Trust

Chapters

A Party
Blank
Running
Crusading
Hidden Danger
Discover

A Party

Chapter 1: A Party

Morning in Equestria, the sun shines and makes all the dew on the leaves glisten like so many pearls. It was another
wonderful morning for the residents of Ponyville. It was the kind of day that fills even the laziest pony with a surge of energy
that picks them up out of bed to start the day with a vigor. And on a hill overlooking the town of Ponyville's morning hustle and bustle, a stallion sits and says to himself "I wonder how long this one'll last?"

"So, I need more ink for my notes and more gemstones for Spike" Twilight Sparkle mumbled as she went over her supplies checklist, and then proceeded to check off on her other checklist [check supplies checklist]. Now normally Twilight would still be in bed 'til 10 after staying up until midnight reading one book after another. But, the wonderful morning helped put a spring in her step, and she decide to get her shopping done early. So, as she headed towards the vendor who happened to sell every kind of ink available(including her favorite kind made from magically altered eel oil) she noticed a young stallion walk into town. Having been living plenty long in such a friendly town, she knew everyone in Ponyville to some extent, so she could tell he was new. He had a very light tan coat and a wild red mane streaked with yellow jagged hairs. She also noticed(simply in a scientific sense) that he was incredibly well toned with muscles that didn't make him look buff, but definitely possesing a lithe strength. While she was analyzing this stallion she realized that she had acidentally been staring at him and he had seen her staring. She looked away quickly with a slight tinge of red to her cheeks the stallion did the same, for he thought that she had simply noticed him staring at the most beautiful pony he had ever seen in all his travels over Equestria. Moving on, she thought to herself that Pinkie Pie was going to explode knowing she could throw another party for this new pony. As she was wondering how the newcomer would handle Pinkie Pie's "bold" personality, he headed over to AppleJack's stand.

"Well howdy there stranger, what can I do ya' for? AppleJack said to the approaching stallion.

He replied with a deep but slightly timid voice"Hi, as you can tell I'm new here and I was just wondering if you had a job for me at your farm. If you dont I'm totally okay with tha-"but he didn't get to finish.

"Why sure I'd love to have some extra help!" In fact, AppleJack had just been worrying over how she and Big Mac could handle the biggest harvest they'd ever had without having to force the responsibility on her friends. Because, even though she knew they wouldn't mind helpin' she still would much rather not have to bother her friends with her problems. "Come over to my farm at 5 a.m. and we'll see if ya'll 'r up to snuff. A'm AppleJack by the way, and you are?

"Oh, my name's Burst Stream. By the way I was wondering if-

HHHUUUUUUAAAAAAHHH!!! In accordance to the surprise of the loudest gasp he'd ever heard (it sounded like a giant vacuum cleaner fighting an elephant) Burst Stream leapt nearly a foot in the air. Then he met Pinkie Pie.

Ohmygoshyouranewponyandifyouranewponythenyoudon'tknowanyponyyetandifyoudon'tknowanyponyyetyouneedtomeetsomeponiesandthebestwaytomeetsomeponiesiswitha...PARTY!!! During this barrage of words Burst Stream slowly relaxed out of a tense stance where every muscle in his body was ready to leap as far away as possible and run at speeds you'd have trouble imagining. Pinkie Pie was too excited to notice, but AppleJack did, and it made her wonder why it seemed so second nature to him. After Pinkie Pie got over her initial excitement she asked Burst Stream a few simple questions and then dashed off to get ready for the party.

"That Pinkie Pie's a hooful ain't she?"

"You could say that again." Burst Stream said with his heart still beating at an accelerated rate and his muscles still quite tense. For that one moment he had thought They had found him

Author's Note

This is my first EVER FimFiction so please, I could use plenty of pointers and tips but please don't forget that I've never done this before.

So, anyways, this story is basically built around this character that I have always wanted to create. I will definitely delve much more into his personality and his history, but for now this is more of a setup for plot building.

Blank

Chapter 2:Blank

"SURPRIIISE!!!" Pinkie Pie ,along with most of Ponyville, exclaimed. Burst Stream jumped with surprise as he entered the bakery known as The SugarCube Corner and was assaulted by the cacophony of voices. His next action was rather starnge two the few ponies who noticed him , but completely automatic to him. After his initial surprise he thwn immediately studied each pony in attendance with a glare so intense, as if he were trying to peel back some sort of veil with only his eyes. AppleJack noticed and once again wondered how this young stallion came by such odd habits, hardened physique, and incredibly sensitive nerves. Twilight was also asking herself the same questions and wondering what sort of job or lifestyle constituted developing such muscles. After he stopped looking and apparently not finding what he was looking for, began to relax...only to then come face-to-face(literally) with Pinkie Pie wanting to know all about how much he liked the party.

SoareyouhavingfunIknowI'mhavingfunwithallthepartygamesandtheponieshavingfunanddoyoulikethedecorationsIknowyou'refavoritecolorisbluesoImadebluestreamersandconfettiandcake...HUUUAGGGH! Burst Stream quickly did his best to answer Pinkie Pie's questions and after that she calmed down to the pint where you could at least distinguish individual sentences from her. Now, another pony walked over to meet this new stallion. She had a blue coat and a mane the color of a ranbow(need I say more). As Rainbow Dash came up to meet the new stallion she also noticed his physique in a purely competitive sense. She knew muscles and she knew that this guy was one serious runner.

"Hi there, I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria."

"Hello, I'm Burst Stream, I've heard about you and you're adventures with you're friends. It sounded pretty cool." This wasn't the response that Rainbow Dash was expecting. She figured that with his body he must be some sort of racing pony. But, maybe she was wrong, and he did something else she'd check his cutie mark and see...what the. Burst Stream had figured this would happen eventually so he thought he might as wel let the truth out. "Yes it's true" he said with a sigh" I don't have a cutie mark."

Rainbow Dash merely stood there in shock as more ponies who had heard Burst Stream beagn to spread the word and check for themselves, including 3 fillies who seemed particularly interested. A pony gaining there cutie mark has always been a happy occasion that occurs at a young age, but when a pony doesn't gain there cutie mark at a young age...well, it's simply unheard of or at least very rare. Now, all attention was on Burst Stream, the stallion without a cutie mark. It may have stayed that way all night until Twilight stepped in and said

"Come on ponies, don't be rude. It's his personal business and It's not nice to stare."

Most of the ponies looked away from the disgruntled pony as Burst Stream walked up to Twilight with a slight blush in his cheeks and got out a"T-Thank you very much."

as she replied "No Problem" and apologized for the ponies being rude. The party continued and Burst only got a few questions, but overall everypony was polite and courteous. As the party came to an end, Burst Stream walked over to Apple Jack.

" Hey, Apple Jack remenber that other question I had for you."

"Oh yeah.. well wha' t'was it you wanted ter ask me?"

Burst nervously replied" Well you see, I was wondering if you knew a place where I could spend the night bec-"

but he was cut off by Apple Jack's reply of " No ned to fuss, you can stay in the guest room up at the farm." And with that they headed off. It was now night as Apple Jack and Burst Stream headed off to Apple Jack's farm" Hey Burst, I was wonderin' if I could do a lil' test ta' see if yer' capable.?"

"Okay, what is it?"

" Ah propose we have ahrselves a little race to the farm." The 2 ponies lined up ready to start( now Apple Jack wasn't prideful. but she knew she was a pretty darn fast runner, however, she had no idea what she was in for). 3...2...1...GOO!! Apple Jack started running at full tilt ready to give this new stallion a run for his money, except...Burst Stream was already halfway to the farm in the span of about three seconds. His speed left Apple Jack flabbergasted and with more amd more wonderings.

Author's Note

I feel like this one was a definite improvement on my first chapter, but I still would appreciate any and all feedback about the stor so far and what I can improve.
I know that I didn't involve all of the Mare Six in the party scene, but I will do my best to incorporate them later in the story.
Next Chapter: memories

Running

Chapter 3: Running

" Here, take this and run, run as far and fast as you can" Mom said.

"But why, what's happening? a 10 year old Burst Steam asked.

"Son there's no time, please just do as we say and we'll see you soon."

"O-Okay, but, do you promise?"Burst Stream said with worry.

"We promise." both Mom and Dad replied.

But he couldn't leave, he wanted to know what was going on. The small part of him that realized he was dreaming told him not to and pleaded for him not to look while trying to stop himself. But, he stayed and hid behind the wall and looked through the peephole he had discovered when they first moved in.

" I hope he'll be okay." Mom said.

" He'll be fine." Dad said to comfort her "And so will we." Just then the door was burst open by two normal enough looking stallions with malicious smiles etched on their faces.

"We've finally found you." one of them said with a rasping hiss in their voice.

"You thought you could hide from usss forever did you." said the other one with a slightly deeper but otherwise identical voice.

"You plans will never work and we've made sure you'll never find it, so I suggest you leave." Dad said with a confident voice.

"Ah but, you ssee, we've gotten a slight alteration to our orders." the first pony said with a new edge in his voice "The thing iss we have permission to kill you and to sstop you from ever...interfering...with our plans...AGAIN!." And with that he and his partner leaped at Mom and Dad.

As the ponies struggled, Burst Stream watched with terror and desperate hope that his parents would win. And, for a moment, it seemed that his parents were getting the upper hand...but then, in an instant much to fast for him to react to, but that would last a lifetime in his mind. A new stallion with acold stare walked into the room and fired 2 shots of green light at his parents, killing them instantly. Burst Stream saw his parent's motionless and breathless bodies and he finally heeded his mother's words, and ran. He ran and he ran and he ran, to Celestia knows where, but it didn't matter to Burst Stream, as long as he got away from that horrible scene and that terrifying stallion with a cold stare.

Present-day burst stream woke up with a jolt and a cold sweat. It had been nine years since that day, but every moment was clear to him in his memories, and his nightmares. He tried to brush the memory away as he got out of the tangle of blankets and bedsheets and got ready for the day as the sun rose on Apple Jack's farm. "G-mornin' mister sleepyhead." Apple Bloom said as she saw Burst Stream walk down the hall to the kitchen where he would have breakfast and start his first day of work on the farm.

"Good morning Apple Bloom" Burst had met briefly with the Apple family before heading off to bed since it was already so late.

"So is it true that you don't have no cutie mark?" Apple Bllom asked.

"Ya, it's true." Burst then turned to show her his blank flank "See?"

"Ah sure do." Apple Jack said, startling Burst and then sending deep tinge of red to his cheeks.

"Oh hi Apple Jack, I didn't see you there." he said averting his gaze so as to hide his embarassment.

"I'ts no big deal." she said as she headed out the door "Come on, it's time to see what you can do."

"Now then, here's how we're gonna see just how good y'all are at apple buckin'." She said in the morning light. " Now ah know y'all are fast, but let's see what ya' can do with a test a strength and endurance." Burst nodded his head. "Ah wantcha to buck these first ten rows a apple trees as fast and as well as ya' can, alright?"

"Alright, by the way, do you have any more buckets?" Burst queried.

"We got plenty in the barn, but what do ya' need all them for?" she replied.

"You'll see." he said with a knowing look in his eyes.

After he had laid all of the buckets under each and every one of his ten long rows of apple trees, he then stepped up to the first one. His first kick was much to light and didn't even knock any apples off the tree. His second kick had too much power in it and left a dent in the tree and knocked the apples off wildly. "Y'all be careful with mah' merchandise ya hear!" she yelled, but he didn't respond. After picking up the apples he stepped over to the next tree and kicked with just the right amount of force that the apples fell right into the buckets. Now that he had figured out how much power he needed he was ready to kick things into high gear. He leaped to the next tree. landing on his forehooves and kicked with one hoof, knocking al the apples off and leaping to the next ree with his forelegs before they had even reached the buckets. He continued in this way, leaping from tree to tree and punching and kicking each one with restrained power and percision, for 10 minutes in which case he was already halfway done. Apple Jack merely sat there, mouth wide open, completely dumbstruck at his overwhelming agility, speed, and power. She was also extremely relieved and felt blesed to have found this stallion who would make the blooming harvest actually manageable. Burst Stream himself was also feeling good for he enjoyed working hard and the physical activity helped push the depressing dream and embarassing moment out of his mind. There was one more pony who was watching this performance who watched from a cloud with a competitive gleam in her eye. Rainbow Dash was wondering how fast this stallion really was, and how awesome it would be to finally have a challenger in Ponyville to test her mighty speed.

After around 30 minutes Burst had bucked each and everyone of the trees in those ten rows and had carried them to the barn. Apple Jack, having gained some of her composure, told Burst that he was definitely hired and that he could stay in the guest room and eat his meals here as long as he kept up work like that. "Now how about y'all take a break and explore the farm a bit while ah get some work done maself and tell everypony the good news." Burst agreed and headed of in the direction of the entrance to get a bearing of where to start. Now what he didn't know was that Twilight Sparkle was also heading to the entrance of Apple Jack's farm. She wanted to ask her about the abundance of apples on the trees and whether or not she was hiding her problems from her friends again. But, when she got to the entrance she was surprised to see that new stallion Burst Stream at the entrance as well, looking like he was figuring out where to go next. Twilight then remembered that Burst had walked off with Apple Jack at the end of the party and she reasoned it made sense to give him a job if she really did need help with the farm. "Hi." Twilight said causing the stallion to jump slightly and turn around to see the mare that had awestruck him with her beauty and stood up for him when he needed it.

"Uh, hi Miss Twilight." he said as he tried to collect himself while being in her presence.

Please, just call me Twilight. So are you here to help Apple Jack?"

"Yeah." he said still a little nervously.

"You know, I don't think we ever formally met." she stated " Hi there I'm Twilight Sparkle, student of Celestia and the town librarian."
"Um, hi I'm Burst Stream general wanderer and current farm worker, I'm pleased to meet you Mi- I mean Twilight."

She giggled slightly at his akward and intentionally odd greeting, which only served to send his heart aflutter as he heard her marvelous laugh. "I've actualy heard a lot about you and your friends' adventures during my travels." "Some of the things you've done really are amazing."

"Well, I could never have done any of that stuff without my friends their to help and support me."

"Of course. So, what brings you here?" he asked hoping she would stay longer.

I'm actually here to see Apple Jack, do you know where she is?"

"Well she's just started working and it may take her a while." Twilght was alittle disheartened at coming here for nothing "But,' she looked up "Apple Jack did say that I could look around the farm, i-if you don't have anything better to do you could show me around since you probably know this place pretty well." Twilight pondered for a moment and then decided "Why not?".

"Sure, I guess I could show you around while I'm waiting for Apple Jack." Burst's brain went "Yes!" as he filled with joy at getting to spend more time with the gorgeous mare.

Author's Note

This one was extra long because Ireally wanted to get to Twilight and Burst's conversation before ending it. This was also a chance to give a little insight into Burst's personal problems, who's chasing after him, and his abilities.

Once again, any and all tips would be apprecited and I would love to here what you think of the story so far.

Next chapter:They..are getting closer.

Crusading

Chapter 4: Crusading

A family is seen strolling through Equestria. They seem ordinary enough, yet there is something about them that feels...off. The "family" consists of a boy and his parents. The father has a light coat mane that is almost gray in its lightness along with a pure white mane. The mother's coat is a dark violet and has a mane of sickly green. Lastly, the boy has a crimson red coat along with a mane that is black. Although the father's face posesses a smile, in that face resides a pair of dead eyes that betray the nonthreatening visage's illusion. The mother and son also posess disconcerting eyes, but there's harbor a cruel and malicious glint instead. "I'm getting real sick of trying to track that pesky foal all over Equestria." the boy stated with a much more raspy and adult voice than should be possible.

"It just makes me want to kill him more each time he gets away." said the mother in a decidedly unfeminine voice.

"Yeah, but I'm tired of having to search for days and weeks just tryin' to find him again." the boy replied. He had been complainong for quite a bit now and the father had had enough of it.

"The casing over the item makes it difficult to track, we will keep searching until we find him as the queen commanded, and," he said with particular coldness " if you do not stop complaining I shall skin you alive and turn you into a flag to so that anyone who complains over the queen's orders will know what awaits them." By the end of this tirade the boy had become so frightened that he appeared to be trying to curl up inside of himself.

"I-I'm sorry Commander, i-it won' t h-happen again." he stammered.

"No. it won't." was the reply. The trio began moving once again, slowly but surely, tracking their way to Ponyville.

"Thanks again for showing me around." Burst Stream said to Twilight as they sat on the porch, waiting for Apple Jack to take a break."

"No problem." was Twilight's reply. Twilight had shown Burst Stream all over the farm, and had even given him some tips on how not to get lost on the expansive farm. However, there was something that she noticed about Burst that was rather disconcerting. Although he was always friendly and nice while they chatted, he seemed to always be holding back, not trying to make any real or personal connections with her. Now maybe he was just shy, but it seemed more like something intentional and practiced. As Twilight noticed this, Burst was going over why, he couldn't make friends with this mare that was so nice and friendly and casual with him.

"You can't be friends with her or anypony else, you'll just have to leave them eventually; the less attachments the better." he reminded himself. And yet, he sorely wished his life was different. A life where he could become friends with all these ponies and goof off and play, or just hang out. But, as much as he dreamed, he knew they would only be just that, dreams. Now, once againwe return to Twilight and Burst sitting on the porch, when Apple Bloom walks straight up to Burst with a single goal in mind.

"Will you join the Cutie Mark Crusaders." she said as formally as she could.

"The what?" Burst said, confused as to why Twilight was giggling behind her hoof.

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Me, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle formed ahrselves a club." she said proudly "Where go on quests to find our cutie marks, and since yer' the oldest and the biggest pony we've ever seen who don't have no cutie mark, we'll be able ta' go on even more dangerous quests." she said animatedly. Burst now saw the humor of it, and yet he was also kind of touched by it. He didn't want to dissapoint the excited little filly after all he reasoned with himself.

"Well, if you want me too-" he began to say.

"YAAHOO!" Apple Bloom yelled and then proceeded to drag Burst at speeds that would have given him a ru for his money. In no time they were at the Cutie Mark Crusaders treehouse. Apple Bloom began to climb up as a bewildered Burst got his bearings. "Well, come on then slowpoke." Apple Bloom called to Burst. "Ladies n' gentleman. I present to you, th' newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders...Burst Stream!" the two other fillies applauded vigorously as Burst walked in sheepishly. Then, after Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle introduced themselves, they began to proceed with the days plans. And so it was that Burst spent the day going on "quests" with the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they searched to find their cutie marks. Their escapades also helped Burst unwittingly advertise his abilites to the people of Ponyville as he did what everyone thought was impossinble for anypony (except maybe Pinkie Pie), keep up with the Crusaders. Everpony in town had experienced, at least once, the speed with which the Crusaders rushed from place to place in search of their special talents. They had dismissed the idea as impossible for anypony to keep up with their manic energy-induced speed. But Burst kept up with them with ease, and the residents were very glad to have somepony who was a bit more mature to help reign in the Crusaders and their wild antics. In the end, the day passed by with remarkable speed, until the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally got tired and Burst headed of with Apple Bloom back to the farm as it beagan to dawn on Burst that in all the commotion he had accidentally ditched his job. All he could hope for was that Apple Jack wasn't too mad at him.

Author's Note

So, another chapter done, Ta-Da! I apologize for all of the filler, but I want to incorporate a few more aspects of Burst Stream's past along with the reast of the main characters before I get to the climax, so sorry if it gets drawn out.

Also, more obvious hints as to who's chasing Burst Stream and if I can I'll put some more hints as to what they're after and why later on in the story.

Finally, I won't be able to write any new chapters for a week because of family-related reasons. And one more thing, PLEASE, I beg of you, tell me what you think of the story so far and what I can improve. I seriously want to know how I'm doing so stop ignoring me and comment, I promise I'll answer back.

Next Chapter: FlutterShy and Rarity

Hidden Danger

Chapter 5: Hidden Danger

Once again, Twilight was up early during a glorious morning; running a few errands and going over her "Plans for Today" checklist. "I'll see if there are any new books coming in on the train and then, maybe, I'll go see how Burst Stream is doing (beacause I want to be friendly to our new resident and that's it)." she thought to herself. As she was strolling along she saw a new family of unicorns walking around town and talking to the townsfolk. "More new ponies, it must be Pinkie Pie's lucky day. She then strolled off to run her errands, and proceeded to walk with a new spring in her step as she headed to Apple Jack's farm.

"So..." the female unicorn said sweetly to the shop owner " have you seen the stallion we're looking for?"

"Why I sure have seen him around town from time to time." the the curious shop owner mused "Now why is it exactly you're looking for him?"

"Do you know where he is right now?" the male unicorn stated, ignoring the shop owner's question.

Now he would have said something about it, but, the icy stare he got from the father persuaded him not too. "I-I don't really know where he is." the shop owner stammered "Nopony has seen where he goes to work, but I think Twilight Sparkle might know. "she's been seen with him a few times."

"Twilight Sparkle lives here!" the boy said in surprise.

"Why yes she does." he stated with a hint of pride . "The most powerful unicorn in Equestria."

"We are well aware of that." the father said with a barely perceptible tinge of scorn in his voice. "Thank you for you're time, good day." As soon as he had heard that Twilight Sparkle lived here, a plan began to germinate in his mind.

As Burst Stream was headed out the door, ready for another day of applebucking, Apple Jack was on the porch, waiting for him. "Good Morning, Apple Jack." Burst Stream said as he began to head to the fields.

"Hold on there Burst, ah've got a new job for ya' today."

"Really, what's that?." he said questioningly.

"Ya, a couple a' mah' friends need some help, and I offered you to help them."

"Why?" he said confused.

"Because, ya'll need to make some friends and stop this whole routine of workin' til' ya drop and headin' to bed." she said coomandingly. " Now go on n' make a few new friends. Apple Bloom'll tell yaJ where to go."

"All right, as you command." he said with a slightly forced comical salute.

"Holy horseapples!" Burst said as he witnessed the chaos that was reigning over Flutter Shy's house as dozens upon dozens of bunnies rampaged through it.

"Stop, please, if you don't mind. Oh please stop." Fluttershy said as she tried to calm down the bunies and coax them into a new pen. Since, the other one had been completely demolished.

Burst Stream ran over to her quickly so as to get some insight as to what the heack happened here. "Hey, what the in the name of Celestia is going on!" but he only got a a startled "Eeep!" in return. realizing that Fluuter Shy had almost know clue who he was and why he was here, Burst Stream proceeded to introduce himself and to let her know he was here to help. This seemed to calm her down a little, though she still did her best to hide behind her mane.

"Now, if you don't mind, could please tel me what hapened here?" Burst queried

"Okay," Flutter Shy said barely above a whisper "You see, this morning, one of the bunnies decide to go exploring in the forest, but you see, he, by accident, attracted a timber wolf, the poor baby, and brought it back here while he was running away from it. I was able to get rid of it before any of the animals got hurt, but all the poor bunnies got so scared that they broke out of their pen and ran all over the place."

"So, you need help getting them back in a pen." he deduced

"Well, I guess, maybe if you don't mind." she said as her volume decreased with each syllable.

Having already figured out that Flutter Shy was incredibly timid, Burst Stream got to work. He got all the bunnies in the pen in under 5 minutes. Flutter Shy was completely overwhelmed by Burst's speed and agility as he herded the bunnies in so fast that they were to dizzy to be scared.

After he had spent a little more time with Flutter Shy and made sure she didn't need any more help, Burst had Apple Bloom lead him to a fashion boutique, where a unicorn with a cutie marl of thre diamonds waited with a bolt of cloth at the ready.

Twilght was sitting at home feling a little sulky and not sure why. Sure it was kind of disappointing that Burst Stream wasn't at Apple Jack's farm, but she didn't ubderstand why that made her feel so depressed. As she was sitting at home pondering, someponies walked in. Twilight looked up to see that it was the new unicorn family that she had seen earlier.

"Hello, Twilight Sparkle."

Author's Note

I'm back an the climax is getting nearer and nearer. I hope you enjoy this new chapter as you've waited long enough for it. I'm not sure yet whether or not the next chapter should be a two-parter or not. If you have any suugestions let me know. Which reminds me, why haven't you given any comments yet. I will take anything, seriously; comments, criticisms, questions, death threats, I don't care, just give me something. Don't leave me hangin'.

Discover

Chapter 6: Discover
"Hello Twilight Sparkle." said the unicorn stallion on Twilight's doorstep "May I come in?" he said to the slightly bewildered mare.

"Uh.. I mean, absolutely come right in." she said "So" she said in an effort to be conversational "You and you're family are new here aren't you? Is there something I can do to help you."
"Why yes actually, you see, my name is Dark Shot and I have a bit of a hobby of learning about the extent and power of unicorn magic," Twilight's eyes widened slightly at finding another pony who was at least somewhat interested in magical studies. "And I was wondering whether you, the most powerful pony in Equestria with the exception of the princesses of course, could perform a certain spell I have come up with."

"What is it?" she said eagerly, having blushed slightly at the compliment she was eager to prove that she could live up to expectations.

"So, here's how it works." As Dark Shot explained the magical control and power required to cast the spell, Twilight compared it to other high-level spells she had cast befor and how much of a drain they had been. So, as Dark Shot finished explaining Twilght had an answer for him.

"Well, I think the amount of control needed for the spellcasting is rather simple, but the amount of power required for the spell tow ork would come dangerously close to draining all of my magical reserves to their limits which could be quite dangerous." she said, pleased with her response.

" But you could cast the spell?" he queried.

"Well yes." she said wondering why he was so focused on that.

"That's all I needed to know." he said coldly as a blast of green light struck the starled mare and left her unconscious. "All I needed to know."

"Jeez, that was rough." After three hours of getting fitted, poked with needles, and forced into pose after pose you could see whyBurst Stream was so stressed. It had taken four hours for the ordeal to be over, and most of that length of time was blamed on the fact that he "couldn't stand still if his life depended on it" as Rarity put it. This he found slightly amusing as he had lost count of how many times staying on edge and on his toes had saved his life. It was now four o' clock and Burst was enjoying a nice walk through Ponyville, when he noticed that Twilight's door was wide open, and that Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie were all inside and looked incredibly worried.

Then they spotted him and Rainbow Dash said "You." flew over with amazing speed and dragged the off-balance stallion inside.

Apple Jack then said "Ya'll got some explainin' to do."

"Ya!" Pinkie Pie helpfully added in.

"For what?" Burst said with genuine befuddlement.

"How about for the fact that Twilght's missing, the new unicorn family that just arrived is nowhere to be found, and the ponies who took her left a note with your name on it telling you to meethem at five o' clock at the place that you know about and to bring"it" and that if you don't they'll use her instead!" Rainbow Dash said with an increasing edge in her voice.

"Ya!" Pinkie Pie said once again.

Burst Stream's face had gone paler and paler at the realization of what Rainbow Dash was explaing to him. He was scared, and not for him self this time, but for Twilght because he knew that hurting her wouldn't matter to them in the slightest. "I need to go help her!" Burst Stream said while running for the door, but Apple Jack was already blocking the exit.

"Not until you explain everything and tel us why Twi's in danger." Apple Jack demanded.

Burst Stream could have argued, but he knew that any time he wasted arguing could lead to less time for Twilight plus, although he didn't know it, a small part of him was glad to give his story out to somepony else after all this time. "Fine, but we can't waste much time." And so, he told them everything. "My parents were archaelogists. They met for the first time on a dig site in Egypt and it was love at first sight. They got married and had me and I grew up and life was good. Then, after my parents came back from a dig, things changed. Being archaelogists they moved often, but my parents began switching hotels every few days, or sometimes we switched rooms and they never told me why. I had my suspicions, of course, because My parents had come back with something from that last dig and they wouldn't show where it was or what it was. Then one day my parents stopped moving, I thought that amybe we'd settled down in this small house, but they were actually trapped in that town." The ponies who had been after them had found them and were making their move. I knew none of this at the time, i just knew parents were worried about something. Then, late at night, my parents were extra worried. My Mom took out the thing they had been hiding from me all these weeks and told me to run, but I didn't. I stayed because I was too curious. Is tayed and I saw them break in nad I saw my parents fight and I saw when they..." He held back the sudden flood of emotions, just barely, and continued. "Then I did run, as far as I possibly could, I was ten at the time, and that's ben my life for the past nine years. I will find a new town or village stay there and earn some bits until they find me again and then I would run again. They are great trackers but there most dangerous ability is that they can make themselves look like anypony they choose."

A sudden realization spread across the faces of the three mares, and they all whispered "Changelings."

Burst Stream as curious at this reaction, but he moved on."I eventually figured out through research at whatever town I visited and I found out what the object was, why they wanted it, and where my parents had gotten it. And that's it. Now what was that name you said before?"

"Oh, we said Changelings." Pinkie Pie replied. "There these scary kinda-pony thingys that can look like any pony they want, which is so cool by the way." this earned a glare from the other two mares. "What?" she said sincerely.

"Nevermind Pinkie, anyways, we've dealt with them before, but you haven't finished explaining. "Rainbow Dash stated "What is that thing, why do the Changelings want it, where are they so I can beat the snot out of 'em, and what do they want with Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said with a huff.

"Fine, I'll tell you." Burst Stream then reached up into his ear and pulled out a small orb that appeared to be made of glass.

"What in tarnation is that supposed ta' be?" Apple Jack said with suspicion.

"It's an artifact containing an incredible amount of unicorn magic and they- the Changelings need it to power a machinethat will cast a spell that will cast a veil over Canterlot and anything within a ten-mile radius of Canterlot that will weaken any pony that enters it to the point where they can barely walk, including Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. But, the one thing I don't understand is why they said they would use Twi...Oh no."

"What!" all three mares aid in unison.

"If we don't find a way to stop them they're gonna use Twilight to power that machine and, if they do, it'll kill her.

Author's Note

GIGANTIC INFORMATION DUMP!!! Ya, I wrote a new chapter finally and so the next one will be the last one and it'll be full of fighting, explosions, and a little romance, hurray!

And so, you know, comment, criticize, give yo' mamma jokes, whatever and I'll definitely write the next chapter this week.

Next Chapter: more discovery