One Last Mission

by Show Stopper

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Adventure
Length: 20446

The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have returned! After 10 years, they are back! Now there is hope! Now there is a real chance for victory! This war is over!

It has been 10 years since the Princesses and the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony disappeared, and 7 years since the beginning of the Discordian Civil War. Unicorns, under Discord's control, fight for dominance, while Equestria fights to stay alive.
Now, hope has returned. The Bearers are back, and they're ready to end this war, once and for all. All they need to do is venture outside of Equestria to reclaim the lost Elements, battle the unicorn nation of Utopia for the Element of Magic, and find and defeat Discord. Easy, right?

One Last Mission diverges from cannon during the events of Season 3, shortly before Twilight Sparkle would have ascended. She and the others vanished three years after the return of Princess Luna. This story begins ten years after that.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-07-11 00:59:35 UTC

21st June 0013 (Show Stopper)

June 21st, 0013 of the Harmonic Age of Equestria

13th anniversary of the return of Princess Luna

10th anniversary of the disappearance of the three princesses

7th anniversary of the Battle of Ponyville

6th anniversary of the Treaty of Remembrance

10 years. Has it already been 10 years? It seems only yesterday that I was performing for Princess Luna herself; only yesterday that Princess Celestia applauded my acting as Starswirl the Bearded; only yesterday that Princess Cadence asked for my autograph in exchange for her’s. 10 years. how Equestria has changed in these last 10 years. 10 years ago war was a foreign concept. 10 years ago prejudice was an unknown word. 10 years ago the Elements of harmony were a symbol of peace.

But things are different now. Now the Elements of Laughter and Generosity are all that keep us on even ground with the forces of Utopia. Now foals are born into a world where war has been raging for 7 years. Now every unicorn in Equestria must actively fight against Discord’s influence. Even now, when I’ve been fighting against Utopia for 7 years, I still feel that urge to betray Equestria and join them. I’m one of the last unicorns left fighting for Equestria; the rest are blinded by Discord’s magic to the point that they don’t even realize that he’s there. I muse again upon the irony of the naming of the forces controlled by the Lord of Chaos and Disharmony: “Utopia”.

Yes, these 7 years have been hard on everypony. It will no doubt get even harder now that their top spy has been found out. 6 years of working my way up in the ranks of Utopia down the drain! I barely escaped with my life! If my coat and mane weren’t so dark, I probably wouldn’t have escaped at all.

So now, here I sit, a discovered spy waiting to be reassigned. Meanwhile, all I can do is sit here and reminisce about the good old days time before the war. (Nopony under 40 should ever say “the good old days”.) I hope I get reassigned soon. Just sitting around all day is killing me! I wish I’d gotten back sooner so I could have joined the Crusaders on their scavenging mission to the ruins of Canterlot. Oh well, I guess I’ll see them in a few days when they return, as long as Scootaloo doesn’t get them into trouble again.

Signing off, Show Stopper

Equestria’s Top Spy

Unassigned

23rd June 0013 (Show Stopper)

June 23rd, 0013 of the Harmonic Era of Equestria

10th anniversary of the disappearance of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony

10th anniversary of the scattering of the Elements of Harmony

7th anniversary of the death of Big Macintosh, The Stalwart

The Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have returned! After 10 years, they are back! Now there is hope! Now there is a real chance for victory! This war is over!

Yeah, those were my first thoughts. Let me explain how things really stand. It begins with the Crusaders. Captain Scootaloo will be transcribing over from her journal.

June 21st, 0013

We arrived in Canterlot this morning. Our mission: scour the ruins for anything useful. Our personal objective: look for clues as to why and how the Princesses and Bearers disappeared. In all honesty though, I’ve given up hope. Rainbow Dash and the others have been gone for almost 10 years now, and nopony’s even found a single clue as to where they went.

But I’m not about to say that out loud. Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom still have hopes of seeing their sisters again. Hay, that’s why I write my journal in Gryphonese, so that they don’t read it and get discouraged. I refuse to be the one who destroys their hopes, even if I’ve lost mine.

We searched Canterlot all day but didn’t find anything useful in the city. Tomorrow we search the castle, where the princesses disappeared from. The day after that we search the remains of the Royal Canterlot Gardens, where Rainbow and the others disappeared from. Who knows, maybe we’ll find something.

Captain Scootaloo, The Crusaders

June 22nd, 0013

We searched the castle today. Nothing to report. It’s just as bare as last time.

Captain Scootaloo, The Crusaders

June 23rd, 0013

They’re back! Rainbow Dash and the others are back!

The day started out like all of the others. We got up, ate, broke camp, and set off to the remains of the Royal Canterlot Gardens. I could barely believe it, but they looked even worse than last time! The pathways are reduced to random cobblestones, the weeds have grown rampant all over the place, and the hedge maze was so thick that it was easier to just hack our way to the center with our machetes, rather than try to use the paths. We had to stop several times to rest, but we made it to the center at about noon.

There’s only one thing that I hate more than Discord, and that’s seeing the girls disappointed. I don’t know what they were expecting, but apparently an empty, dilapidated courtyard wasn’t it. The only difference from last time is that the weeds are higher.

“Well,” sighed Apple Bloom, “I guess we’ll just have to wait a bit longer.”

“I don’t know how much longer I can wait,” replied Sweetie Bell. “It’s been ten years since I’ve seen my sister. Even if we did find them, I’m not even sure that we’d recognize each other any more. It’s been so long...”

“We’ll find them!” I exclaimed. “Don’t think for a moment that we won’t! They are  going to come back, and they WILL help us win this war!” Like I said, I wasn’t going to be the one to crush their hopes.

“Come on,” said Apple Bloom, turning away. “We’ve got ourselves a long walk home.”

And nothing to show for it, I thought.

That was about to change.

As soon as we reached the hole we’d made in the hedge, Sweetie Bell stopped. I turned back to her. “What’s up?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” she replied, frowning, “but something feels weird.”

“Weird how?” asked Apple Bloom.

“It’s strange,” said Sweetie Bell, shaking her head, “but my horn is starting to tingle, like it does when I’m around the Elements.”

I sighed, not wanting to waste any more time. “You’re just imagining it. You ‘feel’ something every time we come here.”

“It’s not like that,” she said, looking around nervously. “It’s a lot more real this time. And it’s growing!”

I was about to tell her to snap out of it, but then I felt something too, a strange tingling in my wings. Apple Bloom must have felt something too, because she said, “You’re right. An’ it feels like it’s comin’ from over there!”

We looked to where she was pointing: the center of the courtyard. Suddenly, a sphere of light the size of an apple appeared. It started growing until it almost touched the hedges. Sweetie Bell shielded her eyes, Apple Bloom got down into a fighting stance, and I drew my sword, clenching it tight in my mouth, ready to spring into a fight.

The sphere of light flashed brightly once, and disappeared. As soon as I could see again, I looked toward the center of the courtyard where the light had been.

My jaw dropped, my sword clattering to the ground.

In the center of the courtyard, lying unconscious, were six ponies: 2 unicorns, 2 earth ponies, and 2 pegasi.

None of us moved for a while. I don’t know about the other 2, but I was biting my tongue over and over to make sure that I wasn’t dreaming. Sweetie Bell was the first to move. She slowly approached one of the unicorns, the white one with 3 perfect diamonds on her flank. She slowly made her way up to her and nudged her softly.

It all proved to be too much for Apple Bloom, who ran forward and tackled the orange earth pony, crying out, “Applejack! Applejack!”

Sweetie Bell lay down next to her sister and embraced her gently. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered over and over again, “Rarity. Rarity.”

As for me, all I could do was stare at the cyan pegasus who I’d hero-worshiped all those years ago.

It took me a while, but I finally noticed something strange. “Sweetie Bell,” I said slowly, “Apple Bloom, you might want to take a good look at them.”

Sweetie Bell looked up worriedly. “Wh- what do you mean? Is something wrong?”

Apple Bloom glared at me over her sister’s stetson. “Don’t you listen to her, SB! She’s just bein’ paranoid.”

I shook my head slowly, my eyes still not leaving Rainbow Dash. “It’s not paranoia, Bloom. There’s something off about them.”

Apple Bloom stood up and started stomping towards me, grinding her teeth. “There ain’t nothin’ wrong with ‘em! Just look at them! They’re exactly the… same as… we… remember...” She stopped and slowly turned around as she saw what I was talking about. “But, that’s impossible. It can’t be.”

“What? What is it?” Sweetie Bell asked, getting visibly more nervous since she still hadn’t figured it out yet.

“Sweetie Bell,” I said calmly, “how old was Rarity when she disappeared?”

“18,” she responded, confused. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“How long ago did she disappear?”

“10 years ago to the day. You know that!”

“And how old does she look now?”

Sweetie Bell opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. her eyes widened as she looked back down at her formerly big sister. “But, that’s impossible! She’s... they’re...”

“...exactly the same age as when they disappeared,” we chorused.

We slowly looked from one pony to another. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight: all of them looked no older than they had 10 years ago.

“But how?” asked Sweetie Bell. “How is that possible?”

“My guess is that it’s a prank from Discord,” I spat. “Not funny enough that they disappear for 10 years, so he keeps them from aging so they don’t know that any time has passed.”

“But that means,” said Apple Bloom slowly, “that we’re goin’ to have to explain, well, everythin’.”

“The prejudice,” I said. “The war. The deaths.” I couldn’t even imagine how they would take it.

Unfortunately, we would find out soon enough.

We decided to stay and make camp until they woke up. Luckily, we always carry a few extra tents, as ours have a habit of getting destroyed. With each of the Bearers in their own one-pony tent, the 3 of us started to pool our rations to try to get something decent made for them to eat. As usual, it all just ended up in a big pot of soup. Sweetie Bell went off to think while Apple Bloom watched the soup to make sure it didn’t burn. (I still don’t get how she did that that ono time. Seriously, how do you burn soup!) I waited near the tents, listening for any sound that suggested that any of the Bearers were waking up. i’d volunteered to debrief them on how they’d disappeared and get them up to speed on the events of the last 10 years. It wasn’t a task I was looking forward to, but somepony had to do it, and I wasn’t going to make Apple Bloom or Sweetie Bell tell their sisters about their families, especially Apple Bloom. I just hoped that I’d get a chance to practice on the others before Rainbow Dash woke up.

Luckily for me, Twilight was the first to wake up. I heard some groaning and shuffling coming from her tent at about 1330 hours. I stood up, took a deep breath to steel myself, and walked into the tent. Twilight was sitting up facing away from me and rubbing the side of her head. “It’s good to see you again, Twilight,” I said.

She whipped her head around so quickly, i’m surprised that she didn’t get whiplash. She stood up and looked me over, more than a hint of fear in her eyes. I guess that that was only natural, considering my uniform and weapons. I think that the closest thing she ever saw to a soldier before me were the old Royal Canterlot Guards in their useless ceremonial armor. She stared at me for several moments before asking, “Do I know you?”

“Yeah,” I replied, hoping to Celestia that Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom wouldn’t have to hear their sisters ask them that question. “You know me. I knew you too, 10 years ago.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, but you’ve got to be mistaken. The only ponies that I really knew when I was 8 were my family and my foal-sitter.”

I had to chuckle at that; it certainly fitted Spike’s description of “Twilight the anti-social bookworm”. “I suppose you’re right, but I’m not talking about when you were 10 years younger.”

“I don’t follow,” said Twilight cautiously.

I took a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. Now or never, I thought. “Twilight Sparkle,” I began, “there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to say it right out. You and your friends have been gone for 10 years.”

“Gone?” asked Twilight as her other eyebrow rose to join the first. “What do you mean, ‘gone’?”

“I mean that 10 years ago, you and the other 5 Bearers of the Elements of Harmony disappeared when you went to Canterlot to confront Discord. Nopony knows how or why, but you 6 vanished and the Elements scattered. The Princesses are still missing, and Equestria has been involved in a great civil war for the last 7 years.”

In retrospect, that probably wasn’t the best way to tell her. I really can’t blame Twilight for falling on her back and laughing, but it still annoyed me. I heard movement outside the tent, and I definitely didn’t want Apple Bloom or Sweetie Bell to see her like that. I did the only thing I could think of to shut her up. I quickly slipped my dog-tags off of my neck and tossed them next to her. She calmed down enough to look at them, and her laughter immediately stopped. She looked up at me and back to them, unwilling to believe what she was seeing, but it was pretty hard to deny dog-tags stamped with “Captain Scootaloo”.

It was about then that Apple Bloom burst in. She’d obviously gotten nervous when she’d heard the laughter. “Twilight!” she exclaimed, beaming. “You’re up! How’re you feeling?”

Twilight looked back and forth between the two of us, still trying to take in what she was seeing and what I’d said. “S-Scootaloo? Apple Bloom? But, but that’s impossible. How-””

“I’ll go get SB,” said Apple Bloom, darting out of the tent.

“Don’t forget the soup!” I shouted after her. Too late; she was out of earshot.

“SB?” I turned back to see Twilight still staring at me. “Sweetie Bell’s here too?”

“That’s right,” I said proudly, grinning. “7 years of war, and the Crusaders are still together!”

“And you’re all soldiers?”

My grin dropped faster than it had appeared, replaced by a look that made Twilight look away. “10 years is a long time, Twilight. When the war started, it took everypony available just to survive. Very few are blessed with the rank of ‘civilian’ these days.”

“But I just don’t understand,” said Twilight. “How did this happen? How did Equestria dissolve into civil war in just 3 years?”

“That’s a long story, Twilight,” I said, sitting down and getting comfortable. “It all started with your disappearance. When all of you vanished, the widespread chaos stopped. no more popping corn. No more cotton candy clouds. No more chocolate rain. Everypony thought that Discord was gone, because his statue disappeared too. Everypony thought that you’d sacrificed yourselves to destroy him once and for all.

“Unfortunately, Discord survived. He didn’t go away after you all disappeared. He just waited in hiding, biding his time and using his magic in a much more subtle way.

“He began corrupting the unicorns. He messed with their thoughts and made them think of themselves as superior to pegasi and earth ponies. It wasn’t obvious at first, but after a year we started to notice that something was off. By the end of the next year, unicorns were openly hostile against the other races. Of course, not all of them gave in. A few, like Sweetie Bell, realized that something was off and they helped us figure out that Discord was corrupting the unicorn’s minds. Of course, as soon as we realized this, we started to spread the word. Lots of unicorns didn’t listen, but lots of them did, and they began to fight against Discord’s influence.

“He didn’t like that much.” I hesitated. I knew that the next part would be hard for Twilight to hear, but she had to know. “Discord apparently decided that there was only one way to keep control of the unicorns. He had the unicorn who had taken charge in the place of the Princesses issue a decree. From that time forth, pegasi and earth ponies were banned from all major cities: Canterlot, Phillydelphia, Manehatten, New Yoke, Trottingham, etc. He enforced this decree using the Royal Canterlot Guard, and non-unicorns were forced to flee.”

“But that’s crazy!” exclaimed Twilight. “Not that the rest of what you’re saying isn’t, but that decree just wouldn’t work! How would they control weather without pegasi? How would they grow crops without earth ponies? Not to mention that less than half of the Guard are unicorns. How would they get the others to cooperate?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Really, Twilight? Almost three years of persecution and you think the ranks of the Guard were still even? By that time most non-unicorns had either quit or been fired.”

“But what about the weather and the crops?”

“Come on, Twilight,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You’re the expert on magic. You know better than me that there are spells for that.”

“But those spells are so much less effective!”

“You think that Disccord cares?” I snapped. She flinched and I glared at the ground. “All he cared about was getting them out of the major cities. After all,” I looked up and stared Twilight dead in the eye, “it’s easier to destroy a village than to fight inside of Canterlot.”

I saw the gears turning quickly in Twilight’s head, and the look of horror on her face as she realized what I meant. “No,” she whispered. “You don’t mean...”

I nodded. “On June 21st, year 6 of the Harmonic Era of Equestria, the unicorns attacked Ponyville.”

I don’t remember everything I said after that. Suffice to say that I relayed the major points of the last 7 years: the Treaty of Remembrance promising cease-fire on the anniversary of the Princess’ disappearance, the treaty with the Southern Gryphon Tribes, the first clash of the Elements of Harmony which destroyed Canterlot, and finally, the official secession of Utopia.

“UTOPIA?” Twilight shouted when she heard. “They’re under Discord’s control and they call themselves Utopia?”

“Of course,” said Sweetie Bell, who’d joined us during my description of the Battle of Cloudsdale. “After all” she said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable, “a society ruled by the superior race is a perfect society.”

“Heh, careful there SB,” said Apple Bloom, who’d joined in while I described the latest duel between Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. “We wouldn’t want you convertin’ over to Discord’s side.”

“Oh please, don’t even joke about that,” said Twilight. “Rarity would be devastated if that were to happened.”

“Speaking of whom,” I interjected, standing up and stretching, “I’m surprised they’re not up yet.They’re probably just not as used to magic drain as you. Maybe I should go get them.”

“Wait!” We all raised eyebrows at Twilight and she blushed a bit. “I mean, I’d like to let them stay out of this world for as long as possible. Honestly, I wish I was still asleep.”

I shrugged. “Fair enough. But while we wait, we’d better get you equipped.”

“Equipped?” asked Twilight. “Equipped for what?”

“Think about it, Twilight,” said Sweetie Bell. “What sort of equipment would we, The Crusaders, have?”

Twilight paled a bit, not liking where this was going. “W-wait,” she stammered, “you don’t mean, equipped for f-fighting, do you?”

“No,” said Apple Bloom, rolling her eyes. “We mean equipped for a party.”

“A PARTY?!?!?!?!?!?”

Without warning, a giant mass of pink popped up in front of my face. All of us lept back, and Apple Bloom fell back on her haunches as a pair of bright blue eyes stared into hers. “Are you crazy? Nopony would come to a party all the way out here! It’s all doomy and gloomy and ruiny. It would be way way WAY too much of a downer! OOO! Unless it was a Nightmare Night Party! Then this place would be perfect! We could get streamers and balloons and banners and a spider toss and costumes and candy and-”

“PINKIE!!!”

It’s a good thing that Twilight interrupted, or we might still be standing there in shock. I am… happy?... to report that Pinkie Pie is the same as ever.

“Twilight! You’re up too? Neet-o! I went around to the others, but they’re all still asleep. So I looked around Canterlot, but I didn’t see anypony anywhere! Well, there was that group of unicorns at the base of the mountain, but they didn’t look too nice, so I-”

“WHAT?” I dashed out of the tent and sprang into the air, flying faster than I have since… well, last Tuesday. But still, fast! I got as high as I dared and looked down. It wasn’t just a small group. A small ARMY of utopians was making their way up the mountain on all sides.

I sped down to the ground where Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom were taking down tents. “This is bad,” I said as I landed. “There’s a huge group of utopians headed up!”

“Which side of the mountain?” asked Apple Bloom, putting out the fire.

“All of them,” I said. “They’ve got us surrounded, and they’re moving fast! We have three minutes, max!”

Apple Bloom swore. “Ain’t no way we can get through that. We’ve got no choice. Sweetie Bell, Twilight, y’all’ve got to start teleportin’ us to HQ! I know it’s tierin’, but-”

Apple Bloom didn’t even get a chance to finish as Sweetie Bell grabbed her sister and vanished in a flash of light.

“W-wait!” said Twilight, panicking. “What’s going on? Where’s HQ? I don’t even know if-”

“Twilight!” I shouted. “Either you help to get us all out of here, or you’ll be facing down a Utopian soldier at swordpoint! Now move!”

“B-but I don’t even know where your headquarters are!” said Twilight as Sweetie Bell returned.

“HQ’s in Ponyville,” said Apple Bloom as Sweetie vanished with Applejack. “Now hurry! Get to the library!”

Twilight nodded as Sweetie Bell appeared again, panting. They grabbed Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and teleported. Apple Bloom turned to me, frowning. “This is goin’ to be hard on SB.”

I sighed as Twilight reappeared alone. “I know,” I said as she vanished with Pinkie Pie. “She can barely handle 3 trips, and 4 will probably knock her out for a few days. I just hope Twilight can do 3.”

Sweetie Bell and Twilight appeared a few seconds later, both panting for breath as the tips of their horns sparked. “Y’all good for the last trip?” asked Apple Bloom.

“Y-yeah,” gasped Twilight. “J-just let me catch my-my breath.”

“No time!” Sweetie Bell wheezed, experience allowing her to time her gasps between words. “We have to move now! We can’t let them know that you’re back!”

“She’s right, Twilight,” I said. “You’re the best hope that Equestria’s had in 7 years. We have to go. Now!”

Twilight nodded, and she grabbed me just as Sweetie Bell vanished with Apple Bloom.

“It really is good to see you again, Twilight,” I said, right before we teleported.

Show Stopper was there when we arrived, so i’ll let him take over from here. It’s his journal, after all.

Captain Scootaloo, The Crusaders

June 23rd (cont.)

I’d spent that day up until that point reading the complete works of Shakespur. Hey, I’d had nothing else to do, so why not. After all, an actor must practice his material to retain it.

I’d just started re-reading Roameo and Jeweliet when Lieutenant Sweetie Bell teleported in. “You’d better not let Inkwell catch you doing that,” I warned, barely glancing up long enough to see her mane. I’d learned that morning that the librarian has a strict and paranoid “NO MAGIC” rule for “his” library.

“No time to explain!” she replied curtly. “Get the medics over here. Now!”

I sighed as she teleported out. I wonder how Scoots messed up this time. I wondered. I put down my book and went over to see what was wrong with Lieutenant Apple Bloom.

Except, it wasn’t Apple Bloom. I stared at the mare before me for several seconds before Lieutenant Bell returned with another one. “MOVE IT!” she shouted before vanishing again.

I didn’t have the time to contemplate the situation or the significance of it. If Lieutenant Bell was shouting, then it was definitely something serious. That, or she was singing, but I didn’t hear any music playing. I ran up to the second floor and went straight to the writing desk. “Ltn Sweetie Bell in library w/ injured. Send full team. Do not know what to expect. -Show Stopper, Spy.” Satisfied with my note, I rolled it up, wrote, “HQ Medical” on the outside, and opened a bottle of dragonfire over it to send it to Communications Chair Spike. I galloped downstairs to tell Lieutenant Bell, if she returned, that the message had been sent.

I must say, I did not expect to find 9 mares, 6 of them unconscious, when I came down. In retrospect, considering who the first one had been, I really should have, but it was still a surprise to see the Bearers of the Elements of harmony on the 10th anniversary of the day that they disappeared. That just has cliche (and thus not Discord’s style) written all over it. Yet, there they were, none of them apparently a day over 19.

My mind was still reeling with the implications when the pink one started talking. “Wow! That was fun! I don’t think I’ve ever teleported before. That was superly, amazingly, awesomely cool! Hey, Twilight! Can we go again? Oh, you’re asleep. I guess a lot of magic will do that to a unicorn. Not that I would know, since I’m an earth pony, butOHMYGOSH! We’re back in Twilight’s house! That’s so so SOOOOOOO far away from Canterlot! No wonder she’s taking a nap! Sweetie Bell too. Wow, I didn’t notice before, but she’s all grown up now. How did that...”

I have faced 7 years of warfare, 6 of them behind enemy lines, where discovery would mean brutal torture and, hopefully, death. I have killed those whom I called friends, and had to pin it on those who I truly considered as family. I have stood in the presence of the two Utopian generals as one bore the Element of Magic, and I tried to assassinate the other, barely escaping with my life. Allow me to be perfectly clear; I would do it all again in a heartbeat rather than spend 5 MINUTES trapped in a room with that demonic motormouth of a pony! I’m surprised that my ears didn’t start bleeding!

Thankfully, mercifully, Lieutenant Bloom knocked her out cold with a swift blow with a dictionary. “Sweet apple cider!” she exclaimed. “I’d forgotten just how much she can talk. Sorry about that, Stops.”

“At least you stopped her,” I said, rubbing my now ringing ears. “I couldn’t have taken much more of that.” I looked over the 6 unconscious Bearers. “So…”

“So,” Lieutenant Bloom replied.

“They’re back.”

“Eeyup.”

“And they’re unconscious.”

“Eeyup.”

“And they haven’t aged.”

“Nope.”

“...what?”

Lieutenant Bloom and Scootaloo explained the situation as best they could. The medics arrived within the first minute, and Scootaloo quickly explained that the Bearers and Lieutenant Bell suffered from magic exhaustion. They continued their tale, and almost immediately after finishing received a memo requesting their presence before the Generals. With barely time for a “See ya,” they dashed out the door, leaving me alone in the library.

A few minutes later, Inkwell returned from his lunch break. “So,” he said, walking in, “did I miss anything while I was out?”

I don’t actually remember the rest of the day that well. I think I just wandered around Ponyville for the most part. I do remember checking in on Lieutenant Bell at the infirmary. They said that she’ll probably wake up in a couple of days. As for the other 6, they should be up and around tomorrow.

I was heading back to my bunker when the memo arrived. A spiral of green flame interrupted my semi-aimless wandering and condensed into a note. “To Show Stopper, Spy, requesting your presence ASAP. From General Doo, Equestrian Air Force, General.” Well, I thought, it did say as soon as possible. I began charging a spell but was interrupted by another note. “And NO teleporting!”

5 minutes of painfully slow walking later, I arrived at HQ Central. I walked in and down the halls to her office. I knocked on the door and was answered with a, “Come in.” So, naturally, I fired up a teleport spell.

I think I may need to get a new prank, because General Doo didn’t even bat an eyelash. I guess she’s gotten used to my insubordination by now. Luna knows, everyone else has. “I thought I said no teleporting,” was her only response.

“Well,” I replied, “I didn’t use any to get here.”

She rolled her good eye and looked at a report on her desk. “We received a report from Captain Scootaloo today,” she began. “Apparently, the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have returned, but they know nothing about the last 10 years and are the same age as when they vanished. Ordinarily, I’d have had them all detained, suspecting a Utopian trick, but,” she looked up at me, “the Elements reacted.”

“Reacted?” I asked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” explained General Doo, “that at 1332 hours, we received a message from Captain Shores and Captain Top saying that the Elements of Laughter and Generosity began to glow by themselves. This can mean only one thing.”

“Yeah,” I said, grinning, “they’re finally back.”

General Doo raised an eyebrow. “I thought you were more practically minded than that. I was going to say that it means that Utopia knows that they’re back, since the Element of Magic most likely reacted as well,” my grin dropped faster than a struck down gryphon as my blood turned to ice, “but I suppose you were trying to be optimistic. In any case, the time has come to set in motion a plan that we’d begun to fear that we would never use.”

“Wait,” I said, still frozen from the implications of her other statement, “what do you mean? What plan?”

“Actually,” General Doo said, looking contemplative, “it’s rather good timing that you’re back. I’d been wondering who could perform that role.”

“What role?”

“Finally, a chance to end this war!” said General Doo, working herself up. “Once and for all! One final blow! Everything will-”

“DERPY!” I hated to use that horrible nickname, but if I hadn’t cut her off, she would have gone on like that for the next 10 minutes. “What plan are you talking about? What role do I have to play? What do you mean by ending this war in one final blow?”

General Doo took a deep breath to calm herself (whether from her excitement or from her fury at the nickname, I’m not sure). “Show Stopper, Top Spy of Equestria,” she said in her “get ready to receive your orders” voice, “you are hereby issued a new mission. As soon as you and they are ready to depart, you are to led the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony out of Equestria to track down and reclaim the lost Elements of Loyalty, Kindness, and Honesty. You are then to escort them safely back to Equestria HQ. Understood?”

My mind went blank. “...what?”

“As soon as you and they are ready to-” General Doo began again.

“No,no,” I interrupted. “I mean, yes, I understand, but-”

“Good,” she interrupted back. “The medical report says that they should be awake tomorrow. When they awake, you and they will be briefed on the details of your mission. Dismissed.”

So now, here I am, writing down this crazy new assignment. Don’t get me wrong, I understand the importance of it, but come on! Equestria’s top spy on an escort mission? How does that make sense? Why not just wait until Lieutenant Bell wakes up and send the Crusaders? I know that most 32 year old stallions would love the opportunity to spend this much time surrounded by 6 late teen mares (most 75 year old stallions, for that matter), but if the rest of them are as insane as that pink one, I’ll have gone off the deep end before we even get out of the Everfree!

Signing Off, Show Stopper

Top Spy of Equestria

Escort Mission

24th June 0013 (Twilight Sparkle)

The Twenty-Fourth of June, year Thirteen of the Harmonic Era of Equestria

Dear Princess Cele

Sorry, I forgot. I’m not used to writing in a journal. Most of my writing is either research papers or letters to Princess Celestia, so this will probably take some time to get used to. Then again, I guess that there’s a lot that I’ll have to get used to now. I don’t want to believe that ten years have passed, but after today I can’t deny it. I wish I could.

So much has changed. The changes started making themselves apparent when I first woke up today. The magic exhaustion wasn't anything strange, but I could feel myself lying on a bed that was much less comfortable than mine or Ponyville Hospital's. I opened my eyes, waited for the room to stop spinning, and looked around. I was lying on a cot in a huge tent. Lying unconscious on cots around me were the girls, and the cots extended in every direction, forming eight rows of twenty-four cots each. Most of them were occupied by unconscious ponies. I tried to remember how I'd gotten there, and the memories of yesterday came flooding back.

I had woken up yesterday and found Scootaloo standing there, ten years older than I'd remembered her. When we went to confront Discord, we'd somehow disappeared for ten years. Three years after we vanished, Discord had taken control of the unicorns and had manipulated them into waging civil war on Equestria. The Southern Gryphon Tribes had joined our side after the first year, and the war has continued ever since. After Scootaloo had explained this to me, Sweetie bell and I had had to teleport everypony to Ponyville, which had knocked me out.

Now I was awake in some sort of medical tent. As I continued to look around, a white earth pony mare walked into the tent. There were a number of gray streaks in her red mane and tail, but I still was able to easily recognize her. "Nurse Red Heart," I called out softly, not wanting to wake the others.

She looked over and smiled gently. "Miss Sparkle," she said softly, making her way over, "you're up. How are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy," I admitted, "but I'm used to magic exhaustion."

"I can testify to that," said Nurse Red Heart. She gave me a quick check-up and, satisfied that there was nothing physically wrong, nodded. "Looks like you're all set," she said. "I was told that the Generals want to see all of you as soon as possible, but it would probably be better to wait until the others woke up so that you can all arrive at once. Besides," she frowned sadly at the girls, "somepony should prepare them for the world that they're about to enter."

I nodded. "I guess," I said, "but I'm not sure how to tell them about everything. Especially Rarity and Applejack. I just don't know how to tell them about their sisters."

Nurse Red Heart smiled at me and put a hoof on my shoulder. "You're their friend," she said, "and you're there for them. The friendship you can offer them right now is the best medicine that there is." She turned and walked back to the front of the tent. "I'm needed back at the hospital, but I'll come and check in again soon." She smiled back at me one more time and said, "It really is good to see you again, Twilight."

After she left, I was alone with my thoughts. I tried to decide how I would tell the girls about our situation, hoping that they would stay asleep long enough for Nurse Red Heart to come back so she could do it instead. Unfortunately for me, Rarity began to stir shortly after Nurse Red Heart left. I was out of time with no idea what to say.

"Rarity," I called softly. "Rarity, are you OK?"

Rarity slowly opened her eyes and looked over at me. "Twilight dear," she muttered, "is that you? Why are there three of you?"

"Just relax, Rarity," I said. "Disorientation is a common symptom of magic exhaustion. It should clear up soon."

Rarity lay still for a moment more, waiting for the effects to fade, before sitting up and rubbing her head. "Magic exhaustion?" she mumbled. "Well, that certainly explains it. I wonder what could have caused it? Come to think of it," she looked around a little wearily, "where exactly are we?"

"I was wonderin' the same thing myself." We looked over to see Applejack slowly standing up. "Woke up a few minutes ago, but I figured I'd wait until my ears stopped ringin' before I tried to move. I heard Nurse Red Heart talkin' to you, Sugarcube, an' she said somethin' about comfortin' us. So," she walked over and sat down in front of us, "where are we an' what do we need comfortin' for?"

That's Applejack for you, straight to the point. "Well," I said, "we're in Ponyville, in some sort of medical tent, I think."

Applejack looked around at all of the unconscious ponies. "Must be in the town square," she said. Can't think of anywhere else in town that could fit this tent. Why's it even here, though? Did somethin' happen to the hospital?"

"More to the point," said Rarity, "how did we get back in Ponyville? Last I can remember, we were in Canterlot to confront Discord."

"Hey, yeah," said Applejack. "That's right. We went up to his statue, used the Elements, an'..." She frowned in confusion. "I can't rightly remember what happened after that."

"After that was ten years," I muttered under my breath. "Look girls," I said out loud, "I barely understand what's going on as it is, and I'd rather only go through it once. Let's just wait for everypony else to be awake."

Applejack smirked. "Fine by me," she said. "Hey Rainbow!" she called over her shoulder, "the Wonderbolts are lookin' for you!"

The first time I saw Applejack use that line on Rainbow was a few days after I moved to Ponyville when she'd fallen asleep on the door to Applejack's apple cellar, and it still works just as well as it did three thirteen years ago. She leaped into the air and looked around squealing, "Wonderbolts? For me? Where? WHERE?" She quickly realized that Applejack had tricked her again and glared down at her. "Would you stop doing that!" she said. "It got really old after the twentieth time."

Applejack chuckled. "I'll stop doin' it when you stop fallin' for it," she said.

Before Rainbow could retort, we heard some soft laughter coming from my other side. We all looked to see Fluttershy blushing as she stifled her laughter. "Oh, I'm sorry, Rainbow," she said. "But, it was kind of funny."

"Fluttershy, darling!" said Rarity, standing up and walking around me to stand beside her. "You're up. How are you feeling?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Rarity," said Fluttershy. "I've actually been up for a while, but I didn't want to disturb anypony."

"Really?" I asked, trying to keep the panic out of my voice. "How long?"

"I woke up a little before you did, Twilight," she said. "When I saw you sit up, I was going to call out to you, but then Nurse Red Heart walked in and you called out to her. I didn't want to interrupt, so I pretended to be asleep."

"So you heard what we said?" I asked, trying not to look at Rarity or Applejack.

Fluttershy immediately ducked behind her bangs. "Oh, no," she said. "I would never try to eavesdrop. I heard a little, but not much." Even behind her bangs, I could see her eyes dart to Rarity and Applejack.

Applejack saw it too, and her eyes narrowed. "So what did you hear?" she asked.

"Applejack!" chastised Rarity. "There is no need to take that tone with Fluttershy."

Applejack looked at Rarity, face serious. "Rarity, I can tell when a pony's lyin' to me," she said. "Fluttershy ain't lyin' outright, but she's hidin' somethin'. An' I saw her sneakin' glances at you an' me." She looked back at Fluttershy, who squeaked and tried to hide further behind her bangs. "Twilight said somethin' 'bout comfortin' us, and I can only think of one thing specific to me an' Rarity. Somethin' happened to the Crusaders, didn't it?"

Rarity had been scowling at Applejack, but it was immediately replaced by a look of shock and concern. She turned to me and asked, "Twilight, is that true? Is there something wrong with Sweetie Bell?"

I sighed. There would be no more beating around the bush. "Calm down, girls," I said. "Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are fine, and Sweetie Bell should be too, just suffering from magic exhaustion."

Rarity look incredulous. "Magic exhaustion?" she said. "Twilight, I may not be the expert on magic that you are, but even I know that one needs to be able to channel magic in the first place in order to exhaust it. Sweetie Bell doesn't even have enough magic to lift a teacup."

"Rarity," I said, looking her dead in the eye, "Sweetie Bell performed seven teleports in rapid succession yesterday between Canterlot and Ponyville. On four of those teleports, she was carrying another pony."

Rarity's jaw dropped. She looked at Applejack. "I, I don't mean to accuse anypony of lying," she said, "but perhaps an exaggeration..."

"She's tellin' the truth, Rarity," said Applejack, raising an eyebrow. "Why? Is that hard?"

"Let me put it this way, Applejack," I said. "I was only able to perform five teleports, three of them with passenger, before collapsing."

Everypony else's jaws dropped. "But that's impossible!" exclaimed Rainbow. "Nopony but the princesses have more magic than you!"

"She's not more powerful," I said. "At least, I don't think she is. She just has better endurance. If I'd slowed down, I would have been able to out-teleport her easily."

"But, how?" asked Rarity. "How long were we unconscious for her to have grown so much?"

"Ten years." We all jumped and looked over to see a pony on one of the cots nearby getting to his hooves, a brown unicorn with a black mane and tail. "Ten years you've been gone," he said again, "and you haven't aged a day, have you?"

"Excuse me," I said, still a little startled, "but who are you?"

"And what do you mean, ten years?" asked Rarity.

"An' why were you pretendin' to be asleep?" asked Applejack.

"So many questions," said the unicorn arrogantly. "Well, let's go in order, shall we? My name is Show Stopper, Top Spy of Equestria." He bowed formally. "A pleasure to meet the personal student of Princess Celestia.

"As to what I meant," he continued, straightening up and looking at Rarity, "I mean that your confrontation with Discord's statue occurred ten years ago, from everypony else's perspective. You six have been in magical stasis somewhere these last ten years. At least," he shrugged, "that's the common theory. Mine involves time travel and an old legend about a blue box.

"And I was feigning sleep," he concluded, turning to Applejack, "in order to observe you in your most natural state to get a good feel for your characters."

"What do you mean, our characters?" demanded Rainbow. "What are you, some kind of actor or something?"

"Oh no," said Show Stopper, rolling his eyes. "I simply have a stage on my flank for fun." He turned to the side and showed us his cutie mark: a stage with the curtain half-way up.

"Well sorry," sneered Rainbow. "I don't spend my time staring at stalions' flanks."

"Save that for the mares, do you?" asked Show Stopper. He ignored Rainbow's look of outrage and continued. "Ponies hide behind masks around strangers, and they still have small ones even around their dearest friends. The best way for me to get to know what you're like was to watch you when you thought you were only amongst friends."

"And why the interest in us?" asked Rarity.

Show Stopper's face suddenly grew serious. "Because," he said, "you six are the only hope Equestria has of ending this civil war once and for all."

There was a moment where nopony spoke. Nopony moved. I barely dared to breathe. I'd hoped to break the news more slowly, even if I'd had no idea how I was going to do it. I wasn't expecting a good reaction. I expected shock, fear, anger, tears...

What I wasn't expecting was laughter: wild and unrestrained from Rainbow, soft and relieved from Fluttershy, and light and incredulous from Rarity.

"War?" laughed Rainbow. "In Equestria? Oh, oh that's rich!"

"I must say," chuckled Rarity, "you truly had me going for a moment."

Applejack's words froze everypony: "What war?"

Everypony looked over at Applejack. Her face was set, but her eyes shone with fear.

"Come on, AJ," said Rainbow lightly. "He's obviously lying, right?" Applejack's expression didn't change and Rainbow's confidence began to waver. "I mean, there's no way that's true," she looked over at me, desperation creeping into her voice, "right?"

I sighed. There was no going back now. "It's true," I said, facing my friends. "Equestria has been at war for seven years. It began three years after we vanished."

"But," whispered Applejack, "that means that Apple Bloom..." She trailed off, unable to continue.

"Sweetie Bell," whispered Rarity, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"They never stopped trying," I said quickly, trying to comfort them. "It was actually them and Scootaloo that found us."

"And as much as I'm sure you'd love to explain the situation to them," said Show Stopper, "the Generals have requested you presence post haste, and I'm here to escort you to them."

"I thought you were here to observe our characters," sneered Rainbow.

Show Stopper shrugged. "That was a personal objective," he said. "The Generals have appointed me to be your foal-sitter, so that's what I am until the blessed hour when I am no longer tethered to this tedious and talent wasting task. Now, chop-chop! Let's get a move on."

I was really starting to hate that stallion. "Well, we're not going anywhere until Pinkie wakes up," I said, nodding to our still sleeping friend. "We have no way to move her. Physically carrying her is impossible; she moves around too much while she sleeps. Magic won't work either. Any telekinesis spell that would work is too draining for me to use right now. And no offence, but I doubt that a show-pony knows the right spell, or would even be able to cast it."

Show Stopper chuckled as his horn lit up. "You'd be surprised what a show-pony can do," he said before releasing his spell in a bright flash of light.

When the light cleared, and my eyes stopped burning, I looked back at Show Stopper to see... ME! It wasn't just an illusion spell, that wouldn't have taken nearly that much magic, he had transformed into me. Down to the detail! He lit his horn, copying the aura of my magic perfectly. "Let's see," he mumbled in my voice. "Levitation. Levitation. Ah!" He opened his eyes and smirked. "I remember now."

A second later, he was trotting towards the front of the tent, a purple aura of magic levitating Pinkie Pie behind him. He stopped as he reached the tent flap and looked back at us. "Well," he said, "are you coming?" Not having much choice, and not wanting to loose sight of our friend, we followed them outside.

Ponyville is gone. I can't even say that it's changed. It's like they tore it down and started over from scratch, leaving only two or three buildings intact, and even those aren't unchanged. Quaint shops, beautiful flower gardens, and cutely decorated homes have been replaced by bleak stone warehouses, expansive training fields, and row upon endless row of military barracks. I saw my library in the distance, but it's been forced to grow taller through magic and has turned into a tower, the top leveled to form an observation deck. It's now also surrounded by bleak stone buildings labeled as archives. Everypony around us wore a military uniform and carried at least one weapon, their expressions serious and unchanging.

"It's a good thing everyone is so subdued and serious," said Show Stopper as we passed a large group of earth ponies, none of whom even spared us a glance. "If these sheep would even turn their eyeballs a little, they'd notice you for sure. Then we'd have to deal with questions, well-wishes, questions, crying and cheering, and lots of questions."

"I just don't believe this," said a subdued Rainbow Dash, her wings hanging limp at her sides.

"Believe it, Spectrum," said Show Stopper. "This isn't the Ponyville of sunshine and cute little critters anymore. This is the Ponyville of bleak stone and uniforms."

"Speaking of which," we all turned to see a very angry Nurse Red Heart stomping towards us from what I assume was the newer version of the Ponyville Hospital (which is now over twice as large as it used to be, and still doesn't have room for all of those ponies back in the infirmary), "why aren't you wearing yours?"

"Nurse Red Heart?" stammered Fluttershy nervously.

Nurse Red Heart's expression softened as she look over us. "It's good to see you again, Fluttershy," she said. "You too, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash." She frowned and looked back at Show Stopper. "And just where are you taking my patients?" she demanded.

"Hey, calm down, Hearts," said Show Stopper. "And as much as I'd like to take the credit, you lost your patience long ago."

Nurse Red Heart's eyes narrowed. "You can take credit for that one," she seethed.

Show Stopper shrugged. "touché" he admitted. "In reverse order, then. I think I'm taking them to the Generals, as are my orders. As to why I'm not in uniform, I, as a spy, am not in the army or air force, and I'm definitely not in the Gryphon Reserves, so what uniform would I wear?"

Nurse Red Heart rolled her eyes. "Oh I don't know," she said. "Maybe the one that the Generals themselves gave you?"

Show Stopper shrugged. "Touché," he admitted again. "I just don't like it. How'd you know that it was me, anyway?"

"By not being an idiot, that's how!" said Nurse Red Heart. "Twilight's to drained to manage that levitation right now, and I don't think she even knows a cloning spell."

"I don't," I said at the same time as Show Stopper said, "She doesn't" Ignoring my glare, he continued. "With them awake, you really can't argue against me leading these five to the Generals, and I've seen enough from this one," he jerked his head towards Pinkie, "to know that the Generals probably don't want to see her conscious."

Nurse Red Heart sighed in defeat. "I'm afraid you're right," she admitted.

"Of course I'm right!" said Show Stopper. He raised an eyebrow. "So, why are you here again?"

Nurse Red Heart glared so hard that I'm surprised that Show Stopper didn't burst into flames right then and there. "To give you grief and waste your time, of course!" she snapped. "You do that to everyone else so much, I figure that I should repay you as often as possible!" With that, she turned and stormed off back to the hospital.

"Wow," said Rainbow. "She hates you."

"I'm insubordinate," replied Show Stopper cheerfully. "Everyone hates me!"

"Got that right," chorused Rainbow and Applejack.

Show Stopper cringed. "Ouch," he said. "Double whammy. I'm so sad I might cry." Tears formed in his eyes, and I almost thought that he truly was sad.

"Oh well," he said cheerfully a moment later. "On to the Generals!"

He led us for a while longer until we came to what used to be the town square. The Town Hall has been torn down as well, nothing remaining of the original building. What stands there now is a simple building of stone that towers over all but my former library. Show Stopper led us up to the front door where two pegasi hovered, spears held ready in their hooves. Show Stopper walked up to them and sang, "Hello, boys. I'm ba-ack!" The guards didn't even blink as they looked over us, allowing only their eyes to move. Show Stopper shook his head in amusement. "Former Royal Canterlot Guards," he explained to us. "They're not the most versatile of strategists, but if they aren't the best fighters and the most disciplined warriors I've ever met, I'll eat my cutie mark." He looked back at the guards. "The Generals want to see these six. I'm their escort." The guards shared a brief look between themselves before nodding at Show Stopper. He nodded back and led us in.

Inside was a sparsely furnished lobby with several hallways branching off. We followed Show Stopper as he expertly navigated the hallways until even I was hopelessly lost. Finally, he stopped in front of a door that had a bronze plaque on it that read, "War Room." "Ladies," said Show Stopper, hoof on the door, "prepare to meet the three Generals of the Equestrian Military!" With that, he swung open the door.

The room beyond contained a large table, the top of which was a detailed map of Equestria. Stone markers lay on the table, mostly around or in cities, but occasionally on a road or in the wilderness, obviously representing soldiers. There were several magic lamps floating lazily around, illuminating the room. The room had three occupants apart from ourselves. One was a gryphon dressed in full armor, holding her helmet in one of her talons. The second was a magenta earth pony who's dark pink mane was cut short, and who's cutie mark was a trio of smiling flowers. The third was a gray pegasus with a yellow mane, a cutie mark of bubbles, and an eye-patch over her right eye. Even ten years older, there was still no mistaking them.

"Cheerilee!" gasped Rarity, unbelieving.

"Ditzy?" asked Applejack, incredulously.

"Gilda!" asked Rainbow, flabbergasted.

"That's General Gild, to you," Gilda replied, smirking. "I've got to admit, I'd thought you'd kicked the bucket, but it looks like I was wrong. Glad I was." She walked over and pulled Rainbow into a one armed hug. "It's great to see you again, Dash!"

Rainbow struggled out of her former friend's embrace and glared at her. "What the hay!" she demanded. "What's with the whole buddy-buddy thing? Last I saw of you, you'd scared Fluttershy into tears, insulted my friends, and called me a flip-flop before storming out of the party we threw for you!"

Gilda was shocked and looked a little offended. "Hey, Dash, come on," she said. "That was more than ten years ago. I was young and stupid! Besides, I already apologized for all that junk."

"Really," Rainbow sneered. "Because I never heard it."

Gilda was definitely peeved now. "Well, duh," she said. "You can't hear a letter."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "What letter?" she asked.

"The letter!" said Gilda angrily. "The one I sent you two months later! The one you never replied to! The one telling you about..." She slowly trailed off as she realized that Rainbow didn't have any idea what she was talking about. Her face became confused. "You didn't get it, did you?" she asked.

"Get what?" asked Rainbow, now more confused than angry.

Gilda was silent for a moment before she turned and glared at Ditzy. "You never got that letter to her?" she yelled.

Ditzy calmly closed her good eye and started mumbling to herself, "Gilda to Rainbow Dash... Gilda to Rainbow Dash... about ten years ago... oh." She opened her eye and shrugged at Gilda. "Your fault on that one," she said impassively. "There was insufficient postage and no return address. It ended up in junk mail."

Gilda's jaw dropped and she turned back to Rainbow. "Then you never read..." she said quietly. She shook her head and breathed deeply. "Guess I've got to do this right now then. Fluttershy," she looked over to Fluttershy, who squeaked and ducked behind Rarity, "I'm truly sorry for my behavior that day twelve years ago. There was absolutely no excuse for my behavior." She bowed her head.

Fluttershy nervously looked out from behind Rarity. "Oh, it's OK," she stammered, obviously still frightened. "It was a long time ago, right? I forgive you."

Gilda looked back up and Fluttershy squeaked again, ducking back behind Rarity. Gilda sighed. "Guess that one will take time for me to prove," she muttered. She looked at me next, standing erect and professional. "Twilight Sparkle," she said, her voice taking on a formal tone, "I would have liked to have delivered this address to the Princesses themselves, but I was of no station when they were available, and they are not present at this time. I hope that delivering it to Princess Celestia's personal student will suffice. I sincerely apologize for my words regarding ponies individually and in general. I was in all ways out of line. I have insulted the Princess's subjects, and thus, by implication, them and their nation." She sank into a low bow, as if Celestia herself stood before her. "I beg your forgiveness."

I was so shocked, only the training on composure that Princess Celestia had given me allowed my expression to remain neutral. (I often wish that that training carried over to social situations, rather than just political ones. note to self, practice social composure retention.) I cleared my throat and spoke as authoritatively as I could, probably sounding ridiculous in the process. "Gilda, although I am Princess Celestia's student, I have no political right to speak in her behalf." Gilda winced a little. "However," I continued, "it is my personal opinion, based on many years in her presence, that she would see the sincerity in your plea and grant you forgiveness immediately." Gilda looked up at me and I smiled down at her. Voice going back to normal, I said, "and I do too."

Gilda sighed in relief and straightened up. "Thank you, Twilight Sparkle," she said. "That is an ease off of my conscience." She turned to look at Rainbow Dash, but quickly looked down in shame. "Dash," she said, "I-"

She didn't get to finish as Rainbow leaped forward to embrace her. "I missed you too, G," she said.

Gilda smiled, returning the hug. "It's good to have you back, Dash," she said.

It was then that an extremely annoying stallion decided to interrupt. "Oh gag me with a spoon," said Show Stopper, back in his body and pretending to retch. "Can we please save the mushy stuff until after the briefing?" he pleaded.

"Though I would not have phrased it the same way as the thespian," said Cheerilee, speaking up for the first time, "I agree. The longer we wait, the longer the war goes on and the more ponies die. Or worse. Let us get this under way."

My jaw dropped, and so did those of the girls. It wasn't just what Cheerilee had said, it was the emotionless way that she'd said it. "Cheerilee," said Rarity tentatively, "is something wrong? You're not usually this, well..."

"Cruel," offered Applejack.

"Scary," whispered Fluttershy.

"Bad flank," said Rainbow.

"Bold," finished Rarity, deciding to ignore Rainbow. "What happened?"

"Seven years of watching my students kill each other happened," said Cheerilee coldly. "Now enough with the pleasantries. I realize that two of you have at least a basic understanding of the situation, but for the sake of the rest, I will explain the whole of it."

Cheerilee was merciless. Everything that she said I had heard from Scootaloo, but the way that she said it made me want to hide under a rock and never come out. By the end of it, Fluttershy was in tears, Rainbow's wings hung limp, Rarity seemed close to fainting, and Applejack's face had gone pale as a ghost.

"And that brings us to the present situation," finished Cheerilee. She turned to Ditzy and said, "General Doo, you are now free to brief them on their mission. Don't sugar-coat it. If you need me, I will be overseeing the drills at field three." With that, she left, not sparing us so much as another glance.

Ditzy smiled apologetically at us. "Sorry you had to hear her tell it," she said, "but she insisted. Said that we would have sugar-coated it."

"What happened to her?" gasped Fluttershy between sobs. "She was always so sweet, and cheerful, and kind."

Ditzy sighed. "It's like she said, Fluttershy," she said. "She's watched her students kill each other for seven years. She's even had to kill some of them herself. I don't think she'll ever really recover, even if your mission is successful."

"And what mission is that?" asked Applejack, still pale, but still standing strong.

Ditzy's face grew serious and she cleared her throat. "Twilight Sparkle," she said. "Rarity. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash. Applejack. Pinkie Pie." Pinkie snorted and turned over in her sleep. Ditzy ignored her. "As General of the Equestrian Air Force, I hereby issue you six an assignment of national importance. You mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to travel outside the borders of Equestria to track down and reclaim the scattered Elements of Loyalty, Kindness, and Honesty and return them to Equestria. Our sources tell us that they reside with, respectively, the changelings, the deer, and the dragons. Show Stopper, your mission will be to accompany them as a guide and help them to complete their mission as soon as possible. Any questions?"

The room was silent for a moment before Show Stopper burst out laughing. "The changelings?" he exclaimed. "You're serious? OK, this escort mission suddenly makes SO much more sense. Ladies," he turned to grin at us, "you six have just undergone the marvelous transformation from a waste of my talents into a beautiful opportunity!" He turned back to Ditzy, saluting cockily. "General One-Eye, I cheerfully accept this mission!"

"OK," I said, "I'm confused. How is going into changeling territory a good thing?"

"Are you joking?" asked Show Stopper. "It's the best news I've heard in seven years!"

"Show Stopper spent about four years living amongst the changelings," Ditzy explained. "You see, shortly after the wedding of Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor-"

"During which the changelings invaded!" interrupted Rainbow Dash.

Ditzy nodded and continued. "-a changeling princess named Milkweek organized a coup against Queen Chrysalis. It wasn't hard; most of the nation had been against the invasion from the beginning. Milkweek banished Chrysalis and took over."

"It was around this time," chimed in Show Stopper, "that I discovered that nopony in Equestria had anything else to teach me about acting. I was already performing for the Princesses themselves, but I wanted more. I yearned to be the greatest thespian in history. So, I set my sights on the nation that had produced the greatest thespians of all time: the changelings! I spent nearly four years with them, during which time I further developed my talents. I also studied their transformation magic, and created a spell based off of it, one that gives me not only the form, but also the mentality and memories of those who I imitate."

"Wait," I said as that last bit sank in. "You just said memories. You..." I felt my face flush. "You had my memories? And my body? That's just... just..."

"Disturbin'," said Applejack.

"Leud!" exclaimed Rarity.

"Perverted," sneered Rainbow.

Gilda and Ditzy laughed as Show Stopper covered his face with a hoof. "Why does everypony always assume that?" he muttered. "Do I look like a pervert to you?" he asked, looking up and glaring at us. "A liar? Perhaps. A jerk? Definitely. But a pervert?"

"Well, what else were we supposed to think?" I exclaimed. "If that spell gave you not only my body, but my memories as well," I flushed as I tried to force those particular memories out of my head, "well, how would that not be the case?"

Show Stopper sighed. "I only have the memories of those I copy when I'm in their form," he explained. "I don't retain them. I don't even remember the spell that I used to levitate Cotton Candy over there, and I don't remember what it is that's making you flush like a tomato," he smirked, "though I could hazard a guess as to what it involves."

"Getting back on topic," said Ditzy, getting control of her giggles, "are there any more questions?"

The room was silent for a moment before Fluttershy piped up. "Um, what about the other three Elements?" she asked.

Ditzy and Gilda shared a look. Gilda nodded and Ditzy nodded back. Turning back to us, she said, "Concerning the Elements of Laughter and Generosity, we have no right to withhold them from their rightful Bearers any longer. The company that has them will return tonight, and they will be returned to you tomorrow. As for the Element of magic," she shook her head, "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."

"Anything else?" asked Gilda.

The silence was longer this time, but just as Gilda opened her beak to speak again, Applejack cleared her throat. "I was hopin' somepony else would ask," she said, "but it looks like that ain't happenin'." She took a deep breath and dropped the bomb. "What happened to our families?" she asked.

Gilda and Ditzy flinched. "I was kind of hoping that you wouldn't think about that until you were all on you way," Ditzy admitted. "Maybe we should talk to each of you alone."

"No way!" exclaimed Rainbow. "What if there's something wrong with Applejack's family? Or Fluttershy's? Applejack takes too much on herself without letting anypony else help, and Flutts is too nice to 'bother us' with her problems. And don't look at me like that," she said to Applejack, who was glaring at her. "You know it's true! If there's anything wrong with my friend's families, I want to know so that I can help them!"

"And what if there are deaths involved?" asked Ditzy coldly.

Rainbow held her gaze, deadly serious, and asked, "Who do you think helped Scootaloo?"

We could have heard a pin drop in Canterlot. We stared slack-jawed at Rainbow as she stared Ditzy down. Ditzy had been taken aback as much as the rest of us, and she never stood a chance. She sighed. "Rainbow Dash. Rarity. Fluttershy. Your families are all fighting for Equestria. Most of Pinkie Pie's family is still on their rock farm, but Octavia is our Champion at Arms. She's recovering right now from her latest battle. Applejack," she glanced briefly up at Rainbow, who was still staring her down, "I'm sorry. Granny Smith passed away eight years ago. It was before the war."

Applejack just nodded. I think she'd expected that. "An' Macky?"

Ditzy was silent. She looked up and opened her mouth, but when she saw the pleading look on Applejack's face, she shook her head and looked back down. "I'm sorry, Applejack," she said. "He was a hero."

Tears filled Applejack's eyes. "How'd it happen?" she asked.

Ditzy glanced pleadingly at Gilda, who cleared her throat. "The first attack in the war was the Battle of Ponyville. It would have been a massacre if it weren't for him. Big Macintosh, later dubbed 'The Stalwart', sent a pegasus to Cloudsdale for backup, and rallied the ponies of Ponyville to defend the town. By the time reinforcements arrived, he was the only one still standing. The rest had fled, or were too injured to continue. He refused to allow the unicorns even an inch of ground, fighting through spell and sword alike. He killed many, and incapacitated many more. By the time the pagasi arrived, the unicorns were already considering retreat. Big Macintosh the Stalwart refused to stand down until the last unicorn disappeared from view." Gilda hesitated. "As soon as they did, he collapsed. Two days later he succumbed to his injuries. He truly was a hero."

Tears ran freely down Applejack's cheeks, but her face was full of pride. "Ain't that just like him," she whispered. "Defendin' his home an' kin right to the very end."

The rest of us were crying too. Rainbow quickly wiped her tears away and looked at Ditzy again. "And Twilight's family," she asked.

Ditzy looked up at me. "They're alive, at least," she said. "Both of your parents are on the side of Utopia, but they're among the lucky few civilians."

I sighed in relief. At least they were safe. "And Shining Armor?" I asked.

Ditzy shook her head. "That's where the bad news really starts," she said. My heart dropped. "You see," continued Ditzy, "while the generals of Equestria are Gilda, Cheerilee, and myself, the generals of the Utopian army are General Trixie... and General Armor."

Two-thirds of Applejack's family is dead. Most of the rest of our families are soldiers. My BBBFF is the enemy general.

And I still can't help but laugh when I think of the name, "General Trixie!" All of us were rolling around and laughing for a good five minutes before we finally gained enough control to even speak.

"Oh, oh man," wheezed Rainbow. "That's rich!"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie? A general?" gasped Fluttershy. "I'm sorry, but that's, that's..."

"The most ridiculous thing I've heard all day," finished Rarity, "and that is truly saying something."

"How in Equestria," I asked, "or rather, in Utopia, did Trixie become a general?"

"She used the Element of Magic to vaporize ten companies of gryphons with a single spell," said Gilda.

All laughter stopped. We looked at Gilda who just stood there, face hard as a stone. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "We all are. We didn't know."

She shrugged. "It was a long time ago," she said, "near the beginning of the alliance."

"Any other questions?" asked Ditzy. Nopony spoke up. "In that case," she continued, "do you six accept this mission as citizens of Equesria?"

Nopony was surprised when Rainbow and Applejack immediately chorused, "I'll do it!"

"No way would I abandon Equestria when it needs me!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash.

"An' there ain't no way I couldn't do everythin' I can," said Applejack. "Especially after what y'all said about Macky." She wiped away the last of her tears and stood tall and proud. "Besides," she continued, "I ain't never lost to him at nothin'. Figure the only way to outdo him this time is to end this war once an' for all."

"I'll do it too," said Rarity. "The sooner this war is over, the sooner my family is safe."

"I'll go too," said Fluttershy. "I don't want ponies hurting each other any more. Besides," her eyes lit up, "I've never seen a deer before. Oh, I'm so excited. I can't wait!"

I looked around at the girls, each one willing to risk unknown dangers for Equestria. I have never been more proud to call them my friends. "I know that Pinkie Pie would agree," I said. "She'd do anything to help ponies smile again." I smiled and saluted Ditzy. "General Doo, on behalf of the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, I accept this mission. We will secure the lost Elements of Loyalty, Kindness, and Honesty and return!"

Ditzy smiled. "That's exactly what I wanted to hear," she said.

"Preparations will take most of tomorrow," said Gilda. "You will depart the day after that. Until tomorrow, dismissed!"

Show Stopper led us back outside and to the barracks that we're currently in, saying that we could probably use it for a while.

"What do you mean by, 'probably'?" asked Rarity.

"Well," said Show Stopper, "nopony's seen or heard from this battalion in three months. They're assumed dead, but who knows? They may show up tomorrow and kick you out." He smiled wide. "And on that note, I bid you ladies, adieu!" He turned and walked out of the barracks.

"I don't like him," said Rainbow right after the door closed.

"Well," said Rarity, looking around the barracks with a disapproving eye, "we'd best get used to him if he is to be our guide."

"Not likely," said Applejack. "Y'all heard what he said. Everypony hates him!"

"Oh come on," said a voice from the doorway. "He isn't that bad."

We all turned to see Scootaloo leaning against the door-frame. "Scootaloo!" I said, walking over. "How's Sweetie Bell? She must be exhausted after all of those teleports yesterday."

Scootaloo shrugged and walked in. "Yeah," she said. "Nurse Red Heart says she'll be out for about a week. It's a good thing, too. We all needed a break. By the way," she looked at Applejack who's jaw, like everypony else's, was dropped, "it's good to see you again, Applejack. She's waiting outside."

It took Applejack a few moments to get what she meant, but when she did she squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and walked out the door, not looking back. Scootaloo sighed. "Hope she'll be OK," she muttered. She smiled at the rest of the girls. "It's good to see the rest of you too, Rarity. Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash."

"Scootaloo," Fluttershy eventually whispered. "Is that really you?"

"In the flesh and feathers," replied Scootaloo.

"We'd heard that you were all older," said Rarity, shaking her head, "but to actually see it for ourselves..."

"Yep," said Scootaloo, grinning cockily. "Ten years older, ten years stronger, and ten years more without a cutie mark."

Today was apparently a day for long silences and dropped jaws. "You're joking," Rainbow eventually said. "Right?"

Scootaloo turned to show her flank which was, unbelievably, blank! I hadn't noticed yesterday, since it had been under her uniform (which I vaguely wondered why she wasn't wearing then), but she still didn't have a cutie mark.

"But that's impossible," said Fluttershy. "How could you still not have it? You're already twenty!"

"It's not just me," explained Scootaloo. "Nopony's gotten their cutie marks since the Princesses disappeared."

"Oh, I guess that that makes sense," I said.

"It does?" asked Rainbow. "How?"

"Cutie marks are the result of a spell cast and maintained by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna working together," I explained. "It was cast soon after they conquered Discord."

"They saw that many ponies were struggling to get back on their feet after the Reign of Chaos," added Scootaloo. "Lots of them had no idea what they should do with the rest of their lives, so Princess Luna got the idea to show everypony what they're best at."

"That's right," I said, impressed. "How'd you know that?"

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Because I was one of the three oldest blank-flanks in Ponyville," she said. "Bloom, Sweets and I learned as much as we could about them."

"Geeze," said Rainbow. "I can't imagine how much grief you must have gotten. Especially from those two bullies who always bothered you three."

Scootaloo shrugged. "Yeah well Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the only ones who even brought it up after the war started," she said. "They kept it up right up until the day they died."

Fluttershy winced. "Oh, please don't say that so casually," she said. "It's so sad."

Scootaloo sighed. "Fluttershy, you're going to have to get used to it," she said. "Everyone's a little stone-hearted these days. Besides, they died three years ago. Even if we'd been friends, I would still be over it by now."

"Three years isn't that long," said Rarity.

"It is if you're a soldier," said Scootaloo, looking at her watch. "But five minutes isn't, even if you fly. We'd better get back before TAPS, or we'll be stuck on KP until Sweets wakes up." She smiled up at us again. "It's really great too see you all again," she said. "See you tomorrow!" With that, she zipped out the door.

Applejack walked in a few minutes later, tears once again on her cheeks, and a smile on her face. Rainbow walked over to her. "How'd it go?" she asked.

Applejack wiped away her tears. "Good," she said softly. "She's grown a lot, an' she seen far more than I would've ever wanted her to, but she's still Apple Bloom deep down."

Rainbow pulled Applejack into a tight hug, surprising everypony, including Applejack. She whispered something in Applejack's ear, and, after a moment, Applejack smiled and nodded. Rainbow broke the hug and headed towards one of the beds. "Got a big day tomorrow," she said as if nothing had happened. "We should probably get some shut-eye."

"Yeah," said Applejack, clearing away one last tear. She turned towards another bed and said, "Good night everypony."

I turned to my own bed, and was surprised to find a small book sitting on my pillow. It was small, brown, and had the word "Journal" stamped across the front.

"Anypony else got a journal on their bed?" asked Applejack.

"I've got one as well," said Rarity.

"Same here," I said.

"There's a not on mine," said Rainbow. "It says, 'Dear Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, please record every day in your new journals. you never know when you might need them. General Ditzy Doo, Equestrian Air Force.'"

"Oh sure," spat Applejack. "Just what we need, to re-live this day long enough to write it down. Oh, and then we get to remember this nightmare whenever we go back to read this. Great idea."

"I agree with Applejack," I said. "Normally I'd be all for keeping a journal, but this is one period of my life that I won't want to reminisce on later."

"Anypony got some ink?" called Rainbow. We looked over to see her lying on her bed, her journal open in front of her.

"Um, Rainbow dear," said Rarity, "what are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" asked Rainbow, examining her left wing. Nodding to herself, she grabbed one of her feathers in her teeth and pulled. We all winced as she grunted in pain. "I'm writing in my journal," she said. "Now do you have any ink, or what?"

"Of course not," said Rarity. "Why would I? More to the point, why are you, of all ponies, so eager to record this dreadful day?"

"Because if I don't," said Rainbow, getting up and walking over to Pinkie, "then I'll probably forget a lot of it. I want to remember today."

"Why in Equestria would you want to remember today, of all days?" I asked.

"Because," said Rainbow, rummaging in Pinkie's mane, "I for one want to be able to move on from this when it's all over, and the first step to thaYEOUCH!!!" She pulled her hoof out of Pinkie's mane to find a mousetrap closed on it. "Seriously?" she asked, ripping it off. "Why does she carry around a live mousetrap in there?" She shook her head and went back to rummaging. "Anyway," she continued, "the first step is to accept that it happened. The best way to do that is to write it all down." She pulled out a vial of ink (how she knew it was in there, I'm not sure) and went back to her bed and started writing. "So that's what I'm doing," she concluded.

"Really, dear," said Rarity. "You're talking like a grief counselor. How would you know about any of this?"

Rainbow looked up and said, "Sunshine." Applejack and Fluttershy winced and Rainbow went back to writing.

"Sunshine?" I asked confused, looking at Applejack. "What does she mean, 'sunshine'?"

Applejack shook her head. "That ain't for me to say, Twi," she said, "but I'd take her advise if I were you."

Rarity and I were taken aback. With a single word, Applejack had gone from wanting to practically burn the journals to saying that we should use them. I wonder what this 'sunshine' is about?

When Rainbow finished, the ink and improvised quill passed to Applejack, Fluttershy, and, after a moment of hesitation, Rarity. Now I have them,  and everypony else is asleep. I don't know how Rainbow expects this to help, but I'll trust her for now.

Your faithful student,

Good Night,

Signing off,

I have no idea how to end a journal entry, so I'll just sign my name until I figure it out.

Twilight Sparkle

25th June 0013 (Rainbow Dash)

6/25/13                                                            War                                                            Month 1, Day 3

Dream Entry: It started out just like all those times I dreamed about Sunshine's death, except it was Scootaloo getting struck by lightning and falling. But the Equestria she fell to was on fire, and all the cities I could see were destroyed. Rather than falling near Cloudsdale, she fell to a giant pit in the middle of a burning Ponyville. I thought that the pit was full of spikes at first, but they tuned out to be giant, sharpened unicorn horns.

It's not hard to tell what this dream means. I'm really worried about Scootaloo, and everypony else as well. We've got to end this war soon.

Evening Entry: It 's a good thing we went to bed when we did, because the sun hadn't even risen when we were woken up by a bugle. I barely woke up enough to write down my dream before pulling my blanket over my head. I heard the others getting up, but I refused to budge. I was going to stay in bed for as long as possible.

Unfortunately, "as long as possible" turned out to be about 5 seconds. A huge flash lit the room that I could see even through my blanket and eyelids. "Good morning, ladies," sang a voice that I've quickly started hating. "And how are we this beautiful day?"

"A lot worse now that you've shown up," I heard AJ say. "Now get out of here before I buck you out myself!"

"Oh me, oh my," said Stopper, and I could almost hear his smirk. "Looks like someone's not a morning pony."

"Pht, yeah right," I said, throwing off my blanket to glare at him. "I bet AJ was up before that bugler was rubbing the sleep out of her eyes."

He turned and grinned at me. "Spectrum! You're alive! But then, why is Apple Crisp over here so touchy today? Come to think of it, why are you glaring at me?"

"Because we hate you," AJ and I deadpanned. I got up and stretched and AJ continued. "Besides, nopony likes it when somepony comes into their room without permission, and I've yet to meet the pony who likes gettin' blinded first thing in the mornin'."

"Not to mention that you've failed to get our names right even once," said Rarity, still rubbing her eyes.

"And that you thought we were a waste of your time until you discovered what was in it for you," said Twilight.

Stoper's jaw dropped and he put a hoof over his heart, faking like he was hurt. "Why, I had no idea you all felt so strongly," he lied. "Ladies, I am wounded to the core. Your words have struck me to the very soul! At least there is one among you who has not condemned me." He tuned to Fluttershy. "Butterscotch, my lovely, surely you see the good in me!"

"Um, not really," she admitted. "I mean, you haven't shown us much, but what you have shown us isn't very, well, good."

I laughed and AJ smirked. "Well, ain't that somethin'," she said. "Even Fluttershy don't like you. Got to say, that takes some talent."

"Hmf," Stopper huffed. "Well, I suppose I can take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't one," said AJ. "Now get out of here before I make good on my promise."

"No can do," said Stopper. "The Generals have assigned me to be your foal-sitter, so you're stuck with me. I'm here to escort you to breakfast, so chop-chop! Let's get a move on. I'm hungry."

"Pinkie Pie still isn't up yet," Twilight pointed out, "and I'm not going to let you fly her around like you did yesterday."

Stopper chuckled. "No offence, but I doubt there's anything an academic bookworm can do against a soldier, spy, and the greatest thespian of all time."

Twilight smirked and lit her horn. "You'd be surprised what an academic can do." Stopper barely having time to brace himself, Twilight shot a beam of magic from her horn, which wrapped around his. He shouted in surprise and started jerking his head around to try to break the connection while Twilight smiled calmly and closed her eyes. Stopper slowly stopped struggling and his eyes glazed over as Twilight said, "Let's see. Spells. Spells. Ah!" She opened her eyes. "Copying now." Beads of light began to travel from Stopper's horn to Twilight's, traveling along the cord of magic. Finally, the cord disappeared and Show shook his head vigorously. "Wow," said Twilight, impressed. "I wasn't aware there were this many different combat spells. I'll have to try some of these some time."

"Wait," I said, confused. "What just happened."

"A gross invasion of privacy," Stopper growled, glaring daggers at Twilight. "She connected our minds and decided to do a little snooping around in mine!"

"Ha, that's rich coming from you," sneered Twilight. (I didn't even know that Twilight could sneer. She must really hate him. "You had a perfect copy of my mind and body yesterday. I'd say that this almost makes us square."

"Except I don't remember anything from your mind-" growled Stopper.

"And I only took spells from yous," interrupted Twilight. "Meanwhile, I doubt your spell clears your memory of what it feels like to have my body. So like I said, we're almost square, but I'll let the rest of it slide."

They glared at each other for a minute before Stopper turned, spit, and walked off. "Just hurry up and get out here," he said as he left. "I want to get breakfast sometime this week."

As soon as the door closed, Applejack turned to Twilight and raised an eyebrow. "So, a mind readin' spell, huh?"

Twlilght rolled her eyes and walked over to wake up try to wake up Pinkie. "Oh, stop it, Applejack. You know I'd never use that spell for anything bad."

"Hey," I said, "if it gets rid of Drama King for a bit, then I'm not complaining. Didn't think you'd know a spell like that, though."

"Princess Luna taught it to me," said Twilight as she began to nudge Pinkie. "It allowed me to study ancient Equestrian history directly from her memories."

"But why would Princess Luna know such a spell in the first place?" asked Rarity.

"She's the Goddess of the night, including dreams," Twilight explained. "The mind sort of falls under her domain. She created it when she and Princess Celestia were young to see if any of the stallions that tried to court Princess Celestia were after anything more than her flank." She paused as she realized what she'd just said and turned to us, blushing a little. "Her words, not mine," she said quickly. She went back to shaking Pinkie. "Actually, it turns out that very few of them cared about her looks and were after her because of her royal standing. That's why OH FOR LUNA'S SAKE! WAKE UP!"

Pinkie just yawned and rolled over, still fast asleep.

"Heh heh. Allow me," I said. I walked over and whispered right in Pinkie's ear, "So, you like his flank, huh?"

I jumped back and Pinkie leaped into the air, looking around in panic. She finally noticed me laughing my flank off and glared down at me before dropping back onto her bed. "Don't do that, Dashie!" she said, annoyed.

"Sorry, Pinks," I said, "but we had to get you up, and Twilight shaking you like a bottle of ketchup wasn't working."

"Wait, she was?" asked Pinkie. "And I slept through it? Well, guess that's what happens when you get KO'ed by a dictionary. Or was it an encyclopedia. It felt like a reference book."

"Wait," said Applejack, raising an eyebrow, "who's been hittin' you with books?"

"Hmm," said Pinkie. "Not sure." She shrugged and smiled. "But they must have been super duper strong to have knocked me out like that!"

"Oh my goodness," said Fluttershy, flying over. "Are you OK? Does it hurt?"

"I'm all right now," Pinkie said. "It's totally weird, though. I had this strange dream that we'd been gone from Equestria for 10 years. 10 WHOLE YEARS! And the Princesses were gone and Equestria was at war and Discord was mind-controlling the unicorns and we had to go on a super dangerous adventure into parts unknown to track down the Elements of harmony and save the day! Whew, some dream, huh?"

I don't think I've ever been in a room that tense. Even Pinkie seemed to realize that something was wrong. "Come on girls," she said, chuckling nervously. "I was just kidding. I mean, there's no way, right?"

We all looked at Twilight. She's usually good about being our unofficial leader, but I think she wished right then that she wasn't. She opened her mouth to speak, but ended up just shaking her head and turning towards the door. "It's better if you just see it," she said sadly.

We walked outside and Pinkie got her first look at the new Ponyville. She didn't like what she saw. Her mane and tail turned darkeer and began to deflate, until they hung down perfectly straight. Tears welled up in her eyes. We all hugged her tight between us as we quickly explained the situation. We told her about her family, and she seemed a lot happier when she heard that most of them were safe and sound. We saw Stopper talking to somepony up ahead and began to walk over, Pinkie's mane and tail inflating as she walked. By the time we reached Stopper, her mane and tail were as poofy as ever, though she still seemed down.

The earth pony that Stopper was talking with was white and brown, with a brown mane and tail. "...So get word to them as soon as possible," said Stopper. "They need to know that I've been discovered ASAP. Utopia will no doubt double security now that they've seen how far I was able to get. I'll be very surprised if we don't loose a few ponies. Tell everypony to expect full background checks, as well as tests of loyalty."

The earth pony nodded. "You can count on me, Show," he said before sighing. "But I've got to tell you, it won't be easy now with my best spy out of the field."

Stopper hung his head, and I saw the first look of genuine sorrow I'd seen from him. "I'm sorry," he said. "It was a stupid risk. I knew that there would be better chances, but he was just so close! And now I've just made it harder for everypony else. Tch. Some spy."

The earth pony put a hoof on Stopper's shoulder and Stopper looked up at him. "You saw a chance to kill their bloody general and get the Element of Magic back, and you darn near succeeded, too. Only a coward or a bloomin' idiot wouldn't have taken that chance."

Show smiled. "You know, you're one of the only ponies that I actually respect."

"And it drives General Doo up a wall," said the earth pony.

They shared a laugh, and Stopper noticed us walking over. "Ah, ladies!" he called. "Allow me to introduce you all to Pipsqueak, Spymaster of Equestria."

Pip's eyes lit up. "So it's true!" he said. You are back! Ladies," he sank into a low bow, "welcome back to Equestria, and to Ponyville. We've been looking forward to your return for many years."

My jaw dropped. This was Pipsqueak? This was the little squirt from Trottingham who had been at the center of that Nightmare Night two twelve years ago?

"My goodness, Pip!" said Rarity, apparently in shock as well. "What a charming young stallion you've grown to be." She smiled and batted her eyelashes. "Handsome, too."

Pip stood up again, blushing. "You're too kind, Lady Rarity," he said. Oh, Spike is in for some competition.

"You really are," said Stopper. "After all, we all know who the most charming and handsome stallion in Equestria is."

I groaned and put my hoof over my eyes. "Please tell me he's not talking about himself," I said.

"He's the most insubordinate, obnoxious, self-centered git in Equestrisa," said Pip. "Who else would he be talking about?"

"Love you too, Pip," muttered Stopper.

"What?" asked Twilight. "No sarcastic come-back?"

Stopper shook his head. "Pip is the only superior officer that I respect."

"Except for gryphon officers," said Pip. "He respects them out of fear."

Stopper glared at him. "Do you have to bring that up?" he asked, annoyed. "You'd be afraid of them too if you were a unicorn."

"Why would unicorns fear gryphons?" asked Twilight. "I mean, I'm sure that they're great warriors, but why unicorns specifically?"

"Their armor has anti-magic," I explained. "It's not magic-proof, but to a regular unicorn it might as well be. Even you would have a hard time affecting it.." Everypony was staring at me and I raised an eyebrow. "What? I was roommates with Gilda at Junior Speedsters for 3 months. You think I didn't learn anything about gryphons?"

"Anti-magic?" asked Rarity, looking a little green. "What do you mean?"

"As much as I'd love to take the hour to explain the intricacies of gryphonese anti-magic," said Stopper, "I would hate to waste an hour to explain the intricacies of gryphonese anti-magic. Now let's go. I'm hungry." He turned and began to walk off.

Pip chuckled. "There might only be one pony who would agree with me," he said, "but is't good to have him back." He bowed to us once more. "Ladies, I must be off. It is truly great to have you back." With that, he stood and walked off, leaving us to follow Stopper.

I'd thought that the mess hall would be near the center of Ponyville, but Stopper started leading us to the 20 foot high wall that surrounds the town. "Um, where are we going?" I asked.

"Breakfast," Stopper replied. He led us right up to the wall and we saw a huge, and I mean Canterlot Castle huge, doors. They were shut tight and had huge bars zigzagging across them. Show led us over to a much smaller door a stone's throw away, which was guarded by a single gryphon. He led us through and down the road.

Rarity looked back and raised an eyebrow. "Well that's curious," she said. "Doesn't two doors make it harder to defend?"

"Not significantly," said Stopper. "Think of it this way Rarity. If Utopia launches a full frontal assault, we still only have that section to cover. Plus, it's too much of a hassle to open the big doors whenever a pony or 7 want to get through. Meanwhile, we need the big doors to move squadrons, battalions, and even armies in and out quickly."

All of us were stunned. "Well I'll be," said AJ. "He actually answered a question straight out for once. I didn't think he had it in him."

Stopper shrugged. "Don't get used to it, Jack," he said. "I'm a lot less care-free outside of the wall. Trust me, once we get to the mess hall, I'll be right back to my fun-loving self."

"So what self are you now?" Pinkie asked.

It was meant to be a joke. He didn't take it like that. He turned his head and gave us a look that I'd never seen before. His face was set and hard, a no-nonsense expression that wouldn't tolerate anything that could distract him. His eyes, even as they looked at us, took in everything around and behind us. They held a fire that blazed with anger, but there was something else there too. He was sad. He was so overwhelmingly sad. It wasn't a sadness I've seen before, but it went just as deep as what I saw in the mirror every day for 7 years, when I dared to look. It was the face of a soldier.

"My true self."

He looked ahead again as he kept walking. I looked around at the girls. Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie were confused. Applejack was shocked. My eyes met Fluttershy's, and I could see that she was holding back tears. She'd seen it too.

We walked on, lost in thought, until a soft voice broke us out of our stupors. "no..." I looked over at AJ and saw tears already streaming down her face. I looked ahead and my jaw dropped.

It was Sweet Apple Acres, emphasis on "was." The barn has been added onto so much that it can't even be called the same building anymore. The house is gone too, torn to the ground. The acres themselves have gone from freely growing apple trees to row upon ridged row of fruit trees of all kinds. In fact, there were very few apple trees left, and I doubt that all of them used to be where they are now.

"It's gone," AJ whispered, not even trying to wipe away her tears. "It's all gone."

"I'm sorry, Jack," said Stopper, and he really did look it. "Bloom couldn't manage it by herself, and we needed the land. As soon as the war is over, it belongs to you two again, but for now-"

AJ ran off before Stopper could finish. We all ran after her, Stopper yelling for her to come back. AJ didn't stop, and I didn't try to make her. I had a pretty good idea where she was going.

Sure enough, after about 5 minutes of weaving through the trees, we came to a large clearing. AJ stood in the center, eyes closed, tears still streaming down her face. Surrounding her on every side, almost filling the clearing, were headstones. Twilight began to call out to AJ, but I held up a wing to silence her. AJ needed this. She needed to be alone right now. Even Stopper seemed to take the hint.

We waited for about 10 minutes, until AJ opened her eyes and smiled over at us. She started walking over as she wiped her tears away. "Still here," she whispered to herself, so quietly we barely heard her. "They're all still here."

"Of course," said Stopper, slightly offended. "You thought we would disturb their graves for a little extra orchard land?"

AJ shook her head. "That ain't it," she said. "I was afraid that..." She didn't finish. She didn't have to. Those who knew the situation understood, and those who didn't didn't need to right then. "Never mind," she said, wiping away the last of her tears. She started leading us back to the barn mess hall. "Let's go get some breakfast."

As we approached the mess hall, two things stood out as very strange. First, there were no guards at the open barn doors. OK, that's two things right there, but it basically means a lack of security. Second, the noise coming from inside sounded happy. Excited. We walked in to see ponies and gryphons eating, talking, laughing, and having a good time.

"Wow," said Twilight as we got in a long line for breakfast. "They're all pretty care-free for how little security this place has."

"Are you kidding?" asked Stopper, grinning from ear to ear. "This is the safest place in Equestria, unless you're a Utopian. You know that dragon in the Everfree?" We all nodded. "Well, back when we were turning this place into an orchard for the Equestrian Military, we began expanding into the Everfree. Old green scale-but didn't like that much, and he let us know. Quite rudely, in fact. Almost torched half the orchard! Finally, we came to an agreement. We don't encroach on his land, he protects our orchards and mess hall. Best deal we ever made! Utopia learned really quickly not to go after our food supplies."

We all stared at him for a moment. "OK," AJ finally said, "what the hay is wrong with you? First you're rude, then you're serious, an' now you don't have a care in the world?"

"AJ," said Stopper, "can I call you AJ?"

"No."

"AJ, I told you, I'm a different pony outside. In fact, I'm a different pony inside the wall. Really, I'm a different pony anywhere I go. Out in the open, I'm me. In the base, I'm egotistical me. In here I'm fun me. In my bunker i'm lazy me. In bed, I'm-"

"WE GET IT!" we chorused. I don't think any of us wanted to think about that.

Stopper shrugged. "Anyway, comes with the whole actor/spy outfit. That's why everypony loves me here, but hates me on the base."

"With a couple of exceptions." We jumped and turned around to see Sunsh Scootaloo standing right behind us. Seriously, give her Sunshine's cutie mark, and Scoots is the spitting image of her. I'm just glad that AJ and Rarity were between the two of us to give me some time to recover.

"Oh dear, please don't sneak up on ponies like that," said Rarity. "You nearly scared me out of my wits."

Scootaloo grinned. "But that's what makes it fun," she said. "Besides, if I don't practice now, I'll get caught once I finally get back out into the field."

I smirked. "I thought you said you were going to relax a little," I said.

"Actually," we all jumped again and turned to see that Apple Bloom had cut in front of Stopper, "I find sneakin' around to be very relaxin'. You slow your heart, measure your breathin', it's like meditatin' while you walk."

"Ah yes," said Stopper. "You mentioned that you enjoy meditation." He lit his horn and grinned evilly at her. How do you feel about levitation?"

"Alright! Alright!" said Apple Bloom, stepping out and going around to stand in line with Scootaloo. "Dang, some ponies are just mean when you cut in line."

"When'd you take up meditatin'?" asked AJ. "Ain't that just a lot of mumbo-jumbo?"

"Zecora taught me," said Apple Bloom defensively. "It was almost seven years ago, after..." she looked away from her sister, "after the war started." AJ winced and Apple Bloom took a deep breath before continuing. "The whole point is to calm yourself down an' clear your mind. A lot of ponies have taken it up." Her voice dropped to a murmur. "It helps a lot of us get to sleep at night."

"I never liked it," I said. "You're not even dealing with your problems, you're just running from them. You've got to face them head-on!"

Apple Bloom sighed. "Yeah," she said, "that's what Scoots said, but not everypony's as strong as you two. There ain't no easy way to move on from... from that."

I wasn't about to let that go. I'd been with Sunshine in her last moments, like I'm sure that Apple Bloom was with Big Mac. I'd sat there and watched the light leave her eyes. After dealing with that for years, I know what works and what only makes it worse. "And there's no way at all to move on if you can't even say what happened," I said. "If you keep pushing it back, it'll just get worse and worse until you snap."

"It's worked for the last 7 years," said Apple Bloom, still not looking up.

"Funny," I said. "It did for me too. You want to know what happened at year 8?" Apple Bloom winced and shot a quick glance at AJ. Scoots must have told her. "Don't let that happen to you," I continued. "Confront it. Attack it. Face it head on before it destroys you."

We were silent for a minute, before i realized that Rarity was still standing in the middle of all of this, and the others were probably listening in as well. I fidgeted uncomfortably and looked over at Stopper. "So," I called, "what's for breakfast?"

"Gruel, generally," he said, "but who knows? News of your return seems to be spreading, so maybe they'll have something special."

"Why do you say that?" asked Twilight.

Stopper chuckled and gestured around the hall. Sure enough, there were tons of gryphons and ponies pointing, staring, and whispering. "Most of them thought you were dead," he said. "Thought you'd sacrificed yourselves to destroy Discord. Imagine their disappointment when they discovered that he was still alive. Then imagine their amazement when you show up out of the blue years later."

"We told everypony we saw," said Apple Bloom, "but a lot of 'em didn't believe us. A lot of 'em thought y'all weren't comin' back." She smirked. "Twist owes me five bits."

"Can you blame them?" asked Scootaloo. "10 years is a long time. To tell you the truth, I gave up hope after 5."

"WHAT?" Apple Bloom was shocked. "But, but you were always so inspirin'! So determined! You're the one who kept me an' Sweetie Bell from loosin' hope!"

"That's what I love about her," said Stopper. "She's a brilliant actress even without a cutie mark."

"Yeah yeah," said Scootaloo, smirking. "Say that when you're sober and maybe I'll consider you." She looked back at Apple Bloom. "I refused to be the one to crush your hopes of seeing your sisters again. That's something I never would have let happen."

"So you lied to 'em instead?" asked AJ accusingly.

Scootaloo glared at her. "Would you prefer it if i'd told them you were never coming back?" she snapped. AJ held her stare before finally looking down, unsure.

As for me, I'm impressed. She kept that charade up for 5 years to help her friends. If that's not loyalty, then I don't know what is.

We didn't talk much more while we were in line. Turns out Stopper wasn't kidding about the gruel. He wasn't kidding about there not being many civilians, either. The ponies working the food line were all fillies and colts, none of them older than 6! It's sad to think that war is all that they've ever known. We're going to change that!

After we got our food, we went over to an empty table and Stopper immediately disappeared into the crowd. "Hph," snorted Rarity as we started eating. "So much for escorting us."

"Ah, give him a break," said Scootaloo. "He hasn't seen these guys in 6 years. He'll never let you know in here, but he's really missed them."

"Hey, if it gets him out of our manes for a while, I ain't complainin'," said AJ. "Don't geet why you keep stickin' up for him, though."

Scootaloo shrugged. "What can I say?" she asked. "You can't help who you fall in love with."

I think Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Fluttershy were eating for a good 5 minutes before they realized that the rest of us were staring slack-jawed at Scootaloo. "What?"

I was the first to speak. "You? With him?!? But he's so, so..."

"Old!" cried Rarity.

"Weird," said Twilight.

"Annoyin'," said AJ.

"Yeah!" I finished. "What they said! How could you - how could anypony - be in love with him?"

"Y'all've got to remember," said Apple Bloom, "we've known him for a lot longer than y'all have. We've worked with him for years."

"I'm just surprised that Fluttershy's jaw didn't drop with the rest of yours," said Scootaloo, looking curiously at Fluttershy.

"Oh, well, I could pretty much tell," said Fluttershy. Scootaloo's jaw dropped. "I mean," said Fluttershy quickly, "I wasn't sure, but I had a pretty good idea."

"Oh horse-apples," mumbled Scootaloo, starting to sweat. "I thought I was hiding it really well. If he finds out how I feel..."

"Oh, don't worry," assured Fluttershy. "He doesn't know. At least, I don't think he does. I just sort of have a knack for these things."

"Whew," Scootaloo sighed. "Thank Luna. I don't think I could bear the teasing if he found out."

"Wait a minute," said Twilight after we'd been eating for a while. "I thought he was in Utopia for the last 6 years, but you said that you've worked with him a lot. How does that work?"

Apple Bloom and Scoolaloo looked at each other and nodded. Looking back at us, they chorused, "We get captured a lot."

"And I have to save their sorry flanks every time." We turned to see Stopper strutting over. No, I'm not exaggerating. He was literally strutting over to the table. "Sorry I ran off," he said, sitting down, "but I had some important business to take care of."

"Apple Bloom smirked. "Plottin' with the gryphons on how to steal General Doo's eye-patch is important business?"

Stopper shrugged. "Eh, more important than anything else I had to do."

"Glad to know we're important," I mumbled.

"Dashie," he said, "can I call you Dashie?"

"No!"

Everypony looked surprised at Pinkie who was staring intently at Stopper.

"OOOOOOOK," he said. "Anyway Dash, I figured you all were safe enough here. After all," he gestured at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, "you've got the best hoof-to-hoof combat experts in Equestria right here!"

"Liar," they chorused, along with AJ.

"Ouch," said Stopper. "Triple whammy. I'm just getting slammed today, aren't I?"

"And rightfully so," said Rarity. "After all, except for our brief time outside, you've yet to so much as get our names right."

Stopper gaped at Rarity, all shocked and upset, I'm sure. "Oh, come on. Really, Rares? I'm not that bad, am I" Rarity raised an eyebrow and Stopper shrugged. "Point taken."

The rest of breakfast went pretty smoothly. Nopony else joined our table or came over to talk to us. We left after we'd all finished and walked back to HQ. Stopper gave us the grand tour, which I didn't pay attention to at all. Hey, everypony! Want to see how much your home has been invaded, torn down, and replaced? Sign me up! Yeah, no.

We were headed back to the mess hall for lunch when we heard somepony call out from behind us. "Show Stopper!" We turned to see two earth ponies in full armor running towards up. One was tan, with a sea blue mane and tail. he other was yellow, with an orange mane and tail. "Show Stopper!" the second one called again. "Don't go in yet! I want to talk to you while you're still sober!"

Stopper chuckled and we waited for them to reach us. "Captain Shores," he greeted. "Captain Top. How was your mission?"

"Acceptable," said Carrot Top. "We weren't able to take the New Yoke before General Trixie showed up, but we weren't really expecting to. We managed to take down a large part of their forces, and significantly crippled the city's defenses. Also intercepted a large force that was heading for Appleooza. Took them out, and took some prisoners."

"Good," said Stopper. "Sounds like Colonel Braeburn will last out until reinforcements arrive. So, what did you want with me?"

Sandy Shores shifted nervously. "Well, it's not really you that we're here for," he said, "but we heard that you were escorting..." He trailed off and looked over at Pinkie.

Carrot Top cleared her throat and turned to Rarity. "Rarity, it has been my honor to bear the Element of Generosity in your stead these last 7 years, but it is time that it was returned to you." She reached into her saddlebags and pulled out the Element of Generosity. "Sandy Shores is likewise here to return the Element of Laughter," she continued as Sandy Shores pulled the Element of laughter from his saddlebags. They stepped forward and put them around Rarity and Pinkie's necks. Rarity and Pinkie just stared down at their Elements for a few moments before looking back up, tears in their eyes.

"Thank you," whispered Pinkie to a very stunned looking Sandy Shores. He simply nodded and he and Carrot Top walked back to Ponyville.

All of us were quiet during lunch, surprised at Pinkie and Rarity's reactions. I'd had no idea that this would hit them so hard and, apparently, neither had they. Even Stopper was quiet as he thought this over.

Of course, his silence was broken as soon as we were back in Ponyville. "Well," he said cheerfully, "that was interesting. Shall we go get supplies then?"

These personality changes have got to be more than just an actor/spy thing. They've got to be a coping mechanism or something.

Stopper led us to the warehouses to get our supplies. Once again, it was staffed almost entirely by fillies and colts. They hardly said a word, except to point us in the direction of the supplies that Stopper requested. By the time we left there, we were each carrying heavy saddlebags of provisions and gear. We dropped them back at our barracks and headed back to the Mess Hall for dinner.

The Mess hall was a little different this time around. For one thing, it was packed! There was barely enough room to move around, though there were fortunately still a few empty tables. There was also a tall podium standing at the back of the hall.

"What's goin' on?" asked AJ. "Why're there so many ponies here?"

"Dinner," replied Stopper. He then surprised all of us by actually explaining. "Breakfast and lunch are fairly loose, schedule wise, but dinner is from 1800 hours to 1930 exactly. It's also when the daily report on the war is given. Be glad that today is General Doo's turn and not General Cheerilee's."

Soon after we got to a table, Ditzy got up and flew over to the platform. The whole hall instantly went quiet as all eyes turned to her. "Three items for the report tonight," she said. "First, I regret to inform you all that Private Lyra Heartstrings has been captured."

There was a collective groan from the hall and one pony shouted, "Again?"

Ditzy nodded. "Yes, Private Bon Bon. Again. No doubt she'll break out in a few months time and be back with us soon. Second, Captains Sandy Shores and Carrot Top have returned with their forces from the siege of New Yoke. As expected, they were not able to retake the city, but they have crippled their forces, defenses, and morale. Taking the city should be a matter of weeks now. Also, on their way back, they were able to intercept a large force that was heading for Appleoosa, led by Captain Vinyl Scratch. The force was defeated, and Vinyl, among others, was captured. They are with the restorers as we speak."

A great cheer went up from the crowd and Ditzy waited a few moments before raising a hoof for silence. "Finally," she said, "we have some very special guests with us tonight." Many eyes turned to us quickly before looking back at Ditzy. "It is my pleasure to announce," she continued, "that the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony have finally returned! The Elements of Laughter and Generosity have been returned to them, and they embark on their mission to reclaim the lost Elements tomorrow. Let us take hope from the knowledge that this war is nearly over at last!"

She hopped off the platform and glided back to her seat. All over the hall, the usual laughter and talking had become whispers. Lots of ponies were shooting glances at us, but a lot more were staring outright. AJ, Rarity and I just ignored them. Fluttershy hid behind her bangs and refused to look up from her food. Twilight put on a sophisticated air and talked with Stopper about anti-magic. Pinkie was the only one who looked around, smiling all the while and waving to a number of ponies and gryphons.

After dinner, Stopper escorted us back to our barracks. We were about to start writing in our journals when a swirl of purple mist flowed into the room from an open window and condensed into a scroll right in front of Twilight. She opened it with her magic and read through it quickly before setting it down and beginning to write in her journal. "Spike said hi," she said.

No way, I thought. There's no way you don't feel sad about that. "Twilight, I know you're trying to be strong, but pretending loosing 10 years with Spike doesn't hurt won't make it go away."

Twilight looked up at me and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not pretending anything, Rainbow," she said. "From my point of view, I saw him a couple of days ago."

"Twilight dear," said Rarity hesitantly, "don't you think that that's a little... harsh? It may not seem like such a long time to us, but to him it's been 10 years."

Twilight nodded. "Which is a long time for a pony," she agreed. "For a dragon? Not so much. He was worried, sure, but he never thought that we were gone for good. 10 years wasn't really enough time for him to miss me."

"Oh yeah?" I challenged, still not buying it. "Then why don't you show us that letter?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated the letter over to me. I had to read the thing three times before I was convinced that I was reading it right.

Dear Twilight,

Heard that all of you are back. I knew you weren't gone for good! I was still worried, though. Sorry I can't come and see you myself, but work's crazy! I was appointed the Head of Communications soon after the war started, and since then they've kept me busier than you had me during our old days in Canterlot. I can't get off tomorrow to see all of you off, but I'll definitely work overtime on the dragonfire stock so I can see you all when you get back.

Say hi to the others for me!

Your number one assistant,

Spike, Head of Communications

My jaw was slack as I looked up from the letter. "No way," I said. "There's no way Spike wrote this!"

"It's his handwriting, Rainbow," said Twilight, not even looking up. "Trust me, I've seen his handwriting for years. I'd recognize a fake instantly."

"But... but..." I finally just threw up my hooves and groaned. "Dragons are weird."

As if to prove my point, several more swirls of purple smoke blew in and condensed in front of Rarity into several, much larger scrolls. She raised an eyebrow and picked up the first, unrolling it and reading it. Her cheeks flushed redder than Big Mac and she snapped the scroll shut. We shared a laugh as she shoved the love letters under her bed.

I'm the last to write tonight, and they just played TAPS. I'd better get to sleep. Big day tomorrow.

Good night.

Rainbow Dash.

P.S. Pinks has been really quiet all day, not up to her usual antics at all. I caught her staring off into space a lot. I don't think she's taking it well, but I can't tell what she's thinking. I hope she goes back to normal soon.

Prologue

An Introductory Explanation

Of The Record Entitled:

One Last Mission

Per Request of Princess Luna Starlight, and to more fully chronicle this period of the Harmonic Era of Equestria, I, Show Stopper, Top Spy of Equestria, do now pen this: ONE LAST MISSION.

         It is a compilation of journal entries written by my hoof and the hooves of select others, namely: Twilight Sparkle – Bearer of the Element of Magic, Rarity – Bearer of the Element of Generosity, Fluttershy – Bearer of the Element of Kindness, Rainbow Dash – Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, Applejack – Bearer of the Element of Honesty, and a brief excerpt from Captain Scootaloo of the Crusaders. The lack of any writing by Pinkie Pie – Bearer of the Element of Laughter is explained by the impossibility for anypony but her to decipher or make sense of her journal.

         Contained within these entries are the personal experiences of those who’s mission it was to track down and reclaim the scattered Elements of Harmony and use them to end the Discordian Civil War. The account begins at the 10th anniversary of the disappearances of Princess Celestia Sol, Luna Starlight, and Mi Amore Cadenza. It concludes with a third-pony account of the Battle of Paradise Castle, and the confrontations therein.

         My hopes for this work are two-fold: that it will serve history as an accurate record of this time, and that it will be entertaining to those who shall read it.

         After all, why shouldn't a good story be well told?

Show Stopper

Top Spy of Equestria

One Last Mission