> Short stories about ponies and whatnot
>  by shutaro
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> All ponies are gray at night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Of course she wanted to be a good pony. It wasn’t even conceivable to be anything else. And yet there was the temptation, the drive to be more than she was. But if the guards caught her this time there would be … consequences.
Most dire consequences.
She might lose her special privileges, her few friends, her most private possessions. Her guardians had promised her this: Should she be caught again, they would lock her away for a long, long time.
The threatened punishment seemed inappropriate, cruel even. But they were the guardians, their word would outweigh hers.

Besides, it was too late for this, she had already left her room. The first door had been a trivial task. A few words in the right ears and now it opened without so much as a whisper. She tiphoofed her way down the corridor and made it past the first real obstacle: The stairs that lead from the third floor down to the second had not once creaked.
The precise study of every single step had paid of. That had been the most daunting task.
For months she had tried to make a map of the whole stair. In fact that very map had been the reason her very first try had failed. The guards had found her secret plan and used it against her! The humiliation had been even worse than being caught. 
They had been condescending! They looked down on her because she was smaller, younger, inexperienced. At least they had paid respect to her intellect, to her devotion to the task at hand. Not that it made the punishment any less, but they had seen her potential. And she had learned from the experience. Not the lesson her guardians had hoped though. Be more cunning, more secretive. was probably not what they expected from their charge.

Not that it mattered. The first map had been flawed anyway. She had not factored in how the wood would expand during spring and would radically change the behavior of the stairs, rendering that first map useless. So the new map had been coded into a painting. She had even presented it to the highest authorities and they had commended her on her creativity.
If only they knew!

The second trial was now in front of her. A rectangle of light shined through the door as did some sound. Her guards amused themselves with a game of cards. She had often listened in to them and knew that sooner or later they would argue about some rule or another trivial matter. That was her window of opportunity.
She would sneak past the door and down to the first floor, then into the storage, get her first objective and then into …
No time for thought! She had missed the sentence and couldn’t care less about it, but they had started to argue!
This was her chance!
Like a bolt of lightning she jumped through the treacherous light and it was … done!
Her heart was beating like a sledgehammer and even though she knew that they could not hear her, she waited another, precious minute for it to calm down.

Now for the special equipment: From her back she pulled the special silent hoofshoes she had acquired for this mission. The stair to the first floor was made of stone and her hoofs would be heard through the whole house if she wasn’t careful enough. Step by step, slowly, like a cat, she crept down to the first floor. She moved every muscle like she was moving in slow-motion. Delicate, precise and without any unnecessary sound.

Once on the ground level the task was almost a joke. The storage was unlocked, she could even use her magic to get the objective. Nobody could see the shine of her horn and she had practiced difficult telekinesis for months.
Maybe she could take another... ? No, it would not pay to be greedy.
She had planned this for weeks, no months! Last minute alterations might put it all at risk.

Now for the last leg of the mission: The master workroom. The hinges would scream through the house unless she could mute them. I like it, it gives the room a rustic charm. Hah! He was probably hiding something, like all the others. She wondered every now and then what they did once she had been sent away, to her room. Probably something fun that she should not know about, something they did not want to share with her.
But it did not matter now.
Precise magic moved the cylinder, a level two silencing spell caught every sound from the hinges and … she … was …  in.
Now all there was left, was to pick one of the treasures. And start reading.


 ---


Shining Armor stood over the little unicorn. “Most impressive, Twily. Most impressive.”
He softly levitated his sleeping little sister to his back. “But now it’s really time for bed.”
Cadence was equally astonished: “‘On Magicks and Spells’ by Windwhistler. I wouldn’t read this if aunty paid me to. She even hid a blanket under the sofa. Isn't she just adorable in those socks!” A few crumbs fell to the carpet. “And we should check the cookie jar.” A brush and dustpan caught the evidence. She sighed. “We really should talk to your parents. Being grounded for a week doesn’t scare her much anymore.”
> Your choice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Chrysalis closed the doors of the suite she had been granted while she was in Canterlot Castle. While none of her honor guard were allowed inside city limits she had been given a sizeable amount of luxury. She was technically still the leader of an enemy of Equestria, after all. The princesses had promised that no surveillance spells would be placed here.
Even the four guards that accompanied her throughout the day had been examples of chivalry, protecting her from the occasional thrown fruit and discouraging those who would otherwise attack her.

Chrysalis threw herself onto the bed and stretched like a cat, buzzing her wings. Through the windows she had a marvelous view of Canterlot and the sun stood high in a blue sky. Celestia was no slacker when it came to impressing her ponies. 

She was about to start a nap when a little cough broke her from her thoughts.
There was a pony in the room and she hadn’t noticed for several minutes!

A spy? An assassin? Were Celestia and Luna finally showing their true colors?

“Greetings your majesty. I do apologize for startling you, but I am here on behalf of Princess Celestia.”
A white mare lifted herself from the sofa that was sitting opposite to the main window. She had probably been marveling at the view too.
Chrysalis recognized the pony: One of her replacement-bridesmaids. One of the gang that had tried to get hold of the Elements of Harmony during her failed attack. But the name escaped her.
“My name is Rarity”, the pony nodded but did not curtsey, “I specialize in designing and making clothing. The Princesses asked me to provide you with a suitable dress for the signing of the peace treaty.”
“Ah, yes. Of course, the ceremony. I guess I will have to look the part”, Chrysalis sighed, but couldn’t suppress her curiosity. “And what brings me the honor of being cared for by one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony?”
“No honor”, the unicorn replied, “I was simply the only dressmaker that applied for the job. I can hardly imagine why, it’s a privilege to work with royalty after all. Let’s take your measurements first.”
Without waiting for Chrysalis, Rarity started to do just that and wrote a few numbers down in the notepad that levitated beside her. For a while only the zipping measuring tape and the occasional request were heard.
“Please lift your head as high as … thank you.”
“Now your right foreleg, please, now the left, same with the back, thanks.”
The changeling queen played along.

“Wonderful, I’m all set, your majesty. Your measurements are quite similar to Princess Celestia. Well, do you have anything in mind? I tried to read up on changelings but your kind is ever so elusive. Not so much as a single paper pattern in all the royal archives.”
“No wonder. My warriors only dress for fighting, workers and nurses dress for .. work, I suppose, and drones don’t dress at all. Lazy bums. The only ones who ever actually use clothing like you ponies are the scouts and they dress in pony-style of course.”
Rarity rubbed a hoof on her forehead. “I see. But couldn’t you just change into whatever you want to wear at the occasion?”
Chrysalis chuckled. “Of course I could. And it would just crumble in the anti-magic field Luna will cast over the court. And who’s to blame for that? Stupid dragons and their enchanted papers. No, the dress has to be real needlework. You can use magic to create it, but anything that has even one spark of magic left will go poof!”, Chrysalis flared her insect-like wings, “in that court. And you don’t want to know how a shapechanger looks if you pull out all the magic. Let’s just say, it’s not pretty.”
Rarity sighed “Oh well, back to square one. Any suggestions I might draw from?”
Bright green flames licked over the changeling. A gossamer cloth covered her legs, the holes shimmering through, her wings were whole and a net-like black fabric covered both her neck and most of her body.
Rarity gasped as she saw the fine weave that covered Chrysalis’ legs. “Oh, what a fine silk! Like spiderwebs, even finer than the weave from silkworms! May … may I touch it?”
Chrysalis had not expected this kind of reaction. This pony was interested in how a changeling would dress? Even, how the only changeling that could think about how to dress, would dress?
Crazy ponies.
But she nodded her agreement and let the mare touch the fine web. She didn’t pay much attention to the prattle but rather enjoyed the fine trickle of emotion that found it’s way from the pony to her. No love, but a bit of real respect and admiration were still better than the months old reserves of second-, third- or even more-hand love she had left to feed on.
After a while Rarity came back from her world of inspiration.
“What a material! Oh, what dresses I could design with it!”
She took a deep breath.
“But back to the matter at hoof. Please could you stand here under the light, darling.”
Chrysalis buzzed her wings and flew over to the main window.
The mare walked a few steps away, then asked the changeling-queen to turn that way or the other.
“I can replicate most of the dress, even if it will not be such fine quality. Not much I can do about the wings, though. Without magic, my hoofs are tied. If we had more time I could consult with a glassblower I know, but that would totally ruin your mobility.”
“Oh, don’t bother. I’ll fix those myself once I get some fresh emotions. Or I might do it right now.”
Rarity’s eyes went wide as the holes in Chrysalis wings closed on their own.
“Most amazing. But still, don’t you think that going ‘all black’ is a little glum?”
“No, I think black is a fine choice for any changeling. It’s what we are.” the changeling replied matter-of-factly.

For a few minutes silence ruled in the room, except for the scratching of Rarity’s pencil in her notepad.
Chrysalis was starting to follow her own thoughts again when the pony started talking.

“So there’s no changeling nobility? No high-society? No celebrities?”
“Except for me? No, the hive is pretty much self-regulating and self-organizing.”
Chrysalis obviously had no practice in small-talk, but Rarity pressed on. 
“Isn’t that pretty … lonely? What do you do all day if there is nopo- no changeling to talk to?”
“Well, there are a few things to take care of and there is the business with the drones, of course, but I’d rather not talk about it. They are completely borisch and tasteless.”
“Oh yes, I know the kind. Why, I myself met this simpleton of a prince last year at a gala. A complete boor.”
“No, you don’t understand, dear. Once the drones have … fulfilled their purpose, I kill them. They really taste terrible.”
Rarity looked up from her notepad.

-- TIMELIMIT--

For the first time in quite a while Rarity noticed the fangs that jutted from Chrysalis’ muzzle, the freshly mended insect-wings, the alien way her eyes moved, the rigid carapace that covered the creature.
What stood there in the light of Celestia’s heavenly orb was not a pony from another country. That was no pony at all. It talked about killing another, like a pony would talk about the weather.
And she had just called her “dear”.
Oh my!

“Oh. Ahem. Well, that ... there is still your dress to finish.”
Again silence fell over the room. Rarity concentrated completely on the dress, pushing Chrysalis’ presence from her mind. The faster the task was complete the faster she could leave this room.

“You might be right, now that I think about it. I almost never leave the hive. Just the workers, the nurses, the soldiers and the drones. All of them too limited to do more than what they were bred for.
The only one to talk to is the hivemind, but it’s so boring. It would never talk about dresses, not even the weather. Unless it was a hailstorm or a draught that threatened the hive. But it wouldn’t comment on a blue sky or the way a cloud looked funny. It’s always ‘Do that, be there’, ‘More eggs’, ‘Workers to sector 12’, ‘Residue spill in level 3’. A complete slavedriver.”

Rarity could feel the sentence forming.
It was a crazy idea.
Somehow a bit of Discord must have stayed behind and waited for this very moment, to spit at her from his stone prison. In morbid curiosity she wondered what kind of sound her head would make once it hit the marble floor.

“Too bad you can’t bite the hivemind’s head off.”

She didn’t dare raise her head, she didn’t want to see two fangs coming for her throat.
Or a black death on translucent wings, jumping over from the window to break her skull under hole-filled hoofs.

Laughter filled the room. As friendly as any pony, the changeling laughed loud and clear, without sneer or scorn. Rarity looked up as tears of laughter started to roll over the black face.

Two thoughts fought in the pony’s mind.
Amazing, changelings can cry. and Laughter? But I’m with the Element of Generosity!

And then she started to laugh too.
She wasn’t sure how long they laughed together. They stopped a few times, but then looked at each other and started again.

Then a guard knocked on the door to remind Chrysalis of the next round of negotiations.
The strange dress vanished in the flash of green, magical fire it had come from, the changeling left with the group of guards, the door closed.
If her notebook hadn’t been filled with drawings and ideas for the dress, Rarity might have written it off as a silly, but slightly scary, daydream.

She left the room, went down the corridor and almost ran into one of the guards.
Chrysalis turned around.

“Rarity, what do you think about green? Would my dress look good in green?”

Rarity smiled.

“Yes, green is so you color.”

> The hero returns
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The crowds cheered as Shining Armor stepped off the train, into the lush climate of the Crystal Empire. The warm wind, the smell of grass and all the green that he had missed, had longed for in those dark arctic nights, in the snow and the icy storms. His eyes seemed to linger for a moment longer on the pony he had yearned to see so dearly, then he caught himself staring and bowed deep.

“Shining Armor, returning from military exercise, your Majesty.”

A slight wrinkle played along his forehead for calling his wife your Majesty, but my love was hardly acceptable as a military term.

“I welcome you and your stallions back to the Crystal Empire. Your commitment is commendable and your performance a radiating example for all of us.” Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, leader of the Crystal Empire and heir to the throne of Canterlot watched from the stage that had been raised for her as the first group of soldiers stepped out of the train. They formed lines, saluted most smartly and started to march towards the barracks. Only five cars were on this train to shorten the ceremony. Welcoming back the soldiers was not the reason why everypony was at the station after all.

As the last of the soldiers left the track, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza dropped most of her regal decorum, spread her wings and flew down to her husband. Running up to her smiling stallion she embraced him in her wings, he pulled her into a hug and they shared a kiss, as if to catch up on the weeks they had missed each other. Unperturbed by the flashlights they hugged and showed their love openly, for all their subjects to see.

Looking into her husband’s eyes Princess Mi Amore Cadenza whispered, “Welcome back, my love. My soul called for you every second of every day we were apart!”

Lost in her eyes Shining Armor replied, “I promised I would return to you, through ice and snow, through storms and night. Nothing could keep me from being with you, queen of my heart.”

They shared a kiss again, then, as if suddenly becoming aware of their surroundings, both blushed deeply and started giggling like a pair of newlyweds. They hurried to the royal chariot that had waited for them and then returned to the Crystal Palace.


---


Rarity dropped the magazine she was reading while she waited for her spa appointment and took a deep breath, “Sooo romantic!”


---


The door to the royal chambers closed, Shining Armor cast a silencing forcefield, looked to his wonderful wife and sighed.
“Do we have to do this every single time, queen of my heart?”
“We sure do, my knight. And it’s not like it’s a lie.”
“I wish I could return home like my dad just for once.”
“You could do it now”, Cadence wiggled her eyebrows.
The stallion smiled, “Cadence, honey, I’m home.”
“Welcome home, Shiny, my dear. Would you like to have a bath or dinner first?”
> It's what babysitters do
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The filly lay on her bed of clouds and performed the age-old ritual of all foals who don’t want to go to bed. “But Breezie, I’m not tired! I still want to play! The sun is still up! Come on, Breezie, please!”

The teenage pegasus sighed, it was always the same with those foalsitter jobs. She pushed a flick of her golden mane out of her face. 	“Now Fluttershy, you know what your parents said. 8 PM is your bedtime, and it’s 8:15 already. No more discussions.”

The filly pushed out a quivering lip and looked at her with her adorable eyes, a small tear ready to roll out if she didn’t get what she wanted.

“Don’t give me the puppy-eyes, little one, I play that card myself with my parents.” As if to proof a point, her face turned into heart-wrenching display of despair, “you see, that won’t work on me.” 

Even though Breezie had not expected it, Fluttershy just slumped on her bed.

“Tell you what, I know a great bedtime story. Once upon a time, long before the Princesses and even before Equestria was founded, the pegasus ponies of Cloudsdale were not only responsible for the rain and the wind and all the other weather. They were the best fighters and protectors for all the other ponies. There were a lot of things that the other ponies had to be protected from.
The Everfree Forest was much bigger and much scarier, monsters attacked from it every day! The griffins were not friendly either, there were even marauding groups of highwaydonkeys that would assault a travelling pony. But the greatest danger of them all were the dragons. Big, scary, fire-breathing dragons!
And once every generation the biggest and fiercest dragons would band together in a large dragon raid and attack every city, castle or cloud that they could find. Because they were mean and greedy and totally not friendly with us ponies.
So the pegasus ponies of old would train hard all year long to be ready to save all the other little ponies from the dragon raid. Because there was nopony else who could do it.”

At this point Fluttershy was sitting up from excitement. “Those must have been the bravest ponies of all times!”, she beamed.

“Yes, yes they were. And the bravest of them all was Commander Sunspot, a real hero. Not only was he strong and a great warrior, but he was also clever and could fly so fast, he could tie a knot into a bolt of lightning. He had fought against many monsters and had never been injured, and the bad griffins stayed away wherever he went.
And so everypony was sure that the dragons would not -”

The sound of the opening door made both ponies look up. Fluttershy’s mother walked into the room, “Oh baby, shouldn’t you be asleep right already?”

Breezie scratched her ear, “Yeah, I was telling a bedtime story, guess I lost track of time. I’m sorry.”

“And it was a great story!” Fluttershy chimed in.

Fluttershys mother smiled. “But now it’s time for little ponies to go to bed, my baby” She kissed her on the forehead. “Breezie, you better talk to my husband. Have a good night and thanks again for being here on such short notice.”

“No problem, anytime”, Breezie said. ”Goodnight Fluttershy, you’re a great kid”, she waved a goodbye and was gone.

Fluttershy’s mother tucked her foal in, nuzzled her once more. At the door she smiled again to her and asked “What story did Breezie tell you, my dear?”

“The legend of Commander Sunspot, mummy.”

“Aren’t you a bit young for that?”, Fluttershy’s mother raised an eyebrow.

“Naw, it was exciting. But she didn’t tell me the end of the story.”

“You are so brave, my little Flutters. Sweet dreams.” She closed the door and walked to the living room.
But because grownups always underestimate how good foals can hear, Fluttershy heard her mother talk to her father in the living room.

“The legend of Commander Sunspot! Can you believe it? She told my baby about how the dragon migration slaughtered our city and ripped his wings out as a bedtime story! We’ll never ask her to babysit again.”

In the darkness a filly tossed and turned in her bed. Her pink mane was wet with tears and snot.
“Not my wings, please. Not the wings.”

> Scootaloo's agenda
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sun was slowly approaching the horizon, the birds settled in for the night and the streets of Ponyville became quieter. The lights on Sweet Apple Acres were turned out and only the solitary shine of the windows in Twilight Sparkle’s library would cast a few dim pools of light into the darkness. Soon even the sounds of the usual “Hurray, it’s weekend”-party that Pinkie Pie hosted every Friday night would fade away.
But on this special night Celestia’s special student was not alone in her nightly quest of reading and writing. Not that Scootaloo would have actually joined her in the library, but the little pegasus pony felt a little smarter and eggheady just by knowing that right now they were the only two awake in all of Ponyville.
And maybe Twilights pet owl. But he was an egghead too, Scootaloo decided. That bird lived in a library after all.
She yawned and for a moment thought about her soft bed at home. But she had told her parents that she would spend the night at the Crusader’s tree house, even if she had not mentioned that Applebloom and Sweetie Belle would not be with her.
And she couldn’t go home at this hour. Not after the embarrassment she had caused when she had forgotten her toothbrush and stumbled over her parents in the bathroom. That had been most awkward. Grown-ups playing like foals in the bathtub. She still couldn’t believe it.

But, onto business!
From her school satchel Scootaloo procured a notebook, her brand new set of coloring pencils, a few extra-thick crayons, her trusty bottle of superglue (what kind of project could start without that) and a scroll she had gotten from Spike.
That dragon would have been definite Cutie Mark Crusader material if dragons could get cutie marks. He had even recommended some books: Scootaloo had no idea what a thesaurus was, but Spike had explained that it was a dictionary that would point out different words with the same or similar meaning. He said that Twilight Sparkle used it a lot when she wrote her more complicated letters about her studies on magic to the princess and wanted to sound sophisticated.
Then he had explained what sophisticated meant.
So the thesaurus and a dictionary found their place on the little table too.
Scootaloo frowned. This was starting to look like homework but she didn’t feel any of the typical “I want to do something else, be somewhere else, let’s do this stuff later”-feeling that she normally got when an academic assignment needed sooo much preparation.
She wondered if there was a word for that feeling. Sweetie Belle might know about this. But alas, her unicorn friend was not here. She played with the thought to get her, but naww, there was work to be done.
Scootaloo opened the notebook and looked at what she had scribbled down during math class in school this morning. Yeah, it got the gist of what she wanted, but it needed to be cooler! If they ever got to use this, they would have to blow away any doubt that this was the most awesome thing ever.
Well, maybe not as awesome as Rainbow Dash, but hey! Who could top her?
 
When the sun send her first rays over the sky, Scootaloo had completed her task.
The scroll had been just enough to contain all of the greatest and coolest of all oaths ever conceived. She yawned, looked at the product of this night’s work again and smiled.
Then she stuffed the scroll and all the other materials back into her satchel, unrolled the sleeping bag, crawled into it and was asleep within the minute.

Rolling over in the sleeping bag, she knocked over her satchel and the contents spilled out, all over the floor. Her notebook opened on the page she had been staring at the whole night long:

We, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, elect you to join us as a fellow Cutie Mark Crusader.
You are solemnly sworn in, here this day, to become a helper to any pony looking for a cutie mark, to help them find their talents and be a friend to all your fellow Crusaders.
If you can do this, then say I swear.

> Pegasus history
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Hurricane looked over the meager detachment he had been given. This was not good. It would not be enough. But there was nothing more they could do. He took his helmet off, ran a hoof through his close-cropped blue mane and sighed.

Since the events of Hearths Warming ten years ago the ponies had lived pretty much in harmony with the buffaloes and deers that had been native to this land. But as of late the woods and plains had become empty. None of the scouts that had been sent out had found any trace. Of course, the buffaloes could be on a great stampede that lead them away from pony country, but none of the traders or settlers had heard anything about that.
The deers’ disappearance was even stranger. Good old Pantsy himself had pretty much established the first contact with the shy and reclusive people. Once you got close enough to one of them they were really nice. For a race of cowards that would take flight from their own shadows, that is.
Now their woods were silent. Not the kind of silent you’d get in a normal wood, with birds and critters, but the dead kind of silence, where you feel like you are the last living thing in the whole world. 
Or that’s what Pantsy’s report had said. Hurricane respected his friend, loved him like a brother, but sometimes that pony could get a tad melodramatic.

He put his helmet back on and once again assessed the situation. He would make the best of the situation, as any officer, as usual.
At least the site was ideal. This narrow gorge was the only passage into the heartland of Equestria and a group of foals could hold it against an army for days.
His ponies were few, but they were elite soldiers, the best the pegasus tribe had to offer. He would rather take these three hundred than any number of any other army Equestria could raise. Hurricane felt proud as he looked at the accurate lines his soldiers had formed. Clad in the best armor ponies could forge they stood with their spears and lances at the ready, prepared to stop any foe. There was even magic in the helmets to give every soldier the same coloration, a cobalt-blue mane and a white coat, his very own colors.
Seeing his soldiers like this for the first time had been the greatest moment in his career.
They might be here for days, for weeks even months, but no invader would get past this point.

Later Hurricane would say that this is where it all went wrong.

“A phalanx of spear ponies, how quaint.”
Behind him, a … something was hovering in the air, munching seeds from a bowl.
Mismatched hooves, legs, wings and horns, dressed in a toga and wearing a bay wreath the creature looked like taken from a child's imagination.
“You may call me Discord, Emperor of Chaos”, the being popped a seed into his mouth and spat out a grape, “or you might start screaming about ...” A rumbling sound could be heard from the entrance of the canyon. "now.”
In a cloud of dust a group of big, round, yellow forms rushed towards the front of ponies, utterly annihilating any semblance of military order in seconds. Hurricane was flabbergasted. The pegasus elite had been vanquished with … 
“Victory on cheese wheels. Now that’s one for the history books”, Discord grinned a lopsided grin.
“Say now, do all you ponies look the same? Sooo boring! And what do you call this place?”
The monstrosity waved a claw in his direction. Hurricane watched in shock as his mane and tail started to grow rapidly, his proud blue turned into into all the colors of the rainbow. This would not stand, he decided. His own lance at the ready he fully turned to face the creature. Raising up dust as he pawed the ground, Hurricane stormed towards Discord and screamed.	
“This Is EQUESTRIA!”
> Lost in Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight Sparkle was not a happy pony. She didn't ask much from the world:
a) a book (one she hadn't read yet preferably)
b) a quiet place to read said book
c) time to talk with Princess Celestia about it
d) three meals a day
e) playtime with Shining Armor and/or Cadence
...
When she reached the letter p (a bedtime story read by daddy) she reached for her bag, this list was getting longer than expected. Maybe she was not as humble as she had thought, this had to be noted down for further research and discussion.

And there was the reason why she was not a happy pony: Her mother had insisted on leaving her bag with her emergency notebook and quill at home. The family had been on a shopping trip into the finer part of Canterlot to get Twilight a nice dress for the first anniversary of being Princess Celestia's pupil. As a reward for three hours of fitting dresses, ribbons and bows Twilight had negotiated a one hour trip to the Canterlot Park. The great gazebo behind the duck pond was her favorite reading spot. Her favorite outdoor reading spot at least as her brain started to rattle off better reading spots: in bed, in her parent's bed, her mother's library, the royal library, …

But now she had been separated from her parents in the sudden downpour, she couldn't run through the rain unless she ruined her new dress, her magic wasn't strong enough to protect her from the rain all the way home and she had no book to pass the time. Great! Just great!

And she could hardly hear herself think because of the other foals that were trapped with her in the rain. The loud one was a pink earthpony. When she had stormed into the gazebo she had shaken herself and sprayed water everywhere. Only a hasty cast Breezie's gust had rescued Twilight's new outfit. That in turn had directed most of the spray into the face of a white unicorn filly that had closely followed the pink one.

"Pinkie! My mane! My dress!", the newcomer wailed. Twilight's first impulse had been to say sorry and to offer a drying-spell, but the white filly had yet to calm down and after waiting for five minutes Twilight had lost interest and the wind had dried the water in any case.

The only sympathetic ponies so far were the two other earthponies that had trotted in a minute ago, both drenched to the bones. One was orange with a blond mane, the other had a darker pink coat and a lighter pink mane. Not for the first time in her life Twilight was astonished about the number of different shades in ponies' coats and manes. "Mental note to self: learn more names for colors."

”Hello, excuse me, hello there." Something orange waved in front of Twilight's face. "Are you alright, sugarcube? You were staring out into the rain for, like fifteen minutes without even moving so much as a muscle."

"Um, yes. I'm okay, just, um... thinking." Twilight offered.

Silence settled. Or at least what passes for silence when you sit under a gazebo in a heavy downpour. With a pink earthpony (the wild one, not the darker, quiet one) singing about frogs dancing on lily pads in the rain. She even jumped around like a frog while singing.

"If this is supposed to be a dance, she has a lot of practice to do", Twilight thought.

"I see. Well, that's good. Seems we're stuck out here, huh?", the orange pony tried again.

"Not for long. My father told me that the Canterlot Weather Brigade is under order to disperse any wild weather in thirty minutes. I guess we have to wait another ten minutes, twenty at the most."

"I didn’t know that. But I haven't even introduced myself and the girls. The hyper one", she pointed at the light pink earthpony, who now showed an almost creepy bright smile and waved wildly "that's Pinkie. The one with the curling iron", she pointed at the white unicorn filly, "is Rary. And the silent one is Cheery", the other pink pony waved and managed a shy smile "and I'm Applejack, but everypony just calls me Jackie. Nice to meet you, what's your name?"

"I'm Twily. I mean, my name is Twilight Sparkle."

Once again, the topics of conversation had run out.

"We are on a school trip from Ponyville. We just visited the Royal Gardens. We're on our lunchbreak now and lost our group in the rain."

"The most prudent idea would be to wait out the rain and then find a guard. Your teacher probably informed them already."

Applejack sighed, her shoulders sagged a bit. This pony obviously had no interest in making conversation. She had met the kind in Manehatten a year back but she wasn't going to pressure anypony. "That sounds like good advice. Thank you." Applejack smiled at the strange unicorn filly, then returned to her classmates. Rarity was just collecting her beautification kit back into her saddle bags.

"A curling iron, Rary? Really?" the country filly deadpanned.

"A curling iron indeed, my dear Applejack. A pony has to be prepared for emergencies. And the name is Rarity, thank you very much." Rarity searched through her bag once again and took a brush from it.

"Cheerilee, darling, come over here, your mane is a complete mess." The white unicorn filly walked over to her classmate and started to comb the other filly's hair, even without waiting for her consent. 

Applejack followed her. "You didn't ask me about my mane! My mane is a mess from the rain too, you know."

"Darling, your mane is always a mess."

Meanwhile Pinkie Pie had gone silent. Not only because she was a bit exhausted from hopping around and singing her song (she was a bit miffed that the others had not joined in), but because she had overheard what Rarity had said.

"Preparing for emergencies, huh?"

When the rain subsided a pegasus guardspony landed almost immediately at the gazebo. "Are you Applejack, Cheerilee, Pinkamina Diane Pie and Rarity of the Ponyville Elementary group?" he asked. The four fillies nodded intimidated. "Your teacher is waiting at the entrance of the park. Just walk down this way", he indicated an archway of vines, "it is not even a minute."

Rarity thanked the guard in her best imitation of a Canterlot lady, which got her so much of a raised eyebrow from the guard that Pinkie Pie offered her a high hoof. Then they laughed and charged down the path.

Standing by the archway Applejack looked back at the gazebo one last time. Twilight Sparkle still sat there, staring out at the pond, lost in her thoughts. Then a white pony with a blue mane went up to her, tapped her on the shoulder and in an instant a radiant smile appeared on the filly's face. Applejack released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding: The strange pony was not lonely, she had just been lost and now she had been found again.
> Pinkie Pie vs. unicorn magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Motes of dust hung in the air of the library and glittered in the shafts of late-afternoon sunlight from the upper windows.

Spike looked up from the library's catalog as Pinkie Pie sauntered through the open door. "Just another unscheduled Reshelving Day", the little dragon excused the sorry state of affairs. "We had the magic private coaching session Twilight offers for the unicorn foals in Ponyville this morning. It got a bit ...", he paused, looking for an adequate description for 'Dinky, Snips, Snails and Sweetie Belle together in one room', "hectic in the end, but Twilight managed to put out all the fires in time and we have spares for all the windows. It's actually not worse than the usual fallout."

"School? What a way to spend a Sunday morning." Pinkie Pie blew a raspberry. "But that explains the wave of exhausted colts and fillies that hit Sugarcube Corner today. Say, is Twilight around? I have a question for her."

"She's down in the basement where we hide the more dangerous artifacts. Believe me when I say that Snails and a High Thaumic Accelerator are not a good combination. Took me a day to get that stain out of the carpet."

"Okay, I'll just wait for her to come back up then." Pinkie Pie sat down on one of the reading couches and shortly after she started to hum a tune. 

Spike looked up again. "What's that song? It's catchy but I think I never heard that one before."

"Oh, sorry Spike. That's a song I learned from my Granny Pie. I'm trying to remember the lyrics, but I just can't get the rhymes the way I want them to. Maybe I'll make up a little dance once I get it right. It's still a work in progress."

Spike nodded. "If you need help with those lyrics, just say the word. That sound's like the setup for a really great song."

"Thanks for offering, Spike. You're a great friend!", Pinkie smiled back at him.

A few minutes passed and she started humming again, singing what few lines she could remember, clapping her hooves in the rhythm. In the meantime Spike had completed his chores and left for the kitchen. It was getting late, and it was his turn to make dinner today. Another few minutes later Pinkie started dancing and twirled over the library floor until she was forcefully stopped by the basement door that swung open in her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry Pinkie! That must have hurt. Let me help you, please!",  Twilight  Sparkle put the collection of glass tubes and Erlenmarer flasks in her magical grasp down on the ground. 

"It's not your fault, Twilight", the party pony rubbed her nose. "I shouldn't have practiced my dance in the library after all. But it's good that you're back from the basement, I have a question on magic."

Spike peeked from the kitchen. "You have a question on magic, Pinkie? That's a new one, wait a second I'll note that down."

Twilight looked a little annoyed at the dragon. "Spike, you don't have to do that."

"Oh yes, I have to. This is for science!"

Twilight rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She looked at Pinkie. "Don't mind him, just ask."

Pinkie blushed a little under her pink coat. "Oh well, but it might be a really strange question. You see, today a group of foals visited the Corner and talked about the stuff they learned. Spike just told me that you teach magic for little unicorns, so I figure those were your students. They talked about visualizing, mental images and spell matrixeseses. From what I understood, magic is just knowing the right spell and wishing really hard. Is that true?"

Twilight frowned. "That's overly simplistic Pinkie, but if you caught that from my pupils it's what is to be expected." She pulled a chalkboard to her side. "I talked about basic thaumic theories today, and while your statement is not actually wrong, it’s not correct either. You see, for magic you need to know the spell’s matrix and fuel magic, what we in the business call thaumic energy, through your horn. I’m afraid I can’t explain what a spell matrix is to a non-unicorn. It’s what the sound of the written spell, the rhyme if you will, looks like." She drew a few diagrams and magic symbols. "But you also need to know what exactly you want the spell to do. For some spells, Simple Telekinesis for example, the matrix is very, very simple, but you need a visual of the object you want to move. Others, like Greater Teleportation have a complex matrix and require great concentration on the visualization of the target-location and it's thaumic alignment in relation to the local ley lines. And then there are unguided spells, commonly known as AoE-spells, those are usually extremely complex and require a long time to cast, but need no perceptual aids, but strong and strategic ... "

Spike poked the unicorn into the shoulder and smirked. "You can stop now. I think this is a new record." He looked at his hourglass. "Two minutes and twenty five seconds to total shutdown." He scribbled into his notebook, then pointed at Pinkie Pie. Her eyes were rolling in their sockets and both came up TILT. Spike waved a cupcake under her nose. Pinkie came to and ate the treat in one bite.

"I see, so magic is knowing the right spell and wishing really hard, in a complicated way.” Twilight Sparkle groaned but Pinkie did not react to that. ”Thanks Twilight! Oh, and I think I remember another line of my song. This is great!" The pink pony hugged her friend, even if Twilight did not seem very happy with her. Pinkie Pie waved her goodbye at Spike as she left the library in her usual bouncy gait, humming her song again.

When she reached the marketplace a group of ponies joined her on her way to Sugarcube Corner. "Unicorns have it really tough with their magic", she thought. "How lucky for me, I just have to get a song in my head, sing it right and everypony will smile for me. That makes life so much easier." Then she started singing, skipped a few steps and found herself at the front of another one of those impromptu dance routines that seemed to follow her around inexplicably.

> Too many April Foals
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pinkie Pie looked at rows and rows of cakes, muffins, cupcakes and other baked goods. This was the greatest order Sugarcube Corner had gotten all year and it was almost done. Even if she had to miss out on April Foal’s day, helping the Cakes to complete this took priority. And while today was the traditional day for pranks, neither Rainbow Dash nor herself had ever bothered much with it. Pranking was an any-day, all-the-time, come-hail-or-high-water thing for Ponyville’s premiere party pony.

When the little bell over the door chimed indicating some customers, Pinkie looked into the shop and waved at Lyra and Bonbon. "A minute please you guys, I'll be right with you. Just need to wash up here." 

"Pinkie Pie?" Lyra asked. "Wow, you must be the fastest pony ever!"

Pinke dried her hooves with a towel and joined the other ponies in the shop. "Yeah, but I'm nowhere as fast as Rainbow Dash and Applejack has more stamina than me. But I can run pretty fast, especially if it's to get ponies their sweets. So what 'll it be?"

BonBon pointed at some strawberry cupcakes, "Two of those and another two ... Say, do you still have those kiwi fruit tartlets?"

"Those should be in the icebox, I think there are some left." She turned around and shouted into the kitchen. "Mrs. Cake, do we have some No.37 left?"

"Only two, on the morning side," the answer came from the bakery a few seconds later.

"You're in luck, two are left in the icebox from the morning run," Pinkie translated for her customers. "If you are okay with them."

"Pinkie, I'd rather eat your baked goods from a week ago than any other's bakery fresh stuff."

"That's nice of you to say, Bonbon, but you really shouldn't." Pinkie fetched the items from the icebox, grabbed the strawberry cupcakes and hoofed the box of sweets over the counter. "Eating a week old tartlet could mean a really bad tummy ache for you. That's six Bits, please."

Lyra took the amount from her purse, levitated them over and "Pling, pling, pling" dropped them into the register.

"Thank you for your patronage," Pinkie waved goodbye as her customers turned to leave.

At the door Bonbon stopped and turned her head back. "And some day you have to tell me how you managed to fill every flower in the park with sneezing powder and still be back here before us. But that was a great April Foals prank! See you tomorrow, Pinkie!"

The door closed as Pinkie tilted her head. "But I didn't do that," she told the empty shop. "I was in the bakery all day."

A few minutes later Derpy came to the Corner and ordered four blueberry muffins. She congratulated Pinkie on another prank. "Those exploding Foals' Day cards were a great success. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr Rich ran with the idea and we all get to buy those at his shop next year."

Pinkie Pie was stunned and before she could answer, the Mailmare had flown away. Normally Pinkie would have been in hot pursuit, but she still had work to do and couldn't leave the Cakes hanging, so instead she collected the four Bits Derpy had left and returned to watch the ovens.

Another hour later Spike entered the shop and asked how she had managed to make that ruby-cupcake that had turned his fire from green to red. "That's some awesome prank! In fact it's so awesome, I want more of those", the little dragon grinned and blew a small crimson flame to show off his cool new flame breath.

"But I didn't bake those."

"Really? There was a pink card with your face on it in the box. Who else could have done that?"

"I don't know Spike, but I'll get to the bottom of this as soon as we are done with this order." Pinkie had a determined look in her eyes. "And I'll think about that ruby-cake recipe."

Just as Spike left Big McIntosh entered the Corner and told her how much he had enjoyed the prank with the bouncing rubber apples. By now Pinkie just apologized, explained that she hadn't done it and promised that she'd find out who had pranked him.

The last torte was complete with icing and decorations, and Pinkie was just about to start her search when the mayor entered the shop. Instead of the usual gray her mane sported a screaming pink, almost as screaming and pink as Pinkie's own. She looked left and right first and whispered in a conspiratorial voice "Switching my mane dye for mane dye remover was the best practical joke anyone ever played on me, Pinkie Pie. I really enjoyed going out with my real mane color for once, thank you so much! Just ... don't tell anyone about it, okay? The gray mane is expected in the office."

Pinkie was too amazed to say anything, she just nodded. Not only was this mystery prankster using her name, his pranks were on par with hers! This was going beyond ridiculous. She stormed out of the shop and stopped dead in her hooves. Over at the fountain there were five other Pinkie Pies. Seeing her they all yelled in one voice "Pranking is so much fun! Fun!! FUN!!!"

Pinkie froze. This could not be real! Her reflections from the mirror pond were back! And this time they were not some mindless crazy ponies but really real pink Pinkie Pies! Her friends would go on another Pinkie hunt and this time she might not escape. The other Pinkies started to walk over to her. For every step they made towards her, Pinkie took a step back until her rump collided with the entrance to Sugarcube Corner. She slumped to the ground and when she looked up again the other Pinkies had surrounded her. The mirror images looked down on her with a mischievous glint in their eyes, their mouths grinned at her and Pinkie was at a complete loss at what to expect from these other Pinkies.

With a -POP- the illusion vanished, and Pinkie found herself in the center of a group hug with her friends. She started laughing and joined in as her friends cried "April Foals!"
> Best laid plans
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Cheerilee closed her suitcase. She didn't dare open it again after it had taken half an hour and the help of her roommate to close the darned thing. In fact, she was a bit afraid to look at it, let alone move it, for fear of it bursting open.
Again. 
A few straps around the case should hold it closed until Ponyville. Oh yes! Finally it was time to make her move. Last year had been ... less successful than expected.
There, that was educational science speaking. At least that was going well.
Last year was a fiasco. Ponyville had still been stuck with Winter-Wrap-Up, all her friends at home had still been wrapped up in nest-making or snow-clearing. They had even made her help. They had made her waste her precious spring break on snow and back-breaking work. At least she had been working with McIntosh, but it is kind of hard to start anything romantic when you sweat like a workhorse up to your knees in slush.
Well, McIntosh made it look easy, but he made hauling whole trees look easy.

Shaking herself from a vision of a certain strapping young red stallion, Cheerilee looked at the clock. She had another hour until the train home left, enough time to get to the station, check in her luggage and find her seat. Cheerilee knocked at her roommate's door.
"Daisy Dreams, I'm off, see you next week!"
"Are you sure you don't want to join us in Maremi Beach? We can always make room for one more." The opening door revealed a light purple earth pony, her pink and dark purple mane tied in a ponytail. Several pieces of swimwear were spread out over the room. 
She will have no problems with her luggage, Cheerilee thought, but said,  "You're really going through with this? You know how those PCSFGU snobs treat us Canterlot University lowlifes. I wouldn't trust this Blueblood character as far as I can throw him."
 "I'm sure it will be okay, mom. Now off you go, don't want to miss your train, do you?"

A quick hug later Cheerilee was out the door, down the stairs, out of the dormitory and finally through the gates of Canterlot University, out on the streets of the big city. Even after two years she was still amazed at the sights, sounds and smells of Canterlot, especially now, after the long winter. She let her thoughts drift, to her friend Rarity who aspired to be a fashion designer. A good part of Cheerilee's suitcase was filled with this spring’s hot topic: leg-warmers and neon-bangles, a revival of the eighties, her mother had called them. She already knew Rarity would love those.
Then to Applejack, she hadn't seen her since the poor girl had lost her parents. She ran the whole farm with her brother now and on top of it there was her little baby sister and old Granny Smith. Cheerilee wondered if Applejack would even find the time to talk to her. In her last letter Applejack had been full of praise for the new mayor mare. She had written how they would clean up winter in one day, two days on the outside. The new mayor had been very inspirational about it.

Cheerilee navigated the back streets of the market district she had to cross to get to Canterlot station. The main road was congested as usual but she knew the hidden paths around it, she wasn't a tourist after all. Or at least I'm no longer a tourist, she thought and smiled at the sight of street vendors selling their stuff to unsuspecting ponies from the country. Cheerilee smiled, that was a lesson she had learned on day one: Don't buy from the street.
Hearing the bells of Canterlot Tower she realized that her detour had taken longer than planned and Cheerilee changed from her fast walk to a trot. As she got to the entrance of Canterlot station she was a bit winded, all that studying had obviously taken it's toll on her fitness. But at least she was on time again. Getting her ticket, checking in her suitcase and boarding the train went smoothly.

As she waited for departure Cheerilee remembered another friend she had left in Ponyville. One might even say that she and Pinkie Pie had not been on good terms when she had left for Canterlot. Pinkie Pie, with her great skills in organization and event management wanted to become a baker? That had to be a joke, and not a very good one as Pinkie’s jokes went. So the Cakes had been really nice to her, a second family even, but you couldn't adjust your life on that. A pony had to follow her cutie mark, her true calling. Maybe Cheerilee would talk to Pinkie about that again.
Rarity had written that a few other ponies had come to Ponyville since Cheerilee had left, notably pegasus ponies. She would have to ask her friends to introduce her to these new ponies. Cheerilee wanted to return to Ponyville after her studies, that's why she held on to all her old friends at home very dearly.
And then her thoughts returned to McIntosh. She had to find out if he was still single and then a way to get some alone-time with him. Applejack had not answered any of her questions regarding him, so maybe he was already hitched? That would be terrible.

Cheerilee startled from her ruminations when the train slowed and stopped at Ponyville. “Ah, even the air smelled different at home,” she said aloud and smiled. Pulling her suitcase she stepped from the train backwards, turned around and stopped.

Ten minutes later the station master asked her why she was still out on the platform and if she needed help with her suitcase. In the snow and all.


> Sparkling
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Discord looked down at Twilight Sparkle, "So it's just the new princess and me, huh?" The chimera turned his head to the other princesses who just entered the throne room.

Celestia nodded. "Yes, just you and Princess Twilight. Luna and I will be otherwise occupied. I trust you remember the meeting, Discord."

"Of course, Tia dear. Just because I'm the master of chaos doesn't mean I don't know how to organize a household. Your little list will be complete when you return." He snapped his paw (which got him a curious raised eyebrow from Twilight) and a scroll appeared in front of him, unrolled as it dropped to the ground and hid the door of the throne room with a solid Thunk a few seconds later. Then it magically furled up again and sprang back into Discords paw who then stuck it under his bat-wing.

Twilight pouted, "There was a meeting and a list and nobody invited me? Not fair!"

"Yes, there was a meeting and a list and it was two months ago," Luna rolled her eyes. "You were still a unicorn at that time and would have burned."

"With all due respect Luna, you have no idea what kind of meetings I can take. The discussions at professor Electric Sky's lecture were quite heated and ..."

Discord smirked as Celestia walked up to her former student and wrapped her into her wings to appease her. "Not that kind of heat Twilight. We met in the heart of sun. It's the best place to discuss more sensitive topics and to discourage eavesdroppers."

Twilight nodded sheepishly and tried to apologized to Luna, but the Princess of the Night stopped her with a wave of the hoof. "It's nothing Twilight Sparkle. You are as a sibling to me -," she looked to her sister, who smiled and nodded, "to us now. Don't fret over something so trivial."

"Just don't include me in the grouphug," Discord stuck a digit of his claw into his maw and made gagging sounds. "Let's just get this over with, please."

Now it was Celestia's time to grin. "You can be the embarrassing crazy uncle if you want to. I hear every family has one of those, it's practically tradition." Then she waved her horn and inscribed a circle into the air with its point. As she completed the magic there was a sound like a wave breaking on the beach and inside the glowing ring a shimmering surface appeared, like a pond, but vertical.

Twilight Sparkle looked at Celestia with the greatest set of puppy dog eyes the mistress of the sun had ever seen on an adult mare.

"A gateway. Yes, I will teach you," she said, "in due time." 

The youngest princess smiled like a child that had just learned that this year would have two Hearth Warming Eves.
Discord meanwhile just sighed, this whole ordeal was rapidly getting on his nerves. "Just remember that I do this as a personal favor to you, Celestia. This goes against my very nature. "He didn't even wait for a reply and stepped through the gate, his mismatched form creating ripples on the shimmering surface.

Luna nodded to Twilight. "You can trust him, he has given an oath of loyalty. Just look out for his little jokes."

Celestia grinned, "Don't be a spoilsport Luna, Twilight is here for the learning experience. And we can't dilly-dally any longer either." With that the two elder princesses pushed the newest member of Equestria's royalty through the portal.

As Twilight stepped out of the transfer a seventh sense activated and warned her of a danger she had not faced since magic kindergarten. The bucket of paint aimed for her face was deflected and hurtled towards Discord who snapped it from the air, magiced a spoon and started eating. "Mhm, LightGoldenrod. I love my yellow with just a hint of blue. Want some?" He licked the spoon, then poked the point of his tail at the bucket and it popped away like a rainbow bubble.
Meanwhile Twilight had taken in the scenery: She and the draconequus stood on the stage of some kind of amphitheater, around her rows and rows of pedestals stretched out in all directions.

"What is this place?"

"This, little girl, is a pocket dimension and the princesses' treasure chest. Or at least one of them. And it is my test for good behavior and your test for not-freaking-out today. Hm, we might as well dress for the occasion." 

He clicked his dragon talons on the stone floor and a waiter's uniform appeared on him. He looked at Twilight who found herself in a maid's dress, complete with bonnet and a feather duster. She just sighed.

"What is the task Discord? What is that list for?"

"We are to catalog some part of this heap of,” he made air quotes, ”treasure, tidy up the hoard a bit and make sure that everything is at its place. We're spring-cleaning, if you will. Now, lets make this dump sparkle." He wiggled his bushy eyebrows.

Twilight groaned at the joke, then her magic grabbed the scroll from Discord and unfurled it. "The first item is ... the cane of the Moochick? What or who is a Moochick? Porkina's magic mirrors? The gates of Paradise Estate!?" Her voice grew more excited with every item.

Discord looked around himself again and his shoulders slumped. "Celestia, you are such a packrat."


---


Luna took in the view of the hills and plains. Her eyes narrowed as she looked up to her sister and her voice gained a certain edge, "Celestia, in the thousand years of my exile, did you ever come here? Because I'm standing up to my fetlocks in moon dust!"


---


Princess Cadence grinned and kissed her husband. "Dear, do you know what I love most about the Crystal Empire? It's always clean and shining!"
> The first flower
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna danced through the flakes, kicked up the white stuff and watched as they glided back to the earth. "We did it, sister! We really did it!"

Celestia didn't want to spoil her sibling's fun and tell her to stop playing. They had just defeated the spirit of chaos, his prison of stone stood before her and she still half suspected that any minute now the surface would crack and she would hear his sneering voice again. For five minutes she stared hard at Discord's statue, but the draconequus did not move. As did anything else, besides Luna who still laughed and played, acting out her euphoria.

"Didn't you tell me that this snow stuff can be made into balls and ponies?" The blue alicorn turned to her sister, then looked her up and down. "Are you going to turn back, Tia? I know you are the elder twin, but that looks kinda silly." 

Celestia too had noticed her new body, a lot taller and less lanky than mere hours ago. "I'm afraid this is permanent, Lulu. That last attack Discord hit me with was a time spell. I'd guess it aged me a few thousand years. And please stop playing, that is not snow, it's the ash of ... well, everything in this realm." A single tear formed in her eyes and rolled down her face, leaving a dark trail of moisture in her coat. "Everything that could burn has burned. Every tree, every insect, every living thing." She stomped a hoof on the bare rock and the three gems in her necklace glowed as a bit of energy coursed from her horn to her hoofs and into the ground. "I can't feel anything in this world. From here to the deepest reaches of the ocean, not one breath of life."
Realizing what she had just said a wave of disgust rolled over Celestia. Had she become that blunt? Had fighting Discord turned her into a monster as well? How could she stand and talk about the destruction of an entire realm?

Luna had mimicked her sisters magic, but she had guided her energy into her wings. "Look to the sky! Not even the sun is moving in the heavens. Everything just stopped." Luna's horn pulsed in the blue glow of her magic. "I can feel the sun, even the moon, but ... nothing else. The stars are gone. How can the stars be gone?" She looked to her aged sister, a sparkle of panic in her eyes, "What has that monster done? What do we do now?"

Celestia’s voice betrayed her feelings. "I don’t know. We will have to wait for our family to find us, Luna. I have no idea what mother and father did after they left us, but I remember that they talked about containing Discord. Maybe they had a fallback plan in case the Elements of Harmony didn't work? Maybe they cut this place off from the universe? I really don't know, but I'm sure if Discord had the power to whisk away the stars, no power would have beaten him."

They both eyed the statue suspiciously. The trickster had fooled them before, in part that had been a calculated risk when they confronted him. He was chaos incarnate after all. But again, nothing happened.

"I guess we are this world’s guardians now," Celestia offered. Again Celestia was shocked about her emotional detachment. On a intellectual level she new she should be shivering with fear for her and her sisters life, she should be trembling with rage at being abandoned and being pushed into this role but all there was, was a small annoying feeling that Luna had gotten ash all over her coat and in her mane.

"So we guard this big rock," Luna's hoof kicked at the ground, "from that small rock?" and pointed at the draconequus. "I really, really don't want to sound like him, but boring."

"I'd actually like a bit of routine in my life, dear sister." Celestia tried to hug her twin, but her new, unfamiliar body made her stumble. "See? My point exactly. So instead of guardians we could try to be gardeners? Maybe that's why father and mother separated and traveled the whole planet with us? To show us the world so that we can rebuild it?” Her brows wrinkled. “That is a scary thought, actually."

"Yes, it is," her sister agreed. They both looked around, over the still plains full of pure white ash. Then Luna guided some magic into her own necklace. "But let's try this anyway. Everything is better than barren rock."

Celestia smiled, but did the same. As the energy flooded from their elements into the air around them an arc of magic connected them, like a bolt of lightning that crackled up to their horns, then jumped over to Discord's statue and into the ground. Luna looked at the scorch mark their magic had left on the stone and took a surprised step backwards as the ash around them swirled and turned into soil. Within minutes a circle a mile wide had formed. It still expanded as the first blade of grass sprang up. 

"What has happened, Tia? I do not understand."

"I do not either. If you'd have me guess, I'd say that this is harmony at play." Celestia looked at the ground, at the grass and at the first flower that just raised its head towards her. She touched, caressed the little plant, even as others shot up around it. New hope, new confidence and pride sparked inside her as she watched the little petals unfold. "This is new life, Luna. And like this flower, today and in this place we are for ever free."
> Handing over the crook
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Twilight Sparkle walked down the twirling corridor of light. Following her ascension Twilight had visited this plane many times but even after more than ninety years as a princess she still never tired of looking at the swirls and stars around her. Celestia noted the smile that played around her former student’s face and though she hated the thought of wiping that smile away, she had to speak up. "Twilight, please focus. This meeting is incredibly important and not without its dangers. I trust you have cast all sigils and placed all the runes in your regalia as Luna and I have instructed?" 

"Of course, I ha-" Twilight was interrupted as a series of Luna’s black magical bolts struck from above but were deflected into the ground around her hoofs. Then sharp crystals sprung up around her but shattered in a glowing bubble and as a last attack a stream of blinding light smashed into Twilight, the point of impact turned into a bright mirror instantly and reflected the beam back to Celestia.

Luna and Cadence bowed their heads.
"We beg your forgiveness, Princess Twilight Sparkle. We had to test your defenses."
Celestia meanwhile had not yet recovered from her deflected attack and blinked a few tears away. Luna strode up to her sister, poked her in the shoulder and smirked. "Testing her runes all high and mighty without all your own shields up? Tia, Tia, how the mighty have fallen." Twilight however was almost in tears alongside her former mentor. "I'm so sorry Celestia! I changed the third shield spell into a reflecting shield spell. I'm so sorry!". A handkerchief appeared in her magic and started dabbing at Celestia's tears. Celestia seemed more embarrassed than hurt and even a small smile played around her face.
"So many years and you still amaze me, Twilight Sparkle. But I have to apologize too. I attacked you and I am deeply sorry. But, like my sister pointed out, your defenses have to be at their best today. Cadence, would you please explain Twilight who we are going to meet today while I cast my shields?"

Princess Cadence had been rather silent throughout the whole time, the whole day even, she looked up as if disturbed from deep thoughts.

"Oh, of course Celestia. Well, Twily, at the end of this corridor lies the meeting to appoint a new shepherd of souls. This guardian's mission is to protect and guide the souls of the dead and those to be born  in the void between the realm of the living and the eternal well of souls." Twilight nodded and beckoned the princess of love to continue. "We will meet in a council with other ... forces to appoint this duty to a new guard."

Twilight looked up, "Who else will be there? On this council?"

To this Luna answered, "Besides us, I presume Discord will be there, although one can never be certain with him. On the others... Grogar, the Necromancer will not be there, but his shadow will be present. Don't listen to him Twilight and don't look into his eyes, you hear! All other seats will be vacant as far as we know. If any other show up, you and Cadence will leave and let Tia and me handle this. There are horrors you are not yet ready for."

Cadence and Twilight shared a look of uncertainty, then nodded. For all the monsters they had faced and overcome together both knew that the elder princesses had fought a hundred times more battles and commanded a vast knowledge about their enemies. If they said an adversary was too strong, it was time to run.

"Why does the present guardian want to leave, isn't this a great responsibility?" Twilight wondered.

By now Celestia had completed her spells and joined the other princesses, "I do not know, you would have to ask her yourself. But we don't appoint this responsibility, we only nominate candidates. If the guard takes up this duty is entirely up to him or her. And they can leave at any time they like. You see, only souls of the recently deceased or those soon to leave are eligible and the soul needs a reason to linger first, a duty not yet complete, a loved one left behind. If their left duty is completed or if the loved one leaves for the well the guardian usually leaves as well. This one lasted almost a hundred years so whatever her attachments to the plane of the living were, they are most certainly gone and now she wants to rest as well."

Celestia got up and the others followed, then started walking down the corridor again. But Twilight's curiosity was not sated yet. "What happens if no new guide steps forward?"

"Then the souls will have to find their own way. Some will linger in the world of the living and turn into ghosts or monsters. A danger to themself and others." Luna's voice turned into a whisper. "Some souls will be lost on the way from the well, stillborn foals. We will not let that happen!"

They stopped before a shimmering forcefield. Celestia's horn began to glow, "Place your wings upon my back. I will close this passage behind us so no one can get in without our permission." The other alicorns did as ordered and the corridor behind them closed until only a smooth wall remained. When they separated again a new door rose from the ground. Twilight immediately recognized the magic. 

"That's just like the doorway King Sombra had in the old Crystal Palace."

"Not quite, Twilight”, Luna directed a stream of magic into the door frame, “This one does actually lead everywhere. Sombra was only a pupil after all." The door swung open. "He was the master."

The room inside was quite an ordinary affair, it would not have looked out of place as any of the meeting rooms in Canterlot Castle. Except that no room in Canterlot would have a doorway adored with bones and skulls which was exactly opposite to the door the princesses had used.

--- TIME ---

"How nice to be so fondly remembered, Luna. But you were always my favorite student."

 The voice sounded like shale oil dripping over stone in Twilight's ears, sticky, black and gooey. Compared to it Discord's voice was an almost welcome sound. 

"Tia, finally! You have no idea how I missed you. Grumpy Grogar almost complained my ears of!" At this Discord's antler shriveled and dropped to the ground. "He is but a shadow of his old self."

Even as she only watched him out of the corner of her eyes Twilight shuddered at the sight. The shadow of a giant ram was next to Discord's shadow on the floor but there was nothing to actually cast it. Where the eyes should be two magic flames danced like those she had seen years back on Sombra.

"This time it's four of you!?" the disembodied voice rasped. "What are you, alicorns or rabbits?"

Twilight hid behind Celestia, she felt that Sombra had been but a far cry from his master. Luna and Celestia had taken the younger alicorns into their midst and while Twilight and Cadence averted their gazes Luna confronted the shadow.

"Cease, Grogar. We will share our gift as we see fit. Now let's start this before I change my mind and cast you out, back into the shadow you crawled from!"

"Princess of the Night," a new voice sounded through the room. "This is my farewell, I have finally found my peace with the world, so please don't make this harder than it has to be." An earthpony stepped from the thin air, like it had always been there, just in the background, out of the eye.

Luna bowed her head, "My apologies," Celestia smiled at the new arrival, "Guardian," Twilight and Cadence just nodded a silent greeting.

Discord was more enthusiastic: He picked the pony up and twirled through the room with her. A few chairs jumped out of the way not to be crushed. The little pony was unimpressed. "Thank you for not demolishing my furnishings, master Discord. Please put me down now." The draconequus hugged the pony but then set her down on the floor patting her on the head.

"A good day to you too," the mare addressed the shadow, all it got was a vague grunt.

Celestia spoke up, "We all have a lot to do," that got a bark of dry laughter from the shadow, "So on to business. The shepherd of souls wishes to step down from her duty. Does anyone present have a claim against this?” she looked around, “No? Then your desire shall be granted."

In a matter of seconds the form of the earthpony became translucent, first like thin paper, then like glass and finally it vanished altogether. All that was left was a little glowing ball of light.

Celestia spoke again, softer this time. "We thank you for your service and hope you will find the way to the well one last time."

Just as the glowing sphere was about to rise a black tendril snaked towards it, but a well placed swing of Discord's tail dispersed the shadow. "Grogar, you are such party pooper!" the draconequus chided which only got him a hiss from the bodiless ram. The princesses were speechless at the display so the whispered "Thank you." from the soul could actually be heard. Celestia nodded at Discord who didn't pay attention once more and just waved goodbye to the soul as it rose through the ceiling and out of sight.

Now Luna took over as speaker, "So we need a new guardian. Does anyone have nominations?"

"I nominate Sombra of the Crystal Kingdom," the shadow hissed.

Luna rolled her eyes and sighed, "Sombra has been dead for a thousand years and what you left of it wouldn't recognize the word duty if we nailed it to his horn. Just give it up, old goat."

For just a second a ripple ran through the shadow, it hissed "Then find another one, I wash my hoofs of this," and faded into nothing. All left was a little onyx gemstone.

"Oh, how boring. He's getting soft in his old age," Discord got up, "I have noone to nominate, girls. So if little Cadence could just get it over with, I'd be delighted."

Every head turned to the pink princess, she lowered her head and spoke in a small voice, "I'm sorry Twilight, he passed away two days ago,"  From the a gem set in her collar a soul rose, glowing a clear white with a light blue halo. "I nominate Shining Armor, my husband, for the duty of shepherd of the souls."

Luna looked around, "Does anyone object to this?"
She looked at Twilight, but the youngest alicorn just stood there, unable to process the concurrent loss and chance to see her brother again. Discord shrugged and Celestia just smiled and slowly shook her head in disbelieve.
From the black gem the shadow had left behind, from Discord's claws and from each of the princesses horns a bit of energy flowed into the soul and Shining Armor stood among them, not a day older than the day he had married Cadence.
As the reunited couple embraced, Celestia looked at Luna, "We should write this ceremony down, sister. I have a feeling we won't repeat it for a very long time."
> A night well spent
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Canterlot Gardenparty was in full swing and Luna clearly felt the nauseating effect this social function had on her. She had been greeting guests and acquaintances for some time now but the sheer amount of boredom was getting to her fast. She could have stuck with Twilight and her friends, but Celestia had insisted that a princess had to show she was there for all her subjects and not just those she already called friends lest she be suspected of favoritism. Luna had decided not to point out that she’d love to mingle with her little ponies, maybe in that snack bar over at the old marked that made those wonderful hay chips?
And so Celestia had thrown her to the wolfs, or rather to the cronies and toadies. After her return Luna had rejoiced at everything that had not changed in the last thousand years but she really could have survived to lose those.
 Right now she droned out a group of ponies, what were the names? Jet Set, Old Money and Fast Lane? They had talked for fifteen minutes about gossip from Canterlot’s high society. Not only had Luna already heard all that from her sister, Rarity and that nice Fleur de Lis in the first place, but those at least made it sound halfway interesting. She tried to stifle a yawn, but failed utterly. Jet Set got a real good look at her uvula before she remembered to put a hoof in front of her mouth.

“Oh my, Princess Luna. are we boring you?” Jet Set asked.

“You have to forgive my sister. She woke up extra early today to prepare for the party and it seems she lost a bit too much sleep.” Celestia had appeared in the group and hugged Luna under a wing before the younger alicorn could say a single thing. “Let’s go sister, we should see if we can find you a stimulant.”

As the pair reached the buffet Celestia took a plate with a piece of cake and poured her sister a coffee. Luna downed the paper cup fast and took a refill instantly. 	“Thanks for the save Tia, I was just about to be unprincessly honest and direct.”

“Well, we can’t have that”, Celestia grinned, “I doubt Canterlot’s elite and aristocracy could survive to learn its real level of importance. But the charities help to pay the bills and free food is free.” Celestia took another one of the hors d'oeuvres and ate it with delight.

“Maybe I should return to the Ponyville group,” Luna looked back to the table where Twilight and her friends had been when she had left. “Now where are they? Don’t tell me they managed to slip out from this dreariness.” Then she spotted Rarity in a group of ponies. The fashionista seemed to have the time of her life. A second later Luna found Rainbow Dash, then Applejack and Pinkie Pie. They all seemed to have found some group of ponies to talk to. Even Fluttershy was chatting away with a pony over there. And Twilight talked with Cadence and her brother.
A dejected look stole onto Luna’s face. “Maybe I should fly over to Ponyville. The foals there seemed more interested in actual conversation then these ponies."

Celestia tapped a hoof on her jaw, “Funny you should mention that. Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash brought a group of fillies over. I think they are playing somewhere in the castle now. What do you say, we send for them, you raise the moon in half an hour and then you can spend the evening with them. We both cleared our schedules for tonight after all. It would be a waste to just go to sleep early.”

“Maybe they would like to see me raise the moon? I haven’t had a audience for quite some time,” Luna thought about this for a moment. “I should inform their chaperones about this.”

Celestia watched as her sister got up and strolled over to Rarity, then to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Luna returned with a wide smile and bid her good night. A good half hour later Celestia felt the well known tug of the sun as it reached the horizon. A little push and it slipped over and the night started. She had already told her student to look out for a special raising of the moon tonight and Luna delivered a perfect presentation. Celestia could feel how much her sister enjoyed this and as the night sky was complete she send her own feeling of delight to her sister.

It was in the small hours already when the party ended. The princess of the sun had already retired to her private rooms and was about to get up again to raise the sun when a slightly worried Rarity knocked on her doors. The three foals were nowhere to be found and neither was Luna. Celestia reached out to her sister and found her in her observatory. She offered to accompany Rarity and after a short walk both found the way up one of Canterlot Castle’s highest towers. The sound of laughter could be heard even outside the doors and just as they stepped inside Celestia heard her sister, “... and that’s why they are called minotaurs.” Another round of laughter rose up.

“Oh darlings, you are still awake? It’s almost morning,” Rarity’s voice held just the slightest hint of reproach.

“Not almost,” Celestia stepped to a window facing east, her horn glowed a golden shine and the sun started to rise. "Good morning, my little ponies.”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders night owls! Yeah!” Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell shouted, clapped their hoofs in a threeway high-hoof and were just a bit disappointed as none of them got a cutie mark for all-nighters.

“Ah well,” Apple Bloom offered, “We had a great time, even without our marks. Thank you Princess Luna, this was the best night ever.”

“Yeah, you are the coolest princess! Its the first time we actually stayed awake the whole time,” Scootaloo agreed.

Sweetie Bell smiled, “And you tell the funniest stories! If we got to spend every night like this, I wouldn’t mind if you made it last forever.”
> Over the fence, into the woods
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The rain created a veil of sound, a rush of drops on the leafs and of the wind in the branches. We had been sitting in this cave for some time now, judging by my stomach about three hours, or maybe only two? We had run most of the way after all. I should have listened to Apple Bloom. She had advised against going deeper into the forest. We had tried getting explorer-cutie marks before, but Scootaloo had insisted on trying again, deeper in the Everfree this time.

"And now I'm sitting in the dark in a hole in the woods, night's coming and the storm won't go away. Stupid storm!" I grumbled.
"Did you say something Sweetie Belle? Are you feeling better? That lightning must have hurt something awful, huh?" Apple Bloom was really concerned about me. I had been lucky I realized. That had not been a real lightning bolt but a stroke of magic from a wild zap-apple tree. We had inspected a real lightning strike on the apple farm last spring and though this had messed up my mane something fierce the magic had not split me from horn to hoof like that poor apple tree. It didn't make it fun though.
Scootaloo sat at the little cave's entrance. "Who would have thought that the Everfree has magical storms."
"I would have," Apple Bloom answered. "And I told you about it too, back when we were looking at the original zap-apple trees. But this storm is worse than anything Granny Smith ever talked about."
Scootaloo peered out at the raging weather. "And it doesn't feel like it will use up it's strength any time soon."
Apple Bloom and I shuffled to the mouth of the cave, next to Scoots. By now daylight was so weak that we could only see shades a few feet into the rain. There were neither moon nor stars out and shortly after I could no longer make out any difference between the darkness of the night in front of us and the darkness of the cave behind.

"Sweetie, could you try and make a bit of light?" Scootaloo had just a hint of unease in her voice.
"Sorry, that lightning sucked all my magic right out. I couldn't levitate a feather if I could see it."
I felt pretty rotten. Any other day the girls would smile about me setting things on fire with my magic but right now we could have actually used that. And I couldn't do it. Stupid horn.
"What do we do now, girls?" I asked into the darkness. Only the feeling of Apple Bloom's barrel against mine was confirmation that I wasn't alone in this place.
"We should go deeper into the cave, sooner or later the rain will reach here." As if to confirm Apple Blooms words a gust of raindrops sprayed into my face.
“But then nopony will find us." Was there fear in Scootaloo's voice? Naw, couldn’t be.
“Nopony is looking for us, Scoots. We told Applejack we'd spend the night in the clubhouse and even if she noticed that we're missing, how are they going to search for us? That night is as black as Granny Smith's old kettle. And Winonas nose is no good in all the rain," Apple Bloom said. She did not say, "Let's just hope that we get back to the clubhouse by morning or we'll be grounded forever," but I knew that she and Scootaloo thought it too.

So we climbed back into the cave until we reached a spot that felt dry enough and less drafty. It was painstakingly slow to get there but I didn't want to risk a broken leg in this darkness and as I pointed out, we were not in a hurry at all. It took even longer until we had cleared the place of all the little rocks and and pieces of wood but finally we could settle ourselves down. Then Scootaloo spread her wings over Apple Bloom and me for warmth and we huddled together.
I was dry, I was warm and most important of all: The Cutie Mark Crusaders were together and together we could do anything.

"What do you think, should we try to sleep?" I asked into the darkness. 
"I don't think I can sleep here," Scootaloo answered immediately, then coughed slightly "I mean, you can try if you like, I'll keep watch."
Apple Bloom yawned, "I'm so tired I could sleep on a rock. And I will as it looks. Just wake me up if you can't stay awake anymore, you hear. We have to go back to the farm come morning. And we still have to come up with an excuse."
"You mean a lie?" I knew I couldn't lie to my sister's face. That had failed too often and Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were no better at concealing the truth either, especially if Applejack did the asking.
"Not a lie, Sweetie," I could almost feel Scootaloo's grin shining in the darkness, "We ... let's see ... heard the storm and wanted to take a closer look. We got a bit muddy on the dirt paths through the orchard and then decided to check on the ... Apple Bloom, what field is closest to the Everfree?"
"That's Granny's zap-apples."
"Perfect! We looked after the zap-apples. You see, no lie at all. Just a bit less than all the truth."
It was strangely calming to hear how fast she had constructed a completely reasonable story that might not get us grounded. Apple Bloom must have thought so too because a few minutes later I could hear her breath become more regular and deeper. She was fast asleep.
"Tell her to wake me up if she needs to sleep a bit more. I can do a bit of guarding too," was the last I could say before sleep claimed me too.

When I came back to I felt like a sack of rocks with stiff legs and I didn't even want to think about how my mane looked. But Apple Bloom was persistent and when I finally opened my eyes I could feel that my magic had returned too. I directed a bit of it at a little rock and it floated up before it burst into flames. Great. Stalking up to the entrance I saw that daybreak was upon us. Fog patches drifted between the trees and it was all still gray in gray but Scootaloo had climbed up the hill in which our cave hid and shouted down, "I can see the top of the barn of Sweet Apple Acres." She pointed a direction and Apple Bloom ran into the trees and returned a few seconds later. "Girls, I know this place! We'll be in the old south field in ten minutes."
And we were.


---


"And that's all? Nothing else happened? You got lost in a flash-storm in the forest, Sweetie Belle got zapped, you spend the night in our old hiding spot behind the south field and came back all dirty and tired?" Applejack eyed the three fillies with a bit more than little suspicion, but she could feel only honesty from them. And the three had even confessed to preparing an excuse, but hadn't tried to use it. "Oh well, just wash up before you come for breakfast. And then you can help me righting up the fences the storm pushed down." The Crusader's faces fell. "Or I could ask your parents to help me. I'm sure we could pass the time with a tale about one thing or another."
The sound of three little hoofs colliding echoed over the farm.
"Cutie Mark Crusaders fence raisers! Yeah!"
> An ancient recipe
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight Sparkle was always happy to see her friends at the library, especially because it meant that she didn’t have to leave the library. And to make it extra sweet, Pinkie Pie had brought her a book she had found.

“You see,” the bubbly baker babbled on while Twilight inspected the old book, ”I was cleaning up the bakery, the pantry and the cellar storeroom and every time I found this book. Or rather it found me. From the highest self each time.” She pointed to three little bumps in the book’s cover. ”It still smarts when I think about it. But when a book comes after me like this it’s either really important or some jerk is trying to prank me.” Pinkie fixated one of the windows and stared hard at it like she did sometimes. “But I can’t read that book, it’s all squiggly lines. I get a headache just by looking at it. Or it might be the bumps on my head. I think I’ll lay down for a bit.” She walked to one of the reading couches and dropped herself on it.

It must have been the bump indeed, Pinkie decided when Twilight woke her, the headache was gone and didn’t return as she looked at the book again.

The librarian shoved the book right in Pinkie’s face and was a bundle of excited nerves. “I can’t believe it! You found such an ancient book, Pinkie Pie!” Then she remembered her first night in Ponyville. “Again!”

“I have?” the pink pony asked. “Great! What is so special about it? Is it about a treasure? Or maybe the first Daring Do, because that would be super exciting.”

“No, this is just a cookbook. But it was written more than thousand years ago, by a journeyman cook who visited the court of Queen Rosedust. Do you know how little we know today about those ponies? Practically nothing! At least their language and script were preserved, so I could read this.”

“A cookbook wanted my attention, huh?” Pinkie stood up. “Lets see what is so important.” She closed the book, put it on its spine and let it flip open. Then she closed it, put it on the spine and let it flip open again.

“What are you doing? Be careful, don’t damage it!” Twilight had calmed down and watched Pinkie’s antics with growing concern for the ancient book.

“Finding out what the book wants me to do,” Pinkie answered. “Look, it always falls open on the same page.” She demonstrated it again. “What is this recipe?”

Twilight looked at the page, “It’s for a cake. It says this was one of Queen Rosedust’s favorites.”

“So you translate it and I’ll bake it! The book wants it.”

Twilight looked at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t think books want anything more than to be read. But if it makes you happy, I’ll do it.”

A few minutes later Pinkie had her list of ingredients and instructions. “Are you sure about this? Especially that last part?” She looked at Twilight doubtfully.

“That’s what the book says. What do you think, can you bake it?”

“Of course, and I think it will taste great.”

“Splendid! I’ll ask Fluttershy if she can help with that decoration.”

“That’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t you invite Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash too, then we can share that cake this afternoon at Sugarcube Corner.”

---

Pinkie was just about done when Rarity and Rainbow Dash reached the bakery. “I’ll be with you in a jiffy,” she called to her friends, opened the oven and took out the baking pan. “All done,” she declared to the universe because the universe likes to know about fresh cake. “Now it just needs to cool down and we can put on the final touch.”

A few minutes later Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy arrived. The yellow pegasus pony carried a box really carefully.

Pinkie looked at it curiously, “Are those ...” 

“No, I don’t have any silkworms this time of the year,” Fluttershy opened the box and spoke softly into it. “Now, just like you promised, slowly and don’t scare anypony.” A group of spiders emerged from the case. “But these will make silk for you just as well and I don’t have to look for mulberry leaves in the Everfree Forest.”

Rarity was almost climbing out of her seat and Rainbow Dash did not look so excited about free cake anymore. Applejack and Twilight had known about the contents of the box, but even they seemed not entirely relaxed. Pinkie just smiled at the spiders and placed the cake on the table. “Thank you for taking time out of your busy spider schedules, I really appreciate it.” A few minutes later the whole cake was covered with silk in a wispy spider’s web decoration.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said as the spiders crawled back into their box. Rainbow Dash relaxed visibly but eyed the box with a measure of respect. Pinkie Pie cut the cake and placed a piece on each plate.

Rarity looked at it critically, bit of a tiny morsel and tasted it. Her face lightened up, she took a bigger bite, chewed, then swallowed and giggled. ”This really is a cake fit for a queen! Sweet, but not too pushy, fluffy and the silk tickles when you swallow ... but what’s this aftertaste?”

Pinkie looked up from her plate, “That would be the hot sauce.”

Rarity nodded at the other ponies, “and just a little bit crazy. So what’s this delicacy called?”

Twilight smiled at her friends, “This is a cake that has not been baked for centuries. It was last eaten in the lost kingdom of the Flutterponies: I give you the thinly veiled Flutterpie!”
> Granny's law
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Sweetie Belle did not know what to do. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo hadn’t talked to each other for the whole morning, they hadn’t so much as looked at each other. They had just grumbled. Not one plan to get their cutie marks had been hatched all day. Normally she would have looked for Rarity or Applejack or any other pony to come and mediate a peace between the fillies, possibly with a lesson in friendship and a letter to the princess if they got Twilight Sparkle to do it, but Sweetie hadn’t dared to leave her friends alone at the clubhouse. Who knew if they didn’t resort to tail-pulling or trying to kick each other out of the treehouse?

They were now on their way back to Sweet Apple Acres for dinner but the prospect of food, while usually a universal reason for any ceasefire, was not helping at all.

“Sweetie Bell, would you be so kind as to inform Miss Scootaloo that she will have to apologize first if she wants to eat at the Apple family’s table?”

“Scoots, Apple Bloom says that she wants an apology or you’ll get no dinner at the farm.”

“Sweetie Bell, please tell Miss Apple Bloom that she can keep the food. I’m only walking this way to get to to the street to Ponyville.”

“Apple Bloom, Scootaloo says ...”

“I heard her Sweetie Belle, thank you all the same.”

Sweetie had been on the lookout for windigos the whole morning but the summer day was almost mocking her with clear skies and warm winds, not a single snowstorm in sight. As the unusually silent trio walked up to the farm the smell of Granny Smith’s food reached them. Sweetie Belle felt her mouth water and the rumble from Apple Bloom’s stomach could probably be heard up in Canterlot. But Scootaloo left the path and headed for the main gate that lead to the road to Ponyville. She didn’t even say goodbye to Apple Bloom and just nodded to Sweetie Belle.

Up at the farm’s Granny Smith waited at the door. “And what’s this now? Where is li'l Scootaloo headed?”

Apple Bloom stood silent and so Sweetie told the old mare how she had been late for the meeting and how the other crusaders had brooded in silence all morning. The wrinkles in Granny Smith’s face shifted into something that might have been anger or disappointment or both. “Apple Bloom, do you bring unresolved quarrel to my dinner table?”

Apple Bloom swallowed and looked at her hooves, “Yes ma’am.”

“You know the rules, young’un. Under my roof you can have dispute or you can have dinner, but you can’t have both.”

“But I’m your grandkid! How can you make me apologize when I’m in the right?”

Grannies eyes sparkled, “Because this is still my house and hearth and I make the rules. And I don’t remember raising you to be a whiner either. Off you go and don’t expect us to wait with dinner. I’d hurry if I were you.”

Not even bothering with a “yes ma’am” Apple Bloom ran to catch up with Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle tried to follow but Granny Smith called her back. 

Setting the plates took a little more time than usual because Granny had Sweetie help her. By the time the table was set for three fillies and three ponies Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were back. Granny watched as the two fillies apologized to each other, then to Sweetie for and last to Granny Smith and the family for disturbing a perfectly good meal.
They got no second helping of dessert though and were still made to collect and wash up the dishes. The farm lost quite a few pieces of earthenware that day.

Back at the clubhouse Sweetie Belle could no longer contain her curiosity. “What did you two argue about anyway?”
Her friends looked at her as if she had just suggested to try for a cutie mark in doing homework. “It was nothing important, we have already forgotten about it.”
> Late to the party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The library was silent for the moment after Rarity’s declaration of love. She had given a little speech about how she could not choose only one of her friends. How she loved all of them for their talents, their personalities, even their little quirks. How being with each of them made her feel more complete and how their group had become more than the sum of its parts.
Rarity had used all of her prowess in creating the pendants that now hovered over to each of her friends. Each dropped with a soft ping before the ponies, except for Pinkie Pie’s. The party pony had caught it from the air and eyed the little figure of herself that Rarity had cut from a pink diamond.
Rarity smiled at Pinkie’s antics, then her face grew a bit more serious and she addressed the group. “I assume you’ll want to talk about this among yourself. I have said my part and you know that I will give it my all to make this work. You can find me in the boutique when you have made your decisions.” She turned around and walked to the door. She forced her wobbly legs to make one step after the other, her stomach filled with insecurity and her heart heavy with doubt.

 She heard Rainbow Dash’s raspy laugh first, then Pinkie Pie chimed in and soon the others too.

“Can you believe it?” the cyan pegasus pony cried over her fit of laughter. “That is the best thing I have heard in weeks!”

Rarity’s heart sank. They were not taking her serious. They took her great confession of love and turned it into some kind of joke. She sprinted for the door but it was blocked in the glow of Twilight Sparkle’s magic. Tears rose to her eyes. The librarian obviously didn’t even want to think about Rarity’s proposal. She stopped in front of the door, but didn’t turn around. She had tried to prepare for rejection, but now realized that thinking about it helped for nothing to hold back the tears if it really happened.

Twilight’s voice cut like a knife through Rarity’s thoughts. “There is something you have to know first, Rarity. You see, we have been hiding something from you.” The librarian took a deep breath. “Two months ago, a week before my birthday, when you were in Canterlot, I confessed my love to Applejack. And she rejected me.”

Rarity’s knees buckled. Twilight did not love her back, she loved Applejack.

“Yeah, because I was trying to get to Flutters at that time,” the apple farmer said.

Rarity turned around, not daring to trust her eyes and ears.

“But I had my eyes on Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy added.

“But you couldn’t have her, because I had asked her first!” Rainbow Dash crowed with pride, “And she said YES!” Rainbow Dash punched a hoof upwards into the air.

Pinkie Pie’s voice had an unusual sombre tone to it as she continued the story. “All those rejections almost knocked the stuffings out of our friendship, but we thought there was nothing we could do and tried to go on as usual. But when we sat on the morning-train to Canterlot to surprise you with Twilight’s birthday party it was a pretty sad thing. Until Flutters said that animals have it all better, because they can live in groups and nopony cares about it.”

“Then the scales fell from my eyes! Ponies had lived in groups since time immemorial. Monogamous marriages are the norm today but not even two hundred years ago those were uncommon at best, unheard of even in some parts of Equestria.” Twilight Sparkle smiled like she always did when she could show and share her knowledge. “So before we met you at your suite we met with the princesses and asked about it. Turns out there is neither law nor rule that forces monogamy and so we received the princesses’ blessing. Luna was really happy about it too, I think.”

Fluttershy avoided Rarity’s eyes and hid behind her hair, but she concluded the story. “We have tried this arrangement for quite some time now. And even if my feelings for Pinkie were the reason for me to join in, I wouldn’t want to part with any of my lovers today. I have only known you guys for a short time, but you complete my life in a way that is so wonderful, I have no words to describe it.”

Even Twilight nodded to that last statement, then she addressed Rarity with a serious face. “I think I speak for all of us when I say sorry for not telling you about it, Rarity. We withheld important information from you and we have caused you a great deal of heartache with that. That is not a way any friend should act. Please forgive us.”

Rarity could hardly believe her ears. “Like I could be angry with any of you,” she whispered, then swallowed. “So I take it I should not ask you to join me, but I should ask to join you, right?”

The group of five looked at each other, then Pinkie Pie nodded at Twilight Sparkle, pointed to her pendant and asked, “Would you please help me with that, Twily?”

The unicorn rolled her eyes at the nickname but the necklace opened and floated around the pink pony’s neck. Applejack asked Twilight for assistance too while Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash helped each other. As the last of the group Twilight levitated her pendant up, closed the clasp and smiled as the little figure came to rest around her neck.

Rarity could not speak and hardly see through her tears of joy when Pinkie Pie jumped over the table and almost pushed her down in one of her trademark hugs. “Welcome to the herd!”
> All work and no play
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was the last day of school before the summer holidays and Rarity and Applejack were reduced to walking bundles of nerves. The fashionista looked like she hadn’t slept in days and Applejack reeked of her namesake. Both chewed on a package of hay stalks Applejack had bought “for her brother”. It was a filthy habit but it was either this or a straightjacket in a padded cell over it the special wing of the Ponyville hospital.

“Three months!” Rarity whispered, “Three bucking months. We’re still paying off the bills and invoices they heaped up over the winter.”

“Have you noticed that Mr Frame now has bills with our names and addresses preprinted in?” Applejacks voice was a bit slurred. “He only has to pen in the amount.”

“No, but I overheard that Bon Bon doesn’t clean her windows anymore. She just waits until our sisters break them again.” Rarity was close to tears.

---

The next morning saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders at sunrise at their clubhouse. Had this been a school day none of the three fillies would have even been awake at this hour, but it wasn’t a school day. Rarity and Applejack lay in a bush a few hundred horns from the treehouse and watched their sources of despair through binoculars.

“For goodness sake! Do you see the mountain of books they brought? They must be planning something big. I hope we can stop it in time.”

“Let’s not get our hopes up, darling. Sabotaging the Summer Harvest Parade was big. This might be huge. Just look at their faces. I haven’t seen Sweetie so eager since the day she almost burned down Sugarcube Corner in an attempt to learn baking magic.”

The day crept by and by, the highlight of the day was a mosquito that bit Rarity in the flank but the only thing the desperate ponies saw in the crusader's headquarter was dedicated research. The three fillies didn’t come out except for dinner. And they didn’t say a single word about what they had done all morning. Only that it was a surprise.
Applejack almost choked on her oatmeal when she heard that.

Day two was not much different than day one, except that this time the fillies used all the day to build a miniature model of Canterlot Castle out of plaster. With little pony guards and the princesses made from pipe cleaners. Around noon-ish Big Mcintosh found his sister and Rarity and told them that he didn’t mind if they dated, but Granny Smith might oppose them if she didn’t see some great-grandkids first. Applejack threatened her brother to lose no word about this or somepony might find out what he kept in that box under his bed.
And to bring her some more hay stalks, she was running dangerously low.

Day three turned out special. Rarity was on watch duty as Apple Bloom threw a book out the window. Scootaloo jumped after it and caught it before it hit the ground. She couldn’t understand any of the shouts that followed but it was clear the Crusaders were arguing. Maybe things were not as bleak as she had thought. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo wrestled their fellow crusader to the ground and a few minutes later Apple Bloom ran up to the farm. Maybe not all was lost.

But by the next day the fillies got it together again and started working again, muzzles deep in their books. Applejack was close to tears again. “I wish they would only put half of that energy into their education and chores. We could send the whole bunch to Canterlot U next year if they worked like that at school.”

Friday morning Applejack was alone at dawn at the hideout. Rarity had slept in and arrived two hours late. By then the crusaders had planted something in a flower pot, poured through one and half-ish notebooks of unclear content and were now drawing some kind of picture or map. Come afternoon, Sweetie Belle stood at a speaker’s desk and obviously made some presentation to the others. Rarity was quite impressed that her sister levitated the cue cards and only one of them had to be dropped in the emergency bucket of water next to her desk.

The weekend had no meetings for the crusaders, Sweetie Belle was in Canterlot with her parents for a change and Apple Bloom had to help her sister in the orchard because for some strange reason only half of the apple trees had been bucked yet. But every day Applejack saw Scootaloo at the clubhouse and she wrote something in one of the notebooks.

Monday morning, second week of the  summer holidays. Rarity had to pull the morning shift alone, Granny Smith had read Applejack the riot act for spying on her sister and neglecting her work. So Applejack would not take over before midday. The fashionista watched as the three fillies pulled up some beach chairs and watched the sunrise with big smiles on their faces. They seemed to talk about something important because they laughed and talked very excitedly. Apple Bloom waved her arms then Sweetie Belle fell out of her chair from laughing so hard. At some point Scootaloo went up to the flowerpot, looked at it, then took out one of the notebooks and wrote something down.

 Scootaloo closed her notebook. “There, all done for today. We completed three months of assignments in one week. I don’t know about you girls, but with this behind us I feel that this will be a great summer for the crusaders! I already have a few ideas that we should try this week.”

> Miss Piggington thought so too
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	You got up early today, it was to be a day of celebration, for festivities and joy. Instead of the usual half hour it took you almost two hours to prepare and Sweetie Belle had to brush her teeth in the kitchen sink. She was not happy with you, but it was worth it. You admired the results of your work in the mirror: Your coat shone whiter than on other days, just like a layer of fresh snow on the first day of winter. Your mane and tail were waterfalls of indigo silk and showed off the care you took with them for all the world to see. And the eyes behind those carefully trimmed eyelashes were a sparkling azure like the pools in the Royal Gardens, accented with just the right amount of eyeshadow. As a last thought you double-checked for any new grime that might have collected in the chinks of your horn since yesterday’s spa-treatment.
Perfection! Nothing less would suffice!
One could only hope that the other girls took as good care of their appearance as you and for a moment you could clearly see them before you. Rainbow Dash, with her coltish charm, Pinkie Pie, curves in all the right places and Applejack’s muscular, yet attractive build. The competition was strong this year. You clearly remembered the relief at the announcement that Fluttershy would not run for this year’s “Miss Ponyville”. You even snickered a bit as you recalled Twilight Sparkle’s glum face when her application was rejected: Princesses were not allowed to participate.
But those petty thoughts of jealousy were not befitting the Element of Generosity!
Begone and never return!
The pony in the mirror had stretched her fronthoofs in the air in a most dramatic gesture.
“Maybe a bit much drama. This is just Ponyville after all.”

But on the way to the ground floor you realized that this really was not you anymore.
You wanted to be a pony who dared to think beauty in new, exciting ways every day!
Your dream was not to stand in line to be eyed by a group of old stallions like one of Applejack’s prized pigs. Your ambition was not this small. It had outgrown Ponyville a long time ago. Your creations dazzled the rich in Manehatten and impressed the powerful in Canterlot after all.
You would not stoop so low as to parade around on a dinky stage made from a barndoor to get a blue ribbon for their backwards idea of “beauty”.

But you had spend all this time and work on your perfect complexion, it would be a waste not to go. A light breakfast would have to suffice today, you decided. Neither stains nor crumbs would impair your elegance today.
You had never spend so much care on drinking a single glass of water.
As an afterthought you prepared a minor shield-spell to protect yourself from ... pranks. Ponyville was famous for it’s freaky weather and eccentric ponies. Eccentric pink ponies to be precise.

As you reached Ponyville town hall the catcalls and wolf whistles started. Cretins and yahoos all around. You looked around a bit, then you spotted your competitors. Former competitors, you mentally corrected yourself.
Applejack looked fabulous with a red and white bow in her mane and tail. Rainbow Dash was almost casual, except that her mane was less unruly than usual and her wings were expertly preened. You commended her on that and Rainbow almost blushed and mumbled about Fluttershy helping her. Pinkie had some white ribbons woven into her mane and a number of little bells sewn on them tinkled and jingled with every movement. That was clearly the Pinkie Pie kind of pretty, not your’s.

Then you dropped the news: You were not going to participate.
You had expected some kind of protest but nopony came forth. It felt a bit disappointing. Not much, but the feeling was there all the same.
Then, to your utter amazement, Applejack agreed. She had thought the same thing! Her price sow Miss Piggington had refused the last round of contests this year and that got Applejack to thinking. You nodded, but said nothing, stunned by this revelation. Even a pig could see that this was not right? Dear Celestia, how could you have been so blind so long?
Then Rainbow Dash and Pinkie showed their torn up applications. The pegasus pony just said that this was not the kind of attention she desired any more and Pinkie Pie only pointed over to the library. It would be no fun without Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy.

A few minutes later you joined Ponyville’s resident royalty to report on your findings:
Sometimes you lose sight of what beauty is. It is not the clothes you wear or your well groomed mane or your shiny teeth. Those are appeal and that is only skin deep, at best. Real beauty is what you find in the balance, in the harmony of the things you see and those you feel.

Twilight asked if you felt beautiful today. You smiled. Yes, today was a beautiful day.
And then Rainbow Dash brought Fluttershy over and you six partied like there would be no tomorrow.


---


Rarity looked up to Spike from the bucket. “Really? I told you all that? I don’t remember anything about yesterday. The mind is a complete blank.”
The little dragon smiled compassionately. “Uhm, yes. You even made me write that letter to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna too. Twice. You girls should probably not touch my spirits again. I need that for my fire but a dragon can’t get drunk on it.” He slowly shook his head.
“I have no idea where Pinkie Pie got the idea it would make a good ingredient for the punch.”
> Chaos concessions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	You look around the throne room from your seat, the pressure of guild feels like an iron claw around your heart. You hate standing around like decoration in the room when you could be doing research on that spell.
You turn you head right to Applejack, she looks almost as bad as you feel. All the make-up in Canterlot couldn’t hide the rings under her eyes. She is biting her lip while her eyes dart around the room. She whispers to herself under her breath. “There is Upper Crust. I should have send her the dress she ordered two days ago. And that’s Cotton Binder, I still have to pay him for the delivery of fabrics from last week. Oh, I hope I don’t have to sell the boutique to pay him...”
You do not understand much more of her mutterings but what little you have adds to your guilty conscience. Why did this have to happen? You knew that the Elements of Harmony would be part of the ceremony for granting Discord citizenship in Equestria. But Noo, you had to try the unfinished spell in Starswirl’s grimoire right on the first read. Because that has worked so well the last dozen or so times.
And now Fluttershy stands over there next to the Draconequus as he repeats the oath to respect the ways of harmony and to follow the Princesses. At least he cheered the former Element of Kindness up. “Oh Fluttershy, a whoopee cushion! That's classic!” had calmed the pegasus pony down, finally someone who appreciated her efforts in humor. Even if that someone was a slightly crazy chimera... But you just know he has noticed that something is off. He even said that he is hardly needed anymore, with you and your friends doing such a great job. Even Celestia laughed at that. You wonder if she noticed something too.
Pinkie Pie on your left has her eyes glued to the clock. She told you that she has to fix the irrigation system or the orchards will be in big trouble. And judging by the look of her hair she is just about at her wit’s end. You throw her a smile and she tries to smile back. But it turns into some grimace, the smile never touches her eyes and you feel a stab in your heart comparing that face to a real Pinkie Pie smile.
Rarity didn’t even pretend to pay attention to the ceremony. She had left her seat as the national anthem’s last note was still in the air and you can see her at a window staring over to Ponyville where the wind has already started to disperse the patterns she had created in the sky.
The only pony that seems to be happy to be here is Rainbow Dash. When you picked her up this morning she was not leaving, she was fleeing the cottage and the critters. You hope that you can fix this mess before her inexperience puts any of Fluttershy’s critters in danger. You could never live with yourself otherwise.
You return your attention to the ceremony. Discord is next in line to receive his document of citizenship as you hear a chant starting among the ponies in the room.
“Harmony, harmony, harmony, harmony.”
What is happening here? That was not in the script the Princess gave you. A white unicorn stallion steps forward, you can see in Celestia’s careful neutral countenance that she isn’t exactly fond of this.
“Prince Blueblood, do enlighten us about this display of civil disobedience.” Even your meager experience in court is enough to decipher “What do you and your lackeys want?”
The Prince coughs and then says in a stage whisper “Your Highness, maybe a demonstration is in order? If this ... being is really loyal to the crown and no longer a threat to us there should be a way to prove that.”
You don’t like where that is headed, not one bit. And your fears come true.
“The Elements of Harmony are in attendance today, their power should not harm him if he has actually renounced Chaos,” the Prince shouts to be heard even in the last corner of the large hall.
You can only watch as the Princess looks at Discord, he shrugs, then she sighs and raises her voice. “I call the Elements of Harmony!” Your heart races, ideas flash through the back of your head, one crazier and more reckless than the next. But your legs have already taken you to the front of the throne room along with your friends. 
You look up to Celestia. “Princess, we have no idea how the Elements will react to a him. It might even be dangerous to call them down on someone who is already in tune with harmony.” As you say it you notice that a certain white unicorn noble retreats to the back of the crowd.
But Discord preempts Celestia, his voice booms through the room. “I will never be truly in tune with harmony, Twilight Sparkle. But thanks for your concerns. Still I’m confident that the Elements will not harm me.” His lion paw points to his chest. “Fire at will, ladies!”
You swallow hard. Your only idea to get out of this has backfired. You huddle down with your friends.
“Let’s do this girls. Just remember our friendship and this will work out,” you try to inspire some confidence in them.
Your friends form a half-circle as you face the draconequus. He smiles a lopsided grin, nods and suddenly wears a pair of sunglasses. You close your eyes too and you can feel the others around you. But their power is weaker than the other times you have felt their presence. Instead of the glowing streams of blinding light only a small trickle of power waves around you. Instead of burning magic only a spark glows in your eyes. You can feel as tendrils of Harmony reach towards Discord, but the rainbow of light that freed Luna and imprisoned Discord the first time doesn’t even reach him and disperses in the air. Then a similar rainbow, weak and half translucent rises from the draconequus’ chest and crawls almost painfully slow to the frayed end of your’s. As they connect you can hear Discord’s voice in your head. 
“I have no idea what you are doing there, but I’ll give you this as a token of my goodwill. Let’s not embarrass Celestia, Twilight Sparkle. The old girl has enough on her plate as it is.”
You nod and the rainbow rises into a majestic display of beauty, then disappears into a shower of prismatic motes. After a great round of applause you return to your seats and the rest of the ceremony is incredibly boring again.
Just as you and your friends are about to leave, Celestia waves for you and although you don’t feel too good about it you walk up to her.
“Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student. Thank you for your help just now. But you seem distressed, is there anything else you need help with?”
You realize that she offers help with Starswirl’s spell, but you don’t feel ready to confess just yet, there has to be something you can still try.
“No Princess, there have been problems, but I want to do this with my friends.”
> Butterflies in my stomach
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


♥ ♥ ♥


Sunsday, 10. Awakening 2002 after Discord

Dear Diary,
This afternoon I met Fluttershy in the boutique. She was modeling some clothes for my sister. I have never really understood what Rarity means when she calls somepony "fabulous" or how Spike can go all mushy when he talks about my sister.
But I think I got it now.
Fluttershy was wearing the dress Rarity had made for her for the gala last year. I had seen it quite a few times when she worked on it, but I have never seen it on the pony it was made for.
What a view! The little flowers in her mane, the hoofshoes, the dress that emphasizes her great physique! They talked about some alterations to the design but I said that the dress looks fine the way it is. Rarity smiled and said that you can't add to perfection. I guess she is right.
Then Fluttershy modeled some nightwear for us. If I had been uncertain about this before I was completely swayed now. Seeing her in that nightie made me want to snuggle with her, go to bed and wake up together.
Wow! I can't believe I wrote that just now. But reading it again, yes, the butterflies in my belly must be proof, I'm in love with Fluttershy!
I wonder if the butterflies in my stomach are pink too.

We crusaded for flower picking cutie marks. The gardener in Ponyville park was not happy.


♥ ♥ ♥


Maresday, 11. Awakening 2002 after Discord

Dear Diary,
I got Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to try for cutie mark crusaders chicken rescuers again. The last time was not even close with that cockatrice and all. Thinking about it, we had a sleepover at Fluttershy's and I even got to sing with her. And we wasted it on running around in the forest. I can’t believe how stupid that was.
I wonder if she would sing with me again.
But when we got to the cottage all the chickens were in their coop. Fluttershy promised to call us if one of them got lost again. She is such a nice pony.

We had apples and sandwiches at school, there was no crusading because there were no lost chickens to find.


♥ ♥ ♥


Featherday, 12. Awakening 2002 after Discord

Dear Diary,
We had terrible weather today. Some storm swept in from the Everfree Forest. I didn't get to see Fluttershy today but I accompanied Rarity to the library. I wonder if I look as lovey-dovey as him around Fluttershy. I hope not.
But I understand him a bit better now, I think. What I wouldn't do to be over at her house now, sitting on her couch, looking out into the rain. I wonder if she is lonely with only the critters to keep her company. Butterflies in my stomach all day.

There was only oatmeal for lunch at school today and no crusading. Stupid storm!


♥ ♥ ♥


Earthday, 13. Awakening 2002 after Discord

Dear Diary,
I went to the spa with Fluttershy and Rarity! What a day! We had hooficures and massages and I had my horn filed! I couldn't stay long in the sauna for long though. But I got to talk with Fluttershy for a really long time. I told her all about what we did in school today and she told me all about how she spend yesterday. The storm knocked over some trees in the forest next to her cottage! Fluttershy is so brave to live alone out there!

No school meal today because the rain got into the storage, but Applejack brought two barrels of apples over. No crusading again. Scootaloo is getting antsy already.


♥ ♥ ♥


Stallionsday, 15. Awakening 2002 after Discord

Dear Diary,
I visited Fluttershy yesterday and helped her with things around the cottage. We build a birdhouse and nests. I only ignited one and Fluttershy said it wasn’t badly burned. We talked about this and that and finally I gathered all my courage and asked her if she had ever been in love. She got really quiet but then she told me about a stallion from Cloudsdale she once had a crush on, but it didn’t work out. Then I asked her if she could imagine to love a mare and she looked at me really strange. And said that she was flattered that I would try to get her together with Rarity, but she was only interested in stallions.
I didn’t say anything after that and left when we were done. I went to my room and cried myself to sleep.
In the morning I told my parents that I had a tummyache and stayed in bed all day. I thought a lot about live and love and things. Do I really “swing that way”? Will this change how I look at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo?
Rarity came over in the afternoon and said that Fluttershy had told her about it. After she Pinkie-promised not to gossip to anyone, I told her the truth. She said that maybe it was just a crush (I don’t think so!) and even if I was interested in mares, I was still her sister and she would always love me, whatever way I go.
I think I love Rarity even more now.
As a sister!


-----


Moonday, 16. Awakening 2002 after Discord

Dear Diary,
I was at the boutique today when Fluttershy visited. I felt a bit sad when I saw her. She told me that some of her chickens had run away and were now loose at Sweet Apple Acres. Then she left to tell Scootaloo too. I asked Rarity if the pain in my heart would ever go away. She said that it’s like with a cutie mark. Once you find it all the times that you didn’t get it will turn into happy memories and that ponies grow with experiences.
I thought about it all the way to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applebloom. I hope Rarity is right.

We didn’t get chicken rescuers cutie marks but Granny Smith made her great apple cake for us. And when we brought the chickens home I didn’t feel so sad anymore because Fluttershy gave each of us a hug and a kiss.
But not that way.
> We're all out
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I looked up from my dish, there was nothing left. Not the tiniest morsel, not the smallest crumb. But still the desire, the hunger burned in my stomach.
I had been to the hot south in my youth, were Celestia blesses the land with more sun than green and lush Ponyville. We had visited the market there and I remember I saw an old pony, his mane gray or rather white, bleached by the sun. He was begging in the street and I asked our guide what had happened to him. The guide told me that the old pony was a guide like him once and that he led not only groups in the city, but caravans all through the desert even further south where the camels’ caliphates are hidden. Deep into the heart of the endless sand he led them, where the day gets so hot the sand will bake your hoofs and the nights freeze so cold you might lose your tail. Nobody knew exactly what had befallen his last caravan, but the old guide was the only pony that returned from the desert and even he had gone mad from the burning heat, thirst and hunger.
That was how I felt right now. Like the last survivor of a lost group. A lone pony on her last limb and with the universe out for her. I stood up from my chair, walked over to the counter and looked the mare behind it in the eye. I saw it in the way she shrugged, in the way she tried to at least give me a smile, to comfort me with hope for a better tomorrow.
“So sorry Derpy. We’ll have more muffins tomorrow.”

> Fading blue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia and Luna had their evening tea in the royal gardens. The sun was not about to set for some time but the day court had closed an hour ago and the night court was not yet open. The sisters enjoyed their time together and had fought hard to keep this bit of time free for each other. No bureaucrats, no nobles, not even their guards were allowed at this time. Both had relinquished their crowns and other regalia.
And they enjoyed it. Oh! So! Much!

“You know sister,” the younger alicorn said with a smile, “I really miss the statue of Discord over there. Maybe we could commission a replica of his former prison? You know, the one we trapped him in. I liked that one much better than his expression of terror the second time.”

“I don’t know Luna. I like to see that empty pedestal as a testament to our success and that even the greatest foe can become an ally if you just play your cards right. Plus, you know that having his statue taken would irritate him to no end.”

“Indeed, isn’t that enough reason to do it!?”

For just a moment both sisters kept their faces carefully straight, then Celestia started with a smirk that played along the corner of her mouth and before long their laughter could be heard even in the deepest corners of the garden’s labyrinth. Attracted by their mirth the only ponies allowed at the princesses’ tea-time table swooped in from their balconies. Mi Amore Cadenza and Twilight Sparkle landed next to the sisters, their bare hooves scrunching in the gravel. Luna raised an eyebrow at Cadence.

”Aren’t you forgetting something, Empress?”

“Must I?” the pink alicorn was offering at least a token of protest.

“If the Crystal Empire has official business with the diarchs of Equestria, please consult with our secretaries. They must be around here somewhere I’m sure. Otherwise ... “

Cadence’s hair unraveled, gems and crystals dropped out of it and were caught in her magic.

“Cadence,” the princess of the night hugged her in played exuberance. “How nice of you to visit your aunts! It’s been too long!”

“We talked over breakfast this morning, Luna.”

“My point exactly!”

Meanwhile Celestia had levitated two more sets of teacups over from the little trolley and was just about to pour the tea when Twilight Sparkle took the teapot in her magic.

“Please, I’m the youngest, I serve the tea.”

Luna let up on Cadence and looked at the lavender pony. “Isn’t it ‘the youngest brews the tea, the second pours the tea, the eldest drinks the tea'?”

Twilight smiled her most innocent smile. “You really want me to brew the tea?”

Celestia interrupted the two. “Stop it, both of you. Green Leaf is the palace’s tea master and I love the way he brews it. You will not take that from me. And don’t think I have forgotten your oleander and hemlock experiment, Twilight Sparkle. Just because we can’t be killed by it doesn’t mean you can safely drink that. The time you spent in cramps and convulsions was the worst I had to live through in this generation.”

The atmosphere around the table had taken a serious blow from this and nopony spoke a word while Celestia poured four perfect cups.

“So Cadence, how is Shining Armor doing these days? Your golden wedding last year was a wonderful celebration, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, Celestia,” the pink alicorn’s voice took on a sad undertone. “He’s getting frail in his old age.”

“WHAT?” Twilight Sparkle dropped her tea cup and Luna could save the heirloom only by a hair’s width from shattering on the ground. Twilight stood with both fore-hooves on the table her wings flared like she was about to take flight any moment.

Cadence grinned, “Yes, this year he couldn’t reach top ten in the track and field of the twenty to twenty nine years group.” She sipped her tea. “He was really mopey for a week.”

Twilight’s face raced through the emotions: Confusion, relief, annoyance and finally she joined in the laughter that once again echoed through the garden. Cadence pointed at one of the jewels she had worn in her hair, a aquamarine that was the centerpiece of her 'crown'. “If you really want to check on him, that gem is connected to his heart. I take it wherever I go.” She smiled. “He has a kunzite for me, too. I know that he even sleeps with it. We had them made a few days after the wedding.” She took the stone from the table in her magic and it floated over to her sister-in-law.

Twilight held it her hoof and thanked Cadence, then pressed the crystal to her chest. A frown appeared on her face and she levitated the enchanted gem to Celestia first, then to Luna.

A bit of bemusement played around Cadence’s face, “I won’t fall for that, girls. I checked as I took the stone off my head. He wouldn’t ... ”

Luna got up, walked to Cadence and hugged her in her wings.

“He couldn’t ... It was just a few minutes.” Panic appeared in her features.

“We ... We have to go ourselves to be sure,” Twilight announced with a trembling voice.

Before any could protest a blinding light took the four ponies and when it faded, only a dashing orb could be seen in the northern sky. The journey to the Crystal Palace lasted mere seconds before they reappeared on one of the balconies. Cadence spread her wings and without even looking back she found the windows to the master bedroom. Not caring much for the glass or the curtains she simply flew through them.
As she stepped from the splinters and shards of glass the court physicians that had crowded the room dared to look up. Cadance could see her reflection in some fragments on the floor. Her mane was a mess, her coat scratched and there was not a straight feather in her wings. As she walked up to the bed the doctors and nurses bowed low and she could see her husband on it. His eyes were closed, his body tranquil and relaxed.

“Sleep well, Shining Armor. We still have so much to do, my love.”

None of the doctors dared to speak up. As long as nobody said it, it wasn’t real yet.
> Appetite for nostalgia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The front door to her house closed behind Rose. It had been a good day at the shop. Before Twilight Sparkle had moved to Ponyville the flower shop had seen two or three customers a day, four on the outside if it was a holiday. And they had only asked for the bread-and-butter flowers: daisies, sunflowers, anything that could be made into decoration for a salad. But these days there were three really plush restaurants in town and they all got their flowers from Rose’s shop. The bits rolled in. She was a happy pony. She did what she liked best, after all.
But it had cost her too. Rose looked at the piano, she hadn’t touched the keys in months now. She still had a dozen unfinished ideas in the back of her head but there was no way she could write them down now, not until they were done. It was a quirk of hers. Once the song was written down it was, for lack of a better word, dead.
They were like her flowers. She loved them dearly, from the first day when she put a seed or bulb into the earth to the wonderful moment when they opened their first blossoms. But once you cut them they were dead. Oh yes, they still made ponies smile, either by looking or tasting great. But their days were numbered once the pruning shears came into play. Once they turned into a product.
Rose looked at the frames on the wall and the pictures on the shelf. There was the one with her old band back in Manehatten. They had made a record, even sold a few but the great breakthrough had not come. Their music had too much of an edge, the producer had said. That they would have to play more of a happy tune, something that made ponies smile. Nopony bought music to feel bad about the world.
Rose took the picture in her hooves and smiled a nostalgic but sad smile. “We had a good run though, didn’t we?” she asked the silent room. She remembered the run down neighborhood they had lived in for a week or so. Before the landlord had given them a seventy five percent discount on the rent until the repairs were done. That short period had been their most productive time. The music had been an outlet for all the frustration. From the dripping sink and the noisy neighbors to the insecurity of not knowing what your cutie mark meant even six years after getting it. They had cried it all out at the world. It had not been the same after the craftsmen had finished. How could you keep a grudge at the world if everyone was so nice? And once the others found their true callings the band had been done for. Old Gums was a dentist now, Straddle made carriages and the others ... she could hardly remember their voices. But it had been the best time of her live.
Until she had returned to Ponyville, confessed to her parents that she had dropped out of college and wanted to take over the family business. The first day in the shop had finally opened her eyes to what her flower cutie mark really meant, what she was going to do for the rest of her life.
Rose wiped a bit of dust from the picture, then put it back. She walked over to the piano, opened the fall and played a few notes. The instrument had not been tuned and the melody came out wrong and garbled. She sighed. “Goodbye to the jungle.”
> Sleep deprivation is a wonderful thing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Shining Armor was one proud unicorn. He had beaten all the fast pegasus ponies and the sturdy earth ponies too. Of course he had been the best of the unicorns. But coming out of the week-long cross country survival exercise as the fasted and without being spotted by the ‘enemy’, the trainers had not expected that. Or maybe at least one had: Sgt. Iron Hide had hoofed an old boot to one of the Cloudsdale trainers with a very smug grin.
But all the pride in the world was not enough to keep him going after this exertion. Once you start dreaming of your cot at the barracks, you know there is something seriously wrong with your head, Iron Hide had said. And right now the cot was the only thing on this mind.
It took some time before he registered the voice and the pony in front of him. Stony look, golden uniform, there was only one thing to do. He saluted.
“Thank you Sir, I couldn’t have done it without the training under Sgt. Iron Hide, Sir.”
A hoof turned his head and now that his brain was coming up to speed he realized that he had saluted one of the statues at the barrack’s entrance. He couldn’t quite remember how he had gotten here, but barracks equaled cot equaled heaven. Or something along those lines. For a moment he wondered about the word equal. He could not think of a rhyme for it. How pecku... pecqu... odd. And the way you had to pucker up your lips to say it. So funny. It was all he could do not to fall over in a fit of giggles. Then a tan hoof waved through his field of vision and it only took a few seconds until Shining Armor realized that the owner of this hoof might want to talk to him. Well, let’s see what the old slavedriver wants.
“By Celestia’s horn,” Iron Hide sighed. “If you really beat the elite from Cloudsdale with that kind of performance we might just roll over once the griffins come knocking next time.”
Once again Shining Armor did what any soldier would do when in doubt. His salute was extra sharp and the “Sir, yes, Sir” sounded like he had just gotten out of basic training. At least it sounded so to him. His sergeant had a twitch under his left eye that Shining Armor had come to associate with the smell of helmet polish.
“You will report to the chambers of Princess Celestia, Shining Armor!”
Polish the royal armor? That was new.
“Cadet, I have given you an order. Why do I not hear the sound of hooves?”
“Sir, sorry, Sir. I was wondering if the royal armor needs special princess polish. Sir.”
Iron Hide took Shining Armor’s head with one hoof and looked him in the eye. “You will now go and pay Princess Celestia a visit. I don’t have the slightest idea what she wants with a first year rookie but questioning her is not my job. There will be no talk about polishing armor, you will not smile, you will do as she asks and you will go there now.” The hoof retreated and Shining Armor saluted, “Sir! Yes sir!”-ed, saluted again for good measure and started to walk away.
“ON THE DOUBLE!”

When his brain caught up his legs had already led him to Celestia’s chambers. He saluted to the guard, stated his name and was pointed to a bucket of water, a brush and some breath mints.
After he had broken the third brush one of the chambermaids finally took pity on him. A bucket of ice cold water cleared away some of the cobwebs in his brain and Shining Armor managed to have a conversation with her. Not that there was much to talk about. She was hardly interested in his tales about the exercise and he had nothing to say about her comments on the poor state of his mane and tail. It only took about ten minutes, a quick mane wash and a second bucket of ice water, then he was deemed presentable. He sucked another breath mint, walked up to the guard again, saluted and was ushered into the room.

Celestia sat on a carpet in front of a fireplace, a heap of scrolls beside her. The Princess smiled at him. “You must be Shining Armor, I have heard so much about you.”
“Princess, thank you, Princess.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Relax, my little pony. You are here because I want to talk to you about a very special pony.”
Shining’s thoughts shifted into overdrive. There were two ponies she could mean: The one would be bad, the other would be worse. So he fell back on what he knew. Salute, “Yes, Princess, thank you, Princess.”
Suddenly a scroll appeared in the air, Celestia caught it in her magic, read it, nodded, made a signature and placed it on the little heap. “I see. Well, let me congratulate on your victory in the exercise -”
Salute, “Princess, thank you, Princess.”
“It seems you are not the only one in a ... strange state of mind. This morning my dear niece went missing and my pupil gave a very funny comment on that. Something along the lines of ‘Cadence is always mopey when Shiny is not around.’ And then my guards found her hiding in your locker. What do you think about that? And don’t salute now.”
Shining Armor could stop his hoof in time, but the effort made him fall over on his side. Picking himself up from the undignified position he at least found a second to arrange his thoughts. It was time to face the music.
“Permission to speak freely, your majesty?”
Celestia gave a short nod.
“I have no idea why Cadence would hide in my locker. But I know that I’m not exactly myself right now, so the might be the sleep depre ... depri ... I’m really tired right now. But I know that once I am sober again my first thought will be of her. Like every day when I wake up and every night when I go to sleep. She is the reason I push myself so hard. Because I have to prove that I am worthy and that I can protect her.”
Celestia smiled and winked at Shining Armor. She pointed her horn at the door and in a loud plopp the wood simply disappeared. It revealed a very ashamed pink alicorn, a young lavender unicorn and a guard hogtied in a pinkish aura.
Celestia grinned. “Cadence, that is not how a princess should behave. I am very proud of you. You’re finally starting to think like a real pony and not like some pampered noble. Shining Armor, you will now escort my niece to her quarters so she may think about what she has learned today. I will inform your superiors that you have earned one, let’s say two days of special leave for being the first unicorn to win the survival exercise.” Shining Armor was taken by surprise, his sleep-addled mind did not even come up with the most basic routine.

--- TIME ---

The amusement was plain in Celestia’s voice. “You may salute now, Shining Armor.” He did just that. 
Meanwhile Twilight had strolled over, the guard still in tow. She hugged her brother around a leg and giggled. “Shiny, your mane smells like the Princess.”
He ruffled her hair, then walked over to Cadence who was still blushing under her coat for being found eavesdropping. Once he had crossed the room’s threshold the door reappeared and he could hear his sister’s surprised squeal, the short and quite girly scream of a guard and the clang of armor on stone.
But all this registered only as secondary. Because Cadence was already leading him down the corridor, into her room and onto the balcony where they shared a rug.
They looked into each other’s eyes, her lips found his and when they parted Shining Armor was already fast asleep.

> As long as it takes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sun started to slip under the horizon and Celestia knew in her heart that for all the errors, shortcomings and misunderstandings in her life this day had been one of the better ones. The first star came out and glittered in the sky, then another, a third, a fourth. Each one added his light to the concert of twinkles, glitters and sparkles of the night. Celestia used to enjoy the dusk as much as she loved the dawn. When the powers shifted from her to her sister it reminded her of the great circles of life that she had the unique perspective to see. Day and night, summer and winter, the birth of a pony and its return to the great well of souls. She wished Luna was by her side to enjoy it too, but alas her sister was ... indisposed tonight.
By now the sun was more than half hidden and the less bright stars added their finer, but no less impressive voices to the great choir. Celestia knew that the inevitable was only a short time now but her thoughts still lingered on the first night they had completed the great cycle together. Most ponies would assume that Luna being the younger would have to train to keep up with her older sister. But actually it had been Celestia who had to work hard to get the sun to obey her magic. Luna had mastered the moon on day one, the stars had flocked to her like ducklings to their mother. It had taken Celestia years and years to admit to herself that she had harbored envy for her sisters talent with her element. Today that envy was just another thing she had not told her sister, another feeling she had hidden, another time she had not been honest with Luna.
The last rays of the sun shot over the sky and for a moment the western horizon looked like it was on fire. Like all of Equestria was consumed in cleansing inferno to burn away all the lies, half-truths and unspoken resentments. But in the blink of an eye that moment was gone and Celestia realized once more that there was no magical way to turn ponies into saints or angels. Only those ponies themself could turn their lives around, by talking to each other, by being the bigger pony and by being honest and brave in the face of doubt. Celestia turned her head from the west, from her now hidden sun and looked high into the sky. The river of stars sang to her and to anyone who would listen. Their song was tranquil and soothing. The princess of the sun took a deep breath and turned around.
For a moment the song stopped as she took in the moon. Her sister’s moon. Her beloved sister’s moon. Like every nightfall or sunrise she held her breath. She waited for something to happen, for something to break the circle like the prophecy said. But again, the moon rose on its way into the sky mocking her hope and fear.
Twilight was over. Celestia turned around and walked into her chamber, there was work to be done and nopony else to do it.
The silhouette of Nightmare Moon would remain in the sky until daybreak.
> The thousand years collection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Good Drop could hear the clip-clop of hoof on stone for minutes before the two princesses rounded the corner and stepped into the corridor that led up to his little desk. Well, little in comparison to the huge doorway that towered over his workplace. These doors had not opened since the cellar had been build a thousand years ago. Since the first guardian had been appointed, since this order had been established. A little bit of sadness tinged his pride. They had fulfilled their mission, but now it was his task to end this. To open the doors meant that there would be no forty first guardian of the gates. Nopony to take on his mantle. He sighed and for the first time in thirty years he felt his old bones and his aching knees. He looked at his old wrinkled coat, the gloss long gone from his former bright red hair. At least his silver mane had not suffered, it would still shine brightly in the sun, maybe even brighter than before. But now it was time to look smart and alert, the princess was almost here. And the new one, too. He sighed again, this would take some getting used to.

“I simply don’t see the point in this, sister,” Luna said with a pout and a bit of defiance in her voice. “I should be learning about the history I have missed and study the changes in law, science and society.”

“You will, my sister, and you can return to the privacy of the royal archive as soon as you have seen this.” Celestia turned her head and smiled at Good Drop. “Good evening, my faithful guardian. I trust the cellar is undisturbed and all is in order.”

“Of course. Good evening to you too, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna.” Good Drop bowed as low as his knees allowed. He wheezed a bit as he braced for the pain that he knew would come on his rise. But it didn’t come, instead a gentle touch like a soothing wind cooled his aching joints. He opened his eyes: a dark blue energy played around his legs and while he shuddered a bit at the thought of being touched by her magic he couldn’t deny that he hadn’t felt so good in years.

“I am honored by your years of service, citizen.”

Good Drop finally realized why he felt so strange in Luna’s presence: the princess had the stature of a young mare, the wings and horn of a princess and the attitude of a general. Her sweet and alluring appearance clashed with the edge in her voice and the glint in her eyes. Yes, this would need some getting used to.

Celestia’s voice cut through his thoughts. “Guardian, tonight you will give me one last report and then my sister and I will open these gates and relieve you of your duty.”

Good Drop saluted as sharp as his old bones allowed and almost lost his ceremonial cap in the process. “Right, Princess, at once, Princess.” He stalked back to his desk and opened a huge tome, flipped to a page and read, “The cellars hold ninety two thousand four hundred and seventy three bottles in chrono-stasis chambers and eight thousand five hundred two bottles in regular chambers. It has been one thousand years and two days since the cellars were established.”

Princess Luna’s mouth stood open in wonder. “You collected wine for a thousand years?”

Good Drop was almost offended by this. “We didn’t collect wine! We collected the best vintages of every province of Equestria for thousand years and two days!”

Celestia smiled at both ponies, “Please, be calm, both of you. Luna, I think you will catch up with official history fast enough, but if you’d like to learn what really happened in those thousand years... What do you say, shall we have a bottle of wine and watch the moon?”

Luna seemed to mull over this idea for quite some time. “Any time I get to spend with you is time well spend, big sister,” she finally conceded. “Let us open this cellar.”

“Just a second!” Good Drop opened a little door in the gate and stepped through. The sisters heard him rummaging around for a minute, then the door opened again and the old pony returned with a little bag. “I don’t want to lose my old thermos if you open these.”

Celestia and Luna looked at him, then at each other and nodded. Each sister touched a wing of the enormous door with her horn and the gates swung on their hinges silent like a morning breeze.

Celestia had never looked behind these gates and had half feared, half hoped to see a labyrinth of cobwebs and dimly lit stairs. Instead tidy rows and rows of shelves with bottles greeted her. Some glittered in a field of temporal stasis to keep the wine from getting too old. She looked over to Good Drop and nodded. “Excellent work!” She walked to a shelf and took one of the bottles out of its place. “Oh, 1043, a fine year. We will have a lot to talk about tonight, sister.”

Luna still had not walked into the vault, her eyes lingered on Good Drop. The old pony had collected a few personal things from the desk and put them into a box with his old thermos. “You have watched over this place for decades, am I correct?”

The stallion looked up from his box, “Eight years as an apprentice and thirty seven as the guardian of the gate, your Highness.”

Luna looked at the old stallion once more, at the huge gate and the deep chambers beyond. “It would be a shame to break with a tradition like this. Would you take on a new apprentice and train him so we can continue to enjoy this fine product of Equestria in the future too?”

Good Drop grinned and bowed. Maybe this one wouldn’t need that much getting used to after all.
> Priorities in a kiss
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rarity could not believe it. For the prime matchmaker in Ponyville to be stumped over two ponies kissing, that meant a lot. The white unicorn sat alone at the central table in Twilight Sparkle’s library and fumbled with her empty teacup. “I should have seen it. Pinkie Pie and Derpy Hooves. How have I missed that!? Pinkie and the one pony who loves baked goods more than anything. Derpy and the one pony who would move mountains to get a smile. They are perfect for each other!”  A cushion floated over and caught Rarity’s head before her face could hit the table. Her voice became muffled. “And they showed it so openly! A muffin and a kiss shared over the counter of Sugar Cube Corner. I hadn’t expected Pinkie to be so romantic.”

Twilight Sparkle opened the kitchen door, the teapot followed in her magical hold as she walked into the library’s main room and sat beside her friend. “I take it you are as shocked about this as I am, Rarity?”

“I’m not sure if I’m shocked, but I’m certainly surprised, dear.”

Twilight raised both eyebrows. “Well, I’m shocked, excuse me. Pinkie Pie should know a lot better then do something like that. And did you see her grin? She didn’t feel the least bit guilty about it. I honestly don’t know how you can stomach this.”

“Darling, that’s a bit -”

The door to the library opened, and Rarity was harshly interrupted as Rainbow Dash and Applejack walked in. The pair argued loudly and it was fairly obvious about what.

“Rainbow that was completely uncalled for. You stared at them like you’ve never seen two ponies do that. I mean, it was a bit unusual but that doesn’t excuse you from gawking.”

“I don’t think you realized what we witnessed there AJ. That was amazing ... a huge accomplishment. I never realized Derpy had it in her. I really must show her more respect after this.”

“Why Derpy? I don’t see it. We had a quite similar contest at my first Apple family reunion. Okay, we used apples instead, but me and Big Mac still managed that without a problem. It’s not that big a deal.”

One could have heard a pin drop in the following silence. Finally Rarity managed to stutter “You and your brother did what? I have no words, Applejack... how ... I don’t even …“ and fell back into stunned silence.

However, only in this calm could a quiet sobbing be heard: Fluttershy had joined her friends, but no pony had noticed her until now. All eyes set on her and the timid pony became even more distressed. Even in the total stillness they could barely hear her whisper “Oh Pinkie, how ... I thought … you said … we talked ...” and then the voice was lost in sighs and sobs again.

Rarity walked over to the pegasus pony and wrapped a foreleg around her in a hug. “There, there, darling. We are all a bit emotional right now, but it’s no reason to cry. I’m sure we can help you get over it. Just relax and everything will work out, don’t you think?” But this only made Fluttershy cry even more and to add insult to injury her other friends joined in and argued even louder than before.

Rarity’s “SILENCE!” reached a notable fraction of Princess Luna’s Royal Canterlot Voice. As a few spiders fell down from the higher parts of the library-tree the fashionista continued in a more controlled voice. “You know I like a bit of drama as much as the next pony, but you are all making a mountain out of a molehill here. I suggest you take a deep breath and you will see it’s really not that big a deal.”

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy looked at her as if she had just proposed to set up Discord and Princess Luna. The four all started talking at the same moment.

“You can’t mean that, Rarity. I simply can’t believe how -”

“- Pinkie Pie completely ignored all health and food safety regulations!”

“- they made that kiss last more than ten minutes without breathing!”

“- those two managed to eat a whole muffin together without losing a single crumb!”

“- Pinkie made out with another pony when she has me, even if it’s a secret!”

The following awkward silence was punctured only by the sound of Rarity’s hoofsteps as she walked out of the library and closed the door behind her.
Her frustrated groan still made all windows in Ponyville cling and rattle.
> The excitement of watching clouds
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike had gotten his wish: The girls were on some epic adventure, and he had to stay behind to housesit the library. The best sleep he had had in weeks. But there was a good side to this too! Without Twilight to mess up his day he had completed his list of chores my lunchtime. To celebrate he went to the Sugar Cube Corner and ordered a Pepper-Ruby-Cupcake, extra spicy. The rest of the fine early summer day was wasted away with comic books and unhealthy amounts of ice cream.

Day two started an hour late, the magic in Twilight’s alarm clock had run out. But it only delayed him so much, and when the afternoon rolled around on Scootaloo’s roller with the Crusaders on a quest for a book about jousting Twilight’s list of chores for him was complete for three days in advance. The fillies got the book after showing a slip of paper signed by Big McIntosh. A safety precaution the major had insisted on after Ponyville had become Equestria’s main airship- and hot-air balloon-hub for a very exciting afternoon, courtesy of the CMC and a small book about signal flags.

The third day of free house showed without a doubt that Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were not in town. Spike had settled down with his comics on the upper balcony, but he realized all too soon that he had read them already. Every single one of them. Twice. He didn’t feel like spending the day inside, so he just rolled on his back and watched the sky. Not a single cloud marred the deep cerulean, whoever covered for Rainbow Dash had a lot better work ethics than her. Thinking about Rainbow Dash brought him to wonder what the girls were up to now. They had left so suddenly, Rarity had hardly found time to collect her curlers and special mane lotions.
The sky was totally empty. Spike had watched for about ten minutes now and neither birds nor pegasus ponies had showed a single feather. Maybe if he waited a bit longer?
Had it not been for the murmur of ponies that drifted up from the marketplace Spike might have just as well been in some clearing in the Everfree Forest. Just the rustle of the leaves, no animals, no birds, just the wind in the ancient trees.
Scratch that! There, high up in the endless blue traveled a messenger. Far too distant for even Spikes sharp eyes to recognize the color of coat or mane, he wasn’t even sure if it was a pony or a griffin. And yet his eyes stayed on the tiny dot in the sky until it disappeared into the sun. He tried to find it again but couldn’t. That had been quite a distraction for a few minutes. Spike's only connection to civilisation told him that he had spend another hour here: The clocktower rang ten times. So much time and so little motivation to start anything.
For a moment he considered to consult his personal to-do list, but getting up felt like a chore and so he just touched his nose with his tongue, even playing bongos on his belly was too much now. He was quite sure there was a third item on his list... Ah, why bother? 
For another hour the little dragon weighed his options: A bubble bath? Or more ice cream? But past-Spike had already eaten most of his share for this week on the first day. Thanks a lot, you’re a real backstabber. Unconsciously he rolled onto his belly and examined the texture of the wood. Not very exciting. He rolled on his back again.

Spike blew a bit of fire, just for fun, but as the minutes ticked by he did not actually feel that somehow the world dropped a bit of gray gauze on him. He did not sleep, contrary to many images dragons could not breath fire in their sleep and he had played with his green flame the whole time. He had even heard the clocktower’s bell, but somehow he had not registered the passage of time. Suddenly the sun had rushed over the sky and a few clouds had jumped from some hiding place right into the blue. Maybe the weather pony stand-in was not as diligent as Spike had assumed. Or maybe there was a bit of overcast scheduled for the afternoon. He would have to check ... Nawww, it was still warm enough and the sun on his belly was a real blessing. For a bit of time he pondered if Gummy would enjoy this, too. Oh yes, he would. But wild horses would not get Spike to leave his spot. Well, maybe one furious purple winged unicorn would get the job done, but she was far away and the thought disappeared back into the haze it had come from. Spike payed close attention as the sun and the clouds raced over the sky, he even tried to find pictures or objects in the form of the clouds. But they just looked like clouds. Maybe cotton candy. But that was only when the sun dipped low and painted the whole sky in pink and orange.

Finally a bit of his sluggishness lifted, he got up and scratched his back. Where had the day gone? He blew his green flame on his comics, walked down the stairs and belched them back onto the table. A short note from Princess Celestia followed and asked that he paid better attention to his flame, getting plastered in “Daring Do” and “Supermare” during an official reception for the returning heroes was not a laughing matter.
A few minutes later second note signed by Luna, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash told him that they thought it was. And they would bring him some of the cake from the party tomorrow.

The small dragon grinned. “Great, tomorrow the rut and routine will return. Better enjoy my last night of good sleep before Pinkie Pie is back.”

> Queen under the mountain
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I hear the sound of her hooves in the tunnels. As I turn to look at the entrance I brush bits of rock off me. For a moment I can’t believe that these dirty, broken claws are the same as those immaculate hooficured claws of Twilight Sparkle’s little dragon. Then all that is forgotten as I watch Rarity enter the main cave. She pulls a mine car full of gems, a rusted yoke hung around her neck. Her bright white is covered in dust, chips of stone stick to her where the sweat has run down her legs. Her mane ... if somepony had told me a week ago Rarity’s mane could even look like that, I would have laughed. And then I would have gotten some popcorn and watched Rarity knock the stuffings out of that harum-scarum for insulting her hair like that. Now I wonder if it wouldn’t be more sensible to just shear those rat’s nests instead of trying to salvage anything.
Just like Rarity I have worked hard these last five days, harder than ever before. The dogs haul in the detritus by the waggon-load, and they make me help with sorting and spotting gems in the rubble. At least the food is good: I get to snack on all the broken gems and those with inclusions. I might even like the work but when Rarity returns after a day in the mines, it just breaks my heart. Not because she looks like that, but because she is completely spent. She has just enough energy to wash off most of the grime, then she falls asleep on the makeshift bedroll. Everytime I tried to talk to her, she would only said that the girls will come for us and that we will return to the surface together.
The first evening I even hoped that Twilight would not come too soon because I wanted to rescue my damsel in distress. But that had turned out to be a pipe dream: I can’t remember the way back, the tunnels are swarming with dogs and I probably would have to carry Rarity. No, I won’t save Rarity, but I won’t abandon her in this hole either. She even tried to send me away, but I held my claws over my ears and told her that I would come back, even if the diamond dogs carried me all the way to Ponyville. Now I wonder if I will ever see the sun again. But Rarity won’t see me frown. If she can keep a brave face for me, I will keep a brave face for her. Even if we are slaves to the diamond dogs, she will always be my queen under this mountain.


♦♦♦


The first thing I see in the morning is Spike sleeping next to me, and I can’t help but smile. My knight has tried to keep watch over my sleep again. When the foredog had told me that the little dragon had been found wandering the tunnels, my first impulse had been to send him home. But he wouldn’t leave me, he really doesn’t trust diamond dogs. I know we got off on the wrong hoof back then, but as I traded with them I have found them to be reliable and straight business partners. Maybe he will think better about them once this ordeal is through.
I float my blanket over him and leave to wash up. Not that there is much to do. A short spurt of magic to get the tangles and knots out of my hair, and that’s about it. There is no point in spending time on hoof polish or eyelashes if I’m going to work in a mine for the next twelve hours. Still, I’m kind of happy that my friends can’t see me like this. I walk over to this shift’s foredog and we talk about the plans while I eat my breakfast. 
I think I can reach my target today, the gem that will make all of this worthwhile. A perfect, flawless white diamond that will not be measured in carats but in hundredweights. I even made Twilight Sparkle cast the spell too to double-check. I immediately went to see my contact to the dogs. If they found it first they would only cut that magnificent stone down and sell it as appetizers to their usual dragon clientele. The deal was simple: I got my prize and the dogs got all other gems I unearthed. For six days now I have dug, used magic to cut stone and drill through rock. I have never used my magic like this before. I feel a bit guilty that I can’t spend even five minutes with Spike, but I can see in his face that he understands the circumstances.
As I strap myself into the cart I smile about the the situation. In a way I have come full circle: My career as a fashionista started with a rock and now I have returned to this. But contrary to my search back then I have yet to decide what I am going to do with my find. But I know one thing: Tomorrow in Ponyville I will name this gem “Queen under the mountain”.
	
> Love, death and dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The huge minotaur bull strikes a deadly blow at a changeling with his bloodied double axe. The changeling crumbles in the sand but two more take his place and press on. The minotaur’s eyes glow red with bloodlust, but as he looks around the former campsite he can only see more changelings in the cold desert night. He is the only one left fighting, the whole caravan is beaten. Some changelings have even started to carry away their prey. Finally his axe is yanked from his fists as it wedges in another dead changeling’s carapace, and he can no longer push back the assault. He is overwhelmed with hate and frustration as they pile above him.
The dream shifts and it’s very existence flickers as Luna enters the place. The changelings puff away as black smoke, the bound ponies, camels and minotaurs sink into the sand until only the beaten minotaur and the alicorn are left.

“Do you know who I am, minotaur?” the pony asks.

“Strong Hoof has listened to ancient stories about dark pony princess,” he replies with broken Equestrian. “You be Luna, mistress of night?”

“You are correct,” she nods. “Do you also know why I am here?”

“To save Strong Hoof from changelings and death in desert?” he says with a bit of hope in his voice.

“No, it is quite too late for that, my friend.” Her hoof reaches for the minotaur’s head, and as she touches it sickly green strands of magic glow and disappear from it. The scene around them shifts again. A lush minotaur village, another battlefield, a bedroom, a tavern, another bedroom, more scenes of battle and intimacy flash by in a matter of seconds. Finally it settles on a rather drab room, the walls bare rock, the bolted door made from black wood. “You are dreaming, and you have been for almost twenty five years. The changelings overwhelmed you that night and you have spent the years in a cocoon.”

Horror plays around the beastial face of the bull as he whispers, “Strong Hoof remember how they looked at him. Like he was a thing, something to be used.”

“And they did. They harvested your love, hate, fear, any emotion you felt. If you dare to look at it, you may step outside.” The door unlocks and opens a crack. ”But be warned, it is not a pleasant sight.”

Without a second thought the minotaur forces the door open and steps into a giant cave. Rows and rows of pods and cocoons line the walls, stand on the ground and hang from the ceiling. Some shine in a bright green light, but most glow only faintly or are completely dark. “Which one?”

“It is your dream. Any you dare to look at.”

The cocoon next to the door glows radiantly, and as Strong Hoof steps close he can look inside. Suspended in a green gunk floats another minotaur. The fur is almost completely gone, the hoofs and horns have broken off and lie at the bottom of the cocoon. Whatever muscles this warrior once had have melted away by years of disuse, only skin and bones remain. Strong Hoof steps away, his eyes wide with terror as he starts to shake. “No, not like this,” he whispers and falls to his knees. “Strong Hoof was to die that night. A beaten warrior, yes, but a warrior. Not … a thing.”

Luna sits next to the minotaur, she wraps a wing around the much bigger creature and she tries to comfort him in the mismatched hug. Finally the shivers stops and he calms down. “You not here to rescue Strong Hoof, no?”

“This cave is deep underground and its protection is stronger than even the queen’s chambers. No, there is no rescue from this place. And even if we could rip this mountain away and take your body from this place, no power could give you back your youth and health.”

“Like Strong Hoof want to live like this!”

“Then I can show you a way out, the same way I have shown a lot others,” Luna’s voice is carefully calm, bereft of any emotion. “But it is not an easy way.”

“Tell me, Strong Hoof will do anything to stop -,” the minotaur gestures to the whole cave, “- this.”

“Strong Hoof died in that fight in the desert. He lost every fight and perished. His wife killed him on their first night, and he broke his neck in the tavern brawl.”

“No, not true! Strong Hoof won all other fights and his wives love him!”

“Then the changelings will gather that pride and love. Even your hate. Only the dead feel nothing. Like I said, it is not an easy way. Especially for a proud warrior like you. But to end this, Strong Hoof has to die.”

The minotaur rises back to his hooves, but his shoulders are slumped. He hits ‘his’ pod with a mighty blow, the material yields but doesn’t break.. The fluid and the body in it slosh around a bit but settle down again. “Just tell me then, pony. If Strong Hoof dies like that, will his soul enter the great hall beyond?”

“I don’t know about your soul,” Luna chooses her words with deliberation. “But I do know that there is no honor in just waiting for your death like this. And fighting oneself is the hardest test life can give us. If there is no honor in that fight I know of none other.”

The minotaur thinks about her words, then turns to Luna and kneels before her. “Strong Hoof doesn’t know if he can dream like that. Can you help?”

Luna sighs, but nods. She places a hoof on the minotaur’s chest and whispers a few words under her breath. Finally she kisses him on his forehead, and a spark spins around him, then sinks into his skull. His eyes roll around wildly in their sockets as the magic takes hold. A few moments later the dream shifts again, back to the scene in the desert. Luna carefully cloaks her presence and watches as Strong Hoof is swarmed with changelings. The scene changes again, a campfire Strong Hoof shares with a female minotaur. Just as he reaches for her she drives a dagger into his heart. Luna steps out of the dream as it shifts once more.


***


“My Queen, we have lost another cave,” the changeling cowers in front of Chrysalis. “The output is so low, the pods can’t even keep the flesh alive anymore.”

The changeling queen can hardly believe the news. In the last two years her race has slowly but surely lost almost all reserves they have build up over centuries. And it is not an illness or external magic her advisers say. The flesh just stops feeling. Chrysalis rubs her temples and dismisses the messenger. She turns to her council. “Tell me then, how far are the plans for the invasion of Canterlot?”

> What happens in the Pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fancy Pants almost dropped his monocle into the cocktail before him when he saw a certain princess enter 'the Free Pony'. Years of political experience told him that now was a moment a truth: Fight or flight, truth or dare. The two tall cocktails that already coursed through his brain agreed and assured him that Luna would make for excellent entertainment. His hooves, however, were less enthusiastic and because Sir Fancy Pants, President of the House of Nobles, trusted his hooves a lot more than his brain, it took him a bit longer than expected to reach the alicorn that still stood at the club’s entrance.

Luna looked a little lost and unsure about the place. Her face light up as she saw the familiar face. “Lord Fancy Pants! I bid you a fair night, it is so good to see you.”

“Wow, Luna!” The alicorn raised an eyebrow at his unfamiliar attitude, but Fancy didn’t let that stop him. “I take it you haven’t been here before, eh?” Without even waiting for her to reply he continued, “Well, let me tell you, this is the Free Pony. You left all titles and ranks, even your race, behind when you walked through that door. Everyone is equal in here. That’s the only rule in here. As long as you can pay your tab. Ok, two rules. Oh, and what happens in the Pony, stays in the Pony. Three rules... I’ll tell you when I remember more. Want a drink? I’m buying!”

Luna could only nod as Fancy Pants’ smile pulled her along to his table. A third cussion floated over and in a matter of seconds a waitress took Luna’s order. Fancy had suggest a drink with quite some buzz and resolved to tell Luna a fourth rule later: Don’t drink it unless you know what’s in the glass. Or maybe after another drink. He ordered some new drinks and food for himself and his guests. Before his grin could place him in hot waters he introduced his other guest, “Luna meet Braeburn Apple. Braeburn, I’m sure you have heard of Luna? She is the one with the Moon.”

The stallion laughed loud and offered Luna a high hoof that Luna took after an encouraging nod from Fancy Pants. ”Yeah, I think one of my cousins might have mentioned you.” His grin was the kind that would have mares fall head over hooves for him, but as Fancy reached over and kissed him on the cheek Luna finally understood a few things that had not quite clicked for her about the unicorn before. Centuries of training in noble courts helped her and she didn’t even flick an ear at the open display of affection.

“What happens in the Pony stays in the Pony, right?”

“Exactly,” the earthpony threw her another one of his heartbreaker smiles. “Or you could join old Blueblood over there on the wall of shame.” He pointed to a row of pictures in a corner.

Fancy Pants joined in with an even bigger smile. “Oh yes, I remember that one. I asked my good friend Blueblood after that campaign against my … choice of acquaintances if he would sit for a portrait for my private gallery. I have no idea how it ended up here. Braeburn, be a dear and remind me to ask the manager to give it back.”

This time Braeburn gave Fancy Pants a kiss on the cheek, “I’ll try to remember, darling.” Then both stallions fell over laughing.

Luna’s drink had arrived some time ago and the alicorn was already showing signs of not knowing rule No 4. Her wings fluttered at her sides and the usually stern facade of the stoic ruler was all in a shambles. She had even joined in the giggles at Fancy’s little story about Blueblood’s attempted blackmail. She tried one of the cupcakes that the waitress had also brought.

Fancy Pants had finally calmed down and helped Braeburn up too. “I can’t help but wonder how you can take this revelation about my preferences so calmly, Luna?”

Now it was Luna’s time to grin. “I’m several centuries old, my friend. I doubt you can do anything to make me blush. You wouldn’t believe some of the things Tia and I have seen at the Unicorn King’s court.”

“I don’t know about making you blush. Especially with your coat. But -” Braeburn leaned towards the alicorn and whispered in her ear.

“You don’t say? Eight apples? I will have to see that myself. Please contact me tomorrow so we can make an appointment.” 

Fancy Pants’ eyes could not settle on either pony, “Don’t even joke about something like that, what -”

“Fancy, Fancy, this is the time to keep your composure and a stiff upper lip.” Braeburn’s mischievous grin almost made Luna break out in giggles. “We still don’t know why Luna has graced this place with her presence tonight.”

Luna waved a hoof through the air before her and a flower appeared in a little shower of sparks. She caught it in her magic and placed the bright white blossom in her mane.

Braeburn looked at it, “A moonflower. It only blooms at night and closes at sunrise. Quite a fitting choice for you, but not an answer to our question.”

Luna summoned a mirror in her hoof and checked the blossom before she answered. “I am on what you would call a ‘blind date’. Some pony had the gall to claim the title ‘Princess of the Night’ in my … absence and I have arranged a meeting to reclaim it.”

This time Braeburn leaned over to Fancy Pants and whispered a few words with him. Normally Luna could have easily listened in on them, but the background noise had risen quite a bit in the last few minutes. Fancy Pants coughed slightly. “I think the easiest way to find somepony in here is to ask from the stage.” He pointed to a slightly raised area in the corner. “But you might want to hurry or -” The rest was lost in screams and applause as a white unicorn walked onto the little stage, her DJ-equipment floating behind her. The wall of sound finally subsided, the DJ took some time to set her stuff up, but occasionally cheers of “Vinyl, Vinyl” rose up from the crowd.

Fancy Pants could finally completed his sentence, “If you want to be heard at all, you might ask your question now. When that mare plays nopony will hear you.”

Luna cocked an eyebrow at this. “Is that a fact, Fancy Pants? Because it sounds like a challenge.” Luna took a long sip on her drink, fiddled with the drinking straw and looked totally indifferent about the rising noise.

Braeburn on the other hand was not so sure. “Fancy, don’t you think it’s time to leave for the upper floor. You know I don’t really like this kind of music.”

“Just wait, this will be worth it.” Fancy Pants said just loud enough that only the earthpony could understand him.

By now Luna had walked over to the dance floor and watched some of the ponies shaking their bodies. She didn’t see any rhyme or reason to the moves but it looked like a lot of fun. Then the DJ started with a resounding “Hello Canterlot!” and something that Luna could only vaguely recognize as music hammered from the speakers.

She turned to Fancy Pants and Braeburn and grinned confidently.
“Who here claims to be Princess of the Night!?”

The music stopped with a screeching sound and every eye in the club locked onto her. She turned around once more and saw Fancy Pants take two cupcakes from his ears. Then he looked down: Braeburn lay on the floor next to him, Luna could only see a twitching hind-leg. As she let her eyes wander over the ponies in the club she noticed that quite a few pointed in the same direction: at the DJ. And she finally found the other moonflower. The lightshow above the stage drew a giant blossom in the air. She walked up to the stage and cleared her throat. “You may continue.”

The DJ took the microphone, “Ponies, I give you Luna! Show her how we spend the night in Canterlot.” Under the cheers of every pony on the dancefloor the music resumed and Luna joined in their dance.

Meanwhile the two stallions had left the main room and settled to the quieter upper floor. Braeburn still looked a little shaken. “That was a mean thing to do and you know it.”

“It was only payback for that stunt you pulled. Eight apples...”

“I told you, that was just about my grandma’s secret apple pie recipe. And I wasn’t talking about that. This whole thing has your handwriting: Luna and Vinyl on a blind date and us at the same night here? Vinyl only claimed that ‘title’ after you sponsored her last LP. Just tell me this wasn’t a huge setup.”

“Of course not, Darling. But ‘setup’ is such an ugly word. Let’s just say I helped things along with her sister’s blessing. And don’t you forget: What happens in the Pony, stays in the Pony.”



> Mares on a hill
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Angel saluted as Fluttershy walked out the door. She had a basket full of baked goods on her back. Angel couldn’t help but smile as his owner disappeared behind a bend. She had come quite a way from the recluse two years ago. Back then a picnic would have required him to practically carry her there.

“Hello Rarity,” Fluttershy greeted her friend. “Oh, I hope you haven’t waited long for me.” She hid behind her mane and pawed at the ground bashfully.

“Hello, Fluttershy darling. No, of course not. I’m just too early. Listen.” In the distance Ponyville clocktower rang once low and twice high. “Half past one, just like we agreed. Let’s go, you know how Twilight gets when we are not on time.”

The ponies smiled at the thought of a nervous Twilight Sparkle. “We can’t let that happen,” Fluttershy agreed and they set off for the big tree that housed the library. 

Not much was said on the way there. They had exhausted this week’s gossip on their usual chat in the spa yesterday and not much had happened since then. So the two friends just waved at some acquaintances and friends, traded a “Hello” here and a “How are you” there. They stopped at Sugarcube Corner and bought some cream to go with Fluttershy’s home-baked cake.

“It’s amazing how quiet this town is without Pinkie Pie, isn’t it?” Cup Cake placed the cream in the basket with the utmost care. “I just hope she gets back from her parent’s place soon. The twins have so much energy, without her we can hardly contain them.” As if to prove a point Carrot Cake’s voice could be heard from the upper floor. “Noo, Pumpkin, not the powder!”, then a loud sneeze echoed through the house. “I’ll better go and and help him,” the baker sighed. “Could you be dears and turn the sign to 'closed' on your way out?”

Rarity and Fluttershy agreed to help and walked out of the cafe. They stopped once more at Roseluck’s stand to have a little chat with the mare, and Rarity bought some daisies on a whim. “You know, daisies just go with everything. Even more daisies,” the flower seller joked.
Fluttershy bought some, too.

When they reached the library Twilight Sparkle just closed the door behind her. Her saddlebags were bursting at the seams with books, but her friends didn’t comment. Twilight Sparkle was Twilight Sparkle after all.

“Oh, just on time girls.” The clocktower rang twice in the distance. “I’ll just teleport us -”

Rarity lifted a hoof to interrupt the lavender pony. “Let’s just walk, please. You may have a lot more magical energy now, but I still like my mane unscorched, thank you.”

Twilight threw her a sheepish look, then she started walking. She winced a bit, the bags clamped down around her wings. Fluttershy noticed and helped the alicorn to adjust the bags so they sat behind her wings. “Thank you Fluttershy. There are so many things I have to relearn with these.” She shuffled her new appendages. “You wouldn’t believe how long it took me to find a comfortable position last night. And preening will need some time to get used to, too.”

Fluttershy and Rarity listened to their friend’s complaints and sorrows and advised where they could, mostly Fluttershy, but Rarity too had a few tips to share. Before long they reached the site for their picnic, a small hill on the outskirts of Ponyville. Rarity produced a rug from her bags, a set of plates and cups, a teapot and a thermos. “Twilight, be a dear will you.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You ask me, the first unicorn ever to become an alicorn, the one who became a princess and transcended even the revered Starswirl, to heat your tea water?”

Rarity smiled. “Of course I do.”

“Then it is my pleasure,” the alicorn smiled back. The thermos glowed for a moment in her magical aura, then the teapot glowed in it too. “We can’t forget the pot now, can we?”

Meanwhile, Fluttershy had taken the cake and the cream from her basket and put them on the rug. Both Rarity and Twilight complimented her on the smell and soon the first slices of cake were equally praised for their taste. The aroma of tea wafted over the hill as the three friends enjoyed the view.

“It’s a bit strange how quiet Ponyville is without Pinkie, Applejack and Rainbow,” Rarity commented. “I guess you never noticed how much life they bring to this town until they’re gone.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, it’s strange how everything is so calm. Did you notice, even Scootaloo drove her scooter at a slow pace. I guess I could get used to this.”

“But then those three would never return,” Twilight looked up from her teacup. “As much as I enjoy to read a book without Rainbow crashing through my windows, I don’t want that."

Fluttershy opened her eyes. “No, I don’t want that either. It’s just that a tranquil Ponyville is nice too, once in a while.”

“Yeah, once in a while,” Rarity agreed. She took some embroidery from her bag. “You girls don’t mind if I do some needlework on the side?”

At that Twilight presented a book from her bags, “Certainly not. I have brought a bit to read actually. Do you have something too, Fluttershy?”

“No. But you girls go ahead. I’ll just enjoy the peace and quiet. You know, while they last.” Fluttershy took another sip from her cup and listened to the wind, the rustle of paper when Twilight turned a page and the soft hum of a song from Rarity. She leaned back and watched the sky. As the afternoon rolled in they shared the daisies.

When the sun started to set on the little town the three ponies collected their stuff and walked back into town. As they strolled by the station the evening train from Canterlot left. Apple Bloom and Big McIntosh had just welcomed their sister and the three joined them. Applejack looked completely exhausted, but she said the Canterlot rodeo had been great fun. Fluttershy sighed a bit as she heard the party cannon all the way from Sugarcube Corner.

“Guess who else is back,” Twilight Sparkle smiled at her.

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity answered just in time as the multihued contrail appeared over the town. A moment later the light blue pegasus pony landed in front of the group.

“Guess who’s back!” she crowed.

“We already did that, Rainbow,” Rarity replied. “It’ Pinkie Pie, Applejack and you. You’re in last place by the way.” A mischievous grin played around her face.

“Yeah, that’s me ... wait, what!?” Rainbow looked a bit annoyed.

Rarity looked at Fluttershy and Twilight. “Good we had that picnic today, right girls?”

Fluttershy smiled back and Twilight nodded in agreement.

From across the market Pinkie Pie could be heard. “Did somepony say picnic?”
> Of greed and generosity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Spike, 

Before we begin, this letter is for your eyes only. Under no circumstances may the Princesses, Twilight or any other pony find out what I am about to tell you.

Now, I better start by telling you who I am: I’m you from the future. The thing I write you about will also be prove of this because I you we have not told a living soul about what will happen tonight.
The sapphire and ruby we have grown for the last year, the favor we asked from Luna, the secret research about biology and the viability of pony-dragon hybrids, the wine in the hidden compartment under the stairs and the order we placed under Twilight’s name at the Corner: You plan to confess to Rarity tonight.

I have some good news and some bad news for you: Rarity will accept. Our dedication will win her over and she will wait for our growth spurt with us, for us to mature.

I have waited for twenty years for that growth spurt to come. Twilight doesn’t know why we don’t develop like other dragons. Maybe it’s because we have grown up in the strong magical field of Canterlot? Or maybe it’s because we are subconsciously afraid after that greed-growth last summer? Nopony knows. We even reached out to the great dragon sages in the badlands, but they only told us that dragons do not mature in years. 'A dragon will grow when he is ready and when his time comes.'
Whatever that means.

I’m sure you have done the math already, but I’ll better spell it out: Even if my growth spurt hits today and only takes the five years it does for normal dragons, Rarity will be too old to have foals of her own.

I remember it like it was yesterday. When I confessed and brought that point up, she said that parenthood was not even on her long term plans and that I shouldn’t bother with it.
Then Rainbow got her little bundle of joy, then AJ, Fluttershy, even Pinkie Pie found someone to settle down with. And Rarity smiled through it all.
But when Sweetie Bell had her first filly five years ago, -
I can’t tell you how much it hurt to hear her cry at night. And she always tries to hide it, that makes it even worse. 

She doesn’t talk about her grief, but it shows in her art, in the way she looks at the pictures on our walls and in the way we kiss. She is so, so great, I couldn’t ask for a better partner, but it’s eating her. And it is eating me, too. Sometimes we go for days without talking now. 
The only good thing about this is that I still have no wings. Otherwise I would have flown away and hidden in some vulcano already.

Twilight, Celestia and Luna, even Discord, the old grump, we have exhausted all options. The only viable way would be to place Rarity in a stasis field until we finally grow up. And I won’t even consider that. She suffered enough for us. Taking her from her friends and family for our selfish desires? No.
Just No.

I trust that you will do the right thing.

In hope of not existing at all,

Future-Spike

PS:
I can’t stress enough, how important it is that nothing about this letter becomes known. It’s probably best if you just burn it.


---


A little dragon sat on a bench in the park. He had pulled in some favors and now it faced the rising stars just right. He looked up as he picked up the sound of hooves on gravel. Rarity walked down the path and once again he could only stare at her grace and poise.

“Good evening, Rarity.”

“Good evening, Spike. And what an evening it is, just look at that sky!”

“Yeah, Luna gave it her all tonight.”

They watched the sky together for a few moments. Then Spike led her over to the bench and they sat down together. Spike took a pair of wine glasses from a little basket, opened the bottle of wine he had gotten for the occasion and poured the rich, red liquid into the glasses. Rarity took one in her magic, they clinked them and enjoyed the scene together.

“Say Rarity, have you ever thought about the saying ‘If you love someone, set them free.’?”

The pony looked at the dragon with a bit of amazement. “That’s a pretty grown-up thought for such a young dragon, Spike. And for a dragon, no less,” she answered. “Indeed I have, and I couldn’t agree more.”

Spike opened the little packet he had collected from Sugercube Corner earlier and passed it to the mare.

“Do you want some too?” Rarity asked.

“No thanks, I’m good.”

A little piece of dark chocolate cake flew up to Rarity, and she took a tiny bite. “Oh, you just know how to please me, Spike. This is perfect!” She savored the taste. She looked down as she heard a crunching sound. “Oh Spike! Is there something wrong? Why are you crying?”

The little dragon brushed a tear from his face. “Yes, I … it’s alright. Only this gem is a bit spicier than I expected.” The fire-ruby in Spike’s claw was already missing a bite. He noticed the look Rarity shot him. “Sorry, but they taste just too good! But I’ll give you this sapphire I grew. It looks just like in your cutie mark. I couldn’t eat that one anyway.”

Rarity levitated the stone to her and created a small light to inspect the perfect gem. “You know Spike, there is a second part to that saying. ‘If they come back, they are yours. If they don’t they never were.’ I want you to know that I will always, always come back to a good friend like you. And I know you will for me.”

In the dim light Rarity could only see him nod. For a moment she wondered about the little dragon’s taste in food. If a foodstuff made her cry so much, she would not have eaten it at all. But maybe gems were that tasty.

They spend some more time together in the park and enjoyed the meteor shower that Luna had created for tonight. Then Spike escorted Rarity back to the Carousel Boutique and wished her a good night. Rarity watched him walk down the road, his little form almost lost. Just as she was about to turn and walk inside a green flame lit up. For a moment Spike’s face could be seen, then he was swallowed by the darkness.

> To share an apple
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The potion dripped into the little plastic cup. Three ounces of the concoction that would change his life. Thomas looked around the chamber a last time. The metal top of the table was uncomfortably cold against his naked backside, the hospital gown only covered the front.

“You can still go back, if you want,” the pure white stallion reminded him. “It is a free choice, nobody will judge you if you decide to quit, even now.”

The smile on the ponies muzzle seemed genuine to Thomas. His human assistant, however, was stealing a look at the clock, he noticed. Then a stomach rumbled. “Sorry doc Whitecoat, sorry Thomas. I missed breakfast today. I can’t wait till lunch.”

Two weeks ago Thomas would have simply ignored him or he might even have gotten a bit angry that his "conversion experience" was dimmed by this unprofessional assistant nurse. But now, with his life as a human coming to an end, he felt oddly serene. He smiled at the nurse. “I’ll try to make it quick Jules. I’ll share my first apple with you” he joked. He wiggled his toes, flexed his fingers one last time. “I still think I’m gonna miss those.”

“Yeah. You wouldn’t believe how many times I have heard that one. And I can assure you, you’ll get over it eventually. We all did,” the pony smiled again. He sat down and showed his forehooves. “These are not as flexible as a hand, but I can still juggle and that counts for something. And the wife loves the -” The doctor was interrupted by another loud rumbling stomach.

The nurse blushed. “Sorry.”

Thomas cleared his throat, “Yeah, let’s get on with it.” He grabbed the purple fluid and held the little cub to his eyes. “You know, the pictures don’t do it credit,” he said as he watched the swirls in it. He knew that those were caused by nano-machines and magic, but it didn’t make it any less beautiful. Then he noticed little patches of black on his fingers and on the tip of his nose.

 “Oh oh,” he heard the doctor say, “Point of no return, my friend. Now you’ll have to take the plunge before the magic burns your face of. Or worse.”

Whatever calmness Thomas had held before now dropped out the bottom. He went cross-eyed as he tried to watch the little black spot on his nose grow wider and wider. He had seen the images of magical burns on the news months before, black, charred flesh and bones were all that was left. He felt panic rising in his stomach, like a hot, red ball that was swirling faster and faster. His pulse raced. He would die here today, what had been a joke before now became a certainty.

Then two hooves clapped in front of his face. The smiling face of Dr. Whitecoat filled his visual field. “Calm down, please. You’re still in control, Thomas. We both know that you came here with the will to do it. You told me so the first day. You even tried to bribe me to get your shot earlier. Don’t chicken out on me now. Take a deep breath.”

Thomas did as he was told, a deep breath, a look around the room, a smile from Jules, a bit startled, but still a smile, the confident look of Whitecoat, one last glance into the mirror, then he swallowed the ooze.

“Ugh, tastes …” was the last thing he said, then the human Thomas dropped down on the table. His skin became a translucent white, the hair from dropped from his body and became small heaps of brown and black on the floor.

Whitecoat had seen the transformation hundreds of times now and he still marveled at it. The pinnacle of human engineering and the most advanced spell ever created working together, it was a wonder to behold.

When the process finally came to an end about thirty minutes later the human was gone. A bright yellow earthpony opened its blue eyes. “ … awful. Whoever decided on the taste of that stuff has never tasted it himself, I bet.”

Jules looked at a board. “Well that was a dud. No one bet on “complaining about the taste” for you. How are you feeling, Thomas?”

The yellow stallion already struggled to his hooves. “Quite -” he started to talk. “Wow, that voice so sounds strange.” He flexed his left foreleg, his right foreleg, then his tail. ”Wow!” He inhaled through his nose. “WOW, Jules. have you been working out in here? This place reeks!”

Whitecoat started to laugh. “I declare this conversion a success. Lets make a few final tests and then -”

Again a stomach rumbled, but this time it was Thomas’. “Uhm, Jules, I don’t know if I can still share my apple with you. I’m famished!”

“Don’t worry, I’ll get an apple too, then we can share and still have an apple each.”

And they did.
> A novel night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“It’s three in the morning,” Twilight grumbled as she walked through the library main room.  “Whoever that is, they have some nerve to disturb me at this hour.” Her magic lighted a candle and she opened the door. “Do you have any idea …” Outside stood a really wet and tired looking baby dragon. ”Spike, I was wondering when you’d come back. It’s three AM, I have just started my second pot of tea. Come in, let’s get you dry before you catch a cold. You should have been in bed hours ago.” Twilight took a step back and let the dragon walk in.

The dragon whelp suppressed a yawn as he walked in. “I know, but Rainbow Dash wanted to complete the latest chapter of her story. You know that novel she has been obsessing over for the last weeks?”

A towel floated over from the bathroom in Twilight’s magic. Spike grabbed it from the air, and started to rub his skin until he was dry again. Then he opened a closet and got a mop to clean up the small puddle he had left on the floor.

Twilight sat down at her desk and shooed away Owlowiscious before he could swipe a cube from her sugar bowl. She gave the bird a hard stare. “Oh, I know what you’re up to, mister!”

“Who?”

“Yeah right, just keep it up with that attitude.” Twilight placed the lid on the little treasure trove of sweetness. She turned back to her dragon assistant. “I thought that novel was a joke, you know, to pull my horn. It’s been -,” she looked at her calendar and did a little arithmetic, “one year, three months, and fifteen days, four hundred sixty days, since she actually started reading. At all! A story for foals if you remember. And now she’s writing her own?”

This time Spike yawned to his heart’s content. “What can I say, Rainbow Dash is that committed. And the story is not bad either. It’s about a young weather pony from a small town who goes on an epic quest, meets new friends, overcomes enemies, grows up and eventually fulfills her dream of becoming captain of the Wonderbolts.”

Twilight did not seem overly impressed. “Aha. Sounds rather like an adventure novel. I don’t know if I would want to read that. It takes years of experience to write good action. Even the first “Daring Do” is not a masterpiece. Too many authors lose their stories in lifeless fights and boring coach chases.”

“Oh no, it’s not just action, there is a lot of deep stuff, too.” Spike defended Rainbow Dash’s idea. “You see, one of the companions is a really wise earthpony, and she always has some clever idea or sage advice. I haven’t even thought about some of those things in years. I thought I had it all figured out, ever since you had me clean up the “Philosophy, Religion, Metaphysics” section back in Canterlot. But this book … a whole new perspective, I tell you.” 

“Hmm.” Twilight tapped her forehead, Spike saw that she still had doubts about this.

“There’s great humor too. The main adversary has two henchmen and they always mess things up. One is a large donkey and the other is a small unicorn. And when they get into trouble the donkey always says "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!". They crack me up every time,” Spike giggled.

“So we have coming of age, adventure, comedy and some food for thoughts,” Twilight nodded. Then she knitted her brows and darted a doubtful look at her assistant , “Don’t tell me there is a love story in it, too.”

Spike avoided her gaze and looked to the ground, “Actually, no. Dash wanted something like that in it, but I remembered ‘Writing 101’ and ‘The pen and you’.” He looked up and faced Twilight “‘Don’t write about emotions you haven’t experienced. You’ll get them wrong.’ if I remember correctly.”

Twilight seemed very pleased. “Very good Spike. If you had so much influence in that novel, I might even read it,” she smiled.

Spike’s face glowed with pride. He hurried over to a window and opened it. “She said yes,” he blared into the night.

Before Twilight could say anything a whirlwind of drenched cerulean feathers, soggy paper and rain hit the library. Rainbow Dash so much as pressed the bundle into Twilight’s hoofs. “Please make a list of all issues, logical, grammar or spelling and give it to my editor. I’m so glad to have you on the team, pre-reader number one!” She hugged Twilight in a quite wet embrace and was gone the next second.

Twilight turned to her dragon assistant, but all she caught was the sound of claws on wood and a closing bedroom door. Her groan startled awake half of Ponyville.
> Too much of a good thing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna had to take a step back as a huge slab of stone suddenly turned the corner and almost knocked her crown off. Her royal rump touched down on the floor without any ceremony or a herald announcing it. Lucky for the slab no guards were present to arrest it for this affront, Luna preferred to sneak her three AM midnight snacks without anypony knowing. If Celestia got wind of those … inofficial meals Luna would never be able to tease her sister about her swelling flanks again. 
And that was just too much fun. Now she only had to talk down whoever was floating masonry around the palace in the middle of the night. As it turned out it was a very guilty looking Princess Twilight Sparkle.

“Good evening, Twilight. I hadn’t expected to meet you up and about at this time of the night.” She looked at the stone tablet more closely. “Oh, I remember this! How nostalgic ... and embarrassing!” she chuckled. “Why don’t you tell me why you are at the servant’s entrance to the palace’s pantry? And with my first tries at celestial calculations to boot?”

Twilight Sparkle swallowed and stammered for a moment, but finally she found her voice. “Just looking for a past midnight, before breakfast snack. Please don’t tell Celestia!”

Luna gave her friend her most winning smile. “What should I tell Celestia? I have no idea what you are talking about. I’m not here after all and under no circumstances would I share my ill-gotten booty with you.” A veritable mountain of sandwiches and two tubs of ice cream appeared behind Luna.

Understanding dawned in Twilight’s eyes, and she nodded eagerly. “I have no idea either, maybe this is all just a dream?”

“Hold that thought,” Luna grinned, “it might just save our tails.” Then she wrapped Twilight and her tablet, the food and herself in shadow. Just in time to avoid a group of bakers who were the first to open the kitchen and would probably notice the missing loaves of bread soon. “Let’s get out of here,” the shadow whispered and hushed away.

When Twilight stepped out of the shadows she found herself in Luna’s chambers. Dark blues, violet and black dominated the decoration, everything was covered in either gems or lace. Or both. A giant four-poster bed, big enough for five ponies (or just enough for Luna and Celestia) took up most of the room. Luna ignored it. She found a small door in the back of the room and pushed it open. Beyond was a small but tidy room. A simple bed, a desk covered in paperwork and a collection of books on a small shelf betrayed little about the pony who spend her time here. The only thing out of the ordinary was a strange, wooden construction in a corner of the room. Twilight only realized it’s purpose when Luna’s hoofshoes, her crown and the ornamental yoke found their place on it. The plate of sandwiches and the ice cream floated over to the desk.

Twilight looked around, her mouth agape. “I did not realize a princess could have a room so simple. Do you think I could have one like this too? That huge bed they got me is a nightmare to sleep in.”

Luna smiled, “You are a princess now, you can have almost anything you want. But you have to look the part. Don’t tell anyone I told you, but Celestia prefers to sleep either on a bed of straw or on a cloud.”

Twilight sucked in a breath. “No!”

“On my honor as princess of the night,” Luna swore with her right fore hoof over her chest. “But that’s beside the point.” She looked at the slab of stone that still hovered in Twilight’s telekinetic grasp behind her. “I have no idea why Celestia still has those old things, for their sentimental value probably. But why do you read them? And how have you even found them in the first place?”

Again Twilight could only swallow dry, but she knew that she would have to confess this time. “I read them because there is almost nothing else left. I found them when I rearranged the royal archives last month and I thought that maybe I could glean some insight into the early history of heaven mechanic theory from them.”

“And could you?”

“No, but I think the little cats and flowers with smiling faces add a very personal touch.”

Luna could not hold her laughter anymore. “I remember, I made this one together with Celestia. She made all the calculations and I added the decor. She would always praise me for the kittens.” Luna’s laughter died down, and she sighed with a nostalgic touch to her voice.

“And you say, you have already read everything else in the royal archive? Every declaration, all the minutes, even the annotations to those?”

“Yes. Ever since I found that sleep is optional for me now, I have spend every second reading. But after these,” Twilight pointed her horn to the stone tablet, ”there are only a few hundred meters of cookbooks left. After that there is only romance fiction and -” she shuddered.

“Don’t say it!” Luna interjected, but it was too late to stop Twilight.

 “Fan-fiction.”

> The hooves, horns and wings of change
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Fluttershy opened the door to the library and was greeted by the sudden silence of interrupted conversations and six ponies looking at her.
She reacted accordingly. With an “Eeep” and a step back she tried to leave the treehouse again, but the white unicorn stallion behind her blocked the path.

He gently but firmly pushed Fluttershy into the main room, brushed a hoof through his short cropped dark grey mane before he addressed the other ponies. “Good morning, I’m Angel Bunny,” he said. His voice sounded not unlike Big Mcintosh, in fact he even looked quite like the farmer, except for the different colors and the horn. And the blank flank, the pony had no cutie mark despite looking more than twenty five summers old. “Excuse me for skipping the introductions, but I can see the gang is almost all here. I’ll just assume that you ponies are the other pets? And you woke up just like me this morning? As a pony?”

The assembled ponies nodded and voiced their agreement. Angel noticed that Rarity wore a smug face and that she collected a few coins from Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Next to Rarity sat a white earthpony mare with a light violet mane. Just by the way she looked at him he could tell that this was the annoying cat. “Opalescence. Winona”, he nodded at her and at the pony next to her and tried to keep a neutral face. Next to the cat sat a brown pegasus mare, her unkempt long white hair hanging down over her eyes. To his amazement Winona, no other pet could have been it, seemed on good terms with the cat. They resumed chatting right after he had greeted them. How could anyone like to talk to that stuck-up cat?
Next around the table was Applejack. Angel only gave her a quick nod and moved to the next pony. There was no point in waiting if the farmer might inquire after a certain amount of carrots that might have gone missing from her storage last winter. It was better to take no chances with that mare.
Rainbow Dash and her tortoise Tank, now a grass-green pegasus stallion, were talking about something, so again Angel only exchanged nods.

Just as he was about to ask for Twilight Sparkle and her owl the unicorn walked in from another part of the library. “Ah, Fluttershy! And Angel Bunny, I presume?” The stallion nodded. “Have a seat, Pinky Pie and Gummy should be back with snacks soon.” She turned to the kitchen and shouted, “Spike, is the tea ready?”

“It’s done when it’s done, Twilight,” the little dragon replied, “You can’t rush tea, and you know it!”

Just a moment later the library’s door opened again, and Pinkie Pie walked in with a basket full of cupcakes and other food on her back. Behind her a grey unicorn stallion with a bright blond mane carried another basket of baked goods. Angel was stumped at who that other pony might be until he noticed the violet eyes, “Gummy? Is that you?” The unicorn nodded and smiled at him with an even more unexpected mouth full of teeth. Pony teeth, but teeth nonetheless. Angel only shook his head. “Why does this even surprise me? You are Pinkie Pie’s pet,” he asked the universe in general. As usual the universe did not bother to answer.

By now it was getting quite cramped with eleven ponies around the table. Fluttershy and Rarity had already retreated to one of the reading couches in the back and Angel was tempted to join them. But he was still curious about the last pet he hadn’t met yet. Twilight Sparkle’s owl was still missing. He got his wish a few seconds later when he heard a loud crash from the other wing of the library. 

“I swear, I will never get used to this clumsy body!” A tan earthpony limped in, his brown mane and the Trottingham accent were enough to identify Owlowiscious. The stallion looked at Angel with a no small amount of envy. “You and the turtle get wings and I’m stuck on the ground? I say, there is no justice in this world!”

Angel gave him sly grin, “Maybe there is more in it than you realize?”

Suddenly Pinkie Pie was next to him and jammed a muffin into his muzzle, the next second she repeated the same with Owlowiscious. “Don’t start to bicker. Have some food and then we’ll find out what this is all about.”

Right on cue Spike rolled in with three pots of tea and a few cups. Six of those were china, six were heavy earthenware with extra big handles. “Training cups, great idea Spiky-wikey,” Rarity commended the young dragon.

After everyone had taken some sweet from the baskets and a cup of tea in front of them, Angel finally did what he had wanted to since they had entered the library. He looked at Twilight Sparkle and asked, “So, miss Sparkle, what kind of spell did you botch this time?”

Before the librarian could even answer Fluttershy was by Angel’s side and looked at him sternly. “Angel Bunny, that is no way to treat a friend! Especially if you want Twilight to create a counterspell for whatever she miscast ... this ... time. I mean ... uhm ... very nice tea, Spike. May I have another cup?”

Twilight sighed. “Anypony else suspect me?” The shuffling of hoofs under the table, a general murmur of “Hm”, “Uhm” and “Oh” and gazes all over the place but at the young librarian's face were answer enough. “Believe me, I’d suspect me too, but this wasn’t me.”

The murmur stopped and Owlowiscious added, “This magic happened right after sunrise, I can attest that Twilight has not cast any magic at that time. I was watching her sleep at her desk the one second, then I fell from my perch and the next second my beautiful wings had turned into these.” He held his fore hooves up and shook his head with a look of loss in his eyes.

“But if it wasn’t you, who could have cast such a spell? And why just our pets?” Rarity wondered aloud. “I have seen any number of cats and dogs when I walked here, nopony else was turned into a pony ...ah... you know what I mean.”

Twilight shrugged and was just about to answer when there was a knock on the door. Twilight looked around, “Who could that be? I placed a “closed” sign on the door.” She walked to the window by the entrance and looked outside. Then she scrambled to the door and opened it wide. “Please, come in Princess Celestia!” she greeted her mentor.

The royal alicorn entered and behind her another, smaller alicorn followed. This pony sported a fiery red coat and an orange and yellow mane. The mare looked almost more of an incarnation of the sun then Princess Celestia herself. Yet she looked embarrassed and avoided to look anyone in the eye.

The princess smiled as she saw the group of ponies. “I see, everyone is already here. Or should I say everypony?” The princess probably expected a bit of laughter, but this joke had already outlived its funniness, and so she moved on quickly. “You probably wonder why you are all ponies right now. Well Philomena here,” she wrapped a wing around the smaller alicorn, ”has something to say to you.”

The phoenix-pony looked at her hooves. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused. My race has a bit of transformation magic and it seems my transformation spread to you over my link to the princess and through the Elements of Harmony to you. I had no idea that would happen and I did it with no ill intent.” She shuffled her forehooves on the ground. “The transformation will wear off on its own in about a week or so.”

Seeing the mortified phoenix the other pets smiled and nodded to each other. They jumped the sheepish alicorn and gave her a grouphug. A second later Pinkie Pie jumped in too. 

Except for Owlowiscious who kept lamenting the loss of his wings nopony had even the slightest word of complaint. Gummy even seemed to like his new body quite a bit, especially his teeth. Later Angel Bunny and all the others apologized to Twilight Sparkle for accusing her, but just as before, she showed a lot of understanding.

As the morning progressed the group of ponies moved to the outside from the stuffy library, but finally the Princess had to return to Canterlot. “Goodbye, my little ponies, until the next national crisis,” she joked. This time she got a bit of laughter, but her subjects exchanged a few precarious looks. Just as the two alicorns were about to lift of, Twilight remembered and said “Please give our regards to Luna. Too bad she couldn’t join us.”

“I’ll be sure to do that,” a grin spread over Celestia’s face. “Right after I’ve told her that her collection of spiders has turned into a dozen preschool foals. I wonder how she will take that.”
> The rainbow cupcake factory
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Over the years the citizens of Ponyville had developed a keen sense for trouble and always kept an ear on the ground and a weather eye on the horizon. Quite soon the more sensible ones noticed the unusual absence of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash in town. They only showed up to do their jobs and disappeared into a shack on the outskirts of Ponyville. 

“Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash,” Lyra whispered to Caramel. “They are bad enough apart, but together... I don’t even want to think about it. Bon Bon is just checking our insurance policies and then we’ll hightail it to Canterlot. You should too, if you know what’s good for you.” She didn’t even wait for the stallion to answer and sprinted to her mare friend when she saw her rounding the corner with two big suitcases. Both looked around the station square one last time, then they turned and left town on the next train.

Twilight Sparkle and her friends were usually at the center of the chaos that befell Ponyville more or less periodically so their instincts for trouble had been dulled to near apathy. But as the town emptied more and more, and stories about strange sounds around the old shack by the Everfree rose from rumors to the only thing ponies talked about, Applejack, Fluttershy and Rarity decided to consult with Twilight Sparkle.

“Pinkie and RD have been hanging together in that shack for more than a month now. I know they are up to something, I tell you.” Applejack put her hoof on the table to underline her statement. “I don’t care what it is, but if those two are preparin’ a prank for so long, I can’t blame any of those who left town, chickens that the are.”

Fluttershy’s timid voice was even smaller than usual, “The animals don’t go near that shack anymore. They only talk about the annoying smells, the strange laughter and the screams all the time. It’s really creepy, I would like to have some peace again, please!”

“Well, I don’t care that much what those two do in their freetime,” Rarity crossed her fore legs in front of her, “but scaring away my customers and threatening us with one of their uncouth pranks? That will not stand.”

“I just think there is something fishy going on here,” Twilight Sparkle said. ”All in favour of checking out the old shed?”

Four hooves rose. 

“All opposed?”

Three hooves.

“I see. Now, I hate to break it too you Scootaloo, but even if your vote counted here, you’re still overruled. And when did you come in here anyway?”

The orange filly pointed a hoof at Spike. “He let us in through the back.”

“Don’t look at me, Twilight,” the dragon defended himself. “Sweetie Bell said she had to talk to Rarity.”

Rarity ruffled her sister’s mane. “So young, but so sawy already. I’m not sure if I should be proud or horrified.”

“Why don’t you want us to go to the shack?” Fluttershy looked at Scootaloo and measured the filly in her eyes. 

Scootaloo withered under the look of the four mares. “We can’t tell you.”

“It doesn’t change anything, we’re going to this shed and we’re going to figure this out. Right now. You can run along, girls.”

Just as the crusaders were about to sprint off, a white magical aura lifted them from the floor. “You’re not going to warn Pinkie and Rainbow, are you?” Rarity put the fillies down when they stopped struggling, three fillies were a bit much for one pony.

The crusaders gave her their best smiles. And tried to dash out the door again.

This time they were caught in Twilight Sparkles magic, and this unicorn could hold them indefinitely if she wanted to. They floated back into the room.

“So, Pinkie thinks she has thought this through, hm,” Twilight assessed the situation. “A Pinkie Promise not to tell us, a Pinkie Promise to warn them and a Pinkie Promise not to talk about these Pinkie Promises. Am I right?”

Scootaloo, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Bell only looked at their hooves dangling in the air and nodded. 

“Well, let’s go, girls. Spike, would you please guard these three? They are not to leave until we’re back.” Twilight did not put the crusaders back down. When they left the library Applejack could hear the dragon as he talked to the crusaders.
“So, you girls hang here often?”

A short walk later the four of them arrived at the shed and managed to hide just in time as Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash opened the door and left. Twilight could hardly recognize her friends: Rainbow was covered in a sticky, slimy substance, green, red, yellow, blue all over her body. She tried to fly, but the stuff was even stuck in her feathers and so she had to walk. Pinkie Pie didn’t stop laughing, but she didn’t help her friend. Pinkie looked even stranger than Rainbow: Her mane hung limp from her head and her eyes were sunken in and had deep, black rings under them.

After the two had left, Twilight shared a look with her friends and they walked up to the shed. The door was not locked and so the four of them entered. Inside they found a monstrous construction, pipes and conveyors, something that looked like a strange oven. And a workbench filled with baked goods: Cupcakes in all color of the rainbow. Before Twilight could say anything, Applejack had snatched one and taken a bite.

The earthpony’s face contorted like she had just bitten into a lemon. Tears ran from her eyes and her tongue was burning red. “So spicy!” she wheezed.

“That’s what you get for sneaking into our secret laboratory!” Rainbow Dash crowed from the door. Both her and Pinkie Pie had returned and looked normal again. The smell of soap drifted through the room.

Pinkie Pie was grinning like the proverbial cat that caught the canary. ”How do you like our special rainbow cupcakes? Made with 100% pure rainbow!”

“Terrible! Inedible!” Applejack replied, her voice still strained. “I wouldn’t eat one if you payed me to!”

“Yeah, the last batch was a bit strong on the stuff. We’re still working the kinks out of the recipe,” Rainbow Dash took the baking tray and put them away. “We’ll give those to Spike later.”

“Try one of these,” Pinkie Pie had opened a basket and offered it to her friends. Seeing that they were quite reluctant, Pinkie took one and happily munched away at it. "See!?"

“Pinkie, you eat them with hot sauce,” Twilight said unimpressed. “I’ll try them if Rainbow eats one.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Rainbow Dash snatched one from of the basket. “Delish!”

Now Twilight had no excuse and took a bite out of a bright red cupcake. “Strawberry, with a piquant aftertaste. Not quite my style, but good.”

The other ponies took some too and soon the shed was filled with the sound of chatter. “But what about the noise, the screams and the laughter? And why did you two look so strange when you left?” Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie tapped a hoof at the strange contraption. “My invention. Fully automated, but a bit loud,” she said proudly. “We had a major icing explosion yesterday, broken blow-off valve in the upper frosting duct. Almost took the roof out, I worked all night to get it fixed. That stuff is worse than superglue. Touch a pony covered in it and you’re stuck together until you can wash it of. I had a bucket of water left, but Rainbow had to hop down to the river. So funny!.”

“And the screams, well some of the early batches were even too spicy for Spike to eat, but Pinkie tried them all.” Rainbow added.

Twilight swallowed the rest of a green cupcake that tasted like fresh lemon-grass. “Wait, wait, so Spike is in on this, too?”

Pinkie looked at her with astonishment. “Of course he is. The crusaders taste the normal batches and he gets the … more extreme ones.” She stepped right up to Twilight and pressed her face against her friend’s. “Or do you suggest I should throw away a perfectly good cupcake!?”

“Uhm, no?”

“Excellent,” Pinkie stepped back again and smiled. “But you all must promise not to tell anyone about this,” Pinkie drew herself up and stood on her hind legs, “because these cupcakes and the fully automated Cupcake-O-Mat 1000 will revolutionize the world of baking,” she struck her right fore hoof towards the sky, “and make me the queen of all the ovens.”

When the wave of mad laughter finally subsided Rainbow Dash just shrugged. “She gets like this sometimes. You know, she’s just being Pinkie Pie.”

> To play the games of gods and demons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia nudged Twilight in the wing gently. “Wake up, sleepyhead.”

“Just five more minutes, Spike,” the young alicorn mumbled and turned around. “I’ll come up with an excuse for the princess later.” She smacked her lips and shuffled her wings to get into a new, more comfortable position.

Pencil Pusher and the present guards noticed the twitching eyebrow even before the princess mentioned for them to cover their ears.

“RISE AT ONCE TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

Celestia grinned with no little satisfaction as her former student rose out of the paperwork and suddenly stood on the ceiling upside down. “It is later, Twilight, let’s hear your excuse for falling asleep, again.”

Gravity finally realized that Equestria’s latest princess was blatantly ignoring physics and got to work. Twilight managed to catch herself just in time before she hit the floor with her face. As her hooves touched the marble floor of her study she stumbled a few steps and unsuccessfully tried to stifle a yawn.

“I’m ... ,” she started before another yawn caught her. “I’m sorry, Prin- Celestia. I guess I didn’t get enough sleep last night. Maybe I’m still exhausted from the coronation?”

“Twilight, this is not like you,” the princess of the sun shook her head. “The coronation was a week ago and you were fine the next day. You’re learning with me again, but I don’t remember you neglecting your studies like this before. You fell asleep during sunrise practise, at breakfast, twice in court and just now. And last but not least: You’re an alicorn. You should be able to go with a minimal amount of sleep now. Maybe not for a thousand years on five minute catnaps like me on your first day, but this is strange.”

A twinkle appeared in Twilight Sparkles eyes. “You mean I could read all night, too?” She clapped her hoof. “Wonderful!” She danced a little on the spot and flapped her wings. “Oh, but I can’t, I promised Discord to play with him again.”

Celestia’s ears rose to attention and her magic caught the former unicorn in her grasp. “You play a game with Discord? What game? Tell me!”

But despite her rough treatment Twilight had fallen asleep again. Celestia placed her on a couch and ordered her guards not to wake her. She walked out of the room, closed the doors and stomped down the corridor. This carpet would never be wrinkled again.

When she reached Discord’s tower she looked up to the slowly rotating building. As the door came by again, she turned and kicked it in. There would be no misunderstanding about how upset she was. Discord placed the rubber duck back into his bubble bath. “Gee, Celestia. Can’t you at least knock? It’s considered civil, you should try it sometime.”

“Don’t play games with me Discord. And don’t play them with Twilight. She doesn’t know how to handle those. Hoof over the board, you’ll get it back when I’ve told her about it’s evil magic.”

“You know, Twilight had a lot of fun.” The draconequus rose from the bath. He snipped his eagle claw and walked to a trunk that appeared on the floor. “The things I do for free ... ndship.” He rummaged around in the big chest. “Ah, here you go.” A flat box floated over to Celestia. “Don’t lose any of the pieces. You know how hard replacements are to come by.” The trunk's cover slammed shut.

Celestia caught the game in her magic and a few sparks of black lightning played over the drawing on the top. “We’ll see,” she said, “maybe I will look into removing the life-sucking curse from this.” Then she turned around and walked out of Discord’s realm.

The trickster rested an elbow on top of his trunk and chuckled. “Yeah Celestia, you go ahead and try that. Greater minds have failed at that task.” He opened the luggage and looked inside. “So, no more Candy Land for little princess Twilight Sparkle.” He took out two other boxes and closed the trunk again. It scurried away on hundreds of little feed. “I guess we’ll have to go with either Monopoly or The Game of Life tonight. Because I definitely won’t play Trivial Pursuit against her.”

> Turning over a new leaf
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It had been just a few months since Mi Amore Cadenza had taken to the empty throne of the Crystal Empire, but she already felt the rut of it. Celestia and Luna had warned her not to expect too much independence from the crystal ponies, they had been Sombra’s slaves for quite some time. And like any tyranny it had pretty much killed all capacity for independent thought, spontaneity and creativity in her subjects.

So when the empire needed a new system for taxation everypony looked to the crystal princess. Cadence promptly ordered a copy of the Equestrian Code in Canterlot and got Luna’s permission to use it. That system had worked fine for a thousand years in the heartland, it would work here, too. She even got some advice from Celestia on how to set up a ministry of finance and got to work.

Then there was the whole Equestria Games thing: ask the crystal princess.
The Empire needed a guard and military? Ask the crystal princess!
Building new streets and expand the railroad to Equestria? The princess!
No more weaving materials for the traditional crafts booth? Princess!!

When she saw a pony with a plunger walk into her throne room Cadence knew that she had to draw a line. Even if Shining Armor and her could do a whole lot of things with the magic of love and the power of the Crystal Heart, she needed to show her subjects that they had to think and act for themself.

The turning of the seasons was a perfect opportunity. Shimmer Cloud, chairmare of the new board of weather affairs, was pretty stumped when her princess denied the request for the end of summer. “I will gladly turn the weather,” Cadence said. “But the trees, the grass and all other plants, that will be done by the ponies, not by me and not with my magic.”

“But how are we going to do it instead? We have neither unicorns nor pegasus ponies in the Empire, all crystal ponies are earthponies at heart. How do you suggest we go about this?”

“I knew you would ask this,” Cadence smiled because now she was certain her plan would work. “I have asked an expert consultant on this for help.”

The next day Applejack Apple and her Granny Smith arrived at the palace. Within the day a plan for the running of the leaves had been established, almost solely by the crystal ponies and only a bit of … encouragement by the old pony. Signing of a deal for Sweet Apple Acres to supply cider and food for the event was a mere formality.

Two weeks later Shining Armor and his wife stood on the great balcony and used their combined magic to end summer and start autumn in the Empire. The mild air turned just a tad crisper, and the wind freshened. But this was not the great event, they had merely given the start to the greatest running of the leaves Equestria had ever seen: Hundreds, if not thousands, of ponies streamed from the palace’s central square into the outskirts of the city and then into the hills, fields and woods surrounding it.

Cadence watched as the colors of the trees around the palace shifted. The verdant green turned into bright red with a few spots of glowing orange and yellow; the first leaves drifted to the ground.

Shining Armor smiled. “Congratulations my love, I think you have just started a new tradition for the fall of the Crystal Empire.”

> Unnamed document
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Mare Do Well’s journal, November 05th, 2010:

Batch of bad muffins in trash can, small dragon rummaging. This town is afraid of me. I have seen it’s true face.
The streets are extended party halls and the party halls are swarming with ponies and when the streets are finally full, all of them will have to clean up their own mess.
The accumulated filth of all their fun and dancing will rise up about their knees and the nobles and snobs will shout “Save us!” … and I’ll look down and whisper “Do it yourself”.
They had a choice, all of them. They could have followed in the hoofsteps of good ponies like the Pie Clan or the Apple family. Decent ponies who believed in a day’s work for a day’s meal and a day’s fun.
Instead they followed the droppings of party-ponies and dare-devils and didn’t realize that the trail led into the Everfree until it was too late.
Don’t tell me they didn’t have a choice.
Now the world stands on the brink, staring down into swirling chaos, all the librarians and princesses ... and all of a sudden Twilight Sparkle talks to me about friendship.


---


When she had seen the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return Mare Do Well had expected the worst. Equestria was in no way ready to stand against the Bringer of Darkness. A lonely fight against all odds and an almost almighty enemy. Yes, that’s what her mother, her grandmother, her great-grandmother and all of her line had trained for. For a thousand years they had waited. Because they knew that Celestia had not banished her sister for eternity. The princess was a bleeding heart, a nice face, not fit to make and enforce the hard decisions.

And then a rag-tag group of amateurs had appeared on the playing field, had taken up the legendary weapons and … no, they didn’t have the guts to make a clean cut. Forgiveness was the order of the day and talk about "second chances". As if time could cure the death of tens of thousands. Celestia had allowed to turn the suffering of whole cities into laughable stories for foals. The terror of her fallen sister in one line with the Headless Horse or the Olden Pony. Today children thought that Nightmare Moon was a myth, but Mare Do Well knew better. And she was ready. One day the mask was gonna fall, one day the beloved Princess Luna would done her cape and helmet again and Mare Do Well would be ready.

She had watched as Applejack saved Ponyville from the stampede of cows and, yes, she had been impressed. Not only had the farmer saved the town, she had done it with hard work, skill and a minimum of grandstanding.

Her good mood went sour when she saw Applejack accept the huge golden trophy. And over the run of that day it got worse, and worse, and worse. Disregarding safety regulations with that catapult, ignoring health-guidelines with those muffins and the bunny-stampede … let’s just not talk about this.

These ponies were not fit to protect themself. They needed a hero to shelter them.


---


So what if all she had accomplished this last year was to rescue cats from trees and puppies from the lake? The dragons, ursas and parasprites had been taken care of because Mare Do Well had protected the Bearers of the Elements. Who cared if for all the nights she had patrolled the rooftops of Ponyville she had not caught a single burglar? There hadn’t been a single burglary either. The scum of the world was afraid of her, just as it should be.

Because she was the hero Ponyville needed, not the hero it wanted.

Also Pinkie Pie always had a cupcake for her when she made her round. That counted for something, too.
> What really is important
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight Sparkle looked down at the dress she had worn last night at the Grand Galloping Gala. The palace staff had cleaned away the smudges of cake, the smell of sweat, even the sprinkles and the coffee stain it got at Donut Joe’s. The blue fabric shimmered in the afternoon sun and the stars sewn in it reflected the light that shone through her windows all over the bedroom. This was her dress … 

… except, it wasn’t, it was still Rarity’s dress. The fashionista had made them for her friends to wear, but she had not actually given them away, had she? And so Twilight folded the garment, carefully put it in her saddlebags and called to Spike that she would be at the Carousel Boutique before she walked out.

The shop’s door bell jingled happily as always, and Rarity’s smile lit up even more as she saw her friend walk in. To Twilights surprise all her friends were here already. “Hello,” she greeted them, and all of them waved and greeted her back. Apparently they had all arrived within the last five minutes.

Rarity got up from her couch to get even more cushions from the back for her guests. Twilight tried and used the moment to talk to her. “Rarity, I’m here about my ... your ... the dress, you see …”

She stopped as she heard Rarity giggle, “Just go back to the main room, dear. We can talk about the dresses there.”

Stumped Twilight turned and walked back to her other friends. Now she noticed that they  had bags with them, too. Rarity returned with a whole stack of pillows and cushions and sat back on her couch. “Now, I take it you all are here about your dresses, yes?”

“Yeah, I can’t store this in my cloudhouse, -”
“One of my animal friends might nest in it, -”
“I could get flour or stuff on it in the Corner, -”
“I really just can’t accept such a gift, Rarity, -”

they all started at the same time, and ended together, “- could you take it back and store it in your closets?”

Rarity grinned a knowing grin, “We can’t have that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie, of course you can put it in one of my closets, no problem at all. Now Applejack, how do you suggest I take something back that I have made especially for you? It’s not like I could sell it to any of my other customers, can I?”

Applejack shook her head and opened her bags. In her muzzle she held a little purse and in her hooves a big apple cake. “I’ll pay you in monthly installments, if that’s right with you. And this one is made with the best Apple family fruits and Granny Smith’s secret recipe.”

“Installments? I can’t believe you Applejack,” Rarity janked the little bag from her friend and dropped it back into the saddlebags, “that dress was a gift for you and only you. I’ll gladly take the cake though.” It floated from Applejack’s hooves. “Just let me get some plates first.” Then she noticed the look on Twilight Sparkles face. “What is it dear?”

The librarians eyes darted all over the place, “I’d like to keep the dress. But now I’m no longer sure if I dare to ask,” she finally confessed.

Rarity giggled again, like she had done before. She simply walked out and returned with a small stack of plates. The cake was divided and an equal share given to every pony. Rarity smiled to her guests. “Twilight, in a way these dresses, and all the other gifts I give and receive, are my way to gauge what I did with the last year since you came to Ponyville, and in an extend with my life.”

Rainbow Dash snorted a laugh, “I get that! But for me it’s the stunts and tricks I learned.” She looked at Fluttershy and grinned as if to say, top that.

Fluttershy mumbled, “Uhm, animals, especially baby animals. They are so cute. One could make a calendar with them.”

Now in the swing of things Applejack shared too. “The year at Sweet Apple Acres is measured with the work we do and the yield of our harvests.”

Twilight lifted a scroll from her other bag. “My list of letters to the Princess.”

Rainbow Dash smirked, “Hm, I thought it would be the list of books you read.”

The librarian flushed red under her coat and produced another scroll multiple times the size of the letter-list from her bag. “But this is just last month,” she added sheepishly. Her friends just smiled at her awkwardness, and finally Twilight laughed about it too.

Then Pinkie Pie swallowed her last bite of cake. “But you girls all forget the most important one,” she said.

“The smiles of ponies and their laughter?” Fluttershy asked in an unusual display of eagerness.

“No silly, those are important too, but the most important way to think about your life will get you through the good and the bad too. It’s the time you spend with your family, your loved ones,” she drew the other ponies close in a group hug, ”and your friends!”

> Granny, wisdom and tradition
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	There wasn’t much that could spoil a day for Granny Smith but seeing her grandkid walk around with her tail between her legs was one of those things. The old mare didn’t say anything, she closed her eyes and waited in her rocker until Apple Bloom had walked down the path from Ponyville and climbed the little stair onto the main house's porch. The filly had tried not to wake her granny and was more than a little startled when she heard that old, reedy voice.

“So, young’un, what’s crawled up your mane? You look like you got a failing grade.”

Granny Smith’s usually gentle eyes gleamed like a hawk’s and with the way she leaned forward in her chair she nearly looked like one, too. Apple Bloom had almost managed to jump over the railing from fright and now tried to stop hyperventilating at the edge of the veranda.

“You didn’t get a failing grade, did you?” There was an edge in Granny Smith’s voice now and she squinted her eyes.

“No,” Apple Bloom managed, “I got no failing grade. Not now, not ever.”

Granny fell back into her chair and slowly started rocking back and forth again. The gentle eyes and smile were back, as if the last few seconds had never happened. “Then what’s eating you? Can’t be that bad.”

“I had a fight with Diamond Tiara,” Apple Bloom whispered. Everypony at Sweet Apple Acres knew that Granny Smith had a very specific hearing loss: quarrel in the family, admissions of guilt and anything involving love could happen on the other end of the farm and granny would just know.
Everything else might involve talking very loud sometimes.

Granny Smith rolled her eyes. “I see no broken bones.”

“We rolled around a bit,” the young pony pointed at a few grass stains on her coat, “She couldn’t stop and fell into the duck pond.”

A smile flashed over the old mare’s face like a handful of spiders and was gone again in the blink of an eye. “And?” she knew there was more.

“Maybe she might have lost her headdress.”

“That won’t stand. You wash up and ask Miss Rarity to look for that jewel. Tell her I sent you. Then you will clean it and bring it back to Filthy Rich, you hear.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Apple Bloom knew that this was not a request, neither for her nor for the dressmaker either.

“But first, what was that fight about? I hope you didn’t get into trouble for something stupid,” there was an amused twinkle in those eyes, just as if she already knew the answer.

“Diamond Tiara said that her great-grandpa Stinking Rich was a lot cleverer than the Apples back in the day because he got so rich and -” her voice turned into an imitation of the snobby filly’s, “like, spend his sunset years in an exclusive home in Canterlot. And I said that you are the wisest pony in Ponyville and that you are still working and not in some home for old ponies because you like it that way.”

Granny Smith snickered a bit, “Yep, wouldn’t have it any other way!” Then she looked around as if to check for eavesdroppers, waved her grandchild close and hugged her to her chest. “You have to promise not to tell anypony, but I’m not the wisest pony in Ponyville. I just remember a lot of stuff you haven’t learned yet. That’s not wisdom, that’s tradition. You don’t get wise with years, you get wise with experiences.”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to protest, but an old hoof closed it gently.

“If I was so wise, how come I have an aching hip and young Miss Sparkle got wings, hm? That doesn’t sound very wise to me, now does it?” She took her hoof from Apple Bloom’s mouth and tapped her own chin. “Or do you think maybe Miss Hooves delivered the package with the wings to the wrong place?” Her eyes sparkled with mischief.

Apple Bloom grinned, “No, I don’t think they ship wings in the mail.”

“Well gosh darn, then I don’t know it either.” The old mare clopped a hoof on the armrest of her rocking chair.

A bit of mischief had managed to infect the filly, “So, do I listen to you or to Twilight Sparkle now?

“You’re Apple family, aren’t you? And I just because tradition is not always wise, there are still a lot of good things to learn. For example, tradition tells you not to try and catch a speeding pegasus pony with a lasso.”

They both looked up and watched as a cyan streak trailed by a rainbow shot across the sky. It had an orange earthpony screaming on the top of her lungs in tow. A familiar stetson floated down and landed a few steps away on the ground.

“See? Now fetch your sister’s hat and put it on it’s peg, I'll tell her you found it.” She winked at her grandchild. ”And then you run along. The earlier you return that Rich filly’s trinket the better.”

> Don't talk to me about protocol
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	During her time as Celestia’s pupil Twilight Sparkle had seen the Princess in a lot of situations. To the ponies that admired her from afar Celestia was a smiling, but stoic bastion of calm. But she had her moods and anypony on the castle’s staff learned to read them. There were the heavy-lidded eyes of boredom, the twinkling eyes of mischief, the annoyed squinted corners of her eyes, the sad eyes of disappointment and so many more.

But her benevolent smile never wavered. And why should it? Celestia was the most powerful being in all the realms. What could ever faze her?


---


The sound of slamming doors startled the young librarian, the sounds of stomping hooves and angry snorts made her uneasy, but the sight of Celestia’s snarl froze her blood. The Princess was not disappointed, she was not upset, she was livid. The heavy oaken door of Celestia’s private chamber closed with a thundering stroke that rattled the room. A number of cushions rose from one of the couches, shot through a window and exploded into clouds of feathers over the palace gardens. The Princess had fired a paperweight through them. The paperweight itself soon burned up in the atmosphere after reentry.

“Good morning, dearest sister. Won’t you welcome your guests?” Luna seemed unimpressed by the display of rage she had just witnessed.

“Huh?” Celestia turned her head and looked at the group of ponies that now shimmered into view. She eloquently caught that lapse, “Wha?” and stared at the group.

“Sorry, if we caught you at a bad time,” Applejack held her hat in her hoof.

“We thought it would be a nice surprise,” Rarity smiled through gritted teeth.

“Happy one year anniversary?” Pinkie Pie waved a small flag and grinned desperately.

By now the illusion that had hidden the seven ponies and one dragon was completely gone. Fluttershy, Spike and Rainbow Dash cowered on the ground with looks of utter terror etched into their faces. Twilight stood next to Luna, the expression on her face was one of complete disbelief.

Luna shot her sister a scrutinizing look, “Celestia, please, you’re scaring them.” For just a second the room was plunged into darkness and the visage of Nightmare Moon leered in from outside the windows, “That’s my job.”

At last the ice was broken, the elder alicorn stopped staring at the assembled ponies and at least Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie managed to pull themselves together to help their friends. Rarity and Pinkie Pie comforted Fluttershy and Spike while Applejack listened to Rainbow Dash’s assurance of fearlessness.

Celestia walked up to the group and sat down before them, Twilight followed the alicorn with her eyes but didn’t move a muscle. “I’m sorry, my little ponies. I was angry and in my carelessness I frightened you. I can only beg your pardon.” Celestia’s massive wings opened up and started to wrap around the smaller ponies, but stopped at the midway point.

One by one smiled and took a step forward into the white wings until only Luna, Spike and Twilight stood outside. The little dragon was obviously torn between the princess of the sun and his adoptive sister.

Luna stepped up to the stunned pony and whispered into her ears. “They are waiting, Twilight.”

Twilight shook and looked into Spikes pleading eyes, then at Celestia. She lowered her back and mentioned for Spike to get on, then she too stepped into the sea of white feathers. The huge wings closed over them and for just a few minutes all was right with the world.

Then a firecracker fell out of Pinkie Pie’s mane and exploded.


---


“Now tell us, sister. What has you in such foul mood?” Luna asked as her magic mended the broken windows.

“Powder Wig,” Celestia hissed through her clenched teeth.

Twilight wrinkled her forehead, “Powder Wig, elderly unicorn, grey coat with a white mane, majordomo for festivities and parties, a little pudgy?”

Spike giggled, “Elderly? Try ancient. I heard rumors that he managed the first Summer Sun Celebration a thousand years ago.”

“Well, he didn’t, but he sure acts like it,” Celestia snorted. “I wanted to have the ceremony together with Luna, like we did before … you know. But he refuses to change it. How dare he deny his princess!?”

“Can’t you just order him to do it,” Rainbow Dash looked amazed and unsure about the situation.

“No, she can’t, Dashie,” Pinkie Pie said with an intonation that her friends had learned to expect from Twilight Sparkle. Somehow she suddenly wore thick rimmed glasses. ”After the ‘Great Smashing of Barrels’ in 1473 almost ruined the treasury, Princess Celestia forewent the title and privileges of Party Planner Supreme. She is not allowed to organize or plan or to be involved in the organization or planning of any party or party-like occasion with more than twenty ponies without public oversight. Exceptions may be granted by the house of lords with two-thirds majority. Such exceptions were given in … Yeah, I think that’s the important part.”

Spike nudged Twilight into the shoulder. “She caught herself after the important part. I think you might learn something from Pinkie Pie after all.”

But all eyes were on Celestia, the ancient alicorn was actually flushed with shame. “I could order as much honey wine and cake as I wanted. Judge me all you want, you weren’t there.”

Pinkie Pie scooted over to the princess, “Was it worth it?” she asked and grinned.

“Sooo worth it!”
 
Both laughed and high-hoofed, the other ponies in the room just rolled their eyes.

“But what do we do about Powder Wig? I don’t say we should give in, but you can’t just waltz in there and kick protocol to the curb, now can you?” Rarity was visibly uncomfortable with disturbing a planned process.

“Luna could order him,” Twilight said, “she didn’t step down from any rights.”

“I’d rather not start my first Summer Sun Celebration by terrorizing elderly ponies.”

Fluttershy looked at the dark alicorn with a subtle smile, “But you are the Princess of the Night, the celebration is at dawn, and Powder Wig is a really old pony.” She wiggled her eyebrows.


---


One of the party planners approached Celestia with a harried look. “Your Majesty, we can’t find Powder Wig. There are guards in front of his door and they say they haven’t seen him neither enter nor leave his chambers. And there are only a few minutes left.”

Nothing like a palace guard who has been instructed to be absolutely truthful. The guards had been placed after Powder Wig had gone to bed. Celestia gave that pony her brightest smile and radiated helpfulness. “Well, I could delay sunrise if you think that would help,” she offered. 

All color seemed to drain from the pony’s face. “Delay the start of the ceremony? Powder Wig would have my head for that!”

“I thought we outlawed beheadings, sister,” Luna walked up to the two ponies, ”I clearly remember you saying that there were far better things to do with heads. Now listen my little pony, my sister and I have done this a million times before. Literally.” She smiled, “You just make sure that the fanfare plays at the right moment, and we will do all the heavy lifting.”

A minute later the fanfare played, two alicorns spread their wings and rose from the little platform into the air. The sunrise was just as beautiful as the one in Powder Wig’s dream.

> Off-season
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike leaned back into the lava pool and enjoyed the feeling of molten rock on his scales. In the main caldera a huge head rose from the death of the volcano, a maw full of teeth opened and released a low moan of pleasure that rocked the mountain. Spike looked at the edge of the crater, but this time none of his pony friends came running from the hot spring like they had done the last time. He thought he heard Rarity cry out about all the lotion she had just spilled all over herself though, and couldn’t help but grin.

“You show them a wonder of nature and they turn it into a tourist attraction.” The huge dragon lowered his head next to Spike’s little pool of lava.

“Don’t get all high and mighty with my, your Majesty … I mean, Smarg. I was at last year’s Great Migration, that was no better. I’m sorry, I spend so much time around royalty, you’d think I got used to calling you by name now. It’s just, you’re so … big.”

The giant laughed, it sounded like huge slabs of rock grating in the depths of the mountain.

“I don’t remember you ever having any problem’s with me being bigger than any pony around Canterlot. On the other hoof, you still call me ‘Princess’.” Celestia walked down the small path that led down from the crater’s edge. Water dripped out of her wings, mane and coat. “How often do I have to ask you to call me by my name? Even Twilight has managed that.”

Spike got up to offer a claw as Celestia stepped into the pool and joined him in the molten rock. “As always, Princess, just once more,” he faked with a thick Canterlot accent and bowed deep before he sat back into the lava.

With a loud hiss a huge plume of vapor rose above the pool as Celestia’s wet mane dipped into the burning matter. She sighed with relaxation. “Can you believe Twilight refused to try this?” She rolled her joins and shock her wings out. “The lava is the best part about this!”

Both dragon’s shook their heads in disbelief. “She’ll see the light, eventually. She always does,” Spike said and stretched his arms.

The three enjoyed the heat for a few minutes, then Celestia spoke up again. “I just can’t thank you enough, old friend. This ‘request for diplomatic assistance’ was just what I needed to get away from Canterlot. You know I love my little ponies with all my heart, but sometimes those nobles just get so … “ She struck one of her hoofs through the lava’s surface and flicked a flake of slag from her coat. 

“If they are anything like my noble dragons, I can empathize. You don’t need to thank me at all, it is always a pleasure to have you,” the dragon king waved away the princess’s attempts at thanks.

“Then I’ll just say that it’s a pleasure for us as well. I haven’t seen Luna so giddy in a long time.” Celestia looked around. “I don’t see her anywhere, now that ...”

From high above a sound quite like thunder rolled over the sky.

“Cannonball!”

After the wave of molten rock had washed all through the crater Spike stretched his little arms once more, looked around and shook his head. “Migrating off-season. Why didn’t I think of this before?”

> Not perfect
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Arcane lightning flashed all over Canterlot as a huge magic circle turned in the sky. Twilight Sparkle sat at the center of it all and directed powers that might have leveled mountains or raised the sea. But there was only one thought on her mind: She had failed Celestia. She had failed her and now it was time to make it right.

“Spike, do you have the Eye of the Dragon?”

Her assistant opened a small chest and presented a perfect ruby on a bed of black velvet. “Looking right at ya, Twilight.”

The arch-mage of Equestria rolled her eyes at the cheesy line, but she lifted the gem into her spell anyway. In the next minute a king’s ransom in rare, enchanted jewels followed the first and took their places in the gigantic spell.

Princess Luna stood on the peak of the Canterhorn and inspected the spellwork with a critical eye. “I see, so that’s what Nightmare Moon did wrong when we attempted this. Twilight uses different jewels for the same spells to make them resonate at different frequencies, so they won’t interfere with each other. Genius! Of course the Nightmare wouldn’t have thought of that. It was all ‘onyx, black and darkness’ with her.”

Celestia stepped through the snow and joined her sister in admiring her former protégé’s handiwork. “Yes, very impressive. I expected no less from her. But you realize that the temporal gradient will be too steep? Time magic on this scale is about more than just knowing the right spell, she doesn’t have the experience to pull this one off. If she goes through with the spell, Canterlot will not just take a little one-day jump back in time. We might be looking at years, maybe even decades of history undone. I feel we already live in a world that’s almost as perfect as perfect can be, sister. I’m not going to put that at risk because Twilight thinks she can escape the inevitable.”

Luna tore her eyes off the magnificent display of power. “You propose to go down there and tell the most perfectionist pony ever that the world will not live up to her expectations? That what you and she share will have a blemish she can not repair? Do you remember the day we told her that she was no longer your student, that there was nothing left to teach her? She almost unraveled reality before we could tell her she was our equal now. And she is even more powerful today.”

Celestia smiled one of her little smiles. Had Twilight seen it she would have looked out for a flying pie or a blackboard eraser over a door. Celestia was about to pull a prank. And a big one by the looks of it. She drew a schematic of the spell into the air and pointed to the ring of gems. “You noticed the genius of using different gems to house the spells. Well, while I agree that it solves the fundamental problem, Twilight has been sloppy in choosing the components. Really, Luna,  would you have taken something a dragon has slept on for years or would you have taken the time and created the gems from scratch?”

The princess of the night looked at the ring of magic artefacts and shuddered. “I see your point, sister. We should hurry, and take out that spell. I can already see the decay in the structure. If that energy cascades back down to Twilight it might fry her horn off.”

“I came prepared,” Celestia’s voice gained a sing-song quality. “I know you’re around, you always are.”

Just as if he stepped from the air Discord joined the two sisters on the snowy summit. He held a beach chair in his lion paw and started to unfold it. “You know me too well, Celestia. But there is little you can do to convince me today. I enjoy watching little Twilight fail far too much. She had it coming for years. Little Miss Perfect, always cramping my style.”

“Oh, I don’t want her to succeed, not with this one.” Discord magiced a pair of sunglasses into his face, just so he could pull them down onto his snout and give Celestia a disbelieving stare over the rim. “Just make sure that nopony get’s hurt and I offer you a public cheesecake to the face.”

“Tempting.” The spirit of chaos looked up to the display. He too could see the little imperfections that would blow the spell out of the sky in time. “Make it a public cheesecake for you and Sparkle and you have yourself a deal.”

“A public one for me and a private one for the two of us,” Celestia said and stuck a hoof out.

“Deal!” Discord bumped the lion paw to Celestia’s hoof, then he snapped his eagle claw and the first gem exploded into a thousand shimmering shards that flittered down to the city below. A veritable firework burned up in the sky and painted the night in a thousand different colors. Then he walked over to Luna and in one fluid move slapped a cheesecake in her face.

The princess of the night sputtered through the crust and cream. “What’s the big idea? We had no … Oh, I see. For your silence about this?”

Discord turned his head to Celestia to gloat a bit, but she was already gone. He turned back to Luna. “Yeah, it would be a shame if those two got in any real problems.” And then he was gone too.

Celestia touched down in the royal gardens. Her former student sat in a circle of singed grass and looked at the sky with tears in her eyes. “It was going to be perfect,” she whispered. 

She didn’t notice Celestia beside her until the bigger alicorn gently wrapped a wing around her. “Twilight, please calm down. I’m not angry you forgot to prepare a present. I don’t need perfect, I need you.” The two alicorns sat together and watched the last sparkles of light that had illuminated all of Canterlot just a few seconds before. ”We can always celebrate the anniversary of our first kiss with just another kiss.”

And they did.

Then both took a cheesecake to the face.

> The direction of tomorrow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sun was rising over the city and Gardenia Glow looked at it with so much love that it almost hurt. Every morning was a gift, she had learned that along with everypony, but this day was exactly one year since ... There was no point in dwelling on it she decided. They had made it, the sun was up in the sky and the birds were singing, she gave herself a little pep-talk.

The unicorn went by the kitchen to fetch the breakfast for the princess. A glass of milk, a small bread, some carrots and a little side dish of dandelions. The cook that worked in the kitchen and provided for the staff did not look too motivated, but as usual a simple “Well, maybe today she will,” was enough to make him show a little enthusiasm. She held her head high; as the princess’s personal maid it was her station and right to get the best food from the kitchen. She placed the plates on her back and balanced them. It had been a bit uncomfortable in the first weeks, but she had gotten used to it.

She went down the windowless gallery and enjoyed the sun on her coat as it warmed her. Maybe some day the roofers would come here to fix the holes and make the place gloomy again, but until then she would enjoy everything there was to enjoy. As she made her way to the princess’s private tower she threw a gaze down into the royal gardens. A platform had been raised; the princess would give a little speech later. Maybe something to enlighten and encourage her ponies. Or maybe something to remember the sacrifices they all had made to make sure there would be a tomorrow after today had become yesterday. Who knew? But she was sure the princess would not let them down, after all, she never did. The gardeners had done a terrific job to fight back the weeds that had started to grow in the last few weeks, too.

Gardenia walked up the stairs of the tower. It was the last building they had yet to pull down, but who would dare while the princess was still in it? And so she looked out for the hole in the wall on the second floor and the little jump on the third, where a beam had blown away some steps. But it would be all right; she did this every day.

 Like every other morning in the last year she reached the top of the tower and knocked. “Princess, your breakfast.” She was just about to place the plates on the ground when the door actually opened. That hadn’t happened all year! She carefully picked the plates back up and carried them into the room. The curtains were drawn, the air smelled … of pony, very much so, and she was sure she heard heavy breathing in the darkness. She walked to the windows and in one swift movement drew the curtains open.

She knew that she would never share this with anypony. Not because she was so immensely loyal, but because she would fight every minute of every day to forget it and hate herself for remembering it. The first thing she saw was the furniture. Everything was broken, the bed, the sofas, the tables and the wardrobes. The cushions had been shredded, the mattress had been ripped. The walls were covered in scratches and burns, dozens, if not hundreds.

And finally she spotted what she first thought was a bundle of rags. But it moved. It got up and stood on four spindly legs. She could see every single rib, every bone under a coat that might once have been white, but now looked just grubby gray. It’s horn glowed golden as she felt the plates lift from her back. She had just enough time to jump away before the broken magical field reacted violently and rocketed the plates into the fireplace, turned the glass of milk into ash and melted the rest into slag. This place had not taken well to the clashing of titans in the skies above.

But the look in in those golden eyes, she realized her mortality in those eyes. This could not be Princess Celestia, because this was not allowed to be Princess Celestia. There was no denying it though when she heard the voice. A bit reedy and thin perhaps, but her princess no doubt. “The date, Gardenia Glow, tell me the date.”

She swallowed. She knew what it wanted to hear and what she did not want say. But she said it anyway, because there was no denying the voice. “One year since you fought.” A beam of fire hit the wall. It broke in some places and she could have sworn there was a bit of space where the beam was interrupted and another where two streams raced next to each other, but it hit the wall and burned one single scratch. “One year,” said the thing with the voice the princess.

She looked at the bits of burning and molten stone that dripped onto what had once been the carpet. The thing looked at her and once again she felt like she was measured, like there was a ruler and she was stripped down and put against that ruler to see how much she was. Not in height or in weight or in any physical measure, but in being.

Finally, as if the universe had decided that now was as good a time as any other, the pony that would be her princess again sat down. The voice, now becoming more and more like the one she knew, said “I don’t think I can make it today. I’m sure Twilight Sky can hold a speech just as fine. Tell them their princess will be back tomorrow morning.”

Gardenia bowed and made her way back to the door. As she was about to close it she heard her Princess, nothing more than a whisper this time “Tell them ‘Thank you … for staying here, with me’. And I would really love breakfast.”


---


Twilight Sky did not stand on the platform. That place was for the Princess and the Princess alone. But he walked to the front of the group of ponies that had made the increasingly dangerous journey through the new forest. He did not have to read the speech he had prepared, thank the stars. So instead he just told the ponies what they had wanted to hear, what everypony had wanted to hear for the last year.

“One year ago, on this day Princess Celestia brought the greatest sacrifice she could have brought.”

He told them about the feelings of doubt, of insecurity and of self-loathing that sometimes got to him at the thought that their princess had chosen the little ponies over her sister. Of the hope to live up to those expectations. And at last he told them that their princess had come out of mourning and would return to them with the next sunrise. As one pony all eyes turned to the tower, the last standing monument of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. Some claimed to have seen her at a window; others said it was just a curtain in the wind.

Twilight Sky looked at Gardenia Glow and nodded. Their lives would have a direction again at last.

> Baking, serious business
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	That Pinkie Pie had little to no sense of privacy wasn’t news for Twilight Sparkle. Depending on the time of day the party pony could spring from just about every place: the medicine cabinet, a bookshelf or a mailbox, just to name few. But to have Applejack storm into your bedroom at six o’clock in the morning, too, that was new.

“Wha?” Twilight was not yet sure if this was a dream or if she was awake.

Applejack looked her in the eye and asked with a voice that one would use to talk about the end of all live on the planet, “Twilight Sparkle, can you bake? Does your family have a tradition of baking? Cakes? Or Pies?”

Dream it is, Twilight decided. She turned around to the other side of the bed.

That’s where Pinkie Pie had waited for her. “This is our most desperate hour. Help us, Twilight Sparkle. You're our only hope.”

Sooo. No dream. Or it is a dream and I read too much H.P Lovecrest? Again? Twilight sat up in bed and looked at her friends. “You better have a really good explanation why you are in my bedroom at this time of night.”

Applejack and Pinkie looked at each other. “Time of night?” AJ asked. “I’ve worked in the orchard for a whole hour before I came here, sugarcube.”

“And I worked two hours with the Cakes. It’s not night-time, sillyfilly”

Twilight turned and cursed into her pillows. The only thing she really couldn’t bring herself to love about Princess Celestia. Ugh! Early risers!

A pink hoof on her shoulder kept her from thinking more about this, and Twilight knew that she would get no rest until this crisis had been dealt with.

“So tell me, Pinkie Pie, Applejack. Where’s the fire? And what was that about baking?”

“Yesterday Applejack and I found out that the next Ponyville Baking Contest will be in two months. We need to stop Granny Smith or my ma from winning. The future of this town depends on it!” Pinkie Pie’s chest heaved heavily, and she was close to hyperventilating.

Twilight looked at Applejack and cocked an eyebrow. “Again, please. With less drama?”

Applejack shook her head, “I don’t know if I can deliver less drama. The Ponyville Baking Contest is held every five years. There has always been a bit of rivalry between the Apple family and the Pie clan in that there competition.”

Pinkie Pie continued, “If Granny Smith or my ma wins, AJ and I can’t speak with each other for at least half a year. And we'd have to be really snippy about it. It’s traditional.”

Twilight looked at the farmer with disbelieve, but Applejack only nodded. “The last time Granny won. Well, me and Pinkie knew each other, but we weren’t that close.”

Pinkie suddenly stood right next to Applejack with a foreleg over the other pony’s shoulder. ”But now I don’t want to be grumpy with her over some baking contest. Or with Big Mac or Apple Bloom. So we need a pony without ties to either family to win this thing.” Applejack and Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight with huge, sad puppy dog eyes.

“But I have never baked before. Sure, I know some recipes but I only ever read them.”

Pinkie Pie looked at Applejack and held out a hoof. “AJ, we'll always have Canterlot.”

Twilight got out of bed. She had given up on getting any more sleep this night. “You could ask anypony else. Cup Cake could win easily.”

“She’s a professional baker. Bakers are not allowed to participate,” Pinkie said matter-of-factly.

“Figures. Well, ask somepony else.”

Applejack looked at Twilight with a sombre face. “We’re not training ‘somepony else’, Twilight. To even have a chance against Granny or Mrs. Pie we would have to teach you everything we know about baking.” Pinkie and Applejack nodded to each other. “Even our families’ secret recipes.”

“Wow, thanks for trusting me with this. I don’t know what to say, girls. But I really don’t think I am baker material.” Twilight and her friends walked down into the library. The sounds of breakfast preparations could be heard.

Before Twilight could even suggest anything, Pinkie Pie was already at the kitchen-door. “This is my most desperate hour. Help me, Spike. You're my only hope.”


---


“I still can’t believe it.” Luna sat next to her sister on the royal chariot.

Celestia tried to feign innocence, but looked away first as her sister gave her the eye. “I said I’m sorry.”

“I don’t think you are and ‘sorry’ is not enough this time,” Luna’s voice conveyed real anger. “Not only did you eat all of Spike’s cake before the other judges could try it, you also ate … fed on all the other entries. Then you tried to bribe the little dragon into becoming your personal baker. Then you tried to blackmail him. And when that failed you asked Twilight Sparkle to leave Ponyville to live with you just so the dragon would come to Canterlot too.”

“I’m sorry,” Celestia actually looked contrite.

There was silence for a few minutes.

“You would do it again for another piece of that apple pie.”

Celestia could not lie to her sister. “In a heartbeat!”
> What really bothers me
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia looked over her teacup and threw Discord a devastating look. “Have you thought about what you have done?”

“Actually no,” the draconequus answered, “I was awake all night, but I couldn’t think about our little disagreement.”

“Pray tell, what kept you up all night but from thinking about your wrongdoing?” Celestia was obviously not amused.

“Well, you see …”


---


Pinkie Pie looked out the window of Sugar Cube Corner and sighed. She knew this day was going to come sooner or later, but she had hoped it would be later. At least her Pinkie sense had warned her of what was coming. The bell over the door rang and one spirit of chaos walked into the cafe.

“Hello, Discord. How can I help you today?”

The spirit lowered his head down to her, sighed and said “Just make today not a Moonday, then I could crash at Fluttershy’s.”

“You of all should know how the Princesses feel about messing with the timeline,” Pinkie Pie said in a tone so businesslike, Discord actually considered the idea that she knew what she was talking about. “And why do you need a place to crash anyway? Didn’t Princess Celestia say you could stay at the castle?”

Discord put the tips of his claws together. “Ah, Canterlot isn’t the best place for me right now. You see, Celestia, Luna and I shared some memories from back in the old days. Celestia showed around Luna’s baby photos and the Moon Princess wasn’t happy about this. So I got one of my photo albums and showed her some pictures of Celestia. The Princess didn’t take it well. Especially the one with her bracers.”

Pinkie Pie grinned from ear to ear. “Princess Celestia with bracers? Show me, show me!”

“Oh no,” Discord shook his head vehemently. “If those ever come out I’m probably looking at another thousand years as a statue. On the moon!”

“Ah shoot,” Pinkie Pie kicked the floor. ”And why are you here? I know that you can’t go to Fluttershy on a Moonday, when she makes her big round to all the animals. But why did you come to the Corner?”

“Oh, I flipped a coin. The first throw came out Fluttershy, but after a bit of convincing the second throw wasn’t her. It was you. And so I’m here.”

“You have a coin with Fluttershy and me on it?” Pinkie raised an eyebrow.

“Oh no, it has everything on it.” Discord reached into a pocket of the trousers he didn’t wear. “That really helps to keep things random, see?” His eagle claw held a shiny bit. He turned it and Pinkie saw a banana, he turned the coin, now it was a donkey, another turn, a cloud, turn, two bunnies.

Pinkie’s eyes grew more excited with every turn. “Uhhh! Ask it what kind of cupcake I should make for the two of us!” 

“You mean I can stay?” Discord looked hopeful at the pony.

“Well, duh! You’re a friend of Fluttershy, and any friend of Fluttershy is a friend of mine. Except for the skunks. It took a week before we could have customers in here again.”

Discord gripped the coin and flipped it. “Banana chocolate with extra pepper. The coin has spoken, so it will be!” He was just about to snip his claw to conjure the sweets when Pinkie stopped him.

“Magic Cupcakes?” she asked with an edge in her voice. “You’re in a bakery, sugarcube. Not even Princess Celestia would dare to conjure a cupcake in a bakery.”

“So you will bake them? And what do I do in the meantime?”

“You could play with the twins if you like. Just make sure Pumpkin doesn’t hit you with her magic. That smarts a bit.” Pinkie pointed a hoof at the stairs to the first floor. Then she disappeared into the kitchen. “Mrs. Cake, I need to bake a special order. And it’s okay if the god of chaos babysits the twins, right?”

A few minutes later the pained scream of Discord echoed through the house. “I told him it smarts,” she grinned.

Some time later the two of them sat in the park and ate their cupcakes. “Not bad,” Pinkie said, “not bad at all,” and took another bite. She watched the twins play with Discord’s tail. He had become quite good at dodging the little magic bolts Pumpkin fired from her horn and Pound could not escape, even on his fast little wings. To his immense surprise Discord quite enjoyed this little trip. Pinkie was a funny pony, she didn’t mind his tricks and was not afraid to try and prank him back. 

The sun was slowly setting when they returned to the Corner. “So, what do we do now?” Discord asked.

Pinkie wrinkled her forehead. “We could go to Twilight’s or we could visit Rarity.” She grinned and snatched a bit from the tip-jar. “Head is Twilight. Tail is Rarity.” she announced. The coin spun in the air, Pinkie snatched it and slammed it on the table. “Heads, we’re off to the library!” The coin remained on the table.

The two met Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash at the library and told each other ghost stories until midnight. Discord hadn’t expected the little bookworm to be that good at it and even the pegasus pony wasn’t half bad. Only Pinkie always blew the scary part, she simply couldn’t stop herself from laughing.

When they returned to the Corner Pinkie offered Discord a couch, but the draconequus found a much more comfortable place under the ceiling. Pinkie just shrugged and was asleep a few seconds later. Just as Discord was about to drift off too, his eyes suddenly shot open. He sat next to Pinkie Pie and watched the sleeping pony for a minute. Then he slithered down into the bakery. The coin was still there and glowed in the soft moonlight.

When the first customers came in the next morning the draconequus was still there, staring at the coin.


---


“I see. You spend the day in Ponyville at Pinkie Pie’s, played with the Cake twins and traded ghost stories with Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash.”  Celestia took another sip from her cup. ”I don’t see why that kept you from sleeping.”

Discord looked left, right, up and over his shoulder. Then he gripped Celestia’s head, stared straight into her eyes and whispered “Pinkie Pie is an earth pony. She has hooves. By the stars, how did she flip that coin!?”
> Pony quest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Ponyville clocktower announced teatime and Twilight Sparkle was beside herself with worry. Spike had left and followed the Great Dragon Migration on his quest of self-discovery six days ago. “Why didn’t we follow him like Rarity suggested? Oh, if only I hadn’t listened to Rainbow and all that stuff about trust and ‘let him find his own path’.”

She had already collected all components for a 'search it, find it'-spell, and if he didn’t come back by tomorrow she would start to look for him herself. The hours crawled by and Twilight was just about to go and tell her friends to prepare a search and rescue mission for the baby dragon as the door opened. Spike looked beaten and burned, and his little body didn’t look much better. But Twilight embraced her friend and adoptive brother in both forelegs and danced with him through the library. “I’m so glad you’re back, Spike. Let’s get you cleaned up and then you can tell me all about your journey!”

The baby dragon didn’t look so keen about that idea. “Twilight, can’t I have a night’s sleep first? Self-discovery is hard work, you know.”

Twilight looked him up and down. “If you say so. Let’s have a breakfast together at the Corner tomorrow.” Spike’s eyes lit up at the idea. Twilight wrinkled her nose. “But you’ll take a bath nevertheless.”


---


Spike and the six ponies occupied two tables at Sugarcube Corner. Twilight had informed her friends of Spike’s return the night before and even Rainbow Dash had managed to be awake ‘in the gray of dawn‘ as she called it. Applejack only laughed, and Pinkie said that Rainbow wouldn’t know dawn if it jumped her in the face. But they all wanted to hear about Spike’s adventure.

“Actually, there’s not much to talk about. I just followed the migration for two days. I met some really cool mountain sheep and one extremely relaxed ferrydonkey on the way, but I finally reached the volcano at the migration’s destination. You wouldn’t believe how many dragons there were in that crater.”

The empty seat where Fluttershy had been before agreed that she wouldn’t believe it. “Eeep!”

“Not only the big scary kind, but also a group of teenage dragons. I found no dragons of my age though, so I went to talk to the group of teens.” Spike sighed. “They made fun of me for living in Ponyville and because my wings haven’t grown in yet. One even said I was a pony in a dragon costume.”

The ponies could hardly believe their ears.

“Then they put me through a couple of contests: fire breathing, tail wrestling and some game called 'king of the hoard'. Spike drew circles in the crumbs on the table. “Let’s just say I didn’t do that great, okay?”

Rarity hugged her little Spikey-Wikey. “Don’t be sad. I told you before, and I’ll tell you again: you don’t have to act like other dragons.”

“The last thing they wanted me to do was ‘Lava Cannonball’,” Spike continued, “jumping into a pool of lava from a high cliff. I managed to do it, but I made a belly flop and every dragon in the crater laughed at me. I hid, grabbed my bag and left before they could humiliate me further.”

Rarity embraced him even harder. “Good. It’s so nice that you’re back with us.” Even Rainbow Dash nodded, “If a competition isn’t fair there’s no point in doing it at all. To make fun of a younger dragon, they must be real jerks.”

Spike looked up at her and gave her a shy smile, “Thank you, Rainbow. And you’re right about those dragons.” He clenched his claw in a fist. “On the way back I came through a wood and spotted a phoenix nest.” Fluttershy looked up from her hiding spot under the table. “Just as I walked along those teenage dragons tried to raid the nest. The phoenix parents led their hatchlings away but there was an egg left. It fell down as the nest was destroyed and I hid it with me until the dragons disappeared again. I even kept it warm.” Fluttershy hung on his lips as he concluded. “When the phoenixes returned I gave it back to them and just as I hand it over the egg brakes and the little guy hatches. That was a great moment.” He smiled at the memory.

Applejack nodded and ruffled Spikes spines. “You did good there, Spike. Real good.”

“I know, everypony. And I wouldn’t even want to imagine it any other way. But … I went on that quest to find out who I really  am. I mean, it’s great that you gave me that opportunity, Twilight, but now I only know that I’m definitely not like one of those dragons. So, what am I?”

“Didn’t I say it last week?” Rarity smiled at him. “You are unique, Spike. You are you. You can be what and who you want to be and don’t ever have to look at any dragon or any pony.” She drew a hoof through her mane. “But I for one wouldn’t mind giving you some advice about fashion.”

“Or about what might be a tasty treat for you,” Pinkie Pie added and balanced a sapphire pupcake on her nose before she placed it in front of the dragon.

“Or which books you might want to read.” Even Spike rolled his eyes at Twilight.

All his friends, the Cakes and even ponies from other tables told Spike that they would love to help him out, and finally Spike came to a conclusion. 

“Thank you all. I have been hatched a dragon, but today I guess I’ll be a pony.”

> I'll cover for you
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


This story has m/m shipping. Don't read it if you're squeamish about such things.

---


Winter Wrap Up is in full swing and that means hard work. Not that I shy away from heart work. I’m an earth pony, heart work is what I... nah, ‘love’ would be too much. I could totally live the pegasus live: spending my days sleeping on a cloud, watching the other ponies work, and if anyone wants to push work my way, I’d just flutter away. Yeah, those winged ponies have it all worked out. So, I don’t mind work. Work is okay, I guess. I push my plow through the snow, and clear another lane. At least Winter Wrap Up isn’t the most stressful thing. We have so much downtime, we could probably just let the snow melt on it’s own. 

I turn my plow around and look to the hill where Applejack tries to organize the chaos. Good luck, AJ. Even old Granny Smith didn’t manage to cut that Groningen Knot. I mean, what’s the fun in clearing the snow if you can’t use your plow to write messages or simple pictures in the snow. But with Noteworthy and Time Turner here, I doubt anyone will recognize my fifty horns cutie mark. Time Turner wrote something in the snow, but I can’t make it out from the ground. Probably a message for his pegasus marefriend. Lucky bastard. I wish I had as much … 

I get shaken from my musings on the ups and downs of love and live when I see that little librarian ... ah, what’s her name again? Twilight something. Sprinkle? I spend some time trying to remember. But it doesn’t matter, because now I only see her derriere. Too bad I’m batting for the other team, or I might even enjoy that view. I throw a glance over to Noteworthy. Well, she’s found at least one connoisseur for the finer things in life. But how can such a little pony push so much snow? I mean, no offence, but a unicorn mare? Pushing more snow than an earth pony stallion? Me, Noteworthy and Time Turner are no Big Mcintoshs, but we’re no pushovers either.

Ahh, I get it. I couldn’t see it against the snow, but now her plow stands against the gray sky. I can clearly see the telltale shimmer of magic. A little cheat, that one. Well, Applejack will figure it out soon enough. I heard the two are friends, but if I know Applejack right, she will chew her flank out right and good for that little trick.

Oh, oh. What the … I guess her magic is running away with her and more important, the plow. There she goes into the big … Oh no! Not that huge snowdrift! It’ll …

I can only stare at the mess that’s come down on us. The whole field is covered in snow. Again!

I look over to Applejack, and though I can’t understand what she’s saying, her expression is clear. I almost feel sorry for the little librarian. Almost. And off she runs.

I try to keep a careful neutral expression as Applejack wriggles out of the snow. Noteworthy is leering again and, yup, snowball, right between the eyes. He just doesn’t learn it. I jump out of my plow and roll my shoulders and hip.

“And we just had it cleared. Five minutes, Applejack?” I ask with a sigh.

She looks over the whole mess. “Take fifteen, won’t make much difference anyhow. I’ll see how far Big Mac is over at the big south field and take over for him there. I’ll send him over here with the three pony plow.”

Again I keep my emotions carefully hidden. Just a weary smile sits on my face as I say, “Thanks, Applejack. But don’t you think McIntosh is working too hard already? I saw him pulling the big plow alone when I came here this morning. He was already working while everyone was at town-hall.”

Applejack frowns and I can clearly see the pain in her face. Torn between the wish to complete the task at hoof on time and the concern for her brother. “I’ll send him over after I make him take a break.”

She does her hat and I look after her as she walks down the dirt path. As I look around I spot Time Turner struggling. His plow is stuck in the avalanche. I poke Noteworthy in the shoulder, “Let’s help Turner get his plow, then we take our fifteen minutes.” He nods.

Just as we’re done with our break, I hear the rattle of the big plow coming down the path. And I can smell that scent in the air. McIntosh worked all morning. He glistens with sweat, even in this weather. Any other day I would just enjoy the sight. The muscles that play over his body, the blond mane, the cropped tail and his trademark yoke. And, of course, his unshorn fetlocks. I try and fail to suppress a shudder.

Noteworthy grins at me, “Freezing? Keep working, that keeps you warm.”

Again, no trace of emotion. I nod at Big Mac, he nods to Noteworthy, Time Turner and me. We haul the big plow onto the field and draw straws for who has to help Big Mac. I lose, lucky me. Time Turner even cracks a joke that my lucky cutie mark has forsaken me. McIntosh laughs with them and after a careful measured second I join in.

I take another cup of tea for warmth from my thermos as Mac places his saddlebags next to ours, and off we go. Noteworthy and Turner clear the borders and we take on the big plane. With Big Mac there is no foolin around, no pictures or sweet messages in the snow. It’s up, down, up, down, one lane after the other gets cleared. Before we even know it the field is half-cleared again. Not that I’d have spent any thought on how long this took. Just standing next to Mac takes all my composure. It helps that my hooves are freezing and I think I may be coming down with something.

We have just a few more lanes to go as Noteworthy walks up to Mac and me. “Turner and me are going down to the farm to see if we can help somewhere else. No point in us standing around and watching you sweat.”

“Yeah, Note. No point in watching stallions if you can watch mares, right?” I can’t help myself and throw him a grin. Mac cocks an eyebrow at me, then he looks at Noteworthy. Mac doesn’t say much, but he isn’t stupid. He knows exactly which mares were with us before. And another thing about Mac: he’s quite protective about his sisters. I for one wouldn’t be surprised if Applejack never found a stallion in Ponyville. Big Mac’s furrowed eyebrows are incentive enough for Noteworthy to practically flee the field. Time Turner waves a goodbye to us and follows him with a wide grin.

Sooo, Big Mac and me. Alone in a field. No pony for miles. I swallow hard before I look up to the bigger stallion. “Big Mac?”

“Eyup?”

“Let’s get this done, I think my hooves are falling off.”

“Eyup!”

Some half hour later the field is snowfree, again. We share a hoofbump and pull the snow-plow down to the path again. Mac turns and takes a look around. “Can’t wait to get sowing again,” he says around his ever-present hay-stalk. 

“Yeah, me too. But first you’ll have to plow this field again. Not much point to sowing if there’s no furrow.”

“Eyup.”

Just two guys talking about farming. Nothing suspicious here, go and look for your scandals elsewhere.

As we walk back to our bags I notice that they have fallen over. Maybe the wind or an animal pushed them over? Or a stallion who thought Mac might tan his hide for looking at his sister in a funny way? Mine have not rolled far with the heavy thermos inside, but Mac’s have strewn their contents all over the place. Or what’s left of it. I recognize the fine gray dust: Grass seeds. The wind has probably scattered them all over Equestria by now.

I lift the almost empty bags, but I don’t turn around. “You carried those all day to keep last year from happening again?”

“Eyup.”

“Applejack had a pretty rough day. Even if the culprit is family, she will not be happy about this.”

“Nope.”

“I’d even say, she will be more unhappy because family should have known better.”

I hear a hoof pawing the ground. “Maybe.”

I turn around to face McIntosh. Never have I seen him so dejected. I mean, I moved to Ponyville after his parents died, but right now he looks like his little sister could floor him with a soggy white bread. I shake my head.

I peer into the bags. “There is still some left.”

“Not enough.” His usually strong voice is almost inaudible in the light wind.

“But there is still some left.” I turn the bags inside out and shake the bags until not a single seed is left. “And now I lost them all.”

I grin as Mac’s eyes bug out. This memory will keep me warm for quite some time. Maybe I’ll even draw it in my diary. Or maybe not, my heart may be a better place.

“You can’t …” McIntosh at a loss for words. This day get’s better and better.

“I already have. We’ll go down to the farm now, and you’ll tell your sister that I lost all the grass seeds you had left.”

“AJ will be pretty angry.”

I nod. “I’ve taken it last year, I can take it again.”

McIntosh looks at me for quite some time, then he sighs. “Eyup. I think you can.”

We take the bags and move the big plow back to Sweet Apple Acres.

When we arrive at the homestead only Granny Smith is there, and she is pretty angry. It seems that everypony went into town because something with the weather patrol isn’t right. I look up to Mac, and he nods. A minute later we are on the way to Ponyville.

I’m just helping out Big Mac here. The big guy’s heart would shatter like glass if his sister was angry with him.


---


I sit in the huge tub of the Apple family, all the stallions that helped with Winter Wrap Up at the farm are here and we enjoy a bit of luxury. The boiler that normally provides heat for Granny Smith’s still gives us steaming hot water. We even get some of the product of said still. I probably enjoy the most luxury of them all: All of Ponyville’s hot stuff in one room, with wet manes and in the best of party moods. As the evening get’s closer the others leave one by one, until only Mac and me are left.

“Just me and you.”

“Eyuup.”

“I hear your sister is visiting one of her friends?”

“Eyuup. Twilight Sparkle, at the library.”

“Granny Smith?”

“Left  for a trip in the afternoon.”

“Apple Bloom?”

“At Rarity’s.”

“The cows?”

He rolls his eyes. “On the far south field.”

“Winona?” now I can’t suppress my grin any longer.

A gust of fresh hot water hits me as Mac opens the boiler again. But I feel even hotter as I notice that I can’t see Mac’s head anymore. Then something big moves towards me under the surface. As I realize what he intends to do, only one thought passes through my mind.

I won’t be able come up with a face-saver for this.

> A pretaste to parenting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike opened the door to Sugarcube Corner and stopped in his tracks. Cup Cake was usually a quite calm and collected pony while her husband was a bit more skittish. Seeing both so frantic was not a good sign. Spike inched his way to one of the empty tables where Pinkie Pie was watching the bustle. 

“Hello, Spike,” the pink mare greeted him. “Let me guess: Twilight send you to remind me of our date tonight. You told her to have a little more faith, but she insisted.”

“Correct! You really know her better than she knows you, Pinkie Pie,” Spike shrugged. “I also wanted to buy one of your 'surprise cupcake collection'-boxes, but I’d rather not disturb the Cakes, whatever they are doing.”

“It’s a cake emergency in Canterlot. The castle’s kitchen has called on all bakers within a hundred miles,” Pinkie explained. “I’ll bring you a case of cupcakes when I come over later. Oh, please tell Twilight I’ll bring the twins. I got an emergency call for foalsitting.”

Spike looked uncertain, “Is that a good idea? You could try to reschedule the date.”

Pinkie only shook her head. “Reschedule a date with Twilight Sparkle? Spike, you know what a nightmare she is with scheduling.”

Spike nodded sagely. “Okay, I’ll tell her. See you later tonight, Pinkie.” The dragon hopped down the chair and waved as he made his way to the exit.


---


Pinkie Pie was as punctual as only Pinkie Pie can be. She walked up to the library’s door and didn’t even have to stop as it swung open in Twilight Sparkle’s magic.

She put Pound and Pumpkin down from their carrycot. “I’m so sorry about this, Twilight. But the Cakes really need to go to Canterlot. They can’t leave the castle’s staff hanging, baker’s honor and all that.”

Twilight waved her hoof, “No problem, Pinkie, I’m sure we can handle this. I mean, how often did we just run off on an important mission for the Princess? And you told Spike, so it’s not like this is a complete surprise.” A light sigh escaped her though. “I did have something else planned for tonight, but you know: 'When life gives you lemons …'”

“Make lemon jam. Or lemon muffins. Oh, I know: lemon cupcakes!” As she saw Twilight shake her head Pinkie pouted, “Hey, I know more then one hundred and five recipes with lemons. Don’t give me that look.”

“But the saying asks for lemonade, Pinkie.”

“Oh Twilight. Why would you restrict yourself to sour juice when you can make a tasty pastry? Oh, now I remember: I have a box for Spike!” She stuck a hoof into her mane and rummaged around in there. When it returned she held a small box and placed it on a nearby table.

“Baked goods in you mane? Pinkie, is that why you always smell so good?” Twilight leaned into her lover and looked at her with half-lidded eyes.

“Maybe, but I’ll have you know that I switched my shampoo from 'sugar sweet' to 'ink and paper' just for you.” Pinkie puckered her lips and closed her eyes.

“Pinkamina Diane Pie, you’re a vixen.” Twilight was just a breath away from the kiss when a cold shiver ran down her back. She took a step back and looked around. “Something’s not right. I can feel it in … Ahhhh! SPIKE!”

The little dragon stormed into the library from the bath only wearing a towel. “What is it?” His eyes went big. “Twilight! You will put the babies down! Now!”

Pumpkin and Pound slowly turned in a wide circle under the ceiling in Twilight’s magic as the librarian inspected the damage. “But this is a book I have on loan from the Princess, Spike! They doodled in it! Look! With crayons!”

Spike looked at Pinkie Pie who nodded, and snipped a claw at Twilight’s horn. The levitation broke, and Pinkie jumped to catch the twins in her mane. The babies giggled and grinned at Twilight like only a pair of mischievous children can.

“I told you that Pinkie would bring the twins over. It didn’t occur to you to store the important books in the back?” Spike had his claw over his face. “I’ll be in the shower again if you need me. I have an appointment, and I intend to keep it.”

Five minutes later Pinkie Pie looked around the library’s empty shelves. “Let me guess: All books are important.”

Twilight Sparkle just nodded. A few minutes later Spike came out of the bath, his scales shining in the light. 

“Ohh, looking good, Spike! You’re off to Rarity’s?” Pinkie tried to tease him.

But Spike looked at her with a wrinkled forehead. “I wouldn’t even dream of going on a date with Rarity like this.” He grabbed the box of snacks from the table where Pinkie had placed it. ”No, I’m just hanging out with the guys.”

As the door closed behind him, Pinkie Pie looked a Twilight. “Hanging with the guys?”

“Probably just that little thing with Big Mac and the other stallions,” Twilight replied.

“Ahh! You mean their secret society,” Pinkie sniggered.

Twilight smiled. “Now, what do we do with this evening? I don’t have that much experience as a foalsitter. Only as the foalsittee. Foalsitten?” 

“Actually it’s just ‘foal’, Twilight.” Pinkie Pie replied. “And my experience says that we should play with them for another half hour, then we’ll feed them, then it’s time for a bath and then for bed.”

“Sounds like a plan.” And having a plan calmed Twilight Sparkle down.

Except that the twins had seen who had spirited away their coloring-books, and Twilight soon noticed that they could hold a grudge. Whenever she tried to touch either foal they scowled and even started to cry. So Pinkie had to do most of the playing. When it came to feeding, Pinkie produced a collection of bottles and glasses from the unfathomable depths of her mane and soon after Twilight’s coat was covered in an amusing assortment of porridge and other baby foods.

At least the twins had settled down enough that Twilight could take her bath with them. Until Pumpkin decided that now would be the perfect moment to save on the cost for diapers. Twilight couldn’t decide what to do first. Scrub the tub or take another bath.

Pinkie had already tucked them in as Twilight finally returned from the bathroom.

“Feeling better?” Pinkie asked.

Twilight shuddered. “I haven’t scrubbed my coat that much since your honey experiment.”

Pinkie giggled. “I thought it was a good idea at the moment, and you tasted so sweet.”

“There is a beehive hanging in this tree, Pinkie. I didn’t think that was much fun,” Twilight said. She looked at the sleeping foals. “Do we have to look out for them all night or can we go to bed?”

“Well, the Cakes go to sleep, but they had some alarm magic installed so they can be there if something happens.”

A shimmering dome appeared over the twins and Twilight grinned. “Now we will know when they wake up.”


---


The next morning saw Twilight with deep rings under the eyes. “Pinkie Pie, what do the Cakes pay you for sitting those two?”

“Oh, I don’t get paid, Twilight. But they promised to be available as sitters when we might need them someday.”

The sound of Twilight’s head hitting the breakfast table woke up the twins. Again.

> Powder and plot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Remember, remember the fifth of Neighvember,
at the gala: powder and plot,
I know of no reason why the great powder season
should ever be forgot.

***


Applebloom, Diamond Tiara, Scootaloo, Snips, Snails, Sweetie Belle and all the other ponies  of Cheerilee’s class sunk down in their seats as a hooded pony entered the classroom.

“Who of you knows what happens on the fifth of Neighvember?” An accusing, pink hoof pointed at every foal, but came to rest on Silver Spoon. “You, little pony. Tell me, what  do you celebrate that day?!”

Silver Spoon stammered, but finally found her voice. “We celebrate Stallion Fawks Night,” she squeaked.

“Right, you celebrate my greatest success. For I am Stallion Fawks!” The hood was thrown back and Pinkie Pie appeared under it. She wore a fake mustache and a thin beard on her chin. Scootaloo started to snigger, but Pinkie was at her desk in a flash and gave her the evil eye. “What’s so funny, little one?”

“Uhm, ahh,” Scootaloo threw a desperate look to her fellow crusaders, but only got shrugs. “I’m just looking forward to tonight, ma’am ... sir. I love fireworks!”

“Do you now? Well, then you can probably tell me what I did four hundred years ago?”

Scootaloo only shook her head.

“Any of you little ponies know what I did?” Pinkie Pie looked around the classroom once again.

Snails lifted a hoof. “Did you invent black powder?”

Pinkie Pie laughed. “No, that happened many, many years before my time. But I brought the powder back!” She walked to the front of the class. “Four hundred and twenty years ago the griffins fought each other in a terrible war. Princess Celestia tried to help, but the conflict didn’t stop. After some time the Princess learned how the griffins fought each other. A bad pony had invented a weapon called a ‘gun’. It was a terrible thing to do, but the pony sold it to the griffins. This weapon used a special powder, and to stop the fighting Princess Celestia forbade all production of that powder. Finally the fighting stopped and the griffins made peace.”


---


“Fawkes, you’re back! How did it go at the palace?”

“Don’t ask! I didn’t even get to talk to the Princess. The administration is terrible again. I have gone there for five years in a row now. They want to keep the ban on powder for ever, I tell you. I fear we won’t resolve this by talking and pleading alone.”

“You don’t mean ... ?”

“Yes, I do! Next month is the Grand Galloping Gala. We will prepare something to blow their hoofs off!”


---


“And so, over the next month they mixed and prepared, hidden in the cellars of Canterlot Castle.” Pinkie hid her face under the hood again. “Never had there been so much powder in a single place. The schemers had prepared the greatest surprise ever!”


---


Princess Celestia looked over the ponies that applauded her, earth ponies, pegasus ponies and unicorns alike, all disguised in costumes and masks. She had just delivered a speech, and was about to leave the stage when an earth pony in a hood approached her. 

“Your majesty, could I bother you for a spark of magic?” he said and held up some piece of string in his hoof.

The ingenuous princess lit the fuse and was startled when it hissed and burned. She was quite angry and ripped the cloak from Fawks’ body, exposing his cutie mark.


---


Pinkie threw back her cloak and showed the class the picture of three firework explosions she had taped over her own cutie mark.


---


When the first detonation could be heard from the outside all the guests of the gala ran to the balcony to watch the first firework in twenty years. Soon the ‘Ahhh’s and ‘Ohhh’s could be heard all over Canterlot. It lasted for over three hours and was the biggest and most spectacular display in the city ever. After it was over Fawks was brought before the Princess. She did look very stern and quite upset.

“State your name, trade and birth, my little pony,” she ordered.

Fawks bowed low and replied “I’m the stallion Fawks, a fireworker from Trottingham.”

“That show tonight was your work? You must know that I forbade the use of powder twenty years ago.”

“I know your law, and for years I tried to ask you to void it. Without powder a firework like tonight is impossible. I and all the other artificers who helped me in this need it to make the nights shine.”

“You wish to make the nights shine? Are the moon and stars not good enough for you?”

“On the contrary, my Princess. They are the inspiration and muses for my work. It is my talent to paint in the sky and I would never disrespect the first and greatest artist who did this before me.”


---


“My speech impressed the Princess so much that on the next day she lifted the ban on powder for fireworks.” Pinkie smiled as the classroom shook with the applause of the foals. “But I had still broken the law,” she continued after a moment, “and I had to be punished for that. The Princess sentenced me to make fireworks for Canterlot until the day I die! And so, my little ponies, I have to leave you now. The Princesses expect me to open the firework season in Canterlot at sundown!”

Pinkie Pie reared up and galloped from the room with a billowing cape. Then she stuck her head back in. “And remember: Fireworks are no toys, always ask a grown-up to help you and never try to open them. That’s really dangerous business if you don’t have the cutie mark for it. Did you hear that Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle?”

The crusaders sat very straight all of a sudden. “Yes, ma’am!”

Pinkie shook her head. “You seem confused. I’m Stallion Fawkes, not Mare Fawkes.”

The crusaders looked at each other and shrugged. “Yes, sir?”

“Very good! Have a great firework night, everypony!”

> The ponies of yesterday and tomorrow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna sat down in front of the heavy oaken door. When she had seen the arcane runes and protective circles for the first time, about a two thousand years ago, in the deepest caverns under the Canterhorn, she had been impressed. Now she looked at them and couldn’t shudder at the thought that after all this time she had not taken one step closer to understanding them. She looked up to her sister, but she didn’t even need to ask. Celestia had not managed to solve the door’s riddle either.

“Discord, hear us!” Celestia called out. “Show yourself.”

The spirit of chaos appeared next to her. Along with his bathtub. A periscope swiveled around to the the sisters and disappeared under the foam.

“Great, Celestia, now you spooked it. Do you have any idea how long it took me to lure that big boy in!? Are you happy now?” Discord huffed through his nose. “I really hope this is important.” He got out of the bath and wrapped a towel around his head.

“The eternal lock, Discord.” Celestia pointed a hoof at the door.

“Oh, that old thing.” Discord waved his lion paw dismissively. After a second his face turned into a grin. “Don’t tell me. You still haven’t managed to open it?” He started to giggle as Luna looked to the ground and guffawed as Celestia lowered her head too. The draconequus walked over to pad Luna on the head and fondle Celestia’s ears.

“Should uncle Discord open the door for the little big ponies? Hmm?”

Luna could almost see the smoke rising out of Celestia’s nostrils. “Please, Discord,” the younger sister asked, “I have tried everything I could, even the Nightmare failed at it and it had a thousand years to waste on this puzzle.”

“Because you assume there is a right combination. Silly ponies,” Discord shook his head. “Now let me ask you: you have no idea what’s behind, neither do you know who locked it or for what reason. And you still want me to open it, yes?”

Both sisters seemed no longer sure in their decision. Celestia’s voice was unusually restrained when she asked, “Do you know?”

“Of course I know. I was in there the first time around.” Discord’s smugness could have doubled as a low-sugar jam-substitute. “Behind this door you will find the Eternals. Beings so ancient, they were born in the universe before this, and so far beyond your simple immortality, some may not even wake before the next universe starts.” He looked both sisters in the eye. “Are you prepared for that burden?”

“Do it,” Luna said. She nudged her sister.

“Yes, Discord, we are prepared,” Celestia answered. A sudden thought made her hesitate. “You do know how to reseal this lock, do you?”

“Of course I do,” Discord took a little set of keys out of the towel he still wore around his head. He looked at the first key. “Naw, front door, back door, Twilight’s diary, pantry, ...”

“You’re making those up,” Celestia interrupted him. ”I know for a fact that Twilight’s diary has no lock at all.”

As he turned to her Discord’s grin was a mile wide. “Only the diary she lets you know about. Ah, here we are.” He selected a small key that looked like all the others on the ring. Just as Luna was about to ask, it transformed into a crystal, about the size and form of Celestia’s horn. “Every single combination is wrong, you have to use all of them at the same time.” 

Discord put the key into the middle of the main rune and inserted it into the keyhole that formed as he did so. “Any last words?” he asked but didn’t wait and pushed one last time. The doors swung open without a sound, not even a hiss or a billow of old, dusty air. The corridor just continued on in front of them as he stretched behind them.

“Ladies first,” Discord bowed. “The secret of the universe await. And even those beyond it.”

“You’ll come with us?” Luna asked as she put a first, tentative hoof across the threshold.

“I wouldn’t miss this for the world!”

After both alicorns had crossed, Discord collected the key from the lock and closed the doors behind them. “Wouldn’t want anyone to enter.” He tapped a claw on his chin. “Or anything ... to leave.”

The three walked down the corridor until it ended at a gateway. “You can still turn back, my dears. But once you enter there,” he pointed ahead. “Point of no return.”

Celestia took a step forward to show her resolve, and Luna followed close behind. Had either sister bothered to turn around they would have seen the grin in Discord’s face, and the deep red glow in his eyes.

The dome was huge. Not “Canterlot Castle”-huge, not Canterhorn-huge. Sky-huge. And in that sky a swirl of little lights rotated slowly, like a very gentle hurricane that had caught the mother of swarms of fireflies.

While both sisters still marveled at the sheer dimensions, Discord slithered to a little platform a few paces away. He touched it with the key and it flickered to life.

“What is this?” Luna landed beside him.

“Inventory,” Discord said, and before them a display appeared in the air. He tapped the key to some pictures that hovered before the.

Now Celestia joined them. “Explain this.”

Discord rolled his eyes and looked at Luna. “Big sis is a little slow, isn’t she? Would you like to take a guess, little Luna?”

For a moment the Princess of the Night looked like she would kick Discord for being so condescending, but she decided otherwise. “He said this is the sleeping place of eternal beings, and that,” she pointed at the images that hovered in front of them “appears to be a list of those beings.”

“Very good, you get an A for that explanation.” This time Luna stepped on Discord’s foot. While he sat on the floor, Celestia looked at the display. “These look like cutie marks.”

“Touch one with your horn,” Discord suggested.

Celestia selected an image randomly and a bigger version of that image appeared. Two blue bolts of lightning on a pink background. Next to it was a list of figures or letters, but neither pony could decipher them. “Can you read this?”, Luna asked the draconequus. 

“Don’t have to,” he replied. “Just touch it like you touched that image.”

Celestia did and the strange scripture was replaced with a picture of a pony. A really strange pony: cubby and with short, stubby legs and a face that looked nothing like the ponies she knew. But still a pony. Celestia selected the other two lines of text and new pictures appeared. More pictures of that pony, this time with an orange body and a purple mane instead of pink and blue. But still the same cutie mark. “Who is … or was this pony?”

Discord had opened a new hovering image where he sat. He stopped switching through the cutie marks. “No idea. Can’t read that. Ah, here we go. You might want to look at this.”

The alicorn sisters were at his side in a heartbeat. Among the long list of marks on his image some glowed in a soothing green light, but only a few. Discord touched some part of text in the picture with his key and some of the green glowing images jumped into the foreground.

“I know those,” Luna whispered. “Three apples, three balloons, three smiling flowers, a moon surrounded by stars.” She looked at Celestia with wide eyes. “Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Cheerilee, Moondancer!” With each name the picture of the pony appeared, each with a long list of text, and after Discord touched it, a picture of one of those strange, chubby ponies.

“And now: the one billion bits question,” Discord smirked.

“Don’t do it!” Celestia warned him, but it was too late. 

Discord had found a cutie mark. A bright sun. Celestia’s sun. He touched it. And a picture of her appeared, but no other text. Apparently there was no chubby version of her.

“That scared you, didn’t it? Still think you really want to know more about this? Do you want to tell Applejack about this? Or Pinkie? Do you think this will help you become a better ruler?”

“No, I don’t think so. I think we should leave this place and reseal it.” Celestia looked down at her hooves. “I have no idea what we will do with this knowledge, we better keep it hidden.”

Discord waved his key across the images and they faded into nothing. “Then let's blow this popsicle stand!”

The three of them walked down the tunnel, resealed the door and went back up to the surface. Discord was about to continue his bath when a thought made him smile. “I wonder how long until little Twilight asks me to open that place for her. Oh! I can’t wait for her face!”


---


Applejack sat on the little hill behind the farm and looked at the sunset. “You ever had the feeling that somepony just walked over your grave?”

Pinkie Pie took an apple from the basket between them, bit, and chewed thoughtfully. “No, but I had the weirdest Pinkie Sense today.”

> Keep calm and call the Princess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The Crystal Empire, a shining jewel on Equestria’s borders, home of the Crystal Ponies. But just like Equestria it has it’s share of nasties and dangers.


---


The fillies Glitter Glint and Sparkle played with kites in a field on the outskirts of the capital. Their younger brother Sliver tried to catch a crystal grasshopper he had spotted. A sudden gust of wind snatched the tether from Glitter’s mouth and the kite started to drift away on the wind. Sliver spotted the line as it rushed by him and he ran to catch it, even as his sisters called for him to stop. Jumping across a little stream he soon found himself in a little grove and spotted the kite on the ground. He picked it up and wanted to walk back, but the line had tangled up in an object under the kite.

A black crystal!

Not wanting to break the kite Sliver tried to free the line from the black crystal, just as his sisters found him.

“Stop, don’t touch it!” Glitter Glint called, and Sparkle ran to her brother and held him in a tight hug.

“That was very dangerous, Sliver,” Sparkle told her brother. “We have to tell a guard!”

They ran back to the city and watched a few minutes later how Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor shattered the black crystal with their magic. 

The Princess waved the foals near and hugged them. “That was a very good thing you did today. If you find a black crystal, don’t touch it! Call a guard or any grownup!”

The three foals looked at each other and laughed “We know, Princess.”

Shining Armor ruffled Sliver’s mane. “And knowing is half the battle!”

> Why Pinkie Pie came to the lake
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Maybe I was adopted? Rarity dragged her hooves over the ground. It chipped the hooficure she had gotten last week, but she didn’t bother. She had saved her allowance for a whole month to go to the spa, but now it no longer mattered. Ever since her parents had the new foal, Rarity was only second rate. For a moment she wished Nightmare Moon would just steal Sweetie Belle away and … That little foal could hardly crawl; Rarity knew it wasn’t at fault. But that meant it wasn’t the baby. It was her parents: they didn’t love her anymore. She walked down the jetty in front of her house and plopped down at the edge. Her reflection in the water looked just as unkempt and crushed as she felt.

“Hello, Rary! What are you doing here? I’m on the way to the park to meet Cheery and the girls, and we want to play in the park, and if you want to you can totally come along, that would be super fun and I like fun, I wonder what fun ... we … could … have … together,” Pinkie Pie ran out of breath as she wheezed the last words. 

Pinkie Pie. Why did it have to be her? The pink earthpony had joined Rarity’s class last month. Rarity didn’t like her very much, she was loud, even obnoxious at times, and didn’t care for her looks or for acting ladylike. She wasn’t a bad pony, but she could be so … exhausting.

“Are you sad, Rary?”

And she always used that annoying nickname, like they were friends. Rarity kicked a pebble into the water and watched the waves. She heard the sound of hooves on wood as the other pony approached and sat down next to her. Pinkie Pie’s worried face appeared next to her’s in the reflection, but Rarity dropped another pebble into the water to make it go away.

“You know, my mom always says ‘earthponies are strong because we know when to look for another shoulder to help carry the weight’, maybe that works for unicorns too? I’ll help you if you tell me what’s bothering you.”

Rarity mulled that thought over in her head. She didn’t want to talk about it, but she also knew that Pinkie Pie wouldn’t let go of this. “Promise you won’t tell anyone?”

Pinkie nodded.

Rarity sighed, “You have to say ‘I promise’ when you promise something. That makes it offacial, ofish … really important.” It really showed that Pinkie had only known the life on her family’s farm out of town until a few months ago.

“I, Pinkie Pie, promise to keep your secret,” the earthpony said with an unusually solemn tone in her voice.

Rarity snuffled and wiped her nose on her foreleg. “Ever since they had the new baby my parents don’t pay attention to me any more. It’s always ‘Sweetie Belle this, Sweetie Belle that’. They didn’t even come to our performance at school.”

“Performance?” Pinkie looked at her with questioning eyes.

“Oh, right, that was before you started to come to school. The important thing is, I got my cutie mark, and the weren’t there. Because they don’t love me anymore.”

Rarity felt Pinkie wrap her forelegs around her. “Don’t be sad, Rary. Your parents still love you, but the new foal needs them more right now.” The hug got a bit tighter. “I mean, just look at us. We even have your cutie marks; we’re almost grown-ups. Your parents trust you to know that they love you and to do what is right. That’s why they pay more attention to the baby.”

Rarity looked up and into those bright blue eyes. “You really think so?”

Pinkie gave her a little smile. “I know so. That’s what my parents told me when my first sister was born and what they told us again when my second sister was born. And you know, if they tell you twice, your parents really mean it.”

“I ... I think I should ask them. Would you come with me, Pinkie Pie?”

Now the smile in Pinkie’s face was as big as it always was. “Of course I will.”

The two young ponies walked down the jetty and into the house. Rarity told her parents what had happened and her mom and dad called her a silly filly for thinking they didn’t love her anymore. And they thanked Pinkie for being such a good friend for her daughter. 

But all the good mood evaporated as Rarity realized the state she was in: her makeup ruined by tears, her hooficure chipped from dragging her hooves, her mane was a total mess. And what was that slime on her foreleg?

Her mother put a hoof on her shoulder. “You have learned today that we trust you, right?”

Rarity nodded. 

Her father reached for his wallet and took a hoofful of bits from it. “Then we can give you a raise to your allowance and trust you to not spend it all on …” He waved a hoof in the air. “An afternoon at the spa for you and your friend here.” He closed with an exaggerated wink.

Rarity’s mom rolled her eyes. “Just today, you hear young lady?”

The unicorn filly could hardly believe her ears. More allowance and the permission to go to the spa? She grabbed Pinkie Pie by the hoof and dragged her upstairs to snatch her shower cap from the bathroom. When Pinkie asked what that was, Rarity even calmed down enough to improvise a cap for her. But then the two left and not ten minutes later they entered the spa. Pinkie had never been to a spa before and Rarity enjoyed the visit even more for the fun they had together. As they sat in the big tub and relaxed, a thought came to Rarity’s mind. 

“Pinkie Pie, you said you wanted to meet our classmates at the park. Why did you come by my house? However I look at it that’s quite a detour.”

Pinkie Pie hid her grin behind her hooves. “One of the older colts at school said an alligator lives in the lake, so I thought I’d take a look. Wouldn’t it be total fun to have one for a pet?”

> I spy with my little eye ...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Scootaloo put down the binoculars. “I wish we could go over there and meet Babs Seed, too. A real shame this family reunion is only for one day.”

Sweetie Belle dropped her head on the hoofrail. “Yeah, but how would you feel if me and Apple Bloom showed up at your family celebrations?”

“That would be the best thing ever!” Scootaloo stomped a hoof on the planks of the little balcony on the Crusader Clubhouse. “Do you have any idea how annoying my aunts and uncles can get? ‘Oh, little ‘loo, still not flying?’ I don’t even want to think about it.”

Sweetie Belle rolled her head from left to right and back. “Yeah, me too. ‘Show us some magic trick, Belle' they say. So embarrassing!”

The two sighed.

Scootaloo offered the binoculars. “Wanna take a look, too? They just started a seven-legged race.”

“Na, that feels kinda like spying ... not that I’m saying you’re spying on them. Where did you get those anyway?”

“From the Rainbow Dash fan club. We use it to keep tabs on Rainbow Dash, her training and new tricks.” Scootaloo resumed watching her fellow crusaders. “Hmmm...”

Sweetie Belle decided not to pursue that thought: Scootaloo could get funny when it came to following her idol. “What are you hmm-ing?”

“Did you ever notice how good Babs and Apple Bloom fit each other?” 

Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo. “Well, they are cousins.”

“No. I mean, they make a great team.”

“Of course, they are cousins.”

“No, Sweetie. I mean they look really good together.”

“Scootaloo, they are cousins. What are you trying to say?”

Scootaloo sighed. How could the sister of Ponyville’s most romantically inclined Pony be so ignorant of the blooming — ha, the Apple Blooming — love right in front of her? “Sweetie Belle, didn’t you ever wonder how close those two got when Babs was here the first time? They ate together, played together, took baths together, slept in the same room, maybe even the same bed!” Scootaloo started pacing up and down the balcony. “Don’t you remember how excited Apple Bloom was when her sister told us of her time in Manehattan, and how even more excited she was when she told us about her cousin visiting.” She stopped in front of Sweetie Belle. “I tell you, Apple Bloom wants to be a girl from the big city.”

Sweetie Belle could hardly believe her ears. “Scootaloo, stop this. Apple Bloom will not run away with Babs Seed. And even if she wanted, which she doesn’t, but just for the sake of argument, why should Babs want to run away with her?”

“Are you kidding me? Babs would love to have Bloom close! She is so lonely at home and always gets picked on. A loving cousin would be just the right thing for her.”

Sweetie Belle only shook her head. “Scoot, did you read any of my sisters novels? You’re an only child, you wouldn’t know this, but all that stuff isn’t romantic. It’s just living together. Eating and playing is fun, but taking a bath together just means that there is even more hair in the drain. And sleeping in the same bed with another pony is just snoring, elbows and fighting for the blanket.”

“But ...”

“No buts. Apple Bloom wouldn’t fall for Babs because she is a city pony. She’s interested in the city, but so am I. And I know you are too. That’s just curiosity, she wouldn’t move there. We’re not even out of school for crying out loud. And she loves Ponyville, us and her family far too much to just run away.”

“But maybe Babs would …,” Scootaloo tried to save her idea.

“Stop it, sheesh! Take your binoculars and look at her. That pony is happy to meet her family, I get that, but she’s even more happy to simply be out here. If they really were so much into each other, why don’t they just hide behind some bales of straw and ... I don’t know, make kissy faces?” Sweetie Belle was puffing from agitation and her ears glowed a bright red.

Scootaloo decided not press the matter. Maybe Sweetie is not the right pony to talk to for this kind of thing? “Perhaps you’re right. I let my imagination run wild a bit too much.” She scratched a hoof on the ground. “Don’t tell Babs or Bloom about this, please. That would be so embarrassing.” And they might get more cautious if they knew I’m onto them.

Sweetie nodded. “Yes, that’s probably better for all of us.” Looking for a topic less dangerous, she fell back on the old classic in Scootaloo-distraction. “So, which Wonderbolt do you think would be the the best partner for Rainbow Dash? I heard there is a new pony on the team?”

Scootaloo took the bait, hook, line and sinker. “Well, Soarin is still the best stallion on the team, but he’s not getting any younger, you know …”

Sweetie Belle slowly tuned Scootaloo’s ramblings out; she did so most of the time when the topic of Rainbow Dash was discussed. Then she felt a shiver run down her spine and when she looked at Scootaloo, all her feathers were standing on end.

“Did you feel that too?”


---


Babs Seed and Apple Bloom ran the umpteth round arount the tree. There had been almost no time to talk and so Babs simply asked the question that interested her most “How are Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?”
	

> I am Princess Celestia
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	It was the night after Princess Twilight's coronation, long after the festivities had ended the six friends from Ponyville sat in one of the palace’s many suites. What had started out as a last glass of wine before bed, had turned into a full blown pyjama party. Stars knew how Pinkie Pie had found the route to the palace main costume vault, but not five minutes after she had left with Rarity every pony had been given a nightgown, -shirt or -chemise.

Princess Celestia and Princess Luna approached the room, drawn by the laughter of the six ponies. Both nodded to the guards that stood outside the door and knocked. No reaction, only more and louder laughter. Rainbow Dash’s guffaws probably kept half of Canterlot awake. The sister looked at each other.

“She’ll have to get used to your snooping eventually,” Luna smirked, which got her a poke from Celestia. Then the princess of the sun knocked again and opened the door.

“I’m the only one? I don’t believe it! I always thought that every filly in Equestria had that idea at least once in her life.” Twilight placed her empty tumbler back on the table. “Seriously girls? Never?”

“Good even--,” was all Luna managed to say before a pink whirlwind started around the two alicorns. A second later Pinkie Pie had placed the royal insignias on a nearby table and both princesses wore their nightgowns.

Celestia covered her eyes with a hoof. “Pinkie Pie, if I asked you how you managed to get this from my private quarters, would you give me a truthful answer?”

“I'd never lie to you,” Pinkie looked insulted. “But I’d appreciate if you didn’t ask.”

Luna had already taken a seat among the obviously buzzed ponies. “This sounds like fun. What are you playing?”

“Truth or dare,” Rainbow Dash answered. ”The last thing was a truth by Twilight.”

Celestia lay down among her little ponies. “Oh, and was the question? What was it that only Twilight did?” she asked with a curious twinkle in her eye.

Everypony was suddenly immensely interested in the ceiling fresco. Celestia looked to Luna, and both sisters shrugged. As nopony came forth Celestia fell back on a time-tried method. “Twilight Sparkle, my little pony, you know you can tell me everything.”

The newly crowned princess wilted under the habits of her youth. Her voice was barely a whisper. “I asked Rarity if she ever thought you might be her mother.”

Celestia’s eyes wandered from Twilight to Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and finally to Fluttershy. Her gaze was stern; her face showed no emotion at all. “Did you just hear that, sister? Our ponies don’t love me anymore. Maybe it’s time I made them appreciate me a bit more.”

Luna instantly picked up on her sister. “Don’t do it, sister. I’m sure they love you all the same!”

“Words, words, words!” Celestia roared. “I’m so fed up with this!” A hot wind whipped through the room. Twilight and her friends stared with their eyes wide open as the nightie burned away in a mane that had turned into a raging inferno. Celestia's eyes were a blazing white and radiated an intense heat as she looked down at the terror-stricken ponies - and winked.

In the blink of an eye the room was as before, Celestia’s mane wafted in an aethereal wind again, even her nightie was restored. And both princesses burst out laughing. Finally understanding that they had been had the other ponies joined in, even Fluttershy. After long minutes of guffaws they calmed down enough for Celestia to apologize. “I’m sorry, my friends, are you really so afraid of me? Please, don’t be! I love every pony in Equestria with all my heart, and I can understand every colt or filly who dreams of becoming a prince or princess. But I won’t think any less of you if you didn’t. Especially you six.”

Applejack looked down at her hooves. “You are right, of course. But I never doubted my family and I never wanted to be anything but an Apple.”

Pinkie Pie nodded. “Yes, exactly! Life on our rock farm wasn’t much fun, but my parents are my parents and I would never ever think they weren’t.”

Rarity could only agree, “Even when my mother made me wear those horrible polka dot skirts, I never doubted her or my father for one moment.”

“My family always supported me, even when I couldn’t fulfill their expectations and went a path they had not expected for me,” Fluttershy’s voice was even smaller than usual. "I love them even more."

“Well,” Rainbow Dash started, but trailed off. She squirmed in her place until she finally confessed. “There was that one afternoon in flight-camp: I wondered how cool it would be if I was Lightning Strike’s daughter. But I didn’t fantasize about you, Princess, sorry.”

Celestia smiled, “Oh, I don’t mind! Lightning Strike was a great flyer, I completely understand that you would wish to be related to him.”

Luna chimed in with a smirk on her muzzle. “Don’t let her figure fool you, Rainbow Dash. I’m sure even you couldn’t surpass her if there was a slice of chocolate cake at the finish line.”

What had just been a rather friendly moment turned into an epic, but brutal pillow fight.


---


Celestia and Luna finally left, they had a kingdom to care for after all. As Celestia was about to say good night, Luna did not stop and walked ahead. She waited in front of her sisters chambers and followed her inside. Celestia sat down on her bed and looked out at the sky over Canterlot. “So you noticed?” the elder sister enquired.

“On the night I returned. You may fool every other pony, but I am your sister. I take it her parents don’t know either?”

“No. Even the pony who gave her to them didn’t know. Just a foal who needed loving parents.”

“It pains me to see you like this, Celestia. Please tell me that you didn’t do this to hide her from the Nightmare.”

Celestia turned and looked Luna in the eye. “Do not burden yourself with my decision. We both tried that family thing a long time ago. We both know, I am a princess, not a mother.”
> It's good to know a princess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The sound of hoofs on wood signaled the return of Princess Twilight Sparkle to Ponyville. Spike looked up as he heard the telltale ruffle of wings and the little ping of a crown taken from a royal head. He breathed a little fire on the teapot as Twilight finally walked out of her bedroom. “You’re home on time. No late night emergency meetings?” He poured cups for himself and the princess. “Careful, it’s still hot.”

Twilight took the tea in her magic and blew on it. “No, today was quite exhausting though. The new laws passed, but there was so much fuss and debate. You wouldn’t believe how happy I was to leave Canterlot.” She took a little sip and sighed. “Will you be over at Sweet Apple Acres too?”

Spike didn’t manage to hide his grin. “You really want me at your “once a month with all girls” night? I don’t think that’s a good idea, but thanks for asking.”

They drank another cup together before it was time for Twilight to leave. She loved living in Ponyville. The small town had changed very little since she had moved here. She still knew practically every pony she met by name and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. As long as she didn’t wear her crown she was still just Twilight Sparkle. Some ponies in the royal court were quite unhappy about this lack of royal refinement, but Twilight had yet to meet one with the gall to say that to her face. Luna had told her about this little perk of being a princess: she could fire any official from the court without giving so much as a reason. Celestia or Luna could hire them back, of course, but this kind of ponies cared about their own family’s tradition even more than about royal traditions.

As she walked by Sugarcube Corner Pinkie Pie already waited for her, and only a minute later Rarity came down main street from Carousel Boutique and joined them on the road to Sweet Apple Acres. Twilight enjoyed hearing the latest gossip from Ponyville and shared what little she knew from Canterlot. She always amazed how Rarity managed to know so much more juicy chitchat even though she was in Canterlot only once a week.

Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were already at the farm when the three ponies arrived. The six ponies hugged, especially Twilight and Rainbow who only saw each other on these meetings anymore due to obligations with the court and the Wonderbolts respectively.

As the evening progressed with snacks and cider, Twilight noticed that Fluttershy was less outgoing than usual. The pegasus had become quite sociable with the help of Rarity and Pinkie Pie, but today she was just as meek and timid as the day they had met. With a glass of cider in her magical grip she walked over to the animal caretaker and gave her the most encouraging smile she could muster. She wasn’t quite sure if the alcohol or the smile worked better, but as she asked what the problem was, Fluttershy opened up in an instant. As it turned out there was some royal business she had to attend to, right here, right now. And the best kind of royal business, too.

“Girls, girls,” she started and only had to resort to a third “GIRLS!” from her improvised speakers desk of a hay bale to get everypony’s attention. Or whatever it was Pinkie Pie had instead of attention. “I know not all of you follow my work as a princess very closely.” She pointed a hoof, “I’m looking at you Rainbow Dash.” They all laughed, because she had caught Rainbow right in an exaggerated yawn. “But today a law passed through my hoofs, and I was very happy to sign it. And so without further ado, Fluttershy has something to say.”

Twilight jumped down from the bale and used her magic to put Fluttershy there. The pegasus pony’s first instinct was to hide behind her mane, but the cheers and smiles from her friends gave her the courage to stand up again.

“Uhm, I ... Twilight I don’t know what to say.”

Twilight Sparkle just rolled her eyes. “You have one sentence, or I’ll come up there and do it for you. I’m a princess, I can do that!”

Fluttershy’s eyes opened wide, and she shook her head. One last deep breath of air and she finally pressed the words over her lips. “I love you, Pinkie Pie. Will you marry me?”

Four pairs of eyes turned from the timid pegasus to the party pony. The glass of cider Pinkie held slipped from her hooves and was only rescued by Rarity’s attentiveness.

After another second Pinkie found her voice again. “I love you too, Fluttershy, but mares can’t marry. There’s a law …”

Twilight Sparkle beamed for joy. “Princess.”

“So, we could marry, but where are we gonna find an official at this time of night?”

A flash of magic lid up the barn, and Twilight’s crown settled on her head. Her smile illuminated the whole room. “Princess!”

Pinkie Pie walked up to Fluttershy and offered her a hoof to help her down from the hay bale. “So we could marry, even right now, but do you really want to marry in Applejack’s barn?”

“Hey now, what …” Another flash of magic and the six ponies sat in one of the smaller ball-rooms of Canterlot castle. “ … ‘s wrong with my barn?”

Rarity jumped a bit as the party cannon dropped to the ground next to her and spewed a whole wedding cake onto a nearby table.

Twilight looked a bit winded. “That’s a third ‘Princess!’, Pinkie. Don’t push your luck.”

But Pinkie didn’t pay her much attention. She and Fluttershy were kissing, which got Applejack a bit riled up. “Hey, you lovebirds. ‘I do’s first, kissing later!”

Fluttershy and Pinkie broke the kiss and threw AJ a look. In one voice they said “Princess Twilight Sparkle, the shortest ceremony you know, please!”

Twilight could hardly contain her laughter, “Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, do you?”

Both ponies looked in each other’s eyes. “I do.”

> My one true weakness
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia had always loved Ponyville, even before her faithful student had taken residence here. There was something utterly serene about the little town. Even Canterlot gardens couldn’t compare to the relaxed atmosphere of Ponyville park. She would put up a little illusion to hide her horn, wings and unique physique from her little ponies and spend an afternoon away from all the royal hustle and bustle with a thermos of her favorite herbal tea.

Of course this little masquerade had one flaw: she was completely unprotected from her one nemesis. In Canterlot years, decades even, had gone in conditioning the staff into keeping her weakness at bay, but here it could strike at any moment.

Celestia poured another cup of tea to calm her nerves. What was the point of coming here if she worked herself up like this over nothing. For just a moment she let her powers pulse through the vicinity. On the other side of the hill three foals played with a ball, over there, by the little pond, a couple kissed and the ice cream pony had just left the park. All was quiet.

She sighed.

“Hello, why are you sighing? Are you sad? You know what always helps me when I’m sad?”

Celestia just about managed to withhold a second sigh. Thousands of years of experience and magical prowess second only to her sister were at her command, but still Pinkie Pie eluded her. But now she had at least to try to salvage the situation. “Hello. No, I’m not sad. But when I am, I try talking about it with my friends.”

The pink pony looked at her and nodded. “That’s true. Talking to your friends is even better than what I was going to suggest.”

The princess in disguise dared to hope.

“But these are second best.” Pinkie produced a basket from behind her.

All was lost. Celestia could practically feel them, see how their presence contorted her perception of reality and called to her most basic instincts. For just a moment she envied Twilight Sparkle’s love for books. Books didn’t go straight to your flanks.

“Would you like a cupcake?”
> Their twilight campaign
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Lotus Blossom looked at the little alarm clock that sat behind the counter. The appointment for Rarity was due in three, two, one, –.

“Hello girls! The usual please.”

The azure pony couldn’t help but smile as she walked up to the spa’s most faithful customer. “Good afternoon, Miss Rarity.” She offered her the bathrobe. “We took the liberty of making a new special robe just for you. The last one was getting a bit out of style.”

Rarity inspected the new attire. “Oh dear, I just admire your eye for detail.” She stepped into the gown and started walking down the corridor. “Now, let me tell you about that new spa I visited in the Crystal Kingdom last week.”

A twinkle appeared in Lotus Blossom’s eyes. “Oh yes, please do.”


***


“But finally I got the last crystal into her hair just right and it turned out that the ones I tugged in behind her ears shifted to the back and it all looked just fabulous! Princess Cadence was just breathtaking!” Rarity relaxed on a lounger and enjoyed her facial mask. “But can you believe they thought I’d never had taken a mud-bath before?”

“Well, I hear they have been gone for a thousand years. Maybe mud-baths were new back then? Would you like a filing or just a scrub for your horn?” Aloe sat next to Rarity and was just about to apply the weekly horn-treatment.

“Oh, I think a scrub is enough this week, my dear. But their mud was sooo relaxing! And it made my coat glittery too. There were a million crystal shards in it. Simply magnificent!”

“That’s a great idea, Miss Rarity. If you’d like I’m sure Lotus Blossom willl look into getting some of this special formula for us.” Aloe started the treatment and didn’t stop until even the last bit of dirt was cleaned from her customer's horn.

“Oh, that would be just wonderful! But please, pay attention to buy quality. Can you believe the spa in Manehattan I told you about last month? Turns out they used simple mud from their river! The nerve!”

Aloe looked at Lotus Blossom who just prepared the mud-bath for Rarity. “Unbelieveable!” Lotus Blossom winked back.


***


Aloe turned the sign on the spa’s door to ‘closed’. “So, what are we going to do tonight?”

“The same thing we do every night, Aloe,” the azure pony replied. “We try to make sure that Miss Rarity never goes to another spa. Ever again!”

Aloe drew circles on the floor with her hoof. “I still feel bad for what we did at that spa in Manehattan. Do we really need to destroy every other spa in Equestria, Lotus Blossom?”

“If we lose our number one customer, we would have to –," Lotus Blossom looked left and right, then her voice dropped to a whisper. “We would have to cater to stallions again. And I’m not talking about giving Big McIntosh his weekly massage after workout. Or you pampering those colts Glitter Shell and Aero. I still don’t get what you see in them. I mean –”

“Eeew!” Aloe shook her mane. “Please don’t say what I think you’re thinking!”

“Cranky Doodle Donkey.” Lotus pronounced this in the way other ponies would say, “And when they opened the shack it was full of skulls.”

“I asked you not to say it!” After Aloe finally fought the shivers down, she looked at the other pony. “Ok, so what do we do?”

Lotus Blossom rubbed her hooves together and smiled a sinister smile. “First we need some tickets for the late night Crystal Express, a bag of gypsum, some red balloons and a lock of Twiligh Sparkle's mane. Just follow my lead. After all, I’m the brain of this operation, and you – you are just pink.”

> What I am, what I have
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	She looked at her nest. The outer hull was beyond repair now, the last winter’s storm had seen to that. The ice had opened cracks down to the egg-chambers. Water had found it’s way in, and the larvae withered. Without much fuss one after the other life had winked out before it had even started. Realizing they were not needed anymore the nursing and building workers were next. One morning they were all gone, but the hive’s emergency reserves were slightly higher.

She inspected her army. Once it was clear that the nest was lost, all other workers turned into soldiers. She finally realized the difference between knowing something and knowing something. Her mother had told her that the hive took no orders. Now she understood: the hive only took directions. She gave the direction to swarm.

She gazed at Canterlot, her target. So much of … everything. She didn’t envy the ponies, of course. Envy meant that someone else had something you didn’t. Those ponies had nothing against her. They would hide and pick up just the scraps, and her nest would be glorious again.

She grinned at her reflection, a pink pony princess. Never in her life had she felt so sated, so completely satisfied. Forget about the scraps. With such an amount of energy she would raise another few queens like herself and finally be no longer alone. The changelings would be great again.

She marveled at her power. She had taken on the mightiest being in all the realms and come out on top. The one reason her mother had never attempted this hung in a cocoon in her throne room, the fabled artifacts of harmony were useless with their bearers contained and the rumors about the return of the other princess were obviously exaggerated.

She looked at the landscape rushing by below. There is something funny about falling to your doom. You can only scream for so long, and after the first few seconds a certain … lightheadedness takes your mind to strange places. Nothing really matters anymore at terminal velocity because, well, it’s called terminal for a reason. As the ground rushed ever closer she realized she was almost free now. Her nest was in ruins, the swarm scattered, her target lost, all illusions dispelled, her power nullified. The last thing Chrysalis had was her life, and in a few moments she’d have—
> Things we can not talk about
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna walked down the corridor behind the throne room. She enjoyed these moments of solitude, without the guards and hoofmaidens buzzing around. It was only a short walk from the throne to her private quarters, but it was one of her little guilty pleasures. Of course she could have teleported the small distance, but it was not the same. She felt she needed the minute to unwind from the stress and pressure of the crown. She ducked as she walked through the little portal into her official bedroom. And almost like she had expected it there sat her first case for counseling this night.

She opened the door to the little balcony. “Twilight Sparkle, why do you sit outside my door? Is something bothering you?” She had learned not to beat around the bush with her. Twilight had a tendency to hide her problems and would happily chat about everypony and her dog to do so. Just another point on Luna’s list of things that she used whenever Celestia brought up The Big Project. But Luna could not contain at least a bit of curiosity. “And how did you get on my balcony anyway?”

“Oh, I teleported from the astronomy tower to the roof of that little turret over there”, Twilight pointed her hoof to a little turret on the other end of Canterlot Castle, “and then to the protrusion next to the —”

Luna stopped Twilight with a wave of her hoof. “You’re not here to tell me about the lacking security of my bedroom. So tell me, my friend, what’s bugging you?”

Twilight looked up to the stars and took a deep breath. “I read about something today.”

Luna smiled. What else was new?

“I’ve been thinking about it all day: the truth that can be spoken is not the truth. What do you think about this, Luna?”

Now it was Luna’s turn to look at the stars. “Meditating dragon philosophy is a dangerous game, Twilight. They use words as much to trap you as to free you.” Luna turned her eyes from the sky and looked at the smaller pony beside her. “Their wisdom can hide a kernel of truth in a mountain of uncertainty."

“So here’s what I make of this: To a dragon the biggest truth is about himself, and that truth can never be shared. That’s one of the reasons why they prefer to life alone. But to us ponies the herd is just as important as the self. And while neither the truth of the self nor the herd can be expressed in words, we both know about them, and we know they are true.” Luna lifted a hoof and offered it to Twilight.

Twilight took the offered hoof, and the two ponies shared a moment of silence. Finally she broke the silence. “Thank you, Princess. I feel a lot better knowing that you came to the same results, even if I didn't know about the dragon-part. Some things just can’t be expressed, but that doesn’t make them any less true or important.” She sighed as she got up and stretched. “Do you mind if I walk the way back to my room? Teleporting all the way was a bit exhausting after all.”

“Not at all,” Luna chuckled. “And I wouldn’t have said anything, had you waited in my room in the first place. Have a good night, Twilight Sparkle.”

As the door closed, Luna walked to her desk and opened a scroll. She looked at each item on the list before she dumped the whole thing into a paper basket. “Maybe it is time to think about unspoken truths a little more.”

> When pull comes to shove
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clover shoved the heavy door to his apprentice's room. His magic was starting to fail him, old age was taking it’s toll. “Celestia, dear? Are you in here, my student?” he asked into the darkness. Not ten years ago he would have cast Sparkle Shine’s “Grand Illumination” and to Tartarus with being a nice pony. This was urgent business. Today he used his meager reserves to ignite a lantern and had to deal with the dim circle of light it provided.

He slowly made his way to the bed and sighed. “Why do I always get the heavy sleepers?” He pushed a hoof into the mess of pink mane, prodding the young alicorn by her horn. “Wake up, sleepyhead!”

Finally Celestia stirred. “What?” she yawned. “Oh, master Clover. Is it morning already?” She tilted her head. “It doesn’t feel like morning.”

“That’s because it isn’t,” Clover nodded. “After you set the sun and went to bed the unicorn council should have raised the moon and stars.” As Celestia provided a lighting spell, he blew out the lantern. ”Alas, the lazy bums didn’t.” There was quite some suppressed anger in his voice, Celestia noted. She was quite happy she wasn’t responsible for this; whoever was would have a hard time explaining this lapse. The elder unicorn was already grumbling that the young generation was growing soft and lazy. It had started with the disappearance of his mentor, and only got worse since his own magic began failing.

“If this was the old country, Star Swirl would have kicked them from the council for this,” Clover rambled. “Degraded them to junior trainee of the youngest doctorant of practically applied magic, the lot of them!”

Celestia was unsure whether to let him rant or interrupt him. Finally she struggled from her sheets and got out of bed. “Why do you tell me all this, master? My talent is the sun, not the nighttime sky.”

Clover returned to the present and looked her up and down. “And yet you have the strongest unicorn magic in the realm. Even a dragon would be hard pressed to win against you in a battle of strength, Celestia. Won’t you at least try to raise the moon?”

Celestia walked to the small window of her room and looked at the empty sky. “I — I really don’t know if I can do that, master.”

“We will not find out unless you try,” Clover tried to cheer her up. Celestia ruffled her wings and looked at the floor. But Clover knew his student well, “I won’t hold it against you if you fail. It’s beyond your talent after all.” Just as he had expected Celestia’s ears perked up and she got a determined look on her face. He was careful not to smile. She really doesn’t like to be told what she can’t do.

A few minutes later the elderly unicorn sat behind Celestia in the courtyard as she prepared for her first attempt at raising the moon and stars. Clover could see the budding beauty of the gangly pony before him. Not being there to see her grow up was one of his few regrets. He tore himself from his sombre thoughts to watch as she started the spell. Little motes of energy played around her body, and her horn glowed in the bright golden light. She hummed a little tune like she always did while casting but stopped as her magic died in a shower of sparks.

“I’m sorry, master.” She turned to him. “The moon is so cold and smooth, I can’t grab it with my magic. It’s like balancing an egg on my nose.”

Clover nodded, “Well, it was worth a try. It’s not your fault, really. I’ll go back to the council and kick a few more lazy plots into action.”

“Now wait just a minute,” Celestia said eagerly. “I didn’t say I had given up, did I?”

Clover grinned as her back was turned. Too easy, young one. Too easy.

Her magical glow filled the courtyard again and again the spell fizzled. “Stupid moon! Why can’t you be big and warm like the sun?”

Before Clover could even say something, Celestia had started casting again. “I got you now, you slippery — ” her horn glowed brightly, “Argh!” She stomped a hoof on the ground and broke one of the stone slabs.

“What is the problem, my student?” Clover asked.

“Whenever I get to hold it in my grip the little pebble slips away. I can’t pull it like this!” Celestia described her problem.

Clover drew a circle with his hoof on the ground. “What if you tried to push instead? The moon is small, you don’t need that much power to move it. Just nudge it along.”

“If you say so, master,” Celestia did not sound very sure about this idea.

This time instead of the small glow of energy a full blown magic circle appeared in the air and turned lazily around the alicorn. A flash of magic from her horn turned the night into day in the courtyard. 

“There *flash* you *flash* are! *flash* You *flash* pesky *flash* little *flash* rock!”

The flashes came faster and faster, until it became like looking at a light through a turning wheel.

“I got it, Clover! Just one last pull!” A pillar of light shot from Celestia’s horn to the horizon, and she sank to the ground breathing heavily.

Clover walked to the panting alicorn. “Don’t take it too hard, my dear student. We can always try again tomorrow.”

Celestia looked at him with with a confused look as Clover extinguished his lantern in the growing light. “I don’t understand, I raised the moon like you asked.”

“That —,” Clover pointed to the bright orb that slowly rose into the sky, “That is not the moon.”
> In for a penny, in for a pound
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Derpy watched the small, grey unicorn stallion that walked down the road into Ponyville. With an accuracy that would have amazed many ponies who met her on a daily basis, she dropped her bag of letters right in front of him, missing him only by hair’s width. The pony stumbled back a few steps and sat down on the ground.

“Sorry!” Derpy dived after her bag. “There was a gust and the bag slipped off my back. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, no. It’s quite alright. You only startled me.” He opened his own saddle-bags and took a handkerchief from them to dab the sweat from his brows. As he busied himself to put it back into his bags, Derpy noticed something in them and her eyes narrowed to slits.

“Well, if you aren’t hurt, I have to continue my round. Ponies are waiting for their mail.” She executed a sharp salute, “Neither rain nor snow nor gloom of night!” and took off into Ponyville.

As the cloud of dust settled the unicorn stallion coughed. “I wish Canterlot’s postal service was that motivated.”


***


As Derpy barreled through the door of Sugarcube Corner only seconds later, she was a bit winded, and gasped for air on the counter. Pinkie Pie looked at her with concerned eyes. “Are you alright?” She put a pastry in Derpy’s hooves. “Here, take a muffin on the house.”

“Keep it, no time.” Derpy was still short of breath. “Mrs. Cake?”

Pinkie pointed to the bakery in the back, and Derpy walked past the baffled pony. She stepped through the swinging door, and Pinkie could only see her whispering to the Cakes, then Derpy returned to the shop. She pointed at the muffin. “I’ll come back for that, okay?” Before Pinkie could even answer the pegasus had already left. 

Mr. Cake came from the bakery and snatched almost all the baked goods from the display into one big sack. “Pinkie, take this and run down to Sweet Apple Acres. Only talk to Granny Smith and tell her, they have come to town. Do not talk to anyone else until you did so and run as fast as you can.” He pushed the sack into her hoof. “She’ll know what to do. Now run!” Pinkie only nodded and was about to dash, when she remembered the muffin Derpy had left. She snatched it from the counter and hid it in her mane. 

Outside Ponyville was in an uproar quite like Winter Wrap Up, except everypony was destroying something. Pinkie had never seen anything like it. As she ran past Barnyard Bargains she saw Filthy Rich and one of his clerks pull a waggon full of stuff away and something had obviously possessed Rarity to pry the paint of the Carousel Boutique. 

Despite Mr. Cakes instructions she stopped and watched her friend destroy her shop. “Rarity, are you alright? Why are you doing this? It’s Discord, isn’t it?”

Rarity turned to her and sneered, “Discord? I wish. Chaos and destruction, I could deal with that! No, one of them is in town, and I have no time to chat. I still have to destroy some dresses. You better run along too, au revoir.”

Pinkie was torn to inquire more from her friend, but just as she was about to ask, Rarity stormed into her shop. “Out of my way, Opal. Mommy is too busy to play!”

“There’s something fishy going on. I can just smell it.” She sniffed the air.

“No, that’s just my bags full of salty liquorice, Pinkie,” Lyra walked up to her. ”Bon Bon told me to get them to Granny Smith.”

“You too?” Pinkie wondered as she fell in trott next to her. “Maybe they’re having a surprise sweets party?”


***


Granny Smith sat on the porch when the two ponies hauled their sweet load through the gates of the farm. “Hello Granny Smith, Mr. Cake tells you that they have come to town and I should give you this sack of treats.” She dropped her cargo to the ground, and Lyra placed her bags next to it.

Pinkie had never seen Granny move so fast and agile. She rang the big triangle that hung by the door and seconds later Big McIntosh and Applejack ran from the orchard like Nightmare Moon was on their heels.

The matriarch gave short orders, “Big Mac, to your books, Applejack, to the west orchard, wake up those fruitbats, and I don’t want to see you at the farm again today.” Without a single question both ponies nodded and left. McIntosh walked into the house, and Applejack ran down the path, back into the orchards. “You two, come with me.” 

Granny Smith walked down to the pigpen and pointed to a trough. “Just drop the stuff in there.” She whistled, and a number of pigs lifted their heads from the slough. Something in Pinkie’s heard shattered as she watched a whole day worth of baked goods and sweets turn into pig swill. As the ponies walked back to the farmhouse a swarm of fruitbats settled into the orchard by the path and devoured half of the apples. Granny Smith grinned. “Good. Very good!” 

Pinkie Pie was at her wit’s end. The world had stopped making sense. Maybe this was how her friends felt when they complained about her being Pinkie Pie? But Lyra was just as shaken. They returned into a transformed Ponyville: what had been beautiful and bustling when they left, looked glum and gloomy now. She could even see Rainbow Dash push some heavy rain clouds into position over the town. Pinkie felt her mane deflating and couldn’t even work up the energy to smile as a grey unicorn stallion advanced her on the big square in front of town hall. 

“Excuse me, could you point me to Sugarcube Corner? My name is Penny Pincher, I’m with the Equestria Revenue Service.”

> High tale
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“'Course I'm right! Now let's go fuel up! Kicking all that tail has made me hungry.” Lightning Dust opened the entrance to the base’s mess hall, and Rainbow Dash followed her a few moments later.

As the two of them waited in line for their food Rainbow Dash spotted some regular members of the Wonderbolts in the cafeteria: Blaze, High Winds and Surprise sat at one of the tables and had an early meal too. She tapped Lightning Dust on the shoulder and wiggled her eyebrows in the direction of the veteran flyers. Lightning Dust’s eyes went wide with fan-girlish glee, and Rainbow Dash was quite sure she heard a little squeal, too. She grinned as she remembered all too well her first meeting with the team after the best-young-flyer competition almost two years ago.

After they got their grub Rainbow was just about to sit down at the first free table as Lightning Dust wrapped a wing over her shoulder and pulled her up again. “Hey, I’m lead pony, so you follow me. I know where we will eat today,” she whispered and pointed to the free seats at the table of the the Wonderbolt veterans. For a moment Rainbow Dash wanted to point out how uncool this kind of geekish behaviour was, until she remembered the Grand Galloping Gala. She had no right to call Lightning Dust out on this.

“Ma’ams?” Lightning Dust had led them right to the seats next to Blaze and High Wind. “Permission to sit here? With you?” Her voice was just a little bit wobbly with excitement.

“It’s a free country, have a seat,” Surprise grinned over to them. “As long as you don’t ask me for an autograph.”

Lightning Dust’s face fell for just a moment.

“Because I’d have to get those from my locker right now, but I can’t leave my pudding with those two here.” Surprise pointed an accusing spoon at her comrades. “They are regular dessert thieves and sweet snatchers!”

The atmosphere at the table was light and cheerful, and Lightning Dust got exactly what she had apparently hoped for: sharing a table with her childhood heros. Rainbow got what she wanted, too: a relaxed meal with some nice ponies, plus the realization that she had become quite accustomed to being around her stars. Being a Wonderbolt was still a major dream, but meeting one... she had talked to Spitfire this morning, no reason to get worked up about it. She had met the captain of the team quite often by now: at the best-young-flyer competition, the gala, even at tornado day.

“You’re awful quiet there, cadet.” Rainbow Dash needed a second to realize that Blaze had spoken to her.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” she answered. “Got lost in thoughts of home.”

Surprise snorted a bit of laughter. “Oh, somepony ‘s homesick. So cute.” The others laughed too, and Rainbow joined in after a moment. “So, where are you from, Rainbow Dash?”

“Born in Cloudsdale, but I’m from Ponyville. Little town on the railroad to Canterlot. You probably don’t know it.”

High Winds looked at her fellow team members. “Ponyville? By the Everfree?”

Rainbow Dash nodded.

“Of course we know Ponyville. It’s only the site of our greatest victory!” Surprise beamed at the chance to tell a story. “A few days more than year back we three were on standby when we got the order to intercept a dragon that was attacking Ponyville! It was a giant beast, taller than their tallest buildings! It had already stolen a huge amount of valuables and was rampaging through the town, it even had a pony in his clutches. But we did a few close flybys and drove it back to it’s mountain!”

Blaze chimed in, “I did my patented Bold Blazing Cutter and shaved some of the scales from its neck. Then we — did a short course around the mountain for another swing, but the monster was already gone. We had totally scared it off!”

They did a three-way-highhoof, “Wonderbolts ROCK!” and laughed.

Lightning Dust was almost fawning over them, but Rainbow Dash remembered Spike’s birthday a bit different. She was torn between her loyalty to the little dragon and not wanting to call her heros out for their … exaggerated tale.

She was still brooding over this when Spitfire entered the mess hall. “All cadets, closing meeting for this mornings desas ... training session is on in fifteen minutes.” She walked up to the table. “Blaze, High Winds, Surprise. Your wing is on in half an hour.” The Wonderbolts nodded to their captain. “Lightning Dust, Rainbow Dash, didn’t you just hear me? Closing meeting in fifteen. Go, go, go!”

“Ma’am! Yes, ma’am!” Both cadets jumped from their seats and saluted as Spitfire went to get something to drink herself. Lightning Dust was already gone by the time Rainbow Dash had collected her plate and cup on her tablet, as usual without waiting for her wing pony.

Rainbow Dash stood up and was about to leave, but then she turned around. “Ma’ams, if you ever find the time, you should visit the Ponyville library. It’s one of two sights our town has. It’s really special because one of librarians is a baby dragon with purple scales and bright green spikes. A real nice guy, not a monster at all, his name is Spike.”

Surprise raised an eyebrow at that. “What’s the other sight of Ponyville?”

Rainbow Dash waved her wing dismissively and turned to leave. “Oh, you don’t want to bother with that. I know you’ve seen the old water tower already.”
> It was the age of Dreaming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Long, long ago, before the age of the Tribes, before the age of the One Herd, even before the age of Grazing, there was a time that we ponies have no name for, but the zebra shamans call it the age of Dreaming: a time when there was no distinction between races because everpony — everyone was a dreamer.

Back in that day the star-beasts and demons roamed free, and everything had to be bargained from them. You had to trade with them though, because the Sun and the Moon brought only light: the demons and star-beasts had stolen their warmth and taken them as their own. And so a dreamer would go to the demons to bargain a day’s worth of warmth for a bit of her life every day, and every night a dreamer had to trade a bit of his love for the warmth of the night to the star-beasts. Because those were the only things one could trade: Life for the demons who had no life of their own, and love for the star-beasts who could not love, not even themselves.

Nopony knows how long this went on, because time meant nothing to the dreamers, but it is said that in the end almost all of them had traded their immortality and unending love away, except for four: The brothers Chaos and Deceit and the sisters Truth and Order. They realized that if the dreamers continued to trade, they would eventually have nothing left. They would be banished from the dream, to a place no one returned from: The waking world beyond the eternal dream. The four decided to get the Sun’s and Moon’s warmth back.

Truth and Order went to the island the demons lived on. When they arrived, they started to make fun of the simple huts and caves the demons dwelled in. The demons were prideful and asked how the two dared to mock them; they commanded the Sun’s flames after all. The sisters acted bashful and offered to build the demons the most wonderful palace of all, if only they would forgive them. The demons agreed, and the two sisters went to work. They cut the most beautiful palace into the Earth, but hid the door and locks. 

The demons were impressed and forgave Truth and Order. But when they went into their new home, they complained: “You have build this place without windows. It is too hot!” 

So Truth raised a brazier next to the entrance and said, “Put some of your fire in here so you won’t be too hot in your beautiful house.”

The demons did as Truth had suggested, and when the night came they put almost all of their flames in the brazier. It burned as high as the sky.

When all the demons were asleep, the sisters slammed the hidden doors shut, closed all the locks, and placed their mightiest seals on them, so the demons could never leave again. When on the next morning a dreamer came to offer his life for the day’s warmth, the sisters smiled and carried the burning brazier to the Sun, where it has burned brightly ever since.

Chaos and Deceit went to the star-beasts and told them what Truth and Order had done. “Serves them right,” the star-beasts laughed at the demons' misfortune. The brothers laughed with the star-beasts, but warned them that Truth and Order might one day come for them, too. The star-beasts looked at the two and asked “Do you think us idiots? You are Chaos and Deceit! We will not make deals with the likes of you.”

The brothers played to be hurt by this mistrust. “We will show you that you can believe us. We will build you a house that can never be locked!”

They toiled a whole day, and when the night came they had turned the whole sky into a house for the star-beasts. “There is no way anyone can ever lock the whole sky. You can trust us.” The star-beasts looked at this and were impressed. “This is a wonderful house you have build. Here, take some of our flames and magic for your own. Now you will never have to bargain with us again.” The brothers revelled in their gifts, and greed grew in their hearts.

When the day came, and the Sun rose into the sky the star-beasts yelled, “Oh no! The new Sun is so hot and has such strong magic. Chaos, Deceit, help us!”

Deceit summoned a brazier and said “Quick, put your fire in here. I will safeguard your flames.” 

Chaos made a lantern and said “And I will guard you magic in this,” and the star-beasts did as they were told. 

Deceit took the brazier and carried it to the Moon. But when he saw the delicious fire he greedily took the first coal and licked the flames off it, then dropped the coal on the Moon. Then the next, and the next and so on, until he had eaten all the flames, and the Moon was covered in black spots of coal.

The sisters noticed this and went to ask Chaos for help.They knew they had no chance to force Deceit on their own. But when they arrived at the star-beasts’ house, Chaos was just about to eat the magical lantern. He was so angry at the two sisters who disturbed his meal, that he crushed the lantern in his claws. Now the magic was free and was equally split between Truth, Order and Chaos. Deceit on the Moon and all the dreamers on the Earth only got some morsels though. But the star-beasts were now trapped in the sky, without their magic they could not walk back to Earth.

That’s why the Sun is warm, the Moon is covered in dark spots, and why there is magic in the world.

What became of the four? Well, the zebras say that it is all a dream, and the dragons won’t answer for any price. Some ponies say that Truth and Order turned into our Princesses Luna and Celestia, that Deceit became the first dragon and that Chaos has walked the Earth in the guise of Discord. But who knows, you will have to ask them yourself.
	

> Who called the storm?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The corridors of Canterlot Castle lay in the dim illumination of a few glowing crystals as Cadance sneaked down the halls. Until now they had not been spotted, and the next corridor seemed empty, too. She signaled the pony behind her, and soon a dark-grey unicorn mare joined her on the corner into the next passage. This pony had her dark-green mane done up in a knot and wore a maid’s cap and dress. Like the princess she had donned some socks to keep her hooves from clopping on the floor.

The two nodded to each other and tiphoofed down the corridor. They had just passed the last alcove as the bright cone of light from a nightguard’s helm swept over them. The stallion was just as surprised as the two mares: the quite attractive bride of the captain and a maid stood in front of him, both as he noticed in quite … fashionable legwear.

Before he could even say something the maid was by his side and placed a hoof on his lips. “Let’s not get worked up for nothing, shall we?” she whispered. “The princess only wants some sweets. The tailors have placed her on diet, and you know how brides can get,” she winked at him, “don’t you?”

“I have no idea, what you are talking about,” the guard smiled at the mares and winked back. “In fact, I don’t even know why I’m talking to myself in this clearly empty hall.”

The two ponies scurried away, but each gave him a little kiss on the cheek as they passed him. As he was sure to be alone again, a grin stole onto his face. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza in socks! What a view!

The rest of the way was undisturbed for the two mares, but they both released a deep sigh when the door behind them closed closed.

Although she knew that the walls were enchanted to be soundproof Cadance kept whispering. “Will you find it in time?”

The maid looked at her with a mocking grin. “Don’t get your tail in a knot, princess. If it is here, I will find it. And if not tonight, then we will search again tomorrow, or as long as it takes. Your wedding is scheduled for the next month: plenty of time to find that crystal. Unless Celestia has locked it away in the treasure room under Canterlot tower, but I don’t think so. It is neither dangerous nor especially valuable.”

Cadence and her maid walked down the line of showcases and cabinets. Each contained some scrolls, ancient pottery or coins or works of art. The maid stopped in front of a particularly nasty looking axe. “Oh I remember this one. I almost lost my head over it.” She giggled. “Good times, fun times.”

Cadance tried not to look at the sharp edge, but read the little card that was pinned to the weapon. Her eyes went wide and she looked at her accomplice. “This is more than two thousand years old. I had no idea you were that — experienced.”

“You mean because I’m not chained to a celestial body?” the maid said, but kept on walking down the aisle. ”Well, there are other ways to keep a youthful complexion.” For just a moment Cadence thought she saw something else in the place of the small pony, but it was over in the blink of an eye. “But we haven’t snuck into Celestia’s memory lane here to exchange fashion tips, have we? So keep looking.”

The two walked by seemingly endless rows of cabinets until Cadence stopped in front of a rather boring stone under a glass dome. “I think this is it,” she called out. Her maid looked at it with a critical look. “Yes, it is. But lets wait for the next guard to make his round first. If they keep to their schedule he should come in here in a few minutes.”

The guard was punctual, but the two avoided detection successfully in an ancient elephant sarcophagus from Zebraica. 

“We have one hour,” Cadance said.

“Plenty of time,” her maid answered, “if you can cast your hubby’s special spell.”

Without even answering Cadance started collecting magic in her horn, and as she released it, a shimmering sphere covered the two ponies and the pedestal with the crystal. When she saw the telltale shimmer on her maid’s horn she looked away, the transformation magic still turned her stomach. After the glow had passed she dared to look again, even if the sight of the changeling queen was still not for the faint of heart. 

“You will keep to your end of the bargain?” Crysalis asked as she levitated the glass dome from the crystal.

“Of course,” Cadance nodded. ”You call the Crystal Empire back from the void and your hive gets a quarter of the love it will provide for Equestria.” She didn’t like the fanged grin the changeling flashed her, but what could she do? The changelings were the only race who could cast the emotion-based spell that would call the Empire from it’s banishment. “I don’t care what aunt Celestia says. A thousand years of banishment were enough for Luna, it should be enough for the fallen king.”

Crysalis nodded, and a spell like nothing Cadance had seen before streamed from the changeling’s crooked horn into the gem. The pulsing green magic continued for a few minutes, but finally Crysalis stopped the flow and turned to the young alicorn. “It is done. The Crystal Empire is part of this universe again and should reappear in a few months, half a year on the outside.”

Cadance could hardly believe her eyes and was this close to hugging the changeling queen. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!”

“Don’t thank me yet, little one,” Crysalis grinned her fanged grin. “Just keep the shield going until I’m changed back.”

Cadence almost danced for joy. “Oh, I don’t have to do that. The magic is self-sustained once it is cast.”

“Well, isn’t that convenient! You might want to look away again,” Crysalis said as she started to change again, and Cadance did so.

That’s why she didn’t see where the gop of slime came from that suddenly hit her muzzle and silenced her. As Cadance looked at the changeling again she saw her own face turned into a vicious grin. The last thing she heard before the flames around her snatched her away was “You know, Princess, I think I’ll take the whole Empire,” and the mocking laughter of the changeling queen.

> My fickle mistress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Rainbow Dash flapped her wings and mentally prepared for the first step of her routine. One last deep breath and she jumped into the air. As gravity took her she angled her wings, feeling the wind tuck at her mane and tail. She felt that familiar tickle in her belly, like the sudden, but secure knowledge that another pony was watching her with interest.

The first part of her performance: a slalom through a few trees that stood at exactly the right distance. The first step was easy, just like a conversation. She had to find the right angle in and, this was important: no touching. She had learned that one the hard way. Her legs still smarted with the bruises she had gotten in a previous run. Trees were quite unforgiving if you ventured to close at high speeds. “But not today,” she thought as she passed the eighth tree without a problem and allowed herself a little, confident smirk.

The next part was more complicated and Rainbow bit her lip as she ascended to catch some momentum. Again, it was all about the right angle. But with this trick, she wanted to be just close enough to coax a reaction from the cloud. She inched closer and closer until she felt the cloud react to her. Unlike the trees in the slalom before these clouds were soft and wouldn’t hurt her if she snuggled to close. A ruffled primary perhaps, but that was a price she was prepared to pay. And there it had happened: she felt the slightly painful tuck on the tip of her wings. Just a friendly warning not to go any further, but a warning nevertheless. But Rainbow had already achieved her goal: The cloud was spinning with her. She grinned and jumped to the next cloud to repeat the trick. 

After the third cloud she ascended again to get a little breather. She dared to look at her wings and for just a moment insecurity showed in her eyes. Her primaries were ruffled pretty bad after the last trick. Would she come even close the the completion of her routine? Maybe it was better to stop here, preen, and start over? She clenched her teeth. No, she was not going to quit here. She was an all-or-nothing mare! She wouldn’t stop while she hadn’t at least tried.

She tucked her wings close to her body to get a bit of help from gravity, then she started to flap, and flapped hard. She felt the pressure, the resistance of air building. She pushed a bit more, her wings flapped harder and harder, her muscles strained and her lungs burned. Little prismatic sparks played in her field of vision as she felt her wings give out. The primaries had come back to haunt her. Aerodynamics didn’t smile on a pegasus pony with ruffled wings, and she felt the vortex behind her grasping at her. It sounded like the laugh of a crowd of ponies as the wind and air dumped her.

The spin-out had shaken her good. Rainbow Dash was used to it; it was far from the first time this particular stunt had failed. And yet, it stung so much. Not in her wings, not in her muscles, but in her heart. She had fallen in love on that day, years ago. For just a moment she had felt the kiss of that fickle mistress, that tender touch nopony before had felt. And now she was barred from that sweet embrace, the love of her life flat out refused her. It stung deep, deep in her very soul.

Rainbow Dash looked around and sighed, she was still alone in the little field she had selected for practice. Fluttershy had promised to watch and cheer for her in the Best Young Flyer Competition, but she probably had to take care of her animals first. That left Rainbow with another, perhaps two tries before she had company. She shook her wings out to dislodge some leaves that had stuck there when she crashed and took a moment to fix her ruffled feathers. Then she flapped her way back to the little cloud she had started her routine from.

“Hey sky, it’s me, Rainbow Dash. Let’s try this again, you and me. Because, even if you hurt me, you know, I’ll always come back,” she said and jumped again. “I just love flying!”

> Working under pressure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Just a few more dresses,” the thought echoed through Rarity’s head. “Just a few more and the order for Hoity Toity will be done.” She knew she should have brought in help days ago, but now it was too late to train anypony. Even the time it would take to explain the layouts and designs to a skilled pony like Fluttershy was a loss she couldn’t allow. Even pondering her dilemma was a loss of time! And it were just a few more pieces. She put the finished touches on a dress and placed it on a hanger. Just a few more.


-z-


Her magic felt sluggish, like she was trying to juggle water balloons. Needle and thread slipped from her grip, and Rarity had to focus with all her might just to thread a new needle and sew the next button where it belonged. How many of those had she used? Was it even the right button for this dress? She couldn’t remember. Just a few more buttons.


-z-


The staccato of the sewing machine filled the boutique. Didn’t she just sew buttons? What? No time, the machine pressed on. She had to follow or the fabric would be ruined. Her eyes watered from the strain of looking at the red silk all the time... red silk? Wasn’t it blue cotton? No matter, no time, no time. There was far too little light in here. She reached for the curtains with her magic, but they were stuck, and then she didn’t bother anymore. The dresses had to be ready by the end of the night. Just a few more, just a few.


zzz


Rarity looked up as a piece of cloth was placed before her. “Princess Luna!” She bowed to the royal pony. 

“It’s the last piece, dear Rarity. Just this manescarf for me, and then your task is complete.” Luna pushed a piece of night-blue silk to Rarity, and the designer took it in her hooves. She could have sworn there were some dresses left, but as she looked around all the hangers were full, and every point on her list was checked off, except for the last: Princess Luna’s scarf.

“A scarf, from this high class silk?” Rarity bit her lip. She didn’t know what to say. This fabric was far too valuable to be made into something as simple as a scarf. But the customer is king, as they say, or a princess, in this case. She whipped the piece, but placed a few gems onto the scarf as well. “It wouldn’t be fitting for the night sky to have no stars,” she smiled at Luna.

“Indeed,” the Princess answered. “Now, while I’m here, let’s have some tea and talk.” She led Rarity out of the building, and as Rarity turned to look she found herself on a wide meadow. The Carousel Boutique was nowhere to be seen, but it didn’t bother her that much. Her job was complete, and now it was time to have tea with Luna.


---


Applejack pulled the door closed behind her. Rarity had finally stopped tossing and turning in her bed. She returned to the boutique’s showroom where Sweetie Belle waited for her. “She’s calm now, Sweetie. It was good that you send Apple Bloom to get me.” Applejack ruffled the younger ponies mane. “Now, let’s write your sister a note to let her know you’ll spend the night at the farm, and then we’ll let her rest.”

“What are we going to do with … those?” Sweetie Belle pointed at something that might have been a dress, if it hadn’t been fashioned from the curtains. Then there was the hat that was covered in buttons next to a pullover with more arms than she had bothered to count.

“Let’s just leave it like this.” Applejack couldn’t suppress a grin as she remembered a certain dress she had made and a certain comment about it. These pieces were worse. A lot of ponies thought Applejack didn’t have mean bone in her body. A lot of ponies would have been surprised about the twinkle in her eyes as she continued. “You know what, sugarcube? Let’s make breakfast for her tomorrow morning. I’d love to see her face when she sees them.”

> How I met my little brother
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“And that’s when I realized what Starswirl second paradigm meant: You can either know how much force a spell will cost or how much precision you need for the task, but not both,” Twilight summed up her latest learnings.

“That is correct. Very good, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia praised her student. “But it doesn’t answer my question: Why was there chalk powder in your mane when you arrived?”

Twilight’s face turned into a frown. “Somepony found it funny to hang a balloon full of the stuff over my head while I read. When I got up, my horn pierced it, and I got covered in it. I must have missed that spot.”

“I see. So it was just a harmless prank. I was worried for a second,” Celestia’s voice was calm and her face betrayed neither amusement nor anger. 

But Twilight wasn’t about to let this go so easily. “A harmless prank? Chalk powder could seriously damage the books if the humidity rises! If I get my hooves on whoever did this, I will make sure they get what they deserve.” Twilight stomped into the thick carpet. “I’ll get their library cards revoked! That’ll teach them!”

Now Celestia looked at her with a smile. “Twilight, that part of the library houses the schoolbooks. They are exposed to chalk all the time. Don’t work yourself up over this.”

“But —, but —, books!” was all Twilight could manage, before she faltered under her teacher’s smile. “Yes, Princess.” Under her voice she grumbled, “It was still rude.”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, it was. But no pony was hurt and you have still impressed me with that discourse about Starswirl’s rule of uncertainty. So it wasn’t all bad.” The Princess stopped in front of a door. Twilight student walked into her leg because she had stared to the ground in a bit of a sulk. “And now we’re here.”

Twilight looked around. She didn’t recognize this part of the palace. “Where are we, Princess Celestia?”

“This is part of my private quarters,” Celestia whispered as she opened the door in front of them. “Follow me, but be quiet, please.”


***


In retrospect the heavy bolts on the door and the DO NOT ENTER-sign should have been warning enough. Twilight peeked over the slightly singed furniture and quickly ducked back into hiding. 

“Not the mama!” wailed the little dragon and spew a flame that left a spot of soot on the wall behind her.

“I asked you to be quiet, Twilight,” Celestia said. Her voice betrayed just a hint of annoyance. “Waking him up with a squeal of Isn’t he cuuute! was quite exactly what I didn’t want to happen.”

“I understand that now, Princess, and I’m very sorry about it. But how am I supposed to meet him if he blows fire at me everytime he sees me? I’m not fireproof like you.” She dared to look at the little dragon again, just in time to see him blow another stream of fire into Celestia’s face. It didn’t even singe the royal eyebrows. Twilight silently confessed to just a bit of envy.

“Well, you have your next assignment right there. I suggest you get to it. Excuse me for not coming with you, I have a dragon to put to bed, again.”


***


“But then I realized that I couldn’t keep that spell up on my own all the time, so I scrapped the whole project and came up with this.” Twilight held a glowing ruby amulet. “It’s a quite clever design, even if I do say so myself. The enchantment collects the magic in the dragonfire and powers the spell that protects me from it. It will even work if I lose my concentration.”

Celestia looked at the pendant and nodded. “Elegant and effective. This will do. Now, be quiet. We don’t want to agitate him, again.”

As it turned out, they didn’t wake him. The little dragon had lain in wait for them and Twilight took the brunt of the flame to the face. The sight of a dragon’s fire up close was really unnerving, even if it was just a baby dragon. “Well, look on the bright side, Twilight. Your amulet works just like you planned,” Celestia chuckled. “And the soot just about covers that spot of chalk behind your ears.”

Twilight just sighed. “You still haven’t told me his name yet, Princess.”

“Officially its Kenbroath Gillspotten Heathspike IV,” Celestia said. “But I usually call him —”

“Spike!” Twilight shouted as the little dragon climbed up her tail. She winced as his little claws bit into her haunch. She tried to lift him from her back, but he only dug his claws deeper.

“You two play nice.” Celestia walked over to the scratched remains of a couch and put some pillows on the floor to sit on.

Two hours later the princess and her student left the sleeping dragon in his basket. “Is it okay if I visit him again tomorrow after class?”

Celestia smiled. “I was hoping you’d do that. Now, would you come with me to the palace guard? You need a special permission to enter my quarters unsupervised. As it happens, have you seen my private library?”
> The library band
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The time in Ponyville had given Spike a very special sense for anticipating trouble. It was usually a good idea to fill up the pantry and stock up on quills, ink and parchment when the tip of his tail started itching. Not that he would ever divulge this to Twilight. The one time she had asked him how he did it, Spike had only answered “I don’t know. Maybe it’s my special talent? Did I get a cutie mark?” and they both had laughed about it.

The sight of Rainbow Dash strutting into the library with a guitar case on her back sent a tingle down his spine, and Spike immediately knew that the stationary shop was calling his name. Before the pegasus pony could even say a word, he had opened the basement door, called “Twilight! Rainbow Dash is here! I’m out to get more ink!” down the steps and darted out the door. 

On the way through town he met Twilight’s other close friends. Apparently Rainbow Dash had called for an urgent meeting of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. With each meeting the tingling in the tip of his tail got worse, and when he finally returned to the library with a little cart full of the shop’s supply of ink, parchment and quills, he could already hear the commotion before he even opened the door.

“It was my idea, I get to decide!” Rainbow Dash stomped her hooves on the floor.

“No, no, no,” Rarity’s voice almost snapped. “That is unacceptable! Remember who’s the expert on beauty and design in Ponyville: moi!”

“You’re so funny, Rarity. If anypony here knows what ponies like, it’s clearly me. I keep this town laughing, after all.” The fact that Pinkie Pie made a more compelling point than Rarity told Spike everything he needed to know about the situation: It was dire.

As he opened the backdoor to the library’s kitchen, Applejack’s voice was a bit muffled but still clear enough to make out her lack of argument: “If you’re talking about Ponyville, then I should decide. The town was build by my folk!”

Spike only shook his head. What these friends needed was a voice of reason, a pony with a clear head and a straight mind, —
“Don’t make me use my authority as a princess of Equestria, girls.” The sound of wings snapping open underlined the next statement. ”We will use my suggestion or we won’t use any at all!”
 — too bad Twilight Sparkle wasn’t that pony. Spike took a bowl with snacks from the pantry, swallowed, and walked into the tiger’s den.

The five ponies stood arguing by Twilight’s blackboard. Spike placed the snacks on the table, nopony had yet noticed him. “Hey girls, what are you —“ Twilight’s magic snatched him from his feet and placed him in front of the blackboard.

“You’re back, Spike!” Twilight exclaimed. “Now we can finally decide who is correct in the second best Equestrian way: By a vote!”

“Why don’t you use the best Equestrian way to decide it?” Spike wasn’t even sure if he really wanted to know, but some morbid curiosity drove him to ask anyway.

“Because Pinkie Pie is secretly an attorney and pulled out some ancient law from nine hundred year ago.” Twilight pointed to a huge book on the table. ”A Princess’s decision can be overruled by a three quarters majority of ponies. I got outvoted one against four.” She grumbled under her voice.”Stupid law.”

At least one doubt was removed from Spike mind: he really hadn’t wanted to know that. “Okay, what is this all about?”

Rainbow Dash jumped onto a table and and struck a pose with the guitar, that Spike hadn’t noticed before, in her hooves. “We’re forming a band, and this is about the most important decision in our lives!”

A thousand possible questions raced through Spike’s head: Who plays which instrument? Who gets to be lead singer? What kind of music should they play? How can they do this when all already had busy schedules? But as he looked at Rainbow Dash on her hind legs with her wings spread out and in a pose with a guitar, he already knew what they were arguing about. “So, what are your suggestions for the band’s name?”

Rainbow Dash shot a triumphant glare to the other ponies. “See? See? I told you he’d get it immediately!” She pointed to the black board.

● Rainbow Dash: Gang of Six
● Twilight Sparkle: Harmony! (with an exclamation mark)
● Pinkie Pie: Private Pinkie’s Happy Smiles Club Band
● Rarity: Lady Rarity and her fabulous Five
● Applejack: The Pony Family

Spike scratched his chin. “What about Fluttershy? Isn’t she here too?”

Five ponies looked at each other, at Spike and back to each other. In the sudden silence Spike spotted a yellow feather drifting down from the second floor. He pointed at it, and a few moments later Rainbow Dash had carried Fluttershy down. Unfortunately the usually timid pony was adamant about one thing: She didn’t want to be in a band, not if she had to go on stage and play in front of other ponies. And No means No.

Trying to avoid the whole name issue Spike pointed out another thing that bugged him. “Rainbow Dash, do you even know how to play the guitar? I know for a fact that Twilight doesn’t play an instrument. Rarity? Applejack? The only pony here who can play is Pinkie Pie.”

Rainbow waved her hooves over the guitar. “So what? Everypony knows you only need like four chords to become famous anyway!”

Rarity raised a hoof. “I took piano lessons when I was in elementary school.”

“I can play the banjo something fierce,” Applejack offered.

“You don’t say,” Spike snarked. “So you have Princess no-rhythm, Miss four-chords on guitar, some elementary piano, a fierce banjo and Pinkie Pie.”

“Actually, no,” Pinkie Pie injected. “I can’t play those instruments.”

Twilight knew she shouldn’t say it, and yet she was compelled to do so. “We all saw you play a whole bunch of instruments back at the parasprite invasion and when Trixie came back.”

“I can perform,” Pinkie tried to explain, “but only if it’s funny.” She pointed at her cutie mark and smiled apologetically.

It took all of Spike’s willpower not to slap himself in the face. “You know what? I’ll take a walk outside. I suggest you take Fluttershy’s advice: You six forming a band? No. Just no.”

> Everyday mysteries
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spike watched the pebble drop into the small river that runs through Ponyville. He listened to the plop and watched how the ripples painted a strange pattern into the darkness under the bridge beside him. He wasn’t lonely or angry or broody, he just wanted some time to think, some time alone. BUt it wasn’t meant to be. When he heard the sound of metal on stone he already knew who would soon look over the bridge’s hoofrail. There were only a few ponies who used this special kind of hoofshoes, and they were very easily to discern because of their different size.

“Down here, Princess Cadance,” he called, but didn’t look up. If she was looking for him then only because Twilight had asked her to. Probably because she herself was too busy with being a Princess now. For some reason he couldn’t remember, he and Cadance had never clicked, not like him and Shining Armor, or almost all ponies in Ponyville, for that matter. Maybe because they had met when he was still a baby dragon? A very young baby dragon. Maybe the idea of a pony princess of love was something that he felt wasn’t for a brave dragon like him? For a moment he wondered when his thoughts about Princess Cadance and  the whole love thing in general had changed. When he had fallen for Rarity? When Cadance and Shining Armor married? When she had rescued him from King Sombra? Or when Twilight herself had become a Princess? He didn’t know, but if she was in Ponyville, he could make friends with her now.

But as he opened his eyes the pony that looked down on him wasn’t the Princess of the Crystal Empire. “Twilight?” He raised both eyebrows. “Since when do you wear the metal shoes again? Didn’t you say they gave you blisters?”

For just a moment emotions flashed over Twilight’s face, some mixture of embarrassment, sadness, relief and a note of anger. Or maybe it was just the memory of the day after her coronation, when she hadn’t been able to walk at all because her hooves had hurt like crazy? “I thought I’d give them another try. I’ll have to get used to them eventually.” She placed her fore hooves on the rail, and the golden shoes gleamed in the sun. “Also Cadance gave me this ointment. It smells funny but works wonders.” Her eyes darted left and right, not looking at him, even avoiding him. “Do you mind if I sit with you? Just for a minute?”

At first Spike felt a bit unsure about this question. On the one claw he had come here for some privacy, to think about things, and to clear his mind. But on the other claw he knew that Twilight knew this and she wouldn’t disturb him for something trivial. He waved her to come and soon the two sat on the banks together, looking out on the small river.

“Do you ever wonder about what could have been?” Twilight asked. Spike had to look at her again. Something about Twilight was different from usual. Was she taller, or was it that just the shoes? Was there a twinkling in her mane or were those just reflections from the water?

“You mean like ‘What if we never met?’ or ‘What if I had fallen for Rainbow Dash instead of Rarity?’” He scratched his chin, as he pondered this. “No, don’t think I do. I’m pretty happy with things the way they are. And even if I was unhappy about something, it’s not like I could go back into the past and change things the I we want them, right? I’m some Spike’s future-Spike, after all.” There it was again, that strange expression on Twilight’s face. Spike picked another pebble and threw it into the river. “I’m a bit worried about the future, though,” he whispered.

“Who isn’t?” Twilight answered. She sighed and ruffled her wings, a gesture Spike had come to associate with uncertainty and anxiety in pegasus ponies. Twilight had gotten used to those wings pretty quickly. “Spike, I don’t know how to say this, but I feel there may be more, much more adventures ahead. Every day will be full of things to do, ponies to meet and, well, schedules. I know that I don’t tell you this often enough, and I might say it even less in the future, but you are my most important friend. I’m unsure about so many, many things, Spike. But there’s one thing I know for sure: I want you — I need you by my side. You know this, right?”

Spike was about to answer with a wave of his claw and Of course, silly, but then he saw the tears glistening in Twilight’s eyes. He just held out his arms and a second later Twilight hugged him like she hadn’t hugged him for years. He could hear her heart beat next to his own, feel her soft coat on his scales and smell the soap in her mane; it was still the same smell of lavender, just like when she was ten years old.

But then she folded her wings around him, just like Princess Celestia used to do it. And suddenly he knew, deep down in his burning guts, in his bones and in his very dragonsoul that she would protect him from everything. She would make sure that every story had a happy ending and every adventure would be exciting, maybe even dangerous, but it would end with smiles for everypony.

He didn’t know how long they had hugged like this, but when they finally let go of each other, the sun had not moved even a fraction of the way he had expected. “Yes Twilight, I know. And I feel the same way for you.”

There were some red rims around Twilight’s eyes, but she smiled a smile so bright, Pinkie Pie would have thrown her a party on the spot if she had seen it. “Thank you so much, Spike,” she said, the cleared her throat. “Well, I said I’d only take a few minutes of your time, so I’d better go back to the palace now.”

“You mean the library, right?”

That strange mix of emotions flashed over Twilight’s face again, but she just smiled and turned to leave. As he heard her hoofsteps on the bridge, he remembered something and called out for her. As he looked up to her, high on the bridge, it felt like talking to Princess Celestia when he was just a whelp. “You know, there is one thing I’ve been thinking about.”

“Yes, Spike?” Now she even sounded like Celestia. Or was it just the reverberation under the bridge?

“Princess Cadance, is she my cousin or my sister-in-law? Because I grew up with Princess Celestia and your parents. Hey, even you acted like a mother from time to time.” He scratched his forehead. “That would make her my aunt, right?”

Twilight’s laughter echoed under the bridge. “Why don’t you ask her herself? I have an inkling we’ll visit the Crystal Empire again soon.” The her head disappeared over the the railing and Spike heard the typical pop of a teleportation. The smell of ozone was unusual, though.


***


Twilight looked at the checklist she had just completed and nodded. It was a really long one, but it had been worth it. The sound of the door opening and closing made her look up. From across the room Spike asked, “Twilight, do you know what kind of teleportation leaves a smell of ozone behind?”

“Teleportation only smells if the unicorn puts too much energy in it, and then it smells burned. You only get ozone with really high-energy spells, time-spells for example. Why do you ask?”

“Oh, no reason,” Spike answered, “No reason at all,” and fled to the kitchen.

Twilight gazed after him and took her quill to add another point to the list.
Everyday mysteries, 1139: What does Spike do all afternoon when he leaves the library?
> Like rock candy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Electric Sky loved the first day of school, but at the same time she loathed it. Every new class was like a box of the rock candy she loved. But sometimes you got an actual rock in your candy. All the new faces of young, hopeful unicorns. Entering Princess Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns was an achievement in itself. Many a pony had made her way in life without a diploma, just by being accepted into the prestigious institute. And so every year had one or two … overly ambitious ponies. Ponies with more sparkle in their eyes than in their horn, as the older teachers used to say. Electric Sky had only been a teacher for five years and had never met the mare, but the name Trixie Lulamoon still managed to make some of her older colleges cringe.

Electric Sky had already found that pony in her new class: Comet Tail was quite big for his age, and the colt didn’t hesitate to push smaller ponies around. Electric Sky wasn’t sure if it was her experience as a teacher, or if he was really that rude. She would have to talk to him soon, before he managed to establish himself as the class bully. But first there was the traditional tour through the school. Where first-years were allowed, where only grown ups were allowed, the toilets, the schoolyard, the whole shebang.

As every year, the last room of the tour was the famous auditorium six, the “room with no magic”. She gathered the dozen young ponies of her class around her and made them sit down. “Now, this is the last room for today, after this you can go home, and tomorrow we will begin with the real magic classes.” This got some cheers. “But this room is special: Who ever can cast a spell in this room is destined to become a great wizard and will surely get a summa cum laude diploma from the school.”

Electric Sky felt quite guilty to subject those little ponies to this initiation. But it was tradition to remind everypony that the only way to become a great magician was learning, work, training, hard work, more learning, more training and even more hard work. No shortcuts, just hard work!

Comet Tail shoved his way to the front and tried to cast his special spell, a comet shower illusion he had shown at least five times already in the last hour. After trying, trying and trying again, the colt broke out in tears and sobs. None of the other ponies fared any better, as expected. The last pony to give her “destiny” a shot was a small filly with a blonde mane and a gray coat. She hadn’t even gotten her cutiemark yet. Electric Sky felt another pang of guilt as she asked the filly to try some magic.

The filly walked to the front, took a cape from her satchel and threw it over her back. That got her the attention of her classmates and  a raised eyebrow from her teacher. She smiled and bowed to her audience, followed by the traditional “nothing up my sleeves”-gesture, even though she wore no sleeves at all. This made some of the little ponies snicker. Then she walked to Comet Tail, stuck  a hoof into his mane and pulled a giant handkerchief out of it, almost as big as herself. She held it to the colt’s face, made him blow his nose, and wiped all the tears and snot away.

Quite a number of foals made a disgusted face, but the filly folded the handkerchief, again and again, until she couldn’t any more. Up to now Electric Sky had managed to keep a neutral expression, but as the filly threw the dripping package into the air, she held her hooves over her head in fear like everypony else. Her eyes followed the projectile in morbid curiosity: Who would become the poor pony that would spend his or her school time as “snotty mane”? But at the top of its trajectory the package exploded with a small bang and released a cloud of confetti.

As the paper chips flittered to the floor, the filly bowed again and got quite a round of applause. Even Electric Sky was impressed. Not by the sleight of hoof, but by the simple fact that this filly had managed to cheer everypony in the room up.

Electric Sky walked up to the filly and smiled at her. “Great show, — Dinky? Right? Dinky Doo?” The filly nodded. “But that wasn’t magic,” Electric continued. “You didn’t cast a spell.”

Dinky frowned at her. “Well duh!, miss! There’s a magical distortion in this room, from the way my horn tickles, I’d say at least fifty milli-thaum. Only one of the Princesses could cast a spell in here.”

Electric Sky held her hoof in front of her face. This filly was going to be a hoofful.

“Say, could this be the room where Twilight Sparkle had her entrance exam, got selected as Princess Celestia’s personal protégé and got her cutiemark?” Dinky’s eyes glowed with excitement. “That was a great story when she told it!” 

“You know Princess Twilight Sparkle?” Electric Sky already knew the answer, she didn’t even need to see the enthusiastic nods. Against her better knowledge she asked  “And who taught you that trick you just showed us?”

“Don’t you know? Twilight Sparkle is good friends with the famous showmare, Trixie Lulamoon!”


***


Electric Sky loved the first day of school, but at the same time she loathed it. Every new class was like a box of the rock candy she loved. But sometimes you got an actual rock in your candy too.
But this time the rock had turned out to be a diamond.

> Sugar Wars
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“You have to make the Princess stop this, Twilight! I can’t go on like this!” Pinkie Pie wailed at the top of her lungs. “This war on sweet is completely crazy.” She grabbed Twilight’s head in her hooves and pressed her face to hers. Her voice fell into a whisper. “And believe me, I know what I’m talking about.”

Twilight took Pinkie in her magic and pushed her back. “I’m not happy about this either, but a royal decree is a royal decree. You can’t just say ‘I’ll take a bit of the eternal alicorn wisdom and immense magic, but hold the crazy decrees and occasional abuse of power.’ Generations of ponies have put up with this before and so will we. When Celestia goes on a diet the whole of Equestria goes on a diet, it’s as simple as that.” Twilight walked up to Pinkie and took her hooves. “Just hold it together for a month or two. Princess Luna has promised me that these … episodes never last longer than that. Besides, I don’t see anypony else complaining.” Her hoof pointed at the assembled group of their friends around the library’s main table.

“Yeah, Pinkie,” Rainbow Dash smiled. “Suck it up, It’s not that bad.” She waved at Spike who just walked in from the kitchen. ”Hey Spike. Do you have any of that Prof Cayenne left? That soda packs a real punch!”

A few moments later Zecora was startled by a loud cry and spilled her tea into the cauldron.

Twilight rubbed her ears. “Rainbow Dash! Didn’t you just say to ‘suck it up’?”

“But the things named after a completely different spice?” Rainbow Dash looked perplexed. ”It’s not Prof Sugar or Prof Honey or anything.”

“Oh good that you mention it, thank you Rainbow! I’d almost forgotten.” Twilight turned away from the one pegasus pony and turned to the other one. “Fluttershy, your beehives, could you talk to them and tell them to keep the honey production down for the time being? Thank you so much.”  Rainbow felt an ice-cold gaze on her, but didn’t dare to face Fluttershy right now. 

“I don’t know if the bees will understand that,” Fluttershy was very careful as she chose her words. She knew exactly what would happen if she asked the hives to stop with the honey. It wouldn’t be … nice.

“Well, they are only insects after all,” Twilight sighed. “I’ll help you put them back into the Everfree tomorrow.” She scribbled a note onto a list, not even noticing how Fluttershy’s face turned into a frown.

“Talking about produce, Applejack, how many Golden Delicious and Red Delicious trees do you have at the farm this year?” Twilight read another item from her list. 

“”Golly, I have no exact number for you from the top of my head, Twilight.” Suspicion hung heavy in in voice “Why do you ask?”

“Well, while the diet is in effect only Granny Smith apples are allowed to be sold. And growing sweet fruits could technically be seen as preparation of a crime. You might want to chop those trees down. Just to be on the safe side, you know.“

Applejack was at a loss for words.

Twilight smiled, nodded and checked off another point. “Now Rarity, … I have no idea what I could tell you to look out for in this situation.”

“I know, darling. I just can’t say how much I like this! With everypony on diet I will have so much work with refitting dresses. I’ll make a fortune!” The other ponies except Twilight looked at Rarity with poorly concealed contempt. “In fact I have an appointment right now. Pinkie Pie, would you like to come with me? I’m sure you would love to meet this pony.” In the end Rarity had to carry her almost catatonic friend on her back.


***


The Carousel Boutique was dark. All curtains were drawn, and Rarity had given Sweetie Belle some sugar lumps to share with her friends. She had to make sure there would be no unexpected listeners. She placed a teaspoon of powder sugar in front of Pinkie Pie who was still unresponsive. A smile played around her lips as the pink nose twitched. “Welcome back, Pinkie. Now, I have business proposal for you.”

Pinkie frowned. “ Business? Don’t you make enough bits out of this ‘I like it so much’-diet? Some Element of Generosity you are.”

“You misunderstood, Pinkie. I said ‘I can’t say how much I like it’, because then I’d have to resort to cursing, and that’s unbecoming of a lady. Just imagine, after two months without sweets even Cup Cake will look like a supermodel. Can you imagine how that makes me feel? I torture myself like that for years to keep my figure, and with this stupid diet everyone will become slim in no time at all! Where does this leave me?” Rarity put her mouth close to Pinkie’s ear, “No, my darling, the sugar must flow! What this town needs is a hero, a hero they want, a hero for the sweets. Can you be that hero?”

That night the Sugar Czar appeared for the first time.

> A higher goal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	
~~~


Have you ever thought about it what it means to love a book? To adore the idea it contains between its covers and the messages it planted into your mind?

I have thought about it, and now I know, ‘cause I love books. Not all of them, but there are some I would do anything for. And I’m not just saying that.

The first step is to realize what a book is. Paper and ink you say? Well, then a pony is nothing but a fuzzy sack of meat and bones. Maybe a pony is just that, and the ideas, the creativity and spirit of a pony are separate? But that just makes a book all so much more. Because a book is both, at the same time, a physical object, ink on paper in a binding, and a spiritual subject that carries ideas and puts them into ponies’ minds. A book is the perfect amalgam of the here and now and the what might be.

What happens to the idea once it’s been read? That depends upon the reader, you see. If the reader is very young and hasn’t found truths in her life yet, the idea will take root and wait. But if the reader already has other ideas in his head the ideas will fight and mix, and a new idea will be born in the reader’s mind. An idea she might then commit to paper and so write a new book. And a the big circle will continue, as long as there a ponies who read. In a way, this is the way to immortality: put yourself, the idea of yourself, that which makes you you into a book and become a part of this eternal flow of ideas.


~~~


Celestia looked up from the ancient letter. Her gaze wandered over to the huge comfy couch she liked to sit on when she was alone. You could have placed three normal ponies on it without a problem; the baby dragon looked utterly lost between all the cushions. Celestia took the letter in her magic, and the piece of paper floated over to him. He caught it in his claws and seeking her approval looked at her with fearful eyes.

“Just read it, Spike,” she said. ”The part I’ve marked is the important one. Don’t be afraid. While I hold it in my magic you can’t damage the paper, however brittle it may seem.”

As he read the letter he nodded, nodded and nodded again. “Yes, Princess,” he said and released the piece of paper from his grip. “That’s pretty much what Twilight talked about today. Now, I know I’m not as clever as her, but all that? Turning yourself into an idea and live forever inside other ponies’ heads?” He looked over his shoulders, as if expecting somepony sneaking up on him. “That’s really creepy. And I know creepy: I read Nightmare Moon on Oak Road. But that wasn’t half as creepy as that.” He waved his claw towards the letter that now settled back on Celestia’s desk.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at the little dragon. “You read such scary stories?” She shook her mane. “Please, promise me that you will not read more of that … filth.”

Spike twiddled his thumbs and tried to avoid the Princess’s eyes, but he ultimately failed. “Well, okay. I won’t read the rest of the series. But you have to promise to do something about Twilight.”

“You like her very much, don’t you?” Celestia smiled a little smile as she saw red shooting into Spike’s face. “I will look into it. In fact I already have an idea. Do you know if Twilight has any plans for the Summer Sun Celebration next month?”

“You mean beyond ‘spending all day in the tower and reading’? None that I know of.”

“Very well. You can go now. Please tell Twilight that I will be late for our lesson. About thirty minutes, I guess.” Celestia watched the dragon hop down from the couch and walk out of her office.  She rolled the scroll up to place it back in it’s container as her gaze fell on the last lines of the letter and sighed. 


~~~


At least it is the best shot at immortality for those of us who aren’t blessed with eternal youth already.

Your devoted pupil, Starswirl.



~~~


“Just why didn’t you aim higher?”

> Companion Crisis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Pinkie was at her wits end. She had always been able to solve any problems with Gummy on her own, but this time … She just didn’t know any more and knocked on Fluttershy’s door. She heard the clip-clop of hooves approaching from inside and knocked even faster.

“Oh please, don’t be another giant Everfree Woodpecker. I still haven’t repaired all the holes —” Pinkie picked up the low murmur behind the door and stopped her knocking. Not so much because she felt bad about it, but because the door was opening a crack now. An eye was peeking out from it, fearful of the world outside in general and giant Everfree Woodpeckers in particular. 

“Oh! Hello, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy pulled the door wide. She spotted the little alligator on Pinkie’s back. “Oh dear, what’s with Gummy?” 

Pinkie carefully picked her pet up and placed him in Fluttershy’s waiting wings. “I don’t know, Flutters. Ever since I returned from Twilight’s coronation he’s been like this. You know, normally I can’t shut him up, the old chatterbox, but now? Not a peep! He won’t even join me in step dancing.” Her voice turned into a wail that even Rarity would have approved of. “I just don’t know what to do anymore!”

Walking back into her home, Fluttershy carried Gummy to a cushion and placed him down. She patted him on the back. “We’ll get you back on your claws, little one. Just you wait.”

Gummy blinked his right eye at her. Then he blinked his left eye. But he still lay on the cushion like a limp noodle.

Fluttershy made a short flight to her kitchen door and stuck her head inside. “Angel Bunny, would you keep an eye on Gummy, please? I have to talk to Pinkie Pie for a minute. Thank you so much.”

Fluttershy went back to Pinkie’s side and led her outside. “Now Pinkie, what exactly have you been feeding him? And who fed him while we were in Canterlot?”

Pinkie Pie took a deep breath. “Do you think that Mrs. Cake didn’t give him enough chocolate frosting on his cakes?”

The door closed behind the two ponies. Angle stuck his head into the living room and waved at two birds to stand guard by the door. He walked over to Gummy’s cushion and gave the reptile’s tail a kick. “Get over it you lazy bum!”

“Twenty five years!” the alligator hissed. “I trained for this for twenty five years!”

Angel took a carrot and bit off the green with a practiced movement. He stuck it into a corner of the his mouth and started sucking on it. He was about to offer one up, but a look from the cold reptilian eyes reminded him of the strikt sugar-only diet Gummy had to keep. “Sorry, Fluttershy gave our last lollipops to the mice yesterday.”

“I’ll survive it,” Gummy pressed out. His gaze wandered to the window. “Did you — did you ever think of leaving? Leaving it all behind? The mission, the responsibilities, everything? It would be so easy. Find a river, take one last breath, swim and dive until you’re back in the wilderness?”

“Leave Fluttershy? Pah, she wouldn’t find her own tail with a map if I wasn’t here keeping this dump shipshape. Naw, I never thought of that.” Angle shifted the carrot from the left to the right side. “Also, I’m not so good at swimming and diving.”

Gummy looked at the rabbit with both eyes and for just a moment Angel saw the terrifying intellect of a master tactician behind them. For just a second Angel was back in the academy and listened to his teachers never to trust another companion unless they were on the same team. Except, they were on the same team: Team not-yet.

“You know, the stupid owl doesn’t even have proper training,” Gummy said in his hissing voice. ”That bird just dropped in there, took the jackpot and doesn’t even know it.” Something like a sigh escaped him. “It makes me wish I could slap myself in the face.” He wiggled his claws.

“Yeah, lucky bas ... bird,” Angle remembered the rule about tone just in time and caught himself. “But it could have been worse, you know. Just imagine how annoying the cat would have been if her girl had made it.”

A sardonic grin played around Gummy’s face. It took it’s time; Gummy’s face was quite big after all. “Yeah, that would have been worse. But can you imagine how Winona must feel right now? Her girl is the spitting image of the original, but she still got beat by that bookworm. That’s gotta bite.” Gummy mulled that thought over in his head. “You know, I think I’ll stick around a bit longer. Even if it’s just to see those two suffer.” He laughed a hissing alligator laugh. “And who knows, maybe next time it will be Pinkie?”

Angel bit through his carrot. “In your dreams, scaly. Fluttershy is next.”

The two stared at each other until a voice could be heard from outside.

“Fluttershy, darling! You have to take a look at Opalescence, the poor dear is so listless since lately.”

Angel and Gummy exchanged a snort. Now this would be fun!

> Play the ball, not the pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The baseball slowly turned in the magical hold of the white unicorn. From time to time the stallion took the ball in his hooves, turned it over and sighed. Rarity watched her father sit on the jetty from her room, but she didn’t know what to make of all this. The last month had been so hectic with the birth of her little sister and her first ever real argument with her mother.

This was all Sweetie Belle’s fault somehow! Her mother was sleepy and cranky all the time, her father was sad now, and she had been grounded last week. Rarity looked at her room’s door. She was allowed to go outside again today, but now she didn’t want to anymore. She wasn’t sulking, she just didn’t want to go outside. She turned back to the window and stared out again. Her father was still there with his ball, and looking at him actually made her feel worse. This wouldn’t stand! There was only room for one sulking pony in this house, and nopony was going to outsulk Rarity today. Even if she totally wasn’t sulking at all!

Rarity slowly made her way down from the second floor, avoiding all the creaky floorboards and even managed to sneak past her little sister and mother, who slept next to each other in the living room. Opening and closing the front door behind her, Rarity stepped outside and walked over to the jetty in front of the family’s house. She was still in sneaky mode, and as she sat down next to her father he almost dropped the baseball into the lake.

“Wow, Princess! You gave me a heart attack here!” He took a deep breath. “But nice to see you outside. Have you talked to your mother?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow and looked at him with what she thought was a sneer; her father just found it adorable. “Mom’s sleeping with Sweetie in the living room. If I had met mom you would have heard it. Why are you sitting out here? Did you argue with mom too?”

Her father looked at her, the baseball and her again. “No, no, princess. I was just … thinking. You know, grown up stuff. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Didn’t you listen to mom, dad? I’m supposed to grow up and be a big sister now. She was pretty loud about it.”

Her father gave her a thoughtful gaze, then he said “Do you remember your birthday two years ago? When you wanted the ‘Princess Celestia with chambermaids’ playset, but we got you ‘Princess Celestia and her guard’?”

Rarity tapped her hoof on the boards. “So you’re unhappy because Sweetie Belle didn’t come with a set of dresses but a stallion in armor? But it all worked out in the end because now you can play romantic knight-and-maid with your friends?” she tried to understand the situation.

Father and daughter looked at each other. The one doubting her father's understanding of the subtle but crucial details of society in elementary school, and the other wondering when his daughter had grown up so fast. “Not quite,” he tried to find a way out of the situation without touching upon romantic knights and maids again. “You see, when I was a colt, my father, your grandfather, would play catch with me every weekend. And we always used this ball.” He offered the ball to Rarity, and she could make out the scorch marks from untrained levitation-magic on it. “I had hoped I could one day play catch with a colt of my own with this very ball. But, well, you’re a filly, and Sweetie Belle, too. Which is fine, but, well —”

Rarity mulled that information over in her head. “So, you’re unhappy because you can’t play the game you wanted to play, but it’s not bad because we can play other games?” She looked over the lake. “You know dad, if you’d like, I could play catch with with you,” Rarity offered.

Her father looked at her with a smile. Then he ruffled her hair a bit which only got him an annoyed “Daaad!” from his daughter. “That’s very nice of you, my little big Princess,” he said. “How about we do that once Sweetie sleeps for longer than a few hours?” On cue they could hear the little filly’s wail from the house. “But now I have to help your mother. Do you think you can help me help her? Without too much shouting?”

Rarity gave an exaggerated sigh. “Do I have a choice? She is my little sister, after all.”

“That’s my girl!” her father said and tossed the baseball over to Rarity. She caught it with her magic and threw it back. Together they walked back into the the house.

> The twenty year plan
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight Sparkle stood in front of the huge vanity mirror in her suite in Canterlot Castle. She only used it rarely, preferring to stay at her parent’s house or in her old room in the tower. But tonight was special, and she wanted it to be as special as it could possibly be.

She went over her special secret to-do-list again. She had never written it down, not once. Writing a plan down made it real and once a plan was real it could fail. But a plan you carried in your heart was more of a dream, and while dreams could also crumble in the face of reality, there was still a certain magic to them.

Twilight had talked to Luna for quite some time about this. She had always felt — no, she had known, that there was a magic to the sleeping world. Maybe her special talent was at play again, but the Princess of the Night had confirmed her assumption: ponies could do anything in their dreams, and they could do those things in the waking world, too.

Yes, dreams could come true. Not by destiny or fate, believing in yourself and following your star, but by getting up early and working as hard as you could.

She opened the doors which her magic and let the two maids in to help her get ready. Again, all for tonight. She looked at the dress, horribly out of date compared to today’s fashion, but she wasn’t aiming for a pony that lived so much in the now, but in the ever. Rarity had outdone herself on this one. The fashionista was one of the two ponies she had let in on the plan. Not because she needed to, but because she wanted to have somepony she could talk to after she had moved to Ponyville and away from Cadance.

The maids braided her mane and tail with ribbons, pearls and beads. Researching this had taken her over year in the oldest and dustiest part of the royal library; she had talked to ancient mares and traveled with the nomads of the Buffalo and Zebra tribes. Who knew Rarity was so right: fashion could be fun!

Twilight looked at herself in the mirror again. Her dress and makeup made the traditional hairstyle of the Crystal Empire’s ruler look like last week’s fad. She was ninety eight percent sure that she had all the parts and the face-paint right. Nopony had worn this in more than three thousand years: the courting garb of a very special tribe of ponies that had lived in the southern plains of the legendary Dream Valley.

Twilight’s mind jumped back a few decades, to the day she had made this secret plan. The conversation was still alive in her memory, like it had happened yesterday.

“Good morning, Twilight Sparkle. Ready for our first lesson?“ Celestia asked.

“Yes, Princess! Look, I brought my own quills and paper,” the filly nodded eagerly.

“Very commendable, but I think we should get to know each other a bit first. Tell me, what do you want to do when you grow up.”

“I want to become just like you, Princess!” The filly’s smile illuminated the room just as much as the sunlight that filtered through the stained glass windows.

Celestia’s smile shrunk by just a smidgen. “You probably don’t want that. Being a princess is not as much fun and a lot more work than most ponies think.” Her voice fell into the low whisper that adults use to say things they don’t actually don’t want to say or children to hear. “And it gets quite lonely after some time.” Her eyes searched the horizon, her shoulders sagged just a little and the sigh was tiny, but, like most children, Twilight picked up on those things a lot better than most grown ups expected.

“Well, then I’ll be your best friend forever, so you don’t have to be lonely anymore. And we can read and learn together.”

The Princess looked at her with those huge, soulful eyes. Years later Twilight had realized why these eyes had caught her heart: whenever Celestia talked to ponies, she always had a bit of sadness in them. But the eyes in her memory were free of this sadness, there was mirth, a continuous look of wonder and a bit of rock, the part of Celestia that never moved, that stood against time itself. “I would like that, my little Twilight. But let’s walk that road one step at a time.”

Twilight had become the faithful student, a trusted friend and the Princess of Magic. She had grown from a filly to a unicorn and from a unicorn into an alicorn. Some transitions had been rough, some had been smooth, but she had walked the road, and tonight she would take another step. Maybe the last on this part of the journey, but she was sure it would not be the end. That had been one of the important things she had learned from the conversations with Rarity and Cadance. Books ended once the romance was complete, but real live wasn’t like that.

It wasn’t enough to just confess and hope for the best. Twilight hadn’t been surprised that love, like everything else in life, needed work to make it last, but her books hadn’t told her that. Not just Cadance and Rarity, but all her friends were on her mind as she walked down the corridors. Honesty, loyalty, generosity, kindness and, if all else failed, laughter, were more than just the Elements of Harmony. They also paved a way to your loved one’s heart.

She turned the corner to Celestia’s private quarters. It had only been a minute since she had closed the doors of her own suite behind her, and yet she felt like she had walked a thousand miles and for twenty years. Maybe she had. Next to Celestia’s door stood Cadance and Luna, both smiling. The Princess of Love smiled brightly, she had been the first pony Twilight had told of her plan. The Princess of the Night wore her enigmatic smile, like she knew more than she led on and was just waiting for the other hoof to drop.

“This is the big night?” Cadance asked, and Twilight nodded. Cadance smiled and the two shared a careful hug, so Twilight’s makeup wouldn’t be disturbed. 

Luna too gave her a hug. “Have patience with my sister. She has about as much experience with love as you. You’d better not try to be subtle.”

With that last piece of advice Twilight knocked on Celestia’s door, and it opened. She walked in and found the Princess of the Sun behind her desk. Celestia was reading some scroll, but seeing Twilight she put it down. She got up from the cushion, walked up to the smaller pony and inspected her first from a distance, then close up.

“A very good reproduction of my tribes ceremonial wedding garb, dear Twilight, but tell me: why do you wear the stallion’s dress?”

> The fears of night and day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Clover looked up from his scrolls when he heard the door open and close. Who could that be? Not many ponies ventured this deep into the royal library, he mused, and mentally corrected himself: former royal library. The immense collection of books was one of the few things they had brought from the king’s castle in the old country, but Platinum had refused to donate them to the public library. Instead she had founded a new one in memory of her father who was one of the last ponies to succumb to the windigo’s ice before they had left for Equestria. She was no longer a princess, but her pride had only grown since they had founded their new home.

The slow clip-clop of hooves on stone approached, and Clover already knew who was visiting him, even though it would take a few more moments until he could see his guest. He stood up from his desk and turned to the corridor that connected his small study to the huge halls of the main library. “Pantsy, my friend!” he greeted the pegasus pony that had just turned around one of the shelves. The two smiled at each other and shared a hoof-bump. This earthpony greeting had yet to replace the more traditional greetings of touching-of-horns among unicorns and the winghugs shared among pegasus ponies, but it was becoming more common with every passing day.

As usual Pantsy talked quite silently, but in this place it was appropriate for once. “Clover, it’s good to see you. I just wish I had better news for you.” He pulled a sealed scroll from his bags. “They have been seen again.”

Both looked up to the flag they had raised the morning after they had realized the power of the fire of friendship. It was one of the better kept secrets that the flag in the council’s hall was just a replica. All six of them had agreed that this was their flag: sewn out of one of Platinum’s dresses, with a needle made from a piece of Hurricane’s armor, embroidered with hair from their very own manes and raised on a flagpole Puddinghead and Smart Cookie had made from a tree they had grown just for this. And inspired by one of the oldest legends of ponykind: the legend of the ancient sisters. And now this legend was becoming real for them.

Clover broke the scroll’s seal and read the report. A patrol claimed to have spotted a pair of winged unicorns. Or horned pegasus ponies, depending on who you asked. One white and one black, they were both able to escape the fasted pegasus and could hide their magical signatures from the most skilled casters. At least that’s what the legends had claimed for centuries, if not millennia.

”I don’t know Pansy, I really don’t know. We talked about this last time.” Clover walked to his desk and held up a number of notebooks. “Smart Cookie is still trying to collect some more stories from the zebras and buffalos, but the legends are as old as ponykind itself. They have always been there. The sisters can be found in the oldest cave-paintings, they predate history itself.” His magic projected a crude cave-painting of a mixed herd of ponies. The stick figures in brown followed two huge ponies, one white with a sun-cutiemark, one black with a moon-cutiemark.

Pansy sighed deeply. ”I fear what we have brought upon ourselves by putting them on Equestria’s flag. We wanted a symbol of unity, but you know how brittle the union is still. I fear for our dream should they turn out to be real. Hurricane, Platinum and Puddinghead are capable leaders, but we don’t get any younger and the last ten years were hard work for all of us. Not just raising Equestria from the ground, but keeping it in the air against those stupid separatists. I still don’t get how anypony can forget the windigos that fast. And what if those sisters want actual power?” Pansy shook his head again.

“Don’t despair,” Clover tried to resolve his friend’s doubts. “It’s only been ten years against centuries of prejudice and mistrust. Give Equestria a bit more time, my friend. And have a bit more hope, too. Every story about the sisters tells of their wisdom and gentleness. Should they turn out to be actual ponies after all, they’ll have thousands and thousands of years of experience. The tribes had rulers who couldn’t walk in a straight line after marrying their cousins for generations, but we still prevailed. We could a lot worse than a pair of immortal, super-powerful pegacorns.”

Pansy smiled at him and for a moment Clover thought he saw the telltale shimmer of magic around his friend’s form. But more than anything he felt his eyelids become heavy, the long hours of work were catching up with him, it seemed. He yawned and rubbed his eyes with a hoof. He wanted to apologize for this but he was already half asleep. The last thing Clover heard was an unfamiliar voice. “Rest well, my little pony. You earned it.”


***


Clover startled from his sleep, somepony was shaking him by the withers. A young stallion was standing next to him. “Sorry for waking you, sir. You are Clover the Clever, correct, sir? I have an urgent scroll for you.”

Clover recognized the striped cap of the “Swift Wings”, the fastest delivery service money could buy. “Yes, that’s me.” He stretched his legs. “Uhhh, I must have fallen asleep.” He took the scroll the delivery colt pulled from his holster in his magic and gave a generous tip. Waking a sleeping customer and waiting for him was not a common trait among the speedsters. He looked at the scroll and had to fight the strangest feeling of déjà vu. He broke the seal and read it, the feeling growing stronger by the second. “Oh dear,” he said aloud, talking to himself against his usual habits. “I could swear I have read this very letter before. But for the life of me, I can’t remember where or when.”


***


Any real “Swift Wing” would have become green with envy at seeing this pony shoot over the night sky. But despite the obvious power this pegasus stallion possessed, not a single leaf or blade of grass was rustled out of place as he landed in a small, hidden clearing. The illusion faded and from the disguise stepped the very ideal of beauty, a white mare with both a horn and wings. “Dear sister, it is as we feared. The prophecies are coming true,” she addressed the mare waiting for. “We have to return to our ponies. Times of great turmoil lie ahead and I think they are ready.”
> The silence of Flutter Valley
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	From far Cadence watched the strange ponies fly around and into the valley that lay ahead. She could already hear laughter and music. She had been very excited since last night to finally visit this hidden place. Well, not exactly hidden, just forgotten. She remembered the night a few months back, after she had gained the horn she still wasn’t quite used to. After all the festivities had been over she had met with the princess in her private quarters and Celestia had told her some of Equestria’s more closely guarded secrets. One of those secrets she was about to see for herself today, or at least what of its former glory was left to see.

She was walking up the last few steps to the ridge of the mountains around the valley and by now she could make out the singing. It was a simple, but happy song:

From the sun comes light.
From the sun comes power.
It's the sun up high in the sky,
that makes the flowers flower.

Cadance took a last step and beheld the view before her. Green fields stretched for a mile before giving place to trees which appeared to hold little houses in their branches. Between them ponies flew back and forth. But those were no pegasus ponies, their bodies weren’t as muscular, but slender and tall. But the biggest difference were their wings: where feathered wings sat on a pegasus pony’s body, these ponies had transparent, insect-like wings. Cadence knew the ancient legend of the flutterponies, but seeing them was a totally different matter. Their flight looked weightless and unburdened in a way that only few pegasus ponies achieved after years of rigorous training.

Cadence started to walk down into the valley, still mesmerized by the sight. She followed an old path and as she rounded a rather big boulder she could finally see what Celestia had told her about: the Circle of the Sunstone. A number of stones formed a wide circle around a central piazza, and in the very middle a pillar rose into the sky. At the top of the pillar a golden crystal glowed almost as bright and warm as the sun in the sky. It was almost noon, and the shadows were shrinking as the real sun got closer to her zenith. Cadance had expected the air near the pillar to be burning hot, but the closer she got, the more pleasant the warmth on her coat got. In a way it felt as if the sun was paying attention to this very place to make it as comfortable as possible.

As she neared the center, one of the dancing and singing flutterponies stopped and walked up to her. “Welcome to Flutter Valley,” the mare greeted her. “You must be here to meet Queen Rosedust. She has expected you for some time now. Please follow me.” Without waiting for Cadance’s reply the flutterpony turned around and led her to a little pavillion. A single pony sat there. This yellow flutterpony was the only one not singing or dancing, instead she watched the whole scene with a smile on her face, like a mother would watch children play. From time to time she would push a strand of her long pink mane out of her face, but the strand would soon fall back. Cadance noted that this pony’s cutiemark was quite big, covering her haunch and reaching all the way down to her quarter: three pink roses surrounded by several rosebuds. A similar rosebud even sat on her cheeks. Except for this Queen Rosedust seemed to be a rather normal pony. She had no guards, wasn’t taller than her subject and yet Cadance’s guide bowed deep before addressing her. “The pony you expected has arrived, my Queen.”

Rosedust nodded. “Thank you. Please, return to the festival and have fun. Today is a day of celebration, dance and song.”

“By your leave,” the flutterpony answered and left the two alone.

“Welcome,” Rosedust said. “Oh my, what a curious cutiemark you have. Would you care to explain it.”

“Certainly,” Cadance started. “It is a crystal heart, I got it after defeating —”

“How very interesting,” Rosedust interrupted her. “With that kind of talent you’ll probably want to learn about our sunstone.”

“Huh?” Cadance was just about to ask for an explanation, when Rosedust just stopped and slowly dissolved into glowing motes. From behind she heard a familiar voice and turned around. Celestia stood among the other flutterponies and at first Cadance winced as one of them ran into the princess chest and out on the other side. Then she realized: this was all an illusion.

“Welcome to Flutter Valley, Cadance,” Celestia greeted her. “Behold it’s former glory.”

Cadance looked around once more, and this time she noticed the little inconsistencies: the singing ponies moved their mouths to another song that her ears hers, that group of ponies had been dancing around for minutes now, always in the exact same steps. “Show me,” she simply said.

The flutterponies disappeared first, the grass at Cadance’s hooves wilted and the trees turned leafless. The stones of the circle were fallen over, some were even broken, and the pillar, while still standing, was empty, the glowing crystal gone. The last to fade was the song, now eerie and hollow.

From the sun, comes hope.
From the sun, comes laughter.
Here's to the sun up above.
From the sun, from the sun,
from the sun comes love.

“What happened to this place?” Cadance asked.

“I don’t know,” Celestia sighed. “One day they were here, like you saw them, the next day the were gone. They even left their sunstone. I come here every year on this day, in hope they might return. Rosedust was my master in magic, she taught me how to raise the sun with their sunstone, you know.”

As the day passed Celestia continued to tell Cadance about her time in Flutter Valley, from the day she had arrived until she had left to find her sister.

“But that’s a story for another day,” Celestia concluded. She ignited her magic and lowered the sun while raising the moon. For just a moment Celestia looked at it longingly, but the moment passed as she continued. “Let’s return to Canterlot. It is unbecoming of a princess to stay out for so long. Or at least so I’m told.” She winked at Cadance.


***


As the two alicorns rose into the sky a dark form appeared from behind one of the ruined trees. It’s black carapace gleamed in the moonlight and an angry buzz filled the air as the creature left too. 
Flutter Valley was silent again.

> Twilight rises
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight pushed the grimoire under her pillow and pretended to be asleep as she heard hooffalls coming down the corridor outside her room. The door creaked a bit and a few moments later Twilight smelled the familiar scent of her mother fill the room. The slight tingle of magic could be heard, and Twilight felt her blanket shift a little as her mother took the other book in her levitation.

“‘Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone'?” Her mother asked. “Twilight, how often have you read this one already?”

The filly opened one eye. “Twenty seven times. But the next volume is due next week and I want to read this one again before that.”

Twilight’s mother smiled a little smile, sighed and placed the book back onto the shelf. “But not tonight.” She walked back to the bed and touched the tip of her daughter’s horn with her own. “It’s time for you to sleep, my darling. Lights out.”

“Can you leave the nightlight on? Smartypants says that she can keep watch better with some light.”

“If Smartypants says so …” Twilight’s mother send a spark of magic into a crystal by the door, and it filled the room with a warm yellow light. “Sweet dreams.”

“Good night, mom,” answered the filly and snuggled down in her blanket. After the door had closed Twilight slowly counted to one hundred before she pulled the big book out from under her pillow. The embossed golden letters glowed faintly in the shimmer the nightlight sent into the room: “Magical jumps and arcane tunnels - a beginner’s guide to teleportation”. Twilight could already see it in front of her eyes: her mother would praise her for mastering such an advanced spell and the Princess would make her the youngest graduate of PCSGU ever.
She could hardly wait.


***


It felt like she was falling, except she was falling upwards and her inside was turning from left to right while her outside was turning up and down. She hit some kind of ground, or maybe the ceiling,and  everywhere around her was darkness, except for the shaft of light shining down (or up) on her. Twilight’s mind moved sluggishly. Her memories came back with the speed of Slow Sweeper, the ancient donkey that worked as the school’s janitor and who was so old, some ponies claimed he had been around before the school had even been  founded. She had tried the teleport spell, and something had gone wrong.

Twilight was working through the sludge that clogged her mind when she heard a rustle. Something had moved. Somewhere in the darkness a thing was watching her. There was another rustle, this time from another direction, then another, closer this time. Whatever it was, it was getting closer to her, approaching with the sound of rustling paper and the smell of ink. And then they were all around her: report cards, tests and exams swarmed over her. Like bugs crawling up her legs, flying around her head and tangled in her mane and tail. And they all had one thing in common: each one was a failing grade! ‘F’s covered her, pulled her down and Twilight could only scream and cry. 

Through all this horror Twilight almost couldn’t see Princess Celestia come to her, gently floating down in the shaft of light. One strong beat of her wings scattered the papers, and Twilight’s head became clear again. The princess lifted the filly onto her broad back; one flash of magic later the two of them were back in the castle’s courtyard. Celestia set Twilight down on the ground, but lifted her back up as her legs gave out the moment she tried to stand on her own.

“Why would you try such a high-level spell, Twilight?” Celestia asked. “You’re not strong enough for this kind of magic yet.”

Twilight tried to squirm away, but there was no place to hide on Celestia’s back. “I wanted to become stronger faster,” she confessed.

A flash of pain hushed over the Princess’s face as she heard this answer. “Please, not again,” she whispered. “Not while she is so young.”

“I want you and my parents to be proud of me. I want to become a great with magic, like you,” Twilight continued.

Celestia took a deep breath. “Then I have two things to teach to you today, Twilight Sparkle.”

The filly’s eyes looked up, tears still on her face.

“First: your parents and me, we are immensely proud of you. You don’t have to push yourself into almost burning out your magic to prove that you are a capable pony and a great student.”

Celestia brushed the tears from Twilight’s eyes. Then she gently sat her down in a patch of grass.

“And the second thing?” Twilight was already recovering.

“Tell me,” Celestia asked. “Why do we fall?”

Twilight thought about the question for a bit, but finally she shook her head.

Celestia smiled, “So we can learn to pick ourselves up again, my student.”

> For I hug ponies!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Garble looked down on the whelp before him. “Look what we have here, guys!” He waved the rest of his gang of teenage dragons to him. “Little Spike is back!” He blew a stream of black smoke into Spike’s face and sneered. “You must be a glutton for punishment to show your face around here again.” 

The crater wasn’t as crowded with dragons as it had been during the migration, but an adult red one snored in the lava pool. He seemed to be asleep, but as Spike looked at the giant beast, he saw one eye move under a half-closed lid.

Spike swallowed but didn’t back down. “You think I’m afraid of you? Do you? Well you’re wrong! I’m here to challenge you!” With each sentence Spike took another step closer to the older (albeit only teenage) dragon, until he had to look directly up.

Garble closed a claw around Spike’s head and lifted the dragon whelp up until he could look him in the eye. “You? You want to challenge me? At what? Tail-wrestling? Firebreathing? Come at me, whelp, I’ll take you on at anything!” He released Spike from his hold, and the smaller dragon tumbled into the dust. “Maybe you want to challenge be to a dragon-flight in the sky?” The sneer on Garble’s face turned even more cruel. “Oh, still no wings? Poor little Spike, now you’ll never grow a pair.”

“Maybe you should have grown a pair of braincells instead,” Spike gave the insult right back. He drew a breath and called out as loud as he could. “I challenge you to hug a pony!”

Garble’s eyes grew wide, in disbelief first, then in rage. “You dare mock me, you pathetic whelp?” He tried to grab Spike again, but the smaller dragon evaded him. “I’ll throw you into the deepest pit I can find, you little —” 

He was about to try another grab when a huge claw picked him of the ground. A voice so loud and deep that it was more felt than heard rumbled “You have been justly challenged, young one. You agreed to meet the whelp at anything, and now you try to wiggle out of it?” The gang hadn’t even noticed the giant Red behind them; for such an ancient being, this dragon sure moved silently.

“But to hug a pony? What kind of a challenge is that? It’s not like a pony would even dare to come out here just to get a hug?” Garble protested.

The elder dragon looked down at Spike. “What say you, tiny one?” he thundered.

“I happen to know a few ponies, and there is one that will surely help me with this.” Spike produced a scroll and unrolled it.

The elder dragon hissed through his teeth as he scanned the document. “Are you sure she will answer your call?”
Spike rolled the scroll back up and blew his flame on it. All eyes followed the waft of smoke as it disappeared into the sky. He beamed a predatory smile at the assembled group of dragons. “I’m reasonably sure.”

Garble finally managed to wriggle free from the elder dragon’s claw. “Who is he calling? Let me guess: It’s your pony-princess. Oh, it’s your namby-pamby pony-princess! I’m shaking in my skin.” The sound of hooves on gravel made him turn around. “Oh no, no one sneaks up on me again —” his voice turned into a whisper as he saw who was stepping out of a portal behind him, ”— today.”

Princess Celestia looked around the crater for a bit and finally spotted Spike. “I see this is as urgent as you wrote, Spike. But I‘ve come prepared.” She held a toilet plunger up in her magic. All dragons took a step back. There were rumors about that plunger, after all.

“Greetings Celestia Equestris,” the huge red dragon hurried to say. “I’m Thorntail, master of this mountain. Let me tell you, there is no need for that. I harbour no ill will towards you or your ponies.” His eyes stayed on the plunger the whole time.

“Do you now?” The smile never left Celestia’s face. “Well, I don’t want to use it either. It’s always such a mess.” She set the plunger down on the ground, and all dragons relaxed visibly. “So, Spike, what is this about?”

The whelp pointed at Garble. “I challenged him to hug a pony.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow and looked at Thorntail. “And he agreed to this? Makes you feel old, doesn’t it?” The giant Red only rolled his eyes.

“Don’t think I’ll go easy on you younglings,” Celestia said and unleashed a storm of fire on the two adolescent dragons. Neither Spike nor Garble were injured by the flames, dragons are fireproof after all, but both were pushed back, step by step. Spike drove both his fore- and back-claws into the ground and held his ground only seconds before the wind got caught in Garble’s wings, and he was pushed all the way back into the lava pool. Celestia stopped her flames, Spike walked up to her and the Princess lifted him on a hoof so he could hug her muzzle.

All dragons looked at this with awe and disbelief, except for Garble who had a face full of  molten rock. Thorntail picked him out of the pool and set him down unceremoniously before Celestia. “I declare this challenge over, Spike is victorious. According to the ancient dragon code Garble’s hoard is now Spike’s.” The teenage dragon looked like he was about to cry.

Spike jumped down from Celestia’s raised leg “Thanks, but this wasn’t about his hoard. I just wanted to proof that I’m just as much of a dragon as this jerk. So long!” He turned to Celestia, “Uhm Princess, can I hitch a ride with you? I promised Twilight to be back by sundown.” 

Celestia waited by her portal and stepped through after the whelp had jumped in before her. She waved one last time with her plunger at the silent group of dragons back in the crater, then the portal closed with a small pop.

Spike hugged the Princess’s mane as she set him on her back again. Together they walked all the way to Canterlot station so Spike could catch a train back to Ponyville. “You know Princess, I still haven’t worked this thing out completely. I’m not a pony obviously, and I surely don’t feel like a dragon. But as long as I can give you or Twilight or anypony a hug like this, I don’t feel that is really so important.”

> An Apple family secret
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Sis! Look what we found in the attic!”

As she heard Apple Bloom and her friends rumble down the stairs Granny Smith felt that familiar itch behind her ears she always had when secrets were about to be revealed. She glanced over at the calendar on the wall and to the red curl she had drawn around next Sunday. She sighed and got out of her rocking chair. “I kept the secret for so long, the Princess won’t blow her crown if I tell them a week early,” she mumbled.

Applejack was surrounded by the Cutiemark Crusaders and flipping through a photo album when Granny Smith entered the veranda. She looked at her grandchildren and with her usual voice accustomed to giving orders said, “Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, you better go home for today. This is Apple family business. Apple Bloom, get your brother from the orchard.”

The three fillies looked from Granny Smith to Applejack and both mares locked eyes for a moment until Applejack nodded. “Run along Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo. You can do more crusading tomorrow,” she said as she walked over to the huge triangle they used to announce meals. “Apple Bloom, you stay. I’ll call Big Mac.” She grabbed the beater and rang it loudly. 

Only minutes later the huge stallion climbed up the short stairs to the veranda. “What is it, AJ?” he wheezed. “I ran as fast as I could.” He was panting and sweating, but quickly picked up on the frosty atmosphere that had settled between his sisters and Granny Smith.

“You take a look at this album over here, Big McIntosh,” Applejack pointed at a book on the little table before her. “And then Granny can tell us why there is a whole box of stuff and an album with pictures of our parents I have never seen before.”

Big Mac sucked in a breath and walked over to the book. He flipped through the pages. He stopped at the last page. “AJ, Bloom, look at the date on this one. Look at mom.”

A thin smile broke through Granny Smith’s silence. “It was their last picture with their colleagues. She was starting to show by then. Four months pregnant they finally quit and got back home.”

Applejack’s ears perked up. “What do you mean? Why don’t we know about this?” she asked with thinly hidden anger in her voice.

“They wear those neat uniforms, were they working for the Princess?” Apple Bloom asked more excited than angry.

Granny Smith frowned, “One at a time, one at a time. Yes, they worked for the throne. Diplomatic messengers. Make of that what you will.”

“Our parents were spies?” squealed Apple Bloom with delight. Big McIntosh let out a low whistle. 

“Tartarus if I know,” Granny Smith answered. “They never told us anything when they visited the old farm.” She kicked the planks of the veranda with a forehoof. “Oh, they talked about the great weather in the Griffon Empire and the wonderful smell of wind at sea. But never what they actually did in those places.” She pointed at the box of stuff. “There are a few bundles of postcards in there from all around the world. That’s the main reason why I haven’t told you about this: I really don’t know that much about it.” The old mare hung her head. “One day he left, half a year later he’s back with a girl. They vanish again, half a year later they’re married and we don’t even get to celebrate properly because they only stay for like a week.”

“And what’s the other reason?” Applejack’s voice had already lost most of the edge but she was determined to find out as much as she could about this.

Big Mac cleared his throat, “On the day after the … you know, the accident, there were a lot of ponies in sunglasses and suits all over the farm.”

Granny Smith nodded. “So you actually remember that? Yes, they took most of your parents' stuff and locked it away. Celestia herself was here to promise that we‘ll get it all back. In fact, next Sunday will be the last day of the statute of limitation.”

“So that’s the date without a description?” Applejack looked through a window at the calendar in the living room.

Granny Smith nodded again and sighed. “I would have preferred to tell you all this at my own pace, but it seems life doesn’t work like that anymore.”

“So, if they were spies,” Apple Bloom started, “maybe that accident —”

“You stop right there, Apple Bloom Apple!” Granny Smith had found her commanding voice again. “The Princess herself looked into the storm and the flood and found no tampering with the weather or the bridge. And the Apple family is not in the habit of doubting the Princess. Have I made myself clear?”

Apple Bloom hid behind her big brother, “Yes, Granny Smith. Perfectly clear.”

Granny Smith smiled a sad smile, “Well, I for one am happy that this is finally out in the open. It wasn’t much fun to keep this from my grandchildren. Now, don’t you go telling tales about it, I wasn’t supposed to talk about all this until Sunday, you hear?” Applejack and Big Mac nodded, and Apple Bloom was quick to join in after a little shove in the shoulder. Granny Smith turned and set her eyes on her rocker. “I guess I earned a little nap after all this excitement.”

Applejack examined the last picture in the book again. “I feel like I’ve seen that pink unicorn somewhere …“ she mused to herself. “And that purple pegasus with the rainbow mane looks familiar too. Maybe Rarity and Rainbow Dash’s parents…?” She shook her head. “Naww! Can’t be.” She closed the album and placed it back in the box. “Let’s have a closer look at this when we’re done with work tonight.” She lifted the box on her back, “I’ll put this in the living room and join you two in the orchard, okay?”

“Eeyup,” answered Big McIntosh, and Apple Bloom jumped onto his back. A few minutes later the three siblings continued working the farm.

*** one week later ***

Rainbow Dash landed in the tree Applejack was just about to kick. “AJ, you’ll never believe what my old stallion just wrote me today!”

“Well, I’d guess he was a secret agent before he met your mom, and worked with Rarity’s mom and my parents to protect Equestria,” she answered and kicked the tree.

Rainbow Dash dropped face first into a bucket full of apples.
> Five hundred rounds around the base
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Spitfire looked into the mirror in her locker one last time. “Ok! This is your one last chance, sport. Don’t blow it!” She would have loved to have somepony cheer her up, but she was the only pony in the mares’ changing room, the last mare in the Wonderbolts. She pulled the gold-and-white hood of the uniform over her head and fixed her mane. She picked her lucky pair of aviator goggles from their hook and closed the locker. She took a deep breath. “Don’t blow it!” she said aloud for the last time and walked out of the room.

***

485
The wind in her mane! That was the best! The adrenaline, the thrill, the knowledge to be the best of the best, the elite-flyers of all of Equestria! She counted every second. Not just because it was essential for the art of stunt flying, but because she loved it! Every single second.
490
The formation came out off last loop and seamlessly changed into a nose dive until they were on the exact level of the stands.
493
They pulled up and the resulting shockwave blew through the spectators. Not that there are that many. A treacherous thought during a performance? Spitfire would have send herself to do five hundred rounds around the base on the spot, but right now was a bad time. She would have to do that later.
500
The formation reached the peak of the rise and turned for the grand final stunt. Spitfire’s eyes took in the stands far below, the great ring of the arena, Canterlot. The ponies seemed like ants, even the Princess in her booth … Spitfire’s body continued the stunt as practiced, but her eyes stayed fixed on the royal booth. The empty royal booth. How could Princess Celestia leave while the show was not even over? The Wonderbolts are the pinnacle of pegasus flying! The best of the best! Once the formation raced past the stands and again send a burst of air over the spectators, Spitfire’s mind returned from those questions.
505
Pull up, pull up! Routine kicked in; they had practiced this a thousand times and she was sure none of the ponies below could notice, but she felt: her comrades had seen it too. The Princess was gone; the show was over; the Wonderbolts … history.

***

Spitfire wanted to be alone back at the base, sitting on the ceiling of the barracks, looking out over the rolling hills that surrounded Canterlot on it’s mountain. She hadn’t even done the five hundred laps she had ordered herself to do. She didn’t cry or anything. She was a professional after all. She would return to the air force of Cloudsdale, become … maybe a drill-sergeant? Yeah, that sounded right. And it would be a great way to blow off some steam. She heard hooffalls behind her and quickly checked her goggles.

The voice of Soarin behind her was a bit thinner than usual. “Your goggles didn’t fit right too? That’s like an epidemic, everypony was rubbing their faces today.”

Spitfire looked up to the stallion and grinned half-heartedly at his reddened eyes. “Yeah, must be something like that,” she answered. “Maybe somepony burned something in the city?”

“Could be.” Soarin shrugged his wings before he sat down next to her. The two shared a few moments of silence before he spoke again. “You know why the Princess left? What she said?”

Spitfire shook her head. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to know, but there was little she could do. The anger in Soarin's voice was silent, but they were like family on the team, she could hear it.

“I have seen enough. She didn’t even see our finale. And she left to see some entrance exams for her school. Can you believe it? She left us behind to watch some brats do magic tricks!” The sound of splintering glass echoed over the place as his goggles hit the ground. “Today the royal guard is the hot apples. Every foal want’s a helmet and to stand in front of the palace for the whole day? Do you get that? Standing around all day long? What are they teaching kids today?” He sprung up and stood on his hind legs. “When I was young there was nothing better for a pegasus then to be a flyer, a racer, a Wonderbolt!”

He spread his wings and for a moment Spitfire thought she could see all the ancient glory of the pegasus race in this one stallion. Then he folded his wings back up and was only Soarin again. “But today they complain that there are no new tricks, that everything we do is rehashed and that we should rather be useful.” There was a glint in his eyes, “We are soldiers, we could be useful with maybe some griffins.”

“I don’t even want to know what you just thought,” Spitfire knocked her hoof on the stallion’s head. “Don’t be stupid. It was a fun time, and now it’s over. We tried our best but there was no last minute — “

BOOOOOM

From far below Canterlot, in the plains under Cloudsdale a circle of rainbow colors crept over the land. The two pegasus ponies watched as the ring of magical light dissipated. Both stood up, spread their wings and shuddered as the shockwave rolled over them. They looked at each other and for a moment everything was right with the world. Then a siren started howling, and whatever calmness had settled over them evaporated just as fast as they recognized the signal. “A dragon attacking the city!?”

***

“Now that’s my kind of budget cut!” Soarin stood in the soon-to-be airfield of their new base. “Our own mountaintop, no longer under the control of the royal guard and it’s even close to Cloudsdale!”

Spitfire landed next to him. “I’m not yet sure about that Inspired Youth-thing the Princess hatched, but we get to keep doing our stuff, so that’s a good thing. And new uniforms!” She shook her mane and tail in the azure flight suits they had been issued. She pulled a scroll from under her wing and hoofed it to Soarin. “First order of business: Get this old place in shipshape; second order: training; third order: prepare a new show; fourth order: find out what that strange rainbow boom was.”

Soarin looked at her. “You really enjoy that new command, do you?”

Spitfire grinned to him and took off.  “We’ll see. But first I have five hundred rounds around the base to burn through.”