Sergeant-at-Hooves

Chapters

Chapter 2: A Matter of Trust
Chapter 3: Crossing the Line
Chapter 4: Rest and Recovery
Chapter 1: Wake-Up Call

Chapter 2: A Matter of Trust

Early the next morning, the first glimmers of dawn began to creep over Ponyville. Along the outskirts farmers were already setting about the start of their daily chores. In the town proper a few shop owners were making preparations to open up, but most ponies were still peacefully fast asleep in bed.

Standing in the yard outside the Official Residency of the Representative of the Night Court of Luna, Cheerilee inhaled deeply as she raised her bugle — only to be cut short by the sudden opening of the front door and the azure mare framed within.

"Ah-ha!" shouted Trixie, standing proudly victorious. "Strike two!"

Cheerilee yawned before replying, "Good to see you bright-eyed and bushy tailed."

"Was there ever any doubt?" Trixie spoke with such an air of smug self-assurance that it was barely even a question, and yet she seemed to pause anyway as if waiting for confirmation. The only response she received, however, was Cheeriee's flat stare. "Oh yee of such little faith… but seriously, why pick on me? What if Raindrops sleeps in again?"

As Trixie stepped off her porch, magicly closing the front door behind her, Cheerilee merely shrugged. "Everypony makes mistakes, and when it comes to Raindrops she always makes doubly up for it. Besides, on my way here I already passed her heading out to the practice field to get an extra early start."

"Alright, fine," Trixie pouted, "But what about Lyra? She's just as lazy as me, if not more so."

"Oh, I don't have to worry about Lyra. An old mutual friend has that situation well in hoof."

Lyra Heartstrings sputtered and coughed as she found herself soaking wet in bed. "BonBon! Wha… what was that for?!"

Bucket still in hoof, her cream-coated marefriend smiled with an expression equal parts warmth and sternness. "I tried getting you up the nice way, but you weren't having it."

"Couldn't you have given me just five more minutes. I was just about to storm the evil Baron Von Giffinstein's mountaintop fortress, astride his own fearsome jabberwocky, which I tamed through a most expertly crafted melody, and umm… well, I forget the rest, but now I'll never know how that dream ends."

"Saving the kingdom, getting the girl, and living happily ever after, no doubt," BonBon droned, "Besides, I already gave you five more minutes, three times over. Any longer and you'll be late. As it is you're going to have to eat you breakfast on the way."

"Aww… come on, sweetie drops, so what if I'm little late?" and then flashing her most seductive bedroom-eyes Lyra added, "We could always just call in sick and get in our own personal training session."

"Don't you sweetie drops me, missy! I've got a shop to run, not to mention Cheerilee would have me in a sling if I just let you slack off like that."

"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

"I am on your side, hon. That's why I want you out there training your hardest so you can kick Corona's sorry flank all the way back to the sun… or did you forget how she held me and my sister hostage."

"Hey! No fair playing the guilt card."

"All's fair in love and war, Lyra, and this is both. Now, I want my brave knight of the realm out there slaying the evil queen so that we can both get our happily ever after, for real."

"Alright, ladies!" declared Cheerilee as she paced in front of the other five lined up mares, "When we started this training regimen we thought it would be enough just to improve our physical fitness. After yesterday's atrocious performance, however—"

"We weren't that bad."

Turning sharply on the spot, Cheerilee silenced any further complaints with an unyielding schoolteacher's glare. "As I was saying, it's become clear that what we really need to be working on most of all is our teamwork! So today we're going to be practicing a series of trust and coordination exercises. Any questions?"

There was a pause in which nopony seemed quite sure what to do. Belatedly, Carrot Top raised a single hoof, waiting patiently for Cheerilee to give her leave to speak.

"So umm, why exactly did you bring us all down to Sweet Apple Acres?"

"I should think that obvious. Applejack has graciously agreed to loan us the use of her rodeo practice course. Since this is a teamwork exercise, however, we will all be taking it in turns and trading off in mixed pairs while using these," finishing her explanation, Cheerilee held up two short lengths of rope.

"So, like a six legged race or something then?" asked Trixie. "That doesn't sound too hard."

Cheerilee smiled, well, sort of. It might have been more of smirk or a sly grin. Whatever her expression, it was not in anyway something that anypony else found reassuring, "Well then, if you're so confident, we'll just have to make it a bit more challenging, won't we?."

Carrot Top ran full speed, or at least the closest she could manage under the circumstances, toward the hurdle and as she approached it shouted, "Jump!"

She managed to clear the hurdle just fine herself, but a crack and cry of pain echoed behind. Cheerilee's extra challenge had been that unlike a traditional six legged race where ponies ran side-by-side, they were all running tail-to-tail. It didn't seem like a very practical exercise, but Cheerilee had dismissed any complaint, insisting that it was more about practicing timing and cooperation.

Unfortunately Carrot Top had screwed up, again, as evident by a painfully dazed Trixie who was rubbing her jaw.

"Sorry", she grimaced.

Eyes still spinning Trixies hissed back, "Save the apologies for later and just flip places before we lose any more time. The Great & Powerful Trixie refuses to come in last place."

"It's not a competition," drolled Raindrops.

Lyra frowned. "You're only saying that because you're not dead last."

"Even if it was a competition, I'd still be second last. Not much chance of either of us moving up the ranks, so I see even less point making any fuss about it."

"Don't you get it, that's exactly why you and I should go all out for our run together. Just imagine the look on everypony's face when the two of us beat even Ditzy's and Cheerilee's paired time."

Raindrops cocked an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll humor you. Just how do you plan to pull that off?"

Lyra and Raindrops stood at the starting line as Cheerilee finished tying their hind hooves together. Stepping back, she readied her stopwatch.

"Okay, girls. On you mark… get set… and go!"

Instead of immediately setting off at a gallop, Lyra reared up, leaned backwards entirely across Raindrops, and wrapped her fore-hooves around her partner's neck. This was the brilliance of Lyra's scheme, as Cheerilee's rules had no prohibition against flying, probably because the awkward positioning would have made it nearly impossible unless both racers were pegasi — which fortunately neither Ditzy nor Raindrops had considered trying on their own paired run.

Of course for a pony that was as amazingly flexible as Lyra, there was an alternative solution, by simply taking a sort of reverse piggyback stance and then letting her partner handle the rest. Granted, Raindrops was neither a particularly fast or agile flier, but she could still outpace most any landbound pony, especially those clumsy fumbling to run tail-to-tail.

Crossing the finish line in record time, Lyra was grinning ear-to-ear, and even Raindrops' stern expression betrayed a hint of smug satisfaction.

"Hey!" cried Trixie, "They can't do that. It's cheating."

"No it's not!" retorted Lyra. "You're just jealous that you didn't think to try it."

"As if. Just looking at you contort yourself like that gives me a hernia. Which only makes it doubly unfair."

"Nuhuh, my flexibility is entirely natural, so it's perfectly fair for me to use it."

"She's technically right," interceded Cheerilee, "And it was actually a very clever idea to exploit the oversight in my rules."

Trixie fumed as Lyra grinned in victorious triumph.

"However," Cheerilee added, "The rules do still stipulate that you and Raindrops had to flip directions for half the course. Since Raindrops never flew backwards I'm going to have to penalize your time by double."

Now it was Trixie's turn to be smug as Lyra stood slack jawed.

"... But I… you can't… oh, fine. So me and Raindrops don't get to take first place any more, but even with the penalty we still beat all our other times each by a wide margin. That's gotta bring up our overall averages."

"Hmm…" Cheerilee mused as she tallied her score sheet. "Let's see, Ditzy is still in first, and Trixie in second, so no changes so far. Ah, but it seems congratulations are in order for Raindrops. It looks like you just managed to beat out Carrot Top for fourth place. Unfortunately, Lyra, you're still in sixth."

"Ouch!" cried a blindfolded and dazed Lyra who was standing in front of a tree rubbing a hoof over her painfully throbbing snout, "You did that on purpose!"

"Qui, moi?" Trixie replied, "Never. It's not my fault if you just happen to be bad at following directions"

"You said eleven paces forward and then turn right and take three more steps."

"No, I said to turn left."

"You mumbled most of it, and when I asked if you'd said left, you told me to go right instead."

"No, I meant that left was right direction to turn."

"Then you should have said it was correct. Using the word right in that context only makes things confusing."

"Ce ne serait pas un problème en Prançais."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just turn around and take six more steps, then turn right for seven more paces and then left for another fifteen."

"Right."

"No, Left."

"Right."

"Arg… now you're the one doing it on purpose."

"See, I told you it was confusing."

Carrot Top looked down and gulped. The farmer was standing atop a rocky outcropping, below her Raindrops and Ditzy were steading a cloud, and even further below was a long drop down to the hard and unyielding ground. "Umm… and well… I mean, that is… you're absolutely sure this spell works?"

"Oh, c'mon!" called out Lyra. "Of course I'm sure. Besides, everpony else has already taken their turn so you've seen it work for yourself."

"Well, umm… maybe, but are you really, really sure you have enough magic to cast it four times in a row? Maybe we should just call it quits for today and try again tomorrow… you know, just to be safe."

"I've been casting this spell for years, every time I've visited my surro'mum up in Cloudsdale. I'd be the first to know if it didn't work. Trust me it's perfectly safe, and even if something did go wrong I'll just catch you with my magic."

"Unless you're too tired out."

"Hey! It's not like I'm Trixie."

"I heard that!" snapped the other unicorn.

Lyra grinned, "Just trying to lighten the mood. Although, even if you might be the best illusionist in all Equestria, we both know my magic has more physical oomph."

"Physical oomph?" Trixie fumed. "Well, at least I'm no brute who wastes seven pounds of force levitating a five pound melon."

"Maybe so, but I can levitate nearly half-a-dozen of them all at the same time no sweat," retorted Lyra smugly, "So clearly I've got plenty of magical poundage to spare."

"Oh, you've certainly got poundage to spare alright, in more ways than one… probably from eating all those melons yourself."

"You're one to talk, miss sweettooth!"

"Coming from somepony who lives in a candy shop! Besides, at least I maintain a regular exercise routine, unlike a certain pony who sleeps in until noon every day."

"Not every day! Besides, me and Bonbon get plenty of our own special exercise every night."

"Believe me, I know, half the town knows with how loud the two of get when you… when you… gah! Now you've gone and made me actually think about it… eww!"

"Oh, stop being such prude. You're just jealous because you're still a vir—"

"GIRLS!" shouted Carrot Top, still atop the cliff. "Listen to the two of you! You're supposed to be friends, we're all supposed to be friends! But it's been a long morning, and I think we're all just tired and on edge. It's getting close to noon anyway, so how about I just walk back down there and then we can all go relax over a nice pot of tea back at my place?"

As the mare turned around, however, she found herself startled by Cheerilee's magenta-coated face filling her vision, fierce green eyes staring directly into her, and most of all an ear splitting whistle. Stumbling backwards in alarm, Carrot Top found herself gripped by a sudden sense of vertigo as her hooves failed to find purchase and gravity took hold.

There was a long scream, a very long scream, a scream so long it made one wonder how a single pony could hold that much air in her lungs. Carrot Top's eyes were clenched so tight in fear at her certain doom that she scarcely noticed the hoof gently nudging her. As her breath finally abated, however, she peaked through one eye to find Ditzy's off-kilter gaze meeting her own with a reassuring smile. Turning her head, Carrot Top could also see Raindrops, glumly laying her own head sideways against one hoof as she rolled her eyes.

Still laying on her back, Carrot Top tentatively pressed a hoof down on the fluffy white mass of cloud that had cushioned her fall. She blushed briefly in embarrassment, rolling over to get all four hooves back under herself while the two pegasi lowered the cloud.

Breathing a sigh of relief as she was finally able to step off the precarious mass of condensed water vapor and back onto solid ground, Carrot Top turned to Lyra. "Good news… I, umm… I think your spell works."

The rest of the afternoon was filled with more of the same. Another shrill whistle blow called all the girls to attention. The day had been long, everypony was exhausted, and a few of them had to stumble into place, but shortly enough all five were again lined up at full attention.

Cheerilee paced once up and back down the line much as she had been between each exercise of the day. The other girls shared a few nervous glances, wondering what more Cheerilee might have planned, although each was careful to avoid being caught by the schoolteacher's stern gaze.

Finally Cheerilee spoke, "At ease, girls, I think that should be just about enough for one day."

There was an audible sigh as everypony let out a collective breath of relief and relaxed. Trixie in particular took the opportunity to collapse on the spot.

"Are you okay?" asked a concerned Carrot Top.

"Nothing a week long nap won't fix."

"Is that so?" chided Lyra, "So which one of us is lazier again now?"

Lifting her head, Trixie retorted, "Ha, as if! The Great & Powerful Trixie never admits defeat. For you see as future Duchess of Ponyville, and in commemoration of our first official knights of the realm training weekend, I hereby declare the rest of the week Fête de la Sieste!"

"Only a dutchess?" scoffed Raindrops, "Surprised your ego would settle for anything less than vicereine."

"Well, I do have to be realistic now, don't I? And besides, we've defeated an evil duke, seems only fair I should get to reap his old title as the spoils of war."

"Why stop there?" interjected Carrot Top, "By that logic, after we defeat Corona you could be Queen of all Equestria!"

Laughter was shared all around at that and even Trixie herself joined in on it, despite being the obvious butt of the joke.

"Mad mares, all of you," Trixie added in mocking objection, "Trying to deny me the glory of instituting a festival dedicated to the wonders of slacking off. Bah… I'm still going to enjoy the rest of the evening curled up in my bed, and there's nothing any of you can do to stop me."

"Actually..." Cheerilee added, "Not to be a kill joy, but before we officially end the day's training, I had something of a homework assignment in mind."

A low collective groan was shared by the other assembled mares.

"Don't worry, this last one will be easy. It's called trading places. Like I said when we started today, what we really need to improve is our teamwork, so instead of going to your own homes tonight I want you to switch off in pairs. As the old saying goes, you never really know a pony unless you walk a mile in their shoes, or in this case sleep in their bed."

Lyra snickered causing Cheerilee to belatedly add, "Yes, I suppose I walked right into that one, but let's all try to be mature adults here."

"Right," replied Lyra with a hard cough, trying her best to suppress another bout of giggles, "Mature... gotcha."

Cheerilee shook her head, but otherwise ignored the forced implication, "Anyway, Lyra, I want you to switch off with Raindrops, and Trixie, you switch with Carrot Top."

As everypony else said their farewells for the evening, Cheerilee went to pack up her supplies alone. That is until she was unexpectedly interrupted.

"So, I guess that just leaves you and me?" Asked Ditzy.

"What? No!" Cheerilee replied with surprising alarm, "That is, I meant to say... well, it's not really necessary for you. After all, you've had the best overall performance today, so your teamwork seems impeccable already. And besides, you need to take care of your daughter and all…"

Ditzy shrugged, "You're her teacher, I'm sure Dinky will be just fine with you looking after her for the night."

"I suppose… but there's also all my fish to take care of too. I wouldn't want to impose."

"It's no more imposition than when you had me look after them during your trip to Oaton."

"Yes, but that was just feeding. I made sure to take care of all the hard work before I left. Tonight is my monthly cleaning day, but unfortunately my usual spare tank is getting fixed, and so that means rotating every fish into different tanks, which isn't as simple as it sounds since they all have different environmental requirements, not to mention some of them might try to fight with or even eat each other if grouped incorrectly. It all requires a very complex diagram—"

"Which I'm sure you already have written out in full, right?"

"Well… yes, but…"

"Then it's as easy as following the instructions."

"Are you sure? I mean if anything went wrong…"

"I promise it won't. Besides, isn't the whole point of this to be a trust exercise? You do trust me, don't you?"

Raindrops' mother, Shutter Bug, hummed absently as she flitted about her cozy little kitchen like a yellow and blue hummingbird. As always, she was a whirlwind of perpetual motion, scarcely taking the time to finish one task before starting the next. Having just put a batch of brownies in the oven, she hopped over to the opposite counter where she tossed the salad, before whisking her way back over to the stove to stir the stew with one hoof while reaching for her a pen and paper to write down some more notes for her next exposay.

Hearing a knock at the front door coming from the living room, she was just about to check and see who might be calling at this hour before she heard her son.

"I'll get it!" and then another moment or two later Snails called out again, "Mom, it's Miss Heartstrings, and she says she's having diner with us!"

As she dropped some more butter into the creamed corn, Shutter Bug poked her head out the kitchen doorway. "Always a pleasure to have one of Raindrops' friends over; just give me a few minutes to add some extra food to tonight's menu."

"No need for that. Raindrops is having dinner over at my place, so I'll just—"

"Oh, sorry, I must have misheard; I thought Snails said you were the one who was eating with us."

"I am. See, it's like—"

"So my daughter isn't eating with you and BonBon then?"

"No, Raindrops is eating with BonBon and I'm eating here. It's all part of this crazy—"

"Oh dear, you and BonBon aren't having a lover's spat, now are you?"

"What? No, nothing like that. If you'd just let me finish, I—"

"You know it's perfectly okay to admit to these kind of things; I mean, even Dewy and myself had our fair share of fights back when we were young and impetuous; we still do actually, but these things always pass in time; why, I bet you and BonBon will have everything patched up again by day's end tomorrow."

"BonBon and me AREN'T fighting. I was just trying to explain that Cheerilee—"

"Cheerilee; is she eating here too, or with BonBon and Raindrops?"

"Neither." Lyra attempted to clarify, "She's… well, I guess she's probably spending the night at Ditzy's place. Though now that I think about it I'm not sure where Dinky—"

"So Dinky and her mom are the ones fighting then; she's normally such a sweet little girl, but I guess she is getting to that age where all young mares start getting more moody; I still remember how hard it was dealing with Raindrops the first time she went into, well, you know…"

Snails looked from one adult to the other in youthful curiosity, "Know what?"

Alright, things were officially getting out of hoof now. Lyra could almost hear a tiny little Trixie laugh in the back of her head, Not so funny is it, when the shoe is on the other hoof.

It wasn't like that, not really. It's just that when it came to foals these things were best handled with, well… not with herself in anyway involved, that was for sure. Lyra just needed to try steering the conversation back on track. "No, that's not what's going on either. And besides, I don't even think Dinky is quite that old yet. I mean, she doesn't even have her cutie mark yet and—"

Unfortunately, the young colt seemed entirely undeterred. "Hey, I'm older than Dinky, and I've got my cutie mark, so I should be able to know these things."

Before an exasperated Lyra could stop the escalation, the boy's mother answered, "I suppose you are getting just about old enough; oh, but how the time flies; I can still remember when you were just a wee little thing I could hold in one hoof; now look just how big you've grown; what do you think, Dewy; is it time for the talk?"

Still standing at the doorway and silently cursing the mess she'd somehow found herself in, Lyra craned her neck to peer inside the cramped living room. As if this whole debacle weren't already embarrassing enough, she confirmed that indeed Raindrops' father had apparently been listening from an old worn-down reclining armchair this whole time.

Slowly the blue-coated and yellow-maned pegasus stallion leaned forward as he set his pipe down. Then in his typical measured and drawn out pace began to explain, "Well, you see, son, when a mare and a stallion love each other very, very much…"

No. Lyra already had to go through this once before with her own fathers and that had been awkward enough. She was not —absolutely not— going to sit through it a second time, least of all in slow motion. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and so with a flash of golden light from her horn the whole room fell deafly silent.

The three other ponies looked around in confusion, their mouths still moving, but unable to make any sound, finally giving Lyra the chance to speak uninterrupted. "Sorry about that, but I really needed to finish explaining. Cheerilee thought that as part of our hero training we should all trade places for the evening, just to, well, get a feel for what it's like to walk a mile in each other's hoofsteps and such. So I'm spending the night here, Raindrops is sleeping over at my place, Carrot Top is staying at the representative's residence, Trixie is sleeping at the farm, and I guess Cheerilee and Ditzy probably traded too. No pony is fighting with each other and most importantly, nopony, and I repeat, nopony is going into their first… well, you know what."

Still unable to speak, Snails looked from his father to his mother and then to Lyra.

"Umm… right, sorry kiddo. Maybe it'd be best if I just went out and ate at the Punch Bowl or something… give you three a chance to discuss all that private family stuff privately," she finished with added emphasis. Everything sorted out, Lyra cast a counterspell, but barely had time to turn around before Shutter Bug called after her.

"Nonsense; if you and my daughter are trading places for the night then that makes you family, and no daughter of mine, not even a temporary one, is going to eat out alone when there's a hot meal waiting for her here; our home is your home," then turning aside to her son, she added, "Snails, my little, err… rather that is, my big snugglebug, you won't mind if your father and you wait until tomorrow to have that talk, will you?"

"Sure thing mom," he replied energetically, before hesitantly adding, "But... well, that is… if it's okay with you, I still like it when you call me your little snugglebug, no matter how big I get."

For once Shutterbug seemed speechless, only holding a hoof over her heart. That is before she began to sniff, "Oops, that's the potatoes burning!"

As the elder mare rushed back into the kitchen, Snails tugged at Lyra. "Well, c'mon… you heard mom. It's almost dinner time. You can help me set the table."

"Umm… yeah, sure thing kiddo. Oh, and sorry about all that. I was your age once too, and I can remember how frustrating it seemed having to wait to have things explained. No hard feelings?"

"It's okay," he said smiling, "I bet it just has to do with that weird stuff in those books my sister keeps hidden under her bed."

"Guess you're a smarter kid than I—" Lyra blinked, questioning if she'd really just heard what she thought she had, "Wait… what books Raindrops keeps hidden where now?"

Carrot Top sat twiddling her hooves in the foyer of Trixie's house, not really knowing what she should do.

She consider going into the main office and seeing if Trixie had any books or magazines she could read, but she already felt guilty enough having raided her friend's fridge for dinner and didn't want to further invade the other mare's privacy. Not to mention that as the official representative of the Night Court, Trixie could have who knows what kind of classified government documents in there which could get them both in serious trouble if Carrot Top went rummaging around carelessly.

It was still far too early to go to bed, a bath maybe? Yes, Carrot Top supposed that wouldn't be a problem, and washing out her mane after a long hard day was always her favorite way to relax.

Resolved, Carrot Top slowly began making her way upstairs… cautiously… one step at a time… careful not to make any noise in case… in case what? Halfway to the second floor, she stopped and gave herself a smack.

"Get a hold of yourself. You're not some burglar creeping through the night. You're a houseguest… albeit a houseguest when the owner's away, so more of a house-sitter or something. Either way, it's not like Trixie would be this nervous if the situation was reversed, which it also is, but that's beside the point."

Unfortunately now that she'd thought about it, instead of calming her anxieties, Carrot Top only found herself with one more thing to worry about. "Ooh, I hope she doesn't make too much of a mess. No, Trixie wouldn't do that that. She's a good friend, and so am I. I just need stop worrying over nothing, and also while I'm at it stop talking to myself, only crazy ponies do that."

Now at a normal pace, she resumed her trek to the second floor, and despite her own self-admonishment resumed monologuing too, "Well… crazy ponies and Trixie… and still me too for some reason. I wonder if maybe it's just something about this house. Maybe one of the previous representatives put a curse on it, or maybe it was Zecora trying to get revenge."

Carrot Top had to stop short and shake her head at that. "No, now you're just being silly, Carrot Top. Besides, Trixie's been an egocentric self-absorbed showoff since the day you met her. She probably just likes hearing the sound of her own voice, and you really shouldn't be so judgemental. Everypony is entitled to their eccentricities after all… … … Oh, and didn't I already tell you to stop talking to myself."

The absurdity of that last spoken thought caused Carrot Top to laugh aloud. It had to just be her nerves getting to her, unless the house really was cursed. No, it was definitely just nerves, but she'd feel better after a good clean rinse in a hot bath.

Entering the small room, Carrot Top started the tap, checking it with her hoof until she was sure the temperature was just right. She looked around to see what she had to work with, and that was when she noticed the real horror, far more frightening than any curse.

There on the side of tub was a single bottle that read All-In-One: Coat & Mane Shampoo.

Her left eye twitched as she mouthed out the words silently — All-In-One — then a second time in barely more than an incoherent mumble — All-In-One — over and over again — All-In-One — until It became almost like a chant — All-In-One — and with each repetition she only grew louder and more incensed until she was shouting at the top of her lungs.

"All-In-One… ALL-IN-ONE!"

It's not like she expected Trixie to splurge on the best top of the line products, but All-In-One. "Is Trixie really such a lazy cheapskate that she can't at least be bothered to have separate mane and coat formulas? I could make due without a pre-rinse and after-wash, but… wait… conditioner, where's the conditioner? Moon and stars above, what kind of uncivilized heathen doesn't have conditioner?"

Ditzy sighed in a mixture of contented exhaustion. Cheerilee hadn't been kidding about how much effort it took getting everything cleaned without a spare tank. Although it did briefly make Ditzy wonder for a moment why a mare like Cheerilee, who was normally so good at staying prepared, hadn't just rented an extra tank. Then again, everypony could be a little forgetful from time to time, and it wasn't like Ditzy herself had thought to do so either until afterwards. Who knows, maybe Cheerilee intentionally made up that a rotation diagram just as some kind of personal challenge.

Checking the decorative wall clock —resembling a smiling fish with its fins flapping to each tick— she yawned at how late it was getting… or she would have if her own grumbling stomach hadn't interrupted her. She hadn't realized how long this project would take when she started, or else she would have eaten dinner first. Unfortunately, she'd never been the type of pony who could sleep on a full stomach. She'd be up half the night if she ate anything now, and so no matter how much her rebellious stomach might complained she'd just need to call this evening a fast and make up for it in the morning.

Making her way to Cheerilee's bedroom, Ditzy opened the door, or rather she tried. It wasn't locked, as the knob turned just fine, but rather something seemed to be blocking it. Ditzy almost considered just sleeping on the couch back out into the living room instead. If only out of curiosity as to what might be blocking the door, not to mention the thought of all those dozens upon dozens of watchful fish-eyes staring at her throughout the night being just a tad creepy, she decided to try one last push.

It actually took three hard shoves, the last of which she had to lean into with all her weight while flapping her wings for extra thrust, but finally the door yielded enough for Ditzy to squeeze her way in, only to immediately trip in the unfamiliar darkness. Reaching back out into the hall, Ditzy grabbed the firefly lantern she'd been carrying.

Looking around the shadows, she saw what looked like it had to be nearly half the contents of the town library scattered about. It was hard to say for sure in the mess, but it appeared to be the reason she'd had so much trouble getting the door open is that one of the precariously looming stacks of thick bound tomes had toppled over in front of it.

The sight was rather surreal, as if she'd stumbled into another world. Ditzy certainly couldn't recall Cheerilee ever having this many books before. Curiosity gave way to weariness, however, and Ditzy yawned again. There'd be time to figure out what was going on in the morning.

Unfortunately it seemed she was to be yet again deterred, finding Cheerilee's bed also covered with more books as well as assorted papers. Was this all part of some major school project? As she stacked up the books, however, Ditzy began doubting that, or at least she hoped this wasn't the kind of material Cheerilee would be teaching children. Just a few of the titles included…

• Tyrant's Madness: The Rise and Fall of Corona

• Monsters From the Depths of Tartarus and Beyond

• Commander Hurricane: Victories of a Mighty Tribe

...all of them stuffed full with color-coded note-cards.

The assorted papers were no more reassuring. It wasn't Ditzy's intent to pry into her friend's privacy, but as she stacked them together she couldn't help but notice words like contingency or phrases like worst case scenario, especially when Cheerilee herself had triple-underlined them. Looking about the room again she could only presume all of the other stacks were more of the same. It seemed that Cheerilee was certainly taking her new duties as a champion of the realm to heart — if perhaps to a somewhat worrying extreme.

This newfound concern wasn't in any way alleviated as Ditzy took the stack over to set on Cheerilee's desk, which was covered in yet even more books and notes, not to mention the coffee maker on the corner which she knew had previously been on the kitchen counter.

Ditzy looked around the room once again, at the stacks of books surrounding her. Not just books she realized, more so there seemed to be binders full of what could only be volumes upon volumes of Cheerilee's own hoof-written notes. Ditzy suddenly felt very self-conscious, as if she were trespassing inside a giant journal. Even more so, however, she felt worried. Was this really what their new lives as knights of Equestria meant?

It wasn't really ever something she thought about much herself. She didn't like remembering how dangerous their past adventures had been, and she certainly didn't even want to imagine what further perils they might have to face in the future. Staring all around herself, however, she could see that Cheerilee was if anything the exact opposite.

This begged a question. Was her friend worrying too much, or was Ditzy herself not worrying enough? It was something she probably should have left until morning when she could discuss the matter with Cheerilee in person.

Instead, and against all better judgement, Ditzy picked up one of the note binders and began reading.

Author's Note

Hey look, a new chapter. Who'd have ever thunk any of us would see another one of these?

Sorry… I have no excuses for why it's taken so long, and rather doubt this meager offering will have been worth the wait. I won't make any promises either about when the next chapter after this will be out. For any of you willing to put up with my procrastinating schedule-slips, however, simply know that I remain committed to finishing this story — no matter how much longer it takes.

Also, special thanks to GreyGuardPony for providing his services as a pre-reader and generally encouraging me to keep at it.

Chapter 3: Crossing the Line

Fire, smoke, and ash -- Ponyville was ablaze, as was all of Equestria.

A mare coughed as she stumbled her way about the smoldering ruins. How had it come to this? Where did things go so wrong?

She was standing outside the Ponyville schoolhouse. All was silent save for the crackling flames and the mournful weeping of a second mare. The first mare approached the second who was bent over clutching a tiny charred body.

"I failed them," the second mare sobbed weakly, "I failed them all. I should have been ready, should have been better prepared."

"It… wasn't your fault," the first mare tried to reassure her, even though the words felt hollow, "We all tried our best."

"Our best wasn't good enough."

"Then we'll just have to try again. Keep fighting for sake of whatever is left and for those we hold most dear."

The second mare let out a fresh new wail of misery, "You don't get it, there's nothing left… I failed them, failed everypony, and most of all I failed you!"

"Failed… me?"

At first she was confused… no, not confused, she just didn't want to believe it, wanted desperately to turn away, to deny the truth, but it was too late. Though blackened and scorched the still body Cheerilee held was undeniable familiar. All was silent, and yet the memory of the filly's voice stabbed at Ditzy's heart.

–Momma–

Beneath the ashy soot she could still make out a few stray tufts of blond mane…

–Momma–

…as well as the rementats of a once pale lilac coat…

–Momma–

…and the broken stub of a tiny horn.

–Momma–

"No… no, no, no!"

–Momma–

Ditzy sat up like a bolt, breathing in and out with heavy labored breaths, but to her continued alarm the nightmare refused to leave her ears.

"Momma!"

The voice of her daughter called out to her once more, but this time it was followed by the touch of small hoof. Startled, the pegasus pulled away in a flurry of flapping wings, inadvertently flinging herself over the other side of the bed and onto the floor below. Her head spinning, Ditzy struggled to bring her eyes into focus, only to find a worried face towering over her from the bed above.

"Are you okay, Momma?" asked Dinky.

Ditzy rolled over slowly, struggling to untangle her limbs from the blankets. At first she was confused by the unfamiliar room she'd woken in. Where were they? As she looked around the room full of haphazardly stacked books, however, and as the hazy fog of sleep lifted, Ditzy remember the whole trading places exercise and that she'd spent the previous night at Cheerilee's.

"It's… nothing," Ditzy murmured with lingering uncertainty, "Just a bad dream is all, my little muffin. What are you doing here?"

Dinky smiled back at her mother, though her worried eyes lingered a fleeting moment longer, "Miss Cheerilee said you were supposed to come back home for breakfast, but when you didn't show up we decided to come meet you instead. Are you sure you're okay, mama? You look really tired… kind of like Miss Cheerilee last night when she kept dozing off while trying to read me a bedtime story."

"I…" Ditzy hestated, chewing ever so briefly at the back of her lip. She never liked hiding things form her daughter, yet Ditzy found herself hesitant to admitted the whole truth for fear of unduly worry the young filly. "I suppose we all must have just worn ourselves out with all that intensive hero training over the weekend is all. Plus I had to stay up extra late cleaning Miss Cheerilee's fish tanks for her."

That much was true at least, even if it wasn't the whole reason Ditzy had stayed up so late into the night. Out of the corner of one eye she spied Cheerilee's notebook on worst case scenarios she'd been reading before sleep must have finally overcome her. As she stood up, Ditzy casually pushed it under Cheerilee's bed with her back hoof, hoping Dinky wouldn't notice.

Fortunately the filly seemed to have become distracted and was now looking around the rest of the room. "Wow… Miss Cheerilee sure has a lot of books. What are they all about?"

As the filly reached a hoof out to one of the myriad stacks of books and papers to her naive curiosity, Ditzy felt a protective need to stop her daughter from being inadvertently exposed to any of the teacher's grim research.

"No!"

She hadn't meant to yell and as Dinky turned around in confusion Ditzy immediately regretted it, but what excuse could she make. "It's, umm... rude to pry into another pony's privacy without permission," the hypocrisy of the admonishment made Ditzy feel sick to her stomach, but had the desired effect regardless.

"Sorry, momma."

"Never you mind, Dinky. Come on now, we shouldn't keep miss Cheerilee waiting any longer."

If Cheerilee really had been so tired she'd barely been able to stay awake last night, there was little immediate indication this morning. Downstairs the mare seemed to be quite actively busying herself as she cheerfully skipped from one fish tank to another, feeding the occupants as she listed off each of them by their assorted alphanumeric names.

"There you go, Mortimer-Seven, eat up. No shoving, Helen-Thirteen, there's plenty of food for everyfish. Up and at'em Gerold-Two, you old lazy bones."

Ditzy couldn't help but be almost stunned at the contrast. Could this mare who was currently so playfully conversing with her dozens of pet fish really be the same mare who seemed to be so meticulously obsessed with researching myths and monsters, planning dozens upon dozens of contingencies around them? Then again, Cheerilee could be somewhat of a contradictory enigma like that.

When Ditzy had first met the mare she hadn't thought Cheerilee anything more than an ordinary kindhearted school teacher, maybe a bit whimsically eccentric at times, but otherwise entirely unassuming outside of her relentless devotion to the education of young fillies and colts… seemingly almost to the exclusion of any other social activity. Not that Ditzy ever pried, but working out of the post office she had always been well aware that cheerilee got very little mail outside a variety of academic magazines and book club subscriptions.

Ever since they'd become bearers to the Elements of Harmony, however, a different side of Cheerilee had become increasingly apparent as the mare continued to reveal one surprisingly remarkable –and often dubiously suspicious– skill after another. Ditzy still wasn't entirely sure how to reconcile the apparent dichotomy, though especially at times like today it did make her wonder…

Just who is the real Cheerilee?

"Good morning, Ditzy!" Cheerilee declared with wide-eyed smiling enthusiasm, "It looks like all my little fishies are nice and happy. Sorry again for saddling you with all that cleaning last night, but you seem to have handled it just fine."

Ditzy nodded back, slowly, one lazy eye drifting to a copy of War of the Pillars: The Prophet’s March sitting atop the coffee table in the middle of the room. Of course it had also been there last night while she was cleaning, but it wasn't until after seeing the rest of Cheerilee's veritable library of similar books in her bedroom that Ditzy understood the full significance, and beggin answers to that lingering question…

Was it anything to be concerned about, and if so, how to broach the subject?

As Ditzy contemplated that, Dinky bounded over to Cheerilee, "Can I help feed any of your fish, Miss Cheerilee?"

"Oh, I'm afraid I've already just finished feeding them all, but don't frown, deary. If you like, I could still introduce them to you while giving you quick lesson in marine biology."

Dinky's face lit up as she nodded eagerly. Ditzy hated to disappoint her daughter, but… "Actually, Cheerilee, I'd really like to talk to you, maybe in the kitchen while we make breakfast?"

There was a brief pause of consideration, but Cheerilee hardly missed a beat before agreeing, "Of course. Dinky, why don't you get the aquatic encyclopedia off the bookshelf over there and see how many species you can match while your mother and I are busy."

The young filly nodded before cantering over to the bookshelf, as the two adult mares left the room.

Much like the rest of the house, Cheerilee's kitchen was a bit of a mess, a stack of days old dirty dishes having piled up in the sink. Again, it was something Ditzy had noticed the previous night without much thought of the implication until now.

Closing the door behind them Cheerilee turned as her smile faltered, "So, what is it you wanted to talk about that you didn't want Dinky overhearing."

Ditzy winced, folding her ears back. Had she really been that transparent?

"Uhh…" she stammered, "It's not quite like that. It's just that I sort of couldn't help noticing the rather extensive… collection you've accumulated upstairs. I almost couldn't manage to find any free space to sleep," then pausing awkwardly to scratched the back of her mane, Ditzy tried to affect a nervous smile while adding, "I guess fish aren't your only hobby?"

If Cheerilee noticed her friend's discomfort, she chose not to comment directly, instead stepping around to the other side of the small kitchen as she began casually searching the contents of her own fridge.

"Hmm… I suppose I should have warned you about that," Cheerilee finally said as if nothing more than a belated afterthought, "I guess I have been rather preoccupied with my research as of late and let my normal house chores slip by the wayside. Just one more reason I was hesitant to force you to sleep over last night, but you seem to have managed."

Even as Cheerilee quitely set a carton of eggs on the counter as if there was nothing left to say, however, Ditzy was unable to dismiss a nagging feeling, not all that dissimilar to the same kind of mom sense that she relied on to know when something was troubling Dinky.

"Is that really all there is too it? You weren't trying to hide anything from me, were you?"

Cheerilee frowned, pausing in her search for a clean pan, "It's not like that at all. It's just that I… wouldn't want to worry you, or any of our other friends. All I'm doing is just trying to stay prepared."

"Prepared?" Ditzy repeated with a slow blink. "Cheerilee… from what I saw you're doing a lot more than just staying prepared."

Cheerilee took a deep breath and sighed, "Which is exactly the kind of response I was afraid you might have, but you're overreacting. It's not like I'm doing anything dangerous. I’ve just been researching the histories of old heroes and rulers, armies and famous battles, and of course piecing together the real history of Corona and how she fell from grace. I’ve been distilling all of it down to help formulate a training regimen that will keep us all on toes, so that whatever Corona or any other villain might be planning next, we'll be ready for it!"

Ditzy seized upon that. "Is that what all of those contingency plans are? Cheerilee…do you really think it could get that bad? Don’t you think you’re getting carried away here?"

"Better safe than sorry." Cheerilee replied in a distractedly sing song manner as she kept busying herself with preparing breakfast, but Ditzy thought she noticed a nervous flick in her friend’s tail.

"Cheerilee, I had nightmares just reading a hoof-full of your notes, but from the looks of things upstairs you've been writing hundreds. How have you not been freaking out?"

"I don’t have time to waste on idle dreaming right now, Ditzy. I have to figure out what the next step for our training is."

Motherly instincts kicked into high gear. Now that Cheerilee had brought it up, Ditzy could clearly see the hints. There were bags under her eyes while her coat, mane, and tail all looked a bit frayed and matted in places. There was an undeniably weariness in her friend's posture, and yet at the same time also Cheerilee seemed almost… twitchy.

"Cheerilee?" Ditzy pressed as she bore down on her friend, "Have you been getting enough sleep? I noticed you moved the coffee maker upstairs next to your desk, and your collection of empty brew tins nearly rivals the rest of the mess up their."

But Cheerilee brushed it off with a wave of her hoof, "Please, I know my own limits better than that, Ditzy… this has been nothing compared to the extreme all-nighters I used to pull back in college. Heck, one time, while studying for finals my old roommate and I stayed up for nearly a week straight without so much as a nap."

"Cheerilee…!"

"Stop being so much of a mom," Cheerilee retorted in a defensive tone that to Ditzy's ear almost sounded like a flashback to how she'd shrug off the concerns of her own mother as a teenager, "I already put up with enough incessant nagging from my actual one, thank you very much. The last thing I need is somepony else telling me to just relax, take it easy, and finally settle down with some nice stallion… I mean, it's not like I wouldn't want to, but Ponyville isn't exactly the dating capitol of Equestria either, now is it… not that I have to tell you. I'm sure you know just how hard it is first-hoof, am I right, girlfriend?"

"I wouldn't know," Ditzy deadpanned, "Ever since Dinky was born, I've been a bit too preoccupied trying to be the best mother I can to worry about finding mister right. This isn't really about that though, so stop deflecting already."

"I'm not deflecting, I'm changing the subject."

"Sounds more like rambling, if anything… you're usually so much more composed than this, Cheerilee. That's why I'm worried."

"I'm just distracted is all, trying to come up with ways to improve our training regimen."

"Cheerilee, we aren't soldiers and you aren't some general… you're a schoolteacher, maybe it's time to remember that and start acting like yourself again?"

"That’s it!" Cheerilee shouted, whirling about and grabbing the sides of Ditzy’s face. "The answer’s been in front of my muzzle this whole time! You're right, I’m a teacher and it's high time I stop trying to be somepony I'm not and start focusing on my strengths!"

Ditzy grimaced as she eyed her friend a tad nervously and unsure what to make of the Cheerilee's manic excitement, but in the interest of giving her benefit of the doubt, "Umm… happy to help, I guess."

"Help… don't be so modest, Ditzy, you're a lifesaver!"

Later that day.

Carrot Top loved the smell of freshly cut vegetables. Lettuce, cucumbers, a bit of garlic, some olives, a sprinkling of ginger dressing, some tulip petals, and of course her on home grown namesake. With her salad tossed and ready, she finished her meal preparations by filling a tall glass of water before sitting down.

Unexpected, however, she was interrupted by a knock at her front door. She wasn't expecting company, but maybe one of her friends decided to drop by for an impromptu visit — most likely Trixie, who no doubt would have a very convincing excuse for why she just so happened to be incidentally in the area and totally wasn't trying to mooch an easy meal. Not that Carrot Top minded… for the most part.

Besides, it would give her a chance to lecture Trixie on the importance of proper mane and coat care. Even now the traumatic memories of discovering her friend's all-in-one shampoo made Carrot Top shudder.

The knock repeated and Carrot Top called out, "Coming!"

Instead of Trixie, however, she was greeted by Cheerilee, although it was a rather unusual greeting.

"Pop quiz!"

Carrot Top jumped in alarm at Cheerilee's sudden exclamation. "Uhh… wha…?"

"Your fields are on fire, what do you do?"

The words were delivered in such sharp and manic succession that Carrot Top's brain seemed to shut down momentarily in a confused attempt to process them all at once.

"No time to waste, girl," Cheerilee said just ever so slightly slower this time "Your fields… on fire… what—"

"Oh my gosh!" the gears finally clicking into place, "Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!"

Frantically chanting as she ran outside without a second thought, Carrot Top rushed around the side of her house. Just as she reached down to grab a hose in her mouth she was interrupted by Cheerilee.

"That's no hose! It's a salamander's tail and now you're surrounded on all sides by no less than six of Corona's scaley minions."

"I… huh… but…" Carrot Top flustered as her eyes darted about in confusion. She didn't see any salamanders, and somewhere in the back of her mind she realized she didn't smell any smoke from the fire Cheerilee had previously mentioned either. In the midst of her panic, however, Carrot Top could hardly even manage to think straight.

What if maybe she was surrounded?

She'd seen Trixie turn invisible dozens of times, but salamanders couldn't cast such spells… or could they? Maybe they didn't need to, Corona could probably do it for them, or maybe get Zecora to brew up a potion with similar effects, or maybe the mad alicorn had acquired new allies… and why for moon's sake was Cheerilee just standing there tapping a hoof rather than doing anything?

Still hesitating to move, lest her stillness was the only reason her unseen attackers hadn't done anything yet, Carrot Top whispered meekly, "…help…"

"Help?" Cheerilee repeated as Carrot Top tried her best to nod without moving. "There's no pony here to help you, Carrot Top. You're all alone and have to figure things out for yourself. Quickly too, one of the Salamanders to your left is moving in to pounce!"

Carrot topped *eeped* as she jumped sideways.

"Good, but now you're right between the two who were on your right as they both turn and lunge at you in a pincer attack!"

Jumping again Carrot Top bucked out behind her while also thrashing furiously with her front hooves in a vain attempt at hitting something, anything. Her hooves found only empty air, however, and as gravity reasserted itself Carrot Top soon found herself spitting out a mouth full of dirt after face planting into the ground.

"Not bad. I'm sure that would have worked much better if there'd been any actual salamanders to hit."

"I… wait…" Carrot Top sputtered, "I don't get it. Cheerilee, are you feeling alright?"

"Me? I'm fine, just fine, everything's fine," but despite her friend's overly cheerful declaration, Carrot Top wasn't very reassured. Cheerilee’s face was contorted into a stiff smile as she stared unblinkingly, her left ear giving an occasional twitch. "Enough about me though, let's get back to your test."

"Test?"

"Exactly!"

"So there aren't actually any invisible salamanders then?"

"Invisible, you say?" Cheerilee replied with pervasive eagerness, "That's a good idea. Let's keep rolling with that."

The next day.

"Sweetie, I'm home!" Shouted Lyra over the familiar chime from the bell over the Confectionerium's front door. BonBon was nowhere in sight, however, so Lyra just shrugged and went to check the kitchen.

Still no BonBon, but the stove was warm and various ingredients lay strewn about, so she couldn't be far. Lyra briefly considered sneaking a taste of whatever her marefriend was making.

–Don't you dare, missy! You'll spoil your dinner!–

"Gee, alright," Lyra replied to BonBon's imaginary voice as she added in a mutter, "Not even here and she still manages to nag me."

Setting her gatsby's cap full of bits from an afternoon spent busking in the park on the table, Lyra saw a note pinned down by a heavy knife that read, Come upstairs, and make sure you're alone.

Lyra twisted the corner of her mouth in contemplation. This could only mean one of two things, either she was in very deep trouble or she and BonBon were about to have a whole lot of fun… or maybe a bit of both, she considered with a suggestive waggle of her brow. Fortune favors the bold, they say, and Lyra was pretty sure she hadn't done anything wrong lately… or at least nothing BonBon could actually pin on her, so she friskily bounced her way up stairs with a wide grin.

Opening the door she found her marefriend, and tied down to the bed no less — a bit kinky for Tuesdays, but Lyra didn't mind. She'd been dying to maybe try out a few of the idea's she'd gotten from that secret stash of trashy romance novels she'd found under Raindrops' bed the other night, and now seemed as good a time as any.

"Ooh… look who's been a naughty mare."

"Hi there, Lyra," BonBon droned with unusually poor acting, even for her. "So glad you could finally join us."

"Us?"

Just then the bedroom door slammed behind her and as Lyra swung about she found herself face to face with… Cheerilee?

"Pop Quiz!"

Lyra grimaced uncertainly as she looked from her seemingly overeager friend, to BonBon, and back again. "Umm…did I miss something? Didn't we all agree a long time ago that a threesome would just be too weird?"

"Lyra!" Bonbon scolded, "Get your head out of the gutter and just finish this silly test already."

"Test? What test? I don't get it. Unless you've been faking it all these months, my technique can't be that bad."

"Not that kind of test!" BonBon all but hissed in increasingly annoyed exasperation.

Cheerilee interceded to explain, "It's a roleplaying exercise! Since we never know when, where, or how Corona or any other villain might attack, I figured we all needed an extra special training regimen to test our ingenuity and problem solving skills under unexpected circumstances."

Lyra blinked once, before a cocky grin edged its way across her lips. "So, it's like a game then? Me versus you with the fair lady BonBon as the prize."

BonBon rolled her eyes, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Can't help it, sweetie, comes with being a heroic champion of virtue. Now, you just sit tight—"

"Like I have a choice…"

"Don't be a party pooper, BonBon," Lyra replied, still smiling as she began channeling a spell through her glowing horn. "It's not every day you get to personally bare witness to Lyra Heartstrings, Knight of Loyalty, in action!"

In a radiant flash of golden light, Lyra summoned here musical instrument and with a spinning flourish snatched it out of the air, strumming out a dramatic chord before striking what was presumably supposed to be some kind of heroic pose.

BonBon sighed, voice dripping with sarcasm, "Great, I can hardly wait."

Early the next morning.

"Pop Quiz!"

"No." Raindrops deadpanned as she kept flying by with a rain cloud that was due over the east orchard at Sweet Apple Acres.

…

Later.

"Pop Quiz!"

"No." Raindrops reiterated once more as she bucked apart one of a dozen stray clouds which had drifted into Ponyville Park from the Everfree Forest.

…

And yet later still.

"Pop Quiz!"

"No." Raindrops groaned with persistent disinterest as she put three more loaves of bread in her shopping cart.

…

Finally, safe at home.

"Snails, dinner time." Raindrops said as she knocked on her brother's bedroom door. When the expected reply never came, Raindrops knocked again. "Come on, bro. Mom made your favorite casserole, don't want it getting cold."

Still no reply, maybe he'd fallen asleep. Cracking the door open slowly, Raindrops peered in with caution, not wanting a repeat of last week's incident with the giant earwig. Instead she only found her brother's best friend, Snips, sitting on the bed. That wasn't so strange, but the slightly oversized pinstripe-jacket and matching wide-brimmed fedora the pudgy young colt was wearing were a bit odd regardless.

"Snips, what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be getting back home to your own family for dinner?"

"I'm not Snips, toots, I'm umm… Snipscowsky McGee." he declared in a ridiculously fake Manehattan accent as he absently flipped a silver bit with one hoof. Turns out he should have probably been paying more attention though as he completely fumbled catching it. The errant coin bounced off the side of his hoof, rolled over the edge of the bed, and fell through a crack between two floorboards.

"Aww, shoot," the colt whined, "That was the last of my allowance, and I was gonna… err umm… I mean, you saw nothin', toots! This just means the ransom goes up."

Raindrops let out an agitated sigh, not really caring what nonsense her annoying little brother and his even more annoying friend were playing at. Although if the latter called her toots just one more time… forcing a smile, Raindrops banished any inappropriately violent thoughts. "Enough games, Snips. Where's Snails?"

"Oh, this ain't no game, toots."

There was a crack as Raindrops stamped her hoof, but her death glare was interrupted when the sound caused a stray centipede to crawl out from between the floorboards and start working it's way up her leg.

Snips had briefly hesitated for fear of the pegasus's infamous temper, but as Raindrops distractedly worked to shake the creepy crawler off her limb, he seemed to regain a semblance of bravado. "Heh… serves you right, toots. Now you and me, we's gonna talk about that there brother o' yours. See me and the boys needs you to do us a favor, that is unless you's want us feeding ol' shellbutt to his own pets."

Having at length extricated herself from one annoying little pest, Raindrops redirected her attention to the other, "Cheerilee put you up to this, didn't she?"

"I'm helping too," she heard Snails' muffled voice call out from the closet.

"Aww… common, Snails," moaned Snips, breaking character, "You're supposed to be kidnapped and locked away in my secret mobster hideout."

"Oops… sorry. Sis, please forget you heard me say anything."

"That's right, toots." Snips accerted, again in his painfully forced attempt at a Manehatten accent, "You didn't hear nothin, kapeesh?"

"Quiche… where? Snips, I'm getting hungry. Maybe we should do this later."

"No way! My parents would never let me come back over after dinner on a school night. We'd have to wait until tomorrow, but Miss Cheerilee said we had to turn in our reports on how your sister did on her test first thing in the morning if we want the full extra credit."

"Is that what all this is about?" Raindrops interrupted, ignoring Snips as she went over to open her brother's closet, finding the young colt with a rolled up blanket knotted halphasadly around him, "Look, Snails, you know mom and dad don't mind you got that one D on your last report card."

"Maybe his parents don't care," Snips added in a huff from behind her, "But mine do,"

"That's because you got more than one D, and an F too." Snails added matter of factly.

"Hey, stop embarrassing me in front of your ister'say. You're still supposed to be kidnapped anyway, remember?"

"Oh, right… nevermind!"

Meanwhile, Raindrops was rubbing the bridge of her snout with one hoof in a vain attempt at massaging away her rapidly mounting desire to yell at the top of her lungs until Snips ran scurrying all the way home in fright. "Look, I used to get my fare share of bad grades too when I was your age, but you'd be better off just studying harder for next time rather than playing these silly games."

"Aww… but studying's no fun," moned the colt despondently, "And I need to get my grades up by the end of the week or dad's gonna cut my allowance in half."

"Sorry, kiddo, but that's just the breaks sometime. I know school might seem boring, but all that studying will pay off in the end."

"I guess you're right… but," Snips seemed to perk up as he got a new idea, "Hey, what about you needing to study too though?"

"Huh… I don't follow?"

"Well, Miss Cheerilee said this was all supposed to be a pop quiz, you know, to make sure you're studying hard with all your hero training."

"Oh, no you don't. That is completely different."

"Really… how?"

"Yeah, sis, how?"

"Be quiet, Snails!" Raindrops snapped at her brother's unhelpful helpfulness before kicking the closet door shut with a back hoof, "You're still kidnapped," then facing the other obnoxious little colt, "Well, you see it's like… when you're grown up… and, well… oh, fine. Let's just get this over with."

"Ha!" Snips declared triumphantly as he slipped back into his supposed gangster accent, "I knew's you'd come around eventually, toots."

"Push it with that toots crud one more time and I'll drop you out the window."

"Hey, I'm the one calling the shots around here, toot—" but Raindrops' stern expression bore no reproach, and Snips hastily corrected with an oddible gulp, "Err, umm… that is Miss Raindrops, ma'am."

"Better. Where is Cheerilee anyway though?"

"I think she said she was heading over to Trixie's to give her a test too," said Snails from inside his closet.

"Aww, man," Snips complained, "I wish we could be there instead. I bet there'd be all kinds of cool explosions and smoke and stuff!"

Earlier, across town.

Trixie flipped a page in the stack of forms on her desk as she continued engrossing herself in her official duties as representative of Luna's Night Court.

"Hmm… Pinkie Pie’s asking for an exemption on the whipped cream sales tax, again."

"You know, Trixie," said Pokey Pierce, her secretary, "As much as I appreciate seeing you hard at work for a change, I really do think there might be more pressing problems at hoof. Like perhaps getting me down?"

The dull blue-coated and white-maned unicorn stallion was currently hanging upside down, suspended by a rope hooked to the ceiling. Sitting on the floor next to him was Cheerilee, tapping a hoof impatiently.

"Sorry, Pokey, but as I already said, official Night Court policy is to never negotiate with terrorists. As much as it pains me to see you suffer like this, my hooves are tied. But fear not, your sacrifice shan't be in vain. I'll petition the town council myself to have a monument erected to you in memoriam."

"Okay, you can cut it out with the false melodrama. My own hooves are tied rather more literally at the moment and these ropes are starting to chafe."

"I'm surprised, Pokey, weren't you the one who was complaining just the other day about what a slavedriver I am, about how working for me you never have time to just hangout anymore. I thought you might be more gracious for this time off."

Before Pokey could retort, Cheerilee interrupted the two with a cough. "You know Trixie, if you don't start taking this test more seriously I'm going to have to take… drastic measures."

Pokey's eyes went wide, the mare's tone was just so maliciously relaxed. He hadn't been this scared of a teacher since detention as foal. "Please, Trixie, I think she means it!"

"That's nice. Tell you what, I'll give you the rest of the day off with paid leave so that you and your girlfriend can run along and play."

"Girlfriend, am I… okay, if that's the way you want to play this game, fine." There was a thud as Cheerilee cut the end of rope Pokey was hanging from, dropping the otherwise still bound and helpless stallion to the ground. "No sense boring your boss with all the gory details though. Come along, loverboy, you and me have a date."

As Cheerilee dragged him away and up the stairs, Pokey let out a desperate final plea, "Trixie… please! Help… Trixie!"

Trixie just rolled her eyes as she mutter "Now who's being melodramatic?" and then with a sigh she refocused her attention back on her paperwork. It might have been dreadfully boring, but at least she could hold onto her own pride for having not given into whatever ridiculous game Cheerilee was playing at.

…

Some time later Trixie's office door opened and Cheerilee walked back in, this time with a completely unbound Pokey by her side. Smiling to herself with triumphant glee, Trixie didn't even bother giving the the pair so much as a token glance now that they'd finally given up the pointless ruse.

"So, I trust the two of you had a good time then, slacking off at my expense?"

"We most certainly did…" replied Pokey, his voice drifting off into an unusually satisfied sigh as he spoke.

Confused, Trixie finally looked up from her desk to see that her assistant's face seemed to display nothing except for vacantly relaxed bliss. Cheerilee was also smiling, or some mischievous approximation thereof. More unsettlingly though was the way she fluttered her eyelashes with seductive implications.

"Wait…" Trixie paused, her brain not even wanting to finish connecting the dots, "The two of you… no… you wouldn't… you couldn't!"

"But we did," Cheerilee affirmed, "Upstairs and in your bed too, no less."

"In my…" Trixie couldn't even process those words, "Ha, ha… very funny. You almost had me fooled, but I know better. Pokey would never do anything like that, he's not even into—"

"What can I say," Pokey interrupted flatly, as if his mind were clearly still someplace else, "A talented mare like Miss Cheerilee has a way of bringing any stallion around to new points of view."

Trixie looked sharply from one traitorous pony to the other, before practically hissing, "Out, both of you, now!"

Several days and many more pop quizes later, four mares gathered under cover of noon, when most ponies retreated into their homes to observe the traditional superstition of avoiding Corona's gaze, but more importantly when a certain school teacher would be preoccupied tending to her class. Taking respite themselves at Ponyville's local tavern/dinner, Berry's Punch Bowl, where ice cold drinks could soothe the midday heat, but did little to do the same for tempers.

"She’s a menace! A monster! Out of control! She and Pokey… they…" Trixie shuddered, "Did… things in my bed!"

"No they didn’t," Raindrops deadpanned.

"But… the eye batting, and the distant looks, and—"

"No."

"You don't know, you weren't there. The lingering scent of their vile deeds still burns in my nostrils."

"No, that would be the twenty gallons of bleach you bought from Barnyard Bargains to clean up an imaginary mess."

"I should have saved the last gallon to drink and cleanse my poor innocent mind of all those disgusting thoughts."

"Now you're just being melodramatic."

"Oh, hush! I should never have expected you to be sympathetic to my plight, not after the kind of smut Lyra told me you read."

Raindrops let out a single aggravated snort, "Yeah, so much for trust exercises. If Cheerille hadn't gotten to Lyra first I'd almost have half a mind to…"

The four gathered mares all paused silently to stare in the direction of the table's empty fifth seat, until at length Carrot Top broke the silence.

"You really shouldn't be so hard on her. It's not like Lyra went around blabbing it to the whole town. We're your friends, we'll keep your secrets."

"She's right," added Ditzy, "And it's nothing to be ashamed of either. I used to read my own fair share of those kind of books too."

"Et tu, Ditzé?" Trixie said in exaggerated shock, "Is there no decency left in this cruel world? And you're a mother, no less!"

"Not always. It was before Dinky was born, before I even met…" Ditzy trailed off, not seeming to want to delve any further into that memory. "Speaking of foals though, Raindrops, you really should be more careful about leaving stuff like that laying around where your brother could accidently find it. He's at an impressionable age."

"Right, because it's MY fault the obnoxious little squirt rummages around in MY room and under MY bed looking for his pets. Besides, I wouldn't worry about him being all that impressionable. Ever since Lyra's visit, Dad's been trying to give him the ol' birds and the bees talk, but Snails just keeps turning it into a tangent to talk about actual bees."

Trixie sipped down the last of her house special tea. It was a delightfully fruity mix of flavors, though regretfully non-alcoholic at this time of day due to Berry's strict only after dark policy. Still, it was probably for the best as they all needed to keep a level head if they were to concoct a solution to the problem at hoof.

"Girls, I think we're getting sidetracked. Cheerilee has got us all on edge, but we can't let her drive us to bickering amongst each other. We have to focus on our common enemy, before anyone else ends up like poor Lyra did."

Ditzy hesitantly spoke up, "I don't think that's entirely fair. Cheerilee is still our friend to, and I'm sure she means well… she couldn't have ever ment for Lyra or any of us to get hurt."

Raindrops humphed, "Easy for you to say, she hasn't gone pestering you yet, so you wouldn't know what it's like having her just randomly jump out yelling, pop quiz!"

There was a sharp *eep* as Carrot Top dove under the table and began frantically declaring, "I grab my hidden alchemy kit from a panel under the floor!"

As she began listing off various exotic ingredients in her imaginary kit, the other three mares all exchanged silent glances. Shortly a blushing Carrot Top crawled back into her seat.

"Sorry, nervous reflex."

"Hidden alchemy kit?" Raindrops asked flatly.

"Umm… in case of alchemy emergency?"

"So who are you now, Pinkie Pie?"

"Okay, I guess maybe hiding alchemy kits all over town wouldn't be very practical."

"Probably not," agreed Trixie, "Though I can't really blame you for considering it. I know there have been times when I wish I could get away with hiding secret bourbon stashes all over town, in case of bourbon emergency."

Raindrops raised an eyebrow, "Couldn't you just use that summoning charm you copied from Lyra?"

"Never teleport bourbon," interrupted Berry Punch, "Or any quality alcohol, it ruins the flavor."

Trixie nodded with smug affirmation. "A true connoisseur after my own heart."

The dark-maned and light-coated fuchsia earth mare had come bearing a fresh pitcher of tea. After refilling everypony's glass she announced, "Anyway, your pizza should be finished in five minutes. Anything else I get get you all?"

"Yeah," muttered Raindrops, "Your sister off our backs."

Berry laughed, "Cheers can be something of a maneful when she gets in one of her moods."

"But she'll get over it, right?" asked Ditzy.

"Sure thing. Could take a few weeks though," Berry answered with a shrug, "Or maybe months."

"Months!" moaned Carrot Top, "Just a few days has left my nerves frayed."

"You think this is bad, you should have seen her during her wrestling phase as a kid. She and lil' Macky dressed up as luchadores one Nightmare Night, and the next thing anypony knows Cheers is swearing she'll never remove her mask until the two of them became the next Equestrian tag-team champions of the world. Mom and dad couldn't get her to take that dirty old rag off for anything, eating, sleeping, bathing, not even for school. Kinda missing the whole secret identity part in the process, but that's just the way Cheers has always been. Whenever she sets her mind to task, she commits to it one-hundred-and-ten percent, like it's the only thing that matters in the whole wide world."

"You make Cheerilee sound a lot like my daughter's new friend and his obsession with pirates," Ditzy mused. "So how'd you finally convince her to take the mask off?"

"We never did. She wore it nonstop until around Hearth's Warming or so until the stitchings finally gave out and it fell off on its own. Probably a good thing our parents bought that costume out of the bargain bin rather than springing for the deluxe model."

"Great…" droled Trixie, "So what you're saying is we're stuck with Drillsergeant McPaininourflanks for the long haul then."

"For any ordinary ponies, yeah, but you're the heroes who defied the Tyrant Sun, exposed the corruption of the Night Court, and probably saved all of Equestria a dozen or more other times too. Beating impossible odds is sort of your thing, isn't it?"

"I don't know…" Carrot Top sighed while seeming to nervously chew at the back of her own lip in worry, "I mean, sure enough I suppose, but that's always been because we were working together, Cheerilee included."

Raindrops nodded as she muttered glumly, "United we stand, divided we fall."

"Then maybe we shouldn't be divided," interceded Ditzy, "Maybe we should support Cheerilee the way she's always supported us."

"And do you really think these," Trixie paused, before slowly continuing so as not to alarm Carrot Top again, "…pop quizzes are actually supporting anypony?"

Ditzy dipped her head slightly, "No, maybe not. It's just, she seemed so out of control with all her books and plans. I tried pointing out that none of us are soldiers and that she needed to start acting more like a teacher… and well, somehow I think that inadvertently inspired her latest pop quiz shenanigans"

"Wait," Trixie blinked, "So you're saying all this nonsense is YOUR fault? I was only joking about the novels earlier, but this really is treason."

Carrot Top reached across the table to pat Ditzy’s hoof, before eying Trixie. "Stop being so overly dramatic, bad enough we have to deal with that kind of attitude from Cheerilee right now without further turning on each other. It's not like Ditzy is a mind reader, Trixie. She couldn't have known Cheerilee would take things so far."

"I suppose you're right," Trixie frowned with a sigh, "So anyway, if we can’t get to Cheerilee rationally for fear of her coming up with some new and even more insane contingency…?"

"Maybe we just need to appeal to her emotionally then, as friends?" Carrot Top proposed. "That's how we've persevered through every other challenge. We should be able to get through to Cheerilee just the same… right?"

"So what then?," Raindrops mused aloud while crossing her fore-hooves in front of her, "It’s like Berry said, when Cheerilee starts taking things overboard to the extreme, she gets too focused on the whole big picture and ends up missing the trees for the forest. I don't think any regular old intervention is gonna work. If we all just try showing up on her doorstep together, I'm pretty sure it'll only make Cheerilee double down and dig in all the harder."

"I think you're right," said Ditzy, "Maybe I should just try talking to her one more time on my own."

"Really…" Trixie droled with a sarcastic roll of her eyes, "And what if you only make things worse again?"

"I won't take anything for granted this time. Besides, if nothing else the fact I was able to give her the idea in the first place should mean she'll be most willing to listen to me above anypony else, right?"

The other three mares looked back and forth between each other before all silently conceding with a nod that they didn't have any better ideas, and just in time too, as Berry Punch came back to the table balancing a pizza divided by four different sets of toppings on her back.

"Right, so who had the double caramelized bananas with a side of cajun spiced mustard dip?"

Later that night.

There was a distant knock at Cheerilee's front door. Seated in deep concentration at her bedroom desk, the schoolteacher had no time for such distractions, not when there was still so much research to be done and so many more plans to make. It was probably just one of those annoying door-to-door sales-ponies anyway.

Solicitation like that should really be illegal, she thought absently. Maybe now that she had right of approach, she should consider taking it up with the Princess. Luna had told them all to keep her abreast of any further problems where the welfare of the common folk was concerned, and no pony liked being disturbed by some two-bit hack shilling the latest overpriced miracle product. It'd be doing everypony a favor if all those lousy swindlers were locked up and the key thrown away.

The knocking hadn't gone away either, if anything, it had only gotten louder and more insistent, almost as if it had moved to just outside her bedroom door… or maybe it was just the migraine she'd been fighting the past few days. Rubbing her temples, Cheerilee decided it was time for more coffee. Unfortunately, the pot on the heating plate by her desk was empty. She still had enough water in the jug under her desk to brew another, but her last can of beans rang decidedly hollow.

She hated having to lose any precious time, but she'd have to get up and refresh her supplies. Not to mention give that salespony who still hadn't gotten the hint a piece of her mind, or better yet piece of her hoof to their face.

Opening her bedroom door, however, Cheerilee was startled to find Ditzy standing in the hallway, one hoof still raised and ready to knock again.

"Sorry…" the other mare said, "I don't like intruding, but your front door was open and well... we really need to talk."

Cheerilee shrugged with noncommittal disinterest, "What's there to talk about?"

"Well, to start with, these pop quizzes."

"The other girls put you up to this," Cheerilee replied furrowing her brow gumply, "Didn't they?"

"They're just worried, we all are," Ditzy tried to say consolingly puting one hoof to her weary friend’s shoulder.

"Good!" Cheerilee retorted with beleaguered exasperation, "They should be worried, Corona isn't going to defeat herself!"

"I meant worried about you. Cheerilee, I get that you're just trying to keep us all on the tips of our toes but if you keep up like this someone is going to get hurt… well, hurt worse that is."

"Hey, I warned Lyra not to try that double backflip off her bedpost. It's not my fault she ended up throwing her back out trying to show off just how limber she is, but at least now she knows better than to try a stupid stunt like that in a real fight."

"Stop trying to sugarcoat this," Ditzy retorted, "Stop trying to avoid the issue and open up your eyes to what's really happening."

"What's really happening… you don't get it, do you?" Cheerilee began to pace agitatedly, "My eyes are open, wide open. Sure I might put on a brave face, do my best to keep everyone in good spirits when we're out in the field and things are most dire, but this hero stuff… it's not some game, it's serious, deadly serious."

"Really?" Ditzy questions, "If things are so serious why have you only been testing the other girls? Why have you been avoiding me? Is it because I was the one who first confronted you about how off the deep end you seem to be going? Because you're afraid I'd be able to see through all these pretenses? Look, Cheerilee, I get it. You're scared, we all are but this—"

"Fine then," Cheerilee butts in, cutting Ditzy off, "Pop quiz, Dinky has been kidnapped!"

"That's not funny, Cheerilee."

"Of course it isn't funny," Cheerilee presses as she begins circling Ditzy, "Your daughter's life is on the line, what are you going to do about it?"

DItzy took in a deep steading breath, "I stay calm and do what I should have done when those Manehattan gangsters tried to do that, I gather up you, Trixie and the others so we can make a plan... together... as a team."

"Not bad, not bad, but what if that's not an option, what if you're away from Ponyville, time is of the essence and you can't wait for however long it would take the rest of us to arrive?"

"Then I go to the local constabulary or guard station to get professional help. It might be scary, but I'm not going to solve anything by flying off the handle again like I did last time."

Stopping her circling short, Cheerilee got right up in Ditzy's face, "Really? That's awfully rational of you. I don't think you're taking this pop quiz very seriously. Maybe we need to up the ante."

"Enough games already, can't we just talk?"

"No time for talk, and this isn't a game. Dinky has been kidnapped, but not just by gangsters this time, or even by Corona again… no, this time she's been kidnapped by a cult of Tirek."

"Cheerilee, I think you're taking this too far. What would a cult of Tirek even want with Dinky in the first place?"

"We both know she has the potential to be a magical prodigy. Sure she hasn't learned to control it yet, but I've seen what she can do with her grip when she isn't careful about levitating things."

"I still don't see your point, Cheerilee."

"Then let me spell it out for you," Cheerille said before proceeding to emphasise each of her next words with a pressing hoof to the center Dizzy's barrel, almost as if the mare were trying to use the those words like a knife stabbing the heart, "They. Want. Her. Magic. They want to use her as a vessel to resurrect their dark lord from his Tartaran prison."

Ditzy's hooves go stiff as a shiver runs up and down her spine, "I… that is… no, this is silly. Cheerilee, are you even listening to yourself? You sound more like you're trying to tell a spooky campfire story."

"Now who's deflecting? We've fought gods and dragons, demons and undead abominations, literally anything is possible in our line of work."

"Fine, then digging deep into the powers granted to me by the Elements of Harmony, I transform into an avatar of pure kindness allowing me to purge all the wickedness from the cultist's hearts."

"That's not how the Elements of Harmony work."

"And how are we supposed to know that for sure, I thought you said anything is possible in our line of work?"

Cheerilee let out a single agitated snort, "Stop treating this like you were some foal on the playground just making up abilities as we go along, and start taking things seriously. Your daughter has been kidnapped… what do you do?"

"Enough already."

"You're all alone, no friends, no magical artifacts… what do you do?"

"I said stop."

"The ritual is already completed, Dinky has been possessed by Tirek, and if you don't act now, soon even her very soul will become corrupted forever… what do you do?"

"I don't like where you're going with this."

"Time is short, and you're all out of alternatives, save the blade of a cultist's knife by you hoof."

"Cheerilee, you can't really…"

"What do you do, Ditzy? The link has to be severed before it's too late, before there's nothing left of the pony Dinky used to be to even find peace beyond the veil. What. Do. You—"

*CRACK!*

Her words cut off before she could finish, Cheerilee fell to the floor with a dizzying thud as the whole world went black around her.

Alone in silence, Ditzy was left staring between the crumpled form of the friend she just punched and her own hoof.

Author's Note

Right, so this chapter has been far too long coming, and again I've got zero excuses, but here it finally is.

Extra special thanks must also once again be given to fellow author and close personal friend GreyGuardPony who never stopped believing in me, and without whose support and assistance this chapter might never have been finished.

Just one more chapter to go after this, which has already been fully drafted, so I promise I won't leave you all hanging again for the conclusion.

Chapter 4: Rest and Recovery

The first thing Cheerilee noticed as she slowly regained awareness was a throbbing ache in the side of her jaw. The second thing she noticed was that she was laying in an unfamiliar bed, but the drab walls and scent of disinfectant in the air made it easy enough to discern where she was. Given her own reckless past this was hardly the first time she'd woken up in the hospital after an altercation.

Blinking the last of the hazy fog from her mind, Cheerilee tried to recall the last thing that happened. At the same time, she became distinctly aware of a third fact — she wasn't alone.

Ditzy was at her bedside, looking sufficiently concerned so as to have brought both of her normally skewed eyes into briefly focused alignment. Then it all clicked, and Cheerilee couldn't help but laugh aloud at the absurdity… at least until the pain in the side of her face protested.

"Ow… Trixie sure wasn't kidding, you really do pack a mean sucker punch. Maybe Mac and I should have let you tag along to help mop the floor with those Manhattan gangsters," Cheerilee tried to finish with a chuckle, but stopped short, clutching again at her still aching jaw.

"This isn't funny, Cheerilee," Ditzy said frowning, "You could have been seriously hurt and it would have been all my fault."

"Don't be so hard on yourself. It was more my fault, if anypony's, really. Like I always tell my students before a nature hike, never provoke a mamma bear," with a carefree wave of her hoof, Cheerilee added, "Besides, I've taken worse bumps running with my old gang back before I settled down as a teacher. Other than this splitting pain in my jaw, I feel surprisingly refreshed. Guess maybe I needed the extra nap more than I thought."

"I'd hardly call sixteen hours a nap! When I couldn't wake you up the first thing I did was rush out to find Nurse Redheart. I was so worried, even after we moved you to the hospital and the doctors said you were just suffering from extended sleep deprivation."

"Okay, okay… I get it. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I suppose I'm just not as young as I used to be and I can't push myself the way I did back in college anymore. So how about I promise to get more sleep from now on and we just put this whole unfortunate altercation behind us, deal?"

"No," Ditzy said sternly in that way only mother's seem able to, "It's not okay. This is about more than just you spending too many late nights researching nonstop and writing endless contingency plans. It's about what caused you to become so obsessed with all of that in the first place."

"Obsessed!" Cheerily retorted with frustrated indignity, "I'm just trying to keep everypony I love and care about safe, and you're somehow trying to make that sound like a bad thing?"

Ditzy opened her mouth to retort, but paused before letting out a weary sigh.

"Maybe… I suppose… I mean, when you put it that way, but well… while you were unconscious I started reading more of your notes," she reached reached over to a small stack set beside her, and then holding up one notebook in particular, "Specifically the ones about Corona, since she's kind of the biggest threat that dragged all of us into this whole Heroes of Harmony mess to begin with… and you know, she's kind of obsessed too, isn't she?"

Cheerilee starred, wide-eyed, "Ditzy… you can't seriously be trying to compare me to that tyrant?"

Ditzy forced out a halfhearted chuckle, "It does sound pretty crazy, doesn't it, but I think that's kind of the point. Before she was Corona, Celestia was the guardian of peace and prosperity across all of equestria, beloved and worshipped by ponies far and wide. She just wanted to protect everypony too… until she took that desire to keep everypony safe too far."

Sighing again, Ditzy took a deep steading breath, "She’s sort of like an overprotective mother that way, I suppose. No wonder she can come across as so arrogant and uncompromising. Compared to the immortal centuries she's lived, all of us… we must be like less than foals to her, but still her responsibility all the same... and as a mother myself, I know what that's like all too personally. I have to think to myself, if I really had that kind of power, if I could turn the world into a perfect place where nothing could ever hurt my little Dinky… just how far would I really go to make it a reality?"

"Ditzy…" Cheerilee muttered trying to find words of comfort.

"No, it's okay, because I'm not Corona, because I haven't lost sight of what truly matters most to me, because I still see the ponies around me as individuals all with hopes and dreams of their own… because my heart is full of kindness, my own virtue of harmony. The princesses wielded those virtues together before us, and it empowered them to do great and wondrous things, but… whatever it is that happened between the two of them all those centuries ago, their harmony was broken and they both lost that connection. Don't you see, Cheerilee, that's why it's so important that we hold onto each other and to ourselves, or else we might also lose those virtues that tie us all together."

Cheerilee turned her head downcast, "You make it sound so easy, Ditzy, but what does that make me? My virtue is laughter, is that really all I'm good for? Am I just supposed to be a clown who keeps everypony else happy while ignoring just how dangerous things are?"

Ditzy gently placed a hoof under Cheerilee's head, lifting it up so their gaze met, forcing her own eyes into aligned focus to emphasis the point, "Of course not, the Elements of Harmony aren't that simple. According to your own research even, they've gone by many names before the ones we call them now. You didn't have to act the clown the day we all chose to bear our virtues. You aren't defined by any preconceived definition of laughter, Cheerilee. You define it for yourself, just like how I define my own kindness."

"But what's any of that even supposed to mean?"

Ditzy smiled then booped Cheerilee on the nose, "Silly, it means just be yourself and above all else be a friend. Not a clown and certainly not a drill-sergeant… be the pony who has always bravely led by example and encouraged the rest of us to be our best even in the face of terrifying adversity."

There was a long silent pause, before a cough interrupted the two mares. Standing in the doorway was a caramel-coated and chocolate-maned unicorn stallion in a white coat and levitating a clipboard, "As much as it pains me to intrude on this touching moment, but since the patient is up, I really should give here a proper exam, just to make sure everything is okay."

"Oh, Doctor Stable, of course," Ditzy replied as she stepped aside to let the him through, "I'll just show myself out then, but Cheerilee… you'll think about what I said, won't you?"

Cheerilee opened her mouth, paused, then sighed, "You've given me an awful lot to think about, but I promise."

Ditzy nodded.

The following day, the heroes of Equestria gathered again, not on the outskirts of town, but this time at the train station. Trixie, Ditzy, Carrot Top, Raindrops, and even a recovered Lyra all stood in a line.

Trixie leaned over to Ditzy, "You're sure you got through to her this time?"

Dity shrugged, "We'll find out soon enough."

Cheerille marched officiously up to the assembled mares, "Now I'm sure you girls are all wondering what special training exercises I have instore for us this weekend."

"Not really," Raindrops droled in reply, "I've kind of given up trying to second guess your insanity."

Carrot Top nudged her friend, whispering, "Do you really have to risk making her mad?"

Cheerilee whipped her eyes around, marching menacingly, "Did you have something you wanted to share with the rest of class?"

Carrot Top wilted under the other mare's overbearing gaze as Cheerilee got directly into her face, "Umm… no sir… I mean, no ma'am… I mean…"

Cheerilee bore down flatley, "Is that so…?"

A thick and silent tension stretched out before, "Boop!" Cheerilee exclaimed taping her friend playfully on the nose, "Why so serious, you'll worry yourself sick like that."

Carrot Top blinked, so did everypony else too, "Wait, so you aren't mad at me?"

"No, only mad at myself for driving you to the edge of a nervous wreck in the first place, but I've only got myself to blame for that. Fortunately, a very wise pony reminded me who I really am, who we all are. We might be heroes, knights even, with the weight of this whole nation's welfare on our shoulders, but we aren't and never have been soldiers… just six ordinary mares forced into extraordinary circumstances."

"Speak for yourself, the Great and Powerful Trixie was always extraordinary long before she became a hero."

"An extraordinary loudmouth," retorted Raindrops and then everypony, including Trixie, shared a brief giggle.

After allowing laughter to drain away any lingering tension, Cheerilee spoke up again, "I suppose each of us was always extraordinary in our own unique ways, but together we've become so much more than that. Not just heroes, but friends… and friendship is magic... a bit more litterly for the six of us, but still friends first and foremost, and there is a power in that bond which goes beyond any fancy artifacts."

"So then," Trixie inquired, "Does that mean you've finally come to your senses and we can forget all these training exercises?"

"No… or rather, yes. I've come to my senses, but we still need to train—"

There was a collective groan from four of the other five mares, only Ditzy keeping silent, although her eyes were no less pleading.

"Now, now hear me out first. Yes, we need to keep training both physically and mentally so that we can be ready for whatever challenges are ahead of us… together. That's the part I'd been forgetting, because the six of us are all in this together, and it's all of our responsibilities to look out for each other, not just to make sure no pony is slacking off, but also to make sure no pony is working themselves too hard either… and maybe most of all to make sure none of us is losing our way and forgetting what actually matters."

"So no more bugle wake up calls," asked Raindrops.

"I don't know," Cheerille replied slyly, "I spent an awful lot of money on that bugle, and I still never got to catch Trixie oversleeping in with it."

"Alright then," Raindrops conceded, "You can still use it to wake Trixie's lazy flank up."

"I hate both of you," Trixie said sticking her tongue out in exaggerated indignation.

"And we love you too," Cheerilee said sticking her own tongue out teasingly, "But onto the matter at hand and why I had you all meet me here at the train station. Today's special training mission is… have fun!" and to emphasise her point Cheerilee held up one hoof fanning out a set of tickets.

Five pairs of eyes blinked silently.

"The Barn and Haybale Circus, really?"

"Don't you think we're a little old for that kind of kid stuff?"

"Nope, I'm quite serious, deadly serious you might say…" Cheerilee paused stretching out a single bated breath before she burst out laughing, "Come on girls, you've got to loosen up, that's the lesson of the day… well, that and one more thing."

"Oh, and just what is that?"

"It's not just about the six of us having fun, it's about sharing in the fun of everypony else and reminding ourselves of just what it is we're fighting to protect," Cheerilee paused, taking a moment look between each of her friends, "And I'd like to think that's something we can all agree on?"

The other five looked back and forth with each other. One by one, four heads nodded in turn, but for one pony that just wasn't quite good enough.

"Heck, yeah!" Lyra exclaimed, "Come noon or high water, we six amigos stick together!"

She reared back to emphasise her point, standing tall on her hind legs with one fore-hoof held skyward. Unfortunately the mood was all to quickly spoiled by a subsequent exclamation as Lyra clutched at her back.

"Ow! Guess I'm not quite 100% again yet."

Another few chuckles were shared, even as Carrot Top offered to mix up an ointment to help Lyra feel better.

Cheerilee smiled to herself as she watched four of her friends board the train, already chatting excitedly about sights to see and shows to catch on their day trip. Turning to the one friend that had remained and trotted up beside her, Cheerilee asked, "Did I live up to your expectations?"

Ditzy shook her head with a smile, "It was never mine or anypony else's expectation you had to live up to in the first place."

"Heh… the old believe in myself speech is it?"

"As long as you're believing in the right version of yourself."

"Well, if I ever forget, at least I know there's one pony around who can literally knock the sense back into me. Though hopefully we can keep that left hook of yours in reserve until the next time there is a real fight to be won."

"I'd prefer it if I never had to hit anypony ever again, even if they are the bad guys we're trying to stop."

"Shame, I could have used somepony other than Raindrop to spar with," Cheerilee gave Ditzy a playful punch across the shoulder before adding, "But maybe I could impose on you to help me with something else."

"Oh?"

"Like I said, we need to keep training both physically and mentally, and that means more research to be done and plans to be made… but I could use a study buddy, somepony to both double check my work and help keep me grounded?"

Ditzy frowned as she breathed out a long weary sigh, "Things are gonna get worse before they get better, aren't they?"

"Maybe… maybe not, but whatever the future holds I know we'll get through it together."

"Alright then, as long as you don't mind inviting all of us to study… together."

"I don't know," Cheerilee hesitated with a cherlish grin, "Trixie and books don't exactly get along all that well. She might just fall asleep if she tried."

Ditzy returned a knowing smile of her own, "Well, fortunately somepony still has a bugle, in case of bugle emergencies."

The two mares shared another laugh together, interrupted only by the blowing of the train whistle and the exclamations from their other friends already abroad to hurry up. With one final nod between them Cheerilee and Ditzy did just that.

FIN

Author's Note

So one last time I'd like to thank GreyGuardPony for all of her assistance and feedback… I'd like to but I can't. As mentioned in my blog and elsewhere, she unfortunately passed away before ever getting a chance to read this final chapter. Still, it's in honor of her memory that I strived on to finish this anyway. She always encouraged me to keep working on this story over the too many years it's taken, and without her constant support, I'm not sure I'd ever have made it to the end.

I just wish it could have taken me even a month less get here, and that she could have still been around to share it with me.

Additional thanks must be given to RainbowDoubleDash, who stepped up to provide editing and feedback on this final chapter.

Chapter 1: Wake-Up Call

His coat was a golden tan, over a body so toned it looked almost as though he were an expertly crafted statue cast in bronze. His long and elegantly groomed mane with matching tail was a rich auburn that blew magnificently in the wind. His eyes were like two endlessly deep pools of ocean blue, and it was with those eyes that he gazed upon the mare.

The jasmine coated pegasus shivered as he traced a hoof along the outline of the three droplets of her cutie mark. She moaned in delight as he nuzzled his snout though her turquoise mane, inhaling deeply of her scent. When he pulled away she opened her mouth to protest, but all such thoughts disappeared from her mind as she felt a gentle prodding at her lips. The mare opened wide and took in the full length of his offering and swirled her tongue about it, savoring the taste before biting.

As she chewed, the rich flavor of the honey-glazed prench bread became even more pronounced. The stallion then silently offered her a glass cherry wine which she eagerly took to wash down the remains of the bread.

The pair of ponies sat at a table amidst a vibrant field of flowers all in full bloom, the only illumination a singular candle at the center and the stars above. He gazed at her and she back at him before speaking but a single word, "More."

The stallion spoke back to her in his luxurious accent, "Ah, be careful my sweet. You do not want fill up on appetizers before the main course... and of course after that there is dessert."

She smiled coyly, "Maybe we could skip right to the desert then."

"Oh, but you are a naughty g—" the stallion's words were cut short though, as the mare lunged across the table and locked her lips with his. The two tumbled down the sloping field of flowers until they came to rest by the side of A sparkling river.

As their kiss broke, the mare looked down upon her stallion and he back up at her. He leaned up softly, but not for another kiss; instead he nibbled her ear once and then whispered, "There is something I must tell, something I have felt in the pit of my heart from the moment I first saw you."

"Yes..." she moaned she felt his moist warm breath against her.

The stallion took in a deep breath — and then blared like a trumpet.

Raindrops shot bolt upright in bed as the trumpeting continued its relentless roar, fast ripping away the lingering ecstasy of her dream.

Hurling her blanket to the floor –along with a novel depicting a rather familiar looking stallion in a suggestive pose– the pegasus stomped over to her window. She nearly unhinged the shutter as she threw it open, ready to murder –or at least maim– whatever fool had spoiled her dream... and just before it got to the good part, no less.

As she drew in a deep breath to begin shouting down the interloper, her rage caught in her throat at the sight in the street below, "Che... Cheerilee...? I don't... but what... do you have any idea what time it is?"

The plum colored earth pony lowered the bugle from her lips and smiled, "Why, of course I do. It's a half-past sunrise, which means you're late."

"Late...? Late for what?"

"Tsk...tsk... Raindrops," Cheerilee scolded with exagerated dispointment, "Don't tell me you, of all ponies, forgot." Then, beeming with exuberance, "Why, it's the first day of our new knights of the realm training regiment, of course! Now, up and at'em, girl, we've all got a busy day!"

My little pony, My little pony
Ahh ahh ahh ahhh...
My little pony
Friendship never meant that much to me
My little pony
But you're all here and now I can see
Stormy weather; Lots to share
A musical bond; With love and care
Teaching laughter; It's an easy feat,
And magic makes it all complete!
You have my little ponies
How'd I ever make so many true friends?

At the edge of Ponyville, five mares all stood in a line.

Carrot Top absently brushed a yellow hoof against a stray tangle in her orange mane, quietly lamenting having to cut short her normal morning grooming session. She wasn't a vain earth pony by any stretch of the imagination, but she still took great pride in mane-care as her singular luxury that she never skimped out on, no matter how much she had to squeeze her budget. True, it was only just the one tangle, hardly even noticeable, but she knew its existence would nag at the back of her mind all day long.

Next to her, Lyra Heartstrings was bouncing energetically on her mint-colored hooves, her golden eyes darting back and forth as she eagerly asked her friends on either side if they were as excited as she was. Her horn even let off the occasional spark to punctuate her enthusiasm.

Ditzy Do stretched out her gray feathered wings wide, flexing the tips to work out any early morning kinks. One of her yellow eyes tracked her friend with each bounce, while the other seemed to contemplate an errant blade of grass. "Aren't you a bit hyper this morning?"

"Huh...?" the unicorn stopped mid bounce, though her hooves still danced about with restless energy, "Is that supposed to be a crack about me being lazy?"

Ditzy shifted uncomfortably under her friend's gaze, "I'm not trying to judge. It's just that whenever I've dropped off the morning mail at the confectionerium, BonBon always says you're still upstairs sleeping."

"That's not about being lazy!" Lyra responded a bit more harshly then intended, "There's just not much call for a musician in the morning, which means I make my best money playing in the afternoon and evenings, so it's just that I might as well sleep in."

Ditzy supposed that made sense, even if she preferred spending her own occasional off-duty morning by catching up on chores. Of course, having her daughter to look after probably made a difference there, too. "Alright, but you still seem a bit perkier than usual."

"Well, I might have had an extra two or three cups of coffee with breakfast just to make sure I was at my best... and well, there was probably a little cream and sugar involved too."

At that moment Carrot Top joined in, "I've seen you drink your coffee; it's usually more than just a little cream and sugar, and you even stir it in with a candy-cane."

"Hey! I do live in a candy shop, so it's just more convenient than having to clean up an extra spoon later," then with a sly grin the unicorn added, "Besides, who said I was talking about my coffee when I mentioned the cream and sugar."

Next in line was Trixie, the self-proclaimed Great & Powerful, who was too tired to feel her typical unease at such innuendos. Her azure coat was bereft of its signature garb. As she yawned and swayed lightly on her hooves, the unicorn muttered some mild curse that her mentor couldn't have –just this once– neglected her eternal duties and left the sun beneath the horizon, if only for an extra hour or two.

Lastly stood Raindrops, still in something of a foul mood and lamenting the loss of the dream Cheerilee had stolen from her. Yes, they'd all come to a mutual agreement to begin this training regiment, including the part about starting at the crack of dawn, but she'd never expected the usually laid back school teacher would enforce punctuality with quite so much zeal.

As Trixie stifled another yawn while rubbing her weary eyes, Raindrops whispered to her, "So I guess Cheerilee dragged you out of bed too."

"Qui, moi? How could you say such a... *yawn* ... thing? Just because I'm not a morning pony doesn't mean I can't drag my own flank out of bed, thank you very much." Trixie then grinned slyly, "Besides, yesterday I saw Cheerilee buy a bugle of all things. As much as I despise mornings, it was worth the extra effort just to see the shocked look on her face when I stepped out my door five minutes early."

A moment passed in silence before Trixie realized, "Wait, you said too; don't tell me she...?"

Raindrops only blushed with shame, but before Trixie could press the matter any further, "Alright girls, that's enough chitchat."

All five ponies broke from their disparate conversations to give Cheerilee their full attention as she paced slowly in front of them. "Philomena, the Salamanders, Tambelon..." she conveniently failed to mention the time all the alcohol in town had been cursed, but that event had been embarrassing enough that the six –along with most of the rest of the town– preferred not to speak of it, "...now then, I know none of us ever expected to bear the burden of an entire nation on our shoulders, and that we've all been trying our best, but we've all agreed that it hasn't been enough and that it's high past time we started treating our duties like the knights Princess Luna made us. We've got three strikes against us, but we aren't out of this game yet, and we won't let the tyrant sun catch us with our pants down again; are you with me!"

A chorus of raucous cheers came from the assembled mares. Even Trixie felt invigorated as she cast aside the remains of sleep. The six ponies who bore within them the primal forces of harmony stood together of a single mind and purpose... well, almost all of them.

The cheers were cut short as Raindrops interceded, "None of us even wear pants." It was a silly thing to say, but some part of Raindrops' mind that still begrudged the rude awakening she'd been given just let it slip. She flustered slightly in embarrassment as the others all eyed her, but still pressed, "Well, we don't. What kind of pony wears pants anyway?"

Maybe it was just the early morning air or that she was still in the grips of a combination caffeine buzz and sugar rush, but Lyra responded, "I think Ace does."

"Mrs. Pearl too," added Ditzy.

Cheerilee coughed lightly to get everypony focused again, "It's just a turn of phrase. Now then—"

"Where'd it come from though?" interrupted Carrot Top, to everypony's surprise, "I mean, it's just never made any sense to me, did some noble come up with it?"

Trixie scratched a hoof under her chin, "I don't think so. Not many ponies in Canterlot wear them either, not even Fancy Pants, and it's even his namesake."

Cheerilee coughed more sternly this time, "That's enough of that, my little ponies," said the school teacher in the same tone she would use to quiet a class of noisy foals.

With that distraction put aside, the six mares had began the day's routine with a series of calisthenics and stretches. For Raindrops, it really wasn't all that different than her own usual exercise habits –albeit not at such an early hour– so despite her grogginess, she found the activities mostly effortless, even if flexibility still wasn't her strong suit.

Carrot Top also had no real difficulties, but that was hardly surprising given that out of all the six, she had by far the most physically taxing job. The farmer's demurely reserved composure belied an impressive physique built from single-hoofedly plowing fields day-in and day-out.

What did surprise most of the assembled ponies though, was just how well Trixie kept pace. It wasn't exactly common knowledge, but for the past few months, Trixie had been exercising alongside Raindrops, if inconsistently. While she mostly started as a means of occasional distraction and stress relief, the efforts had gotten results nevertheless.

Despite her initial excitement and vigor, Lyra had quickly lagged behind, at least with the more rigorous exercises. The unicorn did still manage to show everypony else up when it came to stretching, most of the others having forgotten the displays of extreme flexibility she had shown off when they were all introducing themselves on that fateful day in the Everfree Forest so many months ago.

Ditzy was having some trouble as well. While no stranger to a hard day's work, she was more used to the long-term efforts of lugging post ridden bags along her mail routes, so exerting herself so much in such quick bursts was quite exhausting.

Cheerilee easily had the most balanced performance; not the strongest or most flexible, but blending both in equal measure and seamlessly shifting from one exercise to the next. Yet even as she cheerfully complemented the efforts of the others while encouraging them to each push just a bit harder, she could also be heard occasionally muttering about how out of shape she'd let herself get since settling down as school teacher.

With the warm-ups out of the way, Cheerilee had lead the group to the morning's main event and so now the six mares looked out at an expansive obstacle course that had been set up for them. Five of those mares exchanged wearily nervous glances.

"Uh, wow... so umm, did you really set up all of this by yourself?"

"Oh, it really wasn't that hard," Cheerilee replied matter-of-factly and oblivious to any concern, "Besides, I got Rainbow Dash to help me. She even said she based some of it off the obstacles the Wonderbolts use in their training, though modified for non-pegasi, of course."

"Uh, maybe we should tone it down a little; we aren't exactly Wonderbolt class athletes."

"Hmm..." she contemplated, "I suppose we could cut out the jump through the flaming hoops."

A wire mesh was strung out across several low stakes in the ground, forcing the mares to crawl their way under it. Carrot Top came to an abrupt stop about three-quarters of the way through. Normally, her natural affinity for plants helped her pass bushes and brambles with minimal effort, but that clearly didn't apply to metal wire and that errant tangle in her mane from earlier had snagged. As she fidgeted, she got more of her mane caught, along with her tail as well.

Minutes later, the farm pony stood with puffed cheeks, glaring at the pair of shears that had been used to free her. The damage was overall pretty minimal, her friends having been careful what they cut away, but it was more so the principle of the matter. Still, despite her best efforts, the offending object refused to melt into a pile of slag under the ire of Carrot Top's vengeful gaze. Finally the mare harrumphed, and as she turned away, gave an absent-minded kick with a hind leg.

...she yelped in pain and began hopping on three legs, the shears having got one last laugh at her expense by managing to sit at just the right angle so as to have jabbed the flustered mare in the soft inner lining of her hoof.

A grid of wagon wheels laid on their sides, one-by-one each mare took turns trotting through, until an azure-coated unicorn stumbled, tripped, and went sprawling into the ground. Trixie muttered a Neigh Orleanian curse and glared at the offending objects, while four other mares giggled lightly before helping her up.

A nearly vertical stack of logs barred further progress. Two-by-two, the mares each took one of the hanging ropes hanging form the top in their mouth and begin climbing their way up.

Heaving herself to the top, Lyra let out a victory cry and even proceeded to dance a little jig. With one misplaced hoof though, she lost her precarious balance; Ditzy reached out to catch her but only lost her own balance as well and the two ended up rolling down the other side, ending up in a heap atop of Raindrops and Carrot Top below.

Cheerilee sighed and shook her head, only for Trixie to nudge her with a hoof and give her a reassuring grin. The school teacher returned the smile, but her eyes still lingered on the other four as they disentangled themselves.

A long narrow plank stretched across a mud pit and weighted sand bags swung back and forth across the path. Lyra deftly dodged and ducked under the pendulums, putting her flexibility, balance, and sense of rhythm to excellent use. Carrot Top followed after with significantly less grace, having to pause at several spots to avoid falling over or rushing into an oncoming bag. Ditzy crossed with mixed effort; her skewed eyes left her with poor depth perception, but also helped her track multiple objects at once.

Raindrops barreled forward with reckless abandon, actually taking one or two grazing hits completely unfazed, until finally a bag caught her full on. Even at that, the sturdy pegasus only stumbled, but as she struggled to regain her balance, her forward momentum carried her into the path of another bag swinging in the opposite direction.

*splat*

As Raindrops cleaned the mud from her eyes she gazed up at the plank, roiling with restrained fury; the fact Trixie blew her a raspberry as she passed certainly didn't help. Without even stopping to think, Raindrops scooped up a sizable ball of mud in one hoof and tossed it in the unicorn's eyes. Trixie let out a startled cry, before misplacing a hoof step and tumbling to join Raindrops in the pit.

"Hey, no fair! That's cheating!"

"Meh, you deserved it."

"And you deserve this!" shouted Trixie as she took a ball of mud in her own hoof and lobbed it at Raindrops.

The pegasus effortlessly dodged the attack, "You really shouldn't give somepony so much warning", but rather than seeming frustrated, Trixie only grinned. Raindrops only had just enough time to glance upward before an even larger ball of mud, levitated by unicorn magic, fell down on top of her.

Trixie chortled in triumph, but it was short-lived before a barbaric roar pierced the heavens.

As the two mares took it in turn dodging volleys while returning their own, three other mares watched from above.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" asked a worried looking Carrot Top.

Lyra shrugged, "Nah, I say we let them get it out of their system," then with wry grin, "besides, why spoil a good show?"

Shortly thereafter though, a seemingly errant ball of mud curved sideways in mid air, guided by Trixie's magic, and struck Lyra in the side of the head, "I heard that!"

With a single hoof, Lyra slowly wiped the mud from her cheek. Then clapping her hooves together, she spread twin streaks of mud as a sort of makeshift war paint, "Oh, it. Is. On!" and with her own battle cry she charged into the muddy carnage.

It wasn't long before a few more not-so-accidental balls coxed both Carrot Top and Ditzy into the fray as well, and soon all five were laughing as they rolled about in the muck. That is until they all had to hastily cover their ears as a shrill whistle cut the air.

Cheerilee lowered a hoof from her mouth as she glared down at the five, who all averted their gaze as though they were a group of naughty foals caught in the act. "Would you care to explain yourself?"

"Aw shucks, Cheers..." chuckled Lyra, as she scratched a hoof behind her mane, "I guess we maybe just all got a little carried away."

"I'll discuss the issue of your getting carried away, like back at the wall, later. Right now though, I was specifically talking to Raindrops. You deliberately tripped Trixie up."

"Ooh, busted," said Trixie in a mocking drawl.

The school teach then shifted her glare, "Don't think you're off the hook either, missy! I caught that raspberry you blew. Raindrops might have been in the wrong, but you provoked her; what kind of teamwork is that?"

"I... um, well... that is..."

"Oh come on," flustered Raindrops, "It's not like either of us would pull stunts like that if any of this was real. Besides, if this were real, I'd have never fallen in the first place," she then spread her wings wide, "Or did you forget I've got these?"

"Oh, is that so? And did you forget that time Zecora used a potion to paralyze your wings? Or what if that sandbag had been a salamander who coiled around you before taking a dive into a lava pit?"

As Raindrops glowered, Trixie regained her composure, "Look, we get it; we both screwed up. Like Raindrops said though, it's only practice, so nothing wrong with a little harmless fun and games."

"Fun and games?" Cheerilee dead panned, "Oh sure, it's all fun and games until—"

*splat*

Silence hung dead in the air as four mares stared slack-jawed at the sight of Cheerilee, now with her face plastered in mud. Slowly, they turned their heads to eye the culprit.

Carrot Top wilted under the combined gaze. "Uh... I guess that was bad timing."

"Lake! Now! All of you!" bellowed Cheerilee, "I want you cleaned up and ready to give the course a second run in five!"

"Why bother?" Raindrops moaned, "We're just going to get dirty again anyway."

"Don't give me any lip soldier, now move it, move it, move it!"

Author's Note

-- Extra special thanks to my old buddy and long time editor, ColdGoldLazarus, for proof reading this.
-- Additional thanks to Blackbelt for beta feedback and story advice.