Braeburn And The Wonderful Lamp

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10 (Final)

Chapter 1

San Palomino Desert. The lack of clouds on the sky above allowed Celestia's sun to glow with full strenght. The heat was unbearable for most creatures, but a single figure seemed to cross the desert without trouble. The creature's face couldn't be seen, for the pony-shaped tall figure's face was covered by the hood of its cloak. Even though the creature was considerably taller than an average pony, the fact that its hooves wouldn't sink on the soft sand was a hint that the cloaked figure was also lighter.

In the horizon, the cloaked figure could see a small town surrounded by trees. A small smile appeared on the hooded face of the "pony".

"A nice place to take a break." the cloaked figure thought. "Who knows? Maybe somepony in this town has what it takes for what I need!"

* * *

Appleloosa. West apple orchard. Five blank flank colts, three earth ponies, a pegasus and an unicorn, were wandering around, looking at the trees. Most of them were dead and the few ones still alive were about to succumb as well.

"This sucks!" said the first pony, a tall, slender maroon colt with green, dishevelled mane while rubbing his scruff. "What the hay is going on with the orchard? It's getting harder and harder to find some food around here."

"Yeah, we have to relay on that fancy food exported from other towns!" said the second pony, a short, yellow coated colt with red, straight mane. "And that stuff tastes weird."

"Stop whining!" the third pony, an indigo, chubby unicorn colt with light blue, curly mane. "At least we have something to eat. Would you rather starve?"

"Something to eat, alright!" said the fourth pony, a brown colt with aquamarine mane, while snickering before poking the side of the pudgy colt. "Specially you, huh, Jasim?"

"Very funny, Farhan." Jasim said, while stepping away from the colt's reach. "You know that's not true. My bones are just too large! Isn't that right, Aladdin?" he asked, turning around to look at the fifth colt who was lagging behind his four friends.

Aladdin was a red coated, small pegasus colt with a black mane hidden under a white turban. He was looking around at the dead trees with concern on his eyes.

"Aladdin?" Jasim called again.

"What?" the smallest colt asked. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you guys saying something? I was kind of lost in thoughts."

"Watcha thinking about?" the tallest, maroon colt asked.

"The orchard, Nijad." Aladdin said. "Until a few months ago there were apples around here to choke a herd of elephants, but now we're down to just a few trees. Don't you guys think this is kind of odd?"

"All I think it's kind of odd is that food they force down our throats." the yellow colt said, while looking around. "If I have to eat another one of those fancy dishes with weird taste, I'm going to die."

"I still don't know how Jasim is the fattest of us when Jal is the one that can't stop thinking about food!" Farham said.

"I'm not fat!" Jasim shouted before pouncing on his joker friend.

"Cut it out, guys! It's the third time this week." Nijad said while trying to break up the fight. "A little help, Jal?"

"Are you kidding? Five bits on Jasim!"

Ignoring what was happening right in front of him, Aladdin finally saw what they were looking for.

"Guys! Look! I found one!"

The fight suddenly stopped and Jal frowned at Aladdin. They followed the red colt's gaze, who was staring at an apple tree. But this one wasn't dead like the others surrounding it. It was still green and filled with red and delicious looking apples. The five colts surrounded the apple tree, their eyes shining and their mouths watering.

"Alright, like we rehearsed!" Jasim said, standing in front of the tree. The other four nodded. Jal stood beside Jasim. Farham and Nijad stood on them, Nijad supporting his forelegs on Farham's back. Being the smallest, Aladdin was also the lightest, so he could jump on Nijad's head without hurting the tall colt, who used himself to give Aladdin a boost. When the pegasus colt reached the highest point the boost could take him, he started flapping his wings as hard and fast as he could. The few second his tiny wings could keep him ariborne were enough for him to grab on a branch and climb on the tree. The four friends started cheering!

"Way to go, Aladdin!" Jasim said. "Now make rain food!"

Aladdin smiled and nodded at his friends before grabbing an apple, rubbing it on his coat and shoving the whole fruit in his mouth, angering his friends.

"Come on, Aladdin. Stop being so selfish!" Jal shouted at his small friend. "We're all hungry too."

The pegasus snickered before he started grabbing the other apples and letting them fall toward his friends. Jasim made sure to magically grab the fruits before they hit the ground and then levitate them into the saddlebag on his back.

The five thieves were oblivious to the cloaked figure watching them from behind a dead apple tree, analyzing each colt individually.

"They seem to work well together." it thought. "But only one pony at a time is allowed in the cave, therefore I must choose. The three earth ponies seem fit, but they rely on their friends' abilites to achieve what they want. The unicorn appears to be quite skilled with magic, but his weight would slow me down. This leaves the pegasus. He appears to be determined and quite bold to do that jump without even being able to fly properly. Maybe--" its trail of thoughts was interrupted by a shout:

"What the hay are y'all doin' here?!"

"We've been spotted!" Farham shouted. "Everypony, scatter!"

The four ponies galloped in different directions, leaving their winged partner stranded on top of the tree.

"Wait! Everypony! Help me down!" Aladdin shouted, but his friends didn't slowed down or returned for him.

"Sorry, Al!" Nijad shouted. "But sacrifices sometimes are called for."

"It was a pleasure working with you, pal!" Farhan shouted.

"Oh, ponyfeathers..." Aladdin said, while looking down at the foot of the tree, where a light gold stallion with orange mane and wearing a brown jacket and a hat was staring at him with his green eyes with a disapproving gaze.

"Land sakes, kid!" he said with a sigh. "Ah already told ya and yer friends, if y'all want some apples, all y'all need to do is ask, not go around, stealin' the few we have!"

"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Braeburn! I promise, I will never steal another apple for as long as I live, just please, please, please don't tell my mother!"

"It's ok, kid. Ah am no snitch! But only as long as this never happens again, otherwise Ah'm going to suggest yer mom to tan yer hide!"

Aladdin gulped before nodding. "Never again!"

Braeburn smiled. "Jump down, kid. Ah'm takin' ya home!"

The pegasus colt smiled and nodded again before jumping down, on Braeburn's back. The stallion then started trotting back to town.

"Well, the book of rules never said I needed a colt." the cloaked figure, still hiding behind a tree, thought. "This one looks strong and determined, also he is glowing with the love and respect he is receiving from the ones around him." the creature licked its fangs. "Not to mention his dashing good looks and strangely attractive accent! I'll be watching you, young Braeburn."

Author's Note

Here's something interesting: the meaning of the names of the colts!
Nijad, the slender one. An Arabic name that means "tall".
Jal, the one that hates foreign food. Another Arabic name that means "resolution, firm will".
Jasim, the chubby one. Yet another Arabic name that means "big, huge".
Farhan, the one who makes fun of Jasim's weight. Arabic name that means "happy".
And, of course, can't forget the most famous, the little thief Aladdin. It means "nobility of faith".

Chapter 2

"Ah'm sorry, but how many bits did ya said that single slice of cherry pie costs?" Braeburn asked, as if he hadn't heard correctly what the salespony told him. "For a moment Ah thought ya said twenty-five. Silly me! Can ya please say it again?"

"You heard correctly, sir." said the light brown pegasus stallion at the cherry sales booth in the market. "Appleloosa isn't the only place 'round these parts suffering with sudden death of trees. Miss Jubilee's cherry trees are giving us less and less cherries as every day goes by. Take it or leave it!"

The apple farmer sighed and was about to reach for his saddlebag when the pegasus colt on his back grabbed his hoof.

"It's ok, Mr. Braeburn!" Aladdin said with a reassuring smile. "I'm not that hungry, you don't need to buy me anything! Also, my friends probably saved me one or two of the apples we... Stole from the orchard! I'm sorry about that!"

"Don't worry 'bout that, kid. It's in the past an' Ah already forgave ya!"

He turned around and walked away from the market. He didn't saw the stallion sell an unsuspecting unicorn mare that same slice of pie for thirty bits.

"It's like some kind of curse fell upon Equestria!" the red colt said. "Every single fruit tree is withering and dying. Did somepony did something to anger the Princesses and now we're all paying the price?"

"Ah doubt that, kid. The Princesses love and respect all o' their subjects, they would never let us to starve, no matter the situation, much less force us to as some kind o' punishment. An' according to the news Ah heard, it's only the fruit trees from Appleloosa an' Dodge Junction that are suffering, towns really close to San Palomino Desert, so it's probably just the very strong heat. In a couple o' months everythin' will be back to normal!"

"I hope so!"

Braeburn gave a silent sigh. "Me too, kid." he thought. "Me too."

* * *

"Thank you so much for bringing my son back home, safe and sound." said the pale pink middle aged earth pony mare with a long, flowing brown mane. "It's not that I don't trust his friends, but they are always staying out late and, even though Appleloosa is such a peaceful city, I still worry about my loved Aladdin!"

"It was no problem at all, miss Rahimah!" Braeburn said, ruffling the colt's mane. "It's always a pleasure to spend some time with the other ponies from Aaaaaappleloosa!"

The applebucker stood on his hind legs while shouting the name of his beloved town, eliciting a giggle from the mare.

"Would you like to have dinner with us, Mr. Braeburn?"

"Nah, Ah don't want to impose!"

"You're not imposing at all! A friend is always welcome to share a meal with us. Isn't that right, Aladdin?"

The red colt smiled and nodded while flapping his wings, making his mother giggle.

"Thanks for the offer, but Ah still have a few chores to do before call it a day! You and yer lil' kid here have a nice meal."

"I understand. Thanks again for bringing him home!"

"Not a problem! Goodbye, miss Rahimah. Goodbye, 'lladin!"

"Goodbye!" both said at the same time while waving at the stallion.

"What a nice lil' family." he said before looking away from the mother and her son. For a moment he thought he saw a tall, slender, cloaking figure standing in front of a nearby alley, but there was nothing there. He shook his head and smiled before adjusting the hat on his head. "Must be the sun messin' with mah head. Maybe Ah should call it a day sooner than usual today!"

Since the market was located on the main street of Appleloosa, Braeburn had to go through it again on his way home. Everything looked the same, with the same sellers at the same sales booth, with the sole exception of a booth that was empty a while ago, the apple booth. And the seller was a pony that he didn't expected: a lavender alicorn with a dark blue mane, which had a violet and pink streak.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" he asked, not sure if she was really there or if the heat was playing tricks on him again.

"Oh! You're Applejack's cousin, Braeburn, right? How are you?" she asked with a bright smile.

"Fine, thanks for asking. But what are ya doin' 'round these parts?"

"Only recently the news about the trees of Appleloosa and Dodge Junction reached Ponyville. Applejack decided to come help out and, since it's applebucking season, her brother couldn't come along and leave the farm unattended, so I offered myself to help her!"

"That's really generous of ya, Yer Highness. Thank ya kindly!" he said while bowing his head.

Twilight waved her hoof dismissively, a small blush coming to her cheeks. "Oh, please, no need for all that formality, I'm just a pony like everypony else. And it was nothing, really!"

"But still, yer a Princess! By the way, where's cousin AJ?"

"She wanted to visit her relatives, so I offered myself to take care of things here while she go say 'hi'!"

"Ah understand. Need some help?"

"I'd love it! I was never a good saler, so I would probably end up giving half of the apples for free, and Applejack would be disappointed!"

With a smile, Braeburn walked around the booth and stood beside the Princess of Friendship. "How much is couin AJ asking for these apples?"

"One apple for two bits, three apples for five bits!"

"Fair price. Ah like it. Let the sales begin!"

* * *

"Two hundred ninety-seven, two hundred ninety-eight, two hundred ninety-nine, three hundred!" Twilight said, dropping inside a pouch the last of the bits she was levitating. "I still can't believe you managed to sell everything, Braeburn! It's not even sunset yet and we ran out of merchandise."

"Ya helped a lot too, Princess!"

"Don't be so modest, Braeburn. You did most of the job!"

"But ya sold a good share of the apples too. Not to mention that yer pretty face attracted many costumers!"

Twilight smiled and looked down, blushing at the compliment she just received. "Th-Thanks..."

"Ah'm back, Twi!" said a blonde, orange coated earth pony mare with a stetson hat, who was approaching the sales booth. "How many apples did ya managed to-- Whoa Nelly! Where are the apples?"

"We sold them!"

"'We'?"

"Ayep!" Braeburn said.

"Oh! Braeburn! Sorry, didn't saw ya there. Ah was wondering where ya were. It's good to see ya!"

"Good to see ya too, cousin."

"And Ah see that you've been busy. Thanks for helpin' Twi out!"

"Not a problem. By the way, for how long do ya plan on hangin' 'round here?"

"Not much, actually. Since applebucking season it's starting, Ah plan on going back tonight on the last train."

"Oh, Ah see. Well, Ah better be goin'! Please, come visit more often."

"Don't worry, we will!" the Princess said.

"Good to know!" the apple farmer said before leaving the apple booth for his cousin and her friend.

"Miss Sparkle really got prettier since last time..." he thought, then shook his head. "Why am I thinking this? She is a Princess! Waaaay out of your league, Braeburn." he chuckled at the random thought, but stopped when something caught his attention: the same tall, slender figure from before, going into an alley. "Okay, now I know the heat of the sun is not playing tricks on me. That pony is real! And the way he is dressed... Better check on him, make shure he's not after trouble."

Braeburn followed the cloaked figure into that alley, which turned out to be a dead-end. There he saw an old, wooden table with two chairs, each one on a different end of the square table. The hooded pony was sitting on one, pointing at the other.

"Thanks for coming." he said with a raspy and tired voice. "Please, take a seat! I have a great offer for you and only you, Braeburn Apple!"

Author's Note

Aladdin's mother name is an Arabic name that means "merciful, compassionate"! And that's the last of the Arabic names. And finally, to the main plot!
And it was a nice cameo of Aladdin, his gang and his mother, but sadly they have to go, for the spotlight here belongs to another pony!

Chapter 3

Braeburn's sense of danger was ringing, but he decided to do as the cloaked pony told him and ast down on the chair.

"Good, good. It seems that my offer picked your interest." he said.

"Don't get me wrong, mister. Ah'm not agreein' with anythin' yet! Ah'm just here because ya look a tad suspicious and Ah wanted to make sure yer not lookin' for trouble."

The hooded figure seemed to groan at the word "mister", but it proceeded:

"Anyway, I noticed that your town is having... Food problems! So here's my offer: you help me with a little thing..." a green glow coming from under the hood levitated a bag from under the cloak, placing it on the table. "...you can have this!"

Braeburn cautiously opened the bag; its content made his eyes almost pop out of his eye sockets: bits. Lots and lots of bits. He could almost hear the pony grinning at his reaction. The farmer cleared his throat, recomposing himself.

"This is an awful lot of bits if ya ask me, which leads to the one-million bit - no pun intended - question: what do ya want from me?"

"Oh, nothing much! I just want you to help me with a small task."

"An' what kind o' task is this? Ah mean, if yer offerin' that many bits, it can't be somethin' that simple!"

"As a matter of fact, it is. Are you interested?"

"Ah haven't agreed with anythin' yet, mister."

"STOP CALLING ME 'MISTER'!" the pony suddenly blurted, making Braeburn flinch. It was his - or probably her - turn to clear her throat. "Forgive me for that. I'm actually a female, and it's quite... Offending to be treated as a male!"

"Ah understand, Ah'm sorry. But you still have yet to tell me what is that task!"

"I'm not sharing anything about it unless you agree to help me!"

"And why is that? Is it against the law or somethin'?"

"Rest assured, there is no law forbidding me or you of doing this simple task I want you to do!"

Braeburn crossed his forelegs and closed his eyes, pondering his options. "She is offering a generous amount of bits for a quest that she claims to be 'simple' and 'legal'. Not to say that Appleloosa really needs some monetary help! But, on the other hoof, I have no idea what this task is and she could be lying..."

"I'm waiting, Mr. Braeburn Apple!"

Braeburn groaned and sighed. "Ok, alright! Ah'll help ya! Appleloosa really needs every bit we can get."

"Good, good!"

A green light coming from under the hood illuminated the whole area, forcing Braeburn to cover his eyes with his foreleg.

* * *

Braeburn couldn't open his eyes since they were stinging a little, but he could feel that he wasn't sitting on a wooden chair anymore, but on something soft and very hot. After the stinging was gone and he managed to open his eyes, the apple farmer gasped: he was no longer in an alley, but in the middle of the desert.

"What... How... Why did ya brought me here?!"

"Because you agreed on doing the task. Now follow me!"

"What did Ah agreed to?" he muttered, then sighed before following the cloaked pony - who was probably an unicorn.

After an hour or so following the cloaked unicorn mare, the applebucker was feeling tired. He was a fit stallion, but an hour walking on the desert under Celestia's sun, even though it was almost sunset, can be very tiring. He was surprised that the pony wasn't showing any signs of fatigue. She finally stopped when they reached a rock, almost as large as a mountain. At the foot of the rock was a smaller - yet still larger and taller than both of them - rock, strangely shaped like a griffin's talon.

"We're here!"

"An' where exactly is 'here'?"

"The place where you're carrying the task!"

"So, am Ah supposed to break stones or somethin'?"

"You will soon understand."

She approached the talon-shaped rock and the green glow appeared again. She was also muttering some words Braeburn couldn't understand. Suddenly the sky grew darker, even though there were no clouds on it and the sun had yet to go down. The ground started shaking, making Braeburn lose his balance. He then noticed the rock started raising like a real talon, revealing a small stone with a metal lid.

"Now here's where your task starts. I'm opening that passage and you're going in. Don't touch anything! You will wander through darkness for a while, - don't touch anything, by the way - but soon you will reach the most beautiful of the gardens. No matter what, don't touch the trees, bushes, not even the grass. Stay on the dirt path. You will find there some sort of crypt filled with lit oil lamps, with the sole exception of one. I want you to bring me that one! Don't touch anything else!"

"Huh, seems simple enough. What's the catch?"

"There's no 'catch'."

"Then why don'tcha go in there and grab that lamp yerself? What's so special about that lamp, anyway?"

"It's none of your business!" the green glow surrounded the lid and lifted it. Braeburn heard the mare groan, a sign that either the lid was heavier than it looked or it was a magical lid that was draining her magic.

"Ok, Ah'm goin' in!"

"O-One more thing." she said. From under her cloak, some sort of bracelet was levitated and clamped around Braeburn's left hoof. "Th-This will protect you from the dangers in there!"

"Wait a minute! Dangers?"

He didn't heard the hooded pony's reply, for there wasn't one, since she magically pushed him into the well.

"WHOOOOOOAAAAA!" he screamed as he fell, until he hit the ground, which was strangely made of pure stone, with no signs of sand anywhere. "Ow..."

"Now hurry up!" she said. "I can't keep this open forever!"

"But in here is dark as--" a lit torch fell in front of him. "Well, that solves the problem." the apple farmer grabbed the torch with his teeth and followed the path, a straight way downward. The torch couldn't illuminate much of the tunnel, but it helped a little.

The tunnel somehow seemed to grow darker and darker with every step Braeburn took. But soon the darkness started to fade and a bright light appeared on the end of the tunnel. When he reached the light, he couldn't keep his jaw shut and dropped the torch.

"She wasn't kiddin' when she called it 'the most beautiful of the gardens'..." he said as he strolled through the garden, which was full of fruit trees, had a few fountains and gems on the walls of the cave the garden was located. On the other end of the garden was the crypt the cloaked pony mentioned. Braeburn approached it and opened the stone doors of it. The inside of it had several oil lamps, illuminating what seemed to be coffins. The apple farmer looked around, searching for one that wasn't lit. It took a while, but he finally spotted it, on top of a gold pedestal with gems hanging from it. The lamp was black with white lines on it. With a smile, Braeburn grabbed it with his teeth. "Now to get this back to her and go home!"

Braeburn turned around and trotted toward the exit of the crypt, but he failed to notice his tail getting awfully close to a lit lamp, setting his tail on fire. He felt his flank growing hotter and hotter and turned his head to check what was happening.

"WHOA NELLY!" he shouted between his clamped teeth around the black lamp when he noticed his tail on fire. Braeburn started to jump, roll, squirm, sending all the other lamps flying. He left the crypt and jumped in a nearby fountain, sighing in relief when he heard the sound of fire being put out. His relief disappeared the moment he felt the whole cave shaking. "Whoa Nelly again." he jumped out of the fountain and ran back to the tunnel. He left the torch behind for two reasons: first, his mouth was already busy, carrying the lamp. Second, the path was a pretty straight line, so he wouldn't really need it.

"You touched something, didn't you?!" the hooded pony shouted when Braeburn reached the exit. The lid of the well was almost closed and, if he wanted to get out, the pony would have to squeeze through the gap. "After all my warnings, you went and touched something!!"

"It wasn't mah fault! Mah tail caught on fire, Ah had to put it out somehow."

"Still, you didn't followed the orders I gave you!! You betrayed me!! You ponies are all the same!!"

"You ponies? What do ya mean?"

The "pony" removed her hood, finally revealing her face: her coat - which had no fur and looked more like an exoskeleton - was black, her horn was twisted and longer than an average pony's, her eyes were green and her pupils were slits, like the ones of a cat. She had a green mane, which had a few holes on it, with a black crown on top of it. She also had two fangs in her mouth.

"Yer a... A Strangeling?!"

"Changeling!!" she corrected. "But it doesn't matter. I'm focusing all my magic on keeping this open, and if I levitated you up here, the lid would close for sure. So throw the lamp up here, now!"

"Like hay Ah will! Ya take me with it, or ya get no lamp!"

"You foal! The only way to get you out of there would be through teleportation, but the cave blocks unicorn magic! And Changeling magic too, since they're very similar."

"Then yer gettin' no lamp, missy!"

"Give it to me. Now!"

"No!"

She groaned. "Your life ended the moment you betrayed Chrysalis, Queen of the Changelings, stupid pony! Sadly this cave will remain sealed for a whole month, but this is just an inconvenient postponing to me. Can you survive that long until I return for you?"

With a laughter, she let her magic go of the lid, sealing earth pony inside the well.

Author's Note

Sometimes I ship couples that aren't exactly "conventional". Well, that's because I like to think outside the box! Also, I like the idea of multiple dimensions where villains are heroes, heroes are villains, and unusual couples get along! LONG LIVE THE MULTIVERSE!
Also, two chapters in a day? I'm spoiling you guys! :3

Chapter 4

"This ain't good..." Braeburn thought, looking down at the lamp. The well was pitch black, but his eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness. "Now I'm locked in a dark, cold cave. Well, at least I have food back there! ANd maybe I can find a backdoor or something." he grabbed the lamp with his teeth. "If that Strangeli-- Changeling wants it that bad, then it must be important. Might as well keep it close to me!"

He went back the tunnel, which somehow seemed to be longer, only to hit his face against a wall.

"What the...? What's that? A turn?" he began to move his hooves around, looking for a path, but he found none, only the way he came from. "This ain't right! There was a cave here not too long ago. An' trees, fountains, even a crypt full o' lamps!"

"Flesh..."

"Huh?" Braeburn slowly turned around. Behind wim was a floating pair or red, glowing eyes. "Whoa Nelly the Third!" a new pair of red eyes joined the first. And another. And another.

"Alone..."

"Pain..."

"Cold..."

"Hungry..."

"Come with us..."

"All will go away..."

The glowing eyeballs started to approach the farm pony, who dropped to the ground, covering his face with his hooves.

"This can't end like that! Mah story has just begun. Ah'm too young to die, Ah don't even have a beloved wife an' beautiful foals yet."

Accidently, Braeburn rubbed the bracelet on his left hoof with his right hoof. The red jewel on it started to glow, making the "ghosts" back away. The glow started to spread, lighting up that whole part of the tunnel. A red energy coming out of the jewel took shape of some sort of tall, humanoid, red demon. It had big muscles, claws and long fangs. There was also some sort of collar around his neck, with an energy chain connecting it to the jewel of the bracelet.

"I am the Slave of the Bracelet and slave of the one who wears it." it said with a deep, mighty voice. "What is your command, my Master?"

Braeburn moved his hooves away from his face, taking a good look at the creature. "Ah-Ah don't know who or what are ya, but if yer offerin', who am Ah to refuse? Please, help me!"

"Yes, Master, your wish is my command!" a purple sphere of energy appeared on the Slave of the Bracelet's and he threw it at the floating red eyes. It exploded, creating a wave of purple energy that disintegrated all of the "monsters". A loud shriek forced Braeburn to cover his ears. "It's done, Master."

"Wow. Th-Thanks, mister!"

"Do you need my help with anything else, Master?"

"Well, can ya get me outta here? Ah mean, ya can use magic, even though the Stran-- Changeling says the cave block magic."

"Of course I can get you out of here, Master. The cave cancels unicorn magic. And my magic is nothing like unicorn magic. Now please, close your eyes!"

Braeburn nodded and closed his eyes.

"You can now open your eyes again, Master!"

He opened his eyes again and found himself outside the cave, right in front of the talon-shaped rock. Braeburn smiled and stood on his hindles, waving his forelegs like crazy, shouting a mighty "YEEEEHAAAAAW!" of happiness!

"Ah'm free! Ah can't believe Ah'm free! Looks like the last chapter of Braeburn's tale wasn't written yet!"

"Your joy is my joy, Master! Do you need my help with anything else?"

"Well, Ah could ask ya to take me back to Appleloosa, but ya already helped me quite a lot, an' Ah don't want to abuse of yer generosity! It's already dark, anyway, so there's no sun to drain mah stamina!"

"Then I shall leave. If you need me again, Master, all you have to do is rub the bracelet again."

"Oh! One more thing: what are ya?"

"I have many names. Some call me 'Genie'. Others call me 'Demon'. And others call me 'Monster'. But, in the end, I'm just the Slave of the Bracelet."

"It... Doesn't really answer mah question, but it will do! Ya can rest now, mister!"

"I thank you, Master."

With a bow, the humanoid creature turned back into red energy and retreat himself into the jewel of the bracelet.

"And now, time to go back home!"

* * *

When Braeburn arrived back in Appleloosa, he went straight back to his home, where he planned to sleep through the whole night, but a concerned but angry pony was waiting for him at his door: a pale yellow earth pony mare with a brilliant crimson mane.

"G'night, AB!" Braeburn said. "What are ya doin' out here this late? Anythin' wrong?"

"Where have ya been, Braeburn?"

"It's... Sort of complicated, Apple Bumpkin!"

"You have any idea how worried Ah was when Ah heard ya went into an alley after a suspicious-lookin' pony an' then suddenly disappeared, Braeburn? Ah thought ya've been foalnapped! Or even worse!"

"There's no need to worry, AB! Ah'm back an' Ah'm ok."

"Ah'm yer sister, for Celestia's sake! Ah worry about ya!" she closed her eyes and sighed. "Please, don't scare me like that again." she walked in their house, followed by Braeburn. "Where have ya been, anyway?"

"Well..."

* * *

"...then the thing disappeared an' Ah came straight back home!" he said with a smile, which suddenly disappeared after he sighed. "But Ah doubt ya believe me..."

"Yer wrong!"

"What?"

"As unlikely as yer story sounds, Ah know ya, Braeburn, an' ya ain't a liar! An' ya have both the lamp an' the bracelet to prove it!"

"Thanks for believin' me, AB."

"But why did this Queen wanted this lamp, anyway?"

"Ah have no idea! But still, it's a nice lamp. An' the one we have really needs to be replaced!"

"But this one is quite dussty, don't you think?"

"Ah just have to clean it!" he grabbed a nearby piece of cloth and rubbed the lamp with it. Suddenly, the white details of the lamp started to glow, making both Braeburn and Apple Bumpkin jump back in surprise.

"What's going on, Braeburn?!"

"Ah-Ah have no idea!"

The whole room where they were "disappeared"; the floor was still underneath them, but the walls and ceiling were pitch black, as if they were in another dimension or something similar. Blue energy started to leak from the nozzle of the oil lamp. The energy started to take shape. The shape of a titanic, humanoid blue creature, incredibly similar to the Slave of the Bracelet, yet more fat than brawny like his smaller, red doppelgänger.

"Braeburn, what's that?!"

"Ah still have no idea!"

"I am the Slave of the Lamp and slave of the one who possess it." he said with a loud, booming voice, similar to thunder, that made the whole floor below them shake, making Apple Bumpkin lose her balance and fall. "Tell me, Master, what is your wish?"

Already recovered from the shock, Braeburn looked up at the giant, blue eyes looking down at him. He smiled.

"Then hear me, Slave of the Lamp, for I have a wish!"

"Your wish is my command, Master!"

Braeburn's smile grew wider.

* * *

In the next morning, Braeburn went to the west orchard, followed by his younger sister. The orchard was crowded with the residents of Appleloosa, trying to understand what had happened: all the dead trees were green once again, filled with fresh, big and juicy apples! Braeburn smiled.

"It worked. It really worked!" Apple Bumpkin said, surprised.

"Ah just hope Dodge Junction is now as verdant as Appleloosa!"

"Well, if Appleloosa is like this and ya asked him to help both our trees and their trees, there's no doubt Dodge Junction is back in business as well!"

"Ah guess yer right!"

"Ah'm yer lil' sister, Braeburn. Ah'm always right!"

With a smile, Braeburn wrapped a foreleg around his little sister's neck. "Maybe, AB. Maybe!"

* * *

A few days later, in Appleloosa train station, a train stopped and its doors opened. A pony, wearing a cloak and a hood similar to Queen Chrysalis', yet considerably smaller than her, stepped out of it.

"I told you I was going to visit more often... Braeburn!"

Author's Note

I read a fanfic a long time ago where Apple Bumpkin was Braeburn's sister. Can't quite remember which fanfic was or what was it all about, but I thought it was a good idea to give Brae-Brae a sister, so here it is. I'll give the proper credits of the idea to the writer of said fanfic once I remember the name of it!

Chapter 5

The apple farmer inspected the apple trees closely. It had been less than a week since he, with the help of the Slave of the Lamp's powers, returned the orchard to its former and glorious self, but the trees were already withering and dying again. It wouldn't have surprised Braeburn, if it wasn't for the fact that most of the trees that were dying faster were the ones that were healthy before his wish to the Slave of the Lamp.

"I can't just wish for the mister of the lamp to fix everything up every time this happens. I need to solve my own problems by myself!" he thought. "There must be something going on, it's the only answer I can think about." the applebucker looked down. "Something deep underground..."

His trail of thoughts was interrupted by a pair of hooves covering his eyes. Judging by the delicacy and lack of dirt, it was a mare who was not from around.

"Guess who?" she asked.

He smiled when he recognized the voice. "Good to see ya kept yer promise, Princess Twilight."

"I told you I was going to visit soon." she said, giggling while moving her hooves away from his eyes. The fact that she was wearing a cloak surprised him.

"Why are ya dressed like that, Princess?"

"It's sort of... Complicated to travel around Equestria when you're a well-known Princess, so I had to disguise myself. I didn't wanted my visit to be postponed because a crowd of ponies wanted to see me and ask endless questions!"

"Oh, Ah understand. So, what about cousin AJ and yer other friends? Are they 'round here too?"

"Uh... They... Well..." she said, nervously looking around. "They aaaaare... Weeeeell... Busy, yes! They're busy! Too busy to come, so I came here on my own."

"On yer own?!"

"You sound surprised."

"It's just that... Every time Ah see or hear 'bout ya, yer usually with a friend or two, or at least yer dragon pet!"

"Assistant."

"Pardon?"

"He is not my pet. Spike is my assistant. My number one assistant!"

"Oh, please, forgive me!"

"It's ok, everypony assumes that when they first see us."

"But anyway, Ah need to apologize to the lil' fella next time Ah see him."

"It's no problem, really! He already got used to that."

"So, can Ah help ya with somethin'? Wanna grab somethin' to eat? Somethin' to drink? The travel from Ponyville to here must've been quite tirin'!"

"It was, actually." she turned around, removing her hood but keeping her cloak, and started trotting toward the town of Appleloosa. "Besides, it's a nice opportunity for us to spend some time together, right?"

What Twilight said made the stallion blush. "Did she just...?" he thought before shaking his head. "She must have meant as friends. There's no way she could have meant--"

"You're coming?" she asked, interrupting his train of thoughts once again.

"Huh? O-Oh, of course! Right behind ya, Princess."

"You can call me by my name, Braeburn. We're friends, remember?"

"R-Right, Pri-- A-Ah mean, Twilight."

Twilight giggled at the Appleloosan before resuming her walk toward town.

* * *

The Salt Block bar. Braeburn and Twilight were sitting on stools at the counter, each with a mug of cider in front of them, both laughing.

"And then I said..." she drank from her mug once again. "I said 'That's Miss Twilight to you, punk'!" both the alicorn princess and the apple farmer began to laugh, not caring at the other ponies staring at them, uncomfortable with the excessive noise they were making.

"An' then what happened?" he asked after finishing his mug of cider.

Twilight finished hers as well before speaking: "I zapped him with a paralysis spell, the guards took him to Canterlot prison and all the stolen goods were returned."

"Well, that's good!"

"What about you? Have any exciting and/or fun local stories?"

"Sincerely, nothin' excitin' has happened 'round these parts since that buffalo bussiness! Appleloosa can be quite borin' if a calm, quiet life is not yer thing."

"Well, from my point of view, Appleloosa looks perfect!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! You have no idea how dangerous Ponyville can be from time to time. Giant monsters, ancient and powerful creatures, house-eating parasites, even a dragon! Compared to my town, your town is a paradise!"

"Well, when you put it like that..."

"But, in the end, both towns have good parts and bad parts. But, of course, the good parts are much bigger than the bad ones, right?"

"Couldn't agree more with ya, Twi!"

The princess giggled. Braeburn looked at her, confused.

"Somethin' funny?"

"No, no, it's just that less than an hour ago, you were calling me 'Princess Twilight Sparkle', but now you're calling me by my nickname."

The applebucker blushed and looked down at his hind hooves. "A-Ah'm sorry. If ya want me to stop--"

"N-No! I-I mean... It's ok if it's you, Braeburn!"

"R-Really?"

Twilight blushed even more than she was already blushing. "I-I-I mean, y-you're my friend, right? Eheheh. Yeah, friend, that's it! Friends call each other cute nicknames, right, uh... Brae-Brae?"

It was Braeburn's turn to chuckle at Twilight's awkwardness, and also blush at he nickname. But their moment of joy and friendly reunion came to an end, and it all started with a voice coming from behind them.

"For some reason, Ah thought Ah would find ya here, Twi."

The farmer and the princess turned around, looking at the pony who was talking to the alicorn.

"Cousin AJ?"

"Afternoon, cousin Braeburn."

"Twi said y'all were busy to come here with her, so Ah take that yer done with yer job?"

"So, that's what she told ya, huh?"

"Well, you see, Braeburn..." the princess said while looking down. "I'm sorry, but I sort of... Lied! I'm sorry!"

"Lied? But why?"

"I... I..."

"She's hidin'!"

"Hidin'? From who? From what?"

"From my duties!" she said, a little louder than she expected. "Since I became a Princess I got so wrapped up in helping Princess Celestia and Princess Luna with royal duties that I barely have some time for myself or my friends. Even Spike, my closest friend and number one assistant, is spending more time with Rarity than with me. I hatched his egg, for Celestia's sake!" she sighed, looking down at the empty mug on her hoof. "This is why I came here! Because after that wonderful afternoon a few days ago, I knew I had a friend that wasn't aware of my duties, who I could spend some time without having to worry about a Royal Guard bursting through the door, requesting me to go to Canterlot and spend the rest of the day signing a tower of documents." Twilight smiled, looking away from the mug and at her stallion friend. "And I really enjoyed our time together today, Brae-Brae!"

"'Brae-Brae'?" Applejack asked, raising her left eyebrow. "Did Ah missed somethin'?"

"I-It's nothing, Applejack. Anyway, I believe that you're here to take me back, correct?"

"Ah'm sorry 'bout that, Twi. Orders from Princess Celestia herself!"

"I understand." Twilight got up from the stool and pressed her lips against Braeburn's cheek, making the stallion's heart skip a couple of beats. "Goodbye, Braeburn! I hope we meet again soon."

"A-Ah hope, too, Twi!"

She smiled before walking toward the exit of the bar. Applejack was about to follow her, but her cousin stopped her:

"Applejack, wait!"

"Yes, Braeburn?"

"Ya mentioned a while ago that ya have direct contact with the Princesses, right?"

"Ah guess Ah did! Why do ya ask?"

"Can ya do me a favor next time ya see them?"

"Sure thing! What do ya want me to do?"

* * *

Another week later, a letter came from Ponyville, adressed to Braeburn Apple. The applebucker opened it snd started reading while having dinner with his sister. While reading the letter, a smile appeared on his face.

Dear cousin Braeburn...

I spoke with the Princess (sorry for taking so long, we are both busy mares) and, after some negotiations, she agreed to your request, as long as you mantain your side of the bargain. Therefore, she will be visiting Appleloosa this weekend to check if you really did the impossible, as you claimed that you could. I really wanted to see how you plan on bending the laws of physics, but the orchard ain't gonna harvest itself, right? It's your turn now, so you better impress a Princess if you want to score another Princess. Good luck and take care!

Your loving cousin,
Applejack

Later that same night, while the town was asleep, Braeburn went to a mesa not too far away from Appleloosa, carrying the black, magical lamp in his saddlebag. Upon arriving there, he sat on the ground, grabbed the lamp, placed it on his lap and proceeded to rub it.

"Slave of the Lamp, Ah summon ya!"

Author's Note

I wonder who's going to be the first to find my special reference. :derpytongue2:

Chapter 6

A golden carriage being pulled by two Royal Guard pegasi landed on the main street of the small town of Appleloosa. The surprised citizens immediately bowed to the two Princesses sitting on it: the Princess of the Sun, Celestia, and the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle.

"Appleloosa?" the younger Princess asked while looking around, confused. "This is where you wanted to bring me? Why?"

"Patience, Princess Twilight." the elder Princess said with a smile on her face. "Everything will be explained in due time."

Both Princesses walked down the big street and toward the west orchard, which only made Twilight more and more curious. When they finally arrived, Twilight blushed faintly when she saw a light gold stallion approaching them. He bowed his head politely.

"Good afternoon, Princesses!" he said. "Ah guess yer here to see if Ah fulfilled my side of the agreement!"

"You guessed right, Braeburn Apple."

"Ya remember mah name, Yer Highness? Ah feel honored."

"It's hard to forget the name of the stallion Twilight won't stop talking about!"

The faint blush on Twilight's face turned into a full-face blush. "Pr-Pr-Princess Celestia!"

The Sun Goddess giggled before turning her attention back to the stallion. "Back to the previous subject, where is it?"

"'Where'? Ah thought ya were going to ask first if Ah actually managed to do it!"

The Princess offered him a warm smile. "Braeburn Apple, if one of my subjects promised to do something, I believe in them. You promised you would have it done by the weekend, so I came here to see it, because I believe in you!"

The farmer smiled back at the ruler of Equestria. "How often yer subjects call ya 'an awesome Princess'?"

She giggled with a hint of red on her cheeks. "Not as often as you may think, but a compliment is always welcome! I can see now why Twilight is so interested in you."

The Friendship Goddess looked down at the dirt, still blushing.

"So, are ya ready to see it?"

"Definitely, Mr. Apple!"

"What did we came here to see, anyway?" the smaller Princess finally asked.

Braeburn smiled and Celestia chuckled.

"You will see, Twilight!"

* * *

Twilight couldn't keep her mouth closed. Celestia was surprised as well, but she managed to keep a straight face. The three ponies were standing at the foot of a granite stairway that led to the top of a mesa, where a stone castle was built. It wasn't bigger than the castle in Canterlot and not as high, but it was definitely larger, almost as large as the whole mesa. Each step upstairs made Twilight's eyes grow wider.

"What... How... When..." Twilight's head was so filled with questions that she couldn't decide which one to ask first.

"I must say, I'm impressed, Mr. Apple!" Princess Celestia said when they finally reached the top of the stairway. "I'm not gonna lie: even though I knew you could do it, I was expecting a much smaller castle!"

"What... What is that castle for, Princess?" Twilight asked.

"Twilight, remember when Cadence and your brother married and they moved to the Crystal Empire?"

"Yes, but what does it have to do with this castle?"

"When she was crowned the Crystal Princess and given the Crystal Empire to rule, she wasn't only put in charge of it; she volunteered herself to take care of the whole North Equestria!"

"'North Equestria'?"

"Yes. The political division of Equestria separates the country in five different sections: North, West, Center, East and South." the Princess explained. "The North Equestria is composed by the Crystal Empire, Vanhoover, the Neighgra Falls and many smaller villages, which are all watched over by your brother and his wife. When she asked us to be in charge of North Equestria, she said she only wanted to show us how responsible she truly was, but I know Cadence did that because she wanted the three of us to have a little less job than we already have. Now you, Luna and I only need to worry about South, East, Center and West Equestria."

"I... I think I understand what you're trying to say."

Celestia nodded. "Right now, we are in South Equestria. While most of it is composed by the San Palomino Desert and the Everfree Forest, the South still has a few small towns that need some attention, such as Dodge Junction, Appleloosa and your loved Ponyville."

"Princess..."

Celestia lowered her head to talk to her ex-student in eye level. "Ever since you became a Princess and had to attend to your princess duties, I notice you were growing sadder and lonelier whenever you were busy and away from your friends. While I can't simply take your royal duties away from you since they are an important job that a Princess must do, I can at least ease the burden you carry." she raised her head again, smiling brightly. "Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship and fourth ruler of Equestria, will you accept the title of Princess in charge of South Equestria?"

"I... I..."

"What do ya say, Twi?" Braeburn finally asked. "Bein' the leader of yer own part of Equestria is really somethin', huh? Not to say that Ponyville is part of it, ya can visit yer friends and yer friends can visit ya anytime any of ya want!"

"Not to say that it's a great excuse to be closer to Mr. Apple here!"

Celestia's comment made both ponies blush. After a few moments pondering, Twilight sighed.

"It's... It's a huge responsability! Not to say that if I do something wrong or make the incorrect decision, neither Princess Celestia or Princess Luna will be there to back me up. I don't know if--" she blushed and stopped talking when she felt a hoof wrapping around her neck.

"Ah will be there to back you up." he said with a smile. "And not only me!"

Braeburn let go of his friend and love interest, then turned her around, pointing at the foot of the granite stairway. Twilight gasped; standing there was a giant crowd composed by the whole population of Appleloosa, many ponies from Dodge Junction, most of the residents from Ponyville and some ponies from smaller villages that composed South Equestria too, all of them being led by a smiling Princess Luna, all cheering and shouting Princess Twilight's name, stomping their hooves in excitement.

"We're all gonna back ya up and help whenever we can, in any way ya might need!"

The younger Princess was crying of happiness with a smile on her face. "So many ponies... And they all believe in me! If they all think I can do it, who am I to disagree? It's the duty of a Princess to listen to what her subjects have to say, after all." with the aid of her wings, she wiped her tears away, but to no avail, since more tears were already escaping from her eyes. "I accept your offer, Princess Celestia! I can't let those ponies down."

Celestia nodded before standing in front of the Princess and the farmer. The dark blue Alicorn on the crowd flew toward her sister and stood beside her.

"Ponies of South Equestria!" Luna shouted with the aid of her Traditional Royal Canterlot Voice, to ensure that all of them could hear her clearly. "I present you your new ruler, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

The crowd slowly started to quiet down as the ponies composing it silenced themselves so they could bow to their new ruler. Celestia, Luna and Braeburn too bowed to the new ruler of South Equestria. She touched the applebucker's chin with the tip of her wing and raised his head. "You don't need to bow to me, Braeburn." she blushed before approaching her face to Braeburn's. "A Prince does not bow before his Princess!"

Braeburn's whole face flushed when he felt the soft lips of Twilight gently pressing against his own.

* * *

"This. Castle. Is. Gorgeous!" a white unicorn mare with a beautiful and well-combed purple mane said while analyzing every inch of Twilight's new home's foyer. "While it may not be as gracious as Canterlot's castle, it has a rustic appearance that gives it a historical look, just like the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters!"

"And there's lot of free space right outside." a cyan pegasus mare with multicolored mane said. "So, next time I feel like training my sweet moves, I can borrow your backyard!"

"There's free space inside too, Dashie!" a pink earth pony mare with a darker pink mane said. "We can totally party here. The perfect place to throw my 'Congratulations-For-Being-Crowned-The-Princess-Of-South Equestria' Party!"

"Not to mention the many critters that live in the desert that I will have the chance to meet!" a light pegasus mare with light pink mane said. "Hyenas, cheetahs, jackals, fennec foxes, naja snakes, antelopes..."

While the pegasus kept reciting all the names of the desert animals she could remember, the fifth mare, Applejack, approached her cousin, who was looking through the window with a worried look on his face.

"Somethin' wrong, cousin?" she asked.

"It's the orchard again..." he said, looking at the town of Appleloosa, surrounded by apple trees. "A couple o' weeks ago, the orchard was almost completely dead, then it returned to its former glory, but now many trees are startin' do die again. Twi even requested Cloudsdale to send us more clouds, but it seems that water isn't the problem. Ah don't know what to do!"

Applejack stood beside him, looking through the same window. It was true what Braeburn said, many trees were with no fruits nor leaves and their trunk was darkened.

"I could ask the Slave of the Lamp to bring life back to the orchard again, but the same thing would happen." the stallion thought. "I need to find out the source of the problem and put an end to it!"

His trail of thoughts concerning the apple orchard was once again interrupted by the lavender Alicorn Princess, who nuzzled her coltfriend's neck.

"I know you're worried, Brae-Brae, but I'm already studying all the books I can. We will save the orchard, I promise you!"

He wrapped a foreleg around his marefriend. "Ah know, Twi, an' Ah'm very grateful for that. But this orchard is like mah own foal, so Ah care deeply 'bout it!"

"'Like your own foal', you said?" Rarity asked, barging in the conversation. "Why did you used those words, huh, Mr. Apple? Are you and Twilight planning something? Or are you two already not telling us something? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Ra-Rarity!" Twilight nearly shouted. "I-It's too early for us to be thinking about foals. We're not even married yet..."

"Marriage?!" the fashionista asked with a twinkle in her eyes. "Please, darling, tell me everything about it!"

Twilight laughed nervously and looked at Braeburn with eyes that were practially screaming "do as you promised and back me up". The mares laughed at the couple's awkwardness.

* * *

Badlands. Chrysalis was sitting on her throne inside the almost empty hive. Nearly all her drones were destroyed in the failed offensive to Canterlot and all that was left were a few worker Changelings. From one of the tunnels, a Changeling entered the throne room and landed in front of his Queen before bowing to her.

"News from Equestria, Your Highness!" the Changeling said with his high-pitched voice.

"What is it, Captain?" she asked.

"I discovered that recently a castle was built near a town not too far away from the hive."

"And why did you felt like sharing this information was something worthy of wasting my precious time?"

"According to the residents of said town, the castle simply appeared there one morning."

"Are you sure of this information?"

The Changeling nodded. "I have been to said town before and I saw said castle with my very own eyes. It was not something that could have been built in such short amount of time, not even with the magic of an Alicorn Princess!"

"Interesting. This sounds exactly like something that only the magic of the Lamp could do. Did that earth pony somehow managed to escape the cave, then? But how--" she facehoofed. "The Bracelet! Of course! He somehow managed to discover its true power! How could I have been so stupid? If only I had removed it from his hoof before locking him inside..."

"Forgive me for interrupting, Your Highness, but I still have another information to share."

"And that would be...?"

"A Princess and her Prince Consort moved to the castle soon after it was built!"

"A Princess and her Prince Consort? You mean Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor?" she asked, the anger in her voice raising.

"Negative, Your Highness! Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor moved away long ago and are now living in the North, no longer within our reach. It's a Princess that was crowned recently, Princess Twilight Sparkle and her Prince Consort, Braeburn Apple!"

"Them." she said, her anger diminishing, but still present. The corners of her mouth slowly turned up in a small, evil grin. "Who would have thought that the two ponies that managed to thwart my plans would end up together? This makes things much easier. Captain!"

"Yes, Your Highness?"

"Your job as my spy in Equestria is over. Right now, I need your help with something much more important!"

"Yes, Your Highness. I understand! What can I do to he--?"

Before the drone could finish the sentence, the Changeling Queen buried her fangs in her subject's neck and literally began to suck the love out of him. When she was done, he fell to the ground, barely keeping himself awake and breathing heavily.

"Your love for your Queen is astonishing, Captain. The energy you just gave me is enough for two or maybe even three transformations! You proved yourself useful and worthy. Your efforts shall be rewarded in due time. I can even consider promoting you to my personal escort and maybe even reproducer!"

"I'm honored... Your Highness..."

"Rest, Captain. I shall leave the hive now, for I have my own mission to fulfill. I shall return in a few moons at most. In my absence, you shall lead the hive. Feel free to rest in the Royal Chamber if you wish. The possible future father of the next generation of Changelings shall be treated as such!"

"Yes, Your Highness..." he said as he got back up with difficult and saluting her. "All hail... The Queen..."

She smiled at the willpower of her drone. "And all hail the Hive."

The moment she flapped her insectoid wings and disappeared in one of the many tunnels of the hive, the captain fell to the ground, unconscious.

Author's Note

This story was written while the writer watched Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. And this had no influence in this chapter whatsoever! I like to watch things while writing (I watched Turnabout Storm while writing a few of the previous chapters). It helps me train my brain to keep focused on multiple tasks at the same time. I guess they call it multitasking, right?

Oh, and just in case you're wondering about my division of Equestria:
Center - Canterlot.
North - Crystal Empire; Vanhoover; Neighagra Falls.
South - Appleloosa; Dodge Junction; Ponyville.
West - Tall Tale; Cloudsdale; Las Pegasus.
East - Hollow Shades; Fillydelphia; Manehattan; Baltimare; Horseshoe Bay.
The train track from Canterlot to Manehattan is the North/East frontier, the Hayseed Swamps are the East/South frontier, the dirt road near Ghastly Gorge from Las Pegasus to the Everfree Forest is the South/West frontier and Unicorn Range is the West/North frontier.

Over 2000 words, huh? Impressive! The ideas were simply bouncing all over the place, I had so much fun writing it. But again, I have fun while writing any fanfic. Maybe this would be my special talent, writing things... Nah, it's totally poker! No doubt about it! ^_^

Chapter 7

The green and purple baby dragon was carrying a stack of scrolls from the library to the study room, where Princess Twilight Sparkle was with her coltfriend, Braeburn.

"This library is amazing, Braeburn! There are so many books here that I never even heard of before, all of them filled with information. History books, magic books, recipe books, there are even books from across the seas." she gasped. "'Geography of the Dragon Kingdom'? But ponies know close to nothing about dragons and their land. Whe-Where did you found this book, Braeburn?"

"Well, Twi--"

"I brought the documents you wanted, Twilight!" Spike said when entering the room, interrupting Braeburn.

"Oh, thank you, Spike!" she said while levitating the scrolls to her table. "So, about those books..."

Braeburn chuckled. "Ah will explain it to ya soon, Twilight." he said while walking toward the door, but stopping before leaving to look at the baby dragon. "An' Ah'm sorry, Spike!"

"Sorry? For what?"

Braeburn chckled again before leaving without saying anything.

"What is he talking about, Twilight?"

"It's... Nothing, Spike. Don't worry about it!"

An unicorn mare walked into the study room, carrying a few books in her saddlebags. Her coat was white and her long, orange mane was tied in a ponytail.

"I have arrived, Your Highness." she said with a voice so sweet that made both Spike and Twilight blush without even realizing. "And I brought the books from Canterlot that you request!"

"Wh-Who's that?" Spike asked.

"That's Badroulbadour, one of Celestia's assistants. I asked Celestia to send me a few books from the Starswirl wing." she levitated the books from the unicorn's saddlebag. "Which she brought as fast as she could. Thank you so much!"

"Badra-what?"

The mare giggled. "You can call me Badroul, Mr. Spike!"

"Mr. Spike, huh? Good to see that somepony finally recognizes that I am a big dragon!"

Twilight smiled and turned back to the books and scrolls on her table. "Thanks for everything. Both of you. But now I need some time to study so, if you don't mind..."

Badroul nodded. "I understand, Your Highness!"

"Ok, Twilight."

The pony and the dragon left the room and Twilight magically closed the door behind them. Spike went back to his room and Badroul to the lobby but, when she was about to leave the castle, black forelegs with lots of holes wrapped around her torso and face, covering her mouth.

"Aren't you a pretty mare? Maybe not as pretty as the last mare whose identity I stole, but I take what I can get!"

Badroul tried to scream and began to squirm, but even though her magic skills were above the average, her physical strenght wasn't that great and she was too scared to focus on casting any kind of spell. Suddenly the black foreleg in front of her turned white. She turned her head around as much as she was allowed to and noticed she was taken hostage... By herself? The horn of the other self started glowing green - even though the normal color of her magic was blue - and she felt her eyelids gowing heavier.

"Rest now, beautiful mare. I take things from here!"

Badroulbadour slowly slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Do you really have to go?" Twilight asked her coltfriend, who was about to board the train to Ponyville.

"Cousin AJ and cousin Big Mac are askin' for help and, knowin' their pride as well as Ah do, they wouldn't ask for anypony's help if they could do somethin' 'bout it!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Wish I could go with you, but I still have a few unfinished business in the castle!"

"Ah understand, Twi! But Ah'll be back in a couple o' days, so fret not, mah love. We'll be together again before ya can say 'pappy pony picked a pluck of prickly pluffnuggets'!"

The Princess giggled before nuzzling her lover's neck. "Just don't push yourself too hard! I know how you get fired up when applebucking."

"Alright, Ah know. Ah will take a break o' ten minutes after every hour of applebuckin', what 'bout that?"

"Perfect!"

She nuzzled him one last time before he boarded the train. Soon after that, the doors were closed and the train departed. Twilight waved at it until it disappeared in the horizon. The Princess stretched her wings and took off, going back to her castle. When she landed, she saw one pony that she didn't expected:

"Badroul?" she called. "You're still here? I thought you were going back to Canterlot!"

"Princess Celestia asked me to stay here for a while to help you. Your castle is new, after all! You need every help you can get." she said, her voice still the same, but carrying far less sweetness than normally.

"Are... Are you ok, Badroul?"

"What do you mean, Your Highness?"

"Your voice is... No, nevermind that! You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want."

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Twilight trotted past Celestia's assistant and back to the study room, closing the door. Badroul smirked and went ustairs, into Twilight and Braeburn's bedroom. In her hurry, she forgot the door wide open behind her and proceeded to inspect the whole room. After looking for around twenty minutes, she found it hidden in the wardrobe, under a pile of brown jackets.

"Finally." she said, while levitating a black and white oil lamp in front of her face. "The Lamp. I finally found it! It's finally mine! After so, so long, I can finally have Equestria under my hoof!"

"Who's there?" asked a white unicorn stallion and a grey pegasus stallion at the same time, both holding spears and wearing a lavender armor.

"Oh, forgot about those buffoons..." she sighed before shooting a green beam of magic at the white unicorn, knocking him out. The gray pegasus stallion charged at her, but she dodged his attack before hitting the back of his neck with a foreleg, knocking him out as well. She levitated the Lamp into the saddlebag on her back and pointed her horn at the guards. She was about to shoot another spell, but reconsidered and smiled before turning around and leaving the room.

"Why erase their memories when I can just let them remember everything and let them blame somepony else?" she thought. "They have witnesses, they won't even think about looking for another suspect." she chuckled when she left the castle. "Not that they would find evidence. Or the 'culprit'!" she looked up at one of the towers of the castle. At first glance, there wasn't anything wrong with the tower, but if anypony inspected it from above, they would notice a green cocoon with an asleep unicorn mare trapped inside. Queen Chrysalis removed her disguise, briefly showing her true appearance, but there was nopony around to see. Soon after that she disguised herself again, this time as a pale yellow pegasus mare with brown mane and a flaming wheel as her Cutie Mark. She took off right after that, flying toward the town of Appleloosa.

"Now I have love energy enough for only one more transformation, but at least I don't need to worry about seeing my disguise in a 'Wanted' poster!" the disguised Chrysalis landed in front of an inn. "But the next part of my plan only starts after everypony is asleep, so I might as well rest for a while!"

A while after midnight, Chrysalis flew out of the window in her room of the inn and toward the castle. She landed on the foot of the stairway, smiling.

"Next phase begins now." she sat on the first step of the stairway, grabbed the Lamp in her saddlebag with her teeth and placed it on her lap. With her hoof shaking of excitement, she proceeded to rub the Lamp, unable to contain the shiver than ran down her spine. "Almighty Genie, rise up and grant me my wish!"

Suddenly the stars in the sky disappeared all at once, and the moon too soon after them. The blue smoke coming from the Lamp took shape of a titanic blue humanoid demon.

"I am the Slave of the Lamp and slave of the one who possess it." he said with a voice so loud that, if it wasn't for the magic that allowed only the ones present at the time of the summonning to see or hear the Slave of the Lamp, the whole town of Appleloosa would have heard him.

"Yes, yes, yes yes yes yes YES!" she shouted. "The reign of Queen Chrysalis starts tonight!" she turned her head around, looking at Princess Twilight's castle with a smirk on her face. "But, of course, every Queen needs a castle. And I already have one right here."

"Tell me, Master, what is your wish?"

"See this castle behind me? Take it along with me back to my hive in the Badlands!"

"Your wish is my command, Master!"

The Slave of the Lamp grew four times his already tremendously big size before grabbing the castle and lifting it with ease. Queen Chrysalis flapped her wings and landed on top of one of the towers. The Slave of the Lamp then flew away from Appleloosa and toward the Badlands, Chrysalis, now back on her true form, was laughing maniacally on top of the castle.

Author's Note

Badroulbadour! Does this name rings any bells? Well, it should, because that's the name of the princess from the original tale. Another character cameo, yay!

Chapter 8

Ponyville. Sweet Apple Acres. Braeburn was pulling an empty cart to the orchard, were his cousins Applejack, Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom were waiting. When he arrived, the four of them started filling the cart with baskets full of apples.

"Thanks again for comin' all the way from Appleloosa to here, cousin!" Applejack said. "The apple trees sure were full this season!"

"Eeyup!" her brother, Big Macintosh, agreed.

"It was no problem, cousin AJ. It's good to visit family from time to time!"

"How's Appleloosa, cousin Braeburn?" Apple Bloom asked. "And cousin Apple Bumpkin?"

"Not bad, lil' Bloom! Both are doin' just fine." he said while ruffling her mane.

"When is she visitin' again?"

"Ah have a better idea! Yer summer vacations are almost startin', right? Why don't ya go visit Appleloosa for a couple o' days? Ya never visited us before."

She turned around and looked at her siblings with sparkling eyes. "Can Ah, sis? Can Ah, bro? Please, please, please, pleeeeeeease?"

Applejack looked at her big brother, who just smiled and winked. She smiled back and looked at her small sister.

"Sure, Apple Bloom! How about next weekend?"

Apple Bloom's smile grew wider and she hugged her older siblings. "Thank y'all so much!" she looked at her cousin again. "What about mah friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo? Can they come too?"

"As long as their parents are ok with it, Ah can't see why not."

"Thanks, cousin. Thanks, sis. Thanks, bro."

"Prince Consort Braeburn Apple!" a loud female voice called from above. The four Apples looked up and saw a tall, midnight blue pony, the Alicorn Princess Luna. She was flying toward them and landed right in front of Braeburn. "Your presence is requested in Canterlot by my sister immediately."

"Why? Somethin' wrong?"

"Everything shall be explained once we are all together. Now come!"

Braeburn nodded and looked at his cousins. "Sorry for cuttin' mah visit short."

"It's ok, cousin!" Applejack said. "The job of a Prince is never over."

Apple Bloom gasped. "Cousin Braeburn is a Prince?"

Braeburn chuckled before disappearing with Princess Luna in a flash of blue light.

* * *

"D-D-Disappeared?!"

"I'm afraid so, Prince Braeburn." Princess Celestia said, sitting on her throne, looking down at the stallion. "Princess Twilight Sparkle, her assistant Spike, one of my assistants Badroulbadour and both of Twilight's Dusk Guards disappeared last night, as well as your castle, without leaving a single clue behind about who did it or where they went. I called you here, hoping that you knew what happened. After all, you made the castle appear, I was sure you knew what could make it disappear."

"How did you do that, since we have touched the subject?" Princess Luna asked.

"It's... Sort of a long story!"

"I'm pretty sure we have time." Princess Luna said.

"Specially when it concerns the possibility of pinpointing the location of the missing castle and the ones inside it!" Princess Celestia added.

Braeburn took a deep breath and began to tell the story of how he found the wonderful lamp with the giant demon that could grant any wish who lied inside it. He didn't skip any details, telling about the death of the trees in his town, the unexpected meeting with Princess Twilight, the stranger that turned out to be the Queen of the Changelings, the secret magic cave and the shadows dwelling in it, the demon inside the bracelet, the wish the lamp genie granted, the second unexpected meeting with Princess Twilight and the second wish the lamp granted.

"Y'all know how things wen't from there." he said.

"I see..." Princess Celestia said, rubbing her chin with her right foreleg while looking up at the ceiling.

"And now that y'all already know 'bout the lamp, Ah have a question: does any of ya Princesses know what is that lamp or where did it came from?"

The Alicorns looked at each other and then back and Braeburn. Both shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, Braeburn, but this cave you told us about is probably from before our time, because neither of us ever saw or heard about it before." the older sister said.

"Well, the origin of the artifact is of no concern at the time being." the younger sister said. "Our priority is to find Princess Twilight and the others!"

"My sister speaks the truth, Prince Braeburn."

"Yer right! What can Ah do to help? No, wait, scratch that. Ah already know what Ah can do!"

"And what would that be?"

* * *

"Hello, Prince! Already back from yer business trip to Ponyville?" Apple Bumpkin said with a smile when she saw it has her brother who was knocking on the door. "Long time no see, bro. What are ya doin' here?"

"We don't have much time, AB! Where is the bracelet?"

"Still in the chest inside the closet, why? By the way, where did ya moved the castle to?"

"Ah didn't moved no castle! Somepony stole the lamp and took the castle away!"

"What? Oh, that ain't good..."

"This is why Ah need the bracelet. Maybe Ah'll be able to use it to bring it back!"

Apple Bumpkin nodded and went to the bedroom that she used to share with her brother - he offered her a room in his castle when he started living there, but she politely refused; she liked that house. Braeburn followed his sister to the bedroom and watched her retrieve the chest from its hiding place. She unlocked it and passed the gold bracelet with a red gem encrusted on it. Braeburn silently thanked her with a nod and wore the bracelet on his left foreleg. He then proceeded to rub it.

"Slave of the Bracelet, I summon you!"

The gem started to glow and soon the red demon was standing in front of the siblings.

"I am the Slave of the Bracelet and slave of the one who wears it." he said. "What is your command, my Master?"

"I want mah love, mah friends and mah castle back. Can ya help me?"

"Unfortunately I can't undo the magic of the Slave of the Lamp." he said. Braeburn's expression saddened. "But I can take you to where he took your castle."

"Please, do it! But first, Ah need two favors. Can ya make a map o' Equestria and mark an 'X' on the spot where the castle is?"

"As you wish, Master." the genie snapped his fingers and a map appeared right in front of them, with a spot marked on the Badlands.

"It's not that far away from here." Apple Bumpkin pointed out. "Compared to the rest o' Equestria, that is!"

"Thanks, mister" Braeburn said. "Now, can ya send a message to Princess Celestia?"

"Yes, Master." the demon said, materializing a quill and a scroll on his hands.

"Write as Ah say, please!" he cleaned his throat. "Dear Princesses Celestia and Luna." the Slave of the Lamp began to write. "Ah summoned the Slave of the Bracelet an' he was able to locate the castle. Ah'm sendin' y'all a map with this letter. The location of the castle is marked on it. The Slave of the Bracelet is takin' me there an' Ah hope to be able to set things normal, but Ah just wanted to warn y'all, just in case. Signed, Braeburn Apple."

"Done, Master!"

"Great! Now please, send it to the Canterlot Castle." the Slave of the Lamp snapped his fingers once again and both the letter and the map disappeared. "And now, ya can take me to the place where mah fiancée is!"

"And me too!"

"AB?"

"If yer goin' on an adventure, Ah'm goin' with ya! Last time ya ended up locked in a cave with shadow monsters an' almost died. Ya always need somepony to watch yer back. Besides, Ah always wanted to go on an adventure too!"

"Are ya sure, AB? ight be very dangerous."

"Big bro, do ya think Ah care about danger? Ah just want to have fun. Ah like to live in Appleloosa, but sometimes life here gets really borin'!"

Braeburn chuckled. "Ah told Twi the same thing a while ago. Ok, AB, ya can come. But ya need to be careful, ok? Never leave mah side. Ah don't know who stole the lamp or what we'll find there, this is why we need to stick together. Specially if that Queen of the Changelings is the one behind all this. The Princesses told me they can change their appearance to fool others!"

"Alright, Ah get it. Let's go!"

* * *

Twilight woke up on the cold floor of a room in her castle. After looking around for a while, she noticed that she was in the dungeon.

"Huh! I never knew we had a dungeon. I really need to find some time to explore the castle! Wait, what am I talking about? What am I doing here, anyway? Hellooo? Anypony there?"

"Your Highness? Is that you?" called a male voice from outside her cell in the dungeon.

"Nightingale? Yes, it's me, where are you?"

"I'm in a cell." Nightingale, a grey pegasus stallion wearing a lavender armor - a Dusk Guard - answered. "Dove is here too. Why are we here? Can you free us?"

"Actually, I'm locked too! I'll just teleport out of here and free you two!" magic started to flow on her horn, but suddenly disappeared. "What?" she tried again, but the same thing happened. "What's going on?"

"It's no use, Your Highness!" Dove, the white unicorn stallion, said. "There are magic inhibitor gems all over the walls of the dungeon and, as long as we're in here, we can't even cast the simplest of the spells. It will only make you tired. Believe me, I tried!"

"Who is responsible for this?"

"That white unicorn traitor!" Nightingale said, stomping his hoof on the floor.

"White unicorn? You mean Badroul?"

"We found her in your bedchambers." Dove said. "She was looking for something there. And she... Knocked us out. Please, forgive us, Your Highness!"

"It's ok, gentlecolts."

"But I can't believe Badroul would do such thing!" Twilight thought. "She is one of Celestia's most faithful assistants. What's going on?"

She heard the sound of a heavy door being opened and then heard the sound of hoofsteps.

"Who's there?" Twilight asked.

She saw a silhouette coming down the stairs. When it came closer to her, she could see it was a tall, dark pony-like figure with a long, green mane. Twilight gasped, but her surprised was suddenly replaced again.

"You!"

"Yep. Me!"

"Why are you here? Why am I here? What is going on?"

"You're in my home, Twilight Sparkle!"

"Your home? Not a chance! I've never been in this room before, but this is definitely my castle!"

"Yes, maybe this was your castle, but this is my neighborhood."

"What are you talking about?"

"Take a look through the window, Princess!"

Twilight turned around, flapped her wings and flew up to the barred window. She gasped; she was no longer on top of a mesa in San Palomino Desert, but on the bottom of a canyon which appeared to be on the Badlands.

"This can't be good..."

"You're wrong, Sparkle! This is actually really, really good."

"I disagree with you! This is not good for me at all."

"And who said it was good for you?" the Queen chuckled before turning around and going back upstairs.

"My friends will find you, Queen Chrysalis! I can't wait to see them give you what you deserve."

"I'd like to see them try." she said before closing the door.

Twilight sighed and sat on the cold, stone floor.

"Help me, Braeburn..."

Author's Note

I was watching a gameplay of Catherine while writing this chapter. At some point, the main character mentioned a "magic lamp". I couldn't help but giggle!

Chapter 9

Queen Chrysalis was sitting on Twilight's throne, levitating in front of her a black chalice filled with a green drink, which she was slowly drinking, savoring its sweet, yet bitter flavor; the taste of the unconditional love she received from her subjects, distilled and turned into a tasty drink. It couldn't sate her craving for raw love, but she enjoyed that love drink quite a lot.

"I think I'm starting to get addicted to this." the Queen thought with a chuckle while looking up at the two cocoons hanging from the ceiling. The first had a white unicorn mare inside it, slumbering peacefully. The second had a purple and green baby dragon; he was awake, but couldn't move a single part of his body, with the exception of his eyeballs.

"Your Highness!" a Changeling wearing a dark purple armor said before landing in front of her and saluting. "We just received a message from the outposts. There's an intruder coming from above! According to them, it's some sort of... Demon!"

The Queen just smiled before sipping her drink again. "I knew that Earth Pony was going to come after his lover. I also expected him to use the Slave of the Bracelet to bring him here."

"If you already expected him to come, does that mean you have a plan?"

"I always have a plan, Captain! Now send a message to the outposts. Tell them to activate... The Swarm!"

The drone nodded and saluted before leaving the castle. Chrysalis finished her drink and placed her chalice on the armrest of the throne. She looked up at the baby dragon with a smile on her face.

"Fearing for your friend's life, infant? You should. There's no way he is going to survive The Swarm! And now, if you'll excuse me, I have a little something that needs to be done."

She then left the throne room, leaving Spike behind, who was struggling as hard as he could, but without being able to move a single inch.

* * *

Braeburn was standing on the upper back of the Slave of the Bracelet with a serious expression on her face, staring at the horizon, hoping for the castle to appear on his field of vision. Apple Bumpkin was sitting on his lower back, looking down at the ground several feet below them.

"I'm coming for you, Twilight!" he thought. "Just hang on a little longer."

"The Wasteland is soooo boring..." Apple Bumpkin said with a frown. "If we weren't on a rescue mission, Ah wouldn't have asked to come along, simply because o' this trip." she looked at her brother and sighed. "And mah own brother is so focused on watchin' out for his castle that he won't even talk to me." she looked down one more time and arched an eyebrow. "What the...? Hey, big bro!"

"..."

"Big bro?"

"..."

"Braeburn!"

"..."

She took a deep breath and approached her muzzle to his ear.

"BRAEBURN!"

He finally reacted, turning his head to look at his sister. "Yes, sis?"

"Finally, a reaction! Anyway, look down."

Braeburn did as he was told and looked at the ground, seeing several green, glowing dots.

"Mister of the bracelet!"

"Yes, Master?" the Slave of the Bracelet asked.

"Do ya know what in tarnation are those?"

His eyes widened when he looked down. "Anti-Magic Crystals!"

"Are those a problem?"

"Big problem, Master! They attack any source of magic, including myself. They are going to try to shoot us down. Hang on, for this flight is about to get really bumpy!"

Braeburn and Apple Bumpkin wrapped their forelegs around the arms of the Slave of the Lamp, who started to fly in zigzag as the green crystals started to shoot green beams of energy at them. He managed to dodge most of the attacks, but the few ones that managed to hit him were hurting him, making him slow down.

"I-I can't hold on much longer... I'm sorry, Master."

More anti-magic beams hit his body. After a few more hits, the Slave of the Lamp lost his consciousness and started to fall.

"Ah don't wanna die!" Apple Bumpkin shouted.

* * *

"...And now we're here." Celetia said, finishing to tell everything that happened. "Now that you all know what happened, will you help us rescue Twilight and the others?"

"Reckon course!" Applejack said. "One o' mah best friends an' mah cousin can be in major danger, Ah have to help 'em."

"I agree with AJ!" Rainbow Dash said, flapping her wings. "Nopony foalnaps our friend and gets away with it."

"She saved us so many times, now it's time to return the favor." Rarity said, smoothing her mane with a foreleg.

"And on top of that, she is also our ruler!" Fluttershy said quietly. "South Equestria needs her to watch over us."

"Intriguing..." Pinkie Pie said, looking down while scratching her chin. "Alright, everypony, I got this! We need an armadillo, a chess piece and a cart! Don't worry, Princess, we won't mess this up."

"Well, I can get those things you asked, but what--"

"Don't worry about it, Princess!" Applejack said, both her and Rainbow Dash covering Pinkie Pie's muzzle.

"Yeah, just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie."

"If you say so..." the Princess said, going back to her golden chariot and pointing at a second carriage. "Now, please, hurry up. Time is crucial!" the five mares climbed on the second chariot.

"Where are we going, Your Majesty?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm going to Canterlot. I left a few royal business unfinished when I came here. But you're going to the location in the map Prince Braeburn sent us. I'm counting on the five of you! I will join you once everything in my castle is done."

"And we won't let you down, Princess Celestia!" Rarity said with determination.

Celestia smiled. "I know you won't."

The four pegasus Royal Guards flapped their wings and took off. Celestia's chariot went east and the Elements of Harmony's chariot went south.

"Y'all gals better be ready." Applejack said, adjusting her hat on her head.

"Yeah, you heard the Princess!" Ranbow Dash said. "We have no idea of what's in there!"

"I'm Super-Duper-Super Ready!" Pinkie said, polishing her Party Cannon. "No, wait!" she grabbed a cupcake from inside the cannon and ate it in a single bite. "Tummy full. Now I'm ready!"

"I just hope they're all ok..." Fluttershy said.

Rarity wrapped a foreleg around her friend. "We all do, Fluttershy!"

"We will be there in no time, then we're gonna kick flanks and bring our friends home. Isn't that right, fillies?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Right!" the five said at the same time.

"Then let's speed this thing up!" Rainbow Dash placed herself between the Royal Guards to help them pull the carriage, making it fly twice as fast.

* * *

Twilight woke up when she heard the sound of the door of her cell being opened. Queen Chrysalis was standing there with somepony lying on her back.

"Hello again, Princess! I brought you a roomate." the Changeling Queen levitated the pony on her back and dropped him in front of Twilight. "I found him snooping around."

Twilight gasped and helped the pony up.

"Braeburn!" she said, hugging him; his hat and jacket were missing and he had fetters on both his forelegs and hindlegs, but it was definitely him.

"Ah... Ah'm sorry, Twi... Ah... Ah failed ya..."

"It's ok, Braeburn. It's ok. We're going to get out of here!"

"I'd like to see you try." Chrysalis said, locking the cell door again and leaving the dungeon once again.

"Ah was goin' to save ya, Twi, an' now Ah'm a prisoner too..."

Twilight only held her loved Braeburn close to her, finding solace in the warmth of his body. "Don't worry, we will find a way out. Together!"

Braeburn hugged her back. "Yes, Twilight." since she was hugging him, she wasn't able to see his eyes flash green. "Together!"

Author's Note

Fact about me: I love references. There are, like, uh, a gajillion of them in my fanfics! Can you find all of them?

And why not read this fanfic while listening to this?:

Chapter 10 (Final)

"Uh... Girls?" Fluttershy called, looking at the ground below them.

"What is is, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.

"I... I don't want you to panic, but..."

"'But'...?"

Fluttershy said nothing, only looked at her friends and pointed down. Rainbow Dash and the guards looked down while Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Applejack approached the edge of the carriage. They gasped when they saw dozens of Changeling drones flying toward them.

"Ah think we may have a bit of a problem there." Applejack said.

"Miss Rainbow Dash." the first guard said. "Can you handle pulling the carriage by yourself?"

Understanding the plan, Rainbow Dash smirked. "With a wing tied behind my back."

The guards looked at each other and nodded before letting go of the carriage and grabbing their spears that were tied to its side.

"Be careful, y'all!" Applejack said.

"We'll see you at the castle!" Pinkie souted, waving at them.

"It's been a while, you Changeling scum!" the first Royal Guard said.

"Last time you caught us with our guard down, but not this time." the second Royal Guard said.

"CHAAAAARGE!"

* * *

"We're less than a mile away from the castle." Rarity said, levitating the map in front of her face. "Keep looking, girls. We're getting close!"

"Don't need to ask twice!" Pinkie Pie said, looking around with a telescope.

"I... I think I see something over there." Fluttershy said, pointing at a nearby canyon. Pinkie pointed her telescope at it and gasped.

"It's one of the towers of Twi's castle! We found it, we found it!"

"Double speed, RD!" Applejack shouted, pointing her hoof forward.

Rainbow Dash saluted and flapped her wings even faster. It didn't took long before the carriage landed in front of the entrance of the castle. The four mares got out of the carriage and joined Rainbow Dash in front of the closed entrance door.

"Be careful." Fluttershy said. "We don't know what we're going to find in there."

"Fret not, Flutters!" Applejack said. "Cousin Braeburn must've already set things right in there!"

"I... I supposed!"

Rainbow Dash and Applejack pushed the doors open. The five of them gasped when they saw Queen Chrysalis sitting on the throne with Twilight sitting on the floor to her right and Braeburn to her left, both chained by their necks, with the Changeling Queen holding the chains. The eyes f both ponies were glowing green.

"Took you long enough." she said with a chuckle.

"Queen Chrysalis!" the five mares said at the same time.

"So it was you who foalnapped our dear friend Twilight." Rarity said, then looked up and gasped. "Spikey-Wikey?!"

"And a mare we never saw before!" Pinkie said, looking up as well.

"Cousin Braeburn!" Applejack called. "What have you done to them?"

"Let them go. Now!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Or what, little Pegasus?"

"Or we're gonna make you let them go." she then stood on her hind legs and started to punch the air with her forelegs.

"I'd love to see you do that. But first..." her horn started glowing and a green circle appeared in front of the throne. Suddenly an image appeared on the circle.

* * *

Back in Appleloosa, the inhabitants were harvesting the apples from the trees. Many trees were dying again, but there were still quite a few trees still alive and ready to be bucked. Suddenly the ground started to shake lightly.

"Are the buffaloes back?" a mare asked while placing a basket full of apples in a cart.

The ground started shaking harder and harder. A few ponies even lost their balance and fell.

"Earthquake!" a stallion shouted.

Suddenly a hole appeared in front of the stallion, and from it a Changeling appeared. Several other holes appeared around the orchard with many Changelings crawling out of them.

"What the hay is goin' on?!"

* * *

The five horrified mares watched as the army of Changelings took over the small town.

"As much as I despise admitting it, Changelings are still only pony-shaped insectoids." she said. "Which means that, even though we still need to feed on love energy to shapeshift, we have other sources of energy, such as tree sap. And my Changelings have been munching on the roots of those trees for a good while!"

"So this is why the trees from Appleloosa an' Dodge Junction have been slowly witherin'..." Applejack said.

"And my army is stronger than when they invaded Canterlot, which means that they can make Appleloosa and Dodge Junction disappear in a matter of hours. Do you think it's a wise movement to attack me?"

"As a matter of fact..." said a voice coming from behind them. They all turned around to see who was talking: a golden Earth Pony stallion wearing a jacket and a hat.

"...we do!" the pale yellow Earth Pony mare standing beside him said, finishing his sentence.

"Braeburn?" they all asked at the same time.

"But if he's standin' there, who's...?" Applejack asked, turning around to look at the other Braeburn, who was standing on the left side of the throne. He was looking at them, smirking. "A Changelin'! Ah should've guessed."

"How did you survived The Swarm?" Queen Chrysalis asked, sounding surprised.

Braeburn chuckled.

~ ~ ~

Braeburn opened his eyes. He was lying on the ground, beside his sister, Apple Bumpkin, who was still unconscious.

"Wha... What happened?" he started shaking his sister. "AB. AB, wake up." he proceeded to get up and felt his hoof pressing against the shards of something. He looked down at the ground and noticed he was stomping on the shards of the jewel of the bracelet, which was broken. "Oh, no! The Slave of the Bracelet! He's... He's..."

Apple Bumpkin moaned in pain as she got up. "What... Happened?"

"Ah think... We fell!"

"Darn! Well, what are ya waitin' for? Summon the big guy an' let's go back up!"

"Ah'm afraid Ah can't..." he said, presenting her the broken bracelet.

"Aw, shoot! Wait, this means we're stranded in the desert?!"

"Ah guess we are..."

"Ain't that great?" she said, rolling her eyes.

"We're not goin' anywhere standin' here, are we?"

She sighed. "Ah suppose yer right..."

Braeburn helped Apple Bumpkin up and they started to walk. They walked for a while, but the heat made minutes feel like hours of walk under the hot sun of the Wastelands.

"Are we there yet?" Apple Bumpkin asked between gasps.

"An' where is there?" Braeburn asked with a dry voice.

"Ah don't know. But are we there yet?"

"Ah doubt it..."

Suddenly they felt a pair of shadows hovering above them.

"Are those vultures or the angels of death comin' after us?"

"Neither of those, Apple Bumpkin." the first flying figure said, landing in front of them.

"Princess Celestia?" Braeburn asked. "Or is it a mirage?"

"I can assure you, Prince Consort Braeburn Apple, both her and me are very real." the second said, landing beside Celestia.

"Princess Luna too?"

"While you were unconscious, I could feel the despair and anger in your mind. I summoned my sister back to Canterlot and explained the situation to her. Combining our magics, we were able to locate you and your sister, then come to your aid."

Princess Celestia levitated Braeburn and Apple Bumpkin, placing the Prince Consort on her own back and his sister on Princess Luna's back.

"Now, we have a quest to finish, don't you agree?" she smiled. Braeburn smiled back at her.

~ ~ ~

"But... If the Princesses brought you here, where are they?" Fluttershy asked.

"Your answer..." he pointed at Queen Chrysalis' magic screen. "...is right there!"

The magic screen was now split in two: one half was showing Dodge Junction, where Princess Luna was surrounded by dozens of unconscious Changelings. The other half was showing Appleloosa, where Princess Celestia was levitating a giant yellow sphere of magic, which contained a large amount of Changelings.

"No!" Chrysalis shouted. "My army!"

"Ah don't hurt females, no matter the species, so feel free to give her the beatin' of yer life." Braeburn said.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash smirked and nodded before charging toward the Changeling Queen. She tried shielding herself with her forelegs, but it was useless, since the physical strenght of both mares was stronger than hers. It didn't took long before she was left unconscious on the floor.

"That's how we do it down on the farm." Applejack said.

"Disguise that, you shapeshifting rat!"

Suddenly the fallen Queen started to glow. She started to shrink until she was the size of an average Changeling; one wearing a purple armor.

"A... A fake?!" Rarity shouted.

"All... Hail... The Queen..." he said before fainting.

"And all hail the Hive!" the fake Braeburn said before freeing himself from the chains.

"That's the real Queen!" Apple Bumpkin said, pointing at him.

A pair of insectoid wings sprouted from Fake Braeburn's back. He grabbed Princess Twilight before flying into a dark hallway.

"After her!" Braeburn shouted before galloping at full speed toward the hallway where Fake Braeburn took Twilight. Apple Bumpkin, Applejack and Rainbow Dash followed him.

"We need to save Spikey-Wikey!" Rarity said before magically cutting the cocoons open. Spike and Badroul fell; the baby dragon was saved by Fluttershy and the unicorn fell on Pinkie Pie's back.

"Than... Thank you..." Spike said.

"It's ok, Spikey-Wikey. You're safe now!"

"And what about her?" Fluttershy said, looking at the mare who Pinkie Pie placed on the floor. "Is she...?"

"Don't worry, fillies, I know CPR!" Pinkie Pie said, then approached her face to the mare's, then... "WAKE UP!" she shouted. "WAKE! UP! WHY AREN'T YOU WAKING UP?"

"I don't think that's how CPR works, Pinkie Pie..."

* * *

The four ponies chased the Fake Braeburn, who hid himself in the dungeon.

"Alright, now we got him." Apple Bumpkin said while the four ponies walked down the stairs. "Her! Whatever!"

"There's no escape now, Changeling!" Braeburn shouted.

"Your Highness?" a voice called from one of the cells. "Is that you?"

"Nightingale?" he asked, running toward the cell, where his two guards were locked.

"So it's really you, Your Highness!" the Pegasus smiled.

"Where is Twilight? And the Queen?"

"I heard the sound of a cell on the far end of this dungeon being opened right now." Dove said.

Braeburn nodded and went to the cell that Dove mentioned. Apple Bumpkin followed him. Rainbow Dash and Applejack stayed behind to open the cell where Dove and Nightingale were.

Braeburn opened the cell. His eyes widened when he saw two Twilights sitting on the floor, looking at him.

"Two Twilights?" Apple Bumpkin said.

"Queen Chrysalis, ya fiend!"

"Help me, Braeburn!"

"No, help me, Braeburn!"

"She is the fake one."

"She's lying! I'm the real Twilight!"

"How am Ah supposed to know which one is the real one?!" Braeburn shouted, lying on the ground and covering his eyes with his forelegs.

Apple Bumpkin simply analyzed both Twilights with a serious face. After a few moments, she closed her eyes and smirked.

"Big bro!" she called.

"What is it, AB?" he said, looking up at her.

"Ya take the Twilight on the left. Ah take the right one on the right!" she winked at him. "Ya know what to do!"

Braeburn smiled and got up. Both ponies charged toward the two Twilights.

"No no no, wai--" the Right Twilight said before the hindlegs of Apple Bumpkin connected to her face. Meanwhile, Braeburn simply hugged the Left Twilight.

"B-Brae..."

The Twilight on the floor turned back into the Changeling Queen, who had passed out.

* * *

A while later, Celestia and Luna were standing on the entrance of Twilight's castle. The whole Changeling Army and their Queen were all magically chained by the magic of the Princesses.

"What is going to happen to them, Princesses?" Twilight asked.

"I'm going to use a spell on them." Princess Luna said. "For as long as I live, there will be a magical shield surrounding the Wastelands, preventing any Changeling from escaping."

"It won't last long, Princess." Queen Chrysalis said. "I have spies all around Equestria and on other Kingdoms too! Soon they will find a way to free me, and I will have my revenge!"

"I highly doubt it, Changeling."

Braeburn was checking Twilight's body; her face, her wings, her horn, her hooves, everything. "Are ya ok? Did they hurt ya?"

"I told you, Braeburn, I'm ok! A little hungry, but ok."

"It's good to see ya again, Princess!" Apple Bumpkin said.

"Oh, I wanted to ask you something, Apple Bumpkin. How did you knew which Twilight was the real one?"

"Ah didn't."

"Th-Then why... How... You..."

"Did Ah ever told ya that Ah never liked the fact that ya took mah brother away from me?"

"Apple Bumpkin..."

The mare smirked, then started laughing. "Ah'm just pullin' yer leg, Princess! She looked exactly like ya, except for one little detail." she pointed at Twilight's mane. "When Ah saw ya in the Throne Room, yer streaks were on the right side of yer horn. In the dungeon, she had the streaks on the left side."

"How did ya noticed that?" Braeburn asked.

Apple Bumpkin giggled. "A mare has an eye for this kind of thing."

"Your Highness, we caught the traitor!" Dove said, standing in front of Celestia. Nightingale was standing beside him, with Badroul in the middle of them.

"Pr-Princess..." she said with tears streaming from her eyes. "Please... It wasn't me, I swear..."

Celestia sighed. "You two haven't noticed yet, have you?"

"Noticed what?" he asked.

"Let her go, she is innocent."

"B-But Your Highness--" Dove started, but Nightingale interrupted him.

"Orders from te Princess!"

"Pr-Princess!" Badroul jumped on the Sun Princess and hugged her neck, staining her white coat with her tears. "Thank you, thank yoou, thank you so much!"

"Now it's time to go back home, don't you think?" Luna asked, looking at Braeburn.

"Ah guess so!" he answered. "Ah just need to find the Lamp and--"

Luna levitated the black oil lamp in front of Braeburn, who grabbed it.

"Where did you--"

"Hidden behind the throne!"

He chuckled. "Thank ya kindly, Princess Luna!" he sat on the ground with the Lamp in front of him. The Prince then started to rub it with his hoof. "Slave of the Lamp, Ah summon ya!"

* * *

A few weeks later...

* * *

Horseshoe Bay. Twilight and Braeburn were on the beach, in front of an open, empty chest.

"Are you sure about that, Braeburn?" Twilight asked her fiancé.

"It's the only way, Twilight. This lamp is truly wonderful and it may have made possible for us to be together, but it also brought us a lot of sufferin'. An' Ah'm sure it brought sufferin' to many other ponies before us. Who knows what might happen if its power fall on the wrong hooves?"

"I... I see."

Braeburn placed the lamp in the chest, closed it and then locked it. Together, they pushed it toward the ocean. The tide took the chest away and, after a while, water invaded it through the cracks of the wood, flooding it. The chest then sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

"It's done." Braeburn looked down at the key on his hoof and smiled before throwing it at the ocean with as much force as he could.

"What now, Brae-Brae?"

"Now we go back home, Twi!" he said while going back to the carriage waiting for them. "We don't want to be late for our own marriage, do we?"

She smiled before following him. "Of course not!"

Braeburn opened the door of the carriage and Twilight jumped in. He entered it right after her and closed the door. The two Dusk Guards pulling it then took off, going south-west, toward South Equestria. They then kissed each other in the middle of the flight.

* * *

Aladdin's friends watched as Twilight walked toward the altar, where Braeburn was waiting. She was wearing a white, long, flowing wedding dress and he was wearing a tuxedo intead of his brown jacket, but his hat was still on the top of his head.

"Braeburn marrying a Princess!" Farhan said. "Who would have guessed?"

"I always knew Braeburn would be successful in life." Nijad said with a smile. "Good things happen to good ponies!"

"So, I guess nothing good is going to happen to us." Jal said. "We're just a bunch of little thiefs!"

"What about Aladdin?" Jasim said. "Since that day in the orchard, he stopped hanging out with us."

"Speak of the devil..." Farhan said, pointing at a chair on the other side of the room.

The other three colts looked at where Farhan was pointing. Their eyes widened when they saw a very beautiful white unicorn mare with an orange mane approaching the pegasus colt and his mother.

"Excuse me!" she said. "Is this place vacant?" she pointed at the empty seat near him.

"No, it's not." Rahimah, said with a smile. "Feel free to sit there!"

"Thanks." Badroul sat on the chair. "I'm Badroulbadour, but you can call me Badroul!"

"I'm Rahimah. This is my foal, Aladdin!"

"Hello there, little Aladdin!" she then dishevelled his mane. "Aren't you a cute little thing?"

The colt giggled with the other four groaned and crossed their forelegs.

"Lucky bastard..."

Author's Note

It was a fun ride, but it had to end sooner or later!
Talking about ride, now that this is over, I can finally work on the fanfic I wanted to make since, like, forever! Here's a hint: there will be cars and lots of destruction! >:3