My Little Pony: Friendship of Generations

"Only one more day to go now Devlin, you can do this! You've been training for months now, preparing for this! You're ready, no, you're more than ready!"

Looking into the mirror at himself, a worried expression sits on the face of Devlin Speedster, his mind racing a million miles a minute, filled with nervous thoughts and extreme anxiety. His mane is unkempt, having not been brushed since he had awoken early on this morning. His eyes are a deep red, raw from his rubbing of them, a nervous trait of his. He's

clearly a mess, and talking out loud to his reflection hasn't been helping with his currently deteriorating mental stability.

Tomorrow is already, well, tomorrow. The big day is just 24 hours away now, and he's not sure if he's ready for this. It's not every day that the biggest nation-wide talent competition, Equestria's Got Talent, comes to Ponyville. In fact, this is the very first time that it ever has come to the small town. Normally, EgT is hosted by big cities like Fillydephia or Manehattan. Canterlot was the original scheduled host this time around, but due to the reconstruction, it had to be moved. So Princess Aurora decided on Ponyville, justifying it by claiming that the move is a show of gratitude to those who helped stop the Ursa attack. Devlin and his friends, in other words.

However, this sudden change in plans has only proven to make his anxiety worse than ever. Now he not only is competing to prove himself and his talents, but he's now representing Ponyville itself as he competes right there in the heart of the town. Naturally, he's not the only Ponyville pony competing, but he's probably the most well known of them. With him constantly helping others in the community, anypony he can really, almost everyone knows who he is by this point. He's done things to help them all it seems like, so he'll easily be recognized right away. How will it look if he messes up right in the middle of his act? He'll embarrass and shame Ponyville. They'll all laugh and taunt him, and no one will ever accept his help again.

"NO!" he suddenly yells out at his reflection, eyes widening menacingly as he gnashes his teeth, "you can't think that way! You can do this, Devlin! This is your time to shine! Don't let things get you down like this!"

"But what about Bri? She's been on my mind a lot lately, and it pains me to wonder what happened to her. If this theory about Scatter Brain is right, that only proves to make things worse. I feel like I need to be doing more to look for her. I should leave the competition. If I go through with it, it might end up being too late for Bri. What if it's compete and lose a friend? I can't accept that!"

"If you continue to think like that, you'll never find her anyways! Right now you need to focus on the big picture! Your friends, the ones still here, are expecting you to be on that stage tomorrow. They have done everything to help find Bri, and so have you. Taking a few hours off tomorrow won't change anything. You will find her, but for now, your friends have become disheartened by the lack of results in your search. They need something to bring their smiles back, and you know that Bri would want that more than her own safety. Now stop thinking about her, Oblivion, the dark stars, and whatever else! Focus already! Remember, the night is always darkest before the dawn, and the dawn is coming."

As he comes to conclude his anger-fueled arguing with himself, the bedroom door suddenly swings open. A small, cream-colored filly happily trots into the room and smiles up at the stallion. Her blonde mane bounces with every step, and her bright, joy-filled expression warms his heart. Stepping forward, she tells her big brother that she's ready to practice with him some more, and that she knows he's going to beat all the other ponies’ flanks in the competition tomorrow. Devlin chuckles and nods, breathing in deeply to gather his composure. All of this anxiety and stress has been Hell on him. He has one more day before the big event. One more day to perfect his act, and with Bright by his side, helping him get ready, he knows he can't fail. He needs to make his friends smile again, even if it's just for a short time. He needs to help them find happiness.

All the way on the complete opposite end of Ponyville, the new Cutie Mark Crusaders; Spring Rise, Honeysuckle, Gumdrop, and Majus, have arrived at Star Rider's home. They had been asked by the dark blue pony to come over for a special mission that only they can accomplish, and it's certainly piqued their interest. They wonder exactly what she could want from the four of them, and what kind of special mission this is. Will it help them find their cutie marks? They can only hope, but for some reason, they don't believe it has anything to do with that. Majus knocks on the door, and almost instantly it opens. Standing there, Star invites them in and before they all even pass through, begins to explain the situation.

"Ok my little ponies, as you know, Equestria's Got Talent is coming to Ponyville tomorrow. I know you all wanted to attend, but me and my friends need your help right now. With Bri still missing, we need to do everything we can to keep Ponyville safe during the competition. Majus, Spring, I want you two to go around town tomorrow. When everypony from all around Equestria is here, I want you to watch anypony you don't recognize. Look around and keep watch for anypony suspicious. If you see someone like that, report to me immediately."

"Oh...ok," Spring says, unsure of what to think about her new mission. She looks over to Majus, who grins and nods. She smiles back, but turns to Star again and asks, "why do we need to look for somepony suspicious?"

"I don't know if you've heard, but those dark stars that appeared all that time ago are the doing of an evil force named Oblivion. My friends and I fear that somepony working for him might show up tomorrow. Either that, or the mysterious Babe Chenko who I believe might have something to do with Bri's disappearance."

With every mention of her sister going missing, Honeysuckle seems to get more and more downtrodden. Noticing this, the mare lifts her head up by the chin, and with a smile, assures her that they will find her big sister and make sure everything goes back to normal. The little filly nods and tells her that she wants to do everything she can to help find Bri. That's when Star begins to give the next assignment to the group, this time focusing on Honeysuckle and Gumdrop specifically, telling them, "I want the two of you to ask around for any information about Babe Chenko or Scatter Brain. These two ponies are the only leads we have as to what might have happened to Bri right now. If we find out more about them, we might be able to find out more about where she is."

Saluting the mare, the four little ponies all agree to do their best to help. Naturally they are disappointed that they won't be able to see the competition tomorrow, focusing instead on their new missions, but in the end they understand that these things are a little more important at the moment. They agree right away to tell Star if they find anything out, and run out to begin their missions a day early, wanting to get right on it. Smiling, Star returns to the letter she had been writing, a note to Princess Aurora regarding all of the information and theories she and the others have come up with so far. She needs to know about this. She'll know what to do more than anypony else.

Meanwhile, down in Ponyville's southern sector, both Dinky and Agelian are trotting quickly around the latter's house. Like everypony else, they are preparing for tomorrow's competition. They want to make sure that they'll be ready ahead of time, and by this point the two of them have already procrastinated enough. The greyish-purple mare walks briskly back and forth between her storage cupboards and house laboratory, preparing different capsules and sacks for Agelian's flight routines. Outside of the Wonderbolts, no other pegasi use these kind of aesthetic tricks in their flying, much less in competitions. It's the main reason for Agelian's victory in the Cloudsdale Best Young Flyer Competition before. This time though, Dinky has prepared some special new capsules for the bearer of the Element of Faith.

Of course, Agelian is not competing in Equestria's Got Talent himself, as he wishes not to upstage his friend Devlin. Instead, he has been chosen to kick the competition off with an amazing flight stunt that will introduce the judges. He wouldn't say that it's been his dream to do this, but it's definitely going to be an awesome experience. He remembers how one time his hero, Rainbow Dash, had done a sonic rainboom after the first kiss of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Candenza. He knows that she never dreamed of that kind of thing either, but that it was the opportunity of a lifetime that the legendary mare couldn't pass up.

Even with everything that's been happening lately; from the mysterious letter given to him by Babe Chenko, to Trixie and the Ursa attack, and of course the disappearance of one of his dear friends Bri, he's just felt really downtrodden. He understands that finding Bri is a huge task, and honestly, he's even thought about giving up this chance to look for her more, but he realizes that in hard times, everypony needs something to lift their spirits, and he wants to help do that. Even if he isn't competing, he can make the kickoff one Hell of a show, and give them all something to cheer for. After this is all said and done, then he can put forth triple the effort in finding his friend, and he will not rest until she's back home.

Finishing up another capsule, the mare places it into Agelian's stunt bag and trots over to her fiancé, kissing him gently upon the lips and telling him how proud and excited she is for him. The excitement is obviously felt by the pegasus as well, but his mind has traveled to another topic, the three judges set for the competition, the very ones he'll be introducing with his stunt. The first of them is Trixie Lulamoon, the mare whom he and his friends helped to stop the Ursa attack. A talented magician and showmare, she's often been looked down upon because of her bad past. However, after her significant part in stopping the attack on Canterlot, her honor has been restored by a good margin.

Sales for her shows have increased greatly, and she herself has become a lot kinder and more helpful. She's even been putting a lot of effort into the reconstruction of the capital. She blames herself for the destruction, and wishes to help fix things properly. It's an honorable goal, and he can greatly respect her for it. The second of the judges is the Ponyville born Sweetie Belle, a world famous singer and the younger sister of the late, former Element bearer Rarity. She was also a member of the old Cutie Mark Crusaders along with Apple Bloom and Wonderbolts Captain Scootaloo. With the possibility of many singers in the competition, Sweetie is probably the most qualified of the judges, and will most likely be the toughest.

The third judge is another Ponyville born mare, and another who is world renowned. Vinyl Scratch, better known by her stage name DJ Pon-3, is a DJ in high demand across all of Equestria and the rest of the world. She performed at the wedding of Shining Armor and Mi Amore Candenza, is a regular at many big parties and events, and even showed up at Princess Aurora's coronation, since the princess is a big fan. She's also the roommate and best friend of classical cellist Octavia Melody, who herself is world famous for her amazing compositions. The two have collaborated on occasion as well, and are surprisingly perfect at harmonizing their two different styles of music.

So between these three judges, Trixie, Sweetie, and DJ Pon-3, he knows it's going to be a tough, but amazing competition. These three know talent unlike anypony else. One other thing that connects them, however, is the love that one very special pony has for them. Bri is such a huge fan of all three of them, and has been excited to see two of them in an upcoming Detrot concert. With her now missing, who knows if she'll ever get to go. Dinky sees the stallion's mood begin to drop, and walks over, wrapping him in a comforting hug. She knows how hard this has been for him. He loves his friends greatly, and to have one of them just vanish has really hurt him.

"Honey," she says with a smile, getting him to look up at her. He has tears welled up in his eyes, which seem to shimmer with the sorrow he's feeling, "come over to my house tonight for dinner with me and my mother. We'll have fun and celebrate your big accomplishments. Let's just try and focus on the good things, ok?"

"Ok," Agelian replies, smiling as he embraces his love with thankfulness. The two kiss each other again, and think about how tomorrow's going to go. He's going to do great, and both of them know it.

Over at the Ponyville Greenhouse, Chupa happily hums a little tune as she waters the dragon lilies. She's so excited for the big Equestria's Got Talent show tomorrow that she can't help but be joyful and tell her plant friends all about what she knows of the competition, even despite what just happened. It's not just Bri's disappearance that has broken the young filly down lately, but just yesterday, Mr. Greenhooves passed away. His illness had suddenly taken a turn for the worse in the past couple of days, and he fell asleep yesterday afternoon, never waking up. It's horrible to even think about, considering how lively he always seemed, even just the days before that. It's near impossible to accept that he's gone.

His will was read by his wife this morning. She didn't want to put it off, believing that her husband would have rather gotten the mourning over with quick than harp on it for a long time. In the will, Mr. Greenhooves gave ownership of the greenhouse to Chamomile and Chupa Cabra, the latter of whom he had promised it to. Of course, the only reason her older sister was mentioned was because legally he couldn't give it to a minor. In reality, it's Chupa's. Her sister just has the deed and official ownership rights. It's the best gift she ever received, but came from something horrible and saddening. So now, fully in charge of everything, she has renamed the greenhouse in honor of her mentor; the Abel Greenhooves Greenhouse.

"I'll probably need some help running things now," she quietly says to a potted Venus Flytrap, "maybe hire some assistants. But they have to be ponies who I can trust. This is a place of peace and tranquility, and all of you beauties have to receive the best quality care possible. I can't just let anypony come in here and try to take care of you." She smiles and begins to move over to the sunflowers, grabbing her watering can in her mouth. Right now she wants to focus on something good and peaceful. If she keeps thinking of death, disappearances, and hard work, it'll just bring her down again. She has to stay strong.

In the center of town, the final of the remaining five friends is standing at alert, hoof raised in salute. His expression is stoic and serious, showing deep respect and honor towards the elite royal guards walking towards him. Led by Captain Everglade, the soldiers stop in front of the former Captain and salute back, showing just as much respect to him as he is towards them. It's been a while since they have met with each other; back when he and the others had gone for a day to Canterlot to help with the reconstruction. Well, it really hasn't been THAT long, but for someone like him, it feels much longer. It excites him to be in the presence of such honorable ponies, especially ones whom he knows and has deep relationships with.

He had never told his friends, or anypony else for that matter, but there was one time back while he was the captain of the elite royal guard that he had actually dated Everglade in secret. The two had been going out for months, but broke apart when their relationship threatened their duties. They still love each other, but feel that they have to keep things on a more professional level these days, to avoid more trouble. So for now, a simple salute and respectful smile is the most they can hope for. Maybe when all this trouble with Oblivion is over, things can change, but for now, things are just too hectic.

"So, how is the reconstruction going, ma'am?" Terra asks respectfully.

"We're ahead of schedule, and figure that within just a couple more months, everything will be back to how it was before. We reopened a lot of businesses just this past week. It was a very gratifying moment for everypony," Everglade replies, also keeping it respectful. It's obvious to anypony that the two of them are trying hard to keep it that way. Even the other guards can tell that things seem tense between them. Out of their own respect for the two, they decide to keep quiet however. It isn't their place to question things.

"Captain, I want to make sure that during the competition tomorrow, Ponyville is well protected. We have reason to believe that Oblivion might attempt to interrupt the show in some way. We don't know how or when, and we've already got some of our friends working on keeping an eye out for anypony suspicious, but we need the help of the guard to truly make sure it all goes according to plan."

"Well, I'm glad to offer the services of the elite royal guard," she tells the honor-bound stallion, "I'll have forty armed soldiers stationed around the central sector of Ponyville tomorrow, half of which will be right around the stage and crowd itself. We'll run searches on everypony's saddle bags to make sure everything is in order, and that no one is smuggling anything in. Anypony who looks suspicious, or seems to exhibit symptoms of the dark star possession which you have previously described to me will be apprehended for questioning."

Terra salutes her again and thanks the mare for her help in keeping things safe. He knows that some ponies may not be thrilled about the searches, claiming it as an invasion of privacy. However, considering the threat Equestria has been facing, these extreme measures have to be taken to protect everypony.  Safety is a number one priority in this time, especially during such a huge event such as Equestria's Got Talent. If everything goes according to plan, then things will turn out fine and he and his friends can return their focus to finding Bri, and after that, the rest of the Elements of Harmony.

For the remainder of the day, everything goes by smoothly for the five friends, all of their work and preparations going according to plan. The night soon comes and they take a break to enjoy dinner with their families and take a well deserved sleep, and soon enough, the sun rises once again, bringing forth a new day; the day that Equestria's Got Talent comes to town. After days of preparation, especially yesterdays hectic last-minute precursory measures, they're ready to finally reap the benefits of their labor, and enjoy a show of music, magic, and amazing talents.

With Devlin off with his sister, making final preparations for his big performance, the other four meet at the fountain in the center of town, all well rested and excited for the day. Agelian wears his racing suit, and has his goggles resting on his forehead. He smiles as he walks up to the others, Dinky beside him. He sees that he's not the only pony to bring someone with them, as Grace Storm, Chamomile Cabra, and Everglade are all there as well. They all greet each other with hugs, hoof bumps, and smiles, excitedly beginning to talk about the upcoming competition and all the expected acts.

"You know, I've been thinking," Dinky suddenly pipes up, a wide grin spread across her face, "Ponyville should have a stadium like Cloudsdale has, so that every time events like this are held, a big stage doesn't need to be built in the middle of town."

The others think about it for a moment, and quickly find themselves in agreement. It would be a good idea for the town to have its own stadium. The town's been much more than just a small location for a long time now. Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends had changed all of that, so why couldn't they have a stadium? They hold multiple events every year, and building an arena could help them hold even more. It's a great idea. However, Terra speaks up suddenly, sighing as he reminds them all that constructing a stadium like that would cost a great deal of money, resources, and increased labor. He notes that at this moment, Ponyville has many more important things to focus on, and put their resources towards. Dinky and the others seem downtrodden by this, but don't argue. They know he's right, and in the end it was just a dream anyways.

As the eight of them stand there, a large group of ponies begin to approach, walking towards the stage that sits not too far away from them. Excitement floats through the air as the ponies who had come from all over Equestria chat about their favorite hopefuls to win. Most of them have programs, which Fluttershy and Spike have been handing out a few blocks down. The competition is getting ready to start, and with only minutes left, the friends decide to get to their seats in the front row. Agelian heads out to get ready for his big opening stunt, leaving his seat beside Dinky open. The others sit there, trying to think about what Devlin's talent could be. It's something they had still not discovered. Their search for information had led to some new intelligence on him, but in the end, their focus on Bri disappearing that day became a bigger deal, and they hadn't been able to learn as much as they would've hoped to.

Ponies begin filling in the seats surrounding the large stage. Stallions, mares, fillies, and colts all find their way to seats cheering and talking loudly as music begins to play through a set of giant speakers on each side of the stage. At that moment, the tone of the music changes, and Agelian flies out at top speed from behind the large red curtain at the back of the stage. Soaring straight up into the sky, a pillar of red smoke trails down beneath him, the pegasus releases one of the special new capsules Dinky had made for him. A shrieking noise emits from the released capsule, followed by a huge explosion that creates a star design of smoke in the air around him. He then shoots downward and, to finish the opening stunt off, hits one of his patented sonic thunderbooms.

The audience erupts into a frenzy of uncontrollable cheering, their voices exploding throughout the area with enough force to blow Canterlot right off of the mountain it's built into, and louder than the roars of a thousand angry Ursa Majors. Making his landing, Agelian bows curtly and returns into the back. Breen Oaterlund soon replaces him, walking slowly out from behind the cutrain with headset on. As the crowd's cheers die down, he announces, "Agelian Wingblade everypony! Welcome to Equestria's Got Talent!"

After another huge burst of cheers, the older announcer continues, "Before I announce our celebrity guest judges, let's please give a big applause to our very own Princess Aurora!"

The crowd stands to their hooves and gives the princess a standing ovation as she glides down from the sky, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere. She smiles at everypony before taking a seat in a special section at the side of the stage, right beside where the judges table is. Already in the section are members of the Wonderbolts as well as Mayor Mare and some other high class citizens. Breen then introduces the three celebrity guest judges, Sweetie Belle, Trixie Lulamoon, and DJ Pon-3, who come out from behind the curtain and bow to the crowd before taking their places at the judges table.

Trixie is clothed in her typical wizards hat and cape, a wide smile spread across her face as the crowd cheers for her. Sweetie is in a beautiful sapphire coated dress that is very reminiscent of the works designed by her older sister in the past. DJ Pon-3 wears her typical headphones around her neck and purple sunglasses. The three of them are so different, but talented beyond belief. If anypony deserves to be a judge for this kind of talent competition, it's these three. After they have taken their seats at the table, Breen once again begins to speak, this time announcing the names of all twelve of the ponies entered in the competition.

"From Ponyville, we have Six String and Zipporwhill!" he announces as a large, manly looking pegasus with grey beard, short cut mane, and thick glasses comes out along with a quick mare with equally thick glasses. He announces the others, calling out, "Cleft Note of Fillydelphia! Day Dreamer from Manehattan! Delia of Prance! From Hoofington, Marshmallow Glaze! The Orange Sisters of Manehattan! Pestel Mort from Hollow Shades! All the way from Tall Tale, Rindin Fiera! Topaz from Vanhoover! Dodge Junction's own Vanilla Swirl! Devlin Speedster from right here in Ponyville!

And finally, The Mysterious Maeebjan from the Badlands Colonies!"

With each announced name, another pony walks out onto stage, or in the case of the Orange Sisters, two. They give a short bow to the crowd, then leave as quickly as they came. When Devlin comes out, the crowd goes nuts, cheering for the helpful pony whom they have all grown to know and respect. His friends in the front row cheer louder than ever, chanting his name as they stomp their hooves in excitement. Breen then awaits the crowd to quiet themselves again, almost seeming annoyed by their raucous nature. But with a smile, as it gets quiet enough for him to be heard, he continues.

"And now, without any further ado, please put your hooves together for the host of Equestria's Got Talent! He is the coach and personal trainer to the Wonderbolts, and a former one himself! He is the stallion who was trained by the legendary Spitfire, and went on to train both Rainbow Dash and the current captain of the Wonderbolts, Scootaloo! Please welcome to the stage, "Lightspeed" Racsni!"

Agelian returns to his seat right as the announcement is made and turns to do a double take, not believing what he had just heard. Racsni is one of the most famous racers in history! He's known for being the only pony besides Rainbow Dash to be able to create a sonic rainboom, and even created the Lightspeed Screecher, the move that gave so much inspiration to Agelian when he was young. It's similar to the sonic rainboom, but he flies upwards at top speed, and when he reaches the fastest he can go, he corkscrews at the end and creates a screeching funnel that explodes out in a wave of flashing light. It's actually harder to do than the sonic rainboom due to the heavy wind resistance of flying straight upward into the air. This is the pony to single-hoofedly revolutionize professional flying.

He had been secretly trained for years by Spitfire, and when Soundspeed left as coach at the same time that Spitfire retired, he came out of the dark to be appointed in his place. Ever since he had more than tripled the overall skill of the group. He trained the legendary Rainbow Dash and is the cause of her becoming Captain of the Wonderbolts so quickly, and after Rainbow's death, he trained Scootaloo by the late mare's request, and look where she's at now, Captain as well!

This is the only other pony outside of both Rainbow and Scootaloo who has been the inspiration to Agelian in his life. So as he trots out, brown hair spiked up with a blonde lightning bolt-shaped streak in it, matching tail, and brown training hoodie, the blue pegasus nearly goes mute from the volume of his cheers.

Smirking at the crowds reaction, the stallion raises an eyebrow and yells out in a thick Horsetralian accent, "Well it seems like your ready to get things started! Well then, why wait!? Let Equestria's Got Talent begin, and to kick things off, let's find out what the judges are hoping to see today!"

"Well Racsni," Trixie begins, I am hoping to see some great and powerful feats of magic! I want to be astounded with tricks that deceive the senses and stunned with showmanship that creates a perfect balance between the act and competitor."

The crowd applauds Trixie's words, but are interrupted as Sweetie Belle goes next, saying, "Well I want to hear, not see. I want my ears to melt in ecstasy as the sounds of beautiful music float gently through them."

"Yo everypony!" DJ Pon-3 suddenly yells out, raising her front hooves into the air and bobbing her head up and down, "I want to experience some wub-tastic talents here today! Who's with me!?"

The crowd grows louder and louder, their rambunctious cheers echoing throughout all of Ponyville. Vinyl Scratch has always been known for her ability to get loud, as well as to incite other ponies into loud reactions as well. It's just a part of who she is; her personality and style. Racsni thanks the judges for their thoughts, and welcomes out the first competitor of the day, the duo of Six String and Zipporwhill. The two return from the back. Six String has an acoustic guitar this time, and seems ready to play. Sweetie seems interested, as does DJ Pon-3. Trixie sits back and raises an eyebrow, curious but not altogether interested. Six String begins to play a slow, melodic song very reminiscent of his heritage. Zipporwhill then grabs the mic on the stage and surprises everypony, beginning to sing in her family's native language, Espanballo.

Following the performance, each of the other competitors come out one at a time, taking their turns and performing their talents. Cleft Note is the first, singing one of Sweetie Belle's songs in an acapella style. Day Dreamer and Delia are after her, doing a mind reading and stage magic respectively. Marshmallow Glaze bakes a pineapple upside down cake, and the Orange Sisters perform high-risk unicycle acrobatics. Pestel Mort comes out and displays her voodoo magic, and Rindin Fiera juggles bowling pins that were set on fire while riding a bike around an intricate course. Topaz breakdances, and Vanilla Swirl shows off her mastery of mimicry, copying the voices of all of the judges and Racsni perfectly. Only two remain at this point; Devlin and The Mysterious Maaebjan.

Returning to the stage following the hilarious mimicry of Vanilla Swirl, Racsni applauds right along with the cheering crowd. As they begin to grow silent, he laughs and announces, "This has certainly been an amazing show so far, and it's hard to believe that it's already almost over. But don't fret, for we've still got two more to go! And to start off, let me introduce the pony you all have been waiting for! Born right here in Ponyville, he's known for his selfless acts of generosity, never once asking for anything in return, not even a word of gratitude! Please welcome to the stage, Devlin Speedster!"

In the instant that his name is called out, the eight ponies in the front row stand to their hooves and let out the loudest cheers they can muster. They watch as the quiet, red-coated stallion steps out from behind the curtain, looking around at the erupting crowd with apparent anxiety. They can tell how nervous he is, and so Agelian yells out his name, capturing the stallion's attention. Devlin looks over, seeing his friends there smiling and cheering, and smiles back. He's so happy that they're enjoying themselves. Right now, that's what's important, and he can't let them down now. He may be scared, he may be worried, but he knows that no matter how it turns out, his friends will support and love him for it.

"Welcome to the stage Mr. Speedster," Sweetie Belle happily says. Both Vinyl and Trixie greet the stallion as well, the latter already having known and met him prior to this. The ivory singer then adds with a bright smile, "what are you going to perform for us today?"

"Well..." he nervously says, blushing loudly as he notices his friends lean closer to finally find out what his secret talent is,

"I'll...I'll be performing a song that I wrote myself."

"We've heard other ponies sing," Trixie grumpily tells him, interrupting the conversation between him and Sweetie, "what is it that you think will set you apart from the others? How will you wow us?" Sweetie and Vinyl both nod in agreement, wanting to know more. Everypony in the audience remains quiet, curious as well. Singing is a broad term. What genre will he be singing? What style? There's so many questions.

"Well, it's not just a song. It's a story about everything that's been happening in me and my friends lives lately. It's kind of a story about how ponies lives can change in unexpected ways, but that through everything, the bonds we form with our friends will always shine through and save us from any threat," Devlin tells them, having gained a small bit of confidence, trying hard to keep himself calm and collected, "I've been writing it myself ever since I first met my new friends, both the lyrics and the music that goes with it. It's a tribute to them." The three judges smile and nod, signaling for him to begin. The lights on the stage go out, all except one which shines down on him as silence fills the surrounding area. A peaceful tune begins to come out from the speakers, and before Devlin can even begin to sing, the ponies in the audience sway back and forth to the melody.

"It felt like it was all going downhill. My life was in dismay, I wasn't feeling any thrills. My sunshine had no ray, my fields had no hills. I was lonely, so lonely, forever more," Devlin sings out, the first verse of his song creating a chill in the air. They had never known this about him. Nopony had ever known of his struggles. He always kept so quiet. After a short instrumental break, he continues with the second verse, "It came in late one night. The dark stars in the sky. It was the ponies blight. Their fear echoed in their cries. It was a terrible sight, that made me so sad, so sad, forever more."

"That's when the princess came, and introduced me to my friends. We fought against the threat, my heart finally began to mend. I was welcomed with open hooves, and my fears, they did dispel. My life, was no longer a living Hell!"

After the final line, which he yells out at the top of his lungs, the beat of the song picks up. Getting faster and louder, it goes into a harder, rock-sounding style as Devlin drops to his knees and sings out the chorus, "Friends came to me, when I had nothing left to live for. They came to me, gave me something worth fighting for. Five ponies I never knew, showed me love I never felt before. Friends came to me, and saved my life."

"Things began to change for me. My life once more had purpose. The light I could finally see, the sorrow I would never miss. I was happy for once, never lonely, no longer lonely, any more! Then it happened again one night. She went missing suddenly. We couldn't find her anywhere, she was nowhere in sight. She vanished from our lives, and left us in sorrow, in sorrow once more! But we discovered many clues, and our fights were brought to peace! We learned that there was hope! This feeling we had to keep! We had a reason to move on, and our fears, they were dispelled. Our lives, no longer felt like a living Hell!"

"Friends came to me, when I had nothing left to live for. They came to me, gave me something worth fighting for! Five ponies I never knew, now that I couldn't live without! Friends came to me, and it makes me want to shout! Because I love them with all my heart, I love them with all my soul! Friends came to me, and my fears did soon depart! I will fight to find the one, who went away so suddenly! And when we reunite, when we reunite, the light we will see."

Devlin continues to sing his song, bringing tears to the eyes of the ponies watching and listening. His friends smile up at him as he kneels there, singing with all his emotion and soul. Everything he has is poured out into that tribute, a beautiful song dedicated to those who helped him out of a hard life he never wanted to live through. And as he finishes, ending on a long-held, high note and the words "Friends", every unicorn, earth pony, and pegasus there stand to their hooves and give the loudest, most authentic standing ovation yet. Even the princess, the Wonderbolts, and all three judges have joined in, applauding and crying out with tears cascading down their cheeks.

"Let me begin," Trixie tells the stallion, kindly smiling as she wipes the tears away from her eyes, "that when you first walked onto that stage, I had my doubts. But you just proved neigh-sayers like me wrong. You not only have one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard come out of a stallion, but you have a beautiful soul. Never change that Devlin, not for anything in the world."

"I agree," Sweetie Belle adds, joyfully joining in with a laugh, "that was absolutely amazing! It's so hard to believe that you're not famous right now, because you could be. You put so much emotion into that song, and I believe that everypony here felt it resonate throughout the town. We didn't just watch an Equestria's Got Talent competitor, we witnessed a concert!"

"Dude!" Vinyl then quickly yells out, hardly waiting for Sweetie to finish, "that was truly wub-tastic!"

The crowd goes wild for the words of encouragement and amazement from the three judges as Devlin walks off of the stage with joy. He accomplished what he came here to do, and whether he wins or not, it doesn't matter. He made his friends smile, he made all of Ponyville and beyond smile. As he passes beyond the curtain, turning one last time to mouth the words "thank you" to his friends, Rascni walks out to greet the cheering audience. He looks around at the audience and mocks not being able to hear them, at which point their voices escalate to new heights.

Grinning, Racsni yells out as loud as he can to gain their attention and focus, saying, "How can our final competitor possibly top that!? Well, to answer that, I have to ask, what are we waiting for!? Let's find out right now! Our last competitor of this years Equestria's Got Talent competition comes to us all the way from the colonies deep in the Badlands! Very little is known about him, and he prefers it that way! Please give a warm, Ponyville welcome to...THE MYSTERIOUS MAAEBJAN!"

The crowd begins to cheer more raucously than ever as the final competitor finally steps out from behind the curtain.

Everypony is more than excited to find out what's going to happen now, and if this pony really can top what they had just heard and saw from Devlin. However, the most they see of the competitor as he walks out is exactly what they saw earlier during the initial introductions. He wears a dark cloak with the hood pulled down over his face. He slowly comes out onto the stage and pulls the cloak off, and at once, the applause echoing throughout the crowd stops.

Everypony's eyes widen and mouths drop. The creature before them is not a pony, he just can't be. They don't know what he is, but it isn't right. They can now truly see him for what he is, a monster. Tall and thin, his bones showing through his purple coat that's spotted with blood red. Both a twisted horn and deer-like antlers line his head, and his mane and tail are both wild and unkempt. He has cloven hooves and slits for eyes, bat wings and fangs for teeth. Glaring around at the crowd with a wide, vicious grin spread across the whole of his face, he chuckles slightly to himself.

The four friends sitting in the audience see him, and get to their hooves in an instant. This is exactly what they had been worrying might happen today. There's no other explanation, this has to be an agent of Oblivion. However, before they can even act, Trixie raises an eyebrow from over at the judges table and asks the creature, "Well Mr. Maaebjan, what is your talent? What have you come out here to show us all today?"

"What is my talent?" the creature repeats in an echoing, raspy voice, "what have I come out here to show you pathetic fools today? Hehehe. I think that these four ponies here in the front understand better than a two-bit showmare like you, Trixie. But I'll humor you. What is my talent you ask? Hmm, my talent is...MURDER!"

Without a second's hesitation following the last word, a black beam shoots out of his twisted horn, striking Trixie right in the heart and knocking her off of her seat. The crowd instantly begins to scream, and ponies leap up from their seats to escape. The other judges have run off, and have joined the panic now escalating in the streets as the showmare crumples to the ground below. The Wonderbolts and Princess Aurora rush the creature, but Maaebjan encases the flight team in a magical cage, and envelops the princesses horn in dark magic, causing her spell to backfire and knock her away. Bolting out from behind the curtain, Devlin sees what's going on and tries to rush the monster, but is caged just like the Wonderbolts had been.

As he laughs maniacally, the other four try to attack him as well, but just like everypony else, they're stopped, this time with a simple magical barrier blocking them from even getting near. Stepping forward as much as she can, Star Rider yells out, "Who are you, really!? Are you an agent of Oblivion, one sent by the evil force to commit acts of murder on his behalf!? Or are you Oblivion himself, once more possessing the body of an innocent pony!?"

"Innocent pony? Agent of Oblivion? Fools, you really don't understand, do you? This is far bigger than you could ever think! I am not a puny minion, or a pathetic lower creature! I AM Oblivion! The power I have grown in all this time, the strength I have locked into myself through all this time has allowed me to finally regain true form! This is me, in all my glory!"

Everypony still around the stage glares at the monster in anger. They can't believe this. Oblivion himself has come for them? Why would he make such a drastic move? Does it have something to do with Bri, and if so, what? Star decides to ask him this, but Oblivion just laughs and responds, "No, that was not my doing. Bri left of her own accord, right along with that pathetic loser Scatter Brain. They think they can do something. They think that they actually have a chance. It's funny really. Pathetic little mortals. You always believe yourselves to be stronger than you actually are. After I took over that impudent Sevulva Star, I've become so much more powerful. My minions have gathered me many sacrifices, and I have formed, as you call them, Agents of Oblivion. Actually, I kind of like that. My agents are across Equestria, killing and stealing the souls to feed my power. Soon, I shall rise to full power and destroy this planet, and ascend as a GOD!"

"You're insane!" Star yells out as she continues to try and force her way through the barrier, but to no avail. Turning around, she looks at both Agelian and Chupa and gives them a look as if to ask what they're waiting for. The two seem confused at first, but come to a sudden realization and step towards her and the barrier. Chupa unwraps the golden scarf around her neck and points the gem imbedded in it at the barrier and Oblivion, who raises an eyebrow. Agelian then does the same, pulling out his golden racing goggles and pointing the gem at the barrier as well. Instantly, the two Elements of Harmony seem to resonate with power, glowing as they suddenly let out a giant rainbow-colored power beam, shattering the barrier with ease and enveloping the evil pony.

Shrieking out, the creature yells, "NO! How could you have found them!? I got rid of the Elements of Harmony sixteen years ago!" Suddenly, the rainbow beam seems to dissolve his body, turning it into dust which crumbles and falls to the stage below. However, his force remains, and flies away to escape for now and plot it's revenge. The magic cages disappear, freeing everypony, and all the ponies around begin to wander back, looking around in shock and confusion. However, they ignore the others and rush to the judges table, where Trixie is in critical condition.

Blood exuding from her chest, she coughs more up and looks at the worried expression on Star's face right above her. A warm smile spreads across the showmare as she quietly whispers to them, "This...is what...I deserve. I killed....innocent young ponies...and...and...and I made other pony's....lives...Hell. Karma is...finally catching up with me I...guess." She hacks up a huge amount of blood, and laughs as she thinks about how Twilight Sparkle was always so forgiving of her, after everything she had done. She always gave her another chance. Maybe that's what true friends do for each other. Maybe Twilight just wanted to be her friend in the end. With a wink, Trixie adds, "This....was the....last hurrah of the....Great &....Powerful Trixie."

"Stay with us!" Star yells, "you can't die on us! Your magic shows were always so good! You changed for the better and made up for your past mistakes Trixie! Please...please don't die! You really are a wonderful showmare!"

Laughing, Trixie smiles for one last time as she says to them, "Was there ever any doubt?"

Episode 13 Preview

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They all make fun of me. They say that I'm a fool for believing they exist, but I'll show them. I'll show everypony that humans do exist, and when I do, I'll be the one laughing.