As Gilda looked out at the endless expanse of space, it struck her again how very small she was in the grand scheme of things. The same thought had occurred to her the first time she had flown through space, though it had been under her own power at the time. Her sense of insignificance was only compounded by the fact she was in a powerful cage, which was further wrapped in a bubble of green energy.

By Gilda’s estimation, they had been flying for about three hours. “Hey, plant head,” the griffin griped, “How much longer until we reach this Oa?”

The Green Lantern looked back at the griffin, an odd look in his eye. “We’re about halfway there, prisoner. And I wouldn’t be so eager to arrive if I were you. Your crimes were quite severe, even by the standards of the Sinestro Corps. It may not be a sciencell awaiting you,” he said, looking forward once more. Gilda sighed again, lying out in the cage as best as she could. All that greeted her this time, however, was the cold grey metal of the roof.

Well, this officially sucked. She stared longingly at her right claw, the lack of weight on it causing a great sadness in her heart. She had only had her power ring for a short time, but it had already felt like a part of her. With it on her claw, she had felt… powerful. It was a feeling she had rarely had before. She was the youngest of her brood, hatching a full day after her brothers and sisters. That was a one way ticket to being a punching bag, something that griffin parents encouraged. The orange nag hadn’t been wrong about Gilda’s kind; they were warlike and militant in the extreme. Having gotten no respect from her family, she had thought becoming a full-time soldier would be a better alternative. Boy had she been wrong about that. The Royal Army was even worse than her family.

Gilda sighed as she thought back to the one time in her life she had been happy: Junior Speedster’s Flight Camp. The ponies there had been a lot softer that her own people, and Gilda had finally been the strong one. Course, there was one pony she couldn’t push around, and that was Rainbow Dash. Her heart gave a twinge as the multicolored pegasus’ face flashed through her mind. Whatever she had said to that… Green Lantern, she did really care for Rainbow, once. The two of them had been inseparable during camp, playing pranks and such. Though, Rainbow didn’t know exactly how dominant Gilda had been to other ponies.

And she never would have known, thought Gilda angrily, if it hadn’t been for those lame friends of hers. Rainbow Dash would have been fine with how she acted if she had found out during flight camp, she was sure of it. Tartarus, she was COOL, she would have gotten it. It was those lameo ponies, the other five; they had made Dash into a loser like the rest of them. Her biggest regret was that she would never get those assholes back for stealing her best friend.

Suddenly the Lantern’s ring started to beep, something that he seemed to take great interest in. A voice came out of it, but no image.

Large object approaching at FTL velocity. Object will arrive in seven seconds.

The Lantern looked confused. “What? We mapped this route to avoid major FTL traffic. There shouldn’t be ships anywhere near here.”

Just as that sentence left his mouth, however, a massive spacecraft, easily dreadnaught class, appeared, towering over Medphyll and his captive. The hull was colored a sickly white, the sides littered with turrets and cannons along their lengths. Up at the back of the ship, the bridge rose up tall and proud like a spire, large enough to be a skyscraper. From the bridge, the ship split into two prongs, curving outward slightly before coming back in, like a pincer. Medphyll hardly had time to register the thing before there was the unmistakable sound of the guns charging. “Guardians help us,” he said, barely able to throw up a shield before a storm of laser fire descended upon them.

Medphyll grunted as the bolts of energy crashed against his emerald barrier, which barely held for a moment before it shattered. The plant-like Lantern had to start weaving and ducking through the wall of shots, but it was difficult to maneuver and maintain his hold on Gilda at the same time. As such, he was knocked hard by one of the smaller turrets, searing the foliage on his left shoulder. He groaned and held the smoking patch of leaves for a moment before taking off again, firing a beam of emerald energy from his ring. There was an explosion as it hit one of the turrets, but his momentary shift in focus caused him to slow, and he was hit again, this time by a larger bolt. It knocked him far off his course, making him a sitting duck. He was hammered by blaster fire, each one feeling like a hammer against his body. As Medphyll began to lose consciousness, the firing stopped, and the bubble around Gilda failed. The cage bearing the criminal began drifting through the black of space, loose and unsupported.

With panic, Gilda realized that without the Lantern to maintain the construct, she was facing the vacuum of space unprotected. She closed her eyes, expecting to die almost instantly. Seconds passed, but amazingly, nothing happened. She cracked open her eyes, and realized a startling fact; she was breathing. The cage around her was glowing slightly, and Gilda could only assume it was keeping her alive. She sighed in relief; at least she wouldn’t suffocate.

But now what? She might be alive, but for how long? She couldn’t just float here forever, and she had her doubts the cage would last that long, anyway. Not to mention the fact that there was a massive ship not too far away, one that just overwhelmed a Green Lantern. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, she thought morbidly.

Her fears were confirmed when she felt the cage steady, as if gripped by something. There was an orange light coming from the massive ship, and it enveloped both her and Medphyll. She felt the light start to pull the cage toward the ship, and she realized that she was in a tractor beam. Whoever hand been ballsy enough to shoot at a Green Lantern, she was about to find out who it was.

The cannons had blasted Medphyll so far, it actually took a few minutes for the beam to reach the ship. In that time, Gilda tried to figure out who it was that had attacked the Lantern. It obviously wasn’t the Sinestro Corps., they wouldn’t bother with a ship this big. It most likely wasn’t a criminal; no way they could afford a ship like this. Unless, of course, it was a crime boss. This brought up another question; what crime boss would want to rescue a Corpsman? She saw part of the ship open up like a massive maw, and she and the Lantern finally entered the ship.

The interior of the dreadnaught was just as intimidating as the outside. It appeared she had been pulled into a kind of hanger, though it didn’t seem to have any ships in it. Gilda and Medphyll were deposited on the floor, and she heard the sound of doors sliding open off to her side. She turned, and saw a phalanx of soldiers file out, all of them holding wicked-looking blasters and dressed in durable armor. She couldn’t tell their species, but they all had a kind of hard skin, and compound eyes looking straight ahead.

From behind them, another figure appeared. He was the same species as the soldiers, but just by looking at him one could tell he was the leader. He was dressed in fine clothes, none of which seemed to hamper his movement. In his right hand he held a kind of rod, the top of which held a large glass globe. In the center of it hovered a blue stone that crackled with energy. He was smiling a bone-chilling smile, the kind of smile that a starving man might give a full course meal. And he was looking right at Gilda.

“Ah, our guest has arrived,” he said, spreading his arms wide. His voice was slick and slimy, like someone was pouring oil into Gilda’s ear. “How lovely it is to finally meet you. There’s been quite a bit of chatter about you through this corner of the galaxy. A Sinestro Corpsman captured? How… unusual,” he said, his smarmy grin growing.

Gilda scowled at him through the cage. “Did you bring me onto this bucket of bolts just to insult me? Because I got enough of that on Equestria. You may as well just release the Lantern and send us back on our way.”

The alien laughed loudly, his raucous laughter sending a chill down Gilda’s spine. “No, no, you misunderstand me.” The alien raised his rod and pointed it at the cage. It fired a blue beam of energy, blasting the roof off her magical prison. Gilda took cover for a moment, but slowly straightened and gave a confused look to her apparent rescuer.

Gilda walked over to the unconscious Lantern, whom the soldiers had put in cuffs and restraints. The griffin reached down and pulled a metal box off Medphyll, grinning at the yellow light shining from it. Inside was her power ring, still charged and waiting. She greedily picked it up, and without waiting, she slipped it onto her claw. She closed her eyes and grinned wide as she felt her powers returning, reveling in the energy coming off the ring. “Oh, sweet Shardfeather, that feels good!”

She turned back to the alien, her face returning to a cautious demeanor. “Not that I’m not grateful, but I have to ask; who are you?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

The alien laughed. “Ah, that’s right, I haven’t introduced myself yet.” He gave a short bow, smiling as wide as he could. “My name is Kanjar Ro, and I think that the two of us can help each other out.”

As Applejack pulled the last few barrels towards the barn, she felt an immense sense of satisfaction. Harvest time had come and gone, and the Apple family had once again managed to pull through. She knew they would, of course, but it was always good to have confirmation. Once Big Mac ran through the finances later in on, the hard part would be over, and the last bit of work left would be moving the product. Not that hard of a job, thanks to a few well placed ads over the summer months.

Speaking of Big Mac, where was that stallion? She could have sworn he was out in the fields with her, but then she had turned around and he was gone. It wasn’t like him. Then again, nothing seemed very much like him these days. She felt like she was retreading ground on that one, but no matter what, she couldn’t figure out what it was. It was obviously private, but whatever it was seemed like it was… poisoning him. He just wasn’t the same. As she pushed the door open to the barn, she wondered if he ever WOULD be the same…

What she saw inside, however, brought her mind to another problem.

Inside, her brother was lying on his belly, settled quite comfortably on a bed of hay. He wasn’t alone, however. Nestled under his right foreleg was another pony, one he was obviously very taken with. Why else would they so eagerly be trying to suck each other’s tongues out of their mouths? Applejack was stunned, but was going to leave the two be until she saw who it was he was making out with. It was a certain lavender unicorn, whose face was blushing redder than Macintosh’s as she draped her own foreleg around Big Mac’s head, pulling him deeper into the kiss.

“WHOA!” cried Applejack, before she could stop herself. The eyes of the two amorous ponies widened, and both their heads shot in the direction of the orange mare. Applejack blushed harder than the both of them, and sputtered a moment before Big Mac spoke up.

“Fer cryin’ out loud, AJ, can ya knock?”

Applejack went from embarrassed to indignant to the angry in the blink of an eye. It wasn’t so much that Big Mac was upset at being walked in on, she could understand that. It was more the tone the big red stallion had used, as if she had intended this to happen. “Excuse me, but you’re the one makin’ out in the damn barn! Ah think ye gave up privacy when ya chose ta mack on mah friend out here! And weren’t you supposed ta be workin’ the south field? Or did ya finish that?”

Big Mac opened his mouth to retort, but came up short. By the look on his face, the big sourpuss HAD forgotten about the south field, and his responsibility was coming back to him. He huffed, gave Twilight one last look, and headed out of the barn, leaving the two mares alone, both red faced and flustered.

There was a moment of glorious silence before Twilight filled it.

“Applejack, I’m so sorry, I told him doing that in the barn was a terrible idea, but he wouldn’t-“

“Twi,” started Applejack, but her friend cut her off.

“And I know you must be furious with me, who could blame you, he’s your BROTHER-“

“Twilight.”

“And I'm sorry I kept it a secret, I really didn’t want to but Big Mac insisted-“

“Twilight!”

Twilight finally stopped talking, ears folded back and puling a Fluttershy, hiding behind her mane. Applejack took a deep breath, almost laughing at this point. Celestia’s sake, that girl could jaw when she had a mind to. “I ain’t mad at ya, Sugarcube.”

Twilight peaked out at her orange friend. “Y-you’re not?”

Applejack just had to chuckle at that. The girl just looked so helpless. “Nah. If anything, Ah think you two’d be good together. Ah know just how smart mah brother is, even if he thinks it’s some big secret. He needs a good mare in his life, especially nowadays.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, before standing and giving Applejack a short nuzzle. “Thanks, Applejack. I should have known you’d understand. And I am sorry about keeping it a secret, but Big Mac didn’t really want to tell anyone.”

“Shoulda known,” Applejack said, shaking his head. “That colt’s more private than clam with a padlock. How long you been datin’?”

Twilight blushed a bit, getting a kind of faraway look. “About two months ago, not long after you got your ring. He actually asked if I had noticed anything odd about you lately. I told him I hadn’t, and he started telling me about how you had been coming home late with bruises. After I assured him you seemed just fine, we started talking. And not the idle chit chat that ponies have all the time, but a REAL conversation, you know? He told me all about the layout of your orchard and how it maximized yield, and I told him about this experiment with a stronger metal alloy I had been conducting.” The purple pony smiled a bit at the memory. “I think we both went over each other’s heads a bit, and we shared a laugh at that. It just kinda developed from there,” she said, looking back at Applejack.

The cowpony smiled big at the story, and playfully nudged her shoulder. “Sounds like you’re real sweet on him.”

Twilight sighed happily and smiled back, running. “It’s more than that, Applejack. I… I really think I might be in love with him,” she said, scared of her own daring. Her look turned darker, however, and she began to run a hoof along her mane. “And that’s why I’m so worried…”

Applejack nodded, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Ah’m worried too, Twi. He just ain’t been the same since Granny died.”

Twilight sighed softly, ears falling back against her head for a moment. She looked up slightly, as if to say something else, but gasped as she saw the position of the sun, which was only about an hour away from setting. “Sweet Celestia of Equestria, is it that late?! Oh no, I must have lost track of time!” she shouted, bolting up and collecting her saddlebags. “I’m sorry, AJ, I have a very delicate experiment at home, I have to go before the solution turns corrosive! Bye!” And with that, the panicking unicorn bolted from the barn, leaving a trail of hay and dust in the air.

And just like that, Applejack was alone in the barn, without a chore to do and real time to herself for the first time in a month. And it alarmed Applejack how little she could think to do. Had she really become that preoccupied? She had been through busy harvest times before, but she always managed to have at least a little fun during it. Applejack believed the last time she had truly enjoyed herself was at Pinkie’s party, right before Gilda’s attack.

Well, if the Guardians thought it was appropriate to put her to work, then she sure as Tartarus was going to allow herself have fun.

And she knew just the pegasus for the job.

“Rainbow Dash, you get yer flank down here!”

Applejack was standing right below a rather small cloud, calling up at the fluffy object. Perched on it was one Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria and, apparently, deepest sleeper. The lazy pony wasn’t answering, and Applejack was determined to do SOMETHING enjoyable today. Applejack gave a sharp whistle, but there was no stirring in the cloud above her. She sat on her haunches and rubed her chin, beginning to think. If she rushed home, she could grab her lasso and pull the pegasus off of the cloud with some time before the sun set. It might hurt Dash a little, but not too much. Then again, she could just create a lasso construct and-

Or she could get the mud out of her brain and just FLY up there.

Smacking herself in the face with a hoof, Applejack rose up off the ground and hovered right next to Rainbow. She was about to start shouting at a volume even Dash’s thick head couldn’t ignore when she happened to notice something that made her stop in her tracks;

Rainbow Dash was kinda cute when she was asleep.

It had never really occurred to the orange farmpony before, but… yeah, she was. She was sprawled out on her belly, eyes closed and with her fore-hooves dangling over the edge of the cloud. Her entire coat was covered in a slight sheen of condensation from the cloud, causing it to shimmer in the light of the late sun. This effect was stronger nowhere else than her mane and tail, whose already bright colors caught the orange light until it looked like it was on fire. Her face was so peaceful, not the usual cocky smirk or delighted smile she wore so often. Wait, since when did Applejack notice Rainbow’s smile?

Wait, when did Applejack start noticing ANY of these things?!

Applejack felt a heat rise to her face, and she hovered away from the cloud for a moment. What in Equestria was she just doing? She felt like her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She was… watching her friend sleep. She shuddered and blushed darker at how very creepy that sounded. Did… did Applejack find Rainbow attractive? She supposed that it wasn’t impossible. She was a mare’s mare, after all, she had known that for years.

So, did she? Applejack thought back to that moment a month ago she had admired Dash’s flying, and just now to how her tail and mane lit up in the soft evening light. She wasn’t just attractive, Applejack realized, she was downright beautiful. Not like Rarity, who got herself all gussied up and made such a big honking deal about it. Applejack doubted very much that Rainbow had ever touched a comb in her life. It was kind of… effortless. She just simple WAS.

Applejack nearly jumped a foot in the air as Rainbow turned on the cloud, repositioning herself in her sleep. Now was not the time to be thinking about this, not when the filly was sleeping right there. After all, she had come here to have some fun, right? She may as well get started. Hovering just above Rainbow Dash, she brought her hind legs back and pushed Rainbow hard off the cloud. The impact of her hooves on her back immediately woke Rainbow up, and after only a second of disorientation and a yelp in confusion, her wings snapped open and she pulled out of freefall, flying upwards and hovering across the cloud from Applejack. Said orange pony was laughing quite hard, holding her gut with her fore-hooves. She looked up at Rainbow and started laughing harder at her look. “Oh, sweet Celestia, yer FACE!”

Rainbow huffed and crossed her own hooves. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Is there a reason you interrupted my nap, or are you just going crazy?”

Applejack chuckled a bit more before she looked back up at her friend. “Sorry, sugarcube, couldn’t resist. Yeah, Ah’m here for a reason. Ah just finished up with the harvest, and Ah figured you might be up for hangin’ out.”

Rainbow’s frown quickly turned into a grin. “Aww, yeah! It’s been way too long since we have. Oh, you know what would be cool? Why don’t we go flying! I’ve been dying for a new flying buddy!”

Applejack smiled at Rainbow’s enthusiasm. “Flyin’, huh? You sure you can keep up with a Green Lantern?”

Dash gave her a wicked smile in return. “Heh, give a pony amazingly cool super powers and all of a sudden she gets cocky. If you’re so confident, how about we make it a race?”

“It always comes down ta racin’ with you, don’t it?” said Applejack, donning her Green Lantern uniform with a thought. “Still, I’m game. Finish line?”

“How about City Hall?” asked Dash, sitting on the cloud and starting to stretch her wings. “That’s about three hundred yards, so whoever can circle the tower and hit, say, Sunset Hill first wins. Oh, and none of those light- thingies,” she said, smirking. “I’m not getting hogtied by your ring.”

“They’re called constructs, Dash,” AJ responded, rolling her eyes, “but Ah get yer point. Ah’ll only use the ring fer flyin’, Ah promise. Speakin’ of which, better take care of this while Ah’m thinkin’ of about it.” Applejack produced her power battery and spoke her oath into it.

“In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape mah sight. Let those who worship evil’s light beware mah power, Green Lantern’s light.”

Applejack shuddered as she felt the power rush into her ring, and she looked over to her friend, offering a grin. When she saw her, however, she couldn’t help but smile at the look on her face. It looked like… admiration, maybe? She chuckled a bit. “Ah know, the oath’s pretty impressive, ain’t it?”

Dash shook her head a bit, and then smiled back. “Uh, yeah, sure! Way better than the Junior Speedster one,” she said, looking quickly over to town hall. “You ready, filly?”

“Always,” AJ responded, ready to shoot off once given the word. Celestia, this was just what she needed.

“Ready, set, GO!”

Applejack groaned heavily as she pushed Rainbow Dash off of her. She spat dirt out of her mouth, the normally pleasant taste of grass bitter on her tongue. She rubbed her jaw, realizing she was going to have one hell of a bruise, and most likely more than one. Dash was most likely worse, since she wasn’t protected by a green force field. Then again, she had seen Dash make worse landings.

She looked behind her, noting the swath they had cut into the ground. Things had started out so well, too. “Well, that might have been a bad idea…”

Rainbow rubbed a sizable lump on her head. “Ugh, you think? I think a phoenix is gonna hatch out of this thing…”

AJ furrowed her brow, almost glaring at the pegasus. This was all her fault, if she hadn’t been horsing around…. She opened her mouth to tell her so, but was surprised when chuckles started pouring out of her. It was just so darn ridiculous, she had to laugh. “We were doin’ just fine til you decided to start bumpin’ me, tryin’ to throw me off. What were you honestly thinkin’?”

Rainbow glared at the earth pony, but to Applejack’s surprise, she started laughing as well. “Hey, just cause I started playing rough doesn’t mean you have to, too. Since when do you ever follow my lead on stupid crap like that?”

Applejack laughed harder, punching Dash’s shoulder playfully. “If yah knew it was stupid, why in Equestria did yah start doin’ it in the first place?”

Rainbow kept laughing and shrugged her shoulders. “Hey, what can I say, it-“

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time.”

That last bit they said together, and they fell over laughing, falling onto their backs next to each other. They gripped their sides in mirth, giggling and shaking their heads in shared jubilation. They rolled in the grass, simply overtaken by the good mood they were in.

Finally, after a solid five minutes of laughing, they both calmed down and rolled onto their stomachs, looking out to the cliff edge. It faced the west in a perfect position to view the setting sun, hence the name Sunset Hill. It was certainly living up to its name here, as the beautiful autumn sunset was in full force, the sky exploding in a dizzying array of color. Applejack willed her Lantern uniform to disappear, and she settled into what grass was left after their impromptu landing. She looked over to her rainbow companion, and said, “So, who won?”

Rainbow Dash frowned a moment, seeming to think, then simply shrugged. “Eh, it doesn’t matter.”

Applejack’s eyes widened as she looked at Rainbow like she had grown a second head. “Excuse me? Did you just say it didn’t matter who won?”

Rainbow looked a little surprised herself. “Huh… I guess I did.”

“Who are you, and what’ve you done with the real Rainbow Dash?”

The chromatic pegasus chuckled and rolled her eyes. “What? I just mean, you know, why bother? I had fun, I’m guessing you had fun, why spoil it by arguing about who won? We’re already the most awesome fillies in Ponyville, and if I’m being honest, I don’t think either of us won with that landing.”

Applejack chuckled. “You got a point there.”

Rainbow smiled at AJ, and turned her magenta eyes towards the sun, which was just starting to dip below the horizon. Applejack followed suit, crossing her fore-hooves and resting her head on them. Even with the huge crash into the ground and the inevitable soreness tomorrow, this had turned out to be a pretty great evening. Just like Applejack knew it would be. Any time she spent with Rainbow was sure be a good time.

Applejack paused for a moment. Was that why she hung out with Rainbow Dash so much? Because she was fun? She didn’t think so. Sure, that was part of it, but Rainbow was far from just a buddy to hang out with. They had been through far too much to ever be called just that. But what exactly were they?

As Applejack was distracted by that line of thinking, she almost didn’t notice when Rainbow draped a wing over her back. She felt that heat rise to her face again, and chanced a glance over at the confusing mare beside her. She was looking ahead, a soft smile on her face that reached her eyes. Applejack fidgeted with her hooves for a moment as a surge of affection welled up from within her. That settled it. ‘Just Friends’ didn’t feel this way about each other.

“Rainbow?” said Applejack, looking at her nervously. Was she really about to do this?

Dash looked over at her friend. “Yeah, AJ?”

The words froze on AJ’s tongue, but she closed her eyes and smiled. “Nothin’”

Not now. There would be a time and a place, but it wasn’t now. AJ wasn’t one to jump into things without thinking, and doing it here would be asking for the big hurt. As Applejack focused on the sunset in front of her, however, a thought crossed her mind.

Whatever she and Rainbow were or were becomeing… it was starting to felt right.

Spike had been enjoying a delicious bowl of ice cream just before Twilight had burst in. Now said treat was covering his head, and the lavender perpetrator had retreated into the basement. Spike hefted the bowl off his head and followed in her wake, finding her breathing a sigh of relief as she examined a test tube.

“Oh, thank the Princesses, I got here in time.” Twilight began pouring the substance into a series of small pellets, which were sitting beside a large assortment of other such things. There was a metal rod about a foot long, a few metallic objects that looked like boomerangs, a cowl with two stiff points on the head, and weird key.

“I’m glad someone’s happy,” grumbled Spike, grabbing a washcloth and wiping off the ice cream from his scales. At least he was non-stick. “What is it you’re making now?”

Twilight looked over at her number one assistant, Brainy Specs perched upon her nose. “I’m glad you asked, Spike. I've got a couple of things here that I’m just about to test. Get the clipboard and meet me on the testing grounds.”

As Spike collected a quill and the clipboard, Twilight collected the objects on the table and stowed them into a yellow belt. She clipped said belt to her waist, and proceeded to a sectioned off part of the lab. This area was covered in scorch marks, scratches and stains, even a few corroded patches. Twilight shuddered a bit as she remembered THAT particular experiment.

“Ok, first test, the Spatial Defiance Belt.” Twilight reached into one of the many pockets on the belt, and her hoof slipped farter into the pocket that seemed possible. She grinned slightly. “Spatial Expansion charm is working perfectly. I estimate a triple increase in available space. Take that down, Spike.”

As Spike scratched diligently at the parchment, Twilight pulled out one of the boomerang objects. The projectile seemed to stick to her hoof, allowing her to produce it without magic. “Alright, Multi-Species Sidearm is the next test. The Adhesive charm is working well; I’m using no magic and am able to grip it to satisfaction.” Twilight raised her hoof and flung the object, which flew through the air and sank into a wood knot the wall.

Spike’s jaw dropped. “Nice shot, Twi!”

Twilight sighed in return. “Thank you, Spike, but I was aiming for the scorch mark next to it.” Twilight pulled the projectile out of the wall, examining it further. “My technique was correct, I’m sure of that. I think there’s a problem with the aerodynamics. Make a note of that, Spike, I’ll correct it later.”

Twilight reached into the belt again and produced a hooful of small pellets. “Alright, third test is the Gas Pellet. Throwing it against the ground should produce a concealing cloud. At the same time, I’ll be testing the Armed Cowl for the enchantments I placed upon it, including Vision Filters, Breathing Filters, and Ear Blades. Beginning test. Step back, Spike.” Twilight gripped the mask and slipped it over her head, shuddering a bit as the mask’s spells ran through her horn. “Side note, any unicorn using the mask or any enchanted equipment through magical levitation should be careful of feedback from the spells, especially on those with more magic than others. Subject describes the sensation as similar to the feedback from crystals, including nausea and momentary disorientation.”

Twilight threw one of the gas pellets onto the ground, and as she predicted, choking smoke began to pour from it, filling the test area within seconds. Twilight looked around, smiling as she saw nothing. “Gas pellet works to perfection, as does the Breathing charm. I’m experiencing no acridity from the smoke with the mask on.” Twilight pulled the away from her mouth and took a deep breath, and started coughing hard. She shook her head to try and gain some clarity, and quickly covered her mouth back up. “Subject has just tested the smoke without the mask, and it is most certainly acrid. Running through vision filters now.”

Twilight pressed a patch of cloth next to her left eye, and her vision snapped into focus. She could clearly see Spike, lit up with heat from the filter. “Infrared Vision setting operational. Wow, Spike, you sure run hot.” She cycles through the other settings, her grin widening with each one. “Ultraviolet, Metaphysical, Microscopic, all vision settings operational. Testing Ear Blades.” Twilight turned to the wall and brought her head down across the tree bark, cutting a good gash into it as the smoke cleared. “Ear Blades are tempered and functional. Might want to shorten them, though, to prevent them being snagged. As a matter of fact, make a note of that, Spike.”

Twilight pulled the mask off her head and levitated a rather large padlock over to herself. “Final test, the Skeleton Key. Lock is a Hephaestus-brand, strongest on the market.” Twilight reached into another pocket on the belt and produced the odd-looking key. She brought the key up to the lock, and the teeth of it morphed as it entered the keyhole. Twilight grinned and attempted to turn it, but frowned as the lock stuck. She tried several more times, even puling the key out and putting it back in, but still nothing. “The Morphic charm still needs work. It does change the key’s shape, but the Duplicate part of the spell doesn’t seem to be working.”

Twilight sighed and took the belt off, placing it on the desk on the other side of the room and yawning. “Well, Spike, all in all a successful day.” She pulled her Brainy Specs off and rubbed her eyes with a hoof. “I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. How about a nice bowl of ice cream before bed, huh? You earned it.”

Spike rolled his eyes, but followed Twilight out of the basement. “Sure, Twilight, sounds great.”

Author's Note

Hey, guys, glad to be back! I'm sorry for the long time between updates, I'm trying to be more diligent about the writing. Thank you so much for your patience, and happy reading!