, smiling. “Nope. I pretty much like doing that to friends only, and to those who are okay with me doing it,” said the pegasus mare. "And since you’re a friend…"

Cinna reached over to boop Jasper on the nose, but the sheep had dodged out of the way to avoid their hoof. 

He smirked. “Nice try,” said the sheep.

The pegasus mare tried to boop Jasper again, but the sheep dodged out of the way. Too bad that Cinna didn’t give up. Over the next few seconds, he dodged out of the way of the pegasus’ hoof multiple times.

The sheep smirked. “You’re going to have to try a lot harder than that to boop me, Cinna,” he said.

Unfortunately for Jasper, they didn’t stop at that as Cinna had gotten an evil look on her face.

That made him feel worried. “That is not a good look,” thought the sheep.

Then, the pegasus mare started flapping her wings before flying off into the air.

Jasper backed away. “Oh, no. Not again,” thought the sheep, worried. “Cinna, please don’t…Banana Pie, help!”

He started running away while the pegasus mare had flown off after the sheep. The unicorn stallion, while smiling, reached down beneath the desk before bringing out a ‘Closed’ sign. Then, Banana Pie galloped after them as he wanted to join in on the chase too.

“Banan!” shouted the unicorn stallion.

That started an amusing chase through Ponyville.
> Jasper Makes Some More Friends
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cinna had eventually caught up with Jasper. 

“BOOP!” shouted the pegasus mare.

They booped the sheep on his nose and had been doing this a few times for a few seconds. Meanwhile, Banana Pie was watching from the background, knowing it would end soon.

Jasper was getting annoyed. “Can you please stop doing that? This is embarrassing,” said the sheep. It really was.

He would have escaped using magic, except Jasper did use up a lot of magic today, before and after he had left the tower. So, the sheep either needed to get something to eat to replenish the rest of his magic, other than the banana that Jasper obtained a while ago, go all the way back home and sleep and then return back to Ponyville the next day, or save up on the remaining magic until his return trip back home.

The pegasus mare’s hoof remained on the sheep’s nose. “Just a few more times? Pleeeeease?” asked Cinna.

He thought about it before sighing. “Fine,” said Jasper.

She smiled. “Yay!” said the pegasus mare. Cinna then booped the sheep’s nose a few more times before stopping. 

Now that that was over, it was time for him to gather some information. “I heard that ponies like to celebrate a day during the summer involving some princess named Celestia who moves the sun with her magic,” said Jasper. 

The pegasus mare nodded. “Yeah. The ‘Summer Sun Celebration’,” she confirmed. “Celestia herself is coming to Ponyville to lower the sun.”

The sheep smiled. “I see, and when is that happening? A week, a month?” he asked.

“In a few days. So, somewhere next week,” answered Cinna.

“Wonderful. I’ve always wanted to check it out and see what it was like ever since I heard about it,” said Jasper. He inwardly sighed. “Great. A few days is my time limit before she arrives. Better hurry then.”

The sheep was planning on saying goodbye to the two before leaving, but then suddenly, all their stomachs started making the same noise.

GROWLLLL!!!

Seeing how they were hungry and their stomachs growled at the same time made all three of them laugh.

“All that running did make me hungry. I might as well have something to eat to replenish my magic,” thought Jasper. “I'm in the mood for something sweet. Does this town have a bakery or something?” 

“Yeah. ‘Sugarcube Corner’,” the pegasus mare informed. 

“How about we all head over there and get something to eat? How does that sound?” asked the sheep.

“Banan!” agreed the unicorn stallion.

They nodded. “Sounds like a great idea. I was planning on heading for Sugarcube Corner anyway,” said Cinna.

He smiled. “Great. So, does anyone know the way to the place?” asked Jasper.

Banana Pie raised a hoof. “Banan!” he exclaimed.

The sheep had a confused look on his face, but decided to take a guess what the unicorn stallion was trying to say. “Are you saying that you know the way?” guessed Jasper.

The unicorn stallion nodded. “Banan!” confirmed Banana Pie.

“Well, lead the way,” said the sheep.

The unicorn stallion saluted before trotting off, while the two followed after him.





Less than a Minute Later

They walked inside of the bakery. It turned out that they were already somewhere near Sugarcube Corner, so group just had to make a few turns to get to it. It resembled a gingerbread house from the outside, and the inside flooded the nostrils with sweet, baked scents.

“Whoa,” said Jasper, impressed. He couldn’t wait to eat.

Before they could go over and place their orders at the counter, a voice suddenly sounded off.

“Hey there, Banana Pie! Cinna!” greeted a female voice. They then gasped excitedly. “Who’s your friend?!”

The voice belonged to a pink mare with a poofy pink mane and blue eyes. Sitting with her was an earth pony mare and a unicorn mare.

“Banan!” said the unicorn stallion, happily.

She gasped. “His name is Jasper and he’s new to Ponyville?!” said the pink mare. Apparently, she did understand that. 

The sheep was both surprised and impressed. “You got all that just from him saying that one word?” he asked.

Pinkie Pie nodded. “Uh-huh!” she confirmed, serious.

Jasper really wanted to question how the pink mare was able to do that, but the sheep felt like a headache would be the result, so he decided not to.

Pinkie Pie zipped from the table and over to the sheep, a smile on her face. “It’s nice to meet you! My name’s Pinkie Pie, Ponyville’s #1 Party Pony!” she declared enthusiastically. She then pointed a hoof at one of the two ponies sitting at the table. “And this is one of Ponyville’s Psychiatrists, Gentle Hope-”



The psychiatrist pony smiled. “It’s nice to meet you there, Jasper. I hope we can be friends,” said Gentle Hope, honestly.

Jasper smiled. “Likewise,” he said.

The hoof then moved to the other pony. “-And Melon Grumps! But everypony calls her Melon,” continued the party pony.



Melon looked over her shoulder. “Hi,” said the melon pony dismissively. Then, she turned back to continue eating.

The psychiatrist pony looked at the melon pony with a disappointed look. “Melon, that’s rude of you,” admonished Gentle Hope.

Jasper was unaffected. “She must be shy or something,” thought the sheep. “Nice to meet you all.” He then realized something. “Wait. ‘Pie’? So you and Banana Pie are related?”

Pinkie Pie giggled before shaking her head. “No. Just because me and Banana Pie share the same last name doesn’t mean we’re related,” the party pony informed. She smiled before zipping over to Banana Pie and put a leg around him, hugging the unicorn stallion. “Although, he is like a brother to me.”

Banana Pie smiled.

Pinkie Pie then let go of the unicorn stallion and zipped up to the sheep. “So, where are you from? Where do you live?” asked the party pony. “Why do you have two different colored eyes? What’s that thing you’re holding? Do you like parties? What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream? Favorite kind of cake?”

He was surprised by her line of questioning, but was able to answer them.

“Can’t tell you that, Everfree Forest, implanted left eye, magic staff, kind of, watermelon, and carrot cake,” answered Jasper. 

The sheep had to lie when answering the ice cream question since he had a feeling that Sea Salt Caramel wasn’t an ice cream flavor that was being sold in any of the pony cities or towns. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie had pulled out a notepad and pencil from out of her mane, surprising Jasper.

“Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm,” said the party pony, nodding. “Got it. Thanks for answering my questions.” She then put the stuff back into her mane.

“Now here’s my question. Why are you asking?” asked the sheep curiously.

Pinkie Pie smiled. “It’s for the welcome party I’ll be holding for you later here in Ponyville,” answered the party pony.

The sheep shook his head. “No, thanks. I don’t want a party,” Jasper informed. “I don’t like parties.”

Hearing him say that shocked her. Pinkie Pie then got into the sheep’s face.

“You don’t like parties?! Why?!” questioned the party pony, shouting. “Everypony loves parties!”

This time, Jasper wasn’t surprised. “Sometimes the place is overcrowded or not enough show up, and other times there’s either not enough food or the good stuff is all gone,” he answered. “I hope she actually believes me and just gives up.”

It was actually all a lie. The sheep likes parties, it’s just that Jasper needed to get home later and prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration within the time limit that he had. Also, Jasper just didn’t want to be in Ponyville once it was nighttime.

“No, thanks. I have to return home later in a few hours before night,” the sheep informed, adamant.

She wasn’t going to give up. Then, Pinkie Pie had an idea. “Then, we can have one right now! I’ll even invite some ponies to the party so it won’t be overcrowded!” said the party pony. She looked at both the pegasus mare and Banana Pie. “I’ll even invite Cinna and Banana Pie as well.”

The unicorn stallion looked excited. “Banan!” he said. Sounded like Banana Pie agreed with the idea.

Cinna looked at him, smiling. “Come on, Jasper. Would it be the worst thing to come to one party?” said the pegasus. “Think of all the potential clients!”

They were talking about Jasper’s business that he was starting up. The sheep had told Cinna and Banana Pie about it while on their way to Sugarcube Corner when the pegasus had asked some things about Jasper.

He thought about it before giving off a frustrated sigh. “Fine,” said the sheep. “I hope I don’t regret this later.”

Pinkie Pie jumped into the air. “Yipee!” the pink mare cheered..

Jasper watched her cheer for a little bit then hurry towards the kitchen to prepare the food for the party.

“I guess as long as I attend the party for a few hours, I can return home before it gets dark. After that, I’ll start preparing tomorrow instead,” thought the sheep. 

His stomach made another noise, reminding Jasper why he came there in the first place.

GROWLLL!!!

“For now, I need something to eat,” thought Jasper. He looked at both the pegasus mare and the unicorn stallion. “Let’s get something to eat before we all forget and leave hungry.”

Saying that made Cinna remember her growling stomach. The pegasus mare giggled. “Right. Can’t let that happen to us,” he agreed. Cinna looked at the psychiatrist pony and Melon. “We’ll be right back after ordering our food.”

She smiled at the pegasus. “Take your time. Neither one of us are going anywhere,” said Gentle Hope. “Me and Melon had just ordered our food before you three got here, and it’ll be a while until they finish. So take your time.”

Cinna nodded. “Okay. We will,” he said.

The three of them had gone over to the counter where an earth pony mare was waiting.

She smiled at them. “Hello there, dearies. Who’s your friend?” asked the mare.

“Hi there, Mrs. Cake. This is Jasper,” introduced Cinna. “He just arrived in Ponyville and is new to the town. The three of us were hungry from trotting around, so we decided to get something to eat from the bakery.”

Mrs. Cake gave the sheep a motherly smile. “Nice to meet you, dearie,” greeted the mare.

He waved at her. “It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Cake. Love your bakery,” greeted Jasper. “It looks very nice.”

The mare smiled at the compliment. “Why thank you, dearie.” She pulled out a notepad and pen and kept her smile. “So, are you three ready to order?” said Mrs. Cake.

The sheep smiled back before looking at the pegasus mare. “You two can go first, Cinna,” said Jasper.

She nodded. “Sure thing. Hmm…” said Cinna. “I’d like to have a chocolate cake and a chocolate milkshake, please.”

Mrs. Cake nodded as she wasn’t surprised by the order. “Of course,” said the mare. She looked at the unicorn stallion. “Let me guess. Anything with bananas in it like usual?”

He nodded before pointing a hoof at the kitchen. “Banan,” said Banana Pie.

“Pinkie Pie, dearie, I need your help with Banana Pie again,”  Mrs. Cake called out.

“Okay!” called out the party pony. Pinkie Pie bounced out through the kitchen doors and arrived at the counter. She looked at Banana Pie, smiling. “What would you like? Cake? Muffin? Pie? Cookie? Pudding?”

“Banan,” he said.

Pinkie Pie nodded, and looked at the mare. “He said he’d like a Banana Cream Pie and a Banana Milkshake,” the party pony informed.

She nodded. “Of course,” said Mrs. Cake. The mare smiled at Pinkie Pie. “Thanks, dearie,”

She smiled again. “No problem!” said the party pony. 

Pinkie Pie then bounced back into the kitchen. As for Mrs. Cake, she then looked at the sheep. 

“And for you?” asked the mare.

Everything in the bakery looked so good to him that it made Jasper’s mouth water. In the end, the sheep decided on what to get. “I guess I’ll have two Strawberry Cream Cheese Danishes, an entire Peanut Butter Cheesecake, six chocolate cupcakes, and a strawberry milkshake,” he answered.

The sheep had both a major sweet tooth and a gluttonous appetite. That amount of food would be able to help Jasper regain some of his magic. Mrs. Cake, the pegasus mare, and the unicorn stallion stared at him.

“Wow. Are you sure you want to order that much food, Jasper?” asked Cinna, concerned. She didn’t want the sheep to end up sick from overeating. “You’ll only end up sick to your stomach if you do.”

Jasper nodded, understanding the pegasus mare’s concern. “Yeah, I’m sure. I pretty much eat a lot of food anyway,” he informed.

Cinna was kind of surprised to hear that. “Oh. Okay,” she said.

The sheep looked back at the mare. “How much does it all come to?” he asked.

“Well, it’s 19 Bits for the Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Milkshake, 22 Bits for the Banana Cream Pie and Banana Milkshake, and 59 Bits for everything you ordered,” Mrs. Cake informed.

Before the pegasus mare and Banana Pie could get out their bits to pay for their food, Jasper brought out his bag of bits.

“Don’t worry about it, you two. I’ll pay for everything,” offered the sheep.

Cinna felt apprehensive at first as Jasper had offered to pay for their food, but in the end, the pegasus mare decided to accept his offer. “...Thanks, Jasper,” said Cinna. It made the pegasus feel bad that the sheep was paying for her.

No one, except for the unicorn pony, had noticed. So, he put a hoof around Cinna and gave them a side hug, which worked as it made the pegasus mare feel a little bit better.

“All together that would be 100 Bits,” the mare informed.

Jasper nodded before taking out the exact amount of Bits onto the counter.

She counted and collected all of the bits after a while. “It’ll be a long while until some of your orders are ready since my husband and I have to care of those that came before you,” Mrs. Cake informed.

The sheep could wait since he was stuck here thanks to the eventual party. “Okay. Thanks,” said Jasper.

The sheep, Cinna, and Banana Pie went back over to the psychiatrist pony and Melon’s table.

“Hi, there. Can we sit here with you two?” asked Jasper.

Gentle Hope smiled. “Of course. We have plenty of room,” she said. The psychiatrist pony looked at the melon pony. “Right, Melon?” 

Melon looked at the three. It was either leave and miss her order that the melon pony paid bits for, or sit and eat with the sheep. In the end, Melon made her decision as she then huffed. “Fine. Whatever,” said the melon pony.

Gentle Hope and Melon moved out of the way to make room for the others. The pegasus mare sat next to the psychiatrist pony, the unicorn stallion sat next to the melon pony, and the sheep stood in between Cinna and Banana Pie since sitting at the table would make it shorter for him.

The pegasus now felt shy as there were a lot of individuals around him despite there only being three ponies and one sheep. “Come on Cinna, you can do this. Just ask him the questions that are on your mind,” thought Cinna, determined yet shy. “So you said that you live in the Everfree Forest, Jasper? That’s gotta be interesting, right?”

Jasper nodded. “Yeah, it very much is,” the sheep confirmed.

“And when did you move there?” asked Gentle Hope, curious.

He thought back on how long it’s been since the sheep moved to the Everfree Forest. “Let’s see…Sometime last year in Fall,” answered Jasper.

That surprised everyone.

The psychiatrist pony felt concerned. “Wait. You spent months all by yourself without anypony around?” she asked. “You must have been really lonely without anypony to talk to. Especially in a dangerous forest like that.”

While the sheep was lonely, what was important were the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. “It’s not that bad, Hope. I was just more interested in my work,” said Jasper. “Besides, I made a few friends in other universes in the process.” He slightly shrugged. “Living above it is pretty safe after all.”

Everyone had become confused by his explanation.

“Above it? What do you mean?” asked the pegasus. 

“Like I said, I live above it. In a tower that is located on a floating island that is floating above the Everfree Forest,” explained Jasper. “It has my tower, some gardens, trees, flowers, etc. It’s quite nice actually.”

That shocked everyone again.

Now Melon had a question. “How come no one has ever seen it? After all, a ‘floating island’ should attract ponies’ attention since you’ve supposedly been here for months,” said the melon pony. She did the hoofquotes with her hooves. “We would’ve seen or at least heard about it eventually.”

“That’s because it’s high up enough and hidden away that no pony on land would be able to notice it. Besides, even if there was a chance that some pegasi flying around would eventually discover it, they wouldn’t be able to enter the island without my permission,” the sheep explained.

“I see. How far away do you live?” asked the pegasus mare, curious. “I’m only asking in case we want to visit you at your home.”

After all, if the group wanted to visit Jasper by taking a hot air balloon, they all would need to know the distance and how high up they would need to fly to get to the floating island. 

He chuckled. “If you’re talking about distance and height, then I live very far from Canterlot, and I live high up enough that I used up some of my magic by the time I got here, and I was already tired from using it from my job before I even left the tower,” answered the sheep. 

“Speaking of your job, what is it that you do exactly? What kind of job do you have that makes you spend so many months alone?” questioned Gentle Hope. “Was it something involving having ‘clients’ like what Cinna said?”

Jasper nodded. “I have a lot of jobs, but they all involve using magic. I make potions, magical artifacts, spells, you name it,” he answered. “So far, I haven’t had any clients yet, so I’ve been busy making stuff.” The sheep smiled. “Does anyone have any more questions for me?”

“What’s up with your left eye? Why do you have one blue eye and one purple eye?” asked Melon. She was only asking because Jasper’s left eye seemed weird to the melon pony.

Cinna had noticed something about the sheep. “And while we’re at it, what about your teeth? It looks like you have fangs,” she added.

Jasper nodded. “To answer your questions, my left eye is actually a magic eye that used to belong to my magic teacher. I had lost my eye in an accident, so to help me, he gave me his to replace it,” he answered. The sheep grinned, showing his teeth. “And as for my teeth, I was born a hybrid. I’m one-third Crystal Sheep, one-third Diamond Dog, and one-third Dragon.”

That surprised everyone to hear that, especially since Jasper didn’t look like one.

As for the pegasus mare, their eyes lit up, and then Cinna grabbed the sheep’s hooves. “You're a hybrid?!” she asked, in an excited tone.

That surprised Jasper to see that the pegasus looked excited at his revelation.

“Uh, yeah. I am,” said the sheep. “Other than being able to use magic, I can breathe fire and eat gems like a dragon can, have a great sense of smell like a Diamond Dog, and I can eat both vegetables and meat since I’m an omnivore.” 

She was amazed. “Ooh. That sounds so awesome!” said Cinna.

The psychiatrist pony had to agree with the pegasus as she felt fascinated. “Interesting. If Cinna had never pointed out your fangs, we would have never found out about you being a hybrid,” said Gentle Hope. “I guess there are other kinds of hybrid creatures out there other than the Cockatrice and the Manticore that exist in Equestria that we ponies don’t know about.”

Cinna had let go of his hooves, and then nodded in agreement. “Yeah,” they agreed.

The rest of them agreed with the psychiatrist pony. 

It was now the unicorn stallion’s turn as he had a question too. Banana Pie pointed at the sheep with a hoof. “Banan?” he asked, curious. 

Jasper was confused as he didn’t understand the question. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” asked the sheep.

The party pony was standing right next to the table. “Where’s your magic staff?” she said, translating.

That surprised everyone as they never noticed that Pinkie Pie was there the entire time. She was balancing a tray of their drinks on top of her mane. 

He decided to ask the party pony. “Could you repeat what you said before about my magic staff or something?” asked Jasper, confused. 

Pinkie Pie went around, placing everyone’s drinks in front of them. “I said, ‘Where’s your magic staff?’,” answered the party pony. “That’s what he was asking you.”

The sheep understood now. “Ohh...” he said. Jasper took a sip of his drink, enjoying it. “Yeah, I put it into my cloak so it won’t get in anyone’s way. And before you ask, it’s a magic cloak that is imbued with storage magic. It was my very first magical artifact that I made a long time ago.”

“Banan,” said the unicorn stallion. Then, Banana Pie started sipping his banana milkshake.

“He said, ‘That sounds like an interesting story’,” said Pinkie Pie, translating again.

The sheep smiled. “It really is. Also, thanks for translating for me, Pinkie Pie,” he said.

She smiled back. “No problem!” said the party pony. She bounced back to the kitchen.

Jasper was having fun since it was interesting answering the questions. “Anyone else?” he asked.

Afterwards, the sheep started answering more of everyone’s questions. Eventually, the group’s food had arrived at the table. The group ate while chatting amongst each other.
> Jasper Meets Solight and Spike
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been a few days since Jasper had visited Ponyville, and against his better judgment, the sheep had been visiting his friends every day while also preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration. During the few days that have passed, Jasper had hung out with Cinna, helped Banana Pie sell bananas, became friends with Melon after hanging out with her a few times with help from the others, and had tea and sweets with Gentle Hope. In the end, the preparations were completed and he was ready as today was the Summer Sun Celebration, and everypony in Ponyville was preparing for Princess Celestia’s arrival as there was only a few hours left until the party.

The sheep was walking through Ponyville, wearing a collar with a silver bell attached to it. He had made it since it would be extremely helpful for tonight. The sheep looked around at the decorations. “All this for one princess’ visit seems a bit…what’s the word?” thought Jasper. “Ah, yes, much. I mean, she’s just coming over to move the sun. Well, that and fight Nightmare Moon as well.”

He had done some research a few months ago and found out that not only was today the day when the sun princess was coming to the town to move the sun, but it was also the day when the evil alicorn, Nightmare Moon, breaks free from her thousand-year imprisonment on the moon. The sheep knows this because Jasper can sense the seal that is keeping the evil princess on the moon is weakening and will break tonight. Until that happens, all he needed to do was wait for a certain unicorn to show up and take it from there.

Jasper was deciding on what to do until then. “Maybe I’ll get some candy from Bon Bon’s store, or go and eat some gems? I have wondered what Equestrian gems taste like,” muttered the sheep.

Jasper then passed by a familiar pony who he didn’t recognize yet since he was distracted by his own thoughts.

It took a few seconds before the sheep’s mind caught up. “Maybe I’ll stop at the Apple Farm and-” said Jasper.

The sheep stopped and turned around. It was a certain female pony who loved to make, was famous, and loved to eat a ton of cake despite the massive amounts of sugar in it, and no, it wasn’t Pinkie Pie. The pony was Princess Celestia, who had some Royal Guards trotting along with her.

He was freaking out on the inside. “Wait, what?! This can’t be!” thought Jasper. “What is Princess Celestia doing here?! She’s not supposed to be here until later tonight.” The sheep had to calm himself down. Once Jasper was able to calm down, he then started walking away. “Calm down. This is an alternate universe. Maybe Celestia showed up early and had also brought Twilight with her and-Oh, who am I kidding. She obviously left Twilight behind in Canterlot so that the mare won’t get involved in the battle against Nightmare Moon.”

The sheep was now changing direction and was now walking in the direction of where Canterlot was. Jasper was acting like this because in order for his plan to work, the sheep needed the sun princess’ student, Twilight Sparkle, in Ponyville. Without her, Equestria was doomed.

“In order for my plan to work, either Twilight Sparkle has to come here herself, or I’m going to have to go and bring her here myself,” thought Jasper. “...Maybe I should go check and see if she’s on her way?”

He ran into an alley before using both an invisibility spell and flight spell. The sheep flew off towards Canterlot.





Meanwhile-Inside of One of Canterlot Castle’s Towers

Inside of a room where there were shelves full of books, there was a frustrated voice coming out from it.

“Can you believe this, Spike? I sent a letter to Princess Celestia about Nightmare Moon and wanted to help defend Equestria, and instead of sending a reply about taking action against such a threat, she sent me a different reply,” complained a male voice. He cleared his throat. “It says, ‘To my faithful guard/student, Nightmare Moon is nothing but a mare’s tale. I want you to stay here in Canterlot and guard the castle. I’ll be heading to Ponyville to oversee everything involving the celebration. Don’t worry, everything will be fine. Best Wishes, Celestia’.” 



“Nightmare Moon is returning tonight, and the Princess wants me to stay here while she goes off to a party with some other guards?! The fate of Equestria is at stake!” shouted the alicorn, worried.

A few feet away from them, holding a present, was Spike. He was a small, purple and green-colored dragon.

The young dragon sighed. “Solight, you already complained about it the first time you read the letter. Also, no offense, but it does sound pretty far-fetched,” said Spike. “I mean, no one has ever heard of Nightmare Moon before. If they had, ponies would’ve been talking about her for years, yet we’ve never heard anypony even mention her name, except only on Nightmare Night.”

The alicorn groaned frustratedly, knowing he was right. They were one of Princess Celestia’s guards and Current Student: Solight. The alicorn has been acting this way ever since the sun princess replied to their letter. On the one hoof, Solight wants to disobey Princess Celestia and head to Ponyville to help the sun princess battle against the evil alicorn, but on the other hoof, the alicorn wants to obey her.

Solight sighed. “What should I do, Spike? I know that I shouldn’t since the princess can handle it, but at the same time I’m worried and I want to be there in case something goes wrong,” said the alicorn, baffled.

Before he could give them any advice, there was a noise at the door that interrupted the small dragon.

KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!!

“Spike, could you go answer that and see who’s at the door? And could you tell them that the fate of Equestria is at stake, so I won’t be able to chat right now?” asked Solight.

Spike nodded. “Sure thing, Solight,” he said.

The young dragon placed down the teddy bear onto a shelf and headed for the door. Once he arrived, Spike opened it to find Jasper standing there. 

“Hi, there. Is Twilight Sparkle here?” asked the sheep.

The young dragon was surprised when he stared at Jasper. Spike’s never met a sheep that could walk and talk before. 

“Hello?” said the sheep.

The young dragon snapped out of his staring and answered the sheep. “Oh, uh, sorry, but Solight’s busy right now. Fate of Equestria’s at stake,” answered Spike.

“I thought her name was Twilight? I guess I’ll ask about that later,” he thought. Jasper nodded. “Yeah, that’s why I’m here. Nightmare Moon’s seal that’s keeping her on the moon will break tonight and I need Solight’s help to defeat the evil alicorn. I know it seems crazy and far-fetched, but the fate of Equestria is at stake. Can you get Solight to help me?”

The young dragon was surprised to hear the sheep’s reason why he needed to see the alicorn. Spike didn’t know what to do and decided to go ask Solight instead. “Uhhh…Wait one moment, please,” said the young dragon.

Jasper nodded. “Sure,” said the sheep. 

He shut the door. After walking back up the stairs, the young dragon went over to the alicorn. 

“Uhhh…Solight? Some sheep is here to see you about the fate of Equestria being at stake due to Nightmare Moon escaping from her seal,” Spike informed.

They rolled their eyes. “Oh, ha ha, Spike. Very funny,” said the alicorn, sarcastically. “I mean, seriously. ‘A sheep has come to see me about the fate of Equestria being at stake due to Nightmare Moon escaping from her seal’. Real original.”

“But it’s true, Solight,” he argued.

Jasper was standing behind the young dragon without either of them noticing him thanks to a spell the sheep’s using. Jasper had a feeling that Spike wouldn’t be believed since what he said did sound a bit far-fetched, so the sheep followed after the young dragon by using some spells to get in through the door without being seen or noticed. He was surprised to see that instead of Twilight Sparkle, there was an alicorn named Solight in her place. 

“Another thing that’s different about this universe is that there is no Twilight Sparkle,” thought Jasper. “I should let myself be noticed since the alicorn’s having a hard time believing the kid.” The sheep cleared his throat. “He’s telling the truth.”

The young dragon and the alicorn were spooked as the two had just noticed Jasper standing there.

They were on guard. “Who are you?! How did you get in here?!” questioned Solight.

Spike pointed at the sheep. “Th-that’s who I was just telling you about, Solight! The sheep who wanted to see you!” he informed. 

Jasper waved. “Your friend is correct. I came here to see you,” he said. “My name's Jasper, and I'm sorry for the intrusion, but the fate of Equestria is at stake and I need your help.”

The alicorn was surprised and didn't know how to respond to that. “Huh…” they said. Solight then looked down at the young dragon. “I guess I owe you an apology for not believing you, Spike.”

“Apology accepted,” said Spike.

They looked at the sheep, curious. “So, what do you need my help with?” asked the alicorn.

“I have a plan that’ll end up with Nightmare Moon defeated once and for all, but to do that, I need you to come with me to Ponyville and help me with my plan as you’re one of the key figures important to it. If the plan succeeds, then not only Equestria, but the entire world will be saved,” Jasper informed. “What do you say? Will you help me?”

Solight thought about it. If the alicorn goes with him to Ponyville, then they’d be in the same town as Princess Celestia and would be able to secretly help her defeat Nightmare Moon from a distance.

The alicorn nodded. “Okay. I’ll help you,” said Solight.

He smiled. “Great. If you have to do something important like visiting a friend or meeting someone later, then you should send them a letter to let them know that you’re sorry and that you won’t be able to make it today as you have something very important to do,” the sheep informed.

Luckily, that reminded them of something. Solight groaned. “Moondancer’s birthday party is tonight. If we go to Ponyville like I wanted to, but we don’t tell Moondancer where we’re going, we’ll miss the party and seem like jerks to her,” said the alicorn. Solight looked down at the young dragon, sadly. “I guess we better send her an apology letter along with your gift, Spike.”

Spike sadly nodded. “Sure thing,” he said. The young dragon went over to the desk and picked up a piece of parchment paper and a quill before walking back to them. “Ready when you are.”

The alicorn cleared their throat. 

“Dear Moondancer,

I am sorry we couldn’t make it your birthday because there was something that had come up, and if we don’t get it sorted, Equestria might be doomed to eternal night. I hope you have a nice birthday, and we sent a gift with this letter.

Your friend, 

Solight Sparkclipse.

P.S. Happy birthday from me and Spike.”

Once the letter was finished, Spike folded up the letter and placed it underneath the present's ribbon. He then brought it up to Solight, who had brought their head down towards the present as the alicorn’s horn glowed with a Purple Red-colored magic aura. Suddenly, both the present and letter disappeared from out of the young dragon’s clawed hands. Jasper was impressed that Solight had used the teleportation spell on the objects so easily. If a unicorn were to do that, then they’d need to concentrate on an image of the location, the exact place within the location, and would need a certain amount of magic power based on the distance.

The alicorn smiled as they brought their head up. “Moondancer should be receiving the present right about now. Once she reads the letter, she’ll understand why we couldn’t make it to the party,” said Solight. They looked at the sheep, now both curious and suspicious. “You never did answer my other question. How did you get in here without us even noticing you?”

Jasper smiled as he reached in and brought out a small, white container and held it out towards Solight.

“I’ll explain after I put this stuff on your wings,” said the sheep.

“What is that stuff?” asked the alicorn, confused.

He then opened it up, showing that inside of it was a sparkling, silver-colored cream.

“It’s something that I created back then. This will help us so that Celestia won’t hear word from other ponies of ‘another Alicorn being in Ponyville’, which would be bad,” answered Jasper. The sheep grinned.  “Just wait and see what it can do once I apply it to your wings.”





Few Minutes Later

Jasper wiped his head with an arm. The sheep had to make sure that the entirety of both of Solight’s wings were covered in the cream so that a single feather wasn’t missed.

“It took a while, but I’m finally finished,” he informed.

Jasper started washing his hooves in a bowl of warm water that the sheep had placed a few inches away right before he started on the alicorn’s wings. 

Meanwhile, Solight groaned as they had to sit down, staying still for a few minutes.

“Great. So, what did it do-” said the alicorn before stopping, shocked.

Solight’s wings were gone. Even Spike was shocked as well after coming back from reading a book while waiting for Jasper to finish whatever it was that the sheep was doing.

The alicorn began to freak out. “My wings! What did you do to my wings?!” they questioned, shouting. “They’re gone!”

He chuckled. “Don’t worry about that, Solight. They’re not actually gone,” answered the sheep. “What I used was a special, magical topical cream I made. Once rubbed onto a part of the body, the part with the cream rubbed on it will instantly be overlooked whenever it’s seen, like it was never there to begin with. It fools the perception of the brain, which also fools not only the eyes, but also the other senses too. It can even fool cameras and any recording devices as well. Only the one who applied it can see it, which is why I applied it myself so you can see what it can actually do.” 

Solight and the young dragon calmed down as they both understood what Jasper was saying. 

The alicorn, interested, was now poking at the spot where one of their wings were. “Fascinating. Even though I know my wings are there, I can’t sense the sensation of my hoof poking them,” said Solight.

The sheep smiled, seeing that the alicorn was impressed by his creation. “It’s like if someone casted a ‘Notice Me Not’ Spell on themself, so I decided to call it the ‘Fool’s Cream’. Though, it’s only temporary until either the cream completely dries off, or until it’s been washed away with water,” he explained. “You can still use your wings to fly, though if you’re planning to fly, please be careful. Since your perception of them, including the senses of your wings, are off it might make flying difficult.”

Solight nodded, knowing that that would be bad if they flew despite Jasper warning the alicorn not to.

The sheep put the bowl of water into his cloak. “Now, you two come over to exactly where I’m standing. Since taking a train or a chariot will take a while to get us to Ponyville and will also get us noticed easily by others, we’ll have to take the route that’ll get us to the town quickly,” Jasper informed.

“Which is?” asked Spike, curious.

“Do you want a long explanation and then a demonstration, or do you want the demonstration first and then a short explanation?” asked the sheep.

Before Solight could choose an answer, the young dragon interrupted them.

“Second option, please,” answered Spike, quickly. He knew that the alicorn would choose the first option, which is why the young dragon chose the second option.

Solight clicked their tongue as they wanted to hear the explanation, but Spike had answered much faster than the alicorn. 

“Then come over to where I’m standing, please,” said Jasper.

The two of them, after a few seconds, had walked/trotted over to where he was standing. The sheep had a lantern in his hooves.

“Okay. Now what?” asked the young dragon, wondering. He noticed Jasper’s lantern and pointed at it, confused. “And what’s that lantern for exactly?”

Suddenly, the three of them disappeared in an instant. Exactly where they were standing, there was a glowing, blue ring of weird characters written in another language on the floor.
> Ponyville Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three instantly appeared somewhere completely dark. Solight was confused on where they were, while Spike was both flabbergasted and scared. 

“Aaahhhh! Where are we?!” shouted Spike.

“Calm down, Spike. Let me just turn on my ‘Flame Lantern’ and we should be fine,” Jasper reassured.

After a few seconds, there was then a sound that came from right next to the two.

CLICK!!!

A bright, reddish-orangish glow came from the sheep’s lantern as a flame appeared inside of the lantern. 

He smiled. “There we go. Now we can see in this darkness,” said Jasper.

The lantern's glow was bright enough that it illuminated a big part of the area that they were in, revealing that they were in some kind of windowless room with a stone floor, wooden walls, and a staircase.

The young dragon sighed, relieved. “Phew, that was so surprising. One minute we’re in the tower, and the next?” he said. “We end up surrounded by complete darkness. I was worried for a moment there.”

“Don’t worry, Spike. We’ve only ended up in the basement of some place that I visit in Ponyville,” reassured Jasper. “I even left the basement door unlocked some time before I came to Canterlot.”

Spike sighed. “That’s good to know. Right, Solight?” he said.

As for the alicorn, Solight was impressed as they tried to figure out how the three were teleported, but unfortunately, the alicorn couldn’t find anything as there was nothing there. 

“That was such a quick teleportation, we didn't even notice we were gone until the moment we arrived here,” said Solight. They looked up at the sheep. “How did you transport us from my room without either of us noticing?”

Jasper smiled then directed the two to follow him towards the stairs. The sheep made the lantern float in the air by using his magic, surprising both the alicorn and the young dragon.

“It’s a two-way portal I created with one of my inventions. All you have to do is set up both in two separate locations, and with a bit of magic, you’ll be able to move to either location in an instant no matter how far the distance, like what I did,” explained the sheep. “This makes it easier than traveling by train. Though, you’d have to travel to the location itself to set up the other portal. Right now, I currently only have four set up in different locations. Two are set up somewhere else, one is in your tower, and the fourth one is…”

Jasper opened the basement door and moved on ahead. As soon as Solight and Spike were out of the basement, and looked around to see where they were, both became shocked. Well, the young dragon was relieved to be back in the light again, but was also impressed that they all had ended up in a library, while the alicorn themself was shocked as Solight was staring at the shelves of rows and rows of books.

“Look at all of those books! So many to read, so many to organize!” thought the alicorn. “Maybe I could ask the librarian if I could check out a lot of these books?” 

He looked at Solight, and gave an annoyed sigh. “Great. They’re nerding out again just like last time,” thought Spike. 

The last time the alicorn nerded out was back when they found out that Canterlot Library had gotten brand new books.

Meanwhile, the sheep turned off the lantern and put it back into his cloak. Jasper turned around to face the two. “Welcome to the Golden Oak Library. Right now, it doesn’t have a librarian, and I have no idea what happened to them as they probably quit their job,” he informed. “So if you’re interested in any books and want to read them, then we can talk to Mayor Mare about it, which we will do later after we save the world from Nightmare Moon.”

Solight gave off a disappointed groan as they really wanted to read the books, but hearing how there’s no librarian and that the alicorn had to read the books later, made them sad. As for the young dragon, he felt relieved.

“Now, come on. I want to introduce you two to my friends,” said Jasper. “When you’re in a new place, it’s always good to try and make some friends there.”

The alicorn nodded their head. “He is right. Making friends is important, and I can ask whoever this Mayor Mare is about the library books,” thought Solight.

Before the sheep was about to leave with the two, he had just remembered something. “Oh, yeah. Before I forget, in case you’re wondering since we never did introductions, my name’s Jasper, and I’m a Crystal Sheep,” introduced Jasper. “There’s no need to introduce yourselves as I know that both of your names are Solight and Spike since I heard you two give out your names back at the tower.”

Hearing about the tower had reminded the alicorn of something. Before Solight could ask, they were then interrupted by the sheep.

He knew exactly what the alicorn was about to say. “I know what you’re about to ask, Solight. To answer your question, back then I had combined a ‘Concealment Spell’ with a ‘Noise Canceling Spell’ and created the ‘Notice Me Not Spell’, which is what I used to sneak past the front door and Spike up the stairs without him noticing,” explained Jasper. The sheep walked away to the door. “In fact, the Fool’s Cream that I used was based on the spell itself.”

Spike was amazed. “Cool,” he said.

As for the alicorn, Solight was fascinated. “A non-unicorn like him combined two spells to create one that can conceal somepony’s own presence without being noticed? Only those who are gifted in magic like Starswirl the Bearded can do something like creating their own spell,” they thought. The alicorn stared at Jasper’s back. “Just who is he?”

The three of them left the library and were now walking/trotting about in the town. 

The young dragon looked around, liking how peaceful the town was as the ponies were trotting about without a care in the world, while some were decorating the town. “Whoa. This town looks absolutely great,” said Spike.

“Mm-hmm,” hummed the sheep, agreeing.

There was something on his mind that was bothering Spike. “Jasper?” called out the young dragon. 

“Yeah?” said Jasper.

“Why did you ask for a pony named Twilight Sparkle?” asked the young dragon, curious.

Solight almost tripped over their hooves as soon as they heard that, but the alicorn was able to stop themself and continue on.

He thought about it. “I might as well tell him, especially since I guess this universe is where Twilight Sparkle was never born,” thought the sheep. “Well, back then before I recruited Solight, I had heard that there was a mare named Twilight Sparkle who was Princess Celestia’s student. So, I decided to choose her to be a part of my plan to save Equus, but when I arrived at the tower, Twilight wasn’t there. I guess either I heard the name wrong and it was actually Solight, or there is a Twilight Sparkle, but she had eventually left Canterlot at some point while I was living in Equestria. Don’t know which one is correct.”

 “Oh. Okay,” said Spike. That had satisfied his curiosity.

“I wonder what his plan was that it was so important that he either needed me or Twilight Sparkle for? Although, I have a feeling that if I ask what his plan is, he won’t tell me until later,” thought Solight. “I just really hope it’s a good enough plan that it helps Princess Celestia defeat Nightmare Moon and save Equestria.”

After walking a few more steps, Jasper stopped in place. “Hold on a sec,” said the sheep. 

The alicorn and the young dragon stopped in place as well, confused. Suddenly, Jasper brought out his staff and pointed it in a certain direction in front of the group. The staff’s crystal glowed with magic as a random pony was levitated into the air from amongst the other ponies and was floating over to where they were by the sheep’s magic. It surprised the two, but not the townsponies around them since they’ve seen Jasper use magic before.

The pony who was being levitated was Pinkie Pie, who giggled from floating in the air, enjoying it. “Hi there, Jasper! Who are your friends?” greeted the party pony. She then gasped. “Are they new to Ponyville?!”

Jasper had a feeling this would happen the moment he brought the two to Ponyville. “Hey, Pinkie Pie. I’d like you to meet Solight and Spike, and yes they’re new to Ponyville,” answered the sheep. “They came here to check out the Summer Sun Celebration, and no, they don’t want a welcome party right now since they’re not moving in.” He also knew exactly what she was going to say. “There’s a certain important pony here in town that they don’t want to find out that they’re here. So please, no parties today.”

The party pony thought about it before nodding. “Okay!” said Pinkie Pie.

The sheep sighed in relief. “Phew. Thanks, Pinkie Pie,” he said. Jasper then had an idea, and it was something that she could help with. “Pinkie Pie, can you do something very important for me as a favor?”

Pinkie Pie nodded, excitedly. “Sure!” said the party pony.

“Can you…?” said the sheep. Then, Jasper levitated her closer before leaning in and whispered into the party pony’s ear. The sheep leaned away and levitated her back down onto the ground afterwards. “Think you can do that for me?”

The party pony nodded again, excited even more before saluting the sheep. “Can do!” confirmed Pinkie Pie.

She then dashed away, leaving behind a trail of dust, and a surprised Solight and Spike.

He blinked. “Who was that pony?” asked the young dragon, confused.

Jasper smiled. “That was Ponyville’s #1 Party Pony, Pinkie Pie. She works at a bakery called Sugarcube Corner,” he answered. “She loves making friends and throwing parties.”

“What did you whisper to her?” asked the alicorn.

The sheep shrugged.“I asked her to find Celestia and make sure to either distract her or get her to take another path whenever we’re nearby since none of us can predict where Celestia would go or where she is, but Pinkie Pie is great at finding ponies,” explained Jasper. “She should be able to easily find her and distract her for a few hours.”

“Ohhh,” said Solight and Spike, undersanding.

“Okay, we’re going to the closest location of where two of my friends are. The both of them should be still working at their jobs right now,” said the sheep. He smiled. “Let’s go and introduce you two to them. Shall we?”

They all then continued walking/trotting down the path, silently. The young dragon was now currently riding on the alicorn’s back while taking in the sighs of the town, gazing in awe.

Solight would’ve taken in the sights too, but they currently had another thing on their mind that was bothering the alicorn that needed answering. “I have a question for you, Jasper,” said Solight.

“I have the feeling that they’re probably going to ask me about my cloak,” thought Jasper. “Yeah?”

“How are you able to do those things with your cloak? Being able to take stuff out and put stuff in?” asked the alicorn, curious.

“I knew they were going to ask that. They’re one curious alicorn after all,” he thought. The sheep cleared his throat, while also making a mental note to stop at the smoothie store later for a drink. “You see, my cloak is imbued with Storage Magic, and it’s also enchanted from ripping and tearing as well.” 

Solight was focused on Jasper’s explanation. “Interesting. Do you think you can make another one like it?” they asked. “It would be so much easier to carry all my books around.”

The sheep thought about it. It did sound like something fun for him to do in his spare time. “Well, I’ll see what I can do, and then once I’m finished I’ll bill you later,” answered Jasper.

That shocked the alicorn. “Bill?” they said.

The sheep looked back with a raised eyebrow. “Yeah. I make stuff in my spare time, but when someone asks me to build something, then I decide whether to bill them or not,” he explained. “Sometimes, I need money too to buy some of my supplies, you know?”

Solight silently nodded, agreeing. 

“So, any more questions?” asked Jasper.





Few Minutes Later

“Hi, Melon. How’s business?” asked the sheep.

They were all currently at the market area of Ponyville, standing in front of Melon's watermelon stand. The melon pony was currently surrounded by delicious-looking watermelons that she had grown for the past three months. It seemed that Melon had been selling them ever since the melon pony first moved to Ponyville the same year that Jasper had first moved to the Everfree, but in the Spring. 

She smiled. “Hey, Jasper. Business is going great,” answered Melon. “Lots of ponies have been buying up my watermelons today for the Summer Sun Celebration. I need to save up a lot more bits for the next few months until sometime next year. Once I have enough, I can then commission somepony to build my Inn, then I’ll use some of the bits to furnish the place and buy supplies. After that, it'll be ready to be opened.”

The sheep had learned from the melon pony that she’s been saving up some of her money from selling watermelons as it was Melon’s dream was to open up her very own Inn somewhere in Ponyville someday.

He smiled. “I hope you achieve your goal soon,” said Jasper.

The melon pony smiled right back. “Thanks, Jasper,” she said. Melon then noticed the alicorn and the young dragon.

The sheep noticed her noticing the two and decided to introduce them, even though Jasper knew what the end result was. “Melon, I’d like you to meet my new friends, Solight and Spike. I met these two today while I visited Canterlot,” he introduced. Jasper looked back at Spike and Solight. “Solight, Spike, I’d like you two to meet one of my friends, and the one who could grow the best watermelons in Equestria I’ve ever tasted, Melon Grumps.” 

It’s true. The sheep has tried the melon pony’s watermelons before and they were absolutely delicious. 

They smiled, and then extended a hoof at Melon. “Hi there, Melon. It’s nice to meet you,” greeted the alicorn. “I have to say, your watermelons look delicious.”

She frowned as the melon pony looked at Solight’s hoof before looking up at their smiling face. “Thanks,” said Melon.

Seeing as she wasn’t going to shake the alicorn’s hoof, Solight brought it back down to the ground. Jasper decided to quickly change the subject, so he reached into his cloak again and brought out a container that held some diced, space-themed looking fruit, and a jar of some similar-looking stuff as well and placed them onto the counter. 

“My ‘Star Watermelons’ had finished growing a few days ago, and the rinds from the last batch from a few months ago were done pickling, so I decided to bring some to you today to try and see if you like them,” said the sheep.

Luckily, it worked as the melon pony’s attention was now diverted to the stuff. Melon examined it, looking at it all over.

She smiled. “Thanks. I’ll try them after I sell off a few of my watermelons,” said Melon. The melon pony grinned. “Now then, are you here to buy some melons or to hold up the line?” Melon then pointed a hoof behind the three.

All three followed her hoof to see that there were some ponies waiting behind them. 

Jasper turned back to face the melon pony before grinning back. “What if I was here to hold up the line? What would you do then?” he asked, jokingly.

Melon pony laughed. “Don't make me pick you up and move you, fluffy boy,” she answered, playfully.

The sheep chuckled. “Okay, okay. We’ll leave before that happens,” said Jasper. “See you later at the celebration, Melon.”

“You too, Jasper,” said the melon pony.

The three of them left the stand and continued. 

“Sorry about that, you two. It takes Melon a while before she becomes friends with someone,” he said. The sheep chuckled. “It took me a few days to become friends with her, but during that time I was able to learn some things about her. Things you’ll have to learn about yourselves.”

The alicorn smiled. “It’s okay, Jasper. We’ve met ponies who were like that, but we became friends with them in the end. All it takes is just a little patience and some determination,” they said. Solight looked back at the young dragon. “Isn’t that right, Spike?”

He smiled while giving a thumbs-up. “Yeah. We made some friends back in Canterlot that way, and the other times it was just us being us,” agreed Spike. 

Jasper smiled. “Glad to see you two are positive about this,” said the sheep. “So, our next stop is my banana loving friend, Banana Pie.”

“Banana Pie?” repeated the young dragon. The last name sounded familiar to him.

Jasper had a feeling of what Spike was thinking about. “No, Spike. Him and Pinkie Pie are not related despite the two of them sharing the same last name,” he informed. “Pinkie Pie has told me that he is like a brother to her.”

That surprised Spike that the sheep knew what he was thinking about. “Aww. That’s nice of her,” said the young dragon, smiling.

They smiled. “It’s kind of like how me and Shining Armor think of Spike as our little brother and a member of the family despite him being a dragon,” thought the alicorn.

After traveling a few feet, they reached Banana Pie’s stand. The unicorn stallion only had one customer left, a pegasus mare, who had just left after paying him.

“Hey, Banana Pie. How’s it going?” greeted Jasper.

Banana Pie smiled. “Banan,” he greeted.

Hearing the unicorn stallion say that made Solight and Spike confused.

“Banan?” repeated the alicorn and the young dragon.

As for the sheep, he continued on like it was nothing. “It’s great to hear that you’ve been selling lots of bananas. Are you excited for tonight’s celebration?” asked Jasper. 

Banana Pie nodded. “Banan!” he said, excited.

He smiled. “That’s great to hear. I just know that this year’s Summer Sun Celebration will be special,” said Jasper. The sheep then moved out of the way and directed a hoof at the two who were behind him. “Banana Pie, I’d like you to meet my new friends from Canterlot: Solight and Spike. They came here to attend Ponyville’s Summer Sun Celebration.” 

The unicorn stallion waved at the two. “Banan!” greeted Banana Pie.

“He said ‘nice to meet you, new friends’,” said Jasper, translating.

That had surprised the two of them that he was able to understand Banana Pie.

Solight was the first to greet him. “It’s nice to meet you too, Banana Pie,” they said.

“Yeah. You seem like a nice pony,” agreed Spike.

Banana Pie smiled. Then, the unicorn stallion’s horn glowed as he levitated two bananas from the stand and over to the alicorn and the young dragon. “Banan,” said Banana Pie.

That made the two smile as they saw the gift, so they accepted the bananas.

“Wow. Thanks, Banana Pie,” said Spike. He then started peeling away at the banana.

The unicorn stallion was happy that they both liked it. “Banan!” he said.

“He said ‘you’re welcome’,” said the sheep, translating again.

Now the alicorn was curious about something again. “What language is Banana Pie speaking? Is it some sort of unique language?” they asked. “How is it that you can understand what he’s saying? Can you teach me how to understand him?”

He laughed. “It’s not a unique language. Banana Pie can talk like us, it’s just that he likes saying ‘Banan’ since it’s short for ‘Banana,” answered Jasper. “Also, I’m only guessing what he’s saying. I’ve been doing that for two days and I’ve only gotten some of my guesses right.”

Solight blinked before giving off an impressed look. “Well you’ve really guessed what he’s been saying correctly, Jasper. How do you do it?” asked the alicorn, slightly curious.

The sheep grinned. “It’s all about listening to your friends,” he said. Jasper then looked at Banana Pie. “Right, Banana Pie?”

He nodded. “Banan!” agreed the unicorn pony.

They smiled as Solight watched the sheep’s interaction with Banana Pie. “If he has unique friends like this, then I wonder what his other friends are like? I’m guessing they must be unique as well,” thought the alicorn. Seeing as how the unicorn pony gave both them and the young dragon bananas, then it’s better to eat the bananas now rather than later since Solight didn’t bring any of their saddlebags with them.

If only the alicorn knew how right they were about Jasper’s friends.
> Ponyville Part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three of them were going down the path while waving goodbye to Banana Pie.

Solight smiled. “He seemed like a very nice pony,” they said.

Jasper nodded, smiling as well. “He certainly is,” said the sheep.

Spike had an idea. “Hey, Solight. The next time we visit Banana Pie, how about we buy some bananas from him?” asked the young dragon. “We could make some Banana Cream Pies, Banana Pudding, Banana Milkshakes, or even some Banana Bread.” Spike was drooling as he thought about the food. 

The alicorn smiled a little. “Spike, you’re drooling,” Solight informed.

Hearing that, the young dragon snapped out of it and wiped off the drool from the corner of his mouth.

Spike chuckled. “Sorry,” said the young dragon. He then looked at Jasper. “So, who’s the next pony we’re seeing?”

The sheep thought about it. “Well…” he said, but then paused. “Is that…?”

Jasper stopped in place, while the alicorn stopped behind him. 

Solight looked at the sheep. “Is something wrong, Jasper?” they asked, concerned.

He squinted his eyes. “I think I see someone familiar,” answered Jasper.

“Who is it?” asked the young dragon. 

“It looks like…Pinkie Pie?” said the sheep, confused. “And she’s…What is she doing…?”

At a discernible distance, he saw a frantic Pinkie Pie bouncing up high into the air above ponies, looking worried. While the party pony was bouncing, she was glancing towards the bottom left.

“She looks frantic and is heading in our direction, which is strange because I told her to keep an eye on…Celestia…” said Jasper, realizing. “Solight, act normal and quickly follow after me. Now.”

That surprised the alicorn. “What’s wrong?” they asked.

“I had sent Pinkie Pie to keep an eye on Celestia, remember? If she’s heading our way, then that means so is Celestia,” answered the sheep.

Solight became visibly worried. 

“No, no, no. We can’t let her see us!” said Solight, worried tone. “If she sees me, then he’ll see me too! I’m going to get it from both of them if they find out that I disobeyed an order!”

There was somepony that was with Celestia’s that the alicorn knew that they did not want to encounter right now other than the sun princess.

“We’re going to have to take a quick detour. Come on,” he said. 

Jasper quickly headed for the nearest street while being followed by Spike and a worried Solight. 





Few Minutes Later

After a few turns down different streets, they stopped, finally feeling safe.

“Okay. I think we’re far away enough from them,” said the sheep. He looked at them. “You two okay?” 

The young dragon nodded. “I’m okay,” he confirmed. Spike looked at Solight. “What about you, Solight?”

They sighed. “Yeah, I’m okay too,” said the alicorn, relieved. “That was a close one. It’s thanks to Pinkie Pie appearing that we were able to avoid them for now.” Solight decided that the alicorn will thank Pinkie Pie later for warning the three about the sun princess. Right now, they needed to continue what they were doing. “So, what were you saying about your friends?”

Back to their previous activity, Jasper continued from where he left off. “Well, the last time I saw Gentle Hope was a while ago before I headed off for Canterlot, and she was helping decorate the zone around her job site. She told me that she was going to help decorate Town Hall after she was done,” the sheep informed. “As for Cinna, she’s probably either at her house, hanging out with her other friends, or she’s helping the ponies decorate.”

“Or she’s right next to you,” said a familiar voice.

Everyone turned towards the source of the voice. 

Jasper smiled as the pony in front of them was a smiling Cinna. The alicorn and the young dragon were confused.

“Hey, Cinna! We were just talking about you,” said the sheep. “I’d like for you to meet my two new friends that I met in Canterlot: Solight and Spike. They came to check out Ponyville’s Summer Sun Celebration.” 

She waved at them. “Hello! Nice to meet you two,” greeted the pegasus mare, happy tone. Inwardly, Cinna was excited. “Yay! New friends!”

He turned towards Solight and Spike. “Solight, Spike. This is my friend, Cinna,” introduced Jasper.

The two of them waved back, smiling.

He jumped off the alicorn’s back and approached the pegasus. “It’s nice to meet you, Cinna. I’m Spike,” said the young dragon. “You seem like a nice mare.” Spike then held out a clawed hand at her for a…limbshake.

Cinna eagerly returned the greeting by taking his clawed hand, shaking it. The pegasus mare smiled even more. “Aww. Thanks,” they said.

Solight had approached Cinna as well, and then they held a hoof out towards her, deciding to greet the pegasus mare the same way the young dragon did.

The alicorn continued to smile. “I hope we can become great friends, Cinna,” said Solight. 

Cinna shook their hoof as well. “I know we will. In fact…” she said, pausing.

The pegasus suddenly flew over and booped Spike on his nose followed by the alicorn. While the young dragon was surprised, Solight wasn’t as they started grinning and laughing.

Cinna was until she noticed an oddity and pointed at Solight’s teeth. “Wait, are those fangs?” she asked.

That made the alicorn stop laughing, and it had attracted both Spike and the sheep’s attention.

Solight nodded. “Yeah, I’m a hybrid. I’m part Kirin, part dragon, part thestral, and part unicorn,” they answered.

Cinna and Jasper were both surprised and amazed.

She became happy as the pegasus had made another friend who was also a hybrid. “Can you breathe fire? Can you eat gems?” asked Cinna, excited. “What kinds of magic can you use? Do you want to be friends?”

The alicorn was surprised at the line of questioning but was able to answer Cinna’s questions. “No, no, I do know some spells from different species, and yes,” answered Solight. They smiled at the last one.

The pegasus mare smiled as well, happy with the alicorn’s answers. “Thanks,” she said.

“You’re welcome,” said Solight.

Suddenly, a noise sounded out from the sheep’s stomach.

GROWLLL!!!

He blushed. “Heh. I guess a little snack won’t hurt,” thought Jasper.

The sheep reached into his cloak and pulled out a ruby. It gleamed in Jasper’s hoof as some sunlight refracted on it. It looked very appetizing to the sheep as he was bringing it closer and closer to his mouth, making Jasper drool.

He noticed the ruby in the sheep’s cloven hoof. “Is that a ru-” said Spike, but was then interrupted.

CRUNCH!!!

Jasper had taken a bite out of the gem and started chewing. To him, it tasted like an apple that was cooked with cinnamon and spice.

The young dragon was shocked. “Solight! Look at what Jasper’s doing!” shouted Spike, pointing at the sheep.

The alicorn turned to look at Jasper, and was shocked as well as Solight couldn’t believe what they were seeing as the sheep took another bite out of the ruby. It also shocked some ponies who were passing by as well. Cinna was the only pony not shocked as she had seen him eat gems before when they had hanged out together that one time.

“You’re eating a ruby?! H-How?!” questioned the alicorn, flabbergasted.

Jasper swallowed before answering. “I’m a hybrid like you, except I’m one-third Crystal Sheep, one-third Dragon, and one-third Diamond Dog,” answered the sheep. “Because I’m part dragon, I can eat gems, which is how I’m able to eat this ruby.”

Now that Solight knew that he was a hybrid as well, they went from shocked to intrigued. As for the young dragon, he calmed down after hearing that.

“Is there anything else you can do as a hybrid?” questioned the alicorn, curious.

Jasper held a cloven hoof up before finishing the last of the ruby. “I can breathe fire, eat gems, and I have the same abilities as dragons. That’s about it, I think,” he answered.

Solight was intrigued. “I see. Those are very interesting things to know about you,” they said.

The sheep smiled. “Thanks,” he said. Jasper turned to look at the pegasus. “Any more questions you have for Solight, Cinna?”

Cinna thought about it before shaking their head. “Nah, but if I have any more questions that I can think of, then I’ll ask later during the celebration,” answered the pegasus. “By the way, are you going to the celebration as well, or are you leaving before night again?”

He smiled. “I’m sticking around. The Summer Sun Celebration is something I wouldn’t want to miss, Cinna. After all, all of my friends are going to be there,” said the sheep. Jasper also couldn’t miss it because Nightmare Moon was going to show up as well.

That made her smile. “Then I can’t wait to see all three of you at the party. I know it’ll be a night that you all won’t forget,” said Cinna.

“If only you knew how right you were,” thought the sheep. “By the way, just curious, but were you doing something important before we met or were you on your way to do something?”

The pegasus mare shook their head. “It wasn’t anything important. I was only on my way to the craft store to buy some more thread for my sewing projects back home when I saw you three. I got curious and decided to see what you were up to,” answered Cinna. “Turns out you were giving a tour to your new friends.”

Jasper chuckled. “Well, don’t let us distract you from your sewing projects. We can chat again later at town hall during the party,” he said. The sheep didn’t want to keep the pegasus away from her own hobby. 

Cinna nodded, agreeing. “Okay,” she said. The pegasus mare looked at the alicorn and Spike. “It was nice meeting you two.”

Solight smiled. “Same here,” they replied.

The young dragon smiled as well. “It was nice meeting you too, Cinna,” he said.

She smiled. “See you three later. Bye,” said the pegasus. Cinna waved before flying off to her destination.

Spike looked at Jasper. “All of your friends are nice ponies. They even seem to really treasure their friendship with you,” said the young dragon.

He gave a smile. “Yeah. I feel the same exact way, Spike,” agreed the sheep. “So, the last one of my friends to meet is Gentle Hope. Since we’ve been visiting and chatting with the others for a while, she’s probably decorating town hall by now, and if not, she might be by the time we reach there. She’s a really nice pony just like the others. Come on. She should be at the town hall.”





Few Minutes Later

Gentle Hope was actually at the town hall, helping other ponies decorate. Unfortunately, the sun princess was there too along with some royal guards and some sort of alicorn stallion. As for Pinkie Pie, she was hiding in plain sight. Princess Celestia was chatting with the mayor of the town, Mayor Mare. Seeing as it would be bad if the alicorn and Spike were spotted by the sun princess, Jasper decided that he would go and get the psychiatrist pony to come along with the sheep, while Solight and the young dragon were hiding out of sight.

He stopped next to Gentle Hope. “Hey, Gentle Hope. How’s it going?” greeted Jasper.

The psychiatrist pony stopped what she was doing and turned around to face the sheep. Gentle Hope then smiled. “Hi there, Jasper. Did you come here to help us out with the decorating?” she asked, wondering.

Jasper shook his head. “Nah, I came here to introduce you to some new friends I made in Canterlot. They’re here to check out the Summer Sun Celebration,” the sheep informed. “They would like to meet you, but they want to talk with you somewhere else since Princess Celestia is nearby and it’d distract them from their conversation with you.” Part of it was a lie he thought up in order to get the psychiatrist pony to come along with Jasper to meet the two. It wasn’t a good one, but it should work.

Gentle Hope looked at the sheep with a raised eyebrow. “Jasper, what did I tell you about lying? Especially when it’s toward your friends?” she asked. It seems that the lie did not work at all.

For some strange reason, whenever he’s around the psychiatrist pony, Jasper’s lies fall a bit flat, like it’s hard to lie to her. The sheep believes that it might be because Gentle Hope reminds him of his mother. 

The sheep looked down at the ground. “Well, I tried, but it’s a bit hard to lie to her,” thought Jasper. He sighed. “My friends know Princess Celestia and the stallion, and they’re not supposed to be here, but in Canterlot instead. That is why they’d rather avoid being seen by the two and get in trouble, which is why they want to meet you somewhere close by. They’ve already met the others, so you’re the last one to meet them.”

The psychiatrist pony stopped raising her eyebrow. “...I see. Well, I guess I can take a few minute break to speak with your new friends and see what they’re like,” said Gentle Hope. “Next time, just tell me that instead of coming up with a lie like that.”

Jasper was still looking down at the ground as the sheep felt ashamed. “Okay,” he muttered. “She’s reminding me more and more of my mother.”

Before they could leave, the two were stopped by a voice that was right next to them.

“Excuse me,” said a female voice with a regal tone.

The sheep didn’t need to look behind himself to know who it was. “Oh, great. I was planning on avoiding her all day today,” thought Jasper. He turned to face the owner of the voice. “Yes?”

The voice belonged to Princess Celestia, who was looking at the sheep with a smile. The unknown stallion was standing right next to her while also looking at the sheep curiously. As for the royal guards, they were right by their sides, ready to defend both him and the sun princess.

“Greetings. My name is Princess Celestia,” she greeted with a friendly tone of voice. “May I inquire as to your name?” 

He had no choice but to answer, seeing as how if Jasper didn’t, he’d be seen as rude by the psychiatrist pony. “Nice to meet you, your highness. My name is Jasper,” said the sheep.

She smiled. “What a nice name you have for a sheep such as yourself. Can you tell me where in Equestria you are from?” asked the sun princess.

“I’m from somewhere far away, outside of Equestria. I had moved here back in Fall to make friends with the ponies,” Jasper informed. “So, I chose to live close to Ponyville in the Everfree Forest.”

Princess Celestia was surprised. “Oh, my. The Everfree Forest is such a dangerous place to live in,” she said.

The sheep shrugged. “It’s kind of peaceful once you get used to it. Also, it’s unclaimed land, so it belongs to no one,” he said.

“That is very true. You’re such a brave little sheep for braving the dangers of the Everfree Forest,” complimented the sun princess.

Something about that compliment was making Jasper angry.

Before he could say anything, Gentle Hope decided to speak up. “Excuse me, your highness,” she said.

Princess Celestia looked down at the psychiatrist pony.

“Yes, my little pony?” asked the sun princess.

“I’m sorry for interrupting, but me and my friend have something important to do right now and it’s during my few minute break before I have to continue decorating. Can we please leave?” asked Gentle Hope.

She nodded, smiling. “Of course. I’m so sorry for taking up both of your important time,” said the sun princess. Princess Celestia looked up at Jasper. “It was nice meeting you, Jasper. Hope to talk more with you later if you’re attending the celebration later on.”

“I am,” he confirmed.

The sun princess smiled. “Good. Then, I hope you both enjoy the Summer Sun Celebration,” said Princess Celestia.

Before Gentle Hope could say anything in response, the sheep interrupted her.

“We will,” said Jasper.

He turned, and then walked in the direction of the alicorn and Spike’s location. As for the psychiatrist pony, she looked at the sun princess with an apologetic look before following after the sheep.

Once Gentle Hope was trotting by Jasper’s side, the psychiatrist pony looked at him, concerned. “What was that all about? It’s almost like you didn’t like the princess,” she observed.

“Sorry about that, Hope. It’s just that something about her really rubs me the wrong way,” said the sheep. “I don’t know what it is, and I really can’t put my hoof on it, but I just can’t trust her.”

“Well, it is your first time meeting her. Maybe that’s it?” theorized the psychiatrist pony.

Jasper didn’t know if her theory was right or not, but it might have been. “Maybe,” he said.

They kept going until they turned the corner and encountered the alicorn and Spike.

The sheep gestured with a hoof. “Gentle Hope, I’d like you to meet my friends from Canterlot, Solight and Spike,” introduced Jasper. “Solight, Spike. I’d like you to meet my friend, and one of Ponyville’s Psychiatrists, Gentle Hope.”

They gave Gentle Hope a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Gentle Hope. I hope we can become friends,” said Solight.

The psychiatrist pony smiled. “I’m okay with it if you are,” she said.

The alicorn nodded. “I am,” they said.

Gentle Hope smiled as well. “Well, it’s nice to meet Jasper’s newest friends,” said the psychiatrist pony. “Sorry that I wish I could talk to you two longer, but I have to help decorate the area. So, I can only chat for a few minutes. If that’s okay?”

Solight smiled. “I’m okay with it,” said the alicorn. They then looked at the young dragon. “What about you, Spike?”

He smiled. “I’m okay with it too,” agreed the young dragon.

The sheep looked around until he spotted the perfect place for them to hide away in. “Great. How about we have a chat inside that smoothie shop?” asked Jasper. He was pointing at a nearby shop that was decorated with images of fruits and teas, and even had a sign that said ‘Sparkle Mane Drinks’. “I’ve been meaning to order a smoothie while giving you two a tour. If you all don’t mind going there?”

A smoothie sounded like a great idea to Spike. “I could go for a smoothie,” said the young dragon.

The alicorn shrugged. “I guess I could go for either a smoothie or tea. What about you, Gentle Hope?” asked Solight.

She smiled. “Tea does sound good right now before I continue decorating,” said the psychiatrist pony. 

“Great. I’ll even pay for everyone as part of my treat,” offered the sheep.

The three then headed for the shop and went inside. The whole place was decorated like it was a tropical paradise cafe. Gentle Hope ordered a Chai Tea, Jasper ordered a Blood Orange and Ginger Smoothie, Solight ordered a Strawberry Banana Smoothie, and the young dragon ordered a Dragon Fruit Smoothie as part of the sheep’s recommendation. At the register was an earth pony mare.

“I hope your older brother feels better, Tropical Smoothie,” said Jasper, in a sympathetic tone. 

Tropical Smoothie smiled. “Thanks, Jasper. His cold has almost healed up, so he should be getting better in a few days,” she informed.

He smiled. “That’s great news,” said the sheep. 

The mare nodded. “It really is,” said Tropical Smoothie.

Jasper then headed for the table where everyone was seated. The shop was owned by the ‘Smoothie and Tea Family’, who moved to Ponyville two years ago. The mare’s older brother, Orange Ginseng, is actually her older stepbrother through a marriage between Tropical Smoothie’s mother, Vegetable Smoothie, and the stallion’s mother, Lemon Ginger. 

The sheep sat down right next to the alicorn. “She said her brother will be better in a few days, Hope,” Jasper informed.

The psychiatrist pony smiled. “I’m glad to hear that Orange Ginseng’s getting better,” she said.

“Who’s Orange Ginseng?” asked Spike, curious.

“Tropical Smoothie has an older stepbrother named Orange Ginseng. He had caught a cold a few days ago and has been in bed sick ever since,” Gentle Hope informed.

They smiled. “Glad to hear somepony’s doing okay despite being sick. Getting sick is the worst,” said Solight.

He nodded. “It really is,” agreed the young dragon.

Even the sheep hated getting sick too. Jasper shivered from the memories of being sick. “Definitely,” he agreed.

“Mm-hmm,” agreed the psychiatrist pony.

They all paused for a moment before continuing again.

“So, Solight and Spike. What can you tell me about yourselves?” she asked.

Gentle Hope had then started asking questions about the alicorn and Spike, who in turn asked questions about her.





Few Minutes Later

The psychiatrist pony had finished her treat and just left the table.

She smiled. “It was really nice meeting you two. I hope you two have a fun time at Ponyville,” said Gentle Hope. “I’ll see you three tonight at the town hall for the celebration.” The psychiatrist pony was about to leave, but then she stopped and turned to look at Solight. “By the way, Solight. If you want any future therapy sessions, just let me know. I’ll set up an appointment, okay?”

They nodded. “Sure thing,” said the alicorn in a grateful tone.

“Bye,” said Gentle Hope as she made for the exit. 

“Bye,” said the three.

Now that Jasper had introduced Solight and the young dragon to his friends, there was nothing else to do now but wait for the celebration to start. The three of them had even finished their drinks. The sheep then had an idea.“So, Solight. Since there’s only a few hours left until the celebration starts, we have enough time for you to go read some library books,” he informed. “If you still want to, of course.”

As soon as Solight heard that, they became excited. A level of excitement similar to the one the party pony herself always seemed to display. The next thing that Jasper knew, he and Spike were being rushed to follow after an excited alicorn who was sneaking around, keeping an eye and ear out for Princess Celestia, the alicorn stallion, and the Royal Guards.





Meanwhile-At Carousel Boutique

The door to the boutique opened, and out came two robed figures.

The robed figure, who was slightly taller than the pony-shaped robed figure, closed the door behind them. “She was the last of them, right? Because I’m getting tired of going around town, capturing ponies and sending them off to the other dimension,” complained a slightly scratchy, male voice.

The pony-shaped robed figure nodded. “Yeah. Rarity was the last one, so now the path that should be taken, will be,” said, a calm, wise voice.

“So, we only have to wait until everything is over, and then release the ponies?” asked the tall, robed figure.

“Yes,” answered the pony-shaped robed figure.

He sighed in relief. “Phew. Great,” said the tall, robed figure. “After we’re done with this, I can finally relax.”

The pony-shaped robed figure nodded. “Let’s go,” they said.

The two robed figures disappeared in an instant.





Few Hours Later-Nighttime

Everyone was at the Town Hall, waiting for Princess Celestia to make her appearance while Mayor Mare was giving a speech. Meanwhile, the sheep had met up with his other friends and were with them in the crowd of ponies. Well, except for the pegasus mare, who was standing over by a corner of the wall, watching everything while Cinna’s Thestral Coltfriend, Lucious, was hanging out with her. 

“Where’s Solight and Spike? I thought they were attending the celebration?” asked Gentle Hope, curious.

“They are here. They’re just in the crowd somewhere,” answered Jasper. “They said that they wanted to be a little closer to the princess once she arrives.”

It was partly true as Solight and the young dragon were nearby, but were hiding amongst the crowd of ponies in order to remain out of sight from the royal guards and the alicorn stallion, while keeping their eye on the spot where the sun princess is supposed to be, ready to disappear the moment before she has a chance to see them. Anyway, since the one who was supposed to pull the rope, Rarity, isn’t here, so Pinkie Pie volunteered. The party pony bounced over to the rope and pulled it. As soon as it parted, everyone gasped, except the sheep, who gave off a fake gasp, as there was no one there.

Jasper could sense powerful dark magic approaching their location. “Nightmare Moon is coming. I can sense her,” thought the sheep. 

Jasper then started pushing through the crowd in order to reach the alicorn and Spike, surprising his friends.

“Banan?” said Banana Pie, confused.

“What’s he doing?” questioned the psychiatrist pony.

“I don’t know, but we better follow after him before he gets himself in any trouble,” said Melon.

The three ponies then followed after the sheep. 

He reached the two. “I’m guessing you have the same feeling on who’s behind this too, huh?” asked the sheep.

They nodded, still looking up. “Yeah, and she just showed up,” Solight informed. 

Jasper looked up again to see the evil alicorn, Nightmare Moon, had shown up. Everyone was shocked, including the unknown stallion, who had a look on his face as if he recognized her.

“It’s time to start the plan, Solight,” whispered the sheep.

The alicorn nodded in response. What happened next was that the evil alicorn did a speech, some blue mare with a rainbow mane tried to pick a fight with Nightmare Moon but was stopped by her friend, and Pinkie Pie did a guessing game, but her guesses were only making the evil alicorn angrier and angrier.

Solight decided to be the one to answer. Them answering wasn’t part of the plan, but it looked like Nightmare Moon was going to explode if no one gave the right answer or gave so many wrong guesses like the party pony did. “You’re Nightmare Moon,” answered the alicorn.

Doing that attracted everyone’s attention, including the alicorn stallion. As soon as he saw Solight, the unknown stallion’s eyes widened in a mix between surprise and anger. Surprise because the alicorn’s wings were gone, but anger because they weren’t supposed to be in Ponyville.

“Me and Spike will be in so much trouble after this,” thought Solight.

Their answer seemed to have made the evil alicorn satisfied.

He looked down at Spike. “Who’s the stallion? His current reaction makes it seem like he knows Solight,” whispered Jasper.

“That’s Solight’s Grandfather, Draco. He’s Princess Celestia’s brother,” whispered the young dragon.

“Ohhh…” said the sheep, understanding. “No wonder he didn’t want to be seen by him after sneaking out of Canterlot. He’d be in trouble with both the princess and his grandfather.”

The Royal Guards, by the Mayor’s orders, went to arrest Nightmare Moon. Draco joined in as well, his front hooves extending into claws.

“Now!” whispered Jasper.

While the evil alicorn was distracted, the sheep, the alicorn, and Spike, who was riding on Solight’s back, headed towards the door. Seeing them leave so quickly made their friends both surprised and confused.

She felt worried about the three. “We should follow them and see where they’re going. I’m worried they’re going to get hurt if it involves that evil alicorn,” said Gentle Hope.

The unicorn stallion and melon pony both nodded in agreement and galloped after the three, far, but close behind.

As for the pegasus, she was wondering where Princess Celestia was but then Cinna saw Jasper, Solight, and the young dragon go out the door. “They’re sure in a hurry,” said the pegasus mare. They then saw the psychiatrist pony, Banana Pie, and Melon galloping after the three.

“Cinna, we have to go after them. We have a feeling they’ll be doing something stupid and life threatening,” the melon pony informed.

Hearing that the pegasus’ three friends’ lives were going to be in danger, Cinna, not wanting her friends to die, flew up into the air.

“Lucious, you stay with everyone else. I’m going to go help out my friends, okay?” said the pegasus mare.

But before the kirin could say anything, Cinna flew off after the other three, determined.





Few Minutes Later

They had made it to the Golden Oak Library, where the sheep and the alicorn had just dropped Spike off since it was going to be a dangerous battle against Nightmare Moon, and they didn't want him mixed up in any of it.

“What did you two think you were going to do, and please don’t tell us that it has to do with that evil-looking alicorn that just showed up?” asked a female voice.

The two of them looked and saw that the voice belonged to Melon. Along with her was Gentle Hope, the pegasus mare, and the unicorn stallion. The four of them approached the two.

He decided to be the one to explain everything. “Oh. Well, you see,” said Jasper. “Me and Solight both believed in the legend of Nightmare Moon and knew she was going to be freed tonight. So, a few months ago, after I moved to the Everfree, I had a plan that would help save Equestria in the form of my ultimate inventions. With it, Nightmare Moon will be defeated once and for all. So, then I heard about Solight and recruited them to help me. Yada yada yada, right now, we’re going to go acquire my inventions, but acquiring them is going to be a challenge.” 

The melon pony raised an eyebrow. “A challenge, huh?” she asked.

The sheep nodded. Yeah,” he said.

“And you were going to do it without us?” asked Cinna, confused.

Jasper shook his head. “No. You each have the necessary strengths to help us acquire them,” explained the sheep. “This challenge requires all of us.”

“I see…” said Melon. “So, this is what you were talking about back at the celebration?”

Jasper shrugged. “Yeah,” said the sheep.

Solight was surprised. “Hold on. You told them back at the celebration?” they asked, confused.

“Yeah. They’re my friends,” he confirmed. “If I didn’t tell them, and they followed us, that would’ve made them mad and affected our friendship, so I told them all while we were at the celebration. After all, friendship is important, right?”

The alicorn sighed. “Yeah. I guess you’re right,” said Solight. “Friendship is important in the world.”

The sheep smiled. Then, Jasper walked away a few feet before stopping. “Good. Also, sorry about this, you all,” he said.

His words confused the group.

“Sorry about what?” asked the pegasus mare.

Suddenly, a giant magic circle appeared on the ground, around the group, accompanied by smaller magic circles appearing directly beneath them. Each one was decorated with different writings in their rims. The group were all shocked at the sight of it all.

Solight was flabbergasted. “Jasper, what’s going on?!” they shouted.

Jasper looked determined. “I’m sorry about this everyone, but I’m going to fight Nightmare Moon by myself. You all need to focus on facing your own challenge in order to acquire what will be given to you in the end if you complete it,” the sheep informed. “The thing you’ll each receive is part of what’ll be the key to defeat Nightmare Moon.”

“Wait-” shouted Solight, before being interrupted.

All five of Jasper’s friends were teleported away in an instant.
> The Test of Kindess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cinna blinked as the pegasus mare suddenly found herself standing on a sidetrot in an unknown town full of unknown ponies.

“Where is everypony?!” questioned Cinna. “One minute we were together, and then the next thing I know, I ended up here all by myself.” 

Being in an unexplored place started to overwhelm the pegasus. She wasn’t sure if anypony she knew lived here or where anypony lived if they did. The mare did her best to try and calm herself down with slow, deep breaths.

“I need to find out where I am and head toward Ponyville. After that, I’ll go meet up with everypony and help them deal with Nightmare Moon,” said Cinna. “Then once we’re done, I’ll go give Jasper the booping of a lifetime for doing this to me.” An evil glare appeared on the pegasus mare’s face. 

She started looking around for clues. When Cinna couldn’t find any, the pegasus mare decided to try the next best thing: Asking around.

Cinna decided to approach a random pegasus mare. “Excuse me, but-” she started, but was interrupted.

Before Cinna could finish, the pony took to the sky.

They stared as the mare retreated. “She was probably in a hurry to get somewhere. I’ll try asking somepony else,” Cinna surmised. 

She decided to approach a unicorn businesspony.

“Hi. Can you tell me--” the pegasus mare started but was interrupted again.

His horn glowed, and then the unicorn stallion teleported away, leaving his briefcase behind, but reappeared quickly after.

Cinna tried to ask him again. “Can-” they said, interrupted once more.

The unicorn stallion levitated the briefcase into the air with his magic, and, just like before, disappeared in a flash of light.

“...I’m going to guess he has to get to his job on time or else he’ll be late. I’ll try another one,” said the pegasus mare. She decided to be optimistic. “Maybe I’ll find somepony who could help me?”





A Few Minutes Later

Cinna had gone from being optimistic to being in a bad mood as she could not find anypony to help or was willing to help. Some of the ponies Cinna had asked had ignored the pegasus mare, while others either trotted, flew, or teleported away from her.

This was starting to get on the pegasus mare’s nerves. Cinna glared at the ponies as she flew around the town. “This town is full of mean ponies. As soon as I find out where Ponyville is located, I’m never returning here ever again, and I’m telling everypony else to stay away from here too,” grumbled the pegasus mare.

Cinna flew down to the ground so the pegasus mare could rest her wings. She decided to approach a random earth pony mare who was sitting on a bench. They were clearly doing nothing.

“I swear, if she starts being rude to me, I’ll…” thought the pegasus mare, grumbling. Once she arrived at the bench, Cinna cleared her throat. “Excuse me? Can you tell me the name of the town and where’s Ponyville located?”

The pony looked at the pegasus mare with an angry look. “Go away. Can’t you see that I’m busy?” said the earth pony mare, with a rude tone and bad attitude. 

Actually, she wasn’t busy and had nothing to do but sit on the bench, like Cinna thought. She just wasn’t interested in talking.

That was the last straw for her. Cinna decided that if the pony wanted to be rude, then she’d just be rude right back at the earth pony mare by mirroring the pony’s bad attitude. “There’s no need to be rude. Now, can you tell me the name of the town, and where Ponyville is located?” asked Cinna, in a rougher tone.

“I don’t like your attitude,” said the unicorn mare.

“Yeah, it's not so nice when someone does it to you, is it? Now, can you please answer my questions?” asked the pegasus mare.

The pony was about to be rude right back again, but a shiver down her spine told her to maybe loosen up.

The earth pony mare decided to answer the questions. “You’re in the only town where everypony cares only about themselves, ‘Trotting Valley’, and as for your other question, I don’t even know where Ponyville is, much less even heard of a place like that,” she answered.

That surprised Cinna as the earth pony mare had never heard of Ponyville before. The pegasus mare had finally found somepony who could answer one of her questions but couldn’t answer the other one.

“I’m guessing you’re a local from that ‘Ponyville’, which explains why you’ve never heard of this place before, right?” asked the pony. She rolled her eyes. “A cheesy name, that.” Cinna nodded. “Yeah,” they confirmed.

“Here’s some advice: This town is full of ponies who are either rude or only care about themselves,” she explained. “I’ve heard that those who have moved out of this town end up becoming different ponies after being around the locals for long periods of time. They get to live out new, happy lives, far away from this town. Lucky.” the earth pony muttered at the end.

Cinna decided not to bring up the frustrations. “Although, if you really do need help finding out where Ponyville is located, then you should go to the park’s entrance,” the pony informed. 

That made Cinna confused. “Why?” asked the pegasus mare.

“Out of everypony in this town, there is only one who’s nice out of all of us. Apparently, this one has traveled throughout all of Equestria before stopping at our ‘quaint’ little town to sell some of its items that it has collected during its journey,” she answered. The earth pony mare did the hoofquotes with her hooves. “If you go to the entrance, it should be there. It might know where your Ponyville is if you ask it.”

While Cinna was happy, at the same time they had noticed that something was off about what the pony said.

“Hold on. ‘It’?” asked the pegasus mare, confused. “Don’t you mean ‘they’?”

She shook her head. “No. I mean it,” answered the earth pony mare. “We don’t know what it is, but it’s not a pony, and it’s not any kind of creature that we’ve ever seen or heard of that has visited this town. Luckily, it’s nice and harmless. Once you arrive at the park, you’ll know it once you see it.”

Now Cinna was both happy and worried thanks to that. 

“Thanks,” muttered the pegasus mare. 

The pony shrugged. “It was nothing. Now, leave me be,” she said, frowning. “I have more nothing to do.”

Before Cinna flew away, she had something to say. “I hope one day you’ll be able to leave this town and become happy, just like the others. I think somepony like you deserves to be happy,” Cinna said sincerely.

Then, she flew off and headed in the direction of the park, which Cinna had seen earlier.Meanwhile, the pony had watched Cinna leave, a frown on her face. A few seconds later, the earth pony mare’s frown suddenly shifted into a smile.

“Thanks,” she said sincerely.





A Few Minutes Later

The pegasus mare had arrived at the park’s entrance. Now, all she needed to do was find whoever it is she was looking for.

CRASH!!!

The sound had surprised Cinna and had come from her right, so the pegasus quickly looked in the direction to see that the source of the crash was an overturned cart with items that had fallen off of it. The crash had even attracted the pony passersby's attention. Over at the cart, picking up the cart itself by magic was a male Kirin, who kind of resembled her other coltfriend, Tom, except this Kirin had his hair, face, and scales, but they had lilac-colored eyes, was kind of chubby, and looked kind of scary too.

Once the cart was upright, he looked around. “Can someone please help me pick up my items?” asked the Kirin.

The ponies looked at him.

“Looks kind of scary,” muttered a random stallion.

“Let’s not, and just move on. They got it themself,” muttered a random mare.

But before anyone could leave, Cinna jumped right ahead to help the Kirin out.

The pegasus mare started picking up the items by hoof and placing them onto the cart. “Let me help,” she said.

That surprised him. “You’re willing to help out someone as scary looking as me?” asked the Kirin.

The pegasus nodded. “Of course. After all, everypony deserves to be treated with kindness,” answered Cinna. “Including you.”

The Kirin, touched by her kindness, smiled. He started picking up the items as well. As for the ponies who were watching, they carried on with what they were doing. Eventually, every item was placed back on the cart.

The Kirin decided to repay the pegasus mare. His horn glowed with magic as the kirin levitated a gem from out of his cart and over to Cinna. It was a heart-shaped gem that was blue on the left half, and pink on the right half.

The kirin smiled. “Here, I want you to have this as a gift. It’s a token of my appreciation for helping me,” he said.

Cinna smiled and decided to accept it. “Thanks for the gem. I love it,” said the pegasus. “I’ll always treasure it.”

The kirin’s only response was a kind smile. As soon as the gem touched her hoof, it started glowing brightly.

The pegasus was surprised. “What the…?!” said Cinna.

The glow became brighter and brighter until eventually it died down. She became confused as the gem was suddenly gone. Cinna was about to look around for it but felt something heavy around their neck. 

“Feels like there’s something metal around my neck,” said Cinna, confused. 

He used his magic to levitate a somehow intact mirror over to her. “Here you go. Also, that necklace looks great on you, by the way,” complimented the kirin.

That confused the pegasus. “What necklace?” asked Cinna.

Their question was answered as Cinna had looked into the mirror and became surprised.



“The pendant had become a necklace. But how?” questioned the pegasus mare, confused.

He smiled. “That’s because you’ve passed the test,” answered the kirin.

She looked away from the mirror. “What test?” asked Cinna, even more confused.

He continued to smile. “The ‘Test of Kindness’. The Element of Kindness around your neck is proof of your accomplishment,” answered the Kirin. “Despite the ponies being rude to you when you went to them for help, you showed kindness to them, and the time when you were rude right back to that mare, you showed kindness to her by saying a kind word, by believing that even she would be able to find happiness. You show kindness to everypony, including to those that deserve it. That makes you more than qualified to wield the Element of Kindness itself.”

Learning all of that surprised the pegasus mare as she touched the Element of Kindness’ gem. 

There was one thing that made Cinna confused. “How do you know all of this?” they asked.

The kirin smiled. “One day, you’ll find out for yourself, and when you do, you’ll know who I am,” he informed, cryptically. “Now then, you must wait as one of your friends is currently doing their test. They should be on their way to find you now.”

That made the pegasus smile, knowing her friends were coming. “Great. I can’t wait to see all of my friends again,” said Cinna. They looked at the cart. “You won’t mind if I stay here with you until they show up?”

The kirin nodded. “Go ahead,” he answered.

So, until the pegasus mare’s friends arrive, she decides to pass the time by asking the kirin about his adventures.
> The Test of Honesty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The psychiatrist pony was confused. “What’s going on? Where am I, and where is everypony?” she wondered aloud.

Gentle Hope looked around to see that she had found herself in some lit-up hallway corridor. The walls were white, the floors were laminated and had a checkerboard pattern, and there were doors as far as the eye can see. They all looked the same and didn’t have any numbers on them.

The psychiatrist pony felt unnerved. “Hello?!” she called out. Her voice echoed through the hallway.

The psychiatrist pony looked behind herself to see that there was only a wall. Not only that, but there was a message painted on the wall in big, black letters that said, ‘Honesty is the best policy’. That’s the phrase that the Gentle Hope would tell her patients sometimes only when necessary.

The psychiatrist pony felt even more unnerved. She decided to call out for the others. “Banana Pie! Melon!” Gentle Hope called out. “Solight! Cinna! Jasper!”

There was no response at all, just the psychiatrist pony’s own echoes.

She became worried. “I hope everypony’s okay,” said Gentle Hope. The psychiatrist pony looked at the doors. “Maybe I should try a door? One of these will eventually lead me out of here and back to the others.”

She trotted over to the nearest doors to see if it would open. Gentle Hope twisted the knob, but it wouldn’t turn.

“Locked. I guess I better try another one,” said the psychiatrist pony. 

Gentle Hope went over to another door, but it was the same as the other door. 

“This one’s locked too. I have the feeling that some of these are locked, and some of the others are unlocked,” she observed. “I guess I should try out each of them until I find the right one.”

The psychiatrist pony then started trotting down the hallway, trying out each door, but each one was locked. 

She sighed. “Maybe this one will open?” said Gentle Hope, hopeful.

The psychiatrist pony started turning the knob, which kept on turning in Gentle Hope’s hoof.

She smiled as she had found an unlocked door, but then as soon as Gentle Hope started pulling the door, the psychiatrist pony’s smile dropped into a frown as the door wasn’t budging.

She decided to knock at the door, seeing if anyone was behind it. “Hello? Is anypony there?” the psychiatrist pony called out. There was no response. “If anypony’s there, can you please help me open the door? I have friends that I need to get to urgently.”

There was still no response, letting Gentle Hope know that no one was there.

“I guess I better add ‘unlocked doors that won’t budge’ to the list,” observed the psychiatrist pony. She looked ahead at the hallway full of countless doors. Gentle Hope then had a face of determination and hopefulness. “I won’t give up. My friends are counting on me. I need to meet up with them and get out of here.” 





A Few Minutes Later

Gentle Hope had checked each of the doors but couldn’t find the right door. She even called out to see if there was anyone behind any of the unlocked doors, but just like the first unlocked door, there was no response. Eventually, the psychiatrist pony had decided to stop checking them and just continue down the hallway, knowing that all the doors she was passing by weren’t the right ones.

“I hope I can find a way out of here and get to my friends,” said Gentle Hope, still hopeful.

The psychiatrist pony was starting to get tired from all the trotting she was doing.

“This hallway has to end soon eventually. It can’t go on forever,” thought Gentle Hope. 

After walking for a little while longer, she sat down onto the floor, tired.

“Maybe a little break is necessary before I continue on,” said the psychiatrist pony. “I wonder how much progress I made after I started?” Gentle Hope turned around to look behind herself, and then became shocked.

Right behind the psychiatrist pony was the wall itself from the beginning, except the message was gone. Instead, there was a door that looked familiar to her and even had a plaque that said, ‘Dr. Hope’.

“Wait a minute. This is the door to my office,” Gentle Hope realized. “What’s it doing here, and has it been here the whole time, following without me noticing?”

The psychiatrist pony decided to try and open it. Unfortunately, much like nearly every other door in this place, it wasn’t budging.

“It’s locked,” said Gentle Hope.

“Well, you need to knock first,” said a familiar voice.

That surprised the psychiatrist pony, who looked around trying to find out where the voice came from. After searching around, and saw that there was no one around, she returned back to the door.

“Guess I was hearing things,” said Gentle Hope.

“No, you weren’t,” said the voice with a feminine tone.

She was surprised again, and the psychiatrist pony was able to figure out that the voice was coming from behind the door.

“Hello? Is anypony in there?” asked Gentle Hope.

“Yeah. It’s just me though, which is kind of boring as I haven’t talked to anyone in quite a while,” they answered in a bored tone. “By the way, you need to knock first if you want to get in. It’s just proper manners when visiting someone’s place of business or office.” 

That made the psychiatrist pony raise an eyebrow. “But this is my office,” said Gentle Hope, confused.

“Still, you should be polite and knock. Go ahead and give it a try,” remarked the voice.

She sighed. Gentle Hope decided to try out what the mysterious being behind the door suggested. “Okay. Here goes nothing,” thought the psychiatrist pony.

KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!!

The next thing Gentle Hope knew, she wasn’t in the hallway anymore, and instead was inside of her own office. 

“It worked,” said the psychiatrist pony.

“Of course, it worked,” the same voice remarked.

Gentle Hope looked in the direction of the voice, and was shocked. Sitting in her chair was herself.

The look-alike smiled. “After all, I am you,” said Clone Gentle Hope.

Gentle Hope couldn’t respond as she was shocked to see herself.

The look-alike pointed at the seat. “Have a seat. It’s time you had an appointment with yourself,” the clone said louder.

That had snapped Gentle Hope out of her shock. “A-About what?” asked the psychiatrist pony, confused.

Clone Gentle Hope smiled. “Well, about yourself. It’s time you started being honest with me, which is technically being honest about yourself,” she answered. “Now, come on. We have a session to start.”

Hearing that, Gentle Hope looked at the couch, and then back at her look-alike, before looking back at the couch once again. After a few seconds, the psychiatrist pony trotted over to the couch and sat down.

“So, where should we start?” asked Gentle Hope, wondering.

“Well, we'll be talking about the one thing you’ve never talked about with other ponies,” answered Clone Gentle Hope.

The psychiatrist pony gasped, knowing what she was talking about. “You mean…?” asked Gentle Hope.

The look-alike nodded. “Yes. Your parents’ death,” she confirmed. “It’s time to rip the band-aid off, no matter how painful it’d be, and I know you agree with me.” 

The psychiatrist pony knew that Clone Gentle Hope was right. It’s been weighing down on her mind for years. It was time Gentle Hope told somepony.

She breathed in, and then breathed out. “Okay. I’m ready,” said Gentle Hope. “As you know since you’re me, my father’s name is Golden Hope, and my mother’s name is Sweet Hope.”

The look-alike nodded.

The psychiatrist pony smiled while chuckling happily. “The two were loving parents who loved me with all of their hearts. For years, I grew up with a loving family in a lovely home, which was a pretty great place to live in I have to admit,” she said. 

The happy smile on Gentle Hope’s face started to change into a frown as she then started to remember the day of the first incident.

“Calm yourself down, Gentle Hope. Breathe in and out,” advised Clone Gentle Hope, sympathetically.

The psychiatrist pony nodded. Gentle Hope started breathing in and out in order to calm herself down. After a while, Gentle Hope was calm.

“Better?” asked the look-alike, concerned.

She nodded. “Yeah, I’m calm now. Thanks,” said the psychiatrist pony. “One day, when I was 15, my father, who was a Botanist, went out to the Everfree to study some of the plants there, promising me and my mother that he’d return. We said our goodbyes to him, and then he left. None of us knew that that would be the last time we ever saw him alive. A month passed by since he left, and that got us worried.” Gentle Hope shifted in place, gradually becoming more uncomfortable. “Even if he’s immersed in his work for long periods of time, he would never be gone this long, and even if he was, he’d send us a word. So, we decided to ask some ponies to go find and check up on him for us, and so they went searching for him, but…” Her voice started to crack, and her eyes began to swell. “After a while, they returned but he was dead from an injury related to a Timberwolf attack. It seemed that dad got away from the Timberwolf that attacked him and had hid somewhere safe and set himself up to take a nap, but he ended up dying in his sleep from the injury itself.” Her words were strained through her attempts to not cry and keep herself as comprehensible as possible. “We held a funeral for him soon after.” Tears started to appear in Gentle Hope’s eyes. “Sometimes, I still think that if maybe me and my mother had stopped him from going, maybe he would still be alive and here with us.”

Clone Gentle Hope levitated a box of tissues over to the psychiatrist pony, who used magic to take a sheet. 

“Thanks,” said Gentle Hope.

After wiping away her eyes clear of tears, the psychiatrist pony levitated the tissue into the trash can.

Gentle Hope cleared her throat. “Now, as for my mother. I was 17, the day it happened,” continued the psychiatrist pony. “I was in my room, studying to become a therapist, when suddenly, I heard a thud. Worried about my mom, I left my room and galloped all the way over to the room to find her having a stroke. There was nothing I could do. Even if I had rushed her to the hospital, she would’ve died along the way. So, in my mother’s last moments, I stayed by her side, comforting her.”

A box of tissues was now floating in front of Gentle Hope’s face in the look-alike’s magic as more tears had started to come out from the psychiatrist pony’s eyes. She used some more tissues this time.

“After we held a funeral for her, I moved out of my parents’ house. My friend, Sunny Spirit let me live with them and their family,” continued Gentle Hope. “After I had earned enough bits from my job as a psychiatrist, I moved out of my friend's house and into the house I currently live in. I then decided to keep this whole thing bottled up inside me by not telling anypony about my parents’ deaths…” 

The psychiatrist pony looked up at Clone Gentle Hope, realizing.

“But I guess I should’ve been more honest with myself and started talking with other ponies about it. Like with my friends, who’d be there for me with an open ear no matter what,” continued Gentle Hope. A smile started to appear on her face as the psychiatrist pony felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Clone Gentle Hope nodded, confirming. “Which is exactly what you’ll be doing after this whole fiasco with Nightmare Moon is over, and you can help your friends with the Element of Honesty,” said the look-alike, pointing with a hoof. 

Suddenly, it felt like there was a small weight around Gentle Hope’s neck. She looked down to see what it was, and then the psychiatrist pony’s eyes widened. 



Gentle Hope reached at it, touching the necklace lightly.

“You like it? It’s the Element of Honesty,” Clone Gentle Hope informed. “You obtained it after passing the ‘Test of Honesty’.”

The psychiatrist pony became surprised. “The Test of Honesty?” she repeated.

The look-alike nodded. “Like its name, it’s a test about honesty. By being honest with me about your parents’ deaths, you became honest with yourself at the same time, allowing you to pass, and feel much better than before,” she informed. 

Gentle Hope smiled. “She’s right. I do feel so much better now,” thought the psychiatrist pony.

“Now, you can go help your friends with dealing with Nightmare Moon,” said Clone Gentle Hope

As soon as her look-alike mentioned Nightmare Moon, Gentle Hope became curious about something. 

The psychiatrist pony frowned. “This has been bothering me ever since I first arrived here, but why did Jasper do this? I mean, first he says that he’s going to go fight Nightmare Moon himself, and then he teleports all of us away, separating everyone from each other,” she said.

Clone Gentle Hope smiled. “Well, while we’re waiting for your friends to come and get you, how about we talk about that and any other issues you’re dealing with? What do you say?” asked the look-alike.

Gentle Hope thought about it before nodding. It did sound quite good to her to get some issues out of the way. The two then started having a chat with each other.
> The Test of Loyalty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Melon looked around and noticed that she wasn’t in Ponyville anymore.

“What the…? Where did that little fluff ball send me to?!” asked the melon pony, angrilly.

Melon looked around to see that she was in some sort of luxurious, tropical-themed hotel.

“I’m in a hotel? But there are no hotels in Ponyville,” melon pony remarked. “I better go look through a window and see where I am.” 

The melon pony turned around until she saw a nearby window and trotted over to it. Once Melon was there, she looked through it to see that she was not just on the second floor.

Melon was surprised. “What the…? Where is everypony?” questioned the melon pony. 

She had looked in all of the directions beyond the window, but there wasn’t a single pony in sight. The city, or at least the part of the city Melon was in looked empty. 

“Either this city is abandoned, or everypony is hiding inside. Either way, I need to find somepony,” said the melon pony. “I should go check out the front desk or the Manager’s Office. Somepony has to be there.”

She started trotting down the hall, looking for the stairs. 

An angry thought came to Melon’s mind. “Ugh! I can’t believe he would do that to us!” she shouted. A frown appeared on the melon pony’s face. “I don’t get it. It’s like he wanted to sacrifice his own life to defeat Nightmare Moon while sending us all off somewhere far away from Ponyville. Didn’t he believe in us?” Melon sighed. “I guess I’ll ask him when I get the chance. Right after I give him an earful.” Then, a determined look appeared on her face. “Knowing the others, they all must be heading to Ponyville as well so they could fight Nightmare Moon, so I should do the exact same thing as well.”





A Few Minutes Later

After reaching the steps and going down them, and continuing down even more hallways, she arrived at the Lobby. 

Melon sighed. “Finally,” muttered the melon pony, relieved.

She was lucky as sitting behind the front desk was a cheerful, adult pegasus mare reading a comic book of some kind. The melon pony trotted over to her and rang the bell.

DING!!!

The cheerful pegasus looked up from her comic book to see Melon standing there. The mysterious pony placed down the comic book while also making a mental note of which page she was on.

The cheerful pegasus smiled. “Welcome to the ‘Coconut Hotel’. How long are you planning to stay here for?” she asked, wondering.

“Sorry, but I’m not staying here. I’m actually here because of two things,” Melon informed. “One: I want to know where I am. And two: Which way’s the fastest route to Ponyville?”

The cheerful pegasus continued to smile. “You’re in the town known for its beautiful beach, and tasty seafood and pasta meals, ‘Seadrakewoolie’. As for your other question, I don’t know,” she answered. The cheerful pegasus then had a sad smile on her face. “The last time I went to Ponyville was back when I was a filly, and that was back when me and my parents were visiting a family friend.”

The melon pony looked frustrated. “Darn. Looks like I’m going to have to go outside and ask around then, which leads me to some more questions that I’m going to need answered,” she said. 

The cheerful pegasus smiled again. “Well, I’m here to answer any questions you have,” she said.

Melon raised an eyebrow. “Well, where is everypony? I’ve looked out a few windows and I don’t see anypony outside,” she said, curious. “And the same could be said about the inside of this hotel too. I didn’t come across any of your staff or guests, while trotting around. I don’t even hear anything else either. No voices, hoofsteps, or anything.” This was not only confusing the melon pony, but it was also making her kind of worried. 

“For your first question, it’s because there’s some important arcade game team championship tournament happening right now. Everypony in this city is attending the tournament as either competitors, or a part of the audience,” answered the cheerful pegasus.

“If everypony’s attending, then why are you here?” asked Melon, wondering.

She sighed. “I already went, but after I did some advertisement, sitting around doing nothing while other ponies played was just boring. So I decided to just head back to the hotel during the Quarterfinals and wait and see if anypony would be coming after the tournament ends,” answered the cheerful pegasus. She then chuckled. “I hope my favorite team wins though.”

“Hold on a sec. So, all of the staff and guests all went to see the tournament as well?” said the melon pony. She looked around. “I guess that’s why the hotel is empty.”

The cheerful pegasus shook her head. “Actually, that’s because it’s not officially open yet until I hire some staff for the hotel. Until then, I’m filling in as the front desk receptionist,” clarified the cheerful pegasus.

“Oh…Wait,” she said. Melon pointed a hoof at the cheerful pegasus. “Your hotel? Doesn’t that mean that you’re the–”

She smiled. “Owner? You got that right,” confirmed the cheerful pegasus. “My name is Coconut Sunshine, and welcome to my hotel.” Coconut Sunshine then trotted out from behind the desk, revealing that her Cutie Mark was a coconut with the rays of the sun around it. “You like it, huh?”

The melon pony ended up nodding, agreeing. It did look luxurious to her even though Melon hadn’t seen all of the hotel.

“I have to admit, it does look luxurious, especially with all of the furniture and decorations you have,” admitted the melon pony.

The cheerful pegasus smile widened. “Thanks. It took lots of hard work and determination to earn enough bits to even have this place built,” she answered. “I saved up tons of bits for years for my goal. I had to find cheap property to buy or rent, and when that didn’t work, I decided to just go around and see if anypony was selling their business that had a big enough space, but sold it at a price that I could afford. Once I found it, I had to pay some ponies to both tear it down, remodel the space, and build my five-floor hotel. Then-”

While Coconut Sunshine was explaining everything, Melon was starting to feel kind of sad on the inside as the melon pony realized that even if she had enough bits, Melon would need to do some of those things that the cheerful pegasus did just to have her Inn built, which would cost the melon pony even more bits and more than a year to acquire. 

“And that’s about it,” finished the cheerful pegasus. “It cost me tons of bits and lots of years to achieve, but I obtained my dream in the end. What about you?”

Melon was snapped out of her thoughts.

“Huh?” said the melon pony, confused.

“What’s your dream?” asked Coconut Sunshine, wondering.

“Oh. My dream is to open up my own Inn in Ponyville,” answered Melon. She smiled, but there was a bit of hesitation in it. “So far, I’m still saving up some of my bits every month to go towards my dream, but I’ll get there eventually.”

The cheerful pegasus smiled. “Well, I’ll be here cheering you on,” said Coconut Sunshine.

The melon pony smiled back. “Thanks,” she said.

“No problem,” said the cheerful pegasus. 

Coconut Sunshine tapped her own chin as the cheerful pegasus thought about something. 

She decided to share what she was thinking with Melon. “You know, to tell you the truth, you’re actually the sixth to visit my hotel today. Just like you, these five were wondering where they were too,” Coconut Sunshine informed.

The melon pony perked up as soon as she heard that. Melon had a sneaking suspicion on who the other four were. 

“Really?” asked the melon pony.

The cheerful pegasus nodded. “Yeah. They arrived in the lobby a few minutes before you did,” she informed. “Four of them were a group of ponies that arrived together. Two of them were pegasi, and the other two were unicorns. As for the last one, they arrived a minute before you did. It was some sheep wearing a cloak.”

Her suspicions were correct as the four that Coconut Sunshine was talking about were Melon’s friends.

“It seems they all ended up here at the hotel before I did, including Jasper,” she thought. Melon frowned. “Now I can meet up with the others and then question him on why he sent all of us here.” The melon pony looked at the cheerful pegasus, determined. “Where are my friends?”

She smiled. “Follow me,” said Coconut Sunshine.

The cheerful pegasus trotted away, while Melon followed after her. Coconut Sunshine grinned widely as she led Melon to the others.

“Too bad. I wanted to give her a tour of my entire hotel, but I guess I’ll have to show her the most important place of all instead,” thought the cheerful pegasus. “Let’s see what she’ll think once she sees the centerpiece of the room.”





One Minute Later

The two arrived at the Dining Area.

Melon gasped. “What the…?!” she said.

Up ahead in the dining area, there was a big cage, and inside of it were Melon’s friends and Solight, who were all restrained. 

“Hold on. I’ll get you all out of there!” shouted the melon pony.

She galloped over to the cage, worried about them all and was about to touch it when Coconut stopped her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. That cage is electrically charged,” she warned. “One touch, and you’ll end up zapped.”

The melon pony looked at the cheerful pegasus, angrily. “Why would you do this to them?! Release them,” commanded Melon. “Now.”

She pretended to think about it. “Mmm, how about ‘no’ to releasing them? As for your question, I want your friends to work for me forever,” said Coconut Sunshine. 

The cheerful pegasus reached under the table right next to her and pulled out a bag.

Coconut Sunshine grinned. “I’m offering one million bits to you to leave them here with me at my hotel. Not only that, but I’ll give you a map back to Ponyville,” offered the cheerful pegasus.

The melon pony gasped at the sound of the amount.

She nodded. “With this amount of bits, you’ll be able to build your Inn. Your dream will finally be achieved,” said the cheerful pegasus. “So, what do you say?”

Melon felt conflicted. Coconut Sunshine was right as the melon pony did need the bits to open up the Inn, but that would mean leaving her friends behind at the cheerful pegasus’ hotel. In the end, the melon pony made her decision.

Melon glared at Coconut Sunshine. “Let my friends go,” she demanded.

The cheerful pegasus smiled. “Are you sure? This is a loooot of bits you’ll be passing up,” she said. Coconut Sunshine shook the bag of bits.

The melon pony’s glare didn’t change. “Positive,” said Melon, in a serious tone.

Her smile didn’t change either. “Well, then. I have one thing to say to that…” said the cheerful pegasus.

She rolled her eyes. All Melon wanted to do was take her friends, go back home, defeat Nightmare Moon, give Jasper an earful like the melon pony was planning to do, attend the celebration, and continue working at her watermelon stand the next day. 

“What?” asked Melon.

“You’ve passed the test,” Coconut Sunshine informed. She clapped her hooves. “Congrats.”

That surprised the melon pony. “Wait. What?” she said, confused. “What test?”

The cheerful pegasus gestured her other hoof in a circle in the air. “This whole city, the hotel, me, and even your friends aren’t actually real. We’re all actually just part of a test known as the ‘Test of Loyalty’,” explained Coconut Sunshine. 

Hearing that shocked Melon.

She continued on. “This whole test was designed to test your loyalty to your friends by making you choose between them and your dreams, and you’ve passed,” said the cheerful pegasus. “As such, you’ve been awarded the Element of Loyalty.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Element? What Element?” asked Melon.

Coconut Sunshine laughed. “The one that you’ve been wearing around your neck the whole time. I’m surprised that you haven’t noticed it by now,” the cheerful pegasus informed. “You’ve been wearing it ever since you first rang that bell.”

The melon pony looked down and saw it.



She grinned. “Cool, huh?” asked Coconut Sunshine. The cheerful pegasus placed the bag of bits on top of the table.

It did look cool, but now was not the time for her to be so focused on it. Right now, Melon knew that she needed to find her friends right now.

“If those aren’t my friends, then where are my real friends located?” asked the melon pony, wondering. As long as Melon knew where they were, then she could meet up with them.

“Well, four of your real friends are off doing their own tests to acquire their Elements, but I don’t know if any of them finished theirs. As for Jasper, with how much time has passed by, he must still be fighting against Nightmare Moon while waiting for you all to return,” Coconut Sunshine informed. “Let’s hope he can last long enough before it’s too late.”

That worried Melon, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by the cheerful pegasus.

“Though, it is strange. The one who is supposed to be taking the ‘Test of Generosity’ hasn’t arrived yet,” said Coconut Sunshine, confused. “Nor any of the creatures who have the quality of generosity.” She looked worried. “I think something or someone must be preventing Jasper from finding any of the ponies or creatures to take the test. I worry that without the Element of Generosity, it’s impossible for any of you to defeat Nightmare Moon.”

The melon pony knew that that sounded bad. “That means that all of the trouble that everyone’s going through for Jasper’s plan will go up in smoke unless we acquire that ‘Element of Generosity’,” thought Melon. “That doesn’t sound good at all.”

The cheerful pegasus nodded. “Yeah. Whoever’s behind this must be up to something,” agreed Coconut Sunshine. “By the way, if you were planning on leaving this hotel, then I would like to inform you that it’s impossible right now.”

That surprised her. “Wait. What do you mean that it’s impossible?” asked Melon, confused. “Can’t I just walk through the front door and I’ll be outside?”

She shook her head. “It’s impossible for any of you to leave your own tests or enter each other’s tests. Whether it’s during the test or after it, none of you can leave,” Coconut Sunshine informed. “Only the one whose test allows them to travel to everyone’s test can do it. Until that pony arrives to pick you up, you’re stuck here.” 

That surprised the melon pony even more.

“What?!” shouted Melon.

The cheerful pegasus smiled. “Until then, if you have any questions about anything, you’re free to ask,” she informed.

The melon pony really hoped that whoever’s test did whatever Coconut Sunshine said, would get Melon out of her test, and soon.
> The Test of Laughter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Banana Pie appeared at a distance away from the front of a castle.

“Where am I, and where is everypony else for that matter? And why am I near a castle when I was in Ponyville?” said the unicorn stallion, confused.

He would’ve asked himself more questions, but the unicorn stallion heard a voice from behind.

“Excuse me,” called out a young, male voice.

Banana Pie looked behind himself to see a young, unicorn stallion who was dressed up in the clothes of a jester, but the Cutie Mark was covered up by the outfit itself.

“Are you here to see the king?” asked the mysterious stallion, curious.

That made the unicorn stallion confused. “I’m sorry, but what are you talking about?” he asked.

That made the jester realize something. “Oh, I guess you’re not here to do that then. Well then, allow me to introduce myself as the Royal Jester of the King Gold Metal and his royal family of Aurum Cynedom, ‘Foolish Jokes’,” introduced the young stallion. 

Banana Pie smiled. “Nice to meet you, Foolish Jokes,” he greeted. “Darn. The one time where I make a new friend and I don’t have a banana on me to give to them.” 

The unicorn stallion made a promise to himself to find out where he is, return to Ponyville, defeat Nightmare Moon, and then return to give Foolish Jokes a banana. 

For now, Banana Pie needed something answered. “So, why did you ask me if I’m here to see the king?” asked the unicorn stallion, curious.

The jester smiled. “Well, the king proposed a single game to the whole town that if anypony can find his son, the royal prince, who is disguised and could be either amongst everypony in the town, or in the king’s castle, then they’ll be able to go into the royal vault and pick out any treasure that they want in return. Everypony only gets one chance to guess, and if they get it wrong, then they’re out of the game,” he explained. “So far, everypony in the village has guessed and has gotten it wrong. Even travelers who have visited our kingdom have gotten it wrong.”

Foolish Jokes had gone into a thinking pose. 

“The game started today and will be over in less than an hour. After that, it might be a month or so until the king does the same thing again just until somepony makes the correct guess and wins,” added the Jester. “The King really loves to play games, and even loves to have his citizens, including new ponies and creatures, take part in them. After all, the goal of the game is to have fun as well.”

Banana Pie was impressed that the king would think up fun games for everypony to play in.

The unicorn stallion was impressed. “That is very impressive to hear. The king sounds like somepony who really loves his kingdom and would do anything to make everyone smile and have fun,” he complimented. “I think he sounds like a fun king to be friends with.”

Foolish Jokes smiled at the compliment towards the king.

“So, where are you from, uh…” said the Jester. Foolish Jokes then realized that he didn’t know Banana Pie’s name, and chuckled. “Sorry. I don’t think I got your name yet.”

“Oh. My name is Banana Pie,” introduced the unicorn stallion. “And well, to tell you the truth, I’m new to this kingdom and I don’t know where I am.” He frowned as he remembered what happened. “One minute, I was at my town’s celebration with my friends, the next, I ended up here separated from them.”

The Jester felt sad for Banana Pie. “Oh, that is so sad. Do you need any help locating them?” he offered.

Banana Pie shook his head. “No, thanks. I have a feeling that all of my friends are heading to Ponyville as well, wherever they are,” said the unicorn stallion. “But I do need help knowing which way is Ponyville and the fastest way to get there.”

Foolish Jokes thought about it until he had an idea. “Maybe the king could help you? There’s a chance that the castle’s maps could help you find out which way is Ponyville,” said the Jester. Foolish Jokes trotted towards the castle. “Follow me.”

He followed after the Jester. “Do you think the king would allow me to see them?” asked Banana Pie, wondering.

The Jester smiled. “The King loves helping others. He’ll definitely help you,” he said.





A Few Minutes Later

They made it to the Throne Room where the king was sitting upon his throne.

King Gold Metal smiled. “Ah, Foolish Jokes. You’re back, and you even brought a guest,” he said. “Would you like to introduce him to me?”

Foolish Jokes bowed to King Gold Metal. Seeing that his new friend was bowing, Banana Pie bowed too.

The Jester looked up at the King. “King Gold Metal, I’d like to introduce to you, Banana Pie. He has traveled from a town called Ponyville and needs help getting back to it,” he informed. “Can he use the castle’s maps from the Archives to find his way back home? He has friends that he was separated from that he needs to get back to.”

King Gold Metal frowned. “Well, that is sad news. Of course, he can use the maps,” he said. “Tell the guards that I allowed your friend to come along with you into the Archives.”

Foolish Jokes looked back down. “Thank you, my king,” said the Jester.

The two of them got up from their bowing positions and trotted in the direction of the library.





A Few Minutes Later

They were currently in the Archives and had been searching for Ponyville for a while on the map of Equestria. So far, it wasn’t anywhere on the maps. It might be possible that their maps didn’t contain the unicorn stallion’s hometown since they’d never heard of it before. 

He frowned. “I’m sorry, Banana Pie. Looks like your home could be anywhere,” said the Jester.

Banana Pie smiled. “It’s okay, friend. I’ll just think of a plan to get back home,” he said. The unicorn stallion frowned a little. “...Somehow.”

“Until then, you can stay in this kingdom until you find a way home,” offered Foolish Jokes.

The unicorn stallion smiled even more. “Thanks,” said Banana Pie. Something popped up in his mind. “Foolish Jokes, sorry for asking this, but are you the king’s son in disguise?”

That surprised the jester. 

He had calmed himself down. “Um, w-why would you think that?” asked Foolish Jokes.

The unicorn stallion scratched his head. “I don’t know. It’s just that the king gives off some sort of a royal presence of some kind, and you seem to give off a royal presence as well for some reason,” he explained. “Does that make sense?”

The jester smiled. “Oh. Uh…Yeah,” said Foolish Jokes. He got up from his seat. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

Foolish Jokes then galloped away, leaving Banana Pie by himself, confused.

“That was weird,” said the unicorn stallion.





A few Minutes Later

Banana Pie was now trotting through the hallways with the Jester as they were both heading somewhere. Foolish Jokes had wanted to bring the unicorn pony with him to some part of the castle.

“Where are we heading?” asked Banana Pie, confused.

The Jester smiled. “You’ll see. We’re almost there,” he answered.

Luckily, the unicorn stallion’s curiosity was about to be answered as they had arrived at a room that was guarded by two guards. 

“The King allowed us to visit this room. Can you open the doors for us?” asked Foolish Jokes, in a royal-like tone.

Hearing this had surprised the guards a little, but since it was King Gold Metal’s orders, the two obliged. The moment the doors were opened, the inside of the room was revealed: It was filled with treasure.

He was shocked. “Whoa! There’s so much treasure in here!” said the unicorn stallion.

Hearing this made him laugh at Banana Pie’s reaction. “Well, of course it is. This is the Treasure Room after all,” the Jester informed. “Now, you can go and pick some treasure out from amongst them.”

The unicorn stallion shook his head. This was confusing Banana Pie as he didn’t know why the unicorn stallion was allowed to do this since he wasn’t interested in the treasure.

“But, I didn't do anything to deserve this,” said Banana Pie.

Foolish Jokes smiled. “Actually, you just did something a while ago,” he informed.

That surprised the unicorn stallion. “I did? What did I do?” asked Banana Pie, confused.

“Remember when I told you about the game that King Gold Metal proposed to the town?” asked the Jester.

He thought back. “You mean about that guessing game involving the prince being disguised?” answered the unicorn stallion.

Foolish Jokes nodded, smiling. “You guessed what nopony else was able to guess. Everypony else guessed that he was disguised as something else, or as one of the castle staff or guards, but nopony was able to guess that the Jester was actually the prince the entire time,” explained the Jester.

That shocked him as Banana Pie had not only just found out that the Jester was actually the prince in disguise, but that he was only guessing at the time. The unicorn stallion didn’t know that he was actually right.

“But I wasn’t taking part in the game. I was only guessing since I had a feeling from the royal presence you were giving off,” argued Banana Pie.

His smile didn’t change. “And that feeling is what allowed you to win. I had told my dad, and he ruled in favor that you won the game despite you not taking part in it,” said the disguised prince. “So technically, you won.”

In the end, he had no choice, seeing as how Foolish Jokes wasn’t changing his mind about the unicorn stallion technically winning.

“Also, when you’re with me and are around others outside the castle, or royalty from other kingdoms, you have to call me ‘Ruby Spark’,” the disguised prince informed.

“Is that your real name?” asked Banana Pie, wondering.

Foolish Jokes shook his head. “Actually, my name is really Foolish Jokes. My mom, who is the daughter of the former Jester of the previous king, is the one who gave me that name,” the disguised prince explained. 

Foolish Jokes was a bit embarrassed about the name, but the disguised prince also wore it with pride since his mother did choose the name since she wanted to name him after his grandfather: ‘Gag Jokester’.

“It’s just that dad gave me my second name to use around other ponies and creatures. So, I had an idea, and decided to disguise myself in an outfit and with some magic to look like a Jester, that way he can refer to me by my real name whenever we have company,” explained the disguised prince. “It has worked many times since no one knew who I was while in disguise.” He cleared his throat. “Now then, go and take a look around the treasure room. If you see anything that catches your eye like a trinket or a ring or something, then you can have it.”

The unicorn stallion sighed inwardly. “Fine, I’ll take a look around, but if there’s nothing I want, then you have to promise me that you won’t push me to get something, okay?” he asked.

Foolish Jokes nodded. “I swear upon my name that I promise that that won’t happen,” said the disguised prince.

Seeing that he promised, Banana Pie nodded. Then, the unicorn stallion trotted forward inside while looking around at the treasure uninterested as none of it caught his eye. Suddenly, the unicorn stallion collided face first into a glass case atop a podium. Banana Pie was about to back away from it, but the moment he saw its contents, he became enamored. Inside of the display was a golden necklace with a banana-shaped gem in the middle.

“Ooh, Banana,” said Banana Pie, amazed.

He trotted inside, approaching the unicorn stallion, smiling. “I see that the pendant has attracted your attention, Banana Pie. It used to belong to my mother’s mother, who was a wandering gypsy at the time when she had met my grandfather,” explained the disguised prince. “I think it suits you, seeing as how your Cutie Mark looks exactly like the gem. I think you were destined to have it.”

Foolish Jokes’ horn lit up with a blue-colored aura as he used magic to open up the case and levitate the pendant out. The disguised prince then placed it around Banana Pie’s neck.



This made him concerned. “Are you sure I can have this? This did belong to your grandmother and mother after all,” said the unicorn stallion.

Foolish Jokes smiled. “It’s okay. Besides, I think it’s time the pendant was given to its new owner anyway,” he said. “I know that my father will agree with me. Take it.”

Banana Pie wanted to argue back, but seeing as how his friend wanted the unicorn stallion to take it, Banana Pie accepted it in the end. Though, the unicorn stallion did want to give the disguised prince something in the end.

Banana Pie then had an idea, and smiled. “How much does everyone in this castle love to laugh?” he asked.

Foolish Jokes shrugged. “Well, everyone in this castle loves a good joke or trick. Why do you ask?” asked the disguised prince, wondering.





A Few Minutes Later

Everpony in the throne room was laughing as the unicorn stallion was now juggling bananas in the air, while letting some fall onto his head with a ‘bonk’. During the time that had passed by, Banana Pie had been doing funny stuff involving bananas like pretending he was in a fight with himself, driving around in a banana box car, etc.

The king had to calm himself down from laughing. “Goodness gracious. You are funny with those bananas,” said King Gold Metal.

The unicorn stallion smiled before tossing the bananas into the air. “Thanks,” he said. 

Then, the bananas started falling onto Banana Pie’s head one by one, making everyone laugh even more.

He tried to catch his breath from laughing. “Enough, enough. Please, stop,” said Foolish Jokes. The prince wanted the unicorn stallion to stop making everyone laugh before they all ran out of breath. He sighed. “Phew. That was funny, Banana Pie. You must be funny back where you live, huh?”

Banana Pie smiled. “Well, I’m not ‘Pinkie Pie funny’, but I do love to make my friends laugh. Their laughter is enough to make me smile,” he informed.

“Well, it’s enough that you passed the ‘Test of Laughter’,” Foolish Jokes informed.

“Huh?” asked the unicorn stallion, confused.

He smiled. “You care about making your friends happy and to laugh their troubles away, and you make them laugh even when you want to bring laughter to them,” said Foolish Jokes. The prince pointed at the necklace. “As proof of you passing the test, the Element of Laughter is still there. If you didn’t care about laughter, it would’ve disappeared.”

Banana Pie touched the necklace, surprised.

“Whoa,” he said.

“Yeah. Now, you must wait until one of your friends comes to get you,” Foolish Jokes informed. “Then, you’ll be able to leave and return back to Ponyville.”

The unicorn stallion nodded. He understood that since this was all a part of the test, then all Banana Pie has to do is wait for his friends to come for him.

“They’ll come and get me. I just know it,” thought the unicorn pony.

The castle’s servants brought trays that contained Banana Cream Pies.

Banana Pie smiled. “Ooh. I love Banana Cream Pies,” he said. 

The unicorn stallion couldn’t wait to eat. But then suddenly, one of the pies impacted his face. Banana Pie removed the pie from his face to see that the one who threw it was the prince, who had a grin on his face.

The unicorn stallion grinned back. “Bad move on your part,” said Banana Pie.

A few seconds later, a pie fight broke out as everypony was throwing pies at each other while having fun.
> The Test of Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Stop!” shouted Solight. “Huh?” They noticed something was off and looked around.  

Solight noticed that they weren’t in Ponyville anymore. “It looks like I’m in some kind of a forest, and a dark one too,” observed the alicorn. “I wonder where in Equestria I am?”

All of a sudden, Solight held their head like they were in pain.





Inside Solight’s Mind

There are two sides to the alicorn’s mind, the alicorn hybrid side, Solar Solight, and the unicorn hybrid side, Twilight Solight. Right now, the alicorn hybrid side was trying to calm her down as the unicorn hybrid side was panicking.

“Twi, calm down. Please, we need to get through,” begged Solar Solight.

Twilight Solight shook her head. “Solar, I don’t know what to do. It’s so dark,” said the unicorn hybrid side, worried. “I’m worried that I don’t know if we can do this on our own.”

He looked determined. “We can do this because we are one and the same,” said the alicorn hybrid.

Luckily, it worked as Twilight Solight had calmed down a little, realizing that Solar Solight was right.

She looked at the alicorn hybrid side. “You are right,” said the unicorn hybrid side.

“Breathe in and out. We are one and the same,” he advised.

Twilight Solight decided to do as Solar Solight said, and breathed in and out. After a few seconds of doing it, she was now completely calm.





Outside Solight’s Mind

Solight let go of their head as it felt much better. 

“That was weird. Maybe some tea will help?” said the alicorn. “I’ll have some after we take care of Nightmare Moon.”

Suddenly, Solight held their head again.

“Not again,” complained the alicorn.





Inside Solight’s Mind Again

The unicorn hybrid side was now having a mental breakdown as soon as Nightmare Moon was mentioned. The alicorn hybrid side was trying to once again calm her down.

“Why would Jasper do this? Why would he face Nightmare Moon on his own?” questioned Twilight Solight, worried.

“Calm down, Twi. We can ask him this after we find the others,” reassured Solar Solight. “For now, we need to get out of this forest.”

The unicorn hybrid side realized that he was right once again.

“Sorry. You’re right,” she said.

Twilight Solight had calmed down once more.





Outside Solight’s Mind Again

Solight let go of their head once more.

“Ugh. Okay, I am going to need a lot of tea after this,” said the alicorn.

Solight started trotting aimlessly through the forest as there was only one path, and lots of trees surrounding both sides of the path itself. But then, something gained their attention.

“Huh?” said the alicorn.

Up ahead, there was a crossroad where there were only two paths. One that went to the left, and the other went to the right.

“I guess I’ll go…left,” they said.

The alicorn took the left path and trotted on. Solight didn’t even notice that the forest around them had gotten a little darker. After trotting for a few seconds, the alicorn had reached another crossroad, but this one had five paths.

That made them confused. “Another one? But this time it’s five?” questioned Solight. “Uh…okay. Which one should I choose now?”

After making a quick decision, seeing as how they were in an unknown forest, the alicorn decided to choose the middle path.

A few seconds later, Solight finally noticed something was off as they looked around. “That is strange. This part of the forest is even darker than the other two paths I took,” observed the alicorn.

“I should just turn back and choose one of the other paths instead,” said the alicorn. Solight turned around to head back in the opposite direction, but stopped themself. “That is even stranger,” said the alicorn.

The path Solight originally took was inundated in darkness.

“Looks like I can’t go back once I've chosen a path. I guess that means I’ve got to continue forward instead,” observed the alicorn. Solight turned back around and continued on forward. “I hope I’m going the right way,” they said.





Five Minutes Later

Every path that the alicorn chose, the forest seemed to get darker as the remaining light disappeared little by little. Right now, there was only a tiny bit of light left, allowing Solight to barely see the six-path crossroad up ahead.

They groaned. “Ugh. I need to do something, or else I’ll be stuck in this forest forever!” said the alicorn. “But what?”

An idea had come to Solight. “Instead of trotting through the forest, choosing the wrong paths, I should just fly above. Then, I can just fly around and look for the others from up above,” they said. 

The alicorn started flapping their wings and was only a few inches off of the ground, but…

ZAP!!!

“Ow!” exclaimed Solight.

The alicorn stopped flapping their wings and landed on their hooves.

“What was that? It felt like something zapped my wings,” said Solight, surprised.

The alicorn checked their wings to see if it was intact, which it was.

Solight sighed. “Phew. Nothing’s wrong with them,” they said, relieved. The alicorn looked confused. “That was weird. The moment I was a few inches off of the ground, I got zapped.” They thought about it. “Is it possible that flying above the forest from either side of it, or even going from trotting to flying while in the middle of this forest is prohibited, and if so, is the forest itself somehow punishing me?”

The alicorn was planning on testing that theory.

Solight shook their head. “Nah, I don’t want to get zapped again. That was just painful,” said the alicorn. “I guess for now, I’ll stick to the ground.”

The alicorn tried to think up another idea, and after a few seconds, once came.

They smiled. “Ah-ha! I’ll just teleport myself out of the forest high up into the air, and then fly,” said the alicorn. “That’ll work. I just know it.”

Solight concentrated their magic into their horn for a teleport, but then…

THWACK!!!

“Ouch!” exclaimed the alicorn.

The magic in Solight’s horn was canceled and the alicorn fell onto their plot. They rubbed their horn in pain.

Solight looked left and right. “What just hit me in the horn?! That was painful!” exclaimed the alicorn.

They saw only the forest, the trees, and the paths, nothing else. Whatever impacted the alicorn’s horn was gone, including whatever threw it.

Solight groaned. “Ugh. I guess teleporting out of the forest won’t work if the forest is stopping me from doing that too,” they guessed. Once their horn stopped hurting, the alicorn slumped. “So now what? I can’t fly, and I can’t teleport, which means that-”

Then, the alicorn had another idea.

Solight stood up. “Wait. ‘Teleport’, they said. “Maybe I can’t teleport out of this forest, but maybe I can use Jasper’s own teleportation magic to help me. All I have to do is use my magic to lock on to each of my friends’ teleportation signals, and then head straight in their direction.” The alicorn looked hopeful. “Though, I hope this is something that the forest will allow me to do.”

Solight concentrated the magic in their horn as the alicorn began to use their magic to focus on the magic signatures of the nearest pony. The alicorn waited a few seconds for the impact on their horn, but when it didn’t happen, Solight continued with the spell. After a while, Solight’s horn started pulling the alicorn in a certain direction. They opened their eyes to see that their magic was pulling them to the right, but it wasn’t in the direction of the sixth path. It was in the direction right next to the path itself, causing a new path to suddenly appear.

The alicorn smiled. “It worked. I’m coming everypony,” they said.

Solight trotted on the new path. As soon as they had done that, the light in the forest had increased a little.

The alicorn noticed. “Looks like I’m on the right path,” said Solight.

After reaching a new path, the alicorn would have the spell guide them onto a new path each time, causing the darkness in the forest to lift little by little every time.





Six Minutes Later

Solight was amazed. “Whoa. Where am I?” they asked.

One minute the alicorn had gone down a path that led to a clearing. The next, Solight had ended up in a hallway, standing in front of a door.

They read the plaque and were surprised. “Dr. Hope? As in, ‘Gentle Hope’?” asked Solight, very hopeful. “She’s here. I just know it.”

The alicorn then tried to open the door by twisting the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge at all. So, Solight decided to do the next best thing.

KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!! KNOCK!!!

They knocked on the door with their hoof. “Gentle Hope, are you in there?! It’s me, Solight!” shouted Solight. “I’ve come to rescue you!”

After a few seconds, the door unlocked, and Solight went inside. They would have said more but stopped when the alicorn saw two Gentle Hopes who waved at them.

The psychiatrist pony smiled. “Glad you could make it, Solight. Me and myself were waiting for you,” she said. “We passed the time by chatting about some things.” Gentle Hope got off of the couch and looked at her look-alike, smiling. “It was really fun having those discussions with you, me. Hope to have some more later.”

The psychiatrist pony trotted over to the alicorn while looking at Clone Gentle Hope.

She smiled back. “Same here. Also, remember what we talked about before?” said Clone Gentle Hope. “As long as you remember them, then everything will be okay. Okay?”

Gentle Hope nodded. “Okay. Thank you, and goodbye,” said the psychiatrist pony. 

The look-alike smiled even more. “Goodbye,” said Clone Gentle Hope.

The whole office, including the look-alike, started to fade away and was being replaced by the forest until, eventually, it was gone. The two were on some random path in the forest, which had a bit of sunlight poking through the treetops, shining onto the forest floor.

Gentle Hope was surprised at where they were. “We ended up in some kind of forest this time?” she questioned.

They nodded. “Yeah. It seems that we need to find the right paths,” explained Solight. “It seems that each of our friends are in some kind of place like you were, and the only way to get to them is to choose the right paths.”

The alicorn would’ve said more, but then they noticed the necklace around the psychiatrist pony’s neck.

Solight really liked it. “Beautiful necklace. It even has your Cutie Mark,” they complimented. “Where’d you get it from?”

She smiled. “I got it from myself as a reward for completing the Test of Honesty,” said Gentle Hope.

That confused the alicorn. “Hold on. ‘Test of Honesty’?” they asked, raising an eyebrow. “You had to do a test where you’re honest?”

The psychiatrist pony shook her head. “Kind of,” said Gentle Hope.

After that, she told Solight about the Test of Honesty, while not telling the alicorn about what the psychiatrist pony and Clone Gentle Hope talked about, both of their friends taking tests as well, and the Element of Honesty that Gentle Hope had gotten as a reward.

Solight looked fascinated. “Fascinating. It seems that the Element of Honesty must be one of the things that Jasper wanted us to get,” said the alicorn. They smiled. “Not only that, but I bet all of our friends must’ve passed their tests by now as well, which means that there’s a chance that they’ve gotten something too as a reward. Once we all meet up, then we can get out of this forest and head back to Ponyville.”

The alicorn trotted forward, while the psychiatrist pony went after Solight, trotting side-by-side with them. 

She looked a little bit confused. “But what about your test, Solight?” asked Gentle Hope.

Now it was Solight’s turn to look confused. “My test?” questioned the alicorn.

The psychiatrist pony nodded. “Yeah. If each of us has gone through a test and passed, then what about you?” she asked. “Have you completed your test yet?

They shook their head a little. “I haven’t done my test yet, which is strange since everypony did their test, including you,” answered the alicorn. Solight felt left out since everyone has gone through a test except the alicorn themself.

Gentle Hope had a theory that came to mind. “Well, what if this forest is part of your test and you’re supposed to solve it somehow? Not only that, but what if it involves all of us and these paths as well?” guessed the psychiatrist pony.

The alicorn thought about it, and then realized that she was right.

“If all of this is part of the test, then that means that in order to pass it, I need to find all of my friends and get us out of this forest,” thought Solight, determined.

The two of them stopped at a five-path crossroad. The alicorn focused the spell in their horn again, and this time, Solight’s horn was pulled in the direction that was in between paths three and four.

“Follow me, Gentle Hope. I’ll get us to the others,” instructed the alicorn.

The psychiatrist pony nodded. The two ponies trotted in between the two paths and continued on.





Four Minutes Later

They now found themselves in the lobby of a luxurious, tropical-themed hotel.

“Where are we now?” asked Solight, both confused and amazed.

“It looks like we’ve arrived at one of our friends’ tests, but I wonder whose test this?” asked Gentle Hope.

As if to answer her, a voice sounded off.

“Hello there, you two. Are you here to see your friend, Melon?” greeted a female voice, in a cheerful tone.

They looked up ahead to see Coconut Sunshine, smiling at them.

“Looks like our question was answered,” remarked the alicorn.

Solight and the psychiatrist pony trotted up to the front desk.

“Did you just say Melon was here?” asked Gentle Hope.

The cheerful pegasus nodded happily. “Yeah! She’s been waiting a long time for you two,” she informed. “Hold on a sec.” Coconut Sunshine cleared her throat. “Melon! Come here! Some ponies want to see you!”

The two ponies winced at the volume and would’ve said something, but then an equally loud yet familiar voice shouted back at the cheerful pegasus.

“Who is it?!” shouted a female voice.

“Ugh. That is definitely Melon,” thought the alicorn.

“Your friends are here! The real ones this time!” shouted Coconut Sunshine. She then looked at them before shouting again. “There’s only two of them though! That unicorn stallion who’s new to your town and is also actually an alicorn in disguise, and the other is a light blue unicorn mare with one yellow eye, and one purple eye!”

As soon as the cheerful pegasus shouted that, instead of the voice shouting back, there was now the sound of hooves galloping over to their location.

She looked at Solight. “What did she mean by ‘alicorn in disguise’, Solight?” asked the psychiatrist pony, confused. 

That made Solight worried. They were planning on telling everypony, just not right now but later. “Well…” said the alicorn.

Before Solight could continue, Melon showed up in the lobby.

The melon pony smiled. “Guys, you’re here!” she said.

The melon pony galloped over to them. The alicorn and Gentle Hope smiled, happy to be reunited with their friend.

Coconut Sunshine smiled. “I’m so happy that you’ve been reunited with your friends, Melon. I hope you’re reunited with your other friends too,” she said. 

Melon looked at the cheerful pegasus and nodded. “Thanks. I hope so too,” she said.

Then, the entire world around them started to fade like what happened before with Gentle Hope’s office and was being replaced with the forest, which was a little brighter than before. 

Coconut Sunshine was fading as well. Before she was about to fade away, the cheerful pegasus decided to say something while smiling. “And I hope you pass your test too, Solight the Alicorn,” she said.

Hearing the ‘alicorn’ part shocked both the melon pony and the psychiatrist pony, while making Solight even more worried. The alicorn turned to say something to the cheerful pegasus, but Coconut Sunshine was gone before they could say anything. Solight looked back at their friends to see the two looking at the alicorn, unhappy and needing an explanation. Solight knew that both the alicorn and Jasper were in trouble after this was all over. For now, an explanation was needed.





Twenty-Three Minutes Later

During the time that had passed by, Solight, Melon, and Gentle Hope had gone through different hidden paths, and had been reunited with Cinna and Banana Pie, who the three had found out were also wearing Element necklaces too. The pegasus and the unicorn stallion had also been informed and were shocked as well to hear about the alicorn being royalty since Solight’s wings weren’t there, which was explained. The forest now looked like a peaceful forest now that it was full of light.

The alicorn knew that the only thing left to do is make it to the end. “Making it to the end will clear the test, thus allowing us to acquire the Element of my test, but what Melon told us is concerning. Without the pony or creature who’s taking the Test of Generosity, Jasper’s plan will fail unless he can get the most generous pony or creature to take the test,” they thought. “Hopefully, he can find them before it’s too late.”

She looked worried. “I’m worried about Jasper. So much time has passed by,” said the psychiatrist pony. “I hope he’s okay.”

The melon pony grinned at Gentle Hope. “Don’t worry. Jasper wouldn’t allow himself to be defeated by Nightmare Moon,” she reassured. “I bet he’s still fighting her, waiting for us to return.”

She nodded. “Melon’s right, Gentle Hope,” agreed Cinna.

Banana Pie nodded as well. “Banan!” he agreed.

Hearing that calmed the psychiatrist pony down.

“Yeah. You’re right,” said Gentle Hope.

Meanwhile, Solight was focusing on the sheep’s teleportation magic in order to guide everypony to his location. As soon as their horn started glowing again, it then started pulling the alicorn in the opposite direction behind the group, which could be seen. Solight turned around in the opposite direction, causing everyone to stop in place.

They were confused. “Wait. What?” said Solight. 

“What’s wrong, Solight?” asked the pegasus mare, confused.

“I used the spell to track down Jasper’s location, but it’s taking me back in the opposite direction where we came from, which means that going down this path will take us back to Ponyville,” answered the alicorn.

Everyone turned around to face the path.

“That means that once we do this, the test will be over and we’ll be back home where Jasper and Nightmare Moon is,” said Melon. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

Solight nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go, everypony,” said the alicorn.

The entire group then galloped/flew down the path. A few seconds later, they all arrived in the center of Ponyville.

Cinna gave off a relieved sigh, happy. “Ahh, back home at last,” she said. The pegasus looked back at their friends, smiling, but noticed something new about Solight. “Nice crown, Solight.” 

The others looked at Solight in response.



She chuckled. “Yeah. It really goes great with you being royalty,” agreed the melon pony.

That confused the alicorn. So Solight reached up and felt a crown on top of their head. The alicorn then used magic to levitate the crown off of their head in order to get a look at it.

“Interesting. I wonder what these things can do and-” thought Solight, before shaking their head. “There’s no time to think about that. Jasper needs help.” The alicorn placed the crown back on their head. “Come on, everypony. Jasper needs our help.”

Everyone cheered in agreement and headed off, all of them wanting to go help their friend.
> Princess Luna Returns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The group were following the sounds of battle and the destruction of property towards where Jasper and Nightmare Moon currently were.

“They sound close by! Everypony get ready!” shouted Solight.

“So, what’s the plan, Solight?” asked Melon.

The alicorn didn’t have one. “I don’t know. I was thinking that we grab Jasper and try to ask him if his plan can somehow work without the Element of Generosity,” they said. 

“And if it doesn’t?” asked Cinna, worried.

“Then we’ll have to find another way to defeat Nightmare Moon,” answered Solight.

That did not inspire confidence in everyone, but it was the only plan that the group had.

“And if that doesn’t work, then I guess we’ll have to fight Nightmare Moon ourselves. Somehow,” thought Solight, determined.





Meanwhile

The sheep was currently engaged in battle in the air with the evil alicorn. This entire fight was to serve as a distraction as all Jasper had to do was distract her long enough for his friends to return. Right now, the sheep was almost about to run out of magic, even after conserving it by using attacking and defending spells that require less magic, including a healing spell for the damage he took. So, for now, Jasper could only use a few more spells before he needed to recharge. Luckily, the sheep’s opponent was getting tired as well thanks to her using a ton of magic and taking damage from his attacks.

“Just a little bit longer,” thought Jasper. “Let’s see you dodge this!”

The sheep’s staff started glowing with magic, and then his staff summoned out curved blades made out of magic, sending them at the evil alicorn.

She brought up a magic barrier to block Jasper’s magic attack. “Ha! Just surrender, and maybe I’ll let you serve my kingdom,” said the evil alicorn, overconfident.

Seeing as how his magic attack was over, Nightmare Moon brought down the barrier, which was her worst mistake. A blade of magic had appeared and created a small cut on the right side of the evil alicorn’s face, shocking her.

“You dare harm my visage?!” shouted the evil alicorn, angry.

The sheep grinned. “I do dare, actually,” he said.

Jasper suddenly vanished into thin air.

She looked around. “Where’d you go?! Come out and fight me!” demanded the evil alicorn.

“If you say so,” said Jasper, in an amused tone.

Nightmare Moon, realizing where the sheep’s voice was coming from, looked up. His right hind hoof was glowing with magic, which Jasper then brought down towards the evil alicorn. It was too late for her to create a barrier, dodge, or fly out of the way, so the evil alicorn ended up struck in the face with his hoof and sent flying and crashing into the ground. The sheep flew towards the crash site while keeping an eye on the unconscious Nightmare Moon. Once Jasper had landed at a distance away, he saw that the evil alicorn had three, deep claw scratch marks on the bridge of her nose, exactly where the sheep’s hoof had struck.

He was proud as it had made claw markings on the evil alicorn’s nose. “Yes! Teacher would be so proud of me,” thought Jasper, happy. The sheep had been practicing and working hard on his teacher’s technique, and it all paid off. “I can’t wait to tell him later that I mastered it.” 

Jasper would’ve thought more, but then a familiar voice reached his ears.

“Jasper!” shouted a familiar voice.

Jasper turned around to see that all of his friends were heading right for him. Not only that, but they were also wearing the Elements of Harmony.

He felt glad that they all passed their tests and was about to say something, but the melon pony spoke first.

“Are you crazy?! How could you do that to us while you went off to fight Nightmare Moon by yourself?!” shouted Melon. Her expression betrayed concern.

The other had also felt the same way as Melon did.

He looked down at the ground. “I’m sorry. Someone needed to be the distraction while you all did your tests,” admitted the sheep. “If Nightmare Moon had continued with what she was doing and no one could stop her, the entire world would be in danger.”

Gentle Hope looked at Jasper with a look of disappointment. “But that doesn’t mean that you had to go and lie to us like that, Jasper. We were all very worried about you,” she said, in a concerned tone.

The sheep looked up. “Sorry about that, everyone. Also, I’m sorry that I couldn’t find anyone who represents Generosity,” he said. “I looked everywhere for the one I chose, and when I couldn’t find them, I went looking for the ones who were generous as well, but they were all gone.”

While Jasper was battling against Nightmare Moon, he had been looking around the town for the candidates for the Element of Generosity, but for some reason, they were all gone. Like, those specific ponies had disappeared like Rarity did.

Hearing that, the melon pony decided to bring up what Coconut Sunshine told her. “Jasper, I was told during my test that something or somepony might be interfering with your plan. Whoever or whatever it is, must’ve ponynapped them,” Melon informed.

Jasper groaned at the bad news. “I was really afraid of that. This is bad,” said the sheep. “Without the Element of Generosity and its wielder, the other Elements can’t and won’t work.”

That did not sound good to everyone.

The alicorn needed some information. “Wait. What are the qualities in order for somepony to wield the Element?” they asked, wondering.

He sighed. “In order to use the Element of Generosity, the wielder has to have a generous nature. They can be someone who likes to help others without needing to be asked,” Jasper informed. “They can also be someone who is willing to be generous just to help others out without wanting anything in return. That’s the kind of generous nature we need to wield the Element of Generosity.”

Hearing that, Solight looked at the others. “Quick. Do any of you know anypony else who fits this that Jasper may have overlooked?” they asked.

Everyone thought about all of the ponies they knew who might fit, but since the sheep did tell them that all of the candidates went missing. Then, one did come to mind for the pegasus mare.

“Jasper,” said Cinna.

Hearing his name being called, the sheep looked at her. “Yeah?” asked Jasper, confused.

The pegasus mare shook their head before smiling. “No, I wasn’t calling you. I just realized something,” said Cinna. “Those qualities you listed about the wielder, you fit them perfectly.”

The sheep was surprised. “What?” he asked.

Everyone, except Jasper, realized that the pegasus was right, and ended up agreeing with Cinna.

“She’s right, Jasper. Ever since you first came to Ponyville, there were times when you’ve been generous,” the psychiatrist pony informed. “You choose whenever you want to be generous, knowing that others can take care of their own stuff without needing anypony’s help. That’s what makes you generous and the perfect candidate.”

Banana Pie nodded. “Banan,” he agreed.

The others agreed as well.

Jasper was surprised. “I…I never thought about that about myself,” said the sheep. “I guess I was just too focused on trying to save Equus and hanging out with my friends that I never considered myself to be generous or a candidate for it.” He smiled at everyone. “Thanks.”

Suddenly, something appeared underneath the sheep’s collar, which was made out of a stretchy material. Jasper slid the collar down so it could be out of the way so he could see what had appeared around his neck.



Everyone was surprised to see the Element of Generosity, especially since it was shaped like a sheep rather than a Cutie Mark.

“I guess you finished your test. Whatever it was,” guessed the alicorn. It was now time to implement the sheep’s plan while the evil alicorn was still down as, from the looks of it, it was only a matter of time before she woke up. They looked at Jasper. “Now that we have all of the Elements together, what’s next, Jasper?”

He looked determined. “Now, we use them,” said the sheep.

Jasper placed his staff back into his cloak as it wasn’t needed anymore. The sheep concentrated a lot of his magic into a spell that he had created for this moment. After a few seconds, a magic circle appeared underneath the group as six different-colored magic circles inside a primary circle.

“Everyone, quickly go stand inside the colored circle that represents your Element. You’ll know by its color,” Jasper instructed.

Everyone went inside the circles.

“Now what?” asked the melon pony, confused.

Before he could answer her, everyone’s Elements started glowing, which caused the magic circle to start glowing as well and made everyone feel like some of their magic was being drained. Afterwards, the circle started spinning around fast as glowing lines came from the outside of the circle and to the center of the big circle and, in a bright flash of light, went into the chests of those in the circles. From them emerged a bright light converging into a ray of light that shot straight for Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon woke up to see the spell heading right for her. 

The evil alicorn tried to dodge or teleport away, but it was too late as she was engulfed by the light. “Noooooo!!!” shouted Nightmare Moon.

There was a small explosion where the evil alicorn was, creating a dust cloud. As for the magic circle, it slowed down before it stopped spinning and disappeared. Everyone, except the sheep, were surprised as the plan succeeded, that Nightmare Moon was defeated, and that the sun rose up into the sky. 

She sighed in relief. “Phew. We did it, everypony,” cheered Cinna. “We saved Equestria!”

The unicorn stallion held up a hoof at the pegasus. “Banan!” he said.

Seeing that Banana Pie wanted a high-hoof, Cinna gave him one.

“At least our troubles are over,” said Melon, in a relieved tone.

Suddenly, a voice sounded off.

“SOLIGHT SPARKCLIPSE!!” shouted an angry, male voice.

That surprised everyone. As for Solight, they tensed up in fear as the alicorn recognized the voice. The group looked up to see the alicorn stallion from the celebration flying towards them, and with him were the guards and Princess Celestia herself, both alicorns did not look happy as they were nearing. The guards were trapped thanks to the evil alicorn’s spell, but with Nightmare Moon defeated, her spell was instantly released, allowing them to meet up with the alicorns.

Solight groaned. “And mine has only just started,” said the alicorn, in a despairing tone.

The mysterious stallion, the sun princess, and the guards had landed in front of the group. The two alicorns were looking at Solight with looks that were a cross between angry and disappointment.

“H-hello, Princess Celestia. Grandpa,” said the alicorn with a fearful tone. “I am in so much trouble right now.”

Before either one could say anything to Solight, an unfamiliar, female voice sounded off from the dust cloud that was dissipating.

“Where am I?” asked the female voice.

Princess Celestia and the alicorn’s grandfather stopped as the two instantly recognized the voice. They turned around towards the dust cloud, as once it was gone, in the evil alicorn’s place was a female alicorn, who even had the same scars on her nose as Nightmare Moon did from the sheep’s attack. The two were in shock.

“...Luna?” asked the sun princess, surprised.

The female alicorn was stunned. “Big sister? Big brother?” answered Luna. “Is that you?”

Everypony, save Jasper and the mysterious stallion, including the ponies who had come out of their houses after seeing that the battle was over, were shocked to find out that the female alicorn was the little sister of both Princess Celestia and Solight’s grandfather. 

As for Jasper, the sheep had brought out an ornamental box with an intricate pattern on it out from underneath his cloak. “Time to put the Elements away until next time,” thought Jasper. The sheep placed the Element of Generosity into the box, and then went to collect everyone else’s Elements as well. The sheep was wincing as the healing spell he had used multiple times was one that healed only the injuries, but not the pain from the injuries themselves.

Meanwhile, after a while of staring, Princess Celestia galloped over to her little sister and hugged the female alicorn, happy to see Luna.

“Luna, it’s so good to see you again!” cried out Princess Celestia.

“Big sister!” cried out the female alicorn.

The two alicorns cried as they were having a happy reunion.

Cinna was the first to snap out of her shock. “Wait. So, Nightmare Moon was actually Celestia and Solar’s Grandfather’s little sister?” questioned the pegasus. “Also, if we used the Elements on Nightmare Moon, then how is she back?”

Jasper levitated the Element of Kindness from around Cinna’s neck and put it into the box. “To answer your first question, yes. Her name is Princess Luna, and she rules over Equestria during the night,” he informed.

The alicorn was both shocked and surprised at the revelation. “Wait. You knew that about her?” asked Solight.

“Why are you so shocked, Solight? It was obvious that the legend was talking about Princess Celestia, your grandfather, and Princess Luna themselves,” answered the sheep. 

He removed the Element of Magic from around the alicorn’s neck and placed it into the box as well. Jasper removed something from the box that the sheep had placed into his cloak, and then Jasper locked it, causing multiple magic circles to appear for a few seconds before disappearing. 

The sheep raised an eyebrow. “I thought you knew the entire time?” he asked.

Solight thought back about what they read about the legend and realized that Jasper was right. There were some obvious clues in the legend now that the alicorn thought about it. Hearing that made Solight feel a bit sorry for both their mentor and grandfather.

The alicorn chuckled. “Oh. Yeah,” they said. “I was just surprised that you knew about it too as well.” Solight lied.

Unfortunately for the alicorn, he wasn’t fooled. “Uh-huh. Sure,” said Jasper, in an unbelieving tone. The sheep decided to continue on what he was originally talking about. “Anyway, as for your other question, Cinna. I designed the Elements, when used together, to use one of six settings. These six settings can affect what the magic circle does to the one who is blasted. For example, while in the Generous setting, it had completely separated Princess Luna from Nightmare Moon, who was sent somewhere where she won’t be a threat to the world anymore. Thus, Princess Luna is back with her siblings.”

The pegasus mare nodded, understanding. “By the way, why are you putting away our Elements into that box?” she asked, curious. “Since Nightmare Moon is defeated, I’m locking them and putting them away somewhere safe until they’re needed again,” answered the sheep.

The pegasus did agree with that decision, and she wasn’t the only one.

“I have to agree with you, Jasper. We might need them again later one day,” said Gentle Hope.

The others would’ve said more, but then Solight called out to their grandfather, attracting the group’s attention. “Grandpa, are you okay? You’ve been staring at them for quite some time,” said the alicorn, concerned.

The alicorn stallion turned around, revealing to the group that he was crying. Then, the next thing the group knew, they were all somehow being given a crushing hug by Solight’s grandfather.

“Augh!” groaned the melon pony.

The unicorn stallion tried to escape from the hug but couldn’t as he was trapped. “Banan!” shouted Banana Pie.

“How is he crushing us like this?!” questioned Cinna.

She groaned. “Must be his…alicorn strength,” answered the psychiatrist pony.

The alicorn groaned from the hug as well. Solight still hasn’t gotten used to their grandfather’s crushing hugs. “Nope, Grandpa’s part-dragon. So, he’s using his dragon strength to hug us,” Solight informed.

That shocked the others, hearing that they’re being crushed by the alicorn’s grandfather’s dragon strength.

Meanwhile, as for Jasper. Being given a crushing hug while in pain, was really hurting the sheep. “Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!! Make it stop!” he thought. “Make it stop!” If this hug continued on for a little while longer, the sheep was going to end up passing out soon. “Please, let this hug end!”

Luckily, the alicorn had enough of the hug. “Grandpa! Grandpa!” they shouted. “Please let us go! You’re hurting us!”

Hearing that, snapped the alicorn stallion out of it, and then he let them all go, causing the group to fall to the ground, relieved that Solight’s grandfather stopped hugging them. The group all got off of the ground and stretched out their bodies, except Jasper, who was waiting for the increased pain to subside.

He wiped away his tears. “Sorry about that. I’m just so happy that my little sister is back thanks to you all,” said the alicorn stallion. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Draco Eclipse, and I’m the grandfather of Solight if you couldn’t tell since his wings are gone.” He then looked at Solight, both interested and curious, but was also looking at the alicorn with an expression that promised punishment later, scaring them. “Speaking of, where are your wings? Did you hide them with magic?”

Solight gulped and had pointed a hoof at the sheep. “Uh, actually. It was thanks to my new friend, Jasper,” they informed. “His invention, the ‘Fool’s Cream’, made my wings vanish. They’re still there, it’s just that they can’t be seen or felt since it only fools everyone, except the one who applied it, which was Jasper himself. Luckily, it can be removed with water. He’s also the one who created the Elements and is the one who got me here to Ponyville in an instant without having to travel.”

Draco looked at the sheep, impressed. “You’re quite creative and experienced in magic for a sheep. You must’ve learned a lot from whoever taught you magic?” he said.

Jasper smiled. “Yeah. My teacher taught me a lot about different things, including magic,” he said.

The alicorn stallion smiled. “He must’ve been a great teacher. In any case, I thank you for creating these ‘Elements’,” said Draco. “Without them, we would’ve had to banish my sister once more.” he bowed. “I thank you for saving her.”

“You’re welcome, but they’re known as the ‘Elements of Friendship’, or something like that. Might work on the name a bit or just keep it like that,” said the sheep. He was still deciding on their name. Jasper then shook his head, not wanting to take all of the credit for what happened. “Also, it wasn’t just me, but I had help from my friends. They’re the ones who also helped save both the world and Princess Luna as well. They all went through their tests and came out with their Elements. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think Princess Luna would be here.”

Solight’s grandfather rose up and smiled again. “I see. Well, you are quite right about that,” he said. “Without all of you, Equestria would’ve been doomed to eternal night. And with my little sister back, it’s like she never left, though we’re going to have to catch her up on everything that has happened since she was gone.”

She smiled. “It was nothing. We just wanted to save everypony, including Equestria,” said Melon. “Though, we are happy to have saved Princess Luna as well.”

Gentle Hope nodded, agreeing. “Melon’s right. After all, family is important,” said the psychiatrist pony.

The unicorn stallion nodded. “Banan,” he said.

She smiled. “Yeah,” said Cinna.

“Nevertheless, thank you,” said Draco. “Also, Solight?” The alicorn stallion looked at the alicorn with a serious expression. “Sorry, my foal, but you’re grounded from reading for four months as punishment for going against Celestia’s orders, even if you did it to save Equestria from Nightmare Moon.” 

The moment that Solight heard that they were unable to read books for four months, the alicorn’s eyes shrinked in shock. They were silent for a few seconds before…

“NOOOOOOOOO!!!” shouted the alicorn.

That surprised everyone, except Solight’s grandfather.

“And you can tell Spike that he’s grounded too and can’t read comic books for two weeks as well,” continued Draco. He had the feeling that Spike was going to react the same way as well.

Once they had calmed down, the alicorn nodded and sported a saddened expression. “Yes, grandpa,” said Solight.

Seeing as how Jasper’s friends never once reacted to the revelation about Solight’s grandfather being an alicorn and that the alicorn themself had wings, that let the sheep know that they all knew somehow and that there was only one way that they could’ve found out.

“Solight told them. I guess I’ll talk to them about it once the celebration is back on the way,” thought Jasper. “But first, I should fix the damages done by the battle.”

He crouched down slowly towards the ground as the sheep’s body was in pain. Then, Jasper placed his other hoof on the ground, and emitted magic from that hoof, which caused glowing, green-colored lines to appear all over Ponyville to form magic circles, surprising everyone. They were even more surprised as everything that was damaged in the battle was suddenly starting to repair itself.





Meanwhile

The two hooded figures had been watching everything from a distance.

“Looks like you can release them now that Nightmare Moon has been defeated,” said the pony-shaped robed figure.

The tall, robed figure nodded. “Good thing, too. Now we can both finally go back home,” they said. “And don’t forget to remove the spell on them before we leave.”

“Yeah. Sure,” said the wise voice.

A few seconds later, Rarity and the missing ponies, including a few others, had all reappeared in the same place, confused about what was going on. As for the two robed figures, they had disappeared once more.





Meanwhile with Everyone Else

After a while, the damage was repaired like the battle never happened and all magic traces had vanished.

Draco looked at the sheep, who was lifting himself off of the ground. “How did you do that?” asked Solight’s grandfather, still surprised.

“I placed giant magic circles throughout all of Ponyville. There are magic circles for repairing the town, placing a barrier, etc., you name it,” answered Jasper. “And I made them in different ways so that they won’t conflict with one another because of the overlaying magic circles.”

The alicorn’s grandfather snapped out of his shock “Can you teach me and Solight how to do it?” asked Draco.

Jasper thought about it before making a decision. “Are you free sometime next week?” he asked.

Solight’s grandfather nodded. “Yeah. I can make plans for next week,” confirmed the alicorn stallion. “And you’ll be coming along with me to the lessons as well.”

The alicorn nodded, feeling overjoyed that they’re going to learn something new about magic.

“So, these are my saviors?” asked a female voice.

Everyone looked over to see the sun princess and Princess Luna trotted over to them.

Draco nodded. “Yes, Luna. My grandfoal Solight and their friends saved you with their ‘Elements’,” answered the alicorn stallion.

The night princess gasped as she looked at Solight. “You have a grandfoal? Does that make me a grandaunt?” asked Luna. 

He nodded. “Yes. I’ll tell you about it later once we’re back at the palace,” said the alicorn stallion. “For now, I’d like you to say hi to Solight and their friends.”

The night princess started introducing herself to everyone while thanking the group. Meanwhile, the sheep had looked and saw that Princess Celestia’s eyes were on him and on no one else. It seemed like those eyes were full of suspicion towards Jasper. After a few seconds she looked at the box in the sheep’s hooves.

“Jasper?” called out the alicorn.

Jasper snapped out of his thoughts as the sheep noticed everyone was staring at him. “Oh, sorry. I was thinking ‘why has this mare been staring at me and at my box for some reason?’,” the sheep informed, looking at the sun princess. “So, Princess Celestia. Why ARE you staring at me and my box?”

Everyone looked at her.

“Is that the box that contains those things that cured my sister?” asked Princess Celestia, wondering. 

Jasper was confused on why she was asking about the Elements. “Yeah? The Elements are locked up inside of it, but why are you ask–” he said, but was then interrupted.

The sun princess’ horn glowed with magic as her magic aura surrounded the sheep’s box, which was then starting to be pulled out of Jasper’s grip. 

He held on tight to the box, understanding what Princess Celestia was trying to do. “Hey! Quit it!” demanded the sheep.

That had attracted the others’ attention, seeing that the sun princess is trying to steal Jasper’s box.

Draco frowned. “Sis, leave Jasper alone. He just helped bring us our sister back,” he said, upset. But Princess Celestia wasn’t listening and continued, which only made the alicorn stallion even more upset. “Stop being so unreasonable just because you don’t trust him.”

As for the sheep, he tried to hold on even more, but with Jasper’s body screaming in pain, it was hard to hold on and it ended up slipping out of his hooves. The sheep fell to the ground on his back, which was a very bad thing to do.

Jasper was writhing around on the ground, silently screaming in pain with tears in his eyes. Inside of his mind, the sheep was screaming out loud. “AAAAAHHHHH!!! WHY?!” thought Jasper, screaming. He would’ve used magic to heal the pain, but currently, the sheep didn’t have enough magic left as he had used up a ton of it on the fight and repairing part of the town that was destroyed.

Jasper’s friends, seeing him writhing around on the ground, became worried about the sheep. Meanwhile, Draco was now angry at the sun princess who had teleported Jasper’s box away in her magic, sending it to the castle.

“THAT’S HOW YOU WANT TO TREAT THE SHEEP THAT HAD THE PLAN TO SAVE OUR SISTER!?” shouted the alicorn stallion. “Give Jasper his stuff back and apologize!”

Princess Celestia only looked at him with a calm expression. “It's better if they’re with me for safekeeping since the ones who are wielding them are my ponies,” she answered.

“But Jasper’s the one who made them! So, they belong to him!” shouted Draco.

While the alicorn stallion was yelling at his older sister, and Princess Luna was watching, the sheep was levitated onto Banana Pie’s back by Solight’s magic as Jasper’s friends were planning to take him to the hospital. 

“I do not need to go to the hospital. I’m perfectly fine,” argued the sheep. Jasper just wanted to celebrate with his friends. “Let’s just continue the celebration.”

The melon pony only raised an eyebrow and poked at the sheep with a hoof, which caused Jasper to wince from the pain.

That only made Cinna frown. “See? You’re not fine!” argued the pegasus mare. “You’re going to the hospital, and that’s final!”

As for Gentle Hope, she gave the sheep a concerned look. “You need to care more about your health. You may be fine with no injury, but the pain is still there,” said the psychiatrist pony. “You need to see a doctor about that.”

Jasper was going to argue back, but when he saw the concerned looks on their faces, the sheep became silent.

“Fine,” muttered Jasper.

They looked at Draco. “Grandpa, me and my friends are going to take Jasper to the hospital, so we’ll be back to attend the celebration later,” the alicorn informed.

The alicorn stallion was interrupted from yelling at the sun princess. “Okay. Hope your friend feels better,” he said, concerned.

Solight nodded. “We should be after he gets a quick check-up,” they said.

Before the group could leave, they were interrupted.

She trotted over to the group. “I should go too. I need to get my injuries checked out,” said the night princess. Princess Luna quickly trotted over to them as she just wanted to be away from the yelling.

“Sure. The more, the merrier,” said Cinna, happily.

The group continued on their way in the direction of the hospital while the alicorn stallion continued where he left off on, yelling at Princess Celestia.





Few Minutes Later

After being taken to the hospital and examined by the doctors, and also arguing about attending the celebration, the sheep’s friends allowed Jasper to attend after convincing them that once he has enough magic, which can be replenished after eating enough food, the sheep can just heal himself of the pain. So, they were all now attending the celebration. It seemed that after Draco finished yelling at the sun princess, the two had made an announcement to all of the ponies about the evil alicorn actually being their little sister, Princess Luna, and that the Lunar Guards Division and the Night Court were returning since the night princess was back. 

“We were both thinking that maybe staying here in Ponyville with our new friends might be fun, and since Golden Oak Library has a vacancy, we were also thinking of moving in there as well, and I could get a job as the Librarian. I mean, if that’s okay with you, grandpa?” asked Solight. The older alicorn pondered the concept. “Hmm…Fine, you two can stay, but you’re both still grounded,” answered Draco. “Also, if you’re going to be living here, then you both need to start moving your stuff out of the tower and into the library. You’ll also need to find room for your pet Winter Frost to live there as well.” 

The alicorn and the young dragon both nodded. Then, Jasper showed up riding on the unicorn stallion’s back.

“And don’t forget about your friends in Canterlot. You two need to inform them before you move out,” the sheep said. Jasper looked down at Banana Pie. “Isn’t that right, Banana Pie?”

The unicorn stallion nodded. “Banan,” he said.

Solight realized that the two were right. “Thanks for reminding me. It’d be bad if we didn’t tell our friends back in Canterlot that we were moving out,” they said. “Thanks, you two.”

The sheep smiled. “No problem,” he said.

Meanwhile, Princess Celestia trotted over to the five and cleared her throat to gain the group’s attention. “Ah-hem,” said the sun princess.

It worked as everyone’s attention was grabbed as they all looked at her.

“I need to talk to my student-guard privately, if you don’t mind?” Princess Celestia informed.

The alicorn stallion continued to look at the sun princess for a few more seconds before turning to look at Spike, Jasper, and Banana Pie. “Come on, you three,” he said. Draco trotted away while the others followed after. 

The sheep was watching Princess Celestia from the corner of his eye. Something about her didn’t sit right with Jasper, other than the fact that she took his box containing the Elements inside. Speaking of which.

“Did she say when she’ll give me the box back?” asked the sheep, hopeful.

He smiled. “I ‘convinced’ her to send it back to you once we’re back at the palace,” answered Draco.

Jasper felt relieved. “Oh. Good,” he said. “Thanks.”

The alicorn stallion smiled. “It was nothing,” said Draco.

Once the four were far away enough to not hear their conversation, Princess Celestia started her chat with the alicorn.

The sun princess smiled. “I heard that you wanted to move to Ponyville in order to be with your new friends?” she asked.

“Yes, your highness. I’ve made some friends here in Ponyville and I want to stay with them,” confirmed Solight.

Princess Celestia nodded, smiling. “Friendship is very important, but that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about, Solight. I need you to keep an eye on your…friend, and to send me reports of what he’s been doing,” the sun princess instructed. “If he’s done anything like create something like a magical artifact, spell, or weapon, is even doing or saying anything suspicious, or done anything important, you let me know. And don’t let my little brother and sister find out. Okay?” 

She knows that if Draco finds out, then Princess Celestia will be in trouble. As for the night princess, from what Princess Celestia could see from the corner of her eye, she was sporting some bandages around on her nose and cheek, happily chatting with the alicorn stallion, the sheep, the unicorn stallion, and the others. Princess Celestia knows that her little sister is feeling indebted to the five, plus Jasper, for freeing the night princess.

As for the alicorn, this made them feel conflicted as she wanted Solight to spy on the sheep and keep it from both Grandpa Draco and Princess Luna. On the one hoof, they can’t disobey an order from Princess Celestia since Solight is both a guard and her student, but on the other hoof, the alicorn doesn't want to betray their friend. In the end, Solight made their decision. “Um…Sure?” said the alicorn with a poorly hidden uncertainty. 

The sun princess smiled. “Good. If anypony asks, tell them that you’ve been sending friendship reports to me,” she advised. “Now, go to your friends so that no one’s suspicious.”

Solight only nodded slightly, and then the alicorn trotted towards their friends. The alicorn was going to bring up some things that Jasper had said and done back then, but in the end, decided not to inform Princess Celestia and just keep it to themself. 

Gentle Hope noticed Solight trotting over to the group, and smiled. “Solight, your grandpa told us the news about how you and Spike are moving to Ponyville. He even told us that you decided to become Ponyville’s new librarian,” she said. “You should inform Mayor Mare about you moving into the library and becoming the librarian.”

They nodded. “Sure, thing,” said Solight.

As for Cinna, the amount of those in the group and around the pegasus mare was making her worried, but the pegasus mare had pushed through her discomfort and smiled. “Welcome to Ponyville, you two. It’s great to have you two move here,” said Cinna. 

He nodded, agreeing with them, smiling. “They’re right. I have a feeling that more and more interesting stuff is going to be happening in Ponyville with you and Spike around, Solight,” said the sheep.

The alicorn and the young dragon smiled back in response.

“I wonder how Nightmare Moon is adjusting to her new life? I hope she likes it,” thought Jasper.

What he didn’t tell his friends is that the Elements themselves have some special settings that can be changed, and each of the six options have different effects on the receiver of their magic. The Elements were set in the Generosity setting, whose function is to give a brand new life to those who are blasted and ‘destroyed’ by the Elements. For now, the sheep would tell them later. Right now, Jasper had to apologize to his friends and then eat.





Meanwhile in Another Universe

At somepony’s house was an alicorn filly sitting at a table, drawing something on a piece of paper with a crayon.

“Nyx! It’s almost time for school,” called out a colt’s voice. “We’re going to be late by the time we get there. Hurry up, or I’m leaving without you.”

He was only joking as the colt was trying to get her to hurry up for school before they were actually late. Nyx got worried, so she put down the crayon and left the table. While galloping over in the direction of his voice, the alicorn filly’s horn glowed as a backpack was being levitated behind her in Nyx’s magic. 

“Hey! Wait for me!” she shouted, worried.

The colt only laughed in response as the alicorn filly galloped towards him.
> Multimishaps
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been five days ever since Nightmare Moon’s defeat and Princess Luna’s return, and Solight and Spike moving into Ponyville’s Golden Oak Library, along with the alicorn’s pet Orthros, Winter Frost, or ‘Winter and Frost’. Also, Princess Celestia returned the Elements back to their rightful owner. The day after that there was the ‘Gala Ticket Fiasco’ in which Solight had gotten two tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala from the sun princess, but their friends were okay with whoever the alicorn chose. Later, a mob of ponies chased after Solight for the ticket. Some point after that, Draco had sent a guard with thirteen tickets to the alicorn by the Princess Celestia’s orders. Yesterday, when it was Applebuck Season, they all helped Applejack out in the end when she needed help.

Jasper smiled at Carrot Top after buying some carrots from her before placing them in his cloak. “I’ll see you again next time, Carrot Top,” said the sheep.

Jasper was currently in Ponyville’s Market, buying ingredients to make some curry for tonight’s dinner, namely rice, vegetables, and even some spices that he either needs to acquire or replace, and maybe ingredients for some apple crumble pie and ice cream as well if the sheep felt like it. Also, there was something important he had to do today as well.

The carrot farmer smiled. “Can’t wait, Jasper,” she said.

Jasper walked away from Carrot Top’s stand and headed off towards his next destination. 

“Now, all I need is sugar, which I can get from here, and I’ll need the other spices, which I can only buy in Canterlot,” thought the sheep. “So, I should start heading to Canterlot afterwards so that I can head back home and start on making the pie and ice cream.”

Unfortunately, since Jasper didn’t know where in Ponyville they actually sold sugar, the sheep eventually found himself near Sugarcube Corner, lost.

The sheep decided to ask to see if someone knew. “I’ll ask the Cakes if they know where I can buy some,” thought Jasper.

“Hey, Jasper. What are you doing here?” asked a voice.

He stopped in his tracks. The sheep didn’t need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to. “I’m just buying some ingredients to make some curry, apple crumble pie, and ice cream tonight, Solight,” answered Jasper.

Standing off to the side of him was the alicorn, Spike, and Winter Frost who was being led around by a leash held in Solight’s magic. 



The sheep had met the Orthros on the same day the alicorn had moved their stuff to Ponyville. He was surprised to meet them, but Jasper did love how cute and affectionate Winter Frost was.

The young dragon smiled at the sound of the food. “That sounds delicious,” he said.

The sheep nodded. “It sure does, Spike,” agreed Jasper. “What about you two?”

“We’re going to the store to buy some dog food for Winter Frost before it runs out,” the young dragon informed.

“I see. By the way, Spike, how’s your training going?” asked the sheep. “Have you been able to send letters to the others yet?”

A few days ago, he brought up a theory to the two. Jasper’s theory was that ‘if Spike can send letters to the sun princess, then maybe he can also send letters to others as well, and what if they could send letters through the young dragon like the Princess Celestia can?’. As soon as Solight heard that they, with Spike’s help, decided to train him to see if it’s possible by attuning the young dragon’s magical flames to the night princess and the alicorn stallion’s magic signatures, and then send them letters. They had been training for days.

Spike looked a bit embarrassed. “Well…” he said, pausing.

The alicorn patted the young dragon on the back, sympathetically. “Spike’s dragon flames are attuned to Princess Luna and Grandpa Draco, but only bits and pieces of the letters we’ve sent have made it through. I theorize that since Spike has only been sending letters to Princess Celestia and has been receiving them from her for years, his flames need to adapt to sending letters to others who aren’t the princess until he can send intact letters,” explained Solight.

The sheep smiled. “Even if it’s only bits and pieces, I think it’s amazing that you’re able to send letters to others now,” he complimented.

Hearing that made Spike happy.

“Out of the way, dweeb,” yelled a rude sounding female voice.

The group turned to see that the voice belonged to a female griffin. She was standing behind the Orthros as Winter Frost seemed to be in the female griffin's path.

“You don't have to be so rude. It only takes a few seconds just to go around them,” advised the young dragon.

She didn’t seem to care. “If I wanted your advice, then I would’ve asked for it, but I didn’t,” said the female griffin, rudely. 

Winter whimpered, scared of her, while Frost growled. Then, the female griffin roared at the two, scaring the both of them, causing the Orthros to run away.

He got worried about Winter Frost. “Winter Frost! Come back!” called out Spike. The young dragon ran after the Orthros.

The alicorn was planning on giving her a piece of their mind, but when Solight turned to talk to the female griffin, she had flown off into the air, leaving.

They scoffed. “So rude,” said the alicorn. Solight turned to give an apologetic look to Jasper. “Sorry to cut our chat short, but I have to go help Spike catch Winter Frost before they get too far.”

The sheep smiled. “It’s okay. We can talk again next time,” he said.

The alicorn nodded, happy, before flying off after Spike and the Orthros. 

Jasper was smiling for a few seconds before frowning. “That griffin was such a jerk. Hope she gets what’s coming to her,” he thought. 

The sheep was going to leave, but then Jasper saw something pink in the corner of his vision. Jasper turned to see that the pink thing was Pinkie Pie.

“I should ask Pinkie Pie if she knows where I can buy some sugar,” he thought.

The sheep walked over to the party pony who was grinning for some reason. 

“Hey there, Pinkie Pie. If you don’t mind me asking, why are you grinning?” asked Jasper, curious. 

She continued to grin. “No reason~,” said the party pony, a mischievous tone in her voice.

The sheep did not believe Pinkie Pie at all. “Uh-huh. What are you up to?” he questioned.

“Nothing~,” sang the party pony.

Jasper decided to take a wild guess. “Are you planning a party for that griffin that yelled at Winter Frost? Because if so, you shouldn’t,” he said, serious tone. “I can tell that she’s a jerk, seeing as how she was acting towards Spike and Winter Frost.”

Pinkie Pie smiled. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Once Gilda sees the party I’m having for her, she’ll definitely stop being a meanie,” she said.

The sheep shrugged, seeing as he won’t be able to change the party pony’s mind, but at least Jasper now knows the name of the female griffin from before. “If you say so. By the way, do you know any stores where I can buy some sugar?” he asked.

“I sure do! You’ve just got to…” answered Pinkie Pie.

After she gave the sheep directions, Jasper said goodbye to the party pony while promising to attend the party, and headed for the store.





Some Time Later

Pinkie Pie was holding a party at Sugarcube Corner, and everyone was invited. The sheep found out that Gilda was actually an old friend of Rainbow Dash’s. The only ones who were attending the party were ponies who could make it, Jasper, Solight, the young dragon, and Banana Pie, while Winter Frost was outside, laying down on the ground, greeting or being greeted by passing ponies. The others couldn’t make it because Cinna had her part-time job as a mailpony, Melon wanted to sell more of her watermelons, and also didn’t want to go to a party that was for a jerk like the female griffin, and Gentle Hope was seeing some patients right now.

He was chatting with the alicorn and the unicorn stallion while eating some cheese cubes. “I hope that Gilda griffin doesn’t cause any trouble at the party. Pinkie Pie really wanted to welcome her to Ponyville,” the sheep said, frowning.

Banana Pie nodded while eating a Banana Nut Muffin. “Banan,” he agreed.

They took a sip of punch. “Well, you’re not the only ones who feel the same way. Though, I have a feeling that Pinkie Pie’s just doing this just to convince Gilda to be friendly instead of a jerk,” said Solight.

The three watched as they saw Gilda walk into the bakery.

“Well, let’s hope Pinkie Pie’s plan works,” said Jasper.

It did not work as over time, it seemed that everything was made into a prank towards the female griffin, Pinkie Pie’s ‘shocking’ hoofshake, the trick candles, the cup with a hole in it, the present for Gilda, and so on. She became mad and thought that the party pony did it, but it turned out that while the hoofbuzzer was Pinkie Pie’s prank, the other pranks were caused by the rainbow pony just to get Gilda to have fun and make friends. In the end, her friendship with the female griffin was over, and Gilda left. Afterwards, Rainbow Dash was cheered up by her friends and everyone continued the party.

The sheep was now chatting with the alicorn and the unicorn stallion again. He had a curious look on his face as Jasper looked at Solight. “I have a question for you, Solight,” he said.

They looked back. “Yeah?” said Solight.

The sheep pointed at a pair of slimy, green-colored hoofcuffs that were hidden behind the alicorn, levitating in their magic. “Why did you buy my ‘Icky Sticky Slime Hoofcuffs’ a while ago?” he asked curiously. It was something the sheep finished making yesterday after they helped the apple pony with Applebuck Season.

The alicorn smirked evilly as they watched the rainbow pony and the pink pony. “Let’s just say that I want some payback against two certain mares who pranked me today,” answered Solight, mischievously. 

The two mares’ prank involved a sports ball and some fast-acting glue. They had kicked the ball, but it ended up stuck to the alicorn’s leg as a result. The end result was Solight with a naked foreleg. 

“Wish me luck,” they said.

“Good luck,” said Jasper. “That’s not what I made them to be used for though.”

“Banan,” said Banana Pie.

The two watched as the alicorn trotted over to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. They started happily chatting with the two mares. After a few seconds of chatting, Solight looked behind them and saw what was there. The rainbow pony and the party pony were both curious and decided to follow their gaze. As soon as they did that, the alicorn quickly hoofcuffed the two together and teleported away, grinning. The two mares were stunned. They both had different reactions as Pinkie Pie was both amazed and excited since was handcuffed to her best friend, while Rainbow Dash was both concerned and impressed at the same time. 

“Wow,” said the sheep.

Everyone else’s attention was now diverted as they watched the rainbow pony try to pull and break apart the hoofcuffs by flying away. 

Jasper knew that wouldn’t work. “Wait for it…” he thought.

The hoofcuffs ended up stretching but didn’t break apart at all. After a few seconds, they instantly retracted, pulling a worried Rainbow Dash back to the side of a happy party pony.

The sheep watched while eating a cookie. “There’s no use trying to break them apart. I made them resilient enough to not be broken by even an Alicorn like Celestia,” he thought. There was nothing that Jasper could do since Solight had the only key to that pair of hoofcuffs. It was better to just wait until the alicorn decided that their prank was over. 

Spike walked over to Jasper and the unicorn stallion.

“Hey, Jasper. Banana Pie,” greeted the young dragon.

“Hey, Spike,” greeted the sheep.

“Banan!” greeted Banana Pie, happily. 

He turned and pointed at what’s going on. “Do you know what’s going on?” asked the young dragon, confused.

“Solight bought those things from me without telling me why, and then he used it to hoofcuff the two of them together as part of some payback against them for pranking them. They currently have the key that will free them, so Solight will probably return eventually,” explained Jasper.

“Okay. That explains it,” said Spike, understanding.

The three watched as a struggling rainbow pony continued to try and escape the hoofcuffs.





Meanwhile

Draco was trotting through the Canterlot Castle’s Royal Garden and sighed. The alicorn stallion felt better as dealing with the nobles in his court was both tiring and frustrating. Some had wanted things like approval for a new business in Canterlot or some other business venture, while others had complaints like Luna being back on the throne after everything she caused. Draco’s threats towards them involving ‘bodily harm’ convinced them to drop the subject completely.

“One day, I’ll either have them removed from their positions as nobles or imprisoned, and I know it’ll happen,” he grumbled. Suddenly, there was a rustling noise behind the alicorn stallion. “Huh?”

Draco looked behind himself to see where it was coming from. He saw two heads popping out from a bush before they quickly went back in.

He was on guard. “Who’s there?” questioned the alicorn stallion.

There was no response as whoever was hiding in the bush were silent. Draco decided to trot over to the bush, and then he used his magic to grab and levitate whoever was hiding in the bush, out. As soon as they were levitated out of the bush by the alicorn stallion’s magic, Draco’s eyes widened in surprise as he pulled out two foals, a colt and filly.



Draco’s surprise was over, and instead the alicorn stallion became concerned.

“Hello there, young foals. Where are your parents?” asked the alicorn stallion.

The two foals looked away, not looking at him.

“We don’t know,” said the colt. 

Draco felt bad for them. “What are your names?” asked the alicorn stallion.

He decided to start first. “Dusk,” answered the colt.

“Dawn,” answered the filly.

The alicorn stallion smiled. “Well, Dusk, Dawn. Would you two like something to eat?” offered Draco. “I can have the palace chefs cook you two something.”

Dusk and Dawn were both silent for a few seconds as they were deciding on whether to take his offer or not. In the end, the two nodded. The alicorn stallion smiled and placed Dawn and Dusk onto the ground. Afterwards, he started trotting towards the castle while the two slowly followed after him.
> Trix Up Their Sleeve
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

More than a week has passed by since the Gilda incident.

“That’s another gift you’ve gotten from your secret admirer,” commented Gentle Hope.

The psychiatrist pony was currently with Melon as the two were trotting around through the town. It seems that for more than a week, the melon pony has been receiving anonymous love letters and gifts every day. 

“Yeah. This time it’s a melon-based plush toy of a ladybug,” Melon informed. “It’s a great gift and all, but it all came with a poem as well.”

She was impressed. “Wow. They sent you a poem too,” said Gentle Hope. “This pony must really like you to do that.”

The melon pony blushed. “Yeah. This time it talked about my beauty,” said Melon. She was okay with the attention, but the melon pony really wanted to know who her secret admirer was since she couldn’t take much more. If she kept blushing even more, she’d be redder than an apple. “How are you feeling, Gentle Hope? Are you feeling alright after getting all that stuff off your chest?”

The melon pony was talking about how yesterday, while the group was hanging out during a picnic, the subject of ‘parents’ had come up, and then everyone started talking about their parents: Solight only talked about their grandfather, Melon talked about her parents, Banana Pie’s was unknown since he only said ‘Banan’ as usual, Cinna was being mysterious and would boop anyone on the nose if they tried to ask, Jasper doesn’t know who his parents are and was adopted, and when it was the psychiatrist pony’s turn, Gentle Hope had told her friends all about her parents’ deaths. It ended up turning into a group hug.

The psychiatrist pony nodded, smiling. “Yeah.  I’m glad I told you all about it,” she answered. Just like when Gentle Hope talked it over with her clone from the test, it felt really therapeutic to the psychiatrist pony to talk about it with her friends. “It feels like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.” 

Melon smiled. “That’s great to hear,” said the melon pony.

Suddenly, there was the sound of loud popping that caught the two’s attention, so they looked up in the air to see fireworks going off. Not only that, but there were also some excited ponies galloping past them, heading in the direction of said fireworks.

“There must be a circus in town,” remarked Melon. 

The psychiatrist pony looked excited. “You want to go check it out?” asked Gentle Hope.

She shrugged. “Sure. Might as well as have some fun,” said the melon pony.

The two then headed in the direction where all of the ponies were heading off to until they eventually made it to where there was a crowd of ponies. Luckily, the two mares were close enough to see what was going on as up on stage was some blue mare wearing a magician’s hat and cape, and even had a Cutie Mark of a blue crescent moon with a magic wand through it. 

“Welcome to the Great and Powerful Trixie’s Magic Show! Today, the Great and Powerful Trixie shall show off her magic that has made her be known as the ‘strongest unicorn in all of Equestria’,” announced the magician mare.

There were ponies who were interested, while others knew that Trixie was only boasting in order to make herself look good in front of the audience. It seems that the two colts, Snips and Snails, believed in the magician mare’s boasting.

Melon wasn’t impressed. “Huh, it looks like I was right. The circus is in town,” she said. “We even have a clown performing on stage.”

The psychiatrist pony was surprised, and then she looked at the melon pony with an unamused look. “Melon! That’s not a nice thing to say about somepony,” she admonished.

While they weren’t paying attention to the show, Applejack had gone up the stage, not impressed by Trixie’s boasting and decided to show the magician mare up.

The melon pony raised an eyebrow. “What? It’s one thing to be boastful, but it’s another to make claims about being ‘stronger than every other unicorn,” she argued. “How would you like it if somepony said that they were the best psychologist in the world while looking down on you and every other psychologist you know?”

Gentle Hope thought about it. “Well, I don’t think I’d like that in the least. However, it’s not very nice to call her a clown,” said the psychiatrist pony.

Melon would’ve said more, but then she was interrupted.

“Banan,” said a familiar voice.

The two mares turned to see that the voice belonged to Banana Pie, along with him was Solight and Spike. After the apple pony had her trick used against her by Trixie, it was Rainbow Dash’s turn.

Solight was confused. “Hey, you two. What seems to be the problem?” they asked.

“It’s this Trixie mare. She seems to be boasting about her magic capabilities,” complained the melon pony. “Not only that, but she embarrassed our friends as well in front of everypony.”

The alicorn looked up at the stage with a neutral expression. “Hmm…I see,” said Solight. The alicorn then started to levitate the young dragon into the air with their magic, surprising him. “Well, me and Spike only came here to see what was going on. We’re really busy today as we have to meet up with Jasper right now and chat with him over some snacks.”

“Well, when you see Jasper, tell him that he needs to take a break from working too much. He almost fell asleep during the picnic,” advised Gentle Hope.

Solight nodded before placing Spike on their back. “Sure thing, Gentle Hope. I’ll see you all later,” said the alicorn. “Bye.”

Before the young dragon could say anything, Solight had teleported the two of them away. The alicorn and Spike had reappeared in front of the library.

Spike was confused. “What was that about, Solight?” asked the young dragon.

He couldn’t see the grin on Solight’s face as they trotted into the library.

“Oh. Nothing,” lied the alicorn. They used their magic to levitate the young dragon onto the floor. Solight looked at Spike with a grin. “Hey, Spike. Why don’t you go over to the couch and wake Jasper up while I go to the kitchen and make us all some tea? There will be some extra gems in it for you if you do.”

Jasper had visited earlier and had fallen asleep on the library’s couch, sleeping for a while. The young dragon’s eyes sparkled as Spike heard that he would be getting extra gems as a snack.

“I’ll go wake him up right now,” said the young dragon, excited.

Spike dashed off towards the living room. With him distracted, the alicorn’s grin then turned into that of mischief.





Meanwhile

After the rainbow pony had just gotten shown up by the magician mare, and Rarity had just showed off her style in front of everypony, it was now Trixie’s turn, but the magician mare didn’t notice something was heading right for her as Trixie was distracted.

SPLAT!!!

All the ponies gasped as the magician mare’s face was impacted by a whole pie, splattering her face and mane with a mess of food.

Trixie wiped the pie from her eyes. “Augh! Who did that?!” shouted the magician mare, angry. “How dare you do this to the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Everypony looked around, but nopony stepped forward.

Melon frowned. “What a waste of food,” she said.

As for the psychiatrist pony, she pushed through the crowds until Gentle Hope got up on stage.

She approached Trixie. “Are you okay? Let me help you,” offered the psychiatrist pony.

The magician mare rebuked Gentle Hope’s offer. “The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t need anypony’s help. I’m going back to my wagon,” said Trixie.

She left in a huff, while the psychiatrist pony watched the magician mare, concerned, but also angry that anypony would throw a pie at another pony like that. What nopony noticed was that Solight was flying in the air, out of sight, grinning. After all, the one who threw that pie was them, and the pie that the alicorn threw was one of the ones that the sheep brought over to the library.

“Better get back to the library before Spike notices that I’m gone,” thought Solight.

They then teleported away.





Few Hours Later

SNOOOOOOOOOOORE!!!

Over on Solight’s couch, Jasper was snoring away as he was sleeping, again. The sheep had come over to Ponyville to visit his friends again as part of a break Jasper started yesterday after finally finishing the first part of a big commission that he had received from a time pony mare calling herself ‘Galloping Galaxy’.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

The sheep woke up, startled. “Baaaaaaa!” shouted Jasper, bleating. He looked around. “Huh? What was that?”

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

Jasper got up from the couch and headed for the library door, groaning, recognizing the noise, and even knew that it was coming from the town. 

The sheep walked outside and flew off towards the source. “Someone must’ve been idiotic enough to mess with one. Better go and help everyone,” he said.

Jasper was able to arrive soon enough but was surprised to see that Solight was taking care of it by themself as the alicorn was levitating a sleeping Ursa Minor out of the town and into the forest. Once Solight was done, the sheep landed next to them.

“Wow. You really took care of that Ursa Minor all by yourself, Solight,” commented Japer, impressed.

They smiled. “Thanks, and glad to see that you’re completely awake this time,,” said Solight.

Trixie had to interrupt the two’s conversation. “Hold on. That was an Ursa Minor?!” she questioned, flabbergasted.

He nodded. “Yeah. An Ursa Major is way bigger than that,” answered the sheep. Jasper knows because he had met both creatures back then. In fact, the sheep’s cloak has a bit of both Ursa Minor and Ursa Major fur mixed into it. “If one was woken up, it would’ve destroyed this entire town in the process. Well, probably part of it until the princesses arrive to try and stop it, but anyway, who’s the idiot that woke it up and brought it into town?” 

Everypony glared at a certain pair of green and orange colts, both looking sheepish.

“Okay. Make that ‘idiots’,” thought Jasper.

“We just thought that the Great and Powerful Trixie could defeat an Ursa Major,” said the snail colt.

The scissors colt nodded. “Yeah! We didn’t know it was an Ursa Minor,” he agreed.

The sheep nodded. “I see. Well, I guess you two better explain that to your parents after all of this,” he informed. Jasper ignored the colts’ worried looks to look at the alicorn. “So, what about this ‘Trixie’ pony?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has nowhere to stay after her wagon was crushed by that Ursa Minor. Where is Trixie supposed to stay?” asked the magician mare.

Some of the ponies were silent, while others were going to say something, but then Solight said something first.

“Well, how about I pay for your stay at a hotel? You can stay there until your wagon is fixed up,” offered the alicorn.

That surprised everyone, including Trixie, except Solight’s friends as this wasn’t surprising to them at all.

Rainbow Dash flew up to the alicorn, surprised. “Wait. You’re willing to help her out?” she questioned. “After the trouble she brought to the town?”

They smiled. “Of course. Everypony should be given help when they need it,” answered Solight. “Besides, it wasn’t Trixie’s fault an Ursa Minor came into Ponyville, remember?”

The rainbow pony couldn’t argue with that, but still didn’t like it after the magician mare had embarrassed her in front of everyone. 

The alicorn trotted over to Trixie. “Let’s go to the library first so that I can get some money,” said Solight. 

The unicorn could only nod in response, still surprised by their generosity. 

The alicorn looked at their group of friends. “Let’s hang out tomorrow. How’s that sound?” asked Solight.

Each of them had given their own confirmation since all five were free tomorrow. After saying goodbye to everyone, the alicorn, the young dragon, and Winter Frost, along with the magician mare, left.





Few Minutes Later

The three were in Solight and Spike’s room while Trixie waited downstairs. After collecting the bag of bits, they heard a song, like someone was giggling.

The alicorn looked at the young dragon. “Was that you, Spike?” asked Solight.

Spike shook his head.

They were now on guard. “Winter Frost, sniff it out,” commanded Solight.

Hearing that, the Orthros started sniffing around the room until she arrived at the bed, waving their paw at it.

The alicorn trotted over to the bed. “Under the bed?” they asked, confused.

Solight looked under their bed, and saw a certain, smiling alicorn colt and filly.

“Surprise!” shouted Dawn and Dusk.

The alicorn was surprised, causing them to accidentally drop the bag of bits. “GAH!!!” shouted Solight.

They backed away from it as the two came up from underneath the bed. Solight and the young dragon were both surprised.

Spike hid behind the alicorn. “W-Who are you two?” he asked, scared.

“I’m Dusk-,” began the colt.

“-And I’m Dawn,” continued the filly. “We were sent here by Grandpa to stay with you in Ponyville for a few months.”

They were confused. “You two were sent by Grandpa? But I haven’t received a letter from him about this,” said Solight. “If I did, I would’ve expected you two by now.”

Suddenly, by some sort of weird coincidence, the young dragon burped up a scroll that contained Draco’s seal stamped on it, which was a dragon’s head.

“Grandpa said that he wanted you two to be surprised,” Dawn informed, smiling.

The alicorn floated the scroll over to them. “Well, I am certainly surprised now,” muttered Solight.

The scroll read as:

“To my dear foal,

These are your adopted siblings, Dawn and Dusk.

I want you and Spike to look after them for four months for me.

From, Draco.”

The alicorn looked up from their grandpa’s letter to see the two looking at Solight, excited. 

They smiled. “Well, it’s nice to meet you two. How about Spike helps you two get settled in while I help some mare out with her living situation?” suggested Solight. “Knowing my grandpa, he’s probably laughing at me right now, knowing that I’m surprised from meeting these two face-to-face.”  

The alicorn turned to leave but was stopped by Spike.

“Are you sure about this, Solight?” asked the young dragon, worried.

They gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Spike. Grandpa must’ve sent them to stay over so we both and all of Ponyville can get to know them for a while,” said Solight. The alicorn levitated the bag of bits back into the air. They looked at Spike and Winter Frost. “Now, I have to leave as we don’t want to keep Trixie waiting for long. I’ll be back in a few minutes, you two. Look after Dawn and Dusk in the meantime.”

“Okay,” confirmed the young dragon, reluctant.

The Orthros only barked in confirmation.

“Bye,” said Dusk and the filly.

Solight left the room and trotted down the stairs, over to where the magician mare was.

“Sorry about that, I just needed to find enough bits for you to stay at the hotel. Follow me, I know the perfect hotel for you to stay at,” said the alicorn.





Few Minutes Later

After taking Trixie to the hotel and paying for her stay there for three to four weeks, Solight made it back to the library. The alicorn walked into the library to see their siblings playing with Winter Frost while Spike was watching. The four all stopped what they were doing as they heard Solight trot inside.

“So, how did it go?” asked the young dragon.

The alicorn smiled. “It went great. I was able to get Trixie a room there,” they answered. “She was so happy, she kissed me.” Solight looked concerned. “Though, I think she was sick.”

Spike was confused. “What makes you say that?” he asked.

“Her face was red after she kissed me,” answered the alicorn.

The young dragon didn’t know whether to feel bad for Solight’s ignorance or to tell them. So, he opted for the third option, which was laughing at the alicorn.

That confused them. “Spike, what are you laughing at?” asked Solight.

“Y-you apparently,” answered Spike, laughing.

That only made the alicorn more confused, but also self-conscious too.

“Well, stop it. There’s nothing funny about me,” they said.

That didn’t make him stop laughing. As for Solight, the alicorn only grumbled while closing the door behind them.
> This Day is Going to Drag-on For Everyone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Don’t you all ever get curious about where in the Everfree Forest Jasper lives?” Solight wondered curiously. “I mean, he knows where each of us live and has visited our homes a few times, but we’ve never visited his home.”

Gentle Hope smiled. “We are curious, but we know that Jasper will tell us when he feels like it. He’s probably worried about what we’d think of his home or something,” she said.

The alicorn was currently hanging out with their friends, except Jasper, including Spike, Winter Frost, and Dusk and Dawn as they were all trotting through the park. The next day after the fused alicorn had stayed over at the library, they were introduced to the whole town. Everyone was surprised to meet Dusk and Dawn, except for Pinkie Pie who threw them a party welcoming them to Ponyville. It’s been nine days since the party happened, and now they were both enrolled into Ponyville Schoolhouse. 

“I know, it’s just that it’s been more than three weeks since we first met him. I’m just curious about him,” said Solight. 

In actuality, they were only asking because Princess Celestia had sent a letter last night asking the alicorn to find out where the sheep lives. The sun princess knows that he lives in the Everfree Forest, but she doesn’t know exactly where in the forest Jasper lives and can’t send any of her guards to search the entire forest, especially without either him or Draco becoming suspicious. Princess Celestia wants to know in order to keep an eye on Jasper without the sheep knowing. 

“Again, we all are, but Jasper will open up to us about himself. Just give him time,” advised the psychiatrist pony. 

Solight knows that Gentle Hope was right, but before they could say anything, Banana Pie suddenly gasped. 

“Banan!” exclaimed the unicorn stallion.

Hearing him shout attracted the group’s attention and they all stopped trotting.

“What’s the matter, Banana Pie?” asked the young dragon, confused.

The unicorn stallion pointed a hoof at the sky. “Banan!” said Banana Pie.

Everyone followed his hoof and were shocked to see that there was a cloud of smoke in the air. 

Cinna quickly flew up into the air to assess the situation and see where it’s coming from. She calmed down. “Don’t worry, everypony. It’s not coming from the town,” the pegasus informed.

That made the group sigh in relief.

“Then where is it coming from, Cinna?” asked Melon, wondering.

She flew down to the ground. “It seems to be coming from the mountains, which is weird since there’s no fire coming from there,” answered Cinna.

“That is very weird,” remarked the melon pony.

Suddenly, Spike burped up a letter that had the sun princess’ seal on it. The alicorn floated the scroll over to themself and opened it up.

“Princess Celestia says that the smoke is being caused by a dragon up in the mountains and…” read Solight, but then paused. A scared look appeared on the alicorn’s face. “Why would the princess send us to do something this dangerous? Has she gone mad?”

Some of them became worried, while the others became concerned as they saw the look on Solight’s face.

“Solight, are you okay?” asked the psychiatrist pony, concerned.

“I-It says that Princess Celestia wants us to go up to the mountains and evict the dragon living there or else Equestria is doomed from the tons of smoke it’s producing,” the alicorn informed.

The entire group was shocked.

Melon couldn’t believe this. “Wait, so either we go and evict a dragon, or we do nothing and Equestria is doomed? What if we ended up having to fight the dragon?” she asked. When did it become her job to fight dragons? What if they were like Spike instead? “What if the dragon’s not a threat to anypony and just chilling? They’re not harming anypony. Well, their smoke is, but still.”

They nodded. “Yeah, and it doesn’t what would happen if it did, but if that does happen, then I guess we’d have to get my grandpa’s help, but don’t worry, I know that we can do this,” said Solight. “We defeated Nightmare Moon, so a dragon will be a piece of cake.”

The alicorn said that in order to calm down and reassure their friends. It somewhat worked as Melon, the unicorn stallion, and the pegasus mare had worried looks on their faces, while Gentle Hope looked interested in how things will pan out.

Solight had a reassuring smile on their face. “If there’s anypony who doesn’t want to go, then it’s okay if you don’t want to. This will be dangerous, and I don’t want any of you to get hurt,” said the alicorn. “You are all my friends, and your lives and friendship mean more to me, and I’d feel bad if any of you ended up hurt, or worse.”

As Solight had said this, the others started to calm down until each of them had calm looks on their faces.

The alicorn looked around. “So, which of you want to stay?” they asked.

The melon pony, Banana Pie, Cinna, and the psychiatrist pony looked at each other before looking at Solight.

Gentle Hope was the first to say something. “I’m coming along with you. Saving Equestria is important, but so is your life, Solight,” she said. “I can’t let you go by yourself.”

He nodded. “Banan,” agreed the unicorn stallion.

The pegasus mare smiled. “Count me in too,” she said.

The four of them then looked at Melon, wondering if she’s going as well.

The melon pony sighed as Melon’s loyalty to her friends had kicked in. “If you’re all going through with this, then I should go along too. I can’t let any of you get into any trouble after all,” said Melon. 

They all smiled when they heard that, but then something was brought up that distracted them all.

“Speaking of getting into trouble, have any of you seen Jasper?” asked the melon pony. “We need to ask him if wants to join in too.”

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing where Jasper was, but then Cinna raised a hoof.

“I did. He said that he had to go do something important, but never told me where he had to go,” answered the pegasus mare. “He had promised that he’ll be done soon and hang out with my brother Lemon.”

“How long ago was that?” asked the alicorn, curious.

They thought about it. “I think more than an hour ago,” answered Cinna.

“So, he could be anywhere in Ponyville,” said the psychiatrist pony.

The fused alicorn looked up as the two saw something flying in the air.

Dawn smiled. “Hey, look! Flying sheep!” shouted the filly.

That got everyone’s attention.

Dawn pointed their hoof. “See?” said the filly.

Everyone looked up to see the sheep flying in the air, heading in the direction of the mountain.

She couldn’t believe this. “He wouldn’t,” said the melon pony.

Gentle Hope couldn’t believe that Jasper would break a promise that the sheep made to his friends. “He’s heading in the direction of the mountain,” said the psychiatrist pony.

The alicorn spread out their wings. “I’ll stop him,” said Solight.

They flew after the sheep.

Jasper was looking around for someone. “Where are they? I told them to meet me in the park,” he muttered. “Huh?” The sheep had heard the sound of flapping wings behind him, so Jasper turned around and saw Solight.

“I wonder what Solight wants?” he questioned, wondering. The sheep stopped so he could see what the alicorn wanted. “Hey, Solight. Did you need something?”

They looked angry. “Jasper, I can’t believe you were going to go fight a dragon all by yourself after you promised us that you wouldn’t do something stupid like fight Nightmare Moon again, and now you’re doing it. What do you have to say for yourself?” questioned Solight.

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “Solight, I’ve been working on some pony’s commission for days, and had just finished it a while ago. I’m looking for them so I can deliver the item, get my payment, and then go hang out with Lemon,” answered the sheep. “Why would I go and break a promise to you all?”

Once the alicorn heard that, they felt embarrassed. “Oh. It’s just that it looked like you were heading for the mountains,” said Solight.

“I can see why you would think that,” he said.

Suddenly, a mare flew right next to them. It was a gray pegasus with some bubbles as their Cutie Mark.

Jasper smiled. “Hey there, Derpy. I’ve been looking for you,” greeted the sheep. “The commission for the dreamcatcher is 32 Bits.”

Derpy smiled. “Sure thing, and thanks for taking my commission, Jasper. I’ve been having nightmares lately,” she said. The bubbly pegasus reached into her saddlebags and took out a bag of bits.

He smiled. “It was no problem at all,” said the sheep.

After counting the bits, Derpy handed the exact amount over to Jasper. Once he collected it, the sheep brought out a unique-looking dreamcatcher and handed it over to the bubbly mare. She had been having nightmares which had been waking her up. On some occasions Princess Luna took care of the nightmares, however. One day, the bubbly mare had heard about Jasper taking commissions to make magical objects, so she looked for the sheep and asked him if he could make Derpy something to stop the nightmares. Luckily, Jasper had a somewhat free schedule, so the sheep accepted the commission and got to work on it.

“Thanks again. Bye,” she said.

Derpy then flew off with the dreamcatcher in hoof.

He looked over at the alicorn. “So, how did you know it was a dragon creating the smoke?” asked Jasper, curious.

Solight had to give the sheep an explanation about Princess Celestia’s latest letter.





Some Time Later

The alicorn, after explaining to the others about the misunderstanding, had given an announcement to the ponies of the town about the dragon, which caused them to panic, but once Solight had said that the group would take care of it, everyone had calmed down. Afterwards, the group had gone home to prepare for the expedition. The alicorn had Spike, the Orthros, and the fused alicorn stay over at the apple farm to be looked after by the Apple family. The entire group’s plan to travel to the mountains was by flying. For the ones who can’t fly, a temporary wing spell will be casted by the alicorn onto Gentle Hope and Banana Pie, while Jasper will cast his own new wing spell onto Melon. Both spells will allow the three to fly. Everyone was all ready, except…

“No, you two can’t come along, Rainbow Dash,” denied Solight.

Apparently, Rainbow Dash wanted to come along with the group, and had even dragged along her friend Fluttershy to join as well. It was obvious that the rainbow pony wanted to fight the dragon as to increase her reputation and have something to brag about to other ponies.

Rainbow Dash, flying in the air, was shocked. “But why?! You need my awesomeness to fight that dragon!” she argued.

They looked at the rainbow pony with a deadpan look. “It's because Princess Celestia only asked us to go. Also, we're evicting the dragon, not fighting it,” the alicorn informed. Solight didn’t need someone to cause them, their friends, and maybe the chance of the town getting caught in the crossfire, any trouble involving a dragon. Even if there was a chance the group was going to fight it, the alicorn had sent their grandpa a letter for backup just in case that were to happen. “We’re just going to talk to the dragon and ask them if they could leave so there won’t be any more smoke. That’s it.”

She groaned. “But that’s boring! Just fight the dragon to get it to leave,” said Rainbow Dash. “Like this! Hyah!”

The rainbow pony started doing fighting moves in the air while making fighting noises at the same time. This didn’t impress anyone in the group at all.

She decided to be the one to inform Rainbow Dash of some problems. “Rainbow Dash, Solight is right. Besides, if we attack it first, that’ll only make it angry,” the psychiatrist pony informed. “It’s better if we peacefully ask it to leave.”

Hearing that made the rainbow pony stop doing what she was doing. Rainbow Dash flew down in the air slightly as her wings had sagged. “Aww,” said the rainbow pony, disappointed.

Gentle Hope looked at the shy mare. “Also, Fluttershy is afraid of dragons. You shouldn’t force somepony who’s afraid of dragons to go when they don’t even want to,” she continued. The psychiatrist pony smiled. “Sorry that you came over here for nothing.”

Fluttershy smiled back. “Oh, it’s okay. I’m sorry that we couldn’t help,” she said.

“It’s okay, Fluttershy. After this is over, let’s have tea and cookies,” reassured Gentle Hope.

The shy mare smiled. “That sounds lovely. I can’t wait,” said Fluttershy.

Solight and the sheep then began to cast their spells onto the three ponies. As a result, the psychiatrist pony and the unicorn stallion had ended up with some butterfly wings, while the melon pony had ended up with a pair of her own pegasi wings. Gentle Hope, the pegasus mare, the shy pony, and Banana Pie were amazed at the butterfly wings.

“Whoa,” said Cinna, amazed.

“Amazing,” said the psychiatrist pony, amazed.

“Banan,” said the unicorn stallion, amazed.

“So cute! I wish I had wings like those,” said Fluttershy, amazed as well. She smiled shyly. “Though, I do like my wings just the way they are as well.”

As for Melon, the melon pony was a bit scared, but she was also excited too. Melon stretched her wings out in order to get a good look at them.

“Nice job, Jasper. I really like these wings,” said the melon pony.

Jasper smiled at Melon’s compliment. The others approached the melon pony, impressed as well as they checked out her wings too.

“Whoa. Pretty awesome-looking spell, Jasper,” said the alicorn, impressed. “Giving temporary pegasi wings to a pony seems like a neat idea.”

“Thanks. Not only that, but the spell also allows the pony to manipulate weather and touch clouds like a pegasus can, but only temporarily until the wings are gone,” the sheep informed.

Solight was stunned. “Incredible. Can you teach me the spell?” they asked.

“Maybe when I have some free time, but for now, we have to get going. Let’s head for the mountains,” he said. Jasper didn’t want to waste time talking since the group needed to get to the mountains.

After saying bye to the shy pony and Rainbow Dash, the group flew off, heading for the mountains.





Meanwhile at Canterlot Castle’s Throne Room

“YOU DID WHAT?!” shouted Draco, a mixed tone between surprise and anger. He had just been informed by Celestia that she had sent a letter to Solight asking the alicorn and their friends to go to a cave in the mountains to evict a dragon from there. “HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING SO STUPID AND DANGEROUS?!”

“But–” said Princess Celestia but was then interrupted.

“I don’t want to hear it!” shouted the alicorn stallion. “Now I have to get my soldiers ready to go fight the dragon in case my foal and their friends end up having to fight one.” Draco got ready to fly, but before the alicorn stallion did, he had something to say to her. “I’ll be informing the castle’s chefs that you’re banned from eating cake for two weeks.”

Draco flew off while the sun princess, after hearing she was banned from eating cakes for two weeks, fell into despair as she tried to convince her little brother to change his mind.





A Few Minutes Later

They all landed at the entrance of the cave where the smoke was coming from.

“Now that we’re here. Now what?” asked Melon.

“Well, now we–” said the alicorn, before being interrupted.

The sheep was looking in the opposite direction of the cave. “Solight, Rainbow Dash is heading our way,” he informed.

Hearing that, everyone quickly looked where Jasper was looking and were surprised to see that the rainbow pony was heading their way at a fast speed.

“What’s Rainbow Dash doing here? I thought we told her that she couldn’t come along with us?” asked Cinna, confused.

He nodded. The sheep had a feeling that the rainbow pony would do this. “Yeah, we told her that ‘she couldn’t go with us’, but we didn’t tell her that ‘she couldn’t go to the cave herself’ either,” Jasper informed. The sheep brought out his staff.

Melon scoffed. “Of course, she would try and find a loophole in what we said,” she said.

“What are we going to do? She’s going to fight the dragon and make it mad,” said the pegasus mare, worried.

“You all keep your eyes on Rainbow Dash. I’ll have something ready to stop her,” said Jasper. The sheep walked over to the cave entrance.

While the others kept their eyes on Rainbow Dash as she was getting closer and closer, Jasper had instantly vanished into thin air. 

“Are you done yet, Jasper?! She’s a few feet away!” called out Gentle Hope.

There was no response from him. As for the rainbow pony, Rainbow Dash flew past them and towards the cave entrance, making everyone worried that they failed to stop her. But then suddenly, the rainbow pony stopped in place, turning everyone’s worry into surprise.

Rainbow Dash struggled to free herself, but couldn’t escape whatever it was, was there. “W-What’s going on here?! What am I stuck in?!” questioned the rainbow pony, surprised as well.

Soon after Rainbow Dash had said that, the rainbow pony felt something wrap around her body before the rainbow pony fell to the ground. Solight, seeing that Rainbow Dash was falling, used their magic to catch her before she could even get any closer to the ground and was placed safely onto it instead.

Afterwards, the sheep reappeared next to Rainbow Dash, surprising everyone. “To answer your questions, I set up a little trap at the entrance that I hid with my ‘Notice Me Not’ spell, knowing you were going to go into the cave. I call it-” His staff shined with magic, revealing some sort of weird green vines wrapped around the rainbow pony’s body like a ball. “-the ‘Creeping Guard Vines’ spell. It’s a spell that creates plant vines made out of magic and are set up to capture and restrain intruders until the same magic is used to release them,” explained Jasper. He looked down at Rainbow Dash. “So no matter how fast or slow, hot or cold, big or small, or weak or strong the intruder is, they’ll always catch them. For now, you’re staying here until we evict that dragon. And yes, I’ll teach you this spell later too, Solight.” Jasper looked up at his friends. “Who would like to go first?”

Banana Pie noticed something, so he pointed a hoof. “Banan,” said the unicorn stallion.

The sheep followed Banana Pie’s hoof to see that Cinna had already flown into the cave.

“It looks like Cinna decided to volunteer first,” said the psychiatrist pony.

Everyone waited for the pegasus right at the entrance, ready to help her out in case Cinna needed it.





Meanwhile-Inside of the Cave

The pegasus mare was flying through the cave, heading for the dragon. As she was nearing them, Cinna saw the pile of treasure that it was sleeping on.

“What is with dragons hoarding treasure out of greed, I’ll never know,” muttered the pegasus mare.

Once they arrived in front of the dragon, it was time to wake it up.

“Hey, Mr. Dragon,” said Cinna, loudly. 

The dragon moved in its sleep, disturbed. Afterwards, its eyes opened as it gradually woke up.

“My name is Cinna. I’m not a pony though,” said the pegasus mare. 

The dragon had then yawned, breathing out its noxious breath in their direction, making Cinna gag from the smell.

“Ugh. I’m half-dragon, so we’re not enemies,” said the pegasus mare. “I know this is where you've chosen to sleep, but it's causing a health hazard. There’s a nice mountain range in an uninhabited area not far from here, so you can sleep there without hurting others and without ponies coming into your territory. Do you mind moving? Me and my friends, including everypony else, would really like it if you would.”

Suddenly, there was the sound of the ground being disturbed, causing the two to look towards the cave entrance to see that one of Cinna’s friends had stepped on something, making the noise. The dragon looked around until its eyes landed on Jasper. It started getting up from its treasure hoard, licking its lips, hungry for some lamb meat. The pegasus, seeing this, did not like it one bit. 

She flew into its face right before it could leave, lifted up her hair to reveal a draconic eye, and then gave the dragon a death glare. Normally, something like that wouldn’t work on a big dragon like it, but Cinna’s death glare was really scary, causing it to stay in place. “Don’t you even dare. If you even try to harm one hair, or even a single strand of wool, on any of my friends, you’ll be sorry,” warned the pegasus. “Got it?”

The dragon nodded, fearfully. 

“Now, you’re going to leave this cave and head for that mountain range that I told you about,” she said. Cinna flew out of the way. “Go.”

The dragon started to quickly leave the cave.





Meanwhile-Outside the Cave

Everyone, including the rainbow pony who was picked up, moved out of the way of the entrance as the dragon was leaving. It then flew off into the air and headed off in another direction. The pegasus mare flew out of the cave, rejoining the group who were both impressed and surprised.

“Cinna, you did it. What did you say to get the dragon to leave?” asked Solight, impressed.

While they were able to see her while at the entrance, they couldn't hear what Cinna had said to the dragon.

The pegasus mare smiled. “All I did was ask it nicely to leave and convince it to move to some other mountains,” she said. Cinna wasn’t going to tell them that she threatened the dragon after that.

The sheep smiled. “Well, we’re all just glad that you’re alright,” he said.

Everyone voiced their own agreement with Jasper. Suddenly, a voice sounded off from nearby.

“SOLIGHT!” shouted a familiar voice.

They recognized the voice. “Isn’t that grandpa’s voice?” questioned the alicorn, confused.

Everyone looked in the direction of where the voice came from to see that it did in fact belong to the alicorn stallion who was flying over to everyone with his own group of guards.

Seeing their own grandpa here and now kind of surprised Solight as the alicorn didn’t expect to see Draco at the dragon’s cave until after they had sent a letter asking for the backup. “Looks like grandpa must’ve come to help us out,” said Solight.

He looked at everypony once he touched the ground.. “Are you all okay? We just saw the dragon leave the cave and I got worried,” said Draco.

The alicorn smiled. “Don’t worry, grandpa. We’re all okay,” they reassured. “We were able to get the dragon to peacefully leave thanks to Cinna.”

He looked at the pegasus mare. “You were able to get the dragon to leave?” asked the alicorn stallion. 

Cinna nodded in confirmation.

Draco smiled. “Thank you. Now that that dragon is gone, the smoke should be clearing away soon,” he said.

She smiled. “It was nothing,” said the pegasus.

The alicorn stallion noticed Rainbow Dash on the ground.

The sheep knew what Draco was going to ask. “She tried to go fight the dragon but ended up caught in a trap I left for her. We didn’t want her to anger the dragon and get all of us, and maybe Ponyville, harmed by its rampage,” he informed.

The alicorn stallion looked up. “It’s a good thing you all did stop her,” he said. Draco looked back down at the rainbow pony. The alicorn stallion was a little impressed but was mostly disappointed in her. “While what you did was brave, it was also foolhardy. You could’ve gotten yourself and my foal and their friends, and you could’ve gotten everyone else caught in its rampage. Next time, think things through before you do them, and don’t ever do that again. Understand?”

Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground while on her side. “Yeah,” grumbled the rainbow pony.

“Also, starting tomorrow, you’ll be attending my classes for three days, each lasting six hours, in Canterlot as punishment,” said Draco.

She was surprised. “What?! But–” said the rainbow pony.

“You think the Wonderbolts will allow somepony so reckless to join them? Your recklessness will one day get somepony hurt,” he said, in a serious tone. “Even if you train as hard as you could, the Wonderbolts will only allow ponies who can keep a clear head, follow orders, work together with the others, and won’t put any innocent ponies or even their own teammates in danger. Will you still be able to call yourself one if any got hurt because of you?”

That made Rainbow Dash become silent.

The alicorn stallion looked at Jasper. “Jasper, do you think you could free her? Also, I was wondering if you had time to do a commission for me after this?” he asked.

Seeing as the dragon is pretty far away now, Jasper was okay with freeing her. “Sure thing. I’m busy today, but tomorrow I’ll accept your commission and let you know what my schedule is like for this month,” confirmed the sheep. 

He pointed the gem of his staff at the vines and started to send magic through it, causing Jasper’s staff to shine once again. A few seconds later, the vines disintegrated as they were decaying until there was nothing left of them, freeing the rainbow pony. Seeing that she was freed, Rainbow Dash took off to the skies and headed back towards Ponyville.

They felt bad for the rainbow pony, but someone had to tell her that.

The sheep looked back at the cave. “What do you think we should do with the dragon’s treasure hoard, Draco? If we leave it in the cave all by itself, it might invite other dragons or greedy creatures who would want to obtain it, and if the dragon comes back wanting the treasure and finds it gone, that’ll create problems for us,” he asked, curious. “We can just store it away for now until the dragon wants it back, and if it doesn’t want the treasure back, we could use it somehow.”

Draco thought about it.

“Well, I guess you’re right about that. A dragon with its treasure hoard stolen is an angry dragon after all,” said the alicorn stallion. “I’ll have my guards transport it to Ponyville somehow. For now, you all can head back to Ponyville and tell everypony that the job is done.”

Luckily, the word ‘transport’ had made Jasper remember something.

The sheep looked at Solight and took out some saddlebags. “That reminds me. Solight, I finished the storage device you commissioned me,” Jasper informed. “You could use this to carry the treasure. It has tons of space in it. Try and put all of the treasure in one of them.”

He handed it off to the alicorn, who levitated it with their magic. Solight, with their grandpa’s help, transported all of the dragon’s treasure hoard into one saddlebag. The alicorn decided to go with Draco and the guards to transport the treasure to Canterlot and then return to Ponyville. Before they had all left, the sheep had given Solight the bill for the saddlebags, which was ‘126 Bits’. Unfortunately, the alicorn didn’t have enough, so the alicorn stallion suggested he pay for it after he got back to the castle and send the money, which Jasper accepted. They all said bye before flying off into two separate groups.





A Few Hours Later

The melon pony was sitting at a table in some restaurant by herself. Melon had received a letter from her secret admirer asking the melon pony out on a date in which they’ll reveal themself to her by bringing her her favorite flower: Snapdragons. Melon was being stared at by ponies since she still had her pegasus wings. It seems that the temporary wing spell that the sheep used on the melon pony had gone wrong somehow and didn’t wear off even after a few hours had passed by. Melon’s exact words to him were ‘you'd better fix this, fluffy’. Luckily, she trusts Jasper will be able to do it as the sheep had promised to find a way to remove the wings. 

“Hey there, Melon,” greeted a familiar voice.

The melon pony looked up to see that the voice belonged to Jasper. 

She looked at him, confused. “Jasper, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working on the spell to remove the wings that you put on me?” asked Melon.

The sheep smiled. “Actually, I came here to meet my date,” he informed.

That made the melon pony curious. “Who are you on a date with?” she asked.

Jasper brought out a Snapdragon from out of his cloak, shocking Melon.

“You’re my secret admirer?” she questioned.

The sheep sat down at the table. “Who else would send gifts and love letters to the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria with eyes as green as emeralds? The mare who looks cute whenever her face scrunches up in anger?” asked Jasper.

That made the melon pony blush.

“Well…” said Melon.

“Now, how about we start this date? I’ve got a lot of things to flirt with you about,” he said, winking.

She blushed even more. Afterwards, the two’s date started.
> Jasper's Curse
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I’m not getting sheared. I don’t want to,” argued Jasper, adamant.

“You have to. It’s Summer, and you’re sweating right now,” argued Melon. She turned with an angry look. “Tell him.”

The sheep and the melon pony were inside of the library, arguing about him needing to get sheared, while their friends were watching and were trying to get their word in. The two had started arguing about it after everyone had noticed that Jasper was sweating, which the sheep had revealed that he’s been doing ever since the temperatures had increased during the summer. Apparently, no one had noticed that Jasper had been doing it for a few weeks.

“I have to agree with Melon, Jasper. With it being summer, having all that wool and not getting sheared is not going to be healthy for you,” advised Gentle Hope. “You’ll end up overheating and fainting.”

Solight nodded. “Yeah. It’s going to be very hot for you,” they agreed.

Cinna frowned. “I don’t want my friend to get hurt. Please get yourself sheared,” she begged.

“Banan!” agreed Banana Pie.

Seeing as how he was outnumbered, Jasper sighed. “Look, I don’t want to get sheared because…I just don’t want to be laughed at after I get sheared,” explained the sheep. 

That confused everyone, making them wonder why any of them would laugh at him for getting sheared.

“Why would we laugh at you?” asked the psychiatrist pony.

The sheep looked down, blushing. “I would look embarrassing without my wool,” he answered.

That surprised everyone that Jasper would think that.

“Jasper, we’re your friends. We wouldn’t dare to laugh at you just because you don’t have any wool,” reassured the melon pony. “We care about you. You not getting sheared would make us all worry.” Melon looked at him with a begging look on her face. “Please…For us, get yourself sheared.”

The sheep, seeing the concerned looks on all of his friends’ faces, sighed.

“Fine. I’ll get myself sheared,” said Jasper.

The next thing he knew, the sheep got pulled into a group hug by all of his friends. Even Spike, and Dawn and Dusk got dragged into the hug as well, which they were okay with.

“Yay! Hug!” cheered the colt.

The sheep inwardly sighed. “Of course they were able to convince me to get sheared. They are my close friends after all,” thought Jasper, smiling.

The sheep didn’t notice that the bell that is usually on his collar had developed a large, deep crack in it.





A Few Days Later

The alicorn had just received a letter from Princess Celestia. It read:

“To my faithful guard and student,

Your letter about your friend Jasper, concerned me. You’ve said that starting a few days ago, he’s been heading back to his home every time a few minutes just before me and my sister could even switch out the sun and moon. Not only that, but he’s always in a hurry and can’t stay for long. It sounds suspicious, so I need you to find out what it is and report back to me as soon as possible.

From your princess/teacher,

Celestia.”

Solight was inwardly feeling conflicted. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told her about it? Jasper probably developed some sort of schedule that he’s temporarily sticking to for a while,” they thought. “Now here comes the hard part. If I don’t report back to Princess Celestia, then that’d be disobeying her orders, but if I spy on Jasper, then that’d be betraying our friendship.” The alicorn inwardly groaned. “What should I do?”

Solight thought about it for a while before they made a decision. 





A Few Minutes Later

“I need your help to stall Jasper long enough until it’s night just to see why he is always in such a hurry to get back home,” explained the alicorn. “So, can you help me?”

Solight was currently at Sparkle Mane Drinks with their friends, except for Jasper, who was out in town getting some supplies for some of his current commissions; Spike, who was helping Rarity; and Dawn and Dusk, who went along with the young dragon.

Gentle Hope looked confused. “Haven’t you thought that maybe he’s probably sticking to some sort of temporary schedule?” she questioned.

“I’ve thought of that too, but it doesn’t explain why Jasper’s in such a hurry. Even if he’s sticking to a schedule, he shouldn’t be in that much of a hurry to do it,” answered the alicorn.

As for the pegasus, this seemed a bit odd to her. “Why are you so curious to learn about Jasper anyway? If you’re that curious about him, why don’t you ask him yourself?” asked Cinna.

They have before during the time that the alicorn had lived in Ponyville. “I have. Jasper has told me a lot of things about himself,” answered Solight. “But not about why he’s been leaving exactly before it’s nighttime. I’m just worried he might be getting mixed up in something he’s having trouble with.”

Hearing the alicorn’s reasoning made them all go silent as the Solight’s friends all glanced at each other silently. Eventually, it was the melon pony who spoke.

She sighed. “If we help you do this, will you stop having this level of curiosity about Jasper and start asking him directly?” asked Melon.

They nodded. “Yes,” answered the alicorn.

The melon pony sighed. “Fine. We’ll help you, just this once,” she said. “But after this, don’t ask us to do something like this again.”

Solight nodded. They didn’t like this either at all. “Okay, so there’s only five hours until nighttime, and we need a plan to stall long enough. Who wants to go first?” asked the alicorn.





A Few Minutes Later

The sheep had just finished up his shopping as Jasper had bought some stuff from the Market. He needed the stuff for something important that the sheep was going to be making soon. Jasper’s cloak was a bit bigger and longer as the sheep needed to cover himself up since all, but his head and tail were shorn clean. It was done by Fluttershy who somehow knew how to shear sheep, and it would be a while until it all grew back. Plus, the sheep wasn’t wearing his bell collar for some reason.

“Now, for my current project I need some Phoenix Fire, Phoenix Feathers, Fire Ruby Crystals, Rain Water, and maybe some Ocean Water as well,” thought Jasper.

“Banan!” shouted the unicorn stallion.

He looked up, unsurprised. The sheep got used to Banana Pie showing up out of nowhere. “Hi, Banana Pie. Need something?” asked Jasper. 

He nodded. “Banan. Banan?” said Banana Pie.

The sheep nodded, understanding. “Yeah, I can help you sell some bananas for an hour or two,” answered Jasper. Over time, the sheep got so used to the unicorn stallion saying ‘Banan’ that Jasper can now understand him somehow.

Banana Pie smiled. “Banan!” said the unicorn stallion.

The two head off to go to Banana Pie’s stand. What Jasper didn’t know was that this whole thing was a plan devised by his friends.





1 Hour and 30 Minutes Later

The sheep smiled at a random pony. “Thank you for buying our bananas. We hope to see you again soon,” he said. 

The pony trotted away with their purchase of bananas. Then, the pegasus showed up, smiling. 

“Hey there, Jasper. Banana Pie,” greeted Cinna. “How’s business going?”

“Banan,” answered the unicorn stallion.

Jasper shrugged. “Eh, it’s a bit slow, but manageable,” answered the sheep. “Do you want to buy some bananas?”

She shook her head. “No. I came to see if you could help me with something?” asked the pegasus.

He looked hesitant. “Well, I don’t want to abandon Banana Pie by himself,” said the sheep.

Banana Pie looked okay with it. “Banan. Banan,” the unicorn stallion.

Jasper nodded, smiling. “Okay. If you say so, Banana Pie,” he said. The sheep faced Cinna. “So, what do you need help with Cinna?

The pegasus mare smiled. The next thing that he knew, Jasper got booped on the nose by her, surprising the sheep. Back then, Jasper had allowed Cinna to start booping him on the nose, but just not too much since it’ll get annoying at some point to the sheep.

“Catch me if you can!” shouted the pegasus.

Cinna galloped away, giggling.

After realizing that he was booped, Jasper chased after her. “Hey! No fair!” shouted the sheep. 





45 Minutes Later

The two had been playing tag for a while, and right now, he was it. The sheep looked around for the pegasus mare, determined.

“Where did she go? I know I just saw her in this area just a few seconds ago,” thought Jasper.

The sheep had chased them into the part where Sugarcube Corner and a few other stores were. He hadn’t looked inside the stores yet since that’d be unfair of Cinna to hide inside of one while Jasper is looking for her. Suddenly, a voice sounded off right next to the sheep.

“Hey, Jasper,” greeted a familiar voice.

Jasper turned around to face the owner of the voice. “Hey, Gentle Hope. You need something too?” guessed the sheep. 

The psychiatrist pony was surprised. “How did you know I needed something?” asked Gentle Hope.

He smiled. “It was a feeling I had. Anyway, I can help you as soon as I find and boop Cinna,” said Jasper, determined. “So far, we’re tied with a lot of wins, but then she stopped running and started turning this game of tag into hide and seek. I’ve been looking for her everywhere, but I just can’t find her.” The sheep went to check the next place.

She glanced up to see a certain pegasus hiding on top of the roof of the store next to them, having fun.

Gentle Hope smiled as she looked back down at him. The psychiatrist pony decided to give Jasper a hint. “Have you tried looking on top of the roofs? Cinna is a pegasus after all,” she said. 

After hearing that hint, the sheep stopped in place.

He sighed. “Where is she?” asked Jasper.

“On top of the roof next to us,” answered Gentle Hope.

The sheep quickly looked up to see Cinna up on the roof.

She flew down off of the roof and onto the ground, frowning. “No fair! You had help!” said the pegasus mare.

Jasper gave Cinna a smile. “Sorry about that, Cinna. How about we consider this your win and I’ll buy you a chocolate cake as an apology?” he suggested. 

A chocolate cake did sound good. “Hmm…Okay,” answered the pegasus mare, smiling.

The sheep looked apologetic. “Though, can I give it to you tomorrow? Gentle Hope needs something, so I’ll give it to you the next time we meet up,” he informed.

Cinna nodded. “Sure thing. I don’t have anything planned tomorrow so it sounds good,” she said. “And I’m busy today since my parents and Lemon’s dad are visiting.” The pegasus and their brother actually had family visiting later today, and Cinna needed to get home and prepare for their arrival.

Jasper nodded. “It’s okay. Family is important after all,” he said.

The pegasus smiled before flying off, heading home.

The sheep looked at the psychiatrist pony. “So, you need help with something?” he asked.

She smiled. “Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to just talk?” asked Gentle Hope.

That confused Jasper, but he was okay with it. “Sure. Where do you want to talk?” answered the sheep.





1 Hour and 30 Minutes Later

“And I guess that’s why I love her. She’s just…amazing, and right now, I’m afraid I won’t measure up in her eyes, like I’m someone who doesn’t deserve her,” admitted Jasper.

He and the psychiatrist pony were in her office. The sheep was sitting on the couch, talking about his feelings, while Gentle Hope was sitting in her chair. 

The psychiatrist pony nodded while writing stuff down in her notepad. “I see. Well, Melon did tell me and Cinna that you were her secret admirer, and that the two of you went out on a date at a restaurant and even went out on a stroll,” said Gentle Hope. “She told us that she had the most amazing time of her life.”

Jasper didn’t know whether to feel embarrassed that Melon told the two that, or proud that the melon pony had fun.

“You should know that anytime you’re feeling that way, then you should remember that Melon is the most loyal one of the group and wouldn’t think anything like that about you or any of us. Also, I think you have a chance to sweep her off her hooves during the future dates that you’re planning on taking her out on,” advised the psychiatrist pony, smirking behind her clipboard.

The sheep felt like blushing right now and wanted the subject to be changed. Luckily, there was a knock at the door.

Gentle Hope looked up from her clipboard. “Who is it?” asked the psychiatrist pony.

“Melon. Can I come in?” answered the voice.

She smiled. “Of course. We were done anyway,” said Gentle Hope.

The door opened, and in trotted Melon.

“Hi there, Melon. Did you need something?” asked the psychiatrist pony.

Jasper had a feeling of why the melon pony was here, but it was only a guess. “I have a feeling that she either wants some help or wants something just like the others,” he thought. 

She started blushing when she looked at the sheep. “I was wondering…if you wanted to go out on a date with me at my stand and help taste test some new watermelon varieties?” asked Melon.

He quickly got up off of the couch and walked over to the melon pony. “Sure, I’m free right now,” answered Jasper. The sheep turned towards Gentle Hope. “Let’s continue our session next time.”

The psychiatrist pony smiled. “Sounds good. For now, don’t let me keep you two here,” she said.

“Okay. Bye,” said Jasper.

He didn’t notice that the melon pony and Gentle Hope shared a look with one another before Melon followed after the sheep.





8 Minutes Later

They were at the melon pony’s watermelon stand with an “On Break” sign on the front. There, Jasper was trying out different watermelons with Melon during her break as the melon pony needed help taste testing them to see if they’re perfect to be sold. Especially since this is Melon’s first and last batch as there was only a few months left before Fall starts. Both of them were spitting seeds out into bowls while eating the fruit.

The melon pony had been glancing at the sheep multiple times from the corner of her eye. “Just ask him already. It wouldn’t hurt to try,” thought Melon.

Too bad for her, he noticed and was now grinning. “I know that I’m handsome since you’ve been glancing at me so many times, Melon. But don’t worry, I think your beauty is extraordinary,” said Jasper.

That made the melon pony blush. “It’s not that!” exclaimed Melon. 

The sheep chuckled. “I know. Now, what is it that you wanted to ask me?” he asked.

She calmed down before sighing. “Jasper, why is it that you leave Ponyville a few minutes before it’s nighttime? I mean, is it some sort of schedule, or do you have some sort of commission that you’ve currently trying to finish or something?” asked Melon.

Hearing those questions made Jasper frown and look down.

He sighed. “It’s something, but it’s something that only I can do alone. I know I should count on you all to help, but this is something way out of all of your hooves,” answered the sheep. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

Seeing that Jasper was being adamant and kind of sad about it, the melon pony decided to change the subject.

“What do you think of all of these watermelons? Do you think I should grow them next year?” Melon wondered.

He smiled. “It’s pretty good. I think you should grow them,” answered the sheep. “I know that lots of ponies will want to buy these.”

She smiled as well. “I agree with you, Jasper. They taste sweet, juicy, and delicious,” said the melon pony. “I can’t wait until next year. For now, I’ll just sell the stock I currently have.”

The two then started talking more about the watermelons. Eventually, once Melon’s break was over, the melon pony started selling them with Jasper’s help.





53 Minutes Later

Jasper yawned after finding himself sleeping against the stand right next to Melon who was just reading a book while waiting for ponies to buy her watermelons. There was only two or three left.

“Did I miss anything while I was asleep?” asked the sheep, wondering.

“Well, there’s only a few watermelons left. So, if no pony’s going to buy them soon, then I’ll just take them home and eat them,” answered the melon pony. She looked down at him. “Do you want to take some home with you?”

Jasper thought about it before shrugging. “Sure. Might as well take some with me, and…” he said, but then realized something. “Wait. What time is it?”

The sheep quickly took out an hourglass from his cloak. The hourglass showed the current time, which made Jasper freak out. 

The sheep looked extremely worried. “I’m sorry, Melon, but I have to go now,” said Jasper.

He summoned some wings and flew off a few feet before falling to the ground. The sheep tried again and again, but Jasper’s nervousness was causing him to crash every time, making Melon worried about the sheep. The melon pony looked back at her watermelons before shrugging and galloping after Jasper, who was able to finally stop crashing and fly off towards the Everfree Forest. Melon galloped past her group of friends who were trotting by.

“Wasn’t that Melon chasing after Jasper?” asked Cinna, confused.

They looked worried. “Something must be wrong. Quick, after them,” said the alicorn.

The group quickly galloped after the two.





2 Minutes Later

The sheep made it into the Everfree Forest, but so did his friends as well, who were far behind but were still catching up. Jasper tried to lose them by flying through the trees as he had less than a minute left before the sun went down.

“Jasper! You have to stop!” shouted the pegasus mare. “Going out into the Everfree Forest during the night is extremely dangerous!”

The sheep didn’t care as he needed to hurry and get far away before it was too late. Unfortunately, it was too late as the sun started going down due to the sun princess’ magic. 

Jasper, seeing that the sun was going down as the amount of sunlight in the forest was decreasing, realized that it was too late. “Oh, no,” he said.

The sheep quickly landed on the ground and closed his eyes. Then, Jasper’s magical wings shattered into pieces before disappearing. The moon had started to rise up into the sky as Princess Luna was using her magic to make the moon rise.

His friends were only a few feet away and approaching. “Jasper?! Are you okay?” asked the psychiatrist pony, worried.

Before they could approach him or ask, Jasper fell to the ground, shaking. Seeing the sheep like that, they quickly galloped even more to him. Suddenly, Jasper felt his body start to transform as the sheep’s body started changing as every part of him was transforming. The group had to stop in place as they saw Jasper transforming, and watched with rapt attention as the sheep’s teeth became sharper, fur started growing in while the remaining wool started turning into fur changing colors, hooves were becoming claws, body becoming bigger, thinner, and longer, nose and eyes were changing shape, etc. They watched as he was becoming less and less like a sheep and more like a different creature. Eventually, the transformation was over, and in Jasper’s place was something else.



He stared at them as they stared back. Seeing that they were frozen, the now wolf decided to just leave and head home, worried that he scared off his friends. Jasper turned around and walked away a few feet before someone’s voice sounded off.

“Jasper…is that you?” asked the melon pony, wondering.

It was only a few seconds before he sighed. “Yeah…it’s me,” answered the wolf, in a different-sounding voice.

She gathered her courage and approached Jasper. “What happened to you? Did one of your potions or spells do this to you?” asked Melon, concerned.

The wolf turned around and crossed his arms, scoffing. “I wish. No, I’m actually under a curse that causes my Diamond Dog nature to be amplified and I end up turning into this wolf creature every night during a Full Moon,” answered Jasper. “Unfortunately, every day is a Full Moon. That’s why I would leave Ponyville before night every day.”

The pegasus mare decided to talk next. After all, the wolf is their friend no matter what form he is in. Cinna started to approach Jasper as well at the same time as Banana Pie and Gentle Hope did. “Hold on, but there were times when you were around even during the night. How did you not transform?” asked the pegasus, curious.

The wolf allowed them to approach him. “The bell I was wearing prevented me from transforming. Whenever it would crack, I’d make a new one and replace it,” answered Jasper. “Unfortunately, I ran out of the one extremely rare material that I needed to make it. So, I decided that until I acquire it, I’d go back home before it’s nighttime.”

“If that’s true, why didn’t you ask us for help? We would’ve helped you find it,” asked the psychiatrist pony.

He looked away. “I was afraid of how you all would be scared off if you found out about this,” answered Jasper.

The melon pony was close enough and placed a hoof on the wolf’s leg. “Jasper, like I said before, we’re your friends. It doesn’t matter if you’re sheared on turned into this creature, we’ll always will and still be your friends,” she said. Melon smiled. “That’s all that matters.” The melon pony looked back at her friends. “Right, everypony?”

Everyone gave their own confirmation, except Solight, causing them all to look at the alicorn. 

The alicorn snapped out of it. Seeing that their friends were looking at them, Solight nodded and flew over to the group. “Oh. Yes,” they said, smiling. “We’re still friends no matter what, Jasper.”

That made him smile. “Thanks, everyone. Though, until I’m ready to show the whole town, can you all not tell anyone about this?” asked Jasper.

That made the wolf’s friends smile as well, except for Solight, who gave a smile that had conflict behind it.

“We promise to keep your secret until you’re ready to tell the whole town,” promised Cinna.

The others agreed as well, including the alicorn, which made Solight feel even more conflicted.

The alicorn then watched as their friends started chatting amongst each other. “I have a duty as Princess Celestia’s student and as one of her guards…but my friends are the most important thing to me just like my family,” thought Solight. In the end, the alicorn made a decision. “I guess I can keep this a secret from her. It’s not harming anyone after all.”

They went and joined in on the group’s conversation.

“How is your cloak fitting your current body? It was small back when you were a sheep,” asked Solight, curious.

He smiled. “To tell you the truth, other than the storage spell, and the spell to prevent it from ripping and tearing, my cloak was also imbued with a few other spells and materials as well during its production. One of the spells, and the material I used, allows my cloak to adapt to my current body, which means that I can use it no matter what height or size I am,” answered Jasper. 

That made the alicorn fascinated before they realized something.

“Wait, when we first met, you told me that there were two spells on your cloak,” said Solight.

The wolf gave them a playful smile. “Did you want your saddlebags to be even more expensive?” he asked, jokingly.

Hearing that made the alicorn gulp, remembering how much their current saddlebags cost. 

Jasper started chuckling. “I’m just kidding, Solight. You should’ve seen the look on your face,” said the wolf. He started laughing.

Then, the others started joining in on the laughter. Realizing that they were tricked made the alicorn frustrated but seeing their friends laughing had made Solight start laughing as well.
> Sleeping Is Over
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a cloudy day in Ponyville as there were pegasi putting up rain clouds into the sky. Jasper was walking around the town while Melon and Banana Pie were trotting with him. The sheep's wool had grown back. It didn't matter if he was sheared during the day since, once the full moon came out, fur would grow in its place. Once morning came, it would convert or revert into wool. So, no matter how many times the sheep is sheared, it all grows back, which leaves him with too much bagged, sheared wool. 

“You know, I just don’t understand why ponies are so afraid and disturbed of the Everfree. I understand that there are some creatures living there that are either dangerous or terrifying, but everyone considering the forest’s nature to be unnatural doesn’t make sense,” said Jasper, confused. It just seems odd to him that ponies feel that way. “I mean, the nature there runs exactly the way it did back then before ponies even started getting involved, the animals take care of themselves, and the weather runs naturally. There are even parts of the world that have environments that run perfectly without pony intervention. Know what I mean?”

The three of them had nothing to do today after helping some ponies out by pruning some trees in the park as there will be a downpour of rain soon. As for the others, Gentle Hope was helping ponies out as a psychiatrist, Cinna was helping place some clouds, and Solight was at the library teaching Trixie some magic spells they knew. So, the three had decided, before the pegasi was about to be done and it was about to rain, to buy some snacks, which they had just done at a place called ‘Marshmallow Palace’.

She thought about it. “Yeah, I guess so. It’s interesting to hear that other parts of the world have weather just like the Everfree,” said the melon pony. Melon wistfully sighed. “I wish I could travel to places outside of Equestria.” 

The sheep smiled. “Don’t worry, Melon. You’ll be able to travel outside of Equestria one day,” he reassured. “I just know it.”

Hearing that made Melon smile. “Thanks,” she said.

“No problem,” said Jasper. “Huh?” 

The sheep had looked up into the sky and spotted a pair of familiar pegasi flying by as it was the pegasus mare and their brother, Lemon. From what Jasper knew, the phoenix pegasus lived with his sibling Cinna in a shared apartment room, and just like the other Lemon, always liked to mess with her by stealing or trying to steal the pegasus’ chocolates. Also, the phoenix pegasus’ father is currently dating Cinna’s father who is still married to and still dating the pegasus mare’s mother who is okay with it.

“Hey! Cinna!” called out the sheep.

His shouting had attracted Cinna’s attention, who looked down and saw Jasper waving the two over. She turned and said something to Lemon before the pair had changed directions and flew down over to the three and landed. 

“Hey, Jasper. Did you need something?” questioned the pegasus, curious.

He nodded. “Yeah,” said the sheep.

Jasper reached into his cloak and took out two bags, which were both filled with marshmallows, except the look of the marshmallows in both bags were different looking from each other.

The sheep hoofed over the two bags to Cinna and Lemon. “One bag is filled with chocolate-covered marshmallows, which is for you, Cinna, while the other bag is filled with lemon-flavored marshmallows, Lemon,” he informed.

The next thing Jasper knew, the two pegasi siblings took the bags of marshmallows from him and started devouring them with gusto, which kind of surprised the three. In less than thirty seconds, both the pegasus mare and the phoenix pegasus had finished off their tasty treats.



They smiled at the sheep. “Those were some great marshmallows, Jasper. Thanks a lot!” said Lemon. “So, what are you three doing here? Shouldn’t you all be heading home before it rains?”

“We decided to get some snacks before heading home,” the melon pony informed. “I’m guessing you two had just finished helping with the clouds?”

She nodded. “Yeah, and it should be raining any sec–” said Cinna.

But before the pegasus could finish that sentence, it started raining a lot. The five of them were starting to get rained on.

“Augh!” shouted Melon.

“What great timing!” shouted Cinna, sarcastically. She was annoyed that they were all getting rained on.

Jasper didn’t like getting rained on as his cloak was getting wet. 

The sheep then had an idea as he remembered a certain pony who lived nearby the area. “Quick, everyone! Gentle Hope’s place is nearby,” shouted Jasper. “We’ll head there to stay dry.”

No one had time to argue as they all wanted to get out of the rain, so everyone quickly headed for the psychiatrist pony’s place.





A Few Minutes Later

They made it to the place where Gentle Hope both worked and lived, which was a psychiatric building that was also a mixed-use one-floor apartment. By some weird coincidence, the group had made it inside just as the psychiatrist pony had clocked out.

She was kind of surprised to see everyone at her job all at once since today wasn’t the day for any of their sessions with Gentle Hope. “Hi there, everyone. Is there something wrong?” asked the psychiatrist pony. She didn’t notice yet that everyone was wet from the rain or that there was a storm happening outside.

He decided to be the one to inform Gentle Hope. “There’s a storm happening outside, and by the time we all get back home, we’ll be completely rained on, so we were wondering if we could stay here until it stops?” asked the phoenix pony. 

Hearing that surprised her. “The storm’s happening right now? I thought it was weird that some of my appointments had to reschedule today's session,” said the psychiatrist pony.

The melon pony became confused. “You didn’t know that the storm was happening today?” she asked.

Gentle Hope shook her head. “No, I knew about the storm, I just didn’t know when it’d be happening,” answered the psychiatrist pony. “Anyway, you can all stay with me until the storm is over. Follow me.” 

She trotted away while the others followed after the psychiatrist pony. After going through the place, they made it to some stairs and trotted up it until they made it to the apartment level of the building. There were eight rooms, and the room door they stopped at was number ‘104’. Once everyone got inside the psychiatrist pony’s apartment room, they all saw that it was decorated all homely-like with some furniture, a record player, a bookcase with books on psychology, potted plants here and there, carpet and tile flooring here and there, etc.

He was impressed. “Nice place you have here, Gentle Hope,” complimented Jasper.

Gentle Hope smiled. “Thanks. I’ll go and get you all some towels from the closet to dry off with,” she said.

The psychologist pony trotted off.





Meanwhile

At the library, Solight was currently having their own sleepover with Apple, Rarity, and Trixie. The sheepover was the magician mare’s idea since today was Trixie’s last day in Ponyville now that her wagon has been repaired. So, the magician mare suggested a sleepover since she’s never had one before, and the alicorn agreed since they’ve always wanted one too. As for the apple pony and beautiful mare, the two equines were there in order to avoid the storm and are there until the rain is over. Spike, including Dusk and Dawn weren’t at the library as the young dragon was summoned to Canterlot, while the fused alicorn were at Sweet Apple Acres.

“Rarity, truth or dare?” asked Solight.

During their session of ‘truth or dare’, all of them have done truths and dares, some of which fueled some anger between Applejack and Rarity thanks to the two daring each other.

“Truth, darling,” said the beautiful mare.

“How do you do your dresses? Like, where do you get the inspiration for them?” asked the alicorn, curious.

She chuckled. “Darling, I get all the inspiration for my outfits from right here,” said Rarity, pointing a hoof at her head. “The ideas just come to me. My turn.”

The beautiful mare spun the bottle with her magic, and it spun until it landed on Trixie.

“Trixie, truth or dare?” asked Rarity.

She was confident. “The Great and Powerful Trixie chooses Dare,” said Trixie, confident.

The beautiful mare grinned. “I dare you to not speak in third person for the entire day,” said Rarity.

That surprised the magician mare, but then she huffed while looking confident. “Trix-I mean, I accept your dare. I’m not afraid,” said Trixie.

That made them all laugh. The magician mare spun the bottle, and it landed on Solight.

“Truth,” said the alicorn.

She looked slightly hesitant while blushing. “Do…you have any lovers?” asked Trixie, curious.

That made the two mares interested in Solight’s answer, while the alicorn was confused.

“Nope. Never had one before,” said the alicorn.

“Would you want one now?” asked the magician mare, wondering.

Solight thought about it. “Well…First, I’d have to find the right mare or stallion to date. After that, I’d ask them out a few times before I officially ask them to be my lover,” they answered.

She was satisfied with the answer. “Okay,” said Trixie. The magician mare felt excited. “That wasn’t a no.”

The apple pony and the beautiful mare both sighed at the alicorn’s obliviousness. As for Solight, for some strange reason, they were now feeling like there was one part of themself telling the other part that Trixie likes the alicorn, but then Solight dismissed the notion. They spun the bottle, and it landed on Applejack.

“Applejack, truth or dare?” asked the alicorn.





Meanwhile

“Truth,” said the sheep.

The pegasus was laying down on the floor upside down. “Are you and Melon dating?” they asked, curious.

The question made Melon blush, while Jasper was unaffected.

He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? I mean, we’ve been on a few dates ever since our first date,” answered the sheep, misunderstanding.

The group had decided to have a sleepover in Gentle Hope’s apartment room just until the storm was over. The psychiatrist pony was okay with the idea since Gentle Hope thought it would be fun to have a sleepover with her friends. Right now, the group was playing truth or dare. Cinna had been dared to talk throughout the entire sleepover upside-down, and now it was Jasper’s turn, and he chose Truth.

She laughed. “I meant, are you two marefriend and…sheepfriend?” asked Cinna, curious.

Now the sheep understood. “Ohh…” he said. “Yeah, we are. We were actually planning on telling you all today, but then the storm was going to happen. So, we decided tomorrow was a better option, but I guess during the sleepover is good too.” Jasper looked at the melon pony. “Right, my Melon Slice?”

She blushed even more, before giving him an evil grin. “Right, Mutton Chop,” confirmed the melon pony.

GROWWWWWLLLLL!!!

They were all surprised when they heard the noise and realized that it was coming from the sheep’s stomach.

That made Jasper blush. “Stop doing that!” he exclaimed, embarrassed.

“I’ll stop that when you come up with a better nickname for me,” replied Melon.

The sheep only grumbled.

“Uh, Jasper? What was that all about?” asked Lemon, confused.

He sighed. “A few days ago, my stomach would start to and growl every time for no reason whenever I hear about meat, even when I’m not hungry,” explained Jasper. The sheep sighed. “That also goes for meat-based nicknames, Melon.”

The melon pony chuckled.

The sheep decided to change the subject. “Anyway. How are you feeling, Lemon?” asked Jasper, concerned. “Are you still feeling okay?”

He nodded, smiling. “I’m good. I know that the storm’s happening outside, but at least I don’t hear it,” said the phoenix pony.

Like Lemon said, it was storming outside yet the sound couldn’t be heard from inside of Gentle Hope’s apartment room. The phoenix pony was afraid of the storm happening outside because of the noise, and so they hid away in a corner to get away from it. So, the sheep used his magic to create a sound barrier around the entire apartment room, nullifying sound from outside the barrier. Lemon was now doing much better as long as the storm couldn’t be heard.

He smiled. “That’s great to hear,” said Jasper. “I’m going to go grab a snack, and then we can continue.”

The sheep got up and walked over to the table on which were several snacks the psychiatrist had left for everyone.





Some Time Later

The four, after finishing their pillow fight, were now roasting marshmallows over a safe, magical fire that was created by Solight, while also telling scary stories. It was the alicorn’s turn to tell a story. 

“And so, if you were to listen closely, you can still hear her calling out for her lover’s name out in the fog, but distorted,” they said.

Solight was telling a scary story involving a mare, her lover, death, and a fog. So far, it seemed to be working as the three mares were looking scared.

“R̶̰̱̣͈̓́̀̎a̴͕̹̦̲͌i̶͍͌ͅṅ̷̩̳̹͂́f̸͕͚͇̘̽a̵̡̛̜͔͙l̷͇̻̆̀ľ̴͎̱̺̎̽͜,” said the alicorn with a voice distorted by magic.

Then, the three mares screamed.

“Enough already! You win!” exclaimed Rarity. “Your story is the scariest!” She just wanted the story to be over.

Seeing that they won, Solight stopped. “Okay,” said the alicorn. 

The magician mare calmed herself down and put on a fake brave face. “I wasn’t afraid of that story. I’ve heard way scarier stories than that,” said Trixie.

Everyone wasn’t convinced by the magician mare’s fake bravado.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” said Solight, unconvinced.

“Anyway, Solight. That there story almost scared me ta death,” said Applejack. “Where’d ya learn how ta do that voice thing at the end?”

They smiled. “I learned it in a book I borrowed from Jasper. It contains an ancient language used by some pony-like creatures that live in another universe,” the alicorn informed. “There are even spells used by them too, but Jasper told me not to use any since it’d be troublesome for everyone if I accidentally cast one of those without meaning to.”

“That sounds about right,” said the apple pony, agreeing. She decided to change the subject. “How about we move on ta the next thing?”

Solight thought about it. “The next thing after scary stories would be…” they said.

“Makeovers,” Trixie informed.

The beautiful mare was excited about the makeover part, while Applejack wasn’t excited.

“Oh, great. Ah can’t wait,” she said, sarcastically.

There was something that came across in the alicorn’s mind. “One problem. We don’t have any makeup,” said Solight.

Rarity felt disappointed while the apple pony felt relieved, until…

“It’s no problem at all. I have some inside my wagon,” Trixie informed. “I’ll be right back.” She trotted away. The magician mare’s wagon was located right next to the library and was only a few hoofsteps away.

The beautiful mare was back to being excited, while Applejack felt disappointed.





A Few Hours Later

Gentle Hope opened the living room window as the storm was over and the sky was clear of any rain clouds.

She sighed. “Ahh, what a nice day out now that the storm is over,” said the psychiatrist pony. 

Gentle Hope looked back to see her friends happily chatting amongst each other, but as for Jasper, he was writing a letter on a scroll, while in front of the sheep was another scroll. 

He finished writing his letter, which was addressed to Draco. “He’ll need to know about the progress of the weapons,” thought Jasper.

Draco had commissioned the sheep both for some armor and some weapons, and Jasper had no time limit as the alicorn stallion said he can wait for both the armor and the weapons and didn’t care whichever was finished first. The sheep rolled up the paper before blowing some dragon fire on it, burning it and turning it into smoke, which then went out through the open window. After that, Jasper blew fire on the other letter, which was addressed to Princess Luna, turning it into smoke as well.

“So, are you all ready for Trixie’s goodbye party?” asked the pegasus mare. “Pinkie Pie did inform everyone that she’s holding the party after the storm is over.”

Pinkie Pie had set up a party that was for Trixie since the magician mare will be leaving today and heading back on the road. It’ll be a few months before they see her again is what the magician mare had told everyone. So, that’s why the party was being held.

“Yeah, we’re ready. Let’s get going,” said the melon pony.
> Jokes Can Be Hazardous For Your Health
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Solight, Spike, Dawn and Dusk, and their friends, except for Jasper, were trotting through Ponyville.

“Ponyville has been really quiet today,” remarked the alicorn.

“That’s not all. Have you all noticed that the town has been empty for a while now?” asked Gentle Hope.

Everyone stopped to look around. All of them have noticed how empty the town is as there wasn't a single pony anywhere.

Banana Pie looks around, confused. “Banan?” questioned the unicorn stallion.

The whole thing felt off to Melon. “This is weird. The streets were originally filled with ponies a few hours ago, but now there's nopony around for miles,” remarked the melon pony.

“Do you think something happened to everypony?” asked Cinna, concerned.

“Possibly,” said Solight.

“What if it was zombies?” asked Spike, scared.

They rolled their eyes. “Spike, I’ve told you this before, but there is no such thing as zombies. They only exist in those comic books you read,” said Solight. “Sooner or later, those things will give you nightmares.”

Then, Dawn and Dusk spotted something.

The colt gasped, pointing a hoof. “Look!” shouted Dusk.

They followed the hoof to Sugarcube Corner to see that the top-half of the bakery’s Dutch door was open, and Pinkie was leaning over it and waving at everyone with a look of worry.

“What is she doing?” asked the pegasus, confused.

Melon sighed. “I don’t know, but this is Pinkie Pie we’re talking about. Let’s go see what she wants,” she said. 

“She probably needs help holding a surprise party for somepony,” guessed Spike.

That didn’t sound farfetched to them. “Yeah. You’re probably right about that, Spike,” agreed Solight.

They all went over to the door, and as soon as the group arrived, a lasso wrapped around them and tightened, surprising everyone. Before anyone could say anything, they were all pulled inside before the door was shut. The group, seeing that whatever had pulled them in had loosened its grip, freed themselves and got up off of the floor. 

The psychiatrist pony looked around. “Why’s it so dark inside of the bakery, and what are you doing all alone by yourself?” she asked, confused.

“I’m not by myself,” responded Pinkie Pie.

The curtains to one of the windows was opened by her, letting in some sunlight and revealing that Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Apple Bloom were inside the bakery too. That surprised everyone.

“What are you all doing here?” questioned Gentle Hope.

The apple pony trotted over to the window and pointed. “We’re hidin’ from her,” she answered. 

The group went over to the window and looked out to see that trotting through the town was a cloaked figure, who then stopped in place. The others had joined in to look through the window as well, crowding around it. Then, the cloaked figure looked over in their direction, spooking Applejack, the beautiful mare, the shy pegasus, the apple filly, and the young dragon, making them move out of the way from the window.

Gentle Hope understood what was going on. “Wait, so you’re all hiding from some mysterious pony who had just shown up today? Have any of you attempted to talk to them?” she asked, curious. 

“Are you kidding me? Have you seen the way she was looking at us?” questioned the rainbow pony.

“She was only looking our way,” said the alicorn.

Pinkie Pie zipped up to them. “Yeah. Looking our way evilly,” she said.

Solight decided to ignore Pinkie Pie for now and focus on the important thing at hoof, which was the mysterious being. “Do any of you at least know their name?” they asked.

“Her name is Zecora,” answered Apple Bloom.

Hearing that made the apple pony angry. “Apple Bloom, ah told ya neva ta say that name!” she admonished.

“Calm down, Applejack. Did this Zecora character do anything bad to anypony?” asked Cinna.

“Not exactly–” said Applejack, but was then interrupted.

“Well, you shouldn’t assume somepony’s out to harm somepony when they haven’t done anything wrong,” said the pegasus mare. They looked at the others with a frown. “None of you should.”

“Cinna’s right, you all. Zecora must be here to make friends, but everypony decides to hide just because they’re somepony unknown,” said the psychiatrist pony. “Nopony was like this when Jasper first came to Ponyville, and everypony was friendly with him. The same with Gilda, despite her attitude towards everypony.”

He nodded in agreement. “Banan,” said Banana Pie.

The alicorn looked out of the window. “They’re both right. You should treat others the same way as how you treat yourself,” they agreed.

The others looked through the window as well. It got more crowded again when the others joined in as well. Zecora was still in the same place, but then they took off their hood, revealing that they weren’t a pony at all. That made everyone, except Gentle Hope, Solight, the unicorn stallion, Cinna, and the melon pony, gasp.

That made the alicorn roll their eyes. “If they’re like this when they first meet a Zebra, then just wait until they meet creatures from other parts of Equestria,” thought Solight. 

“Just look at those stripes! So garish,” complained Rarity.

“Rarity, she’s a Zebra,” the alicorn informed.

While the alicorn’s friends were confused and didn’t question it, the five mares and Spike did. “A what?!” the group asked in unison.

“A Zebra. They’re creatures who come from a faraway land,” answered Solight. “Not only that, Rarity, but zebras are born with those stripes. So don’t judge somepony for what they were born with.”

Hearing about the stripes caused the beautiful mare to faint, dramatically.

“I’ve never actually seen her around here before. Have any of you?” asked the pegasus mare.

Cinna’s friends, except a certain group of mares, shook their heads. 

The apple pony had a scared look on her face. “That’s because she’s from…the Everfree Forest,” said Applejack.

While the group of mares were scared, and the fused alicorn had gone to chat with the apple filly, the others looked at the group with straight faces.

“You all do remember that Jasper lives in the Everfree Forest, right? Yet you all are friends with him?” reminded Melon. “Also, before any of you say anything, you all should know that there are parts of the world that have environments that have gotten along fine without ponies getting involved in nature, just like the Everfree Forest. Jasper told me that it’s a natural part of nature, yet ponies get involved despite that.”

They looked interested. “I did not know that. Did he ever list some places?” asked the alicorn.

“No, but he did suggest that maybe one day, the seven of us could all go on an adventure and check out the different parts of the world outside of Equestria,” said the melon pony. It did sound very interesting to her.

The psychiatrist pony decided to focus the conversation on the current issue. “So, what has Zecora done to cause you all to be so scared of her?” she asked, wondering.

Rainbow Dash and the beautiful mare both said something about the zebra, which sounded pretty normal. The alicorn and their friends didn’t know whether to facehoof or feel ashamed for the whole town’s overreaction.

Melon wasn’t happy. “...Those are some dumb reasons, and you all should feel ashamed of yourselves. It’s obvious that she’s trying to make some friends while also trying to buy some stuff while in town, yet you all treat her like she’s going to harm everypony,” she said, in a gruff tone.

“I’m sorry to say this, but Melon’s right. Equestria is about treating others like friends, not like what you’ve all been treating Zecora like,” she agreed. Cinna trotted over to the door. “I’m going to go over and talk to her.”

The unicorn stallion trotted after the pegasus, wanting to go along as well. “Banan,” said Banana Pie. 

“I’m coming along as well,” said Gentle Hope.

“Same here,” said the melon pony.

Solight looked at the young dragon and Dusk and Dawn. “Come on, you three. Let’s go say hi to Zecora,” said the alicorn.

They nodded. “Okay!” said the fused alicorn, excited.

Spike looked hesitant. “...Okay,” he said.

The four followed after the others as they all went after Zecora.





The Next Day

BOOM!!!

Everyone in the town was surprised as an explosion happened above the town, leaving behind a blue cloud of smoke. Something crashed into the library treetop soon afterward.

“Ow,” said a young, male voice. “What the…? Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.” The voice had sounded frustrated. They then sighed. “Good thing I’m at the library. I’ll ask Solight for some help.”

A mysterious creature slid down the tree until they reached the bottom. They then walked over to the door before opening it and walking inside. 

“Solight, it’s Jasper. I've got a problem that I need help w-” said the mysterious creature, before stopping.

A few feet away from them was the young dragon and Dusk and Dawn with some sort of fused alicorn that looked almost similar to the colt and filly. The alicorn was shocked to see them.



The two’s shocked look had caused Spike, and Dusk and Dawn to turn around and see the sheep. The young dragon was surprised, while the colt and filly waved at Jasper. 



Before anyone could say anything, the door opened.

“Solight, we’ve got a problem!” shouted a voice, in an urgent tone. It was the pegasus mare’s voice.

There was the sound of both multiple hoofsteps and the sound of the psychiatrist pony laughing.

“You’re not the only one with a problem, Cinna,” called out the sheep.

Cinna arrived with her friends, except there was a problem: The unicorn stallion looked different.



Gentle Hope was still laughing.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!” laughed the psychiatrist pony.

He was confused by what was happening. “Why is Banana Pie a colt, and Gentle Hope laughing?” asked Jasper.

The others looked at him, confused, as none of them recognized the sheep.

As for the pegasus, she flew over to Jasper. “Aww, what a cute little sheep. What’s your name, little fella?” asked Cinna.

“Cinna, it’s Jasper. Can you please stop talking to me like that?” said the sheep, feeling a bit annoyed. “I feel embarrassed.”

That shocked everyone.

“Jasper? Y-You’re…” said the male alicorn.

“Young? Yes, I’ve noticed,” said Jasper. He raised an eyebrow. “So, who are you two?”

He decided to talk first. “I’m Solar Eclipse, and this…” said the male alicorn, looking at the female alicorn. “Well, you already know her since, back when you were looking for her to wield the Element of Magic, you met Solight instead of her.”

That shocked the sheep as he looked at her. “Wait. You’re Twilight Sparkle?” asked Jasper.

The female alicorn nodded. “Yeah. The two of us actually make up the one you know as Solight,” she confirmed. “They’re our fusion after a teleport spell went wrong.”

That shocked everyone else, except for Spike, and Dusk and Dawn.

The psychiatrist pony, while laughing, tried to say something. “Y-You two m-make up S-Solight? N-No wonder they s-seemed so u-unique,” she said, laughing. “Solight w-was two p-ponies in o-one. Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Solar and Twilight both nodded. “Exactly,” confirmed the male alicorn.

“While this all seems fascinating, let’s talk about you two being Solight later. Right now, we need to focus on why you…uh, four are acting weird,” said Jasper. “Solight’s been split almost into two ponies, Gentle Hope’s laughing uncontrollably for no reason, and Banana Pie’s a colt.”

The female alicorn nodded. “Jasper’s right. We all woke up looking or acting different, and I believe that Zecora is behind it,” said Twilight. 

She believed that Zecora was the source since this all didn’t happen until the day after they all went after the zebra. 

The sheep’s ears perked up as the name sounded familiar to him. “Zecora? You all met her?” asked Jasper.

The pegasus mare flew over to him. “From what we heard from Applejack and the others, she’s somepony who’s been coming into town once a month. We didn’t know about her until yesterday,” they answered. Cinna was kind of surprised. “But how do you know about her? Have you met her before?”

The sheep nodded. “Yeah. I’ve met her before multiple times back then while I lived in the Everfree Forest,” explained Jasper. “I had first met her at some point after I moved into the Everfree Forest, and then we became friends. I would meet her a few times while I was going through the Everfree, looking for some ingredients for my potions.” He frowned. “I never even knew that everypony had been avoiding her whenever she’d visit the town.”

Twilight frowned. “And for a good reason. She curses ponies and makes them end up like this!” said the female alicorn.

The male alicorn shook his head. “No, she didn't, Twilight. There must be a reasonable explanation,” said Solar.

Jasper walked over to Melon. “And there is,” he said. The sheep looked at the melon pony. “You've been awfully quiet, Melon. Is everything okay?”



Jasper backed away, surprised by her laughter, but then he tripped and fell onto the floor. “Baaaa!” exclaimed the sheep. 

The melon pony looked apologetic while laughing. “S-Sorry, Jasper. I-I ended up the same way as th-the others, except just like G-Gentle H-Hope, I-I can't stop laughing!” said Melon. “Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Jasper got up off of the floor and dusted himself off. “It’s okay, Melon,” said the sheep. He looked at the pegasus. “So, what did you all do yesterday when you found out about Zecora?”

“Well, we chased after her into the Everfree Forest, wanting to be her friends,” started Cinna.

The sheep nodded. “Okay. What happened next?” asked Jasper. He then realized something before she could say anything. “Wait a minute. What did you do differently that the others didn’t do?”

Cinna cleared her throat. “Well, when we were reaching a certain part of the Everfree Forest, I noticed something that I tried to get the others to avoid, but it was too late,” explained the pegasus.

The sheep understood what in the Everfree Forest they were talking about. “Ohhhh. They came into contact with some Poison Joke,” he said.

They nodded. “Yeah. Luckily, I was in the air and was able to avoid it,” said Cinna. “And Spike, Dawn, and Dusk were able to avoid it by stopping in time, but the others weren't able to.” The pegasus looked at Jasper. “I guess that’s what happened to you?”

He chuckled. “Almost. I was carrying around one of my inventions that contained some Poison Joke,” explained the sheep. “I had experimented with some Poison Joke and made it into an instant, fast-acting powder. Unfortunately, while I was flying above Ponyville it had blown up in my face, and well…This was the result.” 

She winced. “Oof,” said Cinna.

Jasper nodded. “Yeah,” he said.

Both the male alicorn and Twilight were confused. “Hold on. What is Poison Joke?” asked Solar.

“You know that field of blue flowers that I’m guessing you must’ve trotted through?” asked the sheep.

She nodded her head. “Yeah?” asked the female alicorn.

“That’s Poison Joke. When a living being comes into contact with its pollen, the pollen will mess with something about them,” explained Jasper. “From messing with a pony’s age-”

“Banan,” said the Banana Pie, young voice.

“-to making ponies laugh uncontrollably.” He pointed a cloven hoof at two certain, laughing mares.

The melon pony breathed in before laughing again. “S-Stupid f-flowers!” she exclaimed, laughing.

“Luckily, there’s a cure for something like this,” said the sheep.

Twilight looked relieved. “There is? What?” asked the female alicorn.

“Well, I don’t have the cure, but I do remember Zecora telling me that she has the cure for Poison Joke, and I should visit her whenever I want to borrow her book. Luckily, I remember the way to her home,” said Jasper. “We can just go over and ask her for her help.”

“That sounds like a good idea, but too bad though,” said the pegasus. 

She scooped up both the unicorn colt and the sheep and cuddled them.

“YOU TWO ARE SO CUUUTE!” exclaimed Cinna.

Banana Pie was okay with being hugged, and hugged back, but Jasper tried to escape.

“Cinna!” exclaimed the sheep, embarrassed.

It was a few minutes before the pegasus mare let the two go and the group went on their way to the zebra’s house.





Some Time Later

The group was back in Ponyville, cured thanks to Zecora having already brewed a big pot of the cure, which the ones who were afflicted had to bathe in. Afterwards, they all had become friends with her and even learned a lot of things about the zebra. Then, they took her back to the town and were able to get everyone in Ponyville to come out of hiding and get acquainted with her. The group was now chatting as everyone was asking Solight some questions about them.

“I’m curious, but would you want to be separated back into Twilight Sparkle and Solar Eclipse or be yourself?” asked Jasper. He was asking as the sheep wanted to know if the alicorn wanted to be the two ponies they originally were.

They thought about it. “Hmm. I guess I’d want to be myself,” answered Solight. “I’ve gotten so used to being a fusion and living out my own life, that it’d be weird being two ponies again.” 

Jasper nodded. “I see,” he said. “Well, I’m glad that everyone in town learned that they shouldn’t judge one for being different. You should write that as a Friendship Lesson to Princess Celestia.”

The alicorn froze. They have only little to nothing to report to Princess Celestia about the sheep thanks to being more interested in today’s event than focusing on Jasper. Solight hoped the sun princess would be understanding about it.

“…Yeah. I’ll do that later,” said the alicorn. “For now, what’s everyone planning to dress up as for Nightmare Night in a few weeks?”

That got the group talking about and sharing their costumes.
> Nightmares Only Happen At Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How’s it going in there?” Gentle Hope wondered..

The psychiatrist pony was by Solight’s bedroom door.

“Everything’s going great,” responded a familiar female voice.

“Do you two need any help putting on your costume?” asked Gentle Hope.

“No. We got it,” said a familiar male voice.

“Well, let us know if you two need any help,” she said. The psychiatrist pony trotted away.

In the living room was the group, sitting around as each of them were wearing costumes as today was Nightmare Night.

“So?” asked Melon.



“They’ll be out in a minute,” answered Gentle Hope. She sat down next to Cinna.



Jasper was currently in his Cursed Form, reading a book while smiling as it was the wolf’s first time celebrating Nightmare Night. Jasper was the only one not wearing a costume as he didn’t need one since nopony, except for the wolf’s friends, would ever expect Jasper to go as himself. Instead, everypony will think that the wolf is going as a Diamond Dog.

Jasper was excited. “Ahh, my first Nightmare Night. I can’t wait to check out the sights of the town for this holiday, including the treats too,” he said. The wolf chuckled as Jasper looked over at Dawn and Dusk. “And let’s not forget that it’s also their first Nightmare Night as well. The two of them look so excited as well.”

He was right as the fused alicorn looked excited. They couldn’t wait as it would be Dawn and Dusk’s first time celebrating the holiday as well.



“I can’t wait to go out and scare everypony!” said the colt.

“I just can’t wait to fill our bags with treats! We’re going to get so much candy tonight,” said the filly. “Too bad we have to leave after Nightmare Night is over. I loved making friends with everypony in town.”

Dusk nodded. “Yeah,” agreed the colt.

Apparently, the fused alicorn’s time living in Ponyville had been up, but Dawn & Dusk were able to convince Draco to let them stay in the town a little while longer as the fused alicorn wanted to celebrate Nightmare Night before they leave.

Cinna trotted over to the two with a smile. “Don’t worry, you two. We’ll help you two have fun on Nightmare Night,” they said.



That made Dusk and Dawn smile. After all, the colt and filly did want to have a fun Nightmare Night with everyone before they left for Canterlot.

“Banan,” said Banana Pie, smiling. It sounded like he was agreeing with the pegasus mare.



Today, the group’s plan for Nightmare Night was to check out some of the attractions as separate groups, while the other ones they’ll check out together. Then, the door to the room opened, and out trotted a familiar alicorn pair, Solar and Twilight, the two of them still partly fused together and wearing a costume.



“So, what do you all think?” asked the male alicorn, wondering.

No one was freaking out at Solight being partly separated back into two alicorns.

Spike, who was dressed up as a Druid, looked impressed. “Wow. You two look awesome,” he complimented.

Everyone agreed with the young dragon as they gave their own compliments too.

“Thanks. Shall we go then?” asked the female alicorn.

Everyone started heading for the door.

Twilight was trotting next to the wolf. “Thanks for the pendant, Jasper,” she said.

Jasper smiled. “It was nothing, Twilight,” he said.

The alicorn was wearing a pendant formed from concentrated poison joke which Jasper had created. The amulet still had the effect on its wearer, but, when removed, reverted any negative traits. This allowed Twilight and Solar to attend the Nightmare Night festival as separate beings while wearing an orthros costume. Not only that, but the effects of wearing the gem were controlled with a dial attached to it.

Once they were all outside, Jasper looked at the melon pony. “I’m heading for some of the game attractions. Want to come along?” he offered.

She nodded. “Sure. Sounds like fun,” said the melon pony. Melon then looked determined. “Besides, there’s one attraction I want to have a try at beating that I failed to do last year.”

Jasper looked both curious and interested. “I wonder which one you’re talking about?” asked the wolf.

“You’ll see,” said the melon pony, being mysteriously vague on purpose.

As for the pegasus mare, they looked at the unicorn stallion. “Want to hang out together, Banana Pie?” asked Cinna. 

He nodded, smiling. “Banan!” said Banana Pie.

The young dragon was chatting with the female alicorn, while the psychiatrist pony was chatting with the male alicorn.

“Are you sure, Spike?” asked Twilight.

He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be okay, Twilight,” Spike reassured.

“Make sure you watch him and that he doesn’t wander off, okay?” said Solar.

She smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him out of my sight, Solar,” promised Gentle Hope. The psychiatrist pony decided to bring something up that had been on her mind. “By the way, where’s Winter Frost? I haven’t seen them ever since we all arrived at the Library.”

“Oh, well we decided it was better if Winter Frost stayed in Canterlot for the day to be with their parent since they haven’t seen them ever since we left,” the male alicorn informed.

Gentle Hope continued to smile. “That was nice of you two,” she said.

He nodded, agreeing. “Yeah. It was,” said Solar. “All right, everyone. Let’s split up for now, and then we can all meet up later at the pumpkin catapult. Sounds good?”

Everyone gave their own confirmation in agreement to the plan. Then, the group split up and went in different directions.





A Few Minutes Later

While the pegasus and the unicorn stallion were trotting through the town, checking out the snacks,  it seemed that Cinna’s costume was gaining lots of pony’s attention since it looked so life-like and cute to the onlookers, but they also liked Banana Pie’s costume seeing how silly it looked. Pinkie Pie showed up in a clown costume in front of them without warning and stopping their trek.

She gasped before zooming over next to the unicorn stallion. “Eee! We match!” exclaimed the party mare.

He smiled. “Banan!” said the unicorn stallion.

“Hey there, Pinkie,” greeted the pegasus mare.

Pinkie Pie looked amazed. “Ooh! Nice cat costume, Cinna,” she complimented. “Looks so realistic.” 

The party mare zoomed over to Cinna and was about to poke them.

The pegasus backed away quickly. Then, something caught Cinna’s eye. “What’s going on over there?” she asked, directing a hoof.

Banana Pie and Pinkie Pie looked over and saw that there was a pie eating contest involving four ponies eating banana cream pies.

Pinkie smiled, excited. “It’s Ponyville’s First-Ever ‘Nightmare Night Pie Eating Contest’! There were only a few Pumpkins left when we bought them and only made a few Pumpkin Pies, so we also made Banana Cream Pies as well,” the party mare informed.

That sounded interesting to the two.

“Who’s winning?” asked Cinna.

“Contestant number three. They’ve been scarfing down all of those pies,” answered Pinkie Pie.

Over at the contest, three of the ponies were looking a bit sick while the fourth pony, who was a kirin, was still going on eating without a break. Eventually, two of the ponies gave up, while the third pony fell unconscious. 

A whistle was blown by the referee/announcer mare. “And the winner is Contestant number  Healthy Light!” she announced.

Healthy Light stopped eating the pies after hearing that they won. Some of the ponies in the audience were clapping and cheering in support of the kirin’s win, while others were disappointed that the other ponies didn’t win. The mare handed Healthy Light a gold trophy that had a pie on top of it.

The kirin smiled. “Thank you. I’m glad to have been a part of this, and I can’t wait to see what next year’s contest is like if I ever come and visit Ponyville again,” they said.

Healthy Light trotted down the stage with the trophy in their mouth and was planning to go check out the next attraction but was startled and stopped in her tracks by Pinkie appearing out of nowhere again.

“Hey there, Healthy Light. My name’s Pinkie Pie, and welcome to Ponyville!” the party mare introduced. “Did you just arrive in Ponyville?”

Seeing as how she was a nice pony and that Pinkie Pie introduced herself, Healthy Light calmed down and put down the trophy in order to speak.

They nodded. “Yeah. I just came to Ponyville a few minutes ago,” the kirin informed. “I heard about it during my journey and about how you celebrate Nightmare Night, so I decided to come here as the last part of my journey and try it out. I even bought a costume from some store that was selling them. I’m only going to be staying here in town for a few hours before heading back home.”

She smiled. “Well, I hope you have a fun time here in Ponyville!” said the party mare. Pinkie Pie decided to introduce her friends to Healthy Light. “I want you to meet my friends. This-” The party mare directed a hoof at the pegasus mare. “-is Cinna…”

They waved a hoof at the kirin. “Hi there, Healthy Light. Nice to meet you,” greeted Cinna.

Healthy Light smiled. “Same here,” they said.

“And this-” She directed a hoof at the unicorn stallion. “-is Banana Pie. No relation to me or my family at all,” continued Pinkie Pie.

Banana Pie didn’t say anything, which caused his two friends to be concerned.

“Banana Pie?” the pegasus called out, concerned.

They both turned to find the unicorn stallion staring right at the kirin, blushing.

The party mare waved a hoof in his face. “Are you okay?” she asked.

He didn’t respond at all. As for Cinna, she turned back towards Healthy Light, but was surprised to find them staring back at Banana Pie, blushing as well.

The pegasus realized what was happening, and then had an idea. “Say, Healthy Light? Would you like to join me and Banana Pie?” offered Cinna, smiling. “We were going to go check out the other attractions.” She looked at the unicorn stallion. “Right, Banana Pie?”

He snapped out of it before nodding. “Banan!” agreed Banana Pie.

The pegasus mare looked back at the kirin. “So, what do you say?” asked Cinna.

They thought about it for a while before glancing at the unicorn for a few seconds and then nodded. “Sure. Sounds like a good idea,” said Healthy Light.

The unicorn stallion smiled, hearing that the kirin wanted to hang out with them. Afterwards, the three said bye to Pinkie Pie and continued on.





Meanwhile-Gentle Hope and Spike

The psychiatrist pony and the young dragon were enjoying themselves. They had been to a few houses and at least one food stall, filling up Spike’s bag with some goodies. Right now, the two decided to check out another attraction, Apple Bobbing, which was being run by Big Macintosh. The pony ahead of them was Derpy, who was wearing a ninja costume and already had her head in the water, searching around the bucket and trying to get an apple. Eventually, the bubbly mare took her head out with a red fruit between her teeth. Derpy smiled, happy that she had gotten an apple. The bubbly mare then trotted away with her prize and a head dripping with water.

Gentle Hope didn’t want to get her mane wet since neither of them had a towel on hoof to dry off with. “You can go on ahead, Spike. I’ll just watch,” said the psychiatrist pony.

He gave a thumbs-up. “Sure thing,” said Spike.

The young dragon approached the bucket and dumped his head in it. Spike searched around for an apple as the young dragon used his own head to feel the location of the apples. The young dragon went after the apple that was bumping into the right side of his head. After a while, Spike surfaced with an apple in his mouth. The young dragon grabbed the apple and took a bite out of it. 

Gentle Hope clapped her hooves, impressed. “That was an amazing job, Spike. You got an apple on your first try,” said the psychiatrist pony.

He walked back over to her, proud. “Well, of course I did. After all, I am an incredible dragon,” boasted Spike. “In fact, I’m not scared of anything today. Nothing can scare me.”

Suddenly, there was a loud sound that was heard throughout the entire town.

“AWOOOOOOOOOOOO!” howled some creature, loudly. It sounded like a wolf.

Everyone who heard the howling was surprised as some of them looked around, wondering where the howling was coming from. As for the young dragon, Spike was surprised by the sound and ended up dropping his apple and hiding behind Gentle Hope. 

The young dragon peeked out from behind the psychiatrist pony. “W-what was that? It sounded like it came from inside the town,” he said.

She nodded, agreeing. Gentle Hope chuckled. “Yeah, it did, and I have a feeling of who was doing the howling,” said the psychiatrist pony.





Meanwhile-Jasper and Melon

The melon pony was shocked as she was standing right next to the one who had done the howling: the wolf. Everyone else was staring at them.

Melon was quiet for a few seconds before she started snickering. “W-What was that about?” asked the melon pony.

He felt embarrassed. “It’s not my fault! I saw the moon, and then I felt like howling is all,” said Jasper.

That only made her laugh. The wolf grumbled before looking at everyone. 

“Sorry, everyone. It’s all a part of the costume,” lied Jasper.

Luckily, the ponies believed his lie and continued on with what they were doing. As for Melon, it took her a while before the melon pony stopped laughing.

The wolf frowned. “It’s not funny,” said Jasper.

She smiled. “It is a little funny, Jasper,” admitted Melon.

He only grumbled in response. 

The melon pony continued to smile. “I’m only kidding. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed of something that you do, just like your baaing,” said Melon.

Hearing that did make Jasper feel better.

The melon pony pointed her hoof at something. “There it is. The place where I didn’t do well last year,” said Melon.

The wolf followed her hoof to see that the melon pony was pointing at a darts game attraction involving balloons, and it had stuffed plushies as prizes.

“Darts?” questioned Jasper.

The melon pony nodded. “Yeah, and this time, I’ll win,” said Melon, determined.

The two went over to the darts game, which was being runned by a unicorn mare with a bulls-eye Cutie Mark. 

She smiled. “Hello there, you two. Want to try a hoof, or paw, at a game of darts?” asked the mare. “You get enough points, you win a prize.”

The melon pony grinned. “Yeah. Definitely!” said Melon, in an excited voice. She looked at the wolf. “You want to play too, Jasper?”

He looked interested. “Sure, I’ll play,” said Jasper.

First, it was Melon’s turn. The melon pony was given three darts. She threw the first dart, which popped the balloon at the bottom near the balloon in the middle. Next, the second dart popped the one at the far bottom.

The melon pony was concentrating as she had one dart left. “Come on…” said Melon.

She threw the dart and it popped the balloon that was to the right of the middle balloon.

“Yes! I did it!” cheered Melon.

“Congrats. Now, pick your prize,” said the mare.

The melon pony then looked amongst the plushies until she found one that stood out and pointed at it.

“I’ll take that one please,” Melon informed.

She nodded, smiling. “Good choice. It’s the only one left l have in stock,” said the mare. 

She went over and picked up a sheep plushie, and hoofed it over to the melon pony.

The melon pony smiled, happy that she won. Melon looked at the wolf. “It’s your turn, Jasper. Good luck,” she said.

Jasper smirked. “Thanks,” said the wolf. Jasper then picked up the darts that were placed in front of him by the mare’s magic aura. 

The wolf concentrated as he stared at the target with one dart in paw before throwing it dead center, popping the balloon in the middle. After that, Jasper threw the other two darts to the left and right, popping the balloons that were next to the first popped balloon. 

. “That was impressive,” the unicorn mare said. You hit the three highest point balloons,” said the mare. “Which prize do you want?”

He pointed at a cute owl plushie. “That one,” Jasper informed.

She went over and grabbed the plushie before giving it to the wolf.

The mare smiled. “Thank you, you two for playing my game. I hope to see you two again at my booth again next time,” she said.

Jasper smiled and waved before grabbing a shocked Melon’s plush toy and left, while a shocked melon pony followed from behind.

Melon snapped out of her shock. “H-How…?” asked the melon pony.

He grinned. “I used to play a game of darts back home as a hobby whenever I had nothing to do or nobody to hang out with,” answered the wolf. “I still play it alone.”

Back then before Jasper came to Ponyville, he would play a game of darts to pass away the boredom. The wolf still plays the game anyway.

She frowned. “Doesn’t it get lonely without anypony to play with?” asked the melon pony, concerned.

He shrugged. “Well, my teacher can’t play the game for certain reasons, and a few of his friends are either a sore loser, a sore winner, don’t want to play, or want to play a different game,” explained Jasper. “Anyway, let’s continue on. We still have a lot of attractions to check out.”

“Jasper, if you need anypony to play with when you’re feeling lonely, you know we’ll always be there for you, right?” asked Melon.

The wolf smiled. “Yeah. I know, and thanks,” said Jasper.

She smiled back. “No problem,” said the melon pony. Melon spotted something. “I’m hungry. Let’s go get some cotton candy from that booth over there.”

He thought about it as Jasper did feel a little hungry, so the wolf nodded. “Sounds good,” said Jasper.

The two then headed straight for the cotton candy booth.





Meanwhile-Solar, Twilight, Dawn, and Dusk

The four were trotting through the town as the fused alicorn was going from house to house, collecting candy, filling up their bag. It seems that everypony really loved both alicorns’ costumes and would even compliment them on it.

“Are you two having fun?” asked the female alicorn, curious.

The filly alicorn smiled. “Yeah! We’re getting lots of treats from everypony!” she exclaimed, excited. “I can’t wait to show this to Grandpa!”

The colt alicorn nodded, agreeing with Dawn. “Just wait until he sees all of our candy!” he said, also excited.

That got Twilight thinking. “Speaking of Draco, I wonder what costume he’ll be wearing when he comes to pick you two up?” she questioned.

The male alicorn thought about it. “Probably something that perfectly suits him. Like a dragon,” he commented. Solar chuckled. “You know? Since there are times when he’s angry like one.”

Unfortunately, there was a response to that, and it wasn’t the female alicorn’s.

“Well, I’m sorry if my choice in costume will disappoint you-” said a familiar voice. 

Hearing the voice made the male alicorn freeze up in fear, especially since the voice came from right behind the split alicorn. They turned around to see the alicorn stallion wearing a suit of armor. 

“-But I’m not a dragon. I’m a royal knight,” corrected Draco.

Dusk and the filly alicorn looked happy, and they galloped over to him. 

The two showed their bag full of treats. “Grandpa! Look at all of the treats we’ve got!” said Dawn.

“We went to tons of houses, and everypony loved our costume! I can’t wait for next year’s Nightmare Night!” said the colt alicorn.

The alicorn stallion smiled at them before looking at Solar and Twilight. Draco wasn’t shocked seeing his grandfoal being partly split into the male alicorn and female alicorn currently wearing an Orthros costume. Back when the alicorn stallion had received a letter from Solight about them sending Winter Frost to Canterlot to be with his pet Cerberus, the Orthros’ mom, Titan, for the day, Draco had also received a letter from the wolf about the pendant that the alicorn had commissioned and wanted to let the alicorn stallion know as a head’s up.

“Nice costume,” complimented Draco.

Solar was kind of afraid yet kind of relieved that his grandfather seemed to have let the male alicorn’s comment pass.

“Thanks,” said Solar, proud.

“It suits you,” said Draco. Luckily, he was only joking as the alicorn stallion wanted to show the male alicorn what it felt like when one makes a rude comment about somepony else, especially one who is family.

That brought down Solar. “Oh,” he said. The male alicorn knew that he deserved it for what Solar said about his own grandfather. The male alicorn then changed the subject. “Have you come to take Dawn and Dusk with you back to Canterlot now?”

Draco shook his head. “No. I just came to join in since I needed a break from the Night Court,” the alicorn stallion informed. “So, I left Luna in charge of her own court since I trust her enough to run it by herself while I’m gone for a while.” He chuckled. “She also wanted me to bring her some treats from Ponyville since she herself couldn’t join this year, but promises she’ll be joining next year.”

Hearing that made both the male alicorn and Twilight interested.

“Princess Luna is coming here next year?” asked the female alicorn.

The alicorn stallion nodded his head, confirming. That made her excited as the female alicorn wanted to ask Princess Luna about what Equestria was like back in the day. Twilight would have done it before back then as Solight through some letters to the night princess after the Poison Joke incident, but for some reason, it was like something was blocking her every time from doing it, and it wasn’t Solar.

“Anyway, let’s enjoy what little of Nightmare Night that is left before it’s over. Shall we?” asked Draco.

Everyone agreed with the alicorn stallion, and then the five went on to have fun.





Some Time Later

After playing lots of attractions and eating snacks, while two of the groups went and collected candy, the four groups met up with each other at the last attraction: the pumpkin catapult. Its name was self-explanatory.

Jasper was carrying around his and the melon pony’s won prizes. “Well, Melon and I won and lost a few games, but it was pretty fun. How was everyone else’s Nightmare Night?” he asked curiously.Gentle Hope went first. “Well, me and Spike went around getting lots of treats and trying out the attractions. We won a few of the games and lost a few,” she informed. The psychiatrist pony had some of their prizes floating in her magic aura, while Spike was carrying a few of the rest.

The pegasus nodded. “Same here. Me and Banana Pie tried out some games and won a few as well before deciding to go around and check out the town,” she informed. Cinna directed a hoof at Healthy Light. “By the way, this is Healthy Light. They're a Kirin that came to Ponyville to check out Nightmare Night.”

Everyone greeted them.

The kirin smiled. “Nice to meet you, everypony. I hope we become friends in the future,” said Healthy Light.

The male and female alicorn approached the kirin. “Nice to meet you too, Healthy Light. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Solar Eclipse,” she introduced.

They currently believed that Solar and Twilight were just two ponies in one costume. “Nice costume. An Orthros, right?” asked Healthy Light.

The male alicorn smirked, proud. “Yeah, and I’m guessing you’re supposed to be a vampony?” asked Solar.

The kirin smiled. “Yeah,” said Healthy Light.

While the three were talking about their costumes, the pegasus mare had flown over to their friends, except for the wolf, who had gone to conversing with Draco right next to the pumpkins.

Cinna was smiling. “Guess what? Banana Pie and Healthy Light like each other,” whispered the pegasus mare. “That’s why I brought them along with the two of us.”

Hearing that made Banana Pie blush.

“Banan,” said the unicorn stallion. Banana Pie did feel kind of embarrassed as he couldn’t believe that it was that obvious to Cinna that the unicorn stallion liked the kirin.

The young dragon smiled, confused. “Well, yeah? I mean, Banana Pie likes all of his friends, and everyone likes him too,” he said. “He’s a friendly pony.”

Melon chuckled. “No, Spike. Like, like how me and Jasper like each other,” she informed.

Spike was still confused. “Oh…Oh!” he realized, understanding. “You mean…?”

The melon pony nodded. “Yup,” confirmed Melon.

“Did they say if they were going to visit again soon?” asked Gentle Hope, curious.

The pegasus nodded. “Yeah. Healthy Light said that they’re thinking of moving into Ponyville by next year, seeing as how the town is different from where they live,” they answered.

The melon pony looked at Banana Pie, grinning. “Isn’t that great for you, Banana Pie? I bet you’ll be planning a welcoming party for them by then, huh?” she joked.

That made the unicorn stallion feel even more embarrassed as Melon knew exactly what he was planning to do, which made everyone laugh, vocally ribbing the reddening pony.





Meanwhile

Jasper was still conversing with the alicorn stallion, who was levitating Dusk, Dawn, Luna’s, and even the wolf’s prizes as Jasper was now picking out a pumpkin to put in the catapult. In the beginning, the two were chatting about Draco’s armor since it was the very same armor that the wolf made for him, but now they were talking about a different subject.

“It’s strange, but some time ago, while I was at the castle, there was a loud howling coming from the direction of Ponyville. As a result of this said howling, my wife, Frost, and Fang started to howl too,” said the alicorn stallion. “Do you happen to know anything about the howling, do you?”

Luckily, Jasper had a lie ready. “Well, first of all, it was me, I was in character as a wolf breed Diamond Dog, and second of all, your wife’s name is Frost and she was howling?” he asked, confused. “Also, who’s Fang?”

Draco shook his head. “No. My wife’s name is Cherry Fang, and she’s a werepony,” answered the alicorn stallion. “Frost is the name of one of the two heads of Solight’s pet Orthros, and Fang is the name of one of the three heads of my pet Cerberus, and Winter Frost’s parent, Titan.”

That surprised Jasper, hearing that Draco’s wife is not only a werepony, but that he also has a pet Cerberus.

“Wow. Your life is never dull, huh?” asked the wolf.

The alicorn stallion chuckled. “Yeah. It never is,” said Draco.

He found the perfect pumpkin to choose, a small, mini one. After picking it up, the wolf looked at the alicorn stallion, annoyed. “By the way, can you please tell Luna to stop popping up my dreams without permission? I know she wants to talk, and I’d like to avoid talking with Celestia by not coming to the castle, but she could send a letter asking if I’m up for a conversation in my dreams rather than burst into them, interrupting my dreams” said Jasper, annoyed tone. “There’s a reason why I’m using my own dreamcatcher as a security measure for my dreams against her.”

Draco looked concerned. “What do you mean she’s been popping into your dreams repeatedly? Also, are you okay, and why do you have a dreamcatcher?” he asked.

“Well, for your first question, I’ve been making dreamcatchers for ponies who have nightmares since Princess Luna can’t be everywhere at once, and as for your second question, I’m okay but I’d like it if she stops popping into my dreams, interrupting them. Also, while I use them for my nightmares, I discovered that they’re strong enough to prevent intrusions into one’s dream world after I saw that they were able to block Luna,” answered the wolf. “So, can you ask her to ask me for permission? If she starts doing this, then I’ll take down my dreamcatcher.”

The alicorn stallion nodded. “I’ll be sure to tell her that after I return back to the castle with Dusk and Dawn,” he said. “I guess she’s just curious about you since the last time any of us ever saw a Crystal Sheep was…” The alicorn stallion trailed off before looking sad.

“You okay?” asked Jasper, concerned.

Draco snapped out of it and looked at him with a fake smile. “Yeah. Anyway, I’ll go tell everypony that we’re ready to start,” said the alicorn stallion.

Draco trotted away while the wolf watched him, still concerned. Jasper then looked down at the small pumpkin in his paws. 

The wolf had wanted to launch it in the catapult at first, but then felt reluctant. An idea had formed in his head. “Hmm…I wonder…?” thought Jasper. “Guess I’ll give it a try. After all, he said the potion might work on certain non-living and technically living things.”

The wolf reached behind his cloak and brought out a rainbow-colored potion. Jasper then placed the pumpkin onto the ground, uncorked the potion, and started pouring some of it onto the pumpkin itself. After putting the potion back and waiting a few seconds, nothing happened.

“Either this potion is slow-acting, or I grabbed the wrong potion,” he said. The wolf looked annoyed. “Seriously, Teacher needs to start labeling his potions instead of knowing them by colors…Though now that I remember, he did specifically say that the rainbow-colored potion was the one that–”

Jasper was interrupted as the pumpkin started glowing white, and then, its form was shifting and changing as the pumpkin’s form was becoming pony-like. He quickly, and carefully, picked the thing up as its form continued to change, until eventually, the transformation and the light stopped. The group trotted/walked over to where the wolf was, ready to launch some pumpkins, when suddenly, Jasper started crying with his back turned to them, causing the group to become concerned.

Cinna flew up to the wolf. “Are you okay, Jasper? Are you hurt?” they asked. “Do you need a hug?”

“No, but I do need some advice,” said Jasper.

That confused everyone.

“What do you need advice with? How to launch a catapult?” asked the alicorn stallion. “Because if you do, then I can help with that.”

The wolf shook his head. “No,” said Jasper.

He turned around, and in the wolf’s paws was a sleeping foal.



Everyone aww’d at its cuteness.

“Aww, what a cute foal. Where’d you find them?” whispered the psychiatrist pony. She didn’t want to accidentally wake the foal up.

Jasper sniffed. “I used my teacher’s special potion to bring my pumpkin to life as a pony, and it became this foal,” answered the wolf.

The next thing that happened, everything was silent as it took a few seconds for what he just said to register to everyone’s shocked brains. Suddenly, Draco started panicking, but he wasn’t the only one. 

“Potion?! What potion?!” questioned the female alicorn, shouting.

The foal started to stir in its sleep, upset.

Jasper put a clawed finger to his lips. “Shh!” shushed the wolf.

The male alicorn covered Twilight’s mouth with a hoof.

“Do you want to wake up the foal?” asked Solar, sarcastically.

The female alicorn started to look sheepishly from behind the male alicorn’s hoof. As for the foal, she calmed down and went back to sleeping peacefully.

He sighed. “Now, does anyone have any advice about parenting? Also, separate question, can someone go get me a diaper for her?” asked Jasper, sounding both calm and worried.

The alicorn stallion snapped out of his panic as soon as he heard that and calmed down. While Draco trotted up towards the wolf, the pegasus mare volunteered to go get some diapers for Jasper.

“I have some advice about parenting from the tons of experience that I have from raising my own foal,” advised Draco. “I even raised one who still has a foal-like personality, and one who inherited that personality from him since they are him.”

It took Solar a few seconds before realizing that that was directed at him. The male alicorn would’ve felt insulted, but then Solar looked shocked as his mind started to be flooded with emotions as the male stallion realized that his grandfather was right, that Solar and the alicorn were one and the same pony.

The unicorn stallion noticed. “Banan?” he asked, concerned.

So did Twilight. “You feeling okay, Solight?” she asked.

The male alicorn nodded. “Yeah. I just need to go somewhere,” he said. “Come on, Twilight.”

The female alicorn nodded, and the two of them trotted away.

The wolf frowned. “I hope Solar’s okay,” he said. 

The alicorn stallion nodded, agreeing. “Me too. I’ll talk with Solar about what’s bothering him after he comes back,” said Draco. “For now, we need to talk about parenting. My first advice is that you’re going to need a ton of diapers. Enough to last you for months.”

Jasper did not like the sound of that. “...I see…” said the wolf. “Well, being a parent is going to be a lot of hard work.” He realized something. “What about adoption? I’m going to need help with that.”

The alicorn stallion smiled. “I can help with that. I’ll just bring some paperwork over to the library tomorrow and you can sign them,” he informed. “Now, next is the crying that wakes you up in the middle of the night.”

Melon nodded, agreeing with Draco. “Yeah. Back when my younger siblings were foals, they’d cry a lot,” she said. “Woke some of us up in the middle of the night.”

A surprised Jasper had to stand there and listen to the alicorn stallion explain about parenthood.





Few Minutes Later

Once Solar and Twilight had returned from their trot with the male alicorn, and Cinna had returned with the diapers. The group, except for the wolf, launched pumpkins from the catapult in the meantime. With the attraction done and everypony else in town were heading back to their homes while others were packing up the attractions, it was time for the group to go home. A carriage with two pegasi from Draco’s Eclipse Guards flying it had arrived. 

“Bye, everypony! We’ll see you again next time!” called out Dusk.

“Yeah! Can't wait to hang out with you again!” agreed Dawn.

The two, with a bag of treats and prizes floating in their magic, trotted into the carriage.

“You all take great care of yourselves. I’ll see you all later,” said the alicorn stallion. But before he got on the carriage, Draco looked at Jasper. “Jasper, take good care of that foal. Being a father is going to be a whole lot of responsibility.”

He nodded. “I will,” said the wolf.

The alicorn stallion smiled before trotting onto the carriage. As soon as he closed the door, the pegasi then flew off, heading for Canterlot.

Jasper smiled. “That was a fun Nightmare Night. Can’t wait until next year,” said the wolf. “And maybe, I might even enter the Iron Pony competition. Well, if they’ll let me enter.”

Gentle Hope smiled. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll let you enter,” reassured the psychiatrist pony.

“Yeah. Though, you’ll have to go up against me,” said the melon pony. She had a proud grin. “I did get second place in the marathon this year after all.” 

During the ‘Running of the Leaves’, one of the pegasus’ coltfriends, Chilli, had gotten first place, Melon was able to get second place, and Banana Pie was somehow able to get in third place before anypony else in his own special way.

Jasper grinned. “Can’t wait to go up against you. I just know it’ll be a fun year,” he said. 

She grinned back. “Definitely,” agreed Melon.

“We’re thinking of entering too,” said the female alicorn.

Solar nodded, agreeing. “Yeah, but as Solight, and we’re going to win,” he added.

Both the wolf and the melon pony grinned.

“We’ll see about that,” said Jasper, determined.

“Yeah. We won’t let Solight beat us,” said Melon, determined as well.

The split alicorn only grinned in response. A few feet away, the unicorn stallion was chatting with Healthy Light.

“It was fun hanging out with you, Banana Pie. I hope we can hang out again next year when I  come to Ponyville again,” said the kirin, blushing a little.

Banana Pie nodded, agreeing. “Banan,” he said, excited, blushing as well.

They smiled. “Until next time,” said Healthy Light. The kirin turned to look at the others. “Bye, everypony.”

Everyone waved while saying their goodbyes to Healthy Light, who then trotted off.

The wolf decided to bring up the next important thing. “Now then, on to the next note. Me and Pumpkin Surprise need to stay with one of you tonight since I can’t teleport back home because of, well, you know,” he said.

His friends nodded their heads, understanding.  Cinna realized something. “Wait. ‘Pumpkin Surprise’?” she questioned.

“What? It’s the foal’s name,” said Jasper. “You like it?”

The pegasus mare winced a little. “The ‘Pumpkin’ part sounds good, but when you add the ‘Surprise’ to it, it sounds a bit…Well…” they said, pausing.

The melon pony decided to finish it for Cinna. “A bit blah. Like you didn’t put any thought into it is what she means,” she said.

That surprised the pegasus. “That’s not what I was trying to say,” she argued. Cinna calmed down. “What I meant to say is that it doesn’t fit right. You don’t have to quickly make up a name for the foal. You can start with Pumpkin, and then work your way until you find a name that fits. Sounds good?”

The wolf thought about it before nodding. “Fine,” he said.

Afterwards, it was decided that Jasper and Pumpkin would be staying over at the unicorn stallion’s house since he’s the only one of the group whose house the wolf has never been to before, and so the group bid farewell to each other for the night and went their separate ways.





Few Minutes Later

Back at the Golden Oak Library, sitting at a desk, was Solight, writing a letter. After the male alicorn, Twilight, and the young dragon made it back to the library, the ponies removed their costume and adjusted the dial to return back to being the single alicorn. Spike, not wearing his costume anymore, approached them. 

Solight had a feeling on what the young dragon was going to ask. “You can only have a few pieces of candy for tonight before bed. Afterwards, brush your teeth,” they said. “But before you do, I need you to send this friendship report for me.”

He would’ve groaned as Spike wanted to eat lots of candy, but decided not to. The young dragon now looked kind of surprised. “Wow, Solight. Usually I write your letters for you, but now you’re writing the letters without needing my help,” he said. 

The alicorn thought up a lie. “Oh, well…I just wanted to lessen your job for you,” said Solight. “After all, you’re my number one assistant and I wanted you to have more free time.”

Spike fell for the lie, and smiled. “Wow. Thanks, Solight,” said the young dragon.

They gave him a fake smile. “You’re welcome,” said Solight. 

The alicorn gave the young dragon the letter, which he then blew fire onto it, turning it into smoke and going out of the open window.

Solight got up from the table. “I guess I’ll go to the kitchen and have something to eat before I go to bed,” they said. “You better not have more than a few pieces of candy. I’ll know if you did.”

The young dragon sighed. “I won’t,” said Spike. 

He left for their room, while the alicorn went to the kitchen.





Meanwhile-Inside of Solight’s Mind

The male alicorn sighed as he looked around. “Well, it’s good to be back to this, I guess, and back to what we’ve been doing as usual,” said Solar Solight.

“Making sure that Solight lives a normal life in Ponyville while hanging out with our group of friends,” said Twilight Solight.

He nodded. “Yeah,” agreed the male alicorn.

She watched the alicorn trotting over to the refrigerator. “By the way, it was such a great idea of yours to have Solight get something to eat before going to bed. We were the ones doing all the eating, and they might be a bit hungry since they had been separated as us for hours,” said the female alicorn.

That confused Solar Solight. “No? I thought you were the one who had Solar go to the kitchen?” asked the male alicorn. “And even made up that lie to Spike as well?”

Twilight Solight shook her head. “That can’t be. I didn’t even make them do any of that,” answered the female alicorn.

That made him even more confused. “Then what did?” asked the male alicorn.

She watched the screen, starting to feel worried. “A better question is, who’s controlling them right now when we’re not even doing anything? We haven’t even agreed on what they should eat and they’re already choosing to make a cucumber sandwich,” said the female alicorn.

“The answer to that question is me,” said a familiar voice, sounding ‘me’ strongly.

The voice sounded very close, like right behind them, which it was. Then, two forelegs wrapped around the two’s shoulders, tightly. Solar Solight and Twilight Solight looked over their shoulders to see that the forelegs had belonged to a frowning Solight, shocking the two.

“It can’t be…” said the female alicorn, speechless.

“It is, and we need to have a long talk about what you two have been doing behind our friend, Jasper’s, back,” said the alicorn, in a disappointed tone.

Both Twilight and the male alicorn looked worried.





Meanwhile-Banana Pie’s House

The inside was very homey in the unicorn stallion’s own way as everything had stuff that either looked normal, was banana-shaped, or banana themed. Banana Pie even had pictures of all of the friends he had made either in Ponyville, or in other Equestrian universes that the unicorn stallion had visited over the years thanks to his unique ability to travel across the multiverse.

Jasper was laying down on the couch with the foal still in his arms. “Thanks again for letting us stay over for tonight, Banana Pie. Are we still on for visiting that one universe involving that one pony?” asked the wolf.

Banana Pie nodded. “Banan,” he answered. “Banan.”

The unicorn stallion then trotted towards their bedroom.

“Goodnight,” said Jasper.

Just as the wolf was about to close his eyes and go to sleep, Pumpkin started stirring a lot, causing Jasper to look down and see that the foal was waking up as her eyes were opening. Pumpkin yawned, and then looked around before the foal’s eyes settled on the wolf. Her only response was to stare at him, and Jasper’s only response to that was to boop the foal on the nose with a paw pad, causing Pumpkin to giggle.

He laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, Pumpkin. Today is the day you were born,” said the wolf. “I just know you’ll do great things in the future, my daughter.”

Jasper ended up staying up the night playing with the foal. As soon as they were both too tired to stay awake, they fell asleep.
> A Festive Hearth's Warming Eve
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Ponyville, there was Winter snow everywhere. The town itself was also decorated with glowing, colorful lights, signs, and other stuff, there was even the smell of baked goods and cookies in the air as today was Hearth’s Warming Eve. Everyone was wearing coats, hats, scarves, earmuffs, and other apparel to keep warm. Ponies were either trotting through the town, chatting with their friends, neighbors, or family, going shopping, or playing in the snow.

“Oof!” shouted a female voice.

A snowball had impacted a bundled-up Cinna in the face. 

“Hey! I wasn’t ready yet!” shouted the pegasus mare.

The one who had thrown the snowball was Solight, who smirked. “When it comes to snowball fights, the enemy wouldn’t wait for you to be ready,” they said. Then, a snowball hit the alicorn in the side of the face. “Hey!”

Banana Pie smiled as he was the one who had thrown the snowball. Suddenly, Banana Pie had gotten hit by a snowball thrown by Spike. “Banan!” exclaimed the unicorn stallion, surprised. 

He grinned. “Ha! Got ya!” said the young dragon. Spike didn’t notice that there was a snowball levitating above his head by Solight’s magic. The snowball was thrown down onto the young dragon’s head, showering him with snow. “Oof!” 

The four of them then started throwing snowballs at each other like it was a competition, laughing while having fun. Off to the side, watching them was Jasper, Melon, and Gentle Hope who were all, except the sheep, drinking mugs of warm apple cider that they had bought from the Apple Family, while a sleeping Pumpkin was strapped to Jasper in some carrier device.

“Looks like they’re all having fun,” observed the psychiatrist pony.

“Yeah,” he agreed, smiling.

“But if they play in the snow too much, they’re going to all eventually wind up catching a cold,” the melon pony informed.

“True,” agreed the sheep. “So, what are you two going to be doing for Hearth's Warming Eve?” 

She took a sip. “Well, my family decided to come and visit me in Ponyville, so we’re going to be celebrating the holiday at my house instead,” answered the melon pony. “What about you?”

Jasper smiled down at the sleeping foal. “Me and Pumpkin are going to be at home celebrating with my teacher and my teacher's friends, just like I did last year,” the sheep informed. He looked at Gentle Hope. “What about you? Any plans for Hearth's Warming Eve?”

Her smile turned into a frown. “Well, I was going to go hang out with my coltfriend today, but apparently, he had to leave Ponyville to go visit his family in Manehattan,” the psychiatrist pony informed. “I would’ve gone back to my old hometown and celebrated with my friend, Sunny Spirit and her family but it’ll take a while to get there and back. Then there’s the train schedule.” Gentle Hope sighed sadly.

The two felt bad for the psychiatrist pony.

Melon suddenly had an idea. “You know, you can hang out with me and my family for Hearth’s Warming Eve if you want to,” offered the melon pony.

The psychiatrist pony smiled. “It’s okay. You don’t have to do that for me, Melon,” said Gentle Hope. “I don’t want to intrude.”

She shook her head. “Oh, it’s fine. I don’t mind the extra company, and neither would my family,” said the melon pony. 

The psychiatrist pony smiled. “Thanks, Melon. I would love to join you and your family,” said Gentle Hope.

Melon smiled back. Then, the alicorn, Cinna, Banana Pie, and Spike had showed up, all four of them panting.

“Are the four of you done with your snowball fight?” asked the melon pony.

Solight nodded. “Yeah. We are,” they said.

“So, what are you three’s plans for Hearth’s Warming Eve?” asked the sheep.

The pegasus went first. “My and Lemon’s parents and siblings will be coming over to our apartment to spend time with us, so I need to head over to Sugarcube Corner after this and pick up the last of the stuff from there,” she answered.

Next it was the unicorn stallion’s turn as he took out a photo that was of Banana Pie and his family. One of them who happens to be a familiar mare wearing a nurse’s hat.

“Banan,” said the unicorn stallion.

Jasper smiled. “Oh, you’re planning to go celebrate with your family? Well, I hope you have fun,” he said.

Banana Pie smiled. “Banan,” he said.

It was finally the alicorn and the young dragon’s turn. 

“We’re going to Canterlot to go visit our family since they all live over there,” explained Spike.

They nodded. “Yeah, so the library will be closed until then. If any of you need us, just send a letter to us through dragon fire and we’ll respond back,” Solight informed.

So, it looked like they all had plans for Hearth’s Warming Eve, which seemed to have made the sheep smile.

“Well, I guess we’d all better get going as we all need to prepare to celebrate the holiday with those we care about. But, before you all leave, I need you all to do something extremely important for me,” said the sheep. He stressed out the word ‘extremely’.

Hearing this gained everyone’s attention.

“What is it, Jasper?” asked the psychiatrist pony.

Jasper then took out a map that was labeled ‘Ponyville’ from out of his cloak. After unfurling it, it revealed a detailed map of the entire town, each building and home was labeled with a pony’s Cutie Mark. It was a map that was made so that in case he was lost, which could happen sometimes, the sheep would have a way through the town as the Cutie Marks on each building and home represents a pony’s home which could also act as their business, which will make it easier to identify where he currently is.

Jasper pointed at a building that didn’t have a Cutie Mark on it at all. “I need you all to meet me at this spot at midnight. I have a big surprise to show you all,” the sheep informed. “And no, it can’t wait until tomorrow morning because the surprise won’t be surprising in the morning. So, can you all please do that? For me?”

Everyone looked at each other before looking back at him.

The alicorn smiled. “Sure thing, Jasper. Whatever this surprise is, you must be very excited to show us,” they said.

Jasper smiled. “It is. So, I’ll see you all at midnight tonight,” said the sheep. “Don’t be late.”

Cinna giggled. “We won’t,” she said.



The group went their separate ways. Well, Solight and the young dragon had gone to retrieve a nearby Winter and Frost who were jumping around, playing in the snow, but when the Orthros saw them approaching, the two decided to be playful and run away, causing a frustrated alicorn to fly, with Spike riding on their back, after Winter and Frost.





Some Time Later (Six Hours Left)

The pegasus mare and Lemon’s apartment room was fully decorated and looked very festive as there were lights strewn about and cute, colorful decorations everywhere. A tree set up in the corner was decorated with tinsels and other things, and there was food and drinks set up on the table, there was even the smells of the food wafting in the air.

The phoenix pegasus was right next to Cinna as she observed everything. “Looks like everything is perfectly set up,” observed the pegasus.

Then, there was a knock at the door.

Cinna trotted over to the door, smiling. “And it looks like our guests are here,” they said. The pegasus mare opened the door. “Hello, everypony. Come on in.”

She moved out of the way, and trotting or walking into the siblings’ apartment room while greeting Cinna was the pegasus’ pony’s mother, Xanaria, her dragon father, Sanori, the siblings’ older dragon pony hybrid sibling, Sadi, the phoenix pegasus’ adopted father: Kodiak; his adopted mother: Kira; Lemon’s adopted brothers: Kai and Virgil; adopted sisters: Luna and Elizabeth; and brother-in-law: Shade.

“Your home looks very well decorated, you two,” complimented the pegasus’ mother.

Cinna smiled. “Thank you, mom,” she said. “Everypony, make yourselves at home. Food is on the table, and drinks are in the kitchen,” they informed.

The dragon pony approached the pegasus’, excited. “Cinna, can we meet your friends after this? I really want to meet them,” asked the dragon pony.

She thought about it before smiling again. “Sure. I’m planning to meet up with them later at midnight,” said Cinna. “You can join me if you want to.”

Hearing that made Sadi happy.

“I’m coming with you,” said the dragon.

That gained the pegasus and dragon pony’s attention.

“Why? I'm just going to introduce Sadi to my friends,” said Cinna, confused.

“I…want to meet your friends as well. You talked a lot about them the last time me and your mom visited,” said Sanori. “It’s fair for us to meet them.”

Actually, the dragon just wanted to make sure that the two stay safe while in Ponyville. 

The pegasus mare’s mother looked interested, smiling. “Your father’s right, Cinna. It’s about time that we met your friends,” said Xanaria. She trotted over to Cinna. “But we can do that later. For now, let’s celebrate Hearth’s Warming Eve together.”

The pegasus nodded, agreeing with their mother. Everyone trotted/walked over to the table to eat, while others went over to the kitchen to get some drinks first.





Meanwhile-Melon and Gentle Hope (Five Hours and Twelve Minutes Left)

The melon pony was sitting at a table, glaring angrily at a smirking beige mare and a smirking red stallion. The three were playing a card game.

“Come on, Melon. It’s your turn,” said the red stallion.

“No. That’s not fair,” argued Melon. “You two cheated.”

There was an innocent look on both of their faces.

“And how exactly did we do that?” asked the beige mare, in an innocent, playful tone.

She scowled. “You two teamed up to take me down in this game,” answered the melon pony.

“But there’s no rules against teamwork now, is there?” asked the red stallion, grinning.

That surprised Melon. “Well…no, but…” she said. Then, the melon pony groaned, realizing that she lost. “Surprise, Honeydew. You two are going to pay for this one day.”

The two ponies in front of Melon were her two younger siblings: Strawberry Surprise and Honeydew Delight. The two had been bothering the melon pony about her love life ever since Melon’s family had arrived at the melon pony’s apartment room. Then they made a bet with her involving the card game, but the beige mare and the red stallion had teamed up together and ended up winning. 

She waved a hoof, unsurprised. “We know. Now tell us, have you and your coltfriend, Jasper, ever…kissed?” asked Honeydew Delight, grinning curiously. 

That made the melon pony blush.

“Me and my colt- I mean -sheepfriend, kissing is none of your business!” exclaimed Melon pony.

Strawberry Surprise and the beige mare looked at each other, smiling.

“They haven’t kissed yet,” he commented.

Honeydew nodded, agreeing, but then grinned. “Yeah, but they will soon one day,” said the beige mare.

That made her blush even more. “Cut it out!” shouted Melon, both angry and embarrassed.

That made both Honeydew and Surprise laugh. As for the psychiatrist pony, she was chatting with the melon pony’s other younger siblings, Pumpkin Hope, Galia Love, and Blueberry Joy, while eating some peach pie that Melon’s mom, Peachy Keen, made. The four were talking about Gentle Hope, her job as one of the town’s psychiatrists, and as one of the melon pony’s group of friends. It was to pass the time after having a meal that was prepared and brought by the melon pony’s family from their home.



“Melon does have trust issues when she meets new ponies and is even rude until she eventually warms up to them. When I first met Melon, she was rude to me and wouldn't even want to talk about the reason behind it when I offered some therapy,” Gentle Hope informed. “Eventually, she warmed up to me and even would visit my office for some therapy talk or just to hang out.”

The orange mare laughed. “Melon was like that back when she was a filly. She sometimes had a hard time trusting ponies her own age until she got to know them,” said Pumpkin Hope.

The psychiatrist pony nodded, agreeing. “Not only that, but she’s loyal to her friends too once you get to know her. I can’t count how many times she’s been there for us,” she said.

The blue mare smiled. “That’s great to hear. Melon’s our big sister and we care about her,” said Blueberry Joy.

She nodded, agreeing. “Yeah. Just like how she cares about us,” said Pumpkin Hope.

The classy looking mare smiled. “To be honest, we were all kind of worried that she wouldn’t fit in because of that, but now we don’t have to be worried anymore since she has tons of friends,” said Galia Love.

Unfortunately, Melon heard that while trotting over to the four with her siblings. 

The melon pony felt kind of insulted. “Hey! I’ll have you know that I was able to fit into Ponyville the moment I moved in and made some friends,” she argued. “And another thing. Stop talking about my love life. I don’t need any of your help. I’m perfectly fine on my own dating my sheepfriend. And another thing…” 

Melon then went on a rant while some of her siblings laughed, seeing as how their sister hasn’t changed a bit. As for Gentle Hope, the psychiatrist pony smiled, seeing that even though the melon pony looked angry, Melon was actually happy as not only was the classy looking mare kind of right, but the melon pony was also happy seeing her family again.





Meanwhile-Banana Pie (Four Hours and Twenty-Eight Minutes Left)

A mare with a pink mane and tail, both in a bun, and a red plus sign for a Cutie Mark was at her home, relaxing on the sofa. The mare’s name was Redheart, and she worked as a nurse at Ponyville Hospital.

“Banan!” shouted a familiar male voice.

Redheart looked in the direction of the voice, and smiled. The unicorn stallion in the kitchen smiled back.

“Thanks for taking care of the cooking, you two. I would’ve done it myself, but working at the hospital has left me a bit tired,” she said apologetically.

Banana Pie cleared his throat before speaking. “It’s okay, mother. You keep on relaxing while we take care of the food,” said the unicorn stallion.

“Yeah!” a female voice agreed.

It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen. Trotting into view revealed that the voice belonged to a smiling unicorn.

“We got this, mom. You just relax,” said the unicorn mare. 

As for her, the unicorn mare was the unicorn stallion’s little sister. Before the nurse could answer, the sound of hoofsteps trotting down the stairs filled the air: It was a unicorn stallion who was slightly bigger than Banana Pie himself.

“Hey, Banana Pie, Glamour Dazzle. How’s everything going in the kitchen?” asked the unknown stallion.

Glamour Dazzle smiled. “We’re almost done, dad,” she answered.

He nodded, agreeing. “Yeah. The rest of the food will take a while until they’re done cooking, and then after that, we can eat,” the unicorn stallion informed.

He smiled. “That’s great. I can’t wait to eat,” said the unknown stallion.

“Were you able to finish your painting, dear?” asked Redheart, curious.

He was in fact Banana Pie and the unicorn mare’s father, and the nurse’s husband, Colorful Twist. The painter unicorn loves to paint, even though he doesn’t have a Cutie Mark involved in painting or in anything at all. Despite not having one, Colorful Twist is happy being a blank flank, and also a father. He paints pictures to sell for money, while other times the painter unicorn takes commissions.

Colorful Twist smiled. “Yeah. It’ll take a while before it completely dries, and then I can give it to Filthy Rich in the morning,” the painter unicorn answered.

“Did you wash up?” asked Redheart, eyebrow raised.

Colorful Twist looked around to see that there were some paint drip spots and splatters on his forelegs and chest. Even though the painter unicorn paints with his magic, Colorful Twist always seems to somehow end up with paint on his body. The painter unicorn sheepishly smiled.

The nurse pointed a hoof at the stairs. “Go wash up. Now,” she ordered.

He looked down at the floor, acting sad. “Yes, honey,” responded Colorful Twist. 

The painter unicorn slowly trotted up the stairs, pretending to be sad, while his children and Redheart began to laugh at Colorful Twist’s performance.

The painter unicorn looked back. “After I’m done, can we play some board games?” he asked, pretending to be hopeful.

She smiled. “If we have time before the food is ready,” confirmed the nurse.

Hearing that made Colorful Twist happy, and then he trotted up the stairs, excited.

Redheart looked at the unicorn stallion and Glamour Dazzle. “So, which board games do you two want to play?” she asked.

Banana Pie and the unicorn mare then started making suggestions while arguing on which board game to play until eventually, the two agreed on a board game that they can all play. Once Colorful Twist arrived after the painter unicorn finished his shower, the whole family started playing the board game, having fun.





Meanwhile-Canterlot (Seven Minutes Left)

Inside of Canterlot Castle, Solight and the young dragon were sitting at a table, having dinner with a group of ponies while chatting. Those ponies were in fact their family members. There were Twilight Sparkle and Spike’s family members like their parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, the older brother and Captain of the Solar Guards: Shining Armor; and Twilight Sparkle’s cousin from her mother’s side of the family, Magenta Sparkle. As for Solar’s side of the family, other than Draco, and Dusk and Dawn, there was the alicorn stallion’s werepony unicorn wife, Cherry Fang, the female alicorn’s former foalsitter/the shield unicorn’s marefriend/the male alicorn’s cousin through adoption by Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence, and the alicorn stallion’s sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna.

“Sorry again that my parents couldn’t make it,” the magenta mare apologized, frowning.

The sun princess smiled. “Like I said before, it’s okay. Your mother just wanted to go visit her family,” she said. “There’s always next year.”

Hearing that made her cheer up, so Magenta Sparkle smiled in response.

Draco decided to start a conversation with the alicorn. “So, Solight. How’s things been going on in Ponyville?” he asked. “How are your friends doing?”

“Well, Jasper has been taking care of Pumpkin, Cinna’s been delivering mail and booping pony’s noses like usual, Melon has been on a break from selling melons since they’re not in season right now, Gentle Hope has been giving ponies, and me, therapy, Banana Pie’s being Banana Pie, and Spike being Spike,” answered Solight. “So, some of the things are the same as usual, except with Jasper now being a father.”

The alicorn stallion nodded. “I see, and how is he?” he asked.

“He looks kind of tired, seeing as how Pumpkin sometimes wakes him up during the night,” answered the alicorn.

Draco chuckled. “Yeah. Your mom was like that back when she was a foal,” he said. “I can’t count the number of times I had to wake up just because of her crying.”

Solight and the alicorn stallion both laughed. As for the wereunicorn, Cherry Fang smiled, seeing how her husband and the alicorn were having fun. 



The fused alicorn was chatting with the wereunicorn. The alicorn colt and alicorn filly were having fun as this was their first time celebrating Hearth’s Warming Eve, especially with others.

“Grandma Cherry, are you excited for Hearth’s Warming Day?” asked Dusk, excited.

She smiled. “Of course, I am. I just know that my royal knight must have something special planned tomorrow for all of us,” said Cherry Fang. The wereunicorn knows her husband must have since Draco was being purposely vague about what he planned for the family tomorrow.

That made Dawn and the alicorn colt both excited. Suddenly, in the middle of the alicorn stallion’s conversation with Solight, a scroll with his seal appeared in front of Draco, surprising everyone, except for the alicorn stallion. Draco grabbed the scroll with his magic and opened it up. Everyone watched as the alicorn stallion read the message for a few seconds before he started smiling.

“Who’s it from?” asked the night princess, curious.

Draco looked up from the scroll. “It’s from Jasper. He was suggesting something for me to do, and I agree with it,” he said.

The sun princess decided to dig into her little brother’s business. “What is it that he suggested?” asked Princess Celestia.

The alicorn stallion looked at his sister before looking back at the scroll and rolling it up. “Just some holidays for me to add to the calendars. They sound like they’ll be fun to be celebrated by everypony in Equestria,” said Draco. “I’ll have to make an announcement next week about this and see what everypony thinks of it.” The alicorn stallion was being vague as Draco didn’t like how she was prying into his business.

Then, another scroll appeared, but it instead appeared in front of the alicorn as it had Solight’s wax seal of a star and sun cut in half on it. They levitated the scroll over, wondering who would be sending a letter to the alicorn now. Solight opened it and read it:

“Dear Solight,

I have a feeling that you’re going to miss the train since the last one to arrive here before midnight happened to arrive a few minutes ago. Just letting you know since I have the feeling that you don't know, and that you’re going to need to take a chariot to get here in less than six minutes rather than fly all the way here. 

Also, when you’re in the air and looking for the location, look for a long, glowing barrier that goes up into the sky. That’s where you should head for. Anyway, can’t wait for you all to see the surprise.

From your friend,

Jasper.”

After reading it, the alicorn quickly looked at the clock, which read 11:54.

Solight was shocked as the alicorn saw that it was almost midnight. Solight quickly got out of their seat while dropping Jasper’s letter. “Sorry, everyone, but I promised my friend I’d be in Ponyville by midnight and I can’t be late. I promise I’ll be back in a few minutes,” explained the alicorn. While galloping towards the doors, Solight levitated a surprised young dragon out of his seat and over to them. “Come on, Spike. We have to hurry.”

Spike was still surprised, but had no choice but to follow along since the two do need to return to Ponyville. “Right behind you,” said the young dragon.

The two hurriedly left the room.





Two Minutes Later

The sheep, with a sleepy, yawning Pumpkin, were waiting in front of some place that was being hidden with a long, glowing, purple-colored barrier. 

He looked kind of worried. “A minute until midnight. I hope everyone gets here before it’s too late,” said Jasper.

Luckily, the sheep’s worries were soothed as a familiar voice called out.

“Jasper!” called out a familiar voice.

He looked in the direction of the voice to see that it belonged to a flying Cinna, who wasn’t alone as her father, mother, and sibling, Sadi, were flying along with the pegasus towards Jasper.

“Banan!” called out another voice.

The sheep looked over and saw the unicorn stallion trotting over with his family, and with them were Melon, Melon’s family, and Gentle Hope.

“Sorry for making you wait. I hope we’re not too late,” apologized the psychiatrist pony.

He smiled. “Only a while before midnight, so you’re all on time. The only ones who are left are Solight and Spike, but I don’t know if they’ll make it yet,” said the sheep. “Until then, we’ll have to wait.” Jasper looked over at the other ponies before looking at his friends, smiling. “So, are you all going to introduce me to your families?”





Three Minutes Later

Jasper was able to hit it off with each of his friends’ families. The sheep had met Banana Pie’s family, including his father, which let Jasper know where the unicorn stallion gets his personality from. Next, the sheep met Cinna’s family. Xanori trusted Jasper, for now, while the pegasus’ mare’s mother and dragon pony sibling liked chatting with him. Afterwards, it was the melon pony’s family. Right now, the sheep was speaking with Melon’s mother and father. 



He smiled. “I heard a lot about you in my daughter’s letter. I hope you continue to treat her nicely,” said Orchard.

Jasper smiled. “I will. I’m very lucky to date a mare like Melon and I want to continue making her happy,” he said. “She means everything to me, and I want to be there for her as I know that she’ll be there for me too.”

Over where the melon pony was with her siblings, Melon was listening in to the conversation. When the melon pony heard that, the melon pony blush redder than she currently was. Unfortunately, Melon’s siblings heard the conversation as well and were teasing her.

Peachy Keen smiled. “Aww. Our Melon is such a lucky mare,” said the peach mare.

The orchard pony smiled as well. “She sure is, honey,” he agreed.

Suddenly, a shadow passed by them from above, causing everyone to look up and see what it was.

The sheep grinned as Jasper saw what it was. “Looks like they made it in time,” he said.

Flying in the air was a chariot, and inside it were the alicorn and Spike. Then, multiple shadows passed by, revealing that there were a few more chariots following after their chariot. 

He smiled slightly. “They even brought company,” said Jasper. The sheep then frowned. “I hope Celestia did not come here with them to try and start something. I do not need this surprise ruined by her.”

Once the chariots landed, the doors opened and out trotted Solight, the young dragon, and their family who seemed to have followed after the two when they were leaving the castle. 

Jasper looked amongst them and was relieved to see that the sun princess was not with them.

They looked worried. “Did we make it or are we late?” asked Solight.

The sheep brought a pocket watch from out his cloak to check the time. Jasper smiled. “You two were able to make it in time for the surprise with just a few seconds left to spare,” he answered.

Jasper watched as the hands of the clock reached twelve, thus it was now midnight and he could unveil the surprise. The sheep put back the pocket watch and brought out his magic staff.

Jasper cleared his throat. “I thank you all for coming here in time for the surprise unveiling that my friends have all been waiting for,” said the sheep.

Jasper turned and walked over to the barrier before raising his staff. Then, the crystal of the staff started to glow with magic before shooting out a beam of magic at the barrier, which had started to disappear, revealing what it was hiding.



Everyone was stunned. 

“Whoa. This looks amazing!” exclaimed the pegasus mare.

“Cinna’s right, Jasper. So, you got your own place?” asked Spike, curious.

The sheep grinned. “Mmm, something like that, but no,” he answered. Jasper looked at the melon pony. “Hey, Melon? Can you go and read the sign for everyone? I think you’ll love the name.”

The melon pony was kind of surprised that he called her out, but then shrugged. “Okay,” she said. Melon trotted over to the front of the building close enough to see the sign. “It says, the Meeel-I…” 

That’s all the melon pony said before she had completed reading the entire sign as Melon was shocked at the name.

Jasper walked over to her, still grinning. “Do you like the gift that I got just for you?” asked the sheep, whispering.

The melon pony was still speechless.

“What does it say, Melon?” the alicorn called out.

Seeing as Melon won’t be able to answer, Jasper decided to answer for her.

“It says, the ‘Mel-Inn’. That’s the name of the Inn I gave it,” the sheep informed. He smirked. “After all, this entire Inn is my gift to my marefriend, Melon.”

That shocked everyone.

“Whoa, you’re giving our sister her very own Inn?” asked a very surprised Strawberry Surprise.

Jasper nodded. “Yeah. She always wanted to own her very own Inn, so I bought some buildings in order to make lots of room and space for the Inn, and had it torn down and built together until it became the Inn you all see before you,” he explained.

Gentle Hope trotted over to the two with the others to check out the outside of the Inn. “Must’ve been expensive,” she commented.

The sheep smiled. “Well, money doesn’t mean anything to me when it’s to make somepony like my marefriend happy,” said Jasper. He looked back down at the melon pony. “So, what do you think of it?”

Melon snapped out of it and did something that surprised the sheep.

SMOOCH!!!

She had kissed Jasper on the lips.

The melon pony blushed. “I really love my gift, Jasper. Thanks,” said Melon. “I can’t wait to move in and open the place up, but first, I’d like a tour around my Inn, please.”

He was blushing after being kissed like that, but the sheep was able to snap out of it. Jasper turned and saw everyone, including his friends, staring at them with different looks on their faces.  

“Um, sure. In fact, I’ll give a tour to everyone since you’re all here,” said the sheep.

That made everyone smile since they were all interested in taking a look.

The alicorn stallion smiled as it did sound interesting. “That sounds nice, Jasper. Thanks,” said Draco. “Me and my family would love to have a look around.”

“Us too. We’d love to see the inside of our daughter’s Inn,” said Peachy Keen.

“Well. Everyone, follow me,” said the sheep. “Let's start the tour.”

Jasper walked inside the Inn while everyone followed after. Everyone, except the sheep, were amazed at the inside as they saw the Lobby area.



“Welcome everyone to the Mel-Inn,” announced Jasper.
> The Forming of the Cutie Mark Crusaders
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A royal carriage had arrived from the air to land in front of the Golden Oak Library. From within it galopped  an excited Dusk and Dawn with saddlebags in tow. They trotted over to the door and knocked on it, and after a few seconds of impatient waiting, the door was opened by Spike.

He smiled. “Hey, Dusk. Dawn,” greeted the young dragon. “How are you two doing?”

She smiled. “We’re doing great, Spike. We’re excited to stay here in Ponyville again for a few months,” said the filly, excitedly. “We can’t wait to see everyone again. Is Solight here?”

Spike shook his head. “Sorry. Solight has gone to visit Zecora and won’t be back soon,” the young dragon informed. “They did want me to inform you two to get ready now for school and to wait for Apple Bloom. She’ll be here to go with you two shortly.” He then saw something come into view. “In fact, here she is now.”

The excited fused alicorn, hearing that, turned around to see that their friend, Apple Bloom, had just arrived. 

“Howdy there, Dawn n’ Dusk. It's mighty nice to see ya again,” greeted the apple filly. “How y’all been?”

The guardsponies who flew the chariot, seeing that Dusk and Dawn were safe and sound, flew off.

Both the colt and filly smiled. “We’re doing great, Apple Bloom. It's great to see you again too,” responded the colt. “We just got here and are about to get ready for school.”

“Well, ya’ better hurry up. Anymore chattin’ an’ by the time we get ta school, we’ll be there sometime after the bell rings,” joked Apple Bloom.

Dawn gasped. “Then we better hurry. Come on, Dusk,” she said.

The fused alicorn galloped past Spike and into the library. After less than thirty seconds, they galloped back out towards the apple filly, saddlebags now filled with both Dusk and the filly’s school supplies.

“I’ll see you later, Spike. Tell Solight that we went to school and that we’ll see them again later as well,” Dawn informed.

The young dragon nodded. “Okay. I will,” he confirmed.

The three then headed off for school, hurrying so they wouldn’t be late.





A Few Hours Later

The fused alicorn and a depressed Apple Bloom were trotting down a path.

The colt felt bad for her. “Don’t listen to what Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon say, Apple Bloom. You’ll get your Cutie Mark soon one day,” he reassured.

During while the teacher, Ms. Cheerilee was teaching the class about Cutie Marks, Diamond Tiara had passed a note to the apple filly to pass to Silver Spoon, but there were two problems: One, the teacher mare had caught Apple Bloom passing the note, and two, the note was blank, which was the bratty fillies way of making fun of Apple Bloom for being a ‘blank flank’ since she had no Cutie Mark, causing the two fillies to laugh at the apple filly, and for the other students, except Dawn and Dusk, to talk, which had depressed her. Not only that, but everyone in class, including the three of them, had gotten invited to attend Diamond Tiara’s Cute-ceañera.

The filly nodded, agreeing. “Yeah. Those two are just jealous that you still have the potential to obtain any Cutie Mark talent that you want,” reassured Dawn.

He nodded, agreeing. “Dawn’s right, Apple Bloom. Once you obtain your own Cutie Mark, then those two can’t bully you anymore,” advised the colt. “You just need to figure out what you’re good at.”

That only cheered Apple Bloom up a little. “Yeah, Ah guess yer right, but Ah don’t know what ta do,” said the apple filly.

She had an idea. “Well, why not try and obtain one by helping your family sell apples? After all, a lot of your family’s special talent involves apples, doesn’t it?” suggested Dawn.

As soon as she heard that, Apple Bloom perked up, realizing that the filly was right. “Yer right, Dawn. Maybe mah talent does involve sellin’ apples,” said the apple filly, smiling. “Ah should go an’ see if Applejack an’ Big McIntosh need any help right now. Thanks fer the advice ya two.”

Apple Bloom galloped off, heading for home.

Dawn smiled. “At least she’s not sad anymore,” she said.

He nodded, smiling as well. “Yeah,” agreed the colt. Dusk looked at the filly. “Are you ready to head back to the library?” 

She looked excited. “Yeah. Solight might’ve returned from Zecora’s home by now, so we ought to go and greet them,” said Dawn. “Maybe they have advice on how we can earn our own Cutie Marks too.”

The colt looked excited too. “Yeah! Let’s go!” exclaimed Dusk.





Some Time Later

After trying to help her older sister sell apples in order to obtain a Cutie Mark and failing, the apple filly decided to try out something else. So, right now, Apple Bloom, wearing a small mailbag, was currently trotting with Cinna, helping the pegasus with their deliveries after asking Cinna if she could.

The pegasus mare placed some mail from out of her mailbag into a mailbox, closed it, and brought the red flag up. Cinna was currently teaching the apple filly about the pegasus’ job. “And that’s how you do it for when you have to deliver mail into some ponies’ mailboxes, the same with small packages, but when it comes to large packages, then you leave them next to them,” they instructed. “If they don’t have a mailbox, but a mail slot, then place the mail through the slot, and as for packages, then just place it in front of their door but in view so they won’t trip over it. Understand?”

The young filly nodded, understanding. “Don’t ya worry, Miss Cinna. Ah’ll deliver these letters ta the right ponies,” promised the Apple Bloom. “Ah promise.”

The pegasus mare smiled. “I know you’ll do a great job, Apple Bloom,” said Cinna. 

The apple filly smiled and started delivering mail to ponies while being supervised by the pegasus. She was delivering ponies letters without missing a beat. Everything was going great until Apple Bloom had then become impatient and started delivering the mail all willy-nilly, and as a result, ponies had ended up with other ponies’ mail whether it was with their mail or not, with the pegasus chasing after her.

The apple filly looked to see if she had a Cutie Mark, but there was nothing, which made her feel disappointed. “No Cutie Mark. Ah guess mah talent isn’t in deliverin’ mail,” said the apple filly.

Cinna was a little bit tired from the chase, but she also felt sad for Apple Bloom. “Apple Bloom,” said the pegasus mare.

She looked up at Cinna. “Yeah?” responded the apple filly. 

They gave Apple Bloom a reassuring smile. “You shouldn’t force finding your special talent too early. Plenty of adults are still blank flanks. There isn’t a time limit, so just let it happen naturally in its own time,” advised the pegasus.

The apple filly thought about it and realized that Cinna was right. “Ah guess yer right, Miss Cinna,” she said.

The pegasus mare nodded, smiling. She then removed the light mailbag off of Apple Bloom. “Great. Now, why don’t you try something else for a change?” said Cinna. “I’ll stay here and take care of the mess you made.”

She sheepishly nodded. “Sorry about that, Miss Cinna,” apologized the apple filly. Then, an idea came to mind. “That’s it. Ah can try an’ get mah Cutie Mark in inn service by helpin’ Melon at ‘er inn. Maybe that’ll work? See ya’ again later, Miss Cinna.” 

Apple Bloom galloped away in the direction of Melon’s Inn under the eye of the mailpony. 

The pegasus shook her head, chuckling a little. “Maybe it won’t be so bad, and maybe Apple Bloom will get her Cutie Mark,” said Cinna.

The pegasus mare then flew off to go fix the mess that the apple filly made.





Some Time Later

Over at the Mel-Inn, everything was peaceful and calm.

“Apple Bloom, be careful with those!” shouted a female voice, a tone full of worry.

The voice belonged to the melon pony as, inside of her Inn, the melon pony was watching as Apple Bloom was carrying a small stack of towels on top of her head while slowly and carefully trotting up the stairs.  Despite trying her best to help out and earn her cutie mark, all the apple filly did was end up making a mess every time. Luckily, the melon pony taught Apple Bloom how to clean up after herself. Right now, the apple filly was given a simple task by Melon, which was to carry some towels up the stairs to ‘Room 202’.

The towels on top of Apple Bloom’s head were wobbling slightly. “Don’t worry, Ah got it,” she said.

But as soon as the apple filly went up the next step, a few of the towels fell off of her head and onto the stairs.

Apple Bloom looked down at the towels before looking back up at the melon pony with an apologetic expression. “Oops. Sorry about that, Miss Melon,” she apologized.

Melon trotted over with a reassuring smile on her face. “It’s okay, Apple Bloom. You tried your best,” said the melon pony. “Besides, sometimes what seems clear cut, like me staying and farming like my parents, might not be what is really meant to be.” Melon then had a proud look on her face. “I’m proud that you’re trying as many things as you can to earn your Cutie Mark, like working at my Inn.”

That cheered the apple filly up, causing her to smile. “Thanks fer the advice, Miss Melon,” said Apple Bloom.

The melon pony smiled normally. “No problem. How about you try and earn your Cutie Mark at the Golden Oak Library?” suggested Melon. “Solight is probably back, and you can ask them if you can help out.”

She thought about it before nodding. “Yeah. Ah’ll probably earn mah Cutie Mark at somethin’ involvin’ books,” said the apple filly. Apple Bloom galloped away. “Thanks, Miss Melon!”

She smiled. “No problem, Apple Bloom,” said Melon. The melon pony looked at the towels. “Well, time to replace these towels with some new ones before the customer complains.”

Melon then started collecting all of the towels from the stairs before heading off to another room.





Some Time Later

At the library, Solight was back from Zecora’s hut and was currently reorganizing the library’s books with Spike’s help while the apple filly and the fused alicorn were chatting amongst themselves.

“I’m impressed that you made things go wrong within the few minutes that you’ve been here, Apple Bloom,” said Dawn.

Apple Bloom looked embarrassed. “It’s not like Ah did it on purpose,” she said.

When the apple filly had arrived at the library, the alicorn was in fact there, and when Apple Bloom had asked them if she could help, Solight said yes. The tasks they gave the apple filly were to help take out the books of the lower shelves that she could reach, dust the shelves, and put the books back in the order they were in. Apple Bloom did the first two tasks correctly, but when it came to the third task, that’s when the apple filly had messed up. She had reorganized the books the wrong way by placing them in the wrong places. As a result, the alicorn and the young dragon had to take over and fix the mess the apple filly made.

“By the time Ah was done, Ah just didn’t know what went where,” said Apple Bloom. She looked over at Solight. “Ah’m sorry about that, Solight. No matter what Ah do like deliverin’ mail or workin’ at an Inn, Ah mess up an’ don’t earn mah Cutie Mark. Ah’m gonna be a blank flank forever. Even Twist got ‘er Cutie Mark.” The apple filly looked down at the floor while the colt and filly comforted her. 

The alicorn stopped what they were doing and looked at Apple Bloom, feeling bad for her.

Solight floated the books down onto the floor and trotted over to the apple filly. 

The alicorn had a reassuring smile on their face. “Apple Bloom, a Cutie Mark will come to you soon. You’re a talented filly,” said Solight. “You just need to know what your special talent is and work from there.”

That confused Apple Bloom. “But what is mah special talent?” she asked, wondering.

“You have to figure it out for yourself. For now, enjoy the life with the friends you have,” advised the alicorn.

The apple filly sighed. “Ah guess yer right,” said Apple Bloom. She then got up and trotted for the door, sad. “Ah better an’ get mahself ready for Diamond Tiara’s Cute-ceañera. Ah’ll see y’all later, Dawn n’ Dusk.”

Everyone looked on at the apple filly in concern.





Some Time Later

It was Diamond Tiara’s Cute-ceañera, and all of the fillies and colts from the class were there, including other fillies and colts from the town, some mares and stallions, and even Jasper, Pumpkin, Solight, and the fused alicorn. The sheep and foal were there because Jasper had to pick up an order he had made, and Solight was there to see how Apple Bloom was doing and attend the party as well. 

“Zecora seems to have taken on a student. I found out while I was at her hut,” the alicorn informed. “I even met her student face-to-face.”

The sheep looked interested. “Oh, really? What’s their name?” he asked.

“Well, you know that mare that moved into Ponyville a month ago? Sherine?” said Solight.

Jasper nodded, remembering. “Yeah. That nice mare who has a talent for healing,” answered the sheep. Then, he had made a realization. “Ohhhh. Good for both Sherine and Zecora too. I know that Zecora will have a lot of great things to teach Sherine, and I have the feeling that Sherine will do well in being her student.”

They nodded, agreeing. “You’re right about that. Also–” said the alicorn. Solight would’ve said more, but then something caught the alicorn’s attention. “Huh?”

Jasper, confused, followed their gaze and saw that the table where the punchbowl and cups were on was moving as small, familiar hooves were quietly galloping across the floor before stopping each time, heading in the direction of the door. The two even saw Berry Punch stop at the punch bowl before looking around and secretly drinking out of it without using a cup, which disgusted the two.

“Why don’t you keep an eye on Apple Bloom while I’ll go and tell Pinkie Pie that the punch needs to be replaced?” suggested the sheep. He then walked away without waiting for Solight’s answer.

As for the apple filly, it looked like she was nearing the door and was almost home free, but as soon as Apple Bloom made it to the door, her big sister Applejack, had walked in while at the same time pushing the apple filly away from the door more and more. Unfortunately, Apple Bloom’s luck got worse when the two bully fillies wanted to talk with her, so with a tablecloth, she made a skirt to hide the fact that she didn’t have a Cutie Mark. Then, it got even worse when, while Apple Bloom was trotting away, she tripped and bumped into the phonograph, while also causing the fake skirt to fall apart, revealing that the apple filly didn’t have a Cutie Mark. With their remarks towards Apple Bloom, it looked like the two bully fillies were about to win, but then…

“Hey. That’s enough out of you two,” said a voice.

Everyone looked to see that the voice belonged to an angry-looking Dusk.

“Just because Apple Bloom doesn’t have a Cutie Mark doesn’t mean you two have to bully her,” said the colt.

Dawn nodded, agreeing with her sibling. “Yeah. We don’t have a Cutie Mark, and neither do other adults,” said the filly. “Are you going to make fun of us too?” Dawn looked at the two with a look that dared the bully fillies to even try and do that.

The tiara filly felt nervous. “Well, no, but–” she said, but was then interrupted.

“They’re right. You shouldn’t make fun of blank flanks,” said a filly’s voice.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice to see that it belonged to one of two fillies who had been hiding underneath a table that had the other punchbowl and cups. They came out from underneath it, revealing that one of the fillies was Rarity’s little sister, Sweetie Belle, while the one next to her was a pegasus named Scootaloo.

“Just because she doesn’t have a Cutie Mark, doesn’t mean she won’t get one in the future. She has all the time in the world,” said the unicorn filly.

“Yeah. Everypony has the potential to discover their own special talent,” agreed the pegasus filly. Apparently, she was the one who had made the comment earlier. “So, you shouldn’t laugh at somepony being a blank flank.”

The two fillies then showed everyone that they didn’t have Cutie Marks either, which surprised the apple filly as there were other fillies in her class who didn’t have Cutie Marks either, not just Apple Bloom and the fused alicorn.

The alicorn decided to throw in their own opinion, smiling. “You five are absolutely right. Nothing’s better than taking the time, discovering your own special talent,” said Solight. “When I was younger, I was happy that I obtained my Cutie Mark, so I know that you’ll all be happy one day when that happens too.” Even though that day was one full of sadness, it was also the same day that the alicorn had earned their Cutie Mark, which felt kind of great.

The apple pony trotted over. “Solight’s right. Also, take yer time, an’ don’t try an’ rush gettin’ yer Cutie Marks,” she advised. “They won’t happen instantly, ya know.”

That advice was being more directed at the apple filly who realized it but agreed with her big sister. Then, all of the fillies and colts, impressed, started crowding around the colt and four fillies. As for Diamond Tiara, she was not happy that all of the attention was being directed at them instead, so the tiara filly trotted away angrily while the silver filly followed after her. Once the attention was eventually off of them, and everyone resumed partying, the five were now sitting at a table.

An idea had come to Dusk’s mind. “Since the five of us are the only ones in class without our Cutie Marks, how about we create a club where we all work together to try and earn them instead?” suggested the colt. “We can help each other out while doing that. That way, one of us can earn our Cutie Mark even if the rest of us fail at something.”

The others nodded their heads, liking the idea of a club.

“But what should we call ourselves?” asked Scootaloo, wondering.

Each of them then suggested a name until they all agreed on the one that Apple Bloom suggested, the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’. The five of them left the table to go celebrate their club’s founding by getting some snacks. 

Meanwhile, Jasper approached Solight, his order being carried around by floating clawed hands made out of magic. It was one of the spells that the sheep created. “So, Solight. Aren’t you going to write a friendship letter to Celestia about this teachable moment?” asked Jasper.

The alicorn was caught off-guard, seeing as how the sheep was asking them to write a friendship letter.

Solight tried thinking up an excuse. “Uhh, sorry, but I don’t have my papers, quill, wax seal, and inkwell, or even Spike to send the letter. So, I can do it once I’m back at the library,” lied the alicorn. 

Unfortunately for them, Jasper took out some paper, quills, some wax seals, and an inkwell from under his cloak and floated some over to the alicorn with some more magic hands. “I can write a letter to Draco asking him if he can deliver the letter to Celestia for you. He might even want to hear about what you’ve learned,” said the sheep. Jasper then started writing out his letter, while Pumpkin tried grabbing the quill’s feather, thinking it was some sort of toy to play with.

That was even worse for the alicorn. “Uhh, well. I don’t want to bother him,” said Solight.

“Nonsense. You’re family,” said the sheep. “One of the lessons we both know is that family’s important no matter what.”

The alicorn couldn’t argue with that. So, against their will, Solight wrote a letter:

“Dear Princess Celestia,

There is no new information on Jasper. I’m pretending I'm writing a friendship lesson so as to not make him suspicious of me. Also, Draco will want to hear about what I learned. 

So, I guess the lesson I learned today is that one shouldn’t try and rush getting their Cutie Mark as a pony has all the time in the world to get one, and not having one despite being an adult doesn’t make a pony miserable. 

It just means that they still have the potential to try out different things until they find their special talent no matter how long it takes. Everypony has a special talent that best defines them and a Cutie Mark that represents the talent itself. I’m glad that there are ponies that won’t let being a blank flank stop them from living out their lives.

From your faithful student/guard, 

Solight.”

Seeing as the letter sounded good, the alicorn rolled up the paper, stamped it with Princess Celestia’s seal, and gave it to Jasper who was also finished writing and stamping their letter too. The sheep went outside and blew out some dragon fire onto the letters, sending them both off.

After putting everything back in his coat, the sheep turned to look at Solight. “Are we still on for board games tonight at the Inn, right?” asked Jasper.

They nodded. “Yeah. Also, don’t forget to bring the chips and dip like you said you were,” responded the alicorn. “Everyone else are bringing their own snacks as well.”

Tonight was the day that they and their friends, including Spike, and Dawn and Dusk, had planned to get together at the melon pony’s Inn and play board games.

The sheep smiled. “Okay. I’ll see you later, Solight,” he said. “Bye.”

Jasper flew off while the magic hands carrying his stuff followed after.