Tales of the Cuties

by Starwind Dood

Rating: teen
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, Nightmare Moon, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Cutie Mark Crusaders
Length: 16085

A series of side-stories that run parallel to Tales of Harmony

There is more than one actor for every story, and Tales of Harmony is no different.

Join the Cutie Mark Crusaders as the trek across the land of Equestria, asking ponies for their cutie mark stories and learning more about the dangerous world around them. They might even change the world along the way.

This is a side-series of Tales of Harmony and does require one to read that story to understand this one.

Published 2012-03-09 16:34:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-05-05 18:11:18 UTC

Quest 1: Pokey Pierce

Something To Hold Together

Cutie Quest: Pokey Pierce

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Canterlot: Flying Chariot Hanger

"But I want to go on the chariot!" Apple Bloom whined as her sister was dragged onto the large vehicle, but efforts to jump after her sister were stopped by Pokey's firm hoof pinning her tail. She struggled and pulled against the guard-pony, and if she ever did escape he would drag her back with a flick of his horn. "Big doofus," she moaned as she was dragged back yet again. "Sweetie Belle, can't you do something about him?"

"Nope," Sweetie Belle replied with a satisfied grin, eliciting a very audible groan from Apple Bloom.

"Real helpful— Hey what are you doing!" Apple Bloom found herself hoisted into the air by Pokey, who began to spin her around slowly, carefully inspecting her body. "Put me down! I'm getting dizzy!" she yelled helplessly.

"I'm making sure you're not hurt," Pokey sighed, setting her down when he was done. "You seem fine, so how about you see to standing still while I heal everyone?"

"You can't make me," Apple Bloom huffed, crossing her hooves before finding herself hoisted into the air again. She could see the wry smile on Pokey's face as he dragged her along with him over to Lemon Hearts, still laying on the floor after her gang's defeat.

"Hey," Pokey called to her. "You okay? I know some basic healing if you need any." She didn't respond. "Hey, I'm talking to you." Still no response. He chose to ignore her silence, trotting up to her to begin treating her wounds regardless.

Lemon Hearts stared at him through her squinting eyes, scrutinizing his every action. "Break in and send my friends galloping off, and now you're going to treat my wounds?" Her question was loaded with venom.

"You barely have a scratch on you," he sighed and turned to Gilda. "Hey, griffon, do you need any healing?"

"Touch me with your horn and I'll eat you," Gilda spat back.

"Not exactly helping the stereotype." Pokey turned his attention back to Big Macintosh, who seemed to have no problem holding Sweetie Belle's attention through no effort of his own. "What about you, big guy?"

"Eenope," Big Macintosh answered back quickly and curtly.

"Alright then," Pokey sighed. His ears perked up over the sound of a soft hum, the sound of a Flying Chariot's engine. "Sparkle!" he yelled out. "What's going on! Sparkle!" The Flying Chariot continued to ascend into the air with no response to Pokey.

"Hah, later losers!" Gilda sneered. She unfurled her wings and with a few powerful beats took off into the air like an arrow, catching up with the Flying Chariot and disappearing into it. The vehicle ascended into the clouds, vanishing completely from view.

Pokey and Big Macintosh were left stunned by the events and they both were mentally cursing a mare's name. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked into the spot where the Flying Chariot with confusion and finally Sweetie Belle asked, "When are they coming back?"

"Soon," Pokey answered her quick enough. "Soon, I hope." His hopes were cut off by the sound of Lemon Hearts dry laughter.

"Looks like they're gone," she laughed at them. "There goes your ticket out of here, soldier boy. You're stuck now."

"Applejack will come back for us!" Apple Bloom hissed at her, breaking free from Pokey's aura and glaring menacingly at Lemon Hearts. "Your just sour 'cause you lost to my sis and her friends!"

Lemon Hearts horn ignited as she drew her dagger and held it menacingly at Apple Bloom. "I don't need to take this from you, filly. I could kill you right now if I wanted to." Too many painful memories were flashing through her mind to think straight, or notice Pokey aiming his katana at her.

"Lemon Hearts, as a member of the Canterlot militia I'm going to ask nicely for you to put your weapon away," he spoke with a calm authority, but was met with the sour mare's ire.

"Canterlot is dead," Lemon Hearts scowled back. "What's left is Nightmare Moon's twisted kingdom of loathing, and we're stuck in it. So either start kissing flank, or get a ticket to the gallows like our fiery-maned friend from earlier. I doubt she's still alive."

"What's a gallows?" Sweetie Belle asked innocently, bounding up to Lemon Hearts with bright and cheerful eyes. "Can we use it to get our cutie marks?"

"Cutie Marks?" Lemon Hearts repeated.

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom stood together and took a deep breath before shouting, "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" as loud as they could, making everyone else in the room cringe. "We're on a quest to find our cutie marks!"

"Cutie quest," Pokey sighed, ignoring the ringing in his ears, "cute." He turned to Big Macintosh hoping for some kind of explanation, but he just shrugged, his eyes half-asleep from either boredom or disinterest. "Great, that was the last Flying Chariot too... well, back to the drawing board."

A single loud and dry laugh echoed through the hanger, emanating from Lemon Hearts, now giggling madly to herself, spread out on the floor and clutching onto her heart-hilt dagger. "You think you can escape this nightmare!?" she asked through her fits of laughter, tears rolling down the side of her face. "That chariot was your last ticket out of here, and it's gone. We're stuck in here! Our fates in the hooves of a crazed goddess!" Her words hung in the air, sapping away at everyone's strength, but instantly cleared away by the words of an innocent filly.

"It's not over till the fat pony sings!" Apple Bloom shouted adamantly at Lemon Hearts.

Lemon Heart's threw a sneer back at the filly. "It's over, just give up-"

"Never!" Pokey interrupted her. "If we can't get out over the city, we'll get out under it! We'll use the sewage system," he declared, bucking open the doors of the hanger, and staring out into Nightmare Moon's spell of darkness. "Hey, big guy," he called to Big Macintosh, "think you can help me out?"

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh answered him. "C'mon Bloom, Belle." The two fillies bounded giddely next to the hulking pony who was catching up to Pokey. Behind them, Lemon Hearts brought up the rear, following along silently.

SKIT: A Piercing Question

Pokey: I see you're coming along?

Lemon Hearts: I also see that you're walking into your doom. I thought it would be fun to tag along and watch the show.

Pokey: You have so much faith in Nightmare Moon.

Lemon Hearts: Faith? That's a funny word to use.

Lemon Hearts: Everypony saw what she was capable of. Her magic is incredible, and she has those wings...

Pokey: I've heard more than enough rumors about winged unicorns. If I have to, I'll find out just how many are true.

Lemon Hearts: You're cantering into your grave, knight.

Pokey: Nothing new, and I'm not a knight.

SKIT: End

Canterlot: City of Darkness

Pokey lead the way slowly, feeling out each step and keeping every sense open to the world. He nearly jumped out of his armor when he felt two large weights baring down on his back suddenly. "Ambush!" he yelled out loud, extending his magic to his katana, but having his horn yanked to the floor, dragging him down and severing his concentration.

"I win!" Apple Bloom gloated on-top of the fallen unicorn. "The ultimate grappling arte! The Lord Of-"

"Get off me!" Pokey roared, suddenly standing up and throwing off Apple Bloom.

"Wah!" Apple Bloom cried as she flew off Pokey, caught by Big Macintosh on his back. "Did I," she groaned through her dizzy head, "did I get a grappling cutie mark?" A quick inspection of her blank flank answered her that she hadn't. "Dangit."

"Cutie Mark?" Pokey groaned. "You tried to throw me over your shoulder for a cutie mark? Just what are you teaching this filly!?" Pokey stared intently at Big Macintosh, waiting for some answer, but the larger pony simple shrugged his shoulder and kept silent.

"I'm sorry, Mr. unicorn," Apple Bloom apologized, smiling sheepishly. "I'm just trying to find my-"

"I know, I know," he groaned, "your cutie marks." Pokey turned away from the filly, ignoring Lemon Hearts' condescending snickers as he returned to his search. "If I'm right, there should be a sewer-hole somewhere nearby here. It'll be hard to find in all this darkness though."

"Why don't you make some light with your horn?" Sweetie Belle asked, curiously eyeing said horn and waiting for the spectacle. "My sister Rarity used it to shine her way through the city before."

"I'm not too good with spells," Pokey groaned. "I can enchant stuff easily enough, but raw magic tends to fizzle out for me."

"So why don't you use your sword."

Pokey nearly doubled over in astonishment. He quickly drew his blade from the scabbard and began concentrating his magic around the blade. "Light magic, light magic, light magic," he chanted as in his mind the blade began to shine with all the light of the sun. He grinned with a sense of accomplishment as the real blade gave off a faint glow, a far-cry from the sun he was accustomed to but good enough to help him navigate. "This will do."

"Impressive," Lemon Hearts commented, staring at her own dagger and careful considering trying to same spell. She slid it back into it's sheath. "Lead the way then."

Pokey shined his blade along the ground, carefully looking for metal grating that might lead to freedom, until another pony found her way onto his back and started jumping up and down him him. "Set my friends free!" the new filly shouted, driving Pokey to the ground.

"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exclaimed in unison, jumping onto Pokey to wrap their friend in one large hug.

"Too many," Pokey wheezed, "can't breathe!"

"Girls," Big Macintosh bellowed in his most commanding voice. He didn't need to say anything more as the girls climbed down from Pokey's stomped on body.

"Why me," Pokey groaned. He pulled himself back onto his hooves and shot a reproachful glare at the three fillies that tormented him. Neither of the three looked particularly scared as they smiled back innocently. "Little brats," he muttered as he brought his blade back to the ground and gingerly lifted the metal grating with his magic and motioned to the others to get in. In a matter of minutes, they had all disappeared into the sewers.

Canterlot Sewers: Path of Reminiscence

Pokey brought his blade up to shine light through the dark tunnels and found the light of his blade extending much further out than he anticipated. Nightmare Moon's spell of darkness had not devoured the sewer tunnels like it had the city. It was a beacon of hope that he was afraid would be ripped away. "Let's go," he called to the others.

"And trudge through all this muck!?" Sweetie Belle stood on ends on the back of Big Macintosh's back. "If Rarity was here she would have passed out by now."

"Yeah, well she's not," Pokey snapped back, "and this is our best bet to get out of the city. So mucking along it is, or would you rather go back up there?" Sweetie Belle didn't say a word. The thought of Nightmare Moon had her cowering in fear from the confines of Big Macintosh's mane. "So can we go now?"

"Lead the way, oh fearless leader!" Scootaloo squealed as she jumped back on Pokey. "Name's Scootaloo by the way. Sorry I attacked you, but I thought you kidnapped my friends. They're a mess without me."

"Are not!" Apple Bloom retorted from the back of an infinitely irritated Lemon Hearts. "You're the one who needs us. I bet you were running around scared featherless like a chicken."

"Was not!" Scootaloo yelled back.

"Enough!" Pokey screamed. "We don't have time for this. We need to get going now. Everypony, follow me!"

SKIT: Crusaders Reunited

Apple Bloom: So Scoots, just what were you doin' after Nightmare Moon appeared?

Scootaloo: Well, first I was going to rescue Rainbow Dash and Gilda from the depths of Nightmare Moon's evil prison!

Sweetie Belle: Oh my!

Scootaloo: Then I realized I had no idea where that was.

Apple Bloom: Figures.

Scootaloo: So I got lost because it was so dark, but then I saw this unicorn guy's shining sword and you girls, so I swooped in for the rescue!

Sweetie Belle: Wow, thanks Scootaloo. You're so dependable.

Apple Bloom: But we weren't in danger.

Scootaloo: I didn't know that!

Apple Bloom: Because you fly right into everything!

Scootaloo: But if you were in danger then I would have been a hero when I saved you!

Sweetie Belle: Ugh, not this again.

SKIT: End

"So, Mr. Pokey," Apple Bloom called out to him, "what's your cutie mark mean?"

Pokey sighed, trying to keep his attention on the path. "It's a long story. Not very important anyway."

"No way!" Scootaloo shouted. "We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders! We need to know everything about cutie marks if we're going to get our own, so get squawking." She dug a backhoof into Pokey's back, calling him to attention.

"Fine, fine," Pokey sighed, "you little brat..."

Canterlot: Childhood Memories

A little blue colt smiled wickedly down at the sea-green filly in front of him. He had chased her into an alleyway with a dead-end and pushed her into a puddle of back-alley filth. "Gonna cry?" he sneered at her. He almost despised her. She wore her embroidered dress around town, showing it off to all the other fillies and colts. She had been doing it for almost a week. What did he have, he always asked himself. A jacket so full of holes that he had to use safety pins to cover it in patches. "Or are you going to run home to your rich parents to protect you?"

The sea-green filly tried to back away, but she was already up against a wall. Her dress had been ruined. The mean colt had pushed her in a dirty puddle, and he wasn't content with just that. He had always despised her, but she never knew why. She felt tear running down her face, and the sensation made her feel pathetic and weak. "Baw-bawn!" she wailed.

"Bawbawns?" the colt imitated. "Can you even talk properly! You're so pathetic I hate you-"

"Bon-Bon Kick!" The colt didn't know what hit him, but before he knew what happened anther filly had appeared almost out of nowhere and dropped him to the floor. He laid there, clutching his aching side, desperately holding back tears of pain. "What the hay!" he cried out.

"Bon-Bon Reforming Chop!" The cream-colored filly brought her hoof down against the colt's shoulder. "That one was for swearing!" she exclaimed before rushing to the other filly's side, caressing her white mane with care. "There there. You're okay now," she whispered tenderly into the other's ear, calming her down from a fit of tears.

"Agh!" the colt yelled out. "Why in all of Equestria are you helping out that spoiled filly! Aren't you poor too, Bon-Bon!?"

Bon-Bon turned back to the colt, her piercing and angry look almost breaking the colt's will on the spot. "Pokey, are you stupid or something?" she yelled at him, Pokey almost cowering in fear. "Poor or not has nothing to do with hurting other ponies! Secondly, Lyra's poor too!"

"What!?" Pokey turned back to Lyra, unable to believe his ears. "You're lying! Look at her dress! Poor ponies don't dress like she do!"

"It was," Lyra sniffed, hiccuping and catching her breath, "a gift from my mommy. She made it for me when I got my cutie mark." She hid herself behind Bon-Bon, hiding her face in the other's mane to avoid Pokey's face. "I-I'm sorry!" she cried one last time before disappearing completely.

"Pokey, you're one big idiot!" Bon-Bon yelled before taking her friend and leaving Pokey alone on the cement floor. Never before in his life had he felt so horrible.

That was the first time I ever met Bon-Bon, and Lyra I had been tormenting for a little over a week. Looking back, I feel awful about wanting to hurt her, but I wouldn't have changed my actions if I could. I'm too afraid that if I did I would have never met them, and I would have never befriended them.

"But how did you get your cutie mark!?" Apple Bloom yelled, interrupting his story. "I don't want to know how you made friends and turned your life around, I want to know how you got your cutie mark!"

"I'm getting to that!" Pokey sneered back, angered by the impatient adolescent that was forcing him to remember some of the worst years of his life, but he trudged on through his painful lane of memories. "Meeting Lyra and Bon-Bon is kind of how I got my Cutie Mark..."

Pokey grimaced and bowed his head. Before him, Bon-Bon and Lyra stared at him with a mix of confusion and annoyance. "I'm sorry!" Pokey barked, hoping against all odds that he wouldn't have to repeat himself.

"What was that?" Bon-Bon asked him.

"I'm sorry!" Pokey yelled as loud as he could. "I'm sorry I picked on you, okay!"

Bon-Bon leered at him, uncertainty dancing in her eyes. "Why should she believe you! You're just a bully, Pokey. You could be lying." Bon-Bon didn't like Pokey, but few ponies did. He wasn't a sociable pony. Anyone who got close to him was often met with sarcastic bile. He was just a prick as far as she was concerned.

"But I'm not lying, I'm telling the truth!" He gritted his teeth under the scornful eyes of Bon-Bon. Her eyes dug into him, and he had the sudden urge to try and poke them out, but he didn't move. He sat there, waiting for a response. "So, can you just accept my apology and let me go on my way? I promise I'll never bother Lyra again."

"No!" Bon-Bon decreed, biting down on Pokey's mane and painfully dragging him closer to the silent Lyra, who nearly jumped. "You hurt my friend, and to make up for it you have to be her slave until she says so!" she said with his mane still between her teeth.

Pokey's eyes bulged in their sockets, and he looked back at Bon-Bon with a scornful look. "Why would I agree to that!?" he demanded to know as he kicked and bucked against Bon-Bon's surprisingly powerful jaw. "Dang it, Bon-Bon let go!"

"You want to be forgiven? Then this is how you do it."

"By being a slave!?" Pokey had never met a scarier filly in his life than Bon-Bon.

Bon-Bon grinned and spat Pokey out of her mouth, putting a hoof on him and pinning him to the floor. She turned to Lyra and had a mischievous smile displayed across her lips. "Yep! What do you say, Lyra?"

"I... guess so," the meek filly answered her. She could never say no to Bon-Bon, and she really just wanted to be rid of Pokey as soon as possible, but that's not what happened.

For months, I did whatever little task Lyra could throw at me, and of course Bon-Bon threw in her own eccentric trivialities as well. I'm still not sure why I went along with it. Maybe it was because that relationship was the closest thing I had to friendship, but not long after it might have actually been friendship. We were laughing together like friends would. Lyra would talk to me a little at first, but eventually she was confiding in me her fears and doubts. I wish I had listened more intently during that time. Maybe if I did I would have saved us all some pain, but I was just a dumb little colt. Bon-Bon started being nice to me. That was the weirdest thing but... it made me happy.

"That's a nice story," Big Macintosh spoke suddenly, shedding his characteristic silence. "Friendship really can pop up anywhere if you let it."

"Yeah, I guess it can." Even as he said the words his mind felt uneasy. Thinking back to how he first met Lyra and Bon-Bon had reminded him about his anxieties. After Nightmare Moon appeared he was no longer able to find them, and he was especially worried about Lyra. His thoughts were interrupted though, as Scootaloo impatiently jumped up and down on his back.

"But what about your Cutie Mark!" all three fillies demanded at once, Scootaloo digging her point in further with each bound on Pokey's backside. "You still haven't told us how you got that!"

"That's the next part, alright!" Pokey yelled, catching Scootaloo in the air with his magic so he wouldn't have to deal with her mild torture. "Just shut up and listen."

It was Hearts and Hooves Day, and in Pokey's patched-up bag was a box of chocolates he had saved up to give to a pony he considered very special. "I'll just give this to Bon-Bon, spew out my feelings, and be done with it," he whispered to himself. He could see her in the streets, hanging out little bon-bons that she herself made. "I'm giving a candy-filly candy. I did not think this out very well," he sighed. He picked up his hooves, and trotted up to Bon-Bon.

"Hey, Pokey!" she greeted him with a smile. "Happy Hearts and Hooves Day! I've got some bon-bons here if you want some."

"No thanks," he grimaced, fidgeting with his bag as he slowly worked up the courage to give her the box of chocolates. "Say, Bon-Bon, what do you think about me?" He wanted to hit himself for his lack of subtelty.

"You're a real prick," Bon-Bon replied flatly. "You're still no good around others, prone to sarcasm, and you think you're funny when you're not."

Pokey's eye twitched, and his horn even gave off a quick discharge of light. "You're no catch yourself, you know!" he yelled back. "You're boorish, loud, violent, and flip out at the drop of a hat!" He was expecting Bon-Bon to reintroduce her hooves to his face, or some other form of physical retaliation. He had also already given up on getting away. He just sighed and waited for the pain, but instead Bon-Bon smiled.

"Yeah, we're both kind of messed up, huh," she giggled. "No wonder we're alone on Hearts and Hooves Day."

"W-well, you don't have to be." Pokey reached into his bag, and brought out the box of treats. "I got these for you because," he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "because I like you." The time between his confession and Bon-Bon's answer was an eternity in-between for both of them, but eternity did come to pass.

"I'm so sorry," Bon-Bon answered him, "but I can't feel that way about you, Pokey."

The box fell to the floor. "W-why not!?"

"I like somepony else. I-I just can't, okay! Just leave it at that!" she yelled hysterically, and then went silent. They both were silent, and it was painful for both of them as well. "Pokey, you have to hold us all together, like one of those pins you have on your clothes."

"What?" Pokey gasped, unable to understand what Bon-Bon meant. "What the hay are you talking about?"

"Don't curse," she reprimanded him. "You're not a bad pony, Pokey, it's just I can't be the mare for you, but I want you to make sure that we're always friends: me, you, and Lyra."

"And why is it my responsibility!?" Pokey demanded to know, becoming fed up with Bon-Bon's constant orders. "Since we first met it's been one thing after another. I can live with your domineering attitude for the rest of my life if you would just like me back!"

"Well that's not going to happen!" Bon-Bon yelled at him. "Okay, you're right. I'm still unnecessarily hard on you, so I promise I'll lighten up if you would just promise to make sure that the three of us never break up , no matter what! Got it!"

"Only if you go on a date with me."

Bon-Bon's eyes flared up. "You just don't get it! Agh!" She stomped her hoof, causing Pokey to jump back. "You know what, forget it. Go do whatever you want, Pokey. Just leave me out of it!" She turned around and left him there, too stunned to follow her. He would never notice the stream of tears coming down her face.

Pokey shook his head shaking some of the daze in his eyes away. He turned back to the dot that was Bon-Bon, becoming lost in a sea of other ponies. He took a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could, "I will!" His nostrils were flared in defiance and for a long time he would not speak with Bon-Bon again. They would never even apologise.

Pokey wanted to get further away from Bon-Bon, so he turned around and came face to face with Lyra. "Agh!" He jumped back in surprise, nearly falling off his hooves. "Lyra, what are you doing here?"

"Well..." Behind her floated a few roses wrapped in a crudely knitted scarf. "I wanted to give these to Bon-Bon as a Hearts and Hooves present."

"So you like Bon-Bon?"

Lyra's eyes nearly popped out of her head as she stared at Pokey with a look of astonishment and fear, a fear that he would not come to understand for a few months. "N-no! This is just as friends!"

"Well," Pokey groaned. "Then take this as a friend." He took the discarded box and shoved it into Lyra's hooves. "I was going to give these to Bon-Bon, but she pretty much stood me up. Likes somepony else anyway." He was angry, and wanted to vent on the closest thing. "How about we go somewhere and eat it all. I need to eat something anyway." Lyra simply nodded her head, and followed Pokey.

Cantelot Plains: Fields of Memories

Pokey sat with his back towards the city, looking out as far as he could across Canterlot and Equestria. He had only the sun and Lyra for company outside the city where few would venture. He ripped apart the box of chocolates and let the little confections float in the air, suspended in his aura of magic, and with a flick of his magic popped one right into his mouth. "Aren't you gonna have one?" he asked Lyra, chocolate still in his mouth.

"Alright," Lyra replied, hooking one of the bits around her own aura and gingerly bringing it to her lips. "It's good," she sighed.

"It's average," Pokey spat. "I bought it for fifteen bits anyway. Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Lyra."

"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Pokey." With a drawn-out sight, Lyra turned to the vast fields before her; fields rife with fruits and chimeras. "Pokey, do you think we'll always be friends?"

"Why are you asking me?" He glared at her. "I mean, well I used to be really mean to you, so wouldn't I be the first pony to leave you?"

"No, you won't." There was a hint of amusement in her words, and with a smile she told him, "Because you're still my slave."

"After all these years," Pokey sighed. "So what does my master command?" he asked with a weary voice.

"I order you to always be me and Bon-Bon's friend."

That night, when I got home to enjoy a nice bath, I found on my flank my cutie mark. It as a safety pin just like the ones I use to patch up my cloths. At the time, I didn't really understand what it meant at first, but as we all began to grow farther and farther apart, I began to realize what it meant. It was my calling in life to hold my friends together.

Canterlot Sewers: Path of Delusions

"That's what your Cutie Mark means?" the three fillies asked with wide eyes, ogling the now-majestic pin etched onto his flank. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle couldn't help but awe and Scootaloo jumped back on top of him, her head hovering just over Pokey's eyes. "So you're a leader pony!"

"I'm nothing like that," Pokey sighed.

SKIT: Did You Hear Her?

Lemon Hearts: …

Pokey: You're silent all of a sudden.

Lemon Hearts: It's not like I've done a lot of talking to begin with.

Pokey: Yeah, but you also haven't said anything snide in awhile.

Lemon Hearts: Your story, it got me thinking.

Pokey: Huh?

Lemon Hearts: We all grew up with so little, barely clinging to what we could have, holding on as tight as we could to our bonds of friendship.

Pokey: You have friends?

Lemon Hearts: I didn't assemble a gang as big as that one out of fear, you know.

Pokey: That's quite impressive then.

Lemon Hearts: But Nightmare Moon shows up, takes advantage of our poverty, and shakes everypony up.

Pokey: Did you hear her voice before she appeared?

Lemon Hearts: Yes, I did, a lot. What about you, Pokey?

Pokey: No, not once.

Lemon Hearts: I wonder why.

Pokey: I think it's because I don't really care about anything beyond my friends. I could go hungry and not give much of a care so long as I knew Lyra and Bon-Bon are fine.

Lemon Hearts: And what would you do without them to drive you.

Pokey: Well... a certain pink pony does owe me some baked goods.

Lemon Hearts: What?

SKIT: End

Pokey continued to sludge through the flowing waters, leading the rest of the group along the way. They were close, he though. Close to the exit and freedom, and just as he could feel a breeze of fresh air, he stopped. The gate out of Canterlot was a few feet away, and between him and the gate stood Lyra, her lyre planted in the ground menacingly. "Hey," Pokey greeted her.

"Hey," Lyra replied back solemnly. Her tone was of one who had tasted the bitter fruits of defeat.

"You're going to try and stop us from escaping, aren't you?" Pokey Pierce lifted his katana from his back.

Lyra wrapped her golden aura around her broad-bladed lyre. "Nightmare Moon is on her way right now."

Pokey Pierce clenched his teeth, hiding his fear. He turned to Big Macintosh and Lemon Hearts. "Take the fillies and hide somewhere!" he ordered them, and with a nod they grabbed the three frightful little fillies and ran into the darkness of the tunnels, leaving Pokey Pierce alone to face his friend like he wanted.

"You were telling them how we met?" Lyra asked him, keeping her eyes to the ground as she pointed her weapon at Pokey.

Pokey unsheathed his katana, allowing the scabbard to fall to the floor. "I'm begging you," Pokey Pierce held his blade in front of himself, glancing at his haggard face in the reflection. "You're the last pony I want to fight, Lyra. Don't let Nightmare Moon control you like this."

Lyra lowered her weapon, feeling her inner child pleading with her to not strike, but something else was pulling her legs; desperation. She was desperate for her life. "We don't have to fight," she said softly. "If you would just surrender and go back to town, Pokey."

"I have to go out there," he replied back. "I'm not going to let Nightmare Moon hurt anypony else!"

"What are our alternatives!" she snapped. "We can't fight her, Pokey! But, if we join her, than maybe life will get better. We won't be at the bottom anymore. We won't have to worry about starving!"

"That's wishful thinking, Lyra," Pokey Pierce spoke with conviction. "You felt that hatred within her. She doesn't care about us and will probably discard us the moment Equestria submits to her. She's a monster of hate. Our only hope is to fight!"

"Then we're hopeless!" Lyra picked up her weapon and charged at Pokey Pierce. She swung as hard as she could pouring all her strength and will into the blow, but the attack was deflected. Pokey Pierce, with his pitiful little katana parried her. "Pokey?"

"Brutal Fang!" Pokey Pierce charged right into Lyra delivering a savage series of blow into her body. Lyra's armor protected her from most of the impacts but each blow still wore into her. With one last wind up, Pokey Pierce drove his hoof into Lyra and knocked her off her hindlegs. "Well?" Pokey Pierce shook his hoof, knowing he had done more damage to himself than to Lyra. "Are you going to stand down?"

Lyra picked herself up, willing her weapon back to her. "Your style is still unrefined," she joked, and regretted it. She wanted to laugh with her friend on better terms than a fight. "Don't think I'm going to hold back! And don't you dare either!"

"I can't help it," Pokey Pierce replied, "because I don't want to fight you."

Lyra paused, nearly unable to contain the emotions building in her. "Why you? If it was any other pony I wouldn't be having such a hard time!" She closed her eyes and charged blindly at Pokey Pierce, enveloping her entire body in magic. "Phantom Crescendo!"

Pokey tried to block her, but she dashed right through him, turning around to strike wildly at his exposed backside, the weight of her armor carrying the shocks through his body. He leapt foward, away from Lyra, and tumbled to his side, repositioning himself in front of her again. "I haven't seen that one."

"Stop talking with me like this! We're enemies right now, not friends!" Tears seeped out of her eyes, leaving her emotions on the floor.

"We're always going to be friends Lyra, so I'm sorry I have to do this." Pokey Pierce pointed his blade at Lyra as he readied himself for his strongest attack. "O brilliant blade of coldest steel," he muttered.

"What are you doing!?" Lyra readied her weapon, thinking she could deflect anything Pokey Pierce could throw at her, but she couldn't. In seconds Pokey Pierce was behind her, and he slashed at her before she could react. "Pokey!?" She turned around, barely recovering from the blow, but Pokey Pierce was behind her again, attacking.

"Rend the infinite darkness!" He was moving faster than his own mind could register and was forced to rely wholly on instinct. He dashed at Lyra, striking from every direction at once. "And deliver my friend blissful dreams!"

"Pokey!" At her hooves, Lyra summoned a torrent of water to mire Pokey Pierce's assault and protect her.

"Savage Wolf Fury!" Pokey Pierce roared as he cut through a wall of water with his sword and delivered a swift and powerful kick to the back of Lyra's head, knocking her to the floor. He had won the battle, but it was a victory that left him hollow as he watched his old friend struggle to her hooves.

Lyra struggled to stay conscious in the wake of the blow. Water and sweat clung to her fur, making it harder for her to move. She could barely establish a connection to her lyre, an aura of magic fizzling out around her horn. "Were you always holding back before!?" she yelled out, her voice echoing across the tunnels.

"Nope," Pokey sighed, sheathing his sword and hanging it across his side, "I just needed to win more than you. I'm sure under any other condition, you would have won."

A dark mist filled the tunnels, malignant dots of stars shining in it's twisted depth. Pokey Pierce knew what to expect next, and he shot a quick glance at the three little fillies, cowering in the wooden box silently. Pokey Pierce didn't back away with fear as the mist began to condence into the black monster that had Canterlot locked up in her web of darkness. He faced Nightmare Moon with fierce unwavering eyes.

Nightmare Moon curled her lips and flashed her jagged teeth at Pokey Pierce, an act that would have left any other pony broken with fear, but Pokey Pierce did not balk. He stared at her with his piercing gaze, hidden within it was the smallest glimmer of hope. Nightmare Moon did not like this. "So, you think you can escape?" she hissed, hoping to draw out some form of ire or cowardice from Pokey Pierce, but all he did was draw his sword defensively.

"I have to try," he answered her, his eyes steeled against her darkness. "Somepony has to stop you."

"So you're a hero, then?" she sneered at him sarcastically, but inside she felt intense anger growing.

"If it's for their sake, then I am!" he roared, filled with conviction and strength. He enchanted his sword with ice and swung widely, carving shards of ice before him out of thin air and then shooting them at Nightmare Moon. "Frigid Blast!"

Nightmare Moon merely stomped one of her hooves and a wall of darkness sprung forth to protect her. The ice shards shattered into bits before the wall, and Nightmare Moon stepped out of the wall unscathed, her face twisted in a spiteful grin. "What say you to this?" she asked as she stomped another hoof, sending out sanguine waves to flood Pokey Pierce's hooves.

Pokey Pierce felt his hooves being bound to the floor. He looked between them and the evil Princess approaching him slowly like a cat toying with a mouse. He wondered if this would be the end of him. His only regret was failing his friends the way he had, and faced with no other option he threw his sword forward, as fast and as strong as he could, and he pierced the body of Nightmare Moon. His eyes widened, at first with a sense of possible victory, but the feeling escaped him as he watched the sword fall to the ground, and the intangible Nightmare Moon walked through him, a wave of icy cold malice passing through him as well.

"You're doing a splendid job already, hero." Her words cut right through him, and she rejoiced at the possible pain she was causing, reveling in Pokey's suffering as she turned and breathed in his ear, letting her cold breath chill his spine.

Pokey Pierce turned and looked her right in the eye. "So this is the part where I die?"

Everything she had felt in tormenting the stallion vanished, replaced once again by intense rage. Her mane curled around Pokey Pierce's neck, looping around and curling tightly. The mane sharpened itself against his skin, blanancing his life against her razor's edge. "Yes."

"No!" Lyra cried out, swinging down her lyre on the mane. It vainly passed through it, Lyra fell to the floor, almost motionless. "Please, don't kill him."

"And why should I listen to you, my little pony? On what gall would you think to defy the will of your Princess!"

"I beg you, please. Let him live... I'll do anything!" She was crying, her body leaning on the broad-edged lyre embedded on the floor.

"Lyra!" Pokey Pierce cried out.

"Anything?" Nightmare Moon hissed, her dry voice chilling the air. Her mane released itself from Pokey Pierce's neck and slithered over to Lyra's neck. "You're willing to pay quite the price, then?"

"No! Stop it you monster and face me!" Pokey Pierce roared. "Lyra! Lyra!" He tore one of his hoofs out of Nightmare Moon's pool of darkness and reached out to Lyra, screaming her name as loud as he could. "LYRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He reached out his hoof to the filly he had spent the best years of his life with, but another wave of darkness sent him flying off his feet and crushed him against the walls of the tunnels. The pain of the impact knocked him out, and his body fell limply to the floor.

Nightmare Moon's mane released itself from Lyra's neck, in it's place was a spiked collar. "This is a sign of your eternal servitude, Lyra. If you disobey it will kill you."

The way Nightmare Moon spoke her name numbed Lyra's mind, but at least Pokey Pierce was safe for now. "I understand," she replied, feeling her body being picked off the floor.

"We're about to start a war, and it begins with sinking those pegasi's infernal city." Nightmare Moon extended her mane to Pokey Pierce, lifting his limp body, and on hoof she left the tunnels, never noticing three small fillies cowering in the shadows.

Scootaloo was the first to talk. "Did you hear that!"

Apple Bloom stuck a hoof in her mouth to shush her. "Not so loud, Scoots."

"Pokey," Lemon Heats whimpered.

Scootaloo tossed shoved Apple Bloom's hoof aside, tears streaming from her eyes. "She's going to attack the Cloud Kingdom! That's where my home is! That's were mommy and daddy are... we have to do something!"

"Just leave that to Applejack and her friends," Big Macintosh said slowly, attempting to calm down the frightened fillies. "We need to get somewhere safe, understand?" Big Macintosh carried them to the gates of the sewers. He pressed his hooves against the gate. It was locked. "Darn it," he cursed. He clenched his muscles, focusing all his energy to to his hooves. "Heavy Bomber!" he cried out, and a powerful white light escaped from his hooves, decimating the gate. Wasting no time, he threw himself through the gate, Lemon Hearts following suit, and galloped as fast as his hooves would allow him, never pausing to look back. Had he done so, he would have seen darkness wrap itself around the fragments of the gate and seal itself behind an impenetrable wall. He led them back to his home in Apple Acres.

Cutie Quest Cleared

Quest 2: Soarin'

Growing Up

Cutie Quest: Soarin'

New Game

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Equestria: Prophet's Scar

"You see anything down in there, Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo next to her, peering down into the bottomless chasm that separated Canterlot from the rest of Equestria. She kicked a nearby rock into it, hoping against sensibility that she would hear the soft thump of its landing. The world remained silent as the rock disappeared into the deep abyss.

"Nothing," Scootaloo sighed, plopping down to her stomach, "and if we don't figure out something, Nightmare Moon is gonna attack my home."

"Uh, girls," Sweetie Belle called out from behind, "I think we have bigger problems." In front of her stood a mockery of nature: a chimera. Its lizard like body was punctuated with horrible mandibles that protruded from its throat clicking menacingly in the soft light of the moon. Sweetie Belle shivered as she stared into its nearly vacant eyes. "Somepony, do something!"

"Apple Bloom, go up and taunt the monster to get it away from Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo ordered as she ran around it.

Apple Bloom flung herself at the monster, jumping over its head and delivering a swift kick to what she thought was its nose, but all the chimera did was click its mandibles faster. "Take that, ugly!" she taunted, stepping onto its head and vaulting herself over the monsters back. With a sly grin she stared it down as it turned to face her, giving Sweetie Belle the opportunity she needed to run away. "That's right, look at me you stupid, mangey, ugly what-cha-ma-call-it!" she taunted again.

"Sweetie Belle, cast a spell while I attack it from behind," Scootaloo ordered again, picking up a stick and breaking off its end to make a splintered point. She started beating her wings, making long strides each time she kicked herself off the ground, leaping forward and stabbing the monster in it's back, imbedding the stick inside it. "Now!"

"Eternal light!" Sweetie Belle cried out, shouting the incantation as loud as she could and waving her forehooves in the air. "Ever true and... uhh... undefined! Grant this one-ton singer before me the majesty of the judgement," she threw her forehooves forward, "Ray!"

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom retreated as far away from the chimera as they could, waiting with anticipation for the awesome feat of magic that such a powerful incantation would entail, but nothing happened. "Where's the magic?" Apple Bloom finally asked.

Sweetie Belle threw her forehooves in the air again, and then to her side, and then to her other side. She looked like she was dancing. "Ray! Ray! Ray, ray, ray, ray, ray, ray, ray!" Still nothing. "W-where's the ray!?" she panicked as the chimera began to recover from Scootaloo's attack.

"Sweetie Belle, what gives!?" Scootaloo screamed as the chimera turned on her. "A-Apple Bloom, taunt it again."

"Can't, too scared," Apple Bloom whimpered as the chimera gnashed its mandibles together. "Somepony, anypony, help!"

Almost as immediately as her cry left her lips, the head of the chimera came flying off, landing as a severed stump right next to Scootaloo. Her startled scream pierced the ever-night sky as a small cloaked figure came out of the shadows, reeling in its chained sickle weapon into the confines of its robes. To the three fillies' shock, it barely stood any taller than them.

"Er, thanks," Apple Bloom replied, still in shock from the suddenness of the turn of events.

The robed figure did not respond.

"Quiet type, I guess," Scootaloo commented as she slinked away from the severed head. "Still, thanks. I mean, if you didn't show we might have been goners since somepony doesn't know how to cast a spell."

"What?" Sweetie Belle cried back, her voice cracking as she turned to Scootaloo. "Nopony taught me magic. I figured if I said the same words Rarity always says then maybe it would work."

"And it didn't," Scootaloo chuckled, flicking Sweetie Belle's tiny horn. "So, what now? We still don't have a way to cross the thing." She pointed to the divide in the land, knowing that her home was beyond the seemingly impenetrable obstacle. "If only I could fly..."

The little robed figure withdrew his sickle from the confines of his robe again and threw it across the mile-long divide. It latched on cleanly to a rock on the other side, and said nothing as he waited for the three fillies to take a hint.

"Uhh, you sure about this?" Apple Bloom gulped as she stared at how long the chain look. "I mean, can it even hold us, I'm wondering is all."

The robed figure nodded furiously.

"C'mon, girls!" Scootaloo rallied them together. "This is our best bet to get to the cloud kingdom! If we don't, then Nightmare Moon will sink my home!" She grabbed onto the chain with all her hooves and threw caution to the wind as she lept forward with only the chain as her lifeline. She did not fall and the chain held still. "Hey, check it out! We can use it!"

"It's still scary," Sweetie Belle replied as Apple Bloom pushed her forward.

"It's for a good cause," Apple Bloom sighed. She turned back to the robed figure and bowed. "Thanks again Mr."

The robed figure nodded his head furiously.

Fillydelphia: City of Ambition

Soarin' sighed to himself as stared down at the streets of Fillydelphia from his overhead perch. Fillydelphia looked beautiful during the night with its plethora of lights in every shade of the rainbow, each perfectly placed to give any pegasus with a birds eye view a nice show. There was also another thing he liked about the city. "So many cute mares!" he gushed as he took another bite of crispy and steaming apple pie, now resting by his side. "Pie, and mares. Yep, this is the life," he told nobody in particular as he laid his eyes on a captivatingly blue unicorn. Her hair shimmered with a glorious silver as the light reflected off it. He finished his pie, filling himself with gooey and warm confidence, before swooping down, valiantly in his own mind, and landing right before his new pony princess. He coked an invisible eyebrow, smiled, and said, "I have to say, I fell quite hard the moment I laid eyes on you." He readied himself for a face full of hoof. Instead, he received a muzzle full of lightning. No sense of humor this one.

The blue unicorn in question scowled as she stepped over Soarin's slightly-charred body, smoke rising from his burnt fur. "Shocked, I'm sure," she spat at him. "Talk to me again, and a slight singe will be the least of your worries." She talked in a presumptuous and pompous tone that only served to amuse Soarin' further.

"It would be well worth it if I could get your name," he said with a wink.

"Lulamoon," she unicorn replied as electricity began to build in her horn.

"That's not fair. You gave me a fake name." Soarin' felt further enthralled when the mare-in-question balked back a little. "But, I bet your real name sounds so much nicer." He winked, drawing his sword at the last second to absorb the shocking spell of the unicorn. "Well, Mon Tarte?"

"Just who do you think you're trifling with?" The mare threw herself backwards, throwing a razor sharp card that left a cut on Soarin's cheek. "Next time I'll cut off something more precious!"

He ignored her and picked up the card. "A calling card? How cute," he mused as he inspected it further. It held the picture of a burning tower, struck by lightning and now crumbling into rubble. "I was hoping for something with a kiss mark."

"Consider it a sign, or maybe even a reading. Now then, if you'll excuse me I was on my way to Caballus—"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders, law enforcers!" three bellowing voices cried out, soon followed by three spritely fillies latching themselves onto Lulamoon. "Go down, evil doer!" the orange filly screamed as she wrestled with one of the unicorn's forelegs.

"Are you out of your little pony minds," Lulamoon hissed as electricity began to build around her.

"Hold it!" Soarin' cried out, trying to pry off Lulamoon's assailants. "There's no need to spazz out, Ms. Moon. Can't we just talk this out!?" He tried to get close, but the thrashing around of the fillies coupled with dangerous discharges of magic from Lulamoon made it impossible to get closer. Faced with little choice, he put a hoof against his chestplate and began to concentrate. "Splash!" Streams of water poured from the sky and collided with the vortex of chaos.

Lulamoon stared at Soarin' with intense loathing. "You vile cur," she sneered. "Look at what you did to my beautiful mane!" At her hooves, the three fillies splashed around in the dirty puddles Soarin's spell made, splashing dirty water all over Lulamoon's cape.

"How about I make it up to you all with some really early breakfast."

"I want pancakes!" "I want waffles!" "I want fancy toast!" Came three ecstatic little voices that began to climb over Soarin'. Before he knew it, he was covered in fillies. Not exactly the life he expected.

"Coming, Miss Lulamoon?" Soarin' offered with a whimsical grin.

"I demand a smoothie," she hissed.

Moments later they were sitting at one of Fillydelphia's hundreds of cafes. On one bench with a menu between his hooves was Soarin', and on the opposing bench were the three mysterious fillies. Lulamoon sat at a small table close-by, her full attention on fixing her mane. "So," Soarin' started, "what are your names?"

"I'm Apple Bloom," said the yellow filly first, "from the town of Apple Acres and one of the owners of the Sweet Apple Acres farms!" she said proudly.

"Thats a lot of titles for such a sweet young mare," Soarin' replied, making her blush.

"Disgusting," Lulamoon groaned.

"Oh yeah, well I'm Scootaloo, part of the Cloud Kingdom, soon-to-be knight, and soon-to-be apprentice of Rainbow Dash, the arena queen! There, three titles," replied the orange pegasus filly. She puffed out her chest in pride.

"And I'm Sweetie Belle!" the white unicorn filly said last before returning to her cup of milk. "Oh, and I'm from Caballus."

"And together we are," Apple Bloom quickly added and her two friends took their places by her side. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders!" they all yelled in unison.

"Crusaders? Really?" Soarin' laughed. He wondered if the three knew what a crusader was. "So, what were you crusaders doing attacking my date over there." Lulamoon stuck out her tongue at him.

"We saw her shooting lightning everywhere, so we thought we would try getting our city defender cutie marks!" Scootaloo answered him while beaming with more pride. "Wait, did anypony get a cutie mark?"

"Nope," Apple Bloom sighed.

"Nope," Sweetie Belle groaned.

Soarin' felt reminiscent. Finding one's special talent and earning his or her cutie mark was such an important day for a young pony's life. "Never give up," he told them. "You may not find it today, or tomorrow, or even a month from now, but your cutie marks will eventually come to you in time."

"Easy for you to say. You already have your cutie mark!" Sweetie Belle replied in frustration. "Grown-ups just don't remember what it's like."

"Hey, I still remember clear as day about the time I earned my cutie mark," Soarin' huffed. "A lightning bolt with wings: coolest cutie mark ever!"

"Say, how did you get it?"

His parents looked at him with worry as he sat still in the same spot, mane crackling with electricity and eyes wide with ideas. "Did you see that!?" he exclaimed as loud as he could. Soarin's mane stood on ends. "Three loop-de-loops followed by a corkscrew dive and ended with a static split!"

"Yes Soary, that was good," his mother replied with worry. "Now come back inside before you hurt yourself!"

"I want to do it again!"

"And that's how I got my cutie mark!" Soarin' beamed with pride. "One of the best fliers in all of Heaven. Well?"

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle remained silent. "Well," Sweetie Belle said, "that doesn't really help us. Plus, the last story we heard about a cutie mark was a bit more..."

"Dramatic," Scootaloo finished for her. "Don't you have any more interesting stories to tell us while we wait for our meals?"

Soarin' propped a hoof under his chin. "Well, if you want an epic tale of drama." He eyes the table unconsciously. "Eleven years ago..."

Castle of the Fallen Sisters: Lost Courtyard

A young Soarin' was beside himself. Not even of the age of twenty, and yet he was lucky enough to be hoof-picked into Spitfire's team and assigned to defend ruins : The lost castle of Princess Celestia. What pony wouldn't want to see such an ancient and important piece of history? "To think, in these halls once stood the most powerful pony in the world! You really think she could move the sun?" he asked his superior.

"Don't be ridiculous," Captain Spitfire chided. "Nopony can move something as big as the sun. It just wouldn't make sense." She turned to face her squad of three pegasi: Soarin', Tornado, and Honeysuckle. "All right, fall into rank everypony."

"Ma'am!" The knights saluted and fell into line. They had gotten the opportunity of a lifetime and were not going to mess it up by being discourteous when greeting their benefactor for the excavation.

Still in file, Captain Spitfire led them into the courtyard before the castle. Nearly every chiseled marble pillar had fallen over, and vines threatened to devour the magical castle that was now decorated on all sides with tents, apparatuses, crates and cots. Yet, despite nature's tenacity to devour the castle whole, it remained tall and proud with nary a scratch to be found.

From the center, a large and built white unicorn dressed impeccably approached them. "Greetings, I am Fancypants." He extended a hoof, colored blue just like his slicked-back mane and tiny mustache. "CEO of the Lezerano company."

"So you're the one financing us. It is an honor to meet somepony so generous." Spitfire bowed and her three subordinates followed suit.

Fancypants laughed and asked the knights to rise. "You flatter me, but if I was truly generous I would not expect any form of recompense for all this," he motioned to the tents, equipment and supplies, "but, alas, business is business, so I can only be so generous with splitting the artifacts." He chuckled to himself and turned back to the castle. "Still, this is a rare find. I could imagine why only a pegasus scout party would find it, but what's even more astounding is how it still stands tall and regal. It's magical."

"Super unicorn magical!" Soarin' blurted too earnestly. He ignored Spitfire's glowering as he giggled over his terrible joke, and even Fancypants joined him.

"So super we'll never understand it, I suppose," Fancypants added. He pointed in another direction and said, "You'll find your tents next to the impromptu cafe. Just follow the smell of fresh baked goods."

"Fancypants, I'd kiss you but I ain't that kind of guy!" Soarin' cried as he stuck his nose high into the air, sniffing around for the first scents of his favorite treats like a dog. Spitfire could barely hide her embarrassment and his co-knights were holding their sides, but he ignored all of them and took off like a bullet, living up to his acclaimed speed and agility, towards the source of the sweet, sweet aroma of cupcakes, apples, and a pie.

His destination came into sight, a scrumptious and sweet-filled buffet with almost anything he could ever want. Only one thing was missing. "Where's the pie!?" he howled in agony, drawing attention from on-lookers who shifted away.

"That'll be six bits," a tall yellow stallion in a green button shirt replied to a purple unicorn in a magenta cloak. From within her cloak six bits drifted onto the table. "Thank you."

The unicorn silently took her pie, turned around and found herself face to face with a greedy and crestfallen Soarin'. "Excuse me," she quickly said.

"That's the last pie, isn't it?" Saorin' asked gravely. "I'll give you twelve bits for it."

"You are pathetic," the unicorn shot back as she moved around him.

"Pathetic for pie," Soarin' answered her back as he drifted back in front of her. "Allow me to introduce myself. Captain Soarin', official pie aficionado, and you are?" he charismatically smiled at her, trying to appear gallant and chivalrous even if he knew he wasn't.

"None of your business," the unicorn replied as she took off again, vainly trying to get away from the persistent pegasus.

"I've got an idea!" Soarin' flew directly above her, upside down to keep eye contact. "Why don't we share that pie. You, me, a nice tree, the setting sun, and pie. Can you think of anything more wonderful?"

"Getting away from you would be one of them." The unicorn tried one last ditch plan to escape Soarin'. Her horn let out one huge spark, and she disappeared, winking away into nothingness.

The unicorn gasped for breath as the world came back into view for her and she struggled to keep the contents of her stomach in place. "Stupid pegasus," she groaned as she set the pie down. "Stupid spell..."

"I found you, Mon Tarte!" Soarin' descended from the sky with all the magnificence he could muster; back to the sun, mane caught in the wind, and a few down feathers fluttering in the breeze. "No pie can escape my nose, you know."

Completely bewildered, the unicorn collapsed to the ground. "Fine, have the stupid pie. I don't care anymore." She planted her face in the dirt, welcoming the darkness in favor of Soarin's tenacity, but hooves wrapped around her and hoisted her up into the air. "W-what are you doing?"

"Dirt can't possibly be as tasty as pie," he replied as he gently set her down by a tree. He scooped up the pie and sat down right next to her. "What did I tell you? You, me, the sun, and pie?" He gestured to the tree they sat against, the salty smell of the ocean as its waves crashed against the cliffs, and the setting sun that seemed perfectly sculpted by a pony's will. "Know anything better than that?" He grinned cheesily as he began cutting the pie with a pocket knife clutched in his mouth.

The unicorn sighed and gave up. "I'm Amethyst Star. I'm here on orders of Blueblood. Happy?"

"Wait, you're Blueblood's representative?"

"Sure, go with that." She tried to brush him off, to wave a hoof in his face and maybe he would let her go, but a slice of pie was placed in her hooves instead. "You're giving it back."

"I'm sharing. That's what you do with friends." He took a greedy bite out of his own slice.

"We're not friends. I don't have friends. I can't trust anypony." Her words were cold, icy on her breath. She wanted Soarin' to take a hint, shut up, and let her go. He didn't.

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Soarin' smiled as he wrapped a hoof around Amethyst Star's shoulders and brought her in closer. "So shut up have some pie! You don't need a reason to eat pie!"

I thought she was funny. She kept saying things like that, that she couldn't trust anypony. So what did I do? I grabbed her around her shoulders and shoved some pie in her mouth every time. Apple pie, peach pie, banana cream pie. This turned out to be quite expensive I guess I just really wanted to be her friend. This went on for quite awhile and every time she would greet me with some cold half-baked comment, but I knew she was warming up.

Soarin' stood at attention in the great halls of the castle. It was his shift and he had been assigned for early morning detail. "Could be worse," he sighed. "Honeysuckle got stuck with midnight shift."

"Oh, you're here," came Amethyst Star's voice as she appeared from the corridors. She looked tired, her hooves barly straying away from the floor as she slinked over to him. "Why are you here now?"

"Well, I was assigned to guard, so you don't have to worry about anything attacking you, Miss Amethyst Star."

"You can just call me Star," she sighed. "I prefer it when others don't call me by my full name."

"Another part of your I can't trust anypony deal?" he mocked her, even adopting her adult-pitch tone. "Well, Miss Star, I'll have you know that I'm the most trustworthy pegasis in all of Heaven."

"Oh, brother," she sighed.

"So, what's in there?" he asked. "I mean, this place must be crawling in ancient artifacts of power! Or priceless gems! Or, maybe some personal item of Celestia—"

"Princess Celestia," she corrected him. "Celestia was the Princess of Equestria, a title that when held by her might as well be equivalent to being a goddess. Her words were law, and nopony would ever go against it."

"Really?" It was hard for him to imagine a Princess ever being higher than a King in status and power. "So, did you find anything?"

"If you must know," she groaned. "Princess Celestia was known for wielding two weapons, two weapons which shapes have been adopted by both of our military forces. The Eternal Sword which serves as the basis for the pegasi double-blade swords, and the Divine Spear which serves as the basis for the spears unicorns use."

"Ancient legendary weapons! I can get behind that!" Soarin' squealed in delight. "You've got to show me! C'mon, show me, show me, show me, show me!"

"Are you a stallion, or a colt?" Amethyst Star groaned as she backed away from the eager pegasus. "They are more than mere weapons! They have ancient magic that could rend the world asunder and... you don't care, do you?"

"Can I see the shiny pointy sticks now?" he asked eagerly.

Amethyst Star coughed, multiple times, covering her mouth with her hoof to hide her growing smile. "You, you're unbelievable," she sighed before turning. "Well, c'mon. The sooner you see the shiny pointy sticks the sooner you can get back to guard-duty."

She led him down a vast complex of hallways. Soarin' had to wonder if Princess Celestia actually needed guards with how confusing the castle was to navigate, nevermind the supposedly godlike magic every rumor he ever heard said.

They eventually found their way to an elaborate room, naked in furnishings. It was just a tall gray room, but in the back, behind barriers upon barriers of magic, stood two weapons. One was purple double-bladed sword, and the other was a gold three pronged spear. "Cool," Soarin' replied. "Though, what's with all the barriers."

"Princess Celestia placed them there, but they're old. Our unicorns have almost cracked it. The plan is that the spear will got to Caballus, and the sword to your Cloud Kingdom."

"And you're sharing all this information with me."

"What's your point," Amethyst Star glared.

"You trust me with this information, so you trust me, so you trust somepony."

"This is common information!" she threw back at him. "You would know this if you weren't so busy stuffing yourself with pie."

"I know!"

She would hide her smile when she laughed and hide in a corner when she felt embarrassed. It was kinda cute, actually. Sure, she had a mean tongue, and a sour attitude, but even then in all that she began to lighten up. Soon, we were hanging out, or rather I would walk by her side and she wouldn't wink away. Then, one day, the opposite happened. She appeared at my side, and followed me.

Soarin' stared down Tornado, both of them had their double-bladed swords drawn between their teeth and were grinning mischievously as they planned out their next moves. Tornado struck first, barreling at Soarin' with an edge pointed at him. "Hurricane Thrust!"

Soarin' jumped away at the last moment as Tornado's blade embedded itself in the ground and summoning a gust of wind that tore at the earth. He was gathering magic in his armor, preparing for the next blow. "Nice one, but let me show you how you do a real sonic thrust!" His armor surged with electricity that he channeled into the blade of his sword. "Lightning Blade!" The lightning crackled back and surged into Soarin' and almost reducing him to a pile of ashes. He dropped down to the dirt, spasming in pain.

"Well, you almost got it," Hurricane laughed as he helped up Soarin'. "You still have a long ways to go if you think you can copy Princess Cirrus Stride's technique. She's just a plain genius with lightning."

Amethyst Star, who sat on the sidelines watching the entire thing, clopped her hooves against the ground slowly. "That's, what, your fifth loss?"

"Yeah, but didn't I look amazing right before the whole backfiring part?" Soarin' mused.

"Oh, you looked amazing all right," she mocked.

"I'd like to see you do any better, unicorn," Tornado huffed.

"Fine." Amethyst Star rose, grabbing Soarin's sword with her magic and clutching it in her mouth. She nearly fell over, underestimating the weight of the blade. "How do you even swing this thing?" she grumbled.

"It's alright, Star. You don't need to prove anything," Soarin' suggested, but he was ignored.

Amethyst Star's horn began to glow as she channeled magic into the blade, but rather than crackle with electricity the sword hummed as it was covered with the magic of darkness. "This is the channeling part, right?" she gloated, earning Tornado's crude sneer. She took a step forward and thrusted the blade forward, casting a needle of darkness that extended forward and nearly pierced right through Tornado, but instead stopped a mere inch away. "I take it, that's the effect you were going for?"

"W-well, I guess," a shocked Tornado muttered, "but that wasn't electricity!"

"No, but it was just as impressive!" came a new boyish voice. The knights turned and bowed before the presence of the armored Princess Cirrus Stride. Like her father, her coat was gray like steel. Most of her face was obscured by an embroidered helmet that also served as her tiara. "Even for a unicorn, that was impressive."

"I'm trained," Amethyst Star replied coldly. "I am Amethyst Star, Blueblood's personal representative here."

Princess Cirrus Stride smiled as she chuckled to herself. "Formal, arn'cha. Well, I'm Princess Cirrus Stride, first daughter of King Steel Wing, my dad." She extended a hoof to shake, but Amethyst Star stood still. The mood turned eerily uncomfortable fast. "Well, er, I've got duties to attend to. Dad's a lout without me and I heard Goldstar was looking for me." She unfurled her wings and took off into the sky.

Tornado broke out in near incomprehensible gibberish, collecting himself after a tirade of gurgling sounds. "Are you insane, unicorn! You just insulted the princess of the Cloud Kingdom! Did anypony teach you respect!?"

Amethyst Star turned to Tornado. Her eyes glared at him with enough malice to scare the hardened knight. "I don't like her," she hissed, her horn crackling with a surge of magic that made the earth under them shake. "So, shut up before I teach you what in fact did anypony taught me." Tornado might as well have been a kitten to her now.

"Hey, Star, are you alright?" Soarin' reached out to touch Amethyst Star, but the moment he got close a bolt of darkness lashed out at him. He retreated instinctively. "Star, c'mon, say something."

She said nothing, and afterwards she became distant. Like, more distant that when I first met her. Sometimes she would skip out on our lunches together. I would try looking for her, but I could never find her. I guess she got really good at hiding. Then, just a few days later, something terrible happened.

"For today's lessons," Spitfire started, "we're going to do three loops followed by a two-hundred meter dive. Do you mares hear me!"

"Are you crazy!" Tornado complained. Honeysuckle wore an expressions of disbelief, but Soarin' was giddy with excitement. "We could kill ourselves doing that kind of crazy stunts!"

"Captain Spitfire, ma'am, permission to speak?" Honeysuckle asked.

"You're talking now, so go ahead."

"Lately, your drills seem to be moving towards more stunt-flying oriented exercises. Is this actually the case or am I reading too deep?"

Spitfire chuckled as she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "I guess you've got me. Yeah, I have been taking some cues from stunt-diving. I figure it might help build some reflexes and technique, skills vital to a knight in the service of the King. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes," Honeysuckle sighed. "Well, as long as the insurance covers it."

"This is still crazy," Tornado mumbled.

Following Spitfire's careful instructions, the trio of knights completed their exercises flawlessly, a fact that made Spitfire swell with pride. Great fliers make great pegasi, is what she liked to believe. "Great job everypony! Why don't you all get some rest? Plus, King Steel Wing has summoned me, so I'll catch you all later."

"Ma'am!" the three knights saluted and watched as Spitfire took off. Once out of sight, the three collapsed to the floor in a wave of exhaustion.

"Captain is crazy," Tornado wheezed. "Does she really think stunt-diving in armor is a good idea?"

"Quit complaining," Honeysuckle replied between rushed breaths. "It's just part of the job."

"Say, how about we go get some food? My treat!" Soarin' exclaimed. Free food was more than enough to cheer up his friends. So they got up, still heaving in their breaths, discarded their armor by their tent, and rushed to the buffet.

SKIT: Reasons

Soarin': Oh yeah! Over the gums and through the tongue. Look out stomach because here comes another one!

Honeysuckle: You're awfully fond of pie, Soarin'. Any particular reason why?

Soarin': Simple: my mom made pies when I was a foal.

Soarin': Actually, she still does, but I'm not home often enough to enjoy.

Honeysuckle: I should have guessed it would have been something like that.

Soarin': What about you? Have any foods that make you think of less hard times?

Honeysuckle: No, none at all.

Soarin': Huh? Why not?

Honeysuckle: I grew up poor, Soarin'. The Cloud Kingdom barely has enough food to feed everypony, so ponies like me went hungry pretty often.

Soarin': Oh, I had no idea.

Honeysuckle: Tornado was in the same boat. Always complaining about the price of food.

Honeysuckle: Truth be told, the reason we became knights was just for the pay, and it's still not enough to feed our families.

Soarin': I had no idea the food problem had gotten so bad. Has it alway been this bad?

Honeysuckle: Not always, but tension between the nations never gets easier.

Honeysuckle: You know, we once visited an earth-pony town on vacation. Every vendor jacked up the prices on us and said it was because we weren't citizens so we got the 'foreigner' discount. Since then, he's been pretty reproachful to earth-ponies.

Soarin': …

Honeysuckle: Oh, you should have shut me up before I went on like that! I didn't mean to bring down the mood.

Honeysuckle: Say, why did you become a knight? I bet it's a good one.

Soarin': Not really...

Soarin': I became a knight because it was the only thing I could do. I'm not really good at academic stuff, but I was a natural born flier, and that just so happens to be what the knights wanted. So, when I signed up, I was accepeted on the spot/

Soarin': Heh, I got it in my head that, at the very least, I might become a hero. Like, I would get to be part of some epic war campaigns that would decide the fate of not just the Cloud Kingdom, but all of Equestria.

Soarin': Chimera clean-up is hardly epic.

Honeysuckle: Wow, that's almost cute of you.

Soarin': Uh, well, if you—

Honeysuckle: C'mon, Soar, don't ruin it.

Soarin': Heh heh.

SKIT: End

The three knights quickly and happily scarfed down their meal, faster than they should have. The pies and cupcakes and muffins would just disappear into their ravenous mouths, and it was moments like this that made Soarin' appreciate having made friends as a knight, but his mind wandered to another pony who he thought could enjoy this meal with him. "Have either of you guys seen Amethyst Star?"

"You mean that grouchy unicorn? I think I saw her with those other unicorns from Caballus earlier." Tornado offered, spewing a few flakes of crust everywhere.

"Learn to chew," Honeysuckle groaned, "but yeah, we saw her with the other Caballuns. Ugh, what were their names? Fancypants? Goldpants? Oh, screw it. Unicorns have dumb names anyway."

Soarin' giggled madly as he joked, "The guy doesn't even wear pants!" and all three broke out in laughter. "Well, I'll go find Mr. Pants and see if he knows where Star is. I'll see you guys around."

"Soarin', did you really fall for that unicorn?" Tornado questioned. "I mean, go ahead and date anypony you want, but when this mission is done she's going back to Caballus and you're going back to Heaven."

"Oh c'mon. Try giving the power of love a chance." He earned himself a painful stare from Tornado and Honeysuckle. "Okay, okay, I kid. Seriously though, she just seems like the kind who needs a friend. You can relate to that, right?"

"Perhaps, but the knight in shining armor angle rarely works out when applied in reality. Just, try not to get hurt." Honeysuckle patted him on his back. "Be careful, there's something off about her."

How right she was.

"Knights!" a distressed voice called out. The three of them turned and found Nimbus Knell galloping towards them. "Come! Quickly! There's been an attack at the castle! Somepony, one of the Caballun unicorns, turned and attacked the team! Spitfire, Blueblood, both of them were taken down and—"

Soarin' took off like a bolt of lightning, leaving a trail of dark clouds in his wake.

Castle of the Fallen Sisters: Forgotten Halls

Soarin' bucked open the doors of the ruined castle, the inside depressingly decorated with unicorn bodies strewn along the floor. "Dang it!" he cursed as he rushed to the closest pony, a unicorn with a long gash along her back. "Hey, are you okay? C'mon, speak to me!"

The unicorn coughed, spraying a few red drops onto the floor. "Are you a healer?" she cried weakly.

"S-sorry," Soarin' softly cried as the unicorn grew cold in his hooves.

"Soarin'?"

He turned, face-to-face with Amethyst Star, her eyes glowing menacingly as her horn giving off a bright lavender glow that absorbed the light right out of the world. Shadows grew larger, devouring Soarin' and everything else until nothing but darkness was left to peer into. Soarin' shifted uncomfortably. "Star? Star, did you see who did this?"

Another lavender shot out through the darkness, illumination from a menacing scythe, a blade at both ends facing opposite directions, swaying above Amethyst Star. It spun, turning its blade to face Soarin'. "I did this," Amethyst Star said calmly.

Soarin' scanned the ground. He found a discarded spear he could use. He slowly inched towards it as he stared down the sinister scythe. "C'mon, Star. You didn't do this? You're always so quiet, trying not to laugh at my dumb jokes. You can't hurt anypony, right?" The double scythe flew past him, barely nicking the edge of his mane. "That didn't hurt." The double-scythe passed him again as it returned back to Amethyst Star. It hurt him deeply inside.

"My mission is to secure Celestia's Eternal Sword." Her words were cold and emotionless, quick and deliberate, casting chills into his mind. "I follow my orders for Equestria."

"For Equestria!? What does this have to do with Equestria! C'mon, Star, tell me! You're always talking in stupid riddles and metaphors! How can you expect anypony to understand you if you keep being vague!"

"I simply don't."

"Cut the stupid act!" he yelled, nearly tearing apart his vocal chords with the power of his voice. He took the spear between his hooves,holding it out to defend himself. "Please, before things get worse, surrender."

"For what?" she hissed.

"For what!? You killed these unicorns who were from Caballus like yourself! Are you okay with this?"

"We aren't from the same house. There will be no love lost between me and them. Any repercussions are for those higher on the ladder to deal with." Her response was automatic.

"Same house? What? No! Killing these unicorns, I mean these ponies couldn't have been a part of whatever mission you were given!"

"Grow up, Soarin'. You're a knight in service of King Steel Wing and if he had given you an order to kill then you would kill."

"Shut up!" Soarin' screamed as loud as he could. "Just shut up! My King, and the world, are nothing like that! Amethyst Star, you can't do this. Please, surrender. Please, trust me?"

"Trust?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, trust me!" He dropped the spear, hope swelling in his chest with each step he took towards her confused visage. "You can trust me, Star."

"Do you trust me?" Her voice cracked with strain, and soon he was right in front of her, flashing her his usual cheesy grin.

"Yeah, I trust you-"

The blade of the double-scythe imbedded itself in Soarin's shoulder. It glowed with Amethyst Star's aura of magic. "Star?" was all Soarin' could say as he felt his warm life ooze down the wound. "Star?"

"Trust, love, friendship? It will all be the death of you, Soarin'." The weapon withdrew from Soarin, and he fell to the ground growing limp and cold. Amethyst Star turned around, and disappeared into the darkness of her own magic.

"Amethyst!" he screamed again through the pain of his wound, but he couldn't see anything through the darkness, and his own vision was fading out as pain took control of his body. "Amethyst! Get back here! Amethyst Star!"

She disappeared, but when I woke up Celestia's Eternal Sword was still where is was. Did somepony stop her? She disappeared into thin air, and nopony knew where she was. And then the next day came...

Castle of Clouds: Throne of Heaven

Soarin' was back at the castle in Heaven, in King Steel Wing's throne room. Around him were all his fellow knights and most of the higher commanders. This was for him, he knew, and behind him Tornado and Honeysuckle were patting him on the back. "Don't know what you did, but congrats, Soarin'," Tornado told him, beaming with mirth.

"Yeah, thanks," Soarin' responded half-heartedly. He wanted to be back in his room, scratching at his wound even if he was told a million and one times that it was a bad idea. The king stepped into the throne-room, and everyone but Soarin' turned. He kept his eyes downward.

"Captain Soarin'," King Steel Wing announced as he made his way to his throne. As he passed, the various knights on both sides bowed in respect. Spitfire stood at the front, right next to the King's throne that now seated its king. She was smiling at him, filled with pride. "For your feats of heroism displayed in recent events," King Steel Wing started, "you will be promoted in rank. Feel honored, for you shall be immortalized in the halls of the Cloud Kingdom's finest."

"Thank you, your majesty." Soarin' bowed. Around him the knights broke out into a loud clop of applause. Was this not the moment he wanted the most in his life? He asked himself that question so many more times between the moment when his red drape was taken off his armor, and a blue drape was put its place. Nothing changed. "This is a great honor," he said listlessly.

"Now then," The atmosphere in the room changed as King Steel Wing readjusted his posture, clasping his forehooves over his mouth. "There are greater matters to attend to. Anypony who is not of elite captain rank or higher can leave now." The lower knights filed out, leaving just a handful anxious to know what the King's next words would be. "We must discuss the matter of the food shortage." Next to him, the purple sword pulsed, giving off the slightest bit of eerie purple light.

"Yes, well I have been hard at work with our top economists," Nimbus Knell bragged as she stepped to the center of the room. "A small town in Canterlot territory has been a little down on their luck. We could enter into a deal with them by offering up some of our rainwater for some food. Granted, all we'll have to eat are apples, and it still might not be enough, but it will assuage the hunger dilemma plaguing our cities if we ration wisely. Sharing is caring after all." She giggled at her own quick quip and around her the knights were emanating with joy. Their families and loved ones just might get a decent meal, they hoped.

"It will assuage it, but it will not solve it," King Steel Wing declared, getting up from his throne, carrying Celestia's blade under a wing. "We will eventually face problems again, and we still wouldn't be able to feed everypony. No, there is only one immediate and permanent solution to the problems we face." He paused, taking in every anxious stare. "We will invade the neighboring cities of the earth-ponies. With just a few under our control, we will have access to their city farms and land and increase the output to feed everypony."

"W-what! Invasions!?" the various knights gasped.

"It is the only way unless you want to see your fellow pegasi dying on the streets with shrunken bellies; children holding their stomachs as their last lights finally dim." He was strong with his words, showing not even the slightest bit of hesitation, but the same could not be said of everyone around him.

"It would be an act of war!" Nimbus Knell cried out. "We could have the entirety of Equestria bucking back! We can't take that! Father, please, have some consideration. Even if we save our own, would it be worth it if it meant hurting other ponies?"

"It would," he stated calmly and assertively. "I would still prefer to keep the casualty count to a minimum, so we would need to make our strikes quick and deciding. No room for error or we could find ourselves on the wrong side of a sword."

"We're going to kill other ponies?" Soarin' whispered in disbelief. "We can't—"

"We can't do that!" Spitfire called out, anger welling up in her blade as her teeth threatened to crush each other. "We're supposed to be defenders! The shield of the Cloud Kingdom! Hail, half of us signed up thinking we would be fighting nothing but chimeras! Not other ponies! You can't expect us to make a clean attack when so many of us are untrained in that kind of warfare both physically and physiologically."

"Then I'll do it myself," King Steel Wing declared.

SKIT: Expectations

Soarin': Captain Spitfire, ma'am, permission to speak?

Spitfire: Soarin', we're of equal rank now. You don't need to ask me every time you want to talk.

Soarin': You're still my senior.

Spitfire: You can omit that. It makes me sound older than I am.

Soarin': But you're just a few years older than me.

Spitfire: Yeah, but you're the youngest knight to ever receive a promotion to this rank.

Soarin': That's part of what I wanted to talk to you about.

Soarin': I feel like I don't deserve this. All I did was get stabbed. I didn't stop her from getting the Eternal Sword.

Soarin': Spitifire, in your eyes, did I earn this promotion?

Spitfire: …

Spitfire: Listen up, you're now an elite captain. There are very few ponies higher than you in authority now, but this means that you have a lot of responsibilities.

Spitfire: As of now, you're a role-model to younger pegasi. Your orders will mean the difference between life and death of those under you when a chimera attacks our city, or worse. You are now in the spotlight Soarin', and it doesn't matter whether you're ready or not, and for that I'm sorry. You can either grin and bear it, or turn in your resignation letter now before things get too hot for you to handle.

Spitfire: Your choice.

Soarin': I understand...

SKIT: End

I couldn't believe what he said. Do it himself? His majesty was strong, but no stronger than a normal pegasus, but that sword changed everything. Within a few months we had pushed the borders of the Cloud Kingdom all the way to the edge of Canterlot. Pretty soon, nearly all the earth-pony city-states were under our control? And how? That sword. With that sword, King Steel Wing could do anything. With one beat of his wings he could shake cities. He was unstoppable, at least, that's what I thought. One year later...

"Soarin'! Get your flank in gear now!" Spitfire sped through the halls of the castle, Soarin' just a few meters behind. "We've got an assassin on the loose, move it!"

"I'm flying as fast as I can!" Soarin' pleaded.

"If that's all you can muster then turn in your armor now!" she yelled back furiously before speeding off ahead into the throne room. The doors stood open, welcoming anyone to see the sight of the great pegasus King clutching his bleeding chest in pain. "Your majesty!"

"Captain Spitfire," he seethed angrily. "I want every unicorn in this city identified! Let it be known it was those conceited beasts that dared to injure the King of Heaven!"

"I understand, your majesty," she bowed, and turned to find Soarin' at the entrance, huffing and wheezing. "All those pies finally catch up to you?"

"You really want to test me now, Spitfire?" Soarin' roared back. "I swear, if you keep pushing me I'll show you just how far I have mastered Cirrus's arte!"

"Nice to see you have some bark back," Spitfire sighed. "You heard the order, right? We've got to start cataloguing the unicorns,"

"Yeah, all five of them I'm sure."

"Talking back is supposed to be below a knight of your rank."

Before Soarin' could strike back with a poorly thought out retort, Spitfire flew off. He cursed himself, and the wound that continued to hold him back. He turned to the heaving king. Was it just a coincidence that he was injured in a similar fashion? Along the shoulder by an obviously bladed weapon, and by a unicorn. "Did you see anything, your majesty?"

"It wore a black robe," he growled angrily, "but I could see the horn protruding from its head before its ghastly spear lunged at me."

"I understand," Soarin' bowed. "I'll get a doctor right away."

"It's about time." He paused for a moment, falling to his kneejoints and no longer strong enough to stand. "Also, Princess Cirrus Stride went after the assailant. Be sure to have a servant ready for her return."

But she didn't return. Princess Cirrus Stride was never seen again.

Fillydelphia: City of Ambition

Soarin' took a sip from his water. It was a long story for him and it ended on a rather depressing note. He felt no more absolved than he had at the start. He noticed the three fillies fidgeting uncomfortably. "But, hey, the story has a happy ending!" he quickly added.

"Yes, tell us about this happy ending? By chance, are you referring your kings continues rule over the earth-pony city-states?" Lulamoon taunted. "I'm sure from your pegasi standpoint that is a happy ending."

"No, what I mean is that the story isn't over yet."

"What?" Sweetie Belle hopped up on the table. "But then what's the happy ending?"

"I'm still writing it, but when I finish it you three will be the first to know." He saw some light return to the three fillies eyes. It was more than worth a little white lie to give them some hope in happy endings. Such hope is the privilege of childhood, even if he knew they would eventually learn otherwise. "So, what did you three little fillies want to tell me?"

"Oh, yeah!" Scootaloo jumped on the table, shoving aside Sweetie Belle. "Nightmare Moon said she was going to attack the Cloud Kingdom! She said she would sink our city! If she attacks Heaven, then my mom and dad and everypony is in danger and—"

"Calm down," Soarin' whispered soothingly as he placed a hoof on Scootaloo's back. "You’re talking about Nightmare Moon, you mean the old pony tale? Are you sure you just didn't have a bad nightmare?"

"Oh, Nightmare Moon is real." Lulamoon replied with a vicious grin that stretched from ear to ear. "This night sky? This isn't natural. We should have seen the sun an hour ago. Instead the stars are still up there, and the moon isn't moving. Nightmare Moon is back, and she brought her eternal night with her." Her eyes danced with electricity and her grin stretched farther back as she saw the first glimmer of despair cross into Soarin's mind.

"But, even if that is true how could she possibly cause an entire city to sink?"

"Do I need to repeat myself? Look up. She can make the sky hold still, you really think that making your feeble city, built on a mountain of clouds, will hold still against such terrible magic! Oh, you slay me! You really slay me!" She laughed, madly even, and continued to laugh as Soarin' pounded his hoofs on the table.

"Those are lives you're laughing about!" he roared, reducing Lulamoon to quiet giggles. "Innocent lives that are in danger! How can you laugh about such a thing!"

"Simple, I care about nopony but myself," Lulamoon replied cooly. "Sympathy is for those not strong enough to stand on their own."

"You're some kind of something." Soarin' unfurled his wings, ready to take off towards Heaven. He remembered the fillies. It was too dangerous to bring them and they would only serve to slow them down, but they weren't safe on their own. "Okay, Miss Moon, if you're so strong, take these fillies with you to Caballus. You said you were on your way there, right?"

"Why should I?"

"Because your conscience won't let you leave fillies alone in this city at night?"

"You'd be surprised," she seethed.

"Okay, how about because I challenged you."

"Do you really think my ego is that warped?"

They went silent, and none of the three fillies dared to step between them. Soarin' grinned to himself when he saw a frustrated bolt escape Lulamoon's horn. "One of them is from Caballus? You could just dump them on her parents, and then, when this is all done, I'll find you and make it up in some way? Deal?"

"Make it up how?"

"Use your imagination! Every second I stay here puts Heaven in more danger!"

"Anything?" Lulamoon's violet eyes flared up as a murderous spark. "That sword, and how you used it to deflect my lightning. You will teach me how it works."

"Fine, it's a date," he said with a wink. He saw her shiver in disgust, but that didn't matter to him. He turned back to the three fillies and bowed to them like he would before a queen. "I thank you three for delivering this message to me. Rest assured, I will fly as fast as my wings will let me and more." He was happy to hear the three of them giggle in response. He turned, and took off into the sky.

Cutie Quest Cleared

Equestria: Cold Heart's Pass

Lulamoon trudged across the frosted lands of Caballus. She pulled a rickety and cheap wagon, within it containing some of her personal items and three fillies. "Why did I agree to this," she groaned as a terribly cold breeze passed over her.

"Thank you for taking me back home, Miss Lulamoon," Sweetie Belle thanked her sweetly.

"Shut up! Don't talk!" Lulamoon snapped. Sweetie Belle retreated into the wagon, hugging her fellow crusaders close for warmth.

"Sorry."

"Didn't I say don't talk!" Lulamoon snapped again. She continued to pull the weighted down wagon, keeping her horn alight for the slightest bit of warmth she could give to herself, but it was barely enough. She knew if she didn't pick up the pace she was in danger of freezing over. "Curses," she cried softly.

"What do you think this is?"

She heard the fillies scrambling around in the back of wagon and rustling through her things.

"It looks like a giant round rock."

"Don't touch anything!" Her voice cut through the snowy howls, catching the crusaders and paralyzing them. "If you touch that stone I will char your little pony hides! Do you hear me! Don't touch a thing!"

"Yes ma'am!" the three replied.

"Didn't I say don't ta-alk!" The ground began to shake, violently, as if the world was going to split in two. The three fillies screamed in the background, but she kept still. The shaking eventually stopped, passing away as if nothing happened.

"That was stronger than the last one," Apple Bloom commented. She covered her mouth, ready for another beration from Lulamoon, but she remained silent. "Huh?"

A monstrous chimera, resembling a beast halfway between gorilla and a dinosaur with horns, appeared from the white void roaring and shaking the earth with each step it took.

"Finally, something interesting," Lulamoon rejoiced in delight. Her horn began to build up electricity and she shot it into the sky. "Thunder Blade!" From the sky, three blades of thunder shot out and skewered the behemoth, sending crackling electricity through the monsters body. It fell over, smoking and ablaze. "Finally, warmth," she whispered as she held her hooves next to the charring skin.

"Uh, Miss Lulamoon," Sweetie Belle squeaked as she crawled over the side of the wagon, "how did you get your cutie mark?"

"Ask me again and you'll join this chimera on the spit."