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! ^_^